《Children of Eden》


 Chapter 1 - St. Hope Orphanage

    A colossal blaze of fire would consume the world, and everyone in it. Every man woman, and child swept away and turned to worthless ash. This was a world full of criminals, and liars, and all of them deserved to die, including Max himself.


    Those were his true thoughts; thoughts that he did not plan to share with anybody, and if he were to who would he share them with? He was a criminal and intended to exploit this lifestyle until he found a viable way out or bit the dust.


    Max looked at himself in the mirror and saw dark, tired eyes. Excitement had been high in the orphanage the last few days; after all, there¡¯s been a slew of adoptions lately, and when that happens the other kids get more excited than usual, and it¡¯s because of that he hasn¡¯t gotten a lot of sleep.


    In truth Max was happy for the kids, especially the younger ones; they hadn¡¯t been broken by the system yet and still had a chance to succeed the right way, unlike himself. Max was more worried about the older kids pushing eleven and twelve, and thought It was unlikely they¡¯d get adopted - it wouldn¡¯t be long before the Archangels came for them.


    With a heavy sigh, Max washed his face, dressed, and left the attic and down the stairs to the dormitory.


    The dormitory was the second largest room in St. Hope Haven orphanage and was full of twin beds, and numerous toys that were at least three decades old. The sheets were paper thin, and the blankets cold, and rough. One of the kids began to raise the curtains letting in the thick blotted sunlight which to Max, only illuminated the cracks in the floorboard and the scratchy lead paint.


    One of the younger kids caught sight of Max and smiled an ugly smile that Max winced at.


    ¡°Big Max! Big Max! Big Max! Big Max is awake!¡± he cried over and over again.


    The other kids turned their attention to Max, and they all began to cheer.


    ¡°Alright, alright I get it, calm down,¡± Max said feigning a smile.


    The child that started the cheer was a boy named Luke who couldn¡¯t even pronounce his name. He was left at the steps of the orphanage as a child and had spent the entirety of his life within these walls, and to be frank he had no chance, and would not succeed at anything in life; those were Max¡¯s true feelings.


    As for the nickname it was simple, Luke had just learned the word big, and to him, that¡¯s what Max was, and so ¡°Big Max¡± had begun, and spread like wildfire throughout the orphanage. Luke ran up to Max, hugged his leg, and then looked up at him.


    ¡°Are you gonna eat with us today?¡±


    ¡°Not today,¡± Max said, ¡°Maybe tomorrow.¡±


    Max did not like eating at the orphanage. The food was not very good, and he preferred the food he got to eat at school. That being said, he did try to eat with the kids on occasion; for some reason, they seemed to look up to him. Max did not understand why, but if something as simple as that would make their lives less miserable, he figured there¡¯d be no harm.


    ¡°Okay, s¡¯long as you don¡¯t lie!¡± Luke said trotting off to breakfast.


    The morning¡¯s chant had ended, and most of the kids had left toward the cafeteria while a few stayed back to finish making their beds.


    Max left the dormitory and made his way straight toward the front entrance where he was stopped by Madame Vine, the oldest caretaker in the orphanage, and one of the most respected and feared.


    "Oh! Good morning, Maxy," she said with a toothless smile, "a couple more years and you''ll be a man grown. I still remember the day they first gave you to me. You could barely walk on your own two feet." She snickered. "And look at me now. I''m the one barely able to walk."


    "Elderly or not it seems like you still have all the younger kids afraid of you" Max laughed.


    "Not too afraid I hope," Madame Vine said. "After what happened over at St. Langue¡¯s I''ve been terribly worried," she raised her eyebrows, "that reminds me, Maxy," she said pulling out an envelope, "after what happened to Mrs. Valda all of their children are being sent to other orphanages, so we should expect some new arrivals in the coming weeks.¡±


    That¡¯s right, Max thought. There was a murder a few days ago at an orphanage just a few blocks from here. Based on the description of the murder Max didn¡¯t think it was gang-related, but a lot of strange things have been happening on the news lately so he didn¡¯t know what to think; either way, it didn¡¯t really concern him, or at least he didn¡¯t think it would.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    "If you don''t mind Maxy, could you stop by the store after school, and pick up some supplies for us? This envelope has a list of what we need along with some money," she said holding it out, her hand shaking.


    "Sure, no problem," Max said taking the list outside of the envelope and handing the money back to her.


    Before Madame Vine could protest Max briskly changed the subject.


    ¡°What are the odds of anyone else enrolling?¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± Madame Vine said looking down at the money in her hands, ¡°The headmaster does not think that¡¯s a clever idea. He believes the education we teach here at St. Hope to be far superior to anything taught in public schools.¡±


    ¡°Yet this curriculum doesn¡¯t have the equivalent of a GED or diploma.¡±


    ¡°Yes well, ideally most children will be ¡°


    ¡°Adopted, I know.¡±


    This line of thinking was destructive, but she didn¡¯t need to hear that from Max; it was quite evident that Madame Vine was fully aware of the problems that existed in the orphanage.


    He could not help but resent her though. She¡¯d been a cog in this system for so long and had accepted her place within it.


    He hated her for that.


    But at the same time, if it wasn¡¯t for her, he wouldn¡¯t have his own space in the attic, and if it wasn¡¯t for her, he wouldn¡¯t be allowed to go to school. This woman saw excellence in him that none of the other caretakers did, and for that he was grateful, and for that, a deep part of him would like to pay that kindness back someday.


    But that also begged the question. What did she see in him that she didn¡¯t the other children?


    Max did not have the time to think about that.


    "I know you''re always working, but if you can... please try to keep your attendance up this year," the woman sniffed as a tear dripped down her face, "After you turn 18, we won''t be able to keep you here anymore. I want you to find your own place in the world."


    ¡°It¡¯s a good thing I have three years to figure that out,¡± Max feigned a chuckle, ¡°I¡¯ll be fine,¡± Max said rubbing the back of his head, ¡°you shouldn¡¯t worry so much.¡±


    "I fear I don''t worry enough about you," Madame Vine said, "I remember when I was your age. I did many-" the old lady stopped herself, and waved a hand. "Ah, if I ramble any longer, you''ll be late for school. Go on Maxy, and best remember what I told you." The old lady turned away and slowly walked back toward the other children.


    Once she was gone Max took a deep breath and placed his hand on the doorknob leading outside.


    ¡°Hey!¡±


    But someone else was stopping him now; Max sighed again, he was expecting this.


    Max turned around and met the boy head-on.


    ¡°Hey Caleb,¡± Max said.


    The boy was 12 years old, and just like Max, he¡¯d lost his parents at an early age. He had light brown hair, and his eyes were red, and puffy, further exasperated by his pale skin.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re just gonna leave without saying goodbye? You know there¡¯s a chance today. I might finally leave.¡±


    It was true, there was a family that took an interest in Caleb, and there was a decent chance he¡¯d get adopted today. Of all the kids in the orphanage, Caleb is the closest to what Max would call a friend, but even that was a bond he preferred broken.


    ¡°I know we don¡¯t hang out and stuff anymore because you¡¯re in school and all, but I thought today you¡¯d at least, I-I don¡¯t know I thought you¡¯d at least say something. Do you hate me?¡±


    Max sighed frustratedly, ¡°It¡¯s not like that.¡±


    ¡°Then what is it then!¡± Caleb yelled.


    Max looked up at the dilapidated walls, the cracked ceiling, and then down at his own hands, and the hoodie he was wearing.


    ¡°Nothing about this place is worth remembering, not even me,¡± Max said, ¡°Once you get out of here you need to forget about this place.¡±


    ¡°But why would I do that?¡± Caleb said shaking his head. The boy clenched his fists and wiped away the tears that started to flow out of them.


    ¡°Everyone here is my friend; I don¡¯t want to forget them.¡±


    ¡°I get what you¡¯re saying Caleb, I do but look around you. Everyone that stays here is destined to live a sad, and worthless life. If you end up even remotely successful, you¡¯ll feel burdened by their shortcomings ¨C including mine. I won¡¯t repeat myself.¡±


    At this point, Max¡¯s heart was racing. What did Caleb not understand? He was smart for his age, and this was a conclusion Max had reached at the start of his adolescence, it wasn¡¯t rocket science.


    Max opened the door allowing a cold windy breeze to burst into the room; Caleb wrapped his arms around his chest and sniffled loudly, he was still in his pajamas.


    ¡°Is that what you think of us? We¡¯re all just failures with no shot at living?¡±


    ¡°You better hope you get adopted,¡± Max said slamming the door in Caleb¡¯s face and leaving the orphanage.


    Max buried his hands in his hoodie pockets, and quickly made his way toward his destination. Directly across the street were numerous fire barrels set up, and although he could barely see them due to the thick blotted fog he knew homeless men and women were standing over them. It was a well-known fact that many of the city¡¯s homeless once stayed in one of the orphanages; Max wondered just how many came from St. Hope Heaven.


    The schedule for kids staying at St. Hope mostly coincided with his school schedule with a few things to note. The first of which is that the kids began their day at 6:00 AM. Breakfast lasted until about 6:45, and school officially started at 7:00 AM. Eden High on the other hand classes didn¡¯t start until 8:00 AM sharp. This gave Max two hours to do as he liked, whether that was breakfast with the kids or work.


    Putting aside the thought of his home life, Max focused on getting to his destination as quickly as possible. He put on some headphones and blasted Freddie Gibbs on the way to 7th Avenue just a few blocks away.


    Max thought about what assignment was waiting for him. He¡¯d been putting in work for a few years at this point and figured he was due for a promotion. He kept low-key in the organization but not so much outside it, and Max was working to change that.


    Max tried to have no social media presence and purchased a second phone to use exclusively for work; he did not want to mix up his personal and professional lives. If he did leave one day, he wanted that transition to be as seamless as possible, and maintaining two phones allowed him to do that.

 Chapter 2 - Azrael

    Max finally arrived at the alley at the end of 7th Avenue and stepped inside. He''d come to appreciate this spot over the years; the railroad tracks were just across the street, and he knew as soon as he''d crossed them, he''d be in a different world.


    Leaning against the wall, slightly hidden behind a dumpster was Raguel; a tall black man with a deep blue bandanna covering his head. The alley was so dark it would''ve been difficult to see him unless you were looking closely, and now that Max was in the alley it was the same for him.


    He had a cigarette in one hand, and a bottle of jack in the other.


    "Morning Red." He said, "Got a couple jobs for you."


    "Daytime drinking is a sign of depression."


    Raguel looked at the bottle for a moment, then at Max before finally deciding to toss it to him. Max caught it and stared at it with a confused look.


    "If you wanted some all you had to do was ask." Raguel said.


    Max opened the bottle and took a sniff "It literally smells like gasoline. I''ll pass."


    Max threw the bottle back at him, and Raguel caught it effortlessly.


    "You got something for me?" He said.


    Max took off his backpack and opened it up. Inside were at least five bands inside a large zip lock bag.


    Max started to hand the bag over to Raguel, and the man grabbed it, but Max did not let go.


    "Next time, you get this shit off of me the day I get it, not the day after. You got that?"


    Raguel smiled and yanked the bag away from Max.


    "My bad Red, something came up."


    "Not my problem, we have a good thing going and I don''t want you fucking it up."


    Raguel laughed, and put the bag away in a backpack of his own, but not before handing Max his cut of the money.


    "You''re right man, that''s my bad. You''ve been putting in work, I don''t mean to step on that."


    Max had nothing to say to that. Raguel knew he lived in an orphanage, and when Max joined the crew, he explicitly made it clear that he didn''t want personal ties involved in any way shape, or form.


    At this point students from this part of the city, usually referred to as South Eden started to pass by the alley on their way to school; Max turned for a moment and watched them cross over the railroad tracks.


    "Ah, that''s right, school starting back up today huh?" Raguel said, "Shame they don''t send the buss out this way."


    Max turned back to Raguel, "We should probably get on with this. Truant officers are out in force on the first day of school."


    Max still had plenty of time to get to school and enjoy breakfast but the less time he spent with Raguel the better. While it was unlikely anyone would see them, he didn''t want to risk anything; he''s managed to keep a clean image at school so far, and he''d rather not risk losing that. Besides, if St. Hope Heaven found out he was part of the Archangels he''d be kicked out in an instant.


    "I better get to it then huh?" Raguel said taking a swig from his drink, "well Red a spot''s opened up, and I vouched for you."


    Max''s eyes widened, "you don''t mean."


    "Yeah, I do, Azrael is up for grabs, and I threw your name in the hat."


    Max furrowed his brow, and looked past Raguel into the distance.


    This was a big deal. The Archangels have always had seven lieutenants, and Azrael was one of them; if the spot''s open then that means whoever held that was likely dead. Being a lieutenant meant your own territory, crew, and flow of money; not to mention the insane amount of protection it came with.


    "Alright then what''s the catch?" Max asked.


    "Jegudiel threw a name in the hat too. Way I see it, it''s gonna come down to you or his candidate."


    Max had never met any of the other lieutenants aside from Raguel; he wasn''t even sure about their names, but the theme wasn''t anything complicated so with some time he knew he could piece them together if he wanted to.


    Max wondered why only two names were put forward. It could be the case that only Raguel, and Jegudiel had the authority to do so, but it was also possible that the other archangels simply didn''t have anyone to nominate.


    His thoughts shifted to the previous Azrael - how did he die? Max hadn''t been paying much attention to the news lately, but maybe he''d start; the death of someone like that would''ve definitely made the news if the cops knew about him.


    "So, let''s talk about what this is gonna come down to." Raguel said forcing Max to refocus.


    "Alright then, lets."


    Then as if on cue two students appeared in the alleyway. One of them was a boy with red hair, and a careless smile. His hands were up behind his head, and when his eyes met Max, he seemed to grin even more.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    The other student was a girl with long jet-black hair, and green eyes. Unlike the boy she was not smiling, and if anything, she looked very irritated.


    "Woah Raguel, so this is Red huh? It''s nice to finally meetcha!" The boy extended a hand to Max who did not take it. Instead, he turned and looked at Raguel expecting an explanation.


    "They''re both new so you''ll be taking them with you on your assignments for a while. Just make sure they don''t fuck anything up."


    Max raised a brow "My own crew? Was not expecting this when I came here."


    "It''s not just you. Jegudiel''s guy is getting a team too." Raguel tried to take another swig of his drink, but it was empty. Instead, he threw it to the ground, the glass shattering into pieces.


    "You know littering is a misdemeanor." Max remarked half jokingly.


    "Knock out your jobs and the spot is yours." Raguel laughed. "I guess you can look at it like a video game; the more you fuck up the less points you''re gonna have by the time we grade you."


    "And what happens if we both knock out all our jobs?" Max asked.


    "Hell, if I know," Raguel said taking a puff from his cigarette.


    "Awesome."


    Raguel turned his attention to the two students who''d just arrived; the boy''s hand was still in the air, but he started to slowly lower it.


    "This is Draco, and her name is Ava."


    "Yo," Max said.


    "Anyway, I''m gonna ask you three to make a statement at the store off of 4th," Raguel pulled out his phone, and showed the three a picture of a middle-aged man, "Him and his store, don''t care when you do it as long as it''s before the end of the week."


    "Can we kill him?" Draco asked excitedly.


    A look of excitement and glee was painted all over his face; it didn''t take a psychiatrist to know that this boy had more than a few screws loose.


    Suddenly Max realized why Ava looked so disgusted earlier. Something was wrong with this boy. What in the world gave Raguel the idea to bring this guy on?


    "I don''t care what you do." Raguel said.


    "We aren''t killing anybody. Is there a message you want us to send?" Max asked.


    "No, a trip to the hospital should be enough."


    "Got it then." Max said, "is that everything."


    "Yep, you know how to reach me if you need anything," Raguel started to leave, headed further into the alley.


    "Have I ever asked you for help before?"


    Raguel ignored that, and threw the butt of his cigarette onto the icy ground, before disappearing into Eden''s foggy embrace.


    After no response Max turned to his two new recruits. They both wore backpacks, and so Max concluded that they were both likely students.


    "Well, let''s get going then."


    "Hell yeah!" Draco exclaimed clutching his fist.


    "To school."


    "What? We have a job to do don''t we Red? Fuck school."


    Ava sighed in frustration, and due to the freezing temperature Max could see it in her breath.


    "It''s the first day of school." Ava said interrupting "it''d be especially obvious that we don''t belong if we go anywhere but there. Additionally, we don''t know the working hours of the location, possible employees, number of cameras etc. The fact that I have to explain this to you is directly correlative to how useful you''re going to be."


    Draco turned to Ava and got in her face, but she didn''t move; the tension in the alley was so palpable Max could taste it.


    But before Draco could open his mouth Max grabbed his arm and pulled him aside.


    "Three things," he started. "Number one do not call me Red unless we''re in the middle of a job. Number two, Ava is right, we don''t have the information to pull it off today, and number three do whatever the fuck I tell you."


    Draco raised his hands, and backed away from Ava, "Alright, alright my bad. You got my respect man so whatever you say, okay?"


    "Let''s get to school," Max said.


    The three finally started to leave. It was about 6:30 so the trio had plenty of time to get to school. The number of students trickling across the railroad tracks started to decrease, but Max suspected that number would rise again the closer to 8:00 that it got.


    "Wouldn''t it be best if we split up? Being seen together could cause problems later," Ava said.


    Max shook his head, "We''ll probably be meeting up pretty often; so, establishing a relationship now is important, hiding it will likely just make us look suspicious."


    "I see."


    The three finally crossed the railroad tracks. From here on out the city of Eden Springs began to look more vibrant, and colorful. No more dilapidated buildings, or homeless people on the streets. Max often thought about the orphans he lived with, and how they''d never even seen this part of the city.


    The Archangels didn''t operate that much on this side of town due to the increase in police presence, and surveillance. Luckily for Max the general store he''d have to vandalize later that week was a part of South Eden.


    "Are you two new here? I''ve been going to this school for a while, and I haven''t seen either of you before," Max said.


    "Guess you could say I''ve been home-schooled till now." Draco said with a light chuckle.


    "Home-schooled? Why start going to public school then?"


    "Why? Because things were always so boring, and predictable," Draco looked up at the gray sky, "That''s why I have so much respect for you Red. You do what you want without a care in the world, and you''re so calm and collected. I want to be just like you!"


    "You don''t even know me," Max said.


    "I know more than you think, and man I''ve done some crazy things too, haha honestly if the cops knew about me, I''d be in jail for life, I might even get the chair!"


    "That''s enough," Max said shutting him down, "What about you?" He said, turning to Ava.


    "I don''t want to talk about it."


    "Man, a chance to cozy up to Red and you pass on it? Hey Red, is this what they call playing hard to get?"


    "What did I tell you about using that name?"


    "Relax man, it''s fine. Ain''t no one around anyway, don''t worry once we get to the school, I''ll keep my mouth shut," he grinned at Max, and used his fingers to imitate zipping his lips. ¡°Promise."


    If it weren''t for where he was Max would''ve already punched this boy in the face, his blood was boiling. How could Raguel set him up with someone like this? Was this some kind of sick test or a joke? Wasn''t he supposed to vet everyone that ran under him? He''d have a word or two with Raguel later, but for now he''d leave it be, after all what could he do about it now?


    After another block the three finally arrived at Eden High. It was the only high school in the entire city, and if it weren''t for business mogul Reginald Sinclair the school would be just as bad as the orphanage.


    It was only a decade ago that the old school was torn down, and Eden High was built right on top of it; but in addition to tearing down the old school they also bulldozed a lot of houses in the vicinity so they could also expand it.


    Max overheard a conversation going on between some students just behind his group.


    "Man, It''s August shouldn''t we be getting some sunlight? I don''t remember it being so cold this time last year!"


    "Looks like Autumn is here early," the other student said.


    It was true, the weather was exceptionally cold today, and the weather was so foggy he could barely make out other students in the street.


    The pair paid Max and his group, no mind as they entered the school grounds.


    "This is where we go our separate ways. I''d like to talk with you both one on one so Ava, I''ll start with you. See you after school," he said turning his back on the two.


    "You know there''s a chance we''ll all be in the same class, right? Is there anything we need to be cautious about?"


    Max had opened the door to the school, and waved both of them off clearly, not intending to answer her question. Max would find out what class he was in later, it just wasn''t important to him right now, and that knowledge wouldn''t make any difference.

 Chapter 3 - Gabby

    The school''s interior was extremely warm; he almost considered taking his hoodie off. Max checked his phone, and saw that it was only 7:00 AM.


    Seeing that he still had time to eat Max made his way to the cafeteria. As he got in line, he recognized a lot of the students that had crossed the railroad tracks earlier.


    If you were from South Eden, odds were you relied on this food; and while Max was lucky enough to have food at the orphanage, he still preferred school food.


    After grabbing his breakfast, he sat down at one of the tables and started to eat. Under normal circumstances he would eat outside, and down by the beach, but the chilly weather ruled those options out for him.


    As Max ate, he considered the schedule for the week. He''d like to get to know Draco, and Ava a bit more. If they were going to be working together, he needed to know what they wanted, and what they were trying to accomplish. Max had never been in a position of leadership, so this was going to be a real challenge for him, especially Draco.


    There''s also Draco''s mannerisms and allusion to committing felonies which concerned Max. It''s not that Max cared about what Draco has done it''s what he does now, and in the future that could cause problems; Max would need to reign him in somehow. Ava on the other hand seemed much easier to handle, but everyone has a weakness she''s just better at hiding hers than everyone else, Max wanted to know what it was. If Max could figure out what makes both of them tick, he''d be one step closer to becoming Azrael.


    Suddenly Max felt an electrifying jolt to his sides causing him to burst out laughing, but before he could react the perpetrator pulled away, and sat right next to him her thigh rubbing against his.


