The Road To Freedom

Chapter 1

I walk down the Main Street of my small town, which is stuck in the middle of nowhere. Population 500, everybody knows everybody, and everything that goes on is a public event, so naturally nobody does anything interesting. Everybody in our tiny town of Brulos is raised the same. Go to school, work, some people do sports, some people did nothing. Everyone is perfect. That is, except for my two friends and I.

Josh and Amy are the only people I get along with, partially due to the fact that we hate this town. We want to leave, although the thought is usually short lived, since nobody ever leaves Brulos.

I round the corner into a back ally to take a shortcut to my house. When I get halfway through the ally I hear a loud bang on the dumpster next to me. Looking  behind me, I see nothing and look back to the dumpster. Deciding that it's nothing I start walking again. I only take a couple steps before another bang rings out, louder than the last. Knowing that I am alone in the ally, I look behind the dumpster. Finding nothing I mutter to myself,

"What the hell?"

Muffled laughter comes from somewhere I can't identify.

"Okay guys fuck off." I say, with more laughter as a reply. This time I notice Josh and Amy's face looking over the ledge on top of the town's only grocery store on one side of the ally. Josh throws a rock over the edge, narrowly missing me and hitting the dumpster.

As my friends climb down the wall, using the missing bricks as foot and hand holds, I pick up one of the rocks they threw and chuck it in their direction. The rock smacks against the wall next to Josh's head. Amy screams and Josh drops. My laughter is cut short when I hear Josh groaning in pain. I rush over to where he lays, holding his leg and choking back tears.

"Josh are you okay?" Amy's voice is shaky with worry.

"Uhhggg." Is the only reply he can manage.

"I'm sorry dude I didn't think you'd get hurt." I offer, feeling genuine guilt, until Josh starts laughing and gets up.

"Got you good bitch!" He exclaims. Amy calls him an asshole as she playfully punches his shoulder. All I can do is shake my head and chuckle softly. Only Josh would feign an injury to joke around.

Once we are finished laughing, the three of us walk out of the ally and down the street.

"Danny, can I borrow a lighter?" Amy asks, as she puts a cigarette between her lips. "Mine ran out of fluid."

"Yeah, here." I say, pulling out my own smokes. "I take it you want one of mine?" I ask Josh. He grins.

"Read my mind." He replies as I hand him one.

We walk across a street and into the school playground. Amy and I sit on the swings and Josh sits facing us on the seesaw.

" I might need to bunk with you for a couple nights," Josh tells me between taking puffs of his smoke, "would that be okay?"

"Yeah I don't think it'll be a problem." I reply, not bothering to ask why he needs a place to stay. With Josh it's best to not ask questions. We finish our cigarettes and leave the park.

A five minute walk puts us on my front porch. The three of us walk inside and into the living room. My mom won't be home from work until late, and my dad left when I was young, so we have the house to ourselves. We sit on the couch for roughly an hour, talking about what life outside of Brulos would be like, talking about a free life. True total freedom.

Josh gets up. "I'm gonna run home and grab a few things, I'll be back in a bit." He says, then walks out the door.

I look at Amy. "So... What do ya wanna do?" I ask. Amy shrugs.

"Doesn't matter. Pretty much down for anything." She lets out a laugh.

"You know, I've been meaning to say this for a while, but..." I trail off, second guessing myself.

"What is it?" Amy presses.

"Never mind. It's stupid."

"Oh? How do you know?"

"It'll just be weird."

"Maybe it won't." A sly grin comes across Amy's face.

"You already know. Don't you?" I say, piecing it together. 

"Josh told me." She replies with a shrug, "But guess what."

"What?" I ask, not sure of what she's going to say.

"You're smart," Amy's voice drops down to a whisper, "I'll let you figure it out." Before I can ask how I'm supposed to do that she kisses me. It's a long kiss, and when she finally pulls away all I can think is wow. I lean in to kiss her again, and as I do so she grabs the back of my neck, pulling me closer. Amy lays on her back, pulling me with her. Her hands slide down my back, just before I hear a soft laugh and clapping. I bolt upright and glare at Josh.

"I can't believe I caught that happening!" Josh's words are barely audible over his laughing.

"Fuck off Josh." Amy says, clearly unimpressed. Then she walks out of the room and into the kitchen. Josh goes to the door and asks where he should put his stuff. I point to the guest room. He nods and slings his backpack over his shoulder. Amy walks out of the kitchen and to the door.

"Mom called. I have to go home. Wants me to do some chores." She says, rolling her eyes.

"Oh ok." I reply, slightly disappointed. "Stop by later if you want." Amy nods and walks out the door. I watch her walk down the street for a bit, then join Josh upstairs in the guest room. The rest of the night is dull, we do nothing except watch YouTube and play video games. Amy didn't stop by yet, but I'm too tired to care. It's now 11:46, so I shut my eyes and drift off into sleep.