The Price of Freedom

Sunset Scream

(Cleo)

The sun was just setting as Gale and I walked down the twilit alley. Well walked was an overstatement, we more like hobbled. Gale, regardless of what he said, was not okay. His nose was bleeding, blood was running down his chin and his lip was so swollen he could barely talk. As soon as I helped him to his feet he groaned with pain and, glancing down, I saw his foot was twisted in to an unnatural position. I knelt down and felt it.

Gale screamed. "Don't touch it! Please Cleo!"

"I think you've broken your ankle." I said, ignoring him, "You should sit down, I'll go get help."

Gale laughed mirthlessly. "Help? What help? This is Wheeler Street Cleo. There is no such thing as help."

I shot him a pained expression. "Don't say that Gale. Please don't. It doesn't make things any better."

Gale bit his lip. "I'm sorry. Look, I'm fine."

"You can't walk."

"I can try. If you help me we can get back to the house. Jade can bandage my ankle."

"It's not that's easy Gale, your ankle pretty bad, it needs to be set."

"I'll be fine." He fixed his blue eyes on mine, asking, begging, me not to say anything else.

After a long silence I sighed. "Okay fine. You win." Then I muttered under my breath, "This time." Gale managed a grin and I pulled him to his feet, well foot, and slowly, cautiously, we made our way back home.

"What was that?" Gale asked suddenly. We had almost reached the house and, so far, we were making good time.

Gale refused to show me how hurt he was. Instead he shuffled along, wincing every now and then and stifling a groan.

The sun had almost set now but we still had at least twenty minutes before the Twilight Gang began their evening patrol. Still evening was a dangerous time and both Gale and I heaved a sigh of relief when we rounded the corner and caught sight of our little tent.

That was when Gale froze suddenly. "Did you hear that?" He repeated, glancing around nervously.

"What?" I asked.

Gale has good hearing, it was likely he'd heard some distant noise from a nearby street. "It sounded like..." He trailed off and looked around again, "Where's Jade?" I stopped in my tracks. Gale looked at me with wide eyes and, suddenly, we both bolted towards the tent.

I reached it first as before he'd even taken a few steps Gale tumbled onto the ground with a cry. I pushed open the flaps and burst inside. "Jade!" No response. The tent was empty. My heart started to beat wildly. For a long as I could remember, every time Gale or I got home Jade would be there, smiling widely, welcoming us back to our humble home. And now...now she was gone. My twin sister had suddenly vanished into thin air. I slowly sat down on a pile of rags, noticing that my hands were sweaty and trembling. Then I remembered Gale.

Quickly I walked out of the tent and looked around for my older brother. "Gale?"

"I'm here." I sighed in relief.

He was sitting on the ground where I'd left him, groaning and clutching his ankle. Already it was swollen and purple. He looked up at me, his eyes filled with pain. "Cleo, I don't think I can walk."

I nodded. "It's okay. Just wait here. Jade will be here soon and then..." I trailed off and swallowed nervously. Jade. Gale froze.

"She's not in the tent?" I shook my head. "Oh no, Cleo we have to find her!"

"No, no, no, Gale, you need to stay here. I'll go find her."

"But Cleo-"

"Gale! Stay!" I suddenly noticed the steeliness of my voice. I couldn't help it though. I simply couldn't bear to see Gale get hurt again. Just then we heard footsteps. "Jade!" We cried in unison.

Quickly I stood up and made my way to the end of the alley where they were coming from. "Jade?" I rounded the corner, hope rising inside me. Then it all fell away. There was nothing but darkness. My shoulders slumped. Where was she? And more importantly, how could she be gone?

I sighed, the noise must have been a rat or something, maybe a lost child. Wheeler street is always noisy. That's when it hit me. The noise. There were no children laughing and shouting. No rats scurrying around. No crows cawing in the distance. Everything was silent. Dark, deathly silent.

I swung around. The light was definitely fading now. The sun had already set and night was creeping like a blanket over the city. But where was everyone? I glanced around again. Nearby I saw something. A flash of movement. A pale face. I went closer. It was a child (and probably the source of the noise). A small girl, crouched in the shadows of a plastic tent, hiding her white face in a dirty blanket. I stared. Then I realised what it was.

Fear. The air reeked of fear. It hung, moist and heavy in the air. Someone, an older sibling probably, pulled the girl away from the tent entrance. I straightened and turned around, searching the nearby tents for other signs of life. It was as if I was the last person on earth, although the distant rumble of cars and trucks told me I wasn't. I looked back for the girl but she was already gone.

Suddenly a scream rang out across the alley.

"Gale!" I leapt up and ran back to where I'd last seen my brother. Then I froze. He was gone. But where? Where was he? With a broken ankle he obviously couldn't have gone far. It was as if my family was simply vanishing into thin air.

"Gale! Gale, where are you?" Silence. Then footsteps. I walked towards the noise, my heart beating wildly in my chest. "Gale?" I turned the corner...and froze. There, Gale lay, unconscious, on the ground. Standing over him were the Twilight gang. I let out a scream....and a hand clamped over my mouth. Turning, I saw three man standing there. Suddenly something struck my head. Everything went black...