Running Scared

Chapter 1

I didn’t know what to do when I saw it. It took me by such surprise that I had to check more than twice to make sure that I had in fact seen it. I can't say that I’m the kind of person who you should look up to, a good role model or anything of the sort. I’ve seen some really bad stuff in my life, but it's safe to say that this was by far the most atrocious thing that had ever crossed my eyes.

My name is Jason Porter, and on this day in my seventeenth year of existence, I knew instantly that my life was never going to be the same again. I lived in a nice place called Perth in Western Australia. (That’s in the southern Hemisphere, above Antarctica, for those who don’t know.) I was on holidays from school, and everything had seemed so normal.

I was walking down a street, just minding my own business, it was about two in the afternoon, and I had nothing to do. Most of my friends, not that I had a lot, had gone away for the holidays. It was a warm afternoon about twenty-eight degrees Celsius. I would have much rather been at the beach, but without anyone to go with, or any way of getting there, the option was shot.

As I was headed down the street, I thought I heard a bit of a commotion going down in a small side street. I slowed my walking and took a curious glance down the alleyway. It was empty except for two people. The first was a man who looked to be about forty-five or so, and this man was standing over a boy who looked like he was about fourteen or fifteen.

My curiosity peaked as I heard the man say in a gruff voice. “I told you what would happen if you didn’t do as you were told, didn’t I?” It was only now that I noticed that the boy was crying. I didn’t know what was going on, but I decided it was none of my business. I was about to keep on walking, when as I turned my head I saw a flash of silver in the man’s hand.

I snapped my head back to see what was going on, to see the man still standing over the boy, but now he held a pistol in his right hand, pointed directly at the boy’s temple. I froze, ‘What the hell.’ I looked around myself and saw that the street around us was empty, except for the occasional car that drove past. As I turned back to face the alleyway, I saw that the boy was looking up at me.

I held his gaze and I wondered what I should do. My instincts told me to try and save the boy, but the guy who had him was about twice my size and weight. And he had a gun. The boy continued to stare up at me with pleading eyes. It was at this moment that the attacker realized that there was someone else in the alley.

He looked up at me and with the coldest eyes I’ve ever encountered, he said. “Get out of here, kid.” I couldn’t have moved even if I had wanted to. I was held to the spot by a mixture of fear and anger. I didn’t know what it was that this kid had done wrong, but whatever it was, I was certain he didn’t deserve to die. I looked back at this guy and asked. “What's he done wrong?”

The man seemed surprised that I had asked the question. He looked at me with disdain as he smirked. “Piss off, before you’re next.” I didn’t retreat; my heart was beating at a million paces a minute as I took a couple of strides into the alleyway. To say the man was surprised when I did this, was a massive understatement. He looked at me like I had lost the plot.

Then suddenly I was looking down the barrel of the gun. The movement had been so quick, I gasped when I realized that he was now pointing the gun at my head. “I told you to go away. If you take one more step I'll kill you and then I’ll kill the kid as well." By now I was trembling I was so scared. I didn’t know what I was doing. I looked at this guy, and tried to figure out what I should do.

As I stood there staring at this guy, I got a good look at him. He had balding hair, which he was trying to hide under a cap. He wore good clothes, like a businessman. He didn’t have the look of someone who usually hung out in alleyways. He definitely didn’t look like a thug. These realizations made me even more curious as to what exactly was going on here.

I was about to say something, when the guy cut me off. “You’ve got until the count of three.” And as if to accentuate what he said, he cocked the gun. I gulped; I knew that I couldn’t leave this kid to die. I looked down at the boy, and saw him looking at me, begging me to do something. Then the strangest thing happened. The man shifted his weight, obviously uncomfortable.

I couldn’t believe what I saw next. The boy, still kneeling in front of the man, raised his elbow and drove it fair and square into the guy’s groin. I was flabbergasted for a minute, as the boy sprung up and moved away from the man. The guy dropped his gun, and put both of his hands to where it hurt. I waited until the boy was next to me before I said. “Nice shot, but you better go.”

I saw the boy look behind me and I knew that the man had gotten back up. He muttered under his breath. “I’ll kill the both of you and then cook you fuckers for dinner.” I could feel the ground shake as he ran at us. In one quick motion I withdrew a hunting knife that I always keep in my jacket pocket. I unsheathed it and as the man charged I drove it into his hip.

I knew it wasn’t enough to kill him, but I didn’t want to kill him, I just wanted to hurt him enough, so that we could escape. The man instantly stopped. Then he fell to the ground in pain. I knew we had at least five minutes. So I turned to the boy and said. “Run home.” Then I turned and made for the entrance to the alleyway. When I reached it, I made another brash decision, and went to the closest parked car.

I knew I was screwed. So I decided to steal a car to make my getaway. The first car I found was locked and I didn’t have time to pick the lock. So I moved on; on the third try I found one that was unlocked. I jumped in, and slammed the door shut. I immediately set to work trying to hot-wire it. I had done it a few times in the past so I knew that it would only take me a few moments.

