Who Am I? by Anna Huscha (books for 7th graders .txt) 📖

him. As we walked, he watched me or the ground. Not once looking up, as we neared our destination, an old but soft voice called out.

"Well, hello there. What can I do for you two?" The old man asked, walking out, he seemed to freeze as Zac looked up at him, it was only when he flicked his hair that the old man seemed to recognize him.

"Nate's boy..." Mitch's expression softened, Zac's eyes widened as he realized where we were.

"What... how?" Zac asked, glancing from me to the old firefighter. Mitch placed his hand on his shoulder.

"You've gotten big...very" He said softly, Zac looked from the old man to me and back repeatedly.

"You knew him?" Zac asked, his voice was barely a whisper. I knew it was soon, too soon to have taken him here but I knew more than anything he would want answers. After a quick though, Mitch nodded.

"He was one of my best men, this was his second home" Mitch said warmly, thinking back to the times when Nate was around.

"I look like him?" Zac asked, Mitch nodded then searched his face.

"You mean, she hasn't shown you what your father looks like?" Mitch asked as Zac shifted his feet and rubbed the back of his neck.

"She's shown me... she's shown me a lot of photos of my missing family members... I just couldn't picture what he'd look like doing family things" Zac admitted, I stayed silent, folding my arms against my chest.

"I know, I'm sorry you were just a baby when he was taken from us but he loved you." Mitch confided. Zac cleared his throat before looking up at me and smiled slightly.

"I love him too, do you... have anything that used to be his?" Zac asked hesitantly, Mitch took a moment to think it through.

"Well... now that you ask, I think there is something. I sent most of his belongings home to your mother but there was one thing I couldn't give up. It was something I gave him. I think he'd want you to have it" Mitch motioned for us to follow him into the building and so we did. He led us to a small room in the back, passed the small kitchen and dining table they ate at. In the room was a desk, a computer sat upon it with a printer behind. He walked to the desk and unlocked a drawer, shifting through the contents he stopped for a moment, a soft smiling crossing his features before he withdrew a small black box.

Holding the box out to Zac with a smile, he said words that I even remember to this day. I'm not sure if I remember them because they meant a lot to my best friend or because he was like my brother and his father would've been one to me, if he still had been around but I remember nonetheless.

"I'm proud of you" Mitch said, patting his shoulder before he left us alone in the office. Zac opened the box to reveal the small, coal necklace, his shoulders slouched.

"I..." Zac began but he couldn't seem to find the words, I tried to search his face to see what he was thinking, I glanced in the box but couldn't see what had him so tongue-tied.

"What is it?" I asked but all he did was shake his head; closing the box.

"It's nothing" Zac said half with rage, half with hurt. We left the place within seconds of him placing the box back onto the table, whatever the necklace represented; he had wanted nothing to do with it at all.

We walked in silence for a few moments before somebody behind him cleared their throat, we turned only half-way to see Karter.

"Should be watching your back, I could've killed you within seconds if I wanted to, you know?" Karter asked rhetorically.

"Yeah, yeah... what's up Karter?" Zac asked as he turned to face him, I walked a little closer to Zac.

"You start initiation, tomorrow" Karter said before searching my face, trying to sense a hint of nervousness or any other emotion relating. I showed none.

"Good" I said, I nodded at Zac before turning and walking away.

I saw the shock in his face, he was torn between wanting to follow me and wanting to stay with Karter. He chose the latter. I walked for a long time, soon coming to the boulevard where shadows accompanied me, I felt at peace with the world. Tragically, it wouldn't last long at all. No longer than five minutes of being near the trees, I heard a high-pitch scream, I didn't know where it was coming from or whether I had even really heard it or my mind played tricks on me. Choosing to go with my gut instincts, I followed the sound deep into the forest. Through the darkness I wondered what was happening but with a few more steps, all questions were answered. A girl was laying on the ground, her arms bound while her clothes were torn, a rape in progress. He hadn't gotten far because her pants were still in tact, he seemed to just have wreaked havoc onto her torso. No doubt she was in pain.

