THE THINGS I NEEDED TO SEE

Alone

Being outside of the community felt like a crime. Nothing was threatening, the trees stood tall and the grass was lush. I could hear bugs all around us as we walked further away from our home. The sun was hidden by clouds, thunder was pounding the sky. It was beautiful, everything was new to me now. It's nothing like my home, being outside of my community made me feel like I was on a different planet. Time didn't seem to exist out here. This guy has already helped me so much, I couldn't think of a way to thank him besides say it.

"Thank you for getting me out of there and taking me with you" I announced.

I was about to continue before he cut me off.

"You're not staying with me and I don't do anything for free" he interrupted.

I didn't have anything with me. I was puzzled. I couldn't help him with anything if he wanted to go separate ways. Fear started taking over my body, reminding me that he was a stranger and there was no one to help me besides myself.

"Listen, I just need you to stay here for about 30 minutes, then go in a completely different direction from me." he ordered in a stern tone.

"That's all?" I replied back.

"If the guards decide to search for us, your trail will be more recent than mine" he explained.

Unbelievable, so now I'm gonna be screwed pretty much. I know we don't have to stick together, but this isn't how I wanted things to go, all I was trying to do was hide from my mom.

"You know I didn't mean to mess up your little plan. Honestly, you ruined mine." I muttered.

His face turned red and he got closer to me. His face inches from mine. I regretted saying that instantly.

"YOU DID NOT HAVE A PLAN!" he shouted.

I turned away from him. He's right, I didn't.

"Well, hurry up and leave so I don't have to wait here any longer than I have to." I blurted.

He laughed at me, which made me want to yell at him. I could hear his footsteps as he walked away from me.

"YOU WON'T LAST OUT HERE!" he yelled from the distance.

I couldn't trust anyone, not even if they were an old classmate. It would be easier to let him go and not have to worry about a random person killing me or blaming me for things I had no control over. I saw him slowly fade into the forest and he was gone. I'm not going to be a sitting target for 30 minutes, so I started walking into the forest. I made sure not to go in the same direction as him. I know I had made a rude comment, but I could care less. In time, the rain started to pour down as I kept going. This forest felt endless. I packed nothing, all I had were my clothes. The trees made it darker outside. I couldn't really see anything. The sun was going to set soon and I had no shelter. Maybe I was freaking out over nothing. My mom could've been hurt and I ran from her, but she wasn't acting rational. She has my dad too. He's probably worried about me. I would be arrested if I went back, so being out here is better than that. The mud was making me annoyed as I was walking. So I stood still and took a deep breath. My hands covered my face as I cried. I felt crazy. I eventually fell into the mud, not caring about it anymore. While lying on my back, I looked up at the sky. Thinking nothing could be worse than this, I was wrong. Someone was screaming in the distance. I got up fast and it's no surprise I started running again. It sounded like it was a woman, so it couldn't have been the guy I met. The forest grew thicker the further I went into it. Branches and vines were scratching almost every part of my body. I pushed myself to keep going. The sun was gone by now. I had no sense of direction anymore. I could feel the mud start to harden and the trees clear. I was on a road, in the distance there was a small building. With a little hope of finding something useful inside, I made my way towards it. A couple of cars were sitting by some gas pumps. I knew this building was going to be locked, but I tried pulling the door open, then I tried pushing it. Nothing. My eyes began searching for something heavy to throw at the glass doors. The moonlight was able to help ever so slightly. The right side of the building seemed promising. Trash cans were scattered and a few bricks were left out. I bent down and picked up two bricks, one for each hand. Just in case one didn't break the glass. Throwing these bricks wasn't going to be fun, it was gonna be loud. I stood at the entrance of the gas station.

"Okay 1...2....3...." I said to myself.

One of the bricks flew out of my hand and the door fell apart. I only needed one brick. I grinned a little. As I moved forward I could hear the glass break under my shoes. There wasn't much on the shelves and whatever is left probably isn't edible anymore. The moonlight didn't reach far into the gas station. I went over to the check-out counter to look through the lighters. None of them except for two worked. My thumb became a little raw from flicking the lighters so much. So my search inside of the gas station began with a lighter leading the way. I found an old beach bag on the floor. It's not the most convenient bag to carry on the run, but it'll work. A few old bottles and some bandaids made it into my bag. This gas station was starting to feel like a waste of time. I bent down by the front door and listened to the outside world. My ears could hear static mixed with crickets singing near by. There was no more screaming. I didn't think other people were around or at least close to me. It's possible the noise from the glass wasn't heard. It might be safer for me to stay in the gas station for the night. I started moving a display for sunglasses in front of the broken entrance. Will it actually protect me? Probably not, but it makes me feel like it will. Slowly, I walked behind the check-out counter to lay down on the floor that felt like ice. My body started to relax and my eyes felt heavy. I hope I don't have any nightmares tonight.