Night of the Alphas

Chapter 5

Okay, so maybe it wasn't a genius plan. But it was still a plan nevertheless.

Two days later, I woke up at three o'clock in the morning to get ready. I had packed a bag the day before with everything I would need. Clothes, a hairbrush, toothpaste, et cetera. Once I was all ready, I went downstairs to head out the door. Unfortunately, that's where I ran into Alex.

I was almost out the door when I heard a groggy voice behind me. "Adrian? What are you doing?"

I turned around and saw my cousin in a tank top and underwear rubbing his eyes sleepily. His glasses were slightly askew, giving me the impression that he was half-asleep.

"I'm, um, getting some water. I couldn't sleep"

Alex yawned. "Why are you dressed?"

I had to think of an excuse quick. "Because you're dreaming! You need to get back to bed for this dream to end." I know, it sounds dumb, but it's all I could think of.

"Oh, okay." He stretched. "G'night."

"Good night, don't let the bedbugs bite." I hoped I didn't sound as anxious as I felt. When he went upstairs, I let out a sigh of relief. Wow, I really didn't expect that to work. I was about to open the door when I saw something shiny on the counter. A steak knife. I quickly picked it up and put it in my bag. It could come in handy soon.

Next came the hard part: Avoiding my aunt and uncle's security systems. There was a security camera, motion sensors, a front door alarm, and an electric gate. Actually, getting past that part was pretty easy. Who knew that turning off every switch in the circuit breaker disabled the security systems? Seems pretty unstable to me. Anyway, I got out of the house pretty easily. After that, it was pretty easy to get to Edgewater street. Turns out, nobody questions a suspicious looking 13-year-old taking a walk at 3:45 A.M.

I got to McDonald's pretty early, so I had to wait for a bit. After maybe 10 minutes, a banged up, piece-of junk car pulled up to the curb. The passenger window rolled down and there was Knox, smoking a cigar. "Get in," he said, waving his hand to me. I walked over to him warily and opened the passenger side door.

"Well," he said when I closed the door, "I didn't expect you to show up. You're pretty bold to take a ride from a stranger."

"Yep," I said, staring out the window. "I get that a lot."

"May I ask why you need a ride from little old me?"

"Do I have to answer?" I responded apathetically.

He grunted in disgust. "You know, Ariana-"

"Adrian," I corrected.

"Adrian, whatever. What I was going to say is that you're being pretty rude for someone who needs a ride so desperately."

"Sorry."

We drove in silence until we reached the town limits. "So," Knox began, "Why do you need a ride? And to Charlotte, of all places? If you're running away, why not go someplace that's, you know, not under attack?"

"I'm not running away." I paused and stared at the farmland beside us for a moment. "I'm going there for a friend."

"What do you mean 'for a friend?'"

"It's a long story." I didn't really want to tell this total stranger about all my life problems, especially because he didn't really seem like the listening type.

"Alright then. Keep it to yourself."

We drove on and were silent for a while. Honestly, it was one of the most awkward experiences ever. It was like riding the city bus, but worse. Also, it didn't help that he was blaring talk radio. After about two hours of silence, I spoke up.