Backstab

Chapter 4: Voices in the Night

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We ran for hours, skimming the outskirts of town and ducking into alleyways with every passerby. We moved quickly, but I couldn't get far enough from the Lennox house. There were too many hardships hidden behind those iron gates, so many meaningless deaths. The high roller said we would never escape, but he was wrong. We were free, and we were never going back.

As evening began cloud the horizon, I felt exhaustion tugging at my limbs, pleading me for just five seconds of rest. But I couldn't stop, and no matter how much I wanted to I couldn't let my body get the best of me. The pain I felt now was nothing compared that which I had experienced in the last few days, and I was not about to slow down for a few aching limbs.

"Baby!" SweetPea's cry pulled me back to reality, causing me to halt abruptly and nearly fall flat on my face. She was stopped a few hundred yards back, her hands on her knees as she attempted to regain control of her breathing. In a heartbeat I was at her side, grasping her hand in mine as I helped her stand upright.

"Come on SweetPea, we have to keep going," I urged her between breaths. Despite my own determination, I didn't want to admit how good it felt to not be moving, if only for these couple seconds.

"No, Baby we need to rest. If we keep going any longer I'll faint." She admitted, grimacing.

For a moment I just looked at her, my need to escape and desire to help my friend battling for control of my actions. Glancing around the street, I found an empty alleyway, hiding in the shadow of a gray commercial building.

"Come on, let's stop there for a little," I motioned to the opening. "Do you think you can make it?"

Judging the distance, she nodded, cautiously taking on her whole weight once again. Slowly, we made our way into the shade, collapsing in the dirt and breathing heavily. Now that we were stopped, I could feel the full extent of my pain, and I winced under the weight of it.

I heard SweetPea shift slightly. "Hey, are you okay?" she asked worriedly, bringing her face closer to mind.

I nodded. "I'll be fine."

We stayed like that for a while, nursing our wounds and thanking god that we had made it out alive. A few times I gathered up the will to inspect the nearby streets, checking our surroundings to make sure we weren't in danger. But each scout turned up nothing, for which I was incredibly thankful.

However, on the forth check I found something alarming, quickly ducking my head back into the shadows and holding my breath. A young cop was cruising slowly down the block, carelessly stapling bright pink fliers on every other telephone pole throughout the town. Though I couldn't read the flyers from my position, I had a bad feeling about what was on them. Waiting until he was out of sight, I ran out on the street, grabbing one hastily. Trembling, I began reading.

'WANTED' it advertised in large print. The two young women below have escaped from the Lennox House for the Mentally Insane; Brattleboro, Vermont. They are wanted by the police for questioning regarding 3 murders, 2 attempted murders, and destruction of property. WARNING: These women are considered armed and extremely dangerous. If you see them, or have any information that might lead to their present location, please contact the police immediately at the following number. (802) 313-8974

Below the number were two black and white pictures, side by side like mug shots. I yanked off the poster without giving them a glance. I didn't need to. Returning to the alley, I handed SweetPea the slightly wrinkled paper, watching her expression as she looked over it.

"No way," she declared angrily. "This is insane! We didn't murder anybody, and you could hardly call being in possession of a knife being 'armed and dangerous'!"

I shook my head angrily. "It doesn't matter what the truth is, Blue will make sure that all the public sees is his lies."

She growled slightly, subconsciously closing her hand around the paper until it was condensed into a ball. Wordlessly I took it from her hand, stuffing it into a nearby trash can.

"Come on," I offered her a hand up "we need to get out of this city as soon as possible."

Helping her to her feet, we continued onward, tearing down any posters we saw and disposing of them the first chance we got. By the time night fell on the city I could have sworn we'd taken down over a hundred, and both SweetPea and I were exhausted. We hadn't eaten since that morning, and we had barely stopped for a breath once in the last few hours. But determination and fear kept us going. We knew that no matter what we couldn't go back, and we couldn't let Blue find us.

It was around this time that we had started to leave the heart of the city, and I could feel our freedom getting closer and closer with each step we took. Then, as we were approaching an intersection, a car swung around the corner, catching us in the blazing spotlight if its fog lights. But it wasn't just any car. Honking, the police officer slammed on his breaks.

"Hey you kids!" he yelled angrily, shaking his fist. However, he stopped as he got a closer look at us. His eyes widened with shock and horror as he registered our faces, before fumbling for his dispatcher. "Th-This is police car 0165; I got the two runaways on the intersection of Jerald and Gaylee." He was talking in a rush, repeatedly glancing back and forth between us and his radio. "Requesting backup immediately."

"Run," I said quickly, as he began to climb out of the car. "Run!" We spun around and headed back down the street which I assumed to be Jerald.

"Stop! Hold it!" yelled the cop, climbing back into the car and switching on his sirens. Although we had already put a good 100 yards between us, it wasn't nearly far enough. In a matter of moments he had matched our pace, preparing to speed ahead and cut off our escape route.

Just before he could SweetPea grabbed my arm, yanking me into the safety of a narrow alley to our right. Behind us, I heard the police car screech to a stop, before the officer climbed out and began huffing after us. Lucky for us it was trash night, so we managed to lose him by knocking about 10 or so silver bins in his path.

But his requested backup was coming, and the whole city suddenly seemed alive with the wail of sirens. I knew immediately that we couldn't keep this up for much longer; the exhaustion from our earlier travels was already slowing our pace. SweetPea was also beginning to limp badly.

For a while we ran aimlessly, stopping alarmingly often for rests. In a dark corner of an incredibly tiny alley, SweetPea and I took a quick breather, exchanging a tired glance. Nothing needed to be said, plus we couldn't waste the breath.

"Do you by any chance need some help?"

I froze. The voice that spoke was not SweetPea's. Looking around frantically, I scanned the alley for any source of life, my eyes settling on a dark figure a few feet from us.

"We don't need-" SweetPea began, but stopped when a pair of red and blue lights illuminated the wall to her left.

The figure nodded its understanding. "Follow me." Silently, the figure took off down the opposite end of the alley, disappearing around the corner before we could say another word. Behind us, cops began piling out of the car, obviously intending to search our current hideaway. After exchanging another glance, we followed the figure.

It led us through countless alleyways, zigzagging across abandoned side streets and back roads. Unlike SweetPea and my directionless wandering, there was a sort of pattern to the figure's quick movements, as if it was incredibly familiar with navigating through the city's backroads. Though, I wasn't sure of this knowledge should fill me with concern or relief.

We ran like this for a while, before stopping suddenly in the shadow of a short brick building. When this happened I gasped slightly, digging my heels into the ground to avoid running into our guide. Behind me, I heard SweetPea do the same.

I could have sworn I saw the figure smirk.

"What now?" SweetPea demanded, her voice sharp with surprise and frustration.

In answer to her question, the figure pulled back a few loose bricks at the foot of the building, revealing a small hole dug partially into the ground. Without looking back, it crawled inside.

After a moment of hesitation, we crawled in after it.

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