Epilouge: Take it on the lam

"We can't just go back to the cul de sac. Kev and his friends will murder us if we do" explained Nazz and the others quickly agreed.

"So what do we do now?" demanded Eddy impatiently. He already knew what the answer was likely to be but he wanted to hear it from Nazz anyway.

"Its obvious, dude" stated Nazz calmly "we take it on the lam".

"Excuse me?" said Edd. He was an avid linguist and keen English student but alas, there were certain phrases here and there even he did not know.

"We get outta here before Kevin and the others come for us" clarified Nazz "Something tells me we're not welcome here anymore dude".

And she said that last phrase, Nazz came to a tragic realization. Her dream was shattered. Her idealistic world which she hoped to make real one day was gone and would never come to exist. "Truce forever" was Nazz's dream, her dream that one day that the Eds could walk among the neighborhood as regular civilians who deserved respect and had a right to protest against unjust treatment. Her dream was that one day, Kevin and Eddy would shake hands and forget their differences. Her dream was that between the Eds and the other kids in the neighborhood, a truce could finally be called.

Nazz alone knew that war was a very bad thing. And she wished that one day everyone would agree with her. Wars were nasty and distracted you from the sweet sensations life was supposed to offer. And had you even bothered to pay the tiniest amount of attention in school, you would know that people died in wars and those who did not die came back forever traumatized and hurt. Wars were very painful things and Nazz alone knew that.

But so long as Kevin's corrupt influence remained over the corrupted neighborhood, there could be neither negotiation nor truce. Under Kevin's oppressive regime there was no word for peace in the dictionary. There could be no negotiation, no diplomacy and no truce. War was all encompassing and would never end. Those who did not bow to Kevin and worship him would soon fall under his might, Kevin was a very violent boy who took great pleasure in torturing those who he deemed to be unworthy of his attention.

Kevin spent his days looking for vulnerable bystanders to harass and torture. And tragically the three Eds were the first people Kevin saw that fateful day. Kevin gave them one look, and though they tried to greet him politely he did not take kindly to their politeness, but rather decided to abuse them since they were outcasts and because he knew they were unable to do anything against him.

He victimized the Eds to no end since that day, and every time he held a party or event where all the neighborhood kids were invited he would ban the Eds from showing their faces. He discriminated against the Eds, he was incredibly racist to the Eds and sexist too. He would go out of his way each day to harass them as painfully as he could and to top it all off, he talked the other kids into bullying the Eds as well. And because Kevin was the most popular boy on account of his various achievements in sports, the other kids did as he said without hesitation. They fought for his attention and each one was desperate to be accepted by Kevin as a friend so that they would have a share in Kevin's jawbreaker stash.

Jawbreakers were a delicious treat and Kevin knew it, his dad had a whole bunch of jawbreakers in the garage stored specifically for Kevin and Kevin used this to bribe the other kids into bullying the Eds in any way they could. Kevin concocted lies to make the Eds seem like bad people who deserved a beating when in reality all the Eds wanted to do was to fit in to their society and be accepted by their peers. But Kevin would not let the Eds have that, Kevin was determined to drive the Eds to tears and to make their existences as miserable as he could. He made it his life's goal to never let the Eds experience happiness of any kind.

And with Kevin around, the "mob war" between the Eds and Kevin's gang would never end. Needless to say that were they to go back to the "cul de sac" this instant, they would not get far before half a dozen paintball guns were pointing at their heads.

Kevin would welcome Nazz and her friends if they went back. He would welcome them warmly, not with open arms but with firearms.

Nazz was amazed how much she had changed in the past weeks. Amazed at how one of the most popular kids in the neighborhood had made so many enemies in so short an amount of time. Nazz used to be popular, very popular. She used to be the only person Kevin viewed as an equal and the one he made every effort to please.

A few weeks ago, every boy in the neighborhood would have held a crush on the trendy and attractive girl they called "Nazz". Now however, the only crush those boys held was a desire to crush Nazz to pieces in the most painful way possible. And all because she tried to stand up to the horrific abuse Kevin was giving to Eddy. She only wanted to stop him from bullying the Eds so that Eddy could finally find happiness in his long life of sorrow. She only wanted to help. She only meant well.

