CHERUB-Xplode

Jake Smith was sat on the damp bench. He had been here for several minutes waiting for the bus to arrive, and now it was four minutes late. As Jake glanced down at his watch again, he paused; and noticed a rather large shadow behind him. At first he did not move, and neither did the shadow. He managed to look down again, and he realised a smooth stone was by the pillar that was holding up the glass bus shelter. He nervously waited three seconds, and still the shadow did not move. The shadow was towering over Jake as desperate thoughts rush his mind, screaming at him. Suddenly, Jack lunged across the gnarled bench, his hands shakily clasping the stone. He was almost completely devoted to launching the stone at the shadow but something kept him from doing it. Despite this seeming blisteringly quick, the shadow was even quicker than him. The shadows had was clamped around Jake's skinny wrist. Jake dropped the stone instantly, and it hurt very much but Jake decided to be emotionless as he turned to face the shadow.

The shadow man wore a black coat that was buttoned up so much you could barely see his mouth. It also ran down to his ankles, with his charcoal black boots continuing the mysterious trend. His nose and cheeks were very visible as they stood out against the wall of darkness behind. On the contrary, the mans eyes were hidden between his thick black curls.

As the man did not let go of Jake's arm, he decided to bring his knee up, slamming it into the mans body. The man recoiled backwards but his grip on Jake's arm was absolute, and Jake was yanked back again. Jake was suddenly unable to move his body, and the man took advantage of Jake's minor distraction by side-stepping, so that Jake's back was facing the brick wall. Without hesitation, he launched Jake at the wall. Searing pain clouded Jake as he staggered around like a drunk. The man had let go and so as Jake fell onto the slippery pavement, he was soaked as the bus Jack was hoping to catch drove into a large puddle. This was Jake's chance to run away from the man. He accelerated into a nearby alley way, only to hear the thudding footsteps of the giant, looming man behind him. '****', thought Jake as he dramatically stumbled through the late evening mist. Jack had to shake the man off before his pounding steps caught up to him. Then Jake noticed a retail store up ahead. His only chance was to charge through the window and take refuge in the store. Jake's extra spurt of speed was one of the only ways he'd reach it before the man caught up. Desperately, Jack was coming to the end of the alley way. And suddenly, with only nano seconds to spare, a black van pulled up in front, blocking the alley exit completely. The next thing Jake knew, he had slammed into the side of the van. However he was carrying so much momentum that he rebounded back into the man. This broke his fall, but he was still blacking out. The last thing he saw was an insignia of baby with a bow and arrow, and underneath, in huge bold letters C.H.E.R.U.B...

 2016 December 24th

Jake Stanton woke up 6:42 in the morning. Normally, Jake wouldn't know this because he lived in an orphanage with nothing but the clothes he slept in and his equipment for school. Jake had almost no personal possessions either, except from a special coin that had been engraved by his parents before they had died. Jake had no family, and it had been that way for almost seven years. Jake could never concentrate at school as well because he had now idea how, when, what, where and why his parents had died. Despite this, Jake got excellent grades at school. Jake was woken up to the sound of the alarm clock beeping. At first, Jake felt a weird absence in his brain; but then the events of last night came into his head. He had too many questions to ask, and too little people to answer them. In fact, there was nobody in this room bar him, which suddenly made him feel very lonely. Being alone was a weird feeling for Jake because he usually slept in a dormitory with twelve boys in it. Another reason why he had no personal possessions: there were always thefts going on around the dorm, and so less belongings meant less to steal for the thief's. Jake was just about to put fresh clothes on when he noticed that he had clean clothes on. He was wearing a orange tee-shirt with a weird logo on it and warm joggings. They were both comfortable and clean- not a usual trait his clothes had. But Jake was curious of the logo on the front of the shirt; because never seen it before. He took the shirt off for a better look. The logo was in bold black, and this combined with the florescent orange shirt would probably make him stand out. Well, lets take a look outside, Jake thought. He donned the t - shirt and slowly and steadily opened the door.

He really did stand out. But the main thing Jake was concerned about was the little crowd of Red shirts charging towards him. He could never remember athletes running that fast, so why could 7 seven - year - old's? Jake ducked back into his room, just as the mob charged past, and moments later a very tanned Kenyan in front and stopped them. He was about 15 years old, and had muscles that had started to bulge out of his sports top. His dark eyes were authoritative and immediately worried the youngsters. "Al right you guys, I know its Christmas eve, but your advent calendars can wait!"

"But Master Kelvin, we've just had triple history!"

The pleading look on the faces of the kids would have instantly have made Jake stand down. Apparently, Kelvin had a similar idea. "Ok guys, I'l let you off this time, but remember: only one chocolate each, and make it quick!"

"Thank you Master Kelvin!" cried the youngsters in unison, trying to sound as cute as possible. The red shirts quickly ran off and Kelvin was walking towards him.

"Excuse me, what am i doing here?" asked Jake, trying to sound as innocent as the youngsters. However, years of living on the streets and communicating with tramps had left his voice rough and hardened.

"Sorry kid, can't talk to the orange." Replied the boy, who looked kind. Jake realised this, and sensed this as a weak point.

"Please." Pleaded Jake, and finally the young Kenyan gave in.

"Al right kid, but don't tell anyone I said this. Just go forward and turn left. There will be an elevator there, so get on it, and go to floor 5. There will either be another orange shirt like you or an adult in a white shirt."

"Thank you sir."

"No probs kid, and the names Kelvin. See you around some time." Jake felt like saying something, but nothing came out. Jake took one last glance in the room, and the walked forwards, taking the directions Kelvin had given him.