As he walked, he thought about Caleb, and their conversation this morning. The thought had been eating at him throughout the day, but he''d been too busy to really think about it. The reality of the situation though was that if Caleb was finally adopted then the boy would forget they ever had that talk, and that was for the best. Max liked him, but just like Gabby, just like Ava, and Richard and everyone else, Max had no intention in building a relationship build on true feelings.
The fog looked even darker as the sun overhead started to set. The streets were desolate, empty, and cold a reflection of Max''s own emotions, he thought. It was an hour and a half before he finally arrived at St. Hope.
''Home sweet home," Max thought heading inside.
He was finally warm again, even if the inside felt stuffy, and humid. It was about 6:30 in the evening so everyone was probably at dinner. Max started to head toward the kitchen, but before he took another step, he felt a force grab at the groceries in his hand, and yank them from him.
Max felt his arm jerk in surprise, he was pulled so hard he almost fell, but he caught himself on the reception desk before he did. He turned his head, and saw the perpetrator rummaging through its contents.
"Ms. Finch, what are you-?"
"So, you went all the way to the general store for supplies?" She asked, dumping everything out of the bag onto the receptionist desk, "Why didn''t you go to Helens like you usually do? It''s right by the school." She asked looking at the receipt in disgust.
Another surprise Max wasn''t expecting. Of all the people he could''ve run into today why did it have to be Mrs. Finch? While his relationship with Madam Vine was complicated, his with Ms. Finch was cut and dry.
She was a tall, and angry woman who was as spiteful as she looked. Her black eyes always carried with them a look of passing judgment, and expectation. If you were doing something wrong, she went out of her way to tell you about it. And when you were doing something right, she would tell you that it wasn''t right enough.
"I went with some friends," Max said hoping that''d satisfy her curiosity.
"Friends?" She snorted, "since when do you have friends?"
"Just because I don''t bring them around doesn''t mean they don''t exist. Anyways, Madam Vine asked me to get those after school today."
"And instead of getting them right away you decided to take your sweet time? In the future you bring the supplies here first before mocking about. This home is more important than anything else going on out there, you better remember that."
Max ignored the woman and started to head toward the kitchen so he could get some food.
"Don''t walk away, we''re not done."
Max took a deep breath, and turned around, "what do you want from me? A few more years and I''ll be out of here, can''t you just get off my back until then?"
Mrs. Finch grew quiet, but her eyes spoke louder than any words could. Max felt a sense of guilt, and anguish wash over him as he turned his head away from her, unwilling to meet her gaze.
"Do you remember the reason you were given the attic to begin with?
"I remember," Max said.
"Then understand this, given the slightest, and I mean the slightest, most insignificant reason, I will have you out in a heartbeat. You never respected this home despite the care that''s gone into keeping you warm, fed, and safe. Madam Vine may have a soft heart, but I do not. If it weren''t for your influence, Caleb might''ve still had a shot."
"Wait, what''s this about Caleb?" Max asked, "was he adopted today?"
Caleb''s name came out of nowhere. It was true that they were both close, but his influence rubbing off on the boy sounded asinine. He went out of his way to keep as far from him as possible for the last year or so.
"No, he wasn''t adopted, obviously. He''s twelve years old, raggedy, he doesn''t pay attention to anything in class, and he lacks basic manners, there was no way he''d be adopted. What a joke of a question, that family took Eli instead."
Eli was five years old, hearing that he was adopted was no surprise to Max, but they were supposed to spend time with Caleb today, spending time with a child that you said you are going to adopt, and then turning your back on them and adopting another child was a cold-hearted move. Max was happy for Eli, but Caleb must''ve felt awful.
"Where is he?"
"Oh, he ran away hours ago, knowing him he''ll probably be back bef- "
Max was out the door, and in the blistering cold before Ms. Finch could finish her sentence. He could hear her screaming at him from the doorway, but Max did not listen, his heart was racing, and he only had one thing on his mind – find Caleb. He pulled his phone out, and was about to call Raguel when he noticed tiny footprints in the dirt heading toward the back of the orphanage.
Max followed them unsure of where they would lead. He thought about why Caleb would run away, but then the conversation from this morning sprung to mind like a frenzied alarm that never stopped blaring. His head started to hurt, and his ears went numb as the temperature slowly dropped.
''You better hope you get adopted''
Those were the last words Max had said to Caleb before leaving this morning. Why did he say that to him? Max knew that the odds of him being adopted were slim, so why say something so hurtful? Max mulled it over as he followed the footsteps, they lead him to the back of the orphanage.
In the backyard there was a fenced in playground with a broken swing set, and several gashed slides that the orphanage never bothered to repair. Max entered through the outside gate; the footsteps getting harder to follow. They melded with the footsteps from the children that played outside earlier.