But clearly, the neighborhood shunned anyone who sympathized with poor Eddy. The Eds were not regarded as people, but as objects which were there to be abused and misused. And anyone who tried to support their plight, would soon be given equally cruel and evil treatment by Kevin.

Nazz knew this day was coming. She knew from the second she first held Eddy's hand in friendship that the world would not approve of such a relationship. Their love could not be, it was not meant to be, it was a forbidden love. Nature was clearly against Nazz's decision to be with Eddy it seemed.
And yet the past few weeks she had spent with Eddy and his friends were some of the most joyful days in her life. She felt as if she finally had real friends and not just some selfish and inconsiderate jerks you had no choice but to be in contact with.

Nazz was a very shy person when it came to romance, believe it or not. She never put her love out on the line ,and was always afraid that she would not say yes to the right guy.

And yet when she saw Eddy, she was immediately smitten. His kind heart, his innocent smile and his adorable stutter whenever he talked to Nazz were just three of the adorable things Nazz loved about him. Before he came to the neighbourhood, Nazz felt awfully lonely. There was not one person she could truly consider a companion.

Kevin and the others all wanted her love and each one of them were more than eager to become her boyfriend. Yet secretly, she despised them all. She could not help but despise them. They were rude, they were selfish and most of all they were sadists who took great pleasure from causing harm to others. They laughed at the expense of others and targeted the weak and helpless. Yet Eddy was not like that, Eddy was a good and honest boy who Nazz could love.

Eddy was a bubbly and cheerful young cherub who simply wished to be friends with his peers so he could pass his days happily in the company of friends. Yet the others mocked him the day he showed up. And when Nazz tried to speak out against this unjust and harsh treatment to a newcomer, Kevin put a paintball gun to her head and told her he would shoot her if she didn't start laughing at the new kid too.

Nazz still cursed herself as she thought of how long she had left Eddy to suffer before she finally took a stand for him. She could have intervened years ago, but on account of Kevin's threats she could not bring herself to do so out of cowardly fear. Even now she felt that no matter how good a person she tried to be, she would never fully make up for the horrible things she did to Eddy.

Before Eddy came to the school, Nazz felt as if she was a flower in a room where light didn't shine. And a flower without sunshine was destined to die soon. And when Eddy and his friends came, Nazz felt as if she could see her future shining. But tragically, though Nazz both loved and wanted Eddy, she could never show it. Kevin kept a close eye on her wherever she went and if she showed the slightest sign of affection for Eddy, Kevin would be on her like an avalanche and would brutally have her beaten up in a moments notice.

Eddy was Nazz's light, he was the one Nazz loved since the moment she saw him since the day she saw him. Life had been so dull and boring each day without Eddy. Having to be friends with selfish bullies she didn't even like was not an existence Nazz wished to return to. But Eddy's uplifting presence made Nazz's dull life bearable, the way she saw him endure the beatings Kevin gave him each day and his optimism in the face of such harsh treatment amazed her to no end.

Yet Nazz could never show her affections for him, for if she did then Kevin would murder her, quite literally.

It felt good that day to finally put Kevin back in his place. She had wanted to do that for a long time. But now that she had, Kevin would be after her. She had battled Kevin and Rolf Kevin's right hand man with the intention of finally ending the "mob war" between the Eds and the bullies and to stop the bullies from bullying the Eds.

But she had only done the opposite, she had instead made the already violent "mob war" into an even worse "double rate mob war". In other words now two mobsters would be killed each turn rather than just one. To put it simply, Nazz screwed up. She set out with the intention to end Kevin's vendetta against Eddy but she had only succeeded in adding fuel to the fire. Now Kevin was more determined than ever to abuse the Eds and to make matters even worse, now Kevin was after Nazz too.

And she knew that if she stayed here, she would not live long before Kevin had her head on a chopping board.

"We have to go" stated Nazz impatiently "Kevin and the others will murder us if we stay here, dude". "But where?" asked Eddy "I don't know anyone who'd be willing to help us, do you?".

"What about your brother" suggested Nazz eagerly "From what you told us, he sounds like the kind of dude who'd be willing to take us in".

Eddy shivered slightly and he chuckled nervously. "Erm" replied Eddy bashfully "about that... I have a confession to make guys. I've kind of made things up".

