Clan Wars: Chapter 1

         

CHAPTER 1




~To my good friend Midnight. Been with me through it all. Been with you through it all. Good Hunting~

I woke up to the sound of the other kids talking. The other orphans. I caught brief segments of what they were saying.

"I bet my-"...."There's no-"...."So hows-".... Thats when I groaned and got out of my bunk, pulling the white sheet and thin yellow blanket off of me. I realized they were talking about their war game they were playing earlier today. All the boys at the orphanage had gotten sticks and made them into 'swords'. Basically they

had just stripped them of their bark. Some kids had clubs, some kids had fine, thin rapiers, and others had great longswords. I personally had a longsword. I jumped down from the top bunk that I slept in and went over to the other bunk

where the boys sat and talked about their swords, saying how many goblins they've each slain. With the great creativity of boys we came up with a name for the game. "Goblin Slayer". As you can guess, each

boy just tried to best the other one by saying that they had killed more than the boy before him. I listened for a brief

moment before I took my place in the circle of boys. Then the bully of Saint Joane's All Boys Orphanage, Devin, noticed when I got out of bed and grinned at his opportunity to insult me. "Hey maggot". I rubbed my eyes and looked at the old, round wooden clock on the wall, with its ugly swamp green base and dark red hands. Back to Devin I thought. As well as being the official bully, he was also the leader of the Goblin Slaying group the "Ripping Heads" tribe. This tribe had eight of the twelve orphan boys in it. Me and my two friends made up our own tribe called the "Double X's". The only person who wasn't in a tribe was a loner boy by the name of Lee. I wasn't sure where he was right now. No one usually did, but we always assumed he was in the orphanage somewhere, not causing any problems. He had never given us a reason to think otherwise. The only two people to ever show him any real kindess were Father Samuel and oddly enough, Karl. Devin had an unsure smirk on his face, and the other boys followed suit with unsure, but copied smirks as well. I wanted to go strip out of these thick, hot blue pajamas and pick out some nice shorts or something in the communal wardrobe. I knew if I turned around and walked away though, it would be seen as a sign of cowardess. Now I'm not short, but I'm also not tall. I am however stocky built. So when he finished his little three seconds of glory, I scratched my short black hair and grinned briefly. "Hey pork chop." I said casually

Devin was by no means short. Nor was he by any means skinny. Devin had medium red hair, and probably weighed 200 lbs. Also, while most of the kids here usually wore jeans or cargo shorts, Devin was the only one who wore sweat pants on a regular basis. I always found this amusing, and someone pathetic. I wonder if anyone feels the same way. "Also" I began smuggly "how is your battle scar?" I was referring to the red, slightly scabbing mark across his cheek and forehead. He stood up from his stool and came around to me. He stood with a threatening pose towards me, and though I was truly intimidated by his massive figure, I didn't show it on the surface. The bluff worked and once again, Devin smirked in dismissal of me and went back to his fictional war stories. I walked the 20 feet length of the bunkroom to the screen door, where I pushed it open and strolled out into the backyard. My only allies and true friends, Peter and Michael, were leaning against the large oak tree that provided shade for the backyard on a regular basis. They were talking about something I couldn't hear, and as I approached them, they smiled and welcomed me with high fives. "What are the Hollow Heads doing in there?" Peter said as we finished our high five. "Talking about how many Goblins they wish they'd slain" I replied with a grin. Peter and Michael were identical twins. They were short, hispanic and had dark curly hair, however they could always be told apart by their clothing. Michael usually dressed in khaki pants and a polo or buttoned up shirt. Peter's preference was more relaxed, casually dressing in loose slacks, and a jacket. No matter how hot it was outside. As you can imagine, their dressed somewhat reflected their personalities. Michael was generally more quiet, but when he did speak, it was always something worth saying. Peter was the philosipher of the group. Always bringing up strange topics and asking exotic questions. I didn't see the point of it really. Does it matter if a tree falls and no one is there to hear it? No Peter, it doesn't. No one has to worry about that! Still, they were both good, stand-up guys.
"So Peter, did you fix your sword man?" I asked.
"Yeah. Darn that evil Devin and his Hollow Heads." Peter said, mocking our rival tribe.
Yesterday while fighting off the Goblin hordes, Peter, being the merciless warrior he was, had stabbed a wounded Goblin laying on the ground. While his sword was pointed down at the ground Devin had accidentally stepped on it, breaking it in half. Michael, being the hot head he was, attacked Devin and struck him across the face with his sword. Me and Peter ran forward to stop the attack but the damage was already done. Our original intention of peace keeping became war making, and we then had to hold off all the attacking Ripped Heads as they swung at us for revenge. Thank God Father Samuel was there to break it up. Father Samuel, or 'Ol' Sammy' as we Orphans called him was head of the staff at the orphanage. Ol' Sammy had a huge heart and was very caring. As caring as he was though he had solid expectations for attitude and was stern in his rules. Then there was the cook, Cookie. The janitor, Julius. And the secretary, Susan. That was the regular staff. Then there was the Dean of Orphans, Karl. Oh how we all dreaded Karl. If someone did something very bad, they would be spanked with a cricket paddle. This would leave you blistered and red for days. It usually didn't get to that though. His gaze was enough to turn hot dogs in to cold dogs, or metal into butter. When Karl was patrolling the grounds, you did not step out of line, period. What was odd though, was that Karl had unwavering loyalty to Ol' Sammy. As evil seeming as Karl was, If Sammy said to give the orphans extra dessert, it was done, immediately. I never quiet understood their relationships.

