What Once was Broken

Chapter 7.... How To Make A Friend

I sat at the dining area the next morning, observing Leo, who sat alone at a table. "How do I approach him without being to pushy?" I thought to myself, and I wracked my brain for clues on how I could get him to be my friend. "Are you alright? You haven't touched your breakfast." Galina asked, puting her hand to my forehead. "I'm fine," I replied, "just trying to figure out how to get on good terms with Leo." I replied. I took my fork, and cut a peice of my hash brown. "After all that time he was a major bully, why do you want to be HIS friend?" Galina asked, taking a bite out of a crudely made scrambled fish egg sandwich. "He seems to be awfully lonely when no one is looking. I wonder if he's got any TRUE friends. Ones that haven't given in to him by intimidation, or just seeking their attention?" "I wouldn't be shocked if he hasn't any." Galina replied, her mouth only half full, "He's an AWFUL character. All he seems to know how to do is make himself look like a foolish bigwig." I continued to sit and think as I took a bite out of my bacon, and a bright idea hit me. "Oh! I know what I can do!" "What is it?" "I could start off with small talk, you know? Most people learn about each other through conversation. Then afterwards, I could do some activities that maybe he wants to do, and introduce him to what I like. It's Brilliant!" "I hope that, for YOUR interests, it works. But I would'nt keep my hopes up for it." Galina said, taking a sip of water. "Trust me on this, he'll be happier than a pearl oyster once I'm done." I replied confidently. I leapt from my seat across Galina, headed over to where Leo sat, and tapped him on the shoulder lightly. Startled, he turned, brandishing a shard of glass fashioned crudely into a knife, making me jump a few feet backwards to avoid the slash. "The blazes are you doing, sneaking up on me like that?!" He exclaimed, putting his blade back into it's sheath. "I-I'm sorry! I just wanted to see if you wanted to get to know me, and vice versa." I stammered, balling my dress into my hands nervously. Leo blinked for a moment, a shocked expression across his face, which then slowly turned into a scowl. "What's it to YOU? You don't even LIKE me." He replied, turning away from me. "Look, I'll admit that we got off on a bad note, and I want to show you that I'm not really THAT horrid a person to be around, so I'm proposing that we do something to bring us on good level with one another." I explained, a sweep of hope crossing my mind for a millisecond. "Like?" Leo asked, slurping on something. "Well, I was hoping YOU had an idea." I admitted and when I did, the slurping came to a stop. Whatever container he had, he set it down gently, and turned back to me, a wicked looking grin on his face. "So," he began, "you want to try and get on my good side, eh? Well, how about you go on a little fetch quest for me. Y'see, little Bella left her Bear Bear at the edge of the Hideaway, and it's MUCH too dangerous for her to go and get him, and I've got WAY too many things to look into today." "Just tell me where at the edge, and I'll go retrieve it for you." I replied, bravely puffing out my chest. "Do you remember where that pit was?" Leo asked. I nodded, and he continued, "Well it's there, and to the left. You should see an exit way that leads you to the hall areas of the Maw. That's where you find her Bear Bear." With that little bit of information, I started off for where I last saw the pit. As I walked, I remembered the conversation Amber and I had yesterday. "When she threw the board, there was this ghastly cry, followed by slooshing noises." She had told me. I also remembered her telling me that it was also a deep, potential drop from the mouth of the pit, and I shuddered. Eventually I reached the pit, and stared deep into it's mysterious, black abyss, feeling it's stare in return. "Okay," I began to myself, "here's the pit. Now I need to go left until I see an exit." and left I went. It was a pain, trying to get to the edge of the Hideaway, avoiding traps that looked like they were set in a hurried manner, and I had to sneak my way past a couple of leeches sleeping soundly next to each other. After all that trial and error, I finally saw light: the edge of the Hideaway. I looked down, and saw a decrepit looking, stuffed bear only five feet in front of me. "That MUST be it!" I said, rushing to grab it only