Chapter Text
A steady breeze blew through the streets. I had my back to it, letting it do some of the push work. People who went around light could use a good wind to pick up the pace a little. Bigger things, like grown ups or cars, not so much, and that’s what I was counting on.
The little plastic bag I had on me, held real tight in my left, rustled in the wind. Every now and then, I pushed at the ground, putting some more juice into my board’s speed. Best way to get around, and it made the backwind even better. Which was good for me, since the alarms didn’t take long to bring out the…
Right on time, a siren boomed somewhere behind me. There was a high and low to it you couldn’t not know, and if you were that thick, the red and blue lights would’ve set you straight. I guessed it was only a matter of time before they pulled out the speakers.
“Pull over, hands behind your head! Set that bag down slowly!” Yep, called it.
“Work with us, Bill, there’s enough on your track record as is. Do you really want to go to get locked up?”
“Hell no.” There was a small alley coming up on my right. I grinned, poking an eye at them as I made a hard turn. “So I better not get caught!” I sped down my shortcut, knowing their squad cars were too big to fit, and that they were too slow on foot to nab me. The megaphone blurred into the city noise, one of the hundreds of other sounds I grew up with. Living on these streets was never quiet, even in the dead of night.
I took the next left, putting me back in the right direction. It might’ve been quicker using the main road, but these back alleys were pretty sheltered from the fuzz. They never saw my get out coming. This side road always worked, taking me straight to the edge of town. The gap at the end led out into the woods, where I could disappear with the wind. I liked a bit of heart pumping as much as the next dude, but I had places to be.
There, the end was in sight, but something was wrong. Part of the woods were blocked off. I couldn’t tell exactly what was clogging up my way out, too dark to make out the shape, only picking up that it was black and white…
“Aw crap!” I pieced it together when the lights went off, a police siren bouncing through my skull. The door on my side opened, letting out an officer in full uniform. He was carrying something, kind of like a gun, but I knew better. They never used real guns against minors, especially not just thieves, only stunners. And this one was pointing straight at me.
“Get on the ground, there’s no way out!” Glancing left and right, I saw he wasn’t fooling, a squad car plugging up every other alley out, lights and alarms going at full power. My heart was going a hundred miles an hour, and, for a second, I felt the cold cuffs slipping around me already, saw the bars slam shut, leaving me in some hole to rot all alone…
‘Screw that!’ My fear threw itself away, my instinct to survive coming out full force. They hadn’t locked me up yet, even after taking how much food over the last few years, and now, the stakes were higher. My hold on the bag got stronger, and my teeth grit. I had my leg going non stop, dumping everything I could into one more charge. I just needed a good straight line.
“Move it or lose it, yo!” When I was right in the officer’s face, a few feet from ramming into his car as he stepped out of the way, I clipped the edge of my board with the arc of my shoe. I jumped, carrying it up with me. Wheels skid on the top of their cruiser, and I felt a sharp sting on my back left shoulder. It vibrated a bit, and my insides got all tingly, but that cut out after a real hard tug.
I went flying off the roof, hitting the ground just in time to pop an ollie over one last sidewalk. It wasn’t a wide one, giving way to grass quick. My straight line wouldn’t work much longer, a thick of trees coming up around me, but speed got a lot less important. I made my jump, and now I could take it easy. They wouldn’t risk taking a car or bike through these thick woods, and no one knew where I was heading exactly.
“Better luck next time, NOT!” The grass behind me rustled, a few of them following the old fashioned way, but my lead was getting bigger by the second. I was home free, and with the package to boot. I brought it up for a better look, already seeing how happy she’d be I got it for her.
-
The big city and all the noise that came with it was far behind me, leaving only the great outdoors. There were trees everywhere, plenty of bushes, chirping bugs, even a river out in the distance. Sitting above it all was Mount Ebott, my other line of defense.
I didn’t know what it was about the mountain, but lots of grown ups steered clear if they could. Thing is, if you asked, no one could tell you why, just some random junk about it being bad news passed down from folks to their kids for generations.
