The Differs

Capture

A loud boom rang through the old, rickety house. Out of instinct, my head shot from the floor and looked around, shaking in fear. Josh and Melody did as well, the three of us in sync. Footsteps pounded on the rotting wood of the house, each sound increasing my heart rate. Fear raced through our minds, and the three of us crawled to a dusty closet, clothes draping from hangers on the inside. We cramped ourselves in the corner of the closet, our knees to our chest. Hardly seeing the hallway outside of the room, I caught a glimpse of light drawing closer, the footsteps following. The light disappeared for a moment, then came back shining through our room. Three men, all in uniform, walked around the room, pointing their flashlights in all spaces. Goosebumps rose on my arm as one of the men neared our hiding place, the flashlight glimmering on the old, tattered clothing. He shuffled through the hanging shirts, then flashed his light on the shelf above. Sweat dribbled down my face, the eery suspense gnawing at my bones. The man paused, then did what we all hoped we he wouldn't do. On the opposite side of the closet, he pointed the flashlight, then slowly made his way to our side, carefully examining. The flashlight stopped on us, the sudden brightness blinding the three of us. I covered my eyes and the man called to the others.

"Aye, I found them over here!" The two other men looked in the closet at us, and the main officer tucked his flashlight out of sight.

"No, no, no, no," Josh balled his fists at his sides and glowered at the men. The lanky man on the left lifted Josh by his arm, yanking him off the ground. The blonde-haired boy thrashed at the officer, swinging his limbs in all directions and yelling at the top of his lungs, tears streaming down his face. The man to the right, who was a bit on the heavy side, lifted Melody up in the same, cruel way. Melody sobbed uncontrollably, her voice cracking. The main officer, built in his stature, went to grab my arm. I smacked his hand away, standing up on my own.

"Don't touch me," I said in disgusted, looking at the officer with bewilderment in my eyes. The lanky officer held Josh with both arms behind his back. He kicked and yelled, the officer getting impatient. Melody cried and cried, her voice becoming raspy. Soon, she also began kicking the officer that had her, and threw her fists at him. Both yelled, and Josh dropped to his knees in defeat, slamming his head against the ground in agony. To my surprise, Melody didn't stop. She continued hitting and kicking the chubby officer, clawing at his outfit and any exposed skin.

"Melody, stop! There's nothing we can do now, idiot!" I yelled at her, reaching for her arms. Before I could grab her, the main officer gripped his hands around my wrists, pulling me back.

"I cannot allow you to control her actions," he said angrily. I growled and tried twisting myself from his grip.

"What the hell are you doing?! I said not to fucking touch me!" I screamed at him, and writhed around. It was no use, he was too strong and Melody wasn't giving up. Her hand came down across the officers cheek, causing him to yell in surprise. Losing his patience, the man grabbed a gun from his belt, pointing it at Melody and demanding her to stop. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I continuously begged her to stop, still trying to wriggle from the grasp of the main officer.

"Melody, stop it now!" I yelled to the blonde-headed girl, but she ignored my comment. She went to go hit the officer again, but before she could reach him, a loud gunshot blistered my ear drums. I shook my head, a ringing noise. Looking up, my vision blurred, I saw Melody standing still in her last position. Then, she fell to the ground with a thud. Thick liquid flowed around her, and I realized that the officer had murdered her. The built man holding me let go, and I shoved him away, falling to my knees and covering my face in my hands. I sobbed uncontrollably, my stomach pushing in and out. I wiped my streaming tears and pat the limp body's back, stuttering to find my words.

"G-g-goodbye, g-goo-d fri-fr-iend," I finally spoke out. The guard touched my shoulder, trying to pull me up, I squeezed his hand and threw it away from me. I looked at the man as anger burner through my chest.

"I said, don't touch me, you selfish bastard," I growled angrily. I stormed out of the room, the three guards and Josh following closely behind. Josh pushed his officer away from him, and ran up next to me, putting a hand on my shoulder comfortingly. He wiped tears from his face as the two of us walked toward one of the officer vehicles.