Runaway: The Story of a Girl On Her Own

So here is the Xmas special! I wanted to write something special for Christmas, so I have a little mistletoe in the chapter! Hehe. I felt kind of naughty writing some of the parts in this chapter. Is that good or bad? Hope I'm not put on the Naughty List! Credit to Shai for the plot of this chapter.

Author's Note: Any swear words in this chapter have been purposefully edited.

Chapter 9: Under The Mistletoe

That morning, I woke up with Allen’s arms around me.
“Ah! GET OFF!”
He woke up with a yelp when I elbowed him in the face.
That had to hurt.
“WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT TOUCHING ME?!”
Oh jeez, that sounded weird. I ignored that thought and shoved his face away from me.
“Hey! I was cold!”
“I TOLD YOU ALREADY! I’M NOT YOUR PERSONAL BANKET!”
He grumbled something to himself.
“What was that?”
“Nothing.”
I stood up and shouldered my pack. “It should be safe enough to go back,” I say to myself. I start walking in the direction of the orchard.
“Hey, where are you going?” I hear Allen ask.
“The orchard,” I say. “Where else?”
“Wait for me then!”
I swiftly turn around. “Uh-uh,” I say.
“What?” Allen asks. His eyes seem to sparkle with innocence. I kick myself internally for noticing that.
“I said you could stay in my orchard for one night. It’s bad enough I had endure you for two days. I am not letting you stay for three.”
He doesn’t seem surprised, like he had known this would happen. He probably had. Instead, he grinned. “Guess we won’t be going back to the orchard, then.”
My eyebrows knit together in confusion. “What do you mean?” I ask, my tone guarded.
He strolled towards me and picked me up. I protested, but he ignored me.
“We just won’t be going back!” He grins when he says this. Then he tosses me over his back and starts walking uphill.
“Put me down! I am not going anywhere with you!”
“Looks like you don’t have much say in the situation.”
“PUT ME DOWN! Kidnapper!”
I kick and hit his back with my fists, but he only chuckles and keeps on walking.
I keep it up with my resistance, but it seems to have no effect on him. He didn’t even slow down. I called him names. I hit him, kicked him, even jammed my elbow into his face. That had to leave a bruise, but he didn’t even react to it. Eventually I gave up and fell asleep.
************
When I woke up, it was considerably colder. I shivered. We must have been climbing up the mountain. I wasn’t sure how Allen did that with me on his back for so long, but it was obvious he needed a break. He was panting, and even though it had started to snow, he was hot and sweaty. Ew.
I lifted my head when a snowflake landed on my nose. The path behind us was considerably steep, and it would be hard to climb down. I came up with a plan.
“Hey, why don’t we stop and rest?” I say casually. Allen’s to wiped out to notice I’m being nicer than normal. He drops me and collapses under a tree.
I manage to do a landing somersault instead of landing on my head. I stand up, taking in our surroundings. We are close to the top of the mountain, but it would still be a few hours of hiking before we got to the peak. Good. I didn’t want to stay up here, and it was pretty hard to go forward. Allen mumbles something to me.
“What?”
He lifts his head up ever so slightly. “Water,” is all he manages to say before his head drops.
Did he seriously faint? Very manly, that.
I reached into my bag and clutch my canteen. I crouch next to him and let a trickle of water into his mouth. When he doesn’t react, I splash some in his face. That wakes him up.
I hand him the canteen and he greedily gulps down most of it. I hadn’t realized just how wiped out he was.
“You okay?” I ask, somewhat worried of his survival.
He grins at me. “Worried about me, Tiger?” He says. I whack his face with the canteen.
“No! And don’t call me Tiger! Or anything!”
Allen lifts his head up as if to say, “This girl!” But he never said it. His eyes locked onto a plant growing in the tree’s branches.
“What’s that?” I ask, not really expecting an answer. But he gives me one.
“Mistletoe,” he says, giving me a flirty smile.
I scramble away from him. “Uh-uh. NOT happening.”
He gives me Bambi eyes. “C’mon. It’s a tradition.”
“At least those people actually like each other! I don’t even know you!”
His grin is devious. “Then get to know me.”
My cheeks were redder then a cherry, from both anger and embarrassment. “I can’t believe you! You are a disgusting, dirty little-” Allen starts to laugh. “WHAT IS SO FUNNY??!!”
He snorts. He chortles. He laughs. God, that laugh. He absolutely cracks up.
“Why are you- Gah!” I yelp when he makes a grab for my leg. “What in the world??!!”
He pulls my leg out from under me. I fall on the ground. Soon Allen is right next to me, hugging me and giggling like a maniac. I glare at the sky.
“I hate you.”
Allen only laughs more.
And then it happens.
He pushes his lips against mine. It’s soft and warm in contrast to the snow landing on my skin.
For a moment, I am still, in shock. Then I push him away in anger.
“WHAT THE H***??!!” I shout. “What’s with you?! You kissed a girl you don’t even know!”
“She enjoyed it, too.” He says, grinning at me.
I kick him in the groin.
He can’t talk for once. I can actually enjoy some peace.
I grab my pack and take my canteen from where I dropped it. I walk past Allen, past the mistletoe tree, and down the mountain.
“A**,” I murmur under my breath. But inside, I feel a few butterflies fluttering.

