Pathless: Outcast

Cintra, 1st of Suncrest, year 305 UC

He wanted to be just like everyone else.

He wanted to be normal.

That word seemed so distant to him, almost foreign.

He knew deep down inside that he could never be like them, but that did not stop him from wanting to be accepted by them. Yet, acceptance came at a price—a painful one at that.

On the cold hard ground, he lay, with bruises all over his fragile body.

From afar one might believe him to be dead by his deathly pale skin.

Except, he wasn’t.

His body was still full of vigor, his pale skin was just something he was born with.

It was also one of his curses, something that caused him to be shunned by his fellow peers.

“Yay!”

Voices shouted from around the deathly pale-skinned young boy.

Those voices were all too familiar to him.

Zeke, Millie, Brittney, John, and Dave. The five troublemakers who seemed never to stop having fun.

They were normal children, all of whom were under the age of ten. Just like him. Except they were normal, unlike him.

There was that word again.

Normal.

He wondered what it felt to be...

“We’ve finally slain the demon.”

Zeke exclaimed with a grin on his face.

That smug look held a meaning behind it, just like the words he spoke.

Demon.

Something he was often called by them.

Standing over him, Zeke looked as if he had won a major duel over a great evil.

"Look at him, guys. We finally got rid of the demon."

‘I’m not a demon.’

He thought to himself as he laid there.

Millie shifted uncomfortably as her eyes darted between the deathly pale-skinned boy and the rest of the group.

They were all grins, just like her but she wasn’t like them.

Her long dirty-blonde hair fell in front of her face as she looked down at the ground.

‘This… this feels wrong.’

She thought.

It was a feeling she wasn’t used to and one that has been growing these last few weeks.

But she doesn’t speak on those feelings, instead, she keeps them inside. Thinking that the others were the same like her, to some degree.

Even if she wanted to stop, she couldn’t say it out loud. Dave was bigger than her, and Zeke took pleasure in beating up Bryan, the deathly pale-skinned boy.

No way was she getting in between them, or else… she might be on the ground with him.

Glancing to the side she looked at Brittney, hoping she would understand.

Brittney stood further back, almost like she wanted to escape. Their eyes didn’t meet, but Millie noticed she was nibbling on her thumb’s fingernail.

“I do not bite my nails!”

Brittney told her months ago, but she was doing exactly that.

‘Are we the same?’

Millie couldn’t help but wonder as she stared at Brittney.

Was she too, just going with the motions? Fitting in to be normal?

If so then…

‘No.’

She tossed that idea out of her head.

Her eyes locked onto John, the ever-silent one in their group. He scared her more than Dave and Zeke, there was no emotion, no life in his eyes.

It was as if he was a doll.

Especially the way he was gazing at Bryan. Would he do the same to her?

John never once participated in any of the beatings, but he watched.

Everyone thought he was a bit of an oddball, but no one ever messed with him.

He rarely even talked to them, so, why was he here?

Dave moved forward catching her attention with that dumb smirk on his face.

‘Ugh, why?’

He was older than her by five years, and the oldest out of their group.

Dave was always fun to be around, except when he saw Bryan. For some reason, he just didn’t like the red-eyed boy.

She didn’t know why, he never told anyone.

But, she thought it might be due to the fact that Bryan received more love from Ms. Kelly than him.

"You see, Bryan," Dave started.

"This is what happens when you don’t fit in. When you’re not... normal."

He emphasized the word.

It felt good to him too, seeing Bryan beneath him.

On the ground, Bryan's ears twitched as he heard hurried footsteps.

“You five! What do you think you are doing?”

The voice belonged to a woman, clearly older than all five children. From the tone in her voice, it was easy to see how worried she was.

Zeke's heart skipped a beat, the confident facade faltering for a split second.

The others were just as startled as he was. But, he remembered his conversation with Dave. He just had to pretend like this wasn’t a big deal, problem solved.

‘I can do this.’

Zeke thought to himself.

Quickly he put on a defiant look, his eyes meeting the woman's.

"We were just playing."

He said, trying to sound nonchalant, but the worry in his voice betrayed him.

He noticed Millie’s face turn pale as she took a step back, trying to hide.

Now was not the time to fail, he had to be brave. This was his time to impress her.

"We were just having some fun," Dave said, backing him up.

‘Thanks!’

With Dave’s support, nothing could go wrong. All that was left was to get the others on board.

"Yeah, we were just playing a game. Right, guys?"

He looks around at the others, trying to rally them to back him up.

Millie spoke softly, and she didn’t look at the woman.

“It was just a game…”

The words barely came out.

Zeke liked that about her, she had a nice voice.

And, she was pretty! Very pretty.

Brittney was the next one to speak up, although it was mostly her mumbling.

"Yeah, just playing."

‘What’s wrong with you?’

