Family of Outcasts, Aaron McLeod [best book club books for discussion txt] 📗

            “I see.” Hammond rubbed his hands against his face. “A bandit attack most likely. The boy is lucky to be alive.”

            “With your permission Father Hammond, I wish to take my men and hunt these bandits down.” Brygon said suddenly. Hammond looked up at him with surprise. He stayed silent for a moment, then nodded.

            “Very well. If there are bandits nearby, it would do us good to be rid of them sooner rather than later. But before you go, might I speak with you alone?” Hammond said. Brygon nodded and they went down the stairs together. Arthur eased up and leaned his back onto the door. There was no noise coming from the room. Arthur had questions for the boy when he woke up. Of all the things he was curious of however, he wondered what was in the bundle that had been attached to the boy’s back. He could tell that everyone else was just as curious. Their faces gave it away. He suddenly realized something.

            “Is anyone keeping an eye on Hannah?” He asked everyone. Everyone realized that they had left her alone. Ragosh and Brendwin quickly bolted for her bedroom with the twins. Hammond returned to them just as they entered the girls’ room. He approached Arthur again.

            “Brygon and his men have left. I will be in the chapel. Inform me of any changes.” He said quickly, leaving just as fast as he had arrived. The door opened and Gregory stepped out. He was cleaning blood from his hands.

            “How is it?” Arthur asked.

            “We’ve managed to stop the bleeding for now. He’s still unconscious though. I doubt he’ll awaken any time soon. Where are Brygon and Hammond?” Gregory responded.

            “Brygon has taken the soldiers to track down whoever did this to him and Hammond is in the chapel, praying.”

            “Good. I’d rather the degenerates who did this to that boy were caught sooner rather than later. Now come on all of you, grab pillows and blankets and move into the girls’ room. It would be better if the boy remains undisturbed through the night.” The boys quickly gathered what they needed. Arthur managed to get a look at the boy. The dirt had been cleaned from his face and a bandage was wrapped around his belly, covering the arrow wound. Hanalos placed a wet cloth on the boy’s forehead.

            They all moved into the girls’ room, laying their blankets down on the floor. Hannah was awake now. She said that Ragosh explained what was going on.

            “What does he look like?” She asked curiously.

            “His hair goes down to around his neck. It’s light blonde in colour. His face has some small scars, but his upper body is covered with larger ones.” Arthur explained. Hannah didn’t ask anything else.

            Arthur rested his body down onto the blanket. He stared at the ceiling. There we hundreds of questions he wanted to ask the boy, but he knew he had to wait. It frustrated him. That boy could be asleep for days. He didn’t have the patience for it. Arthur turned to ask Athos what he thought but Athos was already asleep. Everyone else was a sleep for that matter.

            “I guess they’re much more tired than I thought.” He whispered to himself.

An hour passed and Arthur was still wide awake. He kept on tossing and turning, trying to strike the questions he had from his mind. Eventually, Arthur got up and quietly walked over to the window. It was a large square window that let a little light in when the wooden doors for it were closed. He opened them slightly to let some fresh air in. Leaning his chin against the bottom of the window, he took a deep breath of the wet air. The rain was much heavier than it had been before. Arthur let out a quiet groan of irritation. The surrounding area would be so muddy it would be almost like a sink hole. He closed his eyes for a moment and took another breath. Just then, he thought he heard a noise outside. Opening his eyes, he stuck his head out the window more. His hair quickly became wet with the rain. He could barely make anything out because of the limited moonlight. He heard the noise again. It sounded like footsteps in the mud.

            “Brygon and his men must be coming back.” He thought to himself. Suddenly, an arrow collided with the left door. Arthur fell backwards and landed on top of Athos, who quickly woke up. Another arrow went through the opening in the window doors, landing just between Athos’s legs. It was yew, much like the arrow that was in the boy’s side. Soon, more arrows were colliding with the window doors and the outside walls.

            “Wake up! Everyone! Wake up!” Arthur yelled out. Everyone almost jumped up from their beds from his voice. Brendwin quickly ran and acted as a shield for Ariana. Athos picked up Jade from her bed while Ragosh and Arthur helped Hannah from her bed. Jordan was hiding his face under his pillow. An arrow landed just in front of his pillow. He pulled his head out and jumped back in fear.

            “Get up Jordan!” Arthur yelled. “Hanalos! Gregory!” They all finally left the room. Gregory and Hanalos were already out in the hallway. Gregory had the boy in his arms.

            “Gregory! There are-”

            “I know boy! All of you, downstairs. Hurry!” Gregory barked. They moved downstairs to the main hall. Gregory laid the boy down onto the floor and called for Ragosh and Arthur to help him. They sat Hannah down on a bench and helped Gregory push heavy objects in front of the main door. The front doors were being pushed from the outside, but the heavy objects kept them from opening. The three of them pushed against the door to hold it back.

