by CeeCee James
At one of the driveways, Miranda pulled out a water bottle and handed it to her sister. “Little sips,” Miranda cautioned her.
Sweat clung to Cassie’s upper lip, and her face, although red from running, had patches of pure white on the cheeks. She gripped the cap and twisted, but her strength had left her. She passed it back. Miranda cracked off the plastic lid. Her sister took a few sips that quickly turned into greedy gulps.
“Slow down, Cassie! Small sips or you're going to throw it all back up.”
Cassie pulled the bottle from her mouth. Miranda could tell it took every last bit of self-control. She wiped her mouth with the back of her arm and handed it back. Miranda took a few sips too, and the same hunger fought to overtake her. Never had Miranda tasted anything so sweet and wonderful as that water. Reluctantly, she pulled it away.
“We can have some more in five minutes.”
She poured some in her hand for Poppy. The white terrier lapped it up with delicate flicks of her tongue.
"We're going to be okay." Miranda reassured both Poppy and Cassie.
“Where’s Jason?”
“I don’t know, Cassie. But he’s fast. He’ll get away.”
Across from the houses was a small park fully shaded by a grove of trees. There was a brick side building Miranda thought might be a restroom. She surveyed the area: no signs of the red truck. And no sign of Jason. Her eyes started to sting, and she gritted her teeth. Focus. He’s going to be okay. It’s all about keeping Cassie safe right now. “Let’s go.”
Cassie picked up Poppy, and they walked across the street.
As they reached the grass, a squirrel ran down one of the trees and chittered at them. Poppy gave a strangled bark and squirmed in Cassie’s arms. Her back legs kicked Cassie in the belly.
“Ow!” Cassie squealed, before letting the dog lose. She lifted her shirt where four red scratches were already swelling on her white skin. “Dang, Poppy!”
Poppy ignored her as she chased the squirrel over to the tree. The squirrel scampered out on a branch and scolded the dog.
“Let's look for some rope,” Miranda said. “We need a leash.”
Cassie tugged her shirt, and pushed her curly hair out of her eyes. “Poppy.” She snapped her fingers. “Poppy, stop that! Come here now!”
The terrier was happy to finally be free. She trotted along the line of trees with her tail wagging.
“Whatever, you spoiled pooch,” Miranda muttered.
The squirrel came down cautiously with its tail twitching. Poppy sniffed the grass, an invisible scent trail leading her farther away. The squirrel scurried to the edge of the road.
Poppy spotted the flash of movement and was off like a rocket. The squirrel darted across the road, with Poppy in pursuit.
A sedan was at the mouth of the alley. Miranda could see the woman glance to the right for oncoming cars. “Poppy!” Miranda screamed.
There was a terrible screech of tires and a thump.
Miranda hauled Cassie behind the rhododendron bush. She wrapped her arms and legs around her sister to keep her from escaping as Cassie thrashed with all her strength. She scratched at her sister’s arms to tear herself free. “No! No!”
“Shhhhhhhh,” Miranda whispered. “We can’t go out there. We can’t be seen.”
“My dog! My baby!” With superhuman strength, Cassie arched her back and then bucked forward. Miranda’s teeth clattered, her muscles burning like white bands of fire.
The car doors opened. Cassie keened in her ear as Miranda held her close.
“Mama! You hit a dog!”
“Oh, poor little thing.”
Poppy yipped.
Cassie’s body clenched as though electrified.
Miranda peered through the bushes.
The woman walked next to Poppy, and knelt down. Poppy was a limp ball of fur on the ground. Softly, she stroked the dog. “It’s still alive.” Lifting Poppy carefully, she cuddled the dog next to her chest. “Sit in the back seat, Tyler. We have to hurry.”
The boy scrambled into the seat.
“Seatbelt,” the woman said.
After the seatbelt snapped into place, the woman gently set Poppy on his lap.
Poppy licked the boy’s hand. “Aww, poor thing,” he said. “Mom, where are we going?”
