Colors

Nineteen

A/N: Surprise! New update and it HASN'T been a month since the last one wow 

Oh also just before I get into the chapter, would you guys prefer random updates or constant but less frequent ones? I can update once a fortnight but that would also mean that if I write two chapters in a week (hahah) you'll all have to wait...

I don't know just tell me what you'd prefer I guess

I sat in the back seat of the car, the reality of the situation setting in. The churning of the engine and subtle sounds of the tyres on gravel road accompanied my thoughts as I realised that I'd never see my family again. I'd never see my parents or my sister again and I didn't even have the ability to say goodbye properly. I wanted to, but I knew that if I'd let them down I'd never be able to live with myself. Just thinking about it made my eyes started to blur with tears so I turned my head to look out the window and gripped my thigh when my hands started to shake. I felt a warm hand clasp around mine, long slim fingers wrapping around mine tightly. My head snapped up and I saw Troye, his eyes filled with the same pain as I realised that his hands were shaking just as much as mine. The grip that I had on his hand tightened slightly and he smiled sadly before turning to look out his own window. 

We drove from my house to the supermarket and of course I stayed in the car, but the others bought bags of rice as well as protein bars and any forms of preserved fruit that we could find. Basically, food that could keep us healthy for as long as possible. And my mother thought I was impractical with food after I ate ramen noodles for two weeks straight. She'd be so proud of me. Troye had brought camping kits from when he went with his family as a kid, which had a few pots and cutlery that would be good to use. We'd finished the list of things to do and we were finally on our way to the border, all four of us silent as we just thought about the decision we were about to make.

"Guys..." Troye spoke up after a little while, seeing something that the rest of us had clearly missed as we were nearing the border. 

"Wh–" Alex started, but cut himself off as he saw it too, making me scramble across the seat slightly so that I wasn't missing out on the view. The whole border seemed to be cut off, dark blue caution tape surrounding the tall walls as far as we could see paired with tall strong guards much like those that I'd come across with Mitch that one night. Armed and nearly seven foot tall. I remember the fear that struck my body as I ran in the dark, hearing the gunshots that echoed around the suburb. Maybe that was the cause of all of this, or maybe someone got caught crossing the border. I pushed the thought to the back of my mind as well as the possibility that Mitch had been the one caught, focusing on what was happening within the car. 

Alex had turned the car around before anyone saw that we'd been approaching the border and parked a few blocks back. "What now?" Kirstie asked, turning to look at Alex, then me. 

I started speaking before I'd even realised it, biting my bottom lip roughly and then voicing my thoughts. "I say we walk to the abandoned areas, that gap we found a while ago might still be there, they may just be trying to reinforce the boundary where most people can see it? Or there might be less people down there and we can just sneak through." The others nodded and we all grabbed our bags, only having a rucksack each so that we weren't too weighed down. 

Talking wasn't necessary as we walked in silence, our feet falling into conversation as we walked along the road, not stopping too often as we wanted to be on the other side of the wall and into somewhere hidden before the sun set. Before long we'd reached the wall again and came face to face with the same caution tape, but there were no security guards to be found. "You go first..." I whispered to Alex, tapping him in the middle of the back and running two fingers over toward his left shoulder. It was a gesture we'd always done, to show the other person that we were here no matter what and that we loved them. I don't know when it originated, but I remember that it was one of the most calming things I knew and spoke louder than most words ever did. 

Alex managed to get through without much difficulty, simply stuttering his movements once or twice which is to be expected for someone risking their life. He managed to move the all too familiar plank of wood and slip through the wall and within seconds Kirstie had followed, almost too fast for me to see her small frame and then her black backpack moving through the fence. I expected Troye to go next but instead he just stood there, staring at the small gap as if it was the end of his life. Which it was. Well, life as he knew it. 

"You still sure?" I whispered, putting a hand on his arm to comfort him as he nodded slowly. I heard footsteps approaching us but thought nothing of it, not wanting to panic or let Troye know there was anything to be worried about. We were quiet anyway, they wouldn't even know we'd been here. 

"Y-Yeah, sorry. I'll just um... Go." He said softly before running through. The next few seconds stopped time, everything moving in slow motion as Troye's leg accidentally hit the plank of wood down as he attempted to get through the gap. I watched it topple and crash to the ground with a loud thud that would have been fine if it weren't for the three security guards who were now coming around the corner. They'd heard the movement and I could tell there was only a few seconds before they'd see me so I just sprinted for the wall, hearing the men behind me yelling and their footsteps getting closer.

My left foot moved over the boundary and that was when I heard, or rather, felt it. A bullet ripped through my shoulder as I crossed over the line in the cement, making it clear that the men had caught up somehow. The moment the pain shot through my body everything seemed to stop and suddenly start to move faster than I'd ever experienced. The other three had been scattered, each of them running their own way in order to make it harder to follow us as a group. We'd discussed this before, but in that moment with all the thoughts running through my mind I didn't realise that we hadn't established a place to meet. We didn't know anything about what would happen or where we were. But I trusted them, I knew they could make it through and find one another. 

I hadn't realised that I'd stopped for even a second, but when I heard the incoherent yelling from the part of the forest that I'd run to, my brain kickstarted and I began running again. Away from Alex, Kirstie, Troye. Away from the waterfall and lake in what seemed like paradise, away from the forest all together. I ran until I was hidden in a small alleyway where I managed to get an old shirt and rip it to secure around my arm, stopping as much blood loss as possible. The pain was unbearable and I could hardly breathe but I knew that I couldn't die. Not when I'd gotten this far and dragged my best friends into this. I ran through the plan that I'd made up in my head, debating whether to go through with it or not, when I looked down to see the white blood was rolling down my arm, staining my shirt and shoes but I was too focused to care. I stood quickly and moved to run through unfamiliar streets, my eyes scanning the metal signs as I tried to make sense of the area surrounding me. I felt as though I was still being trailed and would hide wherever I could as often as I could, but it felt pointless. I almost gave up and went back to find the others when I saw the word that resonated in my head, standing high on a post. 

I was moving fast again, running along the street and stopping when I was at the front door of the small red-brick house, the front garden looking much different in broad daylight. I went up the small steps and raised my hand before knocking on the door. It opened slightly and I stood there, staring down slightly at the red boy who opened the door. 

"W-who are you?" 

"Hi Noah. Can I come in? It's kind of important."