I felt like collapsing as I fleetingly glanced over my shoulder. There was no way of telling how long I’d been sprinting away from my enemy. It felt like hours at least. My glimpse had thrown me off balance, and in my exhaustion, I toppled to the forest floor. Although my body was ready to pass out, I wasn’t down for more than half of a second as I crawled back into and upright position and continued my race to my unknown destination. I knew that no amount of sleep was worth facing what lay behind me. My vision was beginning to blur as I ran as fast as I could, the trees blending into a continuous streak of brown and green, the endless sky a dark blackish purple. I can’t stop… I can’t stop, I chanted over and over in my head. Sleep will come eventually if you keep going, I can’t stop… I can’t stop. But I didn’t know how much longer my body would buy that. Soon, everything would go black, and that was inevitable. But I kept running to my unknown destination. I dared another peek over my shoulder, and was almost thrown off balance again as I brushed past a tree. There were still three figures on my tail. I knew I couldn’t run much longer, no matter what my track record was in the normal world. But this wasn’t the normal world anymore. I had to learn that the hard way. Keep running… I can’t stop…there was a splitting pain that started from my left temple and spread through my whole head. My abdominal area seared with pain. I can’t stop … I can’t stop…There was a great crash, and then the world went black.
I’m in my old home, my 17 year old brother and me sitting on the couch. I was 14 at the time. We’re watching… TV. I can barley remember what the device was called that the images flashed across. The concept of a device melely for entertainment had almost become foreign to me. My short dirty blonde hair brushed my chin as I laughed at something on the screen. My nose was rounded, my pink lips full, yet small. Jacob had a deep hearty laugh that filled anyone who heard it with warmth, I love my brother, he’s the best person in the world. His hair is a bronze color, and he had soft, loving green eyes. Don’t let that fool you though, I’d witnessed them freeze over when he was angry. I was always glad we had each other.
My parents marched through the door, backs straight, steps synchronized with each other. “Let’s go out for ice cream children”, they suggest simultaneously. My mother is beautiful and has smooth auburn hair cascading past her shoulders. This morning she left home wearing a purple button down top with a denim skirt. I guess she changed after work, I think, because now she was wearing grey sweatpants and a light pink T-shirt. My father was wearing a suit this morning, but is now wearing dark jeans and a plain white T-shirt. He had black hair that was admired by everyone who’d ever met him. He had piercing blue eyes that could be cold and hard or soft and kind. A little freaked out by their unusual manor, my brother and I agree to follow them outside.
“We decided to buy a new car, children.” They tell us, again in those perfectly synchronized voices. We approached a dark van with no windows. I’m starting to become anxious. I glance at my brother, Jacob; his eyes are locked on the van. I can tell he’s memorizing every detail about it. The exact shade of green, the make and model of the vehicle. The license plate is the most important and I hurry to read it to myself as we approach the van. 882DEF
“Mom…” I begin to ask.
“Don’t worry dear, we chose this car for its convenience. Don’t you like it?” I ignore her question. My left hand slips into Jacob’s, he grips it with his right; I know sticking together is the most important thing now. The weight of my special pen pressed against my thigh from my pocket. My father gave it to me when I turned 12 and told me to use it wisely. Jacob had one too, but I wasn't sure if he had it with him I knew he carried his five inch pocket knife at all times though, even in his sleep. We were never normal kids; we’d trained for dangerous situations all our lives. I knew what came next. My “mother” smiled falsely and Jacob drew his knife. An earsplitting shriek filled the air as the battle began.
I was shocked awake as the horrible memory seeped from my unconscious to conscious mind. My face would probably never look like that again. Now it was streaked with dried blood and dirt from my weeks on the run. The little water I’d encountered couldn’t be wasted on anything other than drinking. I occasionally got to hide in a stream, letting my clothes, face and body wash off. The scars would always be there though, no matter what I did. I wasn’t sure I wanted them gone though. Oh how I missed Jacob.
I jumped to my feet as that faded from my mind and the events of the previous night rushed in. I looked around in panic; I was in a very unfamiliar place. It was dark and dusky, every surface covered in moss. I didn’t dare make a sound. I didn’t know what happened after you were caught, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to.
I examined the room, which was a raggedly shaped circle. My shoes made a soft squishing noise as I paced around. There was a moss- covered tree stump. I was about twenty feet under the ground. The ceiling was indistinguishable, dark and had cracks of light in it. That’s why it wasn’t totally dark. I examined and memorized every inch of the “room”. There was a little pool of water in the corner. I sniffed it- clean as far as I could tell. No chemical contamination or salt. The walls were made of dirt and moss, as if this hole were dug. This was strange. As I examined the walls, I notices a ladder- like structure made of mossy vines. I could tell it led up to the top as I studied it, following the ladder with my eyes up to the ceiling
I continued feeling the walls cautiously, and found a little trap door. I gazed into it. There was a metallic tunnel big enough for a person my size to crawl through. I decided to climb the ladder and see what was above me. My right hand gripped a sturdy- looking vine, and placing my left foot on the wall, bringing my knee to the level of my waist, I hoisted my body up. I grabbed the next handhold with my left hand and proceeded to climb the wall. I reached the top and felt like I should be ringing a bell. As I felt the ceiling with my bare hand, sweat dripped from my forehead, palms and under my arms. The ceiling was a solid metal... door, and as I felt around, it slid open, almost stealing my balance as my arms flailed in a desperate attempt to regain my stability. I regained my precarious balance, breating heavily. The vine under my left foot snapped, and I fell. Desperately groping the steel, then mossy wall, I ignored the cuts forming on my hands. I finally caught a vine from the laddar I'd climbed up, but it slipped from my grip, and I fell about two feet onto my backside.
****************************************** uhm, I wrote this in 8th grade and it's under construction... :)
