Freerunner

Chapter 5

They were marched through the gate with their heads bowed and their hands behind their backs. Four men, no, boys with strange uniforms stared passively at the ground. I had no idea which country they came from but they obviously weren't from around here. If they'd known better, they wouldn't have headed west. Everyone knows that this way was on the border of the dustbowl. It was difficult to look at them properly with the sun reflecting off the corrugated metal roof into my eyes. For the first time ever, I wished the watchtower were still standing.

The watchtower.

My interest in these new prisoners went on hold. I almost jumped off the block but had enough sense to control myself and instead did a little run-up and leapt onto the roof of the convent. No. It couldn't be. They couldn't have done it without me noticing. It was impossible.

I landed as softly as I could on top of the convent. My legs carried me to the edge of the roof. My eyes widened, unable to believe what I was looking at. I was so caught up in my own disbelief that I'd forgotten to crouch down so no one would see me. Not that it would matter. Everyone was too busy gawking at the prisoners. As for me, I was facing an awful truth.

The fallen watchtower, with all its memories- my memories- was gone.

My knees collapsed underneath me. My hand reached out to the empty space. I felt my mouth hang open and warm tears begin to trickle down my face. Being out in open with no watchtower made me feel vulnerable. I needed to hide. Somewhere. Anywhere. The next few moments that occurred were a blur but I had managed to make it down off the roof and into my house.

In my room, I felt my voice catch in my throat. I just sat on my bed, staring at my pillow. The tears that had dribbled onto my cheeks now spilled down to my chin and splashed onto the covers. A small sound emanated from my mouth. Gradually, it built up louder and louder until I was screaming. I smothered my face in my pillow, muffling my strangled cries. They took it from me. The only place that meant safety to me. It signified a day over and that I could rest while my friend had my back. It was the most significant part of my memories with Stevie and they took it from me.

I was losing my grip on the world. I was slipping back into that awful place where I was a child who was terrified of everything. No friends, no family, no love. It was consuming me, taking my freedom and giving back my sycophantic attitude. There was no point to anything anymore. I started to wish I'd just let myself fall in the prison yard that day. Even the thought of Alex wasn't enough to convince myself to hold on.

Unless I got out.

I sat up promptly. The thought struck me out of nowhere, tempting me to play with fate. When Stevie was here with me, I didn't really think about getting out. All I wanted was to stick with him and avoid being recruited. When he was moved to another base, I thought about enlisting but refrained because of my promise. And now, when he was missing, I just wanted to leave and look for him.

I broke out of the monster that threatened to destroy everything I'd lived for. If I got out, I at least had a chance of finding Stevie. Still, the prospect of finding him alive, let alone at all was pretty slim. Even if I did get to him, where would we go from there? I pushed that thought out of my mind and focused on what was important. I could find him and set things right.

But I couldn't do it alone.

Before I left, I burrowed down to the bottom of my chest of drawers to find my hunting knife blade. My fingers connected with string and I yanked it out. The knife swung up and almost cut my face but it didn't faze me. Shoving it into my pocket, I opened my window and jumped out. From there I ran. I ran faster than I'd ever run before. Even when I was winded, I kept running. I was convinced that if I stopped, I'd have lost.