Lost

12

Tobias Eaton, July 14th, 2005
Status: Runaway Child
Days missing: 6

"We're on the road again" she whistles, singing, "And I've got a friend"
I smile.
I don't know which song she is singing, but I love it when she sings it.
It's probably six in the evening, looking at the setting sun, and we're entering country places. Cabins, and things like that.
I hear my stomach moan, begging for more food.
As if on cue, Tris says, "I'm hungry. And we're out of food. Should we hoard some more, today?"
I toss my head to the side to look at her, "I guess"
She looks through the tall trees, "How about there?"
I strain my neck to see.
A chestnut brown cabin.
"Let's check it out"
We walk, me in the lead and her in the tail.
I can hear our feet crunching the leaves, and I peer over to the cabin and see that there are no cars.
I think we might able to get some food.
I tiptoe, and Tris mimics me.
I press my ear to the cabin door.
Silence.
I stretch myself so that I can see through the window.
"No one's here. Coast clear"
We walk around the corner of the house, until we reach a driveway and a door.
I place my hand on the knob and turn it slowly.
Dammit.
"It's locked" I whisper.
She holds up a hand, and pulls out a paper clip from her back pocket, and whispers, "A little trick I perfected so I could get my iPod from my locked parents room"
She bends it, and I say to her, "You just have those?"
"I want my iPod frequently, now let me concentrate" she says.
Her muscles are tense when she jams it in, and pulls it out. And in, then out.
Then she turns it.
And it clicks.
"Wow" I say, amazed.
She smiles up at me, "I'll teach you one day"
She turns the knob and this time, it opens.
"Well, I gotta say, I'm impressed"
"Thank you" and she strides into the cabin.
We search for the kitchen, which is around the corner, and find a pantry with food- junky food, good food- all kinds of food.
I take some bags of chips and granola bars (finally, something healthy) from the pantry, and Tris hoards fruits.
We tend to eat the fruit quicker, since they rot faster.
There's some snacks, and we throw it all into our bag.
"What about a frying pan?" she asks.
"What?"
"You know. If it's hot we could fry stuff"
"Whatever, throw it in the bag" I say.
And she does.
And we're on our way back when
We hear
The
Door
Open.
Oh god.
I press my hand to Tris' mouth and hold her close to me, her back against my chest my back pressed against the wall.
We're so close.
Snap out of it.
That's when I hear, "That's what I'm talkin about, she never leaves the house unlocked unless she's here"

I hear the sound of an awakening TV, and I hear someone plopping down on the couch.
"What are you up for? I don't know about you, but a movie sounds nice"
We shuffle the opposite way. Towards the kitchen door.
And then we knock down
A cereal box.
Damn!
"What was that?"
"What was what?"
"Lemme investigate"
We crouch behind a counter, and I wince.
Please don't find us.
"I don't see nothin" a man says.
"Exactly" the other one says, "You crazy"
"Am not! I swear I heard something"
I exhale, a little, so I can breathe, and I hear his footsteps striding away.
I begin to get up, and then I hear something.
"Wait, was this paper clip always here?"
I push us back down.
"There's a robber in the house" he mutters, and I hear him running, checking cabinets.
"GET OUT, WHOEVER YOU ARE!" He yells.
"Shut up you're crazy"
Tris grabs my hand and the bag and gets up suddenly.
"Don't worry, we will" she says, and we sprint out the door.
The sheets and food in the bag, we sprint to the streets.
"Seriously?!" He yells, "I'm being robbed by KIDS?"
I can see Tris smile, looking at the man, as we keep running, and I find myself smiling too.
I guess I've missed adventure.
_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
It's sundown, and we're a mile away from the robbed house, camped out a couple feet from the road. We're partly hidden in bushes, so hopefully no officer could spot us.
"That was smart" I said, as we munched on fruit.
"What?" She asks.
"Paper clip and running away"
She shrugs, "If he had gotten any closer her could've wrapped his hands around our necks and where would we be then?"
I smile at her.
She yawns.
"I'm gonna hit the sack. See you in the morning"
And she lies down, covering herself with the blanket.
She looks peaceful when she sleeps.
Of course, not as exited and daring and willing as she really is.
But it's nice to see her at peace when she closes her eyes.
"Night" I say.
And I lie down next to her, her back facing me.
But even like this, she's still beautiful.

Beatrice Prior, July 14th, 11:34 pm 2005
Status: missing child
Days missing: 6

I awaken.
I don't know how long I've been asleep, but I know it's not morning.
The birds are not chirping.
It's still night.
We are in the bushes by the road, hidden in the trees.
If I was alone, I'd be scared to death.
I'd be scared of the snakes and bears.
But Tobias reassures me.
He has this safe scent that he carries around with him.

I get up and run my eyes.
I stretch out my arms, and readjust my sleeping position.
Then I see the bright lights of a car.
Bright yellow-almost angelic.
And when the pass us, red lights seem to follow them through the night.
There are few cars that pass by the road.
I stand up and walk towards the edge, where the cars pass by.
They won't see me, at least, if their eyes are on the road they won't.
I lean against a tree with my arms crossed, and I count each car that passes.
Three, in the past fifteen minutes.
And almost four.
Then the driver stops, and I grow suspicious, drawing my eyebrows to the center of my forehead.
I almost step back, but I could risk stepping on a stick.
"Girl!" He shouts and I pstay frozen.
I scan his face.
The man we stole from.
Oh god, I find myself sprinting.
Not back to camp, but farther away, down the road.
We're near a STOP sign.
Just remember that, Tris.
So you can find your way back.
And he chases me.
On foot.
But I'm faster.
I scream.
I look back and see him getting in his car and I use the opportunity to run into the woods.
I only run one direction so I know to go the opposite when I know I free.
Climb a tree, something chants inside me.
And so I do. I climb the tree and watch from above as the man gets out of his car. And he searches around.
I'm still.

He doesn't see me.
I feel almost like a rock.
And then he leaves.
I find myself climbing down and walking back once I hear the car drive away.
I find the road again. And I walk back.
"Tris!?" I hear someone yell.
Tobias.
"Tobias, I'm okay" I yell back.
And I am.
I have a splinter, but it's not major.
I run back, even though I'm tired.
He spots me, and his worried expression softens.
He opens up his arms, and I throw mine around him.
"I'm okay. I swear" I mumble into his shoulder.
"Yeah, I know, kick ass girl" he says.
I smile.
"I hid in a tree and he ran away"
We begin to walk back, his hand in mine, "Really? I didn't know you could climb"
"I'm pretty cool, aren't I?" I say, releasing his hand, and I stroke the tree.
"Plus, the trees are my friends-"
A yank.
Someone take me me from behind and I'm on their shoulders.
"Tris!" Tobias yells, staring at me, worried. He takes a step towards me, but he runs away.
Away?
Away?
I thought he cared about me.
My attacker cackles.
I kick and scream and claw myself, but his grip is tight.
"Tobias! Please!"
"He's not going to save you"
It's the man we stole from.
He's kidnapping me?
He runs out of the street.
And there his car is. He opens the back seat, and I-
Then there's a bang and he falls.
We fall.
Backwards.
Some one catches me when he drops me.
Tobias.
Tobias drops something, and hugs me.
"How did you-?"
I stare at the ground, and there's a white glint in a piece of metal.

He smiles, "You were right. The frying pan was helpful"