Freedom RT Shores

"The Last Freedom"

I panted as I ran, hoping for a cloud; the biggest and brightest moon of the year and I was trying to hide outside. I could hear the chopper again and it would sweep my way soon. I slid under an SUV. 

The CCTV's had me, but if I could just get to my cape, I would be okay.
***

"There she is! Fifth and Church! Check the alley behind the church! She stopped! Okay, you got her!  Alley behind the church!" The Watchers whooped and gave high fives. One Watcher kept watching...

"And she's gone."  

"They got her?"

"Nope! She's gone, as in, gone, vanished, disapparated, gone."

"Crap! Third one this month! How are they doing this?" The supervisor stormed around the surveillance room and then out the door.

The quiet Watcher made sure to assume the same demeanor of the others, but he knew exactly how she had done it. He had told her where to find the cape.
***
Valentine now traveled freely and would be able to get back to the safe house. Every few people she passed, she would hear comments about a bad odor. She smelled, truly and horribly smelled. Hiding in manure had its drawbacks.

The house looked quiet, but there was something wrong. She saw no lights, heard nothing. The dogs weren't barking either. The manure would have set them off. She waited for thirty minutes and then sixty and watched the moon grow lower in the sky. Soon the sun would rise and she would roast in the cape. The hide  was her only option and it was a mile further in Freedom Park.

She walked the Greenway and cut across to the Nature Museum. Under the deck was a small door and it was stocked for just this occasion. She dared not turn on a light, but thought she could remember where everything was located.

Water to the right, food to the left and straight ahead, cleaning supplies and a sleeping bag. She had to clean herself first or wouldn't be able to eat and drink.

Cleaning meant wipes; lots of wipes. Her hair was a loss, so she tied it up in a bandana for now. She stripped and did section after section and then donned fresh shirt and pants. Luckily everything was sealed in zip bags or she could be wearing spiders as well.

As clean as she could be, it was time to eat and drink about a gallon of water. Her watch light would have to help select human from pet food and water over fruit punch. She chose canned turkey and pineapple with a pack of Lance's Nip Chee as the crunch. After food, she drank about half of a water bottle.

She slept, oblivious to the world outside.
***
Leaves crunched outside and she started awake. Slamming her hand over her mouth, she slowed her breathing. It was definite footfalls in the leaves.

She peeked and saw one set of feet clad in striped shoes. She sighed and pushed open the door. It was Taki, her Watcher friend.

He slid in and she held out her hands to him. They couldn't speak, but had learned to write in each others palms to "talk".

"We are alone." He wrote.

"I guessed that." She responded.

"What do we do?"

"You do nothing. I continue."

"Okay." He was gone as fast as he had arrived. She then realized he had placed a bag on her lap. She smelled it first and it smelled like food. 

Doughnuts! She moaned quietly and let one evaporate in her mouth. She couldn't remember the last time she had sugar. She fell back to sleep after more water and the chemical toilet.
***
Days passed and she waited. There was enough food and water, for two people, for two weeks, so she was set. She had to wash though. Her smell was attracting critters, lots of critters.

The lake in the park was filthy, so not an option. She thought of fountains, cold, but clean. Also pools could be used if shielded by trees.  She slapped her forehead. She would use the garden hose near the old animal enclosures!

The bathing process was long, cold and rather dangerous, but in the end she was squeaky clean and would be able to go out in her cape. Tomorrow she would wash her other clothes.

CMC Main was a great place to get lost in the crowd and in her cape, she could go anywhere. First... coffee! She strolled into Starbucks in the main lobby and fixed a venti hot coffee, loaded with half and half. Not waiting to drink it there, she went in a storage closet to get more soap. Tucking a few bars in her jeans, she waited for shift change.

When the slow roar of noise hit her, she left her closet and headed to a computer. None were available and she figured she would come back in two hours after the clerical offices closed.

She decided on a hot supper and went to the dietary department and watched as plate after plate was filled with chicken and other hospital fare. Snatching one off the conveyor belt, she tucked under it to eat. There was so much noise and commotion, no one heard or saw her.

Looking for a real bathroom was the next order of business and she was off. She selected one in an empty private room and used all the supplies laid out for the next patient. Now her teeth were squeaky clean too.

The computers were free now and she pulled a laptop off a desk and slid behind it. She searched back to the night she had gone to the safe house and then scooted forward, day by day. Nothing. She then searched the patient admissions and again found nothing on her friends.

Time to go "home". She strolled freely, knowing she couldn't be seen, but felt a presence near her which she couldn't see.

"Keep walking!" It was Taki. "They are on to me."

They walked casually back to the hole and tucked inside.

Could she trust him? Should she sneak out while he slept and head to the safe house in South Carolina?

Taki slept. She left. She waited in the woods and his betrayal didn't take long to be evident.

The hole was stormed by MCP and Taki was pulled out and shot. I had expected it, so didn't make a sound. They cleaned out the hole and destroyed the deck completely. They would have my DNA now. 

The walk to the border would take to long, so I headed downtown to the bus depot. The late night bus would be almost empty, so I could sneak on board. I did.

I got off in Rock Hill and the safe house was just a few blocks away. She his and watched. This one looked like business as normal.

Her knock was answered by Rod, the head in SC. He waited for the cape to fall, once inside the house and grabbed her for a hug.

She returned the hug and slowly began to push away, but he held her tighter. She never saw the caped figure approach, nor the weapon in his hand.
***

"Valentine? How are we today?" The rehab specialist shined a light in her eyes.

"Excellent!" He said to a colleague. She was now theirs and fully malleable. "She is a blank slate again!"