Escape

Moving Out

As they say, out of the frying pan, into the fire. I dash around the apartment one last time making sure I didn't leave anything important. Even though I had only been here for a short while, I would miss this place. The living room, where I slept with Ryker and woke up with my new family. The kitchen, where Cade and I talked, I ate, and flipped off Jason. The hallway where I saw... Jason half naked? Maybe not the best memories. But still amazing. I sigh, making my way into the dark gloomy hallway and close the door. So many memories. So many memories of the best days of my life. I quickly make my way downstairs and into the dark street, illuminated with a few lamp posts.

"You ready?" Ryker speaks gruffly. Leaving obviously annoys him. He's been acting this way since this morning. Cold and somewhat sad. The pit viper pushes past him with a depressed expression, yet it only flashes across her face for a moment.

"Yeah." I mumble as the blonde hands me my bags. I pull the weight into my arms so I can hold them comfortably and look at Cade. She's smiles at me shyly. If I was going to miss this place, I can't imagine how the others felt. A cough is heard from the left and my vision whips around to see the tall raven haired man.

"From the looks of it, people have been running off to the woods near Laketown. There's a train that heads up there around seven. The train station is a few miles away but if we take the alley's it won't take to long." Jordan explains, he'd obviously done this before. Sheila steps forward, a quizative look on her face.

"And how exactly are supposed to get on the train without tickets?" She asks. We all look at him with wonder as a smirk spreads across his face.

"You don't need tickets for a cargo train." My heart drops. If we don't get there on time, I'm gonna have to jump onto the train, which is not something I want to do. I've jumped onto and off of one to many fast moving vehicles. The handsome dark skinned man known as Jordan chuckles a little at the freaked out looks on the rest of our faces.

"Well then we'd better get going." His excitement towards this surprises me but I get over it once we start walking through the alleys.

"So... what is your connection to the Imperium again?" I ask Sheila. We'd been walking for a few hours. Jason and Scout were up front while Jordan and Ryker talked, leaving Sheila, Cade and I to be in the rear.

"How can I tell you again if I never told you once?" Sheila asks, mind blown at my proposal. Cade laughs at the look I give her, causing the dark haired girl to grow even more confused. Not able to look at Sheila in embarrassment, I see that Jordan and Scout switched places. Jordan and Jason's heads are together in low tones, and so are Ryker and Scout's. The thing that catches me the most is that Scout and Ryker's hands are clasped together, their fingers braided together. I smile inwardly. I look back at Sheila and continue.

"You know what I mean." I insist. From the look on her face, she doesn't know what I mean. But she ignores that fact and tells us. Her eye rushes to look at her brother and goes back to Cade and I.

"A few years ago, our parents died in a plane crash. We were devastated. Lost. Our grandparents were dead and we were too young to live alone. So we ran. We ran until we could run anymore. And we met a man. He was kind and sweet. Old, but kind. We told him the story. We thought he'd turn us in, but he didn't. Instead he told us about where he was from. Something called the Imperium. 

"He said he was impressed with our smarts and thought we'd make a good addition to his cult thing. Because we had nowhere to go, we joined. And we were praised. We worked with some of the top leaders. And we loved it. Until, well we visited a facility. It was terrible what they did to the children. And we were a key factor in it. So we ran. Again. And we moved across the street from you guys. And that is my story. Done." She speaks the whole story monotone. Cade and I look at each other, eyebrows raised.

"Wow, that's a great story." I force sarcastically.

"Seth!" Cade scolds.

"What I said it was a great story!"

"You know exactly what I mean." She growls. With that I shut up, unwilling to face her piercing blue eyes any longer. The girl next to her laughs.

"Don't worry. I won't take offense. I know my life isn't half as bad as yours. But it still gives me a reason to fight. And that's all I need." Her words settle in my brain. Fight. I had always thought that, for some reason, once I'd escaped, I would be done. That I'd live my life In peace. But the Idea that even leaving the facility wasn't escaping never even was triggered. Now I'm on the run, in even more danger than before.

"We're here. Keep it down." Jason whispers. All of the talking stops as we watch his movements waiting for a reason to move. "Give me a sec." He says before disappearing. We all just stand there for a few minutes until he comes back. "Coast's clear. Head to the back train car. Go go go." He ushers. I follow behind Jordan and into the open air of the train station. It's deathly quiet. The lights from the train mean the crew is on board, but where are the security guards?

My question is answered when one of the lamp posts illuminates a knocked out figure. Actually a few. Oh Jason. Is all I think as my foot splashes in a puddle. Due to the fact that the train station is outside, and It's dark, there is water everywhere, which makes it hard not to slip. None the less we make it to the last train car and Ryker disappears into it first, followed by Scout, Jordan, Cade and Sheila. I jump into the dark car and jump slightly when the door swings shut. There's an eerie moment of silence in the dark until the sound of a match being lit is heard and a dim light illuminates the musty train car. The shadows from the lamp Jordan holds gives a ghostly feel to my friends.

"Everyone on?" He asks slowly. We all nod and he sets the lamp down on the floor. Jason slides down the wall and sits.

"Better get comfortable. It's a 12 hour ride." 12 hours, great. Sheila and Cade reenact his action and lay down. Eventually Scout and Ryker do the same, after what seems to be hushed argument, but with them, who knows. And once everyone's comfortable, I lie down as well. And slip into my dreams.