All who are left here have found a place, although to hide is pointless. That is how fear does, creating empty sidewalks alongside silent streets, with nary a squirrel to dodge, or to dance. Doors remain locked, windows shuttered, though the hour is past ripe for exercise. Only the evergreens sway to see, only the wind whispers to hear; as those two cannot be helped from it. What does it matter if it is not Death himself loitering through the town of Johnsonville, when he who is here behaves so similarly?

Running away seemed almost easy when I thought about it first, planned it out, lay in bed half asleep, dreaming of it. Just don’t come home from school. Leave. Vanish. How do you get found, really? Where do they know to look? You can lose yourself, somewhere they won’t even think to search - doesn’t really matter where - and then you can figure out the rest from there, bit by bit. Getting away is the most important part, and after that … well … you're free, aren't you?

“No!” Zena yelled.

"You’re a minor. You have no choice. I didn’t want it to come down to this, but we’re moving. I can’t stand this house without your mother in it, and you could use a change of scenery too.”

Her father’s word rang with the final death to her senior year dreams.

No prom queen. No cheer squad captain. No one to do her homework for her. No boys begging for her to go out with them. Everything was going against her.

You can find the rest of this work in progress at:

https://www.wattpad.com/1189411980-mirror-image-chapter-one

We, alone, sat in the back of the bus. It was just us. We didn't understand what had happened and we couldn't tell what would. All we knew was what was happening and that was enough. I was sitting on the left with him right beside me. We stared through the bus window at the flashing sights. We had never been outside. It was like our brains were being tortured and there was an immediate battle between the imaginary and the real. Reality was both overwhelming and subpar, simply unexplainable. He was my only sure reality. He squeezed my hand and it felt like the realest thing ever. Together we feared.

"Uh-Oh..."

Boom!

I went flying through the air and slammed into the wall.

"Oh frick..."

Too late to turn back now.

I drew my weapon I knew I didn't have much time.

One came in. His head was covered by a green helmet his chest had a bulletproof vest. I shot at him twice and hit him twice, once in the leg and once in the chest. The vest really worked because he wasn't dead! He started to crawl away gritting his teeth. I shot him once more and he was dead. I wasn't going to be taken. I had to resist this wave and run away. The resistance was counting on me. I had the information we needed. I knew who was really in control! I had to get out of there.

More soldiers were coming in and I was shooting them as they came. I was running low on ammo and had to go. I made an executive decision to shoot the window to my right and jumped through. I began to run. Then the chase began.

Bullets were whizzing by my head. I turned and shot behind me. It hit the nearest soldier and dropped him.

I was so close to the pickup spot when I felt a sharp pain in my leg and fell on my face.

No no no no! I thought. I tried to crawl away. I rolled onto my back and fired five times killing two soldiers.

"Chris!" I heard Val yell.

She shot three shots and killed an enemy.

"Come on Chris!" She yelled, "I got you."

"No," I said, "Just go I'll cover you!" I shot more soldiers.

"I am not leaving without you!"

"Please just go!" I yelled you need to tell Keith! It's Tarry! He's the one!"

"What!?" Val yelled, "How, why!"

"Just run!"

"No!"

I sat up and shot five more shots before I was hit in the left arm.

"Go!" That was the last thing I said. I was hit again and everything went black.

She had triumphed and rallied in life more times than she could count. She had moments of more than enough and those dark days where she was digging deep under the couch cushions to find just enough to purchase something to take away that dull ache deep in her belly. So goes life with it's ups and downs. She was tired. She wasn't young anymore. She felt her devaluation according to the world's standards. She remembered growing up when things not wanted were often found discarded along some road. There was a sadness to these items that once held value and purpose. She never dreamed it would become her life. She had learned to downsize and carry with her only what she needed and what she could not let go of. To anyone looking at those things she kept close...there was no value. To her the crocheted blanket that she never let out of her sight meant more to her than all the money in the world. As she gently folded it when forced to leave her home - she could feel the love her grandmother had put in to every stitch. The rich earth tones reminded of her running barefoot and laughing through her grandmother's freshly plowed fields, smelling that wonderful aroma of rich Texas soil ready for new growth...As she stood there watching the cars zipping past her... she felt like she was just one more thing discarded along the roadside.