And Eddy spent the next ten minutes giving a brief summary of how his brother was a cruel and sadistic bully who took great pleasure in torturing little children. He told Nazz and the others about some of the traumatizing experiences he had suffered at the hands of his brother and how till this day, he feared his brother in every way.

"Dude, that was real mean of him to do that to you" remarked Nazz when Eddy had finished.

"Indeed Eddy. He really was quite a nasty piece of work" agreed Edd. "Shocking" gasped Ed. Sarah only nodded, she could not find the words to describe how horrified she was that anyone had to endure such abuse from their roll model and elder sibling. And once more, Sarah cursed herself for not being more appreciative of her older sibling when he had been so nice to her, she had no idea any older sibling could be as mean as the one Eddy described.

"And anyway. I don't even know where he lives" grunted Eddy "not that I want to" he added, shivering slightly.

"Right dude" replied Nazz, nodding "Go to plan b. We'll just go where the wind takes us. There's a bus stop not far from here where we can catch a bus that will take us away from this rotten neighbourhood".

"You mean we'll have to leave the cul de sac behind, oh no. Mother and father will be so cross" exclaimed Edd.

"And if I leave. I'll have to leave Jimmy behind and well... he's my friend" added Sarah sadly.

"Surely you have some other plan other than leaving the neighbourhood we've grown so accustomed to living in. Nazz" suggested Edd anxiously. He blushed. Even though his fear of talking while he was around Nazz had lessened now, every now and again he could not help but let out a blush as he admired Nazz's surreal countenance.

Nazz shook her head in disappointment. "Sorry dude" she replied wistfully after a while "But its not safe to stay here any longer. You saw how Kevin nearly killed us all back there right?". Everyone nodded, they were still sweating anxiously as they remembered how close Kevin had come to killing them.

"So I've decided that the best thing to do, is to leave. I mean, do you like living in this rotten neighborhood where everyone's a real jerk including the teachers?"

Everyone, including Sarah, shook their heads. Even the teachers were every bit as abusive as Kevin and of course the Kankers always came from time to time to make life a living hell. Though the Kankers treated the Eds pretty harshly it was Sarah who took the brunt from the Kankers. She and Jimmy had been tied up and tortured by them many times.

"Exactly my point dude" replied Nazz "And if we go back, Kevin murders us so we can't go back." She stood up and began to leave the alley "I'm going dude, whether you come or not. I'm sorry but if I stay, Kevin will get me".

Nazz turned away. "W, wait Nazz" shouted Eddy, standing up too "you're not going alone. I'll come with you. I've spent ten years trying to get to you now and I'm not about to let you go now. Please, let me come with you". "Thanks Eddy" thanked Nazz, turning around and giving Eddy a light peck on the cheek to show her appreciation "that's big of you ,dude."

"Erm Nazz" piped Edd, standing up too "If you don't mind of course, could you be so kind as to let me accompany you on this journey. I promise not to cause trouble and will do my utmost to assist you in any way I can".

"Yeah dude, totally" replied Nazz "The more the merrier"

"Friends stick together" said Ed "If my friends go on this journey, I must go with them no matter what happens. That is what friends do."

"Of course dude" giggled Nazz. She turned to Sarah who was facing a wall, turned away from Nazz as if she didn't want to see her.

"How about you Sarah?" asked Edd "care to join us on our journey to who knows where."

Sarah turned to face her friends and her tone was slightly tearful as she spoke "It's just that" she sobbed "that I'll miss Jimmy. He's my friend".

"I know how you feel dude" consoled Nazz, putting an arm around Sarah as if to comfort her "I promise one day you'll see him again. But for now, we have to leave him behind".

"Can't we take him with us?" asked Sarah hopefully.

"Afraid not, dude" replied Nazz apologetically "If we go back and get Jimmy, we'll waste valuable time and he'll be sure to tell Kevin about our plan. I'm sorry but we have to leave him behind for now."

"Why" demanded Sarah, slightly crossly.

"Jimmy's loyal to Kevin ,dude" explained Nazz, trying her best not to sound disrespectful "If we take him with us, he'll probably give our position to Kevin the first chance he gets. And we can't risk that or else we're all dead".

"So are ya comin or not" demanded Eddy a bit impatiently "No one's forcing you to come you know."

