The Dangerfields

Chapter Nine

I freeze, and Ryder follows my lead. "You are under arrest for intentionally harming an innocent child, and tackling a police officer. That being said, the president himself is looking for you Temerarys, and if you try to run, I will shoot," The cop says with authority.

Suddenly, I see Mom coming up behind the cop. She yells a spell, one I've never heard before, and the officer's gun explodes in his hand.

Mom grabs Ryder and I by the arms and starts running, dragging us with her. I'm in shock. I can't believe that the cop thought I was hurting that little girl!

I'm offended by the accusation, but I push it from my mind as I concentrate on running. I hear the cop behind, chasing after us, and speed up, as do Ryder and Mom. The spell drained me of energy, but I pour what remains of it into running as fast as I can.

I hear the officer call for reinforcements with his walkie-talkie, and within minutes, there are four more cops chasing after us.

"It's no use," Ryder pants, "We can't outrun all of them. We'll have to disappear."

So we run harder, and make a series of sharp turns around all the buildings we come across, trying to lose the cops for just a few seconds in order to disappear. Finally, we duck into a small alley and each whisper, "invisio."

The magic takes effect, and the three of us turn invisible. We grasp each other's hands so we don't lose one another. Just as we finish disappearing, the cops turn the corner and run right by us, thinking that we turned back onto the street.

I feel someone grab me by the arm and hear Mom's voice. "What did you do and why did you do it?" She demands, "Now the government knows we're here."

"What was I supposed to do? The hospital wouldn't have fixed her leg that good and it would've been more painful, and really expensive. Judging by the state of her clothes, her family wouldn't have been able to afford the surgery. I couldn't just not help her."

Mom sighs. "Fine, I probably would've done the same thing. I got all our money and transported it to our hotel room. We're lucky that the bank protected our identity from the government for this long. That's either what happened, or the government didn't think to take the money."

"Whichever it was, I'm grateful for it," Ryder says.

"Me too," I agree.

We turn to head out to the street, and silently, we walk back to the hotel.

We manage to dodge the suspicious police and make it to our hotel room. There we return to the realm of the visible, and lock the door.

All our money from the bank account is lying around in piles all over the room. It is all in hundred dollar bills, and there is more than I imagined there would be.

Mom takes a second smaller backpack, which she had bought the night before, after dinner, and holds it in front of her. "Extonyle Indasa," She says, and I see the bottom of the bag retreat, to where I can't see it anymore.

I notice that she grimaces slightly as the magic takes effect. The small spell of expansion is enough that we can now leave our money in it, and won't have to worry as much. The worry is impossible to leave behind for good, but this helps tone it down a little bit.

We quickly pack the rest of our things into the larger bag, which, I now notice, has also been expanded on the inside. I swipe the soaps and shampoos that the hotel leaves out, knowing that they will probably just throw it out after we leave.

We head down to the lobby, and place the room keys on the front desk. Carrie looks up from her computer and smiles a little sadly at us. "Leaving so soon?" She asks.

Mom flashes a smile in her direction. "Yes, we were just heading through. Thank you for everything though."

Carrie smiles brightly at that. "It was really no problem. Thank you for staying with us!"

Mom pays and we leave, thanking Carrie once more.

We walk through the streets, and I'm not really sure where we're heading. But I stay silent, and follow Ryder and Mom further into the city, further away from home with every step.

We walk for awhile, and Ryder makes sure that it won't be an easy job if anyone is following us. He turns at almost every corner we pass, still moving towards the centre of the city, but making the journey longer and therefore more exhausting. He even cuts through alleyways in an effort to stay off the radar.

A few times, I swear I feel someone watching us, but every time I look, there is nothing there. It makes me nervous to think that somebody could be following us.

We finally stop to rest, and I check my watch and see that we have only been walking for two hours. The edge of the city isn't as far as I thought, because of all the side streets we went along.

Mom suggests that we find a hotel and lay low for awhile. I think it's a good plan. We're a little bit closer to the centre of the city, and there is more going on here. People aren't as focused on others as they were at the edge, where not much happens.

I feel eyes watching me again, but when I look back, there is nothing. This time though, Ryder feels it too. I can see it on his face.

"Is anyone there?" He calls, but nobody appears.

"On my signal, run," he mutters to Mom and I.

We are silent for a long moment, waiting, then he yells, "Run!" I jump up and run as fast as I can, chasing after Ryder and Mom. I stay on their heels as we try to lose whoever was following us. I risk a look back, but am surprised when I don't see someone chasing us. In fact, There is only one person on the street at all, and she is walking slowly in the opposite direction.

No government official pursuing, no cops, nobody at all.

Just in case they ducked into hiding as I looked, I keep running, but something is happening to me. My vision is starting to go blurry, and the world is fading out. I stop, my hands flying to my eyes as I cry out in shock.

I see Mom and Ryder stop too, and start to walk quickly back to me. My vision is leaving me faster though, and I fall to the ground as everything goes black.

A/N:  What do you think of 'The Dangerfields' so far? Is it good? Bad? Comment and tell me! I'm open to constructive criticism! :)