I was concentrating so hard on what I was doing that I didn’t realize what was going on around me. It wasn’t until I heard the roar of the v8 engine come to life, and I sat back up in my seat than I realized I wasn’t alone. The boy was sitting in the passenger seat, looking at me hopefully. I was about to argue, and tell him to go home, when I saw the guy getting to his feet in the alley. I thought, ‘Fuck it.’ And I floored the accelerator.

I had been taking driving lessons for a while so I was a good driver. I didn’t say anything as I drove. I wasn’t sure where I was going to go; I just knew that I had to get away from that scene, away from the city. I slowed the car slightly and drove at a little bit above the speed limit, trying not to bring attention to myself. As I drove I kept an eye on the rearview mirror to see whether we were being followed. I was surprised to see that we weren’t.

After I had been driving for ten minutes, I turned to the boy. “Okay, kid, tell me where you live and I’ll drop you there.” The boy suddenly had tears in his eyes. He didn’t say anything for a few moments. I had a feeling this was about to get a lot worse. He finally said. “I don’t really have a home. I was living at a foster home, but…..” He paused and started to cry heavily.

I pulled a handkerchief out of my pants pocket and gave it to him. He wiped his nose and his eyes, but he didn’t stop crying. I continued to drive in silence, trying to figure out what to do. I couldn’t just leave the kid anywhere, but I couldn’t really take him with me either. The only plan that was running through my head was running as far away as possible, even if it meant leaving the state.

I knew if I got arrested for what I had just done, I would go to prison. I was thinking all of this as I drove. The boy had stopped crying and was sitting silently, looking out of the windshield.

“What’s you’re name.” I asked the question, not really sure why it mattered. “Joel. Joel Summers.” The boy spoke with a heavy accent, it sounded Asian. I took a good look at the boy.

Joel was about five foot and had a skinny build. He looked to be about fourteen years old. His skin was an olive color. I wondered whether he was from the Middle East. But I decided I would ask him later. “Well, Joel, my name is Jason.” I paused for a few moments as I gathered my thoughts. “And it looks like we’re together for the long haul.”

Even though I said it without a second thought, I couldn’t believe what my words actually meant. It meant that if I was going on the run, I wasn’t going to be doing it alone. I knew I could survive on the run; I had spent the last three years saving up money, and now I had quite a bit stowed away in my bank account, so money wasn’t a problem. But I had a lot of other problems.

I didn’t say anything else for a while, turned on the radio, and we drove in silence. I was heading east, it was the best idea that I had come up with. I had just stabbed a guy, even if it was in self-defense. I had to get to somewhere where the cops wouldn’t find me. And the best option was to leave the state. I looked across at my companion, and wondered what I was getting myself into.

Three hours later we had made good progress, I pulled over into a gas station; we needed fuel, plus I was getting hungry. I noticed that Joel had fallen asleep, so I lightly shook him; when he opened his eyes I said to him in a quiet voice, “Hey, buddy, you hungry?” He nodded, but then he frowned. I instantly knew what was wrong so I reassured him. “Don’t worry, I’m paying.” Joel gave a small nod.

After I had filled up the car, we made our way in and I paid and then bought us both a steak burger and chips. Once we had it we sat down at a table and started to eat. I had so many questions that I wanted to ask Joel, but I decided that I would just let him eat, after I saw how hungry he was. I enjoyed my meal but I was only half-way done, when Joel finished up. But when I asked him if he wanted anything else, he smiled and shook his head.

I decided that now was the time to talk to him. So, as I put my burger back on my plate, I chose my words very carefully. “So Joel, tell me a bit about yourself.” At first he seemed reluctant, and I thought that maybe I should reword it, but then he asked quite simply. “What do you want to know?” I looked at him and tried my best to smile as I said, “Well, what do you want to tell me?”

This seemed to relax him as he seemed to realize that I wasn’t going to force any information out of him. He looked down at the ground as he started. “Well, I’m fourteen, I’m from Bali. Well, I was…..” I wasn’t surprised by his age, though I was slightly surprised by where he was from. I nodded. But he was still looking at the ground, so it took until he looked back up at me to realize what I had done.

When he looked back up at me I realised that he had the most beautiful brown eyes. They quite simply took my breath away. “What do you mean by 'was'?” I tried to ask the question without worrying him. Joel took a few moments to pause, then he said. “Well, my parents sent me and my brother across here, to stay with an uncle.” I looked at him confused.

Joel saw the look in my eyes and thought it was something else. So I quickly asked him. “Was that your uncle?” The truth was, I was afraid of the answer. But Joel quickly shook his head. “No, my uncle was killed two years ago. That man today, John—he’s my foster Dad.” I was shocked. It didn’t make sense to me. I was begging to ask my next question, but the look on Joel’s face told me that he didn’t want to continue.

I had finished my food so I said. “How about we talk about this later, eh?” Joel seemed relieved that I wasn’t going to press the matter. So we got up, and on our way out I bought us a drink each for the road. Once we were back in the car Joel seemed as though he was tired, so I said. “Look I’m going for the border.” Joel didn’t seem surprised by this. He nodded his head slowly.

