A.N: Hey everyone, this chapter and the next two have finally been edited :3 (and I'm uploading the fifth chapter too! Yay!)
So, all that's been changed is the work up towards the new plot, I've ditched the OC's because I no longer want them in this story, and I've also completely removed the character POV ( personally, it just looked messy)
Sorry I've kept you all waiting for this :c
Enjoy!
As the remaining exterior of the blackened building crumbled into a pile of rubble, Flaky silently watched from afar in a pit of remorse. Nobody else was in sight, meaning they'd all escaped in on piece; that was at least one shard of positivity. But now, as she stood alone facing the outcome of her own undoing, there was no doubting the obvious that there was no going back now. The porcupine wasn't going to keep following in their steps - they'll only lead to hellish havoc.
…~x~X~x~…
With a deep breath, Flaky finally mustered the will to put an end to her mental argument, and sat upright in bed. It was very early in the morning, and the settled tranquility in her uncle's house was a clear sign that he was sleeping soundly in the room next door…or downstairs on the couch again. No more hesitation; it was now or never. Now was the better option.
The red furred porcupine threw back her bed covers and swung her legs over the side to stand up. She was already dressed and ready to leave, having packed one bag of belongings. There was no time to fuss over everything she owned, Flaky made sure to only pack clothes, and the very few things that held the most importance to her. Ensuring everything was in order, Flaky double-checked through her rucksack and room to see if she was satisfied with what she'd packed. In reality, the porcupine was going through a great struggle to fight off her second thoughts. Living with her uncle, under his rules and regulations, was dragging her life down all the wrong lanes. No teen should suffer under the hands of a man who aimed to control her choices. So this was it. Finally, freedom was close enough to grasp.
All she had to do now was get to the garage without rousing the older porcupine from his slumber. As silent as she possibly could, Flaky made her way downstairs, avoiding the creaky floorboards that she'd grown accustomed to remembering. She placed her bag down by the front door before entering the living room. As expected, there lay her lousy, middle-aged uncle, passed out on his couch with several empty bottles of booze piled beside him.
Francis was likely wasted on alcohol again. Good. All the better for her easy escape. The keys to the door were already at hand, but they keys to her bike were presumably hidden from her reach. After countless attempts at sneaking out at night on her motorbike, Francis started to hide her keys from her, but tended to keep them in his pockets knowing too well that Flaky wouldn't dare to approach him.
Standing over his snoring form, Flaky held her breath in order to steady her hands as she gingerly reached into his jean pockets. Not there. She haplessly frowned, noticing the set of keys in his shirt pocket.
'This is gonna suck…' she irritantly thought to herself before hesitantly sliding her finger and thumb into the pocket, avoiding as much contact as possible.
After some time of stiff movement, Flaky succeeded in stealing back her keys without stirring the male porcupine. A smile from her achievement sprawled over her lips as she turned her back on Francis to head for the front door. The moment of success vanished when she entered her garage; all focus was set on piling her bag onto her bike, and getting the heck out of there.
Her uncle's sleeping habits were unpredictable, and the possibility of him waking at random moments was very likely. The very thought of getting caught now made her nerves tingle, making her hurry in her motions. The waterproof cover of her bike was thrown off in an instant, and Flaky quickly set her rucksack on the back of her bike before sitting comfortably on its seat and inserting and twisting the key in the ignition.
The bike's engine made a loud hum as it started, worrying Flaky. It was loud enough to be heard in the house, but precautions at this point were pointless; she was just going to take her luck as it is thus far, and so she gave her motorbike a kickstart before advancing out of the garage with much haste.
Any far away location was an ideal designation; as long as Francis wouldn't think to trace her down to that place, Flaky would happily start anew there.
…~x~X~x~…
Cars around her shortened in numbers as she travelled. Over the gradual hours of travelling on an empty highway road in the middle of nowhere was beginning to unsettle the porcupine. Every other car had seemed to avoid the long road she was currently on, and took the first junction as an exit, until they were all gone. Perhaps the road ends? Or a bridge further down the way is unstable or collapsed? Either way, nobody was looking to spend hours venturing down this route.
The early morning sky was slowly brightening, and Flaky was oblivious to the current time, but she figured it was probably six to seven o'clock at least. With her mind swept so far under the yearn to increase the distance between her and Francis' house, the porcupine didn't realise how tired she was; the next stop will be the last.
A lengthy distance away, Flaky could clearly see the peaking top of trees, and upon ascending closer, the many towering trees stretched out for miles until they were no longer visible, almost as if it was some sort of border.
