Status: Completed on October 4th, 2013

Breaking Their Hold

Chapter Eighteen: Caught

Melissa’s breathing had gotten much more ragged, and her heart was beating a fast rhythm against her chest as she walked along with Jimmy, Pierre, and Matt. Finally, she stopped in her tracks, shaking worse than she had since they’d left Haverly.

“Mel, what’s wrong?” Jimmy murmured to her quietly, worry in his crystal blue eyes as he turned to face her, putting his hands on either side of her hips.

“I’m can’t do this.” She whispered, tears beginning to form in her eyes as she nearly collapsed onto the leaf-covered ground. The only thing that stopped her from dropping to her knees was Jimmy’s hands. She couldn’t look up, fearing that she was letting them all down. She knew that they were all risking their lives for her to get to Canada, and that one or all of them would probably be dead at the end of the trip. She was too weak to continue on; too afraid of the possibilities of what might happen.

“Mel, you have to.” Pierre told her gently, also turning around to look at her. “It won’t take us long to get out of Fullerton, and with you and Jimmy both being blonde, no one will even take a second look at either of you.”

“But what about you? And Matt?” She pressed, sniffling loudly. “What if they recognize you? What happens then, Pierre? What’ll happen to you?”

No one answered her questions, because they didn’t want to face the reality that they might not make it out alive. Finally, Matt walked over and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, a reassuring smile on his face that conflicted with the worry in his hazel eyes.

“We’ll all be just fine, Mel. Just you watch. And if someone does recognize us…Well, I’m a decent enough size that I could fight, buy some time for you guys to get away.”

Melissa’s eyes widened, and she immediately shook her head. “No. I…I really appreciate what you guys have d-done for me, but I can’t go th-through with this. I’m t-too afraid.”

“What have you got to lose, Mel?” Jimmy asked quietly into her ear, brushing a strand of her dyed-blonde hair out of her eyes as he studied her expressions carefully. “We’ve come too far to turn back by now. They already know we’re gone. There’s a bounty on our heads. If we turn ourselves in, Matt, Pierre, and I will all be killed, and you’ll go to Schlagger’s personal residence to do whatever the hell his sick mind pleases. He’ll kill Zacky, and he’ll kill Brian and Johnny. He’ll kill everyone that you’re close to in retaliation, Mel. The only way to keep the people you love alive is to keep going and make it to Canada.”

Melissa took a small breath, her body still shaking and her breath still ragged as she took Jimmy’s words to consideration. He was right. If she didn’t make it to Canada…everyone she loved would be dead. Everything she’d held dear to in this life would be gone.

“O-okay.” She stuttered after a moment, taking another deep breath before looking at Matt. “P-please don’t get caught. I c-couldn’t watch them hurt you.” She pleaded, before looking between Pierre and Jimmy as well. They all nodded, and then Jimmy picked her up in a hug.

“I can’t hold your hand as we go into Fullerton.” He said quietly, brushing more hair out of her face. “We’re supposed to be brother and sister, not lovers. Incest is still illegal the last time I checked.”

She nodded, leaning her head against his chest and inhaling his scent in an attempt to calm her nerves. She knew Jimmy was right. It would look suspicious if she held his hand to get her through this. She needed to find her own strength to make it through Fullerton.

“L-let’s go.” She nodded, pulling away from Jimmy and waiting as the others started walking before she followed.

-x-

The city was different than what Melissa had been expecting, she thought with curiosity as she looked around the street as she, Matt, Pierre, and Jimmy began walking down the street that would ultimately lead them out of the city and into the forest. Instead of looking dark and dirty like she’d been thinking it would, it was bright, with big white buildings and a blue sky above with paved asphalt streets. Cars had been outlawed except for the police force and Government officials, so the only vehicles that lined the narrow roads were bicycles. Many people were out and about today, which Pierre said was a good thing. It meant they had a sort of veil that hid them from view. They all fit in with the status quo, with the slight exception being Jimmy with his tall stature. His height was nothing that people did double-takes over, however, and they made it through the city without being seen or questioned. Every time Mel saw a policeman or a Government official, her heart rate picked up again, and she was sure that they were going to know who she and the others were. Instead, they looked past her as though she were a ghost. That was what was best though, she realized.

She’d rather be a ghost any day than caught by the police and Government.

At the end of the road, a large chain link fence with barbed wire at the top blocked the exit into the forest, the only escape a small gate that was padlocked shut.

“How are we going to open it?” She asked quietly under her breath, looking behind her rapidly, expecting to see someone watching them. There was no one there, except for a few rats eating crumbs beside a garbage can.

“Take the bobby pin from your hair.” Pierre said quietly after a few minutes, looking up from the padlock he’d been inspecting. “It’s an easy enough mechanism to pick.”

Mel nodded and quickly reached into her hair, pulling the single bobby pin that remained out, placing it into Pierre’s outstretched hand. After a few tense moments, a small click sounded, signaling that the lock had been picked. Pierre pulled the padlock off carefully, and then swung the gate open. Melissa stepped through first, followed by Jimmy.

“One of us has to go over the top of the fence, man.” Matt said quietly, looking at Pierre. “We have to lock the padlock again, or they’ll know someone left through the gate. We can’t afford to have people coming looking through the forest for us too soon.”

“You’re right.” Pierre sighed, pulling his backpack off and handing it to Matt. “I’m smaller, you go through the gate after I get it locked. Start walking into the forest, I’ll be right behind you.”

Matt nodded and pulled the gate shut after him, walking over to where Melissa and Jimmy stood. They had only just gotten into the darkness of the forest, shielding them from view of anyone in the city before they heard a loud whistle blow coming from the city.

“Hey! You! What are you dong?” A loud voice boomed. Jimmy clamped a hand over Melissa’s mouth, stopping her from screaming as she watched the scene in front of them unfold. Pierre had just gotten to the top of the fence and was trying to get over the barbed wire, and a policeman was standing on the ground below him, a gun pointed up at him threateningly.

They gave Pierre no time to explain as he was yanked down by his foot, the sickening sound of his clothes ripping on the barbed wire, giving way for the barbs to cut into his pale skin roughly sounding through the air. The policeman hit him roughly over his head in a show of blatant police brutality that would never be reported as he pulled Pierre after him back into the city.

“We have to go get him! Th-They’ll kill him!” Melissa sobbed against Jimmy’s chest when he finally let her mouth go.

“We can’t, Mel.” Matt said quietly, putting Pierre’s backpack on his back as he looked over at them. “We all knew what we were getting in to when we agreed to do this. They won’t kill him. He has his I.D. as a double agent; they’ll rough him up a bit and let him go.”

“How can we be sure?” Melissa nearly yelled at him, before Jimmy clamped his hand over her mouth again to stop her from drawing attention to the forest.

“Stop yelling, Melissa.” He whispered calmingly into her ear. “We know he’ll be okay because he’s Pierre. He’s done this shit before. He knows their game, and he knows how to play it. That’s why he went over the fence. He knew the risk was high that he’d be caught. Matt would have been the one killed if he’d had to go over the fence. Pierre will be okay.”

“We’ve gotta get going again, guys.” Matt said. “The forest isn’t a safe place at night, especially this close to the city. We’ve gotta try to get to the village that Pierre was talking about before nightfall.”