Just then Lee, the loner, walked past with his hands in his pockets, the dirt twirling into small clouds behind his feet that rolled across the backyard. His nickname was "Mime", which the Hollow Heads commonly refered to him as, on the rare occassion he was mentioned that is. He usually wore the same thing, which was boots, black jeans, and red and white striped t-shirt. He had short black hair, and very dark brown eyes. One of the less radical Hollow Heads, Tony, came over. Tony was a redneck to the bone and showed up on our doorstep a couple years ago when he was 6. No one could ever get him to tell them how he had gotten to St. Joanes. But after months of searching for his parents, we decided to keep him.
"He damn sure is a strange fella." Tony said.
"You got that right." Peter agreed "I wonder if his soul is so pure, he doesn't feel the need for anything.... not even friends... yeah.... maybe thats it..."
I rolled my eyes. "Give it a rest Peter."
Tony laughed his annoying hick chuckle and smacked Peter on the back before he walked back towards the building, which seemed to annoy him.
Michael groaned impatiently, "There's just one thing that will satisfy me right now."

I smiled and looked in his direction "I think I know what you mean brother."

"Oh really? Whats that?"

Goblin blood. Buckets and buckets of Goblin blood."

"Spot on man. Spot on."


We continued that morning to kill loads of Golbins. It was a simple massacre, and they never stood a chance. I could catch glimpses of Karl partolling the halls and bunkhouse, seeming to be gazing outside at every single person, yet never anyone in particular. He was the All Seeing Eye.

Today was a special day, because we were going on a trip. The whole orphanage (except Cookie. She had to stay and well... cook.) While most kids think of a field trip as going to a theme park, mesuem, or monument, ours was none of the prior. In fact, it was to the public library. This may seem boring to most kids, especially guys, but I was ravidly excited. We had few books at St. Joanes, but I devoured them all as soon as I could read. My three favorites were The Count of Monte Cristo, Great Expectations, and The Holy Bible. The first two of those belonged to Dean Karl, who let me borrow them. The third was required reading for all the orphans on Sundays, but nevertheless, I liked it.I had also watched lots of donated documentaries about Soviet culture and traditions. Who decided it was a good idea to donate Soviet Union documentaries to an Orphanage? Its beyond me, but for some reason, the Cold War fascinated me and I dreamed of becoming a CIA clandestine agent.
The field trip was at 2PM, and it was 1:46PM. So we had about an 10 minutes to kill. I went inside and grabbed my old BDU-camo backpack from beside bed so I could have a place to put the books I got. What to do... what to do... I looked around and saw the grass by the fince moving oddly. I squinted at it, but couldn't make anything out. The grass was moving to spuradically for it to be the wind. I started to creep my way over. Michael blurted out, "Scott, what are you do-" "SHHHH!" I silenced him quickly. He had a puzzled look on his face, but just follow me stealthily. Peter was sitting at the foot of a tree meditating. I almost broke out in a laugh at the sight of him, but I held it in and turned my eyes back on the spot of grass. Michael and I got within 10 feet of it... 5 feet... 2 feet... I could see something white! Then it darted to the right and zipped towards the fence, the fence that the Hollow Heads were standing in front of. My eye brows turned in and I growled in anger. I didn't care what this thing was. All I cared about was that I found it first and the Hollow Heads weren't getting it!

