Chapter Twenty- One: Escape and a New Twist
Brian carefully turned over the bacon making sure it didn't burn. He couldn't let it burn not after yesterday. He couldn't afford to have his hand burned again. He had found and old shirt and wrapped it around his hand offer some protection.
In the two days he had been with the Dursley's he knew the best thing to do was to simply do as they asked and keep quiet. It hadn't prevented him from getting any punishments, but they hadn't been too bad. He had only been made to hit his head as hard as he could against the metal stove five times instead of the ten Vernon had promised earlier that day. He had only been backhanded three times yesterday, but he knew this morning would be much worse.
Vernon was supposed to have had the day off, but the company had called last minute saying he had to come in. He had been in a violent mood ever since the call about an hour ago.
Brian placed the bacon and a plat and stepped down from the stool he was using to reach the stove. He put the bacon on the table before going back to get the eggs and toast.
"Good morning, Brian," Petunia said as she entered the room. Brian placed the food on the table while saying,
"Morning, Mum," as he has been instructed. Both had demanded him to call them Mum and Dad. Brian desperately wanted not to, but was afraid of what would happen if he didn't. "Breakfast is finished." He didn't wait for a reply as he moved the dishes to the sink and moved his stool over to rinse them before putting them in the dishwasher. Brian kept his eyes glued to the sink as Vernon entered, grumbling about having to go into work.
"Good job, brat. You didn't burn them this time. Learned your lesson, eh?" Brian forced himself to be polite.
"Yes, sir, Dad."
"I'll be off now since I have to go to work," he growled. He pecked Petunia on the cheek and then left as Brian finished putting the dishes up.
"Brian, go get your coat. We have to go to the store to get groceries." Brian eagerly obeyed. This meant he didn't have to any chores, or at least not as many and it gave him a chance to get out of the house.
Maybe he could run away. He could simply 'wander' away in the store and then leave. Anything was better than staying here for another with Vernon and his 'no hurt' punishments. Brian preferred it if they did hurt. Petunia simply pretended that none of it was going on and left him be and offered no comfort whatsoever.
Brian remained silent on the car ride there and as they entered the huge supermarket. An hour later he was beginning to get frustrated at having to sit in the uncomfortable seat in the front of the buggy. If he could just get out he could get away from her. He began kicking his legs lightly trying to get her attention. After a few minutes it worked.
"I bet you're tired of sitting there aren't you?" He nodded, heart beat speeding up seeing his opportunity.
"My legs are starting to go numb and tingly."
"I'll let you out, but you have to promise to keep hold of the buggy, okay?"
"I promise," he said automatically not thinking of the repercussions if he was caught. He simply would have to make sure he wasn't caught. He waited several minutes for her to become busy and not notice, but she was keeping a close eye on him. Finally, thirty minutes later, she ran into a friend of hers and they began talking. Seeing his chance, Brian let go of the buggy and ducked behind a passing one. As long as he made it out of the aisle it would be fine. Thankfully it was crowded and Petunia had no idea that Brian had slipped away and was now making his way outside and out of the parking lot.
"Am I going to be allowed to hold him at all tomorrow?" Harry asked Brittany, his attorney for his case.
"No, they never let that happen." Harry sighed as he last hope was ripped away.
"Do you know how his foster family is?"
"No, they haven't given me any information on that," she said simply shifting through some papers.
"How is this going to work? Is there going to be a jury present?" She closed her folder and looked at him across her desk.
"No, this is just Family Court. A judge, clerk, and then us of course. Listen, I know who want to do something, but the best thing you can do is to make sure you don't get in trouble. Somehow they always find out those things. I would like to stay and talk to you more, but I have to get going."
Harry nodded his head and said good bye, feeling as if his last hope had walked out with her.
Brian shivered as the wind blew and pulled his coat tighter. He quickly started down the street getting as far away as possible.
There were stores running down the street. Brian ducked into the largest one and began looking around. It looked to be a clothes store for the most part, but he did find some toys. He looked at them for a few minutes before making his way to the back looking for a door. He'd have to hide somewhere soon. Petunia would be looking for him soon. Panic seized him as he realized his last though was to late as her voice reached him from the front of the store.
A few feet ahead were a restroom that he ran into. Thankfully there was no one there, and he quickly went into a stall. He locked the door and sat on the toilet, pulling his legs up to his chest so no one would see his feet when they searched it, and he knew they would search it.
He heard his name called over head asking him to come to front of the store. He regretted coming in here, but did they really think he would come? He should have looked for an alley to hide in. He hoped they wouldn't think to look under the doors, and lay down and look to make sure no one was sitting on them like he was.
He tensed as the door opened. "Is anyone in here?"
Brian barely dared to breath as a pair of boots come to his stall door and looked under. He caught a glimpse of brown hair, but a second the man, he knew it was man by the voice, stood up and left.
