Escape

Chapter 3

Max groaned quietly as he walked through the shadows and alleyways in town. His entire body ached like hell, he was starving, he was extremely tired, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to focus on his surroundings. Still, he forced himself to keep moving, knowing that stopping even for a little bit would be a mistake. Max shivered. The cold air made it hard to breathe and slowed Max down significantly. "W-why is it so f***ing cold?!" Max muttered to himself, hating the world. Max felt a raindrop fall on the tip of his nose. "Oh...damn it..." Not long after that, rain had started pouring down. Max was soaked from his head to his feet. His dark hair drooped over his eyes, making it a little harder to see. Max had to keep pushing his hair out of his face in order to see properly.
As much as Max wanted to take shelter somewhere and rest, he forced the thought out of his mind. If he rested somewhere, he would fall asleep and someone would find him. At that thought, Max suddenly thought of David. What would happen if David found him? Would he bring Max back to his parents house, or...Max stopped walking for a moment and glanced around, having an unsettling feeling.

Max was now in the Suburbs and had noticed a tall, dark figure which looked like a man standing in between two houses. Not liking the feeling he got from the figure's presence, Max started walking again, but a little faster this time. It wasn't until a little later that Max decided to look behind him to make sure the coast was clear. As Max looked back, his heart skipped a beat. The man was now following him. Max quickly looked forward again, speeding up a bit more. Maybe he was just jumping to conclusions. This thought faded as he started hearing footsteps behind him. Max glanced back one more time before breaking into a run. The man was way closer this time. Max continued to run as fast as he could, but the footsteps didn't go away. Max cursed his short legs and bolted forward with all his might. "Oh sh*t oh sh*t oh sh*t!!" Max thought. He was going to die! Max gasped loudly as he was pinned to the ground. Instantly, he started twisting and struggling to get free. "LET GO OF ME YOU F***ING BASTARD!!! I SWEAR TO F***ING GOD I WILL-" a hand suddenly covered Max's mouth, muffling his screams. Max tried to pull the man's hand off his mouth, but to no avail. Max opened his eyes slightly, but couldn't see the man very well. Max glanced over to the man's free hand and noticed he was holding something. Something shiney. Max's eyes widened when he realized that it was a large knife. Max continued to shout while kicking and punching at the man. Max felt the cold blade begining to press down on his neck. Max tried to shift to move away from it, but failed. Max tried to push the knife away and get the man off him, but he knew it was useless. It was getting more and more difficult for Max to keep consciousness. He closed his eyes tightly as the knife pierced his skin. Max put his arms down, knowing that nothing he did would help now. He was going to die.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, the man yelled and was thrown off Max. Max opened his eyes again, trying to look over. What had just happened? Max had no clue. There was a loud crash and the sound of someone being hit with something. The man yelled again, and soon went silent. Everything was silent until Max heard footsteps running to his side. He saw a figure kneel down next to him. It wasn't the man who had tried to kill him, but Max couldn't figure out who it was. Then he heard a voice. "Max?!! MAX!!! Are you okay?!! Are you-" Max's eyes had started to close again. He had one last thought before he drifted into unconsciousness. "David...?"

