Chasing Shadows

Chapter 4 Running

Branches snapped and scraped against my skin as I crashed through the thick foliage around the creek, stumbling near blindly in the dark looking for one of the many trails that cut through the bit of wilderness that wove its way through the town. Mother had said to meet at the gas station but it was too close, too close to Dante, too close too the howls and all they were running from. A number of small cuts stung my arms and i could hear my ragged breath in my ears when I finally stopped in a bit of a clearing, spotted by moon light and bordered by the slowly moving water of the creek.

The fear had eased with distance and in its place was curiosity. What was I running from? There was only one person with the answers to the questions that plagued me. Pulling my phone from my pocket I slide my fingers across the screen, bringing the electronic to life, the bright light flooding the darkness and making me wince, destroying my night vision, pupils narrowing tightly. I opened my texts finding a string from mother, asking where the hell I was, a bunch of question marks, a progression of worry that peaked with a final text that was just my name. As if she was afraid. Afraid of what?

In that moment a branch snapped in the darkness and I clicked a button on my phone, killing the light and locking it. Blind in the darkness now I stared out uselessly, holding utterly still, too afraid to breath, and straining to hear. Minutes stretched out long and time stopped having any meaning. My lungs burned and I dared a shallow breath, listening with every fiber of my being. Another branch snapped and my gaze snapped to the left, in the direction I had come from. Fear tingled along my nerve ending and I felt frozen, torn between running and indecision. Could I even get away? Did I really want to? Dante said they’d been looking for her and her mother. Why had they been looking? Why had they run away in the middle of the night, spent years running and hiding, living on the raggedy edge when they had people?

All the question, tumbled through my mind as I held still, hoping the noises I was hearing was anyone or anything besides Dante. But I could hear steps now, the soft foot fall of someone moving closer to me but not stubbing through the dark as i had. Who ever it was, moved with the ease of one strolling through a park, unhurried and unhindered.

“Madeline”

I had half expected to hear Dante’s smoky voice cutting the silence but is wasn’t, and the relief I felt could not be measured. “Mom” I called back feeling my throat thicken as emotion rolled over me. And then she was there, worry creasing her forehead as she wrapped slender arms around my body and held me tightly to her as I breathed deeply, a sense of peace sliding over me.

“Mom what is going on.” I asked, eyes pleading for answers but she just shook her head.

“Its not the time Madeline, we need to leave. Come on.” She said, voice sharp and ungiving, fingers locked around my wrist, tugging softly.

Anger surged hotly through my body and I just reacted, ripping my wrist from her grasp, “no!” I yelled, too loudly, a point underlined by the flash of anger and fear that moved across my mothers face.

“Madeline,” her voice was a deadly whisper as she spoke and then I heard it, noise in the trees, someone was coming. “I won’t be caught by them, come with me, now Maddie.” She pleaded holding out a hand to me and I felt torn for a moment but there was noise in the trees and I was afraid. I took her hand and she ran pulling me behind her through the knee deep water to the other bank and into the wild tangle of foliage on the other side.

For twenty minute the pair of us ran in silence and it felt like déjà vu, I felt like I was reliving the night we had run away, ducking between houses and running down ally ways until we made it back to the small apartment we shared. Mother didn’t even turn on the lights as she walked in making her way strait to her room and I could hear her opening the closet and by my guess, packing.

“Madeline, clothes.” She snapped but I stood in the dark living room, surrounded by the cheap furniture that smelled like old cigarettes and sweat, the bare walls, and knew, deep within myself, I couldn’t live like this anymore.

I walked softly to her open door, able to see her frantically packing in the dark, the fear coming off of her in waves. Whatever it was they were running from clearly scared her. “Mom.” I said the word softly making her look up worry etched into every line of her face, “please tell me what’s going on.” I pleaded but her face shut down and anger flared to life in her eyes.

“Madeline, go pack now, or I’m leaving you.” She said sharply and the pain of those words ripped through me making me gasp. It had never occurred to me she might leave without me. “Mom” I said by way of plea but a look of disgust crossed her face as she stood up, lifting the strap of the bag over her shoulder, “I risked my life to get you out, because your my daughter, kept you safe, cared for you, but if you don’t go pack your clothing this moment…” she trailed off face becoming like stone, immobile and unmoving, “I will not go back.” She said turning then and leave by me alone in the dark room.

I stood there alone, shaking softly, torn between following her out into the dark unknown and the tantalizing allure of home. My chest ached and my eyes shined with unshed tears. For the second time that night, time stopped having any meaning. I have no idea how long I stood there, alone in the dark before making my way into the living room and then to the open front door where it was obvious, my mom, Diana was gone.