Cold & Dark | Creepypasta |

Chapter 16

Chapter 16  Ⓧ Run Away with Me

"Aurora, are . . . are you okay?" A voice woke me. Following the sweet, concerned question was an aggressive shake of my body. Inevitably, I fluttered my eyes open, grimacing in pain.

"What the h-" I broke off, searching around myself, realizing I ended in a snow bank. Although I was not majorly injured, my back ached, but the worst of the pain was the cold nipping at my bare skin. My shirt was nowhere to be seen and I was left with a deep wet green tang top.

"As much as I'd love to hang around and nurse you back to health, we don't have enough time. Get up! We have to go!" Toby yanked at my arm, drawing me weight onto the balls of my feet.

"What's the hurry?" I inquired hurriedly through chattering teeth. As though God was watchful of our being, he sent shrieking sirens to answer my questions in record timing. After exchanging distressed looks, the two of us bolted without another word.

The sirens got louder.

The dark crept closer.

The pain didn't subside.

My lower back started to kill me more and more as I began to run. Every step I took led me to grimace in agony. Time was running out though. The police pursed us. By foot, we didn't have much of an advantage. We ran so blindly that when Toby came to an abrupt stop, I crashed from behind and sent us both sprawling.

"What was that for?" I snapped, recollecting balance after the collision.

"Come with me!" He shouted hauling at my arm, directing us to car nearby. It was unbelievably weary and old by the looks of it. I wasn't all that of an expert of cars but either way, Toby seemed practiced from the way he immediately broke into the car. I sat fretfully beside Toby as he begun to dismantle a section under the steering wheel. It was not a moment after I realized he started to hotwire the car.

"You can't hijack a car!" I said slapping his hand.

"Yes I can. We'll return the car after, we're not gonna use it for the entire night! Just . . . stay put and don't touch— anything. At. All."

"Fine."

I watched him as his nimble fingers went to work. I never knew Toby was good with tech, I always thought him to be the loser of the family- if you know what I mean. 'But he was good at tech- I'd never seen his face before- he probably hates me...' I stopped thinking, not completely aware of what I was adding up to. Suddenly the car growled as the engine started up. I felt my heart throbbing with excitement. After all those dull dreams of adventures, I was suddenly having one for real.

"Hell ya!" He cheered, swinging his legs into the car.

"Wait! D-Do you even know how to drive?"

"No. I'm just planning on crashing us into a tree so we can all die."

I shoved him. "Not funny Toby."

"I'm just kidding . . ." He chuckled faintly, his shoulders bobbing along with the sound that escaped his unseen lips. That was one particular aspect I appreciated of the male. His entire body was consumed by the emotion he expressed, which made up— a lot— for the masked facial features. Toby shifted the gears and rolled the windows all the way down. I felt a surge of air pump through my chest, a lively sensation that made me feel free.

As if we hadn't attracted enough attention for one night, my male companion decided to torture the speakers by playing— surprisingly— classy classical music. I quirked a brow at the young man, but he was too busy enjoying the moment to truly acknowledge my presence.

It was in that adrenaline filled minute that I realized why I even considered going on a killing spree with a notorious teen. I did not want to be a murderer— absolutely not. The reason I tagged along with Jeff, aside from being peer pressured by my dim-witted heart, was because I gained great pleasure from thrills and adventure. Having been blind for so long— I was dreamt of such things. And now that I was able to see the world and experience life to its fullest, I was willing to do anything to make myself feel alive instead of being boxed up by the black walls of my vision.

Tearing me away from my train of thought, blinding lights raided my sight. They were so threateningly vibrant that memories stabbed me like daggers. I let out a shriek shutting my eyes tightly. Toby was startled half to death, yet he managed to steal glances every so often, keeping his main attention to the streets.

"Aurora! What's wrong?" He said wrapping an arm around my shoulders as I shielded my face.

"I wanna . . . I wanna get out of the car!" I hollered, burying my face in the crook of his neck.

"We just got away from the police though!"

"Toby! I want to go!" I wept, wincing in fear as the lights passed. He hesitated, but once he felt my trembling hands he eventually gave up.

". . . Fine." He muttered, as he pulled the vehicle over. I didn't waste a minute in the car; I flung my door open and staggered feebly down the sidewalk.

"What the hell was that all about? There's no way we can outsmart the cops on foot!" Toby shouted matching his footsteps with mine.

"I am not going in a car again!"

"That is the stupidest thing I've heard all my life! Why not?" Toby bellowed, his thin hands griping onto my shoulder. My glare dropped a few degrees colder as I met eyes with him.

"Because . . . because that's how I lost my eyesight."

"W . . . What?" He twitched.

"I was a child— I can't even remember how old. I was baby though. Pa promised he was sober but wasn't. He drove straight through the lights and that was the end of it. End of my eyesight." I muttered, resuming walking ahead. I could feel the pity intoxicating the air around me.

"So you were . . . never blind since birth?"

"No."

We walked in a haste pace in silence for a while and then came the main street. "Maybe we can get a ride? You don't . . . you don't have to sit in the front seat."

"I . . . sure, that's alright."

His attention was no longer on me. Like a cat whose eyes had latched onto a ball of yarn, Toby's head turned towards the eight wheeler that rolled down the poorly paved road. "Truck!" He howled, deafening my right ear as he sprinted to the vehicle. He stopped short when he realized I was no longer beside him and darted back towards me, snatched my arm and scuttled like a mad man. I struggled to keep up, of course.

The two things I lacked most were speed and stamina. My breath was shallow and my throat was dry as a desert. Knowing that I was dragging him back, he let go of my wrist and threw a hatchet into the back of the truck for a grip. He quickened his hustled and leaped for the hatchet.

Once he was utterly comfortable with his position, he turned around and shouted, "Grab my hand!"

I was so close that my fingers seemed to ghost against his. Overall, my mind was set that I wasn't going to run any further, that I wouldn't make it to safety. Then, I let out a long heavy breath and suddenly had an inhumanly high boast of energy which only led me to his hand. I was close but not close enough. The truck was gaining speed and I ran to my fullest extent. I nearly tripped till Toby reached and yanked at my arm. I grabbed onto his shoulder and we watched the road trail underneath us. To think, I could have died if I didn't try.

And for a second, Toby and I looked at each other panting profoundly. We laughed helplessly at the closeness of our escape and at sheer surprise of finding ourselves alive. It took nearly ten minutes before the truck came to a signal light and was forced to a safe stop.

Toby busted the catch of the entrance and we finally slid in, out of the pungent chill.