Authors Note: Any swearing has been purposefully been edited.

Chapter 10: Conflicted

I stormed down the mountain. That little a**hole! I can’t believe he kissed me! What was he thinking?!
My stomach fluttered. He might be a bit of a stranger, but he was…….. I felt my cheeks grow warm.
No. You can’t think like that. You can’t afford it. If he were ever to betray you, it would break your heart.
But he’s cute! A voice in my head said.
Just because he’s cute doesn’t mean he’s incapable of turning on you! said another.
You should at least give him a chance, a third voice opposed.
Like you gave him a chance? No way! The second voice disagreed.
Just because he-
“Shut up!” I said aloud. The voices went silent.
It doesn’t matter now. He was no longer staying with me. I would never see his face again.
Or so I thought.
**********************
“Lucy? Wakey wakey!”
My fist flew towards the sound before I even opened my eyes. As I did I heard a yelp of pain. There was Allen, holding his nose with blood on his hand.
“What’s with you and punching me?” He complained, his voice obscured from holding his nose.
“What’s with you and stalking me?!” I practically shout. “Did I not make it clear you are not welcome?”
“I do not stalk you!” Allen protested.
“Then what the h*** are you doing here??!!”
He made Bambi eyes at me. “Because you’re my Lu-Lu.”
I stare at him. “Your what?” I ask, my voice dead calm.
He didn’t take the hint. “My Lu-Lu,” he says.
For a moment the orchard is silent.
“I AM NOT YOUR LU-LU!” I rant. “I AM NOT YOUR ANYTHING! I JUST WANT TO BE LEFT ALONE IN PEACE! IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK??!!”
For a moment he looks like he’s actually considering what I’m saying. Then he grins. “Yup!”
I can’t take it anymore.
“GET OUT! OUT OF MY TREE, OUT OF MY ORCHARD, AND OUT OF MY LIFE! I DON’T WANT TO SEE YOUR FACE EVER AGAIN!!!”
He looks hurt, but I don’t care. I feel a pang of regret.
I don’t care.
I don’t care.
I DON’T CARE!
He hesitates, then leans closer to me.
“Don’t even think about it.”
He climbs down my tree.
Then I feel the familiar pang in my throat.
But my eyes begin to water. Soon I’m bawling, trying to muffle the sound so Allen wouldn’t hear.
Why do I feel so heartsick?
He’s just a boy.
And not even my age!
But I cry and cry and cry. I cry all through the night.

