(Ace Katsuro)
I watched them that night. It wasn’t like me to sleep without a safe place to stay. Safe as in alone. Where my hideout was. Why did she ruin everything? My stomach felt quite numb. Must’ve been from that punch she served me. I hugged my knees and watched the stars.
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That morning, we met up once again.
“I’m letting you know I don’t have an exact plan yet to get rid of those borders,” I told them. “I never did anything so risky, though I always dreamed of having them taken down without them murdering me. But I do feel like resources are very much needed.”
“Resources?” Vera asked. “Like recruits?”
“Recruits, weapons, disguises, anything to protect us.”
“We should split up for that, right?” Anita asked with a pumped up tone.
“Seems better that way.”
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We departed from there. I can’t believe this is happening. I was alone for so long. Hiding. Running away. But now all of the sudden I was attacked twice, threatened and made a deal to save myself with people who were originally against me? It kind of felt like a book with the middle plot ripped out. It didn’t make any sense. But at least I wasn’t captured. They can’t get me anyways. I destroyed their phones. I found myself walking out of the forest. I took a corner turn and I witnessed the busy streets again. Diamond street had the most goods. If I could just steal some stuff, I could use that to my advantage. I stayed in the shade to avoid attention until I stopped by an alleyway. Alleyways were incredibly useful for hiding and escapes. However, some of them have dead ends, like the one I stopped at. There was a large silver coated trash bin at the end of the wall. There better be good stuff in there. I approached it and dug through the mess. Tossing things out one after another. Empty disposable cups, broken food trays, glass, tissues. I sighed. None of these were helpful. That’s when I heard a gasp from behind. I turned. It was an adult man with a snapback and a bicycle standing there, mouth hanging open while pointing at me. “It’s you, it’s you!”
He pulled out his phone.
Shit. I carried the trash bin by its side, swung my arms and let it go. It was sent flying and it clocked the man in the forehead. He fell face forward as the trash bin rolled aside. I hurried out of there before anyone could witness what just happened. I dashed back to the forest, panting. That was close. I felt a strong wave of disappointment. Dammit, I couldn’t find anything. If only I still had my previous disguises. But those were gone along with the hideout. God, she ruined everything for me. I let out a sigh to calm myself down. It’s fine. I’ll just look elsewhere. I spotted Vera walking in my direction. “You’re back. “Did you find anything?”
I gave him a look. “No. I nearly got caught while searching in the alleyways.”
He gasped. “This place is so dangerous. I feel like this forest is the safest spot,” Then he tilted his head to the right. “Do you know why the council is targeting you?”
How could I not? I didn’t bother to say anything. I didn’t need the reminder. “Don’t ask me dumb questions.”
Anita rushed toward us with a huge smile on her face. “Guys, I found it! We are in luck!”
“What do you mean?” Vera asked.
“I found a recruit!” She cheered.
“A recruit? Someone who can help us?”
“You got it,” She replied. “It was hard to convince them at first, but once we realized we were after the same goal, we decided to team up together!”
I rolled my eyes. “Okay, who is it?”
Anita turned away from us, facing a thick tree. “You can come now!”
They walked from behind the tree. My eyes widened in anger and shock. The girl who handcuffed me previously.
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