Humayre: The Chronicles of Ronin Wilder

The second bell rang out. Eight minutes until second period. Ronin was just leaving Mr. Hinkle’s class. Mr. Hinkle had made him stay after the first bell to give him detention. Now Ronin was going to be late to his next class, which would earn him another detention. Two in one day, maybe he could break his record and get three, he sarcastically chuckled to himself.

The school bell sounded out three times, which meant an announcement was about to be made.

A cough followed by the clearing of a throat blared through the speaker system. “Excuse me,” said the Principle. “Didn’t know this thing was on.” He paused for a moment. “Okay. First I would like to thank all of our students. We are very proud of how you represented our school with this very difficult test. Next I would like to thank BrightWood Academy. We were just told we would be receiving a substantial donation for our participation. Very generous of them. But what has me even more excited is BrightWood Academy has offered to completely fund the new library we’ve been wanting to build.” The speaker system went silent.

That’s it? Ronin shrugged his shoulders. No one passed? It didn’t really surprise him. That test was the hardest he’d ever seen.

The speaker system came alive with a buzz.

“Ronin Wilder,” said the Principle. “Report to Mr. Wall at the bus drop off. He will be wearing a black suit and standing in front of a black SUV.” The speaker made a click signifying it had been turned off.

The parking lot was empty except for one car, a SUV. Leaning against the SUV was a man in a black suit, the same man who had given out the tests to Ronin’s class.

“Mr. Wall?” asked Ronin, as he nervously fiddled with the tape on his fingers. He wondered why they wanted him to see Mr. Wall. Maybe they didn’t think his BANANA answers were as funny as he did.

“That’s right,” said Mr. Wall.

“Uh,” said Ronin, flinching when the tape he was picking at pulled on his thumbnail. “Am I in trouble or something?”

“No.” He opened the front door of the SUV and pulled out a briefcase sitting on the black leather seat.

Ronin scrunched his brow. “Why am I here then?” he asked.

Mr. Wall placed his briefcase on the hood of the car and opened it. He pulled out a single sheet of paper and handed it to Ronin.

“What’s this?” Ronin shook his head in confusion.

“Read the paper,” said Mr. Wall, as he handed Ronin a pen.

The first thing Ronin noticed was the signature at the bottom of the page, it was Dick’s. Other than that there wasn’t much to the document. It was a release form. It stated that Dick was giving his permission for Ronin to take a tour of BrightWood Academy. Next to Dick’s signature was a line for Ronin’s. Then it hit Ronin. The guy in the suit at his house the night before had to have been Mr. Wall. That must’ve been when he got Dick’s signature.

“Sign next to Dick’s signature if you want to take the tour. If you do not sign the paper our offer will be rescinded.”

“Tour?” asked Ronin.

“Yes. And scholarship if you so choose.”

“That’s impossible, I don’t understand. How’d I get picked?”

Mr. Wall shook his head and rolled his eyes. “You took the test didn’t you?”

“Yes. But.” Something wasn’t right. They must’ve made a mistake. Ronin was just about to explain how he couldn’t have passed the test when Mr. Wall spoke up.

“You’re making this more difficult than it has to be. You took the test. You were chosen. It’s as simple as that.” He huffed. “Do you want to take the tour or not. We have to be at the airport in twenty minutes and it takes twenty five to get there. We really don’t have time for this.”

“The airport?” Ronin’s face perked up. The thought of riding on a plane thrilled him.

“First you need to sign that paper,” said Mr. Wall, his voice riddled with impatience.

With shaking hands, and not because of the pain in his nails, Ronin signed his name right next to Dick’s. He handed the paper to Mr. Wall, who took it and placed it in his briefcase,

“Very good,” said Mr. Wall. “Now get in the car. We are late.”

Not wanting to waste a second, Ronin rushed around to the passenger side of the car and jumped in. Eventually they would figure out that he failed the test. Until they did maybe he could get something out of the whole ordeal. Like getting to see the inside of a plane, or even better, getting to fly in one. As they drove off one thought crossed his mind, something that seemed impossible. How’d he get Dick to sign the release? There was no way Dick would sign off on anything that benefited Ronin only. The whole deal seemed fishy, but he wasn’t going to waste his time thinking about it. He was too excited to see what an airplane looked like on the inside.