Chapter 11: Learning to Forgive

It’s dark. So dark. If the moon and stars were taken away from the sky it could not have been darker. I see nothing, hear nothing. I cannot feel or smell or taste anything. I am hanging in a void of nothingness.
Suddenly I am filled with hopeless despair. I feel fear, grief, and a hint of….. Was that love?
“What is this place?” I shout into the void. “Why am I here?!”
“This is the inside of your heart, dear.”
Mother?!
A glowing phantom becomes brighter before me. I realize it had been here the whole time, but it had been too dark for me to see.
The ghost appears to be a female, and has a large resemblance to my mother. Her hair is long and wavy, and her eyes sparkle with kindness. She radiates warmth and smells like chocolate cake, just as my mother had. I realize my lip is quivering and bite it. The spirit smiles at me.
“Hello, Lucy.”
It is her! I run into her arms. “Oh, mother,” I blubber. I’m crying hard now, my tears making her blouse wet. She only hugs me tighter.
“Oh, Luceria, how I’ve missed you,” she says, stroking my hair. “I wish I could have seen you sooner, but I had spirit business to do.” I look up in confusion. “Spirit business?”
“The afterlife has a lot of rules,” she explained, planting a kiss on my head. “But we’re not here to discuss that. I came here to talk about something else.”
Mother sits down on a bench I swear wasn’t there before. “Sit.” I obey.
“Do you recall what I said earlier?” Mother asks. I shake my head.
“This place….. This place is what you heart is like right now.”
I look around. “It’s so dark,” I say.
“That’s because you’ve shut yourself out from others,” Mother explains. “By not letting them see your real self, you shut out all the light in your heart.”
I frown, my eyebrows furrowing. “Why should I,” I say, “ if all people do is hurt me?”
Mother draws me close. “Lucy,” she said, “I know my death hurt you very much. I understand that your father-”
“Do you deny that he killed you?” I withdraw myself from her angrily. “Do you deny that he killed you with his bare hands?!”
Mother sighed. “No, I do not deny,” she said quietly.
I cross my arms. “Then my point is made.”
Mother puts her hand on my arm. “Your father admittedly wasn’t in the best state of mind. I’m sure he would never had done it if he had been in his right mind.”
“He ruined our family!” I argued. “He would have been in his right mind if he hadn’t started drinking!”
“You know how hard it is to stop drinking.”
“He shouldn’t have started to drink in the first place!”
“He made a mistake-”
“His mistake killed you!”
I broke down in tears. I just couldn’t hold it in anymore. Mother put her arms around me, whispering soothing words to me. I cried until I ran out of tears and my eyes were red.
“Sometimes, people do bad things,” Mother said softly. “And sometimes, it’s the people we love and trust.” She lifted my chin up. “But you have to learn to forgive them, even if they do the worst of things.”
“And,” she added, “you have to learn to trust others, even if you don’t know them well.”
I glance up. “What does that have to do with…” I realize what she meant. “Oh.”
Mother smiles a knowing smile. “Yes, him.”
My cheeks feel warm. I duck my head when Mother laughs. But it’s a happy, sweet laugh, not a teasing one.
“Look what’s happening, Lucy,” I hear Mother say. I look up, and the black above us is dotted with stars.
“How come I can see the stars, but I can’t see anything?” I ask.
“Because you still have something to resolve before you are able to let all the light in.” Mother says.
I look back down at her. “You mean Allen?”
She nods.
I let my head fall on her chest. “Okay. I’ll do it.”
“Good. I have to go now.”
I jerk my head up. “What?”
“You’re about to wake up, honey. I have to go.”
Lucy! Lucy!
Allen!
“Goodbye Lucy. I love you.” Mother starts to fade away.
“No! Mother! Please, don’t go!” But my words were met with silence. She was already gone, and I was alone on the bench, under the stars.
~~~~~~~~~~~
“Lucy? Lucy!”
My eyes flew open just as I hit the ground. Pain flared up my back. My breath was knocked out of me for a moment. For a few seconds, I struggled for air. When I was able to breathe again, Allen was beside me.
“Lucy! Are you okay? Do you need any help?” His eyebrows were curved upwards at the ends. He was actually worried about me, even after I had screamed at him and insulted him. I winced internally. He was such a sweet guy.
“Fine…” I managed to wheeze. “Just……breath….knocked out….”
He nodded, but he was still worried. “Okay, okay……” he said to himself.
When I could breathe again, I sat up. Allen supported me, then thought better of it and withdrew his hands. I could sense he was uneasy, anticipating for me to yell at him any moment. All my fault.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Allen asks. I notice he’s biting his lip. Kind of a cute habit.
I smile at him. “You’re so sweet.”
His face contorts into confusion. “Wha…” That wasn’t the answer he was expecting.
I threw myself at him and hug him. “I’m sorry. I said some awful things to you and hurt you and……” The tears start to come. I squeeze him tighter. “But you were so sweet and kind to me, and I was only mean to you.” I begin to sob. “I’m so sorry, Allen!”
I start to cry. Allen seems surprised and taken aback, but soon I feel his arms wrap around me. He holds me in his arms, and it’s comforting.
For a while Allen holds me as I cry. He’s warm and gentle, and patiently hugs me as I let out all the bad feelings I’ve bottled up inside me.
