"The Porterville Police have been working tirelessly to find the murderer of 26-year-old mechanic, Anthony Fischer, who was found shot dead at around 22:08 on Albion Street two days ago. After a thorough dactyloscopy examination, it has been identified that the fingerprints on the weapon used, belong to Cole Jackson, a 20-year-old student. Police have requested that if you see this man, to report to them with his location and turn him in immediately."

I grimaced as I saw my face appear on the huge billboards from a distance.

I didn't do it.

But I knew no one would believe me if I told them.

My fingerprints were all over the gun. To a police officer, it was clear as day that I was the one who pulled the trigger.

Case closed.

They didn't care about what I had to say, they just wanted someone to blame.

That someone was me.

It was all too convenient to say that I murdered Anthony Fischer that night, and I couldn't blame them.

But how could it have been me if I was unconscious at the time?

*Two days earlier*

I checked my watch.

22:00.

This was going to be tight.

The annual hockey team trip was today. I was on my way to the meeting point, carrying my heavy rucksack along the dusty pathway.

There were only 10 minutes left until I needed to be there, and the route I was following would never get me there on time.

It's not exactly surprising though. I was always running late.

School, university, parties - you name it.

 I was always in a hurry. Something would always get in the way to make me level the house late.

But I always found a way to make it there on time, and that's what counts.

This time was no different.

I was determined to get to the guys on time.

I pulled out my phone to try and find a shortcut.

"Okay, so I just need to go through the hedges and take the second left into Albion Street and that should connect me to the main road," I told myself, pointing in the direction I should go.

Picking up my place slightly, I made my way across the hedges and proceeded to walk along the road.

First left.

That was Pincer Street.

Second left.

Albion Street.

Bingo.

Only a couple of minutes away from the meeting point, I turned into the empty street and continued walking.

The street was eerily quiet, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Or so I thought.

In what seemed like a matter of seconds, I felt a hard punch to the back of my head and fell to the ground.

All I saw was darkness.

***

When I woke up, I felt something in my hand.

A gun.

How did that get there?

I looked to my right and I saw a guy lying face down next to me, with blood seeping out of his head.

In an instant, I shot up and did the only thing I could think to do at the time.

I dropped the weapon and ran.

And I didn't stop until I was far, far away.

*Present day*

There was no way I could have shot him. I passed out within seconds of being punched from behind and was out cold for at least a couple of minutes.

But I had no choice but to run away because who would believe that?

No one.

And definitely not the police.

The gun was in my hand, sure.

But someone put it there, I was certain of it.

My phone had been blowing up over the past few days. Countless texts and calls from everyone I knew.

Everyone was wondering where I was.

Trouble was, I didn't know who I could trust and what they would do with the information.

For all, I knew they could have been hired by the police to track me down.

My phone sounded off for the tenth time that minute, distracting me from those thoughts.

I groaned as I fished my phone out of my rucksack to put it on silent.

As I went to do so, I saw the most recent texts were from my sister, Amelia.

Cole, where are you?!

Just tell me you're okay.

I'm so worried.

Mom and Dad are freaking out.

COLE!!

Please call me.

Please :(

A single tear slid down my cheek.

I wanted to call her so badly because I knew she'd worry.

But I couldn't.

Not right now.

It wasn't safe for her or me to do so. 

And then I realised, still having this phone was very dangerous.

Without a second thought, I threw my phone into the river went deeper into the forest, away from Porterville. I walked down the muddy pathway feeling rough cracks through thin soles, the wind moving as if I weren't there at all, as if I were a ghost and nothing more.

Looking at my current state, I really wish I were a ghost. Life would be so much easier.

I was always popular at school, but I never liked any of the attention. Sure, it was nice sometimes, but after a while it got annoying. 

It was mostly because of my friends anyway, and they loved the attention.

I, however, wanted nothing more than to be invisible.

But now, I was more than just visible.

I was Wanted.

The police were after me, and I knew they wouldn't stop until they found me.

My face was plastered over every newspaper, every billboard. Everywhere I went, I felt as if I was being watched, intense paranoia kicking in at every step.

Anyone could turn me in at any given moment.

Everyone was against me.

But I couldn't focus on that now, I just had to get away from everything.

Somewhere safe, where no one could find me.

I looked down the twisting road, forest green hills looming over the steep drive. The sun was radiant, its light creeping into every corner, holding the whole world in a warm glow.

It was the first time I'd ever been to the countryside, but there was something so calming about it, despite the circumstances that led me here.

The path led to a train track with a steam train travelling towards me.

I didn't think much of it.

That was until I noticed a girl facing away from me sat on the track, right in the path of the steam train.

I stopped, mouth wide open, rubbing my eyes to make sure I wasn't seeing things.

Was she insane?

I ran towards her.

"Hey! Get off the track, there's a train coming!" I shouted at the top of my lungs.

Not a word.

As I hurried to get closer, I realised that she was in fact moving.

She, aware of exactly what was happening, was desperately trying to release her foot from the track.

I instantly picked up my pace in an attempt to help her.

Once I got to her, I used all of my strength to pull her foot out of her shoe.

My foreign touch startled her.

"What the-" Her voice sounded familiar but I focused on freeing her foot.

Just as the train headed straight for us, I managed to separate her foot from her shoe.

She crawled out of the position she was in, her hair blocking her face.

I fished her shoe out of the track and quickly backed away. She held her foot, wincing in pain.

I took a step back and turned to face the girl.

Wait, I'd recognise that face anywhere.

"Scout?"

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Annnnd Cole has arrived! But he's dealing with a lot right now, what are your thoughts on that and him so far?

Our two main characters have finally met as well (very briefly lol), any predictions on how Cole knows Scout?

Now that the first two chapters are over we will have a lot more dialogue in the future, so stay tuned for that!

Next update: 3/8/20

Teaser: We find out how Cole and Scout know each other and also get introduced to Scout's friends - 4 new characters!