Filth

Chapter 2

Walking to the bottom of our field was my favourite thing to do. Well, after drawing, that was. Even though it had happened yesterday, my sleep had been broken and disturbed, full of Sammy's crying and Father's furious voice. Walking alone was peaceful. It was nice to be able to get away from father and away from just... everything. Usually I could walk alone with no disturbance but this time there was a sudden rustle in the green bushes. Gasping and jumping away, I clutched my chest. I calmed myself down, sure that it was just a trapped bird. I slowly approached the bush and reached my hand through the branches, ready to help the bird escape.

I let out a piercing scream when my hand touched a nose. A human nose. Mid-scream the boy clamped his hand on my mouth and pulled me roughly to the ground. I groaned in pain, the sound muffled by his hand.

'Shh! Please don't scream! They'll kill me if they find me.'

Terrified, I wrenched his hand from my mouth, scrambling up from the floor. My heart raced as I readied myself to yell again but I caught a glance at his fear-filled eyes and stopped.

With my pounding heart slowing, I looked the boy over first. His coffee skin jumped out at me first, black bags clear under his eyes. He looked no older than I was, although he was significantly taller and broader. He would have been frightening but his hunched figure gave him a childish vulnerability that didn't escape me. The way his eyes flashed in fear when he saw me, not an especially scary girl, confused me slightly.

'Who?' He glanced up at me, still sitting behind the bush, utterly perplexed. 'Who'll kill you?'

'The Perkins,' he muttered, 'I-I should be at work but I'm so tired-' He stopped, eyes becoming wet. He looked like he was in great pain, wiping his sweat away. He examined me closely, weighing up whether I was an enemy or not, 'You won't tell on me, will you?'

Still in shock, I stood staring at him dumbly trying to form a coherent response. It seemed strange to me that he would hide from Mr Perkins. He was lovely. Mr Perkins would surely just let him sit down for a moment. I started, realising I hadn't answered yet, 'N-no, I won't say anything. Although, you know, you could just ask Mr Perkins. He ain't gonna stop you sitting down if you need to.'

The boy scoffed, 'Have you even met the Perkins?'

'Yes!' I answered defensively before hesitating, 'Well... I've seen him buying groceries and stuff. He sometimes gives me candy.' It was true. I'd seen him around and he was always nice. He had greying hair and an old lined face but he was strong. Even at sixty years old, his muscles still rippled from all the years of hard labour work. At first glance he completely terrified me but on the occasion he spoke to me in that harsh voice of his, he'd always smile and tell me a joke.

The boy stood up, towering over me with his incredible height yet he looked severely underfed, 'The Perkins ain't like that all the time and especially not with the likes of us.'

'The likes of you?' I stared up at him with utter confusion. He didn't look any different from me except he had brown eyes compared to my bright blue and the obvious skin difference. He just laughed and turned away, ready to climb over the fence. I whipped out my hand and grabbed his arm, 'Wait! What do you mean?'

His eyes snapped to my hand on his arm and he looked at me, studying my face with a light look of confusion, 'It doesn't matter. You're innocent, I ain't gonna ruin that for you. Someone at school will do it anyway.'

It may have been his condescending tone or the way he looked at me like I was a little child, but I immediately became defensive at his statement, 'I'm not 'innocent'! Just tell me what you mean.'