The black SUV stopped at a gate. A large white sign sat at its center. It read, Trespassers Will Be Shot. On the other side of the gate was a plane. It was white. That was its only distinguishing feature, which seemed odd to Ronin. Usually planes had at least the name of the airline on them, or that’s what he thought. Ronin was going to ask about the plane but Mr. Wall was not a very good conversationalist. The only exchange Ronin could get out of him on the way to the airport were two yes’s and a no.

A security guard stepped out of a small white guard booth just to the left of the gate and walked up to the window. “Can I help you?” he asked. His black uniform was spotless and looked like it had just been ironed. On his hip was a holstered silver revolver and strapped across his back was a black assault rifle.

Mr. Wall dug into his inner coat pocket and pulled out a plastic I.D. He flashed it to the security guard.

After nodding, the guard peeked past Mr. Wall. “Just one?” He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and examined it as though he missed something.

“Yes,” said Mr. Wall.

“Okay then.” The guard was holding what looked like a metal credit card. He pinched the card between his thumb and forefinger and pressed his other thumb onto the flat part. The gate began to open.

The black SUV sped forward. Mr. Wall cranked the steering wheel to the right, almost clipping the edge of the gate as it was opening. Off in the distance Ronin could see rows of airplanes connected to huge tubes which were attached to a building with windows. He guessed the tubes were how people got onto the planes. The SUV stopped again. Two more armed guards walked up to the car, one on each side. They motioned for both Ronin and Mr. Wall to roll down their windows. Mr. Wall already had his I.D out.

The guard on Ronin’s side peeked his head into the car. “Only one?”

“Yes. For crying out loud. Only one.”

“Very well,” said the Guard, as he motioned Mr. Wall on.

Mr. Wall pulled up to the air-stairs and put the car in park. “Get out,” he said.

Ronin jumped out of the car and waited at the stairs. As Ronin stared at the plane, wondering what it looked like inside, guilt began to bubble up in his mind.

“What are you waiting for?” asked Mr. Wall.

Shocked into action, Ronin hurried up the steps. He peeked his head inside the cabin. The plane was full of kids who looked like they might be around Ronin’s age. A not so gentle nudge forced Ronin inside the cabin. All eyes were on him. He tried to take a step back but Mr. Wall pushed him forward.

“Go find a seat,” said Mr. Wall.

“That’s it?” asked a boy. “We’ve been waiting a hour for just one kid?”

“Pipe down,” said Mr. Wall.

A man in a black suit and tie came out of the cockpit. “What happened to the other two?” he asked.

Mr. Wall greeted him with a nod. “Martin. Good to see you my friend.” He straightened his tie. “Parents wouldn’t sign the release.”

“That’s too bad. We needed them,” said Martin. He shook his head and folded his arms. “Did you hear about Maryland?”

“Maryland?” asked Mr. Wall.

“Yeah,” said Martin. “Raven ki…” Stopping himself midsentence he looked to Ronin then back to Mr. Wall. He cleared his throat. “Raven got two more Keiri. They were from House Rheyus.” He glanced at Ronin again. “We’ll talk about it later.”

Mr. Wall’s face looked deeply concerned.

Having no clue what they were talking about and feeling the tension, Ronin wanted to get away from the two men. Not knowing what to do, Ronin asked, “Where should I sit?” As the question left his mouth he realized he might be interrupting, but before he could apologize Mr. Wall spoke up.

“Do I look like your babysitter?”

“Wow. You’re in a good mood,” said Martin, as he looked at Mr. Wall. He put his hand on Ronin’s shoulder. “You can take any open seat.”

The aisle seemed to stretch on for miles, every time Ronin thought he might have found an open seat he was greeted with a strangers glare. At last, an empty spot. He exhaled. Two rather large kids sat on each side of the empty seat. Both kids had red hair. The kid on the aisle seat looked at Ronin’s hands and made a funny face.

“Is that seat taken?” asked Ronin, pointing to the empty seat.

