Work Text
‘God, shoot me now.’ Mike Faith Afton thought, his blue eyes having obvious boredom in them as he used one of his hands to hold his head up. The boy stared up at the teacher, he was in his last class of the day and he just wanted it to end already. The boy sighed looking around the classroom to see most of the kids were asleep or had completely tuned out. Mike then used this opportunity to write down some notes before looking at his navy blue jeans, child-sized police officer shirt and hat, and his jet black hair underneath said hat. Mike then looked at the clock, ten more minutes until the bell rang, ten more minutes until he can finally leave and go to the forest instead of being trapped in this school of idiots and meatheads.“Mike?”“Mike?”“Michael Afton!” A voice cried out snapping Mike out of his thoughts,“Huh? Oh I’m terribly sorry, Miss. Keen, can you please repeat the question?” Mike said his cheeks flushing red in embarrassment as his eyes snapping to the teacher trying to ignore the snickering of his classmates.“You mind telling the class why so many people in the gold rush ended dying?” Miss. Keen said,“Oh that’s easy, most people ended up using due to disease or mining-related accidents, but more than four-thousand were murdered by enraged miners.” Mike said his embarrassment fading as he gained a bored look in his eyes (for crying out loud give him something hard for once).“That’s correct Mike, thank you, now class I want you to follow Mike’s example. Make sure you pay attention during class and you’ll get all A’s like him.” Miss. Keen said with a warm smile on her lips,“Your welcome Miss. Keen, and I appreciate the sentiment but please don’t draw attention to me.” Mike said his embarrassment coming back tenfold as his eyes scanned the room landing on two girls who we’re snickering and laughing with one another.“Alright, Alright, anyway as I was saying…..” The teacher said with a nod before continuing her lecture to the class, but as she did this Mike tuned her out her voice not reaching the embarrassed boys ears.Mike sighed watching the scenery through the window as he rode the bus sitting the back with his backpack next to him.Mike was the fifth kid left on the bus as he pulled his attention back to the other children. He knew these children since he was the last to get off the bus he usually paid attention to these five the most. Mike watched as one short boy played the harmonica very well, this boy Mike knew as Nat. Nat had white skin with tan freckles on his cheeks as he wore tan jean overalls with a white shirt underneath. And to top everything off had wore a straw hat on his head that was completely hiding his hair.Right behind Nat their sat the most beautiful girl on earth, and her name was Amber. Amber had glowing white skin that looked as soft as silk, she had gorgeous flowing red and orange stripped hair. With red demon wings on her back and horn popping from her head. The girl wore a cute skirt with a shirt that was black with a satanic symbol on it, showing to everyone that she was the daughter of the Devil himself. Mike goofily starred at Amber practically drooling at the goddess before him, he might just have a tiny crush on Amber, nothing serious it’s not like he could ask Amber out anyway.Mike was pulled from his staring however when he saw Amber turn around locking eyes with him, Mike felt his heart fly into his throat just as the bus stopped. Mike frantically looked up glad to see Amber leaving from the bus to her home as she wore a small smile on her face. Mike felt himself melt before he looked out the window watching Amber walked down the dirt trail. Amber’s “home” was nothing more then an empty field but Mike knew the truth he had seen what was going to happen more then a dozen times. Mike watched as the ground shook then parted, a large rock shot from the ground having a large door on it.Amber opened the door and walked inside before locking eyes with Mike again, Mike flinched his face going red. The young demon girl seemed to giggle as her the ground shook again sending her back to Hell, but just before the door closed Amber blew a kiss towards Mike. Mike gulped using his hat to fan himself, that had never happened before and he kinda wanted it to happen again. The boy was snapped from his thoughts however when he heard snickering and laughing from two sickeningly familiar voices. Mike felt his face go even redder as he looked in horror to see Pristine and Royal; the school bullies.Pristine had chestnut skin and black hair that was in a single long braid, she wore very expensive clothes that looked as if someone had to sell their soul to make let along get for her. Royal had white skin, long blonde hair that seemed to shine like the sun, a purple and silver tiara sat on the girls head, as she wore stylish silver glasses and a silver sundress with a purple trim. Both girls wore a cruel grin and opened their mouths to say something, Mike closed his eyes tears steaming down his cheeks, he had been in this scenario plenty of times before he knew it was better to just accept his fate she cry. Luckily for Mike however the bus stopped, Mike opened his eyes and saw the annoyed looks on Royal and Pristine’s faces. The two girls crossed their arms in dissatisfaction before leaving the bus in a pout as they left their separate ways when the dirt road they we’re walking on split off to their respective homes.Mike sighed in relief and went back to looking at the scenery out the window before his and Nat’s stop came. Mike got up from his seat putting his backpack on as him and Nat got off the bus, once the boys were on the dirt path the bus drove off.“You know, Royal and Pristine wouldn’t mess with you if you show them your gonna fight back, that’s what I did.” Nat said, and Mike’s eyes went wide no one other then Pristine and Royal talked to him.This was his chance!He needed to say something before his chance was stolen away like it usually was.“Oh….thanks….well would you like to hang out sometimes and talk…or….” Mike started looking up only to see Nat running home, “….not….” Mike bit his lip sniffing as tears slide down his cheeks again.Why is he not surprised?Mike left his home placing his backpack on the living room couch with a note attached to it. Telling his fathers (when they got home from work) where he was and when he was expected to return. And with that Mike shut the door with nothing but his keys, an MP3 player, a pair of earphones, and a tazer in his pocket. Mike pulled out his MP3 player and turned to a random song on it, he then plugged his earbuds in the MP3 and put the buds in his ears before stuffing his MP3 in his pocket. Mike walked the usual path he did to the forest as he listened to the music allowing it to take him away and put him on autopilot.
