About an hour in our trip, sirens interrupted my turn of charades. My friend craned her neck to see out the back windshield of the car, and I copied. A cop car and a firetruck both weaved their way through the opposite side of the highway. There were enough cars that I could just see their flashing blue and red lights speeding to the side of the road.
   
Violet's mom tisked at the sounds. "People should ought to know not to speed while it's raining. I mean how far does it get you? Maybe a few minutes earlier, or maybe an hour for farther trips, or it could give you a one way ticket to the hospital."
   
Vi snorted. "Yeah, well way to bring down a room." Her mom glared at her through the front mirror. "Just telling it like it is sweetheart."
   
Ten long hours later, after stopping at 5 rest stops, Vi slammed the door shut and pulled me with her towards the McDonald's. It was the only food place we could find for an hour and I craved real food, since I was filled to the brim with chips. Well, McDonald's wasn't my first choice when it came to real food, but a nice salad would do.
   
“Number 92, your order is ready.” An older teenager popped her gum and plopped the meal on the table sliding it to the open hands of Violet.
   
She crossed the fast food building and waved to me awkwardly standing next to a table. "Avery, my mom wants us to eat in the car."
   
Heading back out after my appointment with the bathroom, I  handed out the food content that Vi ordered an extra McFlurry for me. Finishing my meal a while later, I grabbed pillow Vi's mom had in her car and fell fast asleep.
   
My head smacked the door, and I jerked awake. Blinking, my sleep covered eyes had a disorienting effect. Blobs of all different colors surrounded me, I couldn't see a thing until a loud screech of tires on a wet road knocked it off. Ignoring the water streaks on the window, I saw we were on a large bridge, and a small compact car beeped it's high pitch horn at a swerving van. The van veered away, starting to skid towards us, dangerously close to the passenger side of the car in no time at all.
   
"Step on it! Car too close!" I shrieked, trembling in fear.
   
Vi's mother saw the car and jerked the steering wheel left to switch to the last lane closest to the cars moving opposite to us, but the tires glided over the road and on the water creating a hydroplaning effect. We were heading straight into the other side of the road.
   
I opened my eyes, still breathing loud. Familiar light green walls bathed in the shadows of the night surrounded me. Putting a hand on my chest to slow my breathing from the terrible dream. It was oddly realistic, not like the usual nightmares, it felt too real for comfort. My room became too stuffy, making it hard to breath. I got up off my bed, put on something other than my pajamas, and tiptoed into the old hallway, squeaking with every step. Something stirred in the quiet house, sounding like voices. The old boards croaked underneath my weight. Darn. I heard some voices, three to be exact.
   
"Who's there?" someone asked.
Maybe they won't realize it's me."Ava, is that you again?"
   
My eyes closed, and I let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding. Busted, yet again. "Yes, it's me." There was no point of staying quiet since they already knew it was me.
   
The yelling began. "Young lady, what are you doing? It's 3 o'clock in the morning and you woke us up." I heard the rage dripping from Mom's voice.
   
Dad interrupted her, "Let me handle this, Marleene. Honey, please explain to your mother and I why you are trying to sneak out."
   
I sighed irritated. "Mr. Lane, you don't get it. Try living with foster parents. Try being constantly told what to do with no explanation. Try..." I abruptly stopped. Wait, why were there three voices before my parents supposedly woke up. A shiver ran down my spine. Something felt off, making me panicky.
   
I gathered my being and fled the hallway and down the stairs, leaving my foster parents sputtering. "Come back here this minute."
   
Too late, I was gone. Opening the heavy door, and jumping down the front steps, I booked down the driveway. Hearing a window shatter and feet running towards me, I ran faster than I ever knew was possible for me. I ran for my life.
   
"Get her!"
   
I saw everything in a blurr. House after house. Street after street. Still the footsteps continued behind me and my eyes didn't dare to look back.
   
"Yes...Ok...Wait, is she like me...Answer me..." The voice came from behind me and it sounded like a boy who was about my age. He gasped and abruptly stopped.
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Road. This was what I was running on while the sun was a little way off from rising. Maybe it was around like five in the morning, and I ran, my feet kicking up pebbles on the pavement. Feeling alone, with just me and the road, my mind wandered. My foster parents lived in Springsteen, Montana. It was a small town and I mean small, with a population of about 500 people including me, with my stupid brown hair.
   
My mind snapped back to reality. Questions swarmed in my brain. Why did my parents yell "get her"and who did they yell it at? Who was the boy behind me, who was he talking to, and why did he stop? I was in a daze. Muddled in my own fear, anger, and confusion. Life never wanted to be simple for anyone. It was always a road with bumps and forks in my way.  One big question came into my mind; who was I running from?
   