Zeke asked himself as she just kept looking at the ground.

This was so unlike her, and she was always doing this or that.

He didn’t know why Millie was friends with her. But he wasn’t going to say anything, because he had to look good in front of her.

Dave stepped forward slightly, trying to regain control of the situation.

"We didn’t mean any harm, Ms. Kelly. Bryan's just really good at playing the monster. It’s all pretend."

Zeke knew that smile he was giving her. It was the one he gave people when he didn’t truly mean it and just wanted to get rid of you.

He had to learn how to do that, because people could tell his was fake.

“Playing? You think harming someone is a game? Look at what you’ve done! Look at him!”

Rage filled Ms. Kelly’s voice as she shouted louder than she usually would.

‘Ugh oh.’

Zeke didn’t know what was going on.

She sounded upset, very upset.

This wasn’t what Dave told him would happen.

Ms. Kelly stepped forward, her blue eyes blazing with fury, her long brown hair catching in the wind. She knelt beside Bryan, her white gown brushing against the dirt as she gently touched his cheek.

"Bryan, can you hear me?"

She asked, her voice softening.

Bryan's eyes fluttered open, and he managed a small nod, wincing as he tried to sit up.

Kelly's heart ached at the sight of his pain.

"It's okay, Bryan. I'm here. You're safe now."

The way she was showing him affection, she never did that for them. Not in the same way.

Looking at Dave, Zeke hoped he had a plan.

But, Dave looked more upset than anything else.

“What are we doing?”

Zeke whispered as quietly as he could.

Dave didn’t even flinch at his question and instead continued to observe Ms. Kelly.

Ms. Kelly’s heart broke as she saw Bryan’s pain up close.

She gently helped him to sit up, her touch light and careful.

She turned her head slightly, addressing the group of children with a voice that’s now more controlled, but still filled with a stern, unyielding anger.

“Harming someone is never a game. You’ve crossed a line, all of you.”

“We’re sorry Ms. Kelly! Really, we are. It won’t happen again.”

Dave was the oldest of the five so he took the lead and spoke for the group.

“You best believe it won’t happen again,” She snapped.

”If it does, all of you will be kicked out of the orphanage! Do you understand!?”

Ms. Kelly was still furious at the children for their behavior.

She had never come across anything like it in all ten years of her running this place. This truly was the first time she had witnessed bullying to this extent.

Bullying was not foreign to her, she knew it happened.

She knew it was happening to the pale-skinned young boy on the ground and even talked to him about it. She tried, she really did.

However, it seems that she needed to try harder.

Hearing those harsh words, the five children were frozen solid, just like a statue.

Kicked out? If that happened they would have nowhere to go.

The streets were dangerous.

Thugs filled them at night time, and scavenging for food would be difficult. In their city, homeless people could be found all over, but no one cared anything about them.

Here though, at the orphanage things were different.

They were given food, clothes, a roof over their head, and taught basic education. This was more than they could ever ask for, so why did they almost mess it up?

They all had the same thought appear in their head.

Him.

It was his fault things escalated to this point.

He just had to be different, he just had to approach them. He just had to… he just had to exist!

The realization of the severity of their actions and Ms. Kelly's threat hit Zeke like a punch in the gut.

He felt sick in the stomach.

He glared at Bryan, his eyes burning with anger.

‘You!’

Why did Bryan have to be so different? If it weren’t for him, they wouldn’t be in this mess.

"We understand, Ms. Kelly. We’re really sorry. We promise it won’t happen again."

Dave spoke once more.

“You five shall clean the halls, prepare the meals, and clean the dishes all by yourselves. This is strike two, and you don’t want to know what happens if you dare do something like this again.”

Ms. Kelly told the children before she turned her back towards them.

Seeing this, the children just stayed there. Silent. Should they leave or should they stay?

Ms. Kelly answered this for them as she turned her head towards them.

“Well, what are you waiting for? You know where the rags are!”

Without missing a beat, the five kids rushed off to the old wooden building.

Her slim hands reached down as she caressed Bryan’s white hair. It was soft to the touch and looked beautiful whenever she saw it. Now, it was covered in dirt and blood.

She could not believe this.

What caused them to act this way?

“Let our sorrows be washed away.”

A light blue aura wrapped itself around her hand as she gently touched his wounds. While they would not close and heal themselves, he would at least be numb to the pain.

It was moments like these that she wished she were a better mage.

Or at least knew higher-tier magic.

Still, it did the trick and the young boy slowly opened his eyes as his face relaxed.

That’s when she saw them, his red eyes. His third curse, the second being his white hair.

Whilst she did not fear him, nor think badly of him, the same could not be said for the others.

His looks alone caused them to be afraid.

Why?

Because he was abnormal.

No one had white hair. No one had deathly pale skin. No one had red eyes.

So why. Why was he born this way?