Brian let out his breath, but a new thought occurred to him. Security cameras! This was the muggle world, not wizard, and all stores are cameras now. He frantically looked around the room and spotted one mounted on the wall. He felt the blood drain from his face as tears came to his eyes.
It had all been for nothing. He was going to get caught, taken back to the Dursley's, and treated worse than before. This was so unfair! Why couldn't anything ever go right in his life? Brian shook his head. He couldn't do this. He couldn't give up. He was so close. There had to be a way out. Maybe they weren't watching the cameras yet. Maybe he could sneak out. If he hid behind the stuff in the store, or between the clothes, maybe he could make it to the back. There had to be a back door out. It was risky, but he couldn't stay here.
He quickly ran out of the stall being sure to keep his back to the camera. He looked around watching for any sign of Petunia, or any other adults. He could hear people's voices all around him, the store was full of people now. There hadn't been that many when he had entered, but it now seemed to be crawling with people. Maybe he could work this to his advantage. He could blend in with the crowd, and no one would see him.
Though all these people could know that a woman was looking for a little, and he could easily be caught.
He darted into the crowd, weaving in and out of people, until he reached the back. There was door with writing on it, but he didn't know how to read. He did recognize the read glow that he knew usually went with emergency exits. Would an alarm go off he if he went out? He knew they did sometimes. He remembered asking Daddy that when they had gone into Muggle London, but there had been something different about that door. He had had a sticker on it, and this one didn't. Did that mean that alarms would go off if he went out it?
He didn't have a choice really. He couldn't see another door, and he knew soon every person in the store would be looking for him, not to mention the security cameras. He opened the door and ran out. He didn't wait to see if anyone came after him, or take a look at his surrounding very well. He seemed to be in back parking lot. He could see some trees about a hundred feet away. He ran as fast as he could towards them.
He collapsed a few feet in once he was sure no one would see him. He was panting heavily, gasping for breath. He lay against the hard frozen ground and waited his breathing to come. He knew he would have to leave soon, he couldn't stay out here for the night, he's freeze to death, but it would have to do for now.
Petunia was out of her mind with worry. Where could he have gone? How had he gotten out of the story? What was going to happen to her? The people from the foster agency would come and question her. They would look into how he had been treated, and what would Vernon do? He had been so much more pleasant since they had got Brian. He got very cranky if he didn't have something to vent his anger on. A human being to vent his anger on. He had never hit her, and she believed he wouldn't, but…
How could this had happened? She had liked him even if he was just for Vernon's purposes. He had always been so sweet and polite. She gulped as a police man came over and began questioning her.
Brian got up ten minutes later. He was bone tired from running and from Vernon's beatings, but he needed to get moving. He looked around more closely now. He seemed to be in a dense wood on some sort. He started walking forward. He couldn't go back towards the store; it would be suicide. He didn't think there were any large woods in the area so it shouldn't take to long to get to the other side and somewhere more sheltered to stay.
He was wrong. Seven hours later, an hour after the sun had gone down, he was still making his way through the forest. He was ready to give up. He just wanted to lay down, curl up into a ball, and cry. He wanted his daddy. He wanted to be held and be reassured that everything was okay, and that he would never be alone again.
He tripped and fell, hitting his chin hard and bringing tears to his eyes. He stayed there on the ground what little will power he had possessed, gone. He cried and cried. They soon turned into quiet sobs, which escalated to body racking sobs, almost screaming at the injustice of it all. He had no idea how long he cried, but after a while he slowly drifted off to sleep, miserable, cold, and hurting.
His frowned deepened as he saw the child, he had no idea who it was, trip and fall. He expected the child to get up, but he simply stayed there and began to cry.
What had happened that had disturbed this child so? He could feel his agony and despair despite the fact there were on separate continents and separated by an ocean.
This was not good. No one was supposed to enter those woods. It was much to dangerous and forbidden, but he doubted the child knew that. He looked to be very young, he would guess maybe three, but the feelings he was receiving were unconceivable for one so young.
He took in a deep breath as he received a new feeling. The child wanted to die. He was so little. What would force one so young to think and truly mean it?
The man couldn't keep a tear rolling down his cheek for this poor, sad, lost, lonely little boy. He had to go to him no matter how much trouble it caused. Something about the child pulled at his heart strings. He knew that someone else had felt the same way he was now, but where was that other person? Why hadn't they stayed with him?
He put his coat on and began to chant.
Author's Note: I think I have something planned, and then this! Oh well, I can still make my other idea work with this. I will tell who that man was, like usual, when I figure it out. As always, I have no idea what it was about.
I apologize for not updating More Than Meets The Eye. It's been giving me problems, but I think I've gotten passed it. I've got a little on paper, and I'm hoping to have it out by next week.
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