01. MISSION STATEMENT

TACOMA, WASHINGTON

1400 HOURS

ROGERS RESIDENCE

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"I still can't believe you're moving when graduation is only three months from now, Gwen." With a huff, my friend Carlie threw herself onto my bed in frustration, knocking over the piles of neatly stacked clothing by her side into small mounds on the floor. I sighed at her and didn't reply, finally managing to drag my suitcase out of the abyss I called my closet. Face down in the light yellow comforters, her voice returned in a muffled groan, "You've only been living here since what, like the beginning of the school year?"

"Carlie, I told you already," I abandoned the suitcase and bent down to the floor, retrieving a light blue blouse from the ground before throwing it at her head. "I can't help the fact that my mom's job causes us to move around a lot. I thought warned you in the beginning of the year."

"But still, I'll miss you." Brushing a stray lock of auburn hair behind her ear as she threw the blouse back at me, Carlie peeled away from the mattress, moving into a sitting position instead. She swung her legs as I continued picking up the clothes she knocked onto the linoleum carpet. When I glanced up, a small frown adorned her freckled, pale face and her light green eyes shone — I could tell she was on the verge of tears.

Carlie was my first and only friend I made while living in Tacoma, Washington. The reason why wasn't because I was antisocial and hateful of the earth, which I'll hate to admit, I kind of was, but because I purposely avoided social contact for this very reason. I knew Mom would eventually pull the plug and suddenly announce our relocation, so I never bothered making friends since I knew I would just be leaving them anyway. It was a lonely life, but I learned from past mistakes and knew that I would only be hurting myself in the end.

Sometimes though, there would be that one person, a Carlie from Tacoma or a Jenny from Pittsburgh and maybe even a Savannah from Savannah— yeah, she would always yell at me for teasing— but the point was that there was always that one energetic, friendly, and genuine person that somehow felt compelled to befriend the new girl. Then for the rest of the time I spent living in that area, the two of us would become inseparable. Yet, those friendships were always the hardest to leave behind and the most painful to forget.

"Aw, Carls, don't cry." I frowned sympathetically, feeling my heartstrings tugging at the tears swelling up in her eyes. I stretched to my full length, covering the distance between us in a few steps, taking the seat beside her and scooping her into my arms.

"I'm going to miss you so much. You've practically become my best friend, Gwen." Carlie hiccupped as the tears finally began to escape, staining my cardigan. With her chin tucked into my neck, I patted her back awkwardly like a mother trying to comfort a child who was awoken by a nightmare. Pressing my lips into a thin line, I fought back from repeating the same words back to her, choosing to remain silent instead.

"Promise you'll keep in touch?" she added, pulling away to glance at me. Her eyes were red at the rims and her nose had begun to turn a slight shade of pink. I forced a smile, the gesture coming out more like a grimace as I pulled my hands into my lap. Muttering a low 'okay,' I tried to fight back the guilt from lying to her. With my family's current situation, Mom told me to abandon all connections from each place we stayed in, especially connections with other people.

I didn't even know what the situation was, but every time I asked, she would always reply with the same response, "Some secrets are meant to be kept." Words couldn't define how much I despised that phrase.

Nodding numbly, I turned away from her to finish picking up the clothing strewn across the floor. This time, I saw her figure stoop down beside me, helping to clean up her mess. "Now I have to refold all these." I stuck my tongue out at her, rolling my eyes. She punched me mockingly in the arm as we finished picking everything up, holding balls of clothing in our arms. We dumped them onto the bed where I frowned at the idea of folding everything again.

Biting my lip, I felt a sudden desire to procrastinate despite my mother's warning that we would be leaving at any second. I looked around the bare room for an escape, just wanting to relax for once instead of being anxious all the time. An acute thought formed in my mind and I snapped, causing Carlie to glance over curiously.

"What is it?" she asked, a twinkle in her eyes.

"Carls, I almost forgot," Wrinkling my nose, I wandered over to one of the large boxes stacked precariously on top of multiple others. Those items were already packed away: including my music, movies, miscellaneous crap, and books. Carlie eyed me curiously as I separated the boxes carefully, opening the one labelled "books." Reaching my hand inside, I groped around until I managed to scoop up the novel I was looking for.

"The Great Gatsby? Okay, I'm sorry but what does that have to with anything?"

"It isn't mine," I explained, giving her a look. Opening the cover page, I glanced at the expiration date and cursed under my breath. "It's a library book; I must have accidentally packed it away with everything else. And it's overdue."

"By how long?"

I winced. "A couple of months."

"Gwen!" Carlie laughed, slapping me on the shoulder.

"It was a good book, okay?" I defended myself, standing back up and stretching. "I should probably return this."

"Oh, you think?"

