Chapter 1.2 Escape Part 2

When he was 16, his family had fallen on hard times and received funds from a loan shark in Svadilfari's mafia, hoping that they could pull through. Unfortunately they couldn't, and when his father had been tasked with a way to pay back the loan shark, he'd offered Loki instead.

That had been the worst day of his life.

He was thrust into a world of forced prostitution, and thought that he had been saved when Svadilfari pulled him out of the underworld and married him.

Oh, how wrong he'd been.

Being married to the boss of the Jotunheim Mafia was a fate worse than death, and Loki could only pray that his plans of escape would work. He couldn't accept his plans failing, and bit a lower lip, sending up a silent prayer to the Norns for safety.

He and Sleipnir were now at the park, so once they exited the SUV Loki sent his son off to play, looking around at his surroundings. He'd been planning this escape for a year now, and knew that today was the day.

The 506 bus came every 15 minutes to this park, and took 1-2 minutes to depart and load, before driving straight to the Yager bus station, which had buses that drove out of the state. Jotunheim was in charge of the entire Northeast region of their country, so that meant that Loki would need to ride about 12 hours out before making it to the first state outside of Svadilfari's control.

He didn't want to stop there, though, and would ride as far as he could through Helheim's region of influence, wanting to get out of the states controlled by that particular mafia. Then, he would arrive at a shelter that had room for himself and his son, and go from there.

Anywhere would be better than where they were right now.

Because Svadilfari had control over every aspect of Loki's life - from his phone to his debit cards to where he could and couldn't go - Loki never had the opportunity to carry cash.

Thankfully, for the past year he would ask his bodyguards for money to the vending machine to get a drink for Sleipnir, and they never asked for the change back. They would usually give him $20 and would never ask for the change back, so he'd been meticulously saving. He had just enough cash to do what he needed to do, and waited until it hit 12 in the afternoon.

Right on schedule, Sleipnir ran over to him, a big grin on his face. "Mama, I have to go potty!"

Loki stood up from the bench he was sitting on, taking Sleipnir's hand. "Alright, child." As expected, the bodyguards followed him to the omega bathroom, waiting outside for them.

There was a window in the bathroom in the big stall that led outside to the park, and Loki and Sleipnir were skinny enough to fit through it. Loki saw the bus make its way down the street to the park through the window, so he knew that at most they had 3 minutes to escape.

Opening the window, Loki helped Sleipnir out first, before climbing out next, his heart racing as the bus skidded to a stop a hundred feet from him. "Shit!" He cursed, snatching Sleipnir up and running as fast as he possibly could to the bus stop. If he missed it, he would have to wait a whole month before he could try again.

Like an answer to his prayers, it seemed like someone was arguing with the bus driver, so Loki managed to make it onto the bus, sighing in relief as he pulled out a wad of cash, waiting until the person in front of him finally paid before slipping a 5 dollar bill into the cash machine at the front of the bus. His heart was nearly pounding out of his chest, and the second the machine beeped and printed out his ticket, Loki almost cried in relief.

He wasn't in the clear yet though, so he took the ticket and sat down at the back of the bus where there were no windows, holding Sleipnir close and praying that this would work. He tried to keep his face turned away from everyone, fearing that someone might be a part of Jotunheim, and recognize him.

Thankfully no one did, so Loki rode the bus all the way to Yager Station, knowing that this was the riskiest part. Svadilfari's goons patrolled this area regularly for people trying to skip out on town to avoid paying back their loans, or trying to escape their punishment.

Because he'd been planning this for a year though, he thought of a way to overcome this obstacle. The bus terminal had a small shop, and Loki had enough for a cap and a change of clothes for both himself and his son. The bus that would take them out of the state wouldn't leave for another 10 minutes, so Loki rushed to the small gift shop, buying inconspicuous shirts and caps for himself and his son. They then rushed to the bathroom to change, and it was here that Loki dumped everything.

He didn't know if Svadilfari had a tracker in the phone or ring that he made him wear, so Loki just took everything off, dumping his phone, his ring, his old clothes, and anything else that wasn't cash into the trashcan in the stall.

He didn't even want to risk that Sleipnir's toy had a tracking device in it, and threw that away too, his heart breaking when he saw the young boy tear up. Crouching down, Loki ran a soothing hand down his son's back, shushing him gently. "Mommy will buy you a new toy soon, Sleipnir."

Sniffing, Sleipnir looked up at him, his eyes shining with more tears and wary hope. "Promise?"

Loki nodded, kissing his son quickly before picking him up. "We have to hurry. We can't miss the bus."

"O-Okay," Whimpered the young boy, clinging onto Loki tightly. Loki felt terrible for throwing away his child's toy, but he didn't want to risk it. If Svadilfari found them, there would never be another opportunity for them to escape.

And Loki couldn't let that happen.

"Boarding for bus 6123. We are currently boarding for bus 6123. Please purchase your tickets, and begin loading onto the bus."

Cursing, Loki sped over to the ticket counter, praising the Norns that there wasn't a line. "I need two tickets for the 6123 bus headed to Laurenceville."

The ticket attendant narrowed his eyes at Loki, looking him over. "You look familiar. I could've sworn I've seen you before."

Loki's heart beat twice in that moment, and he laughed, pretending that this was a crazy idea. "Oh, I get that all the time. I'm not from the area though, so I doubt you've seen me before."

The ticket attendant laughed as well, which filled Loki with relief. "Yeah, everyone looks the same around here; sorry about that. Here's your ticket to the 6123 bus. Hurry up; boarding is almost done."

Thanking the attendant, Loki took their tickets and made it to the boarding line, keeping his face turned away from the cameras of the bus station. There was no doubt that Svadilfari was already aware that he was missing, and he prayed once again to the Norns that they could escape.

"Sir? Your ticket, please?"

Snapping back to reality, Loki shot the ticket counter what he hoped was a friendly smile and handed her his tickets, taking them back once she scanned them and trying to stop shaking. He was so close, so fucking close to saving himself and his son, and he was terrified that Svadilfari's men would catch him before he could escape.

Taking a step forward once he was cleared, Loki made his way onto the bus and headed straight for the back, wanting seats for himself and his son that weren't near any windows. He didn't want to risk any of Svadilfari's men seeing them through the window while passing, and gulped nervously, sitting down.

It seemed that Sleipnir was nervous too, as the little boy was shaking like a leaf in his arms, clinging to him so tight it almost hurt. Very carefully, Loki sat his son down in the seat next to him, his heart breaking when the boy looked up at him in fear. "Everything will be okay, sweetheart."

Sleipnir sniffed, beginning to tear up again. "But what if Daddy finds us? I don't want to get hurt."

Loki shook his head quickly, silencing his son. "That won't happen. Mommy will never let that happen."

The young alpha whimpered, wiping at his tears. "Where are we gonna go, Mama?"

"I… I don't know. But we will be okay. We're going to start our new life, and… and it's just going to be you and me. We'll be happy, and go to the park whenever we want, and no one will ever hurt us again." Assured Loki, beginning to tear up too. "No one will ever hurt us again."

The pair stared off before Sleipnir nodded, pulling Loki in for a hug. "I-I love you Mama!"

Loki smiled softly, hugging his son close. "I love you too, sweet child. Whatever happens, I will always protect you." He kissed his child's forehead again and again then, before sitting up and pulling Sleipnir against his side. The child scooted closer and hummed softly, closing his eyes as Loki stroked soothing circles into his back, trusting him to keep them safe.