"Quick, get it," Jarrod told me as we approached a small, guest house-like shelter.
I listen to him, open the door, and escape from the rain that was pouring down from the skies. I climb a few steps to see a single roomed house, fully furnished. I take a look around me and can't help but wonder, "How did this come to be?" Well, I was thirteen years old when everything happened. I remember the City Hall building going up in glames, changing the town forever. Government officials, stirct policemen, and other powerful bodies took over our simple city, causing uproar for those in our state. Jarrod and I were both orphans living in the same foster home. But when those men came to town, they were ordering that every orphan leave their foster families and do manual labor instead. No way were we going to do work for gruesome men, so Jarrod and I decided to just run away. We didn't think anybody would miss us; for two years, however, we've been on the run with officials trying to hunt us down. We have no shelter- except for the places we crash- no way of transportation, and we're low on food. I'm starting to regret this whole thing...
"Jess!" Jarrod said after slamming the door, shaking me out of my thoughts.
"Huh?" I ask.
"I said what are we going to do? Stay here for the night?"
I sighed loudly, ran my fingers through my brunette waves, and looked into Jarrod's deep blue eyes. "I don't know, Jarrod. What other choice do we have?" I walked over to a small couch in the center of the room and slouched down.
"Look, Jess," Jarrod said after taking a seat next to me, "I know it's rough. But we'll figure it out, alright?"
I just sigh and stare at the floor. "We can't just run for the rest of our lives." Jarrod glances out the window. With each second that he continues to stare, it seems as if the rain pours harder and harder. I look up at him just as he's looking away from the window. I was just about to say something when my stomach rumbled.
"I'm hungry," I say aloud, wishing for more than what I know is in Jarrod's backpack. He slugged it off his shoulder and onto his lap, but all he found in there was disapointment. "I think we're out of food," he muttered and pushed the pack to the floor. What use was it, anyway?
"We didn't even eat yesterday, either," I begin to complain.
"We'll get food a little later, I promise."
"Since when do you have money?" I snap, my mood beginging to worsen.
"Since when do you question my method?" he responds in the same manner.
"Well your method is leaving us homeless and starving," I mumble.
"My method had kept you alive for the past two years," Jarrod said in a harsh tone. I look over at him and know that he's right. Without him, I would have been dead long ago.
"I know," I say softly and add, "I'm sorry."
Jarrod shakes his head and says, "Look, I'll go out and get food. You stay here, okay?" My head whips up at his sentence. Me stay here alone? Him go out alone? He's never dared to offer that before.
"I don't know Jarrod," I start to say, but he interrupts me. "Jess, if you want food then I'll go. I'll be back within an hour. Okay?" He waits for me to nod before he goes out the door. I watch him trudge through the mud and puddles through the window.
I'm kind of nervous. For the pat two years, we've done everything together. He's always been glued to my side. Why didn't he want me to come along? I shrug it off and decide to walk around the tiny house. The walls are tan in color and the floor is all carpet. It's kind of cold him here, so I cuddle up on the couch and just sit for a while...
