(Mira Oka)
“Hey…”
…
“Are you okay?”
I opened my eyes. Ace was above me, his dark eyebrows creasing in what I assumed was concern.
I suddenly came to. “Ah, yes,” I sat up. “You?”
“Yeah, but look at this.” He jerked his thumb behind his shoulder. The train was in pieces. It was crashed into a school board labelled: Cherrywood School Playground
“This isn’t good,” I said. “The train scratched part of the board. They’re going to know we’re here.”
“We’d be found out easily in a place like this.” Ace agreed.
I studied the area. The playground was empty. “There’s no one outside here.. The kids must be in their classes. Let’s make the most of it and leave.”
We fled from the place, following a trail away from the school.
“Do you have any hideouts here?” He asked.
I shook my head. “Unfortunately not. I haven’t been to this part of the city before.”
“It’s bigger than I thought.”
“But it’s isolated,” I paused, slowing my pace. “And it’s all my fault.”
“What?” He slowed down.
“Because of my ability, this city had to have borders. That’s why they’re desperate to kill me. But I want to stop it for everyone and live my life.” I suddenly felt hot. I wasn’t sure if it was shame or fear that I told him something like that. But then again, I told him I wanted to make amends, he should know things like this.
He was quiet. But then he said, “Even if they stop you, they’d have to stop me too.”
I felt a wave of relief. Not that he was also being chased, but that he understood. “I guess we’re on the same boat then, right?”
He crossed his arms. “This is really risky though. If any of them find us, it would be like killing two birds with one stone.”
“I won’t let them get us,” I said firmly. “And, we’ll find Anita and Vera.”
He raised an eyebrow. “How? We have no communication.”
“Maybe we could use those service telephones and hopefully they’ll pick up.” I suggested.
“Hopefully?” He asked, incredulously. “That’s basically turning ourselves in.”
I smirked. “Not if we’re in disguise.”
He didn’t seem to follow. “Yeah, but the mall isn’t here.”
“Then we’ll go there,” I told him. “We can’t use our powers though. We don’t want to cause a scene.”
He shrugged. “Then we’re stuck here. The train’s broken.”
I scanned the road. There were very few shops but loads of grass sprouting from the ground. “There’s not many people here. I guess they’re too busy.” I looked out some more before I called out, “Aha! A taxi!” I pointed at it. It was parked next to a convenience store.
“Why would there be an empty taxi in the middle of nowhere?” Ace asked.
“The driver must be occupied with something else,” I replied, before motioning to him to follow me. “Let’s hurry.”
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I sat in the driver seat while Ace sat next to me. I stifled a laugh. “Idiot. They left their keys.”
I turned it and the taxi started to rumble.
“Hey! That’s my taxi! ” A voice yelled. Ace peeked his head out the window.
“AHHHH! It’s the runaway! I’ll call the police!”
I turned the wheel and the car turned to drive away.
Ace, still looking out the window, called out, “There are several police cars coming!”
I pushed the pedal down and the car sped. Ace looked away from the window and gripped onto his seat.
“They never give up, huh?” I asked, before pushing the pedal harder and turning the wheel. The car drifted swiftly and Ace nearly fell off his seat. Ace gave a final look out the window again. “We’re losing them. You can slow down now.”
My grip tightened on the wheel and a mischievous grin creeped up on my lips. “Not until I’m sure.” I gave the pedal a final push as the car sped on the road.
I laughed. “Funny thing is, I don’t know how to drive.”
Ace nodded, frantic. “Yeah, I think you passed three red lights already.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Is that so?”
I stopped the car abruptly and Ace’s back slammed against the seat. I unbuckled and left the car. “To be honest that was kind of fun.”
“For you.” He mumbled.
There was a piece of wood blocking an alleyway. My eyes lit up. “I know this place. Follow me.”
Ace was behind me as I moved the wood aside, revealing an alleyway. We went inside and I placed the piece of wood back. The sky was dark, and there were town houses with fences in front of them.
“This is a little area where I hang around sometimes,” I explained. “Not many people come out, and when they do, they usually mind their own business. So it’s safe. I haven’t been here in a while. I almost forgot about this,” I motioned my hand to him again. “Come here.”
We walked between a space where the townhouses split. There was a long road. I pointed to a tall building afar. “That’s the mall! We’re near!” I turned to Ace. “We’ll be back in the public. We’ll need disguises to get through there. And if we’re lucky, we might run into Vera and Anita.”
“Seems unlikely,” He replied. “Their train went completely off track.”
“This is tough though,” I started. “How do we get to the mall without getting caught?”
He crossed his arms. “Weren’t you the one who provided lots of ways to get there?”
“Well, most of those directions are now impossible to get through because they were near the forest and our train is gone. However, there are two other ways, but they’re unpleasant.”
He sighed. “What is the first option?”
“Clubs,” I replied. “People and creatures get heavily drunk there. Even if you walk by casually, they probably won’t remember seeing you.”
“You went through a club?” He asked, eyes wide.
“Well-it’s not like I drink anything in there. It’s just used as a passageway now.”
He cringed. “Option B?”
“The sewers,” I answered. “Smells bad but you won’t get spotted.”
“Option B,” He said without missing a beat. “You’re not making me go through with those guys.”
I smiled. “Then let’s find the closest one.”
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