Runaways || WYH

Runaways

There was a loud crash as the glass window shattered into thousands of little pieces at your feet, you stayed there in shock for a few seconds before scrambling over the edge. Your boots crunched on the glass that covered the pavement as you broke into a sprint down the street doing your best to avoid streetlights and cameras. You had been planning your escape from the marbled hallways of your own personal hell, taking careful note of where security cameras and the exact timing of patrols for months and you had finally done it. Life on the run was far better than any sort of life you had prior, the pristine, polished hallways of your fathers mansion that you grew up in may seem pretty on the outside but were filled with horrors. You were born into the life of a high ranking government official, after the second Great War and the new government came into power your father managed to grab the position of general. He was in charge of all the military power in the entire country but even though you grew up swimming in money your life was far from perfect. Once you had turned five things started changing, your father's military nature took over after your mother passed away and he began lashing out with force, maids and butlers walked with limps and were covered with bandages even his own child wasn't spared from his flying fists whenever he was mildly displeased. After nineteen years you had had enough and decided to leave.
Your legs and lungs burned as your feet pounded against the street, you could hear the sirens of military vehicles in the distance who were most likely sent after you by your father. You ignored the pain and pushed yourself to move faster as a rush of adrenaline shot through you and you turned around the corner and managed to scale the fence that surrounded the neighbourhood. Your father's mansion was in the neighbourhood where all the government officials and high class families lived surrounded by an iron fence to keep the people who were below them out. Separating the cities into districts was one of the many rules and guidelines the government had put into place after the came to power, you were currently running through the slums surrounding the factories where the highest percentage of people lived in cramped townhouses and apartment buildings which made it incredibly easy to hide with all the alleys running every which way. The highest percentage of people in the country were poor and got stuck working in factories making weapons and products for the highest classes, the streets were dirty and filled with waste while the factories pumped out steam from the smokestacks at all hours of the day.
You could hear the sirens getting closer as you continued to run not knowing where you were or where you were going until an arms shot out and pulled you into a dark crack between buildings which was barely big enough to stand in. You were about to scream before a hand pressed over your mouth and you were pulled against aches and back behind a stack of boxes just before a light swept through the alley. Both you and the person at your back didn't let out a breath until the light disappeared and the boot steps carried on with the sirens.
"So you're the reason the streets have been crawling with soldiers for the past hour." The person who pulled you into the alley who you now knew was a man said after letting you go.
You turned around and squinted through the darkness to see his silhouette standing in front of you with his arms crossed over his chest. "I'm sorry but I had no other choice." You told him.
"I know that why I grabbed you." He said matter of factly. "Nobody is a runaway unless they have no other choice."
You stared back at him utterly shocked at what he was saying, you expected the streets of the slums to be filled with hardened thugs and criminals but this man standing in front of you seemed almost compassionate. "Oh, thank you." You whispered, you obviously had no idea what runaways were like.
"So where are you headed?" He asked before leaning against the brick wall to his left.
"I'm going to catch the cargo train tomorrow morning and head to the outer city." For some reason you trusted this man, after all he saved you. So you decided to share your plane with him.
He pushed himself off the wall. "You're heading to the lost city then."
"How did you know?" You were shocked that he somehow knew your plans already.
"Relax," he chuckled. "That's where I'm going too."
Your shoulders fell as you let out a sigh of relief. "Shall we go together then?" You completely expected him to decline but you were shocked as he reached out his hand to shake.
"Sure." He said plainly as you took his hand to shake. "I'm Yukhei."
"I'm Y/n."
"Wait, Y/n like the general's daughter?" He exclaimed as his voice echoed off the cobblestones.
You sighed and nodded, knowing now that he would most definitely refuse your previously made deal but you were surprised once again as he reached out a grabbed your hand.
"Well Y/n, I'm assuming you don't have s place to stay so shall we spend the night at mine?" He said cheekily.
A blush rose to your cheeks which made him chuckle before taking off and signalling for you to follow him.
You managed to keep up with him through all the twists and turns of the streets until you were breathing heavy as you climbed up a fire escape and into a tiny cramped apartment through the window.
