coming back down

What was it, he was looking for? Henry awoke with a jerk. They were at a stoplight. He was in the front seat of the car. He wasn't always in the front seat. Sometimes, Al could be like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

 Henry looked down at his wrist's marks. Which slightly gave him a shiver.

All he remembered were the night lights. And the dancing. It was club music. It faded now in the daylight. He looked around. Al was driving.

It was so warm. He felt the humidity melting him. And his mouth was so..such a bad taste.

Henry wanted to go home. But he awoke to the fact that he might not get what he wanted. His cell was gone. For the first time, Henry realized he needed to take a chance. This was his chance. A very rare chance. But he was so tired. So sleepy.

Vaguely, he recalled he should be at school. He should be with friends. He should..at least..try..

Suddenly, he was overwhelmed with sadness. There were bits he could remember. Parts he didn't want to remember. No, not now. Not ever. He squinted hard..knowing..what Al would want him to do, and could do to him.

The light was still red. Henry opened the car door. He made a run for it. Or at least he tried. He wanted his freedom. It was something simple. Yet, it still felt so far away.

His heart pumped so did his legs. Getting hit by a car might be his only chance out of this.

He darted across the street. More traffic. Think. Keep thinking. Where would he go? Where was he? Was he far from home?

The first place he found was a little hole in the wall place where an old Korean lady worked. She was alone. She didn't know English, but she thought a boy like him would be interested in her delicious spring rolls.

"I have to call 911. I have to call the cops." He looked at her frantic, but she had a spring roll for him to try.

"NO." He wailed. "I need your phone."

 God knows, how long he'd been in these jeans. This shirt. It didn't matter. Just the phone.

Finally, he grabbed the old black phone by the cash register and pushed in 911. Of course, they wanted to know his problem. What was his problem?

He told him who he was. And there was this guy. But he didn't know his name, exactly. "He's..he's after me." When he said it, he knew it might be too late because Al found him.