"You did what?" Ben almost yelled at me, attracting some eyes in the cafe.
"Shh," I hissed. I grabbed his arm and dragged him around the corner. "It was an accident." He glared at me.
"You don't steal something by an accident," he growled. He took the gold watch out of my hands, the gold watch I had taken from a man who had been reading the papers on the sidewalk. I didn't want to take it, it just happened. "I'll take care of this. You go sit down at a table then I'll come with your hot chocolate."
He gave me a little push out towards all the other people. I looked around the room before finding an empty table. I sat down at it and waited. There was a family enjoying themselves in a one of the corners in the cafe. Beside them was a man reading the newspaper. His clothes were ripped and stained. Maybe he couldn't afford to buy new clothes. I felt bad for him. I could give him some money. I checked my pockets. No money. He was gonna have to wear that clothes for a little while longer. I had to be good to earn money from Caroline. Or maybe I could ask someone if I could borrow some money from them! Then I had some money to give the man! I smiled. But wait... Who could I ask? I didn't want to ask a stranger. I didn't really have any friends. There was no one I could ask. My smile faded away to the unknown. The unknown where no one had ever been. The unknown that wasn't going to give me that smile back. I hated that Unknown right now. How was I going to get my smile back when I didn't known where the Unknown was? I could start a search party. I really wanted my smile back now; I missed it. But who could I get to join my search party? I could ask Caroline and Ben, but I think I need some more people. I mean...I don't think the Unknown will get scared by just three people. I really needed some friends.
"There you go," Ben said, cutting my thoughts off. He placed the mug down he had in his hand down on the wooden table with a Thunk.
"Thanks."
"Be careful when you drink it; it's hot." I smirked. He walked away after a while.
Someone sat down in front of me. I thought it was Ben, until I looked up. My breath got caught in my thoat. The man I got the watch from was sitting down in front of me with an angry expression on his face. Then quite suddenly the expression changed to one of amusement.
"Well if it isn't the boss's daughter. Hello, Emmaline," he said. I winced. My Dad had chosen my name therefore I didn't like it. It was only now I got a good look at his face. I could feel my heart beat quicken.
"Hello, Felix," I said nervously. Where was Ben?
"I'm sure your Daddy will be thrilled to see his little runaway daughter again." My eyes darted around the room again, this time looking for any possible escape.
"Yeah," I said in a shaky voice, shifting nervously in my seat. "Overjoyed." Felix's face grew even more smug. He nodded.
"So overjoyed it would be evil to make him wait." His hands quickly tried to catch my wrist. I jumped up from the chair and ran out of the cafe. I had only been running for a short while before I heard an angry voice yell.
"After her!" I looked behind me and saw about six men running after me along with Felix. I broke into full sprint down the road. Pushing people out of the way with men running after me, I realized that this was my life for some reason; me being chased by someone I couldn't really run from. It was exhausting.
I ran down an alleyway. They were still after me; I could hear them. My legs and lungs ached, begged me to stop. But I couldn't. I had to keep going.
"Faster! We need to catch the little bitch!" one of the men yelled. I tried to run faster. I couldn't breathe and it felt as if my throat was made of ice. I turned to the right. Huge mistake. I was facing a wall, walls to my left and right too. Some dumpsters stood lined up against one of them. I crawled up on one and jumped for the top of one of the walls. It felt like my heart were trying to leap out of my chest and run off without me. I kinda wish it had. Then I wouldn't have to face the consequence for this My fingers caught onto the edge but slipped off when gravity dragged me back down to the dumpster. I tried jumping again, but got the same result. I could hear the running footsteps getting closer. I walked into the corner and placed my foot against one of the walls. I jumped again, using my foot to kind of kick the wall to get higher. It worked. I held onto the wall with both hands and tried to drag me up. My arms were shaking. Then they betrayed me and went limb. Great, now my armpits were hurting. I got another idea, and began swinging from side to side. I managed to get my legs so far up that I could hold onto the top of the wall and then drag the rest of me up too. It sounded like the men who were after me were right around the corner. I hastily crawled away from the edge of the building I was laying on and held me breath.
"Where the fuck did she go?!" Hopefully they wouldn't try to climb the walls like I did. I crawled across the roof to the other side of the building. A fire escape stood there, just waiting for me to climb down on it. The snowflakes clung to my eyelashes. I had forgotten my coat in the cafe. The green t-shirt I was wearing didn't help at all to keep the cold away from me. At least I was still wearing my boots. Not that I would need to take them of in the cafe but I still liked that thought. I stepped out on the fire escape and began running down the steps, nearly slipping a few times. I was at the bottom when a voice made me look up.
"The little bitch's down there!" a man yelled while pointing at me. I began running again. But I couldn't run that fast. I was only jogging because all of my limbs were really heavy and I couldn't breathe. I couldn't feel my fingers. I looked down at them and winced. The tip of each finger was a light blue. I saw a building that looked like a bomb had exploded in it and ran for it. The snow clung to my boots as I jogged. Behind me it sounded like the men were running down the metal steps on the fire escape. I reached the ruin and hid behind a half-standing/half-laying wall, but only for a few seconds. I had to keep moving. I tried to catch my breath. It didn't work. I ran for another wall. This wall was standing but the edges of it was missing. It kinda looked like a pyramid with a half-destroyed roof. The floorboards were still there. They creaked under my weight. I tried to take deep, calm breaths. The men were walking around, searching for me.
"She should be here somewhere."
It sounded like one of them fell. "Idiot!"
"Hey, I found 'er!"
I looked to my left. One of the men lunged at me. I ran forward, or, I tried. The wooden boards snapped and I fell down into a black pit. "Ah!" I landed on some hard concrete with an 'oof'. That's when I noticed the smell. I looked up. I was in the sewers. I'm guessing this day can't get any worse.