7 Years Old
By: Lukas Graham
Once I was seven years old my momma told me
Go make yourself some friends or you'll be lonely
Once I was seven years old
It was a big big world, but we thought we were bigger
Pushing each other to the limits, we were learning quicker
By eleven smoking herb and drinking burning liquor
Never rich so we were out to make that steady figure
Once I was eleven years old my daddy told me
Go get yourself a wife or you'll be lonely
Once I was eleven years old
I always had that dream like my daddy before me
So I started writing songs, I started writing stories
Something about that glory just always seemed to bore me
'Cause only those I really love will ever really know me
Once I was twenty years old, my story got told
Before the morning sun, when life was lonely
Once I was twenty years old
I only see my goals, I don't believe in failure
'Cause I know the smallest voices, they can make it major
I got my boys with me at least those in favor
And if we don't meet before I leave, I hope I'll see you later
Once I was twenty years old, my story got told
I was writing about everything, I saw before me
Once I was twenty years old
Soon we'll be thirty years old, our songs have been sold
We've traveled around the world and we're still roaming
Soon we'll be thirty years old
I'm still learning about life
My woman brought children for me
So I can sing them all my songs
And I can tell them stories
Most of my boys are with me
Some are still out seeking glory
And some I had to leave behind
My brother I'm still sorry
Soon I'll be sixty years old, my daddy got sixty-one
Remember life and then your life becomes a better one
I made a man so happy when I wrote a letter once
I hope my children come and visit, once or twice a month
Soon I'll be sixty years old, will I think the world is cold
Or will I have a lot of children who can warm me
Soon I'll be sixty years old
Soon I'll be sixty years old, will I think the world is cold
Or will I have a lot of children who can warm me
Soon I'll be sixty years old
Once I was seven years old, momma told me
Go make yourself some friends or you'll be lonely
Once I was seven years old
Once I was seven years old
By the time the song was over Mike found himself with his back against a tree crying his eyes out. Mike blinked wiping his tears away and taking his earbuds out, dang it whenever that song played Mike always felt like crying, how long has he been crying anyway? Mike sighed hoping that he hadn’t started crying until he got into the forest. The boy stood up getting back onto the dirt path that went throughout the forest, Mike then walked down the path looking around at the tress as they all had fruit hanging from their branches. Apples, mangos, oranges, tangerines, pomegranates, and lots of other fruit trees made up the forest as a whole.Mike walked up to one of the mango trees before giving the tree a good kick to its base causing a mango to fall from it and land in Mike’s hands. The boy wiped the fruit off with his shirt before peeling the top of the mango and taking a bite, Mike smiled and gave one last glance to the tree before continuing on his way. And as Mike walked and kept taking bites out of the sweet juicy mango, he went back to his thoughts as he usually did.‘It’s so strange…..why does no one else in the town go to the forest, it’s not like it’s forbidden or anything. This place is actually very beautiful, in fact I recall the first saw I saw the forest I had felt drawn to it. How could no one else feel drawn to the forest? I mean if it can make me feel happier and accepted here then back in town, other people could feel the same way, right? Or maybe it’s just me and I’m the lonely loser destined to live alone.’ Mike thought before he stopped in his tracks feeling his eyes gloss over with tears, the boy sniffed pulling his head up to wipe his tears away before his eyes widened as he dropped his mango.Mike blinked in surprise as he saw a large cottage in distance, Mike couldn’t make out any key features of the cottage from how far away he was but the place looked as if someone lived in the forest or someone used to that is. Mike looked at the cottage with wide eyes, he had never seen that building before, just how deep in the forest was he? The boy looked back and saw the path (and trees) going off into the distance as the entrance to the forest was completely out of view from Mike.‘Wow. I must’ve gone deeper then I thought.’ Mike thought as he looked back towards the cottage, he felt drawn to the cottage his heart ached he felt like he needed to go there.Why did he feel like that?‘Because you know someone could live there and you could get a friend in return. And if not you get a little club house and future home for yourself when you grow up.’ Mike thought this mind answering his questions for him, Mike looked back again and gulped. His more cautious side trying to figure out how far away town was just in case there was some sort of crazed murderer in the cabin. Mike muddled through his choices and all the possible scenarios that could happen before he pushed all of it off the table.‘Aww, screw it! I’ve been good my entire life doing a little bad now won’t kill me!’ Mike said before booking it down the path, the boy ran as fast as he could picking up dust and pebbles as he did so. And in no time Mike was at the cottage sputtering and gulping down air, once Mike had finally caught his breathe he opened his eyes looking at the cottage. The cottage was painted a simple white color with blue-painted designs etched into the wood. The paint was chipped and peeling slightly and the design of the cottage looked a bit old-fashioned (around mid eighteen hundreds to be precise) but despite that the home look very nice. Mike slowly walked up towards the stairs and cautiously placed a hand on the banister.As if he was afraid the cottage would turn to nothing but a pile of splitters if too much pressure was placed on it. Mike slowly walked the stairs listening to the creaking sounds they made with each step he took. Mike stepped onto the porch looking around at it as he saw an old rocking chair in one of the porch corners painted exactly like the house. The boys eyes drifted onto the door and quickened his pace waking towards it, Mike felt his mouth go dry as he turned the handle only to find it was locked, and he felt a wave of disappointment shake him to his core.He wanted to get into this house but Mike didn’t want to brake any windows in case someone lived there and if someone didn’t how was he going to get into the house? He didn't want to mess up any part of the house due to it's rustic beauty it displayed. Mike sighed he knew it was a long shot but he knocked on the door and waited for someone, anyone to open the door. That someone never came to the door however and Mike quickly realized no one lived here and Mike groaned looks like he wasn’t going to make a friend today.