Aiden Beaks's Arc

Chapter 6 of 10

The red gates shut behind them with a groan. Inside, dust coated everything. Gothic chairs stood in the dark like sleeping animals. Empty birdcages hung from the ceiling, their bars thick with webs. Along one wall stood old iron contraptions Aiden did not want to name. A frame. A wheel with straps. Somewhere behind these walls, his uncle was still searching. But the ragged man could not see through stone. For now, they were hidden. Aiden found a corner far from the windows. He sat, then lay down on the bare floor. Ethan lowered himself beside him, careful, watching Aiden the way he watched everything. His torn shoes stayed on his feet. For a while neither spoke. The house ticked and settled around them. "Why are you like that?" Ethan asked. He nodded at Aiden's bare chest and his worn shorts. "No clothes." Aiden stared at the ceiling. "Bad men searched me. They took my shirt, my shoes. They thought I was hiding something." He almost smiled. "They were right. But they will never find it." Ethan did not ask what. He knew better than to want the worst part said out loud. He only pulled his knees up and rested his chin there. "What do you want from me?" Aiden said. He turned his head to look at the smaller boy. He had left this boy twice. He needed to know why Ethan kept coming back. Ethan met his eyes. "I want to be free. That's all." He picked at a hole in his jeans. "A man kept me in a room. I saw him kill someone. I ran. I left two others locked up." He said it flat, like reading a list. "I'll do whatever you say. Just don't lock me anywhere." Something in Aiden loosened. He had thought Ethan was a burden. Now he saw a boy who had chosen him over being alone. "We’ll see," Aiden said. "I don't usually lock up people I like." Ethan almost smiled. It was small, but it was real. Then his eyes moved to the window. He went stiff. "There," he whispered. Aiden rose to a crouch and looked. Beyond the black trees, past the pool, the ragged man stood at the red gates. He gripped the iron and shook it. The hinges shrieked. His eyes swept the grey walls, hunting. He had followed them here. Ethan's breath came fast. But he did not run. Instead he pointed at the dark under the trees. A wolf stood there. Black fur, eyes glowing cold blue. It watched the man at the gate. Then it stepped between the man and the house, low and silent. The ragged man saw it. He froze. He let go of the gate. He backed away, slow, then turned and fled into the woods. Aiden let out his breath. The uncle was gone. The drive was safe. And beside him, Ethan was still there, watching the wolf watch them. "It came for me before," Ethan said quietly. "I think it's here for you now."