Running Out

Michael is a silver fox, though she isn’t a feral. She is a nonferal standing on two legs, wearing a black t-shirt and pj pants. The only other thing strange about her is her golden orange eyes and a fuzzy long tail with a thick wisp of white fur on the end. Her tail partially drags on the floor as she paces back and forth in her bedroom. She nervously chews on her claws while glancing up at the clock looming above her desk. It was an hour until midnight. She only had 60 minutes.

She made a decision and grabbed her things. She puts her smart phone away in one pocket before hunting around her desk for a minute. She finds a pocket knife that she puts it in her other pocket and pauses as she glances at her bed. A small palm sized plush among the other plushies stands out to her as she glances down at her pocket.

She grabs the plush and crams it into her pocket aswell. She then slowly looks over to the laptop and down at her pocket. She unplugs the laptop from her desk despite knowing it won’t work. She puts the corner of the laptop in her pocket and her shirt over the rest of it as she looks at herself in the mirror with a large square formation now under her shirt. She makes a fake running motion and nearly drops the laptop before catching it. She shakes her head, “Why would that work? Why did I think it ever could. It's the size of my entire head!” She sets the laptop back on the desk.

She checks the clock again. She’s only wasting time. Having already been three minutes she grumbles under her breath again before quickly heading out of her room. She rushes through the house, heading towards the front door and pauses by a short shelf for shoes. There’s three pairs. One is a classy set of thin heels, the other a small pair of worn work boots. Between them are her own shoes. She puts them on as her eyes drift to the purse sitting right under her nose on the shelf as well. Her heart starts to race a bit on seeing it. The latch is already open and she can see the wallet resting inside right within reach.

She closes her eyes and whispers to herself, “I just need this to get by. I’m sure she will understand.” With a deep breath she opens her eyes and opens the wallet inside the purse. She finds a handful of cash that she takes and pockets before putting the wallet back in place. Her heart sinks a bit as she steals it.

She heads outside and quietly closes the door behind herself. Their door leads down some steps and directly onto the sidewalks of a full town. Brick houses have only thin alleys between them and a patch of grass for a front yard. The side of the road has cars parked along them by their respective homes.

Her heart races more. As she walks down the sidewalk she worries she’s being watched by a neighbor or a friend. Anyone who would see her out this late and potentially tell someone. Could they even get a hold of anyone in less than an hour? But it doesn’t matter right now. She shakes the thought to stay focused on her task. “Smile. This is a good thing! Just get a few blocks forward and cross the intersection. Easy.”

She musters a smile onto her face for only a few minutes before the anxiety scrubs it away again. But then just as she reaches a few restaurants she hears him yell, “MICHAEL!!!”

Her hair stands. She quickly looks behind her to see another silver fox running in her direction and waving an arm at her. Michael faces forward again and begins sprinting forward down the sidewalk, “Shit shit shit shit-”

The man sprints after her. He seems to quickly catch up beside her as he scoffs with a sassy tone, “Oh wow! Actually cursing! That’s a new one. I like it! Has pazaz!”

Michael jumps in fear as she stumbles back through a swinging door into a small restaurant. The man peers in through the large glass windows as Michael scrambles up to her feet. She yells in disbelief, “What are you doing out here?!?”

The man laughs and yells back as his voice is muffled by the glass, “Me?!? I’m your father! I’m supposed to chase a runaway!”

Michael only seems more confused, “Not that. How did you know I was out here?”

Her father folds his arms with a sly smile, “I’ll have you know your search history was crammed full of bus times and nearby towns. Not to mention that the kidnapping note was SO forged. If you want to write a more convincing one, I suggest you have more of a motive. It really helps flush out that backstory.”

As he’s talking. Michael glances up at the window and sees a shade that she grabs and quickly pulls down to block his view. On doing so however, both of them are suddenly face to face with a detailed painting of a snarling dragon on the shade. They both audibly jump from the surprise and step back.

The door then swings open as her dad steps into the restaurant, “You jumped just like I did!!! Look at that! You learned from the best huh?”

Michael backs away from him and points, “Don’t take another step towards me. I made my decision and I’m leaving whether you like it or not.”

The father claps his hands together with an enthusiastic smile, “I KNOW I KNOW! You only have like 40 minutes left to get yourself in that bus so you might wanna start walking- oh right!” He suddenly reaches into his pocket and grabs a handful of cash. Michael only becomes more confused as he holds it out to her, “You’re also gonna want a little more than just purse change. Housing down there is a bit rough.”

She hesitantly takes the cash and looks down at it, “Why are you helping me?”

The father continues in his cheery tone, “I used to hangout in that town with Marley. He works at a local bar down there. The town has ALOT of criminal activity but he would know a safe place to stay. Just tell em ol’ Rowy set ya.” He points finger guns at her.

Michael slowly backs into the door to step outside as he starts to casually follow. While partway into the door she points at him again, “Don’t follow me. I don’t know what you’re trying to do here but it’s not going to work.”

She steps outside with him following closely behind as he replies, “Oh! And don’t go to their sushi shop. The place is like a gas station!"

Michael picks up the pace as she reaches an intersection, “Just because you’re rambling doesn’t mean I want to stay! You’re not going to distract me.”

She smashes her ears on her head to block him out but his obnoxious voice still barely carries through. She tries to look both ways before crossing the street but her father suddenly shoves his face right in her view, “Oh!!! And try to hide your money somewhere other than your pockets. Most of the town has some pretty sticky hands.”

Michael growls as she runs across the street, “Just leave me alone already!”

As she steps onto the sidewalk on the other side she hears him still talking as he chases after her, “Oh! Also there’s a nice little grocery store out by fa-”

Tires screeched. I heard two hefty thumps. One on the front bumper of the car, the other on the pavement a few feet from it followed by a bit of a skid. Just enough to tear skin. My feet stopping in its tracks. I looked down at them in frozen shock as if waiting for the chattering to continue again. But it was silent.

I clenched my jaw, already imagining a horrific scene of blood behind me. I didn’t even register that I had already turned around to look. I was now facing him laying on the ground. But there was barely any blood. The lack of carnage was almost worse. A pressure built up in my eyes and my lungs felt strained. I couldn’t say anything. People got out of their cars, grabbing phones, calling others, rushing much faster than I could comprehend at the time. But autopilot took over again. This time I turned back around. I kept walking forward as if I never knew him, lying to myself only to keep it together in the moment. I somehow told myself I could just put it off for another time.

I was quiet all the way to the bus station. The entire walk was a daze as I watched the last bus leave without me. Standing at the station, I was staring down at the empty road for some time. Eventually my mind caught up to me as I realized how long I was standing there. Almost an hour later I looked off in the direction of the next town and began to walk. Leaving the city limits and entering the woods.