Hey guys! Looks like I didn't vanish for a month, after all.
Anyway, I just thought I'd throw this up, since focusing on one story is kinda screwing up my brain. Let me know what you think!
Prologue: The First Clue
I ran down the familiar alley, finally free from the confines of the fortress. I had to stay away from them no matter what. They were not going to have a chance to corner me again. I couldn't let it happen. I pumped my legs harder, refusing to slow down. My breathing came short and fast, and I was starting to feel lightheaded.
But I didn't stop.
I could hear voices behind me, and I knew I was running out of time. The darkness of the night wouldn't work as an advantage to me here – those freaks could see in the dark as well as it was daytime. Fighting them off wasn't an option, either, since they had inhuman stamina and strength (and the darkness didn't help either). They would try and tire me out before finishing me, or capture me and torture me.
But I had one advantage they didn't – I knew the terrain. I couldn't see where I was going, but I still knew, since I had memorized the area down to the last rock. I knew where I was going, while my pursuers were only following wherever I went.
So all I had to do was lose them, and they wouldn't be able to find me. I ducked into a corner that I knew had the sewage system in the middle. I paused for just a moment so I could lift up the huge stone cover, grabbed the nearest convenient object (a broken radio) and threw it down the hole as hard as I could, which made an audible splash.
"I heard something over there!" one of the voices called out.
I heard rapid footsteps pounding on the asphalt, approaching my location ever so quickly. I started running again, my footsteps being drowned out by the sound of the splash, and picked up speed until I had enough momentum to vault over the far wall. I landed smoothly on the other side, sat on the rough gravel with my back to the wall, and – though my lungs felt like they were about to burst – held my breath so I wouldn't give away my position.
Please take the bait, I prayed. Please take the bait.
The approaching steps grew louder until they were practically feet away from my place behind the wall. I kept holding my breath, trying not to panic as the footsteps slowed to a stop.
"That intruder isn't here," one of the voices said. It sounded like a boy, maybe nineteen or twenty. He sounded off-hand, as if he didn't really care if he found me or not.
"Down the sewer, maybe?" another suggested. This one – also a boy – sounded somewhat younger. "There's nowhere else to escape to around here. Maybe that was the splash."
"Couldn't hurt to check," a third decided. This one sounded the oldest – mid- to late twenties – and the same one who had noticed the splash. "I'll drop down and have a look. You two stay out here in case the infiltrator shows up again. The Boss is going to skin us alive if we don't bring this little uninvited guest the comeuppance he has prepared." I couldn't tell if he'd said that just for comparison's sake or if he'd actually meant it.
"Roger," the first two voices said in unison.
There was a whoosh and a splash – one of them had dropped down the sewer. I'd hoped that all three would jump in, but I should've guessed I wouldn't be that lucky.
There was a moment of silence on the other side. My heart thumped harder, fearing that maybe they'd heard me. Then the older one spoke up.
"Geez, why do we have to be chasing after this person?" he muttered in annoyance. "It's not like they took anything. The old man is wound up too tight."
"He has every reason to be," the younger one reminded him. "He doesn't want anyone stealing our secrets, right? He doesn't want him to be found, because he's got some sort of plan involving him."
My heart skipped a beat – him. Could it really be who I thought it was? What sort of plan were they talking about?
"I know that," the first one said. "Just wish he'd actually tell us what it is, because if it's not a good reason…I want him thrown out. Or even better – I want him discharged. He isn't like us. He's an Outsider."
If I wasn't holding my breath already, I would've gasped in shock at those words. An Outsider…I was sure now – it was him. But wait, some of them didn't even want him there? Why did they take him in the first place? And what did discharged mean? Judging from the way that boy had said it, I guessed that it probably wasn't a good thing.
"Yeah, but he's special," the second argued. "He's the last pure Outsider ever – the only survivor of that weird genocide. The Boss wouldn't like it if –"
"I don't give a flying fuck about what he would like," the first snapped. "I want him out. Of all the places to stick him in, he just had to put him..." He trailed off, apparently too disgusted to speak further.
"What are you talking about?"
The first one scoffed. "Screw it. It's none of your business."
"But...oh man, the Boss is going to have your head for saying that," the younger one noted nervously. "We're not allowed to speak against him, or –"
"Do I look like I care? I only decided to be Branded because I have my own agenda. I don't know or care about why anyone else bothered to join with that loon."
The silence seemed extra loud on the other side of the wall. My heart was pounding so hard I was afraid they would hear it and expose my location, but they did nothing.
The younger voice broke the silence with a quiet and flat, "We didn't have a choice."
The silence then roared even louder in my ears, so much that I thought it would pop. But suddenly the silence was broken again by clanging metal – the third one was coming back up.
My skin suddenly felt cold and clammy. Oh, no. He must've realized that I hadn't actually escaped through the sewage system. Now he'd be scouring this immediate area for me, and I wouldn't be able to get away from them. Not while I was winded like this.
"Did you find anything?" the first asked, completely disregarding his colleague's previous words.
"Nope. Just this broken radio." I heard a heavy object shatter against the asphalt, and I had to summon all my willpower in order not to flinch at the noise. "Our little intruder gave us the slip. You guys didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, either?" Brief silence. Then: "Great. The old man won't get out of my hair after this. For an ordinary human, whoever it was sure is slippery." He sounded irritated.
"No kidding." The youngest sounded somewhat upset – probably from what his companion had implied about their group. "It's not like we're not human, though."
"We're just not the ordinary kind," the oldest agreed. "Being Branded has its ups and downs, I guess. Let's head back for now. I don't think that we'll have any more trouble with intrusions next time around. Plus I just really want to crash."
"Geez, you can't get anywhere without sleep," the first grumbled.
Their footsteps began receding, and once I was sure they were far enough away that they couldn't hear me and after what seemed like an eternity, I let out the breath I'd been holding in a loud gasp and tried to get oxygen back into my system. I relaxed every one of my muscles and slumped against the wall. That was way too close for comfort. I was safe for now.
Once the panic left me, I felt a surge of hope. Now I knew that I'd found the right place. He was there, in that huge fortress somewhere. It's been so long since I'd seen him – I had no idea how much time had passed, but it felt like it had been close to a decade.
He was so close…
I reached into my pocket and pulled out a worn bracelet made with colorful plastic beads. It was too small for me to wear, and the beads were irregularly arranged. But there was a part of the accessory that was completely perfect – the name spelled out in white letter beads that I could just barely read in the waning moonlight.
Naminé.
I clasped the tiny bracelet tightly in my hand and held it against my chest.
"Don't worry, Roxas," I whispered. "I'll get you back, no matter what."
Welp, hope you liked that. First chapter won't come for a while; just warning you right now. Okay, on another note. This story won't have author's notes at the beginning or end of a chapter unless I feel like it's necessary. I know; it's a first for me, huh? Ah well.
Thanks for reading.
