Escape to Freedom

Earth, October 22, 2020

My name is Nathaniel Perez and I'm 13 years old. My whole life has been shitty, especially lately. But I probably feel this way because I've always been weak-minded, always blaming others for my problems.

My mom is a strict woman who enforces her outdated ideals on me and my siblings. We aren't allowed to enjoy things that the average teenager gets to enjoy.

We aren't allowed to go hang out with friends outside of school, we can't have any devices, and many other restrictions.

To make matters worse, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. We are practically forced to stay at home, where my mom is. I miss being able to go to school as it was the one place I could escape to from all the drama back at home.

To add to my problems, my mom has been beating me more often lately, and now my oldest brother has also joined in, which just seems to be fueling his worthless ego.

Some pathetic people can't stop living off their parents and act like they're superior to others, when in fact they're not. And my oldest brother just happens to be one of those "pathetic people."

My second eldest brother also sided with my mom. I once respected him, but he sided with her; the one person I can't stand. I believed him to be the one person I could in the family. Unfortunately, he's not, he's just like the rest of the family, all under her control.

Thankfully that's no longer going to be my problem as I'm going to run away from home, and even if society isn't willing to give me a chance, I'm not backing down.

***

As I prepared for my escape, I packed some clothes, grabbed a mask, and stuffed my money into my pocket; taking items I believe to be basic necessities in these trying times. I then took a look outside and noticed my dad talking to a client. I decided to wait for him to go inside so I could jump out of the window unnoticed and run towards the fence.

After he finished attending to the client I noticed my dad went to attend to the plants on the other side of the house. He may not have been inside, but I knew he probably wouldn't see me escaping, so I jumped off the window and started running towards the fence. Once there, I climbed over and jumped off landing on the dirt. Before I continued on with my escape, I took one last look at that house and made a resolution to myself.

Finally I was out of that hell of a home. I knew there wasn't much I could do to improve my life with the way society is structured in this day and age, but this was my one chance to change my fate.

***

Now that I was out, a thought crossed my mind. I'm just a kid, so I can't get a job right now due to child labor laws and other regulations.

I knew kids were exploited in the past, but in all honesty, it limits the opportunities others could have. But there wasn't much use worrying about it, as there wasn't anything I could really do about it. All I could do is continue on with my life and see where it takes me.

As I gathered my thoughts, I walked around the neighborhood, which was noticeably more empty than it was a year prior. I did notice some people around, but most people were inside of their homes.

While I continued on walking, I got stumped after not being able to come up with some sort of plan to deal with my current situation. I then noticed a bus passing by, which gave me an idea.

My idea was to take the bus somewhere, somewhere far from here. But just as I was thinking that, the bus had already left because I wasn't waiting at the stop, forcing me to wait for the next one.

Unfortunately, I didn't know the schedule, so I had to wait for an unknown amount of time.

I walked towards the bus stop, which was just a blue bench on the sidewalk that was in the middle of all the heat.

As I waited I started to get bored, so I decided to look around and try to entertain myself.

I looked around and noticed a flier on a street pole that caught my attention. I walked up to it and took a look. It seemed to be some sort of secret code, with some puzzles to solve.

Being curious by nature, I couldn't help but try to figure it out.

I was fairly confident I could crack it. I might not be the smartest person, but I was fairly capable.

I've always been able to pick up skills fast to the point that people call me smart, but I forget them just as fast once I stop using them. However, this time was different.

I managed to remember some of the math formulas I learned before quarantine and proceeded to solve the code. With my math skills coming back, I realized I could solve it easier than I expected.

It took me about 10 minutes to crack the code. I examined the flier with all the information I gathered and realized it was about a job orientation. It contained an address and a phone number, among other details.

It caught my interest, but I hesitated to do anything about it. Whenever I let my curiosity lead me around, things tend to go wrong. Yet, I convinced myself to take the risk this time.

I waited at the bus stop until the next bus arrived. As I started to board, a thought crossed my mind—I don't know how to get to the address listed on the flier.

I decided to ask the driver for directions, but my voice struggled to come out. Being away from others for so long seemed to have made me incapable of holding a proper conversation with strangers.

After some effort, I managed to ask the driver for directions. The driver told me, and I got off at another stop, taking a different bus to the stop nearest to the address.

***

I got off the bus and walked the rest of the way to the listed address, passing factories with their dull, gray colors.

As I walked, I realized that it was the first time I've been so far from home without anyone chaperoning me. It gave me a feeling of freedom, but it also made me nervous knowing that there was no one to watch over me.

After a while, I arrived at the address. In front of me was a large, white facility, that stood out from its gray surroundings.

I noticed it was empty with no guards or any other personnel around. Despite its emptiness, I heard someone's voice in the distance.

It felt wrong to enter without permission, so I waited for someone to notice me. Yet, my curiosity got the better of me once again, and I decided to sneak into the facility.

I sneaked around until I got closer to the voice I heard earlier and noticed a crowd gathered around a man giving a speech.

The man seemed to be in his mid 40s and had a handsome face to accompany his silky black comb over.

The man was continuing with his speech until he suddenly turned to my direction and suddenly stopped talking. He then proceeded to walk towards me with an imposing aura that froze me on the spot.

***