Map Three

Chapter 1

I ran. Past the school, past the stores, past all the apartments, past everything. I was scared, and I lost my brother, and my parents were gone. I wanted to stop, but I knew I had to keep going. I only stopped when I got to the creek, and there was no way on Earth that it was my choice. My legs gave in, and I stumbled down the hill. Rocks and dirt tore at my skin, leaving faint scrapes and bruises all over me. The crisp autumn air was just enough not to freeze me.

                          I pushed myself off of the ground and walked to the water. I rinsed my hands and my face, and watched the sun set. I knew that they would find me, but I didn't know when or where. If I stayed, they could find me; if I left, they could find me. It's a lose lose situation.

                          I feel the need to explain myself, so I will. Not too long ago, I was told-by my parents- that our family was dangerous. My brother and I are still trying to figure that out, well, were. After the government came after us, my parents drove away, and Trey and I split up. We have a plan to meet up back at the house eventually, we just don't know when; we didn't have much of a plan. My aunt and uncle have been taking care of my sister for the past 3 months, and we intend to keep it that way.

                         I screamed in frustration, "I don't understand! I spent 13 of years of my life, completely  safe, and not soon after my 14th birthday, I am a fugitive. Complete and utter BS." I followed the flow of the water, which led me to a small forest. It was almost dark, and this seemed to be the safest option. I walked  around until I found a giant pine tree; I put my head on a softer patch of grass and dirt, and closed my eyes.

                       "I guess this will have to do," I whispered.

                                                                                ~~~~~~

                         I woke up to the smell of pine needles and damp clothes. The pine was obviously from the tree, but the damp clothes were from me. When I was attempting to sleep, it rained, leaving me soaked. I took off my sweater, and wrung the water out of it. I repeated myself 3 more times with my socks, my shirt, and my pants. I left my shoes to dry out in the sun.

                         In the distance, I heard a dog barking. I decided I should leave. I followed the creek back, and put my hood on as I got to the sidewalk and went back the way I came. I know it sounds incredibly stupid, but the people probably already went by the creek, and think I'm still running from them. I mean I still am, but they probably think I'm running past the creek.

Once I was within a 200 meter radius of my house, I sprinted to my front door. The idiots left the door unlocked, and unwatched. I trusted that my parents would be okay, and I am guessing they are half way across the world by now. I closed the door behind me, and ran to the fridge. I checked to see what was left, and grabbed whatever I could. I changed my clothes, and put any extras into a backpack along with the food, and multiple water bottles. I put on a jacket, put extra shoes in the bag, and took the money from our safe.

I walked out the back door and hopped over my neighbours fence. My neighbours have been at their cottage since the beginning of summer, and left Trey and I the spare key, well, they told us where it is. I lifted the garden gnome, but the key wasn't there. I turned the door handle, and it opened.

"Hello?" I called.

"Hi, complete stranger!" the voice replied.

"Trey?" I said back laughing.

"Adelaide!" My brother exclaimed, "how are you? Are you hurt? How did you know I'd be here?"

"I'm not hurt, I didn't know you'd be here, and I'm frightened thanks, how are you?"

"I'm scared, I think. But I'm not scared at the same time, its just so exhilarating, being on the run."

I nodded, even if I thought completely different. The people in our country with extremely high authority are after us. It's not as fun as it sounds. I walked to their TV and turned on the local news channel. Our last name came up, after about 6 minutes of waiting.

" Coquillage family: MISSING." While it flashed on the screen, a picture of my family played in the background. Trey, Allison, and I were running around in our backyard, while my parents just watched us laughing. Our aunt offered to take the photo for us, she did, and then right after that we went out for ice cream. My sister was 3, I was 7, and Trey was 8. It was a good day, but what I wonder, is why they think that they can just take things from our house.

"Trey?"

"Yes Addie?"

"Don't call me that, and how on earth am I supposed to explain this to my friends?"

"You don't, that's the thing. You and I are getting as far away from this town as possible."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Remember that place grandma always used to tell us about?"

"Northbury? The place where she met grandpa?"

"Precisely. We are going there, because I have done some, uh, research, and it is one of the safest places in our state."

" So how do we get there?" I asked.

"Well, when I was going through a trunk of Grandma's stuff, I found a map. Well, part of it." Trey said pulling the map out of his bag.

"So what are we supposed to do?"

"The maps must be within Swanford, so we look for them, without getting caught of course. So, do you know what this means?" Trey asked, his chestnut eyes glistening.

"Adventure?"

"Adventure."

Note thingy: I have never written anything on wattpad and I wasn't planning on publishing it, but i hope you enjoy.