The sun beat down on the backs of the sports jocks dressed in the golden coloured shorts and white t-shirts. As they ran around the field practised for an upcoming inter-school competition. While another team enjoyed a game of cricket out in the large school field. While a group settled down the old dirt track which ran along the small cut, a lake which shut the school from the rest of the land. A large brown building used to be a paper mill, when a group of teens who appeared to be well dressed and neatly presented watched and laughed at the scruffy children of the lower classes.
Within minutes the smartly dressed teens had seen a young fair haired child, and started to jostle him around for a few minutes. Before a slim build 6ft dark haired tanned skinned man put his foot out with a smirk as he tripped him up, and watched him land in mud which made him more dirty than it did before. After the child hit the floor a group of teens kicked him in the guts although Iuan could not see or hear exactly what happened. He never did like five kids against one those was uneven odds. No matter what the fight was he did not like that, but before he knew anything he found himself in the Principals office. He lent back in his chair and thought about what he had heard, as he looked through the files and back to the parents of the teens in front of him.
“Why was you boys fighting? Think about your answer carefully kids.” a small stocky overweight man looked over for a minutes as he waited for one of the boys to answer aware the parents of both children was stood with them. Iuan looked over to the principal and thought for a minute.
”Because he was picking on other children younger than him, bullying them and beating them up. Demanding their dinner money and if they refused he’d flush their heads down the toilets but you lot did nothing about it.” Iuan sighed and looked to his friend and then back to the principal.
”You have no proof to say I was doing that your the one who jumped me first. Your the one who started the unprovoked attack and I was trying to pin you so you’d calm the hell down but you seem calm now. Their right you are a freak.” Templeton stated and jumped from his seat as he noticed Iuan trying to get out of his chair and over to attack him.
“I am bitterly disappointed in you both, Templeton I expected you to have calmed down since you was last in the hospital. I advise they deal with you, but I have no choice but to suspend you from school for three months. Depending on what your parents and doctors say. Where as Iuan your suspended for six months perhaps that will give you time to think and above all else consider your future.” The principal was trying to be fair as he looked to the boys he shook his head he knew the school had a bullying problem but was or thought he was dealing with it. “While you boys are out of school I will be gathering evidence and if there is any signs either of you are bullying anyone I will ensure your thrown out of school. Do you understand me?” the principal growled and looked over to the slim dark haired children in front of him.
”Yes sir, “ the boys said and stood up as their fathers pulled them to their feet. “I will ensure they have a stern talking to and will make an appointment to see their doctor before the week is up. I apologize for my son.” the custodians stated as they went to take the kids out of the room Iuan looked to Leighton and shook his head
”Dad could not be bothered right, or has his arsines got too much to do for the twit of a president?” Iuan looked over aware everyone assumed Leigh was his dad or that’s how they acted Leighton shook his head as he listened to the attitude coming from the kid.
”Cut the attitude he is busy but he knows what you did and is not happy over it. He’s called the doc and you have an appointment this afternoon but we are going home first you can get changed pack a bag I got a feeling you wont be coming home.” Leighton stated as he knew the kid would not like that news being scared of the place.
The journey home was quiet as they drove through the main town and looked to the old houses and woods scattered around. Wych was a lovely quiet town many people thought it was too quiet, but it was a good place in the right sector of society which is why image was so important. After a while they climbed out of the blue Tesla car and walked into the house as Iuan walked down to the kitchen collecting his favorite knife with a dark smile on his face.
“IF YOUR DAD WAS HERE HE’D HAVE YOU LOCKED UP IN NO TIME! YOUR NOTHING SON, NOTHING BUT A PIECE OF SCUM ON THE BOTTOM OF MY SHOE. SCRAPING THE BARREL WITH YOUR WAYWARD DEEDS.” a six foot red haired lady with a rounded face and beautiful golden eyes stood in the large modern decorated kitchen. While she made rhubarb crumble as she screamed at her thirteen year old slim dark haired son who stood playing with his favorite knife and an evil glint in his eyes.
”Yeah well that ass ain’t here mother dear, your not going to tell him. I have gone out you do and you will learn to regret it mother. That I will promise you now, “ he turned raisin his hand and striking his younger brother he wasn’t thinking but did not care he wanted to go out and he would to enjoy himself. He was thirteen and things had changed. His dad had him in and out of secure facilities most of his life to the point he did not know when it would stop. To him how he was acting was normal no matter what the doctors stated or diagnosed him with they were liars and bullies more than anything else.
