Fighting Back

Chapter 5 - Home is Where the Heart is

Noah slipped carefully into the dim, narrow hallway. His parents were not there, so he concluded that his own strength must have knocked the door open - not that he had much of that anyway. It was just that the door was as weak as a piece of water-soaked paper.

He shuffled slowly towards the dirty light switch that had come out of the socket and was hanging precariously off the wall. Switching it on, he wondered why there was a need for any light switch at all in the house. Most of the bulbs were dead or they were a low wattage and didn't brighten up the surroundings one bit.

All of a sudden, a flashback presented itself in Noah's mind. He was sitting on a rug with tiny details on it, like pearly white birds and small emerald leaves and miniature owls with bright blue eyes. Above his head was a chandelier that reflected the light that was coming from a large lamp in the corner of the room. The chandelier made the light split into many different directions.

He looked up to see himself sitting in a large circle with many, many friends: they were laughing, playing silly games, calling each other childish names. This was, of course, the club Noah had always attended when he was 6, every Wednesday afternoon. He remembered loving it there.

"Noah! Time to leave now!" he heard his mother calling. "Noah! Noah? Noah..."

The scruffy looking boy snapped out of his daydream when he heard his foster father calling his name over and over again. "NOAH! YER LEFT THE DOOR OPEN AGAIN!" His voice boomed through the house, causing the splitting floorboards and collapsing ceiling to shake.

He ran upstairs without a second's thought. It wasn't like he was scared of the man. He wouldn't hurt him... probably. Well, he hadn't done so before, but there was a first time for everything, Noah supposed.

Sprinting in the direction of his cramped bedroom, he tripped over a large, spiky rock that had been placed exactly at the top of the stairs. A large puncture had formed on the bottom of his foot that he knew would make walking a living nightmare. Ignoring the undeniable pain, the boy took the last few steps into his room and hurriedly bolted the door behind him.

Noah crouched over to further examine his new wound. He chuckled - 'large' was an understatement. More importantly, why was there a random rock in the middle of the floor? He knew his sister had a keen interest geology. Ah, it must have been her then.

Of course, she wasn't really his sister; just the daughter of the couple he had been taken in by. Her name was Katrina, and although Noah preferred not to admit it, she was indeed a very beautiful girl. She had luscious red locks that were often braided into a long messy plait, and needed hardly any makeup to be ready for a night out. Katrina, or 'Kat' as she preferred, always wore the most flattering clothes and was never out of fashion. She was often complimented by strangers in the street. Unlike her parents, she was smart, thoughtful, and had an open mind wherever she went. She really was Noah's only friend.

Unfortunately Noah's father really disliked the boy having any friendly relationships, so the two hardly ever spoke, let alone exchange a glance. "Only at the dinner table," he would say with a smirk, "only then."

Six quick knocks on the bedroom door echoed through the room, bouncing from wall to wall. A loud shout followed.

"NOAH! OPEN THIS DOOR!" The man was obviously furious, but he tried to lower his voice without much success. "NO-Noah, if you dan't open the door, a'll 'ave to knock it daan." A lack of reply followed. Instead of opening the locked door he lay on the ground, his little, frail body quivering, his teeth chattering, and his hands clamped over his ears. The boy HATED noise. It made him feel surrounded and enclosed, as if he was being strangled by a poisonous snake.

For the past five minutes blood had been trickling out of his flesh constantly but slowly, and a scab had already started to form. Lifting his aching foot he saw the muddy grey carpet was stained with his ruby coloured blood.

He turned his throbbing head to see mugs, plates, and cups piled up on his windowsill. Most of them weren't his, but were left there by his mother to remind him to do the washing after dinner.

Still ignoring the banging of fists on his door, Noah made his way to his bed, limping slightly. It creaked under his weight, and to be honest it was merely some iron rods with a thin mattress that barely kept him warm.

The boy somehow managed to drift into an uneasy sleep, blocking out the racket outside. He dreamt of a place like the village he had seen earlier, on the way back from school.

And that's when he realised it. The boy had really just had enough. Enough of this home, enough of school life, enough of his unloving parents. But he knew there were only two ways he could change things: either he would have to fight back, or lose himself in some unknown, distant place. Was he strong enough to do either of these?

(A/N: Hi everyone! Thanks for reading. I hope you're enjoying it!

I added a cast list as well but some of them are so random! I was basing it more on looks than actual acting so I that kind of narrowed it down to a few people, meaning that most of them aren't well known! And obviously the one who plays Noah (who also plays Ralph in Lord of the Flies haha) is a lot older now in real life but I thought he fit the description quite well, and based on his performance as Ralph I think he would suit the character's personality.

ANYWAY I've said to much. I'll try to update as much as possible but I still can't get much inspiration!

Bye!)