The kid on the aisle stared at Ronin’s hands once more. “Yeah,” he said. “My brother and I need extra room.” He and his brother exchanged glances and chuckles.

Ronin moved on. It felt like all the kids had stopped what they were doing to watch him try again. The next open seat was a few rows down. It was a window seat. The kid on the aisle had caramel color skin and curly black hair that stuck in the air like flames rising to the sky. He was reading Sun Tzu’s The Art of War and didn’t seem to even notice Ronin. The kid next to him was huge, blonde and had pasty white skin. His girth filled his seat and spilled out onto each adjacent seat. The boy reading was forced against the armrest to his right, his other armrest was swallowed by what looked like an arm, although it could have just as easily been mistaken for a tree trunk.

No doubt Ronin would be squished, but it appeared to be the only seat left on the plane. The other two empty seats had backpacks on them, obviously placed on purpose to keep Ronin from sitting there.

“Is that seat taken?” asked Ronin.

“Nope,” said the big Kid. He nudged the kid next to him. Both started to get out of their seats.

“Wait,” said Ronin. “Sorry. Don’t get up. I think there was a mistake.” The situation had played itself out as far as he was willing to take it. The guilt was too much. He headed back towards Mr. Hall.

“What now?” asked Mr. Hall, who was sitting in a stewardess seat. He rolled his eyes and exhaled in irritation.

“There was a mistake,” said Ronin.

A creepy smile came over Mr. Hall’s face. “I did get a kick out of that,” he said. “You know. You’re the first one to pull something like that. Pretty funny. I especially liked how you wrote banana on the final question, tracing over it multiple times for maximum effect.”

Ronin just stood staring with a dumbfounded look on his face.

“Go sit. You belong here just as much as these other kids.”

A shot of excitement, like jumping into ice cold water, struck Ronin. It was really happening. He didn’t care how or why. All that mattered was it wasn’t a mistake. “Yes sir,” he said. His voice cracked a little. One foot after the other, he almost had to remind himself how to walk as he made his way back to his seat.

Over the loudspeaker the pilot announced that they would be departing in five minutes. The excitement of being on the plane started to set in. Ronin looked out the tiny circular windows as he passed each row. They were already so high off the ground. He wondered how he’d feel once they were in the air.

“You ain’t sitting next to me with that goofy looking smile on your face. You look like a serial killer or something,” said the big kid.

Without realizing it Ronin had been standing there for a while, waiting for the big kid to move. “Oh, sorry.” He was embarrassed and quickly corrected his smile. “I’ve never been on a plane.”

“What are you, two years old?” asked the big kid.

Ronin’s eyes slanted in anger. “You don’t have to be a jerk about it.” He didn’t care how big the kid was. No one was going to talk to him like that.

The kid next to the behemoth glanced up from his book. A slight smile formed on his face.

The big kid stared hard at Ronin. He looked like he was about to get out of his seat and break him in two. The scowl turned into a smile. “Mike O’Hare,” he said. He held his hand out.

Ronin’s hand was swallowed whole as he shook Mike’s hand. “Ronin Wilder,” he said, with a smile. He was never one to hold grudges, especially if the grudge could get him snapped in two.

Mike nudged the boy next to him and said, “This here is Kevin Robinson.”

Kevin held his hand up in a lazy gesture at a hello, his eyes never moving away from the pages of his book.

“Kevin is a big talker,” said Mike. He chuckled as though he thought himself funny.

The two kids got out of their seats so Ronin could get by. As he was buckling his seat belt Ronin felt a large elbow in his ribs.

“Sorry,” said Mike. “These stupid seats are too small.” He squished his elbows into his sides to make himself as small as possible but it didn’t work. His massive shoulders still pushed Ronin and Kevin into their respective arm rests.

“No problem,” said Ronin. He eased towards the window, not wanting to move away too quickly, he didn’t want Mike to think it bothered him. He looked out the small circular window. The stairs he climbed up to get into the plane were being hauled off. He glanced over at Mike. He was biggest kid he’d ever seen. But despite his size he had a gentleness about him.

