On The Move

Chapter 1

  It has been a long night. I am looking everywhere, trying to find food.

You may think I am homeless, but the truth is that I'm just scared. I rarely actually sleep in a real bed because I never know when someone might come in the house and attack me. And the police!. Don't get me started on the police! There are so many wanted criminals at the moment. that the officers are interrogating everyone they think is suspicious. It has already happened to me, and at this point, I trust nobody, even if they are just walking next to me on the street. So I am always on the move.

It is now 11 pm and I am still looking for dinner. I snach up my backpack filled up with hoodies, sunglasses(so no one knows who I am) extra clothes, money(lots of it), food(I am on the run often so I only eat it if I have to) and my pocket knife (who knows when I'll need it).

I go looking for a trashcan to scavenge through. At 11:30 I finally find some dinner: a half-eaten burger. As I dig in, I think to myself: This is ridiculous. Me, Mack Somer, sitting in the streets eating burgers that have already been in someone else's mouth, when I could be sleeping in any house in the world!

Once I finish the burger, I go looking for a place to sleep. After another 30 minutes, I find a huge tree. I hate heights, but who knows how long it is until I find another place to sleep.

I have a full-on argument with myself about what to do next. I decide to dig a little hole to put my stuff in, and cuddle up as close to the tree as I can get without actually touching it. I shiver on the cold, hard ground as it starts to sprinkle.

At around 4:30 in the morning, I wake up to thunder and pouring rain. I check, with my heart pounding, if my bag is still there. I sigh with relief as I realize it is.

But I do get a little nervous as I look around and see tons of twigs and one huge branch lying on the ground close to me. When I realize that I too am soaked, I tilt my head up and look for a part of the tree that has a little more shelter. It all looks the same as where I am now. I guess I'll just have to sleep here until daybreak.

I wish I could say that that was the worst night of sleep I had ever gotten, but I have had much worse in the past. I woke up several times during the night because of thunder. Every time it took me forever to fall back asleep because of the cold.

Once I wake up, I look through my bag for a hoodie and pull out the best one I can find: plain black, but cozy. I throw it over my shoulders and smile at how warm it is.

I lay there for a moment, thinking what to do next. I have a few options in my mind, such as going to one of the many houses I sometimes go to warm up in (after making sure there are no cars in the driveway), get my sunglasses on and go to the store to get some real food for breakfast (being very cautious, of course) or just wait here for a little while.

I decide to go to the store and eat in an actual building for once. I grin when I think of how nice that breakfast donut and coffee are gonna taste.

I walk around the streets with my head low, making sure no one passing by can see my pale face or dark green eyes. I glance around at the little town and see so many places I wish I could go. The local supermarket which has way too many people in it. The park which has dogs that might track my scent and follow me.

And the barber. Oh, how I wish I could take off my hood and get a real haircut. My knotted brown hair has grown down to my shoulders in the amount of time I have been too scared to show it.

I look over at the bakery. Way too many people inside. I end up walking another 15 minutes looking for somewhere to eat. The place I end up at has pretty poor ratings, but I can't be picky at this point, can I?

But when I see the menu, I realize that maybe I should be a little pickier.

The menu only consists in overpriced muffins and smoothies with fake tastes. I get a mango smoothie and a blueberry muffin that is very stale and has little taste to it. I hate mango but it's either that or strawberry, which I am allergic to.

At least now I will have a full stomach. I'm not very good at looking at the bright side of things, but I try. I look at the clock on the church and see it is already 3:20. More choices to make.

I could go get some more food for later and then find a spot to stay the night. Or maybe I could do it the other way around, or just wander. Or . . . or . . . or . . . . Ugh! I'll just do the second option.

So I walk around, looking for a place to sleep later on. I cut through an alley that takes me out of the city and into a field that lasts for miles.

There I just . . . walk.

After walking for about an hour, I end up finding a thin stream that's at most 8 feet wide. I jump in, grateful to be cooled off. Swimming in the river reminds me of how much I want to be like my parents.

I hate being a criminal. My parents were so brave and broke into any house they saw. I've always wanted to be just like them, but I never realized just how hard it was. That is why I am so paranoid. I'm nervous cops will come take my bag and see my hoodies and pocket knife hiding inside. I broke into one house to sleep in, right after my parents died, because I needed a home to sleep in; just for the night.

And I wanted to follow my parent's tradition of breaking into houses when people are on vacation. So when I saw an open driveway, I was tempted to just run right in. But I decided against it when I remembered their shiny blue car sparkling in the rain the day before.

I love swimming, because my parents broke into the swim center all the time just for my pleasure when I was little.

I must have been in this pond for an hour or so, because the sun was beginning to set when I get out. I remember my plan from earlier and sigh, as I knew I will have to get food in soaked clothes in the dead of night. Or I can just wait until morning to get food. I decide to fall asleep now, and I'll get food whenever I wake up.

When I roll out of my makeshift bed of sticks and leaves, I feel rejuvenated. I think this was the first night in a while where I slept soundly and didn't wake up in the middle of the night. Due to the sun almost at its peak, I guessed that it was already about eleven in the morning.

When I sit up to find my bag, my vision blurs over a little from the sudden movement and I feel around blindly for my dirty, red leather backpack. I panic for a second when I don't find it, but once my vision clears I see it sitting right near the stream.

It's then that I remember my plan for the day. I shudder a little, as I knew I need to go to my least favorite place in less than two hours. I scoop some water into an empty water bottle, knowing that I'll need it for my trip back to the supermarket.

I made it about halfway through my journey before I had to sit down. I feel dizzy from the intense heat of the afternoon sun. I know I just need rest, but I'm still a little anxious.

After a fifteen-minute rest, I think I'm good to go. I chug down some water and keep trudging against the scorching ninety-degree weather. I hate the weather here. It's scorching hot during the day, but the nights are freezing.

After I finish the second half of my journey, I'm so tempted to crawl the rest of the way. I'm so tired and overheated, and feel very dizzy. All of my water has been chugged, and I am so thirsty.

I trudge over to the supermarket, very shaky from fear and tiredness, and step through the automatic doors. I sigh in relief as the air conditioning blasts me in the face.

I put my hood over my eyes and speed over to the bread and bagels. I like those things because they last awhile and the don't need to be frozen or heated up.

After I pick the perfect bread, I walk over the vegetable aisle and pick up some cucumbers and broccoli. I take a shaky breath and trudge over to the register to pay. All I hope is that I have enough money to pay for my next meal.