He was different. Someone who would never be considered normal in the eyes of others.

There was a word for people like him.

An outcast.

Someone who is cast aside and rejected by their own kind. That was him, and all he would ever be.

Once. Twice. His eyes blinked as he gazed into Ms. Kelly's blue eyes.

"Why? Why did you make them leave?"

Pain could be heard from his voice as he asked his question.

One that caused Ms. Kelly's heart to tighten.

"Bryan," She spoke as she brushed his white hair back while examining his face.

"What do you mean why? I am helping you, trying to save you from harm. Why did you want them to stay? They do not enjoy your company, you know this don't you?"

"B-but they are my friends… we were just playing a game."

He told her as he cast his gaze toward the ground.

"They aren't your friends. Friends do not harm other friends, those five are using you for their own amusement. You should leave them be and make other friends."

She told him as she raised his head so that she could speak directly to him while looking at his red eyes.

She meant what she said, and she wanted Bryan to understand that.

"But they are the only ones who’ll talk to me. Who want me…"

"That is not true…"

"But it is!"

Bryan interrupted her with a shout.

"Even my own parents abandoned me."

"We don't know that for sure. They could have had a reason, you never know."

Ms. Kelly tried to sound optimistic about his situation, but she could not relate to him.

After all, Bryan has been here since he was a baby.

He's never known his father or mother, and due to his physical traits, he was always alone.

"Then why haven't they shown up huh? Why?"

Bryan started to shed tears, not because of the physical pain but due to the emotional ones.

"It's okay Bryan. Everything will be okay. Things will get better, you just have to keep believing."

Ms. Kelly told him as she held him in her arms.

He was nothing more than a young boy, only five years old.

Yet he was lonely and without love.

She hated this.

This helplessness she was feeling.

Ms. Kelly could do nothing for him, and had to watch him suffer.

Whenever she set up an appointment with prospective parents they dodged Bryan as if he were some kind of plague.

No one wanted him because he was different.

Kelly gently stroked his hair, feeling the softness despite the dirt and blood.

"You are special, Bryan. Your uniqueness is what makes you wonderful, even if others can't see it yet. I see it, and I believe in you."

Bryan sniffled, his small body trembling against her.

"But why does it hurt so much?"

"Because people fear what they don't understand."

Kelly explained, her voice full of tenderness.

"But that doesn't mean you aren't worthy of love and friendship. It just means we need to find the right people who can see past appearances and appreciate you for who you are."

She pulled back slightly to look into his red eyes, her own blue ones full of warmth.

"I promise you, Bryan, I will always be here for you. You will never be alone as long as I am around."

Bryan's tiny hands clutched the fabric of Ms. Kelly's dress, his tears soaking into it. He tried to take comfort in her words, but the pain in his heart was overwhelming.

The two sat there on the cold hard ground for ten minutes. It took that long for Bryan to finally settle down and get ready to head back inside the orphanage.

Before they went in, however, Ms. Kelly squatted down to Bryan's eye level.

"Promise me, Bryan. Promise me that you'll never lower yourself to fit someone else's standards. You are better than that and if they can't accept you for who you are then they are not worth your time."

Holding out her hand, Ms. Kelly raised her pinky.

Bryan did not fully comprehend what she was saying, after all, he was only five years old. Still, he nodded his head as he wrapped his pinky around hers.

Kelly smiled and kissed the top of his head.

"It's a promise. Now, let's get you cleaned up and maybe... maybe we can read a story together. Would you like that?"

A small, hesitant smile tugged at Bryan's lips.

"Yes, please. I like stories."

**********

The orphanage was old and needed to be fixed up, but they did not have the funds for that. They barely had the funds to feed all the children here. Times were hard and it seems like as more time went on, people began to care less and less about this place.

The wooden walls had holes in them, there was water leaking from the ceiling and a slightly cold draft of wind kept blowing in. The building was not small, but couldn't be considered large either. With ten bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a kitchen they made it work.

Ms. Kelly parted ways with Bryan as she still had some work to do. However, she made a mental note to check up on him once more before the day ended.

As she walked down the hall she entered her office, which used to be a bedroom but she transformed it into an office.

Inside sat a lady with long black hair, clear milky skin, and light blue eyes.

Locking eyes with Ms. Kelly, she smiled.

"How is he?"

Swiftly Ms. Kelly shut the door and sighed.

"How is he? Is that really what you ask me as soon as I see you?"

She wanted to wait for a reply, but from the look on her visitor’s face, she already knew the answer.

"Damaged. Broken. What more do you want me to say? Things would be easier if you just met him yourself."

"You know I can't do that. Not yet…"

The woman replied.

"I'm still not ready… I just need a bit more time."

"You make more excuses than anyone I know. He's just like you, isn't that why you picked him? All you have to do is talk to him. Don't tell me you are afraid of a little boy?"