Voices came from the hall leading to the rooms. Little footsteps could be heard followed by the children themselves. I saw Will take a step back. It didn't help. They were excited to see him again. They ran up to him and started to tug on him. One of them grabbed his bad arm and he flinched.
"Guys, be careful with Will. He got hurt. Don't tug on that arm, be careful." Pete scolded. The children abandoned Will to huddle around me with little confused looks on their faces.
"Who is that?" on of the boys asked Pete.
"Umm..." Pete looked at me wondering. I nodded my head. "It's Max."
"Max? That's not Max. Max wears a hat and has short hair." The whispers went around the group.
"It's me. It's Max. I've just been dressing differently for reasons." I tried to convince.
"Prove it." One of the older boys said.
"Okay." I grabbed my hair and put it back like many times before. I grabbed my hat, after I ran back into the other room, and put it on. They started at me closely.
"Max!" Alicia was the first to realize it and came up to hug me. The other children slowly followed one by one. Eventually they were all surrounding me asking questions. I answered them the best I could with out giving away too much.
Pete interrupted their questions by saying, "That's enough. I need some help though from the girls. Can you girls help Max do something nice with her hair? Will and I need her looking nice for something." I stared at the two boys wondering for a second why. Then I realized that if Will was supposed to look nice I would too.
The girls erupted with giggles then grabbed my hand and led me away. The boys stayed with Pete and Will asking questions and examed Will's war wounds.
The girls scattered when they got into the room looking for everything that was going to be needed. Alicia sat next to me while they were looking. The girls came back and argued at what to do. I was happy one of the older girls took charge and started to give out orders.
The youngest girls were in charged with brushing my hair. They fought over who would do it until I decided that they would take turns. The first time the brush came into my hair it got stuck in tangles. The girl that was brushing was having trouble with getting it through. My head would jerk to the side the brush was on. It hurt, as it was being pulled and yanked every which way. Finally I told the girls to let me get the tangles out. They did so reluctantly. It took me sometime to get the rat's nest out but when it was finished I let each young girl brush it like promised.
Each girl praised, complimented, and admired my hair. To them it was the most beautiful thing. They thought it was a magnificent brown color, and the brilliant natural curls. To me it was a nuisance and a pain to deal with. I let them argue, fight, and finally agree on what to do.
The oldest of the girls ran out the door as soon as they decided. Minutes later she back with a hot metal. She didn't let any of the younger girls come near but had a few of the older ones hold and separate pieces of my hair. The one with the metal grabbed my hair and wrapped it around the metal. She held it a few minutes then released it. My hair came out a curled strand. She kept doing this until it stayed curled. Then she grabbed the next piece and curled it half way, held it, then let it go. This continued with every piece. Occasionally she had to reheat the metal.
I noticed Alicia sitting away from the rest of the girls reading. She was concentrated really hard on what ever she was reading. I called out to her. She looked my way. I motioned for her to come over with out disturbing the girl with the hot metal. She sat across from me.
"Alice, why aren't you helping out?"
"I'm not very good at this sort of thing and I like to read." She explained shyly.
"Pete told me that you put up a fight when the group of people came. Good job, but next time let Pete take care of something like that. If it was someone your age I wouldn't mind as much but don't fight if it's someone a lot older then you." I paused, "I was wondering, do you remember what the guy looked like that hurt you?" I asked hoping if I saw him in the near future I would be able to give him a piece of my mind or fist.
She stared down at her hands. "He was tall like Will. Definitely older then you and Pete. He might have been three or four years older then you. Um... he had a scar on his left arm. It was about this big." She held up her fingers about three inches apart. I stared at her surprised. The description was familiar.
"Anything else?" I asked kind of anxious.
"He had blonde hair that was kind of mixed with brown but not much and grey bluish eyes. He had dark clothes on. He also had a low voice."
I looked at Alicia shocked. She had just described someone I was not looking forward to meeting. It was actually someone I had been running from for a year. She had just described someone that would most likely come back. I didn't think I would ever hear about him again.
"Alice if you ever meet this guy again I want you to promise me not to ever try to fight him no matter what. I want you to run away and hide if you can. Okay. Promise me that."
"Why what's wrong with him? Is he really dangerous? You said I did good." she asked confused.
"Yes he is dangerous. And I did say you did good but now promise me you will do what I asked."