"Welcome to my humble abode." Yukhei teased before taking of his jacket and throwing it onto a torn up sofa in the corner. "Don't worry about anybody finding us," he said sensing your tension, "This place was abandoned a long time ago after the family all died from the plague that swept through this district a few years ago and the other othe residents won't tell."
"Are you sure this is safe?" You muttered before stepping over a rotting plank in the floor.
"This is how things are in the slums princess. Things aren't like the picture perfect neighbourhood that you grew up in, this is how most people live." He warned.
You cringed at the mention of your childhood but muttered a quick apology before shuffling over to a door he disappeared behind. You peered around the doorframe and you immediately spotted him kicking off his shoes in the corner and shedding his shirt before you drifted to the lone mattress laying on the floor with a few blankets riddled with moth holes and mysterious stains thrown over it.
"We're going to have to share unless you want to sleep on the floor." He told you as you made your way over to the mattress where he was sitting, he had thrown on a different T-shirt and was in the process of crawling under the blankets. You wiggled up next to him leaving a good amount of space between you before he turned of the gas powered lamp in the corner.
"The clock chimes the hour every hour so we'll have to leave around six in the morning if we want to make it to the railroad on time, it's also the same time when most people start heading to work so it will be easier to slip past the patrols if we blend into the crowd especially since there will be more now." He told you, "Get some sleep." He whispered before you felt him roll over and you closed your own eyes. You were finally going to get away, unless they catch you.
----
You're eyes shot open to the dim morning light filtering in from behind a torn up curtain. A small rush of panic sent you rolling over when you realized you were alone on the mattress only to see Yukhei digging through a backpack in the corner which you hadn't noticed the night before.
"Good to see you're awake." He chuckled once he realized you were staring at him. "You can change here and I'll head to the bathroom, we're leaving in twenty minutes." He explained before swinging the bag over his shoulder and shutting the door behind him. You listened to his footsteps fade down the hallway for a few moment before you shook the dog of sleep from your eyes and stumbled over to your bag. There was an array of various popping noises which came from your stiff joints as you shuffled over to the little chair your bag was thrown on, every muscle in your body was aching as you struggled to get dressed. Thankfully you had thought ahead enough to bring sturdy and adaptable clothing as you felt the chill even between all the factories as you wandered into the main room.
The crinkling of a wrapper startled you when you heard a dull thud of something being tossed to you and missing. "What is this?" You muttered before picking up the small ration which seemed much more like a block of solid concrete.
"Breakfast," Yukhei called from the windowsill already munching on his own. "It was a lot of work to steal those so if you don't eat it more for me!"
You sighed and tentatively took a bite of the rations that tasted more like cardboard than actual food, you thought you would break all of your teeth but the brick eventually softened as your saliva did it's magic. You both swallowed the last bit of your food and took a swig of water right as the bell chimed signalling it was time for you to go.
"This is the city that's farthest north so we have to make sure we get on the train heading south or we'll be taken straight to the army base." He explained as you followed him out the window and down to the throngs of people who were funnelling through the streets.
"Keep your head down and don't get lost." Was the last thing he muttered to you before joining in the crowds. There were a few moments of panic at the beginning when you were jostled a little to hard and lost sight of Yukhei but you quickly learned to slip through the crowds and keep your eye on the giant of a man you were following. You held your breath as you passed a blockade of guards and did your best to blend in with the worn out workers beside you who were covered in grime and dirt. They didn't so much as glance in your direction before you walked a little further to the land of factories pumping out clouds of smoke and Yukhei grabbed your head and took off down an alley.
There were a few close run ins with patrols but your got to the fence surrounding the slums relatively unscathed although you knew your heart was pounding faster than it ever had before. When you reached the fence Yukhei boosted you over first before following after you and taking off into the woods surrounding the train station. The squeal of the train coming to a stop at the station echoed throughout the area and you picked up the pace in order to get to the tracks in time. When you reached the edge you heard another squeal of the second train coming to a halt as you both crouched at the edge of the treeline.