When I’m done, he pulls out a handkerchief I didn’t know he carried out of his pocket and lets me blow my nose. I look up at him gratefully. “Thank you,” I say. And I mean it.
“Hey, don’t worry about it. Just, uh…….. Please don’t yell at me again.”
I laugh, and it comes out happy and relieved.
And then Allen does the best thing.
It’s warm and soft and sweet. Just like Allen.
I let both of us enjoy it for a moment. Then I shove him away and stand up.
“Hey! I thought we were over that phase!”
I turn away from him and walk towards the river. “I’m not giving you any more kisses until we have some work done. I’ve run out of food, and I need a place to store it so I don’t have to go and get more every day.” I flashed a teasing grin at him. Am I flirting?! “Got it?”
Allen scrambled up to his feet. “Wait for me then!”

Chapter 12: Not Ready Yet

I wiped sweat from my forehead. Burning out a tree was hard work. Burning the inside of a tree may sound bizarre, but I had read many fictional survival stories when I was nine. One of them had been about a boy who had lived all by himself in the woods, and he burned out the insides of a dead tree to make a cozy little hollow. I was probably insane for following the actions of a fictional story, but it was the best shelter idea I could come up with. We needed a food storage space, but we couldn’t find a place to put it that animals couldn’t get in. This was my best shot.
Yup. I am most definitely be insane.
But it was working out so far. The tree hadn’t collapsed on me, and I couldn’t feel any drafts, which would be good for winter. Unfortunately, it didn’t help with the heat of the fire.
“How’s it going down there?” I heard Allen call. He had insisted on burning out the tree, but I needed him to fish.
“Fine!” I shout. “Almost done!”
“Well, come out soon! It’s almost noon!”
I start another fire.
************
Cool water seeps into my clothes. I hadn’t realized how parched my skin was. My head bobs to the surface, and I take a deep breath.
Allen sits on the bank. He’s building a small fire to cook the salmon. As if I hadn’t had enough fire. The salmon we’re saving for later sits on a collection of ferns.
I stay in the stream for a bit, letting my skin soak up the water. I climb out when Allen announces that the meal is ready.
I tear into the fish, hungrier than I had thought. Allen eats more slowly, looking off into the distance.
“Lucy?”
I only pause my eating to say, “Luceria.”
“Why can’t I-”
“Luceria.”
He rolls his eyes. “Whatever.” He slides his foot into the stream. “I was wondering…..”
“Hm?”
“Why you ran off.”
I pause with the fish in front of my mouth. “Not important,” I say, then resume my eating.
“Of course it is. If it wasn’t, you wouldn’t be here.”
I put my fish down, or what’s left of it, anyway.
“It’s complicated.”
“Then explain it.”
“It’s really long.”
“I have all the time in the world.”
I stand up and brush the dirt off my wet shorts. “Not yet.”
“Why not?” Allen remains in his seat on the ground, looking up at me.
“I’m not ready yet.” I decide to change the topic. “How many salmon did you catch?”

Chapter 13:

I lie on my branch, thoughtful as I look up at the stars. Out here, I’m creating a new life for myself. I don’t want to think about my past. I want to leave it all behind and pretend it never happened. But Allen’s persistence today has put me on edge. I don’t want to remember it. But as I fall asleep, it comes back to me in my dreams.
~~~~~~*flashback*~~~~~~
“Why can’t you ever put down that bottle?!”
I’m 13 again. Mother and Father are arguing again. I try to ignore it and focus on my book.
“That’s my own decision! Are you trying to tell me what to do, b****?!”
I hear a crash. Tears streak down my face as I pull my blanket over my head.
I wonder what would have happened if I had tried to stop him that night. Maybe Mother wouldn’t have died, or Father would have at least been arrested.
Maybe I would have been the one that died.
But wouldn’t that be better than living without Mother?
I hear a shriek cut short. My eyes widen and I cover my ears.
That morning I had found my mother’s dead body on the floor, blood everywhere, and Father gone.
I ran. I ran like the devil was after me.
Because to me, he was.
He gave chase at first. He must have been nearby and seen me. I had been terrified.
But he gave up after a bit. He didn’t have adrenaline to give him a boost. I kept on running.
And I never looked back.
~~~~~~*flashback end*~~~~~~
I wake up with my face wet. I can still feel my blood run cold, urging me to run, run, run.
I wipe the tears away and climb down.
I dip my hand into the stream and sip the cold water. Early morning is the best time for getting cool water.
I splash water on my face to remove any sign I had been crying. I didn’t want Allen to see me like this.
Allen.
I’ve only known him a few days, yet my heart still flutters at the thought of him.
I am such a fool.
I am hopeless. Any doctor can leave me here, because I won’t be getting any better.
Allen.
~~~~~~*time skip*~~~~~~
It’s about noon, and I haven’t seen any sight of Allen. I’ve started to get worried. I slip some salmon into my bag and walk over to the tree Allen has picked for living in.
But it’s empty.
Where could he have gone? He doesn’t know the area well. He could get himself killed!
I try to comfort myself by thinking he’s only gotten lost and I need to find him. But all that dies away when I actually look at the tree.
There are fresh claw marks on it.
And red liquid is smeared onto the bark.

