Futile

With my knees bent, and my head tucked between them, I took in a deep breath and jumped.

The short burst of exhilaration ended when my feet hit the ground, ankles twisted painfully as I did so. Third time IS the charm! Brushing off the dust that had welcomed me when I landed, I shakily got to my feet. I donned the black hoodie that was tied around my left ankle, and dashed away—well, hurriedly limped away—from the place that had confined me.

My breaths came out in rapt pants as I sagged against a nearby tree trunk. On their own accord, my bleary eyes swept the area. A spineless tree, a one-armed fire hydrant, a supermarket with blinking neon lights, and houses scattered like salt spilt on a table. The charcoal-like blanket of darkness did not allow me see any more. A weary sigh escaped my lips as my breathing started to even out.

Painful steps took me to the mart. Mangel's Mat the sign blinked, the ‘r’ of the mart nothing but a dark hole. It was about closing, the shop. I hadn’t realized it was so late until the guy at the till let out a massive yawn that threatened to swallow me. Almost simultaneously, I let out a long yawn as well.

A few newspapers were scattered around a corner when I searched around, and a dim light bulb went off in my head. Gingerly, I lowered myself onto a mingle of words and faces, letting my back hit the mart's body with an aching thud. I pulled up several newspapers atop my frame, and let my head feel the coolness of the store glass window—my thoughts drifting away as I rubbed at my throbbing ankle.

My eyes shot open as the sound of blaring sirens reverberated through the night. From what I could make out, the cars still seemed far away. I snuggled further into myself and hoped that they hadn’t found me.

My heart beat quickened as the blaring grew louder. And then, it was gone. I drew in a deep breath and lay there for another three hundred heartbeats before I made to move.

Crack! My back spoke for my heart. I straightened myself out and scouted the area again. Up ahead was a bus stop I hadn’t seen earlier, and a park. It was still possible for them to find me if I stayed in this vicinity, and on that thought, I headed to the bus stop.

I hissed in pain as yet another person bumped into me. Cradling my hand, I dragged my aching body to my destination and leaned against a pole. The ground did not serve me well through the night. People were scurrying around like blind ants, bumping into innocent souls like enraged zombies. I rubbed my throbbing hand with the other hoping to soothe the dull pain. It was of no use though, I still felt as though I was tied down by a sack of bricks.

My heart lurched when the dirty blue bus screeched to halt in front of me. I hauled myself to the queue of people waiting and joined. An onslaught of heavy perfumes and scents of all sorts slapped me across the face, making me falter in my steps.

“You’re holding up the queue boy. Get moving!” The bus driver bellowed. His deep voice reverberating, causing chills to scurry down my spine. My hands shot up and rubbed at the sides of my arms—some way to comfort my racing heart.

“Running away from home?” He asked, a bushy eyebrow raised at me as his eyes assessed my form.

“No-no, I—” I didn’t even get to finish before he spoke again.

“Just get on.”

I strode to the nearest vacant seat, and plopped down, my body sagging against the seat once my back hit it. My eyelids fluttered shut as my ears welcomed the low hum and whir of the engine, and I fell into a much-needed slumber.

A throbbing pain on my left shoulder made my eyes shoot open—it felt like a hammer continuously trying to break through.

“C'mon kid, you've got to get off now! I’m done for the day,” a voice said.

My eyes landed on a droopy eyed man.

A feeble ‘thank you’ escaped my lips as I sluggishly hurried to get off the bus. I rubbed at my eyes profusely, but the world whizzing by was still a blur. People were still keeping up with their attacks, and I unsteadily put one foot in front of the other to get away. Everything was out of focus but I could still make out the sidewalk that my feet graced.

My feet came to a stop when my watery eyes made out the shape of people gathered around a particular spot. Upon reaching them, they began to move across. I stood glued to the ground, furiously rubbing at my eyes, only to clutch my head as a wave of dizziness washed over me.

Someone bumped into me from behind, and I found myself stumbling across just as the people had done. I shot my hands out to steady myself on my feet. Left, right, left, right, left. Five more steps and my body crumpled to the ground; I felt as though I was being forcefully dragged down.

I pushed myself up, but found myself harshly succumbing to gravity. On the second try, I had hardly positioned my knees on the ground when a wicked force rammed into me, promptly knocking the wind out of me. Suddenly, it seemed like my vision had cleared a bit, and the clouds were within my grasp. Before I could even stretch out a hand, my breath fled as my side crashed into something terribly sturdy. My head smashed against something hard, and a shrill sound escaped from my lips. I reached out to cradle my head, but found I couldn’t even lift a finger. My breathing grew rapt, and tears began to stream down my face—even that action hurt.

Writhing in pain on the hard ground, I couldn’t help but think—it was foolish of me to think I could escape death.