Intro
March 10th 1950, ‘Loud footsteps enter the room with an extra tone of mean, everybody is not quite awake but bracing for what’s coming next.”
“Little James Winkler was born in Liverpool, lived with his parents until 1945 when his parents sacrificed themselves to save him from a raging fire,” said the Narrator.
Chapter 1
“Get out of bed you low life child like rat!” Gerda said
‘There’s Gerda for you, she is the meanest person I know. I can’t stand being here, but today I’m going to leave, for good. I’m just going to walk away from this two-bunk filled, crooked-floored, cold-aired, old-timed, stupid, stupid, room!’
“James! Get back here now, boy you have just earned lunch without food,” Gerda said.
“Gerda, don’t be so hard on James, he probably just misses his parents,” said Hermann. Gerda pushes Hermann to the floor with no sense of guilt.
‘It is true, I do miss my parents. It has been five years since, I can still remember my father trying to escape from the window when the Nazi shot him and my mom in the legs then left them to die in the burning fire. All I care about is friends, food, and family, my three f’s. As I mentioned family, I do have one relative, maybe, it has been five years since I heard of my Grandpa. A lot can happen in five years. Maybe he’s died, but enough about that, Hermann just talked, he never talked since his parents were murdered in front of him.’
‘Breakfast is always porridge with moldy cheese. It’s this new diet that Gerda came up with, the orphanage owners association (The OOA) made a bonus program where if you get rid of your kids you get paid extra. The only thing about that, is they didn’t say how to get rid of the kids. Gerda is trying to pounce on every opportunity to give us a disease before the OOA catches her. That’s why I never eat the cheese.’
‘Tonight I plan on leaving, for good. I want to find my grandpa anyway I can, even if it kills people I will not rest, nor retreat, only progress.’ “Yow!!” I said. I just got a giant splinter in my toe, the feeling of the wood piercing my skin is something else. This floor needs to be sanded.
“Gerda Aren’t you going to help James now,” Said Susan.
“No! Anything I can do to get rid of your asses I will, and I mean anything. It’s just I can’t kill you of course, if I did, the OOA will not give me a bonus,” Gerda yelled.
“Is that all this is to you Gerda? A Fucking game? I can’t believe you,” said Mary Anne. “You should treat us like you treat yourself, you horder. We've caught you! We all know that the nun’s over at the church have been bringing us sausages and jams, you have been storing them in your desk, the tastes so good that you can’t seem to share with us! You must have the wit of 10 male lions to do this, you are starving these children. For god’s sake, you can see the ribs on every kid in here, and that’s good considering they eat twice a day with watered down porridge and moldy cheese, that quite frankly is not edible.”
“Calm down Mary, your spiraling,” I said.
‘None of what she said at the end helped our case.’
Chapter 2
‘Night has fallen, all I can hear is crickets in the distance. It’s time,’ ‘ I’m quickly but quietly moving through the room, I don’t need to see, I can trust my instincts, I've been here for three years, I’m pretty sure I know where to go. I am making my way to Gerda’s office, luckily Gerda is a heavy sleeper. I’m the room is so dark all I can see is my imagination and “floaters” in the back of my eyes. I never go in here so I need to feel around. I feel the drawer, it seems to be where Gerda keeps her clothes. I feel the softness of cloth on my fingers. I put her only pair of socks on and steal an outfit from Mary Anne, she has the same body type as me so it will look normal if I wear this on the street. I write a note to Mary Anne I the kitchen for how very sorry I am about stealing her stuff. I pack my bag and go. I feel very bad for leaving my friends, but I have to. I trust that my note will get to them.’
Chapter 3: Hermann
March 20th 1950
‘I wake up to a loud, repeating noise.’
“hermann, hermann, HERMANN! You slept too long, Gerda is getting really mad, James is gone,” said Susan.
“What!” I said.
“Ya, he wasn’t in his bed this morning,” Susan replied. “The OOA said that the only way to lose children is by getting the children homes. And if the owner loses children a bad way they have to pay a fine of five hundred dollars.”
Later that night
‘As I’m walking back from dinner I’m so sleepy I can barely keep my eyes open. All I can see is blurriness, until I find a note in my pillowcase. It shocks me so hard that my eyes go from half-mast to wide open.
January 11th 1950
“Dear Hermann, if you're reading this I have left the orphanage to find my grandpa. I only wrote a note to you, mostly because your the only one who can keep a secret. No offense to anybody else, but this is important. I want you to leave the orphanage the night of march 20th. I don’t want you to go alone so I want you to gather in a group with Susan, Leroy, Walter, Peter, Randall, and Michael. Just pack your stuff and leave, I will leave clues on the way to your destination in Liverpool.
Later that night
“ Hey Susan, Michael, Randall, Walter, Peter, and Leroy. Pack your stuff, and quick. No questions asked, let’s get going!
