Running

They had been driving around for what felt like hours, but when Brittany checked the time on the dashboard, she discovered that they had only been in the car for half an hour. Everyone was silent in the car. He sister had fallen back asleep, evident by her lulling head. Usually Brittany would have taken a photo to embarrass her, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Instead, she carefully lifted her sister's head, and rested it against the car door frame. Her father was at the wheel, his knuckles white from his firm grip. Her mother must have also noticed his knuckles, because she rested her hand against his thigh causing him to relax, even if it was only slightly.

Car rides were generally a noisy affair in the Pierce household. Usually the radio would be blasting, with Brittany and her sister dancing around to whatever song was on the radio. Her mother would join in with the singing, and her father would laugh along at his ridiculous family. In contrast, today's car ride was dead silent, and no eye contact was made between its passengers. Brittany looked out the window, and watched as they passed house upon house. The roads were relatively empty. It seemed that everyone had locked themselves in their houses to protect themselves. Not that the roofs above their heads would prove to be good forms of protection in an air raid.

Brittany's brain was on overdrive. A constant stream of thoughts rolled around in her head and none of them were being fully processed. As soon as she stayed long enough on one thought, it was quickly replaced with another thought. Finally she couldn't handle the mess in her head, and had to break the silence.

"Dad, where are we going?" she asked timidly.

Her question seemed to startle her father, as his eyes shot to look at his daughter through the rear view mirror. His shoulders tensed, as did his knuckles. "Just on a break. We just need to get away for a while."

"John," Brittany's mother whispered softly, "she's sixteen. She's old enough to understand."

What was Brittany old enough to understand? Were her parents hiding information from her? Why did her dad find it necessary to lie to her? Her mother was right. She was definitely old enough to understand.

Her father sighed and took in a deep breath before starting. "The war. You've seen the news. Regardless of what they tell us, it's getting worse."

"Those rumbles we heard earlier..." her mom added, "...let's just say it wasn't someone mowing their lawn."

"Bombs." It slipped out of Brittany's mouth before she could control herself. It wasn't a question.

"Yes. They've started the air raids. People have been talking about it for ages at work. We all knew it was going to happen at some time. Sooner rather than later," her father explained.

It didn't make sense to Brittany though. The war was occurring on the other side of the country, and had been for the last few months. Reports that came their way assured them that the country's soldiers were fighting hard to overcome the invaders and their efforts were succeeding. Her father was right though, you couldn't always trust the media.

"So where are we going?" Brittany asked.

"The air raids were too close to us and it's not safe. We're going to go up into the mountains. We'll stay at your grandparents' old cottage."

Her grandparents, who had passed away a few years ago had left their son, Brittany's father, their house. Brittany's family had turned it into a holiday house, which they had used on various occasion throughout the years.

It felt strange, going up to the mountains, where they would be closer to the airplanes in the sky which were causing the destruction, but it was also the most logical option. The cottage was a well hidden by trees and secluded from civilization. Also, as horrid as it was to think about it, Brittany knew that the invaders weren't dumb enough to waste a bomb on an area where there wouldn't be a lot of people; they'd aim for densely populated areas, which would create a high victim count as a result.

Brittany returned to watching the scenery pass her window. The number of houses that they passed was slowly on the decline, and Brittany was starting to see more trees and underpopulated regions. Brittany wanted to keep an eye out for everything that passed her window; she was unsure how quickly the familiar would become the unfamiliar, but the continual passing of mundane objects coupled with the gentle rocking of the car was hypnotic, and Brittany felt her eyelids slowly becoming heavier and heavier. Her father saw her through the reflection of the rear view mirror, and smiled.

"Go to sleep babygirl. I'll wake you up when we get there. We still have a while."

Brittany shook her head in protest. She didn't want to fall asleep. She needed to stay awake to keep an eye out for any danger. But her protests were made in vain, as she finally succumbed to sleep.

She felt her body shake before her eyes opened. She blinked, once, twice, to allow her eyes to adjust to the light. It was dimmer than before with the sky tainted a faint orange. Her view of the sky was then hindered by a figure who stood in front of her.

"You awake honey?" her mother said quietly. She patted the top of Brittany's head, smoothing down the fly-away hairs which were bent in awkward angles due to Brittany's sleeping position.

