Spark ( Book 3: Stronger Series )

26. Mistaken Intentions

For the next two days, I was banished from going outdoors, forced to remain inside while I watched from the windows as different men in special uniforms came and went from the trees. I wanted to attack them. I wanted to stop them from interfering with the innocent animals I knew they were hurting. Clive and Owen tried to keep me away from the windows as often as they could, making sure I was preoccupied every minute to the point where I was exhausted by the end of the day. They wouldn't answer my questions as to whether the animals were being exterminated or simply relocated, and it was killing me.

Darren was smart to stay away from me for those two days. It would have been nothing but fighting, but apparently, he was away on business. How convenient. He didn't even tell me that he was leaving, but then again, I didn't really care that he hadn't. I hoped he fucking died.

It was the weekend before I could finally go back outside, but only when Darren was home and chose the time. I'd been reading in my room when Clive told me I'd been given the go-ahead for my woodland walks, and I immediately jumped to my feet. I power walked my ass all the way down the stairs and to the back door, trying not to seem too anxious as I almost ran into the woods as soon as I was on the grass.

Safely behind the shade of the trees, I took off at a dead run, heading straight for the fox's den. My lungs burned in my chest as I pumped my legs through the woods, hope driving me forward that my furry little friends were still alive. Reaching the den, I came to a quick stop at the tree I hid behind and peered around to instantly hunch in disappointment as I looked over the now destroyed den. Stomped out completely, nothing was left of the little burrow, just a kicked-in mound of dirt and grass.

Slumping to the ground, I pulled my knees up to my chest to rest my cheek on top of my knees. I wanted to cry. I wanted to scream. I wanted to release all my pent-up rage on Darren's stupid face with a spike covered baseball bat, but I knew only one of those options was available to me. Screaming would just bring my shadows to me and upset Darren, and the spike covered baseball bat wouldn't likely end well for me. After a few moments of self-pity, I wiped the dampness from my eyes and stood up. I needed a distraction, something to take my mind off the oppression that was my life.

Walking around for a while, I finally came across the perfect branch for a bo staff hanging low from a tree. No fucks given about Darren's rules, I climbed up the tree, jumped to the branch, and pulled it down as hard as I could until it snapped. I landed on my feet easily and pulled the remaining pieces of the branch from the tree. It was a little heavy, which was perfect, as was the length. Pulling each of the smaller branches off, I worked the branch until it became one single long stick. But it was still uneven.

Leaning the branch against the tree, I made my way over to the stream and scanned the water for the perfect rock. I had to walk up and down the stream for a while before I caught my foot on the edge of a sharp rock, scratching my ankle. Bingo. Bending down and ignoring the scrape on my skin, I wedged the rock from the muddy bank, pushing and pulling it as best I could until the mud finally released my target. The rock was a lot bigger than I thought it was. Like plucking a damn iceberg from water, it was much bigger at the bottom than I thought. But I was strong, and I carried that heavy bitch all the way back to a good hiding spot so that I wouldn't have to worry about someone sneaking up on me.

Grabbing my branch, I whittled it over the sharp edge of the rock until the broken nubs of the smaller branches were gone, and it was nothing but a smooth, broad staff. The ends were still fucked up, but over time, I could whittle the ends to a point, but I was low on time as it was.

With only about twenty minutes left, I made my way to the middle of the clearing and tested my makeshift bo staff out. The aerodynamics were off, but the weight was good, heavier than usual, and flowed nicely in my hands. Heavier was better out here, considering it was excellent strength training. Not to mention, the next time I got my hands on a real bo, it'd be a hell of a lot lighter, which meant I'd be a hell of a lot faster.