“Where?” Leroy said.
“ I said no questions asked,” I replied.
Chapter 4
As the group is leaving the orphanage, “Stop!” Gerda yelled “what are you doing?”
“Uuhh, we are going to find James,” I said.
“No you are not,” Gerda answered.
“Yes! We are going to find him and bring him back so you can get rid of him the right way,” I argued.
“How do I know you won’t run away?” Gerda said
“If we run away, we will be living on the streets, why would we do that when we have shelter and food here?” Leroy replied
“Fine, you have 5 days,” Gerda said angrily. As the group walks away. “wait!” Gerda said. “you have five days before… I will find you and punish you”
“What will the punishment be?” I said
“DEATH!” Gerda said smiling
‘Everybody runs except for me.’
”The five days is gone in a blink of an eye, and soon after that everyone will die, if you break the deal your fate is sealed and soon your soul is mine,” Gerda said in a hasty whisper.
‘As I walk away I turn my shoulder, and Gerda is gone.’
Fast forward 3 days
‘It was three days ago that Gerda said that, that, rhyme. I still have not stopped thinking about it. I also have only found Susan on the trip, whatever happened the night of the rhyme was so grim that Susan became mentally ill. It wasn’t just the word DEATH that got Susan, there is something wrong with Gerda. I didn’t just walk away clean after she told me the rhyme either. I walked away, my back hurt. I must have fallen in shock but not remembered.’ It’s been a day already so I should just move along. As I’m at the edge of town I wonder what James was talking about when he said “clues”. Were at the port assuming everybody else is here, then I found Peter and Leroy waiting at the edge with something in Leroy’s hand. “Hi,” I said.
Leroy turns around and says, “hey.” then hands me a note. “Look,” Leroy said.
”Hermann, nice job you have found my first clue. Now, I need you to cross the river and get to the other side where you will find the second clue about where to lead you on your journey.”
‘It was a simple-quick note that I didn’t really understand but I guess it’s across the river for me.
Back at the orphanage
“It’s been three days since they left, two more and their all dead,” Said Gerda quietly.
“Gerda? Will James come back?” Said Charles
“No! Charles, if the kids don’t bring James back I will murder them all,” Gerda replied.
Back to the group
They have just crossed the river into Liverpool and are making their way towards the second note.
‘I don’t know why, but I have a strange sense that something bad will happen.’
“Hermann!” Said Leroy “There is a rock near the peer with your name on it.”
“Guys, stay there, I’ll be right back.” I said. ‘I hop down onto the beach and walk to the end of the dock where the rock is. I flipped the rock over and found an arrow and a note. The arrow pointed North.’
“Hermann, you have found the next clue” James said “Follow the arrow North to this address 112 Greenleaf boulevard, North Liverpool, I will be expecting you.”
Back at the orphanage
“It’s time,” said Gerda.
Fast forward to the peer near the orphanage
“Well well, look who I have found, little Walter and Michael,” Gerda said.
“Gerda, please, no,” Michael replied scaredly.
“Ok,” Gerda repleid
“Really,” walter said happily.
Gerda starts to grin “...No!” she said quietly
Gerda whips a knife out of her pocket stabs walter in the head kicks Michael over, takes the knife out of Walter’s head then throws it into Michael’s stomach who is laying on the ground.
“See ya later, Michael,” Gerda said with content. Then takes the knife out of Michaels stomach and leaves him to bleed to death.
Next morning
Gerda steps of of the boat and sees footprints along the beach leading for at least two miles.
Chapter 5: Hermann
‘We finally got of the beach, after stepping my feet onto the hard pavement, it feels like many needles on my skin, I put my shoes on and look around. I see posters advertising soccer and food, but nothing about where we are. Until I spotted a purple welcome sign saying “Welcome to North Liverpool!”
“Guys, we’re in south Liverpool!” I said with content
Chapter 6: Gerda
‘I see where they got of the beach’
“Welcome to North Liverpool” a sign said as Gerda was steppin off the beach
Gerda saw a man standing by the sign and said
“Have you seen a group of children on their own come through here?” Gerda said
“Actually I have, just an hour ago.” the man answered
Thank you sir.” Gerda said
Chapter 7: Hermann
“Guys, this is the street, the last letter said go to 112 Greenleaf Boulevard,” I said
“Really?” replied leroy
“Yes,” I said.
2 Minutes later
“This is the house,” I said
‘As I ring the bell I hear mumbling by the door, the I see James.’
2 years later
‘I failed on my mission to kill James, now I must kill myself.’
“The sound of the knife piercing Gerda’s chest secures James and the kids safety, and everybody at the orphanages safety. Mary Anne now runs the orphanage and all the kids are well fed and half of them have gotten loving parents. This is where the story concludes,” Said the Narrator.