Must be tough being that big. Ronin kind of felt bad for Mike, the guy was trying so hard not to squish them. It wasn’t like Mike had to try at all, if he wanted to he could squish them both and there wouldn’t be anything they could do about it. The strain on Mike’s face was obvious. Anyone who would go through such measures for someone else had to be a good guy as far as Ronin was concerned.

The roar of the engines starting reverberated through the cabin.

“Is that normal?” asked Ronin, his eyes wide with fright. “Is it supposed to be that loud?” As the plane moved forward Ronin gripped his left armrest as though it might fly away.

“Bro, we’re right on the wing, that’s why it’s so loud,” said Mike. “Man, I don’t remember my first time on a plane. Wonder if my face looked like yours.” He laughed. “Stop worrying, it’s okay. You have a better chance of dying in a car crash.”

The plane stopped and the engines quieted down. Ronin relaxed his tense shoulders. The engines came alive once more, the roar was deafening. Ronin was pushed into the back of his seat as the plane rocketed forward. Fear turned into exhilaration as the front of the plane lifted. Buildings, cars, and parked planes blurred by as the plane took flight. His eyes widened with excitement, it was more amazing than he ever imagined. As they gained altitude, the town, which he thought was the center of the universe, became so small and insignificant he wondered how he ever could have thought it was so big.

A black station-wagon, which appeared no bigger than a toy car, caught Ronin’s eye. It looked just like the one his parents used to own. The memory of the night of his parent’s death grabbed ahold of his thoughts and pressed down hard on his heart. It only took two things for Ronin to know that something horrible had happened that night. The ringing of the doorbell and the sound of his babysitter’s voice when she said, “Oh my god.” The strange thing was he didn’t even get out of bed. He just laid there waiting for someone to tell him what he somehow already knew. A single tear rolled down his cheek when his babysitter opened the door to his bedroom. The police were standing right behind her. Even though he was only ten, Ronin knew the uncertain desperation in his babysitter’s eyes when she told him that his parents were killed in a car crash. He would never forget her eyes, they were fear. Fear for what was to come of a boy whose only relatives were just killed.

The plane dropped, then rose, then dropped once more. Turbulence. Ronin had read about it. It didn’t make it any less terrifying however. He was happy for it. Anything to get his mind off his parents. As the plane continued to gain altitude the bumps and bounces smoothed out.

“See. What did I tell you,” said Mike. “We’re still alive.”

Ronin nodded, his face laboring to hide his nerves.

“Please tell me you talk more than Kevin over there. Couldn’t get two words out of the guy. Well, except his name.”

Kevin glanced up from his book to give Mike a raised eyebrow. Without saying a word he returned to reading.

“See what I’m talkin’ about.” Mike smiled.

Ronin chuckled. Not wanting to seem rude, he tried to conjure up some kind of conversation.

“How old are you guys?” was all Ronin could come up with. Most likely because Mike looked like he was twenty, the guy already had stubble.

“Sixteen,” said Mike, in a flash. It was like he had been waiting for Ronin to break the ice so he could get something off his mind. Mike’s eyes went straight to Ronin’s hands. “What’s the deal with the taped fingers?” Relief seemed to wash over Mike’s face. Like he finally got to scratch an itch he’d been having.

Shaking his head, Ronin said, “I don’t know.” He turned his hands over so he could see all ten of his taped nails. “I woke up like two weeks ago and they were all black and purple.” A bit of tape had unraveled on his thumb. He fixed it and added, “My nails I mean. Like they had all been smashed or something. But I don’t remember doing anything to them. Just talking about them makes them hurt.” He clasped his hands together. “It’s weird.” Ronin was about to say he thought he might be sick but he didn’t want Mike think he was contagious or something.

“That’s crazy,” said Mike. His eyes lit up a bit. “Can I see one?”

“Um.” Ronin looked at Mike like he was insane.

“Seriously. That stuff doesn’t bother me. I’ve seen much worst playing football.” He folded his arms and squeezed his shoulders into his body. “Saw some guy on a team we were playing against break his leg. The bone was sticking out of his skin. It was nasty, but it didn’t bother me all that much for some reason.”

After thinking about it, wanting to see his nails didn’t seem like that odd of a thing to Ronin. Often he found himself looking at them out of curiosity. He needed to re-wrap his thumb anyway. “Okay. But it’s pretty nasty.” He noticed Kevin staring at him.

