Trust no one

After three days dead bodies begin to smell! Gigi frantically looked up at the clock, 12:15AM. With every tick of the clock the ferocious stench of death was creeping out of the wooden box that carried it. She hastily shoved a blood stained jacket into her small backpack and shot a look over her shoulder one last time as she reached for the door. The sound of faint whispers just beyond the door caused her to stop in her tracks, the blood drained from her face as she backed away in terror. As if someone had suddenly yelled at her to run she turned and sprinted for the bedroom window just behind her. Gigi hurled herself through the open window, falling onto the cold wet lawn beneath her. She scrambled to her feet not stopping to check for any bruises and she began to run. As she disappeared into a nearby wooded area she heard the distinct swing of the apartment door.

Her heart pounded on her chest in a bid to escape as she darted in between the bushes and trees, scraping her legs and arms. The promise of death gave her the needed strength to continue running. She was brought to an abrupt stop by sight of lights that appeared as she neared the highway. Gigi quickly jumped behind a bush. Her heart still racing and the beads of sweat rolling down her body she sat on the cold hard ground and closed her eyes. Her mind was racing with so many different thoughts when she was interrupted by the sound of tyres screeching to a stop. " She won't have gotten far a rough familiar voice snarled." As the cat doorbanned shut. "When we catch her I'mma make her an example to all of em, now hurry up now we gotta get back to em kids". Another voice replied from a distance. Gigi sat still, she could see Mannys feet through the bushes. She was sure he could smell her. She waited to be found, but all she heard was the sound of Mannys zip go down, she covered her nose as the stench of alcohol and urine filled the air around her and after what felt like an eternity she heard zip again. She heard the tyres screech as the car drove away and she breathed a sigh of temporary relief. Once the adrenaline had worn off Gigi started to shiver, her teeth gnashing against each other. She removed the bloodied jacket from her bag and put it on. It did little to provide any warmth, she was going to have to find a place to sleep for the night and continue on her journey when daylight came.

As she walked along the road some lights suddenly appeared from the opposite direction. Gigi quickly ran back into the wooded area and hid behind a tree. She listened for the passing car but her ears were greeted by silence. " Hello." A woman's voice not too far from her sounded. Gigi froze and stopped breathing. The woman sounded harmless but Gigi knew not to trust anyone. Growing up in an orphanage had taught her never to trust anyone other than herself. "Hello! I won't hurt you." The woman's voice sounded again, this time sounding closer. It was dark but her eyes had adjusted to the dark, Gigi was sure she could move deeper into the wooded area without the woman spotting her. She attempted to move behind some nearby bushes. She took one quick look around and made a run for it. A loud thud sounded as Gigi hit the ground. She slowly lifted her hand to touch her head. Her ears were ringing and her head was pounding. "Are you ok ?" She heard a muffled voice.

When Gigi came to she felt warm. She quickly sat up and looked around. It was still dark. She was in a car. " it's ok." She heard the woman's voice. Gigi had been laying in the back seat. " let me out." Gigi yelled. "You're ok you can leave in the morning." The woman responded. "There's a burger and chips on the floor next to you." She continued. "You can stay at my place tonight and leave in the morning." Gigi rubbed the back of her head. "Where are we she asked." "Still is Milkawee." The woman replied. " How old are you?" She asked. "15 maybe 16 don't know." Gigi responded. "You're an orphan?" the woman replied. Gigi nodded as she looked at the woman in the rear view mirror. " You don't look a day over 12," she replied. As Gigi shoved a few fries in her mouth. The rest of the ride was quiet.

The car came to a stop just as Gigi took the last bite of her burger. "This is us the",woman said. Gigi hesitated. She opened the door and stood outside. The woman handed her, her bag and motioned for Gigi to follow her. Once they were inside the woman motioned for Gigi to open the door to one of the rooms. " You can sleep in here," she said. The room looked like it was for a little girl, there were stuffed toys and pink everywhere and one big bed. She had never had a bed before. At the orphange all the older girls had to sleep on cardboard with a blanket until they got shipped off somewhere. Gigi was too tired to care about all of that though tonight, so she slipped under the covers and was asleep in no time.

When Gigi awakened she was at the back of a truck. She sat up. " You thought you were clever huh?" She heard a gruff voice say as she looked up to see Manny. " You killed ol' Jenny huh?" Gigi's eyes opened wide in fear. " You lucky I'm not taking you back to the orphanage." The truck made a jerking movement and came to a stop. Manny opened the door, jumped out and closed it behind him. Gigi could hear him and the woman speaking. "She killed one of my employees when we were holding her for you," Manny said " I'm gonna need to be paid for that." Suddenly the door jerked open and Manny shouted "come out!" Gigi jumped out of the truck and was greeted by the woman's crooked smile "How's your head feeling?" She asked. Gigi didn't reply. "Had to knock you out with a pipe, headed you're dangerous

" She continued. "The boss is gonna make a lot of money with this one," she said as she pulled Gigi away