Soul of Fire

A New Home

Ryan and Rocky approached the front door of a house, sturdy frame and it appeared to have two stories and an attic. Ryan stopped dead in his tracks, "W-what if they don't like me, what if they turn me away?"

Rocky stares into Ryan's fear filled eyes. "They won't turn you away, I won't let them. Now let's go, dinner is probably already done!" And so the two knocked on the door, Ryan hiding behind Rocky.

Rocky's dad answered the door a few seconds later. "Yes, who is it?" He called out with a concerned voice.

"Dad it's me, sorry I'm late I was a bit busy today with...things." Rocky called back to his father as he opened the door.

"Chase honey, who's at the door?" Said a female voice from in the dining room.

"It's Rocky, he's back! And he brought a friend home." Called Chase from the front door. "Come on in you must be freezing!" And after the invite Ryan walked into the Shepherd's home.

"Dad this is Ryan, is it ok for him to stay with us for a little while?" Rocky said as he pushed Ryan into the living room so everyone could see. Ryan felt five pairs of eyes staring at him, he gave a forced smile and waved to the group, even though he was terrified of being sent to the hell he had to call home ever since his mother died in 2014.

"So this is your friend that you talk about all the time, how have you been Ryan, are you keeping Rocky out of trouble?" Said a man with jet black hair and light blue eyes.

"Y-y-yessir, and he's been doing great in school." Ryan quietly stated, making Rocky blush a little.

"Well come sit down and eat, any friend of Rocky is a friend of mine!" Stated a huge bulky man holding a lot of food.

"Thanks uncle Rubble!" Rocky exclaimed to the man. "Hey, dad can we talk somewhere a little more uhhh...private?"

"Sure buddy lets go talk." Chase said to his son. "Hey guys, how about you introduce yourselves to Ryan here, me and Rocky will be back in a few." Chase said to the rest of the family before departing to another room.

"H-hey g-guys, how are y-you? Ryan said shaking as he realized that Rocky is gone.

"Hey kiddo...how about you go get yourself a plate you look like you haven't ate anything all day." The lady said in a calm and soothing voice, making Ryan relax.

"O-ok, thank you." Ryan said before gratefully accepting a plate and headed to the kitchen.

The lady turned to her family, "That poor boy was abused. Did you see the scared look in his eyes and that scar on his shoulder? That scar was made by a kitchen knife, no gang would use a kitchen knife to attack a child." She stated with tears in her hazel eyes, brushing back a strand of her blonde hair with her fingers.

"She's right," said the man with the black hair. "The poor kid was probably the one on the news earlier today, remember Skye, the boy who was gonna jump off the bridge."

"Yeah his clothes look the same, too." Said Rubble between a mouthful of food. "Even his hair style looks the same."

Ryan could only hear soft mumbling from the kitchen counter. But he returned with a little bit of food on his plate and had a smile on his face. "Thank you for the food." Ryan said happily. Skye said she was a *S&R helicopter pilot, the black haired man was Marshal and he was a firefighter and medic, Rubble is a construction worker and a part time firefighter, Chase was a police officer and Rocky was the team mechanic.

Rocky and Chase returned a few minutes later, "Ryan, come here!" Chase said louder than normal.

Ryan hesitantly walked over to Chase, bracing for pain. Eyes shut tight and head down, "Y-yes sir?"

But to Ryan's utter shock, he wasn't hit. Instead, Chase had wrapped him in a warm hug. "I'm so sorry for what that monster did to you, but I promise I won't let him harm you ever again!"

Tears started to fall from Ryan's eyes, he found a new home, one that had people who cared about him. "T-thank y-y-you!" He said between quiet sobs, sobs of joy not sadness. There was a few quiet minutes of tears in everyone's eyes

"How about you guys head up to Rocky's room, and get settled in." Skye stated breaking the silence.

"Yeah you can bunk with me, my bed's big enough!" Rocky said excitedly.

—Later That Night—

Ryan started having nightmares.
"You useless, cowardly, no good bastard! After everything that I've done for you! I fed you and gave you clothes! I gave you a roof over your head and this is how you treat me!!!"

Ryan falls to the floor and saw a kitchen knife in his fathers hands. His eyes were like the blade he was holding, stabbing into Ryan's soul. "P-please! N-not again! I-I'm sorry!"

"Not yet you're not!" His father raised the knife up and brought it down.

Just as it made contact with Ryan's skin, he woke up screaming. "NOOOOO!!!"

Rocky shot up, " What! What's wrong?!" He said concerned about his friend.

"M-my dad h-he was screaming at me and he was going to c-cut me! And, and..." Ryan said obviously terrified, his tear filled eyes darted around the room searching for his father.

"WHAT HAPPENED, IS EVERYONE ALRIGHT!?" Chase said with his *9mm standard issue police handgun, scanning every corner of the room.

"We're ok dad, Ryan was having a bad dream." Rocky said while he embraced his friend.

"But it wasn't just a dream! That actually happened!" Ryan said as he took off the tank top that he was wearing to bed, revealing the hundreds of scars on his back and chest.

"OH MY GOD! He did this to you?" Chase said. Now everyone was either in the room or at the doorway. Skye gasped and began to cry at the sight. Marshal,being a medic, began examining Ryan's chest and back, even he had to wipe away some tears.

"Now you know why he has to stay? He's not safe with that maniac!" Rocky said pointing out the window.

"Yes, for now on your staying with us got it?" Chase said, Ryan only nodded.

"Now let's get back to sleep, we got a big day ahead of us." Rocky said.

"Y-Yeah, goodnight everyone. S-sorry for waking you all up." Ryan said with tears still in his blue eyes.

"You don't need to be sorry we're always here if you need help or you want to talk, ok?" Marshal said with a faint smile.

"O-ok, goodnight." Ryan said with a sleepy smile.
"I'm not alone anymore." He thought just before falling back asleep.

A/N: Hey guys just a quick note. Any time you see the symbol (*) it means that at the end of the story the word attached will have a definition. Goodbye everyone and thanks for reading!

*S&R: Search and Rescue.
*9mm: A "9mm handgun" technically refers to any handgun with a bullet of 9 millimeters diameter.