The Raven

Chapter Four

Guess who died for a couple of weeks and now is back to post more. Meeee. ah, i suck.

What do you have to say?" the boy hissed, holding an edged knife to my throat. I clawed at his hand, which was pushing my head back by my hair. I was determined not to die that easily. A young blonde woman was slumped against the wall, looking weakly up at me, her arm stretched out towards us.

"Please," she breathed, choking on her own blood that trickled down her head. "Please. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! Haven - haven't you already punished me enough? Leave her alone, she's your best friend!" The boy frowned, struggling to keep me steady. Still keeping the knife level with my neck, which it grazed.

"You destroyed the peace between all," the boy spat at the woman. "You tortured my father so badly that he spent years and years in prison! Do you think I could ever think that I could forgive you? That he could ever forgive you?" The woman sniffed, tears trailing down her already wet cheek.

"Please. Please," her voice starting to rise. "Leave her bloody alone!" The boy winced, pushing the knife harder to be neck. I uttered an ear-throbbing scream, struggling harder than ever. I would not go down. The woman screamed back. "Leave her alone! She's innocent!" The boy faltered for a second, but then pushed the knife back harder than ever.

"No one is innocent," he snarled.The woman screamed once again.

"For the love of God!" I hear someone shout into my ear. "Wake up!" My eyes snap open - blinking a couple of times in surprise. I see a head looming over me, grinning. It's a young face - only about ten. The boy's dark skin glints in the dim light. "Good, you're awake," I push him off me, sitting and rubbing my eyes with the back of my hands. What happened last night? The boy sits beside me - I turn to him.

"What do you want?" I say, a little unkindly.

"Mark went shopping this morning - bought you these," he gives me a boyish grin as he lifts the clothes that he is holding up. I grab them from him, breathing in their sense of freshness.

"Out!" I order him, my head still buried deep in the clothes. When I look up, he's gone.

I change quickly - determined to have a fresh start to day. I wear a bottle-top green long-sleeved top and a pair of slightly too baggy light blue jeggings. I stubbornly keep Nat's jacket fixed tight around me.

Outside, not much is happening - the young boy who delivered the clothes to me is sitting next to a girl his age, playing with a deflated balloon. The air doesn't smell of much, just a tinge of hot porridge. My stomach grumbles embarrassingly. Tracy remotely sits on a chair, monitoring the two kids that play beside her. I walk up to her.

"Do you know where Mark is?" I ask. She turns to me, smiling. She wears the same clothes that she wore last night,the only difference is that her hair is in a tighter bun than before. She nods, then points to a cardboard box sitting by itself. "Thank you," I say, and then start to walk to where her finger is pointing.

I'm not sure what to do, standing awkwardly outside the cardboard door. I cough twice. "Uh, excuse me?" leaning downward to call into the box. There's a sound, the cardboard door is slanted open and a grey head pops out.

"Yes, I'm just coming out!" Mark crawls out, then stands next to me - a grin on his heavily wrinkled face. He has improved from yesterday; the layers of blanket are gone and he wears a new sweater and a pair of beat trousers. The dirt is washed off from his face: and, for the first time: I can actually see him. "I see that Jack gave you your new clothes!" he says enthusiastically. I nod thankfully, clasping my hands.

"Thank you so much," I say, smiling gently. "You really didn't have to."

"Nonsense," he said, looking away, but he did look pleased.

"And that's not the only thing I have to thank you for," I continue. Mark looks faintly amused as I tell him this. "Thanks for taking me in with you. You've been so kind to me, I really don't deserve it." Mark wove some fingers at me.

"You were in trouble," he tells me, "you would have died if I didn't do anything." I nod, as he is telling the truth. "Well, shall we get to work then?" I smile.

"That's the least that I can do."