for me to hear a loud creaking noise, and the shuffling of something slimy. I quickly hid as the leeches came to the alerted location, and circled around the toy bear, sniffing around for any prey it might find. After a few minutes of not finding anything, the leeches began to quiet down again, so I carefully peeked over the toy block I was hiding behind when my heart dropped into the pit of my stomach. Wide eyed and pale, I trained my eyes on the stuffed bear, which was now wedged between the two overlapping, sleeping leeches. "Oh, NOW what am I going to do!" I thought, digging holes in my brain for a plan. My gaze settled on a peice of loose wood, and I came up with the solution to try and pied de biche, crowbar my way between them. I ripped the wood from it's place, and froze, listening to the slight rustling of the leeches before continuing to gently place the wood next to the bear. "I WILL get that bear.... I WILL get it...." I said to myself, gently lifting the top leech just enough to slip Bella's Bear Bear out from between them. I breathed a sigh of relief, and picked up the Bear from the floor, hurrying off quickly but quietly. Once I was back at the pit, I studied the ragged toy for the first time. It's once soft fur now held stains and patches missing, and it's nose was barely hanging on while it's one black button eye was chipped. "Poor thing." I said, patting the Bear, "You've seen a lot, haven't you? Hm...... Maybe I'll fix it up for Bella. Make clothes for it even. Maybe I'll repair the nose and give it new eyes while I'm at it, and a good wash as well!" I pinned the bear to my chest, and looked down the pit. Curious to see if what Amber said was true, I looked around for something to throw when my foot kicked something hard. I looked down, and found a stray rock, still wobbling from the disturbance of my foot. I took the rock in hand, and, with all my might, threw it down the pit. It clopped against the side of the pit a few times before a still, long silence rung through the area. After a couple of minutes, I heard a splosh, and a small, feral growl, followed by moans, and I took off instantly, my heart pounding. Once I reached the Hideaway area, I looked back, seeing if whatever it was that was down there decided to follow me. When I saw that the coast was clear, I calmed down a bit, and followed a small echo to the teaching area. There I saw Leo, reading to the smaller children of the Hideaway..... Or attempting to, anyway. I approached him from behind, and, as if he sensed my presence in the room, said, "Took you long enough, didn't it?" "I ran into some trouble with a couple of leeches, and some very poorly placed traps!" "Ah! Sorry about that. Should've told you." He replied in a sort of sarcastic way. I scanned the room and found Bella, sitting hidden behind two other young boys. She spotted the Bear in my arms, and quickly rushed up to me, yanked it from my grasp, and ran back to her spot on the floor. Mouth agape in surprise, I began in a gentle voice, "I-I could fix your Bear for you, if you'd like." Bella pulled her toy closer to her to protect it, and said bluntly, "My Bear Bear!" and ran off deeper into the crowd of young children. I looked back at Leo, who held a threatened kind of look. "Nap time." He commanded, and the children hurried over to a small, blanketed area, piling up on one another like baby kittens,  which warmed my heart entirely. I turned my glance back to Leo, and offered, "I can help you to read, if you'd like." "Please!" Scoffed Leo, "You can't even speak English all the way, let alone READ it." He got up from a bottle cap he was sitting on, brushed of his torn, greenish blue pants, and approached me meanacingly. "No. I want you to do something else for me." "Wh-What is it then?" I asked, forcing on a kind smile. Leo smiled another wicked grin, and said, "The fires of the Hideaway are burning low, and I fear that if no one does anything about it the smaller ones will freeze to death. I want YOU to be the one that keeps it going." "Wait," I interjected, "if you noticed that it was burning low, why didn't you as a LEADER do it yourself?" "Do you want to be friends or not?" Leo asked, annoyed. I sighed, and reluctantly asked, "How do we refill it?" "I'll let you figure that one girly. See ya when I see ya!" And with that, he left me alone. I looked up at the great furnace overlooking the Hideaway, and I felt myself coming to tears. "This