Hold On--Chapter 1

I sprinted to my parents’ room down the hall in fright of the gunshots I heard outside. When I find that they aren’t there and the bed sheets are on the floor, I really started to panic. I took a look out the window and saw one small house in the distance ablaze, lighting up the night sky and smoke surrounding the village. I’m sorry to say I don’t remember much after that. What I do remember though is the next morning, my parents still haven’t returned. I saw someone official looking, probably from the city, outside the window and was later knocking on the door. Normally, I wouldn’t open the door to anyone I don’t know, but I thought he might know where my parents were. I opened the door uneasily and hear him say something about a massacre somewhere between my village and the city. He then tells me my parents had been killed.

That was six years ago, when I was eleven. I lived in an orphanage in the city with a bunch of other kids, including the other one’s whose parents had been killed, for those six years. Today though, on my seventeenth birthday, I, and four other kids, get to back to our houses. I packed my bag of a few clothes, my mother’s necklace, my dad’s only tie, and the doll I had cherished as a child.

“Skylar Mackenzie Erickson?” I hear an official call.

“Right here,” I reply as I raise my hand. I’ve always hated my name, and preferred to be called Skye instead of Skylar. The official went through the other four names making sure they were here. I would be riding home on the train with Dillon, who is eighteen; Marcus, who is seventeen; Olivia, who is sixteen; and Rosalind, who is only twelve. As we handed our bags to the official and boarded the train, the thought finally hit me. I’m going home.

I sit on the velvet covered seat on the train and watch as the scenery goes by. Good-bye orphanage, I think as we leave the city. As I’m gazing out the window, the official slides open the door to my cabin.

“Skylar?” he asks

“You can call me Skye,” I say slightly irritated.

“Fine then,” he replies stiffly. “Could you come to the dining hall? I have to talk to everyone.” I nod and make my way to the dining hall. Marcus, Olivia and Dillon are already seated. I sit on yet another velvet covered chair and take in the ornate décor of the room. Rosalind and the official step in and take the last two seats at the table.

“Now, I trust you are all responsible enough to live on your own?” he asks us. We all nod in response except for Rosalind.

“But I—” she starts weakly.

“Ah yes, Rosalind,” he sighs. “Well I didn’t want to keep you in the orphanage while the others got to return home nor keep Dillon, Marcus, Olivia, and Skyla—I mean Skye waiting too long,” he explains. “So I was thinking you could live with one of your friends.” For a moment, silence filled the room.

“Well I…I’ve never really had any friends before,” she says quietly. I pause for a second to think if I’m making the right decision.

“I could take her,” I suggest.

“You really would?” she asks with a mixture of surprise and happiness. I look over to the official to see if he approves.

“Well I suppose so,” he sighs, but wears a warm smile on his face. Rosalind grins at me then runs over to me and gives me a suffocating hug. All I can do is smile and wrap my arms around her in return.