Run

Chapter 10

I stand still.

What?

"She's my only child and she's all yours" my Mother continues, the sounds of triumph practically echoing through her words.

I feel my heart skip several beats in shock, horror, anger at the fact that I failed to suss out her little plan. The idea that a mother could do such a thing to her child, sell her out to God knows what, sent waves of disgust down my spine and only fuelled the anger I was currently harbouring inside.

I reach for my phone in my bag and begin to text Ross, explaining my situation to him when I realise my lack of time before I'm stranded with no solution.

I fight back the prick in my eyes and creep back inside my room, determined not to give up, but instead find a place to hide from them.

The wardrobe?

I walk towards the medium sized storage cupboard that belongs to me but then hesitate at the protruding words in my head.

Are you seriously contemplating whether or not you should hide in a wardrobe when you're not in 'The Chronicles of Narnia'?

I stare around my room, my heart beat fast increasing and slow moist erupting across my skin. Walking towards my sisters' bunk bed, I contemplate hiding under the duvet at the top bunk then mentally slap myself for being so stupid.

What was the point of even bothering? To think that for a moment...just for a second I thought she could change. I thought she saw me as more than just a tool for her beckoning but now I can see I was wrong. Like always; so caught up with the ideal picture of a mum that I couldn't see the lie that is my mother.

I walk away from the bunk and towards my bed, when I notice the plastic boxes seated beneath.

I pause for a second before receiving a 'eureka' moment.

Ignoring the ascending footsteps, I reach underneath my single bed and pull out the boxes stacked with old GCSE books and thick revision notes. Lying flat on the floor and sucking in all conceivable air into my lungs, I shuffle as far into the bottom of my bed as possible. I tremble slightly at the heavy footsteps of the men, now so loud it were as if they were just mere seconds away from my door. I quickly pull all 4 boxes back under the bed, into the dark, hoping to all things good and mighty that I was safely shielded from sight. I squeeze my phone in my hand, then realising it could flash and go off any second, I slide it from next to me into the furthest corner of my room.

Moments later the sound of my room door crashing against the wall vibrates through my ears, forcing the thumping motion of my heart to cascade towards my throat. Peering through the gap between the first two boxes, I notice the start of the same all too familiar attire: thick black boots connecting to a pair of black leather trousers- only this time 2 more pairs follow it.

"Just one child she said" a menacing voice begins. "Then why are there three beds?"

The deep sounds of each word, attains a stilled silence, simultaneously entrapping each item and belonging in the room.

I slowly turn my head away from the boxes, fully aware of the naturally befalling feeling tasked with the role of informing you when you are being watched. I freeze at the first sound of the cupboard door opening.

See, I told you so...

"Where is she?!" a voice booms.

A shiver runs down my spine at the firsts sounds of their voice, so cold and harsh, forcing the image of a sharpened blade into my head. On my first encounter with these beings I had originally thought them mute, yet somehow I preferred that to knowing they could articulate words in English. The idea of both species being able to verbally communicate scares me, possibly because it means if caught, my chances of bullshitting my way out of the situation would be diminished.