"Stop where you are! Thief! Thief!"
Jack swerved around the street corner, a tight grip on his sack while hugging it to the inside of his jacket. Police sirens blared in his ears, the car's headlights pursuing a distance away. The roads were filled with street cars honking their horns at him in attempt to distract him from his goal, but they would have to so much more to stop him. If anything, it only made him persist more. He knew he would never lose the popo if he just kept running in the streets, so he turned the sharp corner and he darted into the city's alleyways.
The downpour of rain made it more difficult to see where he was going, with the water getting in his eyes and his hair now plastered to his face. The wind blew from all directions, chilling him to the bone. In attempt to hide himself, he tugged the jacket's hood over his already soaked head. He used his free hand to shield his face, trying to avoid the flashlight's glare and making sure not to be seen.
Man, he had really fucked up this time.
The panic that clouded Jack's head was the only thing that fueled his legs from stopping. He kept his eyes on the street in front of him, not daring to look behind and see the mess that he created. He knew that he had created possibly the biggest uproar the city has ever had to deal with in a long time. The police screamed at him from behind, their dogs barking madly as they followed his trail.
He cut another corner, unexpectedly crashing into a set of garbage cans and knocking them over. Jack stumbled over and fell into a sea of bags, making a loudest sound that anyone could ever of the bags ripped under his feet, releasing some of the most awful stenches. Swearing under his breath, he dragged himself out of the mess and took off again, nearly tripping over garbage bags that were now scattered about. He tried his best not to breath through his nose, now smelling like a rotting corpse. Despite all that, however, Jack was silently grateful that no one was there to witness that.
Skidding across the slick pavement from the rain, he detoured into a narrow alleyway. a concrete hard surface greeted him in the face, and found himself in a dead end. He was hoping there'd be a wired fence he could at least climb, but of course he was barricaded by solid brick walls.
"Great." he growled. "Just my luck."
The alarming snarl of a dog made Jack jolt around, greeted by fangs snapping wildly at him. He toppled backwards from surprise, the dog taking the opportunity and leaping up on top of him and trying to tear up his face. He tried frantically to kick the dog off, but it dodged his blow and bit furiously into Jack's arm instead. It took all of his will not to cry out in pain, knowing it would alert the cops of his location. Instead, he bit his lip and used his free arm to dig in his pocket for a blade.
Jack frantically hurried, his vision already beginning to grow weary from the loss of blood. Once finding it, he curtly nicked the dog's nose enough for it to yelp out in pain and scamper off.
Fear-stricken and now injured, he anxiously glanced around for any other possible escapes. Luckily, he caught a glimpse of a gap behind one of the corner shops, noticing a small fence tucked squarely between the two buildings and leading out of the city. Relief flooded him, thanking whatever God that was being unreasonably good to him. Without question, he took a running start and leaped over it.
Landing on the ground with a small thud, he scraped through the thin space between the two walls. Gunshots rang out towards his direction, motivating Jack to push himself to run even faster. His legs were numb at this point, both from the freezing rain and the running that he had endured. The only thing that kept him going was the notion that if he ever stopped, he would be a goner. It wasn't until the sound of bullets and sirens faded is when he stopped worrying.
Once out of the city, he darted into an entrance of a park, passing by a basketball court and play set. He knew he was close to a residential area, finding himself sprinting on trimmed grass rather than paved cement. He quickly turned into a small neighborhood, gazing at the small houses that sat quietly in the night. He paused, heading over into a house's shrubbery and crouching to where he wouldn't be seen.
The low buzz of cicadas and crickets was a pleasant change for Jack, the stillness of the night soothing his nerves. He listened attentively, waiting for the sound of dogs or policemen yelling frantically to show up any second. He then noticed far off there was the glare of flashing red and blue lights; a cop car passing by behind the houses. Finally he heard the loud sirens go by, slowly dying away and replaced by crickets once again.
The tension in Jack's back gradually disappeared, his entire body relaxing. He felt at peace for once, all except his arm, but he would take care of that later. He backed himself into a fence post, sliding down on it and enjoying the cool, damp air against his skin. He smirked to himself, hugging the wool sack in his jacket.
"Jackson Overland does it again." he murmured in a hoarse voice, tilting his head up at the night sky and enjoying his small victory until the cicadas lulled him to a sound sleep.
"And I expect those documents to be filled out and filed by tomorrow, Toothiana. I'm trusting you with this since I know you are both a stead fast and hard worker, so don't disappoint me." Mr. Crookshaw handed Tooth the folder, a small but noticeable smile on his face. Tooth took it in her hands, hugging it to her chest with an eager look to her. She was nearly bouncing out of her shoes, the excitement coursing through her body.
"Thank you sir, I'll get started straight away." she squeaked, unable to hide the grin that grew on her face. She tucked the folder into her book-bag, and hurriedly headed to go get her jacket and keys.
