↑ ↑ ↑ Here is what Barry looks like
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Barry sat down on a pile of snow and stared at the orphanage.

"I guess I don't have parents after all." With that Barry stood up and started heading towards the orphanage which he fled from.

*-*-*-*

The alarm rang through the the whole orphanage like on a normal day but for Barry, no day is normal since he clocked ten.

"Well, it's my turn to do the dishes and clean." Barry said as though he was talking to someone. He groaned as he stirred on the bed, ready to fall asleep at any moment.

"Barry! don't let me catch you on that bed!" Yelled the matron.

"Yes ma!" Barry yelled as he ran quickly to the kitchen. He stopped in his tracks all of a sudden when he saw a group of boys lurking few metres ahead of him.

'Darn bullies! And Dave is there I guess I'm dead.' He gulped as he approached them.

"Hey Barry where ya running to?" Dave asked.

"To the kitchen, why ya asking?" Barry answered with a question of his own.

"Oh no reason in particular." Dave said with a fake smile. Before Barry knew a thing, a punch landed on his stomach. Barry doubled over in pain for a few moments, giving Dave and his clique the chance to laugh at his misery. He stood up straight later and they stopped laughing.

"What was that for?! Anyway I'll deal with you later Dave." Barry said as he continued running to the kitchen.

"You're 1 minute 30 seconds late Bartholomew!" The matron scolded as soon as he stepped foot into the kitchen.

"I am sorry madam." He apologized.

'You see, the thing is that the matron is nice and all but if you are a second late...... you are doomed because she works strictly by time. Dave and his 'gang', well they are the bullies they force others to do their work...... you know what bullies do, right? But why I'm their main target? I don't know. I have only one friend but I wouldn't say we're friends. Let's just say talk mates her name is Beryl she is cool and all but once she snaps......' Barry was cut short from his thoughts by the matron.

"Bartholomew! What are you thinking about that you spaced out like that?!" She yelled at him. "Anyway as I was saying you have to be early......"

The matron continued to lecture Barry who wasn't paying any attention to her.

'I don't know, any time she starts her lectures about punctuality her voice goes 'wa wa' until I hear nothing. Anyway, I have to think of how I'll deal with Dave after I clean. "Yes ma." Barry said as he noticed that the matron's boring lecture was over.

'Finally it ended.'

*-*-*

After cleaning, Barry went to the bullies base to meet Dave.

"Hey Dave how ya doing.?" Barry asked in a mocking tone.

"Barry you've come hun? I was already thinking you'll run away." Dave said pretending to ignore Barry's mockery.

"Oh Dave your imagination is getting wild." Barry said in the same mocking tone.

"So this fight is a one-on-one match and fight till death...... That's all the rules." Dave stated.

"Ready Dave?" Barry mocked as he got into a fighting stance.

"Don't chicken out Bartholomew!" Dave yelled and charged towards Barry.

'Normally I wouldn't agree but I want to test my self defence skills.' Barry said internally before fighting.

While the two boys were fighting, a red haired girl was watching from the rooftop.

'Hmm this is interesting.' She thought to herself.

The fight was going smoothly until Barry had Dave in an head lock. Unable to accept his defeat, Dave cheated.

"Hey that's cheating! You said one-on-one." Barry yelled as the other boys from Dave's clique interfered.

"Those aren't rules dum dum." Dave mocked as he freed himself from Barry's headlock. "Now!" He yelled.

A guy grabbed Barry from behind and the others started punching him from all angles. Barry groaned in pain but refused to scream and make them believe that they hurt him.

'Does this idiot realise that lie is not sensible?' Barry thought to him self.

The girl who was watching the fight got annoyed and threw a stone, which appeared out of nowhere, on Dave's head.

"Hey!" Dave yelled in anger and pain while trying to find the person that threw the stone as he held his throbbing head.

"Hun hun hun Dave no cheating." The girl said. Dave and his goons looked around for where the voice came from. His eyes narrowed when he saw the girl sitting on the rooftop.

"Who are you and get down here!" Dave yelled to her. He signalled for his goons to tie Barry down, which they did against the boy's protests with an old rope they'd prepared before.

The girl jumped down from the rooftop as he commanded. When she was halfway to the ground, she grabbed a metal rod that protruded from the building as support, swung and landed.

