Human Nature
Chapter 3
'Flashing blue and red lights seem to follow us everywhere,' I mused. Tess squirmed in her sleep as the lights flashed over her eyelids. I brushed a stray piece of her sandy brown hair back from her face and her blue hazel eyes flickered open.
"Sorry Tessa, go back to sleep," I murmured and stroked the side of her pale cheek until she closed her eyes and her breathing slowed. Pretty Tess, I thought. We may have been twins, but everyone always seemed to notice Tess before me. Not that I held that against her. It just was true. Tessa was charismatic, they said, always moving, fluxuating.
That is, until our parents died. Then she just lost it, becoming quiet and reserved. I had to step up, and be the big sister. And when they tried to separate us by giving us to two different foster homes I was the one that found her and got us to run away.
The lights were coming around again, only this time, they seemed to circle even slower around the abandoned house. I felt Tess tense next to me and her eyes open yet again. I held her hand and she put her head in my lap, her breathing irregular and quick. But the lights were gone again, probably making another round around the block.
"I don’t feel safe here Della, can we go? Please?" Tess asked tearfully. She hadn’t slept well in days, and Tess always got whiny if she hadn’t slept.
"Wait until that car comes around again, then we’ll leave." I pulled her out of the crawl space in the living room that we had slept in for nearly two nights. We held onto each other and rose on unsteady legs.
"Where are we gonna go Dell?" She queried, her head on my shoulder.
"I don’t know, I’m thinking. Be on your toes, that cop car will be coming around any minute now," I whispered into her ear. She nodded, her mouth set in a determined line. I knew she was thinking exactly what I was thinking right now. Please don’t let us be caught. The lights flashed through the grimy window of the abandoned house once again, only this time, they stayed where they were. A deep male voice yelled out unintelligible words and was answered by a higher pitched, female voice. The car doors slammed, and my blood turned to ice as I realized they were going to check the house.
"Tess, let’s go, we’ll get out through the basement window!" But Tess was frozen with fear. I clenched my jaw in anger and smacked her upside the head.
"Do you want to be caught? Get your lazy ass over here!" I said in a deadly, but quiet voice. She seemed to come back to me then, and her eyes shone with some of their old fire. I crawled along the ground under the window so as not to be seen and heard her follow. Once I was clear of the window I ran head on down the stairs to the basement door. The rickety old stairs cracked and snapped with the effort of supporting my weight, but it was Tessa’s unsteady footing that broke a stair. Her foot went right through it, sending an earsplitting crack through the silent night air.
I threw her a death glare and heard the front door of the house shudder open. I dove down into the basement and felt my way in the dark, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the complete blackness. A slight glow in the side of the basement told me where the window was. I made my way carefully over to it, and heard Tess suppress a shriek as she made contact with what I knew must of been a rat.
"Shhhhhh. Come here. We'll get out this way," I soothed. I found the latch to the window and shoved it up, opening the window. I gave Tess a leg up and she eased herself out onto what I knew was soft grass. I followed with a little less success, whacking my head on the windowsill on my first try. The dappled moonlight nearly blinded me after almost two days of darkness. I looked around for Tess and saw her a few feet away grappling with someone on the ground.
"Tess!" I screamed and threw myself on top of the offending person. The person smelled like honeysuckle and violets and I guessed it was the woman polce officer I heard earlier. I disregarded this and walloped her around the head with all of my strength, surprised when her body gave out from under me. Once again I was nearly blinded, but this time with a flashlight. Someone, I assumed it was the male police officer, grabbed me from behind and locked my arms around my back. I struggled, smacking him with my head and shoulders.
“You’d better quit it, we’ve already got your friend, and I don’t think you want to go anywhere without her,” He whispered in my ear, his breath hot against my neck. I stopped trying to get away immediately. The man twisted me around sharply and grinned at me sheepishly.
“So you’re the girl that’s been keeping us up all night,” He stopped smiling and looked at a point behind me.