is IMPOSSIBLE! How will I get the coal all the way up THERE?!" I cried, and I flopped backwards on the floor. As I sat in despair, I looked around, and found a ramp like structure hidden in a corner, just behind the food area. I turned back over on my stomach as I followed the ramp all the way to a control area, which had a small bridge, and coal pouring mechanic. I stared up in awe at the new portions of the Hideaway, and knew immediately what to do now. I picked up a tin bucket, and rushed over, shoving as many coal bits in the bucket as I could, and started my way towards the ramp, and eventually to the control area. This task took HOURS to do, but I persevered. Worn out and black with coal dust, I tracked down Leo, and found him in the stage area, telling jokes to the other children. Once I got there, I plopped down on the bench beside the boy with glasses, and sighed. "You look like a worn peice of yarn." He said, looking at me from the side. "Well aren't you charming." I replied sarcastically, and leaned back on another bench. "Well, aren't YOU a spiffy one." Leo commented, "Good on ya!" "Well now that I've done what you needed, could we maybe-" "Ah-Ah!" He interupted, "I have one, final request for you." "Ugh, what is it?" I asked. For the third time, he smiled cruely, and asked, "Are you sure? Might be too hard for you sweetheart. " "Just tell me!" I shouted, annoyed. He laughed wickedly, and said finally, "I want you.... To find food to fill our stock." My blood ran cold, and I shook my head. "IMPOSSIBLE!" I cried, "That would mean having to, by MYSELF, fend off the twin chefs and Lord KNOWS what! How do you expect me to do it ALL!?" "Will you quiet down? Jeez!" Leo scolded, rubbing his ears, "Your not going alone." "I'm not?" "NO! For food, you're going to need an extra set of appendages if you're going to gather food, and cause just about the biggest ruckus of your life." Leo explained, rolling his eyes. "I'll go with you," a brawny looking boy said, "you're going to need a LOT of muscle!" "You ain't going anywhere without brains honey!" Nicole said, stepping up beside me, and placing a firm hand on my shoulder. I felt somewhat confident in my new found friends, for the last thing I want is for the Twin Chefs to put me in a stew, or chop me into salad! Leo smiled a bit, but this smile didn't seem cruel at all. It seemed almost warm! "Well, what're you still doing here then?" He ask, "Get going crazy bunch of bananas!" We all looked to one another, nodded, and left for the secret shortcut, which I never noticed until the boy, whom I figured out was named Clayton, pushed a boulder out from in front of a rat hole. "Leo an' I built this here tunnel long ago." He told me, "Used it ta 'scape the one of the Chefs! Close call, that one. Never heard the end of it from 'im either." "Only because you decided it would be wise to crack a jar about our size over his head!" Nicole said, shaking her head in dissapointment. "Did it do anything?" I asked, studying the rat tunnel as we walked. "I thought it would, but the thing 'din even phase the beast. Af'er that we broke inta sprintin', Leo's screaming how much an idiot I am and I tellin 'im to hush his flappin' jaws. We were eventually pinn'd, so we just got ta diggin'. Dug till we foun' the Hideaway." It was an interesting story indeed. So intriguing that I never even considered the thought of asking if they had used their bare hands to make the place! "Sounds like some balogna to me." Nicole huffed. Nicole was very head strong, as well as the most honest person you could ever meet. She tells you how it is without sugar coating ANYTHING, which is why I trust her the most. "Call it what YOU want ta woman, but I was there when we dug that tunnel!" Clayton defended, putting away the lantern as we neared a light. I saw light up ahead, which lead out onto a yellowed, dirty, tiled floor: the Maw's kitchen area. Once out of the mouse hole, I looked around the kitchen, utterly HORRIFIED by it's condition! There wasn't only puddles, and dirt staining the cracked tiles, but there was blood stains all over the counters from various cuts of meat. Rusty hooks hung from the water stained celing, like blades waiting to snag whatever was unfortunate enough to get caught, mold grew on every corner of the room, and filthy wasn't even enough to describe what it was! "Comme c'est insalubre! How unsanitary!" I said, my face contorting into three different