Status: Completed on October 4th, 2013

Breaking Their Hold

Chapter Six: Breaking Away

It was about three o'clock when Melissa collapsed on the ground. She was exhausted. They'd been walking at a fast pace for three hours straight; running parts of it, as well. She'd watched Jimmy shoot a man in his head without hesitation, and had seen the life leave that man's body. She'd been devastated; it didn't matter to her that the guard had been one of the people responsible for making her so depressed.

He had most likely had a family. Kids, maybe, with a wife. Most Government employees did. He had almost looked remorseful as Jimmy had shot him. He'd fallen to the cold ground with no more than a grunt of discomfort. Matt had needed to toss her over his shoulder and beg her to be quiet before she had stopped sobbing.

When they'd gotten about a half mile away from the Hospital fence, which they'd had to climb over, Jimmy had taken her aside for ten minutes, trying to calm her down and explain why he'd done what he'd done.

"He would have shot at us if he'd seen us coming," He had told her. "It's how they're trained, Mel. You think I wanted to shoot him? I'll have that man's blood on my hands for the rest of my life now."

Melissa had known he was right. He wouldn't have shot anyone if he'd had any other choice. She knew he was only doing what was necessary for them to escape from Haverly Hospital and the Government. She'd seen the anguish in Jimmy's eyes when he'd shot the guard; he had almost been unable to pull the trigger.

But in the end, he'd had to. Not only did his life depend on it, but so did Melissa's. And Matt and Pierre's, too. The guard had seen them all, and it would have been too risky to allow him to live. It was going to be difficult enough to manage to survive as it was, since they had no ID cards; a necessary item for survival in Schlagger's 'reformed' United States. Without it, you would be considered a felon; a runaway from the law. People were too afraid of the Government to not do as the law said and hand them over.

Or they, too, would be imprisoned, institutionalized, or killed.

"Melissa, are you going to make it?" Pierre asked her quietly, keeping his voice barely audible. Melissa couldn't bring herself to answer him, and just stayed on the ground. She was weak, emotionally and physically. She'd never be able to make it all the way to Canada. She knew she'd been getting her hopes up for nothing for the past few days.
"No," She sobbed, tears of frustration forming in her eyes. She was exhausted. "I don't think I am."

Without a word, Jimmy dropped the backpack he'd been carrying on his back, and tossed it over to Matt, who nodded. Jimmy walked over to her, and without asking her, he helped her stand up off of the ground.

"I'll carry you on my back until you can walk," He told her quietly. There was no question in his voice. He was telling her he was going to carry her. She had no room to argue. She knew Zacky would agree with him, so she let him pick her up. He stood directly in front of her, and she put her arms around his neck. He hoisted her up with his arms, and wrapped her legs securely around his waist. He stood there to adjust to feeling Melissa's weight on his shoulders, but then began walking again. Slowly, but surely, the rhythm of Jimmy's feet methodically hitting the cold ground began lulling her to sleep.

-x-
When Melissa woke up, they were in the middle of the woods. She knew they were still fairly close to the Hospital, because the woods were all that could be seen outside the fences as a precautionary element to ward off escapees.

"Mel? Are you awake yet? C'mon, Mel." Matt said to her, shaking her back lightly as she adjusted her eyes to the lightness of the woods. It was much lighter than when they'd left the Hospital shortly after midnight. She felt more secure than she had before; she was afraid of the dark, and the sunlight shining down through the tops of the tall cottonwood trees.

"Are we in Canada?" She asked, unable to tell how far from the Hospital they were. Jimmy chuckled, and shook his head as he helped her down from his back and steadied her on the ground.

"No, we're stopping for the day. It's getting to be morning." He said, a smile on his face. "Canada is still several thousand miles away. At least, it is the route we're going."

"How far is it?" Melissa asked as she walked into the cave with Jimmy, Matt, and Pierre.

"About three thousand miles," Pierre told her. "Don't worry; we won't be walking all of it. There are several Independents and Canadian spies that I know and have contact with. They'll help us get you to Quebec City."

