Winchester (7)

Year 1853

Thea's thin body jerked.

In the quiet night, something happened.

Suddenly, something or someone pulled the blanket violently. She couldn't see well as she turned off the light before going to sleep. Her body was dragged off the bed. Thea tried to rebel. But she couldn't fight many people. She was dragged and paraded out of the room.

"What is this? Let me go!" Thea struggled.

"SHUT UP!" They didn't expect Thea to fight.

She managed to escape from their grip.

Thea turned her head in a panic and crawled to save herself. She had no idea what happened. Her instincts told her to run, so she did. But there were five or six people blocking the way and grabbed her back. They kept dragging her like a trash to the backyard.

"Let me go! What do you want? "

They threw Thea on the ground. She tried to stand up. The bigger boy pushed her shoulders down.

"You witch! Killer!"

"Shut up!"

"Don't pretend you don't do bad thing!" The boy who dragged her earlier kicked her. Thea fell backward.

"Aren't you satisfied burning your parents to death? Heh!"

"I said SHUT UP!" Thea shouted.

"Why did you burn Jane, huh?!" They kept pushing and kicking until Thea hit the wall.

Jane?

"What do you mean?" Thea asked. Her whole body ached terribly.

"You burned her! Only you can do it! Look what you did to Jane!" They all glared at her angrily.

"I didn't do it! Don't accuse me as you wish!"

"Liar!"

"Killer!"

"Witch!"

"Shut up! I didn't do whatever you think I did!!" Thea pushed them, but she lost a lot. They started hitting her in turn.

"Die, witch!"

Thea guarded her stomach and head with her little hands. Blood started to run down her lips and nose. They didn't stop until they realized Thea was bleeding.

"I didn't ... do it ..." Her eyes moved wildly. She was looking for something to help herself. Thea tried to reach for the empty bottle not far from her.

"You think that bottle can help you?" the other boy advanced closer, preparing to hit her.

Thea broke the bottle in one hit.

"I ... I didn't do it ..."

"What do you want?"

Thea swung the broken bottle in her hand.

They backed off when Thea tried to stand up.

"Grab her!" They attacked her at the same time. She shook the bottle in her hand helplessly. Her sight no longer felt normal.

They catched her hands and body, causing her to fall to the ground.

"What are you doing?!"

Thea thought she heard the voice of her savior.

"Xan ... der ..."

"Back off Alexander, this is none of your business!"

Xander ignored them and started pushing them one by one.

"Get off!"

He saw Thea's body curled up on the ground, blood gushing from her lips and nose. Xander helped her to her feet.

"Thea ..."

Ben pushed him away, making Thea, who was about to stand upright, fall down together with Xander.

"Why are you protecting her? This witch's hurting Jane!"

Xander looked up. "What do you mean?"

"Jane was taken to the hospital after leaving her room. Only this child was there with her. If not her, who else could harm Jane?"

Thea really had no idea what they were talking about. She didn't do anything to Jane beside ignored her.

"What happened to her?"

"This witch knocked her until she was unconscious. Miss Yerez took her to the hospital." Another kid who was with Ben, talked.

"You must be wrong. This kid could not possibly beat Jane until she passed out. Just look at her meager body!" Xander helped Thea back to her feet.

The other kids snorted. "You're being deceived by her appearance. Look! She even used a bottle to injure us!"

"Her parents were burned to death by her. She can do anything to us."

Thea grabbed Xander's arm. "I didn't do it. I didn't do anything," she said exasperatedly.

In this orphanage, only Xander invited her to talk nicely. She couldn't possibly lie to him. Thea suddenly remembered her conversation with Jane.

"She-"

"Let's talk later. We should treat your injury." Xander held her hands, shielding her behind him. "And all of you should be in your room before Miss Yerez back."

"No. We want her! Don't interfere, Xander."

"You wish! We don't harm our kin, Ben. We do not hurt each other. Leave now!"

The two teenagers stared at each other until finally Ben walked away.

"I'll deal with you later."

Ben didn't want to be in trouble with Xander because he knew Xander wasn't a weak boy like the other kids. He had a fist fight once with him and lost badly.

Xander took her and made her sit in the multipurpose room before search a first aid kit.

Thea's leg stumbled on something. She saw a black object under the table. She lowered her head and took it. A stone covered in blood was in her hand.

She widened her eyes, threw it at once and staggered backwards.