Last Updated:
2024-10-29 19:42:56The full moon graced the dark sky, a terrible scream rang out in the middle of the dark forest. A husband and wife silhouette runs into the forest, trying to get away as far as possible from something.
“Come on, we must hurry Christine!” He signed. “We were almost there.”
“Jack, where was the creature?” Christine turned back her head. “I didn’t see it.”
“We must get away from this place.” Jack looked around.
They have been chased by a dark creature who kills all of their group. The only way for them to survive was to find the portal inside this dark forest. Jack knew the portal itself connected to another world, so they could save from the creature. Jack and Christine fasten their movement. Christine tried not to wake their 1-month infants as she could. However, there was a weird sound closer to their position, suddenly the creature was right behind them.
“Oh my, the monster.” Christine sounded panicked. “We couldn’t reach the portal, Jack.”
The creatures reveal themselves in dark. Red eyes with sharp canines stared at them. The monster moved closer to them making Christine's body freeze. She had no idea what to do. Jack immediately took a wooden stick near him and used his magic.
“Flamma.”
The fire sparked out from the end of the wooden stick. He pointed the stick forward and tried to create distance from the creature. The creature took a few steps back, looking at the flames forming.
“I will hold the monster.” He pulled out his sword and swing it. “You must get out of this place!”
“But, Jack ….”
“Hurry!”
Christine left away his husband and continue to walk to the portal. She kept running without looking back. Her tears slowly drop, yet she must keep running.
“Okay honey, that’s our way out.” She kissed her infant and walks through the portal.
Christine arrived in the small town. She can feel the cold air, It was nighttime and no one was there. Christine fastens her movement, knowing the portal was still open because of her presence as a Seer. She must close the portal immediately. She stopped for a moment in front of one house.
“I think, he saved here.” She walked closer to the door and put the infant there. “I’m sorry honey, but I can’t let the monster out from the portal.”
She knocked on the door and leave the infant alone. Christine walked away, she didn't turn her face at all. She wiped her remaining tears, took a deep breath, and ran to the portal, which closed.
Not take a long time, someone opened the door.
“Whose baby was this?” asked Eugene looking around.“Well, I thought another young couple put this baby again, such an irresponsible person.” He took a baby inside the house with a signboard “Happy Life” orphanage.
***
A few years later.
“I hate my life! Why I can’t be like them?”
Bradley looks out from the window in his room., he sees one family playing on the field. In his deepest desire, he wants to feel that moment. Yet, it’s impossible for him because he is an orphan.
“I should get ready now,” he shakes his head and tries to face the reality.
He walks away from the window, suddenly he sees a small spider hanging around near his old cupboard not far from him.
"It seems I have cleaned this area, but why do spiders keep popping up," He grumbled. "Ah, never mind. I must get hurry before Madam Theresa comes and scolds me."
His hand opens the dark brown wardrobe, but it looks quite fragile for touching. His hand pulled out a dull white shirt, he quickly changed it. A few minutes later, someone is knocking on his door.
“Bradley, are you finished yet?”
The voice keeps repeating itself over and over again without stopping. He sighs and slowly turns the door handle. A blonde-haired guy stands in front of him.
“Caden?”
“Bradley, why are you taking so long?” asks Caden followed by a grumbling voice. “Now, we must hurry. Madam Theresa will be furious if we are late.”
“What are you talking about?”
Caden quickly grabs Bradley’s hand without hesitation. Bradley asks the same question, but Caden ignores him and continued walking without turning back at Bradley.
“Cad, where are we going?"
"Brad, over here quickly."
Caden stopped in front of a door and take a peek inside the room. Bradley suspects Caden acts so weirdly today. Caden slowly pushes the door and gets inside the room. They see several children are already lined up neatly. They try to get into the line without looking around. However, someone grabbed both of their hands and immediately brought them in front of the white-haired woman.
"Argh! You're late again. She looked straight at Caden and Bradley.
"Forgive us, Madam Theresa." Bradley continued to lower his head without seeing her face.
"Madam, it's not entirely his's fault.” Caden tries to explain to Madam Theresa. "I don't tell Bradley about the new schedule.”
