Chapter Text
Branch quickly pried the nails with a hammer. His crazy foster dad had nailed his window shut after he attempted to run away two weeks ago. It took him a while, but he was able to get a hammer. He waited until the creep fell asleep before he got to work. Seriously, if he had to barricade the door with the dresser one more time, he was gonna lose it.
“How they let someone like him foster kids, I don’t know. I’ll send the letter first and leave.” He mumbled, prying a nail and pulling it out with his hand. He had gathered as much evidence as possible of his abuse and the living conditions. Something a 15 year old shouldn’t have been doing, he should be freaking out about math quizzes, the school lunch, girls! But….well in Rome, do as the Romans do.
He took the last nail out of the wood and silently celebrated. He smiled, ditching the hammer and grabbing two bags. One had all the essentials he needed to survive and the other…..had really expensive alcohol. Like triple digit expensive, he was able to sneak three bottles from the guy's stash, he has heard of bootlegging thanks to him. He had done it a couple of times for his foster dad, some of his buyers would even leave a tip for him! So with this, he would be able to stay at a motel for a bit until he had to leave.
He slowly opened the window, wincing every time it creaked. He grabbed the bag with his necessities and threw it out the window, before grabbing the other band and climbing out, he was thankful that it was not a two story house, he pulled his hood up, put on his gloves and grabbed his bag before taking off towards the street. Summer was here, and while the days were hot, the nights were colder.
He ran, not minding the dogs that barked, he couldn’t care less about the way his lungs burned when he breathed in the cold air. He was free. Now….he had to go meet up with a few friends.
— — —
He threw a pebble at Hype’s window, waiting a bit for the older boy to look out. He saw the curtain move, seeing Hype put a thumbs up and motioning him to hide. He nodded and hid behind a tree. Hype and Boom were brothers, twins. Well, they didn’t look the same, but they called themselves twins, and that was good enough for him. The last time he went to school with them was when they were planning to run out of this town, they debated on where to go.
Boom had eagerly suggested his uncle, Sky Toronto. He was well off on the money he made thanks to his business and he had been in contact with him in secret. The two’s home life wasn’t that great either. They had religious parents, not that there was anything wrong with that, but they were extreme. They almost drowned Hype in the tub at one point when he was a bit younger.
And with Boom’s feelings towards the same gender surfacing, he had no doubt they would send him to a camp, and he knew what they did at those camps. Which is why he started contacting his uncle in secret. He begged, pleading that if he can’t take them in to just spare a bit of cash for them to rent a motel room. Sky didn’t want none of that, insisting that they stay with him, he had room afterall.
He heard the window click, staying behind the tree he peaked out to see Hype. He waved at him, signaling Branch who had run over by the shed to pick up a ladder. He propped it up against the wall, making sure it didn’t scrap against the wall. Hype waved at him again, catching his attention as he threw a bag down. Branch quickly caught it, putting it down and catching the other one. Hype silently mouthed a sorry as he made his way down the ladder. He jumped off when he was close enough to the ground, looking up to see Boom started to make his way down, almost slipping a few times, but once he was close enough, he jumped, letting Hype catch him.
The three quickly put the ladder back, before running off towards the meeting area. It was under the bridge, not the best place but it was home. Especially to Branch, he would always run here whenever his foster family were hurting him. And they hurt him badly. He still can’t handle loud noise thanks to one of them shooting a gun, almost killing him. He still flinches when he hears a chair fall.
“Looks like the others aren’t here yet.” Hype said, pulling out a watch he stole from his dad, he wanted to pawn it off, it did have real gold on it after all. “We’ll wait here a bit, just for at least ten minutes, then we can go.” The other two nod, huddling close to each other for warmth, Boom unzipped his bag, pulling out a comic book while Hype put his arms around the two, leaning his head onto Branch and closing his eyes. But, Branch kept his eyes set on the side of him, waiting for Ablaze and Trickee to come popping out. Or a cop, or even his foster dad.
They stay huddled together for a few more minutes, before hearing a snap. Hype was quick to wake up, pulling the two behind him. Boom shielded Branch, ready to jump whoever came out of the shadows. Branch on the other hand, was internally freaking out, he could hear his heart beating in his ears and that sinking feeling.
“This is it…..I’m dead this time.”
“Hey guys-”
The three screamed when a light shined on them, Boom blindly leapt at the light, falling to the ground. Hype blindly grabbed a rock, throwing it.
“What the fuck you guys, chill!”
The three froze, as the light turned off.
Hype sighed, “Oh….it’s you.” He held a hand over his chest, trying to calm down.
Trickee scoffed, “Well duh! Who else?”
Boom got off from the ground, “The cops, a homeless person, a junkie, one of our family members, a murderer, a-” Ablaze cut him off, “Yeah, yeah, got it. You don’t have to start listing felonies.” He sighed, “The train is about to leave in 20 minutes, I was able to bribe one of them to let us hitch a ride in one of the carts. We need to go now.”
Branch nodded, grabbing the others bags and handing them off to the others. Once they finished putting their bags on, Trickee pulled a folded up scooter from his bag, unfolding it and handing it off to Hype. “You two will have to stand on the pegs on our bikes. Is that okay?”
“I don’t care if I have to break a bone just to ride in your backpack, just as long as I get out of this hell.” Branch said, leaning against Trickee. He laughed, ruffling his hair as he patted his back. “Let's go then, adventure waits for us.”