levels of disgust. "I know, but it's the only food source we've got." Nicole replied, throwing back her long, black hair, which contained many braids from scalp to tip. Clayton cautiously crept further into the room, and put an ear to the floor. "Something's off.... Shouldn' they be here?" "Should be," Nicole replied, "It's well passed noon now!" We all were on alert the whole time we were there, making sure nothing dangerous is on pursuit. Nicole and Clayton were a blur as they gathered up bags, upon bags of fruit and veg, and stacks upon stacks of whatever they could come into contact with. I was in awe as the last bag of fresh peanuts was set into the mouse hole, and Clayton emerged, sweat dripping from his brow. "Whoo-we! Tha' sure was a lot!" He said, plopping himself into one of the puddles on the floor to cool him. "Our job ain't done yet," Nicole began, washing the sweat off of her shining, dark colored skin, "we still need to haul all that back to base home!" I looked up at the mountain of bags, and gulped a few times in distress. As we rested, a loud groan was heard from the room across the hall, and immediately Nicole, AND Clayton went on high alert. "They're coming!" They exclaimed simultaneously, and the pulled me towards the dark shadows casted on the corners of the kitchen. "No!" I said, wriggling from their grips, "Haul the food you gathered back to your Hideaway! Let me speak to the chefs as a distraction." As I said this, a pair of footsteps, and another ghostly moan filled the hall outside. "Are you nuts?! They'll KILL you!" Nicole said, trying her best to keep her grip. It wasn't till the room began to shake when she finally let go of me, and his herself in the shadows. I watched the doors nervously as two gargantuan figures, squeezed their way through the door frame. "E-Excuse me?" I said from the floor, using my monster language to do so. The chefs turned their heads down to me, and let out a loud gasp. "I-It's-" "Claire LaBouvier!?" They exclaimed, turning to one another in disbelief. "Yes, tis I. I was wondering if you two could help me find my way back to the guest area in the Maw. It's SO large, and I don't quite know my way around the depths!" I explained innocently. I glanced over to the side to see Clayton, Nicole, and the other children carrying away bags, upon bags of food to their hideout. "They're safe at least, thank goodness." I thought as I turned my attention back to the two chefs, who were cautiously creeping toward me. "What are you doing here to begin with?" One of them asked. "I was playing with my sister, and I fell down a busted pipe, and ended up down here." I lied. I felt guilty for lying. If only the others weren't so afraid maybe they'd- "What should we do with her?" "She's seen too much! I'll give her ONE compliment though...." He began to nod to me, and the other smacked his lips hungrily. I take back my regrets now, and I gulped as I slowly backed away from the two chefs closing in on me. A loud whistle came from above, and the three of us looked up, and the sight to me was just GORGEOUS! An army of boys led by Leo lined the rafters, and Leo smirked smugly as he announced, "Oi! Pea-heads! Hadn't anyone taught you PROPER etiquette to a Lady?" The chefs squealed, and the army launched Jars and Bottles of all different shapes, sizes, and colors, making the chefs howl in pain as they desperately tried to shield themselves from the shattering glass. Like a hero in some kind of adventure film, Leo leapt onto a series of hooks, and swung down from the counter tops, landing directly next to me. "Come on! Let's go!" He shouted, taking me close to his side to protect me from the airborne shards raining down on us as we made our way to the tunnel. Once there, he handed me off to Naomi, and whistled to cue the other boys to stop their ambush. "Come with me, we'll patch up any injuries you sustained." Naomi said, putting her arm around Leo, and leading us back to the depths of the Hideaway, leaving the pair of chefs groaning in a world of pain. This was the first time since I've been with them that Naomi was actually NICE to him. "H-He saved my life? Why? And what did the chefs mean by "She knows too much"? About what?" My mind was racing as shock overwhelmed every inch of my soul. Once we were back at the Hideaway, Naomi sent one of the younger boys to retrieve cloth and bandages, and set Leo on a bottle cap. It turns out, as we were walking