Don't Look Back | Teen Ink

Don't Look Back

July 24, 2009
By Chelsea Lee BRONZE, La Canada, California
Chelsea Lee BRONZE, La Canada, California
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

Gavin quietly snuck behind the man, who was oblivious to his impending danger. Gavin picked up a fairly large stone, and slammed it directly at the back of the man’s head. The man slumped to the ground, unconscious. Gavin, very carefully, searched inside the man’s pocket, and pulled out a mega-sized wallet, indicating that this man was somewhat important. Well, the wallet was mega-sized by Lunar Ruins City’s standards. Gavin, then hastily made his departure from the alley in which he “met” the man. The man wouldn’t be found, unless he regained consciousness and walked out of the alley, himself because Lunar Ruins City had the highest crime and poverty rates than any other city. Of course, Gavin should have been more careful, like hiding his fingerprints, because even in Lunar Ruins people had their own fingerprinting devices, but Gavin never got caught. After all, he had been doing this for ten years.

Gavin entered a gray, graffiti-covered building he called school. Inside, though, was warm and very bright. It was a sleepy Monday morning in his public high school. Damien Cox, Gavin’s best (and only) friend ran up to greet him. “Hey Gavin, did you read the news? I heard that some lawyer was beaten up in an alley, and got robbed!” said Damien. Gavin looked freaked out. His crimes never made it to news. Oh well, he got a whole load of money from that lawyer. The bell rang, and both boys ran to their classrooms. While Gavin was lounging on his desk, way far ahead of his advanced math class, Damien was struggling to keep up with the tennis exercises in P.E. However, both boys should have been running far away from the school because at that moment a deafening boom sounded, and the whole school gave one very dramatic quake, and the hallway burst into flames. Chairs and tables stayed safe because they were all made out of some kind of metal, and the thick Plexiglas windows only cracked. The teacher ran to the emergency windows, and pulled them open. Two-by-two every student made it down to the ground. They had many bomb drills, but this time it was real. The teachers outside were having a hard time keeping the chaos under control. Firemen ran inside the building wearing fireproof clothes. In a couple minutes everybody was out, and safe. Only one kid got injured and it was very minor because he was slammed inside his thick locker by someone unknown. However, nobody but headmaster knew that another kid was not only missing, but in grave peril. Damien and Gavin miraculously found each other, and stood there quietly amid all the madness. Yet, Gavin couldn’t help noticing a piece of paper flying over his head, so he snatched it and read it, having nothing else to do. What was written on that paper changed his life, forever.


“Gavin!” yelled a little girl, who barreled straight towards Gavin, as he stepped into a shabby apartment. “Hey, Meriel! I’m alright!” said Gavin, as his eight-year-old sister squeezed his lungs out. Meriel was all the family Gavin had because his parents were killed when they were kids. It was either live in an orphanage and get separated, or make his own living in the world, and have his sister by his side. Gavin fingered the paper in his pocket, making sure it was real, and not a fake. He absolutely had to tell Damien about this, and there were no more secrets from Meriel. A secret he kept from Damien was never telling him about his life. Gavin was already guilt-wrecked because he never told the two people most important to him about these life changing secrets.

Gavin and Meriel stepped into Damien’s warm, bright, mini-house. After exchanging hello’s to the parents of Damien, who didn’t care much about anything, Damien, Gavin, and Meriel were all alone in Damien’s bedroom. Damien also freaked out when he read the paper because Damien’s and Gavin’s high school name, and their names were on their along with this guy named Steve Smith, there were also two other high schools and trios of names. It was suspicious because only the headmaster, and people who knew each other could track down a single person. Also, Gavin smelled the all too familiar smell of gunpowder because he lived his life among those in dark passageways, and his parents were killed by a gun. Gavin would never forget that moment of watching his parents die in his entire life. They both knew that the first high school and trio of names was attacked by a bomb, and the three children listed on the paper were never to be found after the bombing incident. Damien told Gavin and Meriel this because he had a detective father. The second high school and trio of names, were there’s. The third high school, Gavin and Meriel had no clue about. “Starry Night High School is the richest private high school. Ever. In Lunar Ruins, anyways. These girls: Emi Jones, Jane Mitchell, and Ann Welsch must be in danger. We have to do something! Should we tell the cops?” said Damien. “NO,” said Gavin. If he went to the cops they’d probably not suspect him at all with his crimes, but he wasn’t taking any chances. “Okay then…. What do YOU propose we should do?” asked Damien. Then it struck Gavin. “Look, we got to take matters into our own hands. I have a plan…” said Gavin.
Starry Night High School-Day of the Bombing

Emi Jones chatted amiably to her friend Jane Mitchell about how Ann Welsch was such a snob to her friends, and everyone around her. Sadly, Emi wouldn’t see her school for quite a while after what would happen today. “Hey Jane, I’ll be in the restroom,” said Emi. Jane was too wrapped up in her own thoughts to reply, so Emi just left her alone.
Starry Night High School’s Restroom-Day of the Bombing

“I can’t BELIEVE I agreed to this! Are you nuts?! Look around Gav! We’re in a GIRL’s restroom!” yelled Damien, while stretching in the small, expensive toilet cubicle. “What’s wrong with a GIRL’s restroom?” asked Meriel, from Damien’s right. Their plan for now was quite simple. Damien and Gill would stay in the toilet cubicles, while Emi walked outside of her cubicle to identify anyone (after looking at the ID’s about the girls) who was in the restroom, and would talk loudly about the weather, which was Gavin and Damien’s cue to walk outside and save the girl(s). Right after Damien’s and Meriel’s bickering, Emi Jones stepped in with the utmost perfect timing.

