The Others

~~Cliffhanger Warning~~

People avoided Elliot. He never knew why. Even when he was little people wanted nothing to do with him. He never thought anything of it. People have called him names like odd, or freak. Some people go as far as to call him a bastard. He learned to not take it personally.

That morning, he ate one of the loaves of bread and went outside to wait for Matthew to get back. He didn't dare sit on the porch or steps, instead, he sat in the dirt, and leaned against a tree.

He watched the shadows of the tree dance and sway. He closed his eyes and imagined he was a shadow. Dancing, growing, shrinking, and then gone when the sun sets, only to be born again when the sun rises over the distant mountains. The sound of horse hooves clipping on the hard dirt made him lookup. "Hey, kiddo!" Matthew called. "Matt!" he jumped to his feet and darted over to him.

Matthew got off the horse and led it around the house. the back yard wasn't really a yard. It was just more dry dirt and dead weeds. Elliot kicked a rock, and immediately, pain shot up his leg. He yelped and immediately realized his stupidity. Matthew glances at his feet and then sighs. "We got to get you some more shoes, huh?" he asks. Elliot shakes his head. "I fine! We need money for food and taxes."

"Alright, kiddo" Matthew rumples Elliot's hair hand ties the horse's reins to a piece of metal sticking out of the ground. "The Queen will be passin' through town tomorrow. When she does, don't draw no attention to yerself" He looks Elliot in the eyes. "got it?" Elliot nods vigorously.

Matthew smiles and reaches into his pocket. He pulls out a silver coin and handed it to Elliot. He takes it greedily. It was new, and the King's Crown had been melted into the coin. What Elliot liked best was the shine. It didn't look like there was a speck of dirt on it.

"That's to use for FOOD, not beer or whiskey. Ya look like a dead cat" at that Matthew grabs a bucket and starts walking towards the well to get water for the horse.

Elliot pockets the coin and pats the horse's flank. She was an old mare, and Matthew wasn't sure what breed she was. She was white, and had grey speckles all over her haunch, making the hair in that area almost all grey. She has black patches that make her look like a cow.

She nuzzles Elliot's neck and then goes to sniff his pockets, probably looking for food. "Sorry Old Girl. I don't have anything for you to eat." Elliot says, pushing her away. He walks back to the front of the house and goes inside. He was disappointed that Matthew hadn't brought any food for him to eat, and wanted to go spend his money.

Elliot grabs his back and the flask of whiskey and started walking down the road. He takes a sip of the whiskey every few minutes, enjoying the buzz it gave him.

When he reached a fork in the road, he could see two boys a little older than him sitting there.

One of the boys had dark brown hair and his face was a little bit dirty. The other boy was smaller and had black hair. He had dark, tan skin, and obviously worked in the fields factories. They both looked like they wanted to hurt him.

He was heading to town so he chose to go right. As he passed the boys one of them stood. "You're the bastard, right?" he sneers in an overly friendly voice as he walks towards Elliot.

Elliot clutches his bag and walks faster. "Hey! I was talking to you. It's rude to not answer a question" This time, all friendliness was gone. Elliot felt his heart beginning to pound in his ears, and almost cried out when he was whipped around to face the boys.

"P-please...I mean no harm" he whimpers. The smaller boy shoves him to the ground and Elliot grunts as the air is knocked from his lungs.