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Lloyd was scared as his mother shoved a completely packed backpack and suitcase in his arms. The banging outside the front door was getting louder as the minutes passed. It was as if they were banging on his bedroom door.
“Lloyd, I need you to run, get out of here, and quickly! Don’t look back, okay my little ryuu?” Koko smiled at her son as he shakily nodded, looking petrified.
“What about you, mom? Who are those people banging on the door?” Lloyd asked, but his mom looked saddened.
“Never mind me, go out that window, forget about me, and just run, Lloyd,” she ushered him, but Lloyd was horrified at the idea. However, he didn’t want to stay and have his mother worry about him, he would only get in the way.
“Okay, I’ll do it,” he meekly replied, his mother walking towards his bedroom door. He scrambled out of the window.
“I love you, my precious ryuu,” Koko told him, and Lloyd clutched the strap of his bag.
“I love you too, mom,” he said, tears pouring down his face, before bolting down the railings stairs.
Lloyd couldn’t stop, he could only run. But where? His mother never told him to go to a specific place, and he couldn’t be out on the streets for people to recognize him. He’d likely end up as sliced deli meat if he was recognized by the wrong people.
His friends flashed through his mind as he thought of who to run to.
Lou would love to take him in, but with Cole, Lloyd didn’t want to burden the man. He was already struggling to both financially and emotionally recover from Lily’s passing.
Kai and Nya’s foster parents equally hated him more than they tolerated the siblings. It was a no go no matter how much he would love a hug from Kai at the moment.
Zane was an immediate no. None of them actually knew where he lived, it was just decided that no one would visit him because of Zane’s circumstances. Zane always warned them that his home was not exactly ‘suitable for human life’, whatever that meant.
He knew it, he would have to run to Jay’s. For one, his parents were two of the nicest people in all of Ninjago, and both had no prejudice against Lloyd since before they even met him. Jay would be happy to have him, and his parents would also love to help him, they were just those kinds of people.
Lloyd felt exhaustion kick in, but he didn’t stop, his mother’s voice rang in his head. It would take a lot to get to the junkyard that Jay and his family lived in, but he had to make it. He had to, for his mother.
Some holiday this turned out to be.
—
Lloyd was at his limit, after nearly getting purposefully run over three times and had two people try to grab his tail to stop him, he was nearly at the junkyard. He could see it, he was so close, yet his legs burned and his lungs couldn’t keep up with how much and how fast he was running.
He slowed down to a fast walking pace as he stepped into the junkyard. It was around 4:30 in the morning so he wasn’t really sure that Ed or Edna were awake, and Jay wasn’t answering his texts so he wasn’t awake at all.
Lloyd decided his best bet was to just wait. He dropped his bag to the floor and dropped the annoyingly clunky suitcase’s handle onto the floor and fell to his knees. He leaned against the entrance sign and hugged his knees to his chest. He let out a quiet sob as he thought about his mother.
He unlocked his phone and opened the photos app. Lloyd scrolled through the many pictures of him and his mom, some with his friends or some with his Uncle Wu. He then opened his messages and scrolled through all of the conversations he had with his mom. He cried as he just read each message.
He probably dozed off for an hour, because he snapped awake to find that it was almost 6:00 in the morning. Lloyd groaned as he stood up and stretched. He was still crying slightly as he slipped his bag back on his shoulders.
His heart pounded as he was about to ring the doorbell. Jay’s parents were usually up by 6:15, so he hoped they weren’t still sleeping.
His anxiety made him hesitate. He looked at the button as if it was about to attack him. He put his hand on the button, but drew it away the more he thought about it. Lloyd’s body burned with anxiety and he just took a deep breath and shoved his hand on the button, effectively ringing it.
It was loud and he jumped away in a slight panic. He had forgotten just how loud the Walker’s doorbell was.
He heard a door open and he watched as Ed stepped out of their home and towards Lloyd with a confused look on his face.
“Lloyd? What’re ya’ doin’ here so early, son?” The man asked, growing more concerned as he looked closely at the teen.
Lloyd opened his mouth, but nothing came out except for irrational sobs. He couldn’t help but break down in front of the man.
Ed, shocked, immediately stepped towards Lloyd. He wrapped an arm around Lloyd and rubbed his back, trying to help him calm down.
Edna soon stepped out, as confused and concerned as Ed as she quickly walked over to Lloyd. “Oh you poor thing! Ed, go get Jay while I help with Lloyd,” she said, and Ed nodded, passing Lloyd over to Edna, who immediately began to sooth Lloyd.
“Now, what happened to ya’, Lloyd? Where’s Koko?” She asked, and Lloyd cried even harder.
“There were strange people! She handed me bags, the banging was so loud,” he tried to say in between sobs, his voice shaking, “I ran, ran so far here, I don’t know what to do,” Lloyd told the older woman, who grew worried about what might have happened to Lloyd’s mother.
“And ya’ did a great job getting here, now, I’m sure Jay is up and at it by now. Let's get ya’ inside and put some food in ya’.” Lloyd nodded and Edna led him towards their small house. The Walker’s used to live in a small trailer, but then they began building a home once Jay had started getting bigger. They still kept the trailer and mostly used it to hang out as a family.
Lloyd wiped the tears from his eyes. His eyes burned from crying and he was certain that they were red and puffy. He spotted Jay as soon as he walked in, taking his shoes off at the front and Jay quickly walked over and hugged him.
Lloyd and Jay said nothing in their embrace. Jay rubbed Lloyd’s back soothingly. Lloyd’s fingers dug into Jay’s pajama shirt, not that the other minded much.
Once the two let go, Jay smiled at him. “C’mon, I know you haven’t eaten all day, we made eggs!” He excitedly said, and Lloyd sniffled before nodding. Lloyd didn’t want to be a downer, so he tried his best to not cry any more.
He was so scared, what happened to his mom?