“Well,” His smile was even wider now, “That’s irony,” He turned me around again. The woman I had decked was half carrying, half dragging Tess. She stopped a few paces away and gaped at me, as I gaped right back. The cops were twins too.
"Sorry Tessa, go back to sleep," I murmured and stroked the side of her pale cheek until she closed her eyes and her breathing slowed. Pretty Tess, I thought. We may have been twins, but everyone always seemed to notice Tess before me. Not that I held that against her. It just was true. Tessa was charismatic, they said, always moving, fluxuating.
That is, until our parents died. Then she just lost it, becoming quiet and reserved. I had to step up, and be the big sister. And when they tried to separate us by giving us to two different foster homes I was the one that found her and got us to run away.
The lights were coming around again, only this time, they seemed to circle even slower around the abandoned house. I felt Tess tense next to me and her eyes open yet again. I held her hand and she put her head in my lap, her breathing irregular and quick. But the lights were gone again, probably making another round around the block.
"I don’t feel safe here Della, can we go? Please?" Tess asked tearfully. She hadn’t slept well in days, and Tess always got whiny if she hadn’t slept.
"Wait until that car comes around again, then we’ll leave." I pulled her out of the crawl space in the living room that we had slept in for nearly two nights. We held onto each other and rose on unsteady legs.
"Where are we gonna go Dell?" She queried, her head on my shoulder.
"I don’t know, I’m thinking. Be on your toes, that cop car will be coming around any minute now," I whispered into her ear. She nodded, her mouth set in a determined line. I knew she was thinking exactly what I was thinking right now. Please don’t let us be caught. The lights flashed through the grimy window of the abandoned house once again, only this time, they stayed where they were. A deep male voice yelled out unintelligible words and was answered by a higher pitched, female voice. The car doors slammed, and my blood turned to ice as I realized they were going to check the house.
"Tess, let’s go, we’ll get out through the basement window!" But Tess was frozen with fear. I clenched my jaw in anger and smacked her upside the head.
"Do you want to be caught? Get your lazy ass over here!" I said in a deadly, but quiet voice. She seemed to come back to me then, and her eyes shone with some of their old fire. I crawled along the ground under the window so as not to be seen and heard her follow. Once I was clear of the window I ran head on down the stairs to the basement door. The rickety old stairs cracked and snapped with the effort of supporting my weight, but it was Tessa’s unsteady footing that broke a stair. Her foot went right through it, sending an earsplitting crack through the silent night air.
I threw her a death glare and heard the front door of the house shudder open. I dove down into the basement and felt my way in the dark, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the complete blackness. A slight glow in the side of the basement told me where the window was. I made my way carefully over to it, and heard Tess suppress a shriek as she made contact with what I knew must of been a rat.
"Shhhhhh. Come here. We'll get out this way," I soothed. I found the latch to the window and shoved it up, opening the window. I gave Tess a leg up and she eased herself out onto what I knew was soft grass. I followed with a little less success, whacking my head on the windowsill on my first try. The dappled moonlight nearly blinded me after almost two days of darkness. I looked around for Tess and saw her a few feet away grappling with someone on the ground.
"Tess!" I screamed and threw myself on top of the offending person. The person smelled like honeysuckle and violets and I guessed it was the woman polce officer I heard earlier. I disregarded this and walloped her around the head with all of my strength, surprised when her body gave out from under me. Once again I was nearly blinded, but this time with a flashlight. Someone, I assumed it was the male police officer, grabbed me from behind and locked my arms around my back. I struggled, smacking him with my head and shoulders.
“You’d better quit it, we’ve already got your friend, and I don’t think you want to go anywhere without her,” He whispered in my ear, his breath hot against my neck. I stopped trying to get away immediately. The man twisted me around sharply and grinned at me sheepishly.
“So you’re the girl that’s been keeping us up all night,” He stopped smiling and looked at a point behind me.
“Well,” His smile was even wider now, “That’s irony,” He turned me around again. The woman I had decked was half carrying, half dragging Tess. She stopped a few paces away and gaped at me, as I gaped right back. The cops were twins too.
♠ ♠ ♠
comments?