The Life of Leo Valdez

Set into Action-Part 2

Leo didn't know where he was going to go, what he was going to do, or how he was really going to pull it all off. He was packing his stuff in the middle of the night. Leo slung the old backpack onto his back, ready to go. He crept out of the stuffy bedroom and down the stair. Leo was still in Texas, just in Dallas. He wouldn't go back home to Houston, so he decided to go wherever. 

Once Leo got outside, he started to run. He ran and ran until he came to a bus stop. He sat down on the bench, breathing heavily. He waited until a bus came and got on. He didn't have much money. He only took fifty dollars from his foster home. He paid the bus driver and went fast asleep in his seat.

"Hey, kid. Get up. You need to get off." Leo groggily open his eyes to see the bus driver. It was early morning. Leo got up and thanked the man. Then he took off again. He was in a little town, and the roads weren't concrete. They were all dust and dirt. He walked over to a gas station and bought himself a water and a hot dog. He walked outside and eat his food. He looked around the town and saw a clothes department. There was a green army jacket, four pockets on the coat. Leo walked over to the shop and was brushing the crumbs from the hot dog bun off of his hands. He walked into the shop and saw an old lady sitting there. She smiles at Leo, and for a moment, he remembered Tia.

Leo gave the lady a smile in return and walked over to a rack with army jackets on it. Leo reached up and took off a green army jacket that was much to big for him. He walked over to the counter and took out his remaining thirty-five dollars. 

"How much is this jacket?" Leo asked the old lady. She had black-brown hair and brown eyes. She smiled, but it had a certain coldness to it.

"You keep it, γενναίος ήρωας." Leo didn't know how, but he understood the last part. It meant brave hero. Leo wasn't brave. He defiantly wasn't a hero. He ran away and killed his own mother. He was a  monster. Still, Leo thanked her. He put on the over sized jacket and walked out of the shop. 

After he walk out of the town, it felt like something was weighting him down even more. He checked his pocket on the bottom right and found some nuts and bolts. He checked the other lowest on and found some tools. In the other two were pipes and rope, leather patches, and rubber bands. He took out some pipes, a screw driver, and some rubber bands. He started to play with them while he walked in the hot sun. When he was done, he had a sling shot. He stuffed it in one of his pockets and took out some more pipes. He wanted to make a plane, but he didn't know exactly how to do it. 

Leo looked up again and started to just fiddle with the pipes as he walked. He thinked about his Aunt Rosa and his other relatives who didn't want him. He thought about his dad. When Leo looked down, he saw the plane he wanted to make. He whipped out his sling shot and fired the plane. It soared high above Leo's head, and Leo had to run to keep up with it. It turned and dipped straight at Leo's face. It hit him in the forehead, but Leo didn't mind. He was to excited to care. He did it again, and this time he managed to  protect his face, but didn't catch the plane. 

After a couple more tries, he got it. He yelled in joy and collapsed on the ground. It was night out, but it was still warm. He saw more stars than he saw in the city. He sat up and faintly saw the lights of another town in the distance. He would go there tomorrow. For now, he wanted to sleep. He crawled over to a patch of grass and layed down, hidden from view. He heard some cars drive past as he went to sleep.

"Go, go, go! Come on, cupcakes! My grandmother could run faster than you! Hurry it up Valdez! You too, Mclean!" I hear a voice say. Then a picture came into view. It was a scrawny boy with curly hair and a girl with choppy chocolate hair. Her eyes were always changing. A short guy was yelling at them, and he would've been scary if he wasn't so short.

Leo woke up, sweating. It was mid day, the sun shining bright. Leo winched as he got up. He was sore from sleeping on the ground. Leo took off towards the town, when he saw a car that seemed too familiar... the social services! Leo broke into a run when he realized what car it was. He ran into the town and into a mechanics shop, which reminder him of his mother. His heart was pounding and blood was rushing in his ears. He hid behind the counter and heard the door open just as he reached his hiding spot. He peeked around the corner to get grabbed by the collar of his jacket.

"Leo Valdez!" the lady screamed. "What do you think you are doing?"

"Let me go!" he screamed as he hit the lady hard in the head. She collapsed onto the ground, unconscious. Leo ran out of the shop and didn't stop until he fell face forward onto the ground. He couldn't get enough air. 

Leo didn't realize what he has done until he was breathing normally. He wondered what happened to her. "It wasn't my fault," he said aloud. He repeated it over and over again, but no matter what, he couldn't get it out of his head that it was his fault.

Everything's my fault.