On The Run

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Once I was out the door and in he safety of the darkness I looked around for somewhere close but hidden so I could be alone. I saw a large oak tree that would do this job quite finely. I sprinted to it and hid beneath its branches and the blanket of darkness. 

I sat on the damp grass, ignoring the dew seeping threw my jeans. The words "experiment' kept running through my mind. Was that really, all I was? An escaped science experiment? I flung my backpack in front of me, from my back. I opened the flap and sifted through its contents. I carefully took them all out, lay them infront of me and neatly organized them back into my bag. Laptop, books, wallet, phone, chargers, photos. I tucked everything back in, neatly this time, instead of a jumble of stuff. Before I could place the photos back into my bag, the one on top of the stack caught my eye.

The scene was beautiful, full of bitterswet memories. The sun setting. The waves of the beach crashing.  I remember when that photo was taken. I was with the three only girls I knew well enough to consider friends. Veronica, Cassidy and Lorrena. 

It was my birthday and Veronica, Cassidy and Lorrena, (all sisters), had made the drive from Tenesse to North Carolina, since it was my 15th. We were at a beach about an hours drive from my house. The air was cool. The sun was shining and we all had our cameras. (You see we had met at a photography exhibition in New York, hense one of our only common interests being photography.) As the sun was setting we set up our tripods so we could take some timer shots. This photo, the one I was holding, was our favourite. I had many more but this one was the best. We had our arms looped around each others waists and we were sitting on the sand.

That was the best day of my life. We took so many photos, had so much fun and I think the worst part is now I'll probably never see them again. At the thought of never seeing the sisters again I started to sob. Veronica, Cassady and Lorrena were the only people I considered friends and now I would probably never see them again.

As I sobbed at my place beneath the oak the iwnd picked up, but I barely noticed it. The freezing air whipped at my cheeks. Making them sting. I heard a rustling beside me and my head shot up. When I saw that it was just Megan I put my head back in its place between my knees. She wrapped her arms around me and kissed my hair. "Its going to be okay honey. Look I know this is hard to take in, and I can't imagine trying to handle all of this at once, but I want you to know that even though you were created out of science, it doesn't make me or John love you any less. If we didn't love you then we wouldn't have risked everything to save you." she whispered into my ear. I felt her arm pulling me up and I didn't resist. With my backpack already being packed I grabbed it from the ground and followed Megan into the room. When we entered she immediatley laid me down on one of the beds. She tucked me in and I continued to sob. Why did I feel so empty? So alone? I wasn't alone, and it wasn't like this was the end. Or was that wishful thinking? I fell asleep, still debating whether this would all blow over and I could go back to my normal life on the sidelines. I highly doubted it.

Beep. Beep. Beep. I felt someone shaking my shoulder and I heard a soft yet urgent voice talking to me, "Kastella wake up. Hurry, we need to go. They're on to us. We need to get out of here." I sat up looking around, where was I. I saw Megan's worried eyes only inches from my face, and all the events of last night came flooding back. Suddenly wide awake, I jumped out of bed and grabbed my bags. With John leading the way, the three of us filed out of the room, leaving nothing behind. When we got to the car we all jumped in. Megan got into the drivers seat and revved the engine. John and I jumped into the backseat. We sped down the highway, towards Georgia. I looked out the window, then at John, "Where are we going now? What exactly is the plan?" Megan glared at us through the mirror. She looked at John, then at me and started explaining what they had always planned to do. Start Over. 

Once Megan and John had explained the plan to me, John and myself started re-packing our supplies. Minimizing bags. We organized the guns. Spread the ammunition out equally and it was only then that I relized we hadn't yet eaten. I noticed none of the bags had food. I looked up at John, "We don't have any food." Without looking up, he was now arranging packs, he replied, "I know. There's a Wallmart near Georgia. We're going to stock up there."

The rest of the drive passed in silence. When we arrived at Wallmart, we hopped out of the car with the intentions of going in and getting out. Those intentions were easier said than done. When we pulled into the parking lot Megan noticed a black car. Obviously it was a government car. "Ok. Here put this on. She passed my a black wig, and think glasses. The wig covered up my blonde hair perfectly and the glasses made me pretty much unrecognisable. Where she had gotten these from I'm still unaware of. She too pulled on a wig and cap. John put on a wig too and wore dark sunglasses, and seeming to have retrivied a walking stick, the kind blind people use, out of no where. We re-parked the car in a more discreet location and walked into Wallmart. At this point my palms were moist with sweat. What if we were found out? What if they discovered us? What then?

We didn't stay in the shop long, we bought food, drinm and anything else we needed and left. When we got into the car we sped down the highway yet again. As I went to pull off the wig and glasses Megan, who had taken the backseat instead of John, motioned for me to stop. She whispered, "Keep it on." I nodded and let my hands fall.

When we got to Georgia, John and Megan pulled up at an old looking ranch house. There were three floors, the outer walls an off-white. When we pulled into the driveway, we rushed to the front door.