Hi guys, this is my first upload and I'm so excited to dive into the world of fanfiction and use my own ideas. DISCLAMER: all the rights go to Alexander Bracken for creating this brilliant world of 'The Darkest Minds'. Please show your support for future uploads and don't be afraid to give constructive criticism.
My lips parted in a silent gasp.
I didn't register that the door had been opened until she stood before me; tall and threatening. Her face was shadowed by the light behind her so I couldn't tell her age, for all I know, she could be a teenage but that would be unlikely. My hands trembled inside a pair of thick, rubber gloves as my quickening heart beat drummed in my ears. Our eyes were locked, her's a deep green, mine a brown as dark as my skin.
"Where did you come from?" She managed to choke out. Terror gripped my bones, I did the first thing I could think of and slammed the door in her face. Dashing out through the back door that was positioned to the left – a heavy fire stopper kind – rain hit my face in fat splodges, blurring my eyesight like tears. A quick glance behind me was all I needed to spur me on. Snack-sized packets of Pretzels and crisps were spilling out of my oversized, Indy 500 t-shirt. But at this moment, I didn't really care. I was too aware of a crazy lady chasing me in this blanket of rain. Adrenaline zipped around in my veins, forcing me to run quicker through the gas -station's carpark, though there weren't many cars at all; I guess they're all too expensive now.
All I could think of was getting back to Betty – a beaten-up old minivan – and seeing Chub's and Liam's warm faces again. My tiny legs were pumping so fast beneath me that I tripped on the edge of a curb; almost falling flat on my face. I couldn't afford to wait to gain my balance, so I stumbled and carried on sprinting. She was only two steps away from grabbing my now drenched t-shirt and dragging me back to camp. That was way too close.
A pleading voice echoed through the thunderous rain," I just – I just want to talk to you," she called, "Please!"
Damn it, she's still following me. I don't think I can carry on running like this for much longer.
I thought I have to mislead her. Thinking that, I spotted a small cluster of trees – out the corner of my eye – and re-directed towards them, but still in my original destination. I always was the cross-country winner but I haven't ran like this since kids started dying at school. The group of trees towered over me as I made my way towards them, their leaves whipped all over the place as the rain pounded at each individual, forming a blur of green. Leaping over a fallen trunk plastered in thick moss, my trainers squelched in the forest muck, turning them brownish – so much for the soundless escape.
"Ruby!" A different voice drowned everything out; it sounded like a young boy, about fifteen although I wasn't that sure. I darted towards a tree and flattened my back against the rough bark, steading my breath from its gasping state. My eyes locked with the woman's who had been chasing me. In this light, I could see her whole face, she looked about seventeen – Liam and Chub's age – with wide eyes, a straight, button nose, rosy-red lips and a soft, round face. She was even more out of shape than me, but you could see the sharp angle of her bones jutting out of her frame. My eyes widened in realisation: she was a kid too. Stupid no stray rule I thought.
"Ruby!" I was so distracted by the girl – well Ruby – I forgot about the other person. Pressing my lips into a line, my eyes darted back and forth between the voice and Ruby. The voice's owner was a short, chubby kid with an irritated sore on the side of his chapped lips. His pig like eyes scanned the area suspiciously before giving up with a huff and moving on.
A breath I didn't realise I was holding escaped my lips as I sucked in another. Ruby had just taken a hesitant step towards me, so I took off as fast as I could in the direction where the minivan was. I broke through the trees, heading down a deserted stretch of road I had walked down only earlier this day. Lining both sides of the dead-end street, a row of decrepit houses with over grown gardens stood – where kids used to play before the IAAN corrupted America. I pretended to head towards one of them, a grey house with a once colourful fence, but I made a hard right down a cut through and ran towards lovely Betty. Her paint may be flaking of in clumps, her slide doors dented beyond repair and her wheels flattened and worn but I still found peace and safety within he metal walls. She had always been there for us when we needed get-a-way car so we made her our minivan and had her ever since the day in the parking lot.
I was running so hard, I slammed into the side panelling of the minivan and recoiled off it. Pain clouded my vision and I felt like I had just rammed my head through a brick wall. However, I scrambled off the ground in a quick recovery. With both yellow-gloved hands wrapped around the door handle, I ripped the sliding door open with a sound loud enough to catch attention from people miles away. Just in the nick of time, I slammed the door shut and whacked my hand down on the lock-all-doors button. I watched as Ruby came up to the window, a few sticks caught in her knotted, dark brown hair, her eyes mirroring the frightened look I wore on my own face as she cursed under her breath.
"Please!" her voice was horse, probably from all that shouting. She ran to the opposite side of Betty, ducking out of view, just as the whiney boy drew near. Shifting to the other seat, I thought of what I could do. It sounded like adults were also looking for her as their voices ricocheted through Betty's cramped interior. One of my hands clamped down on the door handle, just as I heard Liam's voice in my head,
"Remember, NO strays they only cause trouble…!" I put that aside – knowing I'll be in a lot of trouble – because in this situation it will cause more problems leaving her to rat us out to whoever they are.
Before Ruby had a chance to run, I rolled the door open as fast but as quiet as I possibly could, leaned down to seize the back of her odd clothing, twisted for a better grip and yanked her into the car…