Gone in an instant

Chapter 12: Saturday, 10:00 PM

Charlotte was now asleep on my shoulder. We were laying against a tree with extra moss. The dirt was soft. It was like natures bed. The cave just a few feet away. I stroked Charlotte's hair and admired her peaceful state of slumber again. Before I knew it I nodded off too.

I woke up suddenly. I wasn't sure what woke me up but I knew something had. Something had made a noise. I looked around, trying not to wake up Charlotte. I listened, I think I could hear very far off footsteps. But it could very possibly be my imagination. Charlotte stirred and then awoke. She looked up at me. “What's wrong Josh?” She whispered. “Do you hear that?” I asked. She listened for a second, “Ya, I do.” She answered, it wasn't my imagination. I peered around the tree, there were a few lights that seemed to be moving towards us. Charlotte saw I was watching something and moved so she too could peer around the tree.

“Do you think it's t-them?” She asked. I could hear the worry and a bit of fear in here voice. “No. I'm not sure who it is though. Maybe it's the police?” I said, trying to sound calm. We just kept staring. The lights moved at a slow pace They were still very far away. Maybe a half mile or so. I began to hear a light humming sound, then it grew louder. Then a bright light swept across the forest and was gone. It was a helicopter. The police were definitely after us.

Since our last check the lights had moved significantly closer to us. I turned to Charlotte. “Should we run, fight, or stay here and hide?” I asked. I was ready to do all three. Normally I would say run but I don't know how far anyone would make it. “I think we should hide.” She said hesitantly. I nodded. “If they find my family they'll be safe. I'm the one who's in trouble. The police want me. You hide with my family and I'm going to climb a tree or something. Okay?” I said. The police wanted me. They no doubt thought I kidnapped Charlotte too now. If the police took them they would be safe. “No. I'm staying with you.” Charlotte said defiantly.

“You can't. You won't be safe with me. I want you to watch over my family. Plus you'll get proper treatment for your arm. Go! Now! They're getting closer!” I said, becoming more urgent as I glanced back and saw the police only a few hundred feet away. I began sneaking towards a tree that seemed climbable and began to climb. Charlotte stood at the bottom looking up. “I need help getting up!” She said, almost pleading with me. I kept climbing. I hated having to leave her behind. I hated leaving behind my family. But it was better this way. Them safe and me not in jail. That was the best solution. Right? The police were now just 100 feet away. I climbed down from the tree. Charlotte looked stunned. “What are you doing?” She asked shocked. “What kind of family member am I if I don't stay with my family?” I answered.

The police started shouting at us. I hugged Charlotte. Then began walking towards the police, my hands in the air. An officer grabbed me and soon I was in handcuffs lying face down on the ground. I looked up at Charlotte. She was crying and staring at me. I smiled at her. Trying to tell it was going to be alright. But an officer began talking with her. Everyone was out of earshot from me and I couldn't hear a word of what was said but I could see a medic looking at Charlotte's arm. This comforted me a little. There were about 30 officers and medical personal there now.

We were all taken to a clearing where the helicopter had landed but I was kept away from my family. I was left behind with two other officers though. I watched the helicopter take off, Charlotte pressed her face against the window as they took off, watching me sadly. She was still crying. My mother joined her and soon my whole family was watching me. I turned to the officer, “Can you take these handcuffs off me so I can just wave to my family?” I asked, he glanced at his partner, who nodded, then removed them. I waved and smiled at family, then gave Charlotte a very serious look. She seemed to realize what it meant. She realized what I was about to do.

As soon as the helicopter was out of sight the officer went to put the handcuffs back on me. I grabbed the chain of the handcuffs and spun them out of his hands, swinging them into the head of the other officer, who fell over, temporarily out of commission. I threw the handcuffs far away quickly. The first officer grabbed around my neck but his arm was to far up so I bit it. He let go and stumbled back a bit. I spun as fast as I could and punched him straight across the face. It was the hardest I'd ever punched somebody. He fell over, unconscious. I was amazed at my strength. I turned around. And froze. The other officer was up and had his gun pointed at me. It was just inches away from my chest.

“Don't move.” He said. “Wasn't planning on it. You do realize you just separated an innocent kid from his family who he just rescued from a secret gang and then stayed with them even though he knew some stupid cop like you would do this exact thing to him right?” I told him. As he thought about this I reached for the gun. He flinched a bit and then I heard a loud “Bang!” as my leg gave out. I felt a searing pain in my right thigh. I clutched my leg and I could I feel the blood oozing from my wound. I took a slight sigh of relief that the bullet hadn't hit my artery or I would be dead in minutes.

I thought I had been in some serious pain before but this easily took the cake. I couldn't believe how much this hurt. My whole leg felt like it had been run over by a truck. I realized that the officer who shot me was nowhere to be found. I didn't care where he had gone. I writhed in pain on the ground, hoping somehow someone would find me and help. I could feel myself slipping in and out of consciousness. The world slowly went gray and slowly faded into a deep, dark, black.