You Are Not Alone, And You're Stronger Than You Know
Prologue; Half-Way To Freedom

Johnny sighed as he continued folding clothes. He wasn’t going to take everything with him, just the ones he liked the best. He only had a certain amount of space in his jeep, and he needed to save some for his friends' belongings. He could always buy more when he was at college after all. Oh! He absolutely had to get a college hoodie while he was there. That was a priority.

Really he couldn’t believe the day was finally upon him, where he could blow this town and begin a new life for himself. God he hoped the school would refer to him by his legal name and the name Johnny Cage vanished into obscurity.

He glanced at a poster on the wall, Ninja Mime, one of his latest movies. He was 17 years old during its filming, and he was certain that there were many labour laws that were broken in the making of it. Actually he was sure that those laws were broken on every film he’d ever made, but he really didn’t know enough about them to say for sure. Maybe that’s something I should check out while at college? He couldn’t remember a time when he wasn’t in the limelight, and god he’d grown to hate it so much.

The door to his room slammed open, and he jumped a mile, twisting around to find his father standing in the doorway. He could see the bottle in his hand and even from here, Johnny could smell the alcohol, Ugh, I wonder how much more of my money he wasted on that shit.

Everything was brought with Johnny’s money. The beer, the furniture, the cars, the fucking house itself. But did Johnny know how much money he actually had? God no! His father kept a tight hold on that particular piece of information. For all he knew, he could be on the verge of bankruptcy. He was lucky he’d managed to persuade his father to let him use any of it at all. It had been a struggle to be allowed to pay his own college tuition, let alone pay for his friend’s as well.

“Fuckin’ useless,” his father growled, speech slurred and Johnny winced.

“What did I do?” Johnny questioned, genuinely. He had no idea what his father wanted right now. He’d done everything he said! Made Acting his major, promised to do some small bit parts while at college to keep the money flowing, promised to let his Dad still have access to said money. What more could he do to not be considered a waste of space?

His father muttered unintelligibly, before very clearly spitting out “if you skip out on one job I’ll fucking-“

“I won’t.” Fuck, Johnny didn’t want to act anymore, but he knew for now he had to. At least until he and his friends had their degrees and Johnny could find a lawyer to help him completely detach from Father Dearest.

“Fuckin’ stupid brat,” his Dad continued, “you won’t even make it a semester. Then you’ll come crawling back t’ me, and beg your old man to get you actin’ jobs again.”

Like hell I will.

Johnny just stood in silence. There was no point in arguing, he’d learnt that many years ago. In front of the press and the cameras, his Dad was all proud and loving Father. Behind the scenes, he saw his son as nothing more than a cash machine, too stupid to accomplish anything else in life but good looking enough that he could coast by on that alone.

However, it seemed his silence just angered his father more. He lifted the hand with the bottle and Johnny quickly jumped out of the way as he heard it fly through the air. It thankfully hit the wall behind him, although it smashed and the glass scattered all over his floor. Great, gotta clean that up before I go otherwise I’ll never hear the end of it.

With how his father was, he absolutely feared what the house would look like when he came back for the Holidays. He had the horrid suspicion he’d spend his vacation time being Cinderella and making sure the place wasn’t a dump.

Thankfully, his father stumbled away after this, although given his footsteps, Johnny was certain he’d almost fallen as he had. God, I hope he falls down the stairs and breaks his fucking neck. He winced at that though. Even if he didn’t like his father, he felt bad for wishing something like that on him.

He rushed over to shut his door again, before looking back at the broken bottle on the floor. It was a mess, but at least he’d avoided it this time. There’d be nothing like starting his first day of college with a fucking black eye and cuts on his face.

As he bent down to collect the glass, he considered how easy it’d be to just end everything. To dig the glass into his wrists and not stop slashing until he was bleeding out on the floor. To dig it into his throat and let himself drown in his own blood.

He dropped the glass and gasped. No. Absolutely not Johnny! Your friends need you, pull it together! He couldn’t do that to them. He remembered the looks on each of their faces when he first told them about his darker thoughts. He promised he’d never act on them. Never.

He took a deep breath. Right. His friends. With any luck they’d all be packing too now. Maybe I should give them each a call, make sure they’re doing well.

He grabbed his phone, he could pick the glass up later when he made sure they were okay. Tomas was the first person on his recent calls list so he figured that was as good a person to start with as any.

He clicked the name, putting the phone on speaker and placing it on his desk. As he listened to the phone ring, he went back to packing his things.

13 more hours, and then I can fucking blow this joint.

