by Alyssa Lynn
As the sun hit the side of the orphanage and filled the bedrooms the next morning, the kids slowly began to rise from their beds. Waking up was easy for Jett and Ava because they couldn’t wait to get back together and talk about yesterday’s adventure. Meeting for breakfast, they tossed guesses back and forth for what they thought was being done inside the compound. Jett was rooting for a UFO factory and Ava figured it would be something stupid like a secret hideout for unreleased video games.
“I don’t know, Ava. Maybe it’s a place where they make drugs and sell them to small children who trespass on their property,” Jett said, poking at his bowl with his spoon.
“That’s probably the most logical thought,” Ava said as she scooped some oatmeal into her mouth. “This shit is gross,” she said, making a face as she tried to swallow the mushy substance. “Why can’t they give us pancakes and bacon in the morning instead of this crap?”
“Because that’s not how these places operate,” a woman’s voice said from behind her.
Nora, the owner of the orphanage, was doing her rounds in the breakfast hall. She wasn’t a lady to be reckoned with, and she definitely wasn’t a lady to confide in. At the sight of her, Ava and Jett immediately stopped talking about the compound and began telling corny knock-knock jokes.
Nora rolled her eyes and muttered, “You kids make me wish I had never laid eyes on this place.” She walked away to continue her rounds and the two of them huffed a sigh of relief.
When people think of orphanages, they usually picture a hard-knock life full of chores and poor treatment. In most cases, that really wasn’t how they were run, but in this case, it hit the nail on the head. The children were given daily chores and if those chores weren’t completed on time, Nora had their meals taken away and they went to bed on an empty stomach. No child likes to go to bed hungry, so they generally completed their chores on time. The only exception was the new kids who always wanted to play it tough. That only ever lasted for a week or so before they realized that they needed dinner before bed since portions weren’t exactly generous.
The unpopular orphanage, known as Nora’s Homestead, had only been around for a little over two years. Located in the small town of Lakin, Kansas, the area’s limited populated meant that funds were always low and the children weren’t adopted frequently. Since the building was small, the upstairs was used as the children’s room which was split down the center using a temporary wall. Boys would sleep in any of the beds on the right and the girls on the left. If either were seen on the wrong side of the room, they would be forced to sleep in the hall for the night as punishment. The punishments usually revolved around food or sleep because Nora knew that the children treasured them both. Thankfully, the rules were easy to remember since there only two; leave Nora alone, and do as she said with no questions asked.
Since they couldn’t befriend Nora; Ava and Jett befriended the maid, Jeanine, who brought snacks when she came once a week to do her job. Jeanine was a childless older woman who took this cleaning job after her husband passed away the year before. When she came, she was only given two hours to complete all of the assigned tasks provided by Nora. Jeanine always allowed time at the end of each shift to wash the children’s bed sheets, and ensure all of them had clean blankets to sleep on for the following week. Ava and Jett were pretty upset because she hadn’t been there over the last month and overheard Nora mention that Jeanine was ill. That’s when the two of them started sneaking outside for breaks and found their secret hideout.
Other than the never-ending daily chores, all other time before dark was spent in what was considered the backyard. The backyard was actually a stone lot designed for visitors that never came. Tables and chairs were paired with unused, damaged umbrellas that were propped up in rusted bases. The old beat-up shed that stood on the edge of the lot held outdoor toys, which the kids only ever got to play with when someone came by to take a look around. Nora liked to portray the feeling of a cozy household, and the kids played along for fear of losing a meal.
With their continuous household tasks, evenings outside were often the best part of their day. This evening seemed to drag on forever since they were cooped up inside due to the thunderstorm. Nora never let them play in the rain because she hated having to walk on a muddy floor after all of the kids came running back inside.
They all opted for an early bedtime that night and as the kids climbed into their beds, Ava and Jett sat on the floor and talked while they tossed a rubber ball back and forth. She stared at him. His eyes gleamed and his lips were pursed. She couldn’t help but wonder what thoughts were running through his head.