    "That''s what you get for not texting me all summer."


    "Damnit Gabby, someone could''ve seen," Max said regaining his composure. Luckily for Max the cafeteria was mostly empty, but kids were starting to pour in.


    "I don''t care about your cool guy image. You know I break that down every chance I get."


    "Besides, I told you I wouldn''t text you anyway," Max countered.


    Gabby shot her fingers straight for Max''s ribs, but luckily, he was prepared this time and grabbed her hand, and then with his free one he jabbed his fingers into her ribs. The moment they made contact the girl let out a loud yelp that echoed through the cafeteria, but this time there were students who looked in Gabby''s direction.


    "Yeah, not so funny now, is it? You sound like a dog," Max said, "it''s almost cute."


    Gabby yanked her hand away, grabbed a glob of egg from Max''s tray, and proceeded to smash it into his face. Not wanting to embarrass her further Max let it happen.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    He knew Gabby would not stop until she got the last blow, and not wanting to prolong things he figured this would be a decent ending to their scuffle; he had finished eating anyway.


    After the food fell from his face to the ground, he finally got a good look at Gabby, and if it weren''t for her finger jabs earlier, he might have blushed.


    Max had never had a crush on anybody, but there was something about Gabby that lit a fire under him, a fire that he desperately wanted to extinguish.


    She was a small girl at 4''10, and her skin was light brown with hair long and wavy, but she wore a half bun that was supported by a blue and white headband.


    "Not gonna fight back huh? Smart move," Gabby teased.


    "I know a losing battle when I see one."


    Gabby started to pick at Max''s leftovers eating what she could.


    "You know you could get your own tray."


    "And what? Waste food, I''m not that hungry."


    "How considerate."


    "You know the name Gabriella means selflessness, right? So how could I not be?"


    "You say that while eating my food. You''re just a vulture."


    "Vultures wait for other animals to finish eating before stuffing their bellies, still pretty selfless."


    "Did I say I was done with my food?"


    "Are you?"


    "Shut up," Max said with a heavy sigh.


    "Exactly."


    Max watched as Gabby continued to eat in front of him; in truth he knew he''d run into her, but he was hoping to put that off until it was time for lunch at least.


    She was close, shoulder to shoulder, and her thigh was still touching his. It was nice.


    "You still working that job Maxito?"


    Max wondered how many more nicknames he''d hear before the day was over. There was Big Max, Maxie, Red, and now Maxito. There was going to be at least one more he could feel it.


    Max didn''t mind as much though; he liked that she gave him a nickname, and he liked that no one else called him that. A part of him wished that he was the first one to call her Gabby, but it was a common nickname, so it didn''t surprise him that everyone called her that.


    "Yeah, I was working overtime all summer."


    "Pretty sure minors can only work up to 40 hours a week Maxito."


    That was fast. Max suddenly remembered how quick witted she was; he couldn''t get away with lying to her so casually, he''d at least need to put some thought into them.


    "Please don''t tell anyone, I just really need the money."


    "Oh, come on you know me better than that, I have lots of cousins that do the same thing. I''m not gonna throw you under the bus."


    "Thanks Gabby."


    Max knew that Gabby cared about him, and he was going to use that to his advantage.


    There was a brief pause between the two.


    "Unless..."


    "Unless...?"


    Just then the first bell rang indicating that the two had about ten minutes or so to get to class.


    It was at that moment Max realized he''d yet to find out his school schedule. If it weren''t for Gabby, he would''ve left at least ten or so minutes ago to find out, but she caught him off guard.


    Without a word Max got up, emptied his tray, and made his way toward the exit.


    Before he got too far, he felt a light tickle on the back of his neck. He turned to his side, and saw Gabby walking right next to him.


    "Let me guess, you forgot to check which homeroom you''re in." Gabby said smugly.


    "I wonder who''s fault that is."


    "Well, you''re with me in Mrs. Kilbert''s class."


    "You checked for me?" Max asked stunned.


    "Course I did, see I can be useful."


    "Oh... Thanks Gabby."


    The school was bustling at this point, there had to be at least a couple hundred students hurrying to their classes, opening, and slamming lockers, and the halls were filled with loud voices drowning out other loud voices.


    Max made his way up the stairs with Gabby following close behind, and straight to room 207 which belonged to Mrs. Kilbert; the time was 7:52, the two had made it with eight minutes to spare.


    Without hesitation Max started to make his way toward the window seat in the back of the class, but he was stopped.

 Chapter 4 - Welcome to Eden High

    "Hey look everyone it''s Mighty Max!"


    ''Ah, there it is,'' Max thought.


    A tall muscular boy wrapped his arm around Max''s neck and pulled him in.


    "Dude, Richard you''re sweaty, get off," Max said.


    "Hey, come on man don''t be like that. We haven''t seen you all summer! Did you get any practice in?"


    Richard was one of the schools all stars. He played football, basketball, soccer - if it was a physical activity Richard probably participated in one way or another. Max ran track back in middle school, and as a freshman, but he gave all that up to focus on making money.


    A group of other jocks started to gather around Max.


    "I told you all at the end of last year I was done with that,"


    "Come on man we almost won state because of you!" One of the other kids pleaded.


    Before anything more could be said a girl stepped forward, and pulled Richard away.


    "Stop wasting your time with this idiot; it''s clear he wants to throw away his life working some dead-end job."


    Richard softened his attitude.


    "Hey Kacey, don''t be like that, I''m sure he has his reasons," Richard then looked back at Max, "hey man if you ever need a favor or anything I''m here."


    "Thanks," Max said squeezing his way out of the crowd.


    In a perfect world Max would''ve spent more time in sports, but it was a waste, even for Richard. No matter how good they were they weren''t likely to go pro, and they weren''t going to make any money, and that''s what Max was chasing.


    Because of the interruption Max figured he''d lost his window seat. It wasn''t the end of the world, but he liked the spot for a few reasons.


    The first being that it was usually the most overlooked by the teacher. If for whatever reason he needed to squeeze in a nap he''d be more than likely to get away with it.


    The second reason was the view; the classroom was on the south side of the building which meant it overlooked Eden beach, the small section that belonged to the school.


    And lastly because he got a good look at everyone. Max was always on the lookout for things he could use to his advantage, and his fellow classmates were no exception. The fact that Richard offered to help Max with anything was another chip at his disposal, and he would cash it in at some point.


    Before Max could look for an alternative seat Gabby called out to him.


    "What''s wrong Maxito?" She asked playfully.


    Max looked over, and saw Gabby''s backpack in the seat he wanted, and there she was in the seat right in front of it, looking back at him with a mischievous glint in her eye.


    Max started to smile, but he did his best to conceal it. He made his way over, and sat down in his desired seat, handing Gabby her backpack.


    "How did you know?"


    "Know what?" She asked, cocking her head back.


    "Never mind."


    Max had made himself comfortable, and started to get his supplies out of his backpack.


    "Looks like you''re still popular."


    "It''s expected," Max replied, "I don''t want the popularity, but I was a former track star. Former being the key word," Max continued, "After the first meet this year no one will remember me."Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    "I don''t think that''s true Maxito."


    On the other side of the classroom the jocks were laughing, and throwing a ball around. Kacey had her arms wrapped around Richard, and was beaming up at him.


    "That''s a relationship I wasn''t expecting to see," Max said.


    "Oh?"


    That seemed to peak Gabby''s interest.


    "And why is that?"


    Max leaned back in his chair for a moment, appearing deep in thought.


    "I just never got the impression that Richard was interested in relationships."


    The last few years Max had been privy to locker room talk, and discussions about who the hottest girl was. Whenever these conversations came up Richard never had an answer, and he especially never mentioned Kacey; Max knew this because he was the same way.


    Max knew that for himself the answer was Gabby, but if he ever opened up about that then there''s a chance it''d get back to her, and that''d open up a new slew of problems. That being said, it wasn''t like there weren''t rumors about the two of them already.


    "Maybe they got to know each other over the summer or something," Gabby suggested.


    It wasn''t impossible, but Kacey was the richest girl in school. From Max''s understanding that meant she''d spend the summer abroad visiting other countries, eating wealthy food, meeting diplomats or whatever rich people did, but not staying in the city.


    "Well, whatever it is I hope they''re happy together," Gabby added.


    "Yeah."


    Max checked his phone and saw that class would start in another five minutes. He took a moment to look around the classroom; to his surprise he saw Ava on the opposite side of the room sitting at a desk in the corner, to Max she might as well be invisible. A seat like that had the same perks as Max''s seat minus the view.


    Before his mind could wonder about Draco a loud commotion could be heard coming from the hall, and it sounded like a group of troublemakers.


    A moment later Draco stepped inside the classroom.


    Max didn''t like this, but he knew it was a possibility. Oddly enough, it looked like Draco had already made some friends, and they were waving him off from the door. Max wasn''t familiar with the kids he was with, but he knew they were bullies. A couple of other students in the room seemed to put their heads down when they peaked inside.


    Draco approached one student, a small boy with a camera, and knocked all the items off of his desk, and kicked them across the room. Then, he approached a girl who was working on a drawing, he ripped it out of her hands, and tore it in half.


    Max watched in terror as he laid waste to the classroom; Richard and the other jocks started to take notice, and it looked like they were about to make a move.


    Max decided to feign ignorance, it was all he could do. When asked about his association with Draco he''ll tell everyone that he''s a new student, and that he helped him get to school, but that was it. He''d have to do the same with Ava, which is unfortunate because she was actually useful. Max snuck a glance at her, and the look on her face was just as horrified as the other students. In any case Max decided to keep his head down.


    "Hey Re- I mean, Max what''s up man??" He yelled across the room.


    Gabby immediately turned to look at Max, but he looked past her, and could feel all the eyes in the room on him.


    Draco marched to the other side of the room, and greeted the student who sat next to him by uncapping his water bottle, and attempting to dump it all over her head.


    Max was fast, he was out of his seat and next to the girl in less than a second. He tore the bottle away from Draco, and immediately threw it into the trash can across the room.


    The girl in her seat was looking up at them with quiet, annoyed eyes; she was different from everyone else. Max caught a glimpse of her student ID in one of the pockets of her backpack, her name was Vivi.


    "Good thinking Max!" Draco said, bending down in front of the desk.


    He was face to face with her now, but she didn''t even flinch. In fact, Max could feel the whole room standing still, even the noise from the hallway seemed to fade into nothingness.


    But then it happened, Draco bent forward over the desk even more, and spat straight into Vivi''s face. She must''ve anticipated it because she turned to her right, forcing most of it to get in her hair, and neck.


    "Man, you sure are smart Max! Spit water really hits the mark! Not sure why you had to throw my water bottle away though." Draco said.


    Max let out an exasperated sigh. Before Max could do much else Draco let out a scream, and yanked his hand away from the desk.


    "What the fuck was that?" H yelled, a few drops of blood fell to Vivi''s desk, and some even fell to the floor.


    "Is everything alright?" The noise from the hallway returned as the teacher had finally stepped inside, and the 8:00 AM bell rang indicating the official start of school.


    "I''m sorry." Vivi said standing up, "I was lending him a pencil and it pricked him pretty badly. May I escort him to the nurse? I just feel awful." Vivi explained looking over to Draco.


    "You mother-"


    Max grabbed Draco by the arm, and looked him dead in the eyes; somehow Draco got the message because he put on the bravest smile.


    "I''m okay, it''s just a scratch," He lied, and made his way over to an open seat next to Ava.


    Max took a deep breath, thankful that the altercation was over, and didn''t escalate. He''d have to explain himself to Richard and the guys later, but that shouldn''t be too difficult, it''s Gabby he had to worry about, and maybe Kacey too if she cared enough.


    That wasn''t everything though, if Max had Draco''s personality pegged then he''d likely seek some kind of retribution against Vivi, and he''d need to get ahead of that.

 Chapter 5 - Homeroom

    The teacher closed both doors which lead out into the hallway, and made her way to the front of the classroom, and behind a large desk.


    "Good morning, everyone, and welcome back to Eden High!" She began. "I recognize a number of you from last year, you''ve probably taken a few of my classes before, but it looks like we have a lot of unfamiliar faces at Eden starting this semester. And since you''re all in my homeroom I''d like to get to know all of you, so when I call your name please stand up, and introduce yourself, and tell us one fact about you, I''ll start!"


    The woman was of average height, and she had light blond hair and blue eyes. She wore a tailored white shirt, and a gray cardigan, but what stood out to Max was the pearl necklace around her neck, and the silver bracelets around her arms. Max wondered whether or not he could swipe them from her sometime between now and the end of the year.


    It was likely that she lived on the north side of town, so Max didn''t have much sympathy for her.


    "My name is Mrs. Kilbert, and I teach biology here at Eden High. What I love doing the most is tending to my garden, but this weather has made it very difficult so instead I stay inside and do lots of reading! Okay, that''s me, who wants to go next?"


    Max figured this wouldn''t be too bad; after all he might learn a thing or two about Ava.


    It was Kacey Sinclair that stood up first.


    "Good morning, everyone, you all probably already know me, but my name is Kacey Sinclair. Just like last year, I intend to be captain of the junior varsity cheer-leading squad, and I''m on track to be valedictorian come senior year. I hope we can all get along!"


    If Max had a bias toward the moderately rich, he would have a disdain for the obscenely. Kacey was the antithesis of everything Max stood for, and valued. He hated her with a passion, and always has, but just like how he had to quell his feelings for Gabby he also knew he had to quell his hatred for Kacey, and sometimes doing the latter was more difficult than the former.


    A few of the girls in the class congratulated Kacey''s introduction as she sat down.


    Then everyone else started to go, and Max made note of all the students he considered important.


    One of the kids Draco bullied earlier stood up. He was quite short, probably only 5''0 or 5''1 if Max had to guess. He had jet black hair, freckles, and he wore a short white hoodie. The most distinguishing feature wasn''t his height though, it''s what he had around his neck.


    "H-Hello, my name is C-Casper, it''s n-nice to meet you all. Um, I really l-like taking pictures... so that''s all,"


    He didn''t seem to do well with crowds, and with his small frame and weak demeanor Max knew he''d be an easy target for Draco and his friends. He''d need to make sure Draco left him alone too as well as anyone else in the classroom.


    "What''s with the camera?" A student who appeared to be one of Kacey''s friends had asked.


    "O-Oh, it just means a l-lot to me so."


    "Oh, so it holds sentimental value!" Mrs. Kilbert added. "Well, that''s neat, I know everyone loves their smart phones and their HD cameras, but there''s a certain aesthetic appeal to using older equipment."


    It looked very old, if it broke Max wasn''t sure if Casper would even be able to replace it. Yeah, he''d need to keep Draco away from him for sure.


    The next student who''s introduction Max paid attention to was Casper.


    Now that the situation was calm Max was able to get a better look at her. She was an Asian girl with light blue hair, and she wore a long sleeve shirt, so long that Max could barely see her fingers. It was hard to tell from where he was sitting but it looked like she wore lots of makeup too, and that struck Max as odd.


    "Alright. I''m Vivi but you can call me Vi or Vivi or whatever, I don''t mind either way. Uhm, I have a pet fish named Santiago and after graduating I want to go to the University of Miami for Marine Biology like my parents."


    Her voice reminded him of an actress from a crude animated show he caught on TV some time ago.


    "Oh! Biology, well let me know if you have any questions! Also, tell us a bit about Santiago, what kind of fish is he? I keep a pair of Celestial Pearl fish in my home, but they aren''t much different from goldfish."


    "He''s more of an eel."


    A few of the girls winced hearing that, especially Kacey. Max wasn''t averse to animals, and if anything, he''d always wanted a dog, but couldn''t have one for obvious reasons.


    After a few other introductions it was finally Richard''s turn, and he was as energetic as ever.


    He stood up, and smiled at the rest of the class.


    "Hey everyone, my name''s Richard Lake, and I really love playing sports!" He said with a goofy smile. "And- "


    "By the way Richard," Mrs. Kilbert interrupted, "Your sister Lily is supposed to be in this class, is she not here today or is she running late?"The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Richards face went pale. To Max it looked like he was trying to cover for her, but up until now that hadn''t been necessary. In all honesty it shouldn''t be too bad since it is the first day of school, Max doubted Mrs. Kilbert was counting tardies.


    In any case Max was curious, while he never really paid attention to the home lives of his former teammates, he did hear a thing or two about Richard''s sister. Supposedly, she''d been home-schooled her whole life just like Draco.


    Before Max could continue his train of thought the first door to the classroom flew open, and a girl stepped inside.


    "Sorry I''m late!" Lily said strolling in. Her hair was a deep black with red highlights.


    What struck Max as odd was the fact that she looked nothing like her brother Richard.


    She took a seat next to Ava, and started to pull her books out. Max could''ve swore he heard Draco mutter something under his breath.


    "That''s okay Lily, it''s only the first day after all. By the way, are you just as athletic as your older brother?" Mrs. Kilbert asked.


    "Oh, no not at all, if anything I''m the complete opposite." She said laughing nervously.


    ''An obvious lie.'' Max thought.


    "Oh, please Lil, weren''t you up all night talking about how excited you were to try out for the cheer-leading team?" Richard asked with a goofy smile.


    "That''s- I hate you," she said, her face turning red.


    The class laughed at her reaction, including Gabby. Afterwards Mrs. Kilbert moved over to the next row, and a litany of other students introduced themselves, but finally it was Ava''s turn.


    After she stood up a number of the girls audibly gasped. Max wasn''t paying attention to it before, but she looked amazing, not just her general appearance, but her clothing too. She wore a stylish black dress coat, and black slim fit pants. Her hair was long, shiny, and jet black, and her eyes were as green as emeralds. Max almost wanted to cut out all the lights to see if they''d shine.


    This raised several questions in Max''s head. First, was this her normal attire or did she only dress this way because it was the first day of school? Second, was she wealthy? Someone who dresses like that has no business being in a gang, Ava struck Max as someone of intelligence so perhaps she''d already considered this. Then again, it was the first day of school, and usually students go all out on their appearance, so it wasn''t that big a deal. It wouldn''t be the first time Max overthought something.


    "What do you think Maxito?"


    "Hmm?" Max turned, and saw Gabby giving him a suspicious look, "why are you looking at me like that?"


    "So that''s the look Maxito gives a girl he finds attractive hmm?"


    "That''s not what I was doing, don''t tease me like that."


    "I dunno, you seemed awfully lost in thought."


    She wasn''t wrong. Max did find Ava attractive, and he was lost in thought. But was he really making a different face? He''d have to confirm this later... somehow.


    "Don''t make assumptions." Max said.


    Their conversation was interrupted swiftly, and without warning.


    "My name is Ava, and I''m a new student from Riverview Academy. I don''t really have any hobbies."


    She started to sit down, but Mrs. Kilbert wasn''t about to let her off that easy.


    "What? No hobbies? What do you do after school then?"


    "Homework, eat, sleep, I''m a boring person, sorry to disappoint you."


    Max didn''t believe that, and if anything, it just made him more curious about her. What was she hiding?


    "You know Ava if you wanted you could totally join the cheer-leading team! Oh, this goes for you too Lily, assuming try outs go well and all." Kacey suggested.


    A lot of the girls seemed to nod in agreement.


    "Why would I do something as meaningless, and degrading as that?"


    The room fell silent again. There was a reason Max held his tongue earlier when Kacey insulted him, and it was to stay in her good graces. If there was one person in this school, you didn''t want to piss off it was her.


    "Excuse me?" Kacey said standing up.


    "I can''t tell if you''re hard of hearing or just stupid. Isn''t the ability to listen an important aspect of the sport?"


    At first, it didn''t look like Ava''s words had registered in Kacey''s brain yet; it was as if no one in all her years on earth had ever insulted her before. After a moment or two Ava''s words became clearer than ever, and her face turned to one of venom, and rage. She looked like a time bomb that was getting ready to explode.


    "Woah, a fight on the first day? A cat fight no less? Now that''s entertainment!" Draco cried out.


    Before Kacey could react, Mrs. Kilbert intervened.


    "Okay everyone, just relax. Kacey, your seat, now!"


    For a moment it looked like Kacey wasn''t going to stop, but one of the other students grabbed her arm, and shook her head. Max remembered that girl to be Jess, one of Kacey''s close friends, she''d introduced herself earlier, but Max didn''t find her interesting enough to take note of, at least not until now.


    Kacey seemed to relent, and sat back in her seat.


    "I''m sorry Mrs. Kilbert, I just get so passionate about cheer-leading. It''s hard to just sit back and let someone insult it like that."


    "I understand Kacey, Ava I know it''s the first day of school, but I have a zero-tolerance policy for disrespect. You''ll serve detention today."


    Ava didn''t say anything, instead she turned her head toward the wall as a half-hearted acknowledgment, and while Max couldn''t see it, he felt as though Kacey was smirking.


    Without a word or suggestion from anybody Draco stood up next. Max hoped to the God he didn''t believe in that he''d say something normal for once. The only thing he could do was try to get his message across with his face, and so he glared at Draco.


    "There''s a lot of disrespect going around today, and I just want you all to know that I''ll- "Draco stopped mid-sentence and made eye contact with Max, "Um, I''ll make sure Mrs. Kilbert hears about it..." He said trailing off.


    Max released a breath he didn''t realize he was holding.


    "Uh, I appreciate that Draco, anything else?" Mrs. Kilbert said.


    "Nah, that''s all for now." He said grinning, and sitting down.


    Max caught him making eye contact with Vivi.


    The rest of the introductions were pretty uneventful including his own. Max went out of his way to seem as boring, and uninteresting as possible to avoid attention, and while he''d have to work a little harder this year to justify his relationship with Ava and Draco, he wasn''t expecting any dramatic changes.