Stopping to sort out an explanation and with nothing popping into mind, I looked up. There was a store. It looked rundown and just plain old. The store's name was Large Mart. The t in mart was hanging by a rusty nail. I snorted. The store was super small and yet the owners decided to call it Large Mart. The irony. There was a flickering light on inside, but it was deserted. Horror movie scene here I come.
   
My mouth was dry, water currently the most vital thing I needed. My craving was bad enough actually persuade me to go in the store. The steps creaked as I headed in. Inside there was glass littering the floor. It looked like the store went through the war. Literally. I was positive that this store was here before The End happened.
   
The End. It was terrible. Let me just explain it. Ok. The End happened about 1000 years ago. It was also called D day. Nothing was left. The planet was all destroyed. Everyone was gone except for a good amount of underground safe houses. The government started The Protection to protect its citizens, hence the name. This program regrew plants of different species, found DNA of animals and recreated them, and the worst of all was the climate control. It took about 150 years make, but it was worth it because I have never experienced anything other than pure bliss. It was always sunny and warm out, but there was a problem. Everyone knew that no one can ever fully control something. There will always be cracks.
   
This store. This was one of the cracks. The government kept the cracks shielded from people. Looks like they can't shield me from this. I smiled pondering over the idea that no one has seen something from the past except me. This would be my secret.
   
I stepped over the shards still wearing just socks. That was a bad idea. A piece of glass that was long and narrow cut into my arch of my right foot. "Fudge sticks!"
   
It stung. Having no choice, I slowly ripped it out, holding a scream in the process. Continuing along, now limping, to the back of the store there were water bottles and Gatorade. Perfect. I grabbed some and found a drawstring backpack, first aid kit, food, and some actually decent sneakers in the next few aisles. I looked all around for socks, but they didn't have any. After my small backpack was filled to the absolute max, I headed to the front. Even though I didn't want to steal this stuff, it wasn't like I could leave the money here.
   
There was a whimper coming from a scrawny kid when I stepped out of the store. He looked about 9 or 10, with dirt layering his face. Looking scared, I wondered if he ran away like I did when I was that age. Of course, I only got to my neighbor's house before my foster mom found me. I decided to get him something to drink, turning to get him one, there was a slight lightness at my waist. I heard footsteps getting softer as I realized the little imp stole my phone.
   
Sitting down on the pavement in the dawn of the day, I cried. Mentally slapping myself, brain yelling at me to get it together. Rummaging through my bag, the first thing to do was to wrap up my foot. Finding the first aid kit, my fingers opened the clasp in the front and came face to face with a bandage wrap thing. When I was done, my foot looked like a marshmallow ate it, and snorted at the thought
   
"Shall we test it?" I asked myself.
   
"We shall," I answered smiling.
   
Here it goes. I got up off the ground and put all of my weight on my left foot. Slowly putting my bad foot in front of the other, it worked, for now. Now to put weight on it....I added weight to the bad foot, gingerly, while taking my good foot off the ground. I stumbled. It was a work in progress.
   
The day got warmer, as the sun got higher in the sky. Always bliss. The weather didn't make me feel any better, though. I continued to drag my feet in the road. There it was the sound of an engine. Wait, that's a sound of a car! I was in the middle of no man's land and a car was the first thing I wanted to hear. Swiveling my head in desperation to see the marvel, but instead greeted by the open road behind me, I sighed. I swear I heard a car, one hundred percent sure...I think.
   
There. Hearing it again, I turned the noise was now non stop, growing louder with every passing second, but I was still seeing just road. Tuning out the noise was my new plan. I saw my death in the paper. Crazy girl dies from heat exhaustion and starvation.

Thinking this could actually be the way I die, I took out a candy bar that I found at the store and bit it. Eww, there was peanut butter in it. It would have been bad if I was super allergic to that, but thankfully, all I got from the peanut butter were hives and some swelling. Now, I look like the Pillsbury Dough boy with a marshmallow foot. But thankfully after a couple minutes went by, the swelling dissipated, leaving me with the stupid hives.
   
The engine noise was so loud blocking it out wasn't an option. "Come on. How could I hear an engine if there is no one around?" I said going insane.
   
Then there was a car. It was a sickly green color jeep with its paint rusting and a huge dent on the front of the car. I knew I heard it, but why did it take so long to get here? Someone started to talk.
   
"She is here. Yep. Take her down now, is that correct boss? Ok. Well, then I will keep eyes on her.”
   
It was a man who sounded annoyed at whoever he was talking to. It came from the moving car that is...where did the car go?
   
Nope not in front of me. I turned my head checking behind me, and was greeted to the car that was going super slow. It was following right behind me, and was plain weird, so I conjured up a plan. To my right there were trees and my left was the road Right was my only option, so that's where I darted to. I didn't stop until I was sure I lost the car.