The Infinite

Chapter 2

The night air stung my face as I turned down an alley, my pace quickening until I was running as fast as I could go. Away from the house, it didn't feel as safe. I was sure someone was following me, and the crack of a twig behind me only confirmed my suspicions.

I picked up speed, ducking into a shed once I was sure whoever it was had lost track of me. I took in my surroundings, recognizing the steady breathing of a person on the ground beside me. One glance was all it took to see it was a homeless man, and he was fast asleep.

I gave it a few minutes, double checking the alley before slipping outside and starting on my way back towards my shelter. The first light of daen was slipping over the mountains, and soon people will be waking up.

I picked up my pace, turning onto a walking path and down a side road before coming up to a fence. I sighed, pulling aside a broken board and climbing through into an old shed. The house this shed belonged to was abandoned for years and a hotspot for older teens looking for a scare.

But the shed was locked from the inside and the door was mudded in case people tried to get in anyway. And that was why I chose it. It was impossible to get in unless you found the broken board in the back that gave access to the hole in the shed wall. That made it safe and people won't think to look in an unaccessable shed on private property just to find a missing teen.

I looked around with a yawn, wrapping myself in a thick blanket and falling asleep.

       . . .

The next morning I woke up from a crash. Sitting up frantically, I looked outside and spotted my dad and some middle aged man arguing.

"I told you, the subject was important to our research. And now he is gone, and we have been searching for 4 hours with no progress in finding him," the man spat. He was dressed in a black suit, and he looked every bit a shady criminal. His bald head shone, and a suspicious lump resided under his waistband.

My dad just glared, his fist clenched against a dent in what is probably the bald man's van. "My son," he said clearly, "was not supposed to leave the house. I had cameras and alarms set up, lest he try. But someone disabled them last night, and it wasn't him."

I narrowed my eyes, thinking of the person following me last night. Was it possible they knew of this and were helping me? They never made a move against me, and they didn't have a bad feeling about them.

"-check somewhere else," said my dad. I shook my head, realizing I missed half of the conversation.

I shifted, feeling an ache in my back. I forgot to take off my vest last night, and now I had to deal with being sore.

The van outside had started moving, and soon disappeared down the road. I was just glad they didn't find me, because after what I just seen I wouldn't be safe with them.