Chapter 4

What is the most scared you've ever been? Lying in your bed after watching a scary movie, clutching your covers convinced there's a monster that'll eat you if you fall asleep. Or maybe you were in the store or something and you lost sight of your parents. Perhaps even you're at school and you are standing face to face with the school bully. Multiply that by a million and you get what I felt on that stormy night.

I ran as fast as I could, but I really had no plan on where I would go. I just wanted to get as far away from those people who shot my best friend. I just kept running until my legs felt like they were made of lead, and my chest felt like it was on fire.

I collapsed on the side of the road, burying my face in my knees, wheezing out sobs so loudly that a few people turned on their lights and check out the windows to see what was going on. Still, no one came out to help me. It's funny, when you've done a few crimes something about you changes, it's like you've been marked with something only other people can see, and it warns them to stay wary, so they stay across the street where they're safe. Even now, when I felt and probably looked the most helpless, my tears soaking my jeans along with pouring rain, I knew I was on my own.

I also knew I couldn't stay out in the open. If what the freak said was true, then they were gonna try and frame me for murder. And... That wasn't just a slap on the wrist, that wasn't a month or two in juvie, nope, that was life in prison-- in Dark Furnace, with who the hell knows what inside. All I know; pits, pain and punishment.

I looked up at the road sign, it read Lisbon Avenue, that meant my school wasn't far from here. I shakily stood up, took a deep shaky breath and jogged the way towards my school. I crossed over Roher Street and over to Lilygrove Road. Zexy, Simon and I would come this way to relax on the monkey bars, or chase each other around in a really wimpy kind of ball game.

I suddenly realized that Zexy would never be able to play his favorite sport again, soccer. And that came like a punch to the face. I fought tears threatening to spill again and I continued, crawling under a bush through a hole we cut in the fence. I ran over to the playground, which from a distance looked like a ghost pirate ship, thanks to the light mist around it. I shakily climbed up and huddled in the shelter next to the slide. It was here that everything went downhill.

It had been two years since I stole my first cash, but in my brain it felt more like forever. It was hard to even remember the kid I was before that, an innocent little child who wanted to grow up and be a YouTuber, a kid who could've cared less about money!

I pictured that kid, turning away from what his friends were doing, and going down a different path of his dream, and I wished that somewhere in a different dimension or something like that, that there was a version of me following that dream, not huddling in a tiny slide shelter waiting for the police to find him and lock him away for the rest of his life.

The rain had almost ceased and I peeked my head out of my lil shelter and looked down over the fields. The moon had turned to a yellowy orange color and it shone down on the field almost like spotlights. The mist made it almost seem to light up like the lights during Christmas, when the clouds would cover the moon, my insides turned colder and the sense of fear that one of those black suited men would come out of the shadows, snatch me up and drag me away through the darkness forever, but the moon always managed to fight back and light the field back up with it's pretty glow.

I thought about the options I had at this point, I only had few, and some made logical sense and others were so insane there was almost no way I could pull them off. I could stay here and wait until morning, where a bunch of people who would be looking for me would come. I could go home, I can only imagine that the news about Zexy hadn't gotten out yet and I could talk to my parents about it. Or I could go to Simon's, hang out there and hide until I thought of a better plan. I could head for the hills, run far away and never look back, jump in a river or something and swim north. I could even go to the police and tell them what really happened, I mean there was six giant men and a guy in a gas mask, surely someone else had seen them.

None of these options were ideal, so I ranked them in my head from best to worst, unfortunately running was the worst option, where the hell would I go? Followed by that was waiting here and going to the police, they probably wouldn't believe me anyway. Now it was between Simon's and home. I thought about going home and seeing my mom, and it filled me with mix emotions of sadness and joy. Maybe she could just give me a hug and make this all go away-- Moms had the power to make anything go away... Right?

But then the thought of confessing my crimes to her crossed my mind, and that was up there as almost unbearable as hearing you've been sentenced to life in Dark Furnace. It would have to be going to Simon's then.

I was so out of it that I didn't realize the change in lighting until it was almost too late. My pants lit up with a blue and red glow, similar to a disco or rave or something. But this was nothing like that. I peeked out of my little shelter, to see police cars sitting by the entrances of the school, casting red and blue glows across the dark, wet fields.

Several men in the familiar dark blue uniform walked over to the gates with flashlights and bolt cutters. They cut the chains off the gate and began making their way toward the field, two headed toward the school building itself. One scanned the area and his eyes landed on my shelter, not sure if he saw me or not. He pointed my way and two other policemen began making their way towards me.

I ducked farther in the plastic shelter as two beams of light shone towards me, looking for me. There wasn't a whole lot of cover, but there was just enough to keep me out of sight. As they continued my way, I crawled off of the play ground and over to the edge of the platform, and inscribed in the wood, was a small message that I swear was never there before. The words were even, large enough to see and neat, three words that made my blood run cold.

Keep running, Ty.

I shakily pinched my arm, seeing if this was a dream, it wasn't. Next I traced my fingers over the letters to see if I was hallucinating, but the soft feeling of the wood and a small splinter going into my finger assured me it wasn't. I quickly pulled out the splinter. Those men knew what I was going to do, before even I did, that is a whole new level of supernatural shit.

The sound of footsteps getting closer reminded me that I wasn't alone on the playground anymore. I pushed myself off of the frame and headed towards Simon's house. The ground was wet and slippery and a couple times I almost slipped. Trying to be sneaky in the darkness, I forced my legs to move, I snuck out through someone's yard and scanned the streets making sure they were clear. I then headed the direction of Simon's place.

