✖ Chapter 16 ✖

        SOMETHING PULLED MY hair, causing me to groan before raking my hand through the curls. What sounded like giggles surrounded me, but I concluded it was merely me dreaming. I could feel the twigs on the ground poking all over my back, the tiny pebbles that strayed from the stream digging into my skin. I rolled onto my side.

       Another tug of my hair - I rolled onto my other side.

        More giggles.

        I shot up in alert, eyes snapping open and expecting to see Cecilia's minions taunting us. Why had I not woken up sooner? There could have been immense danger and I was bypassing all of the attempts to wake me.        

        Before I could get too angry with myself, my lips parted at the sight before me.

        Children were everywhere.

        There were at least four little girls braiding Rose's hair while she played rock-paper-scissors with a little boy in front of her. Megan sat beside her, more little girls twirling her hair as well. Daniel and Jessie were in the stream, looking like they had been washing their faces but were now having a water fight with numerous little boys. Marcus was still tied against a tree, a couple of boys that looked around the age of eight or so poking him with a stick like he was an animal.

        "What the..." But I couldn't finish my sentence due to the little girl who caught my eye, kneeling in front of me. I rose an eyebrow. "Um... hi there..."

        "Do you want a flower crown, mister? We made lots."

        My eyebrows furrowed. "Come again?"

        She sighed teasingly, shaking her head a little before lifting what looked like a bunch of twigs twined together with little white flowers bound with them. She hesitated before leaning forward, and for some reason, I let her put the damned thing on my head. I couldn't have the heart to tell her to get away from me or to tell her that her "flowers" were weeds.

        "Uh, thanks," I said unsurely, scratching the back of my neck.

        "You look kind of mean," she said, giving me an odd look. But a slow smile spread on her face. "I bet you're a good guy, though. You know, like the superheros that look bad but save the day. I bet that's you."

        I tilted my head. "What's your name?"

        "Raven. But my friends and Momma call me Ray. You can call me Ray if you want to. What can I call you?"

        She was adorable, honestly, with a small twinge of a southern accent Of course I would never admit that out loud, but it was something different to have a kid around. I hadn't conversed with one in so long aside from the teenager Oscar was beating up in the asylum. I decided I liked this little... creature.

        "Harry," I said, grunting as I got to my feet.

        Before Raven could reply or I could ask any questions, another giggle come from my right. I turned to see Rose laughing while the other girls around her pointed at my head. I muttered under my breath, but didn't take it off because Raven seemed quite proud of it. 

        "At least I don't have sap in my hair," I called over, raising a brow at Rose whose jaw dropped when she felt the stickiness in her hair. The girls told her it was simply to keep her braid together.

        "You like her," said Raven, drawing my attention back to the small being. "I can tell. Momma says I'm psychic, whatever that is."

        I knelt down in front of her. "Psychic, huh?"

        "Yeah, but I don't know what that means. Is it good?" She twiddled her thumbs, as if she were genuinely concerned.

        I smiled. "Only if you think seeing parts of the future is cool."

        Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head, small mouthing falling agape. I laughed before standing to my full height again while she cheered about being able to see the future. I couldn't tell if she really were psychic, but I could at least let her dream, right?

        I frowned as I scanned the area, trying to find something that indicated civilization was near but saw even more trees. Where had the little monsters come from? Surely they hadn't fallen from the sky. There were too many of them looking too clean and well-fed to be out here alone. 

        "Hey, Raven."

        She stopped her dancing, looking up to me. "Yeah?"

        "Where'd you guys come from?" I asked, hoping she wouldn't give me a smart reply like Daniel would about "coming from my mother's womb". As if I needed to know the obvious.

        Thankfully, she didn't. "Over there." I followed her little finger in what I believed to be was east. "We got a whole town down there with lots of people. We even got some really cool computer thingies the other day. I could show you, if you wanna."

        I hesitated for a brief moment. "Your people wouldn't mind newcomers?" We really had no where else to go, honestly.

        She shrugged. "I don't know. But I like y'all and Momma tries to keep me happy. I'll throw a tantrum, if I need to."

        I laughed. "Hopefully it won't come down to that."

        Before I could gather everyone, Marcus yelled. "Get away from me, you pests!"