Sarah perused the three boys and the blonde girl that faced her, it was clear this was no easy decision for her. "Please baby sister" begged Ed "I don't want to leave you here, the bed bugs might get you at night".

"Oh alright" answered Sarah "I'm not going to just let my brother go without me. I'm coming with him to make sure he's alright. And yeah, if Kevin sees me, I'm sure he won't be too happy with me either"

"Hooray" cheered Edd happily "the gang's all here".

"But Nazz" Edd warned, suddenly remembering that they had forgotten to bring their wallets with them "We haven't got any money and our belongings are..."

"No time dude" blurted Nazz, cutting him off "We can't afford to waste any more time going back to collect stuff, especially when we have to travel light. And as for money".

With a flourish, Nazz pulled out a wallet full of money "I managed to sneak it away from Johnny back there" she explained "Don't worry, Johnny stole the money from Eddy so technically this is Eddy's money". Eddy nodded, one of the ways Kevin tried to make his life a living hell was by always stealing money away from him, and the other kids soon followed Kevin's example which left Eddy broke and unable to buy even a single jawbreaker. He had spent ten years craving a jawbreaker and yet for ten long years, the sweetest of life's joys had evaded his grasp. All thanks to Kevin and his evil gang of bullies.

They waited until the coast was clear and it was dusk before they sneaked out of the safety of the alleyway. They then headed out of the suburb where they had spent ten years living and headed towards a bus stop just outside the suburb where they would catch a bus.

They felt as if they were stepping onto another planet as they left the suburbs behind. Then the group sat making small talk at the bus stop until a bus finally came and the door slowly opened. The bus was devoid of people, save for a small, bearded man behind the steering wheel.

Nazz went first and held out a handful of notes "To Charing cross please sir" she joked.

"Er sorry" replied the man apologetically "but I don't know what you're talking about".

"Oops my bad" said Nazz, struggling not to laugh "but I meant Piccalilly circus".

"Look, just tell me where you want to go or get out of here" exclaimed the driver, yawning. It was clear he had been driving all day without a single customer.

"Take us as far as this bus goes then, sir" replied Nazz handing the driver all the money in her hand "we're drifters. We don't really know where we're going yet" she explained.

"Er... Okay" said the driver, clearly puzzled. "Please take your seat"

And the five friends sat together as the bus sped away from the rotten neighborhood known as the "cul de sac" of peach creek. Nazz was not at all sad to leave it behind her, in fact she often dreamed that one day she would go travelling to explore new places. She always thought there was more to the world than just a small bunch of run-down houses and she was eager to see the splendid sights that surely awaited them. Even if it was only because they were trying to "take it on the lam" that they were on this journey, it was still exciting and Nazz could not help but wonder what fine places this bus would take them to.

"It didn't matter" thought Nazz "as long as I have my friends by my side, it doesn't matter where I end up". She snuggled up next to Eddy, who was already fast asleep. "He's so cute when he's asleep" thought Nazz to herself. She sat there for a few minutes, watching the countryside pass by until she fell asleep, using Eddy as a pillow and hugging him tightly as she slept. She had never felt safer in her life than when she lay next to Eddy. Eddy's presence was indeed very reassuring for her.

Meanwhile Sarah fell asleep too, using Ed, her brother, as a pillow while Edd slept in the back seat. He was not used to sleeping beside people yet, and frankly found it a bit intimidating and unsanitary.

But while all seemed good and well for the five fugitives leaving the "cul de sac" behind, trouble was yet to come. The past you see, had a nasty way of always coming back to haunt you.

The End of the story.

Thank you so much for reading my story. So what do you think of it?. Like it, hate it?. Please review.

I just thought that the way Nazz abused the Eds in the series was a bit harsh and that it would be nice if she helped them instead of abusing them.

I also thought it would be a nice twist if Sarah joined the Eds and finally forgave her brother. It's a shame we never get to see Ed getting along with his sister in the show because siblings are supposed to love each other.

If you liked this Ed Edd n Eddy story, please think about checking out my other stories.

I strongly recommend the story "In the mind of Nazz".

Anyhow, thank you in advance for being such an epic person and see you next time. I might or might not consider making a sequel, but with schoolwork in the way, I might not have time. Any reviews would be much appreciated.