"I'd hope for you to keep up the good work here Toothiana, it's very rare for workers to be as ecstatic as you to take on jobs like this." he commented lightly, raising a suggestive brow at her. "Any reason for that?"
She tugged her arm through one of the cardigan's sleeves, giving him a sheepish smile. "I enjoy looking through criminal's file work just fine, Mr. Crookshaw, but I would enjoy working on the stories even more. Writing is one of my strongest points, and it would be so great to tell the world of my findings. I'm just hoping to prove that I can take on the project." she had a determined tone to her, having a restless glow to her eyes.
Mr. Crookshaw let out a small chuckle, his corner of his eyes crinkling from grinning so wide . "You sure do speak like a writer, Fairie. Young people usually don't have as much gusto as I see in you." he paused for a second, seeming to be engrossed in thought. "Tell you what, I'll give you a shot at it."
Toothiana stopped, mouth nearly dropping open. The keys nearly slipped out her hands, seeming to lose nearly all sense of her body.
"You...you will?" she murmured, her lips barely moving.
He nodded reassuringly, "Find me a story that will make it to the headlines, and the job is yours." folding his hands neatly, the tone of his voice grew more solemn. "I'm giving you this opportunity because you are one of my few employees who I know will take a it seriously, so I expect you to do exactly that. I want something that will have the press selling like hotcakes. Are we clear?"
Tooth still was trying to grasp what she was just told, a beaming smile gradually growing on her face. She took a few larger breathes, laughing almost at her self at the sudden luck that had struck her.
"Y-Yes! Thank you Mr. Crookshaw, you won't regret it!" she bounded over to his desk, wrapping her petite arms around his large build. He seemed to be taken by surprise, but soon accepted the hug and returned the embrace.
Tooth scampered over to get her hat, and then gave him one last look of gratitude. Mr. Crookshaw nodded, silently acknowledging the look of thanks. Tooth then headed out the door, a new light seeming to glow in her eyes.
Tooth wasn't the biggest fan of walking home as late as it was, with the only thing to guide her being the streetlights and the flashing signs of local markets. The stillness of the air and unusual quietness besides passing cars was something she didn't like. She felt vulnerable to the dark, thinking that anything could happen if she wasn't careful.
She turned the corner where her neighborhood resided, walking down the rows and rows of small houses. Most had their lights turned off already, notifying her it was later than she had expected. She was glad that she didn't have to walk home any farther than most people her age. It was a blessing that she lived so close to the office, especially in a cozy community like this.
Part of her was concerned, knowing she had more work than ever before. Tooth was used to being given more work than other by her boss, and she almost always completed it on time. She didn't really have any problem with staying up, but there was also the possibility of falling asleep at work if she stayed up too late. Perhaps she would take a day off, and fax the papers over to Mr. Crookshaw.
Finally reaching her house, she pulled out the keys unlock the door and get inside. Tooth unlocked the door and was about to step in, but a shadow in the corner of her eye caught her attention. She was about to pass it off as the trickery of the night, but something tugged at her telling her that it something more. She looked closer, confirming that there was, for sure, something in her yard.
Tooth was hesitant to approach it, but she knew she couldn't ignore the dark figure. If she allowed it to stay where it was, she knew she would be allowing herself to some sort of threat. Perhaps it was a stray dog lying down, or just a garbage bag stuck on a branch, but she couldn't be too sure. Her heart rate quickened, fearing for the worst of possibilities. She quickly dialed the police into her phone, ready to press CALL at any moment.
"Now or never." she sighed. She slowly tip-toed to the shadow, making sure to be absolutely silent in order not to disturb it. He free hand was clenched and raised, ready to fend off any sort of attack. Finally, her eyes adjusting to the dark, she saw what looked like a boy resting against the fencing.
He looked as though he was unconscious, or at least sleeping. His head was dripping wet from the what she guess was the earlier rain, and he smelled terribly of garbage and body odor. Dirt was smeared across his pale face, cuts and bruising down his jaw and neck.
"Some sort of runaway..?" She crouched down to where he was and inspected him, seeing if there was anything unusual. Brushing off his hood, the moon shined down on his snowy white hair, glittering from the light.
She lifted his jacket slowly, and jerked her hand back to find it soaked in blood. It clung firmly to his clothes, mixed in with mud and some trash. She tried brushing off some of the dirt on him, but it only made him fuss in his sleep.
The boy stirred, but luckily just shifted himself and dozed back to dreamland. When altering his position, Tooth caught sight of his exposed arm, the jacket's material being torn apart and revealing skin.
"He's been hurt…," she murmured, "A stabbing, maybe?" she grazed her fingers over the coat, and felt something, a bulge, awkwardly jutting out of him. Tooth raised the jacket more to get a closer look at the injury, but something tumbled out of the it before she could.
"A sack?"