The Adventurers, Ch. 1

October 27th, 2005

My brother and I took a typing class during the summer after my 7th grade year (or was it 8th grade?), and it was a two-hour-long-busy-work kind of class. Thanks to my piano "skeeeeells" I picked up the whole typing thing pretty quickly, and usually finished the exercises with plenty of time to spare. We weren't allowed to just leave, so I was faced with the challenge of entertaining myself everyday for 30 minutes. As most of you people know, entertaining myself is what I do best (hmm...that didn't sound right). The result? A 16 page fictional novella, starring my brother as an orphan, and including several of my friends. I even added myself as one of the central characters! Every kid in this story is modeled after someone I knew back then. And thus, I now humbly present to you, dear blog travelers, that famous story...word for word, chapter by chapter (10 in all!), for your pleasure and amusement.

THE ADVENTURERS - Chapter 1

Jerry had had enough. He was going to go off and never return to this dumb orphanage. After twelve years of labor and exhaustion, he was running away.

At one o'clock in the morning, Jerry stole into the kitchen and packed himself a generous ham sandwich. He quietly went down the stairs to the back door. He didn't expect any trouble from the "Miss" but his muscles were still tense and ready to bolt. He did not want to be caught and leathered like all those other times. Out in the yard it was dark and humid. Too dark, he thought, I should have waited till a clear sky. He struggled clumsily towards the fence. As soon as he jumped the fence, he knew he was safe. He could outrun anybody in Stephen Orion Orphanage. However, it was best he go as far as possible in case they bring in the dogs.

Jerry walked towards the rising sun. He had always believed that a better place was beyond those mountains up ahead. So Jerry set out in search of a better life.

These dense woods of North Carolina were the most abundant in these parts of the region. A slight drizzle began to fall upon him and Jerry took it as a good sign. This weather always pleased him. Since he was only wearing torn jeans, T-shirt, and an old sweat jacket, he started jogging to keep warm.

After three hours of walking and jogging, Jerry stepped under a huge pine that could shelter the storm a bit. There he opened his sandwich and started eating it.

As he was chewing his second bite, he looked up and was startled to see four boys his own age advancing cautiously towards him. They looked dirty and hungry. Jerry didn't think that was a good combination. All three stood staring at him, then at his half eaten sandwich, then again at him.

Jerry took their action as "we want your sandwich and if you don't like it, we'll punch your face in and take it anyway." He looked at the biggest of them all. A tough looking, blonde, country boy with arms as big as Jerry's neck. There was also a thin but built boy with glasses who was the next tallest. He looked like he could run pretty fast, but Jerry wasn't worried about anyone catching up to him. A short but wide boy leered at Jerry. Jerry wanted to hit him. The last boy was also somewhat skinny and also short, but his eyes were fully alert and it was evident that he always knew what to do.

Jerry didn't wait for them to make a move. He bolted away sure that they could not catch up, but surprisingly the boy with glasses stayed right behind him and wouldn't quit. jerry pumped his arms harder, sure that for some reason he was not running his top speed. He struggled to go faster but he was unable to shake the boy off. His arms were becoming heavier by the second. His legs were now burning up and a quick look back informed him that the boy was also suffering. Now Jerry was forced to slow down but he wouldn't give up. The boy's crunching footsteps quickly gained on him. A hand grabbed his neck and forced him to fall on the ground. Jerry immediately got up, surprising the boy with a hard swing that hit the boy on the eye. The boy struggled backwards but stayed on his feet. Jerry swung his leg and caught the boy on the left knee.

(end of chapter 1)