            “Brendwin.” Hanalos called out. “Behind the bedroom closet is a chest. Take everything from the chest and bring them back to me” Brendwin went back upstairs.

            “Athos. I need you to go out to the courtyard and bring me the woodcutting axe. Hurry!” Athos left.

            Hanalos knelt down, ignoring the pain in her knees. She pulled Jade into her arms. Jade was crying loudly. The sound of hollering from outside the door echoed throughout the hall. Arthur pulled a table forward and pushed it against the door. Ragosh was pushing the door back with all his strength, causing his veins to pop up. Gregory’s feet were slipping on the floor, he was pushing so hard.

            Brendwin finally returned with the contents of the chest. Hanalos gave Jade to Ariana and took the contents from him. She stood up and picked up the matchlock rifle. She filled it with gunpowder, placed the ball in, rammed it in with the scouring stick, primed the guy, lit the match cord, leaned the gun on top of the door barricade and pulled the trigger. There was a scream outside and smoke filled the room. Everyone held their hands up to their ears. The gunshot in such an enclosed space had made it much louder than it normally is. The door opened more with this moment of vulnerability and a crude short sword managed to get through. It was slightly chipped around the tip and was covered with scratches. The man who held the sword managed to get his head into the door. His face was ugly. There was a massive wart on his nose and his face was badly scarred. There were multiple gaps in his teeth and he seemed to be rather fat around the face. He swung the sword around madly, trying to hit anyone who got in the way. He managed to cut Ragosh’s arm slightly. Ragosh took the rifle from Hanalos’s hands, turned it over and hit the bandit multiple times in the face with the butt of the gun. The bandit quickly retreated back, his face and nose bloodied. They managed to push the door closed again.

            Athos finally came back with the axe. His face and the axe blade were covered with blood. He was breathing heavily and his hands were shaking. Hanalos went over to him and took the axe from him.

            “Athos?” She asked. He didn’t respond. “Athos!” He finally regained his sense and looked at her.

            “They’re trying to break through the courtyard doors. The entire place is surrounded.” He said with some difficulty.

            “Then there’s no escape?” Arthur asked. There was the sudden noise of cracking wood. It caused Gregory, Arthur and Ragosh to fall backwards from the barricade. They quickly got up and pushed again. Gregory looked out the door and saw that the bandits had brought a makeshift battering ram and were trying to break the door down with it. It struck the door again, causing a chunk of the door to break in the middle.

            “There is an escape.” Hanalos said. “There’s an old tunnel in the cellar that was built as a way for the monks who lived here to flee if need be. Everyone, to the cellar!” Gregory took the axe from Hanalos and Ragosh gave her back the rifle. They all left the barricade and ran for the cellar, which was underneath the kitchen. Ragosh carried the boy while Arthur and Brendwin helped keep Hannah from collapsing. Ariana was carrying Jade when she realized they had left the boys bundle behind. She put Jade down and ran back to retrieve it. Just as she grabbed the bundle, another bandit broke through the door. He was much skinnier than the other one. He had a wooden club in his hand and a dagger in the other. His nose was crooked and he practically had no teeth. He ran at Ariana and hit her in the side with his club. As she fell down, the bandit got down on his knees and grabbed her dress. He tried to rip the front of it off, but she scratched at his face and drew blood. He slapped her across the face, cursed at her and lifted his dagger to stab her. Ariana closed her eyes and anticipated the worst. She suddenly felt something warm land on her face. Opening her eyes, she saw Gregory smashing the bandits head with the axe. She quickly got up, wiping blood from her face. The bandit fell down dead as Gregory pulled out the axe. Ariana took the bundle and ran for the kitchen with Gregory close behind. There was another loud smash and a part of the barricade collapsed. Gregory closed the kitchen door and locked it.

            “That won’t hold them for long. Go quickly.” He said to everyone. They managed to get into the cellar and lock that door. It stored all the food they had left and was illuminated by around a dozen candles.

 Hanalos was running her hands against the stone walls. She came across a stone that was sticking out farther than the others and pushed against it. Nothing happened. They heard the sound of the kitchen door break open. Hanalos kept searching. She found another and pushed it, but still nothing. Gregory took Jade and tried to muffle her cries so that the bandits wouldn’t find them soon. Hanalos finally found a third one stone and pressed against it. Nothing happened again.

            “Dammit!” She cursed quietly. Brendwin was on the opposite end of the cellar, running his hands against the walls. He stopped next to a basket of potatoes. He pressed against that part of the wall and a sound came from the wall. The stone began to shift and shake, creating a loud noise. The wall then slid down into the ground, revealing a long tunnel that led into darkness. Hanalos and Gregory took some candles and handed them to Arthur, Ariana and Athos. Suddenly, the sound of metal meeting wood came from the cellar door. The bandits had heard the