Chapter 1
Quietly I set down the letter I wrote for my mother on my bed and crept around my room. I checked my bag and made sure I had packed everything I would need. I had money, clothes, a tiny bit of food, my journal and a pencil. Most everything else I would have to buy when the need inevitably arise.
At ten past three in the morning the house was absolutely silent. That was what I had planned. It was also dark so even if I did wake up anyone in the house they wouldn't notice I was gone until the morning. It took a lot of planning but now was it. It was now or never as they would say in one of those films Chloe is apparently so interested in. I personally had always been fonder of books.
With a last look around and a deep breathe, I headed to the window. I had made sure to grease it yesterday, so it would open silently. I tossed my bag out lightly and climbed into the cold night air. Then I shut the window and headed off.
The night air was cold on my skin but I had layered my clothes so I wasn't shivering in the wind. I walked to the nearest bus station. Earlier in the week I had mapped out which stations could take me to New York and when.
Ten minutes later, as planned, an all-night bus came by. I paid a fare to New York City the day before so I simply showed the driver my ticket as I boarded then settled down for the long ride.
Sometime during the ride I must have fallen asleep because when I woke up, it was sunrise and in the distance I could see the tips of the sky-scrapers littering New York City. I let out a long sigh, there was no turning back now, and in an hour my mother would wake up and find the letter.
I rummaged in my bag and took out my iPod. I know I should have left it at home, but I couldn't. Music was my comfort so I clicked on my favorite play list and lost myself in the music as the bus rocketed towards the sunrise.
"Break out all the mechanical
Step right up to the freaky intangible
Hands uncuffed, take the leash off this animal
If it's getting hyphy hit me with a night-c (yeah)
Slip right into your stripper shoes
Roll the dice, I got snake eyes and deja vu
Poppin off and I'm bouncing with ballyhoo
Tune in (tune in)
Turn on (turn on)
Drop out"
The familiar words woke me out of my trance as I looked at my watch. It was 6 o'clock in the morning. That meant I had two hours till I had to catch my next bus. I got kind of lucky with this whole "escape-to-them" thing because I was actually able to find Tori and her friends with a bit of ease. A simple scrying spell had worked for me. That I didn't exactly understand because if I could find them with such a simple how could the Edison Group not have caught them yet? Or me for that matter.
I really needed to talk to Simon most. There were certain things I needed to discuss with him, blame the visions or whatever but I developed a kind of crush on him and I had to warn him not to fall in love with Chloe. I wasn't jealous or anything, on the contrary I was trying to help him. Chloe falls in love with someone else after all and I want to save him that pain. Chloe's love seems so cliché!
The bus was pulling into its station now. I decided to some breakfast before I started walking to my next stop. Once again I had pre-purchased my tickets so I had more then enough money to spare on a quick breakfast. I didn't leave before I left, who could? It was three am!
The women at the counter gave me a strange look. It didn't matter to me, I was 16, I was old enough to have a job and a car so that meant it was acceptable for me to be out this early. Early to bed, early to makes a girl strong and wise is what my mom used to always tell me.
I was munching on a toasted bagel from Dunkin' Doughnuts when I started walking to my next bus stop. It was a fair distance away so I had left myself plenty of time between bus rides to get there. Not to mention time to pee and eat. A few hours on a bus can make anyone want to wet themselves.
I stopped into a bathroom on the way there and then continued walking. It was getting warmer as the sun started peaking out in the early morning. I got myself to the bus stop with a half hour to spare. I picked up my ticket then went to the waiting area.
Fifteen minutes later they started letting people board the bus. I took a seat near the back of the bus and clicked on my iPod again. Only another hour before I got to the town the safe house was in and only half an hours walk until I got to the actual safe house.
I closed my eyes and the bus started moving. I really hated not being able to sleep at night. By now I must be starting to get bags under my eyes. I can only imagine what Tori and Chloe look like by now. They've gone a whole heck of a lot longer without sleep then I have.
An hour later exactly I woke up as the bus was pulling into its stop. I stepped off into the afternoon air. Then I grabbed a snack and stopped in the bathroom one last time before starting my walk to the safe house where everyone was holed up. Hopefully they won't turn me away. That thought left a knot in my stomach. A very tight knot, maybe I shouldn't have had that iced coolatta.