The Outlaws <<Book One of THE OUTLAWS series >>

Old Flashbacks and New Beginnings

Moving to Arencia was the worst thing that ever happened to us.

Soon after we moved into another small apartment -luckily a little larger than our last one- we got news that we were the last known survivors from Mellia. We lost everyone, everything. Carlos, being the oldest, tried to make sure I was okay with the new living situations and losing our home. I would say I was okay every time, even tough some parts of our new lives bothered me. I couldn't graffiti old building that no one lived or worked in or cared about anymore. I couldn't skip classes with the teacher not caring as long as we showed up for important things like tests, assemblies, or rallies. No matter what I did, I would get in trouble. The fact that I had no freedom at all bothered me, so I decided to make a stand, and it would start at my new school.

I didn't tell anyone about what I was planning, because they would just try to stop me. They would say: "We're not in Mellia anymore. You can't just go and do whatever you want without a consequence." Of course, I learned this when I was younger, and still out it to my life now, but I wanted to make sure everyone knew I was here now, and I brought of piece of home with me.

     I grabbed my white backpack, stuffing everything I needed into it. My books, school supplies that my dad had bought me. Carlos gave me money for lunch, which reluctantly took. The lunch at my old school in Mellia didn't involve money, so I would have to get into the routine of getting money every day. The money went into my backpack too so I wouldn't forget it. Because we had gotten to Arencia in the middle of the night, I only had a couple of hours to sleep until I had to get up to get ready. I put a couple of my spray cans into my backpack, primarily blue, silver, and black.

"Camelia! Are you getting ready for tomorrow?" The shout came from across the hall, my dad's room. Footsteps came closer and closer to my door, each one growing louder. My dad's face appeared from the corner of my door, his eyebrows raised.

I nodded, turning to face him. His face showed large amounts of concern, as if to give a message that everything would be okay. I put on the best smile I could, and put my slightly overstuffed bag into my closet.

     "Goodnight, Camelia," my dad said in his usual calming tone.

     I smiled once more as I crawled under my favorite black blanket, "Goodnight, Dad."

     The door slowly creaked closed, and I shut my eyes.

^^^^^

     Her bright brown eyes pierced mine before running down the long street. I giggled running after her. Her small  black shoes slapped against the pavement, speed rising with every step. I was right on her heels, not wanting to lose her. The little glances she took back at me didn't help either. Her mischievous smile only made me want to catch up more. I was on the side of her, both of us trying to pass the other. We would take turns being the leader, but only for a short time.

We both stopped at the corner leading to the main road.

"I won!"

"No way! I won!"

Our argument was interrupted by giggles that came bubbling up from inside. She put her arm around me, trying to catch her breath. I breathed heavily, smiling.

I looked at the other side of the street, my smile fading. "I have to go."

"Do you have to?" She sighed. "I could come over to your house again!"

"My dad might find out, though. Yours might find out too. Then-"

"We can't see each other any more."

I nodded sadly. She pulled me into a tight hug.

"I have something for you!" I reached into my jacket pocket, pulling out two light blue braided yarn bracelets.

She put her wrist out in front of me, and I tied hers. She tied mine. We locked pinkies, promising to never take them off. "They always stay on," we said simultaneously.

She smiled brightly, "I have something for you too." Her hand went into her pocket, and she pulled out two charms. One white key, the other key black. "We can put them on our bracelets!"

We latched them on, admiring their shine in the last bits of sunlight for the day.

"I'll walk you ba-"

She was interrupted by the sound of three gunshots ringing out in the distance. Four more rang out, both of us running to hide.

     A large hand grabbed my arm. I screamed, before turning around and seeing my dad.

     "Camelia, why are you here? You know you can't go on the other side!"

     "I know, Daddy, but I wanted to see my best friend!"

     "She and her father are the enemy! You know that! Let's go!"

     I was pulled away, our arms and hands trying to grab onto one another. Her father came and took her away, making it even harder. We struggled, making little progress. My dad pulled out his gun, keeping it in his hand. Her father did the same thing. It stayed at their sides as they backed away, dragging us along.

     More gunshots. Bombs were now going off.

     "Promise we'll find each other again?" She called to me, her struggling starting to stop.

     "I promise!" I yelled back, before she disappeared in it the darkness of the night.

^^^^^

     I bolted awake. A flash of lightning lit up small corners of my room, disappearing as fast as they appeared. I looked down at my wrist, the white key glinting in the small light.

     The bracelet felt thin in between my fingers.  Tears started falling from my eyes. "I promise," I whispered into the darkness.

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You guys have no idea how fun and hard that was to write.

It made me tear up a little 😭

Jk, jk 😂

I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter! The next one will be up soon.

Leave comments, vote, and follow! I always appreciate it.

I'll see you all at the next chapter 😄