Dawn of a Thousand Suns, Book I: Arch De Angels

Chapter II

It was Sunday, and he knew they would come; Today shelter was empty. Caregivers took kids (those who behaved well) to explore the city. They rewarded "Good behavior" with Sunday trips.

On these trips, they showed children city landmarks; mostly, the harbor that was crammed with various ships, from the fishers' boats to huge flagships. Thousands of people flocked to the port. Michael could smell fish and some other scent, although he never understood what this was.

It was interesting to watch the people move around. However, this was not the reason he loved going there. Michael loved admiring enormous ships with flying sails, rocking leisurely on the waves, adding to the peculiar beauty of the harbor, starting with the fishers' graceless boats and ended with refined frigates. He could not even tell what he liked most, probably everything from broken oars to the sails dancing in the wind. The beauty of the road started with pain and hard work and ended with freedom and dreams. Perhaps it did not end at all but only continued.

Maybe that's why the port was so alluring to him. It turned his life and dreams into one world. He dreamed about the frigates being there and fleeing away, and that is why he could stare at them for hours. Often imagined himself as captain, thinking about crossing the hazardous ocean together with his fearless crew, fighting the sea monsters and other captains trembling upon hearing his name.

Even though he lived with lots of children, he had no friends there. He had told no one that he loved gazing at the ships. The kids differed from him; they dreamed about different things.

They were always waiting for the day when someone would arrive and take them to the noble neighborhood and make their life carefree forever. Michael never dreamed about finding his parents, let alone living in a noble district. He was not interested in his parents. Probably in the same way they did not care about him.

Michael rarely thought about them, especially on Sundays, when he knew "they" would come and he could do nothing but wait. He hated waiting. That was the worst part about Sundays. Everything else always happened quickly. They beat him up when no one was around to interfere.

Deep in his mind, Michael had always planned to run away and hide, and if they still found him, he still would not resist. This way he would not get beaten up that painfully. But, at the last second, he always remembered that fearless captain who never backed down and stopped fighting. He felt, if he admitted defeat, he would lose something, something that was more important than avoiding the pain of the battered body.

Michael was lying on the upper bed of the bunk bed, waiting. This time it would be different. He was mentally prepared and determined from the beginning not to give up and not to get beaten so easily. It didn't take too long before he heard the footsteps. He swiftly jumped down from the bed. Standing with his back to the door, he leaned against the post of the bed, looking in the piece of a mirror standing on a windowsill. Michael could see the door open slowly and felt his heart throbbing so fast and loudly that it seemed to him the whole shelter could hear his heart beating.

In the mirror's piece, he could see first Derek, then Simon, Jamey and a stranger enter the room. "He must be the new member of the team and they are testing him on me", Michael guessed. Directed by Derek's gesture, the new boy moved towards him. Michael preferred any other guy to lead the fight, but he could change nothing now. He was leaning onto his bed, staring at the mirror, watching the opponent approaching him. He might be nervous, even scared, but he was still approaching. Others were waiting in the farthest corner of the room, smiling. "How slow the time passes," thought Michael. His heart was about to jump out of his chest. The boy was getting closer and closer. In the mirror Michael could see him lift his right hand, clenching the other. Michael clenched his fist, wrapped in the pillowcase. (Time flow was even slower now) The new boy stretched out his right hand, but before he could touch Michael, he slipped on the oil, spilled deliberately on the floor, and fell. Michael quickly turned around...