Kevin rolled his eyes and refocused on his book.

“I saw that,” said Ronin. He couldn’t stand when people thought they could do whatever they wanted to, with no concern for others. It grated on his nerves like fingernails across a chalk board.

“Yeah, and what’s that?” asked Kevin, sarcastically.

“I saw you roll your eyes.”

“That’s good, I would have been worried if you missed that.” Kevin remained focused on his book, his voice was calm and his words seemed calculated.

“Just ignore the guy,” said Mike “Besides, I want to see what’s under that duct tape.”

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Ronin tried to calm his pounding heart. He was a little disappointed in himself. Mrs. Kinney was constantly telling him to not let people bother him so much. Everyone has their own way she would say. He would argue that people couldn’t just go around doing whatever they wanted, to whomever they wanted, but Mrs. Kinney would always counter with something that made sense. He wished she was there to make sense for him.

“You gonna show me or not?” asked Mike.

Ronin began to unravel the duct tape on his thumb. The pulling sent dull waves of pain up his thumb and forearm. Only one bit of tape remained, it was the end piece. The sticky part that was attached directly to the nail. This was the worst part. If he pulled too fast he feared he might actually tear the nail off. If he went too slow the long relentless suffering could cause him to almost black out. He had to find the perfect balance between fast and slow.

Mike reached down, grabbed the end of the duct tape that was dangling from Ronin’s hand and gave it a quick jerk.

The nail had to be attached to the duct tape, Ronin was sure of it. Or his whole thumb. The pain was so severe he couldn’t tell where finger started and pain ended. ’What the hell!” shouted Ronin. The whole plane turned in their seats to see what happened. Ronin didn’t care. “What the hell!” he said again, even louder.

From the corner of his eye Ronin could see Kevin laughing. At first it infuriated him. But Kevin gave a nod. It was a slight gesture, but one that said he wasn’t laughing at him but rather the situation. As small as it was it was a sign of respect.

“Oh crap,” said Mike. “Oh man. I’m so sorry, bro. I thought I was helping. Like tearing a Band-Aid off a cut or something. I’m so sorry. I thought it would hurt less. I didn’t know you’d yell like that. I wouldn’t have done it, I swear. I thought I was helping.” He was even more pale than his usual pasty self.

As hard as the pain came on, it seemed to be dulling. All Ronin could feel now was a numb throbbing. Maybe Mike had the right idea. He held his thumb up. It was still there and so was the fingernail. The quick jolt of pain was bad, but not any worse than usual. His shock and anger turned to appreciation.

“Thanks,” said Ronin. “Sorry I yelled. Just sort of shocked me is all.” He held his thumb up so Mike could see it.

“No problem,” said Mike, his deep, man-like voice cracked a little. The reddish color returned to his cheeks and his eyes relaxed. “I thought for a moment you were going to kill me. Bro, you should’ve seen the look in your eyes.”

“Yeah,” said Ronin sarcastically. He laughed. “Your arm is bigger than my whole body.”

“Well. I would have deserved it. That was stupid. Sorry about that.”

“No problem. Seriously. I think you helped.” He held his thumb so both he and Mike could see it. “Well, this is it. Weird thing is, if you watch it for a minute it actually moves. Like up and down. I thought maybe it was my heartbeat, you know, pumping blood to the area or something, causing it to move.”

“I don’t know, bro. That looks pretty bad. I mean, I’ve seen messed up nails. You wouldn’t believe some of the crap you see playing football. One of the reasons I hate it so much. But that’s bad, worse than anything I’ve seen. Well, anything with nails at least. Did you see a doctor?”

“Not yet.”

“See how it’s darker in the middle? That means the nail is probably dead. It should have started to fall off already. The green around the edges isn’t good either. Might be infected or something. I would definitely get it looked at. Maybe they have someone at the school who can check it out for you.”

Ronin picked the duct tape from off the floor and rewrapped his thumb with it. “Where is this school anyway?”

“BrightWood?” asked Mike, seemingly shocked.

“Yeah.”

