Page 67 of On The Run

He was fucking pissed. I could see it. I half expected him to just drag me back to the post and start waterboarding me again, but he didn’t. Instead, he climbed back down and shoved me in front of him. “Go,” he snapped. I went.

I stumbled a couple more times for good measure, and he caught me and shoved me up every time. I had a split second to see how the door worked. There was a simple key lock on the inside, but there was a more complicated combination lock on the top that faced the outside.

My hand touched the last rung, and as my head popped out of the bunker, I was hit by a burst of cool air. I pretended to collapse along the ladder to give me some time to take in anything. Were we at a campground, maybe? There were a few cabins within running distance, but I didn’t know if anyone was there, and I couldn’t trust anyone who was so close to this bunker. I looked up at the night sky and I was overcome with the amount of stars in the sky. Where were we? Were those mountains in the distance?

A sharp punch to my thigh got me moving again. “Sorry,” I stammered and climbed the rest of the way out. I turned and faced Giovani, and using all the force I could manage, I kicked him square in the chest. He wasn’t expecting it, that much was clear by the look of pure shock on his face. I didn’t know if he thought he succeeded in taming me or I was just too weak, but the fucker was surprised, and I took some kind of sick joy out of that. The first kick caused him to stumble, but the second one sent him flying to the dirt floor of the bunker. The wind was knocked out of him, but I didn’t waste any time. I slammed the hatch door shut. I didn’t know how to manage this stupid lock and I didn’t have time to figure it out, so I had to hope it slowed him down enough and not waste any more precious seconds.

I ran. I had no idea where I was going, but I ran toward the mountains, hoping that was the right direction. The land in this campground or whatever the fuck seemed less dense up here, so I took it as a good sign. I once again considered running into a cabin, but I didn’t want to risk it. I stuck to the original plan and ran. I needed to get off this fucking compound and find a road or something.

It took me seconds to realize this place was massive and I needed a higher vantage point in order to see how to get the fuck out of here. I sprinted to what seemed like the center of the compound. The cabins all looked abandoned, and I wasn’t going to risk going into one of them and getting cornered. I spun in a circle, wishing I at least knew a general geographic location on where I was so I could guess which direction I needed to go. In the center of the cluster of cabins was a building of sorts that was about double the size of the rest of the buildings. It wasn’t made out of logs like the cabins either, and instead was made of bricks. Was it a meeting center or some kind of main building?

One thing for sure, it had seen better fucking days. The whole left side was blasted out like it was hit by a cannon or something. But something about that building caught my eye. On the side that was still standing, on the second floor, was a balcony.

Now, under normal circumstances, I’d stay far the fuck away from the whole thing. A strong wind would probably take it down. I normally would never trust it to hold my body weight. Even now, I had doubts even with as desperate as I was. But this may be my chance to see past the dense trees and find an escape route. That was when I heard a bloodcurdling scream of rage and I knew that Giovani got his shit together and was out of the bunker. Fuck. I didn’t have time to waste; I needed to go.

I abandoned my plan and bolted. Everything hurt, but I pushed it back as I ran. I barely got out of the housing section and into the protection of the woods when I heard an engine roar. The fucker got a car. I stayed within the relative protection of the trees, hoping he wouldn’t be able to get his car through it and it would save me some precious minutes.

I was barefoot, almost naked, and had my hands cuffed in front of me, so keeping my balance was impossible. I was tearing the shit out of my feet and torso as I crashed through branches and stumbled over the rough terrain. Anytime there was a break in the trees, I kept an eye on the mountains, making sure they stayed on the same side. It was the only thing keeping me from getting turned around. I no longer heard the car, but that didn’t mean shit.

Finally, the density of the woods began clearing out and I was able to make out an end to it.Please, please, be an exit.Knowing my luck, I just ran right into Giovani’s clutches again.

I was well aware I was running on pure adrenaline now. My body would shut down soon, and hopefully I was somewhere safe when that happened. I wouldn’t go out this way. He wouldn’t take my life from me. I’d go back home, take Max up on his offer to help find aid for Pops, and get him the treatment he needed. I’d stop running from Max and see what a relationship with him could be like. Fuck, maybe I’d try to make a friend. But I would get out of here and do all the things the sick bastard had robbed me of for all those years.