Flaky took this as an advantage to finally end her travels; any place to stop now was a good one. So she raced down the empty highway, eventually disappearing into the mass of woodland and weaved down the ever-winding road. Just like her experience on the highway, Flaky ventured down the road in the woods without the company of other passing cars. Despite the chilling atmosphere that emitted within the dark, lifeless woods, Flaky enjoyed the peace that welcomely enveloped her.
Upon her exit from the woods, Flaky was greeted by a large sign that read the words 'Happy Tree Town - 5 yards' and she released an exhilarated sigh; just knowing that her chance to catch some shut-eye away from a house full of distress and pain was keeping her motivated to ride on.
Much like her journey on the highway, Flaky was accompanied by very little to no cars on the road. It wasn't so early in the morning by now, and any people around her were likely on their way to work if anything. She sped passed a welcoming sign to a mall, and below was a list of the many popular stores inside. But to her luck, right next to the mall was an apartment building.
Flaky turned into the lane dividing the mall's large carpark from the apartment building's much smaller one. But upon slightly turning her head to inspect the mall one last time, something out of the ordinary caught her eye. A girl, a little smaller than she, walking and talking to something in her hand at the same time. Curious, and if not a bit intrigued by the sight, Flaky swiftly crossed over the lane and luckily dodged the stunned car in front of her as she did so.
The porcupine ignored the angry buzz of the shocked driver's car horn to focus on the girl. As she came to a stop at the curb, Flaky hopped off the bike to meet with the lilac lamb and removed her helmet. It would seem odd for her to randomly walk up to her, considering she was a new face in town, and a complete stranger. But Flaky figured now was the time to meet a resident and maybe get some information about the town.
"Excuse me," she politely called out to the girl. The lamb jumped but quickly turned to face Flaky. She wasn't able to get a glimpse of the green object as she swiftly stuffed it into her bag, "Who were you talking to?" Flaky then asked, then realising it was a little noisy on her part.
"Umm... No-one..." the girl shyly replied in a quiet tone, looking rather taken aback by Flaky's abrupt appearance.
The visible tear marks on the girl's cheeks surprised Flaky, making her regret bothering the girl from the start. Nobody still in a sensitive emotional state would want company from a stranger after all. But that thought was up until the lamb spoke out to Flaky
"What's your name?"
"Oh…my name is Flaky. What's yours?" Flaky then asked, offering a smile to the expressionless girl. She eventually smiled back, taking in Flaky's show of kindness willingly, "Lammy."
"Lammy, huh? It's nice to meet you." Flaky greeted, holding out her hand for Lammy to shake. The lamb hesitated, but soon did with a friendly smile forming on her lips.
Flaky wanted to stray away from questioning so much, but couldn't curve her curiosities, "May I ask what you're doing out here so early on your own?"
Lammy was reluctant about answering, "I…well, I wasn't alone at one point, but…" Flaky took notice to her trembling lip, and decided to relieve her the burden of explaining a clearly difficult thing, "Hey, don't worry about it, you don't need to tell me."
The two girls went silent for the next few seconds, their ears taking more of an interest on the sweeping of passing cars.
"So you're new here?" Lammy asked. Flaky nodded as a reply, "You could say that…this is probably the fortieth time I've moved town."
"Seriously? Why do you move so much?" Lammy asked in complete shock. Flaky knew what to say, but was aware that uttering the complications of her life would be no good idea.
"Well…I had grown detatched of my parents, and have lived with my uncle. He travels a lot, and it's fun…but I've decided that I can live by myself now. I've been moving from town to town to find a decent school to attend." Flaky lied. But had no choice.
"I see…" Lammy uttered, tilting her head as she curiously studied the porcupine's expression of discomfort, "So, you said that you're looking for a new school, right? You could always come to Happy Tree High. I mean, it's the only high school in this small town, so if you don't like it then you're probably out of luck here..." Lammy commented with an unsure smile. Flaky lost herself in thought for a moment, realising she would have to try this high school after all. Anything to keep her occupied as a typical teenage girl.
"Say…Lammy, would you like a ride home?" Flaky kindly offered, rather abruptly on Lammy's part.
Regardless, the lamb grinned and nodded her head, so Flaky gestured for her to follow her back to the purple sport's bike, "Have you ever had experience on a motorbike before?"
Eagerly, the lilac girl nodded. Excitement painted her features as she hopped on the back of the bike and wrapped her thin arms around Flaky - for obvious safety reasons. With a light giggle, the porcupine adjusted her helmet over her head and kickstarted the engine with a series of revs. Then in the blink of an eye, they were already creating distance from the apartment and mall. For the rest of their journey, Flaky cautiously eared Lammy's given directions, ultimately leading to her home.