~Time Skip~

As Max woke up, he kept his eyes closed as he slowly became aware of his surroundings. The first thing he noticed, to his surprise, was that he wasn't dead. "Wait...how the f**k am I alive?!" He thought when he noticed that he must be indoors somewhere, as it didn't seem to be raining and he was laying on something soft and comfortable. It was then that he realized how bad his head and his entire body hurt. This was worse than ever before. It felt like he had broken every bone in his body and had been slammed through a brick wall multiple times before having a thousand knifes thrown at him. Max groaned and opened his eyes. It took him a bit to focus, but at least he could see now. He was in a house, laying on a sofa. He slowly looked around and took in his surroundings. The room he was in looked to be a living room, painted two different shades of green. It was very tidy, with a few pictures and shelves hanging on the walls. In the other side of the small living room was a big chair with a large sliding door behind it. Max sat up slowly, and felt a sudden jolt of pain as he did. He sat still for a bit, tightly putting his arms around his stomach. Suddenly, someone ran into the living room. "Oh my gosh, Max!!! You're alright!! I was so worried!! I-I thought-" Max's eyes widened. "David?!" David had run over and was now standing close to Max, looking like the thing he wanted to do most was to give Max a giant hug, but retrained himself. Max stared at the exited twenty four-year old. "D-David...What. The. F**K?! What the hell happened?? Why are you here?? What are you doing??" David exhaled, calming down slightly when he knew the foul-mouthed child's memory was still intact and that his personality hadn't seemed to change at all. "M-Max...please relax, and I'll explain everything in a bit! But right now, is there anything you need?? Food? Water? Medicine..?" Max looked down as his stomach growled loudly. "Um..." David smiled slightly. "I'll go make something for you! Relax for a bit, and just holler if you need anything, okay kiddo?" Max just nodded, not sure what he should say. Once David walked into the kitchen, max looked at his arms. They were bandaged up. "O-oh..." He said quietly, a little surprised. He felt his neck and head with his hands. They were bandaged up as well, and actually bandaged up good this time. Max went to look at his legs and stomach when he realised what he was wearing. He was wearing an oversized green shirt with a tree symbol on it. His face went a little red, but he didn't start complaining about it. He pulled the blanket back over himself and waited patiently for David to come back. After a few minutes, david returned with a plate for Max along with a glass of water and some Ibuprofen. He set them down on the coffee table next to the sofa. Max looked over at the plate and set it in his lap. On it was two slices of toast, three strips of bacon, two pancakes, and a few slices of strawberries and pineapple on the side. (Along with a very small bar of chocolate for dessert) "Damn, that was fast..." Max said quietly and began eating. After taking the first bite he realized that this was literally the best food he had ever eaten. He instantly started eating faster, shoving bigger bites into his mouth. David smiled wide and chuckled a little, feeling very happy that Max liked the food. "So..." Max said, swallowing a mouthful of food. "Are you going to tell me what happened?" David scratched the back of his head and looked down. "Well, I had been up...very late, taking care of some things for work, when I heard yelling. It didn't sound far from my house, and I went to investigate! When I got outside, it was a little hard to see because of the rain, but I walked forward until...I saw a man, pinning a young boy to the ground! At the time, I didn't know it was you, Max...I was frightened, and I ran forward and tackled the man! I didn't mean to hurt him, I was just trying to get him off you...he uh, managed to cut me on the cheek before hitting his head on the road and passing out..." Max continued to eat, but was now listening intently to David's story. He glanced at David's left cheek, and noticed a bandage there. "After that, I ran over to you just as you were going unconsciousness! I-I thought you..." Max was shocked as he noticed David's eyes beginning to well up with tears. David quickly smiled again. "Nevermind. The important thing is that you're okay, Max!" Max looked off to the side. "Yeah...I...I guess..." David's smile faded again. "Max...why were you out there all alone? What happened?" David asked quietly and Max avoided eye contact. Max knew the best thing to do would be to tell David the truth. He knew he could trust David. He knew David would understand and be there for him. Max took a shaky breath before speaking. "Well..." Max began.

~Time Skip~

By the end of his story, Max was struggling to hold back tears. David's face now had a mixture of emotions on it. "Oh...Max..." David said quietly. Max continued to avoid eye contact. He put his face in his hands as he began quietly sobbing. "I-I...I can't go back there...I can't go back t-to that F***ing hellhole...!! I-I can't-" Max was cut off as he felt David gently wrap his arms around him in a warm embrace. "And I'll make sure you never go back, Max. I promise." Max wrapped his arms around David's neck and continued to sob into his shoulder. David patted Max's back gently. "There, there...I'll make sure everything is alright. I promise."