Jett looked at Ava and smiled.
“What?” she asked.
He shook his head and kept tossing the ball. “I just hope you know that you won’t be here forever. You’re going to find a family and get out of this dirt hole.”
Ava smiled back and said, “Not without you or they’ll have to take me kicking and screaming the whole way.”
She met his gaze as they continued to toss the ball to each other. Thoughts of living with a family drifted through their minds as they played quietly. Both of them comforted by the thought of a loving family. Picturing themselves playing ball on the carpeted floor of a living room, with walls that were covered in family photos. Maybe even a dog running around, licking their faces and biting its squeaky toy to entice them to play with him.
Before Jett could say anything else, they heard Nora coming to do her nightly inspection. Jett kissed Ava on the cheek and they ran to their beds. Normally, when Jett kissed her, she didn’t think anything of it. Tonight when he did it, she had a warm feeling surging through her that she couldn’t control and her mind started wandering at the thought of him kissing her lips. She put her imagination to rest and climbed under her blankets.
Walking through the room with her hands behind her back, Nora looked like a giant to the kids who were lying in their beds. Shifting her head from side to side, she made her way to the end of the room and back, where she turned off the lights and closed the door. Though it didn’t bother the older kids, the smaller children longed to be shown some affection. Ava and Jett saw their sad, aching eyes and often did a lap around the room after Nora left, tucking them in and giving them comfort before they drifted off to sleep.
Ava was curled up under her blankets, having dreams about running her hands through her best friend’s hair. Having him tell her that he loves her as more than just a friend, before he takes her hands in his. Leaning in to press his lips to hers and lean into her body. When she was reaching up to wrap her arms around his neck and pull him into her, her stomach began to rumble. She let out a low groan as her eyes began to open, pulling her from the fantasy dream.
“Oh, that’s not good,” she whispered as she swung her legs off the side of her bed. Her stomach was doing flips and she began to sweat a little. The sun wasn’t up yet, so she knew she would be able to sleep a little longer after she attempted to relieve the pain in her stomach. She got out of bed to go to the bathroom. The bedroom was still dark and all she could hear were the gentle sounds of snoring coming from the other kids. Looking over at Jett’s bed, she noticed he wasn’t there and thought that maybe an upset stomach had sent him to the bathroom. She started to wonder if the kitchen staff messed with the granola bars because they knew Jett was stealing them every once in a while. Ava made her way down the hall to the girl’s bathroom, but never passed him.
After a few minutes, she emerged from the bathroom with a grumbling stomach and hoped that more sleep would help to settle it. Walking over to the boy’s bathroom, she rapped on the door and whispered, “Jett. Are you okay in there?” Not getting a response from anyone had her assuming that he had already gone back to bed. She crept down the hall in hopes she wouldn’t wake Nora. Ava opened the bedroom door and quietly closed it behind her before she made her way back to her bed. She looked to the other side of the room and saw that Jett’s was still empty.
“Where the hell are yo
u?” she whispered to herself.
Lying down in her bed, she lowered her head onto her pillow and shoved her hands underneath it. Something scratched her finger as it slid across the sheets, making her yank her hands toward her chest. Praying it wasn’t a bug; she slowly reached back down and lifted the pillow. A folded piece of paper lay in front of her and she squinted her eyes as she ran her hands over it. While unfolding it, she tried to see what was on it, but the room was too dark. Racing back down the hallway in her shorts and t-shirt, she plowed through the bathroom door and turned on the light. Waiting for her eyes to adjust again, she silently read the note.
Ava,
I’m heading back to the woods to see if I can get inside that building. It’s gotta be something good to have that many guards. Since it’s so late, I’m hoping nobody is there. I don’t want you to get hurt so PLEASE DO NOT follow me. Don’t say anything to anyone since we’re not supposed to be there. I’ll be back before you know it.
P.S. If I’m not back before midnight… happy birthday.
