Where Are You

Chapter 3

The shoppers began to panic and they pushed their way past me and towards the nearest exit. They reminded me of a stampede running as fast as they could across the African savannah. I thought that it was just a drill but I could smell the smoke and feel the heat of the fire as I ran past it.

             I had the opposite desire to the people that ran past me, I ran in the opposite direction shoving through the crowd to reach Eliza. She may have embarrassed me and she may hate my dream but she is the woman who raised me. The crowd shoved me in their direction and I pushed against them like I was swimming against a strong current.

            “Get out of my way!” I shouted at them.

            I was very aware that Emma, Steph and Haley were following me, along with my stalker. I didn’t stop when my friends begged me because I had to keep going; I had to find my mum. There was a possibility that she was exiting the building but I still had to find her. Why did I leave her? Why didn’t I just stay with her?

            “Stupid girl,” people said as I pushed past them.     

            “Only going to get herself killed,” they hissed.

            “Shut up!” I screamed at them. “You don’t fucking control me!”

            The crowd shoved me back but I shoved them with the force of a wrecking ball. They weren’t forcing me out of this place because I was determined to find Eliza.

            “ALEXIS!” my friends screamed my name. “You should come with us!”

            “Just go!” I screamed back at them.

            The crowd gave me funny looks at the way I screamed. I was out of control and I was acting like I should be in a mental institute.

            “Maybe you should listen to your friends,” a group advised me.

            I stopped moving and grabbed the one closest to me. I stared at them with crazed eyes, I could tell that I was out of control but I didn’t stop myself from screaming at them too.

            “Don’t you dare tell me what to fucking do,” I growled.

            I shoved them away from me and stormed towards my goal, my mum. I’ve never been so crazy in front of a crowd before; I just kept telling myself that it was because my mum could be laying around here somewhere, injured.

            I kept moving through the crowd and slowly the crowd began to thin out. I reached the other side of the mall only to be stopped by a wall of fire. Emma grabbed my arm and began to drag me through the shops again.

            “NO!” I shrieked. “I have to find her!”

            “She’s probably out of here or…” Emma trailed off deliberately.

            I didn’t need her to finish her thought because I knew what she meant. Eliza could be caught in fire and she could be burning in the fire as my friends dragged me through the burning mall.

            “MUM!” I shouted. “Eliza!”

            But it was no use. I could scream and yell her name as loud as I wanted but there was no way that she was going to hear me. I felt like I was drowning in the flames that engulfed everything in its path. We reached the parking lot when I realized that Eliza’s car was gone. She wouldn’t leave me behind with my friends. I yanked my arm free from Emma and I sprinted towards the exit. I was surprised that Haley kept up with us because of the amount of bags that she was carrying.