Me though, I didn’t buy lame legends or any crap like that. Leave fairy tales for the little kids out there, I had bigger fish to fry. Besides, I liked the place. It was weirdly calm, a lot easier to think near than back in town. And, on top of keeping random hikers off my trail, the greenery and nature made her feel more comfortable, and I only got her the best.
The woods thinned out a little, giving way to a clearing. It was on the small side, but it was big enough for me to set up some shelter in. It wasn’t much, a little hut in the middle of nowhere, built with whatever scrap wood I could jam into the shape of walls and a ceiling, but it was better than a cave somewhere. It kept the rain and wind out, and that’s all that really mattered.
I kicked the skateboard up, grabbing it midair under my right arm, and landed in a slow jog. Keeping her waiting was a no go, but I didn’t want to crash and burn when I got there. Not that I was tired, but you feel yourself drop a long time before you feel your strength run out. At least, that’s what she said, and she was usually right. Hell, she’s the one who clued me in to that wind thing. Bigger brain on her than me, that’s for sure.
I slowed down just outside the shack, stepping as soft as I could. It was still early, sky just starting to lighten up, and I didn’t want to be that jerk who went around waking people up. Good thing the door was light, just a thin piece of ply wood, so shutting it hard wouldn’t make too much sound. The hinges were rusty and squeaky, but it was low enough to blend in to the normal night sounds around there. She shouldn’t’ve woken up because of…
“Billy, is that you?” I jumped, not expecting someone to be talking at me yet. My skin crawled a little at the name, but it was low on the list of concerns.
“What’chu doin’ awake? You know you need the sleep.” My eyes were good with the dark in there, already used to the pitch black of midnight, so it was easy for me to spot her. Well, what there was of her to spot. She was mostly covered up in whatever blankets I could get my hands on, a little lump on the floor mat. I wished I could’ve gotten her a real bed, but that’s not the type of thing you can run off with. Her big, blue eyes were soft, looking up at me.
“I… I had a nightmare, and when I jumped awake…” Oh yeah, that’d do it. Any sudden movements didn’t end well for her. I fished around in the bag, pulling out my newest haul, a small, white bottle that rattled when it moved.
“Here Share, I got just the thing.” She brightened up at the sight, her pained frown turning into a soft smile. There was a metal cup on the ground next to a bucket, the latter filled about half way with clean water. I scooped some out, rolling it around to make sure there wasn’t any gunk in there. The bottle popped open easy enough, letting me nab a couple of pills. “Open up, these’ll take the sting out.”
She closed her eyes, sticking her tongue out. We’d been through this enough to know how to go about it. I set her meds on there, bringing the cup up for her when they were in. She drank nearly the whole cup, washing down her pills.
“Alright, just kick back a while. You should be good to get back to sleep soon enough.” I slipped my gloves off, black leather ones without fingers, so I could run a hand through her hair without it getting caught up. Having someone she trusted messing with her blonde hair, reaching down to her neck, helped calm her down. I just had to be careful about the ribbon tied in up top, a faded red thing, about as long as my forearm when stretched out.
“Mm, thanks, Billy, you always know just what to do.” I let the name thing slip by again, mostly because I couldn’t get mad at her squeaky little voice. She was so small, so fragile, it just kinda made me want to look out for her, you know?
“Nah, I wouldn’t know your aspirin from a cough drop if you didn’t point it out ‘fore.” Come to think of it, a lot of what I knew came from her. Who do you think knew how boiling water made it cleaner to drink? Not me, that’s for sure. Not the best for thinking, I just sort of… do. I felt a warm hand on my wrist.
“Come on, you’re smart enough. I’m sure you could’ve figured it out on your… What’s that on your shoulder?” She tried to pull me down, give her a better look, but she didn’t have the strength. I made it easy on her by leaning over further. My arm twitched, a sharp sting going out over it, then nothing. Her hand came back with a tiny needle, hooked up to a torn piece of wire.
