Chapter 13: Accused

Taylen's pov

"Police officers are on the search for suspect Taylen Nova. A 15-year-old male that has been accused of manslaughter. He is believed to be dangerous..." The lady on the news stated as I paid for the bottle of water at the till. I tried to act calm and hoped the cashier would not notice me; I kept my face down so my hoodie could hide my identity.

"Thank you," I replied as she handed me my change. I glanced at her quickly and could see she recognized me. Fridge magnets. I grabbed the water and sprinted out of the small shop by the garage.

"Go!" I shouted and jumped into the vehicle Jibin and I had stolen. He started the engine and sped away.

You are probably so confused, let me catch you up.

Your first high will always be the best. Everything afterwards is just a downgrade. I started taking crystal meth more often after school. I found the smallest excuses to claim the situation as an emergency. Such as a derogatory comment at school, poor results, my parents... to something as pathetic as a crease in my shirt. I was addicted. Jibin always supplied me my fix until about a month ago he was fired for being high at work. I used my pocket-money or money I stole from my parents to buy the meth but it was never enough.

Eventually, Jibin and I started breaking into people's houses and stealing stuff to sell. Phones, jewellery, kettles, TVs... anything that could bring in a few notes. One night we decided to break into a holiday home, which looked empty. It would have been an easy job. Everything was fine until Jibin accidentally tripped the alarm when he knocked over a vase.

*

We quickly grabbed all we could carry and decided to get the hell out of there.

"Dude let's go!" Jibin shouted and jumped out of the window we removed.

"Just one second!" I replied and ran back to grab the camera in the master bedroom. I followed after him and slowed down as I heard him arguing with the next-door neighbour who held a shotgun.

"Stay still or else I will shoot." The neighbour warned and aimed his gun at Jibin. We couldn't be caught, I couldn't let my parents find out what a disappointment I had become. I grabbed a loose brick and struck the neighbour from behind. He fell to the ground and the shotgun fired at Jibins car.

After a few seconds, I realised what I had done. I dropped the brick and knelt down to check if the neighbour was still breathing. I felt his pulse but it had stopped.

"He's dead!" I cried out. I had killed him.

"Taylen snap out of it man! The cops will be here soon." Jibin ordered and pulled me up. He shoved me in his car then sped away. "Fuck! We are going to jail." He muttered as we heard sirens in the distance.

"I...I..." I replied but I was speechless. I looked at my reflection in the cars side-view mirror. Who are you?

We stopped at Jibin's place and he dragged me inside.

"I need a smoke." He stated and pushed me down to sit on the couch. I felt numb as my mind started racing. I then grabbed my phone and dialled 10111.

"South African police service, what is your emergency?" The operator asked.

"I, I killed someone," I mumbled.

"Sorry sir but you will have to speak up. Are you in danger?"

"67 Berry Street, Top Town. There, a body. I, I hit him over the head with a brick. He, I..." I replied but Jibin grabbed the phone away from me and hung up.

"What the hell are you doing?" He shouted and smashed my phone.

"I...we..."

"Fuck man Taylen!" Jibin yelled and paced up and down his lounge. "Go pack a bag, necessities only. We are leaving."

"Where?"

"I have family in New Zealand. If we leave now then we can catch a flight and get the hell out of here. No, no they will be able to track us down. Uh, yes Siya has a private plane. I can pull a few strings."

"Okay." I nodded and ran back to my place. I needed to get away from here, at least I would be with Jibin. I snuck back inside and shoved a few clothes into my school bag.

"Mum, Pa. I love you and I'm okay. Please always remember, I didn't mean to kill him. Love Taylen." I quickly wrote on a piece of paper and left it on my desk. If I was going to be on the run, I might as well tell them the truth. I turned around and took one last look at my bedroom. This part of my life was over.

*

That brings you up to date. It was already the 12th of September. We kept a low profile and switched cars every few days or so. I stole money from people while Jibin distracted them. I was also pretty good at being a pickpocket. Bumping into people gave me a quick second to swipe their wallet. We always slept in the car and kept moving.

Every week we would stop by small BnB's and book in under an alias. We took a quick shower, left money at the counter then got back onto the road. I had even learnt how to drive, but the more time I spent with Jibin the less I seemed to like him.

Like right now he's rambling on about something to do with cars I think. I honestly don't even know what he's saying.

"Dude, that is a beast. The way the engine purrs is music to my ears." He laughed. I sighed and rested my head on my arms. The fresh air blew against my face and I stared at the mountains in the distance.

"Taylen. I asked you a question." Jibin snapped and shoved my shoulder.

"Oh, I don't care," I replied. The tires screeched as the car came to a sudden stop.

"I am sick and tired of your pissy attitude dude. You are only nice to be around when you are high."

"Fine, then I'll take another pill to make you feel better."

"Are you still going through puberty or something? You need to get these mood swings under control."

"I only have mood swings because you put me in this situation." I hissed and looked at him.

"Me? You are the fucktard that decided to go kill someone. I saved your life, if it wasn't for me you would have been rotting in a prison cell."

"Fuck you!"

"No fuck you and get out of my car!" He ordered. I opened the door, grabbed my bag as I got out and slammed the door behind me.

"I'll wait for you in the next town, you can walk from here." He shouted then sped away.

"Plus this isn't your car, I stole it!" I screamed but he had already left.

I didn't need him. He was just a waste of my time, I could take care of myself. I scanned the land around me and headed east towards the mountains.