    It wasn''t long after the introductions that the bell rang, and everyone scurried out of the room to their next class.


    Things were par the course for the first day of school. Each class Max would receive a syllabus, and the teacher would go over what they''d be learning for the semester. Max''s ability to learn and comprehend class work was never a problem, for him it was his attendance. Last year he was almost absent for 30 days throughout the course of the entire year. Madam Vine had asked him to watch his attendance, and Max suspected that was because the orphanage received letters about it.


    It was never Max''s intention to miss so many days, but work often kept him busy. In his view if he ended up getting kicked out, he could just focus more on making money, and getting his GED later. He only had three years of school left though, and getting kicked out now would feel like a waste.

 Chapter 6 - Kacey Sinclair

    It was lunch time now, and Max had been lucky enough to not have Draco in any of his classes so far. He did have Ava in his second period, but she didn''t say a word to him; Max figured she wasn''t too happy about detention even if she did deserve it.


    Max grabbed his lunch, and started to look around for an empty table, but Richard waved him down before he could find one. Last year he''d ate with them on occasion but only the day of track meets so they could discuss strategy. Now that he thought about it Max was fairly sure he told Richard that he preferred to eat alone.


    Looking at the table from his distance he could only see one empty seat available, and it was the one across from Kacey, who Richard was sitting next to. She was looking at Max with her arms crossed, and she had an impatient look on her face.


    ''So that''s the reason.'' Max thought, "Great," he muttered under his breath.


    It took a lot for Max to stay on Kacey''s good side. He wasn''t sure how he would manage to stomach a conversation with her. Nonetheless, he placed his food on the table, and sat down across from her.


    "Hey Mad Max!" Richard exclaimed.


    "Ugh, are you seriously going to eat that trash in front of me?" Kacey asked.


    "What?"


    "Your lunch, moron. Why don''t you just pack your own food like everyone else here?"


    Max looked down at his food, and then everyone else at the table. He was the only one who hadn''t brought his own boxed lunch.


    "Doesn''t your dad own the school?" Max spat back.


    He couldn''t help himself.


    Kacey almost choked back her drink; she started laughing so hard her voice started to echo through the cafeteria, and she was the only one, even her friends didn''t seem to get what was funny.


    "Oh, that''s adorable," She finally said, "no no, he doesn''t own it. It''s flattering that you''d think so."


    Somehow, she didn''t register what Max said as an insult, he breathed a sigh of relief at that.


    "What do you want?" Max asked.


    "Sorry man, I know you like to eat on your own, but Kacey wanted to talk to you, hope that''s cool."


    "Yeah, it''s fine," Max said refocusing on Kacey.


    "There are a couple of things I want to talk to you about," She started, "first, Jess caught you skulking about this morning with that brute Draco, and that girl Ava. Why?"


    Max knew that people would eventually have questions about his relationship with Ava and Draco, but this soon? Kacey is relentless; though this wouldn''t be a problem if it weren''t for Draco''s dismal display in class earlier, and Ava''s backtalk, so Kacey loathes her too. Wasn''t the first day of school supposed to be relaxed?


    "Draco was a childhood friend of mine, he- "


    "Was?" Kacey interrupted.


    "Yes, we''ve grown apart, but his parents have asked me to help him integrate into public school, so ¨C "


    "So, you haven''t seen him in a long time, and that''s why you weren''t expecting such crude behavior."


    "That''s right." Max said.


    "And Ava?"


    This would be a more difficult lie to pull off. He could say that she was a new neighbor, and that he was simply helping her with directions, but that was a problem for a few reasons. First it could lead the discussion to his place of residence ¨C the orphanage, a thinly veiled secret that Max hoped to keep low-key. Second, it''s something that could easily be proven false.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Max considered telling Kacey that she looked lost, and so he decided to help her out, but Max has no precedent of lending a helping hand to people, especially if it didn''t benefit him in some way.


    "Oh, babe that''s on me," Richard interjected. "After you told me there were going to be lots of new students this year, I reached out to Max and asked him to keep an eye out for anyone that looked like they needed help."


    ''What the hell is he doing?'' Max thought.


    "Oh really? Then why were you so surprised to see him earlier? If you''ve already had a previous conversation, you wouldn''t have looked so surprised."


    Richard laughed, and placed a hand behind his head. "That''s why I texted him a week ago."


    Max wasn''t sure what exactly was happening here, but that shut Kacey up. If she continued to press Richard for information, like asking him to show her the texts, it''d make her look insecure, and her relationship with Richard was a powerful one; she couldn''t afford to make their relationship look weak.


    This raised a concern for Max though, was he that easy to read? He was always able to lie with ease, but this time did Richard somehow sense that he needed help? This meant one of two things to Max, either he was losing his touch, and was more perceptible than he believed, or that Richard possessed a level of intelligence that he didn''t consider. Max quickly discounted the first possibility, and accepted the other as the fact.


    Max looked at the other students sitting at the table, but didn''t notice anything strange. He did pay special attention to Jess; this was the same girl that kept Kacey from lashing out at Mrs. Kilbert earlier. She had short blond hair, and wore pink colored glasses that were larger than your usual glasses. He got to school around 7: 00 AM so that meant Jess liked to be early too, he''d keep an eye out for her tomorrow.


    "Oh..." Kacey said, unsure of how to proceed.


    "Is that everything?" Max asked, he''d have to thank Richard later.


    "No, not yet" Kacey said. "Tell me again why you won''t join the track team this year?"


    ''Oh, this again.'' Max sighed.


    "Babe, we talked about this, Max is ¨C "


    "Again, I have a job, I need to work," Max said, exasperated.


    Kacey rolled her eyes as Max spoke, "Look, we almost won state last year, and I hate to admit it, but with you on the team we might win."


    A few members of the track team were seated at the table, and they were listening intently; they had a vested interest in Max running track.


    Max cocked his head to the side, and crossed his arms. "What was it you said earlier? Something about ''stop wasting your time with this idiot.''"


    "So what? You want an apology?"


    "It''d be a start."


    Max didn''t care about an apology, he knew that Kacey wouldn''t mean it, and it''d be half assed, but actually seeing Kacey apologize, now that''d be a funny sight, half assed or not, but if Max knew anything about her, she''d weasel her way out of it somehow.


    "We both know an apology won''t change your mind so don''t act like it would."


    "Fair point," Max said, "so what, are you going to pay me or something?"


    "Please, don''t say stupid things."


    "For the daughter of a businessman you''re pretty awful at negotiating," Max said, "Usually, you offer something greater than what the other party has already put on the table."


    Kacey held up her lunch box. "I could offer you the crumbs off my plate, and it''d still be worth more than minimum wage."


    Max looked at Richard throughout their conversation, why the hell is he dating this girl?


    "Instead, I''ll give you a career at my daddy''s company after you graduate, and on top of that I''ll owe you a favor, no questions asked, if I can do it, I''ll do it."


    A favor from Kacey would be valuable, but would that be worth the time it''d take to run at those track meets? Not only that, but Max had the Azrael matter to consider; whoever he was competing with might have the upper hand if he spent time on childish games like track & field. Max also had Ava, and Draco to think about too, how could he lead them if he was busy at practice.


    Then again It wasn''t like Max couldn''t stop going to meets in the future after Kacey fulfilled her end of the bargain, plus there was room for flexibility here. Why not test the waters and see where it goes? After all, it''s not every day you got to bargain with the richest girl in school.


    "I have conditions." Max said raising a finger, "first, you''ll leave Draco and Ava alone. No spying, no scowling, and no revenge. Again, they''re new students, and should be treated as such. Second ¨C "


    "For me to honor that condition you''ll need to get them under control. If they bring the same energy to school tomorrow that they brought today, it''s over."


    "I''m glad that guy listens to you. If you weren''t there then a fight might''ve broken out." Richard added.


    It was true, Richard would''ve probably stepped in if it weren''t for Max. In a way Richard was warning him even now, if Draco acted up Richard would put an end to it. In terms of physique Richard had Draco beat no question, and for most students that''s where feuds started, and that''s'' where they ended, but for Draco? He''d track down where Richard lived, and he would kill him in cold blood; that''s the impression Draco has left on Max. Another reason why he''d need to speak to Vivi.


    "Don''t worry about it, I''ll talk to them."


    "You better, now what''s the second condition?" Kacey asked dryly.


    "Because I have a job to take into account, I will practice on my own terms."


    It was Richard who spoke up this time, "at least train with the team once a week that way we can get some practice in doing relays."


    "I''ll see what I can do."


    "Tch, practice on your own if you want, but if your performance during the meets is sub par the whole deal is off, and I swear to God I will make Draco, and Ava''s lives a living hell." Kacey said.


    "Then it''s a deal." Max said, raising a hand to shake Kacey''s.


    She simply looked the other way, and instead it was Richard who shook his hand.

 Chapter 7 - Two Truths, One Lie

    The rest of the day went pretty smoothly, and Max used his free time to refocus himself. Using the notepad in his work phone he developed what he believed could work as a new schedule, incorporating school, track practice, and work. In addition to that he sent a text out to Draco letting him know to meet him in the morning.


    The bell rang signaling the end of school, and Max casually made his way back to Mrs. Kilbert''s room. Detention was usually one to two hours, but he was hoping Mrs. Kilbert would go easy on Ava since it was the first day of school, and she is a new student. Max took his time heading toward the classroom, allowing all the students in the school to file out.


    As he turned the corner to the hallway, he saw Ava, the only student present leaning against the locker outside Mrs. Kilbert''s door, she immediately saw Max, and started to walk in his direction.


    "Is this your doing?" She asked.


    Ava held a slip of paper up between two fingers. It was the detention slip that Mrs. Kilbert had given her earlier, and this time it had a large red x crossed through from end to end.


    "Huh," Max said, "Maybe."


    It was clearly because of Kacey, perhaps as a show of good faith? Max imagined Kacey pleading Mrs. Kilbert asking her to rescind Ava''s detention. If it was any other student, it probably would''ve gone on deaf ears, but Kacey was a golden child, and that came with certain perks.


    The two made their way outside, and both students immediately placed their hands inside of their pockets. The sky was a bleak gray, and the wind icier than St. Hope''s floors.


    Max caught sight of a few of his classmates. Lily, and Richard were getting on a bus while Kacey, Jess and a third friend got inside an expensive-looking vehicle.


    He also saw the boy with the camera making his way toward the railroad tracks. Now that Max thought about it he''d seen him a couple of times before on his way to school.


    ''Must be nice.'' He thought.


    He also saw the boy with the camera making his way toward the railroad tracks. Now that Max thought about it he''d seen him a couple of times before on his way to school.


    The two hit the sidewalk and started walking toward 4th.


    "This is the way to the general store," Ava said, "so what? We''re scouting?"


    "I''m also shopping," Max quipped.


    It was true, Madam Vine did ask him to pick up some more supplies today. He usually went to a store closer to home, but figured he could knock out two, no, three birds with one stone. He could do some scouting before the hit at the end of the week, get to know Ava a bit more, and pick up the supplies for the orphanage.


    "We both know why you asked to talk to me so get to it." Ava said unflinchingly. There was a hint of annoyance in her voice, it was as if she needed to be somewhere else.


    "First, you should leave Kacey alone. Don''t talk to her unless you absolutely have to. You''re lucky you got out of detention." Max said.


    "So, what you''re really saying is ''I''m sorry Ava, when you asked me whether there was anything to be cautious about instead of waving you off, I should''ve carefully thought through the question, and answered you.'' Do I have that right?" She asked mockingly.


    Max stopped, "to be fair, when she asked you if you wanted to join the cheer-leading squad you could''ve just said no. How was I supposed to know you''d give an unhinged response?"


    "Did you see the look they were all giving me? If I''d answered politely, it wouldn''t have stopped them from asking me over, and over, and over again. A clear, and direct message was necessary."


    "And look where it got you." Max countered, "You were about to spend-"


    "Do you think I''m incapable of doing something as simple as getting out of detention? I''m not Draco."


    ''So maybe Kacey isn''t the reason she got out...hmm''


    This was almost worse than arguing with Gabby, and not because Ava was wrong, but because her logic was sound; sure, Max disagreed with it wholeheartedly but the more he spoke with her the more he realized how different they were. At this point he had a pretty good guess on what Ava''s weakness was.


    "I''m not underestimating you," Max said continuing to walk, and Ava did the same, matching his pace.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    "Let''s change the subject then, are you sure you''re up for this job?" Max asked.


    "I don''t know," Ava said almost sarcastically, "what''s it like?" She asked, "how did you get involved?"


    She leaned a bit closer into Max, and glared at him with her emerald eyes. Her smile was devilish in nature as she had no real interest in Max''s answers. Max knew that she knew that he was trying to learn more about her, and Ava planned on playing coy.


    Max shrugged, "Like some, I turned to this for the benefits. Fast cash, protection, etcetera etcetera, as for what''s it like, well," Max thought for a moment, "well it ranges from a full wallet on its best day to being broke on your worst."


    Max figured this was an apt response; not very detailed, and incredibly generic. If Ava wanted to be reserved, he could be too.


    Ava did nothing but nod her head in response, but she was smirking the whole time. It was Max who wanted information, not her.


    "So how did you hear about us anyway?" Max asked.


    "The news."


    "That''s not what I meant..." Max sighed. He rephrased the question, "How did you end up joining?"


    "I don''t want to talk about it," Ava replied sharply.


    Max smiled, "You know when to shut up, then how about something you would be more willing to talk about. What do you think about Draco?"


    Ava''s face twisted like a knot, and her body tensed in both anger and fear.


    "When we met, he kept talking about how he just cleaned out his backpack."


    "What?"


    "He said he used to keep people inside of it, the thing is I couldn''t tell if he was joking or not."


    "Draco strikes me as the kind of person with a sick sense of humor," Max said, "I wouldn''t worry about it too much."


    The thought of it was silly to Max. For a teenager Draco was below average in height, and weight, and given his social skills anyone he could harm would see the red flags long before it happened. Not to mention the fact that people couldn''t actually fit in back packs. It was stupid, sick, but stupid, nonetheless.


    "Anyway," Ava said, "just keep an eye on him and have a backup plan in case he gets out of control."


    Max didn''t need Ava to tell him that. He had already been working on contingency plans for both Draco, and Ava. Of course, the easiest solution would be to go straight to Raguel, but he preferred to do things on his own.


    Max tried to change the subject, "Forget all this work stuff for a bit, why don''t you tell me about yourself?"


    "I''d rather not."


    "And I don''t blame you." Max said, "Tell you what, to make this more fair I have an idea."


    Ava looked up at him curiously.


    "There''s a little game people use to get to know each other called two truths and a lie. Pretty self-explanatory, we each state two facts and a lie about ourselves, and then we take turns guessing the lie." Max explained.


    "Alright," She agreed. The girls expression changed for once "you start."


    Max thought for a moment. "Let''s see... I have a little sister, I''m actually a straight A student, and the Archangels didn''t test me."


    Ava looked Max over, scrutinizing every inch of him from his facial expressions down to his body language; Max felt like prey being observed before its demise, he would be lying if he said her eyes didn''t make him uncomfortable.


    "If I can correctly guess the lie does that mean I get a free question?" She asked.


    Max raised a brow, "Sure why not. We can raise the stakes, only if you''re willing to do the same that is," Max smiled.


    "Well, you did say this was a game, and games have winners, and losers." She remarked. "The Archangels didn''t let you join without some kind of test, obviously."


    "Made it too easy for you," Max laughed. "No problem, I''ll be sure to up the ante a bit from now on. So, what''s your question?"


    "Why did you really join the gang?" She asked.


    "I needed money and they offered. That''s all there is to it. Specifically, I needed to pay for something."


    "And what was it you needed to pay for?"


    "You really think I''d let you get away with asking a second question?" Max asked.


    She ignored that. "I never attended Riverview Academy, I''ve studied martial arts," She placed a finger on her lip as she pondered her last statement, "I dislike sports."


    Max chuckled, "You expect me to believe your home-schooled just like Draco? No, you did in fact attend Riverview Academy. That''s the lie."


    ''There''s also the fact that she told everyone as much in class earlier. Was she expecting me to believe she''d already lied earlier?''


    "That''s right." Ava conceded.


    "So why did you transfer schools?" Max asked.


    Ava''s eyes flickered with a wild intensity that Max hadn''t anticipated. Her fingers gripped the sleeves of her coat, and her walking became more labored.


    "The people there, the atmosphere, everything about it was like a cage. I needed to get out."


    "You seem smart, I''m surprised someone like you could feel trapped."


    "It''s not just that, it''s about what I was becoming. I didn''t like it." Ava explained, "Anyway, it''s your turn, tell your lies."


    "Let''s see," Max said with a smirk, I did say I''d up the ante a bit so, let''s go with... My favorite color is green, I''ve never hit a woman, dogs are my favorite animal."


    "You''ve never hit a woman."


    "You got me," Max chuckled.


    "I thought you said the question would be more difficult this time. I''m disappointed Red." Ava said, she was smiling now. That was an odd sight, but one he welcomed.


    It was also the first time Ava called him by name. Sure, it was Red, and not Max, but that was the form that their relationship would take, one between boss and associate, not friends, and that''s what Max wanted, a sense of respect, and this was a step in that direction.


    "Let''s see," her eyes were forward now, peering into the foggy road ahead, "What can you tell me about your sister?"


    Max flinched, it was as if a small knife began to dig its way under his skin, crawling around like an insect agitating everything it touched. He hated this question, and for a brief moment he hated Ava too for asking it. It didn''t make any sense, she had the opportunity to ask about anything, why pick his sister? He didn''t expect this line of questioning.


    "Oh, did I strike a nerve?" She asked, turning toward him, her face neutral and uncaring.


    "No," Max said, facing the fog ahead like Ava was just a moment ago, "We were separated when we were younger, she''s probably doing okay now."


    "Hmmm," Ava touched her lip again, she seemed disappointed for some reason.


    "Were you expecting a different answer?" Max asked.


    "You said you were doing this for the money, and after you mentioned your sister, I thought that was the reason, guess I was wrong."


    "Guess you were," Max confirmed.

 Chapter 8 - The Eden General Store

    Their conversation came to a close as they neared the store. Max took a brief look around for anything unusual, but it was hard to see in the foggy weather.


    "Take a good look for any cameras or anything else that might be important around here; I''ll head inside, meet me back here in 20."


    Without a word Ava turned her back on Max, and started to look around the area, meanwhile Max was free to head inside.


    The store sat right on the edge of south Littleton, about a mile down the street from Eden High. It was on the other side of the same railroad tracks Max had crossed this morning. Max never spent much time on this side of the town so everything he saw was practically new to him. The store was made of old wood, and ancient concrete that supported columns long due for a rest. The windows were barred with calloused iron, and the windows themselves were tinted in sandy rust. Situated at the top of the building were letters that made up Eden General Store, and they looked like they''d fall off at any moment.


    Considering the dense fog, and general dilapidation the building itself looked like something out of a horror movie.


    Max grasped the cold steel handle, and made his way inside. The shop reminded him a lot of the orphanage with it''s sticky gray tiles, and dimly lit spaces; even the wallpaper was bleeding away leaving a nasty red gash in its wake.


    Max did not like this place. On the far side of the store was the register, situated on a brown glass counter, and standing behind it was a large man with a five o''clock shadow, dressed in a t-shirt, and blue jeans, if Max had to guess he was Hispanic, and in his 40s, either way it didn''t matter, but what Max did know was that he was the same man in the photo Raguel showed him nine hours earlier.


    Max took a glance at the inside of the envelope that Madam Vine had provided him with earlier, and grabbed a basket from a set that were situated on the floor next to the entrance, and started going down each aisle grabbing what he needed.


    Having Ava look around the store served two purposes. Not only would she be able to rule out any cameras, blind spots, or haphazard, but while she did that Max could purchase what he needed for the orphanage without suspicion. Things like diapers, tissue, and other necessities would be dead giveaways to his home, and putting them in the plastic bags he''d be provided added at least some level of privacy.


    The shopkeeper eyed him every now and then, but Max was careful not to arouse any suspicion. It looked like the store had two cameras, one on the far-right corner of the store, and another on the wall behind the register. Avoiding them wasn''t an option, but that wouldn''t be as important, those cameras were incredibly old. He''d be surprised if they recorded sound, and if they had good video quality. The windows from the outside of the store were decently tinted so it wouldn''t be easy to be seen from the inside, and there were a few aisles that were completely blocked from view.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Based on his analysis so far Max figured Raguel knew exactly what he was asking for when he decided to make this store the target. It wasn''t very secure at all, and that''s just what Max needed. There were only two other things of note, and that was the back door, and the break room. In Max''s experience the break room in places like this were never that big so that wouldn''t be a problem, but the back door might be. Hopefully, Ava got a good look at it from the outside.


    Max brought his items to the front of the register, and smiled at the clerk. He wore a name-tag that looked like it was originally golden, but because of time it was now a rusty black. The man''s name was Luis Rodriguez, Max would remember that.


    Luis took the basket, and started to scan all of Max''s items.


    "Are you guys hiring by chance?" Max asked with a wide smile, he rubbed the back of his head in an attempt to feign nervousness.


    "Oh, no kid sorry. I don''t need any more help."


    ''So, there are employees.'' Max thought.


    "Ah, I understand. I''m surprised by how slow it is, being the first day of school and all."


    "We don''t get a lot of students, it''s usually adults that come in for a quick bite during lunch or in the morning."


    ''That rules a couple things out.''


    "Oh, that makes sense." Max said.


    Luis finished ringing Max up, and he paid in cash. He took the items he bought which only amounted to four plastic bags, and made his way out of the store. "Thank you!" He said waving to Luis as he returned outside to the cold embrace of Autumn.