-Jett
Knowing where Jett had gone was too much for her stomach and she ran into one of the stalls to throw up. Gripping the toilet seat, she felt her ribs tighten as she wretched into the bowl over and over before she finally collapsed to the floor. Her ribs were aching from pressing against the toilet bowl and her legs were shaking from the stress of vomiting.
She grabbed the note from the floor and sat herself against the wall. Tears settled in her eyes and she pulled her legs up to rest her forehead. Sobbing quietly, she tried to get the horrible thoughts out of her head of what they would do to Jett if they caught him. She remained on the cold tile floor imagining the very worst, but realized she would not know if he returned unless she was near his bed. Lifting her head, she took a few deep breaths and slowly walked back to her room.
Sitting on the edge of the temporary wall wide awake, she stared at Jett’s empty bed and waited for him to return. The sun was starting to rise and there was still no sign of him. Ava didn’t want to leave him out there by himself and she knew if she was going to go after him, she needed to do it before Queen Nora, herself, woke up. Arguing with herself was a lot more stressful when the clock was working against her. She grunted and got to her feet. Swapping her shorts for jeans, and grabbing her shoes and flashlight, she headed for the second-floor bathroom.
Running as fast as possible, she could feel her legs began to tingle as the sight of their hideout entrance came into view. Thoughts of her and Jett together ran through her mind as she closed in on the final stretch of her sprint.
“We can’t be together if you get yourself killed,” she said.
Trying to catch her breath as she reached their spot, she looked around for any signs of Jett. His rock was empty and the backpack wasn’t there, so she did a final lap with the flashlight and headed for the unknown building. Trying to run as quickly and quietly as possible, she turned off the flashlight and made her way to the fence using the glow from the large lights surrounding the building. Scanning the area, she was making mental notes of where she could sneak in if she needed to. The dust from the construction site was stirred up and made it a little difficult for Ava to see anything too far away. She had noticed a large glowing sign that was now installed on the front-facing side of the building that read MARCUS CREATIONS. Ava was careful as she made her way around the fence, looking for any signs of Jett.
She was startled by the rustling noise she heard behind her and fell to the ground. Her heart began to race as the leaves and branches shifted on the trees next to her. Ava began wondering how badly it would hurt to be stabbed to death. To feel a knife tear through your flesh as you helplessly scream out to be saved. The cause of the rustling leaves came into her line of vision and she let her shoulders drop and exhaled a sigh of relief. Cursing under her breath at the squirrel, she threw a rock at it and turned back toward the building.
Faint sounds of people talking had her ears perking up. She waited a while for the dust to settle and was able to get a clearer view of the lot. Heavy equipment was being parked and men in hardhats were pushing wheelbarrows of wood scraps to a pile on the side of the lot opposite from where she was squatted.
At the base of one of the garage doors, she saw a group of four men standing and talking. Immediately, she recognized the group of men from the night before. Bald heads and blue blazers were huddled in a circle, pointing at something on the ground in front of them. When two of them moved to the side, Ava almost let out a scream when she realized it was Jett. She got to her feet and put her hands on the fence, staring at him in hopes that he was alive. Her breathing was intense and tears formed in her eyes as she gripped the fence to keep from yelling out. His words “Don’t follow me. I don’t want you to get hurt,” kept running through her mind.
“Why didn’t you tell me what to do if they caught you?” she whispered, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye.
Just then, his leg stretched out and he lifted himself from the ground, giving Ava a direct view of his profile.
“Yeah, you better sit up, you son of a bitch,” she mumbled.
Jett sat with his arms wrapped around bent knees, looking straight out into the woods. She kept hoping he would turn and see her, but she was also afraid that if he did, he would give her away and the men wouldn’t show any mercy. All she wanted to do was to get in there and help him, but how?
She watched as one man pushed him down onto his back and put his foot on his chest to hold him still. Jett wrapped his hands around the foot of the strange man and tried to wiggle out from under him. Ava put her hand over her mouth to keep from making any noise while squeezing her eyes shut in hopes that when she opened them again, he wouldn’t be lying there.
