Kids in Paradise

Chapter 1

My name is Lucky Jackson and I am the cause for the fall of the King.

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"If you have a story to tell, then tell it. Regardless of how bad it is, how sad it may make you feel, or how hard it may be for you, tell your story." This is what my father used to tell me all the time when I was younger. Back in our apartment with half of the left wall missing as he tucked me into what we referred to as a bed. I knew it wasn't a bed but I mean anything is better than the floor if it resembles comfort.

My father would tell me a story every night, and every night it would be different than the night before. Sometimes I would ask him to retell me one but he would just shake his head and reply "A story is best told for the first time, anytime after that and it has already lost its value. Enjoy every story you hear for they are my gift to you son." The funny thing is, I haven't seen my father since winter but I still remember him. I remember his gray poncho he would always wear as well as his orange armband which always seemed to slide off his arm. Along with him, I still remember his stories. I tell them to my friends whenever they seem to be down in the dumps. It always helps to lift their spirits high enough to not be dragging on the ground as we walk along these dark and gloomy tunnels.

But I'm getting ahead of myself there. I think I need to tell this story one step at a time and this story starts way back when snow was falling on the ground. That would be winter time I suppose, and considering that December seems to be the only month in winter that I can think of, I'm going to say this story starts way back in December. My friends and I were meeting at the playground around lunchtime to hangout for the day. What happened that day was something special, something magical, and something cool.

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It was warmer that day and the snow already was beginning to melt away. I jumped out of bed and quickly threw on my gray coat that was a few sizes too big for me. But even with it being too big for me, I still loved that coat anyway. My dad found it one day when he was going through the facility and brought it back for me to wear during the winter time. I had grown to love it so much that I wore it everywhere I went regardless of how warm it was. Warm was just an idea at that point, at least that's what my dad keeps telling me. He says back before the King, everything used to be warmer and the sun would shine everyday. He would tell me these stories of being able to wear shorts and a t-shirt outside, and play in a pool just to stay cool. I wish it would be warm again but if it was warm I wouldn't want to wear my coat all the time, and I liked my coat because it had a lot of pockets.

I made my way out of the shack that my dad had found for us down in the tunnels. It wasn't much but it was safer than sleeping in the open. I also knew he used whatever money he had leftover to hire the local striders to watch over our shack during the nighttime to make it even safer for the two of us. I continued on through the tunnels, heading towards the upper streets. A person from the upper streets would get lost quickly down in the tunnels without a guide, but I had been living down here for as long as I could remember and I knew every twist and turn like the back of my hand. I soon found one of the exits for the tunnel and arrived topside. I was heading over to the playground where my friends would meet up every day to hangout. It was more of a walk for me then it was for them since they all lived topside but it didn't matter to me. Hanging out with them was way better than sitting in the shack and reading.

As I strolled over to the playground, I already could see my friend Tommy sitting on the swings. He was playing his guitar as usual and didn't seem to notice my presence. He was wearing his typical gray hoodie, this time the hood was down. This normally meant he was in a happier mood today and we could joke around with him. When the hood is up, he is in a super serious mood and shouldn't be messed with. Devin and I still like to bug him even when his hood is up, he looks funny when he gets angry.