Craaven

Chapter 36: Mortemville, Montana 1987 November 1st

Max didn't go back to sleep because he was busy packing necessities into his school bag and talking about where we would go. He wanted to go to a big city like New York or New Orleans to see sights that he's never seen before in this comically small town. I understood his curiosity, however, I knew large cities would be nearly impossible to get a good start in. I just wanted to get out of this place as a starter, wherever we went after that depended on where it was easiest for a runaway like myself to get a job and I knew that location wouldn't be a bustling city.

We decided to make our departure a few hours before Max would have to wake up for school since his parents would likely still be asleep and we could easily sneak away without them noticing until we were long gone. We quietly snuck our way through the halls, peering around every corner first before turning down it in case there was an unsuspecting parent lingering there. We walked heel-to-toe for the most silence in our step and I was highly grateful for Max's awareness of the situation. It was the most quiet I've ever seen him and it was, frankly, almost unnatural compared to his usual, boisterous self.

We were within two more hallways before reaching the front doors and I was confident everything would go well. That was until I peered around a corner and saw Daniel tiredly trudging his way down the hall with a cup of coffee in hand and a newspaper in the other. I thought it was odd at first that Daniel was up this early but then again, I never was up this early in the morning so there really was no telling how much of an early bird he was. Whatever the case, seeing him made my stomach drop.

I pulled my head back around the corner and put a finger to my lips so Max would stay quiet. Max obeyed and pressed himself against the wall to stay as hidden as possible. I could hear Daniel coming closer with each step and my mind was racing with ideas on what to do next. I didn't want to hurt him but I couldn't just run past him without doing anything either. I knew I needed to do something to incapacitate him long enough for Max and me to make a run for it.

Quietly, I took Max's bag from him and carried it on my own shoulders so he was able to run as fast as he could. He never said a word in protest about it and simply waited with me for whatever I was about to do. I've never seen the boy so acutely aware of the situation happening; it was as if all at once, the moment he realised he didn't want to stay here anymore, he aged several years and matured enough to make sure we succeeded.

Daniel's footsteps drifted closer and, before he could even realise what was happening, I had spun around the corner and shoved his cup of coffee into his chest. He cried out in pain from the burning of the hot beverage and I pushed him into the wall to further get him out of my way. I grabbed a hold of Max's hand and, together, we sprinted as fast as we could down the halls.

"EDGAR!!" I heard Daniel's enraged voice yell after us but we didn't stop. We didn't even turn our heads to look back. We continued running until we were free from Rosewood's walls and heading up the hill to where I had hidden my car. The both of us, although no longer sprinting for our lives, continued to speed-walk up the hill until our calves burned.

When we got to the car, I unlocked the doors and Max practically dove into the car the moment he was able to. I hopped in after him and as quickly as I could, I turned the key in the ignition and sent the car speeding down the dirt hill. The tires skidded across the dirt road when I turned sharply onto the street and the engine roared as I pressed on the gas to get it going.

Daniel stumbled to the end of the dirt drive and yelled after us to try and get us to stop but I only drove past him, not paying him a single glance and too focused on the journey ahead to care.

My reckless driving eventually subsided the further I got from Rosewood and our adrenaline rushes calmed until the atmosphere in the car felt like nothing more than the excitement of a long road trip. I turned on the radio so we weren't sitting in painful silence and the music was a welcome sound to our ears. It made it feel like we were just on a road trip and not running away to start a new life elsewhere. I knew eventually, the reality would both hit us and it would have to take every bit of willpower in the both of us to not turn back around and head back. But the music helped keep those thoughts at bay for as long as we needed to.