Runaway

00 || Daniel

5 years ago

Daniel Dumont and Weston Farley were prone to trouble.

At twelve years old the two neighbours were always finding ways to attract the wrong kind of attention from the elders of The Colony.

No matter how many times Daniel's birth father would discipline him, he never learned to conform, and Weston Farley only enabled his behavior.

Yet in the end it was trouble that set the two boys free.

For a long time The Colony had just opted to let it slide, blaming it on their adolescence. But that excuse quickly grew old as they did and their behaviour wasn't going to be tolerated for much longer.

They were maturing and under Father Kade Rogers' Colony, that meant that they were destined to grow into their roles.

You see, The Colony was a small section of land closed off from the rest of America. While everyone else in America was living in the age of technology, freedom and diversity, the people of The Colony were living under the worship of Kade Rogers. The man who had built up a following of loyal worshippers that adhered to the right path of life.

His path.

The few loyal followers in the beginning had multiplied. Their women had children and those children grew to reproduce more children and thus the repopulation began. Creating a whole new generation of impressionable youth that would all worship Father Kade.

It was all the people of The Colony knew. They were so restricted and controlled by Father Kade that they put their blind trust in a man without knowing the ways of the outside world.

And for Daniel and Weston, that blind trust shattered the night of October thirty first.

That Friday as the elders had all gathered for the weekly assembly at the town hall, Daniel and Weston had managed to sneak out and meet at the old oak tree behind old man Winter's shed.

It was the perfect spot away from the prying eyes and also located at the outer edge of the never ending forest.

The boys had grown up hearing tales of what lied outside of the protection barrier that was the forest. They were horrific stories that had been told by the select few members of The Colony-like Michael Dumont - who had lived to tell the tales of the world beyond the barrier.

A terrifying place filled with violence and hatred.

A place where morals and kindness were as rare as gold.

But the tales hadn't ever stopped the two boys from venturing into the woods and heading towards their clearing.

It was a weekly ritual of sorts. They would count to three and run into the mass of trees and darkness as fast as they could, with only the moon and a small flashlight Weston had stolen from the department store to guide them.

It gave them the freedom to run and scream as loud as their little hearts desired without the restrictions that came with disobedience in The Colony.

They were able to explore the depths of the forest. Go beyond the restrictions of The Colony and unknowingly into regular society.

The clearing was towards the cliff, just past the wooden sign that read Elora National Park and Camp Ground - a name that meant nothing to the boys. Nor did they ever pay any mind to the sign that -to them- was just a bunch of scribbled up words that didn't have a meaning.

But on this specific October night as the two friends made their way past the wooden sign, through the small path of trees, they froze at the sounds coming from around them.

They weren't alone.

Voices, specifically laughter, screaming and singing, some high some low echoed from around them.

Weston was the first to break. Backing up and turning on his heels, prepared to run back home, but it was Daniel who placed a hand on his friends shoulder and stopped him.

Daniel always was too curious.

Grabbing his friends hand and tugging him forward behind a large tree, they silently hid, peeking out from behind the tree trying to make sense of the disturbance coming from their clearing.

Only what they found was far worse than the two boys could imagine. What sounded to be regular humans were nothing but Witches, Monsters and Devils. Roaming around a fire, some claiming their bodies in foreign moments, others drinking out of red cups.

It was all too much, even for Daniel who couldn't help but scream in horror as he moved to run. Only as luck would have it, both boys had somehow ended up stumbling forward onto the ground, into view.

The laughter and conversations had ceased and the two boys glanced up through teary eyes only to see the attention of the monsters on them. There were only five or six of them, all of different shapes, colours and sizes. But all equally terrifying.

Far too terrified to move, the two boys stared up at the monsters who were now opening their mouths and bombarding them with questions.

Are you guys okay?

Where are your parents?

Why are you guys out in the woods alone?

Are you lost?

Question after question and yet the boys still didn't dare to speak. It was only once the monsters had revealed their true faces that they'd been able to calm down.

They were humans. People. Teenagers, only a couple years older than them.

And it was only when they had imposed no threat, that the two boys relax and warmed up to them. Even going as far to stay and watch in wonder as they interacted with each other.