“To the vet’s.” She looked around briefly to locate an owner before climbing into the driver’s seat.
The car sped off.
Cassie collapsed against her sister as the car drove away. Miranda rocked her back and forth, her hand cupped around Cassie’s head. “I know, baby, I know. I’m so sorry.”
“Please Miranda, get Poppy back.” The last plea came out in a choking sob.
Miranda felt like her heart was being ripped into two. “We’ll get her back, Cassie. Somehow we’ll get her back.” Miranda’s lip trembled and she bit it hard.
Cassie broke down in muffled sobs. “Daddy gave me that dog.”
Miranda squinted her eyes tightly. God help me. I can't take anymore.
She heard it again, like she’d heard it her entire life. Be bigger. You aren't weak; you are strong.
Miranda stood up and lifted her sister to her feet. “Cassie, we have to go.”
No answer.
“We’re still not safe. We have to go now.” Miranda wrapped her arms around Cassie’s shoulders. “Come on, Chickee.”
14
~Homeless~
Miranda hated to see Cassie cry. With her arm circling around her sister, Miranda steered her through the park. She readjusted Cassie’s t-shirt to cover her bare shoulder. Together, they walked over to the swing set.
“Can we rest here a second, Miranda?”
Miranda nodded. “Go ahead, Chickee.”
Cassie grabbed the swing and sat. Pushing off with one sandaled foot, she slowly swung back and forth as her head rested against the chain. Her eyes were closed tight.
Miranda chewed on her lip and tried to decide the next step. Dark clouds rolled in along the horizon. She needed to find some type of shelter. After a moment, she decided to head back to the dumpster behind Penny Wiggle. Jason might search for them there. And there was an awning over the dumpster enclosure in case it did rain.
The decision strengthened her. Miranda watched Cassie for a minute, trying to gauge if she was ready to get moving. Cassie's face was pinched with grief. Her sister didn’t look like she’d be moving any time soon.
From around the corner came the squeal of tires on the road.
“Get up!” Miranda demanded, tugging on her sister’s arm. “We’ve got to go now!”
Cassie jumped to her feet and stared wild-eyed in the direction of the sound.
Miranda clung to her sister’s hand and pulled her along. “Come on. Hurry!”
The roaring of the truck came louder. Miranda and Cassie hid behind a tree and waited until it passed. It slowed at the park before it accelerated again. Miranda peered around the tree to watch it leave.
The truck screeched to a stop. Quickly, it shifted into reverse and backed up.
“Run, Cassie!”
Miranda and Cassie raced down the sidewalk, Miranda’s frantic eyes darting for an escape. The truck had nearly caught up with them. Shouts came from the driver’s window as the men catcalled.
There! On the street was a lady waiting at a bus stop with her young child.
“Faster, Cassie!”
Cassie fell, tripping over the child’s scooter she had attempted to leap over, and immediately grabbed her ankle.
“Cassie!” Miranda looked around wildly as the truck jerked to a stop in front of them. “Help!” she screamed to the woman.
The mother glanced over with nervous eyes.
A guy in a yellow shirt and a backwards baseball cap jumped out of the passenger seat. He called to the woman at the corner, “Don’t be concerned with us, Mrs. Sanders. Hey is your husband still deployed? We want to make sure you and your daughter are safe at night. We'll be keeping an eye out.”<
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The woman bit her lip and turned her back. Her hand firmly gripped her daughter’s shoulders and turned her around too.
Miranda’s heart sank. They were on their own.
She pulled Cassie to her feet. “You okay?” she asked, looking her over. Her sister nodded. “Cassie,” she whispered, "You go run over there by that little girl. Stay with her no matter where she goes.”
“No! I'm not leaving you."
"Do it now!"
The man stepped closer. “Well, well. What have we here?” he sneered.
Miranda stood to face him. Her body trembled as she took a step forward to meet the gang. She didn't dare look away.
“Looks like you’re talking to a girl, Sherlock,” she answered with her next step.
