Twelve hours and three Panadols later....
It was Tuesday morning. It was the end of one of Daniel's worst nights.
He'd lost count of the number of times he'd broken out in a cold sweat and the number of times he'd curled up into a ball and groan. Not to mention popping half a Panadol about every two hours. He'd not gotten much sleep, and neither had Edward.
Although the pain had lessened, it wasn't completely gone. It was still there, though just a light drumming. He could cope with that. He was no stranger to pain. His father had made sure of that.
The sun was just rising above the treetops as Daniel emerged out of the bomb shelter. A cool breeze wafted by, sending a shiver through him. The air was deliciously silent and fresh, and only occasionally disturbed by a cricket.
Daniel took a moment to admire the picturesque scene: the grass dancing in the wind, the golden fingers of the sun slanting across trees, leaving a slash of gold against brilliant green, the sky streaked with pinkish orange.
Edward clambered out after him, yawning. "Why are we up so early?"
"I want to visit my sister."
Edward rolled his eyes. "She won't be up so early, chillax. And what if there's a repeat of yesterday's incident?"
**********
"Hey, you! Boy!"
Daniel froze as the voice echoed in the empty hallway.
He turned and saw one of the policemen approaching.
Should I run?
"Boy! Are you from High Oaks Middle School?" The policeman stopped in front of him.
Daniel nodded. "Do you know Daniel? The boy who ran away from home?"
Daniel glanced up at the policeman, his eyes taking in one thing at once. This officer in front of him was clearly a junior guy. Which meant he could lie and get away with it.
Faking what he looked was a look of innocent curiosity, he shook his head. The officer sighed and headed back to his partner.
Edward appeared from behind a potted plant. "Whew. Close shave! Now let's go get some food. I'm starving!"
***********
Daniel smirked. "As if! They'd be gone by now. Come on. Let's go. Now!"
Edward rolled his eyes once more, gathered his bag and trotted out of the forest behind Daniel.
**********
Ward 172 was a beehive of activity.
Daniel counted no less than six policemen swarming around, a small crowd of people and two frantic nurses trying to maintain order. He was hidden behind a corner, peering around it and observing the messy scene before him. He could make out some yellow CRIME SCENE: DO NOT CROSS tape and he hoped that nothing had happened, that it was just a case of theft or something. But that didn't explain the six policemen.
Daniel approached the ward cautiously, before slipping in and mixing with the crowd. Slowly, he edged forward, to the front of the crowd and saw what the fuss was about. Or rather, not, what the fuss was about.
Bed 6 was empty.
Rebecca's bed.
Empty. Gone. The bed sheets were tangled, draping down the metal sides of the bed. The pillows lay miserably on the floor, unwanted.
Signs of a struggle.
Daniel's mind reeled with shock, and he almost missed out on what the police officer next to him was reporting into his phone, probably reporting to his superiors.
"... about four in the morning, I'd say. There was a note left on the bed, a crude drawing of an angel flying and three words, 'We will succeed!' Taped to the underside was a bloody knife. Preliminary tests have confirmed that the blood belongs to the missing girl. We'll be putting out a Missing Person bulletin. As you know, the girl's brother is the vital link to the..."
The police officer's voice trailed off as he noticed Daniel leaning towards him and listening to his phone conversation. He hastily ended the call and moved away to rejoin his colleagues.
Daniel stumbled away, desperate to get away from the scene, the ward, the hospital, all the doctors and policemen and everyone and everything. Tears were blurring his vision as he shoved open one the exit doors and sucked in the fresh air outside, wonderfully light after the heavy, sterile air inside. Edward was silent beside him.
Horrifying thoughts raced through his mind. His sister, his only companion in those dark days, the only one who had faithfully stood by him after all these years, even after everyone had deserted him, the one he willingly took the beatings for, the one who always comforted him and dressed his wounds, the one sister he would ever have and... love. What had happened to Rebecca?
A mixture of emotions rose up. Daniel could taste adrenaline-fueled fear, shock and anger coursing through his blood. If anything happened to Rebecca, anything at all, he would never forgive himself. Never. Ever. He would have to live with this forever...
They were stumbling back through the forest before they knew it. Birds were chirping merrily, racing around in the air, nestling on tree branches.
Daniel couldn't help but bitterly admire how carefree they were. They didn't have to worry about kidnapped sisters, abusive fathers hunting them down, unexplainable headaches seizing them or crazy, sinister men attacking them.
Speaking of crazy, sinister men... There they were. Five of them this time. Right there, barely twenty metres away, surrounding the secret entrance to the secret bomb shelter.
Not so secret anymore.
A bolt of pain struck him across his head and reawakened the dull throbbing he'd experienced earlier in the morning. He clapped two suddenly clammy hands to his temple and vigourously rubbed them. Damn this headache, Daniel thought.
Edward pulled Daniel away into a clump of bushes. "We've got to get back into town. Now. It won't be long before they realise we're not coming back."
"Where can we go now? There's no where left!"
"We'll figure that out later. Did you leave anything important in the bomb shelter?"
Daniel started to shake his head, then grimaced and remembered. "The Panadols. Just exactly when I need one."
"I'll buy some later. Let's go. And be quiet!"
Daniel took one last glance back at the bomb shelter, and the men surrounding the entrance.
"Goodbye, bomb shelter," he muttered to himself. Then, firing one more round of mental bullets at the men, he disappeared back into the forest.
************
A/N
Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'm sorry I took so long to update this.
I'm going camping next week from Thursday to Saturday, so I might update early on Wednesday or maybe Sunday. Keep calm and wait for Chapter 20! ^^
•phoebechew7600•
YOU ARE READING
One Last Chance
Adventure"A normal life. That's all I ever wanted..." When Daniel goes on the run, his life turns upside down. He's seen strange men following him, been chased across town by gangsters, made friends with a homeless girl and saved his enemy's life. Then he fi...
