Wow, this one ended up being kind of long. Oh well. XD -------------------
Altair had known that Franklin was far away. However he hadn’t realized it was hours worth of being enclosed in a darkened space with three other children, far away. So when the truck rolled to a stop, and the door opened with a loud creaking groan, Altair would have been lying if he had said he was anything other than relieved. He held up a hand to shield himself from the light that flooded through, and quietly pushed himself up into a standing position up against the wall of the trailer. He looked around, squinting through the sunlight, and saw Ezio slowly standing up looking dazed and disoriented as if he had just woken up. Connor and Aveline were pulling themselves up as well, smoothing down their rumbled clothes and rubbing at their eyes to try and ward off the offending sunlight.
Altair turned and walked over to the opening in the truck where the driver was standing, holding the door open with one hand. He sat down and swung his feet off the edge of the truck and slid down onto the ground. “When you said ‘Franklin’, I assumed you meant the one in the same state.” He muttered.
“I did. It’s a three hour drive up there, at least.”
Altair turned to look up at him and put his hands on his hips. “There? Don’t you mean… here?” He blinked and glanced around and noticed they were most definitely not in any city. They were sitting in a parking lot, right next to the highway and near a small brown building. “This isn’t Franklin.” Altair stated dumbly as Ezio came to the open door.
“What gives?” The younger boy asked, leaning up against the door.
“It’s a rest stop. I gotta head in.” The driver jerked a thumb at the building. “I figured you’d appreciate the chance to stretch your legs.”
“Oh.” Altair frowned and folded his arms. “Sure. Thanks.”
The driver turned around and began to walk out to building and Altair watched him go before hauling himself back up on to the truck, and sitting down, kicking his feet out. Ezio slid down next to him, and Connor and Aveline approached the edge as well, though Connor remained standing. Ezio leaned over and smiled at the two, trying to look reassuring. “Hey, I’m sure we’re almost there!”
Connor nodded, but Aveline continued to stare at the ground in thoughtful contemplation. Or at least that’s what Altair had thought it was before she spoke. “I’m hungry.”
Altair frowned as Connor slid down and sat next to her, taking her hand in his and giving it a reassuring squeeze. He grimaced as he felt a nagging sensation of guilt worming its way up through his gut. He looked over at Ezio, who just gave him a small remorseful grin.
“I’m hungry, too.”
When he had dictated he hadn’t wanted to be caught playing babysitter, he had thought he had been clear on that. Yet here he was, being burdened with the responsibility of making sure three kids got something to eat. Altair turned around and grabbed his duffle bag, before pulling it closer to him. He pulled the zipper down and pulled the cloth open before jumping down onto the ground and turning himself around to face the back of the truck. He set it down and pulled the side pocket open revealing his stash of stolen candy bars and chips. “Here.” He said shoving towards the three of them, and folding his arms. “Take whatever.”
He may as well have set down a trunk of gold and jewels in front of a band of pirates, and said ‘have at it’. Connor and Aveline descended upon the bag of food like hyenas, grabbing at the food and ripping at the wrappers with frantic hands. Altair and Ezio stood back at a distance, watching slack jawed. Finally, the two children backed off, their fingers filled with granola bars and chocolate. Ezio took a few hesitant steps forwards and peered into the bag before taking a step back and whistling. “You haven’t eaten in a while, huh?”
Connor looked up at the two, and swallowed with some difficulty. “Just a few days…”
Altair felt his stomach clench a little. “You haven’t eaten in a few days?”
“Its not that bad.” Connor wiped his mouth on the back of his sleeve. “Your stomach sort of turns off after a while, and you just forget you’re hungry.”
Altair remembered those days, from when he had first run away from the boarding school. It had seemed like a good idea, and he felt invincible, until the pains set into his stomach. More than once he had thought about going back, and on nights where he had gone very long stretches without eating anything, he was not ashamed to admit he had shed more than a few tears. Ezio turned around, and stared at him for a few minutes as if he was trying to decipher the look on Altair’s face, or read his thoughts. He then turned back to the children, and walked over to pull himself up onto the truck. “So, don’t you have any family anywhere?”
“No.” Connor lowered his hands to his lap, and looked over. “I just had my mom.” Aveline just shook her head, and continued to much away at a pop tart, silently staring at her feet, as she continued to kick them back and forth, idly. Connor looked over at her briefly, putting a hand on her shoulder, trying to be comforting.
Ezio frowned and tucked his knees under him. “So you ran away? Maybe the police could help you find someone to take care of you.”