Chapter 14: Finding Allen (You know, like "Finding Nemo"....... agh never mind)

Oh no.
No.
No.
No!
NO!!
This can’t be happening! No!
NO!
I bury my face in my hands. It must be a dream. A nightmare.
And what animal would attack a person anyway?
I knew.
The stories of mutations in the forest….. I had never seen one, so I had dismissed the rumor as untrue….but……..
What if they really did exist?
And one of them dragged Allen off? It would explain the blood. Allen would have put up a fight…….
Oh, Allen! What have you gotten yourself into?
I lift my head up. If Allen was in danger, I needed to find him.
Plus, added a small voice in my head, the mutation might come back.
If it’s finished off Allen.
No! I won’t think about that!
I try to think. How can I track him? Was he dragged off? Was he carried?
I circle the tree, looking for clues, and trying to ignore the blood.
I notice paw prints in the dirt. I squat down, trying to identify the species. I think it could be some sort of dog print, but that doesn’t help much. It could be a wild dog, or a fox, or a coyote, or a wolf. And if there are mutations, it could be something else entirely. And there wasn’t any guarantee that was the animal that dragged Allen off…….
But any doubt of that vanished when I saw the drag tracks. It had dragged something, and it was heavy.
Like a person.
I follow the tracks as fast as I can.
*****Time skip*****
I was now deep into the forest. The tracks had crossed places I couldn’t, so I would have to find my way around them several times. It was sunset now, and I still hadn’t found him. I wanted to keep going, but my body said otherwise. I wasn’t going to have the energy to go anywhere if I didn’t get something to eat.
I sit down, pondering. No streams, so no water or fish. There were squirrels and rabbits, but I wouldn’t be able to catch one, and there were birds, but they could fly away before I got close enough to deliver the final kill. Chipmunks didn’t live in these areas.
No good options. I wondered if there were any plants nearby that were edible.
However, I would never be able to eat.
A low growl sounded behind me.
I whipped my head around.
Behind me stood and enormous wolf with- get this- three heads.
And on the ground in front of it lay Allen.

