Too Young To Die

I didn't look back as I ran for my life. It wouldn't be long until they caught up to me. I ran behind an abandoned building and hid from sight. I could hear their footsteps advancing on me. I tried to calm my breathing, but I wasn't used to running so much. Strong hands grabbed me suddenly from behind. I struggled to get free, but he was faster than me. I screamed and cried for help, but no one could hear me. I glanced up and saw my father's enraged face staring at me. The last thing I remember was his fist aimed straight for my face.

I woke abruptly to the sound of my own crying. The nightmares weren't new to me, neither were the dreadful memories. I've been sleeping in a deserted warehouse somewhere outside of the city, surviving off of what little food I could find. I would frequently go to the big city, New York, to scavenge for food. On one occasion, I came across a young boy about my age. He seemed friendly so I started talking to him.

"Hi!" he exclaimed, "I'm Andy, what's your name?"

"Ann, I'm eight years old," I replied.

"I'm nine. Where do you live?" he asked.

"I don't have a home. I ran away because my parents were mean." I said.

"You can come stay with me!"

"Really, you're parents won't mind?" I asked.

"Oh, well they don't have to find out." He replied.

After that Andy and I became really good friends. He let me stay in his basement, as long as his parents didn't find out. Sometimes when his parents weren't home, we would go to his room and play with his pet turtle, Herbert. One day we went up there and found Herbert had died. Andy was really brokenhearted, he loved that turtle.

"We should bury him." I said.

"That's a good idea." He sobbed.

We found an old shoe box and put Herbert inside it. Then we went to the backyard and dug a small hole, just big enough for the box to fit. We carefully placed Herbert inside the hole, and covered it back up. As we were burying him, we heard a car pull up into the driveway.

"Oh no, that's my parents!" Andy cried.

"Maybe I can meet them, they might like me." I explained.

"Andy, we're home." His mom called out.

"I want to meet them." I said.

I ran off in the direction I heard his mom yelling and I could barely hear Andy's protests as I went. I was so excited I almost ran straight into his father.

"Well hello, are you one of Andy's friends?" His father asked.

"Yes." I replied timidly.

Andy finally caught up to me and stared incredulously at us.

"Andy, who's this?" His mother asked, referring to me.

"Her name's Ann. She's my friend." He replied.

After Andy told his parents of my predicament, they decided to let me stay. After a while they grew very fond of me and said they would like to adopt me. The day they went to the courthouse to finalize the adoption, Andy and I decided we wanted to go to the park. On our way there, I noticed a familiar face. After a moment the horrifying nightmares started coming back to me.

"We have to go!" I told Andy.

"Why, what's wrong?" He asked.

"I don't have time to explain. Come on!"

But it was too late, she had already seen me. I grabbed Andy's hand and took off running. I looked back, but she was gone. I stopped abruptly and scanned my surroundings, but I didn't see her anywhere.

"Ann, what's wrong?" Andy finally asked.

"I thought I saw...Never mind, let's go." I said.

Suddenly, someone grabbed me and took off running. I started screaming for help and I could see people looking around worriedly, but no one tried to help. As I was being carried away, I could hear Andy crying and screaming my name. That was the last time I saw my best friend, Andy.

After I was abducted, Andy's parents searched for me everywhere. They called the police and told them about my abusive parents and how I was abducted. The police found my parents, questioned them, and took them to court, but they never admitted what they did to me. Eight months after I went missing, they finally found me. They had gotten a lead from my mom's friend to look in an old isolated shack. After searching the shack, they finally located me, but I was nothing but a decayed corpse. My parents were found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. Andy and his family held a funeral for me. They seemed heartbroken, but I know they'll be fine because I'll be watching over them.