Runaways

Spencer's POV

Running down the dark, empty street with my twin sister being dragged along with me, out hands intertwined tightly as we jumped over a fence. Voices were being shouted behind us as we continued to run through rotting grass in someone's abandoned yard. Gunshots were being fired and every time we heard them we would lower our heads in fear for our life. Serena and I jumped behind a bunch of dead bushes that still had a little bit of leaves on them and waited for the gang that was chasing us to pass. Neither of us spoke a word and I could feel my sister tremble beside me violently. I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her close to my side, rocking from side to side to calm her down. She clutched my shirt tightly and bit her lip hard as the loud noises of the other gang died down, giving us the cue to stand up slowly. Serena gave out a shaky sigh of relief and smiled a small smile. I grabbed her hand and returned her small smile as we cautiously walked back to our home in this damned town.

I opened the front door slowly and the first person I see is my best friend Terrance. I embrace him with a hug before walking to the family room to find his little brother Alex and his parents, along with my parents. I sit down on the floor next to the beaten up couch and Alex comes running over to me and sits down in my lap.

I smile and wrap my arms around him, pulling him close to me, “Mom...when are we ever leaving this town? We can't live here any longer...” I asked, rocking back and forth with Alex almost falling asleep in my arms.

She let out a long sigh and ran her hand through her dark hair and gave me a sad smile, “I don't think we would able to leave here alive Spencer...I mean you and Serena were trying to find us an escape route and what happened? We heard gunshots and knew you were being chased back here...” she hopelessly answered and placed her head in her hands, weeping.

My dad patted her back slowly and rubbed small circles in it and gave me a stern look, “Spencer I'm sorry but we can't do anything about the area we live in. We just have to deal with it as best we can and if we do find a way to leave we will as soon as possible.”

I shook my head and glared at the ceiling, “Dad if we stay here any longer we all might die! I'm not letting that happen...I can't let it happen..” I trailed off slowly and pounded my fisted hand into the creaky wood floor. “Alex deserves to be put through school and live a better life than this, and to be quite honest Terrance and I can't keep fighting for our lives like we do now.”

I heard footsteps walk into the family room and spot Serena and Terrance standing under the arch way from the other room. Terrance sighed and ran a hand through his hair then wrapped his arm around my sisters waist and pulling her close to him.

“Spencer tomorrow we will try again, and while we're out then I want everyone here to hid,” Terrance jumped in. “Spencer is right we can't stay here and well I hate to say it but we're finding away for a better life...or die trying.”

Terrance's dad sighed then shrugged, “If you all want to try again then go for it tomorrow.”

I smiled to myself as I laid myself on my back. I put my hands behind my head and closed my eyes slowly as I anxiously wait for tomorrow morning. I need all my strength for the hectic day tomorrow.

I was rudely awakened by Terrance running over a pot hole in the road. My eyes flutter open slowly as I lifted my head away from the window. We only left our town a week ago and I'm still filled with regret of that day Terrance and I left the house to go find this exact escape route out of there. I turn my head to the side to feel a satisfying pop in my neck as I stretched my arms out above my head. My joints all popped and I sighed in relief when they did. Terrance turned his head and smiled at me before turning his head back to the road in front of us.

“Do you have any idea where we're heading Terrance?” I asked him in a sleepy voice, rubbing my eyes and yawning afterwords.

He shrugged, “God if I know...it's just better than staying in that damned town...especially after what happened...”

I banged my hand on the dash board and growled, “That's the last thing I wanna hear out of your damn mouth Terrance!” I shouted and glared at him intently, but he just sighed and focused on the road instead of my blind rage.

“Calm down...you're not the only one who feels regret too Spencer...” he lowered his voice and I sighed as he pulled into a gas station, “Shit...” I heard him mutter under his breath as he looked in his empty wallet. “We're out of money dude.”

I rolled my eyes and opened the car door before Terrance can park it properly in a parking space, “Well, whatever there has to be a place somewhere near by let's just ask around.”

Terrance jumped out of the truck and kicked the front wheel of it in frustration before following me into the gas station's little store. A little bell rings as I pushed open the door and look around the disgusting place. I saw Terrance involuntary gag at the stale small we smelt in the store as we walked deeper into. I told Terrance to go find food for us to take as I walked up to the store clerk. I knocked on the table in front of him to gather his attention from counting his money. I eyed the money in his hand and smirked, but I wasn't planning on stealing it Terrance and I could just steal the shit we need.

“May I help you with something sir?” The store clerk asked me in a rude tone.

I rolled my eyes and sneered at him, “I was wondering if there's a civilized place up this road.”

The store clerk rolled his eyes back at me and nodded without giving me a verbal answer. I shrug my shoulders and walk away from the table he was at and find Terrance with a big smile on his face. He got chips, energy drinks, candy and a whole lot of other things for us to eat. He stuffed the snacks in the backpack he found in the store and then told me to go get some cigarettes for the walk to the town I found out about.

“When I jump over the desk and bust open the glass case for the cigarettes, I want you to book it and I'll catch up to you alright?” I whispered to him and he patted me on the back and waited for his cue at the door.

I walk back over to the store clerk and smirk at him, before jumping over the desk he was standing behind. I punched him hard in the gut to knock the air out of him momentarily and take the nearest blunt object to break the glass casing filled with cigarettes. I take two packs of the kind my father always smoked and jumped back over the desk and ran out of the store. Terrance was already half way down the street before I heard someone scream “that store has been robbed!” I laughed and cheered as I caught up with Terrance.

We ran as fast as we can down the side of the busy road. It took us only about another thirty minutes to reach a civilized place. Hiding will be easy now since we're not out in the open like we were before. Terrance and I slow our running down as we walked through a town slowly taking in the new sight. I smell the sweet flowers that were blowing on the sides of the side walk and watched the green leaves gently fall to the ground. The wind blows around Terrance and I and I couldn't help but smile and jump around excitedly.

