Humayre: The Chronicles of Ronin Wilder

A line of black limousine’s stretched before Ronin like a huge black snake. In front of each limo stood a driver, or what Ronin guessed was a driver. They were dressed in black suits and ties, the same as Mr. Wall’s.

“We supposed to get into one of those?” asked Mike.

“I don’t know.” Ronin looked behind him to see if Mr. Wall had come out of the plane yet. Kids were still making their way down the stairs connected to the plane, but no sign of Mr. Wall. “I guess we just wait.”

Kevin walked between Mike and Ronin. He stopped in front of one of the drivers. It looked like he was talking to the man but Ronin couldn’t make out what they were saying. Kevin turned around and headed back towards Ronin and Mike.

“He said we need to wait for Mr. Wall. But yeah, these are for us.”

“Nice!” said Mike. “I’ve always wanted to ride in a limo” He stood up tall and twisted his back which released a huge crack. A smile formed on his face. “Much better. I don’t think I could’ve taken another five minutes on that plane.”

“What’s everyone waiting for?” shouted Mr. Wall. He was at the top of the air-stairs. “I want five kids to each Limo. No more, no less.”

The excitement in the air was thick. Kids were laughing and talking as they hurried to Limo’s closest to them. It was like a game of musical chairs. Six or seven kids would try to pile into a car, the last ones who didn’t make it in would go to the next car and try their luck. Mike wasn’t having any of it however. Once he set his sights on a car he made sure to block the entrance until Ronin and Kevin were in. After Mike hauled his massive body inside, he looked at the other four kids standing outside waiting to get in.

“Okay,” said Mike. “We got room for two more.”

One rather small kid with short jet-black hair shouldered aside a red headed kid who was just about to get in. “Move over,” said the small kid. His blue eyes were slanted in a scowl. He stuck his foot into the car and started to duck inside.

Mike put his hand on the angry kid’s chest, stopping him from getting in. “I don’t like bullies. Even when they’re little.”

The angry kid slapped Mike’s hand away and stormed off to the next car.

“Can you believe that little twerp?” asked the red head kid as he started to get into the car.

Recognizing the red haired boy, Ronin’s eyes slanted in anger. This look wasn’t lost on Mike who was staring at Ronin.

Mike held his massive hand up, which stopped the red head from entering the car. “Wait. Aren’t these the two guys who wouldn’t let you sit between them on the plane?”

“Yeah,” said Ronin. He wanted revenge. He wanted them to see how it felt. But then he thought about Mrs. Kinney. She would’ve said that people don’t always make the best choices and sometimes they need a second chance. As much as it pained him, he knew it was the right thing to do.

“It’s fine. You can let them in.” Ronin nodded to Mike, it was a gesture of thanks and respect. Mike nodded, his eyes seeming to say, I’ve got your back.

Kevin had taken the window seat to the right of Mike. Ronin took the window seat across from Kevin. The red headed brothers squished next to Ronin.

The red head closest to Ronin nudged him and said, “Hey. Sorry about the plane.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Yeah, sorry,” said the other red head. “No offense, but your hands looked weird. Thought you might be sick or something.”

It made sense even though it angered him. “I get it,” said Ronin. He stuffed his hands under his armpits and stared out the tinted window. He winced, the pressure on his fingers hurt. At first he wasn’t looking for anything, just sort of staring off into the pine trees when a man caught his attention. He was walking on the other side of the street staring at the limos. His gait was odd, it was stiff, mechanical, unnatural looking. As the man approached, something seemed familiar. Then it hit Ronin. It was Dr. Storm.

“Hey,” said Ronin, urgently. “Guys. Quick. Look out the window on my side. You guys ever see that guy before?” He glanced around the car, waiting for an answer, but everyone was still looking out the window.

Mike and the other boys all answered no, except Kevin, whose eyes were closed with his head leaning against the window.

“Why?” asked Mike. “What’s the big deal about him? He looks like the rest of these guys.”

“I don’t know,” said Ronin. “The guy is weird. I saw him at my school before they gave us the test. I don’t know, the guy just seemed off.” He furrowed his brow. “Anyone see him get on the plane? I didn’t. How did he get here?”

“Bro. We all just said we’ve never seen him before.” Mike looked at Ronin and shook his head. “You’re acting paranoid. You got that serial killer look in your eyes again. You’re kind of making me nervous.”

Ronin chuckled. He knew Mike was just messing with him, but it still didn’t answer his questions. What was Dr. Storm doing there? And why?

“Yeah. You are actin…” said the red head closest to Ronin, but Mike interrupted him before he could finish.

“I will toss you out of this car and you will be walking to BrightWood,” said Mike, glaring at the kid. “Only I get to call him a serial killer.” The muscles bulged in his forearms as his hands clenched into fists. “Got that?”

At first Ronin thought Mike was joking around, but Mike’s eyes were dead serious. Ronin was happy he wasn’t on the receiving end of that glare.

“Yeah, sorry,” said the kid. He was no small guy himself. He looked hurt and scared, it wasn’t a fitting look for someone so big.

The sound of a door closing came from the front of the car. The engine turned on. The divider between the driver’s seat and the back of the limo rolled down.

“Make yourselves comfortable. It’s a two hour ride,” said Dr. Storm, his eyes on Ronin. As the center divider lifted, he didn’t take his focus off Ronin. A thunk sounded as the divider closed.

“What the…,” said Ronin.