Since there was hardly any light left and no streetlights to assist, Max turned on the flash feature of his phone, casting a narrow beam through the looming darkness. He carefully followed Caleb''s tracks, visible as faint imprints in the snow. Sticking close to the fence, he scanned the ground intently. Sure enough, the tracks led to the opposite side of the playground and stopped abruptly against the fence. Max took a deep breath, hopped over the fence, and pushed through a thicket of bushes. Emerging on the other side, he found himself back on a nearby street.
In the distance, maybe 100 meters away Max could hear people talking, it was faint, but it was there. Max couldn''t see anything in the icy fog, but his feet started moving in that direction.
As he got closer, he could make out dialects, and words. These weren''t good people; these were people like him, criminals. If he was lucky, they''d be flying the right colors, and if he was unlucky, well it was a good thing Max rarely flew his. The Archangels controlled all of Eden Springs, but there were still smaller groups, nobodies trying to wrestle that control away. As Max got closer, he could make out a child''s voice, someone young. It had to be Caleb, and as a matter of fact it was.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.
It was like a painter filling in the spots on a murky canvas. Their bodies slowly came into view, breaking through the whirling pond of fog and grey. There were four of them, and one of those four was Caleb.
"Woah little man, this your unc?" One of them said.
It was a boy Max had never seen before, but he got the impression that he was the leader of this little group. He wore a silver, and blue bandanna as a neck scarf, his hair was parted in the middle with a bun on each side, and his skin was dark. He wore earrings, and what looked like lavish bracelets on both arms. If Max had to guess he was either a drop out or he attended Riverview.
As Max approached the group he flashed his colors, pulling out silvery blue bandanna of his own, and letting it hang from his pocket.
Caleb turned around, and his eyes widened in surprise.
"Big Max, I mean, Max?" He said. For a moment he was happy to see him, but that quickly washed away as the events of this morning came flashing forward, "what are you doing here?" He asked coldly. Caleb backed away from Max, and to keep him from backing up too far the other boy placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him.
"I''m here to get you, now come on," Max said holding out a hand.
But Caleb didn''t move, and the boy holding his shoulder started to laugh. "Oh shit, well lil man how bout you roll with me? Got a lil bro myself, I''m sure you''d both get along."
Max didn''t have time for games. It had been a long day, and Max was cold, hungry and tired. He could have a long heart to heart with Caleb once they were back at the orphanage, but now wasn''t the time for that. He reached for Caleb''s arm, but the older boy pulled him back.
"Woah, woah woah man come on now. He just got done telling me where he''s from. Now we both know that shithole ain''t gonna miss him."
"What you''re describing is kidnapping." Max said.
"Kidnapping?" The boy put a hand to his ear as if he was listening for something. "I don''t hear any sirens? Do yall hear any sirens?" His group shook their head, and started to laugh.
That was a foolish gamble on Max''s part, and he knew it. There were no sirens because the police were never called, and the police were never called because they don''t care about kids from an underfunded orphanage, and more than that they didn''t care about South Eden.
"Nah I''m just playin'' man." The older boy said lightly pushing Caleb forward, he stumbled a bit tripping over his legs before Max grabbed his arm, and pulled him to his side, "I ain''t trying to feed two kids you know?" the older boy said.
"Raguel told me there wouldn''t be anyone else on this side of the block." Max stated pointedly.
Max said this for a few reasons. First, it was true, and one of Max''s conditions for working with Raguel. Second, it would establish that Max had a direct connection with Raguel, one of the leading figures in the Archangels, and lastly, the statement implied that this was Max''s turf, and they needed to leave.
The fact that they were here, and this close to the church was a problem, and yet another thing he''d have to talk to Raguel about depending on how this played out. Raguel had told him that the Archangels have had an eye on the orphanage so perhaps this was a weak attempt and pulling in new recruits? But if that was the case Max figured Raguel would''ve went to him directly about it.
"Oh, come on now, don''t be like that Red," he said while smiling ominously.
Suddenly, the tone of the conversation had shifted. The fog was no longer a grey mist keeping Max from seeing the outside, but instead a thinly veiled layer of vapor that kept the outside from looking at Max. For the first time in a while, he felt trapped, and despite having Caleb by his side, he also felt alone.
"How do you know that name?" Max asked.
"Oh, you didn''t expect Jegudiel to play fairly, did you?" The boy said shrugging his shoulders. "My name is Dante, by the way, not that it''ll matter to you in the end."
Jegudiel, where did Max hear that name before? That''s right, it was this morning at the meeting with Raguel.
''Jegudiel threw a name in the hat too. Way I see it, it''s gonna come down to you or him.''
So, this was Jegudiel''s candidate, and his name was Dante. Max gritted his teeth in frustration. How could he anticipate a move like this? If this boy went out of his way to come see him then that could only mean...
Max thought about reaching for his strap, but then he remembered that he rarely carried it on him. Taking it to school would be asking for trouble, and most of his jobs didn''t ask for that kind of heat so he rarely had to use it, but now? He wasn''t sure what Dante''s intentions were.
