Page 8

What the hell was that obnoxious sound? I rubbed my eyes and winced at the sharp pain. Oh yeah, my face was bashed in by a psychotic sex fiend. Unconsciously, my nails scratched my arms, trying to calm the itch that was picking at my skin. The sound burrowed into my ears again. With a loud groan, I sat up to see a large black bird on a perch.

It cawed at me. What the hell was a raven doing in my room? In a daze, I took in my surroundings, and my heartbeat sped up. The room wasn't mine, and this, sure as hell, wasn't my bed. Frantically, I tossed the sheets away and jumped to my feet, running to the door in a near-blind panic. Just before I gripped the doorknob, it swung open, almost hitting me in the face. And there was Vic, in only a pair of shorts, holding a plate. I jumped back.

Vic set the plate down and approached me like I was a wild animal. As his hand moved toward me, I screamed, "Don't fucking touch me! Get away from me! Don't touch me!"

He froze and held his hands in the air, slowly backing away. "You're okay, Isaac."

"Where the fuck am I? Did you kidnap me? Are you fucking stalking me?"

He moved closer, and I pushed my back up against the wall as hard as I could. When I realized I was trapped, I slid down to the ground, drawing my legs as close to my body as possible. When he took another step, I screamed, "Stay the fuck away from me! Don't fucking touch me!" My heart was racing, and I couldn't catch my breath. I felt like I was drowning, and my heart felt like it was about to explode. Dots danced across my vision, and my head got fuzzy.

Vic dropped to his knees. When he reached for me, I batted him away, but he persisted. I thrust my foot out, connecting with his gut. He fell onto his ass, grunting, "Fuck!"

"Don't fucking touch me! Don't come near me! Just stay away!"

"Alright," he murmured. Keeping his hands up, he slowly backed away until he reached the door. "I won't touch you. I won't come near you, but you need to calm down."

My body shook intensely. All I wanted to do was hide. I needed to escape; I had to get away. Curling up, I burrowed my face into my arms and began to rock back and forth. I'm not here. This isn't happening to me. I'm okay. I'm not here. Eventually, my body stopped shaking, and I was able to lift my head. The bird squawked as my eyes wandered around the room. The place was vastly different from my apartment. The walls were painted a sea green, a messy bed sat against the wall under a window, and clothes were strewn all over the floor. The top drawer of the dresser was partially open, and the nightstand was littered with empty drink cans. Apparently, Vic wasn't much of a housekeeper.

"Are you calm now?"

My attention snapped to him. "What am I doing here?"

He sighed, "You passed out outside of Hell's Gate. I figured it was better to take you here than to call the authorities. I wasn't sure what your sponsor would have done had he gotten a call from the tox-tank."

Slowly, the tension in my body released. I studied his face; there was concern in his hazel eyes, and that made me smile slightly. "I'm sorry. I—"

"You woke up in a strange place. I get it." He walked over to me and held out his hand. Instinctively, I winced and pulled away, making him sigh again. "I'm not going to hurt you, Isaac."

I stared at him before slowly forcing myself to my feet. "I don't like being touched." My arms wrapped defensively around myself.

"Are you cold?"

Did I lie and say I was cold? Or did I just tell him the truth? I wouldn't mind having him as a friend. Friends, for me, were in very short supply. However, I had a feeling that my little freak out would most likely make him not want to talk to me ever again. "It's an anxiety thing. I don't like people touching me without permission. I guess this is my subconscious way of telling people to leave me alone. It works for the most part; typically, people take the hint."

Vic shot me a slight smile. "Well, I made you some food." He picked up the plate and held it out to me.

Keeping one arm wrapped around my chest, I reached for it with hesitation. Just as my fingers hit the ceramic, a loud chime rang through the room. My blood nearly froze, and I looked down at my shackles in panic; there was a tiny little bright orange dot blinking on the cuff. "Fuck!"

Vic stuck a finger in his ear, wincing at the sound. "What is that?"

"I have to go!" My breathing was gradually becoming heavy.

"What's going on?"

"I have to go now! Where are my shoes?"

He looked around the room for a beat before grabbing the black shoes from beside the bed. I quickly snatched them from his hand, barely managing to put them on my feet before rushing out of the apartment. Vic called after me, but I didn't stop racing through the hallway and down a flight of stairs. When I finally got onto the street, I stopped abruptly and looked around.

"Isaac, what the hell?"

My wide eyes locked onto Vic's. "Where are we?"

"Isaac, what's going on?"

"Where the fuck are we?! How far is the Sin District?!"

"Lowervill."

I swallowed hard. The shrieking sound from my shackles was getting louder by the second, or that could have been my imagination. Either way, I needed to get home. Lowervill was just outside of the Sin District. It was one of the lower-income places in the city with a few small businesses, but it was mostly filled with crappy apartments stacked fifty stories high.

"What's going on?"

I held up my shackles. "I need to get home now. My sponsor sent out an alert. Right now, it's warning me to come home. If I don't make it back by the time the light turns red, the siren will get louder, and it will alert the cops. They'll be looking for me."

Vic pointed to a main road. "Go down this street. Follow it six blocks, then take a left on High Street. Follow that for two more blocks, then take a right on Dubfarm... That will lead you to Hell's Gate. I don't know where you live, so that's the best I can do."

In the times before, people could just drive a car or call for a taxi. But that convenience was not accessible to anyone except for the very rich. Hell, it was illegal to even have a vehicle without a special permit, and a permit cost more than what an average person made in a year.

I was completely out of breath by the time I made it to Dubfarm. My heart was pounding, and there was a stitch in my side. My lungs were on fire, and for a moment, it felt like I was going to pass out. I only moved again when the shrieking of my shackles got louder.

Whimpering as the light changed from orange to red, I dashed down the street as fast as my sore legs could carry me. Eventually, I saw the skyscraper in the distance. I was nearly home free. As I crossed an intersection, an officer shouted for me to stop. I ignored the calls and continued to push forward.

He followed me, unrelenting in his pursuit. I knew I should stop, but I was so damned scared of being caught. What would Hobbs do to me if he had to bail me out of holding? When I was less than a block away from the building, I felt something stick into my lower back, and my body seized up from a jolt of electricity. I crumbled to the ground, convulsing, and a warmness spread between my legs as my bladder involuntarily released. There was nothing I could do but twitch.

"Hit the scum again," ordered one of the officers standing above me.

I felt another surge, and I clenched my teeth so hard I thought they would shatter. Eventually, the pain stopped, but my body still twitched.

An officer crouched down to examine my shackles. "Looks like we have a runaway, Stannis."

"Indeed, it does, Barron." Together, they dragged me to my feet.

After a long minute, I was able to speak again. "I live right there, fellas. I accidentally passed out, is all."

"Tell it to your sponsor," grumbled Stannis.

My knees gave out, and my body weight pulled me towards the ground. The officers let go, allowing me to crash hard onto the concrete.

A boot slammed into my side, knocking the wind from my already abused lungs. "Stand up, you worthless piece of trash!"

Slowly, I got back to my feet, fighting to catch my breath. I was doomed. I was going to get locked up, and more time would be added to my debt. At this rate, Hobbs was going to own me forever.