Long Way Home

1. Ollie

Chapter One.

Ollie.

The sun was beginning to fall below the horizon as I broke out onto a cliff that looked over the town. Street lights were starting to turn on automatically due to the fading light, twinkling through the orange glow of the sunset. I stared down at the town, knowing that my scum-bag mother was probably sat at home watching TV without any care of what I was doing.

I clenched a fist to stop myself getting worked up and disappeared back amongst the trees, travelling silently, almost like a ghost. I left no trace behind me. I narrowed my eyes and looked around for anywhere I could use as a shelter for the night.

My mouth was dry, certainly if I'd have tried to speak my voice would be little more than a raspy croak. I tried to summon some saliva from deep down but nothing came. Smacking my lips together I added water to the list of things I was searching for.

The ground was dry and crumbled beneath my dusty Nikes. My trainers were beaten and scuffed and I couldn't remember how long I'd had them but that didn't matter now.

I wasn't going back. I would never go back. I was determined to grow up independently without her. Who needs a mother anyway? Not me...I'd living in this forest for two weeks, travelling around trying not to stay in one place for too long.

"Ollie! Come here and get me another drink!"

"Ollie! Just do the ironing for me."

"Ollie, go get the shopping!"

"Ollie!"

I was growing tired of my hearing my own name every thirty seconds. I was also growing tired of having to do everything for her. She was perfectly capable, I didn't need to help her. So I upped and left, wanting to be in charge of my own life.

I breathed in the smell of the redwood trees around me and sighed deeply, heading south through the forest towards the river.

The walk seemed to take ages in my dehydrated state. My head began to pound heavily and I felt like my rucksack had been replaced with a filling of a dozen bowling balls, weighing me down and causing me to become clumsy and careless.

I fell to my knees beside the river, dunking my head underneath the cool, clear water. It was about a minute and a half before I pulled my head up again, gasping for air. I cupped my hands and lifted water up to my chapped lips.

The day had been hotter than most. The beaming sun broke through the trees, heating them up to furnace-like temperatures. I had stripped down to shorts and a bare chest as I roamed the forest, trying to stay cool.

I unzipped my tattered rucksack and pulled a few empty plastic bottles out of it, filling them up with the river water. I dunked my head under again, rubbing the dust out of my hair and face. I splashed my chest and scrubbed the dirt away.

Puffing out a deep breath I looked down at my reflection in the running water. In the last two weeks my cheek bones had become more prominent along with my jawline. I scowled down at myself and punched the water, sending ripples drifting downstream. I knelt back on my heels and looked up at the sky, gazing through the redwood canopy and up at the stars.

I sat back on a rock and waited for my skin to dry before pulling on the same clothes from the daytime. A plain white t-shirt and my shorts. I bent down to tighten my shoelaces and pulled my last remaining packet of jerky out of my bag.

I chewed at the jerky as I walked, trying to distract myself from my thoughts of home. I tried to shrug them away, determined to convince myself that my new life in the forest was better until I could steal enough money to buy a ticket west. I savoured the salty taste of the meat before remembering that it would make me thirsty again. I turned back to walk alongside the river, knowing it would take me in the opposite direction of the town.