"I thought you said you found her! She's not here, idiot!"
"She fell down through the hole in the floor."
"What hole?" There was a pause before, "oh...that hole..."
"You idiot! I told you not to let her get hurt!"
"Should we call the boss?" Why was I just laying down here instead of trying to run? I must be really stupid.
"Yeah. What do you think, dumbass?" I tried to stand up. Pain shot through my right foot, making me grunt. I stayed in a crouching position. What should I do? There was clearly something wrong my foot.
"Hello, Boss!" I stopped moving and listened. "Well, uh, I-we found her...yeah...some old building...she, uh, she...fell through the floor...I think she's ok...Hey! You ok there, Little Girl?"
...?
...Was he talking to me? Better answer just in case. "Yeah, I'm...fine," I said loudly even though it sounded more like a question.
"Did you hear her?...She said she was fine...Is! Is fine..." I heard him say some adress, then I think he hung up. "Little Girl, your Daddy's on his way!" his happy voice shouted. Uh oh. I wouldn't be able to walk which would mean that I wouldn't be able to get away from Dad. I looked back down from the hole. What do I do? What do I do? I started crawling away from the hole above me.
"Hey, where ya goin', Little Girl?"
"She ran away from the Boss, remember? She's trying to escape."
"Oh, yeah... Shouldn't we like...stop her or somethin', then?"
"No, the Boss will find her. We just have to wait for him." My hands were getting really disgusting.
I had been crawling for quite some time now. I couldn't hear the men anymore, so I was startlet by the loud squeels coming from some sort of vehicle. I'm sure the slam of a door could be heard miles away. I tried to stand up again. My foot didn't hurt so much anymore but I was limping. Guess that will have to do. I detected movement out of the corner of my eye. I looked over at the hole. A metal ladder was being slid down. I just stared at it before hiding behind a pile of something. I didn't know what it was and I didn't want to. Someone were climbing down the ladder.
"Little Girl," a voice sang. "Your Daddy told me to get you." It sounded like he was walking around for a while. "Where did you go?" Suddenly another man came down. The only difference was that this one fell down through the floor. He stayed on the floor for a while before getting up. Some dust fell down on his head right after he mumbled something. I stayed behind the pile of unknown stuff, silently watching. The man who fell down looked in my direction. Then started walking towards me. I jumped up and started running the opposite direction. I didn't get very far before I felt his arms grab around my waist. I screamed. I punched, kicked and did everything in my power to get away from him. But it wasn't enough, because soon I was being carried to the hole. Some hands grabbed me, one of them grabbed my arm, the other one grabbed around my ribcage.
"Ugh." The arms around my waist loosened and disappeared, while the other two hands tightened. Someone laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laug-
o-o-o
I jolted awake with a gasp, then sat up. It was just a dream. No, not a dream. A nightmare. My head hurt. I sat on my bed, just starring out into the air, before I realized something. This wasn't my room. It wasn't even a room. More like some sort of attic. It was big. Besides the double-bed I was lying on, there was a lot of other stuff. The wooden boards making the walls were a dark brown. Sunlight from the window on the leaning wall opposite me shone down on my face. Where the hell was I?
I stood up. I saw a door and went over to it. I grabbed the doorknop and tried to open. It was locked. I let my head slam into the door and closed my eyes. Then I sank to the floor and just sat there. No one would know where I was, except Dad, of course.
I had been crawling around on the floor for some unknown reason, when I heard it. Footsteps. They were everywhere. At least it sounded like it. I crawled as far away from the door as I could, then waited. My heart was beating a little bit faster now. I dragged my legs up to my chest and tried to press myself farther into the corner. The footsteps quieted after a while. I kept pressing myself into the corner. I just sat there, expecting something to jump out at me if I moved away from my corner. When nothing happened I crawled forward. Not much, just until I couldn't feel the wall anymore. Then I crawled some more. And some more. And some more, until I was back in front of the door, where I pressed the side of my head against it. I listened. I could hear something, just barely. It sounded like someone was doing something. I don't know what exactly this person was doing, other than moving about. I let out a quiet sigh.
I shivered. It was cold in here. I saw a small, round window on one of the two walls that weren't leaning down towards me. I looked to the other side of the room. No window. I stood and stared at it. Maybe I could see some other people out of it and call for help? Maybe not. It was worth a try either way. I went over to it, but I was too small to be able to see out. I needed something to stand on. I looked around the room. Again, lots of stuff. There was a stack of some old books. I guess that would have to do. I grabbed them, carried them to the window and stood on them. Now I could see out, but only if I stood on my toes.
It was snowing. I pressed my hand against the glass, but jerked it back when I felt the cold. I couldn't see anything else than snow covering the ground outside. No other human, house, or city for miles. I shivered again. It really was cold in here. I rubbed my hands up and down my arms, trying to get them warm. It didn't really work. Maybe I sho-
"Need a blanket?"
I would recognize that voice everywhere. I looked up. Sure enough, he stood there with a rather disapproving look on his painted face and hands behind his back. I took a step back. He took a step forward.
"I thought we were friends," he said slowly, as if speaking to a child. But then again, I was a child "But you lied to Daddy, Emma. You lied to Daddy when you promised him you wouldn't try to get away." I lowered my head a bit in shame and took another step back. He brought his hands from behind his back. My eyes widened at the sight of the crowbar he held in one of them. He took another step forward.
"It was very bad of you to lie to Daddy, and you know bad little girls get punished so they can learn to the next time."
"Please...don't," I whispered. Dad shook his head.
"It's too late to regret it."
o-o-o