# Ending 1.5 Chapter 7

Chapter 7: The Runaways
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A song I can’t hope to name pulls me from my sleep. My scattered, dreamswept thoughts realign, bringing me to full alert almost instantly. Today was not the day for sleeping in.
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Fang is not nearly as quick, sounding some barely awake grunts while further anchoring herself to me. “Come on, gittup,” I whisper, patting her on the back.
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“Huh, wha… nah…” she grumbles, squeezing her eyelids shut. I shake her a bit, eliciting an annoyed half-hiss.
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“We’ve got places to be today. Namely, nowhere near here,” I say a bit louder. It hits like a shot of espresso straight to her veins.
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“I’m up, I’m up!” she groans, sitting up, stretching her arms and flexing her wings. “Fuck!” she shudders after the apex of her stretch. “Why did we get up so early?”
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“You set the alarm and said we’d need all the time we could get.”
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“Whyyy…” she groans. I push myself out of bed and take a moment to stretch. Fang shoulder-checks me and closes the bathroom door behind her before I can take a step towards it. The sound of a faucet opening tells me I’m going to be waiting for my turn.
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I take another look through our luggage while I wait. Two suitcases and a guitar case, plenty of clothes, cosmetics, hygiene, first aid, written notes with directions and other information, and hopefully enough cash to put us on stable ground. It doesn’t feel like much, but there’s not much else we have, much less anything that would fit.
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Fang emerges from the bathroom, somewhat invigorated by the lukewarm shower. One of the many things about this little hellhole I will not be missing. I go through the motions, this time with a smile on my face, knowing I will never have to go through this again.
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I exit the bathroom for the last time and see Fang sitting on the floor with her back against the bed, a partially eaten sandwich in front of her and an untouched one beside that. I sit beside her and eagerly start the last meal I’ll have here. I tear through it in minutes, with Fang finishing soon after.
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“Well,” I say, standing up and getting another quick stretch in. “No point in waiting around. You get everything you wanted off your phone?”
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“Yeah…” Fang sighs, standing up and idly tossing her phone on the bed next to mine.
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“Come on,” I whisper, pulling her into a hug. “Cheer up. Today’s the big day.” She returns the embrace, resting her beak on my shoulder.
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“I know, just… didn’t like looking through all that again. A lot of memories that I… don’t know what to do with.”
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“Don’t worry too much about it. We’ve got plenty of new memories to make. Especially today.” I punctuate that sentence with a kiss on her cheek, which brings a small smile to her face.
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“Alright,” she says, taking a step back and nodding. “Let’s get out of here.”
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With pleasure. We grab our things and head out the door, leaving the key on a countertop.
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One brisk walk to the edge of Skin Row and a taxi ride later, we arrived at the Volcaldera Bluffs Rapid Transit Station. Two tickets to Haffton - paid for in cash - lie in our pockets as we sit in the momentarily dormant train, our luggage safely stowed away. Fang’s eyes are glued to the window, scanning the crowd that idled nearby.
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“Fang, please relax,” I say, clenching her hand. “Everybody else is busy and nobody knows we’re here. We’ll be halfway across the state before anyone realizes we’re gone.” She sighs with exasperation and roughly leans back into her seat.
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“I know, just… ugh!” she complains. “I hate this. Train’s running late, isn’t it?”
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“We’ll be moving any minute now, and by this time tomorrow, you’ll wonder why you ever felt this way at all.” She grumbles cutely in response and yanks me closer, resting her head against my arm.
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A rumble shakes the cabin, and the whine of hydraulics accompanies a forward lurch. Inch by inch, the station scrolls by as the train picks up speed. A few moments later, we’re clear of the station entirely, the early morning sun shining through the windows. Fang closes her eyes and lets out a tremendous sigh of relief.
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“Goodbye,” Fang whispers. “Goodbye, Naomi, who’s glad to have me out of the picture. Goodbye, Trish, who never gave me a choice, and goodbye, Reed, who always stood by and watched. Goodbye, mom and dad, who barely even know who I am. Goodbye, Volcano High, and every piece of shit there that doubted me and laughed at me. And goodbye, Volcaldera. Good fucking riddance.” She smirks and reopens her eyes.
