Who Am I? #Wattys2016

The Orphanage

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Noah's P.O.V
(Three hours earlier)
I leaned against the door. Muffled voices crept into my ear as I concentrated on what they were talking about.
"I thought you said he was young? He clearly is in his teens. You shouldn't even be keeping him here." A woman whispered, an icy tone to her voice.
There was a pause. As if the other person was trying to calm down.
"If you don't want him, please leave. This is my place and you cannot tell me what to do. I'm going to make this very clear, LEAVE." A voice I'm absolutely sure belongs to Lena replies.
"How dare you talk to my wife like that? I will sue you and make sure all the children here are no longer in your care. I assure you Miss Heart that tomorrow I will bring the authorities and make sure you regret everything you said." The man spoke with a final tone, as if daring Lena to reply.
Thoughts raged in my mind.
I can't stay here. I don't want Lena and Dan to get into trouble. What about all the children that stay here.
Lena's calm and clipped voice brought me back to their conversation.
"You may do whatever you want but today, nothing you do will change the fact that I want you to leave." She may have fooled them but I could hear the fear in her voice. Her strong facade was starting to crumble.
The man and woman were clearly infuriated. They violently got out of their seats, the legs of the chairs screeching on the floor.
I better go before I get caught.
Hiding behind the wall, I watched as the couple left, leaving Lena heaving a sigh of relief.
"Noah, you can come out now."
"How did you-, never mind."
Slowly approaching her, I placed a hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eye. Lena was a plump woman with a cheerful yet strict demeanor. She was as close as a mother I'd ever get.
"I'm sorry you heard all of that." She said, her voice, etched with an emotion I couldn't quite place.
"What they said was true. I shouldn't be here. I'm already 16. Nobody would want to adopt me. That's why I need to leave. For the sake of all the other children."
Lena looked away. "I can't do anything to change your mind, can I? But where will you go?"
"I'm not a kid. I know where to go. You don't need to worry about me. I'll head out in about an hour then. I should go say my good byes to the kids."
"I have some extra luggages. And you can take all the food you need from the kitchen. I'll ask Dan to give you his old truck." Lena replied as she walked away. Not giving me a chance to say thanks.

***

(Twenty minutes before meeting Kai at the crash site)

I stared out of the window. A slight breeze ruffling my hair. Feeling bored, I turned the radio on. It's going to be a long ride to the next town. Some country music started playing.
I'm going to miss the kids. I wish that cranky couple didn't even come in the first place.
Suddenly, an extremely loud sound pierced the air, breaking my train of thought and sending a massive headache my way. Stopping the engine, I held my head and tried massaging it.
Collecting myself, I got out of the truck. Debris littered the entire road as I came into view of the cause of the huge sound. Four cars had collided into a bus. The glass from the overturned bus was shattered and the entire roof was gone. I can't even imagine what caused this. Some groans built hope in me. Some of them were still alive! Hoping to help them, I made my way to the side of the bus. One of the car was so badly damaged that I could not even try to describe it. As I was trying to get the door open of the car to see if the people inside were still alive, a voice called out, calling for help. I ran towards the voice, stopping to see a boy about my age, kneeling down over something. Just as I was about to reply, a scar on his neck reminded me of someone. It couldn't be, could it?
"Kai, is that you?"
The boy turned around. Instantly, a flicker of recognition passed his eyes. I got a closer look at what he was kneeling in front of and got the shock of my life. A girl was severely injured and seemed to be unconscious. Immediately, I helped Kai and brought them in my truck.
Before leaving, I called the ambulance but for some reason there was no reception. Not having any time to ask how that could happen, I started the engine and tried to go as fast as I could. Since the closest place we could go was the orphanage, that was where we were headed.
Come on Noah, you can do it.
I looked back at the girl, hoping that she'd make it. I hope those people from the accident site will forgive me.
Promising myself that I'd go back for those people, I focused on the road.