I tore through the trees and only stopped myself before I ran completely out of their protection. I was able to hear the engine of the car, but it didn’t sound terribly close. I peeked out and sure enough, there was the faint light of headlights, but it was a ways down. This might be my chance. Hopefully, I was far enough that he couldn’t see me. I sprinted off. I was so focused on escaping and staying out of Giovani’s line of sight that I didn’t notice what was in front of me until I was inches from slamming into an electric fence. I snapped my head back and forth, but the fence seemed to go on for ages. It must cover this entire property. What kind of place was this anyway? I eyed the fence warily. Was it on? I had no idea how to check.

I looked for a gate or some kind of opening, but an engine revved behind me. He was getting closer, and I was out in the open. Any second now and he’d see me, and I couldn’t outrun a damn car. I needed to get out of here before he fucking found me.

It seemed like Giovani was patrolling the fence line. The car was moving, but slowly, and he seemed to be staying close to the area he was already in. He wasn’t randomly searching for me; he was staying put. Which meant that area was probably close to the opening in the fence and he was planning on grabbing me as I tried to leave. I ducked into the shadows of the trees so I was less visible and tried to think. I was going to have to find a different way to escape. I’d stand no chance directly against Giovani. I got lucky the first time, and I wouldn’t again.

I scanned the fence, hoping to find a hole or something. I considered climbing it but immediately decided against it. I didn’t have the strength to climb an eight-foot fence, not to mention the barbed wire. There had to be a way out. I just had to find it. Staying in the shadows as best I could, I began running along the fence line, in the opposite direction of Giovani. This place was clearly abandoned, but there had to be a weakness or something somewhere.

I was losing steam. This plan wasn’t working. My feet were bleeding, and the shivering was starting up again. I needed a new plan. I needed to fucking think. That was when I saw it: there was a hole near the bottom of the fence. Since I heard coyotes in the distance, it was likely from them; the size was right. It would be a tight fit, but I was suddenly fucking glad for my narrow body type because I might be able to squeeze through, but Giovani wouldn’t. I dove toward the hole.

As my hand touched the fence, I was fucking grateful the electricity wasn’t turned on because I forgot to check. Fuck. That would have been bad. Inch after painful inch, I slid my body through. The fence was tearing through my skin, but I bore down and forced myself to keep going. I bit down on my lip to keep from screaming as I got torn apart by the wire. It was particularly rough on my hips, and I noticed the warm feeling of blood dripping down my leg.

I glanced behind me but was unable to see the headlights. I wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or not. Did he change directions when he wasn’t able to find me? And then I heard it. Gunshots. Giovani was shooting at me. He must have fucking seen me. But how? I thought I was far enough away from him.It doesn’t matter now, A,just move!I started to scramble faster, completely disregarding the damage to my body. The shots were getting closer, as was the roar of the engine, but I hadn’t been hit yet, so I’d take it.

Giovani was screaming, but I had no idea what he was saying. I only had one focus: get the fuck out of here.

It was excruciating, but my hips and ass made it out on the other end, and it was smooth sailing from there. My underwear was torn but it wasn’t falling off, so I took that as a win. I didn’t take the time to assess my injuries. I didn’t have that luxury. I gritted my teeth and began to run. I didn’t turn around to see if he was after me.

I started to fade a few minutes later when I heard signs of life. At first, I thought it was Giovani, but then I saw the lights ahead of me. A fucking road.

Despite the pain, and the cold, and the dizziness threatening to take over, I got a surge of energy and took off at a sprint. There was one car driving slowly that I could see. That could be a bad sign, but I needed to take my chances. As I got closer, I saw the lights on top of it—a cop.

I hesitated. My whole life, Pops told me to avoid cops, that they were going to arrest him and give me back to my sperm donor. But . . . Pops wasn’t here, and I wasn’t a kid anymore. Even if they didn’t arrest Giovani, there was no way they could force me back with him.

I ran right into the road and stopped dead in front of the car as it approached.

I closed my eyes and braced for impact, but it never came. What did was the screeching of brakes, the slamming of doors, and a man bellowing at me. I kept my eyes closed.

The shouting stopped once he saw me. I had to imagine I was a pathetic fucking sight right now, so whatever he was pissed at slipped away. And then the shivering started again.

The man was talking to me, but it sounded like nonsense. I let him lead me to the car and put a blanket around me. He was in my face and his mouth was moving, but I only had two thoughts that were clear. Two I needed to get out. “Pops! Pops.” I wanted to say so much more, at least complete a sentence. It wasn’t going to happen.

The cop’s face scrunched in confusion. He said something else, probably asked what I was talking about. “Pops.” I wasn’t getting anywhere; that much was clear. So, I tried something else, the other person who meant everything to me.

“Max.” Fuck, I wished I had the energy to elaborate, but I just didn’t.

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