The Hunted

A Turn Of Events This Early?

TW: Mentions of murder, kidnapping

I don't know what scared me more, being alone on the streets... or having all the cops in town after me for something I didn't do. 

I hid underneath a broken umbrella and watched the sun go down in the alleyway I had always been in (at least since the beginning of summer). My alleyway had a dumpster and a restaurant door where I sometimes stole food, nothing more than that though. Everyone in this town thinks that I had killed 5 innocent teenagers last night, I don't know how that's even possible. Sure I have killed people in the past but I've changed. Maybe.

But still, I'm 15. How could I be accused of something like that? Maybe I'm the coolest story they have. "15 Year Old Kills 5 Teenagers Last Night Without a Trace of Evidence Left Behind." That might not be the actual title, but it could be!

I got out from underneath the old umbrella and walked on the street. This town was old and so were a lot of the people in it. I'm pretty sure this town was founded around the 900's, so many ghost stories and strange disappearances have been going on since the town's history has been recorded. I have a friend at the museum who lets me read the history books there. Thank god he doesn't out me to the cops. 

The cops are stupid in this damn town though. They don't look at the facts and history like they should. It's a wonder they all still have their jobs, if you ask me.

There's honestly a pattern. An average of 17 kids go missing each year, it's been like this since the town was founded. And since they have evidence of a murder that I had committed a few years ago, they have to face the blame on me now. But aside from the one time, there's been no evidence proving I'm the cause of these disappearances.

No fingerprints, no hairs, no DNA. Nothing. 

I sighed slightly at the thought. Due to the murder I had committed, I ran away from my foster home which was the first good one in a while. I guess good things don't last forever.

Since then I've been living on the streets, some people let me sleep on their couches, specifically friends of mine. For some reason I never built up the courage to leave this shit hole of a town, I don't know why I haven't left. I'm stupid for staying.

I glanced around the sidewalk outside of the alleyway I stayed in, making sure that it was busy enough for me to blend in. And it was. Thank god. Hiding in plain sight was fun but extremely risky, especially now.

I put my hood up, blocking myself from the rain that began to come down and then blended into the walking people. The rain poured down harder, some people had brought umbrellas. Me on the other hand, broke and homeless, had fuck all. My hood was enough even though I was gonna get soaking wet anyways.

The cops would look for me and try and arrest me tomorrow, for now I had nothing to worry about aside from the people who would scream aloud if they saw my face, causing a scene and possibly getting the cops to look for me sooner than I needed.

I sighed slightly after a moment or so of walking, finally getting to where I wanted to be. The electronic store. It had TV's playing in the front, usually our local News Station. I wanted to see if they had talked about me yet.

Oh. They were. Lucky me I guess.

"-Last message for tonight: 15 year old, Astoria Thompson, is still loose on the streets ever since she had run away so suddenly after killing her alleged friend at the age of 12. Warning to everyone out there, stay safe, and call 9-1-1 if you spot her. She's most likely armed and dangerous. Another 3 teenagers have gone missing in the past 24 hours, all signs point to this young lady. I say once more, stay safe. I'm Linda Kadell, signing off."