Brittany nodded but then yawned sleepily, causing her mother to chuckle. She wiped the sleep away from her eyes, and her mother reached to wipe away the drool from the right corner of her mouth. Embarrassed, Brittany looked away and observed her surroundings. She was still sitting in the car, but long gone were the suburban houses. They were on a dirt road, surrounded by a sea of trees. The air was cooler here, and all she could hear was her father's gentle voice as he roused her sister awake. She was expecting to see her grandparents' house nearby, but it was nowhere in sight.

"Mom, where are we? Where's the cottage?"

Her mother looked at her father before answering. "We're going on a hike," she answered carefully.

"Where are we hiking to?" Brittany's sister had awoken and seemed to have enough energy for a thousand hikes.

"To the cottage," Brittany's father replied, avoiding eye contact with his daughters. Brittany scrunched her forehead in confusion, and looked at her parents, who were both pretending to be preoccupied.

"To the cottage?" Brittany repeated, "Why are we hiking to the cottage?"

"We're going to leave the car here, and hike the rest of the way to the cottage. It's just a safety precaution," her mother explained.

"Are…are we being followed?" Brittany asked quickly, "Dad, are you a part of the mafia?"

Her father took one glance at his eldest daughter and then burst into laughter. It was the hardest that Brittany had heard her father, or anyone, laugh in such a long time. His belly shook, and tears sprung to his eyes. It caused Brittany to break into a smile so big that it didn't seem to fit her face.

"No babygirl, I'm not a part of the mafia. We just wanted to be cautious about this. If we leave the car here, then no one will know where we've gone. The safety of this family is my top priority, and I'll go to any means to make sure we stay together." He headed to the back of the car and opened up the trunk. He stood there for a moment, surveying the contents with his hands on his hips. "I'll need everyone to carry at least one bag."

Brittany got up from her seat, and stood next to her father. He picked up what seemed like the lightest bag and held it up to Brittany's sister. "Is this alright Abby?"

She fed her arms through the straps of the backpack and hoisted it onto her shoulders. She turned back around to face her father and nodded.

Her father then lifted the smallest suitcase from the trunk and placed into onto the floor in front of Brittany. He then grabbed another backpack and put it on top of the suitcase. "Do you think you can handle both of them, Brittany?"

Brittany nodded in reply and put on the backpack. In all honesty, the backpack was quite heavy and some of the bag's contents poked uncomfortably into her back, but she didn't say anything. She pulled up the retractable handle of the suitcase and looked back at her family. Her mother also carried a backpack and had a suitcase by her side. Her father's luggage was left on the floor, as he closed the door of the trunk and climbed back into the driver's seat of the car. The rumble of the car's engine cut through the silence, as her father drove the car deeper into the trees, away from the clearing and out of view. Moment later, he returned and lifted his bag onto his back. "Let's go," he said before heading into the thick of the trees.

The Pierce family walked in silence. Brittany's father was leading, followed by Brittany's mother and sister, and Brittany bringing up the behind. The backpack was getting progressively heavier, and the suitcase didn't travel smoothly over rocks and tree roots. Abby stopped and reached down to pick up a long stick, about the same height as her. "Mom, I have a hiking stick," she said brightly. Her mom smiled down at her, and placed her hand lightly on the girl's shoulders.

Brittany allowed her mind to replay the events of the past few hours. It felt like months ago that she had returned home from receiving a rations package from the community center. In only the span of a couple of hours, she was whisked away in a car and now found herself away from what was the safety of her own home, and hiking up a mountain with an awkward suitcase in tow.

"How did you pack so quickly?" Brittany asked her parents.

"We've had these suitcases packed for a while now."

"We had an inkling this might happen. As I said before, people have been talking about this for ages at work, and it was best that we were prepared," her father added.

Brittany nodded and looked down at her feet. Her breath was becoming more labored and she could feel her shirt sticking to her back. She jumped up to allow the backpack to fall back onto the tops of her shoulders where they met her neck. She lifted her top and used it to wipe her brow from sweat.

