Song of the Chapter: Escape - Noisestorm (Breaks)
His newest song and I LOVE IT

If you start it at "I can't help that" it's pretty fun to read and listen to :)

(Phantom's POV)

"What about over there?" I ask.

"Hmm? Oh ... sure, whatever," Noisestorm mutters, keeping his hands in his pockets and trying his best to avoid me.

"Noise ... "

"Just ... stop."

"I thought you said you couldn't stay mad at me. What happened?"

"You're not begging anymore," he says sarcastically.

"Pleeeeease?" I try.

He glances at me and rolls his eyes, cracking a smile. "You're an idiot."

"So how 'bout over there?"

"Everywhere is a death trap, especially during the day." He surveys the streets, his eyes practiced and somber. I remember when I first met him - how he looked at everything like this, as if the whole world was against him.

"Let's sit down for a second while they're not on our tails and then figure something out. Deal?"

We find a bus stop and rest for a moment. It's about noon, and we've been chased practically all night and into the morning. The soldiers following us were called back - something about another Flight subject on the loose and two dead soldiers. We get about another hour, I'm guessing, before we have to run again. We're almost to the bridge, but eavesdropping has told me that the city's closed off. We're trapped.

Noisestorm sighs beside me and leans forward, resting his head on his hands.

"Is everything okay?" I ask him.

He hesitates a split second too long. "Yeah. Everything's fine." His voice wavers on the last word: fine.

"Are you sure?"

"Yep. Definitely sure."

"No, it's not fine." I turn to him and gently touch his shoulder. He pulls away from me. I try again and he gives me a shove in response. "I'm only trying to help you." He doesn't say anything, so I continue. "You know what, Noise? I hate that word. 'Fine'. Because really, no one's ever 'fine'. They say it to hide what's really going on. I'm not fine, you're not fine, no one is fine. I'm tired of watching you suffer because you won't tell anyone - do you think it'll make you seem bigger, stronger? Because you're wrong." I have to pause to catch my breath and swallow the lump in my throat. "It only tears you apart. I hate having to stand here and listen to you blatantly lie to my face and say you're 'fine'. It hurts, alright? It feels like no one trusts you enough to help them."

"What do you know about trust?" he whispers.

"Stop it, please," I beg. I'm shaking and my heart aches as I speak. "I only want to help you, and you keep brushing it off with that cursed word, 'fine'. Guess what? You're not fine, and it's so obvious, it hurts. Stop trying to hide it and let someone help you. If you don't want me to help, go in and get professional help. It's getting worse, Noise, and it's getting obvious. You're not yourself anymore. I'm worried about you."

He doesn't answer for a moment, but then he groans and says, "Stop doing that. You're making me feel guilty."

"Stop doing what?"

"Just ... that. Everything. Making me love you again."

Love me? My heart lurches a little. I don't know how to feel about that.

"You're the best friend I've ever had, Phantom," he says, looking up at me.

Oh. He meant it like that. Duh. I feel my face turn red in embarrassment. "Thanks," I tell him, dropping my eyes down to the sidewalk, hoping to hide my blush. My heart is pounding like an idiot. What was that? I've never had anything feel as awkward as that moment ... except for that time when I was trying to help Eveelyn in the tent. That was awkward. I'm trying to forget about that.

"What?" Noisestorm asks, curious.

He must've seen it. "Nothing," I say quickly, and then remember my whole monologue about being fine. "I've just ... never had anyone tell me that before."

"Really? That's too bad. You deserve it."

I smile back up at him. "Thanks. It's gonna be alright, okay?"

"Okay." He suddenly grins, wide and mischievous. "Ha! I got you to make a song pun."

"What? No, you didn't."

"Totally did." He proceeds to sing in his terribly off-key voice, "CLOSE YOUR EYES, IT'S GONNA BE ALRIGHT."

"Oh, come on. Everyone says that," I say, groaning in mock frustration. I'm just glad I got him back up on the emotional scale, at least for now.

Nightfall approaches, along with the struggle of finding a place to stay for the night. We wander around the city until dark, when suddenly the streets are empty.

"Where did everyone go?" Noisestorm mutters.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." I glance around the city warily. It's eerily quiet now. I don't like this.

"You two," an officer suddenly calls. "Curfew in ten minutes."

Curfew? That must be their way of rooting us out. It'll be easier to catch us if no one else is around. I nod to acknowledge I'm listening, and keep walking. Noisestorm has other ideas.