    As if on cue Ava rounded the corner, and greeted him. Her eyes immediately went to the bags Max was holding.


    "Get me anything?" She asked.


    "Oh, look at you, a sense of humor. Didn''t think you had one," Max said ignoring the question, and walking past her.


    Ava caught up to Max pretty easily, and continued walking beside him, "The only thing of note is that the back entrance has a camera looking down at it."


    "Good to know," Max said, "Ava, I''m not 100% sure if the guy has any employees or not, so I''ll need you to spend some time nearby the next couple of days to check and see."


    "Alright then, is that all?"


    "Yeah, go home." Max turned his back on Ava, and started his way down a nearby street.


    "So, who won our little game?" Ava asked, she stood still as Max walked. He wasn''t looking at her, but he could feel those emerald eyes piercing his back like a ray of blazing sunlight.


    "Only time will tell," Max said raising his hand and waving her off for the second time that day.


    Groceries in hand Max disappeared into the fog leaving Ava outside the store on her own. He considered the conversation a success overall, and felt he''d earned a bit of Ava''s respect, as little as it was. He learned that Ava had a competitive spirit, and Max would use that to manipulate her in the future if he needed to.


    With that out of the way all he needed to do now was talk to Draco, and then the three of them would be on the same page, but that would happen tomorrow morning. For now, Max was hungry, and eager to get back to the orphanage.

 Chapter 9 - Adversary

    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 ¨C 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.

 Chapter 10 - Broadcast

    A familiar, but nasty smell began to fill Max''s nostrils forcing him to open his eyes. The room was stuffy, and it was hard to breathe. He could hear screaming downstairs, and under the door he could see a bright orange light enveloping the dormitory.


    Under normal circumstances Max would''ve considered every possibility, and would have reached an optimal answer, but not this time, this time panic is what set in instead.


    He immediately got to his feet, and threw the door open, a blast of hot air infiltrated the room tinging his skin a light gray, the color of smoke.


    He quickly made his way downstairs, and saw the dormitory ablaze, the curtains a fiery orange dancing in the fumes, the beds a scorched surreal black, and the children screaming as their vocal cords burned.


    Even Max yelped in pain as the tiles under his bare feet were searing his flesh. He dashed toward the exit at full speed.


    Some of the children reached out to him, pulling at his shirt, but he brushed them off like ants, and let the toxicity of the air take them as they choked to death on the fumes, their skin going white, then purple, then orange, and finally ashy black, erased by the pungent evil flames. The fumes could take them all, but they would not take Max, he was a survivor, and he would survive again.


    He had escaped the dormitory, and in front of him were other children running toward the exit, but part of the structure under them began to crack, and tumble as a large pit of fire opened beneath them forcing them to plunge into the scorching hell beneath the earth. Their screams were those of shock at first, but they quickly evolved to those of terror, and life ending excruciating agony.


    A single child held on to a piece of wood, clinging to life, desperate for salvation, the same way that Max was at that very moment. As Max approached the pit he leapt as high as he could flying over hell itself, and as he landed he crushed the boys fingers, breaking them, and denting the wood forcing the child to fall to his death. Max did not stop running.


    His face was sweaty, and desperate and eager, he would stop at nothing to escape this hell. His energy was leaving him because of the toxic fumes, his stamina, or regret he did not know, he did not think, he ran.


    Max bolted through the door, and into the receptionist room, one door was left. As he reached for the doorknob leading outside he heard a voice from behind him. It was an old voice, an ancient one that he''d not heard for some time, a voice that lacked an image or corporeality. He turned to it, and looked upon its shape, white and ephemeral.


    "Come." It said, "You don''t have to run anymore baby."


    That was a relief, Max was tired of running. He was sleepy, and hot. Why was he so hot?


    He approached the form, and extended his arms to embrace it. It felt like hugging warmth itself, he clutched it with all his might, and began to cry, his tears evaporating before they hit the ground. The heat scorched his feet, but he did not feel it, his arms began to blister and pop, but he did not feel them.


    The form that embraced him began to change its shape, and resemble something else. His fingers dug into something, but it wasn''t warmth anymore, it was rigidness, it was crumbly, and fresh. It felt like he was rubbing the inside of an open zit, a slimy liquid was seeping in under his nails. He let go in a hurry trying to pull away, but a black scaly arm reached for him, and grabbed his hand.


    "Where are you going baby?" The corpse said reeling him in with the strength of a lion''s grip.


    "Stop!" Max yelled, but it was too late.


    His scorched feet, his blistered arms. The pain of them became his new reality, and just as the children from earlier screamed a bloodcurdling scream before they died, Max did the same.


    But instead of dying, Max found himself back in his bed in the orphanage sweating, crying, shivering. He shot up, and felt his arms and legs ¨C normal. A nightmare, he figured, and a horrible one at that. He curled his knees up to his chest like a child, and dug his face into them, like Caleb had hidden his face earlier in Max''s jacket. What happened next Max would not speak of, but he did not get much sleep that night.


    ***The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    The following morning Max showered, got dressed as usual, and made his way to the kitchen to have breakfast. He was especially hungry since he missed out on dinner yesterday, and didn''t want to make the long walk to the school without eating. After grabbing his food, he made his way to the play area where he saw Madam Vine sitting on an old couch, watching the news on a flickering CRT.


    The playroom wasn''t especially large, and it was full of toys that were as old as the playground in the back yard. There were torn stuffed animals, puzzles full of missing pieces, toy cars, trains, and all sorts of things. Max always thought the toys were incomplete, and frustrating. He hated putting puzzles together just to find out that one or two pieces had been missing, playtime at the orphanage was always miserable for him when he was younger.


    There were only a handful of books within the orphanage and Max had read them each at least several times over when he was younger. There was never an investment in new toys or books for the children so for the last several generations the kids of St. Hope relied on the bits and pieces of broken toys for entertainment.


    "Oh, good morning Maxie, I hope you slept well."


    "I''m okay. Did Ms. Finch tell you about the supplies?"


    "Oh, yes, thank you so much for picking those up for us. I''m sorry I wasn''t there to greet you, but I find myself heading to bed earlier and earlier these days," she said with a light cough.


    This wasn''t a surprise, Madam Vine was 86 years old, a decade older than the life expectancy in the country. She''d be passing soon, and he knew it, if going to sleep earlier helped her with her daily activities then so be it, but he wondered how the other caretakers felt about it.


    "It''s no problem." Max said.


    As Max ate Luke ran into the room and plopped down on the couch between Madam Vine, and Max.


    "Big Max!" He cheered, "Big Max is here!"


    "Yep, I suppose I am." Max smiled.


    "Did you already finish your food Luke?" Madam Vine asked suspiciously.


    "All gone, all gone!" He yelled rubbing his tummy.


    "Okay, well you can sit in here with us as long as you stay quiet, but don''t forget to attend your classes this morning."


    The boy nodded slightly, and refocused his attention on the TV, and Max did the same.


    A young woman with short brown hair was presenting the local news, she couldn''t have been older than 25 Max guessed. He wondered what her background was, he never saw her around, so she definitely lived in North Eden he thought.


    "Good morning everyone, Samantha Holmes here, and welcome to today''s news broadcast! It''s been especially chilly outside lately, and this week will be no different! Expect temperatures to be as low as 30 degrees Celsius, depending on how the clouds move we may even get some snow in the coming weeks!"


    "Snow! Snow! Snow!" Luke said over and over again.


    "Oh lord, it''s not even winter yet, how will we manage Maxie? The radiator has been broken for ages."


    "I think last year we used space heaters." Max said.


    "Yes, that''s right, but the headmaster was upset about that. It takes so many to heat up the dormitory, and the power bill gets way too high."


    "We''ll figure something out."


    There was a space heater in the attic too which Max had all to himself, but after winter last year the orphanage sold them all to cover the cost of power, and other necessities. It seemed winter was going to be a concern this year as well.


    "Oh my, I hope so."


    "In other news the city is having a special meeting this evening to discuss the latest wave of crime that''s overtaken the city over the last several months. The meeting will not be public, but the public safety committee in conjunction with the police department will issue a statement not long after."


    That reminded Max of something vital. He wanted more information on who the last Azrael was. He thought it was weird that there were never any news articles or statements put out regarding their death.


    On one hand it could''ve been something simple like disease or an accident, but if that was the case why didn''t Raguel just say that? Max suspected a murder, but he wanted to know for sure. He wondered whether or not Dante had similar feelings. Either way it was decided, Max would try to attend that meeting later today.


    "Maxie, please whatever you do please don''t get involved with that nasty Archangels gang. I''ve heard a lot of dreadful things about them, and you know they prey on orphans like yourself. You''re what, fifteen now? You''re the perfect age for them."


    The broadcast didn''t mention the Archangels at all, but it was obvious that''s who they were talking about if you read between the lines.


    "Scary." Luke said as yellow tape, and crime scenes flashed across the screen.


    "Yep, that''s right Luke, scary." Madam Vine said.


    "You don''t have anything to worry about, I know better than that." Max lied.


    The news went over a few more things. Something about a pet killer on the loose, and some new government group called the SCG, but none of it seemed relevant to Max so he decided to filter it out.


    "And that''s all for your weekly news roundup! Samantha Holmes over and out!"


    After breakfast Max stood up, and started to leave.


    "I''ll be working late tonight, so please tell Ms. Finch," Max said.


    "Alrighty Maxie, you take care now and have a blessed day!" Madam vine said, her eyes still fixated on the TV screen.


    Luke turned around on the couch, "Bye Big Max, bye Big Max!"


    He put on his jacket which was still wet from Caleb''s tears from last night, and stepped out into the cold foggy streets that were South Eden.


    Max reflected on Samantha Holmes weather report, and figured he''d need to start wearing thermals under his clothes because the jacket alone wasn''t going to cut it. Depending on how cold it''d get he might need to invest in some new blankets for the attic, but sneaking them past Ms. Finch would be an ordeal in itself, so Max pushed the thought away for now.

 Chapter 11 - Reconsideration

    He made his way straight for 4th, and just like the previous day he found Raguel leaned against a building with a bottle of jack in one hand and a cigarette in the other.


    "How you don''t manage to finish that bottle before I get here is beyond me." Max said.


    "You want a sip this time?" Raguel asked.


    "If things stay as they are, I might." Max said.


    Raguel seemed to shuffle his position a bit, even he was smart enough to dress warmly today. His jacket was thick with black fur, and he wore a silvery blue scarf around his neck.


    "So that phone call last night." Raguel started.


    "It was bullshit, obviously."


    "You''d usually want a discussion like that in person, and you never call me to begin with. I knew something was up, so I didn''t move forward with your withdrawal."


    "I figured you wouldn''t which is why I didn''t mind calling you." Max walked to the opposite side of Raguel, and leaned against the wall across from him. "So, tell me about Dante." He said peering off in the distance.


    "Ah, so he''s the reason." Raguel said taking a puff from his cigarette. His breath, and the smoke merged forming what looked like a cloud of fog in front of his face. "Should''ve known Jegudiel would play dirty."


    "So, what does he know about me?" Max pressed.


    "The only thing he would''ve gotten from me is your alias, and where you operate. Oh, and I guess the upcoming job, but he doesn''t know the exact details."


    Max brought a hand to his chin, and sighed again. "Well, due to extremely bad luck he has more than that now."


    "Oh?" Raguel asked raising an eyebrow.


    "First name, last name, residence. You know, stuff that matters."


    "That phone call though, do you think he bought it?"


    "Probably, I didn''t catch anyone tailing me this morning. I was pretty shook when he called me by name so I wouldn''t be surprised if he thinks he''s done enough."


    "You? shook? Would''ve loved to see that." Raguel jested.


    "So, I have until I pull off the job at the end of the week." Max concluded.


    "Sounds about right." Raguel said, "so you''re still going to pull it off despite everything."


    Max turned to leave, making his way toward the alley''s exit. "Of course, the biggest mistake he made was underestimating me."


    "Hold up Red!" Raguel said. "Do you want my help?"


    But Max was already gone, he''d disappeared into the fog. Outside the alley Max could barely see students crossing the railroad tracks, and hanging around right by the alleyway was none other than Draco.


    ***


    "Hey Red! Good to see ya, I saw you mingling with the big boss and didn''t want to interrupt so I''ve just been waiting for ya, how ya been man?"


    That''s right, he''d asked Draco to meet him here this morning. He''d been considering telling Raguel about Draco, and he had the perfect opportunity to do so just a minute ago, but ultimately he decided against it. Ava was right, if Draco could be tamed he could be a useful weapon. Max figured he''d give it a shot before giving up on him entirely. The two began their walk.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    "So, how was your first day of school?" Max asked.


    Draco carelessly raised his hands behind his head, and stared up at the empty sky.


    Max felt his own eyes drift toward Draco''s backpack, his mind shifting to what Ava had said yesterday. It was old, ripped, and torn to hell. It was black, and full of dark stains. The only excuse Max could think of for not having replaced it is laziness, but why would someone who was home-schooled have a backpack to begin with? A handy-down from a sibling perhaps?


    "It was the worst man, how the hell do you just sit there all day?" He sighed, "and you gotta do that five times a week for how long?"


    "About 36 weeks or so." Max answered.


    Draco laughed, "Yeah Red, I don''t think this whole school thing is for me."


    "Was home-school any different?"


    "Home-school?" Draco asked, his expression souring. "Oh, yeah totally." He said without elaborating.


    "Anyway Red, you''re gonna help me get back at that Vivi bitch right? Look what she did to my hand!" He said shoving his palm in Max''s face.


    Max took a glance at it, and quickly shoved Draco''s arm away. It was a deep cut for sure, but not anything worth retaliating over.


    "What did you have in mind?"


    "I''m going to kill her after school today."


    Max turned to look at Draco again, his head was still in the clouds, his eyes blissfully taking in what was left of the sunlight peaking in through the murky sky.


    Max opened his mouth to speak, but Draco turned and looked at him. "I would''ve liked for it to be a surprise, I mean I was gonna do it this morning, but you wanted to have a chat and stuff, so I put it off." Max went to interject, but Draco kept rambling. "It''s okay, I know what you''re thinking, and I got it all covered. I know where she lives, I got the blind spots memorized, and I know exactly what to do!"


    ''So that''s what he was doing yesterday.'' Max thought.


    Max thought it was weird that he didn''t see Draco cross the railroad tracks on the way home yesterday, and now he knew why. It was because Draco had spent his time after school following Vivi.


    "So yesterday you were stalking her." Max said.


    "Yep, and don''t worry, I''m pretty good at this kinda thing so she didn''t see me."


    Max stepped in front of Draco, and stopped. The two stood still in the midst of all the fog as other students walked passed them, and across the tracks toward school.


    "Listen I don''t give a fuck whether that bitch lives or dies, but you will not risk my freedom or the gang''s over a petty feud that you started." Max said angrily. "My job is take you two and teach you how to act, I have neither the time nor patience to keep covering for your stupid fucking actions. If you don''t like that then too fucking bad. If you want to kill her so bad then you wait until you''re not under my care, until then stop fucking around, got it?"


    Draco''s eyes widened, and so did his smile. "Now that''s what I''m talking about Red! That fire, that energy, man that''s why I joined the Archangels to begin with!" He exclaimed, the boys eyes flickering excitedly. "To be honest I never thought you had that in you." He placed a hand on Max''s shoulder. "Look, you got the whole school wanting to give you props, but you turn them down, you got a girl ready to hop on your dick, but you turn her down too. Unless Raguel is paying you in piss, and dirt you should have some money too, but look at your fit man," Draco stepped back, and looked Max up and down. "I don''t see anything flashy, so, what the fuck is going on? Are you stupid? Are you allergic to pussy? Are you a pussy?"


    Draco was way more calculating, and observant than Max had anticipated. In only a single day of school he''d realized Gabby''s affection for him, and the fact that he was a popular name amongst the jocks; he realized all of this despite tarnishing his own reputation. Max wondered if Draco followed him into the cafeteria, and if he witnessed that initial conversation with Gabby. He also thought about the group of boys he saw Draco with before class started yesterday, and if they fed Draco that information.


    "There''s value in keeping quiet Draco."


    For some reason Draco didn''t seem satisfied with that answer, his expression darkening, and his arms dropping lazily to his side.


    "So what? All this shit is on purpose?" Draco asked.


    "That''s right." Max said with a heavy sigh.


    Draco shook his head in disbelief. "Alright man, I''ll do things your way for now, but if she crosses me again she''s done."


    "That''s another thing, I have a reputation to maintain. The dumb shit you do falls back on me, and I''m already paying for it. No more stupid shit at school. Go to class, and do whatever the fuck the teacher tells you to do. You got that?"


    "Yeah, yeah I got it, I got it."


    Max spent the rest of the walk talking to Draco about the school hierarchy and his role in it. He didn''t think it was important to do that yesterday, and that was a mistake he regretted. Before the second day of school started Draco would know who Kacey was, Richard, and all the different cliques and groups at Eden High. As the two approached the school entrance Max caught sight of Jess leaning against a wall nearby, she was looking at him.

 Chapter 12 - Vivi Viser

    It was here that Max and Draco went their separate ways. Max took a look at the clock on his phone, it read 7:15 AM. He needed to keep an eye out for Vivi so that''s what he did. The lockers designated for 10th graders were on the first floor across from the cafeteria, so Max sat outside the doors at a nearby reading area to pass the time.


    He was extra cautious and kept an eye out in case Draco or Jess were spying on him, not that it''d make much of a difference.


    Kacey might find it interesting that he''d go out of his way to talk to a nobody like Vivi, but there was no reason for him to lie about why. It was simple, he wanted to diffuse any tension between her and Draco. Max considered his deal with Kacey, he''d asked her not to keep an eye on Draco or Ava, but he didn''t add any provision about himself, an oversight on his part but not an important one. If he''d asked not to be spied on it might''ve made her more suspicious, after all there was good reason for Max to defend Draco and Ava, but to add a condition for himself would seem random and out of nowhere especially because he wasn''t being spied on at the time. Jess just so happened to see him with Draco and Ava, but now going forward there''s a chance it''ll be intentional.


    Breaking Max out of his thoughts was a quick jab to his sides which Max caught in his peripheral easily enough. He reached up, grabbed Gabby''s hand, and pulled her to his side on the bench, she yelped as he did.


    "You really thought the same trick was going to work a second time?" Max asked.


    "Oh, Maxito is holding my hand, I wonder why?"


    Flustered, Max immediately let go, and turned away.


    "You probably should''ve got me from behind like last time."


    "But what if I wanted to be caught?" She asked looking at Max playfully.


    "Then you''ll end up getting yourself hurt."


    "A risk I''m willing to take." She said scooting closer to him.


    "A risk I''m not." Max said sharply.


    "Why didn''t you tell me you were joining the track team again this year?" She asked.


    ''Word does travel fast.''


    "You''re just as surprised as I am."


    Richard, and a few other students from last years team waved at Max and Gabby as they went to their lockers. Still no sign of Vivi.


    "Are you joining again this year?" Max asked Gabby.


    "Yep, and I''ve improved a lot so watch me run okay?"


    Gabby had never been a particularly good runner, but she had potential. During practice she was always pushing herself, often running an extra lap or two after coach blew the whistle. If it''s true, and she trained a lot over the summer then she''ll be a standout on the girls team this year.


    "I won''t be at practice all that often so don''t get your hopes up."


    Gabby scowled, and squinted her eyes at Max, looking at him as if he was some kind of villain. "Buuut when you are at practice you''ll watch me?"


    "Fine."


    Gabby smirked as if to say, ''that''s what I thought'' and started rummaging around in her backpack for something. Max thought he caught glimpses of a uniform.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    "By the way Maxito, are you really close to that boy from yesterday? I think his name was Draco."


    "He''s an old friend, I''m just helping him adjust to school life."


    "He''s a bully." Gabby said. "I have him in a few of my classes. He kept trying to take Autumn''s mask off. You know why she wears that."


    Autumn was in their home room, and someone who was lucky enough to avoid Draco''s assault yesterday, but it looks like that didn''t stop him from picking on her in other classes.


    "I had a talk with him earlier. He shouldn''t mess with her anymore."


    "Just be careful with him, he''s creepy."


    "I''ll keep that in mind."


    It was at that moment that Max caught sight of Vivi making her way to her locker.


    Today she wore a light blue hoodie, the same color as her hair. Without a word to Gabby Max made his way over to Vivi as she opened her locker.


    Inside he could see a bottle of foundation miscellaneous school items like rulers, a cup of mechanical pencils among other things. There was also a cute calendar hanging in the back that was ocean themed and a Florida postcard Max was surprised how detailed everything was despite it only being the second day of school.


    After grabbing what she needed out of her locker she quickly closed it, and spun around only to see Max looking at her with his arms crossed.


    "Vivi right? We need to talk." Max said.


    She looked him up and down, almost with contempt. Max figured she already had a bad impression of him, lumping him in with Draco; after all he did go out of his way to defend him yesterday, if it weren''t for Max she would''ve had to deal with a face full of water, but on the other hand that was probably more preferable to spit.


    Another oddity was this girls behavior. After Draco was injured she''d offered to take him to the nurse, obviously so she could provoke him or get a rise out of the boy. But she was so thin, and small, there was no way she could handle herself against someone like him.


    Up close her hair looked coarse, and dry as if all the moisture had been sucked out of it. Her hands were small, and her nails were a light shade of green.


    "As long as it''s on the way to class." She said stepping around Max, walking past him rather quickly.


    He caught up to her in an instant. Vivi was a fast walker, but her legs were short making her strides much shorter than Max''s.


    "First, what happened with Draco yesterday? I saw the wound you left him, was that really a pencil?" Max asked bluntly.