"Come on." I rolled my eyes at her, reaching for one of the sweatshirts lying on the bed and tugging it over my head. Grabbing my beanie from the desk, I placed it on my head and motioned for Carlie to follow. I made sure that my wallet was in my back pocket before leaving my bedroom. As we made our way down the stairs, our footsteps echoing across the desolate apartment, I shouted into the air, "Mom, we're heading out!"

"Be careful!" Her voice rang out distractedly from the kitchen as she gave her usual farewell.

"Be careful." I mimicked her voice in annoyance, having heard those two words much more than I would like. Not even a simple 'goodbye' or 'okay, honey.' It wasn't like anything bad could happen to us, right? With a scoff, I pushed open the front door and let Carlie take the lead as she took out her car keys and walked over to the driver's seat.

I opened the passenger side's door, sliding in as she started the ignition. As she backed out of our driveway, I pressed the button on her dash, letting the sound of Arctic Monkeys flood through her car's speakers. I only thanked all things good for Carlie's amazing music taste.

She gave me a grin and together the two of us began to sing in off-key voices along to Alex Turner's deep baritone, laughing as we drove the few miles to the library. She tapped on her steering wheel, bobbing her head in time to the music as I stared out my window, smiling slightly. I glanced at the side mirror, checking my reflection when I noticed the black Ford trailing closely behind our car.

At first I thought it was nothing, until Carlie took a few turns and the vehicle behind continued following as close as possible without being pulled over for tailgating. Frowning, I blinked and turned back to Carlie, who was oblivious to the fact that we were being followed.

"Carlie..." I started, and she hummed out a noncommittal grunt. "Take the long way to the library."

"Huh?" She turned to give me a quick look before turning back to the road. "Why?"

"Just do it."

"Uhm... okay?" Shaking her head and chuckling, she swerved to the left suddenly, veering off the shortest path to the library and using the longer route. Glancing back at the mirror, I felt my blood chill as the black car swerved as well, nearly missing a collision with an Audi at the crossroads.

Okay, okay. Don't freak, Gwen. Mom's paranoia is just getting to you. Yanking my gaze away from the mirror, I concentrated on the concrete roads in front of me, willing myself not to think about the car trailing ever so slightly behind us.

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"That'll be seven dollars and forty-two cents." The librarian's monotonous, bland tone informed me. I quickly dug out the amount needed and nearly shoved the currency in her direction. She gave me a dirty look at my rudeness and I cringed, offering a small smile. Honestly, I was freaking out. Not only was I being followed, but Carlie's parents called as soon as she had parked in the parking lot, demanding that she return home immediately for dinner.

I was alone, defenseless, and scared. Not a good combination at all. In a rushed tone, I shook my head as the librarian offered me back my change, before shoving my hands in my pockets and heading for the exit.

My house was approximately three miles away, not as far from the building which was a small relief. If I stuck to the shadows and hurried my pace, then my stalker wouldn't even get the chance to see me. I could even take all those shortcuts I memorized from the time I've been living here. I could just call Mom and ask her to pick me up in our truck, but I knew how she got when I called for no apparent reason.

Counting to ten, I took a deep breath and opened the doors, glancing around the parking lot before I took a step into the outside world. My eyes scanning the models and colors of the vehicles, I let out a loud sigh of relief when I realized it was nowhere to be found.

It was then that I realized that I had nothing to worry about. Maybe the stress of moving and the constant paranoia my mother lives in just finally got to me, and I just imagined the entire thing. Smacking myself in the head, I shook it warily and started my walk back to the apartment, chiding myself on my irrelevant fears.

Even though, I kept my guard up as I walked, nearly screaming my head off a few times when joggers came into close proximity, but as soon as I got within the last block to my home, I knew that I had worried over nothing. By then, I was as fine as ever, even having a little skip to my step as I laughed at my insane thoughts.

A soft rustling sound from the bushes beside me made me freeze, cutting off my nervous laughter instantly. Swallowing, I wasn't stupid enough to call out, "who's there?" Releasing the tension in my body, I merely began to walk forward again, assuming it was the wind.

I took another few steps before the rustling returned, followed by the sound of footsteps behind me. My blood turned to ice as I willed myself to not turn around, and to just keep walking. The footsteps followed each step, echoing the noise. Whenever I stopped, the footsteps stopped. When I would start walking, they began walking.

My hands ducked into my pockets, grabbing my phone. I pulled it out and whispered fiercely, "Fuck this. I don't care if I'm bothering you, Mom." I hit the number one; Mom was on speed dial. She answered after two rings.

"Gwen?"

"Mom?" I choked out quietly, not wanting my pursuers to realize I was sending a call. "Mom?"

"Gwen, what's wrong?" Her tone shifted into concern, and something much deeper than that. There was fear in her voice as she demanded what was up.

"I think... I think I'm being followed."

"Where are you?"

"About four houses down."

"Gwen?"

"Y-Yeah, Mom?"

"Run."

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Dedicated to Gabby for making me that kickass banner on the side. c;

-Isa