The longer she sat, the more helpless she felt. She could taste the salt in her tears as they ran down her cheeks and landed on her lips. Pulling herself together, she opened her eyes and crawled along the fence trying to get into his line of sight while coming up with a game plan.
“All I have to do is get in there and find a way to rescue Jett,” she said as she clenched her fists.
She kept her eyes on him as he lay there helplessly on the ground, staring up at the bald men in blue blazers. The man removed his foot from Jett’s chest and reached down, grabbing his hair and pulling him to his feet. At that moment, Jett looked to the fence where Ava was crouched down and his jaw dropped. Ava put her hands up and linked her fingers through the fence, but Jett started screaming. “No! No! Don’t do it!” He flailed his arms and kicked his legs in an attempt to get away.
His arms were waving at her to run, to get away from where he was and save herself. It was obvious he was already upset that she had followed him, but there was no way she was going to leave him out there by himself. One of the guys grabbed Jett by the shoulders and rammed his knee into his torso, causing Jett to fall to his hands and knees, gasping for air. She could see the men talking and pointing at Jett, but she couldn’t decipher the mumbles from where she was standing.
Ava couldn’t control the tears now as they started pouring from her eyes. It ripped her to pieces to watch him get beaten by these men. All she could do was sit and pray that everything was going to be okay. Knowing that if she went in there to save him, not only would she risk Jett’s life, but she would be risking her own. She hated going against Jett’s requests, but she knew she had to this time or she would risk both of them being captured.
Crouching next to the fence, she wished she would have heard him getting out of his bed at the orphanage. She wished she would have been able to stop him from leaving home in the first place. Maybe she wouldn’t have been able to convince him not to go, but there was a small possibility that they wouldn’t be in the predicament they’re in. Then, her mind started wandering again and she fell into a trance; imagining both of them being captured and pinned to the dirt lot. Shivering at the thought, she was brought back to reality when she heard Jett yelling.
Jett looked ba
ck to where Ava was standing and she reached through the fence toward him. A man picked him up, slung him over his shoulder, and followed the other three to the building. Pressing the center button on the keypad, the garage door opened revealing the large room filled with even more computer equipment now than what they had witnessed the last time they were here. Jett was waving his arms for her to go, but Ava stood and watched. She wasn’t leaving until she was certain there was nothing that could be done. Panicked, she watched as he started grabbing the corner of the wall and trying to stay outside for as long as his strength would allow; keeping his eyes on Ava. Screaming at the top of his lungs, Ava heard his last words to her.
As the garage doors closed behind them, she dropped to her knees and called out for him. Not caring now if someone caught her. At least she would be taken inside with him and he wouldn’t have to go through it alone. She wanted to do something to help him, but she knew they had trespassed and that they shouldn’t have been there in the first place. Nora wouldn’t do anything to help, so that was pointless, but what if the Army could help them? Could she find a phone number for the Army?
She glanced over at the door and watched as it slid down the tracks toward the ground. Putting her face in her hands, she sat there and sobbed until dusk. As the temperatures began to drop, she realized Jett wasn’t coming back. In her mind, she kept replaying the look of terror on Jett’s face as they forced him inside. Not terror for himself, but the terror he had for what was going to happen to her. Replaying his last words that he yelled as he was being carried away, brought back the nausea. She got herself to her feet, looked at the building, and whispered her last words to him as she walked away. “I love you too, Jett.”
CHAPTER TWO
Year 2014
A larm clocks are sometimes thrown when they go off too early and the owner isn’t a morning person. With Ava, she didn’t need it to go off in order to have hers set sail. “Who needs to set an alarm when the damn Chicago traffic will wake you up at the ass crack of dawn?” Ava bellowed, as she swung her pink floral blankets to the other side of her bed. “Five in the morning. I hate this stupid city.”