— — —
The group rode through the empty town. Branch held onto Trickee’s shoulders, looking around the town that had treated him like scum. That had treated all of them like scum, all because they were different, all because they didn’t follow the rules. While the town hated them, they hated them right back ten fold.
Ablaze hated the town because of his mom. She was sweet, lovely and a stronger woman. But the moment his dad came into the picture, he tainted her. He was in a band, or so he says, they would just scream out whatever word was on their mind and play music. Didn’t mind the fact he always had some kind of drug on him. He remembers his mom telling him how they met, saying something about a library and what not, but he figured out the truth thanks to his grandparents. His father and mom got high, and that night he was….conceived. Which was….he didn’t know how to feel about it, mainly because his mom had gotten a scholarship, the golden ticket to get out of this dump.
But she stayed and had him, that was something he couldn’t repay no matter what. The time his father came by once again, he was able to sway his mom with words. Soon, she was on heroin and spending almost all their money. She tried to get better, he could see that and every time she did, that bastard would always get her hooked and the cycle would continue. Until….his mom passed away one morning. He stayed with his grandparents, until last night when he told them that he was leaving. They were sad to see him go, but knew he wasn’t happy in this town. So, they gave him a bit of pocket money, 500 to be exact and packed him some food, his grandpa gave him his duffel bag he used when he was in the army.
Trickee had his reason. It was because of his dad, who was in law enforcement. He was a man, that’s all there is to say. And like some men, he wasn’t loyal. So his mom packed up her bags and left, but she promised to come back for him when she had the money. That was 12 years ago, and now that he was 18, he left. Not without a fight with his dad of course.
Branch…..his reason was simple. His grandmother, the only caretaker he had at the time, was murdered in an alleyway. He witnessed it, gave a detailed description and everything. He was arrested, but was only in jail for a month or so, tells you how the system was fucked. CPS tried to get in contact with….some other family members. Even asking if he had any mind where a…..John Dory was? He didn’t know that guy, the name sounded familiar, maybe because it sounded like John Doe. Since they couldn’t get in contact with anyone else, into the system he went. The same system that failed him, the same system that was supposed to give him a good home. A home where he was free to be a kid, where he felt loved. Not a home that shackled him, that hurt him. That made him hurt himself because it was drilled into him that it was his fault he was in this mess.
His reason was because this town failed him. So….he was gonna disappear. He had stolen the copies of his birth certificate and SSN that his foster dad had. And he wasn’t the only one, Trickee and Ablaze had theirs. Hype and Boom and the other hand couldn’t get theirs because their parents had it locked in a safe.
The group made it to the train tracks, they ditched the bikes and scooter, wiping their prints off them before tossing them down a ditch. “Alright, I’ll go see if my guy has a cart ready for us. Stay here, if anyone comes, just run.” The others nodded while Ablaze went ahead and scouted ahead.
It felt like hours, but eventually Ablaze came back with a smile on his face. “Alright guys, let's go.” They scrambled, gathering their bags and followed Ablaze. They made sure to avoid the flashlights, ducking and hiding behind carts as they followed. Soon Ablaze pushed open a cart, it was filled with a few hay bundles and a few boxes, nothing fancy but it was either this or a cold cell.
“Alright, Trickee you first.” He helped Trickee jump inside, before turning to Boom, “Up you go.” Boom grabbed onto Trickee’s hand and pulled himself, before turning to Hype, “Let’s go.” Hype grabbed onto Boom and Trickee’s hand before pulling himself up fast. Ablaze smiled, turning over to Branch. Who was staring at the town.
This town…..despite everything it put him through, was still his home. Or at least where his Grandma was buried. He still felt like…..he was forgetting something.
“Branch?”
He looked back to Ablaze, concern written across his face. The others were looking at him, waiting for his next move. Well they didn’t have to wait long as Branch ran over and jumped into the cart. Or….tried to. Thanks to his foster families for not providing the right nutrients for him, he was smaller than the other boys in school. Ablaze stifled a laugh before helping Branch.
“Hang on, I got you buddy.”
As soon as Branch had half of his body on, Ablaze jumped in with ease. He smiled as Branch grumbled at him, “Show off.” Boom pulled him in, letting his head rest on his lap. “Hey, at least you didn’t hit your di-” Trickee quickly cut him off by shoving a powdered donut in his mouth. “Don’t even think about finishing that sentence.” He handed a donut to Hype and Branch, who eagerly took it, not caring about the powder rubbing off and onto the hoodie he was wearing.
Ablaze laughed as he got up pulling out his pocket knife as he cut one of the hay bundles loose. He then pulled the hay into one pile, making a small makeshift bed. “Alright, I got our bed ready-”
The train started to move, making the others scramble towards the makeshift bed, except for Branch. Who slowly crept to the edge, his grip tight as the train started to pick up speed. He looked out and watched as they passed by buildings and light posts.
He continued to watch as the town grew smaller and smaller. Until it was nothing.
“Goodbye, Bergen Town.” Branch said, as he closed the door, making his way over to the others as Ablaze was reading a book. Hype pulled him into the cuddle pile, letting Branch lay his head on his chest as they listened to the story Ablaze was telling.
Branch smiled to himself, snuggling closer to Hype as his eyelids grew heavy.
It was no cozy room with a fluffy bed, it was a few hay straws on the ground in a moving train, but right now…..it felt like home.