Trials of a teenaged witch

The boy huddled into the distant corner of the basement. He waited and listened, pleading silently that they would not find him. Above, the jack-boots of soldiers echoed through the house. 

Shouts came quickly. They were loud and shocking and were mixed with frenzied screams of pain and terror. The sounds penetrated through the thick walls of the house, from the attic all the way down to the furthermost recesses of the basement. A frantic cry, louder than the rest was followed by the sharp crack of a single gunshot. The boy cringed, breathing quickly in short gasps. He shivered as he heard the clumping of boots on the stairs. His heart pounded noisily inside him and a terrible shudder passed through his slender body. As he shuddered a small golden pin fell from his pocket, making a small metallic sound as it hit the ground.

Horror descended. He heard the sound of footsteps as heavy feet paced across the room. The boy could hear them getting closer. The movement stopped. Slowly he opened his eyes. The polished black boot was inches away. It reached almost to the man's knee. The boy trembled, uncontrollably urinating into his trousers. The foot moved back then swung violently forward. It slammed into his buttocks. The boy shrieked....

Kenneth awoke with a start, sweat dripping from his skin. "God I hate these visions." Kenneth said to himself as he threw himself back onto his pillow, far to awake now to fall back asleep though.

Kenneth laid in bed for another hour or so before finally giving up on the thought of any sleep. He turned to look at his clock that read 3:30 am. "Oh good I was only gonna get up in a few hours." Kenneth said to himself trying not to laugh at the situation.

He was in the body of some kid from what felt like the time of World War Two. I mean really Kenneth didn't even know what the hell that was, lately the visions had become more and more obscure.

After a little while Kenneth decided to head downstairs to get something to eat, where he found his father working hard at his computer.

His father worked as a detective, so there were days that he had to work late into the night, like this night.

"Oh sorry son, did I wake you." His father said looking up from his case files.

Kenneth had been having these type of visions for a while now, usually when he was sleeping which was why he was grouchy most of the time. His sister Anne use to tell him about her vision, and she often seemed dragged down by them. Though he never really thought it was this bad.

When he was little he told his mother about his gift she simply told him that it was his birth right. That all members of the family had gifts like this, and he should be proud to receive these visions. That she would tell him and his sister more when they were older. Yeah easy for her to say, when she wasn't the one woken nightly by them. 

Not long after he talked with her she die, freak accident. Kenneth was young at the time so his time of morning had long since passed. He still missed his mother, but the thought didn't keep him up at night.
His father had remarried and Kenneth was left with many unanswered questions. 

“No couldn't sleep, you hungry?" Kenneth said making his way to the kitchen. Despite all the visions and what not, Kenneth's mom had trained him to be one hell of a cook before she'd died.

"Whatcha got in mind?" His father said going back to writing down something in a file.

"Anything you want." Kenneth said as he got down some mixing bowls. Kenneth was trying to get his father to take his eyes off of his work for just a bit. The man had been working non-stop on the case since they'd moved into their new house a last week.

"How about some French toast, I haven't had that in a while." Robert looked up with hungry eyes, Kenneth's French toast was second to none, and Kenneth knew it.

"No problem." Kenneth said as he went to work cooking, the one thing in his life he enjoyed the most was cooking, kept his mind off his problems. Soon Kenneth busy cooking not just French toast but also, bacon, eggs, fresh juice, and coffee.

As Kenneth cooked he thought back to the pervious Saturday. 

It had been ten years since his mother had died - Kenneth thinks, staring out of the window feeling uncertain about his future. Now his father had remarried, and they were on their way to a new house, in a new town, with new people.

The car is filled with bags, cartons and other stuff.

"The moving company brought the furniture in our new home this morning," a low voice says.

Kenneth hears what his dad says, but he is also in thought. Robert looks to him, just for a moment and recognizes his tenseness, then he guides his gaze to the road again. His step mom and sister will be down in a few days, after they stop off at her sisters house.