"How long will it take?" She asked him wearily. Just thinking about the fact that their destination was three thousand miles away made her tired. She didn't know if she had the strength; she'd been too weak to walk even for a few hours; how could she possibly walk all night, every night?

"At least a couple of months, if not more. We can only travel at night, and we have to be careful. Even some of the Independents can't be trusted."

Melissa nodded, and then looked around at the inside of the cave. She estimated that it was about twenty feet wide, and too deep for her to see all the way in. She looked at Jimmy with fear; she was terrified of the dark, just like everything else.

He sensed her fear, and walked over to her with care in his blue eyes, putting his arms around her shoulders. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you, Mel. But we have to go pretty far in, or it's too risky to start a fire. They'll definitely be looking for myself, Matt, and Pierre by now."

"What about--"

"Sophia should have everything with you under control. The only thing we have to worry about with her is the fact that she's heavier by about twenty pounds. Other than that, she could pass as your doppleganger." Matt said, trying to reassure her. Though he too was quite worried about it. The Government didn't mess around when it came to runaways; particularly those who somehow managed to escape from a maximum security State Hospital such as Haverly.

"Tell me the truth," Melissa begged them, letting Jimmy hold her hand in his. "I can handle it."

There was silence for several minutes, and Melissa didn't know how to take it. She didn't know if it was good that they were being quiet like that. Finally, after several minutes, Jimmy spoke. She'd known all along that he would be the one to tell her the truth.

"Sophia is small, but she's not bony like you've become," He whispered quietly, as though it hurt him to say it. "And your hair isn't as dark as hers is. Your eyes are very similar; so similar that it may be several days before anyone notices. But if anyone is going to notice, it's going to be Phillips, and she'll catch on right away. She knows how close you and I are, as well as you and Matt, and will most likely assume that we've taken you with us."

"What about Pierre?" Melissa asked him, her voice shaky as they continued walking into the dark cave. It got too dark to see with their eyes, and Pierre pulled a small flashlight out of the pack on his back, using it to light their way.

"Schlagger thinks I'm a spy for him when I'm really a spy for Canada," Pierre explained to her. "He never knows when I go from one Hospital to another, until a few days later. In a few days' time, I'll call him and tell him that I'm trying to trail you, and I'll tell him I think you're heading to Mexico.That's where a lot of escapees go. He won't assume that you're any different."

Jimmy rubbed Melissa's back reassuringly, and suddenly Pierre and Matt stopped ahead of them.

"What's wrong?" Melissa asked them, sensing that something wasn't right.

"Something just feels...off." Pierre said quietly and slowly. "I think they're closer than we've given them credit for. Jimmy, take Mel and go down that fork in the path. Be as quick as you can, and once you find a good hiding spot, stay there."

"When will we know when to leave?" Melissa asked Pierre, her voice edged with fear. She'd never been this afraid before.

"They'll have a small group, probably with four to six people in it," Pierre explained to her. "They'll send two or three people down each fork to void out any possibility of running out of the cave."

"Can't we just--"

"It's too late to turn around now, Mel," Pierre told her. "They're already in the cave. I can feel it. Jimmy, do everything you can to keep her calm."

Jimmy nodded, and grabbed Melissa's hand. "Come on, Mel."

She was tempted to say no. A part of her still believed their escape was too good to be true; that they'd get caught. She thought that if, perhaps, she turned herself in now before they caught her they might spare her life, even if she didn't have much of a life to begin with. But she knew that Jimmy wouldn't let her. She knew he'd be heartbroken if she got caught, and that he'd only blame himself.

So she wouldn't allow that to happen. She was going to do whatever it took to help Pierre, Matt, and Jimmy get her out of America and into Canada, where she'd experience freedom that she'd never felt before.

She nodded, and let him hold her hand in his as they began to jog down the path trying to find a small area to hide.
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[url=http://photoblog.bridgescreative.com/images/20081029102038_20010405-dscn0962.jpg ]The Woods[/url]
The Cave

*Sorry for the delay in this chapter; my computer crashed two weeks or so ago, and I'm not allowed on Mibba on anyone else's computer. So I couldn't post any of the updates that I wrote by hand.*