Humayre: The Chronicles of Ronin Wilder
Chapter 9

The clip clop of hooves hitting cobblestone seemed to drag on forever. Without windows there was no way to tell if it was even still light outside. Ronin was ready to get out. To start asking questions.

“Anyone have the time?” asked Ronin. His right knee anxiously bounced up and down.

“No,” said Mike. “My phone died.”

“Yeah. Mine did too,” said Kevin. He held his left wrist up to show everyone his watch. “Want to know something weird? My watch also stopped working.”

“Why’s that weird?” asked Mike. “Probably just coincidence.” He folded his arms and sank his huge body into the plush velvet cushion. “And who still wears a watch anyways? What are you, a hundred?”

“I wear a watch,” said Jessica, flashing Mike a dirty look. “Mine stopped working too. And so did my phone.”

“Okay,” said Mike. “That’s a little strange.” He looked around the cabin. “Anyone got a phone that’s actually working? Or a watch?”

All the kids shook their heads. Ronin didn’t have the luxury of either but he shook his head as well, although he couldn’t be sure why.

“Okay, that’s a lot of strange,” said Mike.

The clip clop silenced.

“Finally,” said Ronin. He opened the carriage door and jumped out. He wanted to get to orientation as fast as possible. He needed answers.

The sun had set behind the pine trees. The sky, just above the horizon, was an explosion of oranges, blues and reds. The building directly in front of Ronin was made of what looked like huge grey stone blocks. All the windows were made of stained glass, each with a different picture at its center. Some were Knight’s, others were animals, all were vibrant colors that seemed to come alive in the torchlight. Torches were everywhere and possibly the most unusual thing amongst many oddities. There were no electric lights of any sort, just huge torches. On the castle walls, lining the cobblestone street, there were even small torches hanging off the sides of all the carriages. Guess no one ever told Dr. Storm about lightbulbs. Ronin chuckled to himself.

“Follow me please!” shouted Mr. Wall. He was standing In front of two massive wooden doors each of which was outlined with huge metal rivets. Ornate carvings of angels holding swords decorated the face of each door. The angels had rather angry looks on their faces and were covered from head to toe in armor.

“What’s up with all the torches?” asked Mike. He put his hand on Ronin’s shoulder to balance himself as he grabbed his shoe and pulled it towards his hamstring. “A castle, huh? and torches? Next we’ll see the local villagers with pitch forks chasing us out of here.” He chuckled.

“Never seen anyone make themselves laugh so much,” said Kevin. “You must really think you’re funny. Good thing someone does.”

“Whatever, man,” said Mike, as he rolled his eyes. He looked to Ronin. “What do you think the deal is with this Dr. Storm guy and his fascination with ancient looking stuff?”

“I have no clue,” said Ronin. “It’s pretty amazing though. I feel like I stepped out of a time machine or something.”

“Yeah no kidding,” said Kevin. He glanced down at his left wrist. “I still think the watch and phone thing is weird though.”

“Seriously,” said Mike. “That’s the thing you think is weird? Not the super strong guys who jumped ten feet in the air and tossed guys like they were footballs? ” He shook his head.

“Yeah,” said Kevin. “That too.”

“I’m tired of guessing about it,” said Mike. “Let’s get to orientation so we can get some answers.”

“For once I agree with you,” said Kevin.

As they headed towards Mr. Wall, Ronin stuffed his hands in his pockets. The piercing cold was causing his fingernails to throb more than usual. Quick flashes of pain forced him to pull his hands from his pockets. The letter popped into his mind. He searched his right pocket. Nothing. He searched the cobblestone all around him. Nothing. For some reason anxiousness welled up inside him, like he lost something that he needed.

“What are you looking for?” asked Mike.

“I think I dropped something,” said Ronin. “Just a piece paper I had. It must’ve fallen out of my pocket. You guys go ahead. I’ll meet you there.”

“Alright,” said Mike, with a raised eyebrow. “Sounds like it’s kind of important. You sure you don’t want our help?” He looked to his right. No one was there. He looked behind him. Kevin was walking into the castle through the huge double doors. Mike shook his head and rolled his eyes. “We’ll. I can help you at least. Looks like Kevin has better things to do. Like being a sarcastic jerk.”