"Everything after the first two cars is safe but make sure you don't get on the last," Yukhei whispered to you while the sound of an engine starting again entered your ears, "You'll he spotted if you get on the last one, wait for my signal." You nodded and he shuffled forward as you saw the front of the train start to pick up speed.
"Now!" He hissed as the first two cars passed and you both took off sprinting through the bushes and along the tracks. The train was steadily picking up speed and another three cars passed by you as you started to panic pushing yourself even harder as your lungs burned. You were about to give up when Yukhei used his long legs to jump on the car two from the end and grabbed your arms dragging you in with him. You both collapsed onto the cool metal floor breathing heavily and letting your bodies calm down as the train reached full speed and sped away from the station.
"We'll make it to the South by this time tomorrow, there's nobody on this train and no stops along the way so we can do whatever we want," Yukhei told you with a large smile, "We're finally free!" He shouted.
It startled you at first but soon you were shouting along with him and collapsing into a pile of giggles beside him. The day passed pretty uneventfully, both of you ended up sleeping for half the day, exhausted from the night before and eager to give your sore muscles a rest. Your time spent awake was certainly interesting, as you quickly learned Yukhei was the complete opposite from all the cold and reserved officials you had known previously. He was loud and happy and unafraid to express his opinion or try and make you laugh, he seemed to fill the whole train car with sunshine and you loved it. One of the most interesting things that happened was when he found your stash of books you had brought with you, as it turns out he was an avid reader and loved most of the same books you did which was a nice surprise.
----
You let out a long sigh and leaned back onto your jacket which you had balled up into a makeshift pillow, the sun had set a few hours ago and after a super of some more bricks of concrete the government likes to call food you had finally decided to call it a night. You had pushed some of the boxes aside and created little bunks to sleep on so you wouldn't have to lay on the cold floor, You peered over to your left where Yukhei was similarly moving around.
"Tell me about yourself," you blurted out, "I mean, why did you end up on the streets? If you're okay with telling me of course." He laughed at your panic in the last bit of your sentence and you were thankful your flush was hidden by the darkness.
He hummed as he rolled onto his side so he was mirroring you. "Well they tried to take me for the army and I couldn't go so I ran away," he said plainly, "both my brother and father died in the army fighting the government's wars against their will, my mother....... she died in a factory accident a few months before I left so I'm all on my own."
"I never knew it was that bad," You whispered in disbelief, "I knew there were mandatory enlistments and the factory conditions were horrible but I didn't know people actually died..... I'm sorry."
"It's okay, it was a long time ago," he assured you but your heart was still filled with grief because for some reason you felt it was your fault.
"Now that I've told you my story you should tell me yours right?" he teased you with an air of seriousness, "I want to know why the general's precious daughter ran away from home?"
"Precious my butt," you snorted, "the general didn't care about me whatsoever, he liked to use his fists and I was usually on the receiving end. He tried to marry me off to an official three times my age which was the last straw so I left, he only views me as an asset and nothing more."
"Well at least you have a better reason than childhood rebellion." He offered.
You let out a small giggle, "I've only been gone for two days and even though I'm on the run from him I feel more free than I've ever been."
"That's good," Yukhei sighed, "and it will definitely get a lot better once we reach the lost city."
"Agreed."
"Goodnight Y/n."
"Goodnight Yukhei."
----
You rolled as you hit the ground, diving off the train before it reached the station. Yukhei woke you up that morning and made sure you at least knew the basics of what you were doing so you didn't get hurt too much, the jump jostled your bones but you knew a few bruises would be better than a broken ankle.You stood up and brushed yourself off before stumbling after Yukhei who'd already headed into the trees seeming perfectly fine, you crashed through the bushes behind him until you stopped at the wall. The south city was completely different from the capital, for starters there wasn't a single factory in the whole city but it didn't change much for the lower classes. They weren't stuck in factories all day but instead they were basically slaves for all the merchants that lived in the city, it was the only place in the entire country that had access to the ocean so it was a center for foreign trade and guests. After about an hour and a half of navigating your way through the city you two finally found a small run down apartment that was roughly the size of Yukhei's old one that had obviously not been touched in years due to the thick layers of dust coating everything. It was actually in relatively good shape with a fairly large bed, a few couches and chairs, a miraculously working bathroom, and a small ice box.
