G/T Adventures

Malus

Malus is Latin for 'Bad'. This is a sneak peek at a future story. 

Lance ran through the tall grass blades, his orange jumpsuit making rustling sounds and making it difficult for him to run. Sirens could be heard close behind him, but at this height, he knew it'd be hard for them to catch him.

He'd been planning this escape for months. He tracked guard movement, he looked for weak points in the prison. And after careful planning, he hitched a ride on the shoe of one of the newer guards and made it out. 

Prisoners were officially being shrunken down to prevent prison escapes, and they are returned to their normal height with a vaccination when they are able to be released. 

Lance was in prison for three different murders. His wife, his step-mother, and his brother in law. But he was smart. 

Now Lance just had to get away. Dogs snarling and barking could be heard behind him and that only made him nervous. Hounds were faster and they had orders. Dogs were trained to kill any escaped prisoners. The thought was if they could escape a maximum security prison, they were too dangerous to have in the world, even at only three inches tall. 

"Come on, come on!" Lance hissed to himself, dodging thistles in the grass surrounding him when in the distance there was a white picket fence. If he could squeeze in there he'd be safer from the dogs hot on his trail. 

It had to be at least thirty feet away. Twenty. Ten. Sweat dripped down his forehead and made his thick black locks stick to his face. Five feet. He fell to his side, sliding through the dirt under the gap between the fences and congratulated himself on his quick thinking. All that was left is to figure out if he can trick anyone into helping him. 

Tapping his chin in thought, he looks at the orange jumpsuit. No one would be stupid enough to not recognize the fact it's a prisoners uniform. Movement out of the corner of his eye made him freeze, but a wide grin soon spread across his face. There was a little girl, not too far away, sitting in the grass reading a very familiar book. She couldn't be more than four, maybe five

He lifted some dirt into his hands, smearing it over his clothes and face, making himself look like he'd been outside longer than he really has been. Then, he went over to one of the nearby thistle blades and stared at it, debating his plan. He had to make this as believable as possible. 

Taking a deep breath he ran his arm as fast as he could across the bush, the thistles cutting open his sleeve and tearing into his arm, sending blood dripping onto the ground and staining some of the grass. "There." He turned toward the little girl and began to run toward her. 

"Please! Please, you have to help me!" Lance shouted as loud as he could. As he got closer, he saw his suspicions were correct. The book in her hand was indeed 'The Borrowers' by Mary Norton. 

Constance raised her eyes from her book, having been looking at the pictures and trying to read some of the pages. It was her favorite. Her mom read it to her at least three times, reading her a few chapters every night before bed. A few feet in front of her was a tiny man, running towards her pink and white sneakers. A small gasp passed her lips and she began to lean down. "Are you a Borrower?" She whispered, blinking in complete shock. They normally don't reveal themselves!

"Y-Yes, I am. There are police after me! if they catch me, they'll take me to a lab and hurt me! Y-You have to take me somewhere safe! I saw you reading the book and knew you had to be a friend of us!" Lance put on the most scared face he could, making his breathing shaky to add to his act. 

"Oh no!" Constance's eyes widened and she slowly picked up the 'Borrower' from the grass and now spotted his arm. "You're hurt too! Did the police do that?"

"Yes, they did. Please help me." Lance pleaded with the child, forcing himself not to cringe when she lifted him from the safety of the ground. 

"Come on, I'll take you inside to hide you!" The little girl holding him then began to run, her fingers holding him in place so she didn't drop him. He was nervous. She's still a child after all. But as the sirens behind them grew distant, he knew maybe he had actually found someone stupid enough to believe he wasn't just an escaped prisoner.