“Oh, hello there! Can you believe HOW BEAUTIFUL THE WEATHER IS?! I MEAN IT’S SUNNY ALL THE TIME!” said Meriel loudly, to Emi, after stepping out of the toilet cubicle. Before Emi had a chance to respond to that, Gavin snuck up (which he was quite good at doing) and stifled Emi’s scream with his hand, and picked her up, while Meriel and Damien opened up the window. Emi, Gavin, and Damien leaped out of the window, but Meriel lagged behind for a couple of minutes. “Come on,Emi! It’s not that scary!” yelled Damien. Then the trio ran, but they could hear the boom the bomb made ten minutes later.
Alley

The little group made their way to a deserted alley. After setting Emi down gently, she repayed them saving their lives by screaming at them. “WHO ARE YOU?! WHERE AM I?! WHAT AM I DOING HERE?!” screamed Emi. “We couldn’t find the other two girls,” said observant Meriel, ignoring the screaming. The two boys just sighed. “But I did find this!” said Meriel, holding out a piece of paper similar to the one at Gavin and Damien’s school. Emi’s screaming finally got to Damien, Gavin, and Meriel. “It’s either listen, or be knocked unconscious,” said Gavin, as he pulled out a hammer. Emi gulped, and became silent. The three then took turns explaining the entire story, straight from the beginning. Emi knew they weren’t lying because the little jewled bracelet around her wrist, was actually a lie detector. Emi asked to follow them because Emi was quite tired of her boring life at her rich private school, and like Damien’s parents Emi was rarely cared for. They read the little paper to Emi, and the next school was Constellation Map High School, and they had to find three boys named Vince, Kyle, and Tyler. However, they stopped by Damien’s house for more money, with a new mouth to feed, and three ID’s from Damien’s computer. Damien sneaked in, easily, and the three head off.
Somewhere along the streets of Lunar Ruins
Emi, Meriel, Gavin, and Damien found themselves tired not from traveling, but from the excitement and the terror of the past three days. The four didn’t know it was going to get worse. A policeman snuck up on Gavin and tackled him to the floor. Meriel screamed for her older brother, but the police took him away without a glance backwards at the other kids, who were hidden in the shadows, and only their voices were heard. The policeman didn’t have time for all these kids, when he had more important things to do. The three knew what they had to do. They couldn’t get along without Damien, they needed to save him.
Lunar City Jail

Lunar City Jail was the exact replica of hell, the underworld, or whatever you call it. It was cramped, loud, noisy, and it was almost impossible to escape. They had motion trackers, which didn’t go off unless someone had a special bracelet, like the policeman. As soon as Gavin stepped into his cell, the guards ripped of his bracelet, and walked away calmly. There were no need for trials, or juvie hall, when that just wasted time. All they need was their technology to solve the case. Gavin sat there feeling depressed because he let down not only the lives of the kids who were about to be bombed, but for letting down his best friend and his little sister.
Outside of Lunar City Jail

Damien knew Lunar City like a squirrel knew it’s forest. He was also quite a skilled hacker, and had a way with technology. A true technophile. He easily bypassed the retina scanner, while the two girls stared in awe. Only one policeman was there, and he was fast asleep. Damien knew all about the whole bracelet thing because they taught that at school to frighten the kids into doing good. The place was empty because the guards were a block away drinking the night away, and they would hear the alarm from there, anyway. Damien found bracelets in a locked safe (which he expertly picked the lock off of), but there were only three, and they needed one for Gavin. Damien ripped his in half, and taped it (bringing extra tape for Gavin) onto his skin. “This is just like the story of Orpheus,” said Damien. But the girls looked clearly confused. Damien heaved a sigh. If Gavin was here HE’D understand. “Orpheus was just about to get married, when a poisonous snake came up and bit his wife, which killed her. Orphues followed her into the underworld, and Hades allowed him to take his wife back to the real world, but he must never look back to see her before they made it to the journey of the regular world. Well, Orpheus blew it, so let’s hope I won’t,” explained Damien. “Sorry, to interrupt the history lesson, but can we save my brother now?” asked Meriel

Gavin almost died with happiness when he saw his friends, who were there to bust him out. Damien explained about the whole bracelet thing, and the four left. They got out successfully.
Somewhere in the streets-Morning

The four had spent the night at Good Night! Hotel, using Damien’s money. So now they were well rested and walking about Lunar City. They were headed to a bus station to help them get to the new high school. They were all so focused on their task ahead that they didn’t question why Gavin was in jail. Sometimes they thought that it was a misunderstanding, or Gavin was the leader of their group, (which was running around in the night) and therefore he got arrested. “I hope I never go back there again,” said Gavin , relieved. Unfortunately, another policeman (more than one, actually) came, but it wasn’t Gavin he arrested. It was Meriel.

This time the police men payed attention to the other kids. They knew that Meriel had some partake in the bombing. They also had proof, she had her prints all over the bomb (well the police found bomb dust) she set in the bathroom, and only now Gavin just realized it, but the printing on the paper looked an awful lot like Meriel. Meriel was sentenced to jail for a lifetime, and maybe even death row. Gavin, strangely, only felt shock. Damien was informed of Gavin’s position and his parent’s murder, so the Cox family took him in. They stayed friends with Emi by mail. Gavin and Damien never looked back at all this. They instead looked forward to a new life.



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