"Welcome to our base of operations for the next few weeks," Yukei exclaimed when you'd emerged from the bedroom after placing your things down, "We need to collect supplies so we can make the journey to the lost city and who knows how long that will take. We don't have any cash whatsoever so you, my dear, are going to have to learn how to steal."
"I'll have you know that I'm a pretty successful pickpocket," You told him and he raised a brow, "How do you think I got enough money to pay for my books?" You asked with a smirk when a look of realization crossed his face.
"It still doesn't change the fact that we have to be careful but today is for exploring," he told you.
----
By the end of the week you knew the city like the back of your hand, you and Yukhei took the time to explore as he taught you how to run through the streets, hopping fences and climbing walls with your bare hands. In return you taught him how to steal things while staying undetected like snatching apples from a street vendor or a few coins from the pocket of a merchant while they are distracted. You two learned to work like a well oiled team, while you managed to steal needle, thread, and buttons while somehow Yukhei managed to steel multiple yards of fabric to make clothes with. You stole other necessities like a portable gas stove and a few pots and pans, there was no exact location of the lost city and you had no idea how long it would take you to get there or what was there. Over the past few days you had noticed more and more patrols and guards arriving in the city to the point where you couldn't walk a block without seeing a soldier which made you finally decide to leave the city.
----
Your boots slapped against the cobblestones as you ran through the streets, you packed your bags during the day and made all the preparations so you could leave. You had chosen to leave around three am since most of the guards are usually out partying or getting drunk even if they are on duty. You ad maped your escape a few days and advance and practiced everyday until you were sure you could do it in your sleep as you slipped around a corner and away from the searchlight. You had to travel through the end of the military district to get to the wall where you could climb over and both you and Yukhei were on edge as you dodged past patrols and searchlights, you were almost as the edge when in a moment of stupidity you ran straight into a searchlight. Sirens had immediately gone off and Yukhei grabbed your hand as you were frozen in place he dragged you into an alley to buy you some time to plan your next move.
"Y/n, stay with me," Yukhei exclaimed as he slapped your face to get your attention, "this is the real deal, they know where we are and they're going to have guns so you need to be careful and whatever you do don't come back for me, ok?"
You stayed mute and nodded your head before he pulled you to your feet.
"No regrets, right?" He laughed with a forced smile. You nodded and followed him as you took of running, you could hear the rumble of vehicles and the firing of guns as you ran between the maze of buildings, backtracking and changing your path when there were too many soldiers or a dead end. You scrambled over the edge of the wall and yanked your bag back over with you.
"Yukhei come on!" You screamed when he didn't follow immediately after, you scrambled back up and held yourself so you could see him peeking his own head over.
"Y/n, I'll draw them away, you have to keep going," He rushed out.
"But-"
"No you have to keep going or they'll catch you, ok?" He said before turning his head back around down the street and the sounds of gunshots which were getting closer and closer, "I'll meet you by the tree where we first left the train but if I'm not there by dawn you leave without me, alright?"
You could see the terror in his eyes as they darted around and you stayed frozen like a statue.
"Alright?" He demanded and you forced yourself to nod as you just stared at him.
"I love you," You whispered before he could turn around and to your surprise he closed the distance between you lips and kissed you sweetly before breaking away and shouting, "Leave now!"
You listened to him and took off sprinting with tears in your eyes as it took all your willpower not on turn back towards the gunshots.
----
You waited for an hour after dawn even though Yukhei told you to leave, you had been crying for the past three hours until all your tears had dried up and you were just waiting as your mind drifted to all the worst possible out comes. You were about to get up and leave after you convinced yourself he wasn't coming before you heard a rustling in the bushes and whipped around only to burst out into ugly sobs when Yukhei stumbled into the small clearing.
"Yukhei!" You called out before he came and collapsed into your arms.