through the glass, one of the shards had bounced up and sliced his calf. I approached nervously as he examined his wound, and said, "Thank you, for saving me." "Eh, no worries dear. Just doing what's needed." He replied, wincing as he touched his cut. "Stop messing with it Leo! You're going to make it worse!" Ruby scolded. "And then you won't HAVE a leg!" Laycia added, crossing her arms. "Oh, scram you old battle axes. I'm fine!" "Don't be mean, they're worried for you!" I scolded myself. Leo rolled his eyes, and reluctantly took his hand from the wound. The boy finally rushed back, and Naomi took the bundle of bandages, and makeshift cloth from him. Gently, she applied the sterilized cloth to his leg, and Leo cursed in pain. Once his wound was cleaned and wrapped, Naomi warned, "Take it easy, Leo." and left for the others who may have gotten hurt. As I approached him, Leo stood up from his chair, and examined the wrap on his leg. "So now that I've done everything you needed me to," I began, a little anxious, "could you consider being friends now?" As soon as I popped the question, everyone in the room went silent, pinning their eyes on the two of us, waiting for a response. Leo locked eyes with me, blinking a few times before that ever so familiar, dreadful grin crossed his face again, and I guessed the worst. "Sure," he began, sounding sarcastic once more, "let's be friends. In fact, I even went as far as to get you a gift for our friendship." one of the boys handed me a jar, and, curious, I peeked through the clear surface, and found that he had harbored a pretty good sized leech within: a prank. My heart broke as tears fell from my eyes. The boys laughed and teased, even Leo found my torture to be amusing while the girls stood back, and watched in pity for the ONE person who actually attempted to try and tolerate him. I looked away from the revolting creature, and met gazes with Galina, who tried to warn me, but NO! I was too stubborn to believe that he was all rock and no candy. My blood boiled, and I began to tremble violently, making the jar's lid rattle in the process. "Relax honey, it's a JOKE! A harmless prank!" Leo laughed, and that was what snapped me in two. "I did........ EVERYTHING....... To make you...... Happy.......!" I strained, trying to calm myself. "Well then, don't get all knotted up because of a little gag." Leo said, clearly brushing me off like I was a peice of dust on his shirt. "HA!" I spat, not able to hold in my venom any longer. At this point the boys had stopped laughing, and actually grew white with petrification. "WHO kept the coals of the Hideaway alive? ME! WHO just risked their lives to make sure you are for the next year or so? Nicole, Clayton, and, guess who? ME! WHO was it that went and rescued little Bella's Bear Bear, WHILE YOUR LEADER SAT UPON HIS CHEVAL HAUT, HIS HIGH HORSE, SAFE AND SOUND IN HIS LITTLE WAR BUNKER-" "Now you quit that! The only-" "MEEE! THAT'S WHO! I HAVE NEARLY DIED TWICE FOR YOU, AND ALMOST PASSED OUT FROM EXHAUSTION FOR YOU INGRATES TO SHOOT ME DOWN!" "CLAIRE! STOP! HE'S NOT WORTH IT!" Galina shouted, trying to run to my side, but was held back securely by the other girls. "We'll let ME tell YOU," I seethed, "If you're going to keep disrespecting me because of my difference, then what WORTH, ARE YOU ALIVE TO ME AT ALL!" And, in the blindness of my rage, I made an awful blunder, one that I'll never forgive myself for. I lifted the jar high above my head, which sent Leo into a panic instantly. "C-Claire? W-WH-What are you doing?" I looked into his eyes with a frozen glare, and raged, "FIGHT THIS, COWARD!" and, with all I could muster, I sent the jar with the sleeping leech inside crashing to the floor, angering the leech greatly. "WHAT'VE YOU DONE!" Leo screamed in panic as the kids scattered across the Hideaway for shelter, screaming. Once I had calmed down enough to realize what I did, I rushed over to the smaller children, and commanded, "G-Get to the girls loft! QUICK!" With that command, they all rushed over to the ladder, and began to climb as fast as their tiny frames could go. I rushed over to the spot Naomi was hiding behind, the leech wailing in pain and fury as it tried to capture it's moving dinner. "We have to stop it!" She shouted amongst the noise. I looked around to see if there was anything we could use to slay it, but to my despair, I found nothing. The other boys seemed to have already hid, leaving Leo to