Nowhere to Run ✓

thirty one | ❝you need to have faith.❞

Anna reached out to grab Mia's hand before she could move it away. Her eyes were pleading with her friend to listen to her just one more time. Mia did not want to give her that chance but surprisingly for Anna, she relented.

"I'm sorry about this. I promise you, once we get out, I'll personally talk to Damien. I'll take your responsibility, I swear. Just don't abandon me now. You need to have faith. I will help you back to where you were.

This is not who you are, I know. Look at you, Mia. The first time I saw you after years, you had dirt in your nails, matted hair, tough and tight clothes. You were a lavender dress and diamond earrings girl. Today, you are nothing. I can-"

Mia held up a hand, stopping Anna in her tracks. The gash across Mia's cheek twitched. Her hands were trembling and her face had turned red. "Stop. Please. If this is how you apologise to people, I can do without one. Do you even hear yourself, Anna?

You sound so superior on your high horse right now. Knock your ass off of it. Then, what are you? Nothing, just like me. So, if you are trying to say that I am any less of a human being than I was before, then save it. I'm not interested."

"I did not-" Anna stopped abruptly when Harry stirred a little. He rubbed a tattooed arm against his face, trying to erase the tiredness off and sat up straight.

"What's with the continuous whispering? I need to sleep before I could probably get myself killed." Harry cracked his knuckles and stretched his long arms. Anna gulped, her attention wavering.

Mia threw up an exaggerated gesture with her hands. "Great, now ogle at him. First my brother, now our boss," Mia muttered under her breath to which Anna wrinkled her nose, narrowing her eyes.

Noah pulled off his earphones, a slight smile that seemed to teeter on the edge of a loud cackle, playing on his full lips. "Shouldn't you be enjoying life before you do something that can kill you?"

Harry raised his eyebrow, the amusement shining on his sleep laden face. "I'll give you that point but there's something about sleeping and knowing you'll wake up again. That control you see? That's what I want to feel before I jump into a fire with an unknown outcome."

"Death isn't amusing. You should never even consider controlling that. It's better to live every second as it comes. We never really know, do we?" Anna spoke up, her emerald eyes looking up from under her lashes at Harry.

Harry stopped himself from talking back. This was not a debate. He had grown up being in control of his life. If you can do it with something as unpredictable as life, why not death?

A loud bang sounded on the side of the van and it jolted to a halt. Mark's voice picked up from behind the partitioning. "We are here, get out!" The sound of him slamming his side of the door was heard and a few moments later Mark swung open the back door.

Noah jumped out, followed by Harry, Mia, and Anna. They stood surrounding Mark in a circle, who handed them bio-tracking devices. They were tiny, thread-like bands with a small screen in the centre. "Put it on your wrist. We can track your heat signatures from the van."

Harry took his, moving aside to put it on. Mark handed another one to Noah who walked to the foot of the hill. Mia clasped hers and walked over to Harry, talking animatedly about the cold weather.

Mark shoved the band at Anna, not matching eyes with her. The corners of Anna's mouth drew downwards. Tears threatened to hit her eyes but she sniffed them back. This was no time for weakness, she consoled herself. She slapped on the band and pushed past Mia towards the hill.

Noah had already taken a head start. He looked down at Anna scrambling her way up. "Can't wait to get away?"

"You have no idea." Anna shook her head, easily matching Noah's long strides. "It's too much to wrap my head around."

"You'll get used to it." Noah trudged on, a distant look in his eyes.

"What do you mean by that?" Anna asked, making her way around a rock outcrop.

"I mean, you'll get used to not having a life, the long hours, the lying, the running. All of it," Noah said, looking up at the sky. "It gets easier."

It hit Anna then. The regret and sadness in his tone. She was all too familiar with it. She had the same voice after all. "You lost someone close to you, didn't you?"

Noah nodded slightly. "Violetta. My — " he stopped, his words catching in his throat. "My ex-girlfriend. She did not know what I did for a living. I was on a job once and she came around to my apartment. I asked her to leave because it was not safe. She blew out on me, saying that I never let her into my life.

Violetta broke up with me on the spot. I was devastated. I didn't follow her out. The rival gang had sniffed out my hiding place and she bumped into them on her way out. They couldn't risk a local seeing them, so — " Noah shuddered, unable to go on.

Anna immediately placed her arm around his strong back. He was shaking slightly and Anna pulled him close. She placed a hand on his cheek. "You had no way to know."

Noah's eyes turned glassy and he lost focus for a second. He shook his head. "It was my responsibility to protect her, Anna. I will always regret not taking the bullet for the one I loved," he said, letting himself out of Anna's arms.

"We should go," Noah said, his voice turning soft. He shrugged and started moving up the hill again.

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