"That youngin'' made today a breeze, man. I figured we''d be out here at least another week before getting a chance to talk with you. But who would''ve thought you''d just walk right up to us?" He laughed.
Caleb squirmed a bit under Max''s hand, he was getting nervous now; even he could sense the danger.
"We were both given jobs right? Whoever does the best work gets the spot." Max stated.
"Right, that''s what''s supposed to happen. But I prefer to do things the easy way, so how bout this. You pull that phone of yours out, and call Raguel. You tell him you''re backing out."
"And if I refuse?" Max asked crossing his arms, and cocking his head to the side.
"I wonder what would happen if that home of yours found out you banged. They usually kick orphans like that out, right? After filing a police report too, I bet." He smiled.
Max took a deep breath; he could even feel Caleb''s eyes on him. The secret was out now, even if he did refuse Caleb had heard everything, and that itself was a risk, though it was one he could probably alleviate. Regardless, after thinking through all of his options he pulled out his work phone, and called Raguel, and placed it on speaker.
After a few rings, the man picked up, "Red?" He said.
"Hey Raguel, I''m not interested in the Azrael spot anymore. Take my name out the hat."
There was a long silence after that. Although it was only fifteen seconds, it seemed like it lasted at least a full minute.
"Alright," he said, "Is that all?"
"Yep." Max said hanging up the call, and putting the phone back in his pocket.
Dante''s group seemed satisfied with that. The boy and his group turned around, and started to leave, "thanks Red" he said waving Max off. Max, and Caleb stood and watched as the three bodies disappeared in the fog.
"Alright, let''s go home."
Max placed a hand on the boys shoulder, and walked side by side with him down the street.
"I-I got you into a lot of trouble today, didn''t I?" Caleb asked, sniffling.
Max sighed, and took his thick jacket off, and covered the boy with it. It was so large that it almost dragged on the ground; the hood completely enveloping his head. Caleb brought the sleeves up, and pressed them into his nose in an attempt to keep warm.
"Yeah, you did," Max said. "But don''t worry about it, I''ll be fine."
Max could hear Caleb trying his best to choke back tears. He didn''t acknowledge them, he figured Caleb wouldn''t want him too.
"I-I''m sorry for running away. It''s j-just earlier you said- "
"I know what I said." Max finished his sentence. "What was your plan?"
"Huh?" Caleb asked sniffling again.
"Every move you make, every action needs to have a plan associated with it. You can''t make life altering decisions like running away without a plan or it''ll backfire."
"A p-plan." Max could see the boys head look downward.
As he expected, this was an emotional decision, and not a logical one. If this was someone like Richard or Kacey mistakes like this would be bothersome but affordable. Parents, the police, the community would care to look for someone like them, but orphans like Max and Caleb did not have that luxury. Caleb needed to grow up, and grow up fast.
"Let''s consider a few things Caleb. What would you have eaten tonight? Where would you have slept? What clothes would you have worn? Did you even pack anything?"
Max knew the answer to all of these questions of course, but that didn''t change the fact that Caleb didn''t. He needed to drill these questions into him, and he needed to become someone different than he was today, someone smarter.
"So maybe, maybe I should come up with a plan to get adopted?" Caleb asked.
"Give up on that." Max said sternly, "It''s time you come up with a plan if you don''t."
That shut the boy up. Max hoped that the gears were turning in his head. He was only twelve years old, but he had six years to figure it all out. If he were to be adopted between now and then, then great, but that couldn''t be his aspiration. Caleb needed to hold his own future, and not shove it in someone else''s hands.
After the two got back to the orphanage Ms. Finch scolded them. While Max took the brunt of it Caleb did not get away scot-free. He''d lost his outside privileges for a month, and was made to be be last in line to get his food for breakfast and dinner until Ms. Finch said otherwise. Max hoped that this would fuel Caleb to find another answer, another goal aside from adoption.
After they were both sent to bed Max took a detour to the kitchen, and snuck a peanut butter sandwich out of the refrigerator along with a banana. On his way to his room in the attic, he passed through the dormitory where every kid was fast asleep. The room was dimly lit with night lights which engulfed the room in a light blue hue. Caleb was still putting on his pajamas when Max past by his bed, throwing the food on the mattress. Caleb looked at him, but Max said no words as he made his way up the stairs.
Max''s bed was a large stack of flattened cardboard boxes fitted with a gray sheet, and blankets. The first few nights Max spent in the attic he couldn''t stand the feeling of it, but after some time he grew accustomed to the bed, and even grew to prefer it over the old mattress he used to sleep in down in the dormitory.
He put on his sleepwear, and got into bed. Max couldn''t help but replay the events of the day over and over again, and for the third time that day he meticulously planned his next set of moves. He didn''t get far in his planning though as he was asleep in a matter of minutes.