Chapter One

“Oh, come on, Angela, stop being such a little kid. It's just a baby.”

“I know, but...”

“Oh, what's it gonna do? Cry at you? What's there to be afraid of?”

Angela looked at the baby from across the parking lot. Its mother would regret leaving it outside rather than simply taking it with her into the grocery store.

“Okay... fine, Rob, I'll do it,” she said, annoyed.

“Good... I thought you didn't have the guts for a second.”

Angela paused, intaking a deep breath, and got out of the car. She began to stroll inconspicuously toward the store entrance. She looked innocent enough, just another 12-year-old girl taking care of her younger sibling.

It all seemed pretty easy- just grab the baby and run. There was no one around, and the mother was probably happily buying some diapers or baby food inside. Plus, if anyone saw her taking it, they would probably ignore her; that was simply the way things were. People only get involved if you bring them into it.

But she did feel something a bit wrong about the whole thing; there was some part of her that wanted to allow the mother to skip this grief-ridden period of her life. However, this was not the time to get philosophical- she noticed that a store employee was standing outside the door, probably tasked with watching the baby for the mother. That was someone who might just get involved, considering that his job is at risk. She needed a story.

“Oh, there you are!” she exclaimed as she approached the gurgling infant. She saw out of the corner of her eye that the man's head was turned towards her. She plucked the baby out of its cart.

“Erm... excuse me,” the employee mumbled, fumbling for words. But she would ignore him for now.

“Now there, there,” she soothed the child, kissing it on the forehead. She moved to stroke its head, and as she did so, she pinched the skin on the back of its neck where the man could not see.

“Miss, I think-” the employee started, but was interrupted by the sudden cry from the baby.

“Oh no!” Angela exclaimed. “It looks like you need a diaper change. I should probably do it now instead of waiting for Mommy to come out.”

She suddenly looked up, pretending to notice the employee for the first time. “Oh! Hello!”

“Young ma'am, what are you doing with that baby?”

“This is my sister,” she said in her best disgusted voice.

“I see...” he murmured.

“I have to go change her diaper in the car,” she stated.

Not knowing what to do, he simply relented. “All right.” She looked legitimate.

Angela turned and began walking towards the car, which she noticed Rob had started already.

When she was about halfway across the parking lot, she saw that he was motioning wildly for her to come faster. She turned around and saw that the child's mother had emerged from the grocery store, and that the employee had started towards her.

She broke out into a sprint towards the car, the mother and the employee yelling something behind her. She knew that her young legs could probably not carry her fast enough to outrun the full-grown man behind her, but she pressed on anyway, the baby screaming in her arms.

Surprisingly, she reached the car and was able to pull the door open and fling herself in, to obscenities from Rob. She looked back to the storefront to see that the mother was in hysterics, but the employee was nowhere to be seen. He had not been chasing her after all.

“Make that thing stop screaming!” Rob yelled as he pulled out of the parking lot.

“It's a baby, not a 'thing'!” she replied, partially in anger and partially because she was so shaken up from her chase.

Suddenly, they heard squealing tires and the starting of a siren behind them. They turned around to see that a police car had just pulled out of the parking lot on their tail.

“Dammit! There was a cop in the freakin' parking lot!” Rob spat.

“That's where that guy went,” Angela murmured in realization.

“Hold onto that baby!” Rob commanded, swerving into the lane closest to an upcoming U-turn. The police car followed.

“Pull to the right and stop your car!” a voice from their pursuers' car demanded.

In response, Rob fishtailed around the U-turn and sped up in the direction opposite the cop car.

The baby's wailing was now at an unprecedented volume. Rob reached to punch it in the jaw, but Angela pulled it away.

“What are you doing?” she screamed.

“I can't drive with that thing screeching like that!” he returned.

“Then don't! They caught us, it's over! Just pull over!”

Rob slid into a neighborhood street to the right. “It's gonna take some intense driving to catch up with me!”

As if in reply, the police car turned into the street behind them.

“Please stop your vehicle!” it demanded again.

Rob pulled a gun out of his pocket and tossed it to Angela. “Use it.”

“I can't do that, Rob.”

He swerved into another street, this time to the left. “Do it!” he commanded.

Angela shook her head. “No... I can't do it.”

He sped up and merged back into the traffic from which he had originally come. “Just shoot them!”

“Dad! I can't do that!” she screamed.

He reached out and sidearmed her in the chest, grabbing the gun.

“Don't ever call me that again!” he yelled as he extended his arm out the window and fired just as the police car was coming out of the neighborhood street. Two of his bullets managed to make contact with the police car's two front tires, causing it to skid and come to a stop, blocking two lanes.

Angela sat on the floorboard, sobbing silently. Strangely, the baby had stopped its own crying and now stared fixedly at Angela.

Rob drove on in silence, his goal the other side of the bridge that divided the east and west portions of the city. He didn't have to worry about being caught once he made it back to the base; having a disposable license plate worked like a charm.

He shook his head. She would learn soon enough.