Run

Chapter 22

"What was that?" Aidan asked in anger. His face was turning red in anger. "Why did you hang up?"

"Because," I started. "We can't go back."

"What do you mean?" He yelled, his face firetruck red now. "What do you mean we can't go back? What happened to wanting to be normal? Don't you want to back? He obviously knew us from home."

Aidan was furious, I could tell that. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. I could feel waves of energy flowing out of him, and only later realized that was actually happening.

If you looked really closely, there were thin red lines coming out in ripples from him.

"Aidan," I said, my voice quivering. "Aidan, I think you should calm down."

"Why should I listen to you, Ms. I-Don't-Know-What-I-Want?" He rages on, yelling 30 centimeters away from my face. "You know, I shouldn't have done any of this. I just should've stayed. We're lost out here and it's all your fault." He pointed at me.

"You shouldn't have come, then." I yelled back, choking down tears. I knew I'd never be able to do it without him, yet I said. "I could've escaped and survived without you."

"Would you?" He asked, his eyes becoming watery. "Would you actually? You - you-"

A ball of... something, some sort of electricity, appears at the tips of Aidan's fingers. It glowed bright red, leaving a faint glow on his shirt. He aims the ball at me.

I dive to the right, my heart pounding. Why is he attacking me?

Another appeared, and he threw that at me too. I dodge to the left.

"Aidan, stop this now." I tell him as I look straight into his eyes. He doesn't listen and throws another ball of lighting.

This time, I wasn't able to move. The flash of electricity (light?) hit my shoulder and I fell onto my back. Pain shot up my spine and the world began to spin. I blinked once. Then twice. Then three times. My vision came to focus and I see Aidan standing above me.

I act on first instant and grab his right leg. I pull him down and get on my feet. In the next minute, I have his left arm in grasp and pin him down to the floor.

The taste of blood appears in my throat. Probably from dehydration. Probably from my fall.

I twist Aidan's arm. "One thing you should know," I dig my ever-so-sharp nails into his skin.

"Never mess with a girl."

I drop his arm and start running. I don't know where to but I just run.

"Lauren!" He calls from behind.

I continue running through the thick forest.

"Lauren, get back here." His voice doesn't sound as friendly as before.

I keep running, into the dark forest.

"Where are you going?" His voice became fainter as I ran faster. Through muddy puddles and the sound of birds chirping.

I run and don't look back. Back to the only safe place I knew.

He said he won't hurt me, yet he did. And it wasn't just physically. It wasn't just the physical pain.

"We're lost out here and it's all your fault."

Heartbreak? Is that what you call it? When you aren't physically hurt, yet you feel like breaking into a million pieces? Because that's how I feel now. My heart burns into my chest and I stop running.

I fall to my knees on to the muddy ground, as tears become a waterfall, flowing down my cheeks. I couldn't control myself, they just appeared.

What are you doing, Lauren? He's just a boy. You barely liked him.

"Who am I kidding," I muttered to myself. "I'm dead. Sometimes you can be so stupid, Lauren."

But it was for the best for both of you. You were actually thinking of the consequences.

The consequences.

At least the Institute knows about your abilities. They're just watching you because of that. The voice now says. If you go back and accidentally use your powers in public, they might take you to labs and study you even more.

"Well, you're the one that got me into this mess, voice." I tell it. "I shouldn't have listened to you."

I saved you from a horrible future. It said.

"I still hate you for this."

I close my eyes and play the events in my mind. The red waves coming from Aidan. The balls of fury (I decided to call those things that). His glowing green eyes.

Wait a second. Green?

I open my eyes. Aidan's eyes are brown, though. Have always been. A deep, chocolate brown. Yet, when I closed my eyes and see his eyes, they're green. A bright, vibrant green. Looking almost evil.

I tug on my hair. Is that why he was acting all funny? Has he changed? Has he turned on me?

Relax, Lauren. You don't need him. The voice said. You were born to be a leader. A survivor.

"But I need him!" I yell to the woods. "Don't you understand?"

You don't need him, you love him.

"No, I don't." I blink away tears. "He just a friend."

But you don't want that.

"Stupid voice," I mutter.

I heard that.

"Of course you did."

I run a hand through my dirty, dirty blonde hair as I take a look around, which I haven't done when first arriving here. Nothing was different than the other places we've been. It's just the same identical trees with a river nearby, which is probably the same river as before.

I didn't know how far, how long, I ran. I wasn't even tired when I stopped.

Everything just hurt.

I had nothing with me besides my phone, which I put in my pocket before running. I'm actually shocked that it didn't fall out.

Either way, I had no clothes, no food and no one here to keep me company.

I'm probably going to go crazy before dying. I thought.

My stomach growls, craving for food. My thoughts float to the rabbit Aidan caught and what amazing food he could make it into.

I'm a girl and can't even cook a meal while Aidan can.

"That's a good thing when you think about it," I tell myself. "You're breaking gender stereotypes."

But if I knew how to cook, I wouldn't be hungry.

How was I supposed to be born to survive when I'm probably going to be dead in a day's time? When was the last time I ate?

Stop thinking about food, Lauren.

"I can't." I whine as my stomach growls again.

"Sounds like someone's hungry." A voice said from behind.

I turn around. A guard from the Institute stands there, a gun in hand.

Uh oh.

I turn around, hoping to run away.

Too late.

Seven guns are pointing straight in my direction.

Each of the men behind the guns wear a wicked grin on their face.

I knew my fate.

There was no escape.