Azalea

Running so Much It'd Make My PE Teacher Proud

**AZALEA**

   I recognized them as soon as they looked at me. The look of relief didn't cross their faces this time, instead, the blonde one shouted something inaudible to Henry. She turned fast, and snarled. The tall one with the slicked back hair made eye contact, pointing behind the counter that the man had gone behind before.
"Run! Get out of here!" He shouted, pulling a handgun out from behind his back. I assumed that it had been tucked into his jeans. I didn't move, staring at the gun, and then at the woman in front of me. Her hair was starting to go wild again, blonde curls turning into white wispy strands sticking out all over the place. Her eyebrows grew back, and her permanent frown returned. The boy with the scar pulled a pocketknife out of his jean pocket, and I wanted to scream at him. Here we were, in a diner with a.. whatever it was, clearly dangerous, and he had a pocketknife. You couldn't get within reaching distance from Mrs. Henry, otherwise you'd vanish, just like Sarah. I felt more tears, hot on my cheeks. The tall boy fired the gun, first in her chest and then in her head. Mrs. Henry started to catch fire from the bullet hole wounds, the fire spreading throughout her body. She screamed, her flesh sizzling and popping, then she turned to ashes instantly. The smell of burning flesh still hung in the air, the three boys breathing heavily. I was still sitting in the booth, tears falling silently into my lap. My purple dress had a few spots of blood on it from Mrs. Henry. I tried to wipe it off, smearing it even more. The boys put their weapons away from wherever they came from, and took slow steps towards me. I got up slowly, watching them hesitantly. The one with the scar reached out his hand, and I bolted. I ran around the  counter and through the kitchen. The man that worked here had disappeared, but I wasn't really worried about him. The boys had started chasing me, shouting things that I didn't pay attention to. The back door was open, I dodged aisles of cookers and burst out the door. I ran around to the front of the store, and jumped into Sarah's car. She always left the key in the car, in the cup holder. I grabbed it and started the car, locking the doors and throwing it in reverse. I looked behind me, making sure I wouldn't run over anything. I started pulling back when a voice from the passenger seat spoke to me.
"Please, don't do this, we're only trying to help." I nearly screamed and accidentally slammed my foot on the gas, then the brake. The car lurched backwards, then stopped suddenly. More tears fell as I slowly looked in the passenger seat. The boy with the scar on his cheek was sitting right next to me. I locked the doors. He shouldn't have been able to get in the car. He slowly reached over and turned off the car, taking the key out. He put it in the cup holder, leaning back in his seat.
   "We need to talk." He said, trying to meet my eyes. I tried to open the door, but it was locked. The boy tapped his fingers nervously.
   "What you saw today... I know it's hard. It's hard for all of us. But you need to know.. what are you doing?" He suddenly asked. My hand was in the cup holder, grabbing the key. In a swift motion, I held the key with the point out the bottom of my palm, and hit the boy on the chest, and dragging the key across his chest.
"Ow, stop! Stop it!" He yelled, but I had already dropped the key, turning and toggling the lock to unlocked, throwing open the door and sprinting away. I didn't see the other boys, but the scarred one had opened the passenger door. I didn't look back for a long time, running down the road that Sarah had driven down before. I ran, taking a left and sprinting past trees. After a while longer, I couldn't see the diner. I hadn't stopped crying, I couldn't stop, even if I wanted to. I ran to Just4U, but the doors were locked. They had closed long after we left, and I felt completely helpless. I looked around frantically. I could break the glass, and wait for the cops to come at the sound of the alarms, but I didn't have time to wait. I remember the bar had said open twenty four hours, so I took off again, my heart racing with adrenaline, and my lungs short of breath. I ran for a long time, and finally saw the bar about a block away. I was in town now, the main part of town. I slowed and started walking. I was sweating, and panting hard. I walked into the bar, surprised to see hardly anyone there. The man from before was still working his shift, and I looked to find that Harold and his group wasn't there anymore. The bartender looked up from shining his glass, and barely recognized me. He sighed, putting the glass down. I ran up to the bar, tears still dripping down my face. The mans face changed from annoyed to confused to worried in seconds. He walked around the bar and came up to me. I wiped my face, trying to get control of myself. The bartender knelt and grabbed my arms.
"Your father was here earlier looking for you, what happened?" The doors to the bar opened, and the boys walked through.
"She's with us, sorry for the inconvenience." The tall one said. My eyes widened and I started bawling again. The bartender stood, and stepped in front of me.
"I'm sorry boys, I think it's time you left." He said protectively.
"Of course. Azalea, your father is waiting." The one with the scar said pointedly. My mind raced. They knew about my dad, and if they knew about him.. he could be in danger. My heart lurched. I couldn't lose him, not like Sarah. I knew he didn't care for me that well, but I loved him. I touched the bartenders elbow, and he looked at me.
"I think it's time I go. Thank you." I said, walking towards the boys. They had gotten me. I was trapped.