“We bless the fire and the smoke that eternally guide us.”

“Bless the fire and smoke,” Tomas muttered half heartedly. He couldn’t wait until he didn’t have to do this stupid shit anymore. He was just thankful this was a group prayer, so his lack of enthusiasm got lost in the crowd.

“Always your servants.”

“Always,” Tomas huffed, knowing full well he had no intention of forever being a servant to a deity he didn’t believe in.

Still, that signalled the end of the prayer, and slowly, the other worshippers began to file out. Tomas followed his parents, keeping his head down. He wondered how many others felt like he did, too afraid to go against the rest of the commune. Really, he recognised he was lucky they weren’t a cut off group. He’d done some research while at school and found that usually cults had a habit of isolating their members. Not this one though. Seemingly aware of how that would look to the outside world, they instead let their members mingle in outside society, to keep up the appearance they were just any other religion.

Tomas knew better however.

His friends had taught him that none of this was normal. Worshipping fire itself wasn’t normal. Having burning hot coals pressed against your skin to let the sin escape your body wasn’t normal. Regularly having to let your blood and boil it over a fire wasn’t normal. Begging for mercy from an entity that in all likeliness didn’t exist wasn’t normal.

Nothing about Tomas’ life was normal.

Finding out his parents weren’t his birth parents was somehow just the cherry on top for him. He knew he shouldn’t feel that way, his parents took him in when no one else wanted him. It wasn’t the act itself he was angry about, but the fact they’d lied to him for so long.

Because if they’d lied about that, what else could they be lying about?

“Mother, Father,” he began as they returned to their little shack. He’d have once called it a house, if he hadn’t been to Johnny’s many times and realised that this was absolutely not what most people would class as one. “May I begin packing for tomorrow?”

Tomorrow. He couldn’t wait until tomorrow. When he and his friends would be free and away from all the pain and misery they went through.

“You may,” his father granted, and Tomas bowed. He quickly turned to leave before his Father called, “but Tomas.” He paused and turned to look at him. “Remember what we agreed to. You will continue your worship while you are away. Make sure to pack your offering equipment as well.”

You mean the fucking knife you use to cut me open.

“Of course Father,” he replied instead. The last time he’d voiced his displeasure at all this aloud, he’d been dragged before the high priest. He still had the scars on his back. “I will keep up my religious practices at all times.”

And if you believe me when I say that, you’re a bigger moron than I thought.

His father nodded, before both he and his mother turned away. Tomas sighed and quickly made his way to his room. Still, even if he had no intention to use any of it, he supposed he’d have to take the stuff with him, otherwise they’d notice.

As he went to grab his suitcase, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He felt himself smile when he saw Johnny’s name flash up.

He tapped the button, and answered with “I’m about to start packing now, Mom.”

He heard Johnny erupt into laughter on the other end. The sort of laugh where he’d just been through something bad and was glad to have something to take his mind off it. Tomas had heard that laugh so many times he knew exactly what it meant. His father must have been a dick again. Although really, dick was an understatement.

“Well, y’know, as the designated Mom of the group, I have to make sure,” Johnny teased with a giggle. “I’m only about halfway through if it makes you feel any better.”

“Ugh, I’d probably be around that point if it weren’t for…” He trailed off and grimaced, not wanting his parents to overhear him badmouthing their nightly worship.

“Ah. Prayers?” Johnny questioned and Tomas hummed in confirmation. “Just prayers though right?”

“Yeah, no sacrifices tonight,” he confirmed and he couldn’t help but be glad for that. Turning up to college with his arms slit to hell would not be a good look.

“Thank fuck,” Johnny whispered.

“How’s things on your end?” Tomas asked, unsure if Johnny would want to talk about whatever was bothering him yet.

“Uh. Dad’s drunk, and there’s glass all over my floor.” The implication was clear in Tomas' mind. “I dodged though, so, there is that.”

“Well, we won’t have to worry about shit like that from tomorrow.” And Tomas couldn’t wait. “A few hours drive and then we’re off and out to freedom.”

“Sounds good, doesn’t it?” Johnny mused, his voice sounding wistful. “I hope you don’t mind me cutting this short, I wanna ring the others, make sure they’re okay too.”

“Absolutely,” Tomas replied, understanding completely. They all lived in what Tomas could only describe as hell. He just hoped the others would be able to make it to the other side too. “Give them all my love.”

“Will do,” Johnny said with a sigh. “Pick you up at 6AM tomorrow.”

“I’ll be counting on it.”

