Chapter Fourteen
Braxten
A sound pulls me from sleep. Blinking awake, I stare up at the dark ceiling of the room I sleep in and listen carefully, hearing a faint whimper. I look over at Justice and Knox, my two roommates whom I just met, and find them fast asleep.
“Guys,” I whisper. “You hear that?”
They don’t stir. They’re dead to the world thanks to that asshole Hobbs. He works us from sun up to sun down with little to no food or water to nourish ourselves. If you don’t work hard enough or fast enough, you will find yourself at the end of his wrath.
I’ve been placed in a lot of shitty foster homes in my life.
I’ve dealt with everything from being ignored, to being at the end of a backhand, to even being locked in a closet for days, but I have to say that this group home is well on its way to being one of the worst, and I’ve only been here a week.
The assholes who run this place know it too, which is why they have all of our windows wired shut with security so no one can escape. If it was that easy, I would have left already.
Justice, Knox, and I arrived within a day of each other, the three of us forced to room together, and we have quickly become friends. They are two people I trust which says a lot because I don’t trust anyone.
A bang sounds below, breaking into my troubled thoughts. It’s so loud it rumbles the floor. Wondering what the hell is going on, I throw off the scrap of material they call a blanket and climb from bed.
My footsteps are quiet as I walk to the door. Turning the handle, I peek my head out to find the hallway dark and empty. That’s when I hear the mumble of a voice followed by a sharp cry.
With a confused scowl on my face, I leave my room and head down the stairs. It’s not long before I realize the noise is coming from the basement.
Just as I reach for the door, heavy boots begin echoing up the stairs. Moving quickly, I sneak behind a corner just as Hobbs walks up.
A cigarette dangles from his mouth as he does up his belt and heads to the kitchen.
“Any left for me?” I hear Jones ask. He’s second in command and can be as big of an asshole as Hobbs.
“Not tonight. Come out to the barn, we have other business to discuss.”
Once the two of them head out the back door, I slide out from the corner I hid behind and walk down the cold concrete steps, listening for any other movement. What I end up finding has my stomach recoiling and bile inching up my throat.
One of the other kids who resides here crawls across the dirty ground, naked and bleeding, his back cut up something fierce.
Jesus.
I carefully move toward him. “Hey, man. You okay?”
His gaze whips to mine, eyes wild with panic. “What the fuck are you doing down here?”
“I’m here to help. I—”
“I don’t need your help,” he snaps harshly. “Get out of here before he finds you!”
I remain where I am, too shocked to move.
“Now!” His roar vibrates through the entire house.
Not wanting to get busted, especially for someone who doesn’t want my help, I leave. I run up both flights of stairs and into my room, closing the door behind me. Justice and Knox are sitting up in their beds, the commotion finally waking them.
“We need to get the fuck out of here, you guys,” I tell them.
“What’s going on?” Justice asks. “Who was yelling like that?”
I tell them everything that happened and the sight I just witnessed. It has dread settling over their grim faces, the same one that’s wedged deep in my gut, as we’re forced to realize this place is even worse than we thought.
That’s when we decide to devise a plan. One that we will put in motion, but only when the time is right. Otherwise there will be no getting out alive.