Chancers

Hugo's heart was pumping and he knew that his life depended on what he did in the next few minutes. He had never been as frightened in his life and for the umpteenth time he wondered how he had managed to land himself in the situation he was in. He had kept to himself because this sort of trouble was something he had been eager to avoid.

'Where is he?' he heard the whispered voices that were getting closer and closer. They were going to find him, Hugo was sure of that but he did not want to contemplate what they would do to him once they did. He did not hold out much hope that he would walk away unscathed.

His heart almost gave way when he felt a strong hand from behind him cup his mouth and he could not scream out. He tried to struggle but to no avail because his assailant was much too strong. In all his fourteen years Hugo had never been so terrified in his life.

'Shush or you're dead meat,' a firm girl's voice ordered him. He was being held in a vice grip by a girl and he could not even break away! There was no way he would be able to live this down if anyone found out. 'Keep your voice down and come with me,' the girl who was no older than sixteen told him. Hugo was gobsmacked and he did as he was told without argument. She led him through a dark and dinghy alley until they came to a wooden back gate. The girl led him towards it and they crawled through an opening in the gate. The smell was horrendous and Hugo was not surprised that he had not got used to it yet. He had not had a wash for several days and he stank but the smell that invaded his nostrils now was beyond comprehension.

'Come on!' the girl turned back to him and whispered harshly when he had stopped. She got up and quietly ran towards a dilapidated building and Hugo followed in her wake. He had not had a chance to see her face clearly but she looked familiar somehow. Hugo was new to all this and he had not bothered with trying to get to know anyone. He had been too engrossed in his own problems to bother with anyone else's.

'Who are you?' he asked her.

'Don't worry about it,' she said as she opened the back door and crept in. 'We can stay in here for now.' The inside of the house was hardly an improvement on the monstrosity that was outside. 'It might even be okay to stay for the night,' the girl looked around. It was difficult to decide which was better, sleeping on the street or staying in this house where the smell was absolutely stifling.

'Stay here?' Hugo's voice mirrored the horror he felt inside at the thought of staying in the house for the night. There was no way he could get used to the smell. 'I don't think I can.'

'It's either that or you go out and face those big bullies,' she grinned at him as if she was enjoying his discomfort. Hugo glared at her but when she laughed out loud he turned around and felt like stamping his feet because that sort of behaviour almost always got him whatever he wanted. She would obviously find that amusing and because Hugo had not done his ego any favours so far he decided to act more maturely.

'Why did you help me?'

'You needed help,' she said simply. 'We need to make this place a bit more comfortable.'

'What if they come in here?'

'They won't,' she said confidently. 'Anyone in their right mind would rather sleep in the streets that in this dump,' she chuckled dryly.

'If they know about this place they'll guess that I've come in here to hide,' Hugo began to panick.

'Then there's more reason to be quiet and enjoy the peace while it lasts,' she regarded him with a wry smile.

'If that's meant to reassure me it's not working,' Hugo could not hide his fear.

'I'm just kidding you, no one knows about this place but me,' she smiled brightly. 'You are safest here because by now they'll be looking for you everywhere else and it won't take long for them to find you if anyone on the street spotted you.'

'No one knows me,' Hugo said in a small voice. He was worried about what she was saying because he knew that he did not want to stay hidden in this dump forever. 'I kept to myself,' he stated.

'That's what you thought but your actions just made you more noticeable. The word will be out on you and anyone who grasses on you will probably get a full days meal and that means a lot around here.'

'What's your name?' Hugo asked and was not surprised when she hesitated before answering. 'What do you want me to call you?' he decided to change his question.

'Call me whatever you like.'

'You dragged me into this stinking hole, the least you can do is tell me what I can call you.'

'Call me Ash,' she looked amused and in other circumstances Hugo was sure they would have made great friends.

'Okay Ash, how did you know where to find me?' Hugo looked intently at her and was surprised when she looked sheepish for a moment. He realised now that he had noticed her lurking in the distance ever since he had been on the street. He had not thought much about her because his mind was always occupied and he had really wanted to keep to himself. He was now a street kid but even in his dirty clothes and unwashed body he thought himself too good to speak with any of the others.

'I didn't know where to find you, I just happened to be around.'

'I don't believe that. You couldn't just be hanging out in this dump,' Hugo looked around in contempt. 'You've been following me haven't you?'