”Come off it son what you hit him for now?” the lady looked to Iuan with a shake of her head and disapproving look as she went to get her youngest son to his feet and tend to the bleeding nose. She knew better than to report it to the hospital even if her husband was the head of the presidents elite service. But Iuan just shrugged and walked away from the situation and out of the front doors before his brothers had chance to come and deal with it all. As his brothers screams got louder, Iuan ran through the streets passed cars and slipped into the darkened alley ways where he could vanish into the night and not be seen again for hours or even days. But the street kids and gangs knew all the hide outs dotted along the walk ways of the town. Wych was a small picturesque town in the middle of Perrin woods it was a beautiful area of the local wood land with a history dating back to the Roman times.
As he ran through the woods and down the back alleys along the woodland trail his problems in this moment a million miles from his mind. But if that was the case why was he running? Why was he so scared of his father? Life surely could not be that bad right? He shook his head as he thought about those questions and then tried to work it all out. He had been declared a mistake of nature a freak, an idiot above all else.
By a doctor De’ath that he had been sent to see under the guise of counseling after being involved in a car crash of a stolen black Austin Martin Mark 3 which belonged to the presidents fleet. He shook his head as he tried to forget that, he could not imagine a worse place to be but the facilities which would be where he would be sent if they found him again. Those place’s scared him to death things they did to the prisoners to get them back under control were there was a time it was outlawed to do that.
But this was to be the start of his tale, the start of something but he did not know or yet understand what it was. Something had changed the air became charged with electricity. Something he could not understand what was going down as he stopped briefly and looked over to the old Roman fort. Which had been turned into a church he saw it glowing a bright orange halo around the building and stopped to admire it.
As people walked passed with out a second glance to the church, he wondered why no one was batting an eye lid. Even he knew it was not an everyday occurance that this event happened. When according to legend the building was situated on a temple of mythras a Roman god. As he shook his head he thought for a minute and figured it was an optical illusion but some how that did not fit right with him.
So he kept on with the run until he reached the center of the woods, and an old abandoned large black and white building which had been left to rot for many years. It was an old church with a curse attached that the dead shall rise again and destroy the who ever dared to tread upon its unholy ground. The marks of a large beast attack remained in the door. But that was the thing as he entered the church he noticed a group of fifteen children of various sizes and shapes huddle in the corner of the church.
He knew they was his friends he would rather be with them than at home with his controlling angry parents. Who took the chance at every opportunity to remind him how screwed up he was. Not once did they think that the work he went through at camp or the facilities could be the reason was he was messed up.
But they turned on his friends and him instead of seeking out the real reasons, behind him he did not want to be bad not all the time. But there was something deeply routed in him and many others he knew that made him that way. As he stood and looked to his friends with a smile he shook his head for a minute then worked through things he needed to think of .
“Hey Jerry, Michael, Wade, Shane.” he called out and took a moment as he thought about things. When he looked over to the oldest few who walked over to him they stood in front of him their arms across his chest and noticed another man stood in the corner “Hey Ant been a long time, good to see you home boss.” he smiled as he looked for Kit but could not see him he remembered the night they dragged Antero out of the family home and into the back of a truck.
”Don’t bother he’s not talking to anyone not even mom, something to do with some new therapy they have him on at the Institute. I hate that place always screws the inmates up more than helping them.” Kit stated and looked to his brother aware Antero should not be out of the family home at that time. When they all walked to the seats and sat down.
“Give the little ones time to settle down and we can watch him for a minute, I will have to take him home before the guards check his room. Mom don’t know where he’s been but dad is being a total control freak over Ant. “ D.c stated as he looked over for a minute and back to his friends as he noticed Iuan was shaking then back to the boys.
”What’s going on Iuan?” Kit looked to his friend curious for a minute then as he noticed the nervous look on his friends face. He didn’t know what was going on but got a feeling it was not good news.
“Mom and I had an argument, and I hit Justin think I bust his nose this time, I didn’t mean to hit him just got so angry with her at times and I can not hit her he was in the wrong place. So I took off and headed here, I can’t go home bro, they’ll send me back to that place again or I will do something.” he thought a minute and looked over to his best friends and the younger kids “Let me go out on a hunting squad or salvage route, I will work like the others and you know I’m good for it.” Iuan figured he’d offer something to his old unit they might let him stay.
“Al-right you don’t need to but you’ll have to go eventually they find you and it will be worse. But sit have a beer and smoke, perhaps we can go and see the santi’s race before you go home and I drag mister man over.” Kit smiled as he looked to his brother not talking to anyone. “You know what I guess we have to go to that place before anything gets better for us right? Before we can be who and what we are meant to be? “ Antero looked over to his friends and brothers for the first time since he came home talking.
“Yeah bro, but what they changing us into because it ain’t good bro, the pain we go through damn that’s something.” Iuan stopped as he knew the kids off planet was getting worse than they could, but the hatred and the feeling of being chained to the discipline was something that hounded the children everyday nightmares of the pain they was going through. “I don’t want to be like this, let alone having to huddle into this place but you boys are the only ones who accept me.” He smiled a little as he looked to the kids around him a couple of rich kids and a couple of street kids and runaways but they was all running from something and united through a strong bond of something that had happened to them. Iuan grabbed a beer as he looked to Antero.