        I jogged over to where the three where still poking him, everyone else's heads turning in their direction as well. The one that seemed the youngest looked a little frighten at Marcus' outburst, so I gently grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back from it. Raven through her arm around him. 

        "No need to yell at children, Marcus," I said firmly, glaring at him. He opened his mouth to speak but I said, "Didn't you do that enough with me?" He fell silent.

        I held my hand out for the stick, the one appearing to be the eldest exchanging looks with his friends. "Aw, man," he finally muttered, handing it over. "He called us cowards, though."

        "Takes one to know one," I grumbled under my breath before tossing the stick to the side. Everyone seemed to be watching now, so I told them all about the town Raven had spoke of. The kids seemed more excited than ever that they were bringing back visitors. 

        The only problem was Marcus. I didn't think they'd appreciate it if we walked into their town with a noose around a man's neck like he was a dog on a leash, but I didn't trust him otherwise. Megan said she could walk by him because her powers are nearly as strong as Rose's and mine, so that was really our best option.

        He was smart enough to not try to run when we untied him, the kids giving him wary looks. He avoided eye contact with all of us, even Jessie who still looked a little dazed from being released from Cecilia's control. I was still iffy with that situation as well, scared that it may be another trick of hers, but I was too happy to have my brother back to really mind it too much.

        Rose rinsed the sap out of her hair, much to the girls' disappointment, but she promised they could play with her hair later. Raven surprised me when she slipped her hand in mine, causing me to hesitate in a moment of shock before letting her tug me along. It was so foreign to me, being around children.

        There ended up being about fifteen kids. The eldest was thirteen, the one who had been prodding Marcus with a stick and his name was Blake. The younger one that had been by him turned out to be Raven's little brother, Clark, and he had just turned six, she told me. She informed me of all of their names and ages, and very little of them I managed to remember.

        It wasn't a long walk after Raven got done explaining everything, including the part where they all like to sneak into the woods to get away from the adults for a while. But once we arrived, I realized Raven and I had very different interpretations on what a "town" was. A town to me is like where Rose's - apparently fake - father lived, with few houses, a grocery store, other vital buildings, a little pavement.

        Raven's idea of a town is what most people would call a village. Though the people were dressed in normal t-shirts, tank tops, and jeans, the houses were cabins with not even a mere cement block in sight. There was only a long stretch of dirt road, disappearing to the left and right after a couple miles. It was more like a small clearing in the woods, trees surrounding the little land there was, though there seemed to be quite a lot of people bustling about.

        I felt like I was back in time during the Middle Ages, that's how odd the scene was to see in modern day.

        "Whoa," Rose breathed out beside me. "This is so cool."

        "Cool?" Daniel snorted, but leaned over to whisper so he wouldn't offend the children. "It's so... primitive."

        Rose slapped his shoulder. "Are you kidding? This is every history-freak's dream of seeing. Reliving the medieval times..." She shook her head, grinning. I caught myself staring at that smile and bright eyes longer than I should have.

        "These people don't even seem civilized," added Megan, raising her eyebrows. "Seems a little odd to me."

        I shook my head some, turning to Raven. "You said you had computers?"

        She nods. "We do. Only one." Her cheeks turned a small tint of red. "I'm sorry if I fibbed a little. I really wanted y'all to come back with us."

        Pursing my lips, I let out a breath, turning to look at everyone else. The kids already began to file out of the woods and into the clearing, so I gave a little shrug. "It's better than nothing, right?"

        Everyone nodded in agreement except Marcus, but I didn't pay much attention to him anyways.

        Raven grinned. "Yay! Oh, you just have to meet my momma. She was supposed to be making apple pie before I left. I bet y'all would like some, right?"

        The girl kept rambling as she grabbed my hand again, pulling me out. I sucked in a breath involuntarily, unsure if it were because I expected everyone to stop, recognize me, and kill or because of how quickly the small girl was moving. But no one even bothered to glance our way, continuing on with their daily duties.

        I found myself relieved, and even more so when Rose kissed my cheek. It seemed like such a normal thing to do, but it had me smiling more than I should have been. I slipped my hand into hers to keep her close by in case kids swarmed us once more and took us our separate ways. I wouldn't let that happen until I at least trusted this place and it's people a little bit.

