Mini Miracles was a two story house that sat at the end of a long dirt road. Its outside was alive and new, a beautiful dark wood house lit with a warm fire light. Vintage street lamps lined the road, casting an orange glow over the dirt. The grounds were well taken care of, the grass a rich green, trimmed by a professional hand. A large wooden playset sat proudly in the yard, complete with a fort, climbing wall, monkey bars, and an array of slides and swings.
Taylors eyes bulged at its beauty, this place looked amazing! Taylor took a glance at his social worker, Teresa, she was watching him with an amused smile.
" Do you like it?" she asked, gesturing to the house. Without waiting for an answer she continued,
"This is best place for you to be. The couple who own it are very sweet, they always find a good home for their kids." Teresa watched Taylor as he gazed longingly at the house, chuckling she asked,
Are you ready?" Taylor didn't turn to look at the lady only continued to stare at the big house in front of him. It's dark wooden texture and soft glow looked comfortable. It welcomed Taylor in with a warmth he failed to understand. With a smile he answered.
"Yes"
Taylor looked up at the place he called home. It had once been a haven, a sanctuary to Taylor. But after the years it had become what it is today. The once comforting dark wood had lightened into an ugly grey. The lamps went unlit, their metal rusted and glass broken. The empire playset had rotted, falling apart piece by piece until it lay in an ungraceful heap at the side of the lawn, which was slick in mud and dead grass.
Taylor sighed, it may have been true once about the couple that lived here being the best, but that wasn't true anymore. Mostly because they weren't even a couple anymore.
It happened a year ago, the Hartman's were getting low on income and began to blame it on us, the kids. They fought on whether or not to give us back to CPS and pull themselves out of the foster business or to find a way to get more money without having to give up us kids.
Mr. Hartman, as always, wanted us out of his way, but Mrs. Hartman loved each of us very deeply and couldn't find it in her willpower to let us go.
So she let him go, and he was more than happy to pack up his bags and leave that night.
That only made things worse for the poor old lady and things had become hard fast.
They still had good days every now and then, but even those were getting fewer. It often surprised Taylor how CPS hadn't taken them back by now. That was a question though, that Taylor gladly left unanswered.
A large crash sounded from inside the house followed by a scream and the thudding of running feet. Fearing the worst Taylor sprinted towards the front door, flinging it open with so much force that his grip on the doorknob slipped and sent the door crashing into the wall. But the noise wasn't enough to stop the scene in front of him.
A small pudgy lady in a light green dress, white apron wound around her front, ran behind a small girl. Her tiny bare feet pounding against the hardwood floor as she wound down the hall from the dinning room and up the stairs, arms flailing above her head and scream still escaping her pink lips. Mrs. Hartman turned the corner too late, and watched as the strawberry blonde wisps of Mays hair fluttered out of sight up the stairs.
She scowled after the poor girl, moving her arm up to swipe a few graying hairs out of her eyes and tucking them back into the knot on top her head. Her eyes were dark with age and lines cut deep within her paling skin.
Taylor was about to sneak back out and around the house, hoping to not get caught, when a chill breeze filled the room, directing Mrs. Hartman's attention to the open door. Her scowl slid into an unimpressed glare the lines cutting deeper into her skin. She was in the doorway with three purposeful steps, her arms raising above her head. Taylor tensed, his eyes squeezing shut in preparation for the oncoming attack...
Arms wrapped around his shoulders and clasped behind his back, his feet dragging on the floor as Mrs. Hartman spun in a circle, a high pitched squeal filling his ears.
"Where were you? You know you're supposed to come home right after school! Are you hurt? Why didn't you text me? Why are yo-" Mrs. Hartman's rant was cut off by Taylors laugh and the tiny pair of arms that joined the hug from below Taylors knees.
"Tay!" May whined, her baby blue eyes becoming large and tearful,
"Mrs. Hartman wouldn't let me have a cookie unless you tried one first, she says you're the expert! So you have to have one! And then I can have one!" Taylor giggled down at the five year old attached to his legs.
"Is that why you got chased out of the kitchen?" He asked, eyes sparkling,
"No, I tried eating the cookie dough and Mrs. Hartman caughted me!" May sighed exasperated, rolling her eyes as though to prove a point.
"Caught" Mrs. Hartman corrected, finally freeing Taylor from the hug, a certain five year old staying attached to his calves.
"Right," May nodded towards Mrs. Hartman, "she caught me!"
Taylor slowly pried Mays hands off his legs, ignoring the whine escaping her mouth, instead he lifted her up and placed her on his hip, her arms immediately wrapping around his neck.
"Well, why don't we go have some cookies then!" Taylor announced, straightening his back and begging to march down the hall.