Cassie ran towards the white house.
One of the guys laughed. “Look at that rat run.”
“Let her go,” the one in the yellow shirt said. “We’ve got all we need here.” His lip curled like red worms, his eyes dead brown. “I’m going to make you hate your life.”
She pushed the hair off her forehead and wiped her hands on the back of her pants. “I bet your momma’s hated hers since the day you were born.”
His buddies all made noises. “Oh, she got you.”
“You think you’re a tough girl. Come here, tough girl.” He grabbed her arm and nearly yanked it out of its socket.
Time had been spinning out-of-control, and then seemed to stop. She turned and spit in his face.
Liver lips curved into a grin. He wiped at his chin. “This is going to be fun.”
He twisted her arm harder. She gritted her teeth and struggled to keep silent, but a whimper escaped.
The sound of a truck engine came down the road. The afternoon Kindergartners’ school bus. Its brakes squealed as it stopped in front of the white house. Cassie shot her a desperate look and then boarded the bus with the girl.
The bus driver honked his horn twice, and the guys looked in his direction.
The window slid open and the bus driver yelled, “Hey! What are you doing to that girl?”
“Mind your own business, old man,” Liver Lips told him, but he released Miranda’s arm.
“You okay?” the bus driver asked Miranda.
One of the guys grabbed his face and staggered back. Miranda stared as blood spurted from his forehead. What the hell is going on? In the next instant the red truck’s windshield shattered.
“Run!”
Miranda looked around wildly. Jason appeared from behind the bus. He screamed at her again.
She ran.
Together, they ran behind the bus and down in back of the houses. Furious screams followed behind her, then the spinning tires of the truck racing forward. It stopped at the entrance of the narrow alley, before its tires screeched away.
The teens’ feet beat a staccato on the dirty ground. “Watch out here,” Jason panted, before dodging an overturned shopping basket. Miranda jumped over it, but her foot nicked a pile of rusty cans. They came tumbling after her in a noisy clatter.
Up ahead, the alley branched in three directions. They turned left, and the alley opened to the street. Jason held his arm out to stop her as they checked for the truck.
It was all quiet. Two cars were parked on the street, and the gentle hum of traffic was far away.
“What are we waiting for? I’ve got to find Cassie.”
“Chill,” he answered, while his eyes scanned the buildings and the street. “I don’t want to run into them again. They ain’t too happy with me since I busted up their truck. They saw us walk into town so they know we’re on foot.” Cautious, he waved at her to follow him and they walked down the street.
“This town is creepy.” Miranda glanced at the broken upper story windows. “Where are all the people?”
Storefront after storefront was boarded up with great sheets of plywood covering their front windows and tagged with graffiti. Miranda shivered at a particularly graphic gargoyle with bulbous eyes and its tongue hanging out.
At the intersection the light turned red, stopping cars that weren't there. It was so quiet Miranda heard the click as it changed colors.
Tires squealed; they sounded like they were about a block away. Jason pulled her into the alcove entrance of what had once been a video rental store. Miranda held her breath to listen, crouching close to Jason. His eyes darted from hers to the street, his pulse visible in his neck. The sound faded as the truck headed in the opposite direction.
Jason relaxed, and reached for her hand, the veins in his arms standing out from adrenaline. “Ready?” He tensed to run.
“Hey, thank you for saving me. Again.”
He didn’t turn around, but Miranda watched his neck redden. She continued, “How did you get the windshield to shatter like that?”
Jason glanced back at her and broke into his half-grin. “Easy. I found a handful of spark plugs. Just a little piece of porcelain will do it. Messed up his face, too.”
“Cool trick! I want to try.”
“His face, or a windshield?” His brow crinkled.
“Depends.” Miranda grinned, then thought of Cassie on the bus. Her eyes flickered closed. Please be okay.
Jason saw the look on her face and reached for her hand. “Come on.”
They hurried out onto the street.