    There was no hint of nervousness or surprise on Vivi''s face, instead there was complete neutrality, as if Max was boring her.


    "What else would it be?" Vivi asked.


    "I don''t suppose you carry a knife on you."


    "Don''t be stupid. That violates at least 50 school rules, and besides someone would''ve seen it."


    "No one saw the pencil either."


    "So, you waited all morning for me to get to my locker so you can accuse me of something you have no evidence of? Is this all you wanted to talk about?"


    Max sighed realizing he may have pushed Vivi too far. He still didn''t buy Vivi''s ''pencil'' story but figuring that out was more about satisfying his own curiosity than anything else.


    "No, that''s not what I wanted to talk about. I was just curious is all." The two had just made it up the stairs, and were on the second floor now.


    "I wanted to ask you to leave Draco alone."


    "Me? I don''t think you''re talking to the right person. Are you sure you don''t have us mixed up?"


    "No, forget about yesterday. He won''t be bothering anyone again."


    "Ha! What are you his manager or something? Are you going to go around the classroom and apologize to everyone on his behalf too?"


    "I just don''t want you provoking him. After what happened yesterday he''s eager to get revenge."


    "I don''t see what that has to do with me." Vivi said, almost smiling now as if she reveled in the attention.


    "Alright then, let me appeal to your school spirit. Wouldn''t it be disruptive to the class if Ms. Kilbert had to step in every five minutes because you and Draco are fighting?"


    Vivi pursed her lips in thought, her face scowling.


    "Guess so... but still." The two stopped right outside the classroom. "If he starts anything I won''t show any mercy. Got it?"


    "Sure." Max agreed.


    Max wasn''t sure what her version of ''no mercy'' meant but he went along with it. If Draco acted up again he wouldn''t protect him, and in addition to that he''d go straight to Raguel to get him removed from his care. For a moment he thought about Dante, and whether his team had a ''Draco'' on it, the thought made him smile a bit.


    "I don''t know what you''re smiling about, but that''s just sad." Vivi said motioning to Gabby who was a few feet behind them. It seems she''d followed Max and Vivi up the stairs. She had her arms crossed uncomfortably, and was stealing glances in their direction.


    Then without another word Vivi went inside the classroom. Max met Gabby''s eyes for a moment before disappearing into the room as well.

 Chapter 13 - Iyola Avenue

    The rest of the school day was thankfully very uneventful for Max. Draco was quiet in class, and Vivi left him alone too; though she seemed to be getting along well with the camera boy, and the girl with the hood. Ava stayed clear of Kacey, and kept to herself as well. In some ways Max felt bad for Ava, Draco had a group that he hanged with between classes, but Max never saw Ava with anyone, but something told him that''s how she preferred to live ¨C they were similar in that regard, but their reasons for keeping people out were probably different.


    Max was able to enjoy lunch by himself today too, but that was interrupted by a text message from Richard.


    ''Practice today?'' was all it said.


    Max shook his head in disbelief. It was only the second day of school; track wouldn''t officially start for at least several months. Richard was smart though, and the reality was that Max didn''t train his legs over the summer, so he was fighting an uphill battle compared to the team members who had. Additionally, while almost everyone makes the track team only certain students are selected for the more important events. If Max waited until after tryouts to train his performance wouldn''t be so great, decreasing the possibility of him being selected for those events, and that''s something Kacey would definitely have an issue with ¨C she intended to have a return on her investment, and Max couldn''t blame her for that.


    He replied ''Sure'' and put his phone away.


    The track encircled the football field, and was adjacent to the school down a small path named Iyola Avenue, named after a former teacher, the beginning of the trail was just outside the west wing of the school. The path was paved, and weaved through a wooded area that doubled as a garden area for the students at the school. The path lead to other school buildings like the greenhouse, an indoor swimming pool, and a clubhouse which was under construction. It was usually left alone outside of school hours but over the years Max has seen unsavory types hang around the path from the outside. It took at least seven or eight minutes to get from the main school building down to the track, so gym teachers only went down to it when they had to, like when they needed to test their students by making them run the mile.


    Last year when Max ran track the team often met at the clearing just outside of the east entrance, and that''s where Max planned to meet with Richard.


    Sure enough, after school Max caught him on the way there with Kacey, but as they reached the door she stood on one leg, and kissed him on the cheek before glaring at Max, and striding passed him toward the exit.


    Max caught a hint of her perfume as she passed. It was overbearing, and affluent, and the same she always wore. He started to associate the smell with poison.


    As Max approached Richard he took off his gym bag, and started to look inside.


    "Honestly man I was expecting you to say no. It was a pretty short notice." He said with a light chuckle.


    "It''s fine."


    He pulled a shirt, and some shorts out from his bag, and threw them to Max who caught them expectantly.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    "Don''t worry man they''re clean. Kinda figured you wouldn''t have anything on you to wear so you can borrow those."


    Max thanked him, and the two took some time getting dressed in the locker room before heading back to the east entrance. It was there they did warm-up exercises, and stretches, something Max sorely needed.


    "So whadya say? Race you to the field?" Richard asked finishing up a set of jumping jacks.


    "In this fog? No, let''s take our time getting there. Plus, we don''t know if the school made any changes to the route."


    Richard let out a disappointed groan, he was clearly eager to run. "Awe man fine, have it your way. We''ll walk."


    And so that''s what they did, the two set off down Iyola avenue. Usually, after stretching outside the west entrance the team would jog down Iyola avenue as part of their warm up, and while it was something Max enjoyed he always considered it dangerous, after all the entirety of Iyola avenue was situated on a slope, meaning it''s all downhill, and a few dozen students racing to the bottom was a recipe for disaster in Max''s eyes.


    "Though I think Kacey probably would''ve said something if they did switch it up." He said peering into the fog ahead of them.


    "Speaking of Kacey." Max said. "You covered for me yesterday, why?


    "Huh, what do you mean?" Richard asked, he gave Max a confused looked.


    "Your lie about texting me, remember? Telling me to watch out for new students...?"


    "Oh yeah, that." A moment of silence passed between the two, nothing but the sound of their footsteps, and the insects that inhabited the surrounding brush filled the area. "It looked like you needed help, and you probably would''ve done the same thing for me so..."


    ''I wouldn''t have."


    "You''re not going to ask me why I was hanging with Ava in the first place?"


    "Nah man, I don''t care. You''re a lowkey dude, and I respect that. I don''t like Kacey trying to figure out whatever it is you got going on."


    Max looked down at the ground for a moment, and furrowed a brow in confusion. Was there no ulterior motive here? What was Richard playing at?


    "I guess I''m just shocked you''d lie to Kacey for me. No disrespect, but that''s not conducive to a healthy relationship."


    Richard laughed hearing that, and slapped Max on the back. "Yeah, yeah I know. I''ll make it up to her, trust me."


    "Oh?"


    "Kacey is a bit of a handful, but she''s special in her own way. She only wants what''s best for the school."


    Max wasn''t buying it. The way he was defending her came off as a friend defending another friend, not as someone defending a romantic partner.


    They were both parasites in Max''s view, leaching off each other for some unknown benefit. If he had to guess, Kacey was doing it for clout and to boost her already enormous popularity, and Richard, well he was harder to pin down. Richard didn''t care for clout like Kacey did so maybe it had to do with his little sister ¨C allowing her to join the cheer squad perhaps? He could only speculate, but at the end of the day it didn''t matter, after all Max was a parasite too, and if he was right he''d keep Richards secret safe.


    "Sorry for asking, Gabby and I saw you two together yesterday and we were curious."


    "Sure, it''s no problem at all, but hey now that you brought her up I gotta know. What''s going on with you two? Are you both on and off or something? Pretty sure she''s been crazy about you since middle school."


    "It''s complicated."


    "You either like her or you don''t. Doesn''t seem that complicated to me."


    "You said you respected the fact that I''m a lowkey guy right? Let''s keep that going." Max said.


    "Ah my bad man, didn''t mean to cross a line." He laughed again, but this time it was an uneasy laugh, an attempt to escape the awkward tension created by the direction of the conversation.


    Before the dialog could shift again Richard bent over, and started to cough, he brought an arm up to his nose, and wheezed.


    "Oh my God, what is that smell?" He asked.


    Max felt it too. The stench was putrid and fresh, an acrid odor that stung his nose like the sharp cut of a thin sheet of white paper. In the cold air, the smell was even more pronounced, making his eyes water. The mist moved uneasily, swirling through the air, and carrying the offensive scent up and down Iyola Avenue, permeating every corner and crevice.

 Chapter 14 - Track Practice

    Without saying a word, the two glanced at each other before proceeding down the path, unexpectedly following the trail. Max hadn''t noticed it, but he and Richard had inexplicably gotten closer to each other, walking side by side.


    As the two walked Max became more cognizant of his surroundings. They were alone, there were no cameras on this trail, and zero supervision. And while the public wasn''t allowed on the trail there were a few ways in and out that didn''t involve stepping directly on school campus. Someone could easily come and go as they pleased, especially after school hours, and while the school was relatively far from the forest it wasn''t impossible for more voracious wildlife to wander inside.


    As the two got closer they began to hear a loud buzzing noise permeating through the fog infecting the trail just as the smell had done. Whatever it was, it likely attracted the attention of the other wildlife as bushes nearby began to shake with tepid curiosity.


    They were getting closer, its silhouette shaping the surrounding fog. Max looked down and saw a splatter of blood, and entrails plastered on the pavement. Accidentally stepping on a muddle of red meat himself, Richard immediately bent over to his side, and puked, adding to the gruesome scene unraveling before them, as well as the hot stench of death.


    As Richard threw up Max continued to walk, his arm covering his nose, his breathing ragged and unsure. The very thought of inhaling this smell was like poison to his mind, and breathing it in made his insides tremble, but he pressed on, nonetheless. A few feet from the gore was the body.


    It was a stag, a large one at that. Struggling to see past all the flies Max squinted, checking for wounds. The buck was laid out on its side with a single incision starting at the neck stretching all the way down to the groin. Max made some startling observations before turning back to Richard who was just catching his breath.


    Max walked back to Richard, careful not to step on the entrails strewn about.


    "We should go." Max said simply.


    "Huh?" Richard said wiping his mouth, "it''s just a bit of roadkill."


    "Roadkill?" Max repeated. "Do you see a road?"


    "Same difference." Richard said finally recovering from his excursion. "It''s disgusting sure, but we shouldn''t let this keep us from practice."


    Max looked at Richard closely, it was clear he was avoiding the scenery. To him he probably just assumed this was a rabbit or something that just happened to smell extra bad.


    "I think you should take a look and see for yourself."


    Richard waved his hands and pulled back, clearly apprehensive to the suggestion. "No, no I''d rather not puke my guts up again."


    Honestly, Max couldn''t blame him. Being a host to dead animals was nothing new to Iyola avenue. Last year on jogs Max, and the team came across dead squirrels, and other rodents fairly often, at least once every other week. From Richards perspective this was probably just another rodent that just happens to smell very bad.


    "That''s a fully grown adult deer. One that''s had its neck snapped, and insides torn out. There''s no sign of a struggle, and that smell is because whatever did this didn''t even eat anything, they just left the corpse and all its insides here for us to find. Do you understand?"


    Max wasn''t sure if it was because Richard couldn''t believe it, his own curiosity, or a weird sense of bravery but with his mouth still covered, Richard slowly turned his head, moving his eyes over to the desecrated corpse. The moment they connected Richard turned away in disgust, and started to pace back in forth with his hands on his hips nodding his head almost in disbelief.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    "Alright, yeah," he said almost sputtering. "God man this is just so disgusting, uh, let''s at least make it to the track, it''s closer than if we were to walk all the way back up."


    "Sure." Max agreed. The two carefully stepped around the corpse, and continued their journey down through Iyola avenue. "Oh, wait." Max said revealing his phone. He opened the camera application, and snapped a few pictures.


    "Gonna report it to the school?" Richard asked, looking away from the corpse.


    Max put his phone away, and continued down the trail with Richard leaving the corpse behind, allowing it to be swallowed by the hungry fog.


    "No, I''ll send the pictures to you, and let you take care of that." Max said.


    "I should''ve figured, but yeah I appreciate that."


    It wasn''t long before the two started to approach a clearing in woods, the paved trail ending at a large patch of grass that led directly to the track, and inside it was the large football field.


    "What do you think that was?" Richard asked.


    "I''d rather not think about it."


    Max couldn''t afford to waste time thinking about something like that. Whether it was done by an animal, or some deranged individual had nothing to do with him or his goals. Whatever the answer was he was sure the school would deal with it - after all it was Eden High we were talking about, and Kacey would make sure the problem was dealt with.


    The important thing was that they were out of the woods, and on the field now. While Iyola avenue saw virtually zero-foot traffic over the summer, the field on the other hand did, and most animals weren''t comfortable being out in the open in a place that was usually full of humans, so in Max''s mind they were safe, at least for now.


    "I can''t think of a lot of animals that would do something like that, but man what if it was a person? That''d be really scary huh Max?" He asked chuckling lightly.


    ''Ah, so he''s back to his usual jovial self then huh?''


    "Undoubtedly." Max said with a blank expression.


    "Hey Max, now that we''re out go ahead and send those pictures; I don''t think anyone will be going in there for a while, but I really want to be sure. I''m gonna send them to Kacey ASAP."


    After Max sent the pictures the two kept walking across the field toward the parking lot. Max was disappointed since he was starting to look forward to practice, but after what they witnessed he had a knot in his stomach that''d take the rest of the day to untie. Richard on the other hand...


    "So, what now man, you wanna do a few laps?"


    "You still want to exercise after that?" Max asked.


    "Eh, the past is the past." Richard said laughing. Then without waiting for Max to reply he took off on the track. From Max''s perspective it looked like he was in a sprint, but in truth it was only a light jog, Richard was an incredible athlete.


    Max looked back at the trail leading into Iyola avenue before taking a deep breath, and catching up to Richard. A year before Max had no issue keeping up with Richard, but because he had no intention of running this year he''d been completely overtaken. One lap in and Max''s legs started to hurt, and he was gasping for air repeatedly. Despite the pain Max was still an athlete at heart, and used to this feeling, and so like any good athlete he pushed through it.


    A mile later Max was hunched over his knees gasping for air, his lungs desperate for that cold autumn oxygen. A moment later he was on the ground sitting back, and taking in the chill of the air. After another lap Richard did the same, but he was less tired, and could''ve continued if he wanted to.


    "Yeah, you''re gonna need some work." Richard said between labored breaths.


    "Shut. Up." Max said wiping sweat off his brow.


    Richard laughed, how he managed to find the air for it after a mile of running Max did not know.


    "So Mad Max, those new students you''re watching over ¨C are they gonna join track? Could always use some new members you know."


    "I doubt it." Max said. "What about your sister? She gonna join?"


    "Hmm maybe, she did say she was interested in cheer leading so Kacey will probably help her with that. But I don''t know, our parents are pretty strict on her."


    "I''m guessing that''s part of the reason she''s been home-schooled her whole life?"


    Richard broke eye contact with Max and stared off in the distance, down past the parking lot, and into the fog that covered the streets below.


    "It''s kinda hard to explain but, we have another sister. But she went missing when she was little, so our parents are very strict on Lily." Richard shrugged, "It''s not right, but I can''t exactly blame them."


    "That''s... Rough man, I''m sorry." Max said looking down at the track.


    Max was surprised that someone like Richard had demons in his closet too. So not wanting to lose their only daughter, their parents kept Lily close, perhaps too close. It reminded Max of the orphanage, and how claustrophobic he felt growing up. He thought of Caleb, and how claustrophobic he feels now.


    Richard stood back up, and reached his hand out to Max, who took it and groaned as Richard pulled him to his feet.


    "Alright man time for post workout stretches!" Richard said excitedly.


    After the stretches were over Max and Richard went their separate ways.

 Chapter 15 - Ava

    Max checked his phone, and saw that it was almost five o''clock giving him a couple of hours to get home, get changed and head to city hall for the meeting.


    Once he was back at the orphanage he didn''t have to go out of his way to avoid Mrs. Finch or the other children since it was about time for dinner. He took a quick shower to get rid of the dirt, and sweat that had accumulated through the day, and especially from practice. Afterwards he carefully chose his clothing, the final piece being a large hoodie.


    Leaving the orphanage, he caught a glimpse of Caleb sitting alone at dinner looking rather glum. In Max''s mind he did all he could for the boy, and hoped Caleb would come up with a new plan that didn''t involve running away, or if he were to run away he hoped that it had the backing of a well thought out plan. Max considered whether or not he''d go looking for Caleb again if he decided to leave the orphanage, but he quickly dismissed that thought and stepped back out into the rigid cold that was Eden city in late Autumn.


    Under normal circumstances Max would''ve walked to city hall, but he didn''t have the time, so instead he made his way across the railroad tracks heading to school, and then he waited at a corner just across the street at a bus stop.


    Max used the bus often to get around Eden Springs, usually when he didn''t feel like walking or if he had to go somewhere out of left field. He had the schedules memorized by now, and as he expected he''d arrived just in time for the 6:30 PM bus. The vehicle slowed to a stop, and Max hopped on paying his fare.


    The bus had about a dozen or so people on it, and a handful of them were students that Max recognized, but there were also what looked to be protesters, and some of them were carrying signs.


    He took a seat in the middle, and looked out the window, admiring the fog as the bus pulled away.


    Max listened in on some of the bus chatter, many of the protesters were upset with how the city was handling its less fortunate districts, and its tackling of organized crime. It was an issue in Eden for years, but Max didn''t pay it any mind, as long as he got his bag he could care less about what the protesters thought.


    Due to the weather Max wasn''t expecting a large turnout at the square, but if the sun was out he''d have to take extra precautions to avoid being seen.


    Raguel had once told him that the Archangels presence on this side of town, but it was more lowkey than in South Eden. Additionally, it was usually the higher-ranking members of the gang that watched over this territory. Eden had six distinct districts, where Max was from was generally referred to as the Slum or South Eden, identifiable by its dilapidated housing, and rugged infrastructure ¨C it''s also where most of Eden''s homeless lived. Then, where Eden high was located was often called Wavecrest due to its popular beach front, and residential area, and then there was the district Max was on his way too, Hightown, a place home to the Eden police force, political world, and most of its affluent citizens.


    The route to Hightown included a few stops, one of which being the corner of 3rd, right across the street from the Eden General store ran by Mr. Luis. As it rolled to a stop Max saw a girl step onto the bus, and pay the fare. Afterwards she looked down the aisle as if she was studying it, her face astute, and still, there was something familiar about it, but Max couldn''t put his finger on it. Then she caught sight of Max, and seemed to sigh before making her way to his seat.


    "Why are you staring?" She asked annoyed.


    It was Ava, Max realized it as her green eyes came into focus. He''d only known her for a day, and yet he felt like he was seeing her in a completely different light. She wore a winter running vest, and tennis shoes, a far cry than her formal attire. Additionally, her hair was up in a ponytail with bangs drooping slightly above her forehead, judging from her outfit, she''d been jogging.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    "Sorry, I just didn''t recognize you." Max said.


    Ava brushed the comment aside and sat next to Max without hesitation. "As suspected, business is slow in the evening, hardly any customers at all, and no employees aside from Luis himself. I''ll continue to monitor until Friday."


    Max had instructed Ava to keep watch over the general store after school for the rest of the week. In truth he would''ve preferred to give grunt work like that to Draco, but he couldn''t trust him with that sort of thing, and Ava probably knew that. To avoid suspicion, it looked like Ava opted to survey the store by jogging around the block. There weren''t any parks or resting areas nearby, so it wasn''t a bad option.


    "Got it." Max said. "You know, if you enjoy running you could join the track team."


    "Are you saying stupid things intentionally or on accident?" Ava said staring daggers at him.


    "Maybe I just want to see how you''d react. Considering how you accosted Kacey when she asked you about cheer-leading I thought your answer might be interesting."


    "So intentionally then, got it. You find weird things interesting Red." Ava said crossing her arms, leaning back in her seat.


    "Can''t deny that." Max said. "I also find it interesting that you''re taking the bus home. I thought you lived in South Eden."


    "Who said I was heading home?" Ava asked. "Maybe I just want a nice, and refreshing drink from the Corner Caf¨¦ in Hightown."


    "You don''t strike me as someone who frequents caf¨¦''s."


    "I also didn''t strike you as someone who runs in her free time."


    "Touch¨¦."


    Max leaned back as well, his eyes veering out the window into the fog. In truth, Ava''s company was welcomed even if it was somewhat hostile. There was a modicum of sass in her tone, but Max knew that under it was respect, so he didn''t mind as much. Ava also gave him the impression that she was someone who''d be honest with him, and he appreciated that.


    "I''m surprised you haven''t asked me where I''m going." Max said earnestly.


    "You wouldn''t tell me if I did, and I''d prefer not to waste my breath on meaningless questions."


    After several minutes the bus passed a sign that read ''Now Entering Eden Springs Hightown District''


    And it was accompanied by large skyscrapers overhead, the largest of which was the Sinclair building, the headquarters of Sinclair Innovations, a leading technology company in the state. There were towering hotels, and banking institutions encircling the district.


    Between the towering skyscrapers was where most people spent their time. It was downtown Eden Springs with various stores, caf¨¦''s, and numerous activities. Despite the weather there were numerous people out and about, walking up and down the sidewalks, crossing streets all dressed in winter attire. The streetlights, and neon signs of the local businesses shined through the deep fog. Through the bus windows Hightown looked like a half-finished watercolor painting drafted on a thick wooden canvas.


    Max turned around glancing at Ava who was staring out the window on the seat across from them.


    "You could switch seats you know." Max said.


    Ava sighed again, as if Max was once again saying something incomprehensibly stupid.


