I only had five minutes.
Only five minutes to escape.
If I didn't make it out in time, I would have to live in this hell hole for at least two more months. I looked over at Hotaru, and gave her the signal that I was ready to go. She tightened her grip on the rope.
I ran and jumped. There was nothing below me but hard cracked cement. As I was falling, I heard and felt everything. The wind screeching past my ears, the rustle of the leaves on the trees, the murmuring of people in the building I had just jumped off of, my hair tickling my face, the cold, winter air, the rough rope that was tied around my waist. Seconds before my body made impact with the cold, hard, bone breaking ground, the rope that was tied around my stomach pulled hard, and my body bounced just feet above the ground. I gasped, and clutched my petite waist for a few seconds before I got my breath back. I then I untied the makeshift knot around my stomach, and landed gracefully on the ground. I grabbed the rope and pulled twice, and watched as Hotaru slid down the rope. When Hotaru was about half way down the rope, the curtains to one of the windows twitched, and to my horror, opened all the way, revealing a round lady with blue eyes and dark brown hair. She peeked out her window, and noticed the rope that was hanging directly in front of her window, and then she saw us.
"Hotaru! Jump! I'll catch you, she saw us! "I screeched, tugging on the rope. Hotaru hesitated for a split second, and then let go of the rope when she was still twenty feet of the ground. I braced myself, ready to catch my best friend as she fell quicker and quicker. I held my arms out right as she landed in them, and I staggered and fell over.
"Mikan! Are you all right?" Hotaru said, only slightly worried.
I'm fine! We gotta hall ass! I said. Before I took off, I looked back at the lady who had seen us. She was historically screaming into her phone, when I noticed I heard something. Cheering. I looked around and saw it from all over. Everyone in the orphanage was cheering for us to run.
"Mikan! What are you doing? We gotta go! NOW!"
"Right! Let's go!" I said, running at full speed around the back allies of the terrible, run down town where the orphanage was.
"Oh, shit, Mikan turn around!" Hotaru yelled reversing our course.
""What! Why?" I said leading the way back to where we had started.
"The cops!" She said breathless. That's right. That lady had her phone out. She must have been calling the cops. I thought to myself. As I turned the corner to get away from the cops, I stopped dead, resulting in Hotaru running into me. How are the cops already here too? I asked, thinking of a way to get out. I franticly looked around for a way to escape, when my eyes landed on a tall tree that was growing out of the asphalt.
"There Hotaru! Climb the tree!" I yelled as the cops advanced on us. Hotaru ran toward the tree, energy anew, and grabbed the first branch that was within her reach, and scrambled up the tree. I was about to do the same, when an officer came up from behind me and said,
"Stop right there." He was only feet behind me, and advancing quickly. I darted up the tree, but I wasn't quick enough. The officer grabbed a hold of my foot, and said
"I thought I told you to stop." He said pulling on my foot and almost making me fall out of the tree.
"Like hell I'll stop!" I yelled, pulling back. He didn't let go, so I pulled even harder, slipping out of my piece of crap shoe and made my way farther up the tree. When I got high enough that I could grab onto the roof of a building, I tried to pull myself up, but I was hanging on by finger tips. I was about to jump back in the tree and climb up further, when Hotaru grabbed onto my hand and hauled me onto the roof.
"We have to hurry, the fire departments here." She said. I looked down and saw the fire department putting a ladder up to the roof. SHIT! We didn't even have to communicate as we both ran toward the next building. The roofs weren't that far apart, so we jumped from roof to roof, trying to escape the authorities, but they were fast, as fast as we were. They were chasing after us, screaming at us to stop, when Hotaru and I came to the end of the line. The building we were on was at least ten feet from the next building, a distance we couldn't jump. I looked for an escape, but found none. They were getting close , saying we had nowhere to run now. I looked down into the ally, and saw a dumpster full of rotting trash, looked at Hotaru, who seemed to understand my plan, and we both jumped right as the cops made a grab for us. We descended quickly, as the cops and firefighters watch in horror as we fell three stories down. I realized something very quickly. I wasn't going to land in the dumpster. I was going to land on the hard, dirt ground, with nothing to break my fall. I immediately relaxed as best as I could, as I remembered a piece of information I had read, stating that if you were in a relaxed state, your bones would bend easily without breaking. Any second now.
