The October Music, Stanza 2 - Day 8

Run Runaway

            You’re out. You’re out. Go. Go. Take a left. Down the street. Hurry. He’ll notice sooner than later. Keep going. I know your lungs already burn and your knees ache but this is it. This is the best chance you have. This is the last chance you have.

            Hit the corner and take a right. That leads to the shopping district. You’ll be safe there. Probably. Maybe. Safer than here at least. There will be people around. People who will see you. People who will protect you. They still do that, right? They have to, right? They can’t all be like him.

            Don’t. Stop. You can slow down when you get to where the people are. Until then, you need to go as fast as you can until your lungs burst. Yes, you’re weighed down. Yes, the chains are heavy. No excuses. You won’t get another chance and you know it.

            Cars! Stay out of the street. Come on now. You know better. They won’t stop for you. They’ll run you over. Is that what you want? Wait, is that what you want? No! Come on, not now. Those thoughts can wait until you’re safe. Ignore them. Focus on getting to where you can. Get moving.

            What about your sister? Later. You’re getting distracted and you’re slowing down. You’re jogging and that will get you caught. This is not the place to slow down and you know that. You remember last time. You remember how that nice old lady down the street didn’t believe you and brought you back. How she got you hurt so badly that you never thought you’d even walk again, much less run. Remember that? No, we have to get to the shopping area. Move it.

            There! Just up ahead. Do you see it? It’s a strip mall. Lots of stores. Lots of people. Pick one and go in. Once you’re inside, you’ll be safe and then you can break down. Until then, just keep moving. Like a fish? Yes, just like that. If you stop moving, you will die.

            This store even has the lights on. Perfect. Go in and you can cry then. You can sit down and let the goodness of people protect you. They won’t be able to help themselves. Not when they see you. Not when they hear you talk. Basic human decency demands help.

            See? Right there. That woman holding the dress? Look at her face! Look at how horrified she is to see you so emaciated and pale and tear-streaked. See how she’s running over…to the manager. See how she’s pointing frantically at you, demanding someone take care of this. Not ‘you’. ‘This’. Was this the wrong store?

            Oh no. No. No no no. This is very much the wrong store. Out of every single store, you chose this one. We chose this one. We chose the one where he is the manager. He’s promising to take care of us. Look at his glare.
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            We needed to keep running.