‘But you still got an awesome club house to explore….well....if….no when I can get the door open.’ Mike thought crossing his arms in thought, if this cottage was still around that meant there had to be a spare key somewhere. And since there was no welcome mat by the door that meant the key had to be hidden somewhere else. Mike looked around the cottage, if the spare key was hidden then it had to be somewhere no one would think to look or even want to look for that matter.So where would that be?Mike was cut from his thoughts however when he looked up and saw the sun was beginning to set.‘Oh shoot! Gotta get home before dark or my dads will lose it!’ Mike thought before he ran off the cottage porch and out of the forest, but as Mike ran he looked back at the cottage and he felt drawn towards it again.He knew he would be back tomorrow.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Mike shut the door to his home locking both the top and bottom lock behind him. The boy took in deep breathes as he used the door for support to avoid falling onto the floor. Once Mike caught his breathe the boy pulled the curtains over the window and sat on the living room couch waiting like he usually did. The living room was fairly quaint as the walls (along with all the other walls in the house) we’re painted a golden brown color as picture frames covered it, the floor had an round yellow carpet covering most of the wooden floor underneath. A flat screen t.v. sat at the front of the room while a yellow couch with two white and blue decorative pillows on it sat at the back of the room, and finally a foot away from the couch sat a small oval-shaped coffee table that matched the color of the walls.On the coffee table there laid two coasters, a picture frame with a family photo in it, a nearly arranged small stack of napkins, a note that was held in place by a white coffee mug, and finally a silver house phone that sat nearly in it’s charger dock. The house phone is what Mike’s eyes laid transfixed on and the boy refused to move his eyes away from it, not until it rang, not until he got a call from his dads telling him they’d be coming home. After about an hour of waiting however Mike finally broke his gaze from the phone the boy sighed his eyes glossing over with unshed tears. Mike then picked up the coffee mug and took the note from under it, the boy then wiped his tears away before reading it.
Hey Champ,
We saw that we we’re running out of food in the fridge so we bought some more, it should be fully stocked for you when you get home. We saw your note you left, we would’ve come to get you so we could have some family time but not ten minutes after we got home the boss called us back to the office, he said this was important but don’t worry we’ll be back for dinner, I promise. Oh and be sure to be careful in the forest and to be home by dark and remember if you don’t know how to make something follow the recipe in the books exactly as it’s written.
Signed, your loving father,
William
Mike swallowed a lump in his throat before putting the note in his pocket.‘We’ll be back for dinner, I promise.’ Mike felt tears run down his face for what he could’ve guessed was the fourth time that day, ‘I promise.’ Mike hated that word. Everytime one of his dads ended a sentence with that cursed phrase it always meant that the promise would soon be broken and Mike would end up sobbing his eyes out over it. And what made it worse was that Mike’s dads always promised they’d be home by a certain time and Mike always believed it would be different, that his dads wouldn’t get held up with work like they always did. A small part of Mike knew his dad’s loved him and only worked as hard as they did for him so Mike wouldn’t be starving or wearing rags. But what was the point when their only son was left alone at night almost every day of the year and they rarely got to see or talk to one another?What was the point if their son only ever wanted to spend time with them?Mike’s eyes snapped open as the sound of the house phone ringing brought Mike back to reality. Mike wiped away his tears and cleared his throat before grabbing the phone and pressing it to his ear to the point it hurt. But Mike didn’t care he was desperate to hear his dad’s voice and he needed to know if they we’re coming home or not.He hoped they were coming home.“Hey Champ.” William said and Mike felt himself crying tears of joy he had missed his dad’s voice it often felt like a luxury to hear it,“H-Hey dad, are you and father coming home? I-I can make ravioli for dinner if you want and then maybe we can—”“Michael.” William said and Mike went silent his dad never used his full first name in it’s entirety. He only used it when he had to give bad news, Mike felt his hands shake was his father dead? What was going on? What had happened?“D-Dad—”“Michael, Henry and I will be gone for a week or maybe two. There was some sort of murder committed in Florida and our boss’s friend wanted a few cops on the job that were the best of the best. Henry, I, and a few others were selected and this could get a lot of money and exposure for us. Can you handle being alone for one or two weeks without us?” William said, his voice hopeful, and Mike could hear the hope in his dad’s voice. His dad wanted him to say “yes” but Mike didn’t want to be already didn’t see his dad’s enough already he didn’t want them to be there not at all.But against his better judgement Mike swallowed trying to keep his voice from cracking, “Of course I can, you can trust me.”“Great! I promise, Henry and I will be back as soon as us and the guys crack the case! Goodnight Mike, and remember be home before dark. And make sure to lock the doors at night, see you in one to two weeks.” William said before he hung up the phone and the line went dead. The continuous beep went through Mike’s ears but still he held the phone to his ears wanting to hear his dads voice just for a little longer even though he knew that wasn’t going to happen.