From Embers

S I X

I heard the sound of a car pull into our driveway. I looked out of my window and it was just mom getting home from work. She got out quickly and grabbed her purse from the vehicle, then headed towards the front door. Something was definitely off. She was walking extremely robotic and didn't look like herself. I stepped away from the window and headed into the hallway. She always calls me down when she gets home. The front door finally opened and she stepped inside. She walked into the kitchen and was completely silent. Red flags were going off everywhere in my mind. I finally ordered my thoughts and walked downstairs. 

"Hey son! How are you doing today?" She said happily.

"It was good, I didn't do much. Yours?" I answered.

"Oh, it was just dandy. Work was absolutely ecstatic!" She exclaimed.

This is all wrong; she never acts like this. She never talks about work this way. She likes her job, but she just sees it as work. Not good or bad, and definitely not ecstatic. Who was this and where was my mother? All of a sudden, she turned her head and looked out of the kitchen window, and I caught a glimpse of the side of her neck. There was a small hole that was inflamed. What could that be from? It looked like a spider bit her. 

"Alright, I'm heading back up. Do you need anything?" I asked.

"Not at all son! I'm going to make us a big dinner and celebrate your acceptance in that school!" She stated with a crooked smile.

I basically ran up the stairs. I shut my door and locked it. I went straight into my closet and grabbed my duffel bag, then started shoving clothes inside of it. I needed to get out of here. But where could I go? I shoved a week's of clothing in and then put my chargers, and grabbed my stash of money and threw it inside. It wasn't much, but something to get me away. I heard the front door open again and low voices downstairs. I looked out of my window and there were three black, tinted-out suburbans parked on the street outside. Out of the corner of my eye I saw my laptop screen flash white and then black out. The cursor appeared on the screen again. After a moment three words appeared on the screen.

RUN.
WINDOW.
NOW.

I grabbed my laptop and shoved it into my backpack. I caught a glimpse of the paperwork and had the best idea I could have had all night. The academy. I could get away to there. I pulled out the front page and memorized Mrs. Largent's phone number. I threw it back into my backpack and put it on. Opening my window, I stepped out onto my porch below my room. I heard a knock at the door to my room, knowing it couldn't be good. Throwing my duffel to the ground, I quickly climbed down from the roof and used the supporting poles for the porch to slide down. Once I hit the ground I picked up the bag and did the one I did best. I ran.

The heavy sound of my feet hitting the concrete below me pounded into my ears. I quickened my pace and ran as hard as I could. I exited my neighborhood and took off towards the main city. I had to flag down a taxi and get out of here. I needed to get to the outskirts of the city before I could get into a taxi though. I heard a deafening screech behind me as one of the black vehicles roared towards me. My heart quickened and something in me just snapped. My feet started moving quicker than I had ever moved before. The buildings around me blurred by as I accelerated. The suburban was hot on my tail as I kept going. I turned down an alley and tried to evade my pursuers as best as I could. I was on the next street over before I could even register it and turned towards the city. I was so close, all I needed to do was find a taxi. 

My heart was racing and I was moving faster than I could comprehend. The outskirts of town were only fifteen blocks away. I pulled out my phone and dialed Largent's number. It rang only once before she answered. 

"Hello?" She asked.

"Mrs. Largent, I've made my decision. I want to go to the academy. Can you get me a flight there tonight?" I was almost pleading.

"Is everything alright? It's hard to hear you over the wind. I'm very happy to hear your positive response about your acceptance. I'll get a flight booked right now. How does a flight in forty five minutes sound?" She asked.

"I'm just out for a drive, but that sounds perfect. I'll be there on time." I answered.

"Good, I'll have a driver waiting for you when you arrive here in Washington."

"Thank you. I'll see you soon."

I clicked off the phone and shoved it back into my pocket. Thank heavens for Kristen Largent. I was a block and a half away from the city when a deafening roar sounded behind me. That couldn't be good. I turned around to look and didn't see anything, but I kept running. Heavy footsteps sounded right behind me but there was nothing in sight. By instinct I knew there was something there, but I couldn't see it. I dodged right and felt something swipe past by torso. Pushing on, I knew the suburbans wouldn't be far behind. Something I couldn't see is chasing me, and I can't get caught now. As if on cue, I heard tires screeching behind me. I turned around once more, but it wasn't the suburban. It was the same old orange mustang accelerating towards me. I saw a hand peek out of the drivers side window with what looked like a pistol. I turned back around and kept going. A piercing shot rang out and a green bolt shot past me and hit the ground. Another rang out and there was a loud screech behind me and something big hit the ground. After two more shots and more wailing, the footsteps behind me ceased. The mustang caught up beside me and rolled down its passenger side window. 

"If you don't want anymore of the crazies after ya, you'd best get in mate." He yelled in a husky voice.

I slowed down and he pulled over ahead of me. I felt like I could trust him. I don't know why, but I knew he wasn't with the bad guys after me. I opened his passenger door and got in. He spun his tires and took off. The rapid acceleration forced me to sit back in the seat. 

"Who are you?" I asked.

"A friend, name's Scott." He responded.

Could he be the person behind my computer messages?

I just stared at him in response.

"Gotta catch that flight before they put out a city wide alert for ya. So let's get there before the bogeys getcha." He stated.

"My name is-" I was cut off.

"I know who you are. I'm your guardian angel in this situation and I'm here to make sure you don't get your bloody head cut off before you get initiated." He said quickly.

"Initiated?" I asked.

"Don't worry about that right now mate, gotta get you safe before we have that talk." He answered.

We pulled up to the Atlanta airport a few moments later. I got out of his car and he took off down the drop off ramp. He was definitely trying to help me, and I think he knows a lot more than he would tell me. I would be seeing him again soon, I could feel it. I went through and collected my flight ticket. They checked my backs and I went through security without incident. Everything seemed calm and nothing was out of the ordinary. I got onto the plane and sat at my seat. It wasn't completely full, just a handful of business men and late travelers. The plane was probably half full when everyone finally boarded. I was near the front, so I didn't have to worry about waiting to get off of the plane. They finally shut the door and taxied onto the runway. After a few more minutes we took off and ascended to cruising altitude. I looked out of my window at the almost set sun. It was going to be a long flight. I took out my computer and pulled up a movie I had downloaded a while ago just to pass the time. I just needed something to get my mind off of the events that occurred today.