“Hold up, ain’t that the tip of a stunner?” So that’s what the stinging was. “Huh, didn’t think I had it in me, taking a hit like that and still going…”
“You shouldn’t have.” Her eyes narrowed, focused on the needle. “A stun gun puts off enough electricity to force the muscles to seize. Even half a charge would make escape much harder, but you didn’t even register that you were hit from the sound of it. If I had to guess, I would say the one you were hit with was almost out of power, cutting off its effects.”
“Uh…” My brain was spinning, most of her explanation going right over my head. The only parts I caught were ‘I should have dropped’ and ‘it was out of juice.’ “Well, guess I got lucky then.”
“Guess nothing!” She sprung up from under the covers, wrapping both arms around me. She couldn’t even get them to reach each other around me. I hugged her back, trying to support her frame so she didn’t pull something again. “If it had been another officer, any other officer, you would be… Then I’d…”
I pulled her closer when her voice started to shake. I didn’t know jack about science or tech or any of that book stuff, but emotion was easy as pie.
“Come on, I’ve gotten out of worse jams, you know it. Here, look at me.” She pulled back, something deep in my aching when I saw the tears dripping down her cheeks. I put a hand on each shoulder, holding her in place. “I promised I’d look out for ya, didn’t I?”
“Yeah… And I’m grateful, but you put yourself in danger doing it. I mean, how many thefts are there on your record by now?” I almost made the mistake of trying to think of the number, but between all the pharmacies, grocery stores, hardware shops, and whatever else I’d hit over the years, I kinda lost track.
“Share, there’re guys who build empires around taking stuff behind the cops’ backs. They got bigger worries than me to throw troops at.”
“But, what if one day, they did catch you? You’re strong, but prison? You couldn’t get out. And then you would have to tell them about me, and they’d take me away. Bill, you’re the only friend I have, the only one who really cares. If I lost you, I would… I…” I don’t know how she was gonna finish, but I knew no one wanted to hear it. I pulled her back in.
“I said it before, and I’ll say it now. I promise I’ll look after you. I don’t care what comes at us, you’re stuck with me till the end, got it?” Finally, I heard her laugh. It was sweet, like ear sugar.
“Till the end… That’s so corny!” She had a point there. Coming from her, I couldn’t help but laugh, too. “Thanks, Billy, I needed that.” We sat there for a while, me slowly rubbing her muscles, helping get some of that funk out of her system.
“So, think you can get some shut eye now?”
“Actually, I’m wide awake now. Um, sorry if you needed to sleep, I can keep myself occupied for a few…”
“Nah, I’m good.” I pounded my chest, showing off how sturdy I was. “So what if I don’t get sleep? I’ve got plenty left in the tank!” I got to my feet, offering her a hand up. “How about we take a little walk? Gotta keep your legs nice and stretched, or it’ll just get worse.” She smiled, taking my hand. She was light enough, a tug enough to get her up. She wobbled a bit, but I was there to help.
“Yeah, that sounds…” The words stopped flowing, her ears perking up.
“Share, what’s…?” Then I heard it. Out in the distance, maybe half a mile off. Piercing, loud, a definite high and low. I pulled one of the boards in the wall off to the side, and, through the trees, I saw flashing red and blue.
“Oh crap…”
“Bill, come out with your hands up! We can help you get out of this easier, but only if you cooperate.” They weren’t in cruisers, changing out for police outfitted cycles. They were still a ways off, but that wouldn’t last long. They’d be in the hut as soon as they found it.
“Billy, what do we…?” I got down to one knee, stretching my head up to make the space on my shoulders bigger.
“I think I can get us out, but you have to hold on real tight. Think you can do that?” I looked back, her scared expression sparking something angry in me. If it was just me on the line, I would’ve gone out there and raised some Hell, but I was looking out for two. She pulled herself up on me, wrapping her arms soft around my throat. Her legs gripped my gut just the same.
I plucked my gloves off the floor as I rose, slipping them back on. If it did get down to a fight, nothing hurt like hard leather across the face. Her pills were down there, too, so I hurriedly slapped the cap back on and pocketed them. I started with a slow jog, hoping she got used to the ride before long. I crashed through the door, knocking it off its top hinge, leaving it dangling weirdly from the bottom. My board slid under foot, my speed carrying it along for a long while before I had to start pumping.