‘I promise.’ Finally Mike broke down as he started to sob, he dropped the phone as it bounced off the couch and onto the floor with a thud, Mike curled up into a ball with his arms over his knees and cried his eyes out. Nothing else in the house could he heard accept the dead phone line and the wracked sobs of a nine-year-old boy. And eventually the sobs went quiet as well as Mike grew sleepy his eyelids drooping, Mike however tried to fight the promising whispers of sleep as he wondered what he was going to have for dinner.After a few seconds however Mike’s eyelids finally shut.He wasn’t hungry anyway.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Mike’s eyes lazily opened.The boy yawned stretching out his limbs, the memories of last night still fresh in his head. Mike sat up kicking his legs lazily as he remained silent looking around the room. Trying to ignore the lump in his throat and the heaviness he felt his heart. Mike got up with a sigh as his stomach grumbled, the boy then walked into the kitchen to fix himself a bowl of cereal, he didn’t feel like cooking any eggs today. As Mike got a glass bowl from a nearby cabinet however his eyes wondered to a nearby clock above the stove.And Mike felt his body go stiff as he dropped the bowl, the glass item shattering on the ground as soon as it came into contact.“No, no, no, no, no, no, no!” Mike screamed as he ran over to the clock and got a better look, “Seven forty-five!? I overslept! The bus! I’m going to miss the bus!” Mike quickly ran out of the kitchen leaving the bowl in broken shards. As he ran up the stairs (nearly tripping over his own two feet) and rushed through his daily morning routine.He needed to get on that bus.Luckily though due to Mike’s panic and adrenaline he managed to get through his schedule in record time grabbing his backpack and locking the door as he left his home.‘I wonder where Mike is.’ Amber thought, as he looked out the window watching as Nat boarded the bus with Mike being strangely absent. Amber watched as the country hick sat in the seat behind her yawning and rubbing his eyes.“Hey…..uhh….Nat is it?” Amber said turning her body towards the small boy,“Yeah…that’s my name…what is it?” Nat asked with another yawn.“Have you seen Mike, you know the dorky kid?” Amber inquired,“Nope, and he looked fine when I saw him yesterday so he can’t be sick.” Nat responded.“Oh…..okay….” Amber said her demon wings drooping slightly as she sat back down in her seat, the bus driving off as the doors shut. Amber crossed her arms still looking out towards the now shrinking bus stop, she hoped Mike was okay, that dork was so frail sometimes. As Amber looked out at the bus stop however she saw Mike, the boy wore his expected attire except for his hair. Mike’s hair was messy, and his backpack looked as if it had been hurriedly swung over his back. Mike himself had a distressed and panicked look on his face as he looked to see the bus was leaving, and without a second thought Mike ran for it speeding down the road for the bus.“Wait! Wait!” Mike cried, out drawing the attention of a few kids on the bus who quickly got the attention of their fellow busmates who wanted to see what was going on.“There’s no way he can make it.” Pristine said,“Bus driver! Stop! You missed one!” Amber called out unfortunately though their bus driver was old and didn’t hear her voice. Amber looked back out her window (just like the majority of the children) and saw Mike was surprisingly enough slowly closing the gap between him and the bus.“Oh I can’t watch this!” Nat said before he jumped from his seat and ran down the isle of the bus towards the emergency exit. The children watched in awe and curiosity as Nat, without hesitation, opened the emergency door. Nat then got down on his knees, using one hand to grip the side of the bus and stuck out his other hand towards Mike who was halfway there towards the bus.“Come on, Mike, you can do it!” Nat shouted,“Yeah, keep going!” Amber added as she ran down the isle stopping at the now open emergency exit. This encouragement prompted many of the children to start cheering on while also getting a small group of children to discourage Mike. Meanwhile Mike kept up the pace forcing himself forward as the weight of his backpack weighed him down. Mike’s lungs were burning, he couldn’t feel his legs, and the boy felt cramps starting to twist in his stomach. The boy was crying a mixture of tears from relief, exhaustion, and pain as he pushed himself to run faster, he couldn’t give up now not when he was so close.The children kept cheering Mike on as he got closer and closer eventually being able to take Nat’s outstretched hand.“Ya got him, pull!” Amber exclaimed and Nat began to pull trying to help Mike into the bus,“You know it would be a lot easier if you helped me.” Nat strained and Amber smacked her forehead at her own stupidity as she grabbed Nat by his waist and pulled. And eventually more and more children (due to being fully invested in what was going on) decided to help as well forming a chain of children. Luckily though the children were strong enough as a group as they slowly yet surly pulled Mike in, a few of the children breaking from the chain to grab Mike by his other hand into order to pull him in. Just as things we’re looking up however the his hit a large pothole causing everything on the bus to jump and the children to let go. The children gasped and watched as Mike tripped his eyes endless pools of hopelessness and despair as he fell into the pothole mostly likely injuring himself in the process.Royal, Pristine, and all the other unsupportive children laughed while Amber, Nat, and the supporting children had looks of concern in their eyes, wondering if Mike was okay.