THE RUN BEGINS

"I can't believe we are doing this," Abel applied pressure on the suitcase zipper, then stood up and stared at the swollen top.

"So much for not raising suspicion."

Hilsa was busy with something on her phone. She didn't answer.

Abel's eyes ran through the living room, looking for something else to carry. They landed on yet another framed picture of him and his mother.

He looked back at the swollen suitcase with disappointed eyes... there simply wasn't any more space left for anything else.

Most of what he had packed were second choices. The best ones would be left at the group home. Plus that same suitcase also carried most of Hilsa's stuff.

"We still haven't decided where we're running off to," Hilsa said, still typing something on her phone.

Her statement sounded funny, considering she was the one who had come up with the plan.