When I had made that statement it was a sort of question, asking whether Joel knew where we were going. His reaction told me that he did, and he didn’t care. I looked at him as I started the car again. I found it hard to believe that this boy had managed to capture me in such a way in such a short time, that I knew I would not allow harm to come to him.

I set off from the gas station, as I saw that Joel looked like he wanted to rest, so I said to him. “You can sleep for a while if you wish. It's not the most comfortable place. But at least it's warm.” I meant what I said; I had the heater cranked up quite high, so there was no chill. Joel at first seemed as though he wasn’t going to. But a mere ten minutes later I looked across and he was asleep.

I drove right through the night. I stopped twice and bought myself a coffee, The truth was I was so afraid that people were after us, that I wasn’t willing to stop anywhere long enough to sleep. I just continued to head east, I was making good progress. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do once I got out of the State of Western Australia, but I had decided I would cross that bridge when I came to it.

It was half past six the next morning, when Joel finally stirred. At first he jumped when he realized his surroundings. I placed a hand on his leg to calm him; at the touch he opened his eyes. At first he looked terrified, but then he seemed to calm down a lot when he saw me. “Hey, buddy, you okay?” Joel nodded, and then stretched his legs out.

Joel looked at the road in front of us; the horizon was a lovely hue, the color as the sun was rising. “Have you been driving all night?”

He asked the question as he took in his surroundings completely. “Yeah, well I stopped a few times, including to grab...” I handed him a bag that had a pie and sausage roll in it. I had grabbed the same for myself, about twenty minutes earlier for breakfast.

Joel took the bag and looked inside. His eyes lit up when he saw what it was, but then he looked sad. “Why are you being so nice to me? I mean, you don’t even know me.”

I looked at him. “Because I saw a bad situation and did what I could to fix it.” Joel looked as though he was going to say something else, but I indicated for him to eat, as I continued driving.

I drove all day long, stopping every couple of hours for fuel and food. Each time we stopped I learnt a little bit more about this boy wonder. I discovered that he had a younger brother, Tyler, who, after their uncle died, got sent to a different boarding house. I learnt that his parents had also died a little over a year ago. The more I learnt about him, the more I realized that Joel had had a much more fucked-up childhood then I had. And mine hadn’t been a walk in the park.

By just after seven o’clock that night I was approaching the border. All though we had had the radio on all day, I hadn’t been listening to the news. This was a move that I soon learnt was a very big mistake. But as I got within five kilometers of the border, I heard a news report. The only words I heard were. “Police are at the border looking for the suspect.”

As I heard this I looked up and saw that there were three police cars on our side of the border. They had stopped two cars in front of me and appeared to be searching them; they were searching all of the cars looking for someone, looking for me. I gulped and slowly brought the car to a stop at the side of the road. I was far enough away I hoped that the cops wouldn’t notice.

I stopped the car and tried to think of my options. Joel was sound asleep in the passenger seat next to me. I looked at him; he looked so peaceful, despite everything that must have been going on inside his head. I knew if I went to the border, the police were sure to arrest me. I knew if I turned around and tried to hide anywhere in the state, chances were that the police would find me and still arrest me.

As far as I could see I only had one option left. I looked at my watch and knew I could be there before it was too late. I sighed as I realized this was my only option. So I gently shook Joel awake. I knew I had to do something before I made another move. Joel took a few moments to wake up, and then when he did he looked at me and asked. “What’s going on?”

I looked at the border one last time, before I said to him. “Joel the police are at the border waiting for me.” This took a second to register in his head, before he jumped up and looked ahead. When he saw them he let out a cry, “What are we going to do?” He looked terrified. “I have an idea, but I need to ask you a question. Do you trust me?”

Joel looked at me for a moment, as if I had lost the plot. Finally, he said, “What do you mean, 'Do I trust you'? I only just met you.” I knew that this was a hard question to answer but the truth was I wasn’t willing to take the next step if he didn’t.

I looked him square in the eye. “I know. But I’m sorry I need the answer.”

Joel looked at me in silence for the longest time, finally he sighed and said. “Yes Jason, I trust you.”

I was slightly surprised when he finally said it. But I tried not to show it as I started up the car again. “Good, then I have a plan.” Then without saying another word I turned the car around and headed back down the road I had just come from.

After about three hours of driving, I turned into a driveway. Joel had fallen asleep again. But the jolt of the curb seemed to wake him as he looked up at the house we were at. He asked, “Where are we?”

I parked the car, as the front door opened and a guy in his early twenties stood looking at the car obviously trying to see who it was; I was just glad that he was still up.

I opened my door as I turned to Joel. “He’s a good friend of mine, and I think he can help us. Now come on.” Joel unbuckled his seat belt and cautiously opened his door, as I closed mine and turned to face the man. When he saw me he seemed to sigh, I couldn’t tell whether it was with relief or not.

But he said. “How did I know I'd be seeing you, Jason?” I walked towards him and as I shook his hand I replied quite stoically. “Because, Liam, you know when I’m in trouble.”

Liam Jansen didn’t even blink as Joel came around the other side of the car. “Hmm, maybe, and trouble you are definitely in Jason. You both had better come inside.”

Joel and I stepped inside and Liam closed the door behind us.

To be continued...