Just Another Day Spent Running For Our Lives

"Valdez, I swear, if we get out of here alive I'm going to kill you myself!"

“Go left!” was Leo’s only response. She hurled around the corner at full speed only to slam into him, sending them both sprawling across the pavement. Leo groaned and rolled onto his back, staring up at the chain link fence blocking their path. He staggered to his feet and approached the fence while Piper looked around the alley for another exit.

“Where do we go now?” she said desperately.

“We go up!” he grinned, and started climbing.

“Leo, you’re insane,” she shouted up at him.

“You got a better idea? Now climb!” He yelled back. She sighed and started scaling the fence, trying to ignore the growls and hisses echoing in the alley behind her. She hauled herself over the top, her t-shirt snagging on the wire as she climbed over the top of the fence. She tugged it free, tearing the sleeve of her shirt in the process.

Halfway down the opposite side of the fence, she slipped and went crashing to the ground, silently thanking the gods that the fall had only been a few feet. Leo grabbed her hand and hauled her to her feet dragging her along. If she hadn’t been so focused on not tripping over her own feet, she probably would have complained about the hand-holding

“So what’s your plan?” she panted.

“I haven’t thought of one,” he admitted.

“Great.”

“I’m trying! There’s not much we can do but run.”

“We can fight!”

“Against a dracaena and a hellhound wish a dagger and a tool belt? Awesome idea, Pipes,” he said sarcastically. Before she had the chance to respond, they stumbled into a crossroad. Piper cursed, looking down both roads and wondering why there couldn’t just be a simple route back to camp.

“Which way?” she gasped, still trying to catch her breath. A growl echoed from the alleyway on the right, which, of course, looked much more bright and inviting than the left.

“I’m thinking left,” Leo said.

“Left is sounding pretty good,” she agreed. They took off, running down the dimly lit alley until they reached the road. They didn’t hesitate to cross it, sprinting across the street ignoring the annoyed shouts and honking cars.

“Leo, hold up,” she gasped. “Give me a minute.”

“Yeah, yeah. Okay,” he panted. “Keep walking.” She groaned as he started jogging again. Her lungs were on fire. This was the most she’d run in a long time. She hadn’t realized how out of shape she was.

“Do you hear that?” Leo said nervously.

“What?”

He shook his head. “I thought I heard…never mind.”

“Leo, what did you-” she was interrupted by a hellhound. The monster burst out of the alley in front of them, growling and snapping its teeth. The thing must have been the size of an SUV, and its glowing red eyes were fixed on them.

“Time to go!” Piper shouted, turning on her heel and running in the opposite direction with Leo right behind her. They tore around another corner, running with no sense of direction, just the sense that they needed to get out of there. Fast.

Piper heard the hellhound running somewhere behind them, its huge paws shaking the ground. She heard another howl somewhere to her right. Great. It had a friend. She hurtled around another corner only to stumble to an abrupt halt. Leo was not so lucky. His momentum didn’t allow him an easy stop; he crashed into the brick wall and collapsed.