As my body made impact with the side of the dumpster, I felt a tearing sensation from my shoulder to my chest, and head a metallic clang as my body glanced off of the dumpster, and then as my body collided with the ground, I heard a sickening cracking sound from within my body. I tried to stay calm and determine where I was hurt, but as the pain set in, I could hardly think, but I could hear clearer than usual.
"MIKAN!" I heard Hotaru sob, as she jumped out of the dumpster. I heard the cops running over to us and try to push Hotaru away from me, and heard the crunch of dirt as she stood up and screamed she wouldn't let them touch me. I heard the distinct sound of someone slapping someone else, and I heard Hotaru scream in pain. Hotaru. I thought, trying t make myself move, but the pain was immobilizing.
"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HER!" Hotaru screamed as she knocked the officer to his back and ran over to me. She hoisted me into her arms, and ran as fast as she could with me in her arms. When she picked me up, the cut on my shoulder and chest had seared uncontrollably, and my shattered ribs ached with an unimaginable pain.
"I'm sorry, I know this must hurt, just hold on, just hold on!" she sobbed.
"Stop!" I heard the cop scream in rage. A few seconds later I fell to the ground along with Hotaru. My ears rang with the sound of my heartbeat, my breath was shallow, my body felt heavy, my body was burning in pain, but at the same time, I was Ice cold. My chest felt and shoulder felt moist, and I struggled to keep consciousness.
"NOOOOO! Let me go!" I heard Hotaru scream, somewhere close to me. I heard a loud bang, and a blood boiling scream of pain, and then I felt Hotaru's hand fall into mine. Hotaru. Hotaru. Hotaru! He hurt Hotaru!
"Hotaru." I whispered meekly, trying to open my eyes. "Hotaru!" I said with more volume. I tightened my hand around hers hand, and opened my eyes. I saw the cop keeping Hotaru pinned down, and then I saw him bang her head into the ground. She gasped, and went limp.
"HOTARU!" I screamed, tears rolling down my face and mixing with the blood on the ground. "YOU STUPID MOTHER FUCKER!" I said, feeling my blood flow faster, my heart beat get stronger, and my pains lessen. I rolled onto my stomach and used my hands to pull myself over to Hotaru's limp body. The cop got up, and said "Don't move, you'll just lose more blood." I ignored him and crawled close enough to where I could feel her heart beat. It was a little slow, but rather than that, it was fine. Then I noticed the small pool of blood at the back of her head. My blood boiled, and what I had to do became crystal clear to me. My pain had entirely subsided, and I got to my feet without a problem. "How dare you." I said, my bangs covering my eyes. "How dare you lay a hand on Hotaru." I said looking up at the cop. He looked dumbfounded."How are you stand-"
"HOW DARE YOU TOUCH HOTARU!" I screamed launching myself at the cop, who was knocked to his knees. I hit him with all my strength, I kicked him. I tried to hurt him. Another cop showed up and restrained me, screaming at me to stop. His words reached me, but I didn't understand them. I was too lost in rage. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" I screamed, kicking and hitting at the cop who was holding me down. A man from the fire department showed up with a syringe of an unknown liquid, and was stricken speechless by me.
"How is she moving?" he asked, dumbfounded.
"I don't know! Just stop her!" he yelled as the fire man injected the serum into my neck. As he was pulling his hand away, I latched onto his arm with my teeth, and bit down as hard as I could. I could feel myself becoming distant. I'm losing consciousness. I thought as my mind faded into the blackness.