"We're almost there!" Robert Slaine said. He was a well-built man, with dark brown hair. 

"Are you excited Kenneth?" He turned and asking the teenage boy laying in the backseat. 

"Yeah, sure." Kenneth said in a condescending tone. "Taking me away from my friends, my home; to a place that gets cold 9 months of the year and even snows! Sure, I'm excited." Kenneth continued, this time in a sarcastic tone. Kenneth had dark brown hair with deep blue eyes. 

"Stop with the sarcasm! Please just try to think about, you may like it in Benton." Robert said.

The town was rather large. The downtown area was full of people, women holding small children by the hand, men guiding their wives or girlfriends. "Preps…" Kenneth said looking out of the window. The traffic alone was terrible, stopped up out of the ass. The high school could be seen at the end of town.

"There's your new school." Robert said pointing at the school. "Great, not only am I going to be new, but in the middle of the year too, Goody." Kenneth said. 

"You know why we had to leave. It just wasn't working out, and this place was in need of a new sheriff so here we are." Robert said trying to lighten the mood.

"Why can't I go to a fancy prep school like Emma?" Kenneth said looking back at his new school.

"Emma's got a scholarship there, that why. We just don't have the money for it. Besides you'll come to love this school in time." Robert said more of a hope for himself then to Kenneth.

Kenneth's attention was caught on someone as he walked by the van. He looked to be about 5'9, had short black hair, and looked muscular. He wore a blue shirt with the words "Bryant High School" on the front. It was tight around the waist and upper arms, and it went past his belt buckle on his faded blue jeans. Kenneth had no idea why his attention was brought to this boy, but he didn't question it.

"Look at this house Kenny! We're home. At last." Robert was the only person Kenneth would ever allowed to call him Kenny. The thought of anyone else calling him that made him feel like they were calling him a kid.

Robert stops the car in front of one of those houses who look all the same with those same looking families in it. It makes Robert sad, watching how Kenneth looks at their new home.

"So, let's carry the stuff in," he sighs.

"No dad, I can do it. The doctor said that you shouldn't carry heavy things. Let me do this." Kenneth said grabbing the heavy box from his fathers arms.

"I won't let my child carry all the stuff alone." Robert said making a grab for the box.

"Dad, just stop being so-" Kenneth said turning away from his father and almost running into the guy he saw walking just a moment ago.

"Do you need some help?" The young man asks.

His apparition lights up the whole street, Kenneth thinks while the boy smiles, as he could guess what Kenneth is thinking, and walks a few steps towards them.

"I'm sorry, My name is Danny Anderson. I live in the house across the street, I saw you two are moving in and that's why-"

"Fantastic, Hi Danny. I'm Robert Slaine, that's my son Kenny."

Robert walks to him and shakes the stranger's hand. 
"Kenneth, please." Kenneth says as he starts to shake the young mans hand, when suddenly he shifts into a vision. In his vision Kenneth sees himself kissing Danny. As Kenneth lets go of Danny's hand quickly he tries not to gag on the thought of kissing another guy. Weirder still was how he was happy getting kissed by another guy.

"Are you alright?" Danny asks seeing Kenneth reaction.

"Everything in that car has to come in. Here we go!" Robert says, bring Kenneth out of his daze.

So Robert takes a carton and starts to carry the stuff in, ignoring Kenneth's looks of concern.

For Kenneth it was nearly rude asking a stranger for help – even when he offers himself, but he doesn't want this person to touch his private stuff.

Something at that boy is creepy ... he is just standing there, smiling at Kenneth.

*Why is he smiling like that?* Kenneth thinks to himself, eyeing the young man as he stares at him.

Kenneth's not sure what to do and walks to the car.

"Thanks for your help," He mumbles, takes a box and hands it to Danny who takes it and turns around. 

After they spent nearly two hours with carrying stuff into the new flat, they decided to order pizza and celebrate their new beginning.