”Who knows in this damned war we are stuck in but one thing I know is we will get our own back one day. I swear you that one will happen we will kick their ass but dad is stuck up the profs ass and thinking of sending mom back to the asylum from what I heard last night when they fought over me again. My damned fault bro, if I was not around dad would be better with mom.” Ant looked over for a minute and thought about it all as he looked to his friend for a minute.
”No bro he would be bastard anyway, he was an abusive ass when she was pregnant with me and threw her in an asylum then. But that Marnac chap she talks fondly of helped. And Iuan we are a brotherhood because of what we have gone through with the professors and demons in society.” he smiled for a minute as he thought of the times they had all stood against it all and saw the professors face full of fear he could tell the older kids remembered it just as much as he did. Memory that seemed to give them kick of adrenaline, something sparked in them but they hated having to send Iuan back to that hell.
“I know bro, I just need to hang for a while and calm down before I head home.” he said as he heard his phone ring out he wanted to ignore it but took the phone out and raised his finger to his lips. “Hey dad,” he listened to the call for a second “I’m out, I know all about that father.” he took note on what his dad was saying aware the calm to his dads voice was an act “Yeah meet me out at the Bay dad, I will be there, I got to go dads meeting me he sounds calm.” Iuan stated as he looked over he did not know what he would do, or how he could get out of this as he looked to the boys and threw his coat over his left shoulder.
As his friends nodded and watched him walk out of the church so the trouble would not be brought back to the others, once again he found himself with thoughts which he did not like and memories but to protect his friends was his main objective. As the temper started to rise again but he needed to put the shutters up on emotions to deal with the problem.
As he walked through the woods and down to the coastal path towards the rocky cliffs and bay he figured it would take his dad half hour to arrive. Which would give him time to think about everything he knew, he could not get out of the doctor and the institution that he was going to. As he walked to the golden sands and sat down on the beach for a while watching the ocean slowly creep in and out as the tides natural calming magical charm washed over him and started to relax him.
While he waited for his father to arrive he started to enjoy the peace and quiet the only thing he heard was the birds in the sky and the crashing waves against the rocks. When suddenly the silence was disturbed by the sound of a heavy car engine which drew his attention to the road he noticed his dads car and got to his feet as the car stopped next to him.
“Son get the fuck in NOW.” the gray hired slim man looked over to his son with a look of hatred in his eyes “GET IN BEFORE I THROW YOU IN.”
Instantly the child opened the door and thought about running, as he looked to the young men in the car with his dad. He was scared enough so decided to comply with his dad and not make it worse. As he looked to his dad and put the seat belt on he felt a gun jam into his head he closed his eyes for a few minutes swallowing hard as the cold hard metal jammed into the side of his skull.
”Dad I’m not running tell Eric to get the gun out of my damn head,” he felt a blow to the side as his dads protection officer punched him hard.
”Sorry son you had a chance to behave and you failed, you had a chance to show you was better this time but you started trouble. There’s nothing we can do you going back your nothing to anyone now and your mothers given up. Eric will leave us at the hotel and then you and I will see the doctors alone in the morning.” Richard told his son and looked to him with a half smile with look of hatred in his eyes.
”All right dad I will be have and comply just tell him to stop pressing it into my head I got the gun one side and the window the other please.” Iuan tried to beg his dad to get them to back down as he glanced at the lock. He couldn’t help but to notice it was locked tight and he couldn’t open it. As other cars drove past them on the highway he looked to the men in the car and shut his eyes for a brief moment as he tried to force the fear he felt in that moment back.
Within minutes he noticed a black van with the red skull within a green triangle on the side of the van with a little red AS either side of the triangle. He recognized it as a transport the anger mixed with fear rose from deep within the child. But he had to hold the fear back he had no choice but to allow what was going to happen, to happen his fathers hotel was down the road only a matter of minutes from where they was then it would be over. As soon as they parked up the men made their exit from the car and opened the door.
The kid found himself dragged from the car and through to the back of the cabin when his dad took the belt off and flexed it as the others cuffed the kids hands to the study table so he could not run away. The old man prepared to hit him with the hard cold steel of the buckle bringing each blow of the belt down hard against the teens back.
”OWWW DAD PLEASE ARGH I’M SORRY DAD.” he cried out in sheer agony as each lash hurt and dug deeper Into his back ripping open old scars and creating new cuts. As he tried to pull away from the study table and get to his feet as he had been forced onto his knees with his head resting on the table and the constant force of the belt against the bear back.