And with that, he put the phone down, slipping it back into his pocket. He sighed, reaching for his suitcase to open it. Freedom would have to wait another 13 hours, first, he had to pack.

Kenshi’s entire body ached as he lay on the tile floor of the bathroom. He knew where he was, because the tiles here were always colder than anywhere else with a tiled floor in the house. To be honest, it was nice, the cold felt soothing against his throbbing body, even through his thin t-shirt.

The bad thing about being blind was he couldn’t really look at himself to get an idea of the damage that had been done. He reached for his shoulder, pressing down with a finger and hissing. He continued to do so for the rest of his body. It hurt, and he was definitely going to feel it for the next few days, but he didn’t think there would be any permanent damage.

Thank god he’d had the foresight to pack a few days before and leave his belongings in Johnny’s trunk.

Really he should have taken up Johnny’s offer to stay with him until they went. Not that Johnny’s father was any better, really. Fucking prick.

He could smell something rotting somewhere and his stomach lurched. God he supposed at least he didn’t have to look at the disgusting conditions he was living in. No, he just got to smell it, and trip over it, and step in it, and feel it.

College couldn’t come soon enough. Maybe finally he’d be able to live in better conditions and not have to worry about breaking his neck every day of his life. Or, maybe it would be just as bad. College students weren’t exactly known for keeping their living conditions clean.

As long as I don’t have to smell food that’s been left out and gone off every day I’ll be happy.

He supposed he should pick himself off the floor, grab his cane and backpack and then just walk around until Johnny was ready to get him. Sure, the streets weren’t exactly the safest place for a blind 18 year old, but somehow he fancied his chances out there better than he did here.

He slowly peeled himself off the floor, sitting up as best he could. His first challenge was finding his cane. With any luck, it’d be in the bathroom somewhere. But knowing his track record of misfortune, his father might have snapped it in half again. He hoped not, he still felt bad when Johnny shelled out the money for a new one last time that happened.

His father fucking loved to blame everything on Kenshi’s lack of sight. Like he wasn’t the one to cause it in the first place.

As he felt around, his hand hit something wet and chunky. Despite his better judgement, he brought his hand close to his face and sniffed. He immediately gagged. Oh fuck me, that’s definitely vomit. He forfeited his search for his cane to get to the sink instead. He turned the tab and let the water trickle down his hand, before making sure to put two globs of soap on it and rubbing it in like he’d never be clean again.

As he did, his leg hit something propped against the sink. He reached down, sighing in relief as he felt the familiar grip of his cane.

“There you are,” he sighed as he turned off the tap, taking his cane in a tight grip. “Glad you’re still with me, old friend.”

Despite the way his muscles protested movement, he still stumbled through the bathroom, quickly finding the door. He held his cane out, hoping there was nothing in the way to his room. Thankfully, it seemed that while there were obstacles, it was just the ones that were there normally. It wasn’t so bad when things stayed where he knew they were. It was when his father just dropped new garbage everywhere or outright moved things with the intent of making Kenshi’s life harder that things tended to get more difficult.

And Kenshi knew it was intentional, his father had admitted as much.

He made it to his bedroom, but didn’t go inside, just reached around the doorframe until he found his backpack hanging up. He slipped it off the hook, and placed it firmly on his back, even if the action hurt him. He just had to put up with it.

Besides, the real challenge would be getting down the stairs in one piece.

He made his way to the staircase, knowing he was there when he had to move the cane slightly lower than anywhere else. He grabbed hold of the bannister with one hand and pulled the cane under his armpit in the other. He stuck his foot out, feeling for a clear patch to place it. The top step seemed to be clear, so he put his foot down on it. He did the same thing with the next step, his foot this time brushing against something that felt like a plastic bag, but eventually finding a spot that was clear.

He kept at it, taking it one step at a time. Even though there were definitely things that didn’t belong along the way, and one spot Kenshi deemed safe to step on was wet for some god forsaken reason, he managed to make it down without much incident. Hell, this was probably the fastest he’d ever made it down these stairs.

“Won’t miss doing this though,” he muttered as he finally made contact with the ground.

He stilled for a moment, trying to see if he could hear where his father was. A creak somewhere in the general vicinity of the man's bedroom indicated he was upstairs. Perfect. Means I have more chance of escaping in one piece.

He once more relied on his cane to help him safely make it to his door. He found his shoes, slipping them onto his feet. He didn’t use shoes with laces, he needed shoes that were quick to put on for emergencies like this.