Bradley’s eyes glanced at Caden. He tries asking Caden, but it seems they are insecure. The white-haired woman walks closer and lifts their chins together.
“You should set a good example for your younger siblings,” she said followed by a grumbling tone. “I think both of you should learn a little lesson from what you have done.”
"Madam, but we are only a few minutes late." Bradley widens his eyes. He furrowed his brows and seemed to be trying to defend himself. "We promise never to do this again."
"Both of you have always been late many times and stupidly I still believe in your words.” She rolls her eyes. “So, you must get punished so that all orphanages in this room will not follow the bad example that you set for them."
“Madam, but….”
Madam Theresa claps her hands. It sounds so much louder. Not long after, a fat woman comes with a bucket in her right hand and a few mops in the other hand. She places the bucket in front of Bradley dan Caden.
"That is your punishment." Madam Theresa's brown eyes look around and point to every room in the room. “You must clean all the rooms in this house!”
"Wait, what!" Caden widened his eyes. "Madam, but we've cleared everything!"
"Yeah, we have cleaned everything from the 1st and 2nd floors." Bradley tried to convince Caden’s words.
"Oh, is that right?"
Madam Theresa walks to a table at the far end of the room. Her hand takes a glass containing mineral water and pours it onto the floor.
“Oops, I spill something. You guys seem to have to clean it again,” She said as she slowly pours the liquid onto the floor with a smiling face.
“Damn you!”
Bradley’s head feels so hot. He keeps his fist tightly clenched and his gaze fixed on Madam Theresa. It fills with anger and unsatisfied. Caden sees Bradley’s weird movement and knows Bradley will do something hazardous. Bradley may be attacked Madam Theresa right in front of everyone. So, he decides quickly withdrew Bradley’s hand.
“Cad, what are you doing?” Bradley slowly turned his head towards Caden. “This nasty old lady should get a little lesson too, right?”
"Bradley, you must calm down." Caden tries to calm Bradley. " We are in a bad situation right now. We don’t have any choice," he said in a low voice.
"Cad, but how long do we have to follow this mad woman's will." Bradley continues to clench his fists until his veins are slightly visible. "I'm fed up with all this!"
"Brad, we should at least remember their kindness," Caden explained. “We should be grateful to be able to live here.”
"Kind?" Bradley furrowed his brows. “They just took advantage of us. They don’t have kindness at all!” said Bradley raising his voice.
“Yeah, I know that feels. But just remember Mr. Eugene's kindness. He has taken care of us from childhood until now, right?”
Bradley is silent for the moment and the irritation in his mind slowly fades away. His best friend, Caden seems the person who knows him very well. He and Caden have been together since Mr. Eugene and his wife led this orphanage. Bradley's tears begin to well up and slowly flows. He doesn’t care anyone in this room will see him crying.
“Hey, what are you guys doing!” Madam Theresa yells at Bradley dan Caden "Come on, I don't like to watch this drama," she said while tapping the surface of the glass on the table. “Move your ass, right now!”
Bradley quickly wipes away the remaining tears, running down her cheeks. The two of them walk over to Madam Theresa. She throws clothes to their faces.
"Remember! Clean this all up!” Madam Theresa walks away from them and takes the rest of the other orphanage children to another room.
"Damn, this woman is so annoying," said Bradley in an irritated tone as he picked up the cloth that had fallen in front of her. “She is a real devil.”
"Brad, we should not discuss it right now. We must clean this place as soon as possible." Caden takes the other cloth and starts to clean up the spilled drink on the floor.
Bradley and Caden respect Mr. Eugene as much as their parents because he was the first owner of this place. He and his wife were the first to cultivate this place from the beginning until now. They loved kids and treated these orphans very well. They built this place because his wife could not give her husband descendants. The mysterious illness made her barren. Everything went happily, but after a few years, his wife died because of her disease. He felt lost and had suffered for a long time.
Several years passed after her wife’s death, but Mr. Eugene's health was deteriorating. His bad lifestyle and stress from losing someone he loved most make his life ruined. He handed this place over to his sister, Madam Theresa. However, after Mr. Eugene pass away everything changed. Madam Theresa’s attitude immediately changed 180 degrees. She finally showed her true color. Evil without mercy at all.