I hadn't talked to Simon a whole lot since Zexy and I started robbing houses. It was like he could see that invisible tattoo too, and it was obvious from the way he acted around us that he was scared of us. Scared of what we had become (even though Simon could easily beat me up if he had too). But we'd been close friends once, and when you've been to hell and back, friends stick by you to help.

I quickly crossed Oakwood Drive and sprinted up Anne Street. The houses over here were really nice. Large, two-three stories, some even with four. This was where the richer people lived. I feel like that probably one of the reasons Simon backed out, his family may have only owned an apartment out here but they weren't exactly poor. Though I was no Aladdin, I wasn't stealing bread just to make it another day.

I spotted the duplex that Simon lived in and I quickly crossed the street trying to stick to the cover of the shadows. All the lights were off, which wasn't shocking as it was well after midnight, probably closer to one now, but I knew which room was his. I snuck in the gate, picking up a few stones from the ground, all only pebble size. I pulled my arm back ready to launch a pebble at the second floor window, when something grabbed me by the wrist with a grip so tight I thought they were gonna tear my arm off. I yelped, out of both shock and pain and spun around and was met with a oh so familiar face, standing right behind me. His glowing eyes, sticking out in the night, that undeniable mole under his eye and grin so wide and terrifying it reminded me of that cat from Alice in Wonderland. My heart skipped a beat-- there was nobody here a second ago, and no one can move that quickly, that quietly.

"Now, now Ty, didn't your parents teach you never to throw stones?" He said, his voice so deep and powerful it was like he was talking in my brain. I couldn't say anything, everything felt numb. The man in the suit tightened his grip tighter, and bent down so him and I were eye level. "Not long till dawn, Ty," the scent of his breath similar to that of bad milk. "And now, you've got the cops to deal with."

He twisted my wrist, making me spin so he didn't break it and he gave me a hard shove sending me stumbling back out the gate, and over the curb landing hard on my side in the middle of the road. I sat up just in time to see a police car slam on it's brakes, screeching to a stop moments before hitting me square on in the face. I glanced back at Simon's front yard and the man had disappeared as quickly as he had appeared.

I heard the sound of the car doors opening and I shakily got to my feet and tried to step away from the car. A policeman with a broad chest and dark blue and black uniform began making his way toward me, his expression one concern. A policewoman stood behind him in a similar uniform with one hand on her radio and the other hand near a gun and nightstick on her belt.

"You ok?" the man asked, taking a step closer. "You came out of nowhere. Did we hit you?"

I didn't answer, I kept backing away, my eyes going back and forth between the man and the woman. Suddenly, her radio beeped and something was said that I couldn't make out it said, but the way her expression turned I could only bet it wasn't good.

"That's the kid! Get him!" She shouted, pulling out her gun and nightstick and advancing towards me. The man's expression turned to one of pure anger, and he leapt at me, trying to tackle me.

If I hadn't witnessed what I had tonight I would've thought that this policeman terrifying, but compared to the black suited men, now to me he just looked small and clumsy. I managed to dodge his attack, turning my body so he missed me, I then pivoted back around and shoved him hard in the back, sending him sprawling on the wet pavement. His partner shrieked and leapt over the car of the hood coming towards me, screaming for me to stop, she held her nightstick high, ready to smack me in tomorrow, but she put her gun away. Guess she wasn't willing to shoot me.

I don't know how, but somehow I managed to start running again, stifling the sobs so I could breathe. You know when in gym class and you have to run laps, and by the end of it your legs feel like they're underwater because they're so exhausted. Well that's how this felt only worse. I looked back only to see the policewoman chasing me till the end of the street, then going back to help her partner and get in the car. At this point I thought that this was the scariest thing I've ever run from in my life. Heh, I couldn't of been more wrong.

There was only one place left to go. Home. And I headed that way at full speed. I don't remember the journey, my brain had put itself on autopilot so that all my energy and strength were in my legs and feet. I couldn't stop even when I reached my house. If I kept moving, then no one could catch me, not the cops not the strange men with glowing eyes, no one. If I could just make it inside everything would go away.

So I didn't stop. Not when the police started shouting, not when they surrounded me, guns all aiming my direction, not when my parents came out in their pjs, my mom clutching my father's hand. I just cried to them with all strength I had left.

I'm not even sure how I managed to make it past some of the police, but I managed to dodge the first one, and the second one just backed away, eyes wide his expression almost comical. I could see my mom in the light, tears streaming down her cheeks, being held back by two policewomen. I could see the open door behind her and the warm glow of the kitchen, if I could just make it, 10 more feet, then maybe this all would be over. Maybe I could find little Dean Hatcher and give him back the money. It was only 2o dollars!

I hit the third policeman hard, like running into a brick wall he was all shoulders and chest. I literally bounced off him, the wind knocked from me. I charged again but my legs finally decided enough was enough, they cramped and collapsed on me and I dropped to my knees for the second time that night. I reached out to my mom, tears streaming down my own face and she returned the gesture, but the room between us was instantly flooded by police officers, it was just a wave of black and blue, blotting her out of the picture. Next thing I knew I was on the ground, with a policeman's knees in my back, a nightstick against one side of my skull, a gun against the other, and sharp metal around my wrists.

"I didn't do it!" I pleaded, sobbing. "I didn't do it!"

Only I couldn't lift my head off the cool, wet earth. With the weight of everything on top of me, only the soaked ground under me heard my denial.