Alone In the World

Chapter 4: The Men's Victim

Four years later...

March twenty-seventh was my fourteenth birthday. Instead of spending it with my parents, I had to spend it with Seth and my foster father, Flint the Giant. Four years after my parents death, a social worker named Ms. Caroline put us through a foster care system where we were abused, tormented, and harassed by demented psychopaths.

"Seth!" Flint cried. "Ben! Get out of your rooms and get your butts in the living room!" Not wanting each other to get killed, we got out of bed and headed downstairs. As we reached into the living room, a six foot man with tattoos all over his arms and chest walked over to us.

His beady, black eyes stared at us with pure hate. He wore a dirty white tank top and boxers. He grabbed a half-empty bottle of liquor, swallowed two gulps and placed it back on the counter.

"Which of you two is responsible for getting the groceries?" Flint asked. Seth swallowed a gulp then looked at me. All of a sudden, Flint grabbed the liquor bottle and threw it with all of his might, missing Seth's ear from about a few inches.

The bottle crashed against the wall, leaving a trail of broken glass and liquid. We stared at the mess then back at Flint. "Which of you two is responsible for getting the groceries?!" he repeated.

"I am!" Seth blurted. I stared hard at my trembling, thirteen year old brother. Flint nodded very slowly then told him to get the groceries. He tossed the list on the ground and walked back to his room.

Now that we were out of his earshot, I knelt down and shook my head. "Are you crazy?" I hissed. "You know what happens in New York at night?" He only picked up the list from the ground and stared at me.

"Today's your birthday," Seth reminded. "And I want to do something nice." "At least let me help you with the groceries." I persisted. Seth shook his head then marched upstairs to change out of his pajamas.

When he came downstairs, Seth brought out his red wagon, which I bought for him on his twelfth birthday, flashed a smile, and walked out of the house. Meanwhile, I went back upstairs where I sat on my bed and logged onto my laptop.

The day I bought the toy wagon, I have installed a hidden camera on the top corner of the tray to make sure that he was safe. I pushed away the stack of Sherlock Holmes novels and set the laptop on my bunk bed. After my parents' died, I became more aware about New York. There were pretty buildings and decent people making a living, but under it was a cancer tumor, waiting to kill someone.

Thanks to an old foster friend, Cleo Mae, she taught me how to hack into people's computers, pick locks, and gave me some handy equipment. She was Seth's best friend until she died of a rare heart condition. After typing a few keys, a video of Seth filling the wagon with groceries and a huge mint chocolate chip cake box.

Seth sang a tune to himself as he took the wagon to the attractive strawberry blond cashier woman, paid the groceries, then left the store. I watched as he carried the handle nonchalantly, as if he was going to be fine. All of a sudden, the rain poured hard from the dark clouds.

Grumbling, he took shelter to an alley, where two filthy men with cigarettes puffed smoke then lingered around the trashcan. "Crap," I mumbled. While Seth waited patiently for the rain to stop, the men noticed him and started making advances towards him.

"Hey kiddo," one of them snickered. Seth turned around and saw them. Carefully, he took a step back and walked in the rain. His face turned pale as he walked a bit faster. "What's with the wagon?" another asked. "What are you, a baby?" Seth swallowed a gulp and ran until he tripped and fell on the ground.

The men caught up with Seth, beat him up, and stole his wagon. Swallowing a gulp, I turned off my laptop and stared hard at the floor. All of a sudden, I felt as if the white walls of my room crushing me. It was sick and frustrating that I watched my brother being tormented by hobos.

It was also twisted that Flint sent Seth in the middle of the night to get the groceries, not caring if he came home alive. Leaping out of bed, I changed out of my Spider-Man pajamas and wore a black hoodie, gloves, white t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers.

As I rushed downstairs, I maneuvered the wine bottles and almost reached for the door. But just then, the door creaked open. I halted dead in my tracks as Seth stood in front of the house. He had a huge black eye, a bruised lip, and a swollen nose.

His entire body was drenched from the rain. "I'm sorry," Seth mumbled. "I was going to get the groceries until-" "Save it," I interrupted. "You don't have to tell me what happened. It wasn't your fault." Seth slowly walked inside and wiped the snot from his nose. "It was supposed to be your birthday," he whimpered.

"Take a hot shower and change your clothes," I instructed. I threw a hood over my head then gave Seth a quick pat. "I'll get the groceries and your wagon." Seth looked at me as if I was crazy. "You can't!" Seth pleaded. "Flint will kill you!" I gave him a smile then left the house with a quiet slam.

My black woolen coat was now covered in heavy water, but I was used to it as much as I was used to the streets. I headed straight down and ignored the loud barking of stray dogs, hunching around the trashcans, like it was their territory.

The next thing I knew, cars zoomed across water puddles, people were throwing their umbrellas over their heads, and I caught a glimpse of a woman being mugged by a robber. The woman had short brown hair, wore a red dress, and high heels. Her blue eyes begged the hoodied figure to stop, but her hands and body were frozen.

Sighing, I walked behind the man, took the man's gun and dumped it in my pocket.

Liam Neeson as Aaron Justine

Seventeen-year old Ben as Robbie Kay

Younger Cole Porter as Riele Downs

Kate Hudson as Cole's Mother

Younger Ben as Valin Shinyei