Chasing the Stars

The Fight

I woke up as dawn approached. Silently packing up my tent, I made my way through the frost covered forest, treading carefully to avoid breaking fallen branches. The air was crisp and fresh, and the stench of the bombing was all but gone, replaced by the petrichor from the storm yesterday, which was so strong that you tasted it in your lungs.

As I made it out to the field I noticed two figures walking from the direction of the road. A young boy was dragging his feet through the grass, staring off into the darkness longingly, as if it was the place he called home. As he looked over to the girl walking by him, I recognized them. Drat! How am I going to get away now? Before I had the chance to scamper, Lizzy spotted me.

"Hey, what are you doing out here at this time of day?" she shouted across the field, before running toward me, pulling Nico along with her. Her eyes were gleaming, smile plastered on her face and as she got closer, I noticed shopping bags in her arms.

"I am leaving." I stated, hoping she'd let me leave without too much of a fuss.

"Oh already" she said, disappointment crossing her face, "I was hoping to get to know you better. I would come with you, but Nico doesn't want to leave his cousins, even if he doesn't like them that much." Nico looked down, suddenly distracted by a drop of blood on his knuckles.

"So what did you buy?" I asked.

"Oh, just food and supplies, and a book on mythology for Nico." She answered, ruffling his hair, which he flinched away from it.

"Cool." I muttered, "I guess this is goodbye."

"I guess this is." She whispered, stepping forward into a hug, her arms wrapped warm around me, and the smell of strawberries wafting from her hair. And that's when I realized that despite the short period of time I knew these kids, I was going to remember them, because they have been the closest I've ever to friends except for my siblings. But I made my decision; I needed to find my family.

I pulled back after a minute.

"May we meet again." Nico said, his voice an oxymoron of soft and croaky. It surprised me. I'd never heard him talk, and Lizzy seemed just as surprised as me.

"May we meet again" I said, bending down to be his height. And I did hope I would see them again, but for now it was goodbye. My family needed me. And with that I walked into the forest, leaving The Runners behind; not looking back

I kept walking. Be strong. You'll get home was what I kept repeating in my head; but would I? Would I get lost? Was I strong enough? Did I make the right decision to leave Berlin, to leave the Runners? I guess I'd find out. Life is as it is, and sometimes the hardest choices are the better ones. Sometimes we have to choose between the easy way and the right way, but I was starting to question if there was a way at all.

Stumbling through the forest I noticed a blue car, covered in moss, broken. Is this the car Luke disappeared to? My feet were killing me, so I decided that this would be an excellent time to rest my legs and take a break. The car gave off a pungent odour, of mould and petrol, and felt oddly slimy to the touch. I climbed into the broken car, banging my head on the roof, and sat down. I took out my map and estimated I was around a 13 hour walk from Leipzig. As I started drawing a route on my map, I heard loud shouts and scampering feet.

What was happening? I ducked down into the car as Evan and Luke sprinted past, closely followed by Carmilla and Susan. Where were Lizzy and Nico? I debated whether to run or stay; but my decision was made for me as Lizzy, pulling Nico, stumbled past, tripping and falling. Two men appeared from nowhere grabbing Lizzy and Nico off the ground by their collars. They gasped for air.