"So I'm Beryl and its nice to see you here Barry." The girl said as she turned to face Barry.

"Ok nice intro can you just let me loose!" Barry yelled in frustration.

"Ok." Beryl said as walked towards a now tied down Barry.

"Where do you think you're going?" One of Dave's henchmen asked.

"To my friend duh." Beryl said stating the obvious.

One after the other they lunged at Beryl but they all got beaten up.

'Yep that's Beryl for you. That was what I meant by 'she is cool and all' but when she snaps it's over...' Barry said internally.

"Spaced out again hun?" Beryl said while waving her hand in front of Barry, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Well you can tell. Let's go back before madam starts her lectures on punctuality." Barry said as he stood up and went to the dorm.

"Wait up dude!" Beryl yelled as she ran to meet him and punched him on his head.

"Hey what was that for?" Barry asked/complained.

"Not waiting for me." Beryl said then blew a raspberry at him.

Barry just laughed it off. "Come on we'll be late."

*-*-*

Later that night, Barry woke up. His plan to escape the orphanage was just one step away....Oh yeah Barry had been planing to escape the orphanage since his last escape.... he packed his bag and tiptoed to the rooftop. On his way, he passed by Beryl's room and dropped a farewell note on her bed.

To Beryl.

Dear Beryl, if you are reading this letter it means I am not in the orphanage any more and you might never see me again. I am leaving this orphanage permanently because of some reasons I cannot tell you, but I just want to tell you to live well and don't die. And also, thank you for everything you have done to help me and sorry for every trouble I've put you through in my previous escapes. Goodbye.

Your friend,

Bartholomew

After that, he went to the rooftop and brought out a special gun from his bag that shot out a long rope with an anchor at the end of the rope.

(A/N: Don't ask how he got it, even I do not know how he got it.)

Then he jumped and shot the gun. The rope came out and the anchor hooked the the metal bars on the top of the building. He made sure it was steady before slipping his bag pack back on and sliding down the rope. When he got down, he detached the rope and ran across the lawn to the gate but he was stopped by an angry security officer.

"Going somewhere Mr Bartholomew?" The officer asked.

"Of course not Officer Thomson." Barry replied nervously.

"Hmph, I'll first have you return all my equipments that you stole and then hand you over to the disciplinary committee to deal with you." The officer threatened.

"D-d-I-I-did you just say d-d-isciplinary committee?" Barry stammered.

"Yes, now return my equipments!" Officer Thomson bellowed angrily.

"Sir I'm sorry for this." Immediately after Barry apologized, he landed a heavy punch on the officer's stomach.

The man doubled over due to the pain but the punch of a thirteen year old couldn't possibly break a fifty year old man who had been in a security personnel agency for over ten years can it? Since Barry knew that, he made a mad dash for the gate and fumbled with the stolen keys of the lock. Officer Thomson groaned profanities as he stumbled after the boy but the lock gave way and the gate opened. Barry ran as fast as he could.

While Barry was running away, officer Thomson had called for backup and soon enough the security men were hot on his chase. Barry saw this and increased his pace as fast as his legs could carry. His face brightened when he heard a sound coming from beneath the slopes on which the orphanage stood.

'That's a train well it seems I'm not out of luck yet.' He rejoiced and ran towards the train. He stood on top a small boulder and prepared to jump when the train reached him but a security man held his leg.

"Ha! you are not getting away this time!" The man tried to pull him back.

Barry clung to the boulder desperately and lied on the floor as the man tried to drag him. The train was so close, he couldn't miss it. He used his second leg to kick the officer hard on his head, causing him to release his grip on his leg and jumped onto the train just as soon as it almost passed him by.

"Safe!" Barry exclaimed and sighed in relief.

After Barry settled himself down, he drifted off to sleep. After a few minutes, he heard a voice in his sleep. It was not surprising because he was a light sleeper.

"A runaway hun?" He heard. "Gotta send you back to the orphanage when we land." The voice said.

When Barry heard the last part his heart missed a beat 'cause if he is sent back to the orphanage...... it is over.

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To be continued...

PREVIEW

*Barry might be sent back to the orphanage.
*The truth behind Barry's leaving the orphanage is revealed.
*Barry meets a guy named Luke.
*Lastly, Barry meets Beryl on the train with him.

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Thank you for reading.