I sat in my cot looking at the gray walls surrounding around me. I couldn't sleep. The air was cold and I only had a light sweater on. It smelled of rotten food and dirt but I had gotten use to living in these conditions. I was an orphan. Both of my parents died when I was 8. They didn't have any family to take care of me. I used to have a twin brother and we both were sent off to an orphanage. They could never separate us - we would always be together no matter what - we only had each other for hope, love, and comfort. On the day of our 13th birthday, my brother wanted us to run away. I didn't want to - I was afraid of all the ways we could die out in the world without someone to take care of us. I told him we should wait until we got adopted or until we were 16 when we could do whatever we want. Instead, he got angry and told me he would leave with or without me at midnight. I didn't believe that he would leave me. The next day, I woke up to find myself alone in our bed. On the nightstand there was a note. It read:
Dear Charlotte,
By the time you've read this I'll be gone. I know you'll be worried sick but I know you'll stay strong. It's for our own good; I can find somewhere we can stay together and I'll come back and find you, I promise.
Love,
Your silly twin brother
I was angry at my brother for leaving me alone but I couldn't bear staying in the orphanage, so a few months later I ran away as well. The few months on the streets of London alone was hard but I learned a few skills here and there. A year later, when it was my 14th birthday, I was going through some garbage in an alley when I heard a noise behind me. I turned around and stopped to find a little girl crying. I asked her if she had any parents, and she said no. She said they died and she was placed in a foster home. She ran away because her foster parents were hurting her. Comforting her wasn't hard, because I knew what she was going through. Knowing she wasn't going to survive alone on the streets, I asked her if she wanted to stay with me. She nodded eagerly. That's when I met Rachel. I shared everything with her - some of my too-small clothes that fit her, and some drawing paper to pass time. Also, I taught her how to read and write when I could. We had rules that we would follow:
1) Never trust ANYBODY.
2) Only steal what's needed - no more, no less.
3) Don't talk to any adults unless you really need too.
When she turned 5, I taught her how to pickpocket as a birthday present. The rule was to give back the wallet to the owner once you have taken a few bills. Rachel and I had gotten really close ever since I found her. Rachel replaced most of what I missed about my brother. Most of it, though not all of it. Today she was sleeping in my lap, curled up in a small ball, shivering in the cold. She was resting for the night. We lived in an abandoned apartment complex. Our only clothes were folded neatly and stacked on the only table we had. Our food was shoved into a small fridge that still worked. My violin, on the other hand, was out of its case sitting on the floor. I picked it up and brushed the dirt and dust off of it. I packed it into my case and laid it near the window. As my eyes grew heavy, I laid down next to Rachel, fell asleep, and had a dream.
In my dream, my vision was black but I could hear a distant conversation in the dark. It got louder and louder. Suddenly, a vivid scene flashed before me. The sky was bright orange, and all around there were fires, burning everything in sight. Below me was red grass swaying in the breeze. I was probably on another planet. Behind me I heard noises. I was half expecting some type of weird, gross alien but I saw humans. Or aliens that looked like humans. The first person that came into view was a old man with light brown brown hair and a mustache that drooped down around his mouth. He wore a long black leather jacket, brown pants that were charred from fires, a faded red vest, and a white scarf that was quite filthy. He was carrying a big brown sack. I didn't know what was going on, but I knew he was worried and scared. Then I realized that he was pulling someone else. It was a young woman. She wore a red and golden dress that at one time was probably pretty but was now torn and burned at the bottom. Her hair was black as midnight and had golden highlights. It flew in the wind as they walked towards me and I was not quite sure if they could see me. I didn't know how the laws of dreams worked. My question was answered when they passed right through me, like a ghost. I wanted to know what was happening, so I followed them. They stopped a few yards later, when the young woman tried release the hand gripping her wrist but the old man wouldn't let go. After a few more moments, she was free.
"You know we can't run forever. The council will either catch us or the Daleks will. You have to go with out me. I'm just going to slow you down." The young woman stared at the old man. I had a sense that they were somehow related.
"I can't leave you. I could save you!"
The young woman put her hand on his face, wiping away a tear that slid down his cheek. "No, it wouldn't be fair. I have to die here. You have to keep running by yourself."
I woke up to the sound of a strange noise. Woosh! Woosh! Woosh! I thought I was still dreaming but I crept to the single window that wasn't bordered up. Peaking outside I could see that in the alley, there was a blue box that was illuminated by the moonlight. There two doors and windows on the sides and it read "Police Box". I thought I was going crazy, but it looked about midnight. I gently shook Rachel awake and made her stand.
"Come on, Rachel. It's time to get some food. Why don't we check out that new store on the corner?" I whispered. She nodded and held onto my hand. I grabbed my backpack and slung it around my back.
When we reached the door of the convenient store, I tried the knob. Locked. I took out a bobby pin out of my hair and started to pick the lock. Looking back at Rachel, I could tell she was sleepy and hungry. I had a strange ability to know the feelings and emotions that both living and nonliving beings had. I could either just look at it or touch the object and just know. Her wide, brown eyes twinkled in the moonlight.
"Why don't you get a couple of candy bars for dessert?"
She smiled and whispered, "Okay."
I turned back and resumed picking the lock. I finally unlocked the door and opened it enough for us to slip through without sounding the alarm. Scanning the area, I made sure that we weren't in the video cameras' view. Rachel started to collect some chips and she stuffed them in my backpack. I set it down so she could reach it. I grab some soap, toothpaste, and hand sanitizer. Crash! Bang! Whipping around, I saw that Rachel had climbed up the counters and then slipped, bringing down some boxes of cereal.
"Ow, Charlotte, I think I cut my arm. It hurts really badly." I rushed to her, examining it. It wasn't that bad, but it was quite long and deep. There was also a risk of infection.
"Did you hit your head?" I asked, worried about a concussion.
"No, it's just my arm that hurts." I pulled off my sweater and wrapped it around her arm. I tied a strong knot using the sleeves and pulled. Rachel winced, so I gave her a kiss on the forehead.
"Who's there?" a man demanded. I assumed it was the owner, coming down the stairs.
"Come on! We don't want to be caught!" I whispered. I gathered our stuff and opened the backdoor. Beep beep beep! There was apparently a security system in place. The owners voice was getting closer and louder.
"Burglar! Someone call 911!" I clutched Rachel's hand tightly so that she couldn't run off in the wrong direction. I could read her emotions. Scared and excited. All at the same time. I slung my backpack across my shoulder and started running.
The owner opened the back door and saw us running. "You two, come back here!" He then started chasing us. We started to run faster and made our way into a dead end next to our home. I tried to look for a window that wasn't bordered up but the only one was 3 stories up and it was very small. Glancing back, I saw the blue box that appeared out of no where before we left. We were cornered. Me and Rachel started to back up. I could tell he was expecting us to run for it. When we backed up against the blue box, I put my hand on the door knob and whispered,
"Open up for us please. We're scared and have nowhere to go." Suddenly, I felt the door unlock and I pushed Rachel and myself into the strange blue box.