The Bryne Runaways (Updated)

Chapter 1

I wake to the sound of the drilling alarm ringing resulting me to wake from my great slumber. I groan annoyingly yanking the sheets over my head to escape the torturous sound, eventually, the alarm stops and I groan once again throwing my sheets aside. For about ten minutes I just lay in bed doing absolutely nothing at all just in a deep stare at the ceiling until I feel like moving. I hop outta bed in my pajamas with my gray socks feeling the cold hard waxed wood underneath my feet. I walk the trail down of the wooden planks to the other room hunting for my uncle, which is my guardian who cared and raised me. The one good with his axe and also my mother's brother.

I rub my droopy eyes to completely wake myself up from the sleep because sooner or later I feel as if I'm about to plunge onto the floor with dizzinessany minute now. I see everything blurry around me like if the whole world is spinning as I stand still half asleep.

Where is Uncle Ben?

My tired eyes run around the entire living room interior looking for him but his presence isn't found. I can't hear his voice around nor am I able to smell his usual scent.

"Uncle Ben?" I call out a couple of times moving around the living room with cold feet until I finally notice the note on the edge of the kitchen counter catching a little dust from the ceiling that's parted to the left a bit. I move along the counter and take the paper into my own hands and I begin to read Uncle Ben's sloppy handwriting that is actually understandable.

Good morning bud

You're probably awake by now. I'm sorry I wasn't there when you woke but I had to be out early, so I had to leave. Go change and get some breakfast. I'll see you later. Have a good day.

Ps. I left your necklace there just in case you forget it.
Like always.

Okay, Uncle Ben isn't here. It doesn't matter, I can handle eating by myself all alone in the cafeteria with other kids I don't know of.

I place the note back down on the counter and put on my great grandparents special necklace. The necklace that is very valuable, it's been through so much. Honestly. I'm not making things up. Just trust me on this one. It's been through the wars. I'm not trading this for anything because in the very end I know I'm going to end up losing it anyways so why bother. I go back into the bedroom and grab some proper clothes to wear then I begin to change as that warm golden light hits the interior walls giving this place much more of color than warmth. I take my time changing into different clothing because I'll be too early and I'll probably be eating alone with a bunch of other people, with their hot gaze burning in the back of my head.

It's really embarrassing.

By the way my name is Norman. Norman Dull. It's really not supposed to be Dull, it has to be Bryne because it's for my mother and Uncle Ben. My mother put Dull for my father who I assume left my mother not noticing she was pregnant and my mother went to go find him but she never returned either. It went something like that from what I recall. She left me with Uncle Ben when I was still a kid and Uncle Ben was still in school.

Both of my parents are probably dead because of what happened, so I guess they don't know who I am anymore anyways. But it's fine, I have a mom and dad in Uncle Ben. He's my cool uncle. Not those old type of uncles. He's in his twenties and at camp everyone likes how he works and everything. He's very handsome, charming, and funny. Everything an uncle should be. The people here adore him but he isn't interested at the moment because all he needs is me he said also that I'm his top priority. He can't have another special person in his life right now because things will get complicated for him. He can't take care of two people at the same time.

I tie my shoelaces really tightly, gaining shivers up my body when I feel the cool breeze blow through my bedroom window. I reach for my pack sitting on the floor next to the chair that makes noises because right after breakfast I have to go to my station. Education. Everyone here is destined to choose a station to keep them to do something. It's to keep a well working camp. It's like a circle, we provide and pass on to help the next. There's the developers which is education, hunters where Uncle Ben is in, guardians where half the camp's youth is in and producers were mostly all the elders are in.

Uncle Ben told me to choose education because he thinks it's better if I'm learning. In my station I usually sit indoors with a bunch of other campers where our instructor teaches us many things. To everyone else we are the brains and the prize possessions in Camp 5 which is why they envy us. Uncle Ben chose the hunting station. It's where he has to leave the camp and explore into the forest to hunt or usually training and getting fit. I didn't approve of him doing the hunting part at first because it worries me, I thought I was gonna lose him out there in the wilderness but all my worries vanish when I saw how good he was at it which didn't go well because he doesn't like me seeing that sort of stuff.

I tuck my medallions under my hoodie as I stand on the other side of the brown wooden door then walk out my bedroom when my medallions are secured. I exit my cabin and now I am exposed to the outside wilderness capturing its strong embrace which is when the cool breeze hits my face instantly in a gentle swift maneuver also when I walk forward to where the specks of sunlight give me strength and a pleasing warmth to continue.

I walk through the wooden plank pathway passing my own zone of cabins all the way to the cafeteria seeing some of the other cabins, or tents that are on Hillside Zone where mostly all the tall trees that surround us. Bad thing about living in a forest is that it's always cold. The large pine trees tend to cover up the entire camp. Not much sun hits the camp. That's why it's always cold.

Once I enter the cafeteria a delicate aroma fulfills my nose of freshly baked bread out the kitchen. It always smells like this but I have no complaints. My eyes scatter around the entire closed area to see only a couple of campers here. I was glad not a lot people were here but one person makes it feel like a ton. There's a couple guardians here and very little people from my station. I take a seat on the tables where there isn't anyone sitting in. My pocketed hand reaches for a tray that's placed on the center table along with utensils and today's breakfast. I place me some toast, sliced fruit and scrambled eggs on my tray till I see no sign of my tray. I begin to carve in quietly only hearing the small talk of other campers about things that occur in their station which isn't intriguing at all quite boring really but then came a clear voice right in front of me.

"Is this seat taken?" My eyes go upward to notice a boy older than I am with this greasy short brown curly hair with a face that isn't so familiar to me. His eyes are a dark brown that often is able to locate it's true color, he has huge brows and his mouth is thin with a long beak of a nose. He clutches his tray in one hand and smiles at me in a friendly confident way. I have never seen this person in my life before. I really want to eat alone right now but I don't want to be rude. So I allowed.

"No it isn't" I manage to say and continue eating as he takes a seat.

"So why are you all alone?" He starts up a conversation.

"I don't know really" I shrug as I look down at my feet swinging around. We continue eating quietly until he asks another question again.

"I haven't seen you around, what station do you go to?" He puts a spoonful of fruit in his mouth.

"I'm a developer" I see if he tries to make any laughs or rude remarks but nothing negative seems to exit him.

"Hmm, no wonder we don't know each other. Developers have way late schedules than we do. Must be nice to sleep in.." I shrug my shoulders.

"That's cool, I'm a guardian" He puts it out there for me to know. I guess you can fight someone who's being a douche to me because guardians are considered the muscle and bad people but by the looks of it he isn't a douche but a nice person.

"What's your name?" He asks another question trying to get personal with me.

"Norman" I say weakly. Not very confident.

"I'm Jacob" He says with much better confidence than I.

"Do you have any friends?"

"Yeah" Not really.