𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞'𝐬 𝐆𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐆𝐮𝐧

run riding hood

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐈𝐃𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐌𝐘 new residence was a boring one. I had learned that my officer's name was Morgan and she had been on the task force for ten years, but that I was by far her most interesting case. Strangely, she didn't make that sound like it was a bad thing.

Milly mostly laid in the back of the car, meowing every now and then but finding joy in the passing of new places. I had feared she might be scared and not take to her new surroundings, but she was taking it in stride, just like she had back in the early days, too. Then again, she was just a cat, and who was I to know her feelings? I may have just been explaining my own.

"Do you even know what the name of the place you're going to is?" Morgan asked, her voice reaching my ears but eyes never meeting mine as she turned her blinker on and switched lanes.

I thought. The judge had mentioned it and then my lawyer had, too, but I wasn't paying attention. There was no point. It was just a place, and knowing the places name gave it a life I wasn't willing to give. Thinking back, a lot of the things I had been told I didn't really remember. It was all just a haze; well, except one thing. But I wasn't going to think about that.

"Probably something lame, like Mary's Hospital for Mental Treatment, better known as the House of Crazies," I murmured, looking out the window at the entourage of trees and pretty, cookie cut houses that lined the block. Suddenly I felt uneasy. Towns that held outside beauty usually had little secrets lined in the crevices, and hoarding a mental hospital would be the perfect dirty secret.

Dimly, I heard Morgan laugh.

"It's called Ivary's Institution for Mental Treatments, but you were close. Supposedly, it's one of the best places in the country. Though I guess you'll be the one deciding that," Morgan explained, nearing close to a red light and lightly pressing the brakes. The car came to a slow, taunting stop.

Suddenly, I had the urge to just run. To unlock the door, weave through the cars, listening to Morgan shouting my name, a grin on my face from the puzzled expressions of the passersby drivers. How delicious it would be to be on the run, being chased with the thrill of adventure on my tongue.

No way would I get caught. Well, I probably would, but at least I'd get a kick out of the urgency of "Finding Janie." Maybe even a couple newspaper would headline the Sunday paper as, "Lunatic Teen On the Loose!" That would definitely be a scrapbook keeper.

I wonder where I'd go. I wonder what I'd do, and who I'd seek. I wonder if I'd survive. I wonder how long I could stay away from authorities. I wonder what would happen to Morgan.

The inkling of the thought was becoming more and more like the formation of an idea with a picture becoming clearer and clearer in my mind of how I'd escape.

Then the locks clicked twice, and I heard Morgan warn, "Don't even think about it."

Damn it.

My eyebrows ruffled in anger. I must have let the emotions play all over my face, the light in my eyes flashing in the mirror and the twitch of my mouth setting her off. A trait I had always prided myself on was masking my feelings. It took years to perfect from living with my dad. Already, I was letting myself slip. The thought made me feel ashamed.

The light flashed green and the moment was gone, just like that.

Maybe it was a good thing, though. I couldn't, wouldn't, leave Milly behind. She was the only thing keeping me going. The only piece of my old life I still had, and still wanted. Besides, the other half of me desperately wanted to see what this institution was all about, and to test if it really was the best place in the country.

There was only one way to find out, really. Thinking about dipping from this police car only set my plans in stone, and I was glad I hadn't busted out yet. Only one way to push the boundaries and discover my options on how to have fun in the freak zone:

I had to figure out a way to escape.