“No! I was so close!” Mike said as he watched the bus become nothing more then a small yellow dot, the emergency door undoubtedly shut.There was no way Mike would catch up to it now.Mike’s brain began to flip through all the possible options he had to get to school. He had a perfect attendance for crying out loud he couldn’t just give it up because something was too hard. He could always run or walk to school, no that would take way too long. Even if Mike ran, he suspected he’d either collapse in a dehydrated heap or make it to school in time for his last class, he might as well not even had been there at all. Well….maybe he could get a ride, no that wouldn’t work either, Mike didn’t know anyone in the surrounding area and he couldn’t just get into a random strangers car.Mike couldn’t even ask any teachers or facility members he knew at school for a ride, they we’re either too far away or already at the school.‘The-There has to be a way….’ Mike thought, but as he filed through all the options and ideas again but found nothing that could help him. And with that, Mike felt as if his heart had shattered, tears stung his eyes before he collapsed crying into his arms, giving into the sadness that weighed heavy on him. After some crying however Mike heard a car stop on the other side of the road, not thinking much of it Mike continued any motivation or hope he had completely zapped out of him. Mike then heard footsteps coming towards him but he still refused to look up, nothing could make him feel worse then he already felt.“Mike? Mike, honey, are you okay?” A gentle voice said causing Mike’s heart to skip a beat, he knew that voice. Mike sniffed pulling his puffy and bloodshot eyes from the protection of his arms. And Mike felt a small flicker of hope ignite in his heart as he saw his favorite teacher and tutor in the whole school: Mrs. Rose. Mike smiled as he saw Mrs. Rose had dyed light pink hair that was curled at the ends, pure white skin, and had sparkling blue eyes. Mrs. Rose wore a pair of light pink reading glasses on her nose, a dress with a light pink skirt and a daisy floral design on it, the white top of the dress was long sleeved as the collar on it was popped matching the pattern of the skirt, and finally a pair of light pink heels pulled the outfit together.“M-Mrs. Rose? What are you doing here?” Mike asked,“Well….my car broke down in the garage when I was trying to drive to school. I tried to fix it but I ended up having to drive my husbands car, and when I saw you just lying here I knew I couldn’t leave you all alone. What are you doing here anyway? Your supposed to be on the bus or at school.” Mrs. Rose stated.Mike sniffed trying in vein to wipe his tears away, “I…..I missed the bus and I tried to run and catch it….I even almost made it but I tripped and fell in the pothole. Can you give me a ride? Please?” the boy asked trying to give his best puppy dog eyes.“Oh you poor thing, I’d be happy to give you a ride. But I must ask about your father’s Mike, what about them? Why can’t one of them drive you?” Mrs. Rose inquired as she gently tried to flatten Mike’s hair,“They…..They just can’t….please Mrs. Rose…please drive me to school. I have no-one else I can turn to.” Mike begged trying his best not to cry again.“Well okay, come on dear.” Mrs. Rose said trying to mask the concern in her voice as she offered Mike her hand, the boy before her smiled in relief taking the older woman’s hand. As Mike got his footing however he felt pain shoot through his left leg, Mike let out a scream of pain and let go landing hard on his rear end but he could care less about the, there was a searing pain in his left leg.“Oh my! Mike, what’s wrong?” Mrs. Rose asked concern enveloping her face, Mike however didn’t even respond as he instinctively tried cover what was hurting with his hands. Mrs. Rose however stopped Mike by gently taking his wrists by her hands, looking into the pothole to see what’s the matter. The pothole had debris in like card board boxes, boxes of nails, and lots more. But what scared Mrs. Rose the most was the fact that glass was in the pothole evidenced by a large piece of glass that had cut into Mike’s ankle all the way to the top back of his leg. The wound bled at a semi-steady staining the left leg of Mike’s pants in the red liquid,“M-Mrs. Rose, it hurts! Please make the pain stop!” Mike feebly begged.“I will, honey, I just need to get you to the hospital. Just stay still and don’t remove the glass, I know it might sound counterproductive but you could make your wound bleed out if you remove the glass.” Mrs. Rose said, as she pulled out her phone and dialed 9-1-1, in normal cases she would’ve considered driving Mike to the hospital. But, they were too far away fur Mrs. Rose’s liking and she didn’t want to move Mike around to much in fear of making the wound worse or knocking the obstacle out. After a quick conversation with the operators Mrs. Rose stayed on the phone holding to her ear with her elbow.“Mrs. R-Rose, am I going to lose my leg?” Mike asked tearfully large eyes starting to at Mrs. Rose,“No, honey, your going to be fine you may need stitches but nothing too serious.” The teacher said reassuringly. The two then waited for the ambulance to show up which didn’t take too long, and Mike was quickly (and gently) put onto a gurney as Mrs. Rose waved goodbye to him.“Mike, sweetie, wake up.”Mike groaned trying to move away from the voice but unfortulently for him it still persisted,“Mike, come on, wakey wakey eggs and bakey.” the voice said. Mike groaned again slowly opening his eyes before being blinded by a bright light. The boy let out a groggy scream of pain as his eyes hesitantly opened again slowly adjusting to the light. Once Mike’s eyes had adjusted to the light he saw Mrs. Rose, a nurse, and a doctor standing by his bed as be realized he was in a hospital room.“Are you okay, Mike?” Mrs. Rose asked,“Y-Yeah…..what happened?” Mike sleepily asked rubbing his eyes in a attempt to wake up.“You fell asleep on the ride to the hospital young man.” The doctor said,“Yes, you we’re knocked out for a good couple of hours.” The nurse added.“Oh…..is my leg okay?” Mike asked, as he looked to see both of his legs we’re underneath the bed covers like they we’re supposed to be despite the fact that he couldn’t feel his left leg.“Yes, your leg is just fine, we had to stich the wound together, put some numbing solution over the it along with some petroleum jelly, and wrapped some bandages over the wound.” The doctor said and Mike nodded,“Okay….so can I go now?” He asked.“Well you can but we will have to call your parents and give you some instructions on how to take care of your stitches.” The doctor replied,“Wait! Please don’t call my dad’s!” Mike blurted causing the nurse, doctor, and Mrs. Rose to jump raising a few eyebrows.