The Runaway

Chapter 3

Violet rode on buses for what seemed like forever and only took short stops for food and bathrooms. She planned on traveling to the halfway point of the journey, Nebraska, but she was spending way too much on bus tickets and only had about five hundred left in her wallet. That was when she decided on stopping in Illinois. Besides, she needed a break from sleeping on buses all the time. She stepped off the bus when it came by a grocery store and then bought the cheapest snacks she could find: a bag of chips, juice, bread, and cookies. It was hard to believe that the snacks she raided from her kitchen were almost all gone. Violet hesitated at the self-checkout when there was a box of mints, but then added it to her cart anyway. She did bring along a toothbrush and toothpaste, but even that would eventually run out. Suddenly, she felt guilty when she saw the receipt. Twenty dollars wasn't a lot compared to how she lived a few days ago, but now she truly needed the money. After her purchase, she found a bench nearby and ate some bread. From where Violet was seated, she could view skyscrapers and the city-life in the distance. It had to be Chicago, the place she used to dream of visiting as a child. Too bad she didn't have time to hang around for a while...but what was the rush? Violet stopped to think.

"If he really isn't in danger, shouldn't I be able to relax?" she mumbled to herself. No, she thought. There wasn't a lot to spend or a place to stay and she also wasn't planning on being homeless forever. Plus, she wanted to find him as soon as possible. While Violet was lost in her thoughts, she hadn't realized she already finished eating.

There was a wave of smoke in the bright sky as she continued walking. Sure enough, there was a factory up ahead. The closer she got, the clearer the trucks came into sight. To her surprise, the gates were completely unlocked and the factory held five trucks, each with different destinations labeled on the back. Violet was lucky because one was headed straight for California which was closest to Oregon. She scanned the empty area for any employees, opened the back of the truck, and hopped in. It was like a castle of stacked boxes inside of there, but that was better for her to hide. A few hours later, she was well concealed behind a wall of boxes when the door in front of her opened. She held her breath, hoping the person didn't have to take down any boxes from the back. It was a relief when the door slammed shut and the truck started to move. The truck would travel and stop a couple of times, but no one ever checked up on the boxes. When the truck stopped for more than thirty minutes, she figured it was already nighttime. She carefully stepped out from the boxes, trying not to topple any over. The real struggle was trying to lift the door up silently. Thankfully, Violet was a small person and the door didn't need to fly up very high in order for her to slip out.

The freezing air felt good after being stuck in a hot truck for hours. The moon shined on the gas station in front of her and there were other trucks and trailers scattered everywhere. She was certain it was a rest stop and walked into the gas station to use the restroom. Violet brushed her teeth and combed her messy new hair, which surprisingly suited her a lot more. On her way out, she spotted a sign that read Iowa. There was still a long way to go. There was also a mess of newspapers taped on the walls and when she looked closely, it was a list of the most recent missing teens. It definitely wasn't a shock to find herself included on the list.

"Great, I have to get out of here," she whispered softly. Back on the truck she went. She slept on the uncomfortable metal surface and endured her back pain. At least the truck kept her warm, or otherwise she'd be freezing by now. About two weeks had past, and it was still the same routine. Hide, eat, sneak out, and sleep. The truck stopped one day, but this time, the door opened. Her heart was beating fast as she ducked down to remain hidden. Was this the final stop? Was she in California? The driver was starting to pick out boxes one by one. Oh my god, she thought. She started to panic. What was she supposed to do? With courage, she decided to jump out and run. Violet knocked over the entire wall of boxes, causing the driver to jump. She could see him now. He was a middle aged blonde man who had never looked so scared in his life. She chuckled as she flew right past him and kept running until the vehicle was out of sight.

Where the hell was she? Lost, that's what she was. The air was more breezy now than it was before, and citizens and water filled her surroundings. After seeing all the tourists and signs, it came to her realization that she was standing in San Francisco, California. There was no mistaking the Piers and the shops she saw. It was beautiful, and she couldn't believe she was actually standing there.

It wasn't a bad thing when she stuck around this time because Oregon was closer now, and finding directions was going to take a while. She also needed to rest and distract herself, which was best to do in a place like San Francisco.

After a while of exploring the city and trying cheap foods, she couldn't find any trucks to Oregon. That gave her one last option. She had to hitchhike. Violet had never done it before, so who knew if it would work? She tried anyway and  found a road, put out her thumb and hoped someone was on a trip to Oregon as well. It took an hour of standing there for a van to finally notice her.

"Where are you going?" A young brunette who's face was packed with makeup popped out of the window.

"Portland, Oregon," Violet replied.

The girl started to laugh. "That's funny because I'm actually going to Las Vegas for New Years. I think I could drop you off near Oregon."

Violet had forgotten that it was New Years. She was too caught up in her mission and even forgot Christmas, despite the Christmas decorations surrounding her.

"That would be great. Thanks." Violet said. She sat in the passenger seat as they drove away.