Unhappy

12. Kingsley

Kingsley sat down next to the lake, staring at the sky. The feeling only just started to sink in. His second chance at life, was taken away from him because his "parents" because they couldn't pay for the surgery. It wasn't technically a second chance for Kingsley, but it was for someone. Maybe for Kanai?

Kingsley couldn't help but feel angry. It was justified, right? He had the right to be mad. Just like any other unwind was allowed to be.

Kingsley grabbed a small pebble into his hand. That's what he was. A small, skinny pebble in this big society. Instead of what he used to be! A giant boulder in life. But instead he was an unwind. The lowest of lows.

But at least he was an AWOL Unwind. It wasn't as low as a regular one. But Kingsley didn't care that he was an AWOL. He was still an unwind. He was just delaying the inevitable.

Kingsley threw the pebble into the lake. It skipped on top of the water three times, before finally sinking. He stared for a couple of moments, before he sighed. He didn't know how long he'd have to wait to become an adult. Which was a very big problem, since he wouldn't be free until that day arrived.

"Hey, are you okay?" Someone said. Kingsley almost panicked, until he saw Irene smiling at him. He paused, and patted the space next to him.
"I'm fine." Kingsley replied. He wanted to say something else, but his mind went blank.
"It's a beautiful day, isn't it?" She laughed. Kingsley took another look into the sky. Just like he thought, it looked the exact same as he had seen it when he looked the first time.
"Yeah, I guess."
"I'm just glad we're all alive." Irene responded, a bright smile on her face. Kingsley pulled his legs up, and rested his arms on them.
"I'm not very glad. There are still lots of other kids who are being unwound right at this moment." Kingsley explained. Honestly, he didn't even think about that until this very moment. The fact that there are hundreds of other kids like him being sent to die. And what was he doing? Sitting down next to a Showcase Angel, and not even acting grateful for the fact that he wasn't dead right now. When he looked back to Irene, her head was down, and she had a frown on her face.
"I didn't mean it like that. I do wish that all the other kids weren't being killed at this very moment, but..." she paused. "I'm just thankful that I even made it out, and that I've even got people to talk to right now." Her happy mood had faded, and she seemed to have a lot of guilt on her. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that."
"Nah, it's fine. I should be thankful to. I had my second chance at life ripped away from me, but I'm still alive, aren't I?" Kingsley replied, looking to Irene, who gave him a weak smile. Kingsley responded with his own grin. "Hey, how did you even get out in the first place?" Irene's face went blank, before she got up.
"I'll tell you tonight. We're going to camp around and tell our story before we go to bed." Irene explained, before walking back over to the tent.

Kingsley didn't consent to telling his story. He didn't deny either. He thought about it for a couple of seconds. It was probably a good idea to share. This was the group he assumed he'd be with for awhile, so it was a good idea to get close to them.

The sun began to set, as Kingsley stood up. He walker over to the others, who were sitting next to the tent. He moved to the two bags, and opened one of them up. He pulled out a flashlight and four chocolate bars. He sat with all the others.

"Did you seriously only pack junk food?" Wendy said, glaring at Kingsley. He rolled his eyes.
"Of course not. I'm not that dumb." He said, taking a bite out of his chocolate bar. Wendy stared at him for a moment, before ripping off a piece and putting it in her mouth.
"Thank your for the food." Irene replied, chomping down a big piece of hers. Kingsley almost scoffed. He'd never expect a girl so elegant to have such a sloppy eating pattern.
"So, who's gonna go first?" Wendy asked. They all looked at each other, waiting for someone to volunteer, but no one did. Kingsley sighed, picking four blades of grass out of the ground.
"We'll draw straws. Smallest to tallest." Kingsley replied. Everyone looked to each other, before all walking forward and taking a piece of grass.
"Uuugh are you serious!?" Wendy said, holding up the ver small piece she had picked. She sighed, before clearing her throat. "I was asleep at night, and my horrible mother had the juvey cop take me at ONE IN THE FUCKING MORNING and lock me up in the back of his car. Then he made fun of me for a bit, I kind of just ignored that part, before we made it to the bus stop. Since my hands are small I just slipped one out of the handcuffs and punched him. I saved a couple of unwinds, stole a cop car, and then crashed it. Nothing big." Everyone stared at her for a moment.
"I'm really sorry you went through that." Irene said, going to put her hand on Wendy's lap, when she had it smacked away.
"I don't need your sympathy!" Wendy snapped at her. She stared at her for a moment, before she sighed.
"Okay. I guess I'm next." Irene said, taking a deep breath. "We were about to begin our cheerleading competition, when a cop came up and arrested me. Then I was told to put on tithes clothes, and we headed for a bus stop. But since the cops were paying attention to the news, the car got thrown on its side, and I was able to get out from there." Irene didn't seem so cheery. She had a blank expression, as she stared at the floor.
"I'll try my best to stop you from thinking about that." Kingsley replied. "I was at the hospital after brain surgery. That's when I saw the whole Weeping Angel thing on the news. Anyway, my parents ran in and were payed to unwind me, and I get out through the window. I ran home, packed up some things, and jumped over the wall." Kingsley wanted to get through that story as fast as he could. Thinking about it gave him better ideas of how he could've escaped, which would have made more sense. But it was a very good escape for thinking on the spot. They all looked to Milo, who was breathing heavily. You could see the fear in his eyes.
"Do you want the capture... or the escape?" He asked. They all looked to each other, and then back to him.
"The escape." They all managed to say at once. That was a phenomenon that Kingsley never seen done before. Everyone saying the same thing at the same time. He thought it was cool. Milo stared at them all, before opening his mouth to speak as he was shaking.