It wasn't getting away! I still couldn't make out anything about it, except it was a white ball of some sort. I push my legs to run harder, pumping them like metal pistons. I could tell Michael couldn't keep up from his heavy panting and wheezing and was dropping behind. My backpack had a notebook and pencils in it and was slightly weighing me down. I tried to take it off but it was stuck on my belt so I just left it on and focused on running .I looked ahead and saw the Hollow Heads were now looking at me, probably completely aghast as to why I was sprinting towards them. I was at my maximum speed, and the white ball was about 2 feet away. This was it! Now or never! I dove for it and squeezed...

My hands clutched onto a squirming mess of fur. It had powerful legs and try running out of my grip, but I had a firm hold on it. I pulled it in and looked at what I was holding. It was a snow-white rabbit, without a single discolored botch on it. Michael was just now catching up to me and examined it with interest. "How did a rabbit get inside the fence?" he asked.

"Probably the same way we used to get out." I replied. He nodded in agrement. In the very corner of the yard, that went slightly around the corner of the building and out of sight from where the adults stood was a small hole under the fence that we used to be able to fit under. Now we were to big and digging it big enough to fit us would be pointless. The adults would definitely notice a giant hole sooner or later. "What do we do with it?" Michael asked. I had infact heard him but was too absorbed in the rabbit to answer him or contemplate the question. From the rabbits I'd seen on TV and in books, this one was either naturally small or not fully grown. I was betting on the latter. It's nose was a dirty pink color and its eyes were blood red. Michael repeated his question and I finally turned my head to answer him. "I'm keeping it." I said with a sure tone. "I was afraid you would say that. Where are you going to keep it? What will you feed it?" he asked. "Mike..." I started "I need this rabbit. I chased it down and its the only thing that can actually be mine here. The clothes on my back aren't really even mine. And to answer your questions, I'll keep it in my bunk box." Our 'bunk boxs' were giant wooden chests we had by our assigned bunks. Each was about 4 feet long and 2 feet wide. They for orphan's personal posessions... if they had any that is. "And I'll just feed it the apple slices and celery squares." Michael agreed with a nod and I went back to staring into the rabbits eyes. I realized then it was shaking. Maybe I hadn't realized it before because I might have been shaking as well. What to name you... I thought. Peter would probably want me to name you something stupid... like Thumper... or Daisey... That free hippie bastard.

I pushed off my cut up elbow and then saw that all my pants and shirt were grass stained. "Ahh crap.. Ol' Sammy is going to be pissed. Michael, what do you think is a good name for my hairy friend here?".... "Michael!" I yelled, now annoyed. I looked back to see what the hell was wrong with Michael and saw all nine Hollow Heads standing about 10 yards from us with their play swords. Michael was locked in a gaze with Devin and I could feel the tension in the air.