Connor looked up at Ezio, with a determined glare. “No.”
“Why not?”
“My mom said not to trust the police.” He said, looking over at Aveline, who continued to stare at her feet.
“There are bad people in the police.”
“Bad people?” Altair folded his arms and took a few steps forwards. “What do you mean, bad people?”
“The people who took my mom away.” Aveline looked up. “The people who work for the company with the triangle logo.”
“Abstergo?” Altair raised his eyebrow. “That’s right, I thought it was weird a police car had the Abstergo logo on it.” He muttered, and subconsciously began to dig his nails into the fabric of his jacket. “I thought they were a medicine company…”
“You said that before too.” Ezio looked over. “Why did you think that?”
Altair looked up quickly, and noticed all three of them were staring at him, expectantly. He scowled and lowered his head again, turning his eyes away. “A couple years ago, my dad and I were driving somewhere… when another car smashed into us.” He lifted his beanie up, revealing a few scars on his head, and then raised his left hand to show where his ring finger was missing. “I got pretty lucky… but when I was in the hospital I remember seeing the Abstergo logo on all the medicine bottles, and on the nurse’s name tags.”
“Those are the bad people.” Aveline stated, and Connor nodded.
“My mom told me to stay away from them. And to find someone who could help me.” He reached back into his back pocket and pulled out a faded yellow slip of paper that looked like it had been folded over a couple of times. He slowly unfolded it and revealed it was a map, though it looked fairly old. Altair walked over to the two children, and looked down to examine it, and Connor raised his hand and pointed to the top corner. “She told me to find this place.”
Altair followed Connor’s finger, and his eyes widened at what it was pointing to. Ezio leaned over and the shock was just as visible on his face as well. “Altair…” He whispered. “Isn’t that the same symbol on your dad’s journal?”
“What?” Connor blinked looking up at him.
Altair said nothing, only swallowed heavily and walked over to his duffle bag. He pulled it open and plunged his arm deep into the bag, fishing around inside it for what felt like an eternity. Finally his fingers closed around his father’s journal and he pulled it out and held it up in front of his face. He looked down at the map again and then lowered the journal slowly, holding them side-by-side. Indeed it was the exact same symbol written on the map’s surface. Connor looked up at him, his eyes wide and Aveline’s fingers entwined around his shirt collar so tightly that her knuckles were turning white. Ezio crawled over and looked at the two symbols, and whistled.
“That’s really weird.”
“It’s not weird.” Altair snapped.
“It isn’t?”
Altair turned to look at the three kids who were all staring up at him, confusion heavy in their features and he sighed. “Four kids connected by the exact same symbol, who have all had a run in with this Abstergo Company, just happen to run into each other after losing their parents?” He held up his journal. “There is no way that’s a coincidence. Something is going on here, and I intend to find out what.”
“What does that mean?” Aveline asked, staring up at him.
“It means, once we get to Franklin, we’re sticking together a while longer.”
-----------------
If the ride before had seemed to drag on and on, it had gone far too quickly once the children had all piled back into the truck and they had taken off again. Even though they spent the remainder of the trip in absolute contemplative silence, it felt like they had only been driving for a few minutes before the truck pulled to a stop again. Altair had clung to his father’s journal through the entire trip, absently tracing his finger along the black indent of the symbol on the front. When the door opened again, he was greeted with light once more, but it was far less harsh this time, as the sun had gone down significantly lower into the sky, and dusk was beginning to set in. Altair looked around him at his traveling companions and slowly removed himself from the truck, swinging his legs over the edge and sliding down to the ground. Ezio followed him, silently, and the two looked back into the truck as Aveline and Connor slowly emerged as well, grabbing onto the edge of the truck and lowering themselves slowly onto the floor.
Altair turned and looked up at the driver, and gave him a small slanted grin. “Thanks, sir.” He mumbled and Ezio looked up from behind him.
“Yeah, thanks a lot. You really helped us out.”
“Sure. You kids just get to your family’s house before dark. And no more hitch hiking, alright?”
“Yes sir.” Altair nodded, and looked back at his traveling companions before looking over at the driver one more time and furrowing his brow. He thought briefly on what he had seen on the map that Connor had showed him and willed himself to remember just what street he had seen the symbol on. “Can you tell us how to get to Victorian Drive?” He said folding his arms. “Is it far from here?”
“I’m afraid I don’t know where that is.”
“What street are we on now, then?”
“Karl Road.”
“Okay.” Altair looked down at Connor and motioned for him to hand him the map. “Thanks, we’ll find it from here.”
