Unindentified

1. Running

He struggles to breathe, his chest feels tight like it's closing in on itself, it burns to breathe. A mixture of heavy rain, hot tears, and sweat make it difficult to see, his tattered t - shirt clings to his young malnourished frame, he's greasy brown locks sticks to his sweaty forehead. The neon lights from the nearby clubs and bars illuminate the busy downtown strip. He must keep running, his legs ache but he must keep moving, running as fast as his legs will carry him willing them not to give way. Despite the rain, the strip is full of people bumping into drunken party goers as they stumble home from a night of drinking and partying. Making a left he runs into a dark alley a playground for cheap sex, shady business dealings and home to the city's homeless.

He reaches a locked gate pulling at the chains hoping the chains will break loose. He can hear them they're getting closer, the hairs on the back of his neck stand on edge, the sound of the dogs make him fearful all he wants is to go home. He tries squeezing through the gap between the gate but the gap isn't wide enough, so he uses what little strength he has left and climbs over the locked gate running further into the alley and down into the unknown. Looking to see if they're behind him he stumbles and trips over a homeless man sleeping out in front of a dumpster.

"Watch it you little bastard!" The homeless man grumbles.

He falls to the ground, the ground is littered with garbage, crack pipes, broken bottles and used condoms. The smell of urine, cheap sex, and stale garbage blankets the air. Frightened and afraid he picks himself up leaning against a dumpster for support, the warm flow of blood trickles down his hand he winces in pain as he tries to leave hoping to find a way but every step he takes is agony. He looks down at his ankle it's bruised and throbbing so he limps to an empty space between two dumpsters. Sitting down he takes the opportunity to catch his breath and inspects the wound on his hand, broken glass sliced right through his hand, he winces in pain as he wipes away the tears from his eyes he rips the lower part of his tattered t-shirt and uses it to bandage his wound. He then covers himself with garbage bags in an attempt to hide, resting his back against the graffiti covered wall he looks up at the gloomy wet sky and closes his eyes. His thoughts take him home to his friends, to his school and to the mother and four siblings he left behind, he revels in his few moments of freedom.

He remembers the night they came to his home, it was late the air was thick and humid, his mother had sent him to bed along with his younger siblings. He remembers creeping out of bed trying not to wake up his siblings, he watched them through the gap between the door in the cramped bedroom he shared with his four siblings, the five of them one that one double bed. A well-dressed man is in his mother's bedroom they were laughing and drinking, music playing in the background the smell of tequila and cigarette smoke filled the air. He remembers two men that he recognized entering the room he was used to having strangers coming in and out of his home his mother was a woman of the night. He would watch as strangers would come and go keeping watch, and if a customer refused to pay or became violent he would run out carrying a baseball bat and intervene. Being the eldest he felt it was his responsibility to protect his mother and younger siblings which usually lead to a broken arm, a couple bloody noses and a black eye or two but, that never phrased him he was always determined to protect his family no matter the cost.

The man with his mother was different from her regular customers, he was used to seeing business men, older men, area boys, and once in a while a one or two tourists. From what he could tell the man was American the other two were not they looked just like him, the American man wore an expensive suit and wore thick rimmed glasses he was tall and skinny. His friend Sonny had warned him about foreigners and how they weren't to be trusted, shortly after that Sonny disappeared. Sonny's disappearance had him on edge because two of the men standing in his mother's bedroom, hung around his school offering kids bottles of coke cola and candy. They seemed like really cool guys because they would chat with the kids and sometimes offer to let them sit in their car and listen to music, he and Sonny had been approached by the men a few times and sometimes they would let him sit in the drivers seat of their car and take the car out for a drive around the area. He heard that a few of the older boys did odd jobs for the men in exchange for money, food, clothes, drugs and sometimes a place to stay.