“Why?” All three adults asked sharing looks with one another,“M-My dad’s aren’t here, they’re police officers so they we’re picked up investigate this crime in Florida for two weeks. If you call them they might not do well at they’re job or they might come home and lose the chance of a lifetime, I can’t do that to them.” Mike said just the thought of ruining something as important as his parents job caused his stomach to do backflips.“Honey….” Mrs. Rose started,“Please! I promise I’ll be fine, I know how to take care of myself.” Mike said with a begging look in his eye. The nurse, doctor, and Mrs. Rose shared a few looks,“Well…..this is nothing serious so I guess we can overlook telling your parents about this as long as your promise to follow the instructions and have someone to check up on you.” The doctor said looking a bit skeptical.“Thank you! Thank you so much!” Mike said feeling as if he was going to start crying,“Uh-huh…I assume Mrs. Rose here will be checking up on you.” The doctor assumed.“Oh….well I will try to visit Mike as much as I can but we don’t live all that close to one another.” Mrs. Rose said,“Okay….Mike….do you have any family members or friends that can visit you and live close by?” The doctor inquired.“No, I come from Great Britain so most of my family members are way too far away. My dad came from New Jersey but again that’s too far away from here and my other dad came from New York so that isn’t any better. And…..I don’t have any friends so….so I can’t get visits from friends who don’t exist.” Mike said feeling his heart ache and his eyes to glossy, he wished he had some friends or at least had family that lived in the countryside.He was sick of being alone all the time.“Oh….well do you have any neighbors…any at all?” Mrs. Rose said sharing concerned and pitied looked with the doctor and nurse,“Umm….there’s this boy Nat that rides the same bus stop as I so…I think he lives close by me.” Mike said looking down at the hospital bed sheets.“Alright, good, I will call Nat’s mother and see if her and her son are close by and can visit you. For now, you just sit down here and watch some television.” The doctor said before leaving the room,“Okay, honey, do you need anything else of me? If not I have to go, there are still two more classes I have to teach.” Mrs. Rose said.“I’m fine, Mrs. Rose, thanks for everything.” Mike said and Mrs. Rose gently smiled leaving the room,“Here’s the television remote Mike, call me if you need anything.” The nurse said putting the remote in Mike’s lap. As the nurse left the room however Mike called out to her,“Wait!” He said.“Yes?” The nurse said turning around towards the boy,“Once the doctor calls Nat’s mom and she says I can visit me….I can go home….right? And, will I be able to go to school tomorrow?” Mike asked.“If Nat’s mother agrees to visit you and she lives close by then yes, you can go home. If she doesn’t agree to visit you however or dosen’t like close by then we will have to call your parents and you’ll gave to stay here. And no, you will not be able to go to school tomorrow, since you have stiches you’ll have to stay off your leg as much as possible for the next three days.” The nurse diligently replied.“Okay….oh and one more thing?” Mike said,“Yes?” The nurse asked holding the door frame.“Ummm….do….do you mind bringing me some heated blankets and a few pillows for my left leg?” Mike sheepishly asked, as he gripped his cold sheets in his hands his face slowly turning red.The nurse giggled, “Sure thing Mike, I’ll also bring you some tea, Mrs. Rose mentioned you we’re rather fond of tea.” the nurse then left the room shutting the door behind him. And for a moment the room was silent before Mike turned the t.v. on flipping through all the channels. But even as Mike did this his mind was in turmoil he was injured, he couldn’t go to school or the forest for three days, he had missed the bus, he had overslept. Some random stranger he didn’t even know might get a call to visit a kid they didn’t even know, his dad’s might get a call saying he was injured and could lose their jobs, and to top everything off he was probably the laughingstock of the school by now.‘Just my luck.’ Mike sadly thought, tears pouring down his cheeks.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Ember leaned against the kitchen sink wiping her sweaty brow with a cold moist rag. The grown woman was dressed in simple light brown shorts, a dirty white t shirt, muddy light brown boots, as a cowboy hat on as her head, finally her hair was blonde in a long ponytail. Ember had just finished all her work on the farm as she took a minute to rest before taking her daily shower. After a minute of rest, Ember got up stretching to get all the stiffness out of her joints before she made her way upstairs. As Ember got close to the bathroom however she heard the home phone start ringing, the blonde stopped and groaned in annoyance.‘Might as well answer it now.’ Ember thought, the farmer then followed the noise walking into her room. Ember’s room had dark brown wooden floors and walls, a bed with a red and white spread and pillow covers, finally a side table sat close by the bed with a lamp and the home phone on it. With a sigh Ember took the home phone and raised an eyebrow as he saw the number from the hospital. She knew for a fact Nat wasn’t in the hospital the school would’ve called first, so why was she getting a call from the hospital? Neither Ember or Nat we’re due for any shots, blood work, or anything else the hospital could take care of so the hospital didn’t have any reason to be calling.‘Well….they can’t just be calling for no reason….suppose it wouldn’t hurt to answer.’ Ember thought before she answered the phone putting it up to her ear,“.....Hello….?” Ember asked,“Hello is this Ember?” A male voice asked causing Ember to pull the phone away from her ear raising another eyebrow.“Uh…..yes…who is this?” Ember replied putting the phone back to her ear,“I’m Simmons, the doctor Michael Faith Afton. You may know him, Mike says that Nat, your son, is a child the rides the bus with him.” Doctor Simmons said. And for a moment Ember paused as her memory latched onto the name the doctor had told him. It sounded familiar, Ember knew she knew this name from somewhere.