Morph

Chapter 3 Skyler Punishment then Reward

Most of the children lowered their heads as the Queen inspected every one of them. A red-haired boy looked her directly in the eye and glared into the Queen's eyes. She smiled back as if she was planning something awful for that poor soul. She continued to each individual child. Finally, she walked back to my father and me.

My clothes stank of blood and dirt. I felt as bad as I smelt. The Queen took the clipboard from my father's hands and read each of the names aloud. When the child heard their name, they stepped forward and one of the guards would pick them up and put them in the back of a truck. Some of the kids squirmed, others squealed and cried. And in a rare moment a parent would try to take back their kid. And that's where I came in. I had to hold the parents back. On more than one occasion I was tempted to just let the parent go because their sobs and crying was too much to bear. But I knew what the outcome would be.

The Queen counted each child. There were 13 total, but there was supposed to be 15. The Sparrows still haven't been found. My stomach began to churn and I felt hot and sick. My clothes stuck to my sweating body, which didn't make the odor any more appealing. The longer we waited the more the punishment would be for the Sparrows. My father looked at the Queen.

"Your majesty?" He calmly asked.

"Yes? George, is it?" The Queen replied.

"Yes, that is my name. But your majesty I was inquiring if you would like to sit in the Town Hall rather than out here. For you see, it is going to rain." My father said gesturing towards the building.

"Hmm. I think that is an excellent idea." She gave my father a smile "Lead on." She said.

Rain fell outside the window. It gave the day an eerie and depressing feeling. I sat on a chair facing the window. I didn't like storms they made me feel on edge.

I felt a cold hand touch my shoulder I turned sharply to see my sister standing there with a slight smile.

"Hey. You okay?" Mandy asked as she sat down next to me.

"Yeah, I guess so." I replied turning back to the window.

"Sure, you are. You always say that, but then you bite your lip. That is a habit you have when you are worried," She said nudging me. I suddenly realized that I was biting my lip.

"Great observation." I muttered dryly.

"What's wrong Sky?" Mandy questioned quietly. I looked at her. Her eyes were full of concern and doubt. Her smile had faded completely. There wasn't even a trace that there had been a smile.

I looked at the ground, then slowly admitted "Fine. I'm sad and a little angry. I mean, the Sparrows if they aren't found soon then their punishment will be far worse than anything ever received."

As I finished Mandy looked out the window then echoed "Worse than anything ever received..." she then looked at me, "Skyler! What will happen if they don't find them at all?"

I had never thought about that before. What if that happened? Would the Queen take it out on the rest of us? I didn't even have a clue.

We sat in silence then there was a knock at the door to the city building. I stood, cautiously walking towards the door. I opened it to see the Sparrows and behind them were the drone bodyguards.

"Ah! You have found them!" The Queen cooed, "Good. Now I wish to speak with them. Take their children and put them in the truck. We will leave soon."

One of the guards spoke in a monotone voice, "We couldn't find the children ma'am. They weren't with the parents."

The Queen's eyes flickered with anger, "Very well. I am not going to waste any more precious time looking for dead children. Go." The Queen said with a dismissive wave.