Once he was ready, he felt for the doorknob, unlocking the door. Despite the urge to run out slamming the door behind him, he knew it was a bad idea. He stepped through, and carefully pulled the door shut behind him, trying to be as quiet as possible.

He didn’t stick around to see if he was quiet enough, making his way to the sidewalk and then just walking. He began wondering what his next move was. While he could spend the night walking around, it would be preferable to find somewhere to just stay for the night. There was an all night cafe somewhere around the corner, and he had probably just enough money in his backpack to last him the night. Also it’ll be an easy enough spot for Johnny to pick me up from.

As if on queue, his phone started going off, blaring Johnny’s favourite pop song. Wow, I’m glad I wasn’t in the house when that went off. He took the phone out of his pocket and felt for the button he knew answered it.

“Johnny, as always, your timing is impeccable,” he complimented, trying to ignore the twinge in one of his legs. The breeze felt nice on his skin at least.

“Oh, jeeze, bad night?” Johnny asked and Kenshi laughed at how bad didn’t even begin to describe his life.

“I’m a bit bruised and sore,” he admitted, “but I’ve had worse. I managed to get out of the house with little trouble however.”

“You wanna come stay the night?” Johnny asked, and Kenshi could hear something clink in the background. Glass. His dad threw a bottle at him again. Kenshi could only hope it didn’t hit him this time.

“No, it’s alright, I’m sure you have your own problems to deal with.” And wasn’t that sadly true for all of them. “I’m going to stay at the cafe for the night, y’know the one?”

“Oh, on 5th street?” Johnny asked and Kenshi confirmed with a short noise. “Yeah alright, I can grab you from there in the morning then.”

“Excellent.” Kenshi couldn’t help but smile. They were so close. They all just had to make it through tonight and then all 6 of them would be free. They could heal. They could live. “I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to this, Johnny.”

“Me too, Brother,” Johnny laughed. “Glad you're safe. I’ll be there at about ten to six, you’ll be my first pick up since I don’t want you sitting there alone for longer than you need to be.”

“Much appreciated.”

And really, it was. His friends had been his rock since he’d lost his eyesight. Hell, they’d all done such a good job at helping him, it actually took their elementary school an entire year to catch on that he’d gone completely blind.

Not that even after they discovered this, they did much of an investigation into how it had happened. But hey, they had given him accommodations so he supposed at least they’d done the bare minimum.

But really, it was his friends who’d gotten him through everything. He owed them so much, although he knew they’d never let him think he was a burden to them.

“Tomas gives his love,” Johnny continued, “and I’d better make sure Kitana and Mileena are doing okay next. I’ll see you soon, alright man?”

“Indeed, let them know I love them too.” And I hope to god they are both safe.

“Will do.”

And with that, the phone call ended, leaving Kenshi to walk the street to make his way to the cafe.

He could always sleep on the car ride to college, anyway.

Every part of her brain was screaming at her that Mileena wasn’t in the room right now.

Mileena wasn’t here, she was in her own room, packing her own things, so of course she wasn’t in Kitana’s room. That logic did absolutely nothing to ease Kitana’s anxiety however. Because Mileena was on her own right now, that meant she was at risk. Well, really, both of them were more at risk alone, but Kitana couldn’t give a shit about herself, she needed her little sister to be okay.

She supposed little was an exaggeration, really Mileena just happened to be the younger twin. Still, Kitana took her position as the elder seriously. She hated how little power she had to protect Mileena from their father. She had to protect Mileena from everyone who wanted to hurt her.

Taking a deep breath, she assured herself it would be fine, when Johnny came to pick them up and got them to college. Then it’d just be 6 friends, together, facing the world that so clearly hated them, throwing fate a middle finger as they went on to live their best lives. It was a fantasy that had kept her going over the years.

No more high school, no more being treated like the two of them were a singular person, no more criminals hanging around constantly.

No more father.

Just her, her sister, and her blood brothers, Johnny, Kenshi, Tomas and Kuai.

Just her and her real family.

She shook her head, realising she was distracting herself. The quicker she got packed, the sooner she could reunite with Mileena and they could just spend their last night in this hell together. Maybe they could make a blanket fort on her bed like they did when they were kids. I’m pretty sure I have some popcorn that needs to be used before we go.

She paused when she heard heavy footsteps in the hallway. She held her breath, too heavy to be Mileena or any of their father’s lackies, so that only left her father himself.

Not particularly wanting to wait around and find out, she folded up the shirt she was holding, placing it on top of her suitcase. She turned around, getting low to the floor as she slipped under her bed. Somehow, it was such an obvious hiding place that her father never checked it, seemingly believing she was too smart to hide somewhere so easy to find.