“You deserve this son, you brought it on your own back now time to face the consequences of your actions. It will teach you not to do it again, I do not care how long we have to stay here for but your not coming out. “ he put the belt to the side of him on a large wooden chest of drawers as he saw his son hold in the pain even though he wouldn’t flinch after a few minutes. Iuan found himself alone his head on the table and arms stretched out to the side as if he was bent over a cross but knelt on the floor when his father walked out of the room and turned the light off.
This left the teen in major pain and alone in the dark as he heard the growling of a wild animal. His dad kept locked into the cells at the back of the room, he knew the dogs had been starved and was half out of their minds to go with it. As his father mistreated them. As the saliva dripped from the gowls of the hounds mouth the snarling angry growls started to fill the room with terror as Iuan could hear them roaming in the pens.
He wanted to scream out to be let out of the room, but knew from experience this would not do any good and to pull free from the heavy cuffs on the special table would pull his shoulders out. But he tried and found he could not pull out of it all. Every minute was agony as he felt his resistance waning due to the fact he was tired and hungry. As he looked over to the far wall and noticed the statue of Jesus stood straight with his arms out in front of him As if beckoning him towards the light of the lords love but in that moment he snapped and shook his head.
”No your the reason I am like this, your the reason I am sinning and “ the teen sighed and looked to the statute it could not be crying but then again it could be. “You are why fathers such an ass you don’t exist you can’t otherwise I would not be like this.” Iuan growled as he looked over for a minute then could be seen on his face even though he tried to hide it as the doors opened and a bucket of ice cold water was thrown at him from the door to wake him up more.
Than he was already as some young girl walked in and shook her head that she could not talk to him and poured salt water over his back. Every inch of him wanted to scream out in agony but he fought to retain the pain as he was left again in the room in pain, and this time cold due to the ice water. “Damn you dad I will get even sooner than you think, “ he growled as he knew soon it would be him and his father no one else then he could deal.
He could look at his friends in the eyes once more and deal with the demons in the church the men, women and children who had nothing to call theirs. Was what kept him going until the moment he passed out being woken up by the rooms door slamming open a drunken man stumbling down the stairs. He could tell his father was drunk it was the main reason they left his mothers at times of punishment Iuan took a deep breathe and heard the scraping of the metal against the wood. Suddenly the pain of the metal meeting his skin and he allowed a groan out.
”You have no right to feel the pain, your nothing but a dumb animal back home you would be a slave or they would execute you. Look at Jesus and beg him for forgiveness, his sacrifice is wasted on children like you. He died for your sin.” The muscular man stated as he seemed to get a kick from having his son in this position. As he brought each belt down hard on his sons back he continued with the rants “You’re useless, both your mother and I regret the day you was born. Neither of us can believe scum like you can come from our lions.” the father got a kick when Iuan cried out in pain. But could not understand why the lights was flickering with each strike of the belt which continued until the father collapsed due to the drink.
Early the following morning the father woke up and punched his son hard in the back several times “See what your turning me into, this is your fault and the fact your mother wants to leave me is as well. I wish you was never born.” he stated as he released his son from the cuff a hand at a time cuffing the kid behind his back and marched to the car. Before they drove out towards a large country estate owned by the doctors and professors of Dixie Ranch Institute a private medical facility carrying out experimental procedures into criminality in young teens and children.
They both sat perfectly quiet on the journey as the boy was too scared to say anything and could barely move as he was secured tight. As they drove out along the country roads, and trees seemed to wiz past. But time seemed to stop or at least slow down until they hit the final stretch of road, and a large black and white building appeared in front of them. Iuan watched at his father waved the paperwork at the security and drove through to the bay he was to park in. Once it was parked up Iuan’s door was opened by a tall dark haired soldier who seemed to have muscles everywhere and red eyes.
”OUT THE CAR SON AND GO WITH THE SOLDIERS, I WILL SEE YOU IN SIX MONTHS.” he growled and watched the soldiers take Iuan out then walk him away to the block he would be in for the next few months with no visitors which was not permitted once you dropped the child off you walked away and collected at the end of their time in the facility
. No news came from the staff but the old man watched his son being dragged away and could hear the refusal from his son but knew there was nothing he could do as Iuan walked with the soldiers. And into the building as the doors shut behind them Iuan walked down to the main isolation cells and was shown his cell. Which was a small 6 x 5 cold concrete room, with a small hole in the wall to allow in the air. Once in they remove the cuffs and walked away from the room slammed and locked the door behind them.
Iuan found himself slammed back into the dark pit of hell, as he looked around the bare room and knew it would be hard work and painful for him. As he sat and looked at the clothes wondered what would happen as he hadn’t been in for a while as the pain and fear flooded back as he sat contemplating everything.
S P Copeland 