Runaway

I remember pushing through a screen window in a hurry. There was a younger girl at my side and we jumped out the window onto the wet grass. It was very dark and it felt like there were storms in the sky. We ran together, me half-carrying her. We met up with a man who was going to help us escape. Across the wide field of a park we ran, thinking that all was clear, until I felt the others pressing in from the north. Before we could find safety they were there and tore her from my arms. I reeled and bit in protest. After a struggle I freed myself and vanished from their sights, trailing the girl and captors. I watched them separate her from her daemon (see: Dark Materials Trilogy) and go opposite directions. Somehow she managed to get free even though she was dazed from missing her daemon. I followed her into a building complex of some kind and found that she was evading me; she didn't trust me now that I let her get caught. I found the man we had been waiting for and we set off together to bring her to safety. I pleaded with her to stay calm and come with us as we trailed her because I knew the others were not very far behind. Out of exhaustion she finally collapsed and I lifted her into the man's big truck, almost like a fire engine. Now the most pressing matter was finding her Daemon. I tuned in my thoughts and searched psychically for her frequency, telling him where to turn on the streets. It let us to an open garage piled to the brim with junk- old furniture, trash bags, random objects thrown in with disregard. I pointed to one of the trash bags and tore it open. After digging around I found a small tray with a piece of old food and a very timid-looking cricket inside. I very gently handed the girl the tray and she took with both hands, starry eyed, and lifted the cricket out. She put the insect and her shoulder, and her entire being brightened significantly.