Outcast City

Name: Drew Anderson 

Age: 17 

Grade: 11th 

Hair: Shaggy sandy blond with black bangs that keeps the eyes in shadows. 

Eyes: Doe like blue-green with thick, short, black lashes. 

Height: 5'8" 

Skin: Light ivory, rosy lips (bottom lip is more fuller than the top). 

Piercings: Snake bites (capture hoops) and three in each ear.  

CHAPTER 1: Where Am I? 

Eyes danced and dashed as they looked left to right, being wary of those walking around. It was strange... to be ignored, to be different, to not blend in like I once had. It was... peaceful. But that moment of peace was ruined just in a heartbeat. My whole body was slammed hard up against the metal lockers. Tears of pain blurred my vision as the person holding me started to cackle loudly. 

"Look at the freak, cowering in fear like a mouse." They cackled again, holding my shoulder tightly. More pain blossomed from the tight hold, causing me to whimper softly. "No one wants you here, you ugly faggot. Why don't you go kill yourself? No one will miss you." Their words cut deeper than any blade could as they punched me hard in the stomach, allowing me to fall to my knees. Gasping softly I watched with half closed eyes as they stomped and walked all over my notebooks, getting them dirty and ripping them up without a care in the world. 

"Please... stop..." I croaked out, reaching towards one of my notebooks in particular. It was my heart and soul. They laughed loudly and started walking all over it, ripping the cover and a few pages. My eyes widen as tears started to fall freely. 

"Oh look. The poor little emo fag is crying..." the leader crooned in a fake baby voice. This caused the others to laugh. They continued to laugh as they stood over me, forming a tight circle. "Poor freak..." they all whispered softly with evil smiles. My body trembled under their gaze. They were so hard and cold, a lot like stones. I screamed and covered my face as they began the attack, punching, kicking, even biting and clawing at me. I bit down on my lower lip, causing the skin to break as I fought off the screams clawing at my throat to be heard. Their fists and feet dug into my body as one of them pulled on my sandy blond hair, slamming my head back against the wall. 

"No one wants you!" they chanted over and over as they slowly stopped beating me. Soon as they came were they gone again. The halls were bare of anyone besides myself. Sniffling softly I crawled over to my things and started picking them up. Landing on one of my homework papers was a red dot, which was then followed by a few more red dots. With my free hand I reached up and touched the spot right above my upper lip, only to feel hot liquid on my fingertips. The blood continued to flow down onto my band shirt as I started to cry again, this time gasping for breath ever once in awhile. I stood and shoved the ruined papers into the nearest trash can before walking as slow as possible to my own locker. Turning right down one of the hallways I continued down until there was a stair case on my left. Without looking up I turned and walked up them slowly, making my way to the second floor. 

The walk was long and drawn out as I pasted posters for the Homecoming dance, the stupid dance that was a few weeks away. I continued, glaring holes into the tiled floor as I past the band, choir, and art room to my locker. It was the only locker that stood by itself away from the others. But unlike the others, my locker was covered in hateful words. 'Go die', 'No one wants you', 'emo', 'faggot', 'ugly', 'fat', 'Satanic creep', 'freak', 'loser', and 'weirdo' were just a few. I reached up and shredded them up so a pile of ripped up paper was around my feet. I frowned and opened my locker, glad that nothing fell out that wasn't supposed to, and reached in to pull out my bag, hat, and lunch. Slamming the metal door closed I stormed down the stairs and out one of the side doors, skipping the rest of the school day. 

"Horrible people..." I mumbled lowly as I rubbed away the drying blood. Bits and pieces broke off and fell onto the ground. With a yawn I kicked rocks across the sidewalk as I continued to wonder aimlessly. A small little pebble came into my line of sight and I kicked it, making it fly through the air before landing again. And I kicked it once more as I continued to walk. Kicking it over and over again before it landed onto a different path. Pushing my black bangs out of my eyes I looked down the path. The ground wasn't paved like any other path and had moss and vines crawling over it, almost camouflaging the path to be nearly non existent, and the trees on either side looked dead as the branches hung over each other to form some type of roof. Ever being the curious person that I am, I made my way down the path while being careful not to step on broken branches or anything else for that matter. As I moved deeper down the path it got darker and darker, casting shadows across every surface that could be seen in the overly dim light. I could hear owls hooting and mice scurrying away, across the dead ground to get away from the predators. 

Pulling out my phone I checked what time it was. The numbers 4:51 glared up at me from the lit screen. Sighing heavily I shoved the device back into my pocket while pulling out a small LED flashlight. I knew by now that my parents wouldn't care if I didn't come home, they hardly noticed me when they're in their drunk stupor. I ducked under one of the low hanging branches and moved a few away, making it easier to get through the overgrowth. Taking a deep breath I finally reached the very end of the trail. Breaking through I could see what looked to be an old stone Catholic church. In every shape and form did this place feel safe. 

Tiny twigs snapped under the heel of my All Star Converses as I moved closer to the old oak doors. The handles weren't even chained to keep out vandals. Pressing my weight against the heavy wooden door did it open with barely a sound. Placing the butt of the flashlight in my mouth I dusted off my hands as I looked around. The place still looked very new, given the fact it was in the middle of the woods, abandoned, and clearly old. But everything was still standing and very sturdy. A small smile pulled at my lips, even though it hurt. This place truly felt like home to me. Taking off my bag I set it by the door as I walked deeper into the church, making sure to light up as much of the place as I could with my little flashlight. The benches were sturdy and, as I flashed my light around, there were some unlit candles on the table at the very end of the aisle. I ran back to my bag and pulled out a box of wooden matches and went to the table, lighting the candelabra that they rested in. 

The flames danced happily, casting a warm glow in the old church. I smiled but really wondered where am I? I bit down on my lip piercings as I thought hard about it, looking around at all the religious artifacts around me. Even though I am Atheist I still was overly curious about other religions... I smiled again, flinching slightly as the answer dawned on me as to where I was. I was finally at home, a place where I could be myself and never be judged for that difference. It was my safe haven, my Nirvana. Laughter bounced off the old walls as the flames continued their marry dance. "I'm finally home!"