Run. Just Run.

Chapter 11

The ground starts rumbling. James opens his eyes, and quickly realizes what it is. He looks down at the girl laying with her head on his chest, and he reaches up and wipes the hair out of her face, and just stares at her. She looks so peaceful. Not in any pain. Not crying. Okay, he's gonna admit it. She's pretty. No. She's more. Especially considering everything she's been through, she's beautiful. How can she go through so much, yet still be cheerful and herself? She's so strong and brave.

Wait wait wait. How can this even happen? Here he is, running for his life, and he just watched his mother die in front of his eyes, yet this girl can still make him smile! Thinking about her can take him far away from everything that's happening around him! How is this possible? How does she do it? Maybe he'll never know. He feels the ground rumble again.

"Ash, it's time to wake up." James says quietly as he runs his hand down her hair. "Come on, there's a train coming. We're gonna leave soon."

Ashley opens her eyes and turns her head to look at the boy that's smoothing out her hair. She smiles a huge grin, showing her teeth.

"Hey, Jay." She says with a smile. "I like it when you do that."

James smiles back at her and looks into her eyes. They're such a pretty color. Not like a blue like the sky, but not a blue like jeans either. Somewhere in between.

Ashley's staring into James' eyes too. She thinks they're just absolutely gorgeous. And every time she looks at them, they make her feel like she's not alone, that she's loved.

The ground rumbles again, much more this time, and James and Ashley look up and see a train coming around the corner. They jump up and hide behind a tree, hoping the conductor doesn't see them. As the engine passes, they feel a huge surge of air push them to the side.

"I think the car down there is empty!" James half yells over the noise of the train. "See, the door is open."

Ashley runs up to it, and James pushes her in, and then Ashley holds out her hand and James grabs it, and she helps him in the car. They look around the empty car.

"Looks like this was carrying hay and straw from one of the farms!" Ashley says enthusiastically. "We can lay on this leftover hay and actually take a normal nap! We need to sleep here, while we can, because who knows when we'll get to sleep again."

They find a comfortable corner and gather up some straw, and then lay it down so they don't have to lay on the hard metal floor. Then James lays down on his side, with his back against the wall of the railroad car, and Ashley lays down on her side, facing him. They fall asleep, tired from running all morning, and wondering where they're going to be going next.