Thief (The Ichor Series: book 1)

Chapter 2: Skylar

                        *Skylar*

Run. Faster. Run. I have to get out of here. Please get me out of this hell hole. They’re right behind me, I have to make it.

My feet slap the hard asphalt ground, Slap, slap, slap. I’m running for my life, away from my foster parents. Normally I could just sneak away and never be noticed, but they were too clever. They knew I would try to run away, so they were ready for me.

They had dogs by the door, double bolted locks, and an alarm system on top of all that. But I got through all that security with no problems. The alarm system was the hardest because I didn’t know their pass-code, but it only took me a few more minutes to disable it. I had made it through every single obstacle that was in my way with ease, but somehow, they found me.

I had made it past the dogs, covering their snouts with clothe and giving them the leftover turkey from dinner along with some of the foster parents knock out drugs that they give to the misbehaving children. The double bolted locks were easy to open because I had learned how to pick locks with a bobby pin when I was 4 years old. It only took me a few minutes to hit the tumblers and be out. The alarm system was the only troubling thing to get past. I had to put tape with powder on the alarm system so that after they typed the code into the system to lock all of us "troubling" children inside the house, I could peel off the tape and know what numbers they pressed. Then it only took me a few minutes to figure out the combination they used to lock us all in this prison. 2-7-4-9-1

I made it out the front door and onto the pitch-black sidewalk before the flood lights flicked on, illuminating the whole neighborhood with light.  

They saw me. RUN

I started running for my life. Lights fly by in a blur. The yelling and screaming for me to stop turned into static noises. The trees, the asphalt, the sky, blurred together so that there was no up or down.

I heard the footsteps closing in the distance. By the sound of it, there were probably 5 people trying to catch me; my two foster parents, and three of their foster kids.

Don't let them catch you Sky.

I'm running for my life, about to turn a corner, when I feel a huge wave of muscle slam into me. I fly into the air and hit the now illuminated lamppost. Fists and feet batter my already sore body. Over and over again they kick and beat me even further. 

They want to kill me.

I curl into a tight ball; hands over my head, knees up to my chest. Just trying to keep myself from getting too damaged and hurt. I can feel bruises forming on my back, arms, legs, abdomen, everywhere on my body.  

Then suddenly, they stopped and walked away. Perhaps they thought I was dead or close enough to dead that they didn't care anymore. I don't know. I just know that they stopped and for that I'm grateful with my life.

The moment they walked away, I jumped up and ran. More like stumbled up onto my feet and hobbled away trying not to faint from the pain but same principle right?

I hobble across the street and turn the corner to get as far away as possible, when I tripped and fell to the ground.  The pain I was going through was excruciating. It felt like every bone in my body was broken. And my whole body was turning black and purple.

My vision was starting to blur in and out making everything turn fuzzy and disorientating. Blackness was closing in on me, swallowing me up, claiming me to the dark.

I was still slightly conscious enough to feel a person trip over me while I was lying on the ground trying to stay alive and in the world.

It felt like someone had kicked me again, and then fell on top of me just to make sure I couldn't breathe and was completely helpless to what could have been the next on-slaughter of assaults.

Then everything turned dark.

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I added the song "Open Your Eyes" by Bea Miller and Mackenzie Foy is Sky when she was a child.