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Fire

Chase's mind was clear as the day he ran away. His time with the Jordahls had always been a stunt to make some money. Aurora promised him a thousand dollars for a week, but he'd stayed with them for three. If the ring she'd given him would get him two thousand, she'd short him a whole thousand.

I can let it go. Most of the stuff I ran with came from them. The boy thought as he took a bite of the first sandwich Sophia had prepared for him. It was mid-morning, and he was sitting on a bench at the food court near the bus station. Watching the buses and people coming and going.

He couldn't stay in Hunters View. Jerry would tell Michael about him, and he'd try to drag him back to the Jordahls' house. Staying in this city wasn't an option either. He barely knew the place, and if people really were looking for him, he would be at a disadvantage. Chase leaned back against the table and took a swing at his soda.

"The bus is cheaper...I know. We'll be fine."

Chase's eyes followed the woman, who walked past him with a toddler in her arms. The woman occupied a bench near the middle of the yard. The boy watched the woman juggle child, phone, and food awkwardly. Despite her efforts, she dropped a shopping bag with a selection of snacks.

"Here."

"Thank you." The woman took her dropped bag from the boy beaming brightly at her.

"L.A. is only 8 hours away; we're taking the last morning bus, so we won't need to overnight."

The woman continued her conversation as she settled her toddler in a car seat. Relieved of her heaviest burden, she turned her attention to a food container and finally enjoyed a meal, ignoring the toddler's screaming demands. To her surprise, the child soon stopped crying.

The woman turned to see the boy, who had picked up her bag, playing with her child. He smiled and nodded to her knowingly, then continued playing with the child.

The woman finished her call and turned to watch the children. The young boy looked prepared to travel far by the look of his bag. Assuming he was with his parents, the woman glanced around the yard. There were only a handful of people around, and none of them looked like they were taking the bus.

"Thanks. You should get back to your parents." She said, watching the boy carefully.

"It's okay; you look like you could use some help."

The boy didn't comment about his parents or move to leave. He simply kept playing with her child.

"Hey, aren't your parents worried?" She asked.

"It's fine." The boy reassured with another bright smile.

The boy stayed with the woman and her child while they waited for the bus. When the woman got up to leave, the boy grabbed hold of her shirt.

"Can I travel with you?" He asked sullenly.

The child's request took the woman by surprise. She looked around the yard again and saw new faces. The boy was obviously alone.

"Are you running away?"

"No." The boy denied vehemently. "I'm going back home to my mom. Dad got an emergency call at work, so he dropped me off here. But they won't let me on without an adult. Please."

"Where are you headed?"

"L.A."

The woman thought for a moment before hesitantly agreeing to chaperone the boy. The child's eyes lit up, and he quickly introduced himself as Adam.

A look of horror crossed the boy's face, and he looked on the verge of tears. When the woman inquired about his well-being, the child collected himself and said he preferred to be called Chase.

Chase and the woman boarded the bus with no difficulty; the boy, however, stared aimlessly out the window for the first leg of the journey. When the bus stopped for the first break, Chase hurried off to the bathroom. He quickly returned and offered to keep an eye on the toddler. The boy seemed to be back to his cheerful self.

At the second stop, the woman and boy shopped around a convenience store. At the checkout, a newspaper headline caught the boy's eye; he didn't hesitate to buy the paper and hurry back to the bus.

Inside, the boy flipped through the paper to the article, 'Hoppenstedt, benevolent benefactor or child exploiter'. The article detailed ongoing investigations into Mr. Hoppenstedt and several other influential businessmen, including Mr. Kaufmann.

Hoppenstedt, famous for sponsoring children's activities, notably girl's sports, clubs, and schools, was alleged to have used those actives to choose his targets. He is suspected of promising the families of his victims wealth for their silence.

The paper detailed an account by a hotel employee who witnessed Hoppenstedt and two other men escort a young girl to a room. Later, the girl returned to the lobby in tears, her clothes torn. The witness described the girl's mother as desperate for wealth and fame.

Chase searched the article several times, but the hotel and the woman's name were not given. The boy let out a sigh of relief and closed the paper.

"Welcome back."

The boy turned to the woman sitting across the aisle from him. The sight of the landscape drifting past behind her caught him off guard. He was so engrossed in the article, he hadn't noticed the bus was on the move again.

"That paper really captivated you."

"Yeah," Chase said awkwardly as he folded the paper and stuffed it into his bag.

The rest of the trip was a blur, as the boy was lost in thought. He wondered how the girl was and wished she was safe from the journalists that followed her parents. How would Aurora keep her safe if her story was already in the paper?

Chase dipped into his bag and flipped through the paper again. There was a shorter article in the business section, referencing Hoppenstedt's firm and affiliates; Samantha's father's firm was mentioned among the affiliates. The last few lines caught the boy's interest.

Nicholas Huber-Oliveira, the scion of Oliveira Group, sold his shares in Hoppenstedt's firms, saying he could not support such appalling actions and that he was disappointed he had allowed himself to be deceived.

Again, the boy closed the paper and lost himself in thought. His hand found the ring, and he absentmindedly played with it. Conflicting emotions tugged at him in all directions as he remembered the last three weeks.

One year.