She treats all the orphanages especially Bradley and Caden like servants. Madam Theresa doesn’t care too much about all the orphanages. She only considers these kids as income for her. The smaller the kids, the greater income she will receive. The stiff and terrible rules make all the children in the orphanage tormented. All of them don’t have power over her.
***
Previous Chapter
Related Chapters
Watcher Chapter 2: Choice
A few minutes later, they finished cleaning the room. Caden and Bradley move to the next place which is the toilet room on the first floor. However, Bradley’s footsteps start slowing down. Sweat drips from his forehead, his hands begin to tremble. It spreads over his body. He puts down the bucket filled with water and takes a rest for while. "Brad, what are you doing?" Caden turns around and sees Bradley’s head down. "Are you sick?" "Cad, I need to rest for a while," Bradley said weakly as he continued to hold his head. “My head is spinning.” "Well, it is because you don't get enough sleep, right?" Caden said as he raised his eyebrow. "You must stay up late, don’t you?" “How do you know, that?” Bradley widens his eyes. “Yeah, your guess is true. But the story is almost finished, it’s so ashamed if I don’t finish it.” "Brad, you are a real reader maniac." Caden only shake his head. "You look so much like Mr. Eugene.” “Do you think so?” Bradley raises his eyebrows. “You should read
Watcher Chapter 3: Oddity
His mind is getting nervous, he doesn’t know what to do. He can scream, but Caden will mock him and say Bradley is very cowardly. Bradley pats his head repeatedly, trying to think calmly. He closes his eyes, ears and slowly walks through the source of the sound.“Bradley, you have to calm down. It's just a sound, nothing strange will happen.”The sound is getting louder when Bradley walks. He tries to ignore it and just walks past it. After a few steps, the voice is slowly fading.“Well. It seems safe now.”Bradley stops his move and opens his eyes. He immediately looks for the book and tries to ignore it. Yet, he doesn’t find it. He keeps looking all and hopes to find it. His eyes move slowly and watch everything around him as he continues walking and doesn’t realize he hit something.“Auh.”He falls on the floor and sees something twice bigger as his size in the shape of a long oval in front of him. All surfaces are tightly covered with a large piece of brown cloth. The cloth also
Watcher Chapter 4: Mystery
Caden quickly replied to Madam Nigera’s question without hesitating and gives the book.“Good. I think both of you should take a shower. Dust and dirt seem to have stuck to your bodies."Madam Nigera walks away and back into her room. Bradley and Caden quickly run to their rooms. However, someone knocked on Bradley's room a few minutes after taking a shower. He opens the door and it turns out to be Madam Theresa.“Bradley, these are all food ingredients that you must buy.” She gives Bradley a shopping list and basket."Yes, Madam.”Bradley walks away from his room. The sky looks a bit cloudy, he takes a black umbrella hanging on the door and walks outside. The gust of wind is also quite strong., so Bradley fastens his movement. He doesn’t want to get wet after buying all that stuff.A medium-sized house with the signboard “Paolo Grocery Store” is his destination. Bradley always buys foodstuff in these places because the owner is generous and Mr. Eugene’s best friend.“I’m sure uncle P
Watcher Chapter 5: Special task
Those words cause the whole room quiet for a moment. They are silent and think about one person who might kill Mr. Eugene.“Cad, is it possible that Madam Theresa killed Mr. Eugene?”"Brad, you should keep your mouth." Caden tapped his best friend's shoulder. "Madam Theresa is mean, but we can't take a conclusion too soon.""That's true too, but .... "A knocking sound comes from outside Bradley's room. He quickly opened the door and it is Madam Theresa."Madam, I have put all the groceries on the table downstairs."“Bradley, you and Caden go downstairs and prepare dinner.”"Yes, Madam."A few minutes later, Madam Theresa's footsteps suddenly fade away. They quickly go downstairs and sees Madam Nigera in the kitchen. She is rinsing and also examining the rotten part of the vegetables.“Madam, what we can do for you?” asks Bradley. “Madam Theresa told us to go here.”“You can help me cut the vegetables.”Bradley and Caden cut up some of the carrots and potatoes. They take a knife and p
