The Escape
By Kyle Godin, sometime in 2002
It was a cold day, colder than was normal for this time of year, even though winter was supposed to be approaching soon. The sun had barely risen, casting long shadows across the clean lawns and perfectly manicured hedges of the estate. All was quiet, not even a bird was singing. A door opened in the mansion nearby, shutting quietly. A person began walking across the grass, staying low to the ground and hiding behind bushes as if he did not want to be found. That's odd, thought the boy, it shouldn't be this quiet, even this early in the morning... He continued making his way away from the house, trying to be inconspicuous, and it wasn't quite working. Although he was trying to hide behind bushes, his above average height and general ganglyness made parts of him stick out in some places.
"Rhamm! Where are you? Come back here right now!" The sound of a high-pitched woman's voice pierced the morning silence. She was tall and thin, with very sharp features and a scowl on her face that made you want to run home to your mother and cry. Except Rhamm couldn't do that, because this woman was his mother. He had to get away, now. Rhamm began crawling across the lawn, flitting from bush to bush, all the while trying to make it to the road. But the road was so far, and his mother was coming ever closer.
"Rhamm? Is that you over there?" He sat perfectly still, trying to quiet his breathing as he hid behind the bush. He could hear the woman still coming closer, it seemed as if she was heading straight for him. But that can't be, she doesn't know where I am.
"Rhamm, I can see you over there! Come out of that bush and march yourself straight home!"
He realized it, his unkempt brown hair was sticking out of the top of the bush. What do I do now? He sat there, thinking. "NEVER! I HATE YOU!" He burst out of the bush, making a mad dash away, down the gravel driveway. But it was a long driveway. There were trees planted in rows along each side of the road, tall maples and oak trees which ended as suddenly as the road, at a enormous, black wrought-iron gate. The gate was the only opening in the similarly made fence surrounding the estate, marking the boundary of the property. The gate was what Rhamm was running for.
Now the woman was furious, "that's it, no more television for a week!" When the boy kept on running, she called out another threat, "No deserts or television for a week!" The boy was still running. "You are grounded to your room for a month!" She then realized that he actually meant to leave. "Fine! I have ways of bringing you back!" She pulled out a small telephone from her pocket, pressing some numbers and talking in an excited voice for a minute. She then put her phone away and went back to the house.
Rhamm had gotten about halfway to the gate now. He glanced back, checking to see how close his mother was. When he didn't see her he took a second glance. When he didn't see her again, he stopped and turned around, scanning the landscape for any sign of her. That's odd, why did she leave? He began to get a bad feeling again, and had little time to ponder it before a dog bark was heard in the distance, from the direction of the house. Did my own mother send the dogs against me? More dog barks were heard. Did my own mother really send attack dogs after me? He stood there in the middle of the road, in disbelief. He yelled out to no one, "My own mother sent the attack dogs against me?! That BITCH!" He saw a dog round the corner of the hedge in the distance, near the house, followed by another and another. He began to run for the gate again.
The trees whipped past Rhamm as he ran, seemingly spurred on by a supernatural force which led him to run faster than he had ever ran before. The dogs still gained on him. Not much further now... not much further... The lead dog grabbed onto Rhamm's ankle, causing him to trip and be sent flying eight feet through the air before landing on and sliding across the gravel road. The dog leaped up from the ground next to Rhamm, growling and circling him. Luckily for Rhamm, the other dogs were a little behind, but they would reach him soon. The dog continued to circle, fangs bared and drool dripping from its black lips. The dog leaped at Rhamm intending to catch another hold on his leg, but Rhamm kicked it in mid-air. The dog yelped and went sailing away a few feet, getting back up almost before it hit the ground. Rhamm dove at the nearest tree, grabbing around it with his hands and scaling it as fast as he could. He pulled himself up onto a branch, the dogs snapping at his feet. He was out of range for them now, and they subsided in laying under the tree, growling.