"No thank you Mr. Slaine. Now I'm going to leave you both alone." Danny says heading for the door.

"I won't let you." Robert says beating Danny to the door. "You can't play hero for two hours without getting any reward. And we would like to hear thinks about the neighborhood, and the town. It would be great."

Danny stands in the door frame, not sure whether he should come in or just leave.

"I really don't know," he whispers.

"C'mon boy. That's what neighbors do. Eating together and having fun ..."

Robert smiles and lays one hand on Danny's shoulder.

"But only if everybody is okay with it," Danny says staring quizzically at Kenneth, who pretty much had ignored him the past hours. Now, Robert stares at his son too with a forcing gaze, symbolizing that he should say something. Kenneth gets the message and sighs.

"Yeah - no, come in." Kenneth says trying to sound welcoming, while trying to keep his mind off of kissing this guy.

They're sitting on cartons and are waiting for the pizzas.

"So Anderson. Tell us something about you."

"Uhm ... I'm going to the Shaw High School for a week now."

"Really, isn't this great Kenneth? That'll be your school, too!"

Kenneth nods and starts to look out of the window again. He feels uncomfortable. Everything in this room makes him feel uneasy. This isn't his home and he still doesn't know why his dad wanted this guy, that apparently he's gonna kiss, to eat with them. Sure - was helpful, but Kenneth just wants to be alone right now.

It was approaching 10:00, and Kenneth was far to exhausted to stay up any longer. So he was quite happy when Danny suddenly said, "Okay, it's late. Thanks for the pizza."

"Thanks for your help." Robert said, then after getting nudged by his father Kenneth added, "Yes, I really appreciate all your hard work."

"Not a problem. Good night." 

"Good night Danny," Robert said as he escorted him to the door. Robert opens the door and Danny turns around one last time.

"Good night Kenneth. See you the day after tomorrow in school, I guess?"

Kenneth should be happy about the fact he could already have a friend at his new school, but the thought of that vision....

“Wow!" Robert says as Kenneth brings out the food "Looks great as usual." He started to help himself to large piles of food before he noticed Kenneth wasn't eating. "Aren't you hungry?" He said through large mouthfuls of food. 

"No, I just wanted some juice." Kenneth said sipping on his glass of orange juice. "How's the case going?" 

The case of the missing girl Vivian Anderson was big news in the small town. She was abducted right from her bedroom. She had been missing for the passed week, and since her family was rather well off it had become rather big news.

"Still don't have any leads yet." He said wolfing down is food. "I'm glad Anne is far away from here, but I still worry for you and Emma."

Kenneth knew that Anne was happy to be far away from their father, but for a much different reason. “Oh I don't think you need to worry much about me, but as far as Emma is concerned..." Kenneth said giving his father a look.

Kenneth couldn't be more differnt than his stepsister. Emma was a gifted student, who's life revolved around school. She the quiet type and preferred doing math problems then watching boys. Kenneth didn't care about his grades. As long as he kept his grades at “a” average score he was fine.

“Yeah I know the girl is a bit of a brain, but be nice she's still your sister." He said pointing his fork at Kenneth.

When Kenneth's father Robert had remarried last year Kenneth found himself with not just a new mother but also another sister. 

Emma was only a few months younger then Kenneth but she sure acted like she was ten years older then him. 

The girl really smart, and she knew it. Still the girl was woefully unprepared for the world outside of school.

“I know, I know." Kenneth said rolling his eyes. Suddenly Kenneth was clutching at his head hearing a voice say "Help me, it's so dark." 

"Is everything ok son?" Robert asked setting down his fork, and looking over at Kenneth with a worried look.

"Fine just a headache." Kenneth said standing to leave.

His father stood up to stop him saying “Don't give me that, it was a vision wasn't it?”

