March 1: Write a short story set entirely inside a sleeper train cabin
….
“No please, if you don't want to tell me you don't need to,” Henry said.
I stared off into space for a while before I sighed.
He raised a brow at me and started to get up but I stopped him and started to talk.
“I’ve been running my whole life.”
He listened quietly.
“When I was really young, like ten years old, it was me, my older brother and my dad. One day, I was going to meet them but I retreated immediately I saw my brother sprawled on the ground, unmoving and my dad standing above him. I started to cry and I ran away from there.
I stayed in the forest for a few days. Those were the worst days of my life. I had nothing to eat, no place to get water and to make it worse, I was suffering from a mild fever. I was scared and traumatized. I didn't know where I was, there was no one around and I didn't have the courage to even leave from the spot where I sat.
I remember lying on the ground, weeping and then hearing footsteps around me. I opened my eyes up and looked around me wearily. Three people surrounded me with concerned looks on their faces. There were two girls and a guy. One of the girls was a bit older than I was. She had short brown hair and lighter brown eyes with an alarmed expression. Her name was Miley. The other one looked around my age. She had dirty long blonde hair and striking blue eyes with a smiling face unlike Miley. The guy was Mike. He had short brown tousled hair and amber eyes that glowed in the darkness.
He smiled at me warmly and stretched his arm out. I took it meekly and he brought me up. They didn't bother me with questions but immediately gave me food to eat, they took me to a nearby river I never bothered to look for and I had a bath and drank enough water. I was so grateful to them but they told me it was nothing and took me with them.
I was cautious for a while but soon I found myself warming up to them. We hung out a lot after that. We went on adventures and hikes. And at night, we sat around the fire Mike made, told stories and made jokes.
I still thought of the home I left occasionally but I still loved staying there with those people. Miley and the other girl acted like my sisters and Mike was like a brother to me. I still remember the day he gave me that necklace you found and I've kept it ever since.
A few days later though, Mike started to behave weirdly. He was always paranoid, always looking around like something was after him and he got startled easily.
We kept asking him what the matter was but he didn't tell us. To our annoyance, he kept saying everything was fine, making jokes about it and laughing it off. He'll stop for a while and continue later and we usually notice when it happens but we kept quiet. We didn't bother him again.
Until one night.
The smell of smoke woke me up really early in the morning. I was weary and I didn't fully wake up until I heard a shrill scream pierce through the air. I sat up and peered into the darkness for a moment before I felt someone grab my arm and pull me up. Without a word, we started to run away. I was totally scared and confused. I was Miley.When I got myself, I kept asking her why we were running and where we were going to in the darkness. She didn't answer. We just kept running.
We ran till we were out of breath. My legs ached and I was so exhausted. After we caught our breaths, she finally spoke. She said that someone came after Mike and wanted to kill him. That was why he had been acting so paranoid.
“Why?” I asked on the verge of tears.
She didn't answer my question. Instead she said, “before I left, they said they were coming after me too.”
“Why?” I repeated, the tears finally streaming down my face.
“Because of you.”
Suddenly her eyes widened but I didn't get the chance to ask because she began to tremble violently and then, passed out at my feet.
I heard my name behind me but I didn't stick around for a second. I ran.
“And that's how you got here,” Henry said and I nodded.
“They found me, just like you guys.”
“You'll be safe here.” Then he paused and tilted his head.
“What?”
“Wait.” He laughed lightly. “you never told me about your powers.”
“When I ran, that was when I discovered it. It's a long story. But each time I used it, it felt like the person was close by, i heard sounds and…” I shook my head. “I was just scared at that time and it wasn't a good time to discover I had them.”
“It's okay. You don't have to use it if you don't want to.”
“It's alright. I'll try to use it. It might help me one day.”
He smiled and brought his hand out for a first pump. I smiled and surprised him with a hug.
“I've never told anyone.”
“Oh, I feel special.” He grinned.
“Don't take it for granted.”
I smiled and laughed loudly when he brought his hands to his chest in feinged surprise and faked passing out on the bed.
He stood up and walked over to the door a moment after, but then the strange boy from before walked in and pushed Henry back inside.
“It was me,” the strange boy said.
“What?” we both asked in unison.
“I'm so sorry. I thought they kidnapped you! I'm your brother. We know why you left. You thought dad killed me but he didn't. We've been looking for you.”
He advanced towards me and I began to hyperventilate.
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I like it so much!!!!
I might make it into a full book frrrrrrr✨