Just a couple of blocks farther out the buildings thinned into the beginnings of a residential area. Old houses, broken-down like they’d been there a while, sat just a few feet from the edge of the cracked sidewalk.
Up ahead, there was a lady walking her dog.
“Excuse me,” Miranda called out.
The lady looked startled and brought her German Shepherd closer to her as Miranda walked up.
“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to bother you.” Miranda gave her most disarming smile. “I was just wondering where the elementary school is? I’m supposed to meet my cousin.”
“Oh,” the lady’s face relaxed somewhat. “You mean Benjamin Franklin Heights? It’s in the next town over, Evergreen. Our school had to close. Just too many people leaving for the city.”
“How far away is Evergreen?”
Her eyes lit on Jason, where he leaned with his arms crossed against a light pole. Her mouth tightened. “Mm, I guess about five or six miles,” she answered. Then, “Come, Heidi.” She pulled on the dog’s leash and continued walking.
“Thank you so much!” Miranda called after her.
Jason stepped off the curb and walked towards her, his hands jammed in his jean pockets.
“You hear what she said?”
“Yeah.”
“Can we get there before school’s out?”
“Easy jog.”
She snorted. “Whatever.”
They continued along the street, stepping over the railroad tracks that crossed the road. Miranda’s mouth was dry. They’d both abandoned the water and backpacks long ago.
“We need to get out of sight. I don’t trust this road,” Jason said. “It’s too straight. Anybody driving up would see us.”
“Yeah. We might have to hitchhike.”
Jason narrowed his eyes. “You serious? See how that lady looked at me? Nobody would pick me up.”
Unexpectedly, he jerked his head towards town. Coming down the street was a low rumble. “Son of a—” He spun around, searching for an escape. There was a warehouse two hundred yards away. “Time to move those feet, Miranda.”
They raced for it.
Their feet pounded through the empty yard of an abandoned car dealership. From behind them the truck sped up. Shouts and laughter came from the cab. Miranda glanced back. One of the men pulled himself out of a window to sit on the truck door sill. He brandished his bat in the air.
“Come here piggy, piggy! I’ve got a game to play with you!”
Miranda faltered, cramping with a side-ache. She gasped as she rubbed it.
“What the hell are you doing?” Jason grabbed her hand and yanked. “Move! Now!�
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They made it to the warehouse just as a train crossed the road. It rattled on its tracks behind the building, blocking the truck in with them.
Jason ran ahead. Miranda stumbled after him as he bolted around the garbage containers. “No!” he yelled, his face crumpling in disbelief. Hanging from the warehouse’s rusty door was a padlock. He flung it against the door where it smacked with a metallic clang, its shackle still secure.
He spun around, his eyes darting everywhere desperate for a place to hide. Hope drained away as he realized their escape was cut off by a slow moving train.
They were penned in. Miranda pivoted to face the truck. She couldn’t see through the cracked windshield. The driver stopped his truck and idled the engine, like a cat watching a mouse. The truck rocked with each pump of the gas pedal. Any second he was going to floor it.
“We’re going to jump on.” Jason’s pupils were huge.
“What? Are you crazy?”
“Well, what the hell do you want to do, Miranda? Stay here? Get your ass on that train now.”
He turned from her and ran beside the train. “Come on!” He beckoned with his hand.
The train rumbled slowly as it exited the town.
Both the truck doors opened and men piled out.
Miranda’s heart leaped in her throat.
Jason cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, “Miranda! Follow me now!”
He started backing up along the length of the train, his eyes focused on an empty box. As it approached, he turned and sprinted to build speed.
Miranda lurched forward as if jolted by a cattle prod. She ran after Jason, trying to catch up. With a jump, Jason caught hold of the ladder. He turned to reach his hand out to her.
But the train was too fast.
“Faster, Miranda! You can do it! Run faster!”
She stretched out her hand, her face streaming with tears as his hand got further away. Jason glanced over her shoulder, his face grim. The men were gaining on her. Looking back, he demanded, “It’s now or never, Miranda. Run! Do it for Cassie!”