    "We''re supposed to be friends right? At least that''s the relationship that''s been attributed to us. If I sat away from you it''d look odd, and I don''t want anyone asking questions."


    "You must really hate confrontation." Max remarked. "Well, both of us getting off the bus at Hightown together of all places is bound to start some rumors."


    "Another good reason for me to have left a bad impression it seems." Ava said. "They''ll bother you with the gossip, and won''t even think about approaching me."


    "Guess being a cynic has its perks." Max said as the bus came to a rolling stop.


    "You''re a cynic too, idiot." She said. "You just make an effort to conceal it."


    Max followed Ava off the bus, but afterwards they went their separate ways, Ava crossing a busy intersection without as little as a goodbye.


    Max watched her disappear behind a crowd of other locals crossing the same street. He stood at the bus stop for a moment, and looked up at the skyscrapers that were only a couple blocks away, their crowns poking through the clouds. He took a few steps back, and put on his hood as a group of kids emerged from the fog to his left, joking, and yelling before disappearing into another misty embrace to Max''s right.

 Chapter 16 - Council Meeting

    Max thought about the real reason Ava had come to Hightown. If she was interested in the meeting too, well, she was heading in the opposite direction. It could be the case that she really lived in this district, but if that were true it''d just make Max more curious as to her motivations. Max considered Raguel, he had to have done his research before allowing Ava anywhere near him, but then again someone like Draco existed. He mulled over his conversation for a moment before reality kicked in, a reminder to check the time.


    On the north side of Hightown were all the cities civic, and political buildings including city hall. Looking at his phone Max saw that he only had about 15 minutes before the meeting would start, and so without hesitation he started to book it in that direction.


    As he approached the large building he found himself moving with a group heading in the same direction. Many of them were protesters with signs rallying against the Archangels, and crime in general; other signs demonstrated resistance to the homeless epidemic plaguing South Eden as well as the drug problem.


    Max followed the crowd to the entrance of the building, and as they arrived a series of flashy, and expensive cars started to pull up at the entrance, and a number of valets came out of the building to greet them. Max slipped behind some of the protesters as they started to chant, and yell at the elites, but what they said Max paid no mind to. Instead, he circled around to the back of the building careful not to be seen. Then in a crowd of bushes he removed his hoodie, hiding it, and allowing his construction uniform to be fully visible, afterwards he reached into the cold wet ground, and scooped up some dirt rubbing it between his fingers, and on his forehead, and cheeks to help sell the look.


    He had a good view of the construction site from this spot. They were still rebuilding the west wing of city hall; there were men on scaffolds working on the upper floors, and others were lounging around waiting for the day to end.


    As he peered at the site he found the makeshift entrance to the rest of the west wing. It was perched inside city hall itself, and a large fence that extended to the roof had been erected to keep trespassers out, and in addition to a badge reader to open the door there was a man behind a desk in a chair watching the way in. There was a bathroom on the outside of the fence that was still part of city hall, and so that''s where Max went. He strolled into the construction site as if he''d always been there, and no one paid him any mind as he opened the bathroom door and made his way in ¨C luckily no one was inside.


    He immediately looked up, and saw exactly what he was looking for. He entered one of the stalls, and using the toilet as leverage he reached for the ceiling, lifting up one of the tiles, and sliding it over. Then, after pulling himself up he placed the tile right back where it belonged, and began to crawl through the ceiling. It was dark, and the smell of must and wet cardboard filled his nostrils.


    Max took out his phone, and turned on the flash which helped him navigate through the plenum. The time was 6:56, he had just four minutes to find the correct room. He kept his movements slow, methodical, and quiet until he felt like he had distanced himself just enough to get away from the west wings entrance.


    Finally, he uncovered one of the tiles slowly, and as he did he could hear voices right underneath him. Just barely able to peak through the opening he made he saw Kacey, and her father Reginald Sinclair walking directly underneath him, the man was adjusting his tie, and Kacey her hair. They rounded a corner, and after making sure the coast was clear Max dropped from the ceiling, leaving the construction attire as well as the bag behind. He was now fitted in a nice suit with shiny black dress shoes.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Looking the part, he followed the two into a large auditorium. Luckily there was no one outside of the room checking for ID, likely because that was already checked for at the entrance. The room was packed with about thirty to forty people all dressed in suits, dresses, and other formal attire. Not wanting to stick out he found a seat next to a couple he''d never seen before in the back of the room.


    Kacey, and her father had sat in the front row together, and were greeted by several other affluent businessmen. Max watched Kacey wax poetic with them in a jovial manner, long boastful laughs, slight touches of the arm, and eye contact. Max had always known Kacey to be charismatic, but how she presented herself to these businessmen was far more professional, and exuberant than anyone she ever spoke to in class.


    Max looked around the room, and saw a few other familiar faces. The first of which was David Pines, the director of the Zion Pines juvenile detention center. Max had met him once before when he was younger. David had given a lecture to all the children in the orphanage letting them know that if they didn''t do what they were told they would be sent to juvenile hall.


    Thankfully the children at St. Hope were well behaved so that never happened, but it wouldn''t surprise Max if Ms. Finch was looking for opportunities to send him there. Max knew little of Zion Pines, but there were archangels there from what Raguel told him. It was an utterly hopeless place in the middle of district six ¨C Eden Forest.


    Max looked toward the door, and winced in disgust. Someone he''d hoped to never see again had made his way inside. He was an unusually tall man that wore a top hat and a long black cloak. It was the man in charge of every orphanage in Eden Springs, Headmaster Ezekiel. For Max he was every reason St. Hope was as bad as it was. He was a wealthy man that refused to prioritize childcare, and as far as Max was concerned he reviled in the suffering of children. Despite his line of work Max has never had to kill anyone, and he would prefer not to, but if there was one man on the planet that Max would take pleasure in killing, it was Headmaster Ezekiel.


    Staring at him, a sickening thought began to permeate Max''s mind. This wasn''t the meeting between the safety commission and the police department as advertised. No, it was a clandestine gathering of those who controlled the city, a meeting for the people who mattered. His grip tightened on the arm of his chair, anger and frustration boiling within him. His thoughts turned to the orphans he lived with, picturing their bleak future as Eden''s homeless. He thought of Caleb, and his desperate attempt to escape their dire circumstances. He thought about all the kids forced to walk to school because the bus wouldn''t take them, their small feet trudging wearily across the railroad tracks.


    Max closed his eyes, trying to block out the torrent of troubling thoughts. He took several deep breaths, attempting to calm his nerves. As he did, Headmaster Ezekiel strode in with an air of authority and took his seat toward the front row, his presence underscoring the gravity of the assembly.


    After several minutes the room was almost full, and the meeting had begun.


    Police commissioner Alexander Rose emerged from behind the stage, took to the stand behind the podium, and lightly adjusted the microphone. "Good evening everyone, I wanted to thank you all for being here ¨C especially Mayor Delaney, and the Sinclair family, I know that you''re all very busy people, so we are especially grateful to have you."


    The man was easily in his 50s, and looked like the embodiment of experience, and command. His face was box-like and square, just as his gray facial hair was. Decades of fighting against the Archangels will do that to you Max figured.


    "We have a few things to discuss, but I''d like to start by thanking my daughter who is here with us tonight. Go ahead, and stand up please Rose." Everyone turned, focusing their attention toward the back.

 Chapter 17 - Welcome to Hightown

    Out of the corner of his eye Max caught a young woman who was sitting in the aisle across from him stand up, for a brief moment it looked as if she glanced in his direction.


    Why was she here, and what was she doing wearing a police uniform? Max sighed again in frustration; it was another wrench in his plans. Avoiding Headmaster Ezekiel, someone who might recognize him was one thing, but avoiding Scarlet Rose, someone who definitely would was another. He''d have to be one of the first out of the room once the meeting was over, he couldn''t risk being identified. Max wasn''t as worried about Kacey since she''d likely stay after to mingle with the other guests.


    Additionally, unlike Kacey who Max felt confident predicting, Rose on the other hand was someone Max knew frighteningly little about. Academically she was skilled, and was in the running to be valedictorian just like Kacey was, but if her deduction skills were on par with her father she''d be especially dangerous, and Max wanted to stay under her radar for as long as he possibly could.


    "My daughter Rose is responsible for organizing this meeting, and as many of you know she''s been very involved in numerous cases involving the Archangels, and other cases in the city ¨C all with official police supervision of course. She''s an incredibly sharp girl with a bright future ahead of her, please give a round of applause for my daughter, and the future of our department."


    As if on cue everyone began to clap, giving the young girl her props, and not wanting to seem out of place Max did the same applauding along with everyone else in the room.


    After the applause died down Scarlet Rose took her seat, and crossed her legs refocusing on the stage.


    "Thank you everyone," the police commissioner said, "now let''s get into why we''re all here." The man revealed a remote which he pointed upward, and after pressing a button a large projector screen began to descend from the ceiling. Afterwards, the lights were dimmed, and an image appeared on the screen ¨C it was a map of Eden Springs with all six of its districts.


    "For the last decade the archangels have been the only gang in Eden Springs, with territory in every district, spreading their influence like a plague. In districts like South Eden, they''re very active, and we estimate that at least 40% of gang activity occurs in that region, and most of that is violent crime."


    ''He wasn''t wrong.'' Max thought. ''But if the plurality of crime is committed in South Eden it would stand to reason that police activity would also increase in the region ¨C that was simply not the case.''


    "As for other regions the Archangels are usually very discreet, and commit crime that''s typically less obvious, whether it''s money laundering, insurance fraud, or identity theft. Despite these reports it''s worth noting that there hasn''t been a murder tied back to the Archangels since I became commissioner."


    Now that was something Max didn''t know. He sat up, and cupped his chin curiously. Max had been under the impression that his organization was just as bad as other gangs in the U.S, but it looked like they had some level of restraint ¨C where did that restraint come from?


    "To most of you none of this information is new, but I felt it necessary to refresh all of your memories considering what I''m about to say next." The man paused for a moment, making sure that he had everyone''s attention, "since the beginning of the year the murder rate has skyrocketed into the dozens, with the vast majority of victims being Archangel gang members."


    Max had forgotten to breath, reminded by the sound of his heart begging for oxygen Max let out a deep breath, almost choking while he did.


    ''Someone is targeting the Archangels?''


    Was he in danger? No, if he was Raguel would''ve said something, right? If this was true, which it most definitely was, why hadn''t he been told about it? He had the job at the end of the week, was it still worth going through with? A million thoughts raced through Max''s head as he did his best to wrap his mind around what he was being told.


    "The most recent victim in this string of murders was a teenage boy that attended Eden High."


    The tension in the crowd was palpable, hushed whispers began to permeate the aisles like an infected wound spreading to the rest of the limb; even the couple that sat next to Max seemed horrified. Max was worried as well, but not for the same reasons they were.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    "The boy was found in his home with his throat slit. He''d been tied to a chair, and forced to watch as the same was done to his family."


    ''Was this Azrael?" Max thought. The time line added up, and if his theory about the Azrael title being held for boys in his age group was right then-


    At this point the hushed whispers had evolved into yelling, and the fear into anger. The crowd was mad, and even the mayor who was sitting in the front row was getting nasty looks.


    "Now everyone listen to me, please," the commissioner said in an attempt to calm everyone down, "I take sole responsibility for the decision to keep everyone in the dark. You saw the protests outside; can you imagine how much worse things would be for our city if any of these murders were made public?"


    The crowd died down a bit, but there were still frustrated murmurs, and insults thrown his way, albeit much quieter ones.


    Suddenly Max felt chills down his spine. He only attended this meeting to get some possible insight on the last Azrael, and maybe some intel on what was going on with the Archangels, but what he was learning was so much more than that ¨C a grand conspiracy to hide mysterious, and brutal murders from the public. What he needed to know now was ¨C


    "The vast majority of these murders have occurred in district 4, and 5 respectively. As for the culprits? Our evidence has lead us to believe it''s a new gang, one that''s much more ruthless than the Archangels; they call themselves ''The Sanctified'' and they''ve since kicked the Archangels out of both districts."


    While the crowd was still anxious, they seemed to calm down a bit, after all everyone in this room except for Max himself either lived in Wavecrest or Hightown so there was still some space separating them from this violent gang. And while Eden''s elites didn''t particularly like the Archangels, the Archangels themselves generally left Eden''s upper class alone, all the violence was kept to districts aside from the two they resided in, out of sight out of mind.


    Max had heard about The Sanctified, they were a gang that had been spreading like wildfire across the United States the last few years; they were ruthless, and for some reason police departments in every city all across the country haven''t been able to stop them. Why was that? It was another mystery that Max might need to investigate, but if things were heating up this much maybe it was in his best interest to leave the gang. Max shook his head at that thought, there was still too many unknown variables for Max to confidently make that decision.


    "I do not want Eden Springs to become like many cities across the eastern seaboard. I want us to kick The Sanctified out now before they dig their heals in." The commissioner stated. "So, I am asking for all of your support! Everyone here represents Eden''s best, and finest, I need your help kicking this gang out of our city!"


    A man in the front row spoke up unprompted. "It''s no secret that we pay the Eden police force to maintain order in districts 2, and 3. So why should we bother wasting money on parts of the city we don''t care about? As far as I''m concerned we can wipe districts 1, 4, and 5 off the map and call it a day."


    The commissioner seemed annoyed hearing that. "Whether you like it or not those districts are a part of Eden Springs, and right now the image of this city which you''ve all carefully cultivated has been one of excellence; what do you think would happen to that image if half the districts in Eden become crime ridden wastelands?"


    The man wasn''t satisfied with that answer, but before he could say a rebuttal Reginald Sinclair stood up, adjusting his tie as he did so. The room grew quiet as he stood, even the mayor himself seemed captivated. Max knew that Reginald was respected, but he didn''t know how deep that went with the elites of Eden.


    "I spent years rebuilding this town..." He began. "Why should your department be trusted to handle a second crisis when it hasn''t demonstrated the ability to handle one?" His gaze pierced through the stage. "The Sanctified are here because Eden has failed to purge itself of the Archangels. A city incapable of addressing its gang problem signals weakness to others." Reginald''s attention shifted from the stage to the audience, his demeanor resolute. "For years, I tolerated the Archangels, trusting others to manage them. Now I see that was a mistake."


    As murmurs of agreement stirred the crowd, the commissioner interjected, attempting to diffuse the tension. "Mr. Sinclair, I understand¡ª"


    "You don''t understand a thing. You''re one of the good cops Alex, but the things you lack can''t be fixed with money. I''ll be solving this problem my way, just like I rebuilt Wavecrest all those years ago, I will handle the Sanctified and the Archangels myself." His words hung in the air, a challenge and a declaration of intent wrapped into one


    Max watched as Mr. Sinclair left the room with Kacey trotting behind him, the room erupting into chaos as they did. Eden''s elite stood from their seats and hurled insults at the chief, and the mayor, but several others argued in the chiefs favor. Even the couple beside Max seemed to agree with the chief of police, committing to help them in any way they could.


    Believing the meeting was over Max quietly got to his feet, and skirted through the aisle, attempting to make his escape. Once he was finally out of the room he turned to his right, the direction he saw the Sinclair''s come from when they entered earlier. As he made his way down the hall the bickering, and yelling seemed to die down, but just when he thought he was home free he felt a hand latch to his shoulder, and turn him around.

 Chapter 18 - Scarlet Rose

    In shock Max took a step back, but quickly regained his composure as he found himself face to face with the chief of police''s daughter Scarlet Rose.


    "You''re going to tell me what you''re doing here right now or I''m going to have you arrested."


    Her stare was callous, and unwavering, Max would need to earn her trust somehow. But judging by her body language that might be difficult. Her hands were free, and seemed ready to engage Max in a fight, and her feet were straight forward with her knees slightly bent ready to give chase if need be.


    Max considered the possible scenarios ¨C running was not an option since she clearly recognized Max. If he simply gave himself up word would get out that he snuck into the meeting, and his name being casually dropped amongst all of Eden''s elites was not something Max was privy to.


    "H-How did you know I was here?" Max asked.


    "I''m the one who sent out the invitations last week. I remember every name on that list, and Maximilian Redgrave was not on it."


    ''So, she must''ve seen me sitting in the aisle then, dammit."


    "I''m really sorry," Max said looking down at the ground. "The truth is..." He paused, and did his best to soften his voice. "I hate the Archangels, and I hate our city for not dealing with them. I came here hoping to hear about a solution, or some way to get them off the street, but all I got was..." Max shook his head in disgust. "Well, you saw the same thing I did."


    The room where the meeting was held had began to empty, anger and frustrated debate filled the hallways as the crowd made its way toward the two, and onwards to the exit. Rose grabbed Max''s arm violently, and yanked him into a dimly lit hall just to the right so as to let the crowds pass, and to not draw unwanted attention.


    ''She''s strong.'' Max thought. He never knew Scarlet to participate in any sports or after school clubs so where did this strength come from? Did she exercise on her own or did her father put her through actual police training? Before he could continue that train of thought Rose pushed him hard, his back slamming against the wall.


    Max felt his blood start to boil. What if he was telling the truth? What if he really was a concerned citizen who just wanted to know what the city was up to regarding the gang? Is this how he deserved to be treated?


    She looked at Max with contempt, as if he was no different than the gang he was a part of. What did she see him as? Max thought about this as her eyes pierced his own, attempting to reach the inside of his mind.


    "What reason do you have to care about the Archangels? Shouldn''t you be more worried about track and field?" She spat, her words hinting at resentment, and apathy toward the sport.


    Max knew he had to be careful here. An easy answer would be to mention the orphanage, and the number of kids who came out of it either homeless or part of the archangels, but he still wanted to keep where he lived under wraps. Max knew that the best lies contained hints of truth, and so Max opted to take that route.


    "I''ve lived in district 1 all my life. Every year I''ve put my trust in your dad - the police commissioner, and the mayor, but I haven''t seen any real change yet." Max met Rose''s vindictive eyes. "And once again it looks like district 1 is being cast aside."Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Rose''s face seemed to twist, and contort in anger; not wanting to let her explode Max quickly continued.


    "I want to do everything I can to help. If The Sanctified have already taken over districts five and six, which district do you think will be next? It will be mine." Max said.


    Max watched as Rose''s maniacal expression slowly changed to a conniving smile.


    "You''ll tell me everything you know about the Archangels, here right now, and after that I''ll pretend this never happened."


    The crowd of Eden''s elite continued to pass through the hall as the two had their conversation. The lights up above slowly started to cut off, a clear indication that the building would be closing for the night.


    "What makes you think I know anything that isn''t surface level?"


    Rose moved even closer to Max, and started pressing her index finger hard into his chest.


    "Don''t play stupid with me Max. You snuck into a government building to attend a secret meeting held for Eden''s upper class."


    ''To be fair it was advertised as a meeting between the police department and safety commission.'' Max thought.


    "You snuck in through the west wing didn''t you?"


    ''Great.'' Max thought, but he otherwise remained silent.


    "So, you''re smart, and probably know something I don''t. Now tell me everything you know - I won''t ask again."


    Max took a deep breath, and raised his hand grabbing Rose''s finger ¨C she tried to pull away, but his grip was firm.


    "Despite working with the department on some cases, you probably don''t have a lot of say when it comes to the actual investigations, and if I had to guess, many of the officers probably don''t like you ¨C I mean why would they? A girl half their age trying to play cop?"


    Rose finally wrestled her finger free, and got in the boys face. "You better watch what you say Max, do you see this uniform?"


    "I doubt that the department had any uniforms your size in stock. How much of my tax dollars went to having a police uniform custom made for a teenager in over her head?"


    Once again Max kept talking in an attempt to keep Rose from retaliating. "Let''s work together instead, with my street smarts, and your police training we might be able to pull something off." Max argued.


    Max hated this suggestion, but at this point there was no other way he was getting out of this building without being in handcuffs. He was playing a dangerous game though, a deal with the daughter of the police commissioner was high risk, very high risk ¨C if Raguel found out he''d have hell to pay. But at the same time Rose could be a very valuable ally, with her he could assess the danger level of the Sanctified, and gather intel about the Archangels that Raguel wasn''t willing to share.


    "A deal, with you? Please." She scoffed.


    "What do you have to lose?" Max asked. "This building is full of security cameras which will show me trespassing, you have the leverage. On top of that we go to the same school, it''s not like I can run from you."


    Max pulled out his personal phone out of his back pocket, and handed it to her. "Let''s exchange contact information, then after that you can reach out to me when you''re ready."


    Rose paused for a moment in consideration, her reddish-brown eyes taking in every detail, every moment. The hallway was quiet now, the only sound came from the vents above, a whirling noise likely from a heater keeping the building at an adequate temperature. The last light had cut off almost enshrouding the two in darkness, but Max''s phone illuminated the two faintly.


    "Alright, fine." She said.


    After about a minute the two had each other''s contact information.


    "Find your own way out." Rose said taking her leave, obviously heading for the front door.


    If anyone was still outside it''d look very odd for the both of them to be seen together so Max figured this was for the best. If he had left earlier with the crowd he wouldn''t have had a problem.


    Max went to a nearby bathroom, and used the crawlspace between the ceiling as his way out; he was sure to pick up his pack along the way. He changed his clothes again, and once he was out of the building, and through the empty construction site he made his way back to the bus stop.


    It was a little after 8:00 PM now, and most of Hightown''s businesses were starting to close, evidenced by the large neon lights above the shops cutting off. As Max trotted down the street he watched numerous cars pull out of parking garages, and busy lots make their way toward Wavecrest. There were a handful of residents that did live in the various suites, and luxury apartments that Hightown had to offer, but those people usually ended up walking to where they needed to go because this district was so compact.

