Run Away (An Academy Ghost Bird Fan-Fiction)

Chapter One

Kota

I returned from my Academy mission later than expected. When I pulled into the driveway the house was dark except for the security light shining in the yard. It must have recently stopped raining because water is dripping from the corner of the roof and there are puddles in the driveway. I make a mental note to check and clean the rain gutters later this weekend.
I walk into the garage and Max lifts his head from inside his crate, his tail thumping the floor of the crate in greeting. "Good boy, Max. Lay down." I say as I pass him, closing the garage door and walking into the house. The house is quiet so Mom and Jessica must already be in bed. I quickly run up the stairs to my room above the garage. After quickly changing for bed I walk over to my desk and wake up my computer so I can check my emails one last time before going to sleep. I look up and see the house across the street out my bedroom window. A new family lives there but keeps to themselves. When they moved in I saw they had two daughters but I only see the smaller blonde one leave to go walking in the woods on occasion. I've tried walking back there on the path so I could bump into her and introduce myself but I always seem to miss her. She must hear me coming because she always turns to go the other way before I get too close. I don't want to scare her so I've only seen her from a distance, usually I see her sitting quietly in a tree looking off into the woods, daydreaming. I don't know many girls who would work so hard to be left alone but I want to respect her wishes so I keep my distance. It doesn't mean I'm still not curious about her though.
I usually see her every couple of days but I haven't seen her for a while, which concerns me. I make a mental note to walk in the woods tomorrow to see if I can spot her in her normal tree. It'll have to be in the afternoon when Victor, Silas and I return from our fitting.
I finish checking my email, nothing new there, and shut everything down. Climbing into bed, my mind drifts to the mysterious neighbor girl again. Why does she avoid me? What is she like? Will I ever get to meet her?

The next day, Victor arrives ahead of schedule and we have breakfast with my mom and sister before heading out to pick up Silas and going to the mall. I see a few kids our age hanging around, smoking and being loud. I wonder if these kids or kids like these will be who we'll be around once we start our mission at Ashley Waters High School. After our fitting we grab some lunch and Silas mentions that his dad wanted his help on a job today so we leave the mall and drop him back at his apartment.
On the way back to Sunnyvale Court, Victor speaks up. "What's up, man? You seem distracted today." I turn my head and see him looking at me from the corner of his eye while he drives.
"Sorry, it's nothing big. Just thinking."
"About what?"
I hesitate to answer, not because I don't trust Victor, but because I realize that if I mention that I've been watching a neighbor girl I might sound like a creeper. But I know I need to say something because I haven't been able to shake the feeling like something is off and I might need his help. I sigh, "I'm worried about someone."
"That's nothing new, you worry about everyone, that's your job. Who's got you worried now?"
"That's the thing, I don't actually know her."
"Her?"
"She's a girl in my neighborhood. Her family just moved into the house across the street. I haven't actually met her, she keeps to herself and any time I've tried to run into her she's avoided me. I usually see her out walking or sitting in a tree in the woods by herself but I haven't seen her in a while and I... I don't know... it makes me anxious, like something is wrong."
"What are you going to do?"
"What do you mean?"
"Kota. I know you. You already have an idea or something stewing in that big brain of yours. If your concerned about this neighbor girl I know you have something planned."
"I was going to walk behind her house when we got back to see if I could spot her. She usually likes to sit in this one tree a small distance behind her house. I wasn't going to approach her, just make sure she was around."
Victor was quiet for a moment, contemplating what I just told him. Finally he nodded to himself, "Okay, need any help? I could come with you, rule of two, right?" he said with a smile.
"Yeah" I smiled back, "that sounds good. Thanks."

We arrive back at Sunnyvale Court, Victor and I check in quickly with my mom and then head out to the woods across the street. We walk slow and quiet, not wanting to spook her if she's around. As we reach the wooded area behind her house we hear slightly raised voices in an argument. Victor and I looked at one another but decide to keep walking, that is until we heard the word "runaway". We both stop and turn our heads toward the house. The voices keep talking so look at each other in silent conversation and agree to investigate. The voices became clearer as we approached the back of the house.

"...Your daughter! She's finally run off like I knew she would! She's trash just like her mother, you never should have taken her in! She's an embarrassment to this family!", a woman's voices shouts.
A baritone voice, male, answers, "Calm down! You don't know she's run away. She's probably just gone for a walk, like she normally does."
"And why would she leave this house without permission?! I didn't tell her she could step even one toe outside. I looked in her room when she didn't come down when I called for her. She took her backpack, so of course she ran away! The little trollop probably took some money out of my purse too!"
"Why would Sang steal?"
"Because she's a selfish little brat! She only thinks about herself, she doesn't listen to me, she lies to me constantly and sneaks around. I wouldn't be surprised if she's a thief too!"
"You don't know that! Sang's a good girl, she gets good grades. She doesn't cause trouble."
"You would know these things if you were ever here! I'm the one watching after your bastard child! You don't see the things I do, Marie can confirm it. Sang is no good, lazy, trash! No amount of discipline I give her is going to set her straight. She's going to end up running around the neighborhood, knocked up at 16 like her mother. I'm not going to have her take me or my daughter down with her when she falls into the gutter as the town whore. Marie doesn't need to be around those kinds of people. I'm not going to call the police to get her back. She's on her own! As far as I'm concerned, Sang doesn't exist."

The couple continued to bicker about the girl named Sang. The way the woman talked about her didn't seem to fit with the behavior of the girl I observed from afar. The girl I had seen was quiet and kept to herself. The way this woman talked about her, you'd think she'd been throwing herself at every person to walk by. And what did it mean that they weren't going to call the police to find her? Didn't they care about her at all? The father's arguments to defend her were weak, and he didn't seem to push the woman to try and find Sang, which I definitely found suspicious. By the end of their argument he just changed the subject and said he was going into work tomorrow and be gone all day. Sunday? There is something else going on here.
After a few more minutes Victor and I walked further into the woods and wound our way back to my house. Victor seems lost in thought, we stayed silent on the journey back. When we walked back into my room, I took a seat at my desk and Victor sat at the end of my bed, finally looking up, he locked his eyes to mine and says, "We need to find her."
I nod and pick up my phone, "Let's call the others."