Chapter 1

I threw my red stress ball at the wall. It bounced off and came back to the very hand I threw it with. I repeated the cycle over and over again seeing how there was nothing to do in this wretched cell.

The cell smelled horrible and my cell mate wasn't the best with hygiene which made things worse. In a way, he acts almost like a bear and looks like one too. Luckily, I didn't say any of it out loud or else I might as well be making a wish list on how many ways to be killed. Even as he sleeps and snores louder than a train whistle my cell mate, Zeb has remarkable hearing.

Our cell door opens and their mutton chops a.k.a Kallus stands, glaring at me. He has sandy-blond hair and sideburns with light brown eyes. He is also the police officer that is supposed to be watching over me.

I catch my stress ball and slid it into the pocket of my worn down, orange sweat shirt.

"What did I do now?" I asked annoyed and accidentally waking the beast himself.

"Shut up, kid," the gruff man said hitting the back of my head then falling back asleep. I rubbed the spot Zeb hit and stood up getting away from him.

"There is someone here bailing you out," Mutton chops said. I looked up in confusion. Who in the world would bail me out? My idiotic dad won't because he thinks that it'll help me 'learn my lesson.' My mom is a different story and I don't have any relatives or other family members. It's going to be another three months before I can even get out!

So who is getting me out of the slammer?

"Are you coming or not?" Mutton chops asked me annoyed and I rolled my eyes walking towards the exit. He closes the cell and leads me down the hall of cells to a metal door. We headed towards to the waiting area. As we walked, my mind itched to think of who it could be that was bailing me out of jail.

Once entering the area, I saw a woman and a small boy sitting to the side. The boy was sleeping on his mother's lap while she combed her fingers through his hair.

I quickly looked away trying to push the urge, the want to be held like that again. Instead, ignored it and kept scanning the room for whoever was bailing me out.

There was a small group of teens typing away at their phones and talking, probably waiting for a friend or something.

An old, fat man wearing a fedora wasn't far away from the teens. He was quietly sitting and dazed at the far wall across the room. Then lastly, there was a man with a ponytail with crossed arms and blank face, watching mutton chops and me.

We stopped in front of him and I gave mutton chops a confused look.

"Here he is and keep a close eye on him. He tends to be trouble," Kallus told the man.

"I will," the man said with a nod.

I stared at the man and taking in his appearance. The man has brown hair and forest green eyes. A goatee covered his chin and his skin was pale. He's wearing an evergreen shirt, sleeves rolled up to his elbows; dark, blue jeans; and black boots with dried mud sticking to them.

'Who is this guy?' I thought.

"Um, mutton chops," I began to speak, "I have no clue who this guy is and aren't you supposed to be giving me to my parents? Not a total stranger?"

Mutton chops turned and faced me with a glare, "He has everything that is needed to legally get you out of our custody and besides..."

He crossed his arms with a mockery tone when saying ", I thought you would be thrilled to get out."

Then heard Kallus mutter under his breath, "I know I would."

I rolled my eyes but knew it was true. I desperately wanted to get out of this howling house of misery ever since being thrown in here. When this guy and I are out then I can high tail it out of here. Yet, there was something strange to this matter but honestly didn't care at the moment.

"Fine," I huffed crossing my arms and went along with this total stranger.

"Keep a close eye on him. I don't want to see his face in here anymore than I already have," Mutton chops told the ponytail man while glaring at me. I glared back to show that I wasn't afraid.

"I will," he replied blankly then guided me to the doors of the police station. We exited the building but I didn't run yet because it wouldn't be wise to run when just getting out of the building. Then of course, I'm going to have the police on my tail again soon enough.

The man guided me down the street and kept his hands on my shoulders. He was taking this 'keep an eye on him' thing to seriously. It was going to be hard to escape with his hold gripping and pushing me forward. However, I noticed that the man was looking around, scanning the area and keeping an eye out for something. What that something is, was beyond me.

"It would be best if you put your hood up," he told me.

"Why?" I asked confused.

"Just do it," he said but not in a mean way. I pulled my hood up and over my head.

"Why do I have to do this?" I asked still confused.

"It's for your own safety," he said still looking around and pushing me down the sidewalk. I would have laughed and replied with my classic remarks if it wasn't for a loud bang then something hitting a building near us.

Ponytail yanked me into a nearby alleyway still keeping a tight grip on my arm. He peeked around the corner to search through the panicked crowd to find the person who fired the gun. Then to my surprise, he lets go of me then pulls out a gun and starts firing back.

My heart raced and eyes widened with the urge to run far from here. If that bullet had come any closer to my head, my life would have been done for. Kaput. I shuddered at the very thought.

My supposed 'protector' even snuck a gun into the police station without letting anyone know. Now using it against the very people who shot at us first. I'm surprised the police aren't here yet to deal with the situation.

"Come on, we need to get to my car," the man said urging me to go down the alley. My train of thought came to a stop. I didn't think twice and started to run with the man right beside me.

For some reason, I felt safe in his presence but wasn't going to think much of it. I mean, I literally just met the guy.

I started to follow behind him as another sound of a gun fired echoed. Ponytail stopped at a small, dark blue car and went over to the driver's side.

"Get in!" He ordered before sliding into the driver's seat. I opened the passenger's door and quickly slid into the seat and closed the door. The man started the car and we took off down the road as I was just buckling my seat belt.

Another bang rang in my ears as something made a small hole in the front window. I let out a small whimper then ducked my head and put my hands on top. My ears ringed and everything around me was a blur. My breathing was irregular and eyes burned with tears that were yet to break their dam and fall. I just wanted to hide and forget the world around me for a moment.

I didn't want to die. I didn't want to die. I didn't want to die.

It repeated over and over in my head nonstop.

"Kid, can you hear me?" An almost echoed voice called. It took me a moment to respond in my normal voice without cracking.

"Yeah," I responded blinking away the tears and sat up straight, placing my hands on my lap.

"Good," he said, "Don't worry I think we lost them."

"You think or just for now?" I questioned him.

"Either," he said and I rolled my eyes then turned my attention to the window. We were driving down a road that is lined with miles and miles of pine trees. I turned to face ponytail and asked, "Where are we going?"

"Away from danger," he said simply.

"Could you be more specific?" I asked.

He sighed, "Look, we are going to take a break at a place I know, then travel across the border."

"You can't do that," I said, "You literally kidnapped me somehow legally and now you want to take me to a different country?"

"Yeah, for your own protection but first, we need a new car," he said.

"Who are you?" I asked realizing I didn't even know his name yet.

It took a minute before he said, "Kanan."

/

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