Her intuition was right, as seconds later her door slammed open and her father let himself in. She watched his steel capped boots approach, stopping in place as he clearly stared at the open suitcase. He kicked it, and she had to hold back a hiss that he’d just put her back to square one. After that, he wandered the room for a few minutes, like he was looking for something.

Ultimately, he gave up, and finally left her room, slamming the door behind him as he did. She let out a sigh of relief, but didn’t attempt to crawl from under her bed. She knew there was always a chance that he would be back.

She jumped slightly when she felt something vibrate against her chest. Reaching down to her jacket pocket, she pulled her phone from between her torso and the floor. The caller ID said Johnny and she huffed. He always seems to call at just the right time huh? A few seconds earlier and her hiding spot would have been discovered.

She clicked the answer button and whispered into it “hey.”

Johnny made a strange sound, obviously picking up on Kitana’s low volume.

“Shit, did I ring at a bad time?” He asked, and Kitana chuckled slightly.

“No, you got the right time by a few minutes,” she informed him. “I’d just rather keep my volume down, just in case.”

“Fair enough, if you need to go at any point, just hang up, promise I won’t take it personally,” he told her, and Kitana smiled at that. Johnny was always so understanding of her situation, even when his own wasn’t that much better. “How’s packing going?”

“It was going well.” She stared at her clothes, now scattered across the floor. “But now I’m back to square one.”

“Damn, I’m sorry, that sucks,” Johnny muttered as Kitana found the courage to crawl out from her hiding spot.

She sat at the foot of her bed, surveying the damage. She should have been thankful it was just her clothes and not herself this time.

She gasped, an uneasy feeling twisting in her gut as she remembered she was not the only target of her Father’s ire.

“H-Have you spoken to Mileena?” She whispered, reaching for one of her shirts. She wasn’t sure why she did that, she was panicking and often found that having something for her hands to mess around with helped.

“Not yet, I guess you haven't seen her then?”

“No.” Shit, what if she’s hurt? How can I forgive myself?

“Okay, stay calm, I’ll give her a ring, if she doesn’t answer I’ll ring you back straight away. If she does, I’ll get her to go check on you, okay?”

It was nice sometimes. Kitana and Mileena were used to being treated like the same person. If you asked something to one of them, you asked it to the pair. But what Kitana always liked about her friends was they didn’t do that. They didn’t just assume that ringing one would mean they rang both of them, they put in the effort to treat them as individuals. Some days, when Kitana was beginning to wonder where she ended and Mileena began, such a simple act helped to ground her back to reality.

“Please do,” she said, trying not to sound too desperate, “I’d go myself but I know I’m overbearing sometimes. I don’t want her to feel like I’m smothering her.”

“It’ll get better at college, I promise,” Johnny told her, his voice full of optimism. It was hard not to let it infect her too. “But don’t worry, I’ll give her a call now.”

“Thank’s Johnny.” She nodded to herself. Keep calm Kitana. Johnny’s going to check on her. Plus if she really needed you, she’d have come to find you. “I’d better let you do that.”

“And I had better let you get back to packing.”

Kitana grimaced. “Yeah, don’t remind me.”

Johnny laughed as he hung up, and Kitana slipped her phone back into her pocket. She took a deep breath. For now, all she could do was focus on packing, and hope Johnny didn’t ring her back with bad news.

We just have to survive the night, then we’re finally free.

Mileena tried so hard to hold back her tears.

She’d heard her Dad’s footsteps coming. She’d heard him, but the familiar echo of steel against wood had made her freeze up. Her brain was screaming at her to hide, but her body was completely unable to move.

She’d gotten lucky tonight. Dad was in a terrible mood, but for once it didn’t seem to be aimed at Mileena or Kitana. Rather it was something his assistant had done or not done. Mileena wasn’t sure, she rather tuned out what he was ranting about. Unfortunately, She’d made the mistake of answering a rhetorical question he hadn’t wanted an answer to and received a backhand for it. But in terms of terrible things he’d done, that was pretty much nothing.

So, why did she want to cry so bad?

And why were the scars at the corners of her mouth itching so much?

Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Don’t cry.It was like a mantra in her head, yet the more she thought about it, the more her eyes stung. She blinked and a tear rolled down her cheek. Stupid girl! She slapped her forehead with her palm. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

If she was half the woman her sister was, these things wouldn’t happen to them. If she was as pretty or as smart as Kitana, she could have helped them get out of here years ago. She wouldn’t freeze up at the sound of her father’s voice, she’d have been able to fight back and protect Kitana.

