It's been almost 3 weeks now. Everyday we eat, hike, get hit, and sleep. We've gone mad. Elliot has been sleeping in my bed everynight since the incident. Bex only talks when we're alone.Holland can barley stand with the amount of stress he's been enduring. He's the more petite and feminine among us, so he gets more 'attention' from the preist. Sometimes, late at night, I'll hear one of them crying. It breaks me. I even hear the door open and close at times. When that happens i put more blankets on Elliot to hide him. Whenever we go hiking, I look for a place we can escape from. Broken fences, trees, spaces underneath the fences. Nothing. "We need to talk." Bex says to me. It was just me and him in the cabin at the moment. "Sure, what about?" He waves me to the front door and opens it. He guides me through some trees and over some boulders. "Where are we going exactly?" I ask him, slightly out of breath. He then points to a broken fence with a small tree beside it. Beyond that is the highway. "How did you find this?!" "Night time strolls." "So you were the one going out at night? I thought that was the counsler." I say to him. "Let's go back." Bex turns and starts walking back to the cabin. By the time we get back Elliot and Holland are sitting on the floor playing cards. I step in and Bex closes and locks the door behind him. "What's going on?" Elliot asks tilting his head in confusion. Bex tells them about the broken fence, and I see their faces light up. "So, if we go out at night with all our shit, I lead you guys to the fence, we run to town, then bam, we out." Bex was the one with a serious look on his face 24/7, but today he had a more anxious gleam in his eyes. "How tall is the tree? I might not be able to reach it..." Holland says looking at the ground. "Elliot can boost you. He is the tallest one here.' I say as I glance at Elliot. "Ok, so what time?" Elliot asks. "Midnight, cliche I know but that's the only time that'll work for us."

We all sat in silence anxiously waiting for the time to arrive. Almost having a stroke when we hear footseps outside. I check my watch.
12:00 pm. We grab our bags and wait a few more seconds before opening the door. We all stepped out and followed after Bex. A small while later we reached the fence. Fist went Holland with the help of Elliot, who was next. Then me. Just when Bex was about to climb onto the tree, we heard footsteps and yelling. We forgot to close our cabin door. Fucking Christ. Bex jumped onto one of the branches then onto the fence. He tried jumping down but his jeans were caught on the fence. We saw flashlights in the distance. Frantic Bex ripped his pant leg and fell to the ground. "HEY" we heard the fear inducing sound of our counsler yell for us. I picked up Bex and we started running. Running as fast as possible. Through the trees right beside the highway. The voices behind us were getting faint as we kept on going. When we reached the city we stopped at a convenience store to catch our breath. "So what are we gonna do?" Holland asks still panting. "We'll probably find an apartment or live with a friend of ous." Elliot says putting and arm around me. "What about you guys?" I turned to face Bex and Holland. "Vandalize my parent's house and become a stripper." This is why Bex can't make decisions anymore. "I have an aunt in seattle." Holland had it lucky.

A few months pass and we're all still in touch. Me and Elliot live together. Holland is just a 20 minute drive away. And, no, Bex isn't a stripper. He did egg his parent's house though. He works at walmart, and lives with his sister.

Late one night, Elliot starts having a nightmare, and clings onto me. With a faint whisper he says to me,
"Don't leave me alone"
"I will never leave you again"



© smolman