Katie wakes to the sound of a garage door opening. She gets wide eyed in realization and quickly starts to shake David awake.
"Come on! We need to go!"
"Wha...we don't have to go til Saturday."
Katie shoves him off the couch. David stands up rubbing his arm.
"What the hell?!"
"You said we had three days!"
"We do."
"Today is Saturday!"
"Crap."
Katie runs a hand thru her hair and frantically begins to gather her things in the nearby duffel bag.
"We'll talk about this later. Hurry up and help."
David huffs and dashes over to gather the various items on the floor.
"Not my fault."
"Do us both a favor and shut up before you say something stupid again."
David shoves the last of the clothes into the bag and zips it up. They run out the door just as they hear the back door open and slip into an alley.
"Again. What is that supposed to mean?!"
Katie looks over at David in annoyance.
"This is the fifth time you've messed up! Every time you forget when to leave, we end up fighting!"
"Well excuse me for not having a track on time Miss Paranoid. But none of this is my fault. I get so sick of your crap sometimes..."
Katie glares at him and clenches her fists at her sides.
"Would it kill you to steal a freakin watch or something?! Geez. You know, there's this magical thinking device known as a brain. Why don't you use one?"
David glares back at Katie as he reaches inside the duffel bag and pulls out a pocketwatch. He holds it up in front of her face.
"I did, remember?"
Katie pushes his hand away. "Then why didn't you use it?!"
David freezes and puts the watch away.
"Fair enough. You have every right to be pissed."
Katie rests against the brick wall behind her and takes a deep breath.
"Sorry. It's just a little annoying waking up in a panic. Can I have my coat? It's freezing out here."
"It's only sixty."
David reaches into the bag and after some digging finds her coat and hands it to her. Katie smiles and quickly pulls it on.
"So where to next?"
"Well, I went scouting yesterday and I think the Sampson family at a reunion in Wisconsin shouldn't mind us crashing for a few days."
"How far?"
"Only seven miles. Should be settled in by lunch."
"Sweet. Let's go."
Katie follows David out of the alley and raises an eyebrow at the direction he chooses.
"The narrows? Isn't that a little risky?"
"Well we don't exactly have time to be picky, do we?"
When they enter the narrows, Katie clings to Davids arm and is careful to stay in pace with him.
"It's not that bad."
"The nut house is around here."
"So?"
"That houses murderers!" Katie whispers. "What if they get loose?! I don't like it here."
"It's only a few days. Then we'll go back to Gotham Estates. This isn't that different."
"This is completely opposite of the suburbs!"
"Okay, well just relax. There it is."
Katie looks in the direction David is pointing to and she smiles in relief. An appartment building in fairly good condition is their destination. They reach the stairs and David struggles to get the door open. Katie feels an eerie chill go down her spine as David holds the door open for her.
"What's wrong?"
"Is someone watching us?"
David smirks. "Paranoid much? We're all alone."
Katie runs a hand thru her hair and glances behind her before quickly walking inside the appartment complex. They find the vacant appartment and after proper introductions between the lock and a safety pin, are inside.
Eighteen months ago
Katie sits on her bed rubbing the forming bruise on her cheek. She hears the front door slam shut and breathes a sigh of relief. Knowing that she has a few hours before her mother returns, Katie grabs her purse and waits a minute before dashing out of the house.
Within thirty minutes, she arrives at the park. She takes a seat on a bench and watches the people playing around her. A warm smile spreads across her face and she leans back. A dark haired boy sits down beside her.
"That blonde girl is gonna steal that doll."
Katie looks over at David.
"What?"
"That blonde girl. You can tell what a brat she is by how she's eyeing that doll the black haired girl is playing with. Just watch. I bet she'll get away with it."
Katie looks back at the blonde girl as she stands up and pushes the black haired girl to the ground. The blonde girl steals the doll and says something to the other girl before running away. The blonde girl runs over to a man sitting on another bench and shows him the doll. He pats her on the head and sends her back to play. Katie turns back to David.
"You're good."
"Thanks. My names David."
"Katie."
She turns to face David and his expression turns to one of concern.
"What happened?"
Katie silently curses herself and covers her bruised cheek with her hand as she dashes out of the park.
Present
Katie accidentally elbows David in her sleep, jolting her awake. She sits up and looks over to confirm that David is still asleep beside her. She smiles and carefully eases her way out of the mess of blankets. Once free, she walks over to a soot coated window and sighs to herself.
With some effort, she manages to pry it open. Katie leans out the window by resting her folded arms on the frame. She takes a deep breath of the crisp air before returning inside and pulling the window closed once more.
Once she adjusts her black night shirt Katie walks over to the duffel bag across the room and digs thru it. She finds the small box she's looking for and opens it. Katie holds the golden locket against her chest and smiles. Still holding the locket, she pulls out a small pile of pictures from the box.
She smiles at each photo as she remembers when they were taken. Katie pauses on a picture of herself and David sitting at the docks. In the picture they are sharing a kiss shortly after David gave Katie the locket.
Katie hears mumbling from across the room and puts everything away before returning to the makeshift bed. She crawls under the blankets and rests her head against Davids chest.