Page 29

From the other side of the wall, I listened quietly as Jeremy talked loudly with a man named Grant about his plans for her. Terrifying plans. Plans that left Ellie paralyzed with fear, and me unable to sleep while my mind worked overtime for a solution. I didn’t just overhear the transaction, I heard something else. The Syndicate? What the fuck is that? And why would they pay for Ellie?
Just a couple of throw-away kids with no one to turn to, we were suddenly faced with very real, very adult problems. Shit, I don’t even think this is an adult problem. This isn’t normal. It’s nothing anyone should ever have to deal with.
I know why she feels like we need to run away, I do, but how does a 12 year old survive on the streets of a city like Silversun Valley? I’m only 14, how can I protect her out there? I have money, but we have to have somewhere to go. This city would eat us alive.
“What plan?” Ellie hisses.
“I have enough money saved, but we need a place to go so I’m working on getting fake identification, I just need more time. I,” I sigh. Before I can continue, El cuts me off, shooting daggers at me with her eyes.
“No, I don’t have more time. I don’t.”
“Shh. It’s ok, just a day or two please El. I’ll get us out of here before he comes back.”
“No,” she pulls her hand away and shakes her head. I step forward and she inches backward. She backs away from me of all people. Me.“He could come back early Z. No.”
“Please trust me. We’re just kids, we can’t do this without somewhere to go,” I plead and reach out for her hand again, but she yanks away from me as though my touch were venomous. “The streets are brutal El, I’ve been there. We won’t survive.”
My eyes are full of tears and I try, but fail, to blink them back and they spill down my cheeks slowly. I need her to just trust me. The streets are no place for us, we will never survive. Not when we have no support. No shelter.
“I’m sorry, I can’t wait,” leaning forward, she plants a kiss on my cheek and I realize I’m sobbing now. “I love you Z. Please, just take the bag and come with me. Please.”
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I watch helplessly as she crawls out of the window, and shimmies down the drainage pipe. When her feet hit the ground, she takes a few steps forward before she turns back, looking up at me with a smile on her face.
Freedom.
Taking a few deep breaths, I think to myself ‘fuck it’, and I grab the bag she packed for me. Slinging it over my shoulder, I climb through the window, crawling down the same drain pipe. Only exhaling when my feet touch solid ground.
Throwing her arms around me, she smiles and I wrap my arms around her tiny frame, “Thank you Z. Thank you.”
“Come on El, we gotta go before someone sees us.”
Nodding her head, she places her hand in mine and we take off running. We run through the dark alley, water from the puddles splashing beneath our feet. I run faster, trying to put distance between us and the house, and that’s when I feel her hand slip from my grip.
It takes a few moments before it even registers that my hand is empty.
A shriek fills the air, and I turn around to see a large man in all black with his arms wrapped around Ellie’s waist.
“Run Z, run!” she screams.
High pitched, intermittent beeps pierce through her screams, and my body jerks violently as I nearly fall out of my chair. Gripping the desk, I steady myself, stiffening my muscles so I don’t hit the floor. Sweat drips down my face and my chest heaves as my heart races and I struggle to catch my breath.
Turning side to side, I glance around the empty room, when suddenly it registers that it’s my laptop beeping. With a trembling hand, I reach out and grip the mouse, hovering the results and hesitating for just a brief moment before I click to open.
Suddenly everything slows down around me. My limbs are heavy as I scroll through the search results, filtering out the noise as I look for what I need. It almost feels as though I’m moving in reverse. I’m not ready for this, but there’s no going back now. There’s no turning away.
The moment I’ve been waiting so long for hangs suspended in front of me, and my fingertips keep skimming the surface, but I can’t get close enough. Not yet. Almost.
My lead filled fingertip scrolls so slow… but that’s when I see it:
Ellie King.
12 years old.
Parents - deceased.
No living relatives.
Acquired by Grant Maddox