fend for himself out in the open. He brandished his makeshift knife, but before he could use it, the leech knocked it full force from his grasp, leaving him defenseless. He was pinned! Without thinking, I jumped out from behind the hiding spot, and Naomi called, "Are you CRAZY?!" But I didn't turn back for a minute. The leech got into position to strike, and Leo looked as if he had accepted death head on. As I ran, an unfamiliar burning sensation grew in my chest, and my light grew brighter than I've ever seen it! Time seemed to slow around me as I stopped directly in front of Leo, and held up my hand. "STOOOOOOOOPPPP!" I yelled, and the light casted an aura around me that flowed through my blood like a fire! That's when I found out what other abilities were locked away inside me, for the leech stopped mid attack by MY command. In utter awe, and fear by my god like abilities, Leo could do nothing but sit and observe as the leech slowly slinked it's way back down, and purred. I walked up to it slowly, and placed my hand to it's side, and began to pet it. I was equally in awe by what I did, and I turned back to Leo. "Wh-What ARE you?" He asked, pale as a ghost. I looked back to the leech, and stopped petting. "You go on home now, back to your nest." I said, and the leech began to slither away to the location of where the pit was. It was gone...... Over...... Everyone came out of hiding, and now I was surrounded by kids, staring in awe at what just happened. "Tha' was cool!" Clayton breathed out, and he smiled brightly. "You TAMED it somehow!" Galina said, hugging me from the side. The smaller children came down the ladder, and I began to count the girls. I counted Poppy, Annalise, Samantha, Ruby, Carla, and Laycia, but I didn't spot Bella. In fact, I hadn't seen Bella since before I broke the leech's prison! "Bella's missing." I said, and Leo double counted to make sure. He trembled as he commanded groups of boys and girls to search for her, some of them assuming the worst. "Bella? Bella!" I called out. Clayton and I were assigned to the place where I had found Bear Bear, and hope was draining from us as we pressed. "She HAS to be here! She CAN'T be dead!" I cried, pressing on through the dark. "How can you know tha'?" Clayton asked, setting down on a stone. "Because I can feel her." I began putting a hand over my heart. "Please," I begged, "lead me to her." With that, the burning came back, and produced a lit path for us to follow, which lead us to where the light of the Maw showed through an opening, and I could hear a small voice singing:

"Sweet baby Bear Bear dancing in the woods. He sung with the bees, and the birdies too. He spun with the fairies, and waltzed with the wind. And slept through the night so he could do it all again."

Clayton and I looked to one another, extatic and overjoyed to have finally found Bella. "Bella!" I called out, rushing over to her when I felt trouble approach. Right where Bella sat with her Bear, a strange, eel like creature emerged from the darkness, and hovered right above her. Panic ensued as I quickly grabbed Bella out of the way of the creature just as it struck the ground. Scared, Bella screamed, and cried, and the monster turned it's attention towards us both. I gulped, and braced us both for impact when a hand grabbed my arm, and threw us both to the floor. The last thing I saw was Clayton being thrown into the air, and screaming as the eel swallowed him up, slithering away afterwards. "Clayton!" I yelled, and I tried to go after the creature when a pair of arms wrapped around me tightly. "Stop! Claire!" It was Leo, and I wasn't about to hear his reprimands. "No! NOOO!" I screamed, trying desperately to go after the monster who ate Clayton. "Claire, PLEASE!" Leo said, shaking me furiously. I sobbed as I finally gave in to Leo's strength, and sat there in his arms as he tried to quiet me down. Bella crawled up in front of me, and she rested her tiny head on my chest. "It's all my fault.." I sobbed, "He died trying to fix MY mistake! It should've been me...." "Hey now, don't you say that." Leo comforted, "He did what was right. For you! For us......" All of us mourned that evening, and many mistakes were regretted, but we could do nothing but console each other as the night faded into a new day. Each of us grew a little bit closer that day, and in our memories, we were sure to keep one child..... A brother...... A friend, alive forevermore...