Disclaimer: I own nothing.
I hold the tiny six month old baby closer to my chest and grip the tiny hand in mine tighter. Behind me I can hear my sister struggling to hold the fidgety one year old.
See me and my siblings have been planning our escape for months now and then today came and we put our plan into action. We each packed a small bag and we ran.
Why did we run, you might ask. Well you see my parents died when I was fifteen. It was a horrible accident that left me in foster care. I was sent to a family a nice family, well they were nice at first.
They had taken me in and treated me so nice it was like they were my actual parents. Then one day I guess it just kind of clicked on their mind that they got two hundred dollars a month from the government. They got money for giving me a home. So they decided to foster a little girl so they could get more money.
Eventually they decided to foster three more kids. The thing was they realized having five kids cost a lot of money. They thought that they would just leave us in the basement with minimal food, clothes, and basically everything. They turned evil fast and soon they were only giving us a few pieces of food a day.
The girl they fostered after me was five years younger than me. Her name is Emily and as we lived in that basement she helped me raise the little ones. See they had adopted small children because small children couldn't tell the authorities like me or Emily could.
Me and Emily gave up meals so that Grace, Max, and Sabrina could eat. The hard part was finding ways to feed Sabrina, she is only six months old so feeding her was always the hardest. Max was always trouble being as he is only a year old. He was always loud and cried often causing our "parents" to become angry. They thought we shouldn't make noise.
They wanted to forget that we were down here. They wanted to ignore the fact that they were starving us and only using us for the money it provided. They did whatever was needed in order to forget about the vile people they had become.
So eventually one day I decided to sneak upstairs while my parents were out. I grabbed a tiny amount of food. Just enough to feed us but not enough for them to notice any was gone. As I scanned the kitchen a plan formed in my head. From now on everyday they went out I would take a dollar or two from them and store it away in the basement. Ten one day when we have enough we would run.
Then today came we had just enough to be able to get plane tickets and leave this hell hole behind. So in the dead of night I woke the others and Emily picked up Max and I grabbed Sabrina holding her securely. I strapped the bag of our money and belongings on my back and grabbed Grace's hand.
I knew this would be hard on Grace we had to walk far and it would be hard for the small five year old but we couldn't carry her. So we snuck out and made our way towards the nearby city. We walked along the shadows for hours, just in case they learned of our disappearance and came looking for us.
After hours of walking we finally reached the small airport. I scanned the board of the list of flights leaving soon. I see one leaving for Manchester, United Kingdom. That should be far enough away that they will not be able to find us.
Half an hour later we are one a plane and I look out the window to see Los Angeles for the last time. I pull my bag onto my lap and count the small amount of money we have left. We only have about a hundred left, I just hope we can survive off of that for a while till I can find a job.
Hours later I stand in front of the airport in the cold England air. Sabrina starts to squirm in my arms and I know I have to find somewhere warm for us to stay. It's not good for the little ones to be out here for to long.
I watch as Emily struggles to hold Max, I gently reach out and take him from her before handing her Sabrina. Grace clings to Emily's sweat jacket sleeve and we begin our search for our new home. We walk in silence, street after street, looking for somewhere to sleep.
"Dan, what if we can't find anywhere to stay?" Emily asks.
"Don't talk like that Em, we will find somewhere, I promise." My words are hollow but she doesn't seem to notice.
"I'm hungry." Grace says as she tugs at Emily's sleeve.
I stop walking for a minute and set Max on the ground. I unzip my bag and grab a granola bar for Grace. I break it in fourths and hand a piece to Emily and Grace. I then scoop Max back up in my arms and try to get him to eat. When he finally does I then eat my piece.
We walk for awhile longer before I find a small café that is still open. I push the door open and allow the younger ones to go in first. The door shuts behind me with an audible thud.
Grace who was shivering now seems to be warm and Sabrina has gained some color back. I walk to the counter and order a small hot chocolate. I savor the warmth emitted from the cup for a moment before I hand the cup to Emily.
"Have some then give it to Grace." I then grab Sabrina from her.
Now we need to find something to feed the tiny girl in my arms. I glance around the room and see a woman who is in her mid twenties. By her side is a bag that just so happens to have a baby bottle sticking out of it.
I set Max down on the chair and hand Sabrina back to Emily. I walk towards the counter swiping the bottle as I pass. I grab some napkins to look like it's what I came up here for. I go back to my seat and pick up Max. Once he is securely placed on my hip I motion for the girls to come follow me.
We leave the warmth of the café and walk down the empty side street. I stop in an alley and take Sabrina back. I pull the bottle out of my bag and I allow Sabrina to drink the contents. When she finishes I shove the bottle back in my bag and we continue the trek to find somewhere to stay.
Street after street, it all seems to blur together. The longer we walk the more I learn just how hard this will be. Maybe it would have been better to stay in the dark and dusty basement. At least then we would be a little warmer.
"Dan!" I here Emily shout.
"What is it Em?"
"Grace, she isn't next to me."
"What do you mean? I thought you were holding her hand?" This can't be happening, I can't have lost her. I lost my little sister in a new town halfway across the world.
"Grace!" I shout hoping she might hear me.
I turn back in the direction we came and start to search for her. I shift Sabrina on my hip and start to run. I can hear Max struggling with Emily but I just keep running.
I can hear small sobs and a mans voice. I rush around the corner to see Grace crying and a man around my age crouched in front of her.
"Get away from her!" I shout. The man turns to look at me as the tiny girl runs to me and I hug her.
"I'm sorry she looked lost and I was trying to help her find, well find you." He explains.
"Yeah... And that just so happens to explain why you're outside at three in the morning."
"For your information I was out here because I was taking photos for work." He retorts.
"Why exactly are you taking pictures in the dark?" I ask.
Emily comes up behind me and hands me Max. She then sits on the ground and Grace sits on her lap. I glance towards the man in front of me and he gives me a questioning look.
"Pictures look cool in the dark. Why are you and your...siblings wandering around Manchester this early?"
"Um-well, ugh..." I stutter, I don't exactly want to tell my life story to a strange at three in the morning in an alley.
"You don't have anywhere do you?" He asks, it's almost like he can tell everything about us.
"We have somewhere to stay." I say defensively.
"No we don't, we have been walking for hours. Why did you lie to him?" Grace asks in a small voice.
"Gracie you weren't supposed to say that." Emily whispers to her.
"Do you want to maybe come back to my place, that way you can get some rest and stuff..." The man says trailing off at the end.
"Um...
Yay cliffhanger! You all probably hate me for that but it had to be done. I've been working on this chapter forever because I have been typing up on my phone when I have a minute or two. So review and tell me if I should continue. I'm hoping the next chapter will be better.