"What do you got there Double X's?" Devin said curiously, but with his always present tone of authority. My face turned into a savage frown, my teeth showing. "Get BACK!" I snarled at them. This was my posession, my pet, my new friend, and they weren't taking that away from them on any circumstances. Now the Hollow Heads had angry faces on and I knew they were going to try to take him from me. You can't have Jacapo, I won't allow it! The thought raged inside of me and I realized I had just literally subconsiously named the rabbit. Jacapo, pronounced 'Yakapo' is the Count of Monte Cristo's assistant in the book and I always liked his character. Peter had slowly made his way up to our position and was standing next to his brother. "Say boys, what does that look like to you?" Devin said with his cocky smirk. One of the less bright Hollow Heads spoke up "Uhhh... Er.. Say boss, that there looks like a bunny." Several other Hollow Heads seconded that opinion. Devin's smirk became a pissed off look and he yelled back "No! It's a baby Goblin you idiots! Therefore, it should be slain!" The thought now dawned upon the Hollow Heads and they all voiced their agreement with Devin. Frankly, I had heard enough. It wasn't enough they wanted Jacapo, now they wanted to hurt him. I looked at Mike and Peter and they both had their weapons (Peter had a less than sturdy looking replacement for his broken play sword) and Peter have even brought up my giant stick and tossed it to me. I took my bag off and gently placed Jacapo in it, zipping it up, and placing it on the ground behind me. I acted like I was going to turn around and then took a step towards them with my weapon ready to stike horizontally at the closest enemy.

My head was first to turn and my eyes met Devins as we both stepped towards each other, our weapons raising to strike. "Come on! Bring it you bitch!" I yelled as our weapons parried each other, the wood from our sticks making a crackling thud as they connected It was October 1st, so it was already cold outside, yet just then a particularly chilling gale swept through the yard. Neither the Hollow Heads or the other Double X's were attacking but they had made a circle around Devin and myself. He growled at my insult and with rage in his eyes raised his club directly up, much of his fat showing now as he raised his arms up. I swung my stick from beneath, hoping to upper cut him. We both yelled at each other, swinging blows that were about to seriously injure each other and Devin's club was inches away from my head. I knew his strike would hit first. Oh shit... not good! NOT GOOD! Then both weapons stopped immediately in the air. Lee, the loner, was between us holding Devins club with one arm, and pinning my stick down with one leg. I almost couldn't comprehend what was happening and I blinked several times as if to clear something from my eyes. Lee, the person who was practically a ghost, was intervening in the biggest fight of the year. Now his eyes darted with calm intensity to me, and then Devin. They stayed on Devin a bit longer than me. "You two..." he spoke with an east European accent that was stone cold. "There will be no more fighting today. I am very much looking forward to going to the library. Scott, from what I've seen, so are you. Devin... I'm not sure about you. Regardless, you two will not ruin this for me by fighting." he said chillingly and started to walk away "Don't let me catch another fight". He stopped just long enough to look back and say "or I'll break two bones of whoever started it" then put his hands in his pockets and continued walking. We were all dead silent and staring in total, utter amazement.
The two tribes were now seperating quietly, the Hollow Heads going to the bunkhouse and us Double X's standing in the yard. One thing was certain, there would be no more fighting, because I think we all believed Lee's threat. Also, his threat has been in a strange eastern European accent. From my knowledge of the Soviet Union, I thought it was probably Polish, Ukrainian, or Russian. This excited me in a whole new way. A soviet spy! In my own home! I thought even though I knew it was absurd to assume he was a soviet anything. It then dawned on me that I was in Lee's gratitude. He not only had saved me from a bashing from Devin, he had saved my trip to the library. If our fight would of continued there is no way Karl, or Ol' Sammy would have allowed us to still go on our field trip. "Peter, do you still have that chocolate bar in your bunk box?" I asked. "Ye.. Yes, I do." Peter said with dread in his voice. "Why?" I grinned and put my hands in my grass stained pockets. "Because I think I am about to make a new friend, and I need to borrow your chocolate bar. Anyways, he saved you from getting in a tribal brawl as well." Peter sighed a dissapointed sigh. "I was afraid you would say that." Just then, Ol' Sammy came out and pleasently informed us the bus was here and we would start boarding now. I grabbed my bag which still contained Jacapo and rushed to get in line for the bus with a giddy smile on my face. This day CANNOT get better!