Escape (ON HOLD)

Chapter One

I was going to do it. I really was this time. There was no stopping me now.

I quickly, yet carefully packed my bag, being mindful of what I put in it. I carefully set all of my drawings and pencils and paints and paint brushes on top of the few clothes and food I bothered putting in. Mindful, not smart.

I glanced over at the clock to see it was still 2:31, the same it had been when I last looked. I supposed that was a good thing, given I wanted to be out of there as quickly as possible. They wouldn't care. They wouldn't bother alerting the police of my sudden disappearance. They'd actually be happy I was gone and so would I. Or at least that was what I kept telling myself. There really was no reason I shouldn't be happy about leaving; I hated it there. Absolutely hated it. And with good reason.

I quietly zipped the bag closed after I had put in my last pencil case and quickly slipped my shoes and jacket on. I had been planning this night for a long time. I slid open my small bedroom window, as if this were some teenage movie where everyone always snuck out through the window, and carefully swung my bag out. Then I slipped out, thankful my room was on the first floor. I grabbed my bag and jogged across the backyard towards the woods.

I finally allowed myself to relax when I was safely in the cover of the woods and there was no shouting behind me, as I had feared. I pulled out the flashlight I had put in my pocket and switched it on. Except it wouldn't turn on. Okay, so maybe that was something to worry about. I slapped it against the palm of my hand a few times before trying it again, but to no avail. The batteries must have been dead. I shoved it back in my pocket with a huff and slowly stepped forward, not exactly trusting my ability to walk through a forest at night without tripping on something and possibly causing quite a bit of damage. But I had to get away from that house. So I took another step forward, then another, and another before deciding to just give it a try.

A few minutes later I was flat on my back. Crying. I had tripped on a root from one of the trees and then my foot had gotten entangled in it as I was falling, causing it to bend in an incredibly uncomfortable and painful way. I wasn't sure what I had done to it, but I knew it wasn't good, nor was it safe for me to try to keep going. So this was all rather... pathetic. I was horrible at running away. If that wasn't already clear.

I sat up a bit and carefully touched my ankle. Bad choice. I slapped my hand over my mouth in an attempt to keep myself from crying out in pain. But it hadn't helped much. A sharp pain shot up my leg all the way to my hip, causing me to cry even more. What a lovely start to the wonderful new life I had been imaging for myself.

So I sat there and I cried. And I cried. And I cried some more. In fact, I sat there until the pain had faded to a dull throb and the first of the sun's rays were beginning to peek through the leaves overhead. That's when I dared to try standing to my feet. It wasn't too bad getting up, but I came to find out that I couldn't put any weight on the ankle I had hurt. Which was bad news for me. Especially when I heard the shouting I had hoped not to hear. But then again, a small part of me had hoped there would be shouting, that they would have noticed my absence. Well, they did, but I wasn't ready to go back so I tried hopping on one foot from tree to tree while carrying my bag. I bet I looked beyond ridiculous, but at that point I didn't really care.

I was concentrating on where I was putting my feet, looking down at the ground and only occasionally looking up. Probably not the brightest idea I've ever had. Especially not when I smacked into something rather hard. I fell backwards, trying not to scream or cry out again. But of course I had to land rather harshly on my ankle. Again.

I curled up, crying yet again as the pain intensified. Eventually I opened my eyes to look at what I had run into. And I couldn't believe it. It wasn't a tree like I had originally thought. It was a... box. A big, blue box. A big blue... police box? I sat up some, careful to not put the slightest bit of pressure on my ankle, and gazed up at the box. It was a deep, beautiful blue that reminded me of some of the paintings I had attempted of space. Yes, space. I had always found it to be so interesting and beautiful, always full of surprises and life and color, despite what many think.

At the top of the box were the words: POLICE PUBLIC CALL BOX. It was leaning against a tree and vines and roots were crawling up the sides of it; it was falling into great disrepair. One of the windows was broken and some of the paint was coming off of the bottom. It was a shame to see it out here rotting, even if it didn't quite belong or make much sense. I mean, there weren't any police boxes in the U.S. that I knew of.

I glanced behind me nervously, remembering the shouting, then looked back at the box. Well, though it wasn't very inconspicuous I thought it would be better than nothing.

I used the roots and trees around me to help me to my feet, well foot, then hopped over to the slightly open door. I struggled to push it open, the plants making it rather difficult, but then it gave way and I was able to hop through. And I wasn't sure I should have.

I gasped, unable to help myself. It wasn't a box. It... I didn't even know what to call it. I quickly stumbled backwards and climbed out of the box. I grabbed onto the side of it and hobbled around to the back. But on the outside, it was just a box. But on the inside... I couldn't even begin to try to describe it. Inside of the box, it was huge. Really huge. I climbed back inside and looked around in awe. In the middle of the room there was a console and there seemed to be three levels. The main one consisted just of the console, but the upper one looked like it had several doors that led off to who knows where and the lower one also looked like it had several more doors. I hopped over to the console and looked at all the different buttons and levers. It resembled something straight out of a sci-fi movie. I gently touched one of the levers with a small smile before looking around again. It was just so beautiful. To think someone had just abandoned it... Whatever it was.

I slid down to the floor with a sigh, feeling relatively safe in the blue box. I patted the floor as if in thanks, then I remembered I had left my bag outside. I groaned before going to grab it and bringing it back inside. I carefully set it to the side and sat down in one of the chairs. I closed my eyes and leaned back. Maybe I could get a little sleep... But of course that was a no, because the moment I shut my eyes was when the door shut. By itself.