Hope is Dangerous

Chapter 3: Jasmine

I worry while I lay. The past two days have been rushed. I wake up in the hospital and then 5 minutes later, I’m running for my life while my friend behind me is shot and killed. Then I’m on the run with some guy I met a day ago and my mind is silent. Plus Marissa is in an insane asylum and I have no idea what’s gonna happen. I look over at Kai. He lays next to me, his head on his backpack. His reddish hair is in a mess and his breathing slows. At least he can sleep. A war could break out around us at any moment. I drift away; my last thoughts are Marissa being dragged out of that hospital room. The look of fear on her face molded my nightmare.

        I’m back in the gym. I stand on the beam, ready to do my back handspring on the four inch surface below me. I jump back and my hands slip from the beam. I hit my head and I hear a crack. My nose is broken. I expect to land on the mats, but instead I hit rock bottom. Literally. I land on concrete. I wish I was knocked out then. But no, I was wide awake. Marissa runs over and tries to help, but Coach Kelly pulls her away. She smiles at me, but the smile doesn’t reach her eyes like normally. She looks like a demon. She walks over and circles me like I’m her prey.

“This is the punishment people like you get. Pain is the least you deserve. You don’t deserve life.”

I jerk awake to a sharp pain. Not in my nose; in my wrist. Someone stabbed me and spread the blood all over my body. The sun was just rising. It looked to be about 7:30. I turn my head to see a switchblade with blood laying next to me. I'm confused. I'm alone. Where's Kai? I try and sit up, but my wrist makes that difficult. I grab my bag and, with my free hand, grab a bandage that I use for rips at the gym. I wrap it and pick up the switchblade. I fold it back and put it in a separate part of my bag. I should probably change, considering I have blood everywhere. I grab the shirt out of my bag and pull my current one off. I change shirts and stand up, my hair going everywhere. I shove my stuff into my bag and sling it over my shoulder. I look around and see footprints. I walk in that direction a few paces, but stop and swing my bag around. I reach into one of the front pockets and grab a rectangle. My phone. Hopefully they can't track us on there. I turn it on and see the percentage. 86%. So I can't stay on long. I see a text from Kai. "Jasmine, I'm so sorry about your arm! You were asleep and I couldn't wake you so I had to cut your arm and make it look like you were dead so they wouldn't kill you. I'll be back at 8 with food." I glance at the time. 7:45. So 15 minutes. I reply, "Okay, no problem. See ya soon." I turn off my phone and set it down, waiting. I sit on a log next to the burned out campfire and look at my surroundings. To the right, I assume is a town; in the direction of the footprints. To the left, miles upon miles of trees lay ahead. In front of me is the campfire. I open my bag and take note of my supplies. I have two bottles of water, the bloody shirt, a pair of shorts, my charger (thank gosh i have that), and a wad of cash. I hear footsteps and launch to my feet, expecting a government agent. It's just Kai carrying two bags of food. I walk over, more relaxed now. He puts down the food next to his log and sits down. "So, I found a store not too far along the path. Perhaps just a mile or two. It has clothes and they look to be your size. You should come with me." He says as he takes out two cans of beans. He opens them and takes out his lighter. I peer into the bags and see tons of food. Crackers, pasta, cauliflower, and a ton of other food. I take one of the cans of beans out of his hand and take a plastic spoon out of the bag. "Well, if you're buying," I smile and take a bite of the beans. He smiles. I noticed a little too late that it didn't reach his eyes.