Chapter 4: Unpleasant Memories

One night when I was sleeping with other kids from the orphanage. I heard some noises from outside. Those noises felt more like someone screaming in pain. I looked around in the dark room, everyone seemed to be sleeping. There were a total of five children at the orphanage beside me.

I slowly got up and opened the door to the room slightly. The light in the priest's room was still on. 'Is he still awake this late at night?' was what I thought.

I tip-toed myself near the priest's room and placed my ear on the door to see if the noises were coming from there. The noises went silent for some reason. I tried to open the door slightly and peeked through it.

!!!

As I opened the door, the scene before me sent shivers down my spine. One of the girls at the orphanage was lying on the priest's table with her clothes torn. I simply didn't understand what she was doing there at that time. Blood seemed to flow out of her neck. 

The entire table was drenched in her blood as drops of blood started to fall on the wooden floor. The priest standing before her, with a kitchen knife in his hands was trembling. His black priest clothing and spectacles had blood on them.

I was too shocked to see the scene that the door made a creaking noise as I shivered up. The priest looked at me. I hurriedly closed the door and crawled back. 

As the priest opened the door, his face darkened.

"Ah-ah Ad-adrian! Wha- what are you doing here?"

The priest tried to force himself to make a smiling expression. But I wasn't looking at his face. My eyes were staring at the kitchen knife in his hands that were dripping with blood.

The priest seemed to have noticed it and threw the knife to his right.

"This-this isn't what it looks like Adrian. I-I simply punished Lola a bit."

Lola was the name of that girl's name. Black hairs, black eyes and a slender body. She was the eldest child at the orphanage. She was like an elder sister to us who always took care of her.

My body couldn't stop trembling as I slowly crawled back.

Thud

My back was suddenly met with the wall behind. I realized that I had to do something. I had to run away from here. But what about others? My breathing started to get unstable.

"A-Adrian calm down. It's gonna be okay"

He was slowly coming towards me. 'Why won't my feet move?'

I mustered all my courage and ran to my left, taking the kitchen knife with me. I directly ran to the kitchen. As I entered it, I locked the door shut behind me. 

I aimed my trembling hands holding the knife at the door. 

Bang Bang

He kept banging on the door and told me to open it. I looked around the kitchen for something to block the door. I dragged the chair that was in the kitchen with my feeble body to block the handle of the door.

The banging on the door started to get louder. "Open the door Adrian. Come out and I won't punish you"

I slowly started to step back.

"What are you doing here Bonnie?"

'No no no'

'Did someone wake up?' 

'I can't let others get hurt by him.'

As I removed the chair slowly to take a peek–

Bam

The door burst open hitting my nose as I fell on the floor. It was a trap. I learnt my life's one of the most valuable lessons then.

"You little shit!"

I held my broken nose with one arm as I aimed my knife at him with the other. "D-don't come close! Why are you doing this?"

"I knew I should have sold you earlier!"

'Sold???' I had no idea what he was talking about. Was this perhaps related to brother Atkins getting adopted a few days ago? I only heard he got adopted but we couldn't even meet him one last time.

He tried to grab me with his hands but using my short body as an advantage, I rolled out of his range and came behind him. I still held on to that knife like it was my life. 

I tried to run again. Unlike last time, he caught me by my shirt's collar making me choke. As he pulled me by force, I fell on the floor again.

He again came for me. This time he used his hands to cover my mouth and pin me down on the floor.

"Shut your mouth you little bra– AHHHH"

I used my teeth to bite his fingers with all my might making him scream to the top of his lungs. As he rose up quickly holding his right hand that I bit with his left, he started to walk backwards.

Unbeknownst to him, he suddenly dropped the lamp that was on top of a shelf near the kitchen door. As the lamp fell behind him, the area around it started to burn. The orphanage was away from the town, near the forest, completely made out of wood. Any kind of fire would be disastrous here. 

"NO NO NO"

As the priest was looking at the burning floor, I jumped at him from behind with my knife.

I put the knife through his back because of my height. Feeling the sudden pain the priest groaned and kicked me away. He glared at me as he fell on his knees. He groaned as he pulled the knife out from his back.

The fire behind him already engulfed the kitchen. Since there were already some flammable substances in the kitchen, the fire grew larger. The priest sensed the heat coming from his behind and tried to crawl in front of him.

I knew there won't be another chance like this. I decided to stand up. My legs were trembling but I had to do it. I ran straight at the priest and kicked him with all the strength I could muster.

"No!"

"AHHHHHHH"

Horrible screams came from that man. I couldn't look at him any more. The fire was raging. Just as I was about to go to others–

!!!

The priest grabbed my legs.

"I AM NOT DYING ALONE!" He exclaimed

I tried to kick his hand with my other leg and tried to break myself free. I noticed the knife that was lying on the ground that the priest threw earlier. I grabbed it and started to continuously stab his hands until he let me go in pain.

As I pushed him back in fire, I crawled out of there. I ran to the room where others were sleeping.

Crackle

I heard a cracking noise. I looked up to see that and suddenly a piece of burning wood fell in front of me blocking the door. I could see that the room was already burning. I could hear the screams coming from inside.

I didn't know what to do. The fire was raging. Staying here even one more minute would burn me. I tried to remove the burning piece of wood by hand, but my hand got burned instead.

I started to cough as I started to inhale smoke. I knew I couldn't do anything more.

I ran outside to get some help. Just as I set my foot outside, my head started to get dizzy. As I took a few more steps, before I realized, I was on the ground.

"Sir! This one is still breathing!"

I opened my eyes hearing the commotion. A knight in armor asked me something but my head was still dizzy. I looked around and saw him. A blonde gallant man on horseback. It was the general Baldwin de Lancaster. It was at that time he was still a rising hero.