Watcher Chapter 6: Manner class
Bradley opens the brown box. It’s wrapped perfectly with a red ribbon on it. He scrapes his head, walking toward Caden. He tries to wake up him and asks about this."Hey, Caden wakes up.” Bradley gently pats Caden’s cheek. “This box is for you.” is a delivery for you.""What's wrong Brad?" Caden slowly opens his eyes and sees Bradley's blue eyes. "Wait, I don’t order anything at all." Caden furrowed his eyebrows when he heard Bradley's words."So, this is not your belonging?” Bradley furrows his eyebrow. "So, who owns this item?”"I don't know either, but I feel like we should take a look inside of it."Bradley slowly opens it and sees two bright blue shirts folded neatly inside. Caden's eyes lit up. His smile widely. He likes the color of the shirt, which makes him bounce up and down. He quickly takes one of the clothes."Brad, this shirt is very nice!" He squealed happily. "I wonder who gives this?"“Cad, I don't know either,” said Bradley, shrugging his shoulders. "Wait a minute, l
Watcher Chapter 7: Incident in park
Bradley's face is instantly pale, cold sweat also flows non-stop on his face. His hands tremble every time Madam Theresa's footsteps are getting closer and closer to him. He bites his lips, his mind’s blank, and his body refuses to move.“What should I do?”The sound of footsteps starts louder and clearer. He doesn’t have any choice and it’s too late to move now. He can only surrender if Madam Theresa finally finds him. Suddenly, Madam Theresa's footsteps stopped. Someone called her name and she walks back away from Bradley's position."Heavens! She almost got me."Bradley takes a deep breath and tries not to make a sound. Madam Theresa’s footsteps sound disappears. He moves as fast to his room."Gosh!" BradleySomeone knocking on the door. Bradley immediately runs to the door and opens it. A fat woman with black hair of hers stands in front of her."Madam Nigera, what's wrong?" Bradley furrows his brow.“Madam Theresa is calling for you.” Nigera walks away from Bradley. She suddenly
Watcher Chapter 8: Meaning of friendship
He explains life in an orphanage is very boring, it's like a bird in a cage. But luckily, He doesn’t alone in dealing with it. He has a good friend who is always there for him. “Wow, you are so lucky someone like that.” Gideon smiles hearing Bradley's explanation. His face is gloomy a few minutes later. "But for me, I am just … alone ….” “Hey, don’t be so sad. I'm sure you will have friends. Maybe you haven't gotten it yet." A few minutes later, the sound of a dog barking is getting louder and louder. Bradley turns around and sees Madam Theresa's dog running toward him. “Hey Wolfy, calm down,” Bradley says with a laugh. "You must be very happy after playing for a long time, right?" "Is that your dog?" Gideon asked curiously. "Oh, no. I just only assign to take the dog outside to play." “Wow, I like dogs too. Can I?” "Oh yeah. But, Wolfy can be very fierce to strangers," Bradley gives warning to him. "First time, Wolfy is very uncontrollable and maybe he will bite you." Howeve
Watcher Chapter 9: Missing orphan
A few minutes later, the sound of thunderous footsteps is heard. It turns out Madam Nigera and other orphans. Her face is instantly stiff looking at the little girl. Her pupils dilated when she sees the kid’s condition."Jacqueline! Calm down, you’re safe now." Madam Nigera immediately put her arm around the kid and hugged her. " Goodness! What is going on here?" she said frantically.Caden shrugs his shoulders. “I don’t know. We just got here too and suddenly this little girl just like this.”"We should take this child to my room," she said while holding the child. "Caden, I need you to take the other kids back to their room.""Yes, Madam." Caden quickly walks over with the other children.“Bradley, you go with me. I feel like I'll need a little help."They speed up their footsteps towards Nigera's room. Madam Nigera’s face looks so tense. She doesn’t say a word at all and focuses on carrying Jacqueline to her room. She lays the child on the sofa and walks out of nowhere"Jacqueline,
Latest Chapter
- Watcher
Chapter 44: Watchtower
