Chapter 1 - Freedom

Freedom, sweet freedom. After being stuck in that f*****g place for all those years, i'ts finally in my grasps..

Washington didn't stop to look behind him. He couldn't risk getting caught. The only thing he could do was continue running. The voices of those damn men grew louder, as they tailed him. Wash clenched his knife, hoping he wouldn't have to use it if necessary.

"You're f*****g dead!" One of the men shouted at him. Wash tried to pick up his pace, though he couldn't run for much longer. He panted loudly, trying to make as many twists and turns down the street as he could. He needed to lose them. Spotting an empty alleyway, he came to a sudden halt.  Wash slipped into the alley, scouting the area around for the men. He didn't see them, but he sure as hell heard them.

"I'm gonna wring you damn neck when we find you!" The other said. He bolted farther into the alley, stopping once when he saw a fire escape on the side of an apartment building. Wash hurried over to it, and jumped as high as he could, barely grabbing the bottom of the ladder. He gripped the bottom bar with both hands, and began pulling himself up.

Something clenched around his ankle, stopping him from climbing any higher. He glanced down to see his two captors. The one with a hold of his ankle tried yanking him down. Wash held onto the ladder tightly, kicking the man's face with his free leg. The man stumbled back, letting go of Wash’s ankle. Wash pulled himself onto the ladder before the second man could stop him. He climbed to the first ledge, looking back down to see the second man beginning his ascent up the ladder. Wash raced up the stairs, readying the knife in his hand for a fight. The man immediately caught up with him, a crowbar in his grasp.

"You little b***h!" The man growled, swinging the crowbar towards Washington's legs. Wash leaped over the bar, barely dodging it. He lunged towards the man, slicing his cheek. However, due to how close range attack, Wash was extremely vulnerable. The man was able to landed a blow to Wash's side. He collapsed to the metal grating, groaning in pain. He barely rolled out of range of the next swing of the crowbar. The man stomped closer to him, readying himself for another hard swing. Wash stumbled to his feet, and moved to the side, dodging the attack. He brandished the knife towards the man's stomach. With a direct hit to his gut, he dropped the crowbar, and collapses to his knees, grasping the wound. Wash tucked his knife in the pocket of his hoodie, and picked up the crowbar. He flourished the bar, smacked the man's ribs with it. The man began cough excessively, trying to catch his breath. Wash threw the crowbar, continuing to scale the fire escape. Metal grating shaking from below caught his attention, causing him to listen closer. Footsteps, probably from the first man. He ran up the stairs, trying to think of a way out of this situation.

A blinding light shone from the apartment window above Wash. It was a bit surprising for someone to be awake at this time. He stopped,  his eyes at the window. Someone was most likely awake in there. Maybe they'd help him, but it was unlikely. He rushed up to the lit window, banging on it loudly. The footsteps from below grew louder. He banged on the glass faster, his breath speeding up from panic.

The window soon slid open. A dark skinned, and very confused boy stood impatiently on the other side. His eyes narrowed, and rose an eyebrow. He opened his mouth to say something, but Wash didn't give him the chance to speak. He hopped through the window, turning around to shut it. immediately shutting it. Anxiety struck him, causing he searched around. “Hurry, turn this light off!” He ordered. The man gave him an odd, almost frightened look, and scampered over to a light switch, flicking it off. When the room went pitch black, the man spoke up, sounding annoyed.

“What the hell?! Do I ha-”

Wash immediately shut him up. “Shhh! Stay quiet, or we’ll both regret it.” He whispered, listening closely, to check if that man had passed this apartment yet. The grating of the fire escaped rattled, growing louder with every passing second. The rattling continued to ringing in his ears, even after it started to fade. That guy must have just walked pass. Wash stayed still a little longer, clarifying he was gone.

Something shuffled around in the apartment, provoking him to tense up, and raise his fists up in defense. He positioned his arms back at his sides, relaxing a bit, when a light in the other room flipped on. Wash stepped a bit closer to the luminescent room. It was just the guy who lives here. The guy stood in the doorway of what appeared to be his room, one hand on a hip, and the other holding a phone.

"Who the hell are you?! I'll f*****g call the cops!" He shouted. Wash threw his hands up defensively.

"Don't." He shook his head, taking a step towards him. "Just let me explain myself!" He walked up to the man, clasping his hands together

The man shot him an untrusting look, strolling over to his bed and plopping down onto it. "Fine, but don't think I won't call the cops." Wash nodded his head in understanding. He followed him over to the bed, sitting down. Before he could say anything, the man spoke up. “First off, what the hell’s your name? Mine’s Lavernius, but my two roommates, who surprisingly aren't home yet, just call me Tucker.”  Tucker crossed his arms and legs

Wash briefly averted his eyes. “I’m used to being called Washington, or Wash, for short.” Tucker snorted, followed by laughter.

“What, are ya from the state or something?”

“No. That’s not even my first name. It’s just what I’ve been referred to. I'm used to it." He hissed, rolling his eyes. “Anyways, let me explain just why I ended up slipping and hiding in your apartment” He hesitated, before taking a deep breath and starting his story. “I managed to escape these men, who always just wanted us to refer to them as ‘sir’, during an assignment, but they ended up figuring it out and tracking me down. I ran in the alley out back, and tried climbing up the fire escape..” Wash explained the scene from outside as best as he could, resulting in a weird look from Tucker.