'I've just helped you and this is how I'm repaid?' Ash looked annoyed but Hugo was sure it was because he was right.

'Why have you been following me?'

'I'm not going to answer that,' Ash looked offended but Hugo was having none of that. He wanted answers and there was no way he was going to trust some dirty street kid who lived her life for her next meal.

'Okay,' Hugo got up and stalked towards the door. 'I'll be off then, I'd rather take my chances out there than here. I don't even know you.'

'Where do you think you're going?' Ash looked horrified as she grabbed his arm.

'How do I know if you're not going to sell me to those guys for your own gain? You've been following me and we both know that and from all that's happened to me tonight I cannot trust anyone. You'll probably sneak off to those guys while I'm asleep to tell them where to find me.'

'I won't,' she said and Hugo was surprised to hear a note of desperation in her voice. He had a feeling she was telling the truth but Hugo's intuition had let him down before. 'Those guys are looking for you because there is a reward out for anyone who will find you. They were not going to hurt you.'

'Then why did you help me?' frowned Hugo. Those guys were scary and he had seen them a few days before bullying another kid. He had not seen that child since and he was sure if they got him he was going to face the same fate. 'And what is this about a reward?'

'Your parents are looking for you, haven't you been reading the papers?'

'No.' Hugo had wanted to shut the world out and had avoided the papers. He sighed as he sank to the floor. He should have realised that his parents would do anything in their power to find him. 'I don't want to be found otherwise I would have stayed at home,' he said grumpily.

'I thought as much.'

'What do you mean?' Hugo looked up with a frown.

'If you come from such a cushy family as yours you'd have to be seriously messed up to run away.'

'Thanks,' he said sarcastically.

'I figured you had a serious, perhaps not good but serious reason to run away from all that comfort and it would be better for you to go back on our own terms.' There was a wistful tone in her voice that made Hugo slightly uncomfortable. He got the impression that she had run away from home for a genuinely serious reason.

'I don't want to go back,' Hugo said stubbornly but he was not so sure anymore. His new life was proving to be more of a challenge than he had expected and he missed his little brother and his mother.

'I wouldn't dream of forcing you to go back,' she said seriously. 'I thought I'd just tell what was going on you so you know.'

'Did something terrible happen to you? Is that why you ran away?' he asked empathetically.

'I didn't ask you any details about your life,' said Ash in a curt and defensive voice that answered Hugo's questions. Most children on the street seemed have run away from terrible situations at home and Hugo was beginning to feel like a fraud.

'I'm sorry,' Hugo smiled apologetically. She was probably a year older than him and should probably be in school preparing for her GCSEs not out on the street. 'If there is a reward for finding me why didn't you try to-?'

'I didn't bring you here to stitch you up okay.' Ash looked offended. 'I told you that I would never force you to go back home-.'

'I think I want to go back,' he surprised them both. It was the truth.

'Why?' Ash looked confused.

'Everyone here seems to have run away from real problems. You obviously wouldn't be here if you could help it.'

'You're right and I miss my family but there is no way I could ever go back there,' she said with conviction tinged with regret. 'If you do decide to go back make sure it's what you want not because you have to.'

'It's horrible out on the street and I think I'd rather be in the comfort of my own home. I think by now my family have learned their lesson.'

'Lesson?'

'They refused to buy me a game for my birthday,' Hugo told her and the silence that followed was filled with a palpable tension.

'And you ran away because of that?' Ash looked at him incredulously.

'I'm not proud of myself for it,' Hugo felt small under her glare. 'It seemed like a good idea at the time.'

'You mean that I wasted my time watching out for you and I risked my life rescuing you from those thugs for nothing?'

'I'm sorry,' Hugo managed. 'I've always got what I wanted and this time when I didn't I got annoyed with my parents,' he said sheepishly. 'Now I realise that it was very silly.'

'You don't say.' Ash looked away because she could not believe that she had gone through all that for this shallow child. 'Well I hope your parents learned their lesson,' her voice was filled with sarcasm.

'I've learned mine too,' Hugo smiled at her. 'Why not be the one to find me?' he suggested.

'What?'

'You deserve the reward money and it will be my way of making it up to you.'

'I feel sorry for your parents,' Ash meant it but she was unlikely to refuse that sort of offer. If she were to be honest with herself, once she had seen that paper she had been hoping for this sort of outcome.

The End.