Murder

Chapter 9- Restless Nights

It's dark, darker than most normal nights. I'm so cold, my clothes are starting to turn into ice. I've never been this cold, and I'm stuck, outside, in a tree. There's nowhere I can go. All of my friends have school tomorrow, and home is no longer safe. Well, it never was, but it's even less safe now. I'm not sure why, my parents must be grieving. There's no possible way I'll be able to go anywhere inside.

My bones feel frozen, and I don't want to move. I'm stuck, in a tree, with nowhere safe. Not even this tree is safe, but it's my best bet. Even if I fall out if I ever do get sleep, I'll still be better off here than anywhere else. I just need to relax. I need to calm down and try to contain my body heat. I fold my arms over my chest and shrink down so my knees are to my chest. I lay back against the nearest branch and let my muscles relax. I look down and see my bookbag at the base of the tree. Did I pack a blanket or anything to help keep me warm? I pick up my bag and look through it. There's the notebook Fia gave me, the picture of Russ and I, my phone charger, an extra pair of clothes, a knife my wallet, my laptop, and a book. If I turn the laptop on, the internal fan pushes the heat out, it could warm me up a little bit. Not much, but enough to get me through the night.

I reach into my bookbag and pull out my laptop. I press the power button. Dead. Perfect. I put my laptop back in my bookbag and look for anything else. I have another t-shirt i could use for a blanket, it won't be that warm but it's something. I take out the t-shirt and lay it over my legs. It provides some warmth, some form of relief. I try to relax and get some sleep but it doesn't come. Relief is far from coming, and I'm stuck out here in the cold. I need somewhere to go, somebody to call, but I have nobody. Nobody that can help me, they all have school tomorrow and don't want to get into trouble with their parents.

I can't take the cold anymore, I need to get up and do something to keep warm. I stand up, stuff my t-shirt in my bookbag, and jump from the tree. My bones are too cold and stiff to land properly, and I fall on my shoulder. "OUCH" I let out a scream, not even aware that I did. I get up, wincing from the pain. I grab my bookbag with my left hand, I can't move my right arm anymore, my shoulder hurts way too much. I start to walk towards the Quick Stop, I can buy some hot chocolate to warm myself up.

I'm halfway there, and I can see the Quick Stop. Closed. Just my luck. I need something to warm up. Maybe my parents are asleep and I can sneak in. I start to go towards my house, I don't really think it's home anymore. It's not far from Quick Stop, about two blocks. So it won't be long. I just hope I'll be able to make it, I'm so cold.

I walk up to the porch, hoping the dogs don't bark. It's locked, but there's usually a key under the mat. I lift the mat up to check, but it's not there. I guess they figured since I don't come home -and they don't want me home- there's no need to keep a key under there anymore. There is a basement window I could use to sneak in, though.

I walk around the corner to the little boarded up window on the ground that leads to the basement. I need to kick it in, but I can't make too much noise. I'll just have to hope that there's something soft it can land on so it's not too loud. I kick it, and it doesn't budge. I kick it again, nothing. I kick it one more time, and it falls through, with a loud shattering noise as it hits the ground. I shine the flashlight on my cellphone through the opening. A clock. It landed on a clock. Are you kidding me? They seriously kept a clock below a window.

I climb through the window and cross the floor over to the stairs. Once I'm upstairs it's so warm I don't want to leave. I open up the closet and grab a blanket and stuff it into my bookbag, don't want to get that cold ever again. I head into the kitchen and turn on the stove so I can make some hot chocolate.

After I've sat down and warmed up, I start to head out. I grab an ice pack, though. It. may be cold but there's no snow or ice on the ground anymore and I need to ice my shoulder. One of the ice packs falls and hits the floor and I hear a low bark. It starts off slow and quiet, but it gradually gets louder and louder. I hear something clumsily running down the steps and I immediately know what it is. Gunner, our black lab. Wonderful, he probably woke my dad up. He runs into the kitchen, and once he realizes it's me he stops barking. I hear footsteps upstairs. "You couldn't have shut up sooner?" I whispered. I try to run to the basement as fast as I could, but my dad is faster. He stomps down the stairs, I know it's him he's making too much noise to be my mom. He screams "Whoever you are get the hell out of my house! I have a gun and I'm not afraid to use it!"

He looks around and I dive behind the couch to avoid being seen. Gunner blows my cover, though, because he wants my attention, so he keeps whining at the couch. "Ah ha. There you are. Get out now or I'll shoot." my dad said. I start to stand up, and I try to stand slowly, but I know he gets impatient easily. I decide to crawl out instead. "It's ok. It's just-" I start to say, but I'm interrupted by a loud BANG that makes my ears ring, a disturbingly high-pitched ring, followed by a jolt of pain that slices through my back. I fall, and I try to reach into my pocket for my phone. It hurts to move but I know my dad won't call for help, he's on the phone with the police reporting me for breaking in. I get to my phone, and try to text Rob. I type the letters H-E-L, and I black out, my head hitting the floor.