‘Now let me think….this kids last name is Afton…who do I know that has the last name Afton? That’s it! Michael must be Henry and William’s kid. I saw him at William’s wife’s funeral when he was five or do….poor kid he couldn’t stop crying.’ Ember thought and as she collected her thoughts she spoke, “Uh….yeah I know Mike, why do you ask?”“Well….Mike got injured while trying to catch the school bus this morning. He has stitches in his left leg and needs to be looked after or checked up on for three days, but he can’t go anywhere for the duration of the three days.” Doctor Simmons said a hint of worry in his voice.Ember raised an eyebrow as her eyes flashed in concern, “Hold on, not that I’m not worried for Mike, but can’t his parents look after him?”“Well they normally would be able to do that….if they weren’t off doing their job for two weeks…I believe Mike said they’re doing some sort of investigation in Florida.” the man replied.“Wha-But-How-FLORIDA!? What are those thinking leaving their son to go to Florida when he’s not even old enough to drive let alone protect himself properly!?” Ember exclaimed, a wave of horror coming over her as her motherly instincts immediately started to go into overdrive. Thinking about the horrible things a child without adult supervision could get into.“I thought that’d be your reaction, so I’m taking it you’ll watch over Mike for the next three days?” Doctor Simmons said,“Three days!? Your kidding me, right? I’m gonna watch after Mike until his parents get home and then I’m giving those men a piece of my mind.” Ember stated already thinking of a few choice words to say to William and Henry for this,“Well alright then, oh and do you live close to Mike’s house?” Doctor Simmons asked.“Yeah, I am, waking takes fifteen and driving takes five.” Ember said remembering a few deliveries she had made to the Afton residence whenever they wanted some fresh eggs or milk,“Okay, when do you think you can—?” The doctor started into to swiftly get cut off.“I’ll be there in twenty.” Ember said before she hung up rolling her eyes, “Honestly, how are men these says so stupid?” she then put the phone back on it’s receiver heading back to the bathroom.Mike sipped his tea relishing in the soothing warmth it and his heated blanket gave him. As his left leg was comfortably propped up by three soft pillows.‘It kinda feels nice to be cared like this.’ Mike thought, trying to force the flush on his cheeks to fade away with little success. However, as Mike tried to get rid of the flush on his cheeks his mind began to wander trying to think back to a time where he was cared for or given attention. The last person who gave him this much attention was….his mother….Mike sniffed as tears fell from his eyes almost landing in his tea. ‘I miss mum so much….’ Mike thought, before he shook his head free of the melancholy thoughts. It’s best if he didn’t think about the past the past is where things hurt the most. And with that Mike sipped his tea focusing on the t.v. in order to make sure his mind stayed away from things he didn’t want to think about. Eventually though Mike polished his tea off and cuddled up into his soft and warm sheets feeling the gentle arms of sleep rock him to the land of dreams.….A little shut eye wouldn’t hurt….“….Mike?”“…..Mike?” A voice said and Mike turned away from it in his groggy state, why couldn’t the world just go away and let him sleep.“Mike!” A voice said a bit louder this time, placing a hand on Mike’s shoulder. Mike groaned reluctantly opening his eyes and his vision was flooded white and the appearance of some woman, a woman with blonde hair. The nine-year-old blinked rubbing his eyes clear of sleep, there is no way he could see what he was seeing, it was almost as if Mike was seeing his mother as an angel.He had missed her blonde hair and kind heart the most out of anything else.When Mike pulled his hands away however he was greatly disappointed, instead he saw some farmer with blonde locks.“…..Hi….who are you?” Mike asked,“I’m Ember, Nat’s mother.” Ember said.“Oh…okay...” Mike thoughtfully said, as he felt his mind give a few tugs as if it was trying to remember something. He recognized this woman, but Mike couldn’t put his finger where or when they had first met. “Do I know you from anywhere?” Mike asked,“Oh yeah! We met at…..uhh….” Ember started trailing off as she realized she wasn’t sure if telling Mike how they knew each other was a good idea. Mike obviously didn’t have any remembrance of the funeral and Ember didn’t want to trigger any unwanted memories. Ember looked back to see Mike eyeing her with wide blue eyes, the farmer bit her lip, yeah she wasn’t going to remind Mike of that. “…..I’m not sure the details are a little fuzzy.” Ember finished,“Uh-hum, sure, and I’m the queen of England.” Mike sarcastically sassed, “So are you going to take me home?” Ember rolled her eyes pretending to ignore the remark from Mike.“Well no, I’m not going to take you home, I’m taking you to my house.” Ember said,“What!? But, I don’t—” Mike started.“It dosen’t matter what you want it’s what you need, and right now you need to be looked over with how your leg is doing right now.” Ember stated,“But—” Mike tried to interject.“So, first things first we’re gonna stop by your house to get your pajamas and your not leaving my sight until your healthy and these stiches are gone.” Ember continued,“But I—” Mike said trying to interrupt again only to get the same result.“And your gonna stay with me until your parents come home cuz I’m not leaving a nine-year-old home alone, not even if someone paid me. Ya feel me?” Ember said, giving her best authoritative glare towards Mike, as if daring the boy to try to respond with anything other then a ‘yes mam’.“Umm….yes mam.” Mike said finally complying to Ember’s demands,“Good, now the doctor is getting your clothes along with the instructions to avoid ripping your stiches and as soon as your dressed we’re leaving.” The farmer said and Mike nodded.Ember was a whole lot different from how his mum used to behave.“Thank you, Mrs.….” Mike started before trailing off,“Just call me Ember, sugarcube.” Ember said.