They both walk while pointing their weapons forward and looking around the forest. A few seconds later, Bradley catches a strangely shaped silhouette passing a few meters in front of him and disappears into the fog. "Mike, it's that ....""Yes, the night catcher." Mikaela pulls the trigger of her pistol and points the muzzle forward. "Brad, be careful."The night catcher's voice grows louder and louder, making Bradley's heart beat faster and faster until they decide to speed up their footsteps. As the minutes pass, Bradley starts feeling the tightness in his leg muscles, causing him to fatigue."Wait... wait .... can we take a break?" Bradley wiped the sweat from his forehead and tried to catch his breath. "I need to rest for a while.""Brad, come on!" Mikaela, who is in front, keeps calling Bradley over and over again. "We cannot stay here for too long. The night catcher will probably catch up with us."But seeing Bradley's pale face, he sighs and agrees to follow Bradley for a sho
- Watcher
Chapter 43: Omili forest
It happens so fast and neither of them has a chance to do anything. Mikaela feels pressure in his chest and continues to shed tears relentlessly. "Sh**! That bastard must die!" Mikaela clenches his palms tightly, his breathing becomes ragged, and his nose wrinkles as he growls. Bradley tries to calm down Mikaela, who seems to be showing himself in front of the villain. "Mike, we're not in a safe position and we shouldn't act rashly right now." Bradley pulled Mikaela's hand away to prevent him from going any further. "Calm down, Mike." "Calm down? That jerk killed my dad, how am I supposed to do now Brad?" Mikaela's voice sounds loud enough to make the guy in the black jacket instantly walk over to where both Bradley and Mikaela are hiding. "Come on... come on wherever you are." The man walked closer and the sound of a gun pulling can be heard. "I know there's someone here." Bradley immediately shuts Mikaela’s mouth and pushes him against the wall. The sound of footsteps made B
- Watcher
Chapter 42: Tragedy
Bradley is speechless and can't believe that no one has come back from the island alive. It seems like his hopes of finding the plant are getting smaller and smaller. "Damn! This is a suicide," Bradley grumbles in annoyance and stomps his feet repeatedly. "Jezz, what should we do now?" They both are silent for a moment, trying to figure out a way out of the problem, but it isn't long before Mikaela wakes up and stares at the two of them with a confusing look on his face. "Wait, am I dead?" Mikaela checked his whole body quickly. "Uh, what exactly happened?" The frown on Mikaela's forehead is visible to Bradley and Mr. Hugo. Bradley told him what happened and why he wasn't dead after getting shot. Knowing the truth, Mikaela shakes his head and chuckles as he feels he had been played by his father. "Gosh, how stupid of me to be so easily caught up in my father's charade." Mikaela gently pats his own head. " "Child, that's a lesson for you for daring to spend the money I gave you
- Watcher
Chapter 41: Moon Island
Bradley slowly looks back and his face immediately stiffens at the tip of the gun. "I...I...am not a criminal." Bradley's voice sounds so shaky that his legs feel weak for a moment. His mind is blank and he doesn't know what to do now they've both been caught red-handed. "What are you doing here?" The man continued to stare at Bradley with an unfriendly gaze without moving the tip of the gun away from Bradley's head. "Who are you?" The atmosphere became tense and seeing Bradley's urgent state, he finally speaks to his father 'Dad, calm down he's my friend Bradley." Mikaela's voice makes her father direct his gaze toward Mikaela who is still on the floor. "Hello dad, it's me." "Mikaela?" The man furrowed his brows and his face instantly turns red. "Damn it, disobedient child. What are you doing here!" The man raised his voice and pointed his gun at Mikaela. "You shouldn't be here, you bastard!" "Dad, calm down, I have something to ask you." Mikaela raised his hands and tries t
- Watcher
Chapter 40: Fugitives
Mikaela finds it strange how Bradley's face turns as pale as a corpse. "Hey, what's wrong with you?" Mikaela raised his eyebrows and pulled out the paper in Bradley's hand. "You look like ...." Mikaela's eyeballs immediately rounded when he sees the paper's details. Their faces are engraved on a sheet of paper. "Gosh, why is this happening?" Mikaela furrowed his brows. "Fugitives? What's this all about?" Mikaela is lost for words and immediately throws the paper away from his face. His head begins to heat up, his face seems to tighten and his eyebrows look low. "Damn! This must be the mine owner's plan." "Mike, look at that." Mikaela squints his eyes and sees an old, thin man walking towards the gang of criminals who turns out to be his father. "Father? What's he doing there?" "I don't know, but we'd better shut up and listen to what they have to say." The two of them continued to hide behind the house and soon a conversation could be heard. "Old man, where are they?" One of
