Haley James Scott panted as she ran down the dark, empty street. The cold, damp, pavement scraped her bare feet, but she didn't care. She was free. They were free. She occasionally glanced behind her to make sure they weren't being followed. She held her baby girl tight in her arms as she ran.
Haley ran up to a house that had a light on in the front window and began pounding on the door.
"Open the door!" She begged through her choked sobs "Please open the door!"
Her young daughter was quiet in her arms, but her fear was written all over her face.
Finally, an older woman opened the door
"Oh my gosh! What's the matter?! Miss are you alright? What happened?" The woman questioned worriedly and stepped aside to let Haley into the house.
"Please, you have to help us!" Haley sobbed, "He's gonna come for us!"
The next day Haley walked quickly through a bus station, her little girl was once again tight in her arms.
She quickly bought two tickets with the money that had been given to her and took off to where her bus would be without as much as thanking the man in the window.
She kept close watch of her surroundings as she runs to be sure she was not being followed. So far so good it seemed.
Haley also kept glancing down into her arms to make sure that Emma was okay.
She mumbled an apology after bumping into somebody and continued to try to make it to her bus.
She finally reached the bus and rushed on board. She settled Emma and herself into an open seat in the way back of the bus.
Haley held Emma close and her heart raced as she waited for the bus to move. It felt like an eternity, but she finally felt the bus start to move slowly and pull out of the bus station. She let out a breath that she didn't realize she had been holding.
They were free. After five years of being trapped in a house with no contact with the outside world, Haley and Emma were finally free. Things were far from okay, but they were headed in that direction.