PARADISE: WRATH OF CHILDREN [COMPLETED]

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

ARE WE FAMILY?

 Cold wind blew past Paul who shivered a little, staring at Barbara and William who were in a conversation, a few distance from him, near the sleigh which the four children were packing their luggage inside. Six moose were tied on the sleigh.

He immediately remembered the day Pamela and him had seen a moose, how exited she had been learning the word moose.

“Moose, Horns,”

Tears rolled down his cheeks. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “I’m sorry Pam.”

The sound of footsteps approaching him caught his ears, quickly he wiped away his tears with his hand. Barbara appeared before him. “We accept your trade but we shall leave you near the Owlet woods for the safety of the other children,” she explained, her eyes on Paul. “Now do you agree?”

Paul glanced at the four children getting in the sleigh. “It sounds fair, Well I shall also give you the rest of the directions when you drop me there,”

“Okay,” she stretched her hand toward him.

He reluctantly shook it. “Barbara let’s go!” William yelled.

“Shall we?” she asked.

He nodded following her towards the sleigh. She entered the Sleigh along with Paul. She opened the blanket which was covering the four children. “Make a shift for Paul,” she said.

The four children shifted a little allowing Paul to enter. He quickly squeezed himself in between Jack and the other twin in a navy-blue peacoat he didn’t know his name, lying on his belly just like the rest of the children who had their eyes on him. “He’s coming with us?” Anna asked.

“Yes, he’s coming with us,” Barbara replied.

“Isn’t he going to Paradise? Alone?” Jack asked, sounding cold.

William side glanced Barbara.  “I have made a trade to also let you go to Paradise,” Paul said before Barbara could alter a word from her dry lips.

“We are going to Paradise?” Charles asked in joy.

“Yes, Paul has been kind enough to share the directions,” Barbara assured them.

“I can’t wait,” the other twin in a navy-blue peacoat said with a smile, glancing at Jack who had his eyes on Paul, his eyebrows knitted.

“Same,” Anna said, flapping her feet in joy.

“Now, now little angel, I need you to keep down, all five of you,” covering them with the Blanket.

The sleigh started moving as William held the rein, controlling it.

~ ~ ~

Paul stared at the basket near Charles who was fast asleep. “Paul,” the tiny voice called his name.

He slowly shifted his eyes onto the twin wearing a navy-blue peacoat near him, who had his big bright ebony eyes staring at him.

“Do you think there are more children in Paradise?” he asked.

“Yes,” Paul replied. “There are a lot of children in paradise who play and be happy forever.”

“Forever?”

Paul nodded. “Yes, forever and ever, happy,”

“Miss. Barbara said nothing is forever,”

“She’s right, in this side of the world forever and happiness doesn’t exist but in Paradise forever does exist,”

A smile appeared on the twin’s face. “I can’t wait to get there,”

“If we do get there,” Jack interrupted them, lying on his back facing up.

“What do you mean?”

“Oh Hector, always way behind,” turned to face both Paul and Hector who had their eyes on him. “Not everything is easy, there might be a chance that we don’t make it.”

“Miss. Barbara and Will, will protect us,”

“Not from the creatures,”

“Jack is right but since there is no moon, most creatures have lost their abilities and gone to hiding,”

“How do you know that?” Jack asked.

“I read,” Paul replied.

Jack and Hector’s eyes widened.

“You read?” Jack asked.

“Yes, I do read, don’t you?”

“No,” Hector replied. “None of us can read beside Will, who knows how to read only maps.”

Paul’s eyes widened. “Miss. Barbara?”

“She can’t, no one has ever thought her or us,” Jack replied his eyes on Paul.

~ ~ ~

Paul unfolded the crammed map before him as Jack and Hector stared at it. His finger pointed at a portion written; Claymore woods.

“You have a map?”  Jack asked.

“Yes,” Paul replied running his finger toward a river written, Black River. “A map that will lead you to Paradise and me to the Mountain of Bones,” moving his finger north, to a portion just above a portion written Owlet woods.

“Mountain of Bones?” Jack asked, his face masked with fear.

“Yes, it is where I will get my sister,”

“You will not make it,” Jack said sounding a little cold. “No child comes back from that place, they are eaten.”

“She’s not eaten!” Paul’s voice sounded slightly raised.

“How do you know that?!” Jack asked, his piercing eyes on Paul, whose lips trembled terribly, tears running down his cheeks involuntary.

Charles slowly started moving.

“Don’t fight,” Hector said in a whisper, tears clouded in his eyes. “Please.”

The blanket opened half-way as Barbara’s face appeared. “Paul, we need directions,”

Jack shifted his eyes away from Paul, who crawled out to Barbara, folding the map.

Author's Note👋

This chapter took me exactly 30minutes trying to make it real♡︎