        "Momma, Momma!" Raven called once we grew closer to a small log cabin that was settled behind a couple of large oak trees.

        An elder woman looked up, eyes narrowing a little before a groan fled her lips. "Raven, how many times do I have to tell you to stop running off like that?" she said, but stood a bit straighter when she saw us. She twisted a cloth in her hands. "Well, who do we have here?"

        Raven beamed. "Momma, this is Harry and Rose and Megan, Aiden and Daniel. They're really nice. We found them sleeping in the woods with no food or clothes or anything." She jabbed her thumb behind her, leaning closer to her mother a bit to whisper, "I think they're homeless."     

        I couldn't help but to bite my lip to stifle a laugh. If only they knew the hell we each had been put through. Being homeless would be nearly equivalent to heaven.

        Her mother hummed for a moment before smiling, sticking her hand out. "Jane," she said. "It's nice to meet all of you. I'm sorry for my daughter's intrusion."

        "No intrusion at all," I said before shaking her hand. "She's very... energetic."

        Jane laughed. "That she is." Her smile fell quickly, though. "We don't have much room in our house for guests, though, Raven. One extra bedroom and that's it."

        Raven frowned. "What about Aunt Fay? She's always helping people."

        "We really don't want to be a bother," Rose said, looking a little shy. "If it's too much, we can continue on our way and-"

        "No," Raven said, shaking her head. "It's no bother. Right, Momma?"

        Jane sighed a little before giving in, rather quickly. "All right. I suppose you could ask Fay, but if she says no, I don't wanna hear begging. Got it?"

        Raven grinned, turning to me. "I'll be right back. Don't leave." She made a motion with her index and middle finger as if to say I got my eyes on you. 

        We were left by the small girl, awkwardly fumbling with our hands while Jane rinsed something off in a barrel of water. I really didn't want to bother these people. They seemed so hard-working and definitely not looking like they had time for escaped prisoners to hide. But of course, I wasn't going to tell any of them that just yet.

        "Right then." Jane dried her hands off on her pants, giving us a small smile. "There's only one room in my house open, but you're all welcome to come inside until Raven gets back." She glanced over my shoulder, looking worried for a moment before breathing a sigh of relief. "Sorry. Got a habit of looking for my little ones. Raven tends to leave Clark behind sometimes."

        I followed her gaze to see him playing with Blake, the oldest one. He seemed to be showing him how to carve something, but Jane spoke again before I got a good look.

        "Well, come on in. Don't be strangers." She smiled as she held her front door open, all of us filing in and stuffing the first room which happened to be the kitchen. Megan, Aiden, Daniel, and Marcus sat down at the table while Rose and I stood, leaning our elbows on the counter. "I don't remember Raven introducing you," said Jane, nodding her head to Marcus.

        He cleared his throat. "Marcus."

        Jane gave a curt nod before pulling open the oven, pulling out the pie I assumed Raven had been talking about. "Where y'all from?"

        I exchanged looks with everyone before I noticed they were all looking to me. I raked a hand through my hair, coughing to cover up my hesitance. "We were hiking quite a ways away before we got lost. Somehow ended up here."

        Jane didn't seem to catch my lie. "Ah, typical. We've gotten a handful a lost hikers around here. Do you have some where you're heading?"

        "Not specifically, no. Just..." I clicked my lips, wishing someone else would speak. "...roaming."

        She laughed. "Like to travel, huh? That's nice. It would be quite refreshing to get out of this stuffy town for a change." Her eyes skimmed us before she shook her head. "Y'all look like you could use a nice scrubbing. I'm sure I could find some fresh clothes." 

        "Oh, thank you very much," said Rose.

        "Yeah, we really appreciate all this," added Daniel.

        Jane smiled in reply.

        Raven came sprinting through the door a moment later, eyes wide and excited like she'd just run a marathon and won a trophy. Her eyes met mine and she said, "Aunt Fay says she don't mind visitors one bit."      

        Megan piped in with a smile. "Guess we got ourselves a temporary home, then."

(okay, this is random but I think this song fits really nicely with this entire story. I Know Places by Taylor Swift. believe me, I used to not be a fan but her new album has blown me away and like I said, this song fits really well to me. okay, love you all x)