It was the only glimpse of the outside world that they got and they would be fools to give it up.

And so, what began as a terrifyingly close call with death, turned into a night of awe as the boys spent the night conversing with these people who seemed far too friendly and normal.

By the time they'd realized that they'd lost track of time and needed to return to The Colony, Daniel and Weston found themselves promising to come visit their new strange friends the next day.

Only the visits didn't stop there.

The teenagers - all troublemakers from the town over- had decided to take pity on the two little farm boys.

They'd all heard stories of the cult like society that isolated themselves from the rest of the world, how no one had dared to venture into their territory in fear of what their civilization would do, how they would react.

They'd all been told to stay away, but like the misfits they were, they didn't listen.

And so, as the days went on, the group of teenagers continued to visit the National Park on Weekends.

Camping out in the secluded area where they were free to smoke, drink and do everything that their mothers had told them not to. While Daniel and Weston would sneak out of The Colony and meet their new friends who would tell them the stories of the world beyond The Colony.

Being the impressionable youth they were, the two boys listened intently and absorbed all the information they could get.

And by the time their friends had dispersed, some going off to college and others moving away advising the boys to return to their life in The Colony for good.

It was already too late.

The seed of corruption had been planted, and it's branches only flourished as the boys got older and grew more curious.

That curiously didn't go away. No, it tucked itself away in the back of Daniels mind, simmering like a kettle that was overheated and bound to explode.

Now, at seventeen-nearly eighteen, it'd been a year of life in The Colony without any connection to the outside world.

The clearing, however still remained their spot, Daniel even going as far as bringing his younger sister - Josephina who hadn't stopped pleading with him to tag along, in on the secret.

She'd long ago followed her brother and his best friend, curious to see where her troublemaker of an older brother was sneaking off to, she'd only made it as far as old man Winters' shed before Daniel had noticed her small chubby figure stomping after them.

She'd only been eleven and Daniel - sixteen, had banished her from following him and like the good girl Josephina was, she listened.

But it didn't take long for her to sway him. All she had to do was look up at him through those big brown eyes of hers and tell him how she was heartbroken to be left alone while he was out exploring.

Daniel may have been a bitter teenager that hated everything about his life, but his little sister was the one exception.

And so, she quickly became a third wheel of sorts. Tumbling after her brother and his best friend as they made their journey up the cliff, to their clearing. Where they'd share the stories, stories that the outsiders had told them.

Tales of a world where duties and jobs were given to those who only searched for them, where roles weren't given but chosen. A life where it was a choice to reproduce.

And just like her brother, Josephina was curious. A little too curious.

But things changed. The boys were quickly approaching eighteen and in The Colony that meant everything.

Only it was at the age of eighteen that the two boys had realized the harsh truth. One that no one dared to think, let alone speak.

Father Kade Rogers was a liar.

And it was that exact reason that led to their escape.

Josephina was still far too young to fully believe Daniel and Weston's ridiculous theories. Because to her they were just that. Theories, delusions.

And by the time Daniel had opened his eyes and seen the disturbing truth, Josephina was reluctant.

But why wouldn't she be? She was fed the lies more so than anyone else in The Colony.

She was Father Kade's shining Star.

His golden girl.

And from the moment she could talk, he had taken a keen interest in the young girl. One that was borderline unhealthy, which was why Daniel couldn't take her with him.

She was much too young and impressionable. He couldn't promise her a safe life on the outside.

Not yet at least.

And so, with the promise of visiting her at the clearing when he could, Daniel and Weston ran away.

Daniel, only ever returning to the clearing to visit Josiphina or leave little notes on the wooden bench, assuring her he was okay and still working for a better life. One that would allow him to take care of her.

Because that's what he was going to do. He was going to find a way to support himself and his sister. Get her away from the place that was slowly killing her.

He would find a way to get her out of there, before any real damage could be done.

But he had far bigger issues to worry about. You see, Daniel was a Runaway.

Running away was his liberation.

It gave him the freedom to live, the freedom to make his own choices.

But what he didn't realize was that those choices weren't the right ones.

They were choices that came with a price. Choices that set your fate. Choices you couldn't escape from.

Because when you sold yourself to the devil, there was no running when he came to collect.

All you could do was hide.