Brainwashed

Crimson

Ava's POV

After leaving my temporary home, I had absolutely no clue where to go. I began walking around, not recognizing this area of town. It was getting dark quickly, and the temperature was dropping fast. The alleys were the only way that I knew that no one could find me, so I went through them. I gasped as an empty bottle cracked at my feet.

"Please, spare change little girl. Anything will do," an elderly man sitting next to a trash can rasped. I began to walk quicker through the damp alleyway. Everything looked a blurry as I turned back to face him, and then it all went black.

The next moment I woke, I was covered in blood that wasn't mine. The homeless man's lifeless body was next to me, with shattered glass around him. I knew that I was the reason that he was dead. I soon began sobbing against my knees. It's always my fault, always my fault.

After a few minutes I got up slowly. My head hurt and all I wanted to do was go back home. I didn't even know where home was anymore. For a long time I thought my home was with my family, but now I know that I would just put them in danger. More recently I viewed my home as the complex that Peter brought me to. Finn, Kimberly, and all the others there were so kind to me and I just left them. I miss Finn. I sighed and began walking back down the alley once again, now with a minor headache and a major heartache.

The next street over was deserted, thankfully. I was staring at the cracks in the sidewalk when I heard the sound of a news announcement over a television in a store window.

Here are the parents of the suspected murderer Ava Ray. My mother was crying on the television. My dad was trying to comfort her, but was obviously failing. I wish I could come back Mom, but I don't want to hurt you. She is considered to be incredibly dangerous. If seen, please call the number on your screen or 911 immediately.

A woman across the street that was watching the TV looked at the picture of me and then back at me with a concerned look. That was the time that I knew it was time to leave. I ran to the closest area I could find, an abandoned factory. This area was really run down and only used for big company offices. The factory looked to have once sold some type of clothing, as it was filled with posters of products. I found a nice little office near the back and hid behind a desk. Sleep finally caught up to me as I hid fearfully.

Finn's POV

After seeing the note that Kimberly left, I knew that I had to go find her. Before leaving, I went to go say goodbye to Ava, or at least try to convince her not to come with me. Upon entering her room I noticed a paper on her light pink sheets. After reading it, then rereading it just to make sure I wasn't seeing things, I knew where Kimberly was going and that I had to be there too.

I packed a few things but didn't really expect to be gone for long. Unlike Ava and Kimberly, I didn't leave a note. Kimberly couldn't have been too far ahead of me, so I started down the main road. If I was trying to not be found, where would I go? I looked over at the alleyways with certainty. The alleys are a complex system that run through the more run down and ghetto areas of town. I was positive that Ava had gone that way, and Kimberly followed.

A few hours later I finally caught up to Kimberly talking to an older Hispanic woman. She looked angry when she saw that I had followed her there.

"Finn! What in God's name are you doing here? I specifically said to not follow me. Your mother is going to be so worried! What am I going to tell her? That woman already hates me enough," Kimberly angrily ranted on. I honestly didn't care what my mother thought. All that mattered now was getting Ava back.

"Kimberly, we need to get Ava back! You can scold me later," I said quickly. The other woman looked at us like we were crazy.

"Ava es un asesino! Ella tiene que ir a la cárcel," the tan-skinned woman said in her native language. Both Kimberly and I looked at her in confusion.

"This woman seems to know where Ava went earlier, but I can't understand a thing she is saying," Kimberly explained. I gestured for the woman to continue on with what she was saying.

"Ava miró la televisión con ella en él y luego corrió de esa manera," she said in Spanish, pointing towards a shady looking building. We thanked her with the only Spanish we knew (gracias!) and quickly walked over. Inside the factory there was a few machines covered by white sheets that looked yellowish from aging. The factory was huge with so many different places to hide, so Kimberly and I started looking as soon as we got there.

I was looking around in some of the back offices when I saw a drop of scarlet red blood on a chair that looked like it had been moved recently. I held my breath as I looked around the desk that the chair belonged to. There, laying on the dark blue carpet was a blood-soaked Ava.