I swear this isn't some porn scene or anything, I SWEAR ON THE RIVER STYX.

Chapter 15: Shirtless

A wave of relief and new worry washed over me. I had found Allen. But I couldn’t tell if he was breathing.
The wolf growled again. It’s ears were laid back, and it’s lips pulled back to show its sharp incisors.
I glared at the wolf. “You know,” I said to it, “I’ve killed bears before. You don’t intimidate me.”
The wolf’s growl became louder.
“Guess you don’t believe me,” I muttered. I reached for my knife, grasping the handle. The wolf took a menacing step forward.
“You want a fight?” I asked.
“GRRRRR”
“Fine then,” I said, pulling out my knife. “Let’s see who’s Alpha.”
The wolf let out a howl to the moon.
I ran towards it, my knife held high.
~~~~~Time skip, because you know what the battle would have looked like and I’m too lazy to write it right now.~~~~~
My vision was blurry. I could feel something warm and sticky running down my arm were the wolf had swiped at me. I held my stance, though, and looked warily at the mutated wolf.
It was still alive, and still trying to fight, though it was severely injured. Somehow it had broken a bone or something in the fight. Neither of us was able to fight any longer, and both of us knew it.
Now, it was a stand-down. Either one of us would give up, or bleed to death.
I watched the wolf as it tiredly looked back at Allen. It’s prey. What we had been fighting over.
It stepped away warily, waiting to see if I would try to deliver the final blow.
I kept still.
It turned around and limped off into the shadows.
I immediately ran to Allen. He was breathing, but barely. His labored breaths were shaky and irregular. I debated on whether I could carry him, but I might not be strong enough for his weight. And he might have even more trouble breathing.
I practically tore through my pack looking for something to bandage the wound, saying, “It’s going to be okay. Allen, you’ll be alright.” I wasn’t sure if I was assuring him or myself.
My pack was empty. Nothing I could use as bandages. I looked around thinking, if only I had some cloth.
I glanced down at my t-shirt. It was starting to get too small for me. It was dirty, no, filthy. But I didn’t have anything else. I could just clean it with water, if I could find some.
I got up and hurriedly searched for a water source. No streams, but I found a spring. Not my preference, but it would have to do.
I started to take my shirt off, but hesitated. I didn’t exactly want Allen to see me in my bra.
Oh wait. Crap. That put images in my head I didn’t want to see.
I take off my shirt anyway. Allen’s survival was more important. And besides, I reassured myself, Allen wouldn’t be conscious enough to remember seeing me in my bra.
Ripping my shirt into strips, I cleaned it in the spring water and hurried back to Allen. Thankfully another animal hadn’t dragged him off. I take my canteen, which I had filled with the spring water, and carefully pour some of it onto his wounds.
I heard him grunt in pain. The water must sting. But I pour some more on to clean out his wounds, and wrap the strips around his chest, were they were worst. When I was sure that area had been properly bandaged, I moved on to the other wounds on his arms and legs.
I hear Allen groan as he lifts his head. Crap. He was more conscious than I thought. I look for something to cover myself with, but there isn’t anything. Crap.
Allen opens one of his eyes. He seems to be registering his surroundings. He moans. “Where am I?”
“Somewhere a long ways from the orchard,” I reply. “Some mutated wolf seemed to think you looked tasty.”
Allen tried to sit up, but instead yelped in pain. I eased him onto his back again. “Might not want to get up for a while. Your body needs time to heal.”
That was when he noticed. I could tell he was trying not to stare. “Um…. Where’s your shirt?”
I crossed my arms, both defensively and to keep him from staring. “I had to use something for your bandages. It was getting too small anyway.”
Allen glanced down at his bandages. “Oh.”
“Yea.”
There was an awkward silence where Allen tried not to stare and I glared at him if he did.
Finally Allen broke the silence. “I’m starving.”
“So was that wolf, and he didn’t get anything either.”
“You’re going to starve me?!”
“I don’t have any food. And it’s too dark to hunt.”
“Urggghhhh.”
“You’ll live.”

YO! Pls update darling  

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