The Fugitive

Chapter 5 The Lady and The Money

"One ticket to Frankston please." Alice said holding out some worn out money to the conductor. The conductor stood authoritatively, his huge eyes peering at Alice suspiciously. He stroked his well groomed mustache a few times and carefully asked, "Where are your parents, kid?"

"Dead, scraping a life in some village or leading a lavish life." Alice thought.

"They're at Frankston. I just came here to visit my uncle in Drenal. I am one of his favorite nieces." Alice lied quickly.

The conductor frowned. Alice could see the ends of his lips bend down from beneath his thick mustache.
"Drenal? My, that's a long way. That is, if you didn't find a shortcut through the Tarti Forest." The man burst out laughing.
Alice smiled weakly. She had to get out of this conversation before any awkward questions aroused. "Sorry about that." The conductor apologized regaining his former composture. He fanned himself with a newspaper he had been reading before Alice came along.
"Its just that, we had a few people go into that forest and we haven't seen them for days. They may be dead for all we know. Quite stupid of them, if you ask me."

"Why did they go there?" Alice asked curiously.

"They said something about hunting a tiger and skinning it." The conductor replied shrugging his shoulders. Alice grew angry. She thought about how a tiger had helped her through the forest and away from harm. Alice opened her mouth to say something but thought better of it.

The conductor began digging into his pocket and pulled out a ticket. "One ticket from The Tarti Forest Station to Frankston." He said officially.
Alice took the slim piece of paper graciously.

"Hey, hold on a second." The conductor said taking a good look at the scrawny girl infront of him. He unfolded his newspaper hastily and flipped to a specific page. His eyes darted from the newspaper to Alice. Alice immediately realized that the news of her abscond had reached the newspapers overnight. She began to cook up a convincing story as to why she looked like the girl in the newspaper before an exceedingly plump lady made her entrance at the station.

Her hair was tied in an impeccable bun. Her chubby face was smeared with make up and her lips held a generous apply of lipstick.
"A ticket to Aridius. And quickly." She snapped at a lost-in-thought conductor. The conductor quickly jumped back to Earth.
"Just a minute." He muttered apologetically. He quickly pulled a crumpled ticket from his pocket and handed it meekly over to the lady.

The lady shot a disgusted look at the piece of paper as if it was something slimy she had stepped on. She took it with her thumb and index finger and mumbled an inaudible thank you. Her eyes sailed towards Alice with the same repulsed expression. But upon meeting Alice's face, her eyes lit up with wonder.

"Oh no. Not another one." Alice thought exasperated.

The woman began talking furiously with the conductor. Seeing the woman was occupied, Alice stealthily moved to the other end of the station. The station was just a piece of the land with a shade over it and a small ticket booth in its centre. So, Alice could see the huge buildings of Aridius basking regally in the rays of the morning light.

Every once in awhile, she would furtively glance at the two grown ups chatting away. The plump woman was handing over a lot of money to the greedy eyed conductor smugly. Alice pretended not to notice and gazed obliviously at the buildings.

Soon, the bus arrived. It wasn't too lavish, but just enough to make Alice feel more comfortable than she had felt all her life. That is, if the plump woman, who was one sit diagonal to her, wasn't eyeing her hungrily. Alice stared past the passing landscapes wondering what was in store for her. She felt strangely calm under the gentle air conditioning of the bus as it rumbled smoothly on the road. She had never been in a bus before. There were barley any modes of transportation in Drenal. It was a pitifully small colony.

Alice began to drift away from her surroundings reminiscing of the good times with Dominique, John, Douglas and Frederick when suddenly she heard a low voice right beside ear.
"I know what you've been up to." The voice hummed, unable to control a tinge of excitement.

Alice gasped and whirled around to find the plump lady sitting right behind her. The lady was leaning forward with interest towards Alice's ear. Her dark green eyes looking peculiarly wild.

"How in the world did she get here?" Alice wondered.

"I don't know what you're talking about, ma'am." Alice said as nonchalantly as possible.

"Running away from your family. What were you thinking?" The woman continued her voice brimming with enjoyment rather than concern.

"Goodness!" Alice thought, surprised. "How does this lady know about Dominique and the rest?"
Alice chose to keep quiet and continue ducking the bullets of questions.

"They are so worried about you."

"I guess they are." Alice thought bitterly. She should have stayed with them.

"Your mother refused to eat for weeks. She wouldn't even touch her favorite bowl of chicken soup."

"Yes, my mother does love chicken soup-wait what?!" Alice started.

"And your father; he was ready to quit his job to search for you. Is this how you repay them? By running away and becoming a fugitive? Changing your name to run free on the streets. He even put a ten thousand dollar price on your head. Almost like this," The woman slipped a piece of paper over Alice's shoulder which landed gently on her lap. Alice immediately recognized it as the newspaper clipping of her being a wanted fugitive.

"The Fugitive Family Found

Yesterday, a gang of fugitives was found by the police in the city of Drenal. The gang consisted of four men and a young girl. The men were arrested and convicted. But the girl ran into the Tarti Forest. Many say that she is doomed to die, but we must keep our eyes peeled if she did manage to get out of the forest. Her name is Alice (last name unknown). There is a $1,000 price on her head. If you find her dead or alive please contact the Drenal Police Association."

Below the article was a picture of Alice. It was vague, but enough for any one to recognized that she was the wanted one.

"I don't know how you managed to escape to Drenal or how you manage to come in contact with those men. But lucky for you, I don't care." The woman said plopping herself on the seat next to Alice.
"All I care about, is the money." She rubbed her index and thumb rather maliciously. Alice noticed her inhumanly long nails with bright nail polish painted flawlessly on them.

"I am sorry you must be mistaken." Alice blabbered unable to find a way out of this situation.

"Hush, Sammie. We don't want to attract attention." The lady said putting one long finger against her lips.

"Sammie? She definitely has me mistaken for someone else." Alice thought. She tried to get up from her seat, but a large firm hand held her down with brute force.

"You're coming with me to Aridius." The woman said looking out of the window.

Alice followed her gaze. They had just entered the gates of Aridius.
"There was no going back now." Alice thought bleakly.

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