Brittany felt like her brain was buzzing with more questions, but she didn't dare to ask any of them. Was she afraid that someone would hear and then capture them, or was her tongue just stuck, preventing her from forming any words or coherent sounds?

They continued on their hike mostly in silence. Her parents shared a private conversation together while Abby used her hiking stick to hit dandelions along their path, causing most of their seeds to scatter into the surrounding area. A lucky few escaped, carried off by the gentle breeze. Brittany watched the seeds being dispersed into the wind, and some landed on her shoelaces. She wanted to bend over to brush off the seeds, but was afraid that she would topple over from the weight of the bag on her back.

"Mo-om, I'm tired," Abby whined loudly. She threw her stick onto the ground, and shrugged her backpack off. She kicked some dirt, and looked like she was considering planting herself on the floor but couldn't find a suitable spot. Instead she crossed her arms and pouted. Brittany walked up to her sister and for a moment wanted to join her. Why were they hiking to the middle of nowhere? Why did they run away from their house? They weren't being personally targeted. Her father just barged into their house and yelled at them to get into the car. The war wasn't anything to be afraid of. So what if bombs were going off. It's not like they were ever going to be hit.

But Brittany knew she couldn't join her sister in their frustrations. She had to keep it together, for her sister's sake, for her parents' sake, and for her own sake. So she picked up her sister's bag and put it on top of her suitcase, securing it by tying the straps to the handle of the suitcase.

"I know Abby. We all are. Trust me," Brittany said bluntly to her sister. She looked into Abby's eyes, and could see tears starting to form at the corners. Alongside the fatigue and frustration in the seven year old's face, she could see the confusion and the sheer innocence in her features. As much as Brittany felt lost, it must have been nothing compared to how Abby felt. The poor girl was fast asleep when everything transpired mere hours ago. "Come on, we're nearly there," Brittany reassured her.

Brittany's mom walked up to the pair and handed over a drink bottle to Abby. Abby grabbed the bottle and hungrily gulped several mouthfuls of water. "Slow down honey, we need to share this between the four of us." Abby then sheepishly passed the bottle to Brittany, who took some small sips of water after hearing what her mother had to say. "Brittany," her mother said, "in the front pocket of my backpack, there should be some snacks." Brittany reached into her mother's bag and pulled out some granola bars. She passed them out to her family, and they munched on them silently as their rested their legs. Brittany took the time to look at their surroundings. All around them were trees, their branches grasping at the sky. The ground below was littered with bark and leaves which had fallen from the trees, scattered among patches of grass and gravel. On Brittany's right, she spotted a single blue feather at the base of one of the largest trees in the immediate area. Her eyes followed the trunk of the tree, and sure enough her eyes caught an empty nest wedged between a branch and the trunk. Brittany picked up the feather and brought it closer to her face. The vibrant sky blue color of the feather caused it to stand out. It had distinct black stripes running horizontally with a white tip painted onto the tip of the feather. She handed the feather to her sister, who looked up at Brittany speechlessly. She pocketed the feather and smiled in reply.

Their peace was broken by some growling which was growing increasingly louder. "Hide under the trees! Cover your heads!" her father hissed quickly. Brittany ran straight to the nearest tree and curled herself into a ball, using her arms to wrap around her head. The sounds became louder before they decreased in volume. She lowered her arms from her head and garnered herself a peek. Overhead, she saw two small planes flying off into the distance leaving a dirty, grey trail of smog behind. Once the coast was clear, Brittany's dad cautiously crawled out of his hiding spot.

"Did they see us Dad?" Brittany whispered, afraid that the wind would catch her voice and transport it all the way to the pilots of the foreign aircraft.

"No, I doubt it," her father replied, eyes locked to the sky. He looked back at his family, shaken from the encounter and fear pouring from their eyes. "Come," he said gently, "it's starting to get dark. We're nearly there." He reached down to pick up Abby's discarded bag, but Brittany picked it up first and shook her head.

"I've got it," she said. Though she never doubted it, she was surprised and incredibly grateful that her father was being so strong. Whether or not it was only a facade Brittany didn't mind. They all needed him. He was their rock. Nevertheless, Brittany knew that he reciprocated the feelings; he needed them, and Brittany was eager to relieve any of her father's stress. She repositioned the backpack on her suitcase, and they continued on their hike.