Stupid. I’m so stupid. Stupid!

She began scratching at her face, the long and large scars that snaked along her cheeks. No, a backhand was nothing compared to receiving those. She still remembered it. The feeling of her father’s assistant pushing her down against the desk. Her Father pressing the knife against her mouth. Kitana’s screams. Her own pleas to “please stop Daddy”. The pain. The blood. The emptiness she felt when it was all over.

No. A slap across the face was nothing compared to that.

Pull yourself together Milly, for God's sake. She took a deep breath, hiccuping as she did from the tears. This would all be over soon. She just had to last the night, and then she’d be out. Both of them would be out.

All of them would be out.

Johnny wouldn’t have to put up with his asshole father. Tomas could escape the crazy ass cult he was raised in. Kenshi wouldn’t have to live in fear that one day his father would take more than just his eyesight. Kuai Liang could live without the hatred his parents had for him or the control his brother tried to gain over him.

And Kitana wouldn’t have to live in constant fear that she would lose her sister.

And Mileena wouldn’t have to live in constant fear that she would lose her sister.

None of themwould have to fear that they would lose each other.

The thought was enough that it managed to stop her tears. This was what they’d been waiting for. She was alive, Kitana was alive, they were all alive! Everything could only go up from here, right?

She folded her last shirt and placed it in her suitcase. She felt weird how little she was taking, but her plan was always to buy new clothes while she was at college. Her father generally wanted Mileena and Kitana to match, not allowing either girl their own style. One of the things Mileena was really looking forward to was finding herself. She’d always fancied goth and other alt clothes if she was being honest, but had always known there was no way her Father would ever let her get away with wearing them. Maybe she could finally get a haircut too!

She jumped a mile, brought violently out of her musings, when her phone began to vibrate on the floor next to her. When she glanced at the screen, she saw it was Johnny calling her. She was sure it would be obvious she’d been crying, but she knew not answering would just make him worry.

“Hiya,” she said, wincing at how her voice croaked even through the faux happiness she put on.

“Hey.” Johnny said that slowly, just as she had thought, he could clearly tell she was upset. “You doing okay?”

“Um.” She didn’t want to worry him with the truth, but knew lying would just make him more suspicious. “I’m not great, but it’s fine.”

“Doesn’t really sound fine.”

She paused for a moment, before quietly admitting “well, I got a slap across the face, but at the end of the day that’s not too bad.”

Johnny made a sound like he was about to say something but decided against it. She kind of knew what he’d say anyway. About how even if a slap wasn’t that bad compared to the other things she’d been through, it still shouldn’t have happened at all. Nothing she went through should have happened at all.

“But, good news is I’m done with packing,” she decided to deflect, taking that as the chance to shut her suitcase and zip it up.

“That is good news. Damn, you’re on the ball tonight Milly.”

She giggled as she replied “just excited, I guess.” Her thoughts wandered back to her sister. Since she was done, she should probably see if Kitana needed any help. “I should check how Kitana’s doing.”

“I called her just before you, she unfortunately had been put back to square one.” Mileena’s heart clenched, but she quickly relaxed herself. Kitana was a lot more quick thinking than Mileena was, and it was likely she hid and their Dad took out his anger on her luggage. She’d find out when she went in there. “I’m sure she’d appreciate a hand.”

“Yeah, I’m sure she would.” Mileena didn’t bother waiting to put the phone down, she dragged her suitcase with her as she walked towards the door. “If you’re still doing the rounds on ringing people, give them all my love.”

“Only got Kuai left to call,” Johnny admitted and Mileena did hiss a little, poor Kuai. She hoped he’d be able to get out without his brother causing too much fuss. “But I’ll let him know. I’ll be around to pick you guys up at about 10 past 6 okay?”

“Got it. Thanks Johnny.”

The call came to an end and Mileena slipped her phone into her pocket. She opened her door, poking her head out to look down the corridor. Thankfully, the coast was clear, and Mileena made quick work walking over to Kitana’s door. She knocked a few times, before she heard the soft “come in.”

Mileena opened the door a jar, sticking her head through to look at her sister before saying “would you like a hand?”

“Uh…” Kitana looked at her clothes, in an unorganised pile beside her. “Please. Only if you’re free, though.”

“Oh yeah, I’m done,” Mileena laughed, dragging her suitcase into the room to prove the point. As she shut the door behind her, she heard Kitana gasp softly.