“Uh right….anyway…Ember you really don’t have to do this.” Mike said,“Nonsense, you have to have somewhere to sleep and for now this guest room will be your temporary bedroom.” Ember said, as she opened the door to the guest room holding Mike’s hand. The boy visibly limped making sure not to put any weight on his left leg and using Ember’s body for support. In Ember’s other had there was Mike’s backpack for school and a backpack Mike had packed earlier with just what was necessary to have for a nine-year-old boy. Like some of Mike’s clothes, pajamas, toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, bath soaps, MP3 player and his charger, earphones, tazer, poetry and song notebook, and finally his Sherlock Holmes British teddy bear made by the Great British Teddy Bear Company. The guest room had dark brown walls and floors as a bed stood at the front of the room having light blue sheets with green, yellow, and dark blue plaid stripes on them matching the pillow case on the three pillows that rested in the bed.To the left of the bed was a side table that had a lamp, t.v. remote, and a house phone on it, at the back of the room was a decently sized t.v. that sat neatly on a brown t.v. stand. To the right of bed, a few feet away, was a door that led to a guest bathroom. Mike noticed the room smelled like butterscotch and cinnamon as Ember led him to the bed, dropping his backpacks against the side table when they got to the bed.“Alright, hold onto the bed for a moment.” Ember said, and Mike did as he was instructed hanging onto the side of the bed as Ember pulled the covers off the bed slightly readjusting the pillows. After that Ember grabbed Mike’s backpack full of his things brought from home and pulled out some pajamas.“Pajamas? Why do I have to change?” Mike asked,“Mike, your left leg is half numb and has stitches, your gonna have to stay in bed and your not gonna be wearing those close while lyin’ in the bed.” Ember said, causing Mike to blush slightly how come he hadn’t thought of that obvious conclusion? He had all A pluses in his classes, was practically a child prodigy, had two fathers who had studied crime and law along with medicine in college, and his mother….well she was in a whole other league of her own.Mike deduced his accurate, while crudely named, brain fart came from the medication the hospital had pumped into his nine-year-old body, was from a lack of proper sleep seeing as he just now realized how tired he was, or if Mike was being honest with himself it was probably both.“Well okay.” Mike said, not in much of a mood to argue let alone argue with Ember who Mike could hypothesize was as stubborn as a mule.“Good, now you get changed.” Ember said, rummaging through Mike’s backpack pulling out of set of pajamas that matched the guest beds bedsheets. However just as she was about to take Mike’s hand again Ember stopped feeling the fabric that composed the pajamas. “….Mike…?”“Yes?” The boy asked tilting his head slightly,“Are these silk?” Ember asked.“Yes.” Mike replied,“How much income do you parents make?” Ember asked raising an eyebrow wondering if the Afton’s we’re secretly the richest family in the countryside instead her business partner Lottery Diamond. Not that she didn’t like Lottery but his daughter Pristine Diamond was a spoiled brat and a real pain in the—“I’m not sure, why do you ask?” Mike interrupted stopping Ember’s train of thought.“No reason.” Ember said, “Come on now, it’s time to get into your pajamas.” the farmer then walked Mike into the guest bathroom leaving his pajamas on the toilet seat before leaving the bathroom and shutting the door allowing Mike to handle the rest. After a few minutes the door handle turned and Mike came out dressed in his pajamas holding his clothes in one hand and using the side of the wall for support himself, still making sure not to put pressure on his bad leg.“There that wasn’t so bad now was it?” The farmer asked with a bit of a smirk,“Yeah, yeah.” Mike said with a bit of a blush the boy however Mike’s blush soon consumed his face as Ember picked him up and placed him under the bedsheets. Ember then took Mike’s clothes from him and Mike pulled the covers further up on his young body in response.“Alright, now that everything is settled if you need anything you can get my son or me to help you or get you something. I’ll bring you up a hand-held sleigh bell Nat and I use for Christmas so you can ring that when needed, but only when needed, this isn’t a cartoon where you can ring the belle like crazy until one of us shows up and don’t even think about playing the ‘woe as me, I’m injured’ card to get whatever you want or else I will spank you butt with the biggest wooden spoon I have at my disposal. Got it?” Ember said, and Mike stared at the woman like a deer in the headlights frantically shaking his head yes.‘This woman does not play around.’ Mike thought,“Good, now you just sit here and relax, I mean it don’t leave this bed unless you need to use the bathroom. Anyway, I’ll bring up some pillows, breakfast, gingerale, and that sleigh bell in a minute. Do you want anything specifically?” Ember said, and Mike thought for a minute he was really hungry but a part of his brain wanted to sleep but he would sleep better with a full belly. It wouldn’t hurt to have some food before falling asleep, but he shouldn’t push it too far he didn’t want Ember to think he was using his injury to get whatever he wanted.“Can I have belgian waffles, with cream cheese, strawberries, and whip cream on the top. Oh and can I gave some eggs, sunnyside up please.” Mike said and Ember crossed her arms raising an eyebrow,“I know how to make that, but I gotta ask, you aren’t trying to get whatever you want are you cause the soon I have in mind is bigger then one of your butt cheeks.” The farmer said a serious look in her eyes.“I swear I’m not trying to get whatever I want, I’m just really hungry, I kinda skipped dinner last night.” Mike said and as if on que his stomach loudly grumbled, causing Mike’s face to turn as red as a tomato and Ember to gain a concerned look.“Alright, I’ll get you what you want, but remember don’t push it.” Ember said, before she walked out of the room closing the door behind her. Once Ember was gone Mike turned the t.v. on and changed the channel to one of his favorite Sherlock Holmes shows, the boy then fished his teddy bear out of his backpack and gave it a gentle squeeze.He could taste those waffles already.