“No, it’s fine. Probably just in the carriage.” He nodded to Mike. “Thanks anyway.”

“Alright, bro, suite yourself. See ya in there.” He turned and walked away.

Inside the carriage, right next to the hearth lay the letter. For some reason Ronin was incredibly relieved to see it. The crossing swords on the red seal caught his eye once more. This time a different memory popped into his head. A necklace with a silver pendant. He remembered he used to ask his dad if he could play with it. He tried to recall what the pendant looked like but he couldn’t. For some strange reason the letter was dredging up memories he’d almost forgotten. He closed his eyes. The pendant was right there in his mind, if he could just focus.

“Where’s carriage number two?” asked an angry voice.

“Down there at the end. Second to the last carriage,” said a man. “Can I help you with something, Ryan?”

“No,” snapped Ryan.

Ronin’s concentration was shattered by the anger in Ryan’s voice. He stuffed the letter back into his front pocket. As he jumped out of the carriage he saw Ryan, or who he guessed was Ryan, coming straight for him. Ronin stepped to the side just in time to avoid Ryan’s brute-like charge.

The carriage shook from side to side as Ryan thrashed about inside. Ronin couldn’t help but to stop and stare. It sounded like Ryan was tearing the whole thing apart. All of the sudden the carriage held motionless. An uncomfortable silence weighed Ronin down like a wet blanket. His first instinct was to leave before Ryan came out. But his curiosity held him still.

Ryan exploded out of the carriage. He landed hard on the cobblestone. His feet slid and he almost fell backwards. His brown curly hair hung messily down his forehead. Piercing brown eyes locked onto Ronin. Their desperation forced Ronin to step back.

“What are you looking at?” snapped Ryan. Sweat beaded above his upper lip and eyebrows. His hands were shaking. His fear was barely shrouded by his anger.

Ronin was silent, all he could do was stare.

“Humayre trash,” said Ryan. He started to walk away but something caught his attention. His eyes locked onto Ronin’s right front pocket.

The letter. That was what Ryan must’ve been looking for. Ronin looked down. The edge of the letter poked through the top of his pocket. He stuffed it back in. He met Ryan’s eyes with his own. Ronin’s brow furrowed. He took a step forward. No one was going to call him trash, or Humayre, whatever that was. Ryan was much bigger and maybe a few years older but it didn’t matter. At least not at that moment. Maybe ten minutes from now after Ryan beat the stuffing out of him he’d then rethink his strategy.

Ryan glanced down at Ronin’s pocket and then pulled his focus back to Ronin’s eyes. The anger and fear emanated from Ryan like the stink from a carcass. Ronin’s gut told him that all he had to do to make this guy go away was to give him the letter. But something stopped him. It wasn’t pride and it wasn’t anger. For some reason it felt important. He couldn’t just give it up. Especially not to this jerk.

“I’ll see you around,” said Ryan, his voice cold and calm. There was a sinister edge to his glare. It wasn’t anger, but more of a sizing up. Like the predatory eyes of a tiger stalking its much weaker human prey.

“Not if I see you first,” said Ronin. It just sort of blurted out. His face flushed red. What would he say next? See you later alligator? How could he be so lame?

Ryan forced a sarcastic laugh and shook his head. As he walked away Ronin noticed the strange outfit he was wearing under his BrightWood trench coat. It looked sort of like a wetsuit. It was one-piece and all black. His gloves also looked like they were made of the same material. Weird outfit for a weird guy. A sinking feeling came over Ronin. A new school and a new chance, at least that’s what he was hoping for. Last thing he needed was another Incident. First day and he already had an enemy. Not a good way to start if you’re trying to fly under the radar.

As he tried to push the altercation out of his head, one thing kept bothering him. He couldn’t wrap his mind around how Ryan handled seeing the letter in Ronin’s pocket. Why didn’t he just ask for it? Or demand it? Why be so desperate to find it and then just let it go like it meant nothing?

“You coming out of the cold?” asked Mr. Wall, standing just inside the two massive wooden doors.

“Yes sir,” said Ronin. He’d worry about Ryan later. Right now he had bigger questions on his mind. Like who were those guys they watched in the arena? What kind of school was this? And why did they pick him? He hurried to join Mr. Wall. White breath bellowed from his nostrils as he jogged towards the warm light spilling from the huge double doors.

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