Terrance laughs, “There's the Spencer I grew up with!” he jumps around with me cheering his head off.

We both cheer and jump our way down the street until we found a park to stop at. I run across the street without looking both ways and almost get hit by a car who just beeped it's horn loudly at me. I flipped the person off and kept running with Terrance tagging along behind me. I look for an isolated spot in the park away from anybody else. I didn't want to have anything to do with other people, I don't really trust them. After looking around the park I found a huge tree to sit under and it's isolated in the corner of the park. I run over to it and wave Terrance down so he could join me. I smile and sit down on the bright, green grass and take a deep breath in. It smelt like it was freshly cut and I couldn't help but lay down on my back, staring at the light, blue sky with the sun shinning brightly in the corner.

Terrance tossed the backpack full of our food on my stomach and I involuntary jump an inch off the ground and groan. I remove the bag from my torso and sit up glaring at my best friend.

“Eat up!” he shouts with a smile plastered on his face as he tosses me a bag of chips.

I open up the potato chip bag and the aroma of the crisp goods fill up my nostrils. I smile as I try to remember the last time I even had a simple bag of chips. I start to dig in as Terrance nibbles on a snickers bar. We eat and drink in silence just taking in the peaceful atmosphere as we never truly experienced this before in our lives. We always lived around the lullabies of teenagers shouting at each other on the streets, the noises of the gunshots that were being fired around our heads, the shatters of glass hitting the floor as someone broke in to steal. Nothing was peaceful where Terrance and I used to live, we always had to look behind our backs.

When Terrance and I finished half the backpack filled with food, I pull out the cigarettes that I stole from that gas station. He pulls out his old man's lighter and hands it to him as I light up a cigarette and place it against my lips. I toss him the pack and the lighter so he could do the same and lay back down on my back staring at the sky once more. I puff away at the cigarette until it was gone down to the butt and flick it off in the grass. I reach in my pocket and pull out a small locked with a chain attached to it and open it up to see a picture of my family. I smile softly as a single tear rolls down the curve of my cheek. I miss them so much.

I close my eyes and clutch the locket in my hand as I let my mind drift again.

”Hey Terrance..” I whispered as we lay down on the dirty ground of the street. “See that dirt road over there?” I see his shadow nod in the darkness. “That's our escape right there, come on let's go home quickly and tell our families we found an escape.”

He slowly crawled backwards towards the way we came and I soon followed suit. We still couldn't be seen by anyone on the streets, we can't trust anyone we don't know. Even if they're innocent and probably have no idea they're in a gang infested town we can't help them. That's just how Terrance and I were raised on the streets.

Terrance and I were in the clear and we both ran towards our house that we soon don't have to call a home anymore. When we reached our house something didn't feel right. The atmosphere felt dead and cold and I couldn't shake the feeling that something happened when Terrance and I were gone.

“Shit, man I think something happened!” I shouted as I ran towards the front door and break it down with my foot. The smell of blood hit my face strong. “Oh my God!” I yelled as I found my twin sister on the floor covered in her own blood. She had a deep cut wound on her side near her vital organs. I start to tremble as I fall to my knees next to her. Terrance comes running in the house and freezes when he sees my sister dead on the floor.

“What the fuck happened man?” Terrance shouted as he stared wide eyed at Serena. I shook my head as tears fell from my eyes rapidly.

“I don't fucking know...but when I do find out who did this to my–,” I cut myself off as I realized something. “Shit Terrance Serena might not be the only one dead!”

I heard his breath get caught in his throat as he dashed through the house. I followed after him in a sprint and heard him shout. When I reached Terrance I fall backwards in shock. There in front of us were our parents..slaughtered in a sadistic way and thrown on top of each other. Terrance walked into the family room in shock as tears slowly fell down his face. He only moved his head to the side before I heard him scream again.

“The not only killed my parents...but they fucking killed my baby brother!” He shouted as he fell to his knees. “He was only nine fucking years old! Nine! His life barely began and now he's dead!”

I looked up to the ceiling of this beaten down house and let the tears fall down the curves of my cheeks. Terrance and I had to get out of here now or else we'd end up like our family did. After a few moments of crying over out losses Terrance and I had to carry our family outside where we buried them six feet under in one large whole in the ground. We prayed over them as we hoped they continue to watch over us as we made our great escape from this town. I took a locket of my sisters and cut a family photo to place in it so I could always remember them, Terrance did the same thing but stuck a photo of his family in his father's wallet. We walked out of the house and looked at the burials of our families one last time before turning around and heading for our escape route.

I jump up and wake myself up from my horrible little nap. The nightmare of losing my family keeps replaying in my mind as well as my dreams. It seems I could never catch a break from it. It filled me with regret for even leaving the house that day to find the stupid escape route Terrance and I took that night after we found our loved ones dead. I sit up from the grassy ground and wipe my eyes from the tears that were falling down in my sleep. Terrance looked at me and gave me a sad smile knowing that I had the nightmare again. He can read me like a book and I don't mind that he does, it makes me feel better.

“Spencer we have to find a place to stay for the night, it's getting dark and it looks like it's about to rain,” Terrance solemnly told me and I nodded, getting up from the ground and tossing the backpack over my shoulder. Terrance got up with me and we both started walking out of the park and down the street for a place to rest.

We walked for fifteen minutes until we were under a bridge that looked like nobody walked under much. We decided it'll be the perfect spot for us to sleep for the night. Terrance and I both dreaded sleeping, but we knew we had to if we wanted to continue walking this lonely road. I lay down on the cold concrete and close my eyes once more and drift off again letting sleep take over me.