Prudence kept running. "I can't...I just can't..." she whispered to herself, panting. She ran and did not stop for a breath until she reached the Detroit train station. Luckily for her, a goods train was slowly passing by. Slow enough for Prudence to catch up with it, climb a ladder that led into a train car and get in there. That's what she did. Loudly panting and gasping, she pressed herself against the wall of the train car. She peeked inside her book bag for cigarettes. There was one left from her last pack and a lighter. She lit the cigarette and threw the empty pack out the open train door. She picked up her diary to write a new entry about running away and Sara's murder. Once her cigarette became useless, she shut her diary, threw the cigarette outside and fell asleep.
The train went on and on and eventually stopped. Prudence woke up. Where in history am I, she thought as she got out of the railway carriage. She saw a city nearby and went toward it.
The city was empty. Rusty, old cars and abandoned buildings were everywhere. "Hello?" called Prudence, who slowly walked down the silent streets.
No answer.
"HELLO!!" she screamed, still no answer. A few seconds later, there was a WHOOSH! behind Prudence's back. "Who's this?!" she gasped, and silence came again.
Suddenly, a silent singing voice started spreading. "Am I hallucinating?" Prudence shook her head, but the singing voice didn't disappear. The girl followed the voice. "Hey!! Singing person!! Show up! I won't harm you!" She called and kept following. Sure enough, she saw a person in an army helmet and a uniform. "Uh...excuse me?" she whispered, and the singing stopped.
The strange person looked at her but didn't say anything. It was a boy. His face was very pale and covered in scratches. "Hallo..." he whispered.
"Hello..." Prudence whispered back, taking a step forward. The boy patted the sidewalk for Prudence to sit next to him.
"So....who are you?" She asked him. The boy whimpered. "H...Helmut," he whispered, pointing to himself. "Prudence," the girl held out her hand. Helmut shook it. "So what's going on here? Why are you alone?"
"Well..." Helmut began, "I came here from Bremen, Germany. I'm currently serving in the army, it's very painful....so I'm hiding here from my squad..can you maybe help me? I don't want to be left here...I'm very scared..."
Prudence looked at Helmut. "How did you end up here?" the boy asked. Prudence explained to him about her family situation and how she ran away, jumped into a train it brought her here but didn't say a word about Sara.
"Maybe we can go around together from now on if you want..." offered Prudence. Helmut nodded and stood up. "Come on," he said.
The young people walked for a long time until Helmut brought Prudence to a wooden, old abandoned church. "This is my hideout, I live and hide here," explained Helmut, entering the church.Prudence followed him. The church was dry, scary and everything was broken. Helmut showed her a sleeping bag on the floor. "I sleep here," he said, and then laid out a few blankets on the floor. "You can sleep here," he told Prudence, patting the stack. "Where do you get food?" asked Prudence.
"I have food and gallons of water with me," answered Helmut, "and there is a place where I get food, but I can't tell you, it's a secret,"
Prudence sat down on one of the seats. "Are there any people living in that town?" she wondered. "Well," said Helmut, "it's a long story....nobody knows what happened to the city, there are rumors that there has been an attack and people ran away or were kidnapped..."
Prudence couldn't believe it. Never in her life, she has seen an abandoned town like this. "But there has got to be some sign of life!!"
"Well...I'm telling you, there is no life in this town, but a group of children come and play here sometimes from the town next door. They climb over the fence that borders this town and the other town that has life and play here. But Prudence, don't worry, you'll be safe with me! I'll protect you if anything happens," said Helmut, grabbing her hands.
Prudence looked into Helmut's eyes. There was silence for a long time. "Danke," she whispered,
hugging him. They sat like that for a very long time and did not let go.November 20, 2015
Dear Amore, I ran away from my family, got on a train and it brought me to a lifeless town. I met this German boy named Helmut, who is a young soldier. He's hiding from the army, saying it's the most painful thing ever. Good thing I know now because I wanted to serve there. Well, now I hope to stay with Helmut for a long time now, and I really hope Dan and Joshik would find us. If they would find me and the German and all four of us were together, that would improve my life. Helmut said he'd be there for me no matter what and protect me. This boy is so dreamy, oh my.Prudence stayed in the church with Helmut for over two weeks. Still no signs of Dan or her family. Maybe they truly don't want me anymore, thought Prudence, oh well...I have Helmut now...
However one day, Prudence and Helmut went to an abandoned arcade, and when they came back, they got the shock of their lives.
"Oh, nein!!" Screamed Helmut.The church was on fire!!
YOU ARE READING
Arrivederci 🔪
ActionPrudence Cardwell just wants to be a normal teenager, however, life circumstances won't allow her to do so. She is abused by her parents and classmates, which caused her to fall into depression and begin smoking cigarettes. To make her life better...