Runaways- Runaways 1

Chapter 32: Marcus

I slept restlessly. I couldn't help thinking that maybe Luke was right, and Eli had never been on our side. Maybe he was leading us somewhere dangerous. I shuddered at the thought of all of us getting captured by teens just like the ones who'd killed Eli.

I tried to shake off the anxiety. Peyton made it a little easier when we woke up the next morning, saying we had to get going as early as possible. According to her, the police patrolled this area every three hours and they'd missed us at first, but she didn't want us caught the next time. Not to mention she'd seen a couple of homeless guys out on the street visible from this park.

We folded our tarp and blanket and left almost as quickly as we'd come. I checked the time. The clock read 7:15.

"It looks like the North Shore, which I assume would be where we're heading since the other side of the lake is populated with towns, is about a two-and-a-half-hour walk," Aaliyah stated.

"That's not long," Peyton said.

"That's like, what, eight miles?" I asked. Aaliyah nodded.

"Just about."

"Let's just hope we don't find trouble there," Luke commented.

"I don't think we will," I responded. I was trying to reassure myself more than them. Who knew what we'd come across? And we already had the blood of three people, or four if you count the little girl, on our hands.

"We won't know until we get there," Peyton answered. "Meanwhile, we should try to be optimistic. As we keep saying, Eli didn't seem to have any ill intentions."

"He also didn't seem to have red hair and brown eyes," Aaliyah retorted. Peyton rolled her eyes and then changed the subject.

"So y'all know how I've been having dreams and waking up screaming?" I nodded along with the other two. "I think they have something to do with his secrets," she whispered. "I'm not really sure. I just keep having the same one over and over and each time it gets longer. The last one I had was of red-haired Eli saying he'd explain everything."

"Peyton, they're probably just dreams," I contradicted.

"If someone dies looking like someone and then five minutes later looks like someone completely different, would it be harder to believe that or the fact that these dreams might mean something?"

"Definitely the dreams." But I was joking. She'd made her point.

"Uh-huh, sure."

"I mean, we can't control if they come back to you, but definitely let us know if you find out anything else," Luke added.

"I mean, that's just the most significant part. The rest is strange too. It's almost lucid, even if it doesn't make any sense." She proceeded to explain how Natasha, Adrian, and Jalen had all shown up in the dream too, along with the guy who'd assaulted her. She mentioned how Eli and I had been killed and then the guy who'd assaulted her began speaking of his nephew who we'd supposedly killed.

"That really doesn't make sense," Luke agreed.

"But it has to mean something," Peyton defended. "Otherwise I don't think I'd have it three times."

"I mean, it's not the most bizarre thing that's happened," Aaliyah pointed out. "But you think the blonde dude has something to do with all this?"

"I have no idea. I just thought y'all should know."

"Yeah, thanks," I said.

After another couple hours of walking we came across something that definitely resembled a lake shore. I could see something in the distance, but we were too far for me to make out what it was. No one else could either.

"You're sure it's on this shore and not one of the towns? The population has probably dwindled so much that that location should be just as likely. If that's what your line of thinking was," Aaliyah stated.

"I don't know. I think it's on the North Shore. It just seemed most likely." Peyton folded the map back up and stuffed it in her bag. "Let's at least keep going until we can make out the structure on the horizon."

"Should we cut one of the cellphones back on so that we can get help if we were to need it?" I suggested. Luke took his out of the bag and attempted to turn it on, only to find it dead.

"Shoot."

"You could hook it up to charge until we get there." I offered the portable charger and a charging cable to him and he took it willingly.

"How do we know there aren't security cameras?" Aaliyah asked abruptly.

"We don't. We just go," Peyton answered.

We continued discussing our anxieties about this suspicious camp until we reached the outskirts of it. The view was clear, and it wasn't at all what any of us had expected.

"This is the camp?" I exclaimed.