One deep gash ran across her cheek, one down from her shoulder following her collarbone, and a lesser deep one going across her naval. I stayed hidden in the darkness like a creature waiting for their meal to take a drink at the water. I watched him carefully, waiting for a weak point where I could go out and save the girl. I saw the sickening grin as he placed a knife on a sensitive area of hers, she squirmed and cried, begging him not to hurt her. Too late. He placed the knife at the top of her pants and started to tormentingly cut downwards, her dark blue jeans were slowly ruined. This guy was a sickening creature who deserved nothing but to rot in jail and who better than myself to put him there? I couldn't see a bandana but no doubt this was a crypt or some low-life scum who wanted a quickie. He wasn't going to get that far if I had a say in it.

Wishing I had a knife, I searched the ground for a large enough rock to bash his head in with. My luck came up short as the only big one was a little larger than my fist but it would have to do. I was running out of time to save the girl and soon, she'd be ruined. I had to move fast.

I crept out of the darkness as I walked up behind him slowly, bringing my arm back as far as I could, I brought it down faster than I thought I was capable of; crashing clean into the back of his head. I heard the girl shriek and cry out loudly as he fell down on top of her; groaning loudly. Within seconds he got up and looked at me, laughing like a deranged person once he saw my size.

"You're a punkass, bitch, I recommend you leavin'!" He spat out at me, I chuckled in his face.

"I'm not going anywhere until you give me the girl" I said with no fear to push him on, I knew he wanted it for he searched my face but all he would find was confidence.

"Yeah, once I'm done with her, mr. Hero" He went to turn away from me, wrong move. I swiftly brought my leg up and kicked him dead in the nuts. I hadn't ever and swore I wouldn't ever kick somebody there because I knew how bad it hurt to be kicked there but sometimes, you have to.

He doubled over in pain as he clutched himself with one hand, the knife in the other. I brought my knee up and crashed into his nose, he fell completely to the ground. I snatched the knife up from him before holding it to his throat with my foot on his chest.

"Now, if you don't want me to completely kill you then I recommend you leaving. Got it?" I asked, he nodded but I wouldn't let him off that fast. I kicked him hard enough in the head to knock him out.

Content with what I had done with the big fella', I walked over to the girl, she didn't seem to think she was safe yet so when I touched her she screamed.

"Shh" I said soothingly, tears and blood stung her eyes, I could tell she was in a lot of pain. I sat her up as I cut the ties around her arms. She rubbed her wrists and sniffled a bit.

I took my shirt off as she sat there waiting for me to do something, I knew she couldn't be left alone in this condition and the state of shock she had to be in. I used my shirt to clean her eyes so that she could see before I draped it to cover her front side. After having brought her to the Sheriff's department, I headed home. Once there, I dropped down onto the couch. The day was early, earlier than I thought it was and that caused a sadness in me.

Okay, not really, it was fine... left plenty of opportunity for me to do something but what would I do? I could go and try to find Zac but with my attention to him lately, I didn't want to give Karter a reason to hate me so soon. So, I opted to stay indoors for the second day in a row. Laying on the couch, I just watched television on our small, puffed out set.

Nothing good was on, like usual, we didn't get many channels to choose from but the ones we had weren't too bad. Twenty minutes into a horribly boring show, I was half-asleep as a knock was heard on the door. My mom went and answered it, as she said 'Hello' I could hear the unsure tone, the dreariness as she watched whoever it was in front of her.

"Mom?" I called out, she responded fast.

"They're for you?" She asked, unsure of whether or not they wanted good or bad with me and whether she wanted these kinds of boys coming to our house looking for me.

I got up swiftly, walking towards the door before peaking around the corner, smiling as soon as Karter's face met mine.

"Hey" I said, they nodded at me.

"What're you doin' here?" I asked, Zac shifted and that's when I saw someone standing behind them. I didn't know this kid, he was shorter than me and skinnier by far, he had black hair that was done in cornrows, a red wrist band on with a red bandana, he had on a black right 'wife-beater', and fitting jeans.

"We're yanking your lazy ass out of home to come hang out with us. We're not sure what we're doing but you aren't gonna turn fat on us" Karter explained before nodding towards my mom and turning away.

"Be back ma" I said before running after him, walking next to Zac as he introduced Smith to me. They called him by his last name; he hated his first.

I hadn't seen my mom's face as I walked away but knowing her, her expression was one of lost and wishful thinking, she'd hope I wasn't getting into any trouble, and praying I wouldn't become a part of them. I found out later, God