The Road To Freedom

Chapter 2

I dream of freedom. That we can go wherever we wish, and do whatever we like. I dream of a bug city, full of opportunity, unlike our tiny town that offers nothing but restraint. My dream is cut short by a voice and a hand shaking me. As I come to consciousness the whispering voice becomes clearer.

"Danny, wake up!" The hand shakes me again. "Come on, wake up. I have something to tell you."

"Amy?" I grumble. I try to look up at her but my eyes won't open wide enough.

"Yeah," she says, "get up. Then we need to get Josh up." I roll off my bed and onto my feet. I struggle down the dark hallway, letting Amy lead me. My brain is still too asleep to know what's going on. Once we are all up Amy motions for us to follow her outside.

"So.. I'm leaving." She says as soon as we are out of earshot from the house.

"When?" I ask. "And where?" Amy pauses before responding.

"Tonight. Right away actually. I'm going to the city. Where my parents can't find me." A long silence comes over us.

"You're running away?" Josh ventures. "Why?" He asks in response to Amy's nod.

"Well," Amy starts, "for starters I hate this town. Can't stand it. I also hate my parents. My dad got me tonight. He's been drinking again. I can't deal with that. And I just want my own freedom." I can feel Amy looking at me, but I continue to stare at the ground, watching one foot push past the other as we walk down the street.

"Actually, my parents kicked me out of the house. That's why I needed a place to stay. They told me not to come back." Josh tells us.

"Well I guess it's confession time." I say trying to lighten the mood for what I'm about to say. "My moms been threatening me with a kitchen knife. Twice now. She told me if I ever step out of place, she will kill me. But you see? Amy we are still here. We are dealing with this. You can too."

Amy looks at the ground and stops walking. "I'm going to leave. I'm asking if you want to come with me. And this is for real. No backing out last second."

I consider this. Josh however doesn't, immediately telling us he's in. Both Josh and Amy are staring at me now.

"Well?" Amy asks.

"Ah what the hell. Fuck it. I'm in." I say, barely able to contain my excitement. We head back to my house, and Amy waits as Josh and I pack out bags. I grab enough clothes for a week, tooth brush, and a couple other things. Then I do a quick sweep of the house and grab as much money as I can find. Once outside Amy grabs her own back from the side of my house.

"Wait... How we gonna get there? We are all 15 with no vehicle or license." Josh points out. I reach down into my pocket and pull out the keys to my moms car, jingling them in his face. Josh whistles, and we walk over to the car, which is sitting in the driveway. Climbing in as silently as possible, we wait in the car for five minutes before I put the key in the ignition. I turn the key and the car rumbles to life. It isn't until we've backed down the driveway and are leaving the town that I let out my breath. The clock on the dash tells me that it's 2:15 am, but I'm too excited to feel tired. Josh lets out a whoop and Amy laughs. We are on our way to freedom, on our way to my dream.