Fill: Orphaned 4/?
-------------------
Altair had known that Franklin was far away. However he hadn’t realized it was hours worth of being enclosed in a darkened space with three other children, far away. So when the truck rolled to a stop, and the door opened with a loud creaking groan, Altair would have been lying if he had said he was anything other than relieved. He held up a hand to shield himself from the light that flooded through, and quietly pushed himself up into a standing position up against the wall of the trailer. He looked around, squinting through the sunlight, and saw Ezio slowly standing up looking dazed and disoriented as if he had just woken up. Connor and Aveline were pulling themselves up as well, smoothing down their rumbled clothes and rubbing at their eyes to try and ward off the offending sunlight.
Altair turned and walked over to the opening in the truck where the driver was standing, holding the door open with one hand. He sat down and swung his feet off the edge of the truck and slid down onto the ground. “When you said ‘Franklin’, I assumed you meant the one in the same state.” He muttered.
“I did. It’s a three hour drive up there, at least.”
Altair turned to look up at him and put his hands on his hips. “There? Don’t you mean… here?” He blinked and glanced around and noticed they were most definitely not in any city. They were sitting in a parking lot, right next to the highway and near a small brown building. “This isn’t Franklin.” Altair stated dumbly as Ezio came to the open door.
“What gives?” The younger boy asked, leaning up against the door.
“It’s a rest stop. I gotta head in.” The driver jerked a thumb at the building. “I figured you’d appreciate the chance to stretch your legs.”
“Oh.” Altair frowned and folded his arms. “Sure. Thanks.”
The driver turned around and began to walk out to building and Altair watched him go before hauling himself back up on to the truck, and sitting down, kicking his feet out. Ezio slid down next to him, and Connor and Aveline approached the edge as well, though Connor remained standing. Ezio leaned over and smiled at the two, trying to look reassuring. “Hey, I’m sure we’re almost there!”
Connor nodded, but Aveline continued to stare at the ground in thoughtful contemplation. Or at least that’s what Altair had thought it was before she spoke. “I’m hungry.”
Altair frowned as Connor slid down and sat next to her, taking her hand in his and giving it a reassuring squeeze. He grimaced as he felt a nagging sensation of guilt worming its way up through his gut. He looked over at Ezio, who just gave him a small remorseful grin.
“I’m hungry, too.”
When he had dictated he hadn’t wanted to be caught playing babysitter, he had thought he had been clear on that. Yet here he was, being burdened with the responsibility of making sure three kids got something to eat. Altair turned around and grabbed his duffle bag, before pulling it closer to him. He pulled the zipper down and pulled the cloth open before jumping down onto the ground and turning himself around to face the back of the truck. He set it down and pulled the side pocket open revealing his stash of stolen candy bars and chips. “Here.” He said shoving towards the three of them, and folding his arms. “Take whatever.”
He may as well have set down a trunk of gold and jewels in front of a band of pirates, and said ‘have at it’. Connor and Aveline descended upon the bag of food like hyenas, grabbing at the food and ripping at the wrappers with frantic hands. Altair and Ezio stood back at a distance, watching slack jawed. Finally, the two children backed off, their fingers filled with granola bars and chocolate. Ezio took a few hesitant steps forwards and peered into the bag before taking a step back and whistling. “You haven’t eaten in a while, huh?”
Connor looked up at the two, and swallowed with some difficulty. “Just a few days…”
Altair felt his stomach clench a little. “You haven’t eaten in a few days?”
“Its not that bad.” Connor wiped his mouth on the back of his sleeve. “Your stomach sort of turns off after a while, and you just forget you’re hungry.”
Altair remembered those days, from when he had first run away from the boarding school. It had seemed like a good idea, and he felt invincible, until the pains set into his stomach. More than once he had thought about going back, and on nights where he had gone very long stretches without eating anything, he was not ashamed to admit he had shed more than a few tears. Ezio turned around, and stared at him for a few minutes as if he was trying to decipher the look on Altair’s face, or read his thoughts. He then turned back to the children, and walked over to pull himself up onto the truck. “So, don’t you have any family anywhere?”
“No.” Connor lowered his hands to his lap, and looked over. “I just had my mom.” Aveline just shook her head, and continued to much away at a pop tart, silently staring at her feet, as she continued to kick them back and forth, idly. Connor looked over at her briefly, putting a hand on her shoulder, trying to be comforting.
Ezio frowned and tucked his knees under him. “So you ran away? Maybe the police could help you find someone to take care of you.”