"There had better be some left when I get back in there!" Mrs. Hartman hollered, her arms slipping behind her back at an awkward angle to untie her apron. "Meanwhile I'm going to the Hopkins for Game Night. You okay with watching them tonight?"
Taylor cringed knowing exactly what "Game Night" meant, poker, Taylor thought bitterly, and beer, lots and lots of beer.
"Yeah, I got 'em" Without another acknowledgement towards her Taylor continued down the hall, dark thoughts clouding his brain as he thought about what they were in for tonight.
A pat on his cheek brought Taylor back to the small girl that sat in his arms, her face screwed up in disgust as her tiny fingers picked small yellow globs out of Taylors hair.
"Why are you covered in cheese?"
•••
"Why of all the places did they choose here!" A small tin can flew across the garage, the sound of it hitting the cement wall reverberated around the room.
Tai Patel stood decked out in his firefighter overalls, his jacket and helmet hanging loosely to his side in one hand, the other still extended in front of his body. Mia stood at his side, her eyes gazing at the now colorful wall in awe.
"I don't know, but they did a good job. Hey! Do you think Bruce will let us leave it?" The glare Mia received was the only answer she needed.
If Tai was being honest the colorful combination of cartoon characters and scribbled words was not half bad, it was a specific word, or name, that hit him the wrong way. Tai ground his teeth together staring at the purple letters, their limbs twisting and tangling, looping together and then swirling into their own little design.
It couldn't be a coincidence that a few bratty kids had chosen this firehouse specifically and some random name to scrawl on the wall. It felt like a threat in some way, and if one of Tai's friends were threatened then he felt threatened too.
"Watch out ladies and gentlemen because the cavalry has finally arrived!" The loud and boisterous voice sounding from the entrance only seemed to add to Tais' slowly growing headache.
One of the fire station's newest recruits waltzed through the bay doors, making a beeline straight for Mia. Without missing a beat the two collided, Alec lifting Mia off of the ground landing a swift kiss to her lips.
"Leave it outside the station, Bradley!" Their stern and furious looking Captain stormed his way down the stairs, heading straight for the group, Cody and Kiara hot on his heels.
Alec broke off from the kiss, a teasing smile playing on his lips.
"Now what's got your panties in a bunch? Did Cody burn the food again? Is Captain Hulk gonna smash?" Alec's usual teasing was shot down immediately by both Tai's warning look and Mia's hands slapping over his mouth.
Bruce's sharp eyes trailed over the graffitied wall, his lips twisting into a disappointed frown. The others waited patiently to the side, Mia quietly explaining the situation to Alec.
"For now there's nothing we can do," Bruce sighed after a few minutes, "Alec, go fetch the cleaning supplies, Kiara help him. Tai, I want you to contact Cameron, see if he and Olive can stop by tomorrow in case those kids come back. Mia, I'm trusting you to write up a report for this, something short and simple, leave it on my desk when you are done." The crew set off in opposite directions to carry out their commands, Alec grumbling about slave labor and "how unfair it was to be the probi"
Cody watched them go, a sudden anxiousness creeping into his chest. Normally graffiti on the wall wouldn't have caused such a problem, it was just that this time was different, a single word stood out from the rest of the art. Because it was a name, his name, doodled in purple pain across the wall, obscuring the view of several other pictures, written out bigger and brighter than Cody thought necessary.
It was clear that whoever it was was trying to send him a message, whatever that was Cody did not know. Although the faintly visible T behind Cody's name might have something to do with it.
**
"I think that went better than planned!" Lucus cheered, the bonfire situated in the middle of the group illuminating his face with an eerie glow.
"We even did it while they were right upstairs, thanks to our brilliant lookouts, Tyson and Ace!" The boys howled, clapping the two on the back.
"Lets not forget our wonderful artist, Zane!" More howls drifted up into the night sky, high fives being passed around.
"And even Douglas, for uh, providing moral support!" A few cheers went around, although a lot less enthusiastic.
Lucus clapped his hands together, gaining the attention of his gang back.
"Tomorrow we go back, finish our work and leave our poor victim to pay for our crime." The boys glanced at one another, their expressions uneasy compared to a few minutes ago.
"The cops will be there." Ace whispered, his eyes focused intently on the fire. "They know we'll be coming back, they'll catch us before we even step foot into the station." Lucus grinned low and dark, the fire glinting in his eyes in a way that made him look dangerous. The boys all fell silent in anticipation to hear what their leader had to say.
"Don't worry, you won't be going into the station," Lucus's grin grew darker, "I have something else planned for you"
YOU ARE READING
I Survived
General FictionTwelve year old Taylor has lived through so much. His mom died, his dad remarried and he's moved across the U.S. just for his step mom. But there's more, Taylors home catches fire killing his step mom and almost killing him, his dad however disappea...