She nodded scared. "I promise."
"Good." I relaxed a bit relieved. It also meant Will and I had to leave soon. I tried to cheer up Alicia. "I saw you reading over there. I'm impressed not many people know how to read well, especially girls."
Alicia seemed to sit up a bit taller. "I love to read especially about adventures. Pete got me a book the year he let me come here. I read it over and over. There were a few books here when I came but not many. And the one Pete gave me is my favorite. My mama and papa taught me how to read when I was really little. It's my favorite thing to do."
"I'll let you on a little secret." Alicia leaned in to hear. I whispered in her ear, "I know how to read too." She looked at me like I was a fish talking to her. She was amazed and looked up to me. "Don't tell any one." I put a finger to my lips. She nodded.
"Max, if you're a girl why did you dress like a boy and have a boy's name? What should we call you now?"
"I dressed like a boy because I was hiding. It's kind of complicated. And you can still call me Max. I like the name. I've gotten use to it."
"I was wondering that's all." She paused before saying excitingly, "Pete started teaching me how to fight yesterday. He picked up where you left off on defense and started to teach me offense too. Thanks again."
"No problem. Just remember what we agree on and stay out of trouble." I reminded her.
"I will I promise." Alicia smiled at me. "They're done with your hair take a look. You look really pretty." One of the girls gave me a small mirror to look at. My reflection made me gasp. My hair was in many perfect curls framing my face. They were long and elegant. I felt like I wasn't looking at my reflection. The girls did a wonderful job.
"Do you like it?" Alicia asked for the other girls.
"I love it. Thank you. You guys did a phenomenal job. I know who to go to if I ever need my hair done for any special occasion. I think that the boys will be surprised. Don't you girls think so?" They all nodded their heads excited to see the boys' reactions. "How about all you girls go on a head and ready the boys. I'll be out in a second after I get a better look." All the girls left and Alicia got up to follow. "Alice I would like you to escort me in, if you don't mind."
She jumped in excitement. "I would love to." I held out my arm and she intertwined hers with mine and led me out.
Alicia and I stood in the hall waiting for the girls to introduce me. As once as they did we walked out for all the boys to see. The girls giggled at their expressions then grabbed my arm to pull me over to Pete and Will. They had made sure that Pete and Will were facing the other way so they didn't see me right away. Then they poked them on the back to get them to pay attention.
Pete and Will turned around. Immediately as they saw me there jaws hung open. They stared at me like I was a completely different person. They seemed to not recognize me. I let them stare a bit until I got annoyed. I put my left hand on my hip while tapping my foot. They still stared.
"If you guys keep your mouths open like that you'll catch bugs, unless you like eating them I suggest you close your mouths." Pete was the first to recover then he nudged Will a bit. Will stopped staring and looked down at the floor.
"Sorry but you look different. I guess I'm just surprised by how well the girls were able to make you look good. They are very talented but I didn't think that they would be able to make you look presentable. Your hair seemed to be impossible to make look good." Pete made the insult to try to recover against his falter. I shook my head laughing silently.
"Thanks for the compliment. At least I can say I know my dear friend's weakness. A good looking girl will have you on your knees speechless." I smiled having fun making fun of my friend.
"I would not be on my knees. How do you know that you look that good? I might be stunned because you look so bad." He raised his one eyebrow to make me question him.
"Do I really look that bad?" I turned around so he couldn't see the evil smile on my face.
"What? No. No. I didn't mean it. I was just kidding around. I didn't mean it, you look beautiful." His voice was concerned. I laughed out loud and turned around. He gave me an annoyed look that meant he couldn't believe I pulled that dirty trick on him. My smile grew bigger as I laughed harder.
"I knew I'd get the truth out of you." I said laughing.
"That was dirty rotten. I thought that I really offended you." He tried to be mad but he couldn't help his self. He started to laugh along.
"I'm not sorry I played the trick, I couldn't help my self. The opportunity presented itself." I calmed down enough to talk with out laughing. I noticed Will looking at me again. He seemed confused about something. I made it out to be Pete's reaction to my trick. I was glad that Pete was still acting like his old self like he promised. "So, Will, what do you think?" I asked daringly.
He shook his head. "I definitely am not falling for that. I've seen how it turns out. I'm not going to get into this fight if I don't need to." I smiled knowing he wasn't. "By the way now that you're a girl, not that you weren't before, now that you look like a girl, you did before..."
