The twenty mile night walk from the inner city had been heavy on the boy's body, but the weight of his heart threatened to pull the organ right from his chest. It was broken and decrepit, raped ruthlessly by an angry conscience. His steps were heavy enough that they seemed they should suddenly break through the earth, allow him to fall straight into Hell where he could find peace through terrible self ordained retribution. Perhaps, there, he could begin atonement.<br/><br/>They been snuffed, indirectly of his own hands, like little weeds from a vegetable garden. If he was not the gardener that wielded the pesticide, he was certainly the manufacturer.<br/><br/>When the boy finally found the marked tree, a little unique shape cut into an oak's bark, he rested his back on the tree and sat. He felt battered. The last two miles of his five hour walk had been blasted over by a terrible storm. Then, in the field, visibility had been less than about two hundred yards, and he was sure that he would have died had he not found the forest. Though it provided little protection from the wind, the rain seemed to be hampered. And perhaps, by tomorrow, someone would come to take him Home. That is, if they<span style="font-style: italic">would</span>take him.<br/><br/>He knew, though the rest of his knowledge was scarce, that there were agents from Home that frequented a few spots, similar to these. The purpose, of course, was to pick up people making the journey from the inner city. No one really knew where Home was, especially not him, but he did remember being tested in this exact spot. However, before being taken home, the woman named Bay had him sleep in the forest for a night. She never explained why, and he was sure that when she came back the following morning, if she had, that she'd been very disappointed.<br/><br/>He folded his arms and closed his eyes, leaning back against the rough bark. When they opened again, to his surprise, he was Home, sat kindly in a chair. He felt warmth on his shoulder, and recognized the gentle touch of a woman.<br/><br/>Bay didn't explain much to him, in fact, she did little other than point him towards his dormitory. There were people waiting for him, companions, people to be friends and allies.<br/><br/>Shortly, he found them.