 Chapter 19 - The Ride

    As Max approached the bus stop a familiar face came into view ¨C it was Ava. Max could hardly make her face out in the fog, but it was definitely her, and she was standing alone, her face neutral and expressionless. Her hair was still up in a ponytail, and she was still wearing the exercise apparel that threw Max off earlier.


    Max''s approach didn''t surprise her in the slightest, it was as if she was expecting him.


    "So, we''ll be riding the bus together twice in one day." Max said. "What are the odds?"


    Ava sneered at Max, and sighed in disbelief. "This bus is scheduled to visit this exact stop only one more time after we got off earlier. Statistically speaking the odds were quite high,"


    "I-It was an idiom; you weren''t supposed to actually calculate the possibility of us running into each other." Max said.


    Ava rolled her eyes, amused by Max''s awkward attempt to clarify. "It was a poor choice of words Red. Additionally, this district is very dense, running into people twice in one day isn''t that extraordinary."


    Max almost audibly groaned, he wasn''t even a minute in, and he was loathing this conversation. Eager to change the subject he decided to delve into something he considered more pertinent.


    "Ava, in your introduction during class yesterday you said you were from Riverview Academy. Does that mean you used to live in either district four or five?"


    Ava cast a suspicious look at Max all of a sudden, eying him curiously. The misty air around them seemed to grow tense, the usual ease between them disrupted by Ava''s scrutiny.


    "I lived in district 4, the same district as the school. Why?" She asked sharply.


    "I was just curious, that''s all. I haven''t been to that district in over a year, so I thought I''d ask you about it."


    If Ava lived in Riverview there was a chance she knew about The Sanctified, and if that was the case Raguel would''ve found out about it, but still, Max didn''t like being kept in the dark; there were too many things he didn''t have the answer to for him to tacitly accept the status quo.


    Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of the bus roaring through the fog, its headlights illuminating the gray and empty. The two paid the fare, and sat in the same seats they did earlier, but this time they were the only two on the bus.


    "Friday''s assignment. Have you ever done anything like that before?" She asked.


    A reasonable question Max surmised, but it did suggest doubt in Raguel''s leadership; he can''t exactly blame her though considering his recent thoughts about him.


    "I know how to do the job if that''s what you''re getting at."This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    "If you''re not sure about leading please do not hesitate to fall back on me. "Ava said.


    "Oh, how sweet of y- "


    "From what I can tell you have zero leadership experience, and therefore I would be better fit to serve in that role; I wouldn''t mind handling the mission, and then allowing you to take credit for the job itself."


    Max was taken aback by Ava''s boldness. She not only doubted Raguel''s leadership, but Max''s as well.


    "Hold on, what leadership experience do you have?"


    Ava had nothing to say to that, she simply turned her head away from Max, veering off to the window across the aisle.


    "You don''t have anything to worry about." Max said reassuring her. "Besides, looking at as a matter of fact, Draco wouldn''t listen to anything you had to say."


    "I considered that, which is why if it was my choice he would not be a part of the operation."


    "Not only would Draco refuse to agree to that, but I have explicit instructions to bring both of you along."


    Max let that hang for a moment before continuing. "Listen, I plan on sharing the strategy with both of you on Thursday. Feel free to come up with a plan yourself, and then we can work through both of them, and decide which one is the best. How does that sound?"


    Max watched Ava slowly nod, her head still facing away from him. He really couldn''t blame Ava for doubting him, after all the goal was risky. The store sat right at the border between Wavecrest and The Slums, it wouldn''t take very long for the police to arrive if they were called; additionally, if they were caught they''d certainly be tried as adults, and their lives would be over. It was a high risk move with very little reward for Ava, and Draco ¨C at least that''s how Max saw it.


    The rest of the ride Max kept his eyes fixed outside the window, carefully reflecting on all the pieces he had to juggle. There was figuring out who Azrael was, keeping Dante and his group at bay, learning to manage Draco, and Ava while simultaneously keeping Kacey happy, and now he had to deal with the daughter of the police commissioner Scarlet Rose. And he had to do all of this while keeping his residency a secret. This would undoubtedly be the riskiest year of Max''s entire life, and he intended to meet it head on.


    It was getting late, and if Max didn''t hurry he''d find himself locked out of the orphanage. Ms. Finch had a nasty habit of locking the door at 9:00 PM sharp, and since Max was usually back home by then it wasn''t a problem, but one night Raguel had sent him on a particularly lengthy assignment that kept him out late, Max slept in the shed that night.


    After that Max had stolen the key to the front door from Madam Vine, and had a copy of it made at a local shop. In addition to that he started to leave the attic window unlocked so he could sneak into his room from climbing onto the roof.


    Luckily, there was still plenty of time before curfew. After the bus stopped just across the street from the school Ava, Max got off, and made their way across the railroad tracks back into district one, eventually splitting up.


    The front door to the orphanage was unlocked as expected, and Max made his way through the dormitory, and toward the ladder that led into the attic where he slept. Most of the children of St. Hope were sound asleep, but Max could see Caleb sitting on his bed with his knees tucked under his arms, and as Max walked passed his bed he offered him a small cursory glance.


    Now that Max thought about it this wasn''t the first time he''d seen Caleb like this, the boy usually had trouble sleeping, and was always the last one still awake after dark. There were probably dozens of nights like this, but Max was only taking note of it now. Considering recent events Caleb was probably stressed more now than ever, but Max pushed that to the back of his mind and made his way up the latter, and into his bed.


    ''That was only the second day of school.'' Max thought. ''Things should get easier from here.'' He let his mind wander until he eventually drifted into a deep, comfortable sleep.

 Chapter 20 - The Plan

    Max was restless that night, twisting and turning in his bed non stop, his mind clouded, and full of possibilities, doubt, and anxiety. In all his years as an acolyte for the Archangels he''d never once made a mistake, and he had never failed in a mission. He intended to move up the chain, and after tomorrow''s assignment he''d be one step closer to achieving that goal.


    Feeling the need for fresh air Max got out of bed, and made his way to the glass window in his room, and pressed his fingers against it, the icy cold from the outside seeping into his finger tips. Max pushed the small window open, and peered out into the night air, but his senses seemed off, and the dreary town he saw in the distance was blackened by the night.


    Sometimes South Eden felt like its own small island cast adrift in an empty sea, and that''s because the stars up above weren''t polluted by the city''s lights, or neon bubble. It was one of the few things that made sense about his district, one of the only things worth looking up to, one of the only things worth believing in, for when he crossed those railroad tracks those stars would disappear.


    But something was wrong this time, something sinister had taken the stars. Up above, the sky was nothing but pitch black, no light could be seen, not even the faintness of moonlight casting through the invisible clouds, just complete emptiness. In a panic Max gripped the edges of the window, and peered outward looking for some sort of explanation, but all he saw was an unusually tall figure standing ominously in front of the orphanage. It was gangly, and long with arms that stretched to the ground, the top of its hands resting on the pavement.


    Max couldn''t make out who or what it was. They were hooded, their face covered with a mask, and they were standing inhumanly still. A chill began to wash over Max, he felt as though he somehow had done something wrong, but before he could pull himself away from the window, the being turned its head, and looked directly at him - their eyes meeting for a brief moment. Max''s breath had been caught in his throat, the boy was unable to breathe, paralyzed in fear, but then before Max could react further the being stepped onto the porch just outside the front door, its hands dragging up the steps with loud creaking clunks, then it raised its arms, and a moment later a loud knocking could be heard from down stairs. Max felt himself tripping on his own feet, his body crashing into the ground.


    Max quickly staggered to his feet, and began to hear movement from outside his door in the dormitory. Someone had just cut the light on because a radiant yellow beamed from under his door, so bright it almost hurt his eyes. Before Max could do anything more a white light began to shine from his bed, and he could hear a pearly, angelic voice emanate from it.


    "Come, you must not be awake when they let it in."


    Max did not know what that meant, nor did he care, he vaguely remembered this voice, and this light; it was as if it had called to him before, and so heading its words Max crawled back into bed embracing the voice, embracing the light as it cradled him back to sleep.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    ***


    Luckily the next two days were much easier to handle for Max. Neither Rose, nor Kacey had reached out to him, so he finally had time to plan and strategize how to handle everything on his plate.


    Thursday morning, he met with Ava, and Draco in the same alley where he met them on the first day of school, just without Raguel this time.


    Ava was already there when Max arrived, back to her semi-formal attire, and her long black hair stretching down her back. After several minutes Draco could be heard entering the alley, and waving off a few of his new friends, letting them know he''d see them later.


    He greeted Max, and Ava with a carefree smile, his hands relaxed behind his head as usual.


    "You know Red, I think I''m getting used to this school thing, I''ve met a lot of like-minded people!"


    "I don''t care about that." Max said, "Listen, we have a job to do tomorrow."


    "Huh? Oh! You mean the robbery right? Finally! I was beginning to think you bitched out! Another day or two and I wouldn''t wanna be seen with you, just sayin''"


    "It''s not a robbery." Ava said correcting him. "We''re to trash the place, and hurt the owner ¨C that''s all."


    "Hey Red I don''t speak bitch, do you?"


    Max ignored that, and took a deep breath, as if to hide his frustration. "If you want to steal from him I don''t care, just make sure the store is trashed, and he''s unconscious before you do."


    "Music to my ears Red." Draco said sneering at Ava.


    "Let''s just get on with the plan." She said.


    "A plan?" Draco laughed, "please have you seen the place? We could go and do the job right now. What''s stopping us, really?"


    "What''s stopping us is the fact that this is one of their busiest periods of the day ¨C additionally the scouting I''ve done- "


    Draco closed his eyes, and began to make loud snoring noises, and every time Ava tried to interrupt him he got louder, and louder.


    Max saw Ava''s frustration boiling over as she moved towards Draco with clear intent to harm him, but Max swiftly stepped between them and delivered a sharp blow to the back of Draco''s head, snapping him out of his antics.


    "Hey what the hell was that for?!" He yelled.


    "That was nothing compared to what she was going to do to you." Max said nodding over to Ava, who''s glare could''ve frozen steel.


    Draco met Ava''s gaze, and started to say something else, but Max was quick to move the conversation along.


    "Ava, I assume there''s nothing new to report regrading the recon you''ve done?"


    "No, just like we discussed Tuesday, the store is slow in the evening."


    "Alright then, good." Max said leaning forward, his voice low and measured. "I''ll send you both details on where to get changed, later, but just know that we''ll be entering the store one at a time in two-minute intervals, and we''ll all approach from different directions." Max began. "Ava will be on lookout, I''ll handle the shop owner, and Draco you will handle trashing the place." Max paused to take a breath before continuing. "We shouldn''t be there any longer than five minutes. After we''re done we''ll head out the back. How does that sound to everyone?" Max asked, paying careful attention to Ava.


    The plan must''ve been solid because Ava nodded much sooner than Max had expected. Draco on the other hand, Max made repeat his instructions verbatim until Max was sure he understood them, and had them memorized.


    He considered what Ava''s version of the plan would''ve been. If it was just her and himself they''d either have to extend the time they planned on staying at the store or compromise the lookout position, which was vitally important. Either way his strategy seemed to earn him Ava''s trust, but how he executes that strategy would determine whether or not he kept it.


    Feeling confident the three made their way to school, and mentally prepared for the job the following day.

 Chapter 21 - The Job

    The next morning, Max awoke feeling groggy and disoriented, the weight of his dream clinging stubbornly to his limbs. Despite the fog in his mind, duty called, so he pushed himself upright and swung his legs out of bed. The cold morning light was barely beginning to filter through the curtains, casting a pale glow across the room.


    Later that evening Max prepared to execute the final stages of his plan; he had spent the last several hours after school making sure everything was in place. He was in an alley about 100 meters from the store. It was there that he found the duffel bag he''d stored the previous day, carefully strapped underneath a dumpster. In the duffel bag was everything Max needed to do his job, a black long sleeve shirt, gloves, and a black ski mask ¨C and most importantly was his gun, a Glock 17 automatic pistol.


    He quickly got changed, equipped his piece, and made his way straight to the store. Based on his previous observation, and from Ava''s reconnaissance there was no sign that the owner had a gun behind the counter, so Max figured the odds of him having to use his were low, but that being said Max would not hesitate to pull the trigger if he had to.


    Just like every other day this month it was foggy outside, and Max intended to use that to his advantage. He quickly crossed the street, carefully peering into the store windows as he did, and as Max suspected there were no customers inside.


    He barged in from the front, and pulled out his gun, pointing it at Luis who was busy restocking one of the aisles. After turning, and seeing Max the man was too shocked too move. He instinctively raised his hands above his head as if he was under arrest, but it was clear he still didn''t know what was happening.


    "Get on the fucking ground, now!" Red yelled quickly approaching Luis ¨C his voice muffled, and disguised behind the ski mask.


    The man seemed to sputter, barely able to speak or react to Max''s words, and when the man bent down he seemed to fall, his hands slamming against the cold tiles. Without skipping a beat Max pulled his leg back, and then with all the force he could muster, aimed a kick straight for the mans skull. There was a loud crack as the front of his foot connected with his cheek, and the man fell over on his back, blood spewing out of his mouth, blending in with the red floor


    "Pleashe, I-I have a f-family." Luis pleaded, his English broken, and nonsensical, his hands holding his head for protection, and to somehow ease the pain.


    The bell signaling that the entrance was opening had sounded, and Luis made a desperate cry for help, but all Ava did was take the "open" sign on the door, and turn it around. Then she checked all the windows, and then made her way to the back to check the back entrance, all the while Luis begged, and pleaded for his life. Red kicked the man again, but this time in his stomach knocking the air out of his lungs, so instead of begging and pleading he was coughing, and choking, his head probably still ringing from the first kick.


    Next it was Draco who made his entrance, "Woah Red, guess great minds think alike!" He said revealing his piece, and waving it around carelessly. Draco then began knocking over aisles, he grabbed glass bottles from the cold section, and started throwing them all over the store shattering glass, and sending shrapnel all over the room. Then, he revealed a pocketknife from under his ski mask, and ran through the store cutting open every bag of chips, candy bar, and bakery item available spilling them all over the floor.


    Still conscious Luis desperately tried to scream, the air finally back in his lungs, but Red stomped on his jaw so the next thing to come out of the man''s mouth were not words, but his own teeth coupled with more of his blood. Now it was nothing but a low pitched, gurgled groan that escaped him.


    Red turned and looked at Draco who was now standing on one of the shelves in an aisle he left alone. He had his back to Max, and was now relieving himself all over the floor, and into some of the food as if he was an animal marking his territory.


    After he was done he made his way to Luis, and flipped him over as the man sobbed in silence.


    "Just gonna go ahead, aaaaaand yep, there we go!" He said taking the man''s wallet from his back pocket.


    "Why don''t you just take what''s in the register?" Red said clearly annoyed with Draco, his voice muffled, and gaunt.


    "Yeah, yeah don''t worry I will I will." Draco replied without sparing as much as a glance in Max''s direction, instead he gleefully opened the man''s wallet, and while Max couldn''t see his face he was positive that Draco was smiling. "Trash, and trash, and even more trash." Draco said dumping the contents onto the ground, many of the items soaking in Luis''s blood.


    "Oooh, finally something interesting! We got some family photos in here!" This seemed to generate a reaction out of the man as he started to squirm even more, like a mammal desperate for air. Luis somehow escaped his pain for a brief moment latching his hand onto Draco''s ankle. But the boy raised his other foot, and slammed it onto Luis''s arm as hard as he could forcing another bloodcurdling scream out of the man as he reeled his arm in to his chest for protection, holding it like a baby.


    "This will be a lot easier if you just shut up." Red said, "and keep your hands to yourself."


    "Hey, man take a look at this, I think you might find it a bit interesting!" Draco said, and once again although Max couldn''t see his face he knew that Draco was smiling about something sinister.


    Red sighed, and moved to the other side of Luis''s body so he could take a look at the photo Draco was referring to. As soon as Max laid eyes on the picture his heart stopped, and everything in the room became jumbled, and dizzy, he almost fell over, catching his hand on one of the shelves, he swallowed hard, and felt his body start to shake. That family photo was a picture of Luis himself, along with his daughter Lily, and his wife who Max didn''t recognize, but worst of all, was their son Richard, the same Richard that Max practiced track with, the same Richard that helped him with Kacey, the same Richard that Max was growing to like, and care about. How the hell did he overlook this? How could this have happened?Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    Draco simply dropped the photo without a care in the world, it fluttered aimlessly to the ground, landing in Luis''s blood among the other content from his wallet.


    Breaking him out of his stupor was a loud knocking noise coming from the back entrance. "Red, we have a problem." Ava said, her voice coming from the break room.


    "Oh! Looks like we have company!" Draco said with a sly sneer.


    "Watch him!" Max said to Draco as he quickly made his way to the break room.


    Ava was standing over a computer monitor which was divided into four screens each one showing a different part of the store. The quality was low, and the videos themselves were black and white, but in the top right corner Max could see an overview of what looked like the back of the store, the camera must''ve been focused on the back entrance. And standing there was someone neither Max nor Ava could discern, but they kept knocking on the door, over and over again.


    Max quickly made his way back to Luis. "Hey! Who is that at the door!" Max asked, but he received no answer, the man was too delirious from the previous attacks to say anything coherent. "Hey, hey!" Max said getting on his knees, and slapping the man over and over again to snap him out of his hysteria, the blood from Luis''s clothes seeping into Max''s black sweatpants.


    "N-New h-h-ir"


    "New hire?" Draco repeated. "That''s hilarious." He said starting to laugh. "Bet you didn''t anticipate that Red, see that''s why it''s better to go in guns blazing because even the best plans can''t account for everything!"


    "No, but I- "He thought back to his conversation with Luis on Monday.


    "Are you guys hiring by chance?" Max asked with a wide smile, he rubbed the back of his head in an attempt to feign nervousness.


    "Oh, no kid sorry. I don''t need any more help."


    The answer itself was inconclusive. It either meant that Luis worked alone, or it meant that he''d already had extra help, but Ava had watched the store the last few days and never saw anyone which either meant that the workers either did the morning shift or Luis was the one and only worker, Max never even thought of the possibility that he had a new hire.


    "Dammit!" Max thought.


    He shook his head for a minute, and took another deep breath. No, this is fine, he figured. They were still disguised, and still had time on their side. That being said, it was essential that they escaped out the back door, which meant they had two options. Either one, they could wait for the new hire to leave which was a major risk by itself, or...


    "Draco, bring them in, and shut them up, put them right here next to Luis!"


    "Sure, thing Red!" Draco said twirling his gun around his finger, and making his way to the back door. Once there, he threw it open, grabbed the suspect by their hair, and yanked them into the room.


    Despite a few complications Max figured everything was going to plan. The fact that this was Richards dad was a huge oversight on his part, but nothing that he couldn''t recover from; also the fact that he was as close to Richard as he was meant that he''d be less of a suspect once the police began to question Luis after this whole ordeal was over.


    "Merry Christmas Red!" Draco yelled, as he slammed the butt of his gun against Gabby''s head, then he reeled her back by her hair and slammed the gun into her right eye. She yelped, and screamed in total terror before falling over next to Luis. She wasn''t unconscious though, instead she held her bleeding eye with one hand, and after looking over at Luis, she let out a wail so ugly, and so guttural even Ava found herself watching from the break room. Draco went to punch her again, but Max grabbed his hand, and stopped him.


    "Its'' time to go."


    "Alright, alright Red, but let me at least return the man''s wallet, I mean manners amiright?"


    Max felt his eyes start to blur, but he pushed that feeling away, and used his fingers to wipe the sweat from his eyes helping him to refocus himself. Max let go of Draco''s hand, and the boy quickly revealed the wallet.


    "There''s just one more photo I wanted to talk about."


    "We don''t have time." Max said angrily, his temper rising, but Draco ignored him, and revealed the picture.


    "Now this brings back memories. It''s been so long since I''ve seen this face."


    What the hell is he doing now?


    Max looked down at Gabby who was sobbing uncontrollably, the tears melding with her blood drying her face with a vibrant horrible red, her eye black, and purple already bruised and contorted, and her shirt soaked in either tears or blood, who''s blood Max could not tell. He felt his body start to convulse, his insides working against him, he was nauseous now, again leaning against a shelf unsure of his next move.


    Draco''s taunts started to agitate Luis again, his desperate cries echoed through the room. Max could barely make out anyone''s words anymore, Luis''s begging, Draco''s taunts, Gabby''s crying all seemed to meld together into an inescapable hell.


    "She was my first victim Red, stuffed her right in my pack like a book, and she fit real good too, the young ones always do. Didn''t think I''d ever see her again, I''m getting all nostalgic lookin'' at this picture ya know?"


    Draco sighed deeply, as if reminiscing about the past before taking one last look at the photo. "Oh well, hope this isn''t your last picture of her! Honestly, I''m kinda upset because I thought I was the last person to look at that cute little face! Sure, I guess I do deserve some credit for being the last person to see her alive, but this still hurts man. Anyway..." Draco tore the picture in half, and then into quarters, and then once again before sprinkling the pieces onto Luis''s body followed by his wallet.


    "Hey Red, I think I''m about ready to go."


    Max was unable to process what he was hearing. He was still staring at Gabby on the ground, her arms covered over Luis as if she had any chance at protecting him, his eyes then drifted to the photo of Luis, and his family that was face up, and soaking in Luis''s blood, and finally he looked up and all around the store, he was in complete disarray, looking at all the destruction like a lost puppy desperately searching for its owner.


    "Hello earth to Red, you in there buddy?"


