The 11th Hour

Chapter 2: The 11th Hour

I picked up my chamomile tea as I went up the stairs to my luxorious house. The other Tree Runners were poor losers. I was rich and successful and never one of them. It's good to be born into a family of richness, and be able to look down on the poor. Now I was more important then my parents. I never needed them anyways ever since they ran away together. I se my tea by the bed and began to read. This was one of those night I just stay up and read for hours. The book I was reading was Poverty Failures. The digital book came to life. My creation. The Tree Runners would be nowhere without me. That's when I heard a thump. A loud thump. Then whispers.

"I should inspect that" I muttered quietly to myself. I tip-toed down my grand stair case, hoping that no one would be that much of an imbesol to try and sneak into my house.

"LAURA!" a voice whisper shouted. "Get over here now!" she said. Obviously Anne. I liked Anne. She had a good spunk to her, and that's what the Tree Runners are about.

"YOU IDIOT!" she whisper shouted again. At this point I had my hands on my hips, as I walked into the kitchen wanting a reply. Morris scudded his foot across the floor and looked down. Olivia rolled her eyes and glared at me, while Laura looked like she was about to cry a sea of tears.

"W,w,we can explain!" Laura said breaking into tears and covering her face. She tried speaking, but all that came out were muffled noises.

"Listen Evan, we were just making sure things were, uh, right!" Tanner said. He was the worst liar ever! Jessica elbowed him in the shoulder and gave me a grin like he was joking.

"Ugh, I have your filthy commoner stench rotting my home. You are to be punished, but for goodness sakes, it wouldn't KILL you to take a shower!" I grumbled angrily.

"I actually did, you see a big bucket of water came crashing down on me. That was my first shower in weeks!" Olivia said looking relieved. I glared at her, and she got the signal she couldn't try to make any jokes. Their feet made dirt tracks all over my house. As if I wouldn't notice that in the morning. Dan scowled, as his big scar seemed to dance across his face. When he was a child, he fell of a tree, and received his scar.

"Don't scowl at me Dan. Besides, nobody wants to see that big scar of yours." Dan gave me a hurt expression as if that scar defined him.

"As if you really feel hurt" I grumbled. Dan let his gaze drop to the floor as Morris, as they both awkwardly looked at the best floor tiling they'd ever see.

"Now.." I said getting rudely interrupted.

"Listen Evan, you think your so great! You think just because you bother to invent things, you are the best of the best! Well I don't think so! Exile me all you want, but I'm done playing your game" Oliva retorted.

"Hmm, we have ourselves a speaker here." I said rolling my eyes. "I won't exile you, but I want to speak to you in private tomorrow. In the meantime, all go to your dirty little houses. My guards will escort you, and will make sure you WON'T escape. What you'll get tomorrow won't be fun.

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I walked up to the podium, knowing my future was whisked away by a dangerous wind called Evan.

"Tree Runners! You have been betrayed by your fellow people! Your fellow comrades Anne, Laura, Jessica, Dan, Tanner, and Morris. They were involved in theft and robbery of my house! Be heedful to my warning fellow Tree Runners!" Evan shouted into the crowd. They watchers gasped, as I scanned them over.

"Tha..." Morris tried to say getting interrupted.

"Everything they say is lies! The lies won't end I say!" Evan shouts into the crowd rallying them up. It looked as if he through is into the crowd below us, they would devour us. The thought of that makes me shudder and coward back.

"Now, we have found even more to this issue. They are spies for the tree whisperers!" Evan shouted making his final lie. I hoped. The crowd no started to get serious. I knew what punishment we had coming. We were going to be banished into the forest. The forest no one ever traveled to. We won't live out there. I should say goodbye to my final days.

"Now, we must punish these traitors! For what they have done is unacceptable!" Evan said with triumph in his voice. He knew he won this battle, and we knew there was knowing turning back. After the generations of Tree Runner's that snuck into the Yung's house, we were the ones who would get in trouble.

"It's only acceptable that their punishment be banish into the Forest! Not our forest below, but the forest where the light doesn't touch! The forest where shadows lurk in each corner. And at the 11th hour, we will send them into the stroke of midnight to wish them the worst of luck.