Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ A Troubled Path ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

Kaie was pulled from her delightful dreams of slowly dismembering Zera by an incessant scratching coming from the far corner of the room. She rolled over with a groan and ungracefully landed on her head on the floor. She pushed herself up with one arm and a string of well-practiced curses. With her free hand, Kaie rubber her throbbing forehead. The persistent scraping quickly reminded her of why she had been so rudely awakened, forcing her to ignore her poor head. On her hands and knees, she crawled over to the corner and glared at a brick that seemed to be dancing in the wall. She didn't have long to ponder exactly why the brick was jumping so as, with wide brown eyes, Kaie watched the offending brick pop out of the wall and straight into her face.

The girl lay prone on the ground for only a moment, so she could curse her luck and momentarily comfort her over-abused head. Then with a growl of anger Kaie leapt at the hole in the wall, planning to divert some of Zera's punishment to this new offender… and found herself staring dumbfounded at the small, lizard-like boy working furiously to loosen another brick from the mortar. Dark purple scales were wrinkled in concentration as the small Scarat chipped at the wall with a screwdriver and claws.

After a few seconds of stunned silence, Kaie finally managed to find her voice. "Vruel? What are… how did… what's going on?!" Vruel paused in his ministrations to flash Kaie a fang-filled grin of happiness. "I'm gonna bust you out Kaie! Everybody heard what the Madam done to you and I don think its fair." His face scrunched up as tears welled in his usually sparkling orange eyes. "I don wanna see you go to Dread Kaie. That's where mean people go. And you ain't a mean people." His eyes furrowed together. "I think Zera should hafta go, not you. She's the mean people." A grin once again transformed his face. Tears banished, Vruel happily redeclared his intentions to help her escape.

Kaie gazed fondly at the young Scarat she had helped so many times. His loyalty was certainty worth the rations she had given up to him and his friends time and again. Of course, no one else knew she had done such things; each time she had in faux anger commanded them to keep her gifts a secret. She had a reputation to maintain, it was well-earned and couldn't be sullied by acts of compassion. Vruel's grin was infectious, however, and Kaie found herself chuckling happily as she picked up the discarded Fricta leg with her tail and used it to help widen the hole.

Minutes later, with hands covered in dust and mortar, Kaie stepped through the hole and picked up the Scarat, hugging him tightly as she danced in a small circle. Setting him to his feet, Kaie knelt before him. "I wish I could see the look on Schnater's face in the morning when comes to ship me off to Dred." Kaie hugged Vruel again. "Oh, Vruel! You're priceless! I can't believe you did this!" Vruel smiled happily as Kaie feigned anger, shaking her finger in his face. "Now you listen to me you little rugrat. You better not let Schnater catch you or she'll make a purse outta your hide! I'm serious. You gotta get back to your quarters right now. Why in the world did you take a such foolish risk to help me?" Kaie dropped her mock anger and grinned at the Scarat. Softly, she said, "But I'm glad you did."

Standing up, Kaie scanned the landscape around her. She was just outside the walls of orphanage. Luckily, Schnater had taken her to the wing closest to the parking deck, most likely to ensure a more speedy departure for her least favorite charge. Kaie crossed her arms under breasts and chewed her lip as she thought. Vruel clung to her leg, simply happy to be so near his idol. Staring at the dusty cliffs along the horizon, she tried to form a plan. She couldn't stay here, that was for sure. She had to put as much distance between her and the orphanage before they discovered she was missing. If Freizan law didn't mandate that all orphaned minors be locked up in a government orphanage, she would have gone out on her own years ago. But with so much feudal wars over planetary control, children were being orphaned by the thousands. Nobody wants to see the streets full of starving children, reminding them what their ploys for power has done. So the Freizan government established prison-like orphanages on every planet.

A small clicking noise brought Kaie back to the present, a noise akin to the purring of a cat when coming from the Scarats. Kaie smiled and squeezed Vruel's shoulder affectionately. She raised her head and looked over at the loading dock, her mind back to business.

Stealing a cruiser would be simple, but she had no money to keep it fueled or buy food, and she didn't want to take the chance of being caught "borrowing" food from the panty again. Crekeu was a small planet, mostly composed of large markets and refueling stations, and was mainly used as a military outpost and pit-stop for large transports traversing the galaxy. If she could manage to make it to the nearest launch station, she could somehow sneak onto one of the larger shuttles leaving the planet. Then she would be free. Free. No imposing adults. No selfish, backstabbing, good-for-nothin drens like Zera. No one telling me what to do and how to do it. I could finally live my life for myself. She smiled at the possibilities.

Her withered however, when she glanced down at Vruel, absently chewing a nail while he clung fiercely to her leg. Leaving the orphanage and starting a new life meant leaving all the good stuff behind too; she would never see her friends again. The majority of the children had a strong bond with each other, forged by the sense of abandonment each child feels throughout their lives in the bleak prison-like orphanage. Even if they conflicted with each other from time to time, in the end nobody wanted anything bad to happen to their comrades. They were basically the same. They were family. The only family any of them had anymore.

She wanted desperately to take some of them with her, but that was out of the question. As much as Kaie hated to admit it, Vruel and the others would probably be better off here. She only hoped they could forgive her for abandoning them like this.

Kaie sighed sadly, then resolutely picked Vruel up. She barely noticed his extra weight as she jogged down the outer wall of the building, until she came near a low eave of the roof. This was the best place. Kaie set the small boy down and squatted so they were eye to eye; his eyes wide and sparkling with excitement, hers a bit too wet for her taste.

Gripping Vruel by the shoulders, Kaie spoke firmly to him. "Now Vruel, this is important. You must tell no one, and I mean no one, that you helped me or you'll be in lots of trouble, ok?" When he nodded his head enthusiastically, she her hands under his arms and lifted him onto the eave. Looking up into his small face, she said quietly, "Vruel, I gotta leave now. I can't stay here any more or they'll send me to Dred. So that means my only choice is to run away and not come back." Kaie ignored Vruel's pained expression and watery eyes. "I'm sorry, Vruel. I can't take you with me. I want to; you know I do. But you won't have any fun. Here you can play with Piru and Choba, and keep scaring Schnater with those slimy tiegs. But you gotta listen to me," she brandished her finger in his face again, "I want you climb over this roof like I showed you, and get back to your room, ok? Then you have to pretend like you don't know anything about me leaving." This particular part of the building was one that she and the other older kids frequented to go sneak about the town; on the inside of the divide, a few choice bricks protrude from the wall and make for a convenient ladder. Kaie gave Vruel's arms a gentle squeeze. "Can you do all this for me?" She smiled warmly at his small nod and wiped a tear from his face. "Good boy. I think I'll miss you the most. Now I gotta get outta here before its too late. You remember what to do? Good." She playfully swatted his bottom. "Now get goin'. Make sure you really terrorize Schnater for me."

Vruel leaned down and hugged Kaie's neck. "Bye Kaie. You're bestest ever and I won't forget you!" Vruel quickly straightened and spun away from her. Just before he crested the eave, he stopped and looked back at her. "Kaie... its ok. I understand why you gotta leave. Everyone else will to." The young boy gave her a small smile, and for a moment Kaie was amazed at how observant he was for one so young. He knew what she was worried about. She watched him until he scampered over the roof before she turned to face the parking deck. The dry wind blew her unruly hair across her face as she took on last look at the only place she had ever called home.

She absently tightened her tail's grip about her thin waist, and stood a moment to gather her courage. Then she took off running, to go and steal a cruiser, and start her new life.