"Spit it out Will. I understand that you are not trying to insult me so just get to the point."
He rubbed his neck embarrassed. "What should we call you now that we know you're a girl?"
"Max. I like the name."
"What's your real name?" He asked smoothly.
"Nice try but I don't think I'll ever tell you that one. I'll give you credit for trying though."
"Just thought I'd try," Will admitted, "I didn't really think you'd tell me anyways."
"I think you should go get changed now, Will. We need to leave as soon as possible so you won't be able to get any sleep right now. From what Alice told me the guys might come straight here after they search the abandoned buildings." I searched for Alicia but she left with the other kids. I grabbed the clothes that were on the table and tossed them to Will. He headed to the other room.
Pete went to the table and grabbed a glass of water. "How do you know that they will come here soon?" He asked calmly.
"I just know trust me."
He gave me a look. "You're not getting out of this that easily. Tell me how you know so I can prepare. Please. I'm trying to keep the kids safe."
I sighed. I was trying to be as honest as I could with him. "The guy that had Alice, I know him."
"How, I have never seen him before."
"She told me a description of him and I know him. You know how before you found me I was wondering. I wasn't actually wondering. I was running and hiding. He was after me. I had been with him since I was little. He took me in before you did. The difference is that you were kind to me he gradually started to scare me."
"Is he that dangerous?"
"Let's say I would recommend that when they come you keep the kids away from them, especially him. He might do what ever it takes to get to me. Be careful when he comes. Do what ever he asks even if that means for you to tell him where I am."
"What? I will never do that again." He said angry with his self.
"No. You tell him where I am. I couldn't live with myself if any of you got hurt." I begged.
"Don't tell me where you are going so I can't tell them."
"I'm going to tell you and I want you to tell them the truth. If you don't he might think you're lying and start to get violent. I don't want anyone hurt. Besides I don't think he can get to me where I'm going."
"Where's that?"
"I'll tell you when Will comes out. He needs to know too."
We waited for a few minutes for Will to come out. Pete told me how the kids had taken to the guys barging in. He told me the other kids were shaken up but not that bad. Alicia was terrified when she woke up. He said that she had a nightmare that night but the next day she seemed more determined to learn to fight.
That concerned me but then I remembered her promise. Finally Will came out fully dressed with the pack around his shoulders. He looked like he was in pain.
Quickly I rummaged through the pack on his back and disregarded any of the weapons that we didn't need. Every one I had had concealed couldn't be anymore with a dress. I gave them to Pete to discard however he saw fit. Only one pair stayed with us hidden at the bottom of the back.
Will tried to fix his short hair. I could see him getting frustrated with it. I made him sit down so I could get it wet. Even wet it wouldn't cooperate. I gave up. An idea came into my head. I grabbed my hat and tossed it at him. Will gave me a puzzled look.
"Wear it instead. We don't have to worry about your hair then. It also gives me a way to keep it. If you lose it I will hurt you so badly that you will think that being beaten by those guys was nothing." I warned.
"Back to what we were talking about before, where are you going?" Pete intervened, "Even though I don't really want to know."
"Will and I are going to the gate. We are going to get behind it."
"Are you crazy? I've never seen anyone succeed. You've always been obsessed with getting to the other side and seeing what it is like. I didn't think you would actually try. Don't you have any other plan?"
"No. Not exactly, but if it comes to that I'll think of something."
"I think you're crazy but I know that you're not going to change your mind so good luck."
"Thanks for every thing again. I'll try to stay away longer this time." I said apologizing.
"If you need help, I'll help. I am your friend. Just ask and I'll do my best." Pete informed me.
"See you later."
"Not too soon hopefully." He said teasingly. I gave him a hug to say goodbye. He hugged me back.
"Thanks Pete for your help." Will shook Pete's hand.
"No problem."
"Hey, Pete." I yelled after I got a good distance away.
"Yeah."
"Why did you have girls' clothes if you weren't sure I was one?"
"Just in case one of the girls grew a lot. I like to be prepared." He explained.
"Oh. See you later." I walked to the road with Will. We left into the sunlight.
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Thanks for reading guys and gals. Hopefully you liked it. Just one more chapter left. Let me know what u think of the book so far!