Living on the Run

Hitch Hiker

     ???'s POV:

It was no later then we made it onto an isolated highway. I can tell this goes on forever, with no town or people in sight. I was walking us along the sidelines, getting pretty tired at this point. I had no idea how long I've been trudging along the highway, but I was getting rather irritated and hungry. Not to mention thirsty. 

    Each step took a lot of energy after what seemed a couple hours, but felt like eternity. That was when I remembered there was a box of cookies stuffed in this hoodie. I pulled it out; it was rather smashed now. But I did not care as I greedily shoved them down my throat. My throat was rather dry from lack of fluids now, so the cookies were hard to swallow. Also, due to dehydration and just general tiredness, they tasted sweeter than before. When the box was empty, I tossed it on the ground and smashed it with my feet angrily. 

    'I'll never get to find that boy!' I thought bitterly. I took out the knife that was resting in one of my pockets, touching the tip and glad to know how sharp it was. Oh, how I imagined how I'll gut Jeff with this beautiful knife. 

    Like I said, the road never seemed to end. I could feel Liu in the subconscious trying to fight. I chuckled, knowing he was not strong enough. But even at this moment, I was not feeling strong enough. From the sides of the highway, where the woods remain, I could hear owls hoot in the distance. The moon was now overcast by the clouds, leaving me in almost complete darkness. 

    I was thinking of giving up for the night and laying low in the woods, but that was when a miracle happened. A loud truck could be heard in the distance behind me. The fact that it was a black truck in this dark night made it almost impossible to spot, but of course the headlights made it noticable. I stood by the edge of the road, my thumb sticking up for a ride. Just as the truck passed by me, I cursed profanities underneath my breath. But then the truck began to back up till it was by my side. The window pulled down to see an old man smoking a cigarette gazing down at me. I couldn't read his expression due to the darkness surrounding us. I tugged on my scarf around my face nervously as I waited for him to speak. 

    "Where are you headed off to, son?" He asked simply. 

     "Just the nearest town." 

      "That's many miles away," the man stated. "But I'm headed that way anyways, so hop on in, I guess." He took the cigarette out of his mouth and tossed it out his side of the window. 

     This man looked pretty sketchy. Not to mention he smells disgusting from smoking. But this is my best option at the moment. Therefore, I nodded and allowed myself into the truck, and we headed off onto the highway, going north it seems. 

    We started off in comfortable silence. But I could feel the man give me sideway glances. I checked again to make sure my stitches were hidden as I fixed the scarf around my face. Then an hour into the ride, the man began his questioning. 

     "What is a young boy like you doing here anyways?" He asked noisily. 

      "Got kicked out of the orphanage," I lied nonchalantly.

       "Why so?" 

         "Not enough budgets and I was the oldest child there." 

        "Sounds rough." I nodded along. Then more silence... later followed by more questions. This man pisses me off. 

         "Do you know where you are headed? Got any plans?" 

       "I have a friend who got adopted where we are heading. I am going to stay with them." Of course more lies.... I have no family nor friends. 

    "What's the town called? I can drop you off straight there." I do not know enough what town I came from, nor even what place we are headed to. If I do not give this man an answer, I'll look even more suspicious. I had to do something, and fast, to make this guy shut up. 

    Without a second thought, I grabbed my knife and plunged it into this stinky man's throat. He was totally caught by surprise, breaking the car unexpectedly and letting go of the steering wheel. The car spun in circles as the man held around his neck, trying to stop the bleeding. I, on the other hand, grabbed onto the steering wheel, trying to avoid crashing into the woods. Once the car stopped spinning, I took off my seatbelt and lunged at the man, stabbing him some more. I did not stop till his eyes rolled back into his skull. I was panting heavily from the short adrenaline rush rushing through my veins. 

    I put the car in break and stepped out of the vehicle. No one was still on this highway, thankfully, to witness my first murder with this knife. I was fuming with anger... Jeff should have been the first person. I walked around to the dead man's side of the truck, opening the door. I took his seatbelt off and pushed him out of the car with all my might. He flopped onto the ground, and you could hear the thud of his impact. I rolled him to the side of the highway, but that was not till I checked his pockets for items that could be useful. There was a beer can opener and lighter in one pocket, and a hefty wallet in another. I kept the cash from the wallet and the lighter and threw the beer can opener into the woods. Then I dragged the old, heavy man into the woods, where he was out of sight from the highway. Believe it or not, it took me about half an hour to drag him away. Then I ignited the wallet with the lighter, being sure to put it out before jumping into the driver's seat of the car. 

    Dusk seemed to be approaching us, so there was no time to waste. I never learned how to drive a car, but I played those racing games in arcades a couple times. How hard could it be?

.... never mind. It was a LOT harder than you think. To my benefit, the highway was still empty of other vehicles. But before long, I kind of got the hang of it, as in I can at least drive, but I kept hoovering into the other lane. If there were other cars, I'm sure I would have been in a car crash by now. 

    This man really was right, from the previous town to the next, it was a long distance. I would have hardly made a dent in my travels if I had to walk by foot. But eventually, I seemed to be reaching a town. I drove the vehicle into the woods and ditched it before arriving into town. Now it was about very early morning; I could hear the early birds chirping. 

   I was aching all over, and I could barely keep my eyes open. Thankfully, the dead man had a change of clothes that was not tainted with his blood, so hopefully I will be able to navigate through this new town without passersby giving the usual odd stares since... that incident. Once again, fuming with anger! 

   The town was much bigger and more advanced than the previous town. A few people were already out and about on the streets. I was extremely fatigued at this point, and I could feel Liu getting stronger inside. I had to find a place to rest pronto. Luckily, a motel was situated on the outskirts of the unknown town, so I swifty made my way towards the entrance. 

   A young, but tired woman was sitting behind a counter in the lobby. She looked like she was going to fall asleep any minute now. I rung the small bell to grab her attention. 

    "Hello, one room please." I asked politely. 

     She just nodded carelessly as she passed me a room key. "How many days?" she drawled. 

     "Perhaps for the day." I smiled charmily. 

      "That will be $45." It was just my luck that my second victim had quite a lot of money in his stolen wallet, or else I would be in trouble. I handed over the money and walked away towards my room, which was room number 254. As the elevator seemed broken, I took the steps up to the second floor, searching for my room. 

    Once inside the room, I crawled under the bedsheets, not checking to see if their were any rats or cockroaches... you never know. Then I passed out right then and there.