Written: 3/11/20

"Who's this loser?"

My eyes immediately shifted to look at what Danny was pointing at. A boy about our age was curled up in the corner of their treehouse. His black hair was messy and disheveled and his pale skin almost looked blue with the cold. The boy was shivering in his sleep.

"Aw, poor thing," Eliza said softly. "He's probably going to die of hypothermia if we don't help him." She began to approach the boy when Danny stopped her.

"No, don't get too close. He might have some kind of disease."

"I hardly doubt that," Eliza retorted. "What, are we just gonna let him die?"

"Well, if we don't touch him and he dies, it won't be our fault. We can just pretend we found him like this." Jen muttered.

"Jennifer Anderson!" I yelled. "What is wrong with you?"

"I'm just sayin, I ain't getting in trouble with the police again."

"If we do what you're suggesting, that will make everyone suspicious of us. We are the only ones who know about this hideout and therefore will be the top suspect." Gerald pointed out.

"Shut up, nerd."

"He does have a point, Jen."

"How did this boy even find the hideout anyway?"

All their eyes turned back to the sleeping boy. Jennifer's unanswered question hung in the air. Suddenly, this boy did not seem so innocent.

"Maybe he just found it somehow?" I suggested.

"How? Why would he just be wandering aimlessly through the forest? No one has found this hideout in over 7 years and I highly doubt a random kid would be able to stumble on it. And look at his clothes. He's wearing a school uniform. Which means he doesn't live near here."

"Brilliant analysis, Sherlock."

"So, what are we going to do with him?"

I turned to look at the boy and my eyes widened when I saw the his body stir. Apparently, our loud voices had woken him up. We all kept our distance, watching his every move carefully. He opened his eyes, and I found myself falling into his deep pools of darkness. His eyes were so dark that I could barely tell the pupil from the iris. It was a little unsettling.

Eliza was the first one to snap out of their trance. "I don't care what you say, I'm going to help him. There's nothing we can do now. He saw us already."

She got up to make a move, but Danny stopped her again. "What, are you crazy? He literally looks possessed." he whispered.

Eliza rolled her eyes. "Oh, you're just being wimpy. Grow up." She shoved Danny off her and slowly approached the boy. "Hello there, are you okay?"

The boy sat up and looked at her silently for a few seconds. I couldn't place his expression. At first glance, he looked scared, but there was something else to his expression. What was it? He almost had a knowing look in his eye, which was rather odd.

"My name is Eliza," my friend introduced. "What's yours?"

"Drizruken," he replied. His voice sounded hoarse and weak. "But call me Driz for short."

"What kind of name is that?" Danny said out loud.

I slapped him. "Don't be rude. It's a unique name."

"How did you get here?"

"I was lost and I just stumbled here."

"What a load of" Jen muttered under her breath. I slapped her too.

"Come with us. We'll take you home. It'll be okay."

The boy smiled. "Thank you."

Eliza helped the boy to his feet and he leaned into her weakly.

"Jen, can you help me?" She asked.

"No way. I ain't touching him."

"Jen," she said again more sternly.

"No. Ask Tala."

"Fine, I'll do it," I answered quickly, rising from where I was sitting and making my way over to Eliza and Driz. The dark eyed boy gave me a weak smile which I returned. Together with Eliza, we carefully lifted him to his feet. His knees nearly buckled, but he leaned on us for support. Slowly but surely, we managed to move him out of the treehouse and down to the ground. From there, we began to make our way back home.

"So, what were you doing out in the woods in the first place?" Jen asked, throwing the boy a sideways glance and a smirk.

"Jen," Eliza said sharply.

"It's okay," Driz spoke softly. He turned to look at Jen. "This may sound crazy, but my parents threw me out of the house. Apparently, I wasn't good enough for them, and they didn't want anything to do with me. So I just ran until I was lost in the middle of the woods and then I found your treehouse."

"Have you been running for a while?" I asked.

Driz nodded. "Yeah. I haven't eaten anything in about three days."

"Don't worry," Eliza said, offering a smile. "We'll take care of you."

Driz returned the smile. "Thank you."

"If you've just been walking on foot, wouldn't that mean your house is not too far from here?" Gerald asked.

Driz paused. "Yes...but I can't go back there." He looked among all of us. "Please don't try to send me back."

"We won't," Eliza spoke promptly. "I promise."

I was about to speak when I felt someone tug on my arm. I turned to look at Danny and he motioned for me to step aside with him. I told Gerald to take my place in supporting Driz and I walked over to where Danny was.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Something about him doesn't sit right with me."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, everything about him is strange. He looks strange, his story is strange, his nonchalant behavior is strange, and the fact that he stumbled upon the treehouse is strange. You have to admit it, Tala. Something isn't right here."

I sighed. "Maybe the circumstances are strange. But I don't know about him. He just seems like a lost and scared boy."

Danny shook his head. "Just watch him closely. Don't get too comfortable with him or elseâ€"" he stopped suddenly. I glanced over to see Driz looking at us with his deep dark eyes. I detected a hint of sadness in his expression. We were walking a good distance away and talking softly, so it would have been impossible for him to hear us. So why was he looking at us in that way? I unexpectedly felt my blood run cold from fear.

"See what I mean?" Danny spoke softly, once Driz had averted his gaze. "There's something not right here."

I bit my lip. "I hate to admit it, but I agree."

"So, what are we going to do with him?"