Ride with you

19

Alex chuckled and stood upright off the door frame, "You two realise I'm still here?" He sniggered, a smug look plastered on his face. Darryl stood up and turned around, making direct eye contact with Alex. He hesitated before sighing, "You two are trying to get out, aren't you?" Darryl nodded, "We don't belong here Alex, we are so much happier out there, even though we don't always have shelter and food isn't placed in front of us on a table, it's so much better," Alex chuckled, "Sounds great, you guys need help, don't you?" Darryl smiled, "If you don't mind," he chuckled awkwardly.
"Well you'll have to do it ASAP, they plan on moving Zak somewhere, they haven't even told me where..."
"Oh! Thank you so much, Alex!" Darry gushed as he engulfed Alex in a friendly hug. Alex smiled, "Right, we need to discuss what you planning on doing, this won't be easy," Zak and Darryl looked at each other then smiled, "I have a plan," declared Darryl.

***

The sky turned dark and the city slowly began to fall asleep. The clock in his room ticked midnight and he quickly opened his eyes. He stood up and opened his closet doors, taking out his packed backpack, his usual black and red hoodie and black jeans. He stepped out into the hall for a second and pressed his ear up against a wall. Silence. His parents were asleep. He walked back to his room and stuck the note he had written to his parents on the back of his door. He opened the window and a cold draft gushed into the room. He pulled his hoodie over his head and jumped out the window, his backpack dragging him downwards. As he ran through the streets, dogs began to bark and sometimes motion triggered light would turn on.

He made it to the hospital and it was incredibly quiet. The only people in the front room was a nurse, the receptionist and an older man on his phone. Darryl stepped towards the elevator and pressed a button, "Excuse me, where are you going at this time of night?" Asked the nurse, Darryl hesitated, "I'm going to gift something to my cousin, he has terrible night terrors and he forgot his favourite stuffed animal at home," stammered Darryl. The nurse sighed, "Right, go one then..."

The elevator doors opened on the fifth floor and he saw Alex waiting in the main room. "Darryl, your here. Quickly, let's go. I've already disconnected his heart monitor." The two quickly scampered to Zak's room and quietly opened the door. Alex stepped outside, "I'll go distracted whoever is down there, I know that the receptionist will most likely just be on her computer like usual." He closed the door slightly then looked at Darryl. He walked up to him and hugged his close friend. "I guess this is goodbye then. Stay safe out there." The two let go of each other and Alex once again walked back outside. He shut the door and Darryl listened as his soft footsteps eventually faded out. Darryl handed Zak a dark coloured hoodie and a pair of sweatpants. Zak quickly changed and grabbed his backpack. Alex had grabbed it from the storage a bit earlier and had brung it to him. The two walked out and quietly tiptoed to the stairs. The stairs led directly to the front door so they would be in the waiting room for no more than 3 seconds.

As they reached the bottom, they heard Alex's voice. Darryl peered around the corner and saw him taking part in small talk with the nurse. Darryl turned to Zak and pressed his finger up to his lips and let out a soft "shhh". They waited for a little until the nurse started laughing, the two immediately rushed to the door and burst out of it. The nurse stopped and raised an eyebrow, the only thing left was a door that was swinging back and forth. She shrugged and went back to her conversation.

***

Savana shifted in her sheets. She opened her eyes and yawned. "mmm honey, is the window open? It's so cold." Neil woke up, confused then shook his head, "No," he yawned and went back to sleep. Savana sighed and got up, putting her bathrobe on. She walked into the hallway and gently knocked on Darryl's door. "Darryl, hun, is your door shut?" No reply. She groggily reached for the door handle and opened the door. More cool air rushed into the hallway, she looked around the room and almost immediately she woke up. "NEIL! CALL THE POLICE! DARRYLS GONE!" She screamed.

***

Zak held onto Darryl's hand as the two walked through the city. "Don't worry, we should reach the gap in about 10 minutes," the older boy reassured. The two continued walking until they heard a car driving behind them. Darryl panicked and pulled Zak into the closest front yard, the two of them, hiding behind the hedge. The car slowly drove past, its sirens blaring, ruining the deep silence of the night. Suddenly, a voice erupted from the speakers of the vehicle, "Attention all. Two young boys are attempting to leave the city walls. They are both wearing dark colour hoodies, wearing backpacks, one is pale with auburn hair and the other is tan with dark colour hair. If spotted, please call the police." The two stayed still until they heard the car turn a corner. They began whispering to each other until they heard the light of the house behind them flick-on.

Darryl panicked and grabbed Zak's hand, lifting him to his feet. The two sprinted down the street as more lights began flicking on around them. They reached the end of the road, there was a small, fenced-off grass path at the end and Darryl jumped the fence. He turned around and helped Zak over. The two bounded down the path, their breath becoming heavy.

The fences around them began to slowly disappear as trees began to surround them. After running for a solid 3 minutes, they heard footsteps race towards them. Neither of the boys looked back as they ran. Shouting voices, footsteps and the light from flashlights started to follow them.

The two made it to the hole in the fence that was only covered by a pile of wood. Darryl shoved the wood out of the way and the two ducked under the fence. Once they were no less than 5 meters from the fence, they heard the wire clink together as people tried to climb underneath it. Zak took out a drawstring bag and held it in his hand as they ran, once they got far enough in the forest, he throw it on the ground and cried loudly into the night. His cry was met with a quick reply, a roar erupting in the distance. The men behind them slowed slightly as they looked around them. Zak grabbed Darryl's hand and held him close. The men's gaze turned towards the left of them as a low growl surrounded them. An animal emerged from the trees, it looked to be a tiger but was much larger than a regular one. The men looked up at it in awe and disbelief, Zak and Darryl took this as an opening. The two sprinted in the opposite direction, hand in hand, not looking back.