Abused

Warscan

“Everyone on board!” shouted the guard ushering the children inside. Other than the guard the station stood empty no parents to wave off their children like other places. There was a certain excitement and dread inside the train as it left the station. Many children had travelled many miles to get here and the only locals were, Carla, Melham, Conner, Kylie and Rowan.

Carla and Kylie sat in a compartment along with a thin boy looking sickly pale boy and a red headed girl with big grey eyes. No one was fat they because didn’t have the luxury of much to eat. The girl was called Millie and the black haired boy was called Tommy. The cabin door slides open and the three boys, Melham, Conner and Rowan walked in. They came and sat opposite Carla and Kylie. “This is Carla,” Conner points to her. She had black wavy hair and bright green eyes and a faint scar on her cheek from being hit. She was beautiful looking alert and ready to take action. “How do you do--,” she pauses “Rowan,” he finished and took her hand to shake it. “And this is Kylie,” continues Conner. Melham sat down opposite her and Conner sat opposite Carla and Rowan sat at the end.

Kylie smiled at Rowan then introduced Millie and Tommy. They also greeted them and smiled. “Does anyone know why we’re coming?” Tommy asked looking truly confused. That was how they all felt. “Are you the top in your school?” Asked Conner. Everyone thought about it realizing it was more complicated than ever now. “Yes,” Millie replied thinking about it, realizing they must be too. The idea that they had taken the cleverest children confused them. If they had just wanted to kill them they wouldn’t choose the children who could escape more easily.

They all sat in silence; Melham held his injured toe while the others looked out the window seeing outside the city for the first time. Trees and hedgerows flew past the window and there were small villages as well.

Later on a woman came round with a trolley of sandwiches and crisps. Nobody had had the luxury of them before and they were gone in no time. Some even licked the plates. Everyone was tired even though it was only two o’clock because they had had to get up early to put the luggage on the train.

7:00. it was dark outside and the lights in the train were dim but nobody minded much. They only had one and a half hours till they arrived and they all just wanted to get to Warscan. It had been a pleasant journey compared to others they had experienced. The train rattled on into Wales and the group just sat all staring at different things: Carla examined Rowan; he had ginger hair and was tall and thin with muscles showing. His hazel eyes brought out his freckles and she watched the rise and fall of his chest as he slowly went to sleep. He was handsome and she knew she shouldn’t be looking at him but she had never really had the chance to look at any boy close up.

The train jerked suddenly then screeched to a holt all the light switching off at once leaving them in pitch black. Many started screaming and they all heard the door of the compartment open and then a pater of feet. They heard a scrabbling from Carla’s direction. Millie heard a scream close this time and in the cabin. Eventually after what seemed like an age, the lights switched back on only to reveal blood and chaos.

Carla lay on the floor with a knife rising from her side. Next to her lay a pair of glasses which she apparently put on before being stabbed. Kylie knelt to the floor and put Carla’s head in her lap, and leant over to her to see if she was alive. “Carla, Carla,” she kept repeating while Millie ran to find the first aider.

Carla blinked, vaguely aware that she had a sharp throbbing in her side. Everything was a bit blurry but she could make out Kylie above her. She tried to sit up but pain shot through her and she groaned and lay down again. “Don’t worry someone’s coming, do you remember what happened?” Carla thought back to before she blacked out, what had happened? She remembered it going black and decided to take the glasses out from under the table where the leaflet had said they would be. And it was correct, you could see in the dark with them. As soon as she had put them on she saw a figure in the dark and that was all. So she told them and they listened and were shocked. “So that’s what happened,” Tommy asked looking shocked. Carla nodded and gasped in pain.

“Make way, make way.” Called a fat woman with brown curly hair holding a first aid kit. Pushing through a crowd of people who had gathered in their compartment.  She knelt down next to Carla and tutted “That’s a nasty injury you’ve got there my girl.” She holds Carla who’s whimpering and tries to draw the knife out. Carla screams and Melham flinches. “Good girl,” she soothed still drawing out the knife. Carla wriggled then lay still whimpering and scratching at her injury. When her hand came back it was stained red.

Some of the crowd gasped while others ran away retching. Many whispered about what happened and mainly how glad they were that it hadn’t happened to them. Eventually the woman stepped back and walked away. She had put a small bandage over the wound and added some creams to it but she had nothing else to put on it. After that it was silent in the cabin and Conner and Kylie lifted Carla, still whimpering, onto the bench. All the lady had done was make sure that she lived they still didn’t care about the children’s welfare.

She tossed and turned a bit and Melham was worried she might fall off the bench. “I hate this, why would someone do this? She’s in so much pain.” Millie said looking at Carla worriedly. “I hope she’s alright.” Conner says. They all just look at her too worried to say any more.

When they arrive at Warscan Rowan offers to carry Carla who still hadn’t woken up. He put his arm under her head and knees and lifted her she gasped but stayed asleep. The first glimpse of Warscan was a large building which rose steep into the air a bit like a castle it sat on a typical welsh hill making it look even taller. The new comers were ushered through a large door and into a large hall way. Then they called out names to bring them to different dormitories. Millie, Tommy, Carla, Conner, Rowan and Melham were all in humming bird dormitory and were on the top floor. Rowan was allowed to use the lift because of Carla but the others all had to make it up ten floors.

When they eventually reached the top, exhausted, they found Rowan waiting for them. They walked single file through a smallish door and into a large dormitory with about twenty five people who greeted them. They were sympathetic to Carla but they explained that there were many murders here and that she was lucky. River greeted Kylie with a hug, Kylie crying with happiness.

They found that there baggage, what little of it, had been brought up and put by their select bed. Rowan lay Carla down on her bed with the others, already great friends. They watched her as she stirred and woke. She smiled painfully at them then asked for a glass of water while they helped her sit upright.

Later a nurse came in and stitched her up, telling her that her friends would bring her breakfast in the morning. Then she went and asked Millie if she would and of course she agreed. It took her barely five minutes to fall into a deep sleep not even dreaming.