The sky was turning a dark shade of violet with a faint streak of crimson orange when they finally heard the rushing of running water. They couldn't see the river, but they knew that it was situated behind the cottage. Hearing the calming noise meant that they were getting closer.

Finally they spotted the wooden, homemade letterbox that Brittany's grandfather had built using fallen logs from around their property. The letterbox marked the beginning of the driveway leading up to the cottage. At last Brittany felt that she could let go of the breath that she didn't know she was holding. She looked at the faces of her family members, and they all seemed to feel the same way. They had reached what could only be described as safety; secluded and away from destruction and danger. Memories of visiting her grandparents when she was younger flooded her head, and she actually chanced for a small smile. The smile grew when an overwhelming feeling of relief grew from her core and washed over her body.

As they neared the property, Brittany's mother stopped in her tracks, her arm slung out to prevent anyone from passing. "John, look, the lights," her mother whispered. Brittany looked up towards the house, and saw lights flooding from the windows. Her father turned to his daughters and put his hand on their shoulders. "Girls, go take our bags, and hide over there in the bushes with your mom. I'm going go figure out what's happening."

"No John, I'm coming with you. You're not going in alone," Brittany's mother said. Her father opened his mouth to retort, but after one look at his wife's indignant face, he knew arguing would be redundant. "Girls, do as your father says," Brittany's mother said forcefully, looking straight into each of the girl's eyes. Brittany wanted to cry out. She had no idea what was happening inside the house, but from the feeling she was receiving from the pit of her stomach, she was almost sure it wasn't going to be pleasant. "We'll be fine," her mother assured, "trust us." Brittany didn't know what else to do except nod, and she went to grab the luggage. She stumbled into the bushes with her sister and through the leaves and branches watched her parents tentatively open the front door of the cottage.

"Are they going to die?" Abby asked. Brittany turned her head swiftly to face her sister, her eyes wide in surprise.

"Don't you dare Abigail Pierce. Don't you ever say that again," Brittany scolded in a hushed whisper. She was hurt that Abby would ever go to such a dark place, yet a small part of Brittany knew her sister's concern wasn't unwarranted. Brittany looked back at the cottage, and wished she had x-ray vision. She couldn't see anything that was happening in the house. She couldn't hear anything either, except for her own uneven breaths.

After what felt like hours, Brittany was so close to jumping up and running into the house to figure out what was happening, when suddenly she heard a faint creak. The girls froze in the bushes and Brittany strained her ears to hear any other additional noises. Brittany couldn't see anything, and wasn't sure where the sound had come from. Abby reached over and grasped onto Brittany's hand, squeezing her fingers and holding on tightly.

Brittany heard her before she saw her. From around the corner, a girl, around her age, with thick, dark, wavy hair flowing behind her, ran away from the house, towards Brittany. She took one short glance over her shoulder, as if to make sure that no one was chasing her, and that was the split moment when Brittany's brain flicked into action. She jumped up from her hiding spot and tore through the bushes. She ran straight towards the figure and lunged at the girl, tackling her to the ground. Luckily Brittany was slightly bigger and taller than the stranger and the element of surprise also worked in Brittany's favor. As Brittany wrapped her arms around the girl's waist, the girl turned her head and all she could see was a flurry of blonde hair. She screamed as she fell backwards and landed heavily onto the floor. Brittany straddled her hips and pinned her arms up above her head. The girl squirmed for a heartbeat before giving up. Her eyes were shut tightly and her head was turned to her side, her cheek pressed up against the dirt. "Please don't hurt me," she pleaded. Brittany could hear the defeat in her voice, laced with something greater than just plain fear. The girl was petrified, and her body was shaking underneath Brittany's weight.

Brittany heard another slam, and she looked up to see her parents running out of the cottage. "Brittany!" her parents yelled in unison as they headed towards her. Brittany looked back down at the figure and growled with as much courage as she could muster, "Who are you and what are you doing?"

The girl turned her head to face Brittany and opened her eyelids to reveal eyes several shades darker than her hair. She stared straight into Brittany's own eyes, and Brittany felt like she was being searched.

"My name is Santana Lopez, and I'm running."