“Oh… Mileena…”

Ah. Mileena guessed the sign of what their father had done was more visible than she’d thought. She hadn’t looked in the mirror, but now she was in Kitana’s room, she glanced at the one at Kitana’s desk. There was a red mark on her cheek and she winced. Maybe her Dad hit her harder than she originally thought.

“I’m okay,” Mileena assured her, abandoning her suitcase to go join her sister on the floor. “It was just a slap.”

“But-“

“Kitana, I’m okay.” Yeah, it shouldn’t have happened. But it did, so now all they could do was move on. “We just need to last a few more hours, and it’ll never happen again.”

Kitana considered that for a few seconds, before nodding, “you’re right. A few more hours. Then we’re free.”

Mileena smiled as she reached for one of Kitana’s shirts to fold it. Despite everything, Mileena had hope for the future. Things were going to be okay, she just knew it.

Kuai moved through the house as silently as he could with a heavy suitcase in hand.

He wished he’d followed Kenshi’s lead in leaving his suitcase in Johnny’s trunk a few days earlier. It was probably the easier thing to do. Well, live and learn, he supposed. This would be the last time he’d have to do this anyway.

As he got to the bottom of the stairs he contemplated how he was gonna do this. He had managed to avoid the floorboard about halfway down which was ridiculously loud and had busted him more than once in the past. He didn’t know what he’d have done if he got caught, and frankly he didn’t know which of the potential people who could catch him would be worse.

Probably his father to be honest. His ribs were still aching from when Kuai had dared to announce he’d gotten into college. It didn't matter how many times Kuai tried to say a friend was paying for it and it wouldn’t cost his Dad anything, Dad wouldn’t stop kicking him while screaming about how he wasn’t going to pay college tuition for a useless parasite. God, yeah, he definitely didn’t want his dad to catch him. He could only imagine what would happen, and it was likely he’d not make it to college at all.

His step-mother wouldn’t be that much better, although to be fair her physical attacks only really consisted of slaps. But she would also stop him from leaving. She hated his guts, couldn’t care less about “the little bastard” as she called him. Speaking to people who knew her was jarring however. According to them, she adored her step-children, especially Kuai and would move heaven and earth for him. She was trying to present some “happy blended family” image to the outside world, and she was desperate to protect it. To her, Kuai leaving the home for any reason would shatter that illusion, even something as normal as College. Like the photos on her social media feeds where Kuai was bruised to hell and back didn’t already do that.

And then there was Bi-Han. The only person in this house who truly cared about him, but his want to protect Kuai had been twisted somewhere along the lines. Kuai vaguely knew where it stemmed from. Something had happened to him, something he couldn’t even remember. Whatever it was, it had made Bi-Han obsessed with Kuai’s safety. But his concern was starting to become more and more suffocating. Whatever Kuai did, Bi-Han had to know everything. Where he was, what he was doing, how long he was going to be. If he was home even a minute late, his phone would be ringing with Bi-Han demanding to know where he was.

When Bi-Han had announced his plans to move to whatever city Kuai went to college in, Kuai’s dreams of freedom felt like they went up in smoke.

He knew eventually Bi-Han would find out Kuai had given him the wrong details and given him a fake acceptance letter for a college on the other side of the country. He knew Bi-Han would be furious, but Kuai didn’t know how else to get out of this situation.

He just wanted a chance to breathe.

And to do that, he needed to continue his daring escape. With the stairs out the way, all he had to do was get through the rest of the house to the front door. Easier said than done. There were several other loose floorboards, not to mention other things that could be in the way. He had to try though.

He tried to remember past attempts to sneak out. There were loose boards all over the middle of the hall, but the sides were pretty good. He pressed himself against the wall, one hand keeping himself up while the other lifted his suitcase up off the floor. He was on his tiptoes, trying to put as little surface onto the floor as possible. He inched across the wall, holding his breath as he did as if even breathing too loud would alert anyone to his presence.

He finally got to the door. Shoes already on, all he had to do was open it. He undid the latch, and pulled it open.

It creaked loudly as it opened.

His heart stopped when he heard a voice somewhere in the house call “Kuai Liang?”

It was Bi-Han’s voice but Kuai decided he wasn’t going to wait around to find out what his brother was going to say. He practically dove out of the house, slamming the door behind him. He let the suitcase's wheels hit the floor, sprinting as fast as he could down the driveway, dragging it behind him.

He didn’t stop running even when he got to the sidewalk, even as his lungs protested. He just kept at it, desperate to get as far away as possible.

