Keep On Walking

Moving Away

Scarlet sat on the back of an ambulance, her legs dangling out from beneath her. She clutched a red blanket around her, trying to protect herself from the cold night air. It was quite warm in the day, but at night it got much colder. She shivered a little, but not only from the cold.

A police man walked up to Scarlet, and knelt down in front of her. "Hey, you alright? You need anything?" He asked. Scarlet shook her head no. She hadn't said anything since she got carried out of the house.

"I know this is harsh on you. I understand how you feel, kid." The officer said, before walking away. Scarlet stared at the ground, wanting to disappear. She couldn't comprehend what had happened that night. It made no sense. All she wanted was a peaceful day, and instead she got living hell.

She sat in silence for a while, not even wanting to think. Soon, the officer returned. "You're going to be going away from this place. Hopefully it will help you forget and get better. This isn't your choice, and if I could choose for you then I wouldn't want this either," he looked around with a frown, and sat down next to Scarlet, "you're going to be taken to an orphanage," he continued, "there's just nowhere else for you to go at the moment. I'm really sorry, kid, it's just the way it's gotta be." He patted Scarlet on the head and once again walked away.

Scarlet was told she could return home to pack a few of her belongings after the house was cleaned and tidied. The officer told her he would lead her inside after all was done.

When the time came, Scarlet took one of her parents' suitcases and slowly rolled it into her room. The house was completely clean now, except for the few spots of blood which couldn't be washed away. The carpet was stained, and the door was off it's hinges. There were holes everywhere too, even one in the closet... Scarlet didn't want to think about it. She slowly paced around her room, looking for anything she would want to take along with her to her new home. She even went to her parents room, and her brothers room to take some of their things as well. Scarlet didn't want to forget them. She wanted to always remember the family that gave her life, and that stayed with her through the good and the bad.

While looking around her parents room, Scarlet opened up her father's bedside cabinet. There was one on each side of the bed, one for Scarlet's mother, and the other for her father. In her father's she found an old book. It looked somewhat like a diary. She picked it up, and decided she could look through it on her way to the orphanage. When she was closing the draw, she saw something glimmer at the very back of it. Scarlet opened up the draw once again, and reached her hand inside. Once pulled out, she saw that she was holding a knife. It was a beautiful knife, with blood-red roses painted along the side, and the blade extremely sharp. She tucked it in the back of the suitcase and walked out of the room.

Once Scarlet was done packing everything she needed, which was mostly clothes and small things, she came out of her house. The officers led her into a police car, where she sat at the back, still clutching the blanket she had been given earlier that night. Her suitcase was put in the seat next to her. Two policemen walked to the front of the car and sat in the front seats.

They drove for a while, speechless most of the way. Scarlet wasn't talking much, and the officers weren't wanting to force her to say anything.

They arrived at the station as the sun was rising, glowing intensely and reflecting off of the car windows. In the distance, Scarlet could see a train. It wasn't the cleanest thing, and looked old and rusty. Her eyes were barely staying open, since she didn't sleep at all through the night.

The car stopped, and Scarlet stepped out. The sun blinded her, and she smelt flowers and grass. It reminded her of Mrs Greenberry and her garden. She walked forward, towards the only train at the station, the officers trailing right behind her. She walked emotionlessly towards her goal, not looking back. She didn't want to look back.

The train looked abandoned, as if it hadn't been used in decades. At first glance, it might have seemed that the train was no longer in use. But if you took a closer look, you could spot the beautifully decorated inside; polished wood, decorated tables, soft colors. Such a sharp contrast to the old, decaying outside.

An old man sat in front of the train, cigarette lit. His face was covered in lines of oldness, but his expression was of someone who could not be ended easily.

He let out a puff of smoke when he saw Scarlet and the officers approaching.

"Heading to the orphanage, little one?" The man spoke in a gentle voice, old and ruff.

"Yes, I am," Scarlet looked into the man's eyes, determination filling her own.

"And these must be the officers..." His eyes lingered on the men for a few seconds, before going back to staring intently at Scarlet.

Scarlet nodded silently, letting out a deep, shuddering breath. She was preparing herself for the worst, whatever that could be.

"Climb on board, kid," the man said, "it's gonna be a long journey." The man smiled kindly, gesturing towards the train door he now held open.

Scarlet walked up the old metal steps. She looked behind her and waved at the officers. They waved back with smiles on their faces, though she could see the sorrow underneath.

Before the doors shut, Scarlet heard the man mumble, "Off to the orphanage we go..."

Scarlet walked over to one of the seats near the window, and sat down. She stared intently out of the window, worry filling her eyes. The train started to rumble, and she was on her way to the unknown.

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A/N: okay so if you read The Girl Who Walked Away (which you should btw, it's the prequel, and things in this book will be linking to it) then you might notice that the end of this chapter is similar to the final chapter in The Girl Who Walked Away. Yeah. It's like that for a reason ;p Anyways, I'll try to update as soon as I can again uwu