The Missing Piece

Chapter two! :D

     Zarius woke hours later, in the dark, the sky pouring down buckets of rain. "Oh crap", he muttered to himself, while looking at his watch.  He climbed out of the tree, careful not to lose his grip on the slippery brown bark.  Zarius grabbed his bike, running to a head start before he got on.  Thunder boomed near him, lightning about ten miles away. As he left the forest. he picked up his pace. He knew he'd be in trouble once he arrived home.

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     About half an our later, Zarius arrived home.  He hesitated at the door, thinking of what his parents would say if they knew he arrived home so late.  It was nearly 11:30 PM, way past his curfew. Zarius grasped the cold metal handle of the door in his hand, rummaging through his pocket for his keys with his other hand.  He slipped the key into the lock, cautiously opening the door. Zarius tiptoed into the warmth of the indoors, remembering he was soaked to the core and not wearing his jacket. Zarius headed to the stairs, but stopped in his tracks when he heard his dad's rough voice coming from the kitchen.

"Oh no, Zarius. Where the Hell were you? Do you realize what time it is?" Zarius' dad definitely looked angry.

Zarius turned around, facing his father. "I fell asleep in the forest.. I lost track of time.. Sorry Dad."

His Dad was a tough man, and he had standards for his children. Apparently, Zarius did not meet those standards. He wasn't a popular football player, like his brother Kev. He didn't have a girlfriend. He didn't play sports.

"God dammit, Zarius. Don't you remember how your sister disappeared? Huh? Don't you even care about your sister?" His father was getting more furious, by the second, his face turning a deep shade of red. He was shouting at Zarius, clearly not caring about the fact that he will more than likely wake his wife, Zarius' mother up. 

Zarius' emotions flashed red, "You act like everyting is my fault! You're the one who isn't caring! All you care about is Kev! I bet you wouldn't even miss me if I died!"

And with this, Zarius' father advanced towards Zarius, ready to strike, but he spotted Zarius' mother coming down the staircase. 

"What's going on?" She said sleepily, in a daze of confusion. "Zaris, you're home! Oh my goodness, my baby, are you okay?" She embraced him in a tight hug. 

"Yeah, mom. I'm fine." But at that statement, his dad got angrier. 

"You won't be fine when I smack you into the next millenium!" Zarius' father pushed Zarius' mother to the ground, punching Zarius straight into the face. His lip burst open, warm crimson blood flowing everywhere. Zarius was shocked, confused, and he felt unloved at this moment. He sprinted towards the door, throwing it open, and ran out into the cold rain, once again. 

Zarius pushed his legs to run faster than he ever had before, not bothering to grab his bicycle.  His father still shouting, about five meters behind him. However, the speed of his father was no match for his, as he was still forcing himself to accelerate further. As Zarius reached the forest he noticed his father was no longer behind him, although he kept running, more our of anger than anything. How dare he say such a thing? Zarius thought. Zarius cared about his sister more than anything, more than any of his family ever has. He hasn't been the same since Demetri disappeared. Zarius and her were practically best friends, they both spent most of their time together, here in the forest. The two of them had unstoppable imaginations, and when they put their minds together, it was almost magical.

     Zarius was far into the forest now, when he spotted a neat circle of trees. His legs aching, he dropped down into the wet grass, curled up into a tight ball, and drifted off, once again, to sleep.

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(A/N: Well there ya go, chapter two! If I made any mistakes feel free to tell me. It's late, and my mind is a bit like, "HERPETY DERPETY DERPPPSICLES! :D" If I made name mistakes, sorry. The characters Kev and Zarius originally had different names.. So there ya go! I'd love it if you voted and commented.. It'd make my day/afternoon/night/year, and inspire me to keep writing this story!)