Finally, he ducked into an alleyway. Throwing himself against the wall, he panted heavily. Holy shit, he might actually get away from all this after all. Now I just need to set myself up under the bridge for tonight until Johnny comes to pick me up.

He jumped when his phone started vibrating. Shit. Shit. Shit. It was probably Bi-Han, demanding to know where he was going. Despite the fact he already knew Kuai was leaving for college in the morning. Kuai had told him he would be staying at a friend’s overnight due to that. It wasn’t true, Kuai was just gonna set himself up for the night, but what Bi-Han didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.

Still, he picked his phone out of his pocket, ready to deny the call. Until he saw the caller ID. It wasn’t Bi-han. It was Johnny. Oh thank fuck. He clicked to accept the call.

“Hey,” he said with a breathless laugh, “you have no idea how relieved I am that you’re the person calling me right now.”

“Expecting it to be your brother?” Johnny asked, and Kuai hummed. “Man, did you get out of the house alright then?”

“Door creaked as I opened it. Bi-Han heard and called out to me. I didn’t stick around to see what he would say.” And god was Kuai gonna get an earful for that later. That’s a problem for future Kuai though.

“So where are you right now?” Johnny asked, clearly so he would know where to pick Kuai up from.

“Um, right now an alley, but I’m gonna settle under the bridge near the river for the night,” he explained. That bridge had become somewhat of a safe haven for him over the years. It was out of the way enough that no one ever went down by it. Perfect for when he needed to get away and hide.

“Hm.” Johnny sounded like he was thinking. “Actually, I might have a better idea. Do you know the all night cafe on 5th street?”

Kuai frowned and said “yeah why?”

“Kenshi’s there right now.” Oh. Kuai had the feeling he got where Johnny was going with this. “He might appreciate the company.”

“Huh. Yeah, that sounds good.” He had a bit of cash to buy some drinks while he was there. It would be safer and easier to get through the night with a friend by his side. “Plus that would mean a more streamlined journey for you in the morning.”

“Aha, maybe.” Johnny sighed, “truth is though, I’d feel better knowing you guys are together than either of you being alone right now, y’know?”

“Yeah. Yeah I understand,” Kuai agreed, pushing himself off the wall and trying to remember the quickest way to 5th street. “I’ll go meet him then, and I’ll see you in a few hours.”

“Yep. Like I said to Kenshi I’ll pick you up about 10 to 6, alright?”

“Got it.” Kuai began to make his way out of the alley. “See you then.”

As he put the phone down, a voice at the end of the alley boomed “and where in the fuck do you think you’re going?”

Kuai jumped a miled, almost dropping his phone and suitcase. As he looked up, there was Bi-Han at the entrance of the alley, arms crossed over his chest and looking pissed. How the hell had he hand found him, and so quickly at that, Kuai had no idea.

“I- I told you I was staying with a friend tonight. To make tomorrow morning easier.” He had definitely told Bi-Han this. He knew he had.

“This doesn’t look like a friend’s house,” Bi-Han spat, finally making his way over and roughly taking hold of Kuai’s wrist.

“I just ducked in the alley to take his call, that's all.” He wanted to pull away, but knew that the last time he did that, Bi-Han hadn’t taken it well. “He’s meeting me at the cafe on 5th street. We’re gonna have a drink and go back to his.”

“You think that it’s safe for two teenagers to be out at this time of night?” Bi-Han grunted.

“We’re 18, not 13 Bi-Han!” Kuai immediately regretted snapping when his brother's mouth curled into a snarl. “I- I’m sorry. But… I’m an adult now, I’m going to college, I can handle it.”

“Like hell you can-“

“Bi-Han, I promise if anything happens, you’ll be the first person I call and you can rub it in my face about how you told me so,” he replied, hating how desperate he sounded. “Please, Bi-Han. I’ll be with my friend, I’ll be fine.”

Bi-Han’s face twitched for a few seconds, before he finally huffed and let go of Kuai, growling “get in the car.” He turned away and stormed to his car, Kuai stayed in place, believing Bi-Han had rejected his plea. Bi-Han paused and looked over before adding “at the very least, let me drop you off at the cafe.”

Kuai closed his eyes, letting his breath out in relief as he whispered “thank you, Bi-Han.”

He walked up to Bi-Han’s car, putting his suitcase in the back before walking around to sit in the front passenger seat. Bi-Han silently took his place in the driver's seat, starting the car.

Kuai rested his head against the window. He knew this wouldn’t be the end of things with Bi-Han, but at the very least, in a few hours, it would be a lot easier of a problem to avoid.

Only a few more hours until freedom.

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