“You don’t know where BrightWood is? It’s only the most prestigious school in the U.S.” He paused for a moment. “At least that’s what Mr. Wall told my dad. You know, now that I think about it, I had never heard of it until my dad told me about it.”

“Well, that’s better than me. Never heard of it until right before the test.” Ronin’s face reddened, but not out of embarrassment. He was mad Dick didn’t have the decency to tell him anything. Although it didn’t surprise him in the least.

“Wow, bro. Don’t know what rock you’ve been hiding under.” He looked at Ronin with a sly smile on his face, like he was just messing with him. “It’s in upper Washington. On the U.S Canadian border. That’s all I really know. ”

“What about these other kids. Any idea how old they are?” asked Ronin.

“Same age as us. All sixteen.”

“How do you know?”

“Some kid was talking when we first got on the plane. He was asking questions. Guy in the black suit answered them.”

Something was very strange about the whole situation. “Why just kids our age?” asked Ronin.

“I have no idea. But honestly, I really don’t care. This is my chance to get away from my family. Bunch of leeches.”

Ronin raised his eyebrows.

“I’ll tell you about it some other time.”

The more Ronin thought about things the more his gut told him something wasn’t right. “What about that test? How hard was that thing!”

“Yeah no kidding,” said Mike. “I have a theory about that last question though. You know, the picture of the dog. No way anyone got any of those other questions right. I’m pretty sure those weren’t even answerable.” He twisted left, then right. A crack sounded from his back. “Anyway. I’m pretty sure that picture was special. Like only we could see it. That’s how they chose us.”

“That makes sense,” said Ronin. It made no sense at all. Ronin answered the question wrong. He wanted to tell Mike about what he’d done but was afraid Mike might start asking questions, which could lead to Ronin getting in trouble, maybe even sent home. None of it made sense. Why only sixteen year olds? Why would they give a fake test? Why lie? Why was he chosen? The more he thought about it, the more his heart raced. For all he knew the guys in suits could be a bunch of crazies who kidnap kids and do horrible things to them. The plane was unmarked. What if it was a way to cover their tracks? Ronin’s imagination was getting the better of him. His ears were warm and buzzing. But, even with the fear of something horrible happening, he couldn’t help but to be excited. Just as he was trying to think about something else, another thought popped into his head.

“When did you guys take the test?” asked Ronin.

“Yesterday morning,” said Mike

“Mr. Wall talked to your parents after the test?”

“Yeah.”

Nothing was adding up. Why would they talk to Dick before he took the test? Unless they already had him picked out. But why take a test then? Ronin started to feel dizzy. And why him?

“You okay?” asked Mike. “You look sort of pale.”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Think I might be a little air sick.”

Mike scooted away, as much as he could. “Don’t barf on me. You barf and I’ll lose it. If you’re gonna barf tell me, I’ll move.” He watched Ronin like he was a bomb that might explode. “Seriously, bro. I’ve got a thing with people throwing up. Just thinking about it makes me ga…” He held his hand over his mouth. Something that sounded like a seal choking on a fish erupted from his throat. “See.” He wiped his mouth. “I almost just puked talking about it.”

“I’m okay. I’m not going to throw up. I promise.” Now Ronin was scooting away from Mike.

Ronin and Mike gave each other weird looks and then burst into laughter.

“Bro.” Mike smiled. “You’re alright.” He gave a nod of respect.

With a grin, Ronin returned the gesture.

Two hours passed in a blink of an eye. Mike loved to talk. He talked so much Ronin was barely able to get a word in the entire trip. Most of the conversation was about football and how Mike hated it. The rest of the conversation was about Mike’s family and how they were a bunch of blood sucking leeches who forced him to play football in hopes of him getting a scholarship to a big name college. And according to Mike it wasn’t because they wanted him to have an education. All they cared about was the money they could get from the school or they thought they could get from the school.

Just when Ronin thought he couldn’t take another football story, an alert sounded and the fasten seat belt sign glowed red. Over the loudspeaker a man’s voice announced that they were starting their decent and would be landing in thirty five minutes. A thought hit him square in the solar plexus. It took his breath away. Was this what it felt like? Was this him finally getting away? Could it really be happening?