“Jacob! Come get your juice!” My mom yells, her stress echoing throughout the house.

I quickly run downstairs, trying not to stress my mom any further. I grab the juice off the counter, greet my mom, and run back up the stairs. I run so fast, you can see the dust fly off the old, creaky stair steps. I leap into my chair, turn my laptop back on, and keep watching the live kickboxing stream. The comment section fills with old men complaining about the boxers. The match starts so quickly, the crowd couldn’t even applaud. The boxers circled around the ring, keeping everybody at the tip of their chair. Within a second, the man in green throws the first punch. He is able to get a punch on his cheek, leaving his cheekbones bruised. Every time they punched each other, they would make each others lips bleed. Before the match could end, I close the laptop. I’m left feeling disturbed and uncomfortable. I can't help but think Why does it have to be like this? Why? Why did I have to be born on this side of the world? It’s so unfair! I can’t stop thinking about this. Why here? Why now? Before I could think about the subject any further, I fall out of my seat, making a huge thump on the hard, cheap floor.

I wake up in my bed, my back in severe pain. I could feel the malnourishment in my saliva, since I haven’t eaten in 4 days.

    “Want some juice, baby?” My mom asked, noticing my starvation.

    “Yeah, i would like some juice,” I whisper, putting a smile on.

She leaves the room and goes to grab juice while I wait on the bed. What was I thinking of before that made me pass out so quickly? Why can’t I remember? For some reason, my thoughts just wouldn’t come back to me. I don’t think it was important anyways, but I need to know. My mind craves to learn more than needed. Before i could get deep into thought, my mom comes with the juice and doesn’t say a word. Then, she leaves my room immediately. I was confused. Why did she react with such caution earlier, but now she acts as if nothing happened… as if she was a robot. Then, I notice her neck. I stared at her neck in amazement. Her neck had a plug in it. A plug for electronics. What? What happened to my real mom? Who is she? I run after her, then grab her shirt and confront her about the plug.

“What is that? Answer me! Where is my mom?” I yelled, looking closely into her eyes.

“I am your mom. Don’t worry Jacob, I am your mom.” She answers with reassurement, but it didn’t help me at all.

I then grab her shoulders, and look closely at her eyes. They are cameras. What? What is going on? How long has this been going on? I run out of the house, so fast that one of the stair boards break. I want to keep running, but a piece of my mind holds me back from going. 

Me and my mom were both walking through a forest, looking for some berries to eat for dinner. It was my birthday, but i thought my mom forgot about it. I kept trying to hint at my birthday, but she never responded with the answer I wanted. After picking a few cherries and blueberries, we go back home. I stay outside, playing with a few sticks and stones while my mom cooks food for dinner. She calls me in the house, sits me down on the big chair, and starts singing happy birthday to me. A huge smile begins to grow across my face as I began to sing with her. Our voices met in unison every once in a while, but most of the time her voice overpowered my high pitched singing. She then grabbed the pie she made the blueberries and cherries with, and we began to eat it. It was a huge part of our budget for the week, but she kept insisting it was worth it. We ended up not eating for the rest of the week, but I couldn’t help but think how good the pie was.

I find myself in an alleyway before I can even realize it. The walls are covered with vomit, graffiti, and a smell of expired bananas. I can't feel my legs anymore. All the running left my legs numb, and now I can't find where I am. I fall down, hitting the ground hard and rest my head on the wall behind me. The smell of the wall became more pungent as I lay here longer. Soon, the smell becomes  unbearable. I need to leave the alley or i'll be sick!  I walk out, the smell still stuck on me. Everyone looks away as I emerge from the darkness as if I’m not even here. I look down at my watch, realizing it's morning. I ask the people walking by if they know where we are, but they just keep walking. Some of them shake my hands off their shoulder, and some just stare at me in disgust. Why does it have to be like this? I haven’t eaten in 5 days now, I don’t have a home, I’m stuck on the slaved side… wait! Hold on! I’m on The Slaved side! Maybe I can go to The Freed side! I have a chance to get out of this! I can’t  believe it. I quickly run to the closest store and ask for directions to the border. The clerk stares at me in amazement, and tells me the directions with hesitation. 

“Don’t get caught now! I'll get erased boy.” He yelled, putting his map away.

“Got it! Thanks for the help sir.” I respond, walking out of the store.

I feel like a new person now. I start running south towards the forest and lose my identity. It’s going to take 5 years of hiding, but I know nothing will stop me. I’m Lucas now, living with The Freed.

 I’m running through the forest, slowly losing my breathe. I realize I forgot my inhaler at home. In fact, I forgot everything. Where do I live again? I forgot it all… my legs begin to give out. I find myself dragging my legs along, very slowly getting to the border. Every once in awhile a plane flies overhead. I can feel the floor vibrate when they fly. The leaves gently fall off the branches, leaving a naked stick. Sometimes, the leaves reveal a camera instead. It always frightens me, but after the shock wears off, I remember how old they are. The first camera I saw scared me. I avoided the camera seeing me and took the camera off the tree. I realized it was broken and couldn’t work anymore. I examined the camera a little longer, but I ended up leaving it in the tree. Wherever I walk, there is always little traps and trip wire set up for those who choose to escape. There was an escaping epidemic that happened when the new rules were implemented, but after a while everyone realized there was no way for them to win. Now, those who try to run away are called delusional, psychopathic, and just plain crazy. I haven’t really considered escaping unless I really have to. At the moment i saw my mother being a robot, I felt like the only option was to run away. Initially, I just wanted to run away for a little, maybe recollect my thoughts, but now I’m here. Running from it all. I hate how dumb I am. I can’t even run away correctly. As long as I don’t get caught… I’ll be fine. The silence of the woods follow my thoughts. I can hear the leaves dance in the wind while the choir of birds continue to sing. The darkness begins to fall upon me, leaving a black cast of my body on the prickly floor. I don’t want to rest yet. My eyes are alive, looking all around the forest. Within a few minutes, the sky falls completely black. By now, everybody would be asleep. I continue my journey towards the border, once again dragging my feet from behind me. I find a huge tree and sit under it, having the shadow mask my face. I untie my shoes and slip off my socks. My feet are left with huge blisters and calluses. I massage my feet, and look up at the stars. I could see the stars glow, making the sky turn navy blue. I try to fight it off, but my sleepiness envelops me. 

 I wake up to the sight of an old man in my face. His wrinkles covered his cheeks and his bushy grey eyebrows took up half of his face.

“Whatch’ya doin’ here boy?” He yelled, pushing his butt to the sky while he shoves his face in mine.

“Nothing, my house is nearby. I just wanted to rest under the stars tonight.” I answer. The sweat rolled down my forehead onto my cheek. His face gets even closer to mine.

“Fine… want some lemonade?”

I follow him into his cabin while he pours two cups of lemonade into a large plastic cup. He asks me about my family and where I live. I answer with generally open answers, so I can change the answer if needed. He lets me go after an hour and I go back to the original route. After maybe one or two hours, I find myself at the border. It’s decorated with large white pillars and guards dressed in black. I see a girl sitting at her post with brown hair, brushed to her shoulders. She grabs my attention, being the only girl in the area. We catch each other’s glimpse.