More Than Us

Sophie

Music was all i could think about as we walked through the fields. I listened to everything i could from Lily's ipod, ranging from quiet songs that sounded like rain and guitars to people singing loud with drums. Lily knew all the words to all of them, and i listened in awe as she sang along quietly.
"Play something on speaker," Leo shouted from the front. I was quickly understanding everyone's personality, and Leo was loud and boisterous.
"What if someone hears?" Alice looked concerned, and peered around the group once more to check we were all there.
"Fuck it," Steph snatched the ipod off Lily, and choosing a song and playing it loud.
"What's this?" i asked Lily quietly. Lily smiled, and broke away from me to hug Steph from behind.
"Really?" she laughed. Steph nodded and Lily came back to me, still smiling, and linked arms again.
"MR BRIGHTSIDE" Nina screamed and jumped enthusiastically. I smiled confusedly as the group immediately perked up to the song.
"Jealousy, turning saints into the sea," They all sang along, breathless from walking but singing louder despite it.
"Open up my eager eyes, 'cause I'm Mr Brightside," The group collapsed onto the floor laughing and singing, the music muffled beneath their voices. I shyly took a step back, for the first time feeling like i didn't belong with the group. Jack looked over and held out his hand. I took it, and he pulled me to the ground. I collapsed onto a Leo and Steph, who hugged me closer. I don't know how long we all lay in that field, singing to different songs and remarking on cloud shapes. But for that short amount of time, we weren't unfinished stories or abandoned children, we were alive and breathing with blood pumping through our veins, breathing the same air and watching the same sky with our connected minds. It was perfect and we all knew that a moment of pure freedom was rarely found, and that this would last forever.
"Let's take a picture," Alice grabbed a black camera from her bag and held it about our heads, our hair intertwined with leaves and flowers. We all beamed at the flash, sitting up and smiling at our happiness. It was so beautiful for such a short time.
Then the laughter in the air got cut by sirens, and we grabbed our things and ran.

My foot ached. We ran far, until Steph grabbed my arm tight.
"We are splitting up temporarily. Alice, Leo, Jack and Nina are going to Alice's. You, Lily and I are going to a place near where we can talk to somebody who will know about you. Do you understand? Stay with me." Steph tightened her grip and i nodded. Lily started to run to the left, giving Nina a longingly and uncharacteristically desperate glance, before running faster. Steph pushed me in front, and I sprinted after Lily, pushing my legs more than before. After a while, i stopped noticing the pain in my foot, and the breathlessness become bearable. the sirens faded and all i could hear was my heartbeat.

We ran for a while before getting to a group of old houses. The white paint had been chipped, and green vines climbed the sides. Despite the greenery all over, the houses seemed out of place.
"This is the Exile unit," Steph looked hesitantly at the houses. "It's for outcast, people who are a bit...weird. Not fitting in with society but the government has no real reason to label them." I nodded and looked at Lily. She looked at the houses in awe, and wandered over to them, brushing her fingers over the chipped and splintered fence outside the closest house.
"We are going to see Annie," Lily turned to me looking excited. "She'll know who you are and why you're so wanted."
"Let's find her tomorrow," Steph looked at me, and I sleepily looked back. "She's exhausted."
Lily looked at me disappointedly, but came and put on arm around me and one around Steph.
"Okay," and she led us to a smaller house, made of wood and painted a rusty red. The roof was old and looked unstable, with weeds and twigs scattered over it. It looked old and ready to fall down, and as i opened my mouth to ask where we were, when Lily got out the keys and unlocked the door to her house.