“Wait, wait, wait.." He rubbed his temple. "Who the hell were these guys? Why were they chasing you? And why were yo-” Wash rose his hand, signaling him to stop with the questions.

“Well.. I hope you’re ready for storytime again. This story’s a bit long, but I’ll try giving you the shortened version..” Wash rubbed the back of his neck, not sure if he should tell this guy he just met his life story. He examined at him, seeing how he almost looked intrigued to know. With another breath, Wash starting speaking again. “It started when I was relatively young. I’d say.. about 12, maybe 13? These men, the two I ran from, snatched me from my room in the middle of the night. At first, I was astonished that my parents didn't realize that someone was in there house, taking their child, but the men soon told me that they ‘got rid’ of them.” Wash dragged his finger across his neck. “They brought me to this abandoned building somewhere. To my surprise, I wasn't the only one they’d taken. A decent amount of kids, ages about 13 to 18, were there. They told me why I was brought there, and what I’d be doing in a few years. They taught me how to use a knife, and other s**t. Who teaches a kid to use a knife, and drill it into their brain to rob people? Anyways, it was constant training until I turned 15, about three years ago. They told me I had a ‘quota’ to meet at the end of every week. The reason they taught me, and the other younger kids there, to rob people and usually get away with it, was because they wanted us to do it now. That was the easiest way for us to make money. The money we ‘made’ by the end of the week determined how we got treated the next. Meet the quota, get fed. Don’t, and you rarely eat, and you're beaten. Most of the time, we didn't meet the quota. It was pretty difficult. Sometimes the other, older kids would push us around, forcefully taking our earnings. The men didn't do anything when they saw this. They just said how it  was ‘survival of the fittest’, and that if we didn't want them taking our money, we should man up and handle it ourselves..” Wash trailed off, looking to the side. Tucker gaped at him.

“Wow, they seem like festive fuckers.” His eyebrows rose, not having a clue what to say. Wash remained silent, not even glancing at him. He rubbed his arm, clearing his throat. “Uhh, well, what do you plan to do now?”

Wash simply sat there, finally returning his look. "I have no clue.. Find a spot in some other alley to sleep in, praying those guys don’t find me, and kill me in my sleep?” He sprung to his feet, heading out of the room, and to the front door. Tucker quickly trailed him, stepping in front of him and blocking his path.

“Your shitting me, right? That’s insane!”

Wash scoffed. “I dont have any better ideas. What else am I supposed to do?" Tucker opened his mouth to say something, but paused.

“Well… Yeah, I know this sounds just as crazy as your smart a*s plan, but I guess I can let you stay here for awhile.” Wash rose a brow. “Though, if you stay for longer than four days, your a*s is gonna help pay rent for the month.”

Wash folded his arms. “Alright. Are you sure you’re just gonna let some bum you just met stay in your house?” Tucker shrugged.

“Well, if your stories are true, which I think they are due to that person wandering outside, you could have robbed or killed me by now, if you wanted to. I think I’ll be okay. I can always call the cops, if necessary.” He waved phone in his hand before scurrying down the hall, and opening the closet at the end. “ You can crash on the couch for now.” He shouted, grabbing some extra blankets and a pillow. “I’ll have to tell my roommates that someone’s staying with us in the morning. Hopefully I’ll be up to tell them.” Tucker mumbled that last part to himself. Wash relaxed on the couch, kicking off his worn shoes and slipping out of his hoodie. The knife, stained with blood from earlier, was still in his hoodie pocket. He set the blade on the coffee table, setting his jacket over it. Once Tucker returned with the bedding, Wash took them from him, stroking the furry texture of the blanket. It was like a cloud compared to the thin a*s sheets he slept with. First stretching his arms a bit, Wash adjusted the pillow under him, and laid down, snuggling under the blanket. He looked over his shoulder at Tucker, still standing there. He gave Tucker a small smile, something he almost forgot how to do over these harsh years.

“Thank you.” He honestly didn't expect a stranger to be so generous, especially to someone like him. Tucker grinned back at him, before trekking off to his room. He switched off the light, and shut his door.

Wash shuffled and rolled around for what felt like hours. Though he knew it'd only been maybe 10 minutes. The thought of those men finding him, or waking up back in that unbearable place raced through his mind. He sat up, kneading the side of his head. Wash needed to clear his mind. Taking some deep breaths, he scanned the window he crawled through. The blue curtains swayed back and forth. With a another smile, he laid back down. He was free. Finally free. That's all that mattered now. Wash took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. He needed to get some sleep. For the first in about 5 years, he'll finally rest somewhere else than a cardboard thin mattress. It was about damn time, but Wash couldn't get this almost empty feeling in his gut. Over the years, all the things he's done, the memories just begun pouring into his head. All the robberies, crimes, and people he's hurt. Did he honestly deserve this. With another calming breath, he rolled to the side, closing his eyes. He just needed some sleep, that's all. All these thoughts were going to keep him up. This was probably going to be his few chances to sleep somewhere decent, and he had to embrace that someone was generous enough to let him stay here.

Author's Note

I've never been great at starting stories, but I promise, it'll get better!

Reviews

[Philophobia420]

Nova im only three paragraphs in, the setup is amazing, stop downgrading yourself im trying to figure out why hes being beaten so shhhh.