“Whatever you do, don’t let go!” I turned tail and thrust, back to the sound of their bike working through the woods. If we were lucky, they would stop to check our hut, giving us more time to book it. I took a good look at the mountain, getting an idea.
“Those things can’t do steep climbs, can they?”
“Uh, no, but neither can humans on feet!” It didn’t take long, the rocky wall coming up in front. I kicked the board up, grabbing it under arm again, and latched to the cliff. There were holds the whole way up, and I had enough muscle to take advantage, scurrying up like some sort of lizard.
“Let’s see them follow us now!” I felt good. No, better than good, freaking amazing! My body was like a machine, hurling me up that wall like it was nothing. I could’ve kept going that way all the way to the top…
“Bill, I’m slipping!” Her voice was strangled, weak, and now that I thought about it, her grip wasn’t as tight as before. She just couldn’t hold the juice for any more. I took my chance with one more bound, up to the top of the chunk we were on. It wasn’t the mountain top, but it would have to do. One hand jammed its way into the rock, almost poking holes through it, while the other held Share’s hands in place.
It was a bit of a struggle, but I managed to get the two of us pulled up on flat ground. I hunched over forward, giving her more of a place to lay. Looking to the sides, I realized we were on some sort of path. On the right, there was a cave mouth. I thought about hiding there, but chose not to. It was lower down the mountain, and there was no way I’d give up the advantage I just dragged our asses up there for.
The left looked way better to me, further up. If we could get up to the top, there was a chance they’d go right by us. Share’s heavy breathing driving me on, I hopped back on board, swerving out of the way of the bigger rocks to keep things as smooth as possible. One more jolt could’ve set her off, and no one wanted that.
Eventually, the road started to get more thin. We were almost out of space when we ran into something I wasn’t expecting. Right near the top of the mountain, there was another cave. It couldn’t’ve been that big, but it was perfect. Out of the way, blocked off whoever was looking up, and the path to get there was even worse for bikes, thin and rough. I was having it tough trying to skate there, so I didn’t see any way a bike could make it. I made my sharp right, sending us in without a second wasted.
“Look out!” That was my first sign, but I was too slow and thick to get it in time. My second was the board flinging forward, flipping in the air beside me as its front end rammed straight into a thick vine. Where there should have been a floor, somewhere to land on and lick the wounds, there was nothing. As my motion wore out, it felt like the Earth opened up just to take a bite of me. Down there, I could only see dark. “Billy!”
A fire lit in my ribs. I lashed out, jamming a hand into the nearest wall. The rock split, giving me a hold. My other hand rubbed along, trying to find another. The pressure around my neck loosened, making it easier to breath.
“I’m slipping!” My eyes shot open, and my free hand shot back, barely catching Share by the wrist. I tried pulling her back up, but that arm didn’t have the strength. The long night was catching up. My hold on the wall strained me more than anything, but still I held. I didn’t have a choice.
“Share, you’re gonna have to climb up me! You can reach the top from my shoulders.”
“I can’t leave you behind!”
“And I won’t watch you die because of me being a dumbass!” Her breath caught. I could hear the sniffles starting up. “I’ll hold on as long as I can. Just get up there and get the cops, tell them I’m stuck here. They’ve gotta have a rope or something.”
She didn’t say anything else. Her weight shifted, a hand wrapping further up on my arm. She pulled with everything she had, but it wasn’t much. I heard her pained grunts, soft frame barely holding together. I hauled that half of me up, doing everything I could to make her climb easier. She was almost there, just a few inches from being able to get on top…
A crack. The stone I clung to crumbled, and my body started to drop. I tried forcing my hand into another hold, but the wall was too hard.
A scream in my ear. I flipped around, back to the ground, and wrapped myself around her. It was all I could do. I’d probably die from a drop this tall, but if I could soften it up just enough for her, I’d be fine with it. I closed my eyes, tensing up the muscles all across my body, hoping that, if this world was gonna try to eat me, I’d be one Hell of a blockage.