"Of course not, just didn't sleep enough." Kenneth said flashing a quick smile. Robert knew all about Kenneth's gifts, but he had enough problems of his own that he really didn't need to worry about Kenneth's nightly visions. "I think I'm gonna go for a run and clear my head before I head off to school." Kenneth said brushing his father off. "I'll see you latter." Leaving his father to stare after him, a concerned look on his face.

When Kenneth walked outside he noticed that the weather had begun to warm from the night's chill. The sun had just about fully risen free from the horizon and now shone fully on Kenneth. He looked up to the softly shining sun and stared at it appreciatively. At this time of the morning, Kenneth didn't mind the sun.

For the early hours, it seemed less a ball of fire and more of an overhead light. Kenneth stretched and yawned at it and then continued walking. He quickened his pace to a light jog, then looked to his untied shoes. Groaning impatiently, he squatted to tie his left one.

The door down the street opened and he saw Danny step out if the house. He brushed his hair back and leaned forward, stretching his right leg. He switched positions to stretch the other and did a few moments of quick jumping jacks. 
 
Kenneth watched as Danny took off glad he hadn't seen him, when Danny's head turned and he waved to Kenneth. Kenneth sat there fixing his headphones, hoping that Danny wouldn't come over. The last thing he wanted was company on his morning run.

When he looked back up Danny was gone, off on his own morning jog, causing Kenneth to key out a sigh of relief.

Kenneth again stood and surveyed the empty block. He ran in the opposite direction of Danny, not wanting to bump into him. Pulling a long cord, Kenneth unraveled a set of earbuds linked to his iPod. He let these fall their full length before he jerked them back up into his hands. He quickly adjusted them onto his head and pressed play on a song. 

There was a loud scream of static and Kenneth came to a quick stop, throwing the earbuds from himself. He looked at the iPod and lowered the volume. He picked up the headset and moved it close to his ears, feeling out the volume. He pressed play again, but there seemed to be no song playing.

Kenneth slid the small speakers over his head again and listened. In the tinny static, he could hear something. Thinking the sound was too low now, he adjusted it.

“Help," the voice said. "Help me." With a confused sneer, Kenneth listened closer, picking out a new sound. This was deeper, and growled out incomprehensible words. He heard phrases in a different dialect and tone groaning with savage meaning. 

There were human screams and the same unearthly roars, laughing. Kenneth dropped the earbuds, where and they dangled just off the ground, chained to the iPod. He turned it off and began running again, trying to get the static out of his ears.

Once Kenneth got back he showered and got ready for school, not something he looked forward to.

As he pulled on his shoes he felt a sharp pain in his foot. When he pulled the shoe off he saw a small golden pin fall out. Picking it up he recognized it as the pin from his dream, throne the boy had dropped that let the soldiers know his location. Kenneth pocketed the pin and finished getting ready for school.

Latter as his dad pulled up in front of the school. Kenneth looked warily out onto the campus.

“You could wait, you know...just until you got a school uniform--you don't *have* to go now." His father said hopefully.

"I can't stay home and watch daytime TV for the rest of my life." Kenneth answered back sarcastically.

"Why not? I could." His father said laughing. Kenneth wished he could share his father's sense of humor, but the truth was he was scared to death of going to a new school, and just wanted to leap out of the car before he lost nerve and asked his dad to drive him home.

"I just want to get started and get it over with." Kenneth said grabbing his bag, and getting out of the car.

"Well, you look good, good luck. Lily could pick you up." He started to say.

“I'll take the bus..." Kenneth said shutting the door.

The words just flew out of his mouth, he hoped his dad didn't think he was angry at his step-mom. Might have been nice, a familiar face to greet her after a day in Heck. Why did he say that?

"You sure?" His dad said looking through the rolled down window.

*No, I'm not sure, maybe* Kenneth thought but instead said "Yes."

*Ooohhkay,* Kenneth thought, *I guess I am taking the bus home.*

Kenneth took a deep breath readying himself for the trials of being a witch, all while dealing with going to high school.