Just Keep Running

Chapter 14 Run

TW: Violence, flashbacks, death, child death

I made it out to the street and I still had the knife in my hand. I was running down the sidewalks trying to figure out where I am and how I can get home from here. There are cars and people everywhere. I turn the corner and start running down the concrete sidewalk until I stop when I see someone. It was Charlie and Adam, they were walking down the street. I hoped they hadn't noticed me. I was waiting for the light to be able to walk across the street to turn green. I put the knife in the pocket of my sweatshirt and put my hood up just in time for Adam and Charlie to walk past me. The light then turned green and I started to walk with the very few people who were out on the streets at night. It was almost pitch black with only the street lights and headlights for light. I made it across the road and on the other side was a park. I didn't recognize it at first but it was our park. Me, Mom and Luke the park we always go to together everyday. I started walking towards where Me, Mom and Luke would sit and watch the sunset when I was little. I sat down on the bench and thought about where Luke was right now and if Mom was okay. The words Daniel said to me ran through my head. Now to get rid of your mother. Over and over again. I was so close to home I could just go there and check on her and tell her that she needs to get out of here. I was about to stand up when I felt a hand on my shoulder. 

Luke was trying to get up off the ground after Daniel punched him hard. "Come on Luke! Don't tell me you actually went soft because of my daughter!" Daniel said scoffing. Luke got back to his feet and looked Daniel in the eyes. "I never went soft Daniel! I just stopped fighting." Luke said as he grabbed Daniel's head and kneed him repeatedly. "You never understood what it felt like for me until you lost your own child." Luke said letting go of Daniel. Daniel stumbled back and fell to the ground. "I never lost Maddie Luke! I left her and Annie by choice, you never had a choice Luke!" Daniel said, swiping his foot underneath Luke's legs causing him to fall onto the floor as well. "You killed my wife and daughter Daniel because you're sick! But when I found out about Annie and Maddie, I knew that I wasn't going to let you kill them like you did my family!" Luke said sternly. "You wanted to kill them yourself didn't you Luke? That's why you spend so much time with them isn't it? Because you wanted to gain their trust before killing them! And I'm not gonna lie to you Luke I was going to kill Annie and Maddie after I came back because I can't have anyone knowing anything about my job now can I!?" Daniel said getting back to his feet along with Luke. "No, you're wrong Daniel, I never wanted to kill Maddie or Annie, I wanted to take care of them and protect them because I couldn't do that with my family. So I was trying to protect them from you!" Luke responded with a blank expression. Daniel looked at Luke with a slight smirk on his face, "I remember the day, the day I killed Miranda and Ellie "I wanted what you took away from me." Luke stated before he got hit in the back of the head by John. Luke falls to the ground onto his knees, which brings him back to the memory of the day they were killed 12 years ago. His daughter and his wife. Luke came home from work one day and put his stuff down on the counter of the kitchen table. "Ellie!" He called out his daughter's name who was about 10 years old at the time. "Miranda!" He called his wife's name. No response. Luke rushed over to the living room where Ellie and Miranda always were when he got home. When he got to the living room he was greeted with his wife's dead body laying on the floor and his daughter who was still breathing. Luke rushed over to his daughter with tears in his eyes. "Ellie! Ellie, honey just breathe okay! Breathe for me alright." Luke said as tears began to run down his face. "Don't cry Dad." Ellie said, looking up at her father. Luke wrapped his arms under her head and legs and started to carry Ellie out of the house. "Just Keep breathing Ellie." Luke said trying to stay as calm as possible as he rushed as fast as he could out the door and put Ellie in the passenger's side of his truck. Luke ran to the other side of the truck into the driver's seat. He took Ellie's seat belt and buckled her in, then he turned the car on and sped towards the hospital. "It's okay Dad, it's not your fault." Ellie said. Luke wiped his eyes and looked at Ellie. "It's not your fault Ellie it's mine and I know it is." Luke said then looked back at the road. "But it's not your fault Dad, it's Daniel's." Ellie responded. Luke wiped his eyes again and looked at his daughter with confusion on his face. "Ellie honey, what do you mean it's Daniel's fault?" Luke asked, pulling into the hospital. Breathing started to get harder for Ellie, "H-he did this." Ellie managed to say. "Son of a bitch!" Luke swore as he was driving to the front of the hospital. Luke parked in front of the hospital and got out of the truck and ran to the passenger's side door. "I-it's okay Dad I l-love you." Ellie said as Luke unbuckled her seat belt and put his arms under her head and legs again. "It's okay honey, I love you too! Just keep breathing, everything will be okay, we're almost there, just keep breathing." Luke encouraged her as he ran to the doors with Ellie in his arms. "I l-love you d-daddy." Ellie managed to choke out as Luke then felt her body go limp in his arms. Luke opened the door to the hospital and yelled, "HELP!" as he walked into the lobby "SOMEBODY HELP, PLEASE MY DAUGHTER!" Luke yelled again as he then saw doctors and nurses run towards him with a stretcher. One of the doctors put the stretcher in front of Luke and Luke Placed Ellie down onto it. "It's okay, come on Ellie!" Luke said in hopes that his words would bring his daughter back to him. The doctors and nurses got to a room and Luke got pushed out of the room by a nurse. It was Annie. "Sir I know you're hurting right now but we really need you to stay here." Annie said, pushing him into the waiting area just outside of the room. Annie walked back into the room where Luke saw they were really trying to get her to come back to life, but Luke stopped pacing back and forth when Annie came out and looked at him with remorse in her eyes and her voice. "Sir I'm really sorry but your daughter is gone." Annie told him. Luke had taken a lot of punches in the gut in his day but none of them were as strong as this one. Luke broke down and started crying hard and walked into Ellie's room. Room 101. He keeled down next to his daughter's lifeless body and grabbed her hand and held it with both of his own. Luke started sobbing and plotting for his possible revenge. 

I tried to turn around and saw Adam with his hand on my shoulder out of the corner of my eye when I heard . "Sit down." Adam said and pushed me to sit back down on the bench by my shoulders. "Did you really think you could get away?" Charlie said with a mocking tone in his voice as he walked in front of me. 

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