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“Well, I guess it’s all behind us now,” I comment. “Nowhere to go but up.” She nods and sets her sights on the quickly retreating skyline.
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The city’s vista gives way to an urban sprawl that plagued the area for generations. After a couple of intermediary stops, we emerge into the gigantic valley that sits between the Pacific and the Great Stony Mountains. An endless, flat expanse of farmland occasionally broken up by tiny cities that barely disrupted the skyline pass us by as we draw closer to our destination.
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After an hours-long trip, the train squeals to a halt. The conductor calls out the name of our new home over the intercom. Very few people were left at this point, and even fewer got up along with us to collect their luggage. We step off the train and onto the platform.
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Five months ago, I didn’t think I’d graduate with any friends. Five days ago, I didn’t know this place existed. Now, I’ll be living here for the foreseeable future with the ptero of my dreams.
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“Cute monologue,” Fang smirks. “How long you practice it?”
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“Come on,” I whine. “I was having a moment there.”
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“Yeah, and it’s hot out, and the humidity is going to be hell on my hair, and we’ve got to walk to our motel carrying heavy luggage. Or, at least, you do.” The pair of suitcases in my hands suddenly feel much heavier.
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“Alright, alright, lead the way. I’m… assuming you remember the directions.”
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“Of course I do, dweeb.”
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One graciously short walk and a check-in later, Fang excitedly opens the door to our temporary home. I toss the suitcases to the floor as carefully as I can, and Fang leaps onto the bed face first, wings stretched out upwards, giggling as she clutches the sheets.
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“Finally!” she proclaims. “A real bed! With real sheets and blankets and pillows!” I can’t help but smile. A well-needed break at the end of a tortuously long month. I hop backwards onto the bed next to Fang, stare up at the ceiling, and let out a long sigh.
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“Yup. Safe and sound, and not a hitch to be seen,” I muse. “Gotta admit, I’ve been killing it with these plans recently. They used to always crash and burn spectacularly.”
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“Ugh, don’t jinx it!” Fang whines half-sarcastically.
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“It’ll take more than a bit of bad juju to bring us down.”
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Fang props herself up, sitting sideways and returning her wings to her back. Our eyes meet, and she looks like she’s about to say something. A few moments later, her smile widens and she looks away, blushing.
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“God…” she giggles. “I’m glad you did this for me. If you weren’t there, I…” She trails off, her smile fading. She blinks and shakes herself a bit, but doesn’t continue the thought. “Thanks for being here…” I shift myself up and wrap an arm around her, pulling her close, one of her wings responding in kind.
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“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be,” I whisper, kissing her on top of her beak.
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“Come on, quit that. ”
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“No,” I respond, kissing it again.
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“You are such a dweeb. Why do you even like it so much?”
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“Cause it’s cute. It’s also cute when you complain about it.” I kiss it again, and she huffs in faux anger. “Maybe I’ll do it again.” Before I can decide whether I’m actually going to do it again, her wing retracts and her shoulder lurches forward into my chest, bumping me over.
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My arm, still wrapped around Fang, brings her down along with me. She catches herself with her arm, then smirks and shifts forward, throwing a leg over me and sitting right in my lap. She leans forward, but before I get the chance to make a snarky comment, the smirk vanishes. Her pupils retract and a breath catches in her throat.
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“Uh, Fang? We don’t…” Oh fuck! Do something!
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I launch upwards and roughly pull Fang into a bear hug. The impact winds her, forcing a deep gulp of air into her lungs. Her chest heaves and she trembles against me.
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“Easy, easy! Remember where we are!” I blurt, rocking her left and right. I feel a jolt course through her and she gasps harshly. She shudders and leans into me, her breathing slowly leveling out. She tries to stammer out some half-finished words.
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“Don’t…” I interrupt. “It’s alright. Just relax…” We sit in silence together for a couple of minutes, the world slowly returning to normal.
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“You good?” I dare to ask.
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“Y-yeah…” she breathes, swallowing.
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“Let’s just… keep it cool for a bit. Got a lot we need to do later today.” I feel her nod against me, and we return to silence for a while longer.