"Curfew?" he repeats, his voice rising in anger. "You think that's going to stop - "

"Noise," I hiss, grabbing his arm and yanking him.

"What? I think it's - "

"We've got the one called Noisestorm and another who's possibly Phantom backed up here, in sight." The officer speaks quickly into his radio, and then looks at us. I glare at Noisestorm and he just shrugs helplessly. "Your accent gives it away," the man says, smiling.

"I can't help that!" he protests.

I don't wait for a response. I grab his arm and run, taking off down the street at full speed. It takes him a second to follow, but then we're already around the corner.

We can't stay on the streets, but I can't function up on the roofs. We're closer to a neighborhood, though. Maybe we could cut through there and escape.

"Where are we going?" Noisestorm hisses at me, trying to conserve his breath. I know he's not a runner like me, but he's fueled enough by fear to keep up.

"Hoping fences," I tell him as police sirens get closer. They've turned down the street we're on, but they're far behind us.

Noisestorm swears under his breath. "Really?"

"That's nine," I say. With a running start, I can pull myself most of the way over the first fence I jump on, swinging my legs over and dropping to the other side.

Noisestorm gets stuck and swears again.

I sigh and grab his wrist to painfully pull him over the top and he falls, crashing down on top of me. I start to ignore his swearing. "I hate you," he says.

"I thought you loved me," I tease.

"It's a love-hate relationship." He scrambles to his feet and runs across the yard. "Leaning towards the hate side."

I follow him, hoping this fence the same way I did the last. He gets over easier this time, thankfully. We don't have time to struggle over every single one of them.

The sirens are down the street, next to the houses we're at. We have to get on a different street or we'll be surrounded.

"Over here," I say, jumping the fence facing the house.

"You're insane," Noisestorm mutters, struggling to follow.

We both hit the ground and a huge dog starts to bark, scaring me out of my mind.

Noisestorm shrieks as it lunges at him, but it's caught by a chain on its collar. We stay along the back fence and it can't get us. We slip out the gate and bolt across the street. I can tell Noisestorm is pretty worn out, so I point to a shed I can see over by another gate and we slip inside, shutting the door and catching our breath.

"You're insane," he repeats, breathing hard.

"And you owe me fourteen bucks. Fourteen plus nine is ... twenty three."

"You were keeping track?"

"Of course I was." I grin at him and he punches me.

"Can't we drop it back down to a quarter or something?" he complains.

"No, we're trying to get rid of your swearing problem. That's not going to help."

"I was doing so good ... " he whines.

"And I was going to run out of cash. Keep trying. You can do anything if you put your mind to it."

"So I could jump off a building and fly if I wanted to."

"Don't joke like that." I glance at his wrist, but his hoodie covers the scars.

"Shh," he whispers.

"No, really. Don't - "

"Shh," he repeats, covering my mouth with his hand. "I heard something."

I stick my tongue out and lick his fingers, earning a slap across my face. I guess I deserved it. "What is it?" I whisper, rubbing my stinging cheek.

"Voices. Shut up."

I quiet down and listen hard. Sure enough, there are voices coming toward us, a man and a girl. They might be MI, they might be with Jensen, or they might be civilians. Either way, if they catch us, we'll be in trouble.

"Get down," Noisestorm murmurs, silently lowering himself down to the floor. I follow his example, crouching so that I can take off if they open the door.

A flashlight beam shines through the window, barely missing me. "No one's in there," I hear someone say. "Get your duct tape and let's go back inside. I don't like being out here at night, especially with the cops constantly watching us and those two guys they said are on the loose."

Noisestorm swears under his breath once again. We both know someone's going to come in. I brace myself, ready to run, and the door opens.

The kid stares at us. We stare at her. Her jaw drops and her eyes widen, and she takes a huge breath.

And then she lets out a scream that could wake the dead.

Everything after that happens at once. Another guy, about my age, runs to her and shrieks when he sees us. Noise and I bolt out of the shed, pushing past them. The older guy swings his flashlight around and it cracks against Noisestorm's head. He stumbles with a curse, but I grab him and pull him faster. A second later, we're out of the yard, but I can hear them both calling the police.

Noisestorm trips and almost knocks me over, swearing again.

Twenty six, I think to myself. "Are you okay?" I ask out loud.

He wipes his eye with his hand, flicking drops of blood off of his fingers. "Can't see all that well with this eye. Kid cut me open with that light."

"Sorry. We're almost there."

"Almost where?"

He's right. Where are we going? I'm going to get us killed.