    That''s right, he was on an assignment, Raguel had asked him to hurt Luis, and to tear up the man''s store. He was supposed to do that with two new recruits, Ava and Draco. He''d just met them a couple of days ago, and needed to prove himself as a leader. If he did that for a handful of assignments he''d be given the new Azrael title, a title that was mysterious, and suspicious in its own right, but it was still a step up for Max, and that''s why he agreed to it, but-


    Before his train of thought continued the right side of his face suddenly felt hot, and alive as if it was on fire. He turned toward the perpetrator, and saw that it was Ava - she had slapped him straight across the face, her hand still in the air. Max brought two fingers to his cheek, and felt it as the pain slowly subsided.


    "Are you done?" She asked irritate, her face tense, and cold. She was angry, but at himself or at Draco he could not tell.


    Max shook his head one last time, and immediately dug into Luis''s pockets for a phone. Without asking he grabbed Draco''s pocket knife from him, and immediately stabbed the phone hard enough piercing it, and breaking it in one blow, and then he threw it across the room. As he hesitantly looked for Gabby''s, Ava was already a step ahead, and had her phone in hand, breaking it herself before throwing it across the store.


    "Alright, let''s go." Max said, his composure returning to him.


    And that''s what the three did, the trio hurried out the back door, and disappeared into the fog leaving Luis, and Gabby alone in their misery.

 Chapter 22 - The Escape

    While Max did not initially plan to break their phones, their time spent inside the store was two minutes longer than originally planned, and so Max figured destroying them would balance that out in some way. The Eden General store was right on the border between South Eden, and Wavecrest so once notified Max did not expect the police to take too long arriving on the scene.


    That being said the store was almost completely alone on that part of the street, many of the buildings nearby were abandoned, and those that did stop by the general store usually came from the commercial district across the rail road tracks. Gabby was in much better condition than Luis was so she''d be the one to go get help, Max hoped that her injuries weren''t too bad, and that she-


    As his mind drifted to Gabby, the images of Draco dragging her by her hair, and punching her flashed into his mind repeatedly, over and over again. No matter how rationally he tried to think it through, no matter how much he tried to push the thought away it continued to bubble, and surface, so much so that he stopped in his tracks, and thought about turning back.


    He could say he was out jogging in the area, and how he thought it was odd that the store was closed, he could rush in and comfort Gabby, and call the police. Then he could be there for her while the paramedics treated her wounds, he''d sit in the ambulance with her on the way to the hospital, and keep her spirits up as the doctors ran their tests. He''d talk to her parents about how strong she was, and how he''d commit to finding out who was responsible for all of this. But instead of doing any of that, he pressed forward.


    Max had arrived at his escape point, an alley 800 meters away from the store. As soon as he arrived he began to pace back and forth in guilt, and frustration. He punched the wall to his left as hard as he could, and knelt down to his knees, his knuckles bruised, and bleeding. His mind was still high on adrenaline so the physical pain was not there, but the mental turmoil was omnipresent. All he could think about was Gabby, and how this all could''ve been avoided if he''d just paid attention. He was too eager to finish the job early, if he''d just pushed it back a few more days he could''ve planned around this.


    He sat against the wall, and ran his hands through his hair, he brought his arm to his mouth and let out a muffled scream, the sound of it echoing through the alley, and into Eden''s cancerous fog.


    Another minute had passed, and Max''s head had began to hurt. It was a headache, and he had one more thing to do before returning home. He quickly got changed using the spare clothes he''d stored under some cardboard in the alley, he noticed Luis''s blood on the sweatpants he was wearing, but thankfully it didn''t seep into his skin. After getting changed Max made the long walk back to St. Hope, and along the way he passed numerous homeless, and in one of the many barrels of fire they used to keep warm Max threw in the clothes he''d worn during the act.


    Afterwards he made his way to the back of the orphanage undetected, and climbed onto the roof using the broken drainage pipe for leverage. Then he easily opened the attic window, and once inside he locked it, threw on his pajamas and climbed into bed. This was Max''s alibi, and he knew it would work. As soon as school ended today he came straight home, and told Madam Vine he wasn''t feeling well, and would spend all his time in bed asleep. Of course, this hinged on Max not being caught sneaking out of the attic, but he had performed this stunt numerous times in the past without issue so that was not something he worried about.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    As Max settled in he began to hear sirens in the distance, a lot of them. There must''ve been four, no five police cars, and two ambulances judging by the sounds they made. It had been years since Max heard the noise of more than one of these vehicles in district 1; there has never been a response like this in South Eden as far back as Max could remember. But then he thought about the meeting, and The Sanctified, and figured the response was likely because of that; Max hoped this wouldn''t mean more attention focused on his act than usual, but even he knew that was probably just wishful thinking.


    Max couldn''t think straight with the sirens ringing in the distance, they made him anxious, and for a few minutes, afraid. He curled into a ball in his bed, and buried his head into his pillow in a desperate attempt to drown out the sound, but it was no use. The sirens continued to wail as if to constantly remind Max, and reprimand him for his evil deed.


    For hours the noise filled the room keeping him awake, and alert. It was so persistent that Max needed to sit up, for trying to relax and calm his nerves only seemed to make the noise louder in his head than it was in reality. Almost forgetting about them, Max reached into his school back pack which was situated at the side of his bed, and pulled out his headphones. He plugged them in, and hit shuffle on a random playlist, the music an easy, and fluent escape from the madness of reality - finally he was able to think clearly again.


    They had to be treating Gabby by now he thought, and Luis too. During the attack neither Ava, Draco or himself had worn any colors representing the Archangels, but if what Raguel said was true Luis by all accounts should know they were responsible. Max wondered whether or not Luis would report that to the police.


    As his thoughts drifted he considered the days events and everything leading up to it. His plan was almost perfect, and despite the hiccups it was well executed - aside from going over time by the end he had made no mistakes. But then Max considered what had been said through the ordeal, no one called each other by their names, and their voices were muffled through the mask.


    His alias ''Red'' will undoubtedly attract some attention, but Max hoped Raguel would consider that and have him keep things low-key for awhile. Besides, it wasn''t like he couldn''t just use a different alias if he had to.


    But then Max''s thoughts drifted to Draco, and an intense rage began to boil within him, a rage that he quickly tempered with several deep breaths. He forced himself to put Gabby aside for now, and to assess the rest of what had happened, the rest of what what Draco had said. Suddenly, Ava''s words just a couple of days ago rang clearer in his mind than anything else.


    "He said he used to keep people inside of it, the thing is I couldn''t tell if he was joking or not."


    Max had dismissed the statement as edgy humor, something he expected from Draco. And the logical fact that people don''t fit in back packs, but what Max failed to consider was that Draco wasn''t talking about people generally, he was referring explicitly to children. Suddenly, the nausea from earlier returned to Max, his stomach repulsed by the though, exhausted from the day, and traumatized by his own actions everything came reeling up his throat; Max barely had enough time to turn over and vomit all over the floor, he retched uncontrollably splattering bits of breakfast, and stomach acid everywhere, some of it soaking the bed sheet, and the night stand. Max did not intend to move now, that mess would be there until morning, an action he''d regret for sure.


    Then Max started to think about where he lived, and all the children he stayed with. In the last three years there have been five children under the age of two that have gone missing from St. Hope. Suddenly, Draco was easy to blame for their disappearances. He wanted to be angry, but he was too exhausted to feel that hatred, it would have to wait until morning.


    As Max laid in bed listening to his music he watched the sun slowly set through the window in his room before finally submerging the orphanage in darkness with nothing but shallow moonlight casting its glow into Max''s room, the smoke from his vomit made clear by the light. He removed his headphones, the sirens finally gone, and somehow, miraculously, thankfully drifted to sleep.

 Chapter 23 - Broadcast

    Max woke up the following morning with a headache, and while he would''ve liked to go back to sleep the smell of his now dried barf prevented him from doing so. The smell was so strong, and so horrid Max could not help but sit up, it seemed his disgust outweighed his tiredness. He made his way down to the laundry room, gathered cleaning supplies, and a set of new sheets for his bed.


    On his way down he passed the bathroom which was radiating the worst smell imaginable. The toilet must be clogged, and whoever did that would be spending their morning cleaning that up, Max did not envy them.


    Putting whatever happened in the bathroom aside Max spent his morning cleaning up his own mess upstairs in the attic.


    The weekend schedule for the orphanage was very similar to the schedule the children followed on the weekday, but instead of spending time in a classroom the children were taken on a walk to a small park in the district, and they got to play outside longer than usual; though play would be limited due to the cold.


    It was breakfast time, but Max had no appetite, and was in no mood to eat. Instead he did what he normally did on mornings spent at the orphanage. He made his way to the play area, hoping to catch a glimpse of the morning news with Madam Vine, just as he did on Tuesday. Unfortunately for Max however, it was not Madame Vine seated on the couch, but Ms. Finch. With a disappointing sigh, Max sat next to the woman on the couch, and tuned in - luckily the broadcast had yet to air.


    Max could feel Ms. Finch''s cold uncaring eyes on him as he studied the TV, but he pretended not to notice. This wouldn''t be the first time they spent their morning together watching the news, and usually the entire segment would pass without either of them saying a word to each other, but this time things were different.


    "You look absolutely dreadful." Ms. Finch had said, "sit further away, I don''t want to get sick."


    Without a word Max moved his body to the furthest edge of the couch. Max knew that he wasn''t sick, but he sure did look it, which was probably a good thing all things considered. He did not need Ms. Finch questioning the authenticity of his "cold" after all.


    Shortly after the news came on, and the same woman with short brown hair appeared on the screen. Max thought about her again considering whether she was new since he never saw her around.


    ''What was her name again?'' He thought. ''Oh that''s right it was-''


    "Good morning Eden Springs! Samantha Holmes here, and welcome to today''s news broadcast!"


    "Tch, so unnecessarily jovial. There''s no need for all this excitement, they should bring back the older gentleman, the one from before. I wonder what happened to him!"


    Max had no idea who Ms. Finch was referring to and if he had to guess neither did the rest of the city. The fact that Max even remembered the name of this broadcaster meant that she probably wasn''t going anywhere.


    "First things first, following up on a story from Wednesday, students at Eden High were shocked to find the corpse of a massive buck on Iyola avenue, a small wooded path connecting the school to the football field! After reporting it to the proper authorities, local journalists here at ENTV arrived on scene, and managed to capture footage of the creature before it was extracted! That footage is being shown now!


    Max was surprised that something like this made the news, but he was happy that Kacey pulled the strings to get it taken care of. Oddly enough, in the footage ENTV captured Max recognized one of the boys from class standing a few feet away from the body. It was the boy with the camera, what was he doing there?


    "Look at the size of that thing! This is the school you love so much? Now we have to worry about poachers wandering onto school property?! What if a student was hit?!" Ms. Finch declared.


    There was a tarp covering the body so Max could not blame Ms. Finch for mistaking this as a simple hunting accident, but the truth was far more interesting. That body had been torn open, and its insides strewn about like it was nothing but a play thing, and on top of that nothing had been eaten, but that may have changed by the time reporters, and animal control services arrived on scene. It''s very likely that other wildlife appeared, and feasted on the remains as soon as him and Richard left the scene.


    The thought of Richard immediately left a sour taste in his mouth, Max quickly raised a hand to prevent himself from throwing up as the events of the previous day began to flash into his mind again.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    "If you can''t sit there without making pained expressions you need to go up stairs and go to bed." Ms. Finch said.


    "Please tune in next week for another update to this developing story! We should have all the details regarding this animals cause of death, as well as an interview with a local biologist! Now let''s move on to the next story!


    "I''m fine." Max said with a wave of his hand. He''d managed to keep it down. "As for that carcass. I''m just glad it''s gone now."


    "South Eden was in chaos last night as the district was plagued by a horrific crime.. Authorities are still trying to piece together a motive. The Eden General Store was ransacked, and its owner Luis Rodriguez, a caring husband, and father of three was brutally attacked yesterday evening by three assailants. Please be warned as some of the imagery you''re about to see is quite graphic."


    An image of the outside of the store flashed on the screen, the front entrance blocked off by police tape. Then, the screen showed a slide show of pictures that were taken inside of the store. It was insane to Max how much destruction had been done in so little time, and all of it by one person. If Max had switched roles with Draco he wasn''t sure if he''d been able to match that level of chaos, but he was sure that Luis would be in a much worse condition. The screen flashed photos of all the broken glass that littered the floor, then it showed how messy the aisles were, with almost every item of food opened and dumped to the ground. The last few photos were of the pools of blood on the ground, a direct result of Max''s violence.


    "But Luis was not the only victim of this vicious attack! The initial report came from a small office who saw a young girl stumbling across the railroad tracks in their direction. Gabriella Mart¨ªnez was set to start working under Luis at the general store, and had tried to enter the building from the back, when she was pulled in and assaulted by one of the assailants! Both her, and Luis are currently being treated at the hospital for their wounds."


    Max began to feel sick again looking at the images flashing on the TV, but luckily those thoughts were interrupted by Ms. Finch who was eying max curiously. "You were just there the other day weren''t you? Any idea how this could''ve happened?"


    "From what I could tell Luis is a caring guy, I can''t imagine him crossing anyone. This could''ve just been a random act of violence." Max suggested.


    The lie came out smooth, and easy, as if he''d practiced this answer over and over again in his head. It seemed to satisfy Ms. Finch however, she leaned back into the couch, and turned her gaze away from Max, and back onto the TV.


    "You''re lucky these hooligans didn''t attack the store while you were there. Knowing how stupid you are, you probably would''ve fought back and died. You better do your shopping in Wavecrest from now on or all of us will suffer for it."


    As Ms. Finch spoke Max was scrolling through the contacts on his phone, only to realize that he never actually saved Gabby''s number.


    "Yeah, you''re right Ms. Finch." Max said too tired to argue. "That''s what I''ll do."


    He checked his text messages, and scrolled all the way down, and that''s where he saw it, a text from Gabby from back in May when summer vacation started. He''d given her his number at the end of last year, but he explicitly told her he wouldn''t be reaching out to her. Why did he give her his number? Max couldn''t even remember the reason. The text itself was just a question, she''d just asked if he wanted to work together on their summer assignment, a request Max flat out ignored.


    "Did you know that girl?" Ms. Finch asked. "Her parents shouldn''t have let her work in this district."


    Something about that question bothered Max. It was a question that seemed to peel back the very fiber of his person-hood, and everything he represented. Of course he knew her, he''d known her for the last five years.


    "She sits next to me in class."


    "Oh, what''s this?" Samantha Holmes brought her hand to the ear piece she was wearing. "We''re just now getting reports of another incident on the opposite side of district one, hold on I think we have video."


    The screen changed to a feed from a camera showing live video of paramedics, and police outside of a home. There was a gurney being carried by two men, and on it was a woman''s body, one of the men quickly covered the body with a sheet as it was being loaded into the ambulance for transport.


    "We have yet to identify the victim, but we can confirm that a murder took place at this residence last night, and eye witness accounts report seeing three perpetrators fleeing the scene in different directions."


    "Lord have mercy." Mrs. Finch said. "I won''t be letting the children go outside for a few days. Things are getting too dangerous."


    Max found it interesting just how much coverage district one was getting this morning. Under normal circumstances neither of these events would''ve been reported to the media, but the recent meeting probably had something to do with what was going on behind the scenes. Maybe he''d be able to get some insight out of Rose about it later.


    "We''d just reported on Wednesday that the Eden Springs safety commission as well as the police department have issued a joint statement committing to an increase of the departments budget, and a hyper focus on gang activity. Could these recent crimes be a direct response to those statements? As of right now there''s been no link between these heinous acts and the Archangels, but the department has stated that they aren''t ruling that possibility out."


    "Finally some good news! I know the headmaster will be happy about this!" Ms. Finch said.


    "And that''s all for your daily news roundup! Samantha Holmes over and out!"


    As soon as the broadcast ended Max stood up, and started to leave the room. He planned to stay in bed all day relaxing, and formulating a strategy to deal with everything coming his way, but as he started to leave he caught a glimpse of no less than five children all hiding behind the door, peaking inside the room clearly watching the TV. As soon as they caught a glimpse of Max they all vanished into other rooms, all but Luke who seemed way too happy to see Max.

 Chapter 24 - Back at St. Hope

    "Big Ma-!" He cried, but Max grabbed him by the shirt cutting him off and dragged him into another room.


    If Ms. Finch found out he was watching the news without her permission he''d be in big trouble, and so would the other children. He started to drag Luke away, but Ms. Finch had called to him.


    "By the way Max, go eat something. Breakfast is still being served, and I won''t have you complaining later." She said, her eyes still fixed to the TV which was now on commercial break.


    "Right." He said, "I''ll do just that." Max proceeded to haul Luke off to the dormitory which is where a few of the other children had ran off to, and sat him down on one of the beds.


    "You know you''re not allowed to watch the news right?" Max asked.


    As he looked around he saw the other kids running around telling every other child in the orphanage about what had happened on TV. Not only would the kids be upset because they''d no longer be allowed to go outside, but all the talk about murder, and violence would undoubtedly frighten them.


    "Yeah!" Luke said. "But lots of us scared cuz of firetrucks made a loud sound last night. Caleb said if we watch the news we might learn why the fire trucks come out."


    Max simply stared at Luke in disbelief for a moment, he seemed to forget that he was speaking to a child. Sensing Max''s apprehension Luke worriedly looked around for something that might help Max understand, ultimately he settled on himself. The boy pointed at his chest, and smiled with glee. "This one!" He said. Max looked down at Luke and saw that the pajamas he was wearing had a large firetruck on the front of them.


    "Ah, yes." Max said. "The firetrucks. Listen Luke, don''t worry about any of that stuff it has nothing to do with you. Yeah, you won''t be able to go outside for awhile, but that''s probably for the best."


    "We both know it''s going to take more than that to get his mind off of all that stuff."


    Max turned to his side and saw Caleb standing there with his hands in his pockets. He couldn''t meet Max''s gaze for some reason, and instead his eyes veered off to the side.


    "You''re just happy you aren''t going to be inside by yourself all day." Max said.


    "Hey, you be quiet!" Caleb said pointing at him. "I''m still mad at you for what you said!"


    "Be quiet? But you spoke to me first, you''re the one who inserted their self into a conversation between me and Luke here. Besides, I don''t care how you feel." Max said exasperated.


    Caleb scoffed at Max, and shook his head in disbelief. "When did you become such a jerk?"If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Was that what Max was? A jerk? All he ever did was be honest about how he felt. Sure, it didn''t always come out in the best way, but he never meant to hurt Caleb or anyone for that matter, and if he did was that really his fault?


    "Um, Big Max?" Luke said. He was standing on the bed now, but despite that he was still unbelievably short. The boy was staring down at his fingers playing with them, fidgeting nervously.


    At that moment the smell from the bathroom now filled the entire dormitory. "Hold on," Max said clenching his nose. "Caleb, what the hell is going on in the bathroom?"


    "Luke went Y2K." Caleb said plainly.


    "Did not!" Luke argued in protest.


    "What do you mean he went Y2K?" Max asked. "It smells like a grown ass man was in there, Luke is 5."


    Caleb simply shrugged his shoulders seemingly wanting to put the matter aside. Luke himself began to pout and object to whatever Luke had to say. "Anyway whatever you want Luke, this jerk won''t give it to you. He''s too selfish!" Caleb said.


    Max had looked around, and saw that all the children in the orphanage had gathered into the dormitory. Many of them were peaking out of the windows, and whispering quietly to each other. Some of the younger children were on the verge of tears, and some of the older ones held them close telling them everything would be okay.


    "Everyone''s afwaid." Luke had said. "Can you stay with us today and make sure nothing bad happens to us? Pwease Macs?"


    A handful of children had overheard Luke''s plea and were keen on listening to Max''s response.


    "You''re wasting your time Luke, he doesn''t care about us anymore, he probably never did."


    "That''s not true! He still has breakfast with us!"


    "He had breakfast with you! Idiot. He didn''t sit with any of us in the cafeteria, he hasn''t done that in over a year! Get over yourself!"


    Max shook his head in frustration, and placed a hand on both boys shoulders. "It''s fine, I''ll stay with everyone today, just stop arguing."


    The more Max thought about it the more he realized that if he were to go back upstairs and crawl into bed there would only be one thing on his mind, one person, and that was Gabby. His thoughts have been cloudy lately because of her, he wasn''t able to think straight. If he stayed downstairs, and spent time with the other kids then maybe, maybe it would help clear his mind.


    "W-What?" Caleb said taking a step back.


    Max clapped his hands together to get everyone''s attention. "Hey everyone let''s gather around, I want to play a game!"


    It had been years since he did this, but to his surprise all of the kids still listened to him for some reason. All of the children, even the ones that were silently sobbing gathered in a circle around Max.


    "Now, when was the last time we all played hide & seek?"


    Luke began to jump up and down on the bed excitedly. "Really? We''re gonna play hide & seek? You know I''m super good! No one ever catches me!"


    The boy tried to do a front flip, to another bed, but ended up plunging into the floor, "ouchie." He grumbled.


    "It''s true, whenever I''m it I can never find Luke, he''s really good at hiding." Caleb said, and numerous other kids seemed to nod along in agreement.


    "Or maybe you''re all just bad." Max said teasingly. "It''s been awhile since I''ve played but I don''t remember ever having a problem finding Luke."


    "Cuz my skills have improved trebebly!" He said.


    "It''s tremendously." Caleb said, enunciating each vowel. "Don''t use big words if you can''t even say them!"


    "I say what I want!" Luke said sticking his tongue out at Caleb.


    "Yeah, well we''ll see how things go. I''ll even give you all a handicap by counting to sixty instead of twenty this time." Max said. "So what, is everyone game?"


    All of the children looked much happier now than they did before, and without skipping a beat they all scattered like flies, running all over the orphanage in what Max thought was a miserable attempt at hiding. The only one who hadn''t left yet was Caleb.