- Watcher
Chapter 39 : Hometown
They both accelerated their footsteps through the growing thickets of wild grass as they walk. "Bradley, watch your step." Mikaela who led the way looked around. "This road is very slippery and mossy." Bradley slowly walks and follows Mikaela from the front, but his foot accidentally steps on a hole deep enough and makes him fall. "Mike, help me!" Bradley shouted over and over with his hand grasping one of the grasses tightly. Mikaela hearing Bradley's shout turns around and looks for anyone but no one. "Brad, where are you?" Mikaela keeps calling Bradley's name over and over again. "Hey, I'm down here!" Bradley continued to grasp at the grass that is just a few roots away from the ground. Mikaela follows the source of the voice and sees Bradley who is about to fall to the bottom of a huge cliff. "Oh my God, Brad!" Mikaela stretches out his hand in an attempt to pull Bradley up. "Brad, grab my hand." Bradley slowly reached for Mikaela's wrist, but the sweat running down Bradl
- Watcher
Chapter 38: Run away
Bradley nods his head at the words. He slowly closes his eyes, trying to rest for a few minutes. He slowly closes his eyes, trying to rest for a few minutes. However, the fear still lingers in Bradley's mind and he is still reluctant to fully rest. "Mikaela, we better hurry up and leave this city." Bradley slowly gets up from his position. "Alright, then." Bradley sighed and picked up his things. "Come on, now we're off." Just as they were about to leave the house, Mrs. Meredith suddenly walks and brings something to Bradley. A small bottle filled with a strange liquid color makes by Mrs. Meredith itself. "Uh, what's this?" Bradley slowly uncapped the bottle and tried to smell it. "Oh God, what is this smell." It is similar to rotten fish made him immediately close the bottle again. " "Drink this potion, when you go to bed, it can reduce the impact of the curse." Bradley put the bottle in his pants pocket and they all left the town. Mikaela said it would only take about half a
- Watcher
Chapter 37: Curse
Bradley walks back into the room and sees Mikaela packing up his things and preparing to leave. "Sir, is it not dangerous to leave at this time of night?" Elis' eyes rounded and her mouth pursed. "Night catchers may still be hanging around, are you sure?" "But, we have to leave this place soon." Mikaela continued to pack his luggage. "We're now fugitives in this city and it means we must leave this place." Mikaela pulled up his collar and wipes the sweat from his forehead. "Hey, you two should also leave this town as soon as possible." Elis' face instantly tightens and her mouth curved downward. "But... we have no place to stay." Her voice sounds so weak and it causes Mikaela's feelings to sink into sadness for a moment. Elis said they were slaves bought by a wealthy merchant, but the merchant was killed by bandits who then brought them here. “Oh my, so you're not from this town?” Elis shakes her head quickly. Bradley slowly walks over to Mikaela and suggests to him taking Elis
- Watcher
Chapter 36: Life lesson
The agonized looks on the slaves' faces keep replaying in his mind, causing Bradley to pause and reflect. "Hey, Bradley what are you doing?" Mikaela's snap brought Bradley to his senses. "Come on, we need to focus." "Oh yeah, sorry." Bradley smiled as he scratched his head. Suddenly Elis runs towards one of the cages and her steps stop. Her tears slowly flow down the curves of her round face. The two of them immediately run over to Elis and see the yellow-haired man lying limply on the ground. His back is full of so many whip wounds. Elis notices the man is his brother because of the birthmark on his back. "Brother! Brother!" Elis keeps shouting for her brother who looked unconscious. "Wake up brother!" Bradley searches for something to break the padlock covering the cages and a medium-sized piece of iron is the tool he uses. "Elis, step back and I'll open the lock." Mikaela pulls Elis away from the bars and Bradley hit the surface of the padlock repeatedly until it shatters.