Connor looked up at Ezio, with a determined glare. “No.”
“Why not?”
“My mom said not to trust the police.” He said, looking over at Aveline, who continued to stare at her feet.
“There are bad people in the police.”
“Bad people?” Altair folded his arms and took a few steps forwards. “What do you mean, bad people?”
“The people who took my mom away.” Aveline looked up. “The people who work for the company with the triangle logo.”
“Abstergo?” Altair raised his eyebrow. “That’s right, I thought it was weird a police car had the Abstergo logo on it.” He muttered, and subconsciously began to dig his nails into the fabric of his jacket. “I thought they were a medicine company…”
“You said that before too.” Ezio looked over. “Why did you think that?”
Altair looked up quickly, and noticed all three of them were staring at him, expectantly. He scowled and lowered his head again, turning his eyes away. “A couple years ago, my dad and I were driving somewhere… when another car smashed into us.” He lifted his beanie up, revealing a few scars on his head, and then raised his left hand to show where his ring finger was missing. “I got pretty lucky… but when I was in the hospital I remember seeing the Abstergo logo on all the medicine bottles, and on the nurse’s name tags.”
“Those are the bad people.” Aveline stated, and Connor nodded.
“My mom told me to stay away from them. And to find someone who could help me.” He reached back into his back pocket and pulled out a faded yellow slip of paper that looked like it had been folded over a couple of times. He slowly unfolded it and revealed it was a map, though it looked fairly old. Altair walked over to the two children, and looked down to examine it, and Connor raised his hand and pointed to the top corner. “She told me to find this place.”
Altair followed Connor’s finger, and his eyes widened at what it was pointing to. Ezio leaned over and the shock was just as visible on his face as well. “Altair…” He whispered. “Isn’t that the same symbol on your dad’s journal?”
“What?” Connor blinked looking up at him.
Altair said nothing, only swallowed heavily and walked over to his duffle bag. He pulled it open and plunged his arm deep into the bag, fishing around inside it for what felt like an eternity. Finally his fingers closed around his father’s journal and he pulled it out and held it up in front of his face. He looked down at the map again and then lowered the journal slowly, holding them side-by-side. Indeed it was the exact same symbol written on the map’s surface. Connor looked up at him, his eyes wide and Aveline’s fingers entwined around his shirt collar so tightly that her knuckles were turning white. Ezio crawled over and looked at the two symbols, and whistled.
“That’s really weird.”
“It’s not weird.” Altair snapped.
“It isn’t?”
Altair turned to look at the three kids who were all staring up at him, confusion heavy in their features and he sighed. “Four kids connected by the exact same symbol, who have all had a run in with this Abstergo Company, just happen to run into each other after losing their parents?” He held up his journal. “There is no way that’s a coincidence. Something is going on here, and I intend to find out what.”
“What does that mean?” Aveline asked, staring up at him.
“It means, once we get to Franklin, we’re sticking together a while longer.”
-----------------
If the ride before had seemed to drag on and on, it had gone far too quickly once the children had all piled back into the truck and they had taken off again. Even though they spent the remainder of the trip in absolute contemplative silence, it felt like they had only been driving for a few minutes before the truck pulled to a stop again. Altair had clung to his father’s journal through the entire trip, absently tracing his finger along the black indent of the symbol on the front. When the door opened again, he was greeted with light once more, but it was far less harsh this time, as the sun had gone down significantly lower into the sky, and dusk was beginning to set in. Altair looked around him at his traveling companions and slowly removed himself from the truck, swinging his legs over the edge and sliding down to the ground. Ezio followed him, silently, and the two looked back into the truck as Aveline and Connor slowly emerged as well, grabbing onto the edge of the truck and lowering themselves slowly onto the floor.
Altair turned and looked up at the driver, and gave him a small slanted grin. “Thanks, sir.” He mumbled and Ezio looked up from behind him.
“Yeah, thanks a lot. You really helped us out.”
“Sure. You kids just get to your family’s house before dark. And no more hitch hiking, alright?”
“Yes sir.” Altair nodded, and looked back at his traveling companions before looking over at the driver one more time and furrowing his brow. He thought briefly on what he had seen on the map that Connor had showed him and willed himself to remember just what street he had seen the symbol on. “Can you tell us how to get to Victorian Drive?” He said folding his arms. “Is it far from here?”
“I’m afraid I don’t know where that is.”
“What street are we on now, then?”
“Karl Road.”
“Okay.” Altair looked down at Connor and motioned for him to hand him the map. “Thanks, we’ll find it from here.”