p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"strongA/N: Welcome to the prologue of Phoenix Rising! I really hope you like it, I've been working on this story for a while now. I'm always open to constructive criticism, and taking a minute out of your day to write something in the comments would mean the world to me./strong/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"strongEnjoy!/strong/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"strong~Jamie/strong/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"The Wixxa stood in front of the Seam with his head held high, masking the fear that coursed through his veins. They had failed to capture the Phoenix once more. It had been over a month with no success, and another half since the time they had arrived-that was more than fifty days on this stinking planet, and they still weren't any closer to getting off of it./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"It was a dangerous task. He had heard the legends, everyone had. The Phoenix was a being to be feared. She could tear down the universe with a single word if it was her will. The resolve of even the bravest warriors would crumble under her gaze. They were just lucky that she wasn't searching for them. It was out of the ordinary for the Phoenix to back away from disaster, to hide away in the shadows. But that was what they saw: the Phoenix shying away from danger, instead of jumping in headfirst. The Wixxa couldn't figure out what was worse./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"They weren't a cruel tribe, or even violent, for that matter. They had prided themselves on that fact, when the rest of their world turned into bloodthirsty monsters. But perhaps now the time for peace has ended./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Perhaps Zadra would be the one that led his tribe out of the darkness and back into the light. Into life. He didn't know how long his tribe could even survive in their new terrain. Despite their low metabolism and advanced biology, it was impossible for them to obtain their needed nutrients through the food of the humans they so closely resembled. He was their leader, chosen to protect his tribe, and he wasn't about to go back on his oath. He would keep them safe, at any cost./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"The Seam glowed slightly, and Zadra instinctively shuffled back a few steps. The Speaker had told him what that light could do, and how dangerous it was. The Speaker was their ticket to freedom. He had promised the Wixxa the key to escaping from Earth, at one request. They must bring him the Phoenix./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Alive./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"strong. . . . ./strong/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"The streets of Seattle are rarely calm, but anyone that lives in a city can tell you that. On the sidewalk, both tourists and resident Seattleites wandered about, the heat of the summer sun beating down on them from under the sparse clouds. Children excitedly tugged on the hands of their parents, begging for a treat from the ice cream van parked nearby. Others gravitated towards the various employees that stood outside stores holding trays of samples./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Suddenly, two figures skidded around the corner, running as fast as they could up the street. The pair of teenage girls yelled for people to watch out, without slowing down to give them time to do so. With their free arms out in front of them to deflect any stray bags or limbs in their way, they booked it through the crowd./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"As was the new life of Alex and May./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Four-A!" Alex waved to the left wildly, pushing the strap of her backpack up onto her shoulder, "Four-A! Get to the four-A!" She called out, as a third figure turned the corner in pursuit. It was a man in a black suit, of a sturdy build and quite intimidating. Alex glanced back at the man who, despite not being able to bob and weave through the swarms of people like the two girls, was still gaining on them, emfast/em./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"May seemed to notice this as well, and decided to slow him down the first way she thought of. As she ran past the store-employees, she swung her arms into the trays, sending them up in the air and scattering the samples in the wind. Alex had a similar idea, knocking down displays and wheeling kiosks in the way./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"May, taking her partial Canadian heritage to heart, barked out a short 'sorry' with every toss, push, and shove. Alex had her cruiser-skateboard tucked under one arm, holding the other in front of her, trying to shove past the passersby like a football player. Not that it was very effective, but it was worth a shot./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"People screamed in surprise as a black van screeched to a stop next to the sidewalk, and others jumped out of the way. The side door slid open, and out poured not one, but two more men in identical black attire, and they followed behind Alex and May as well./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Without a single word to each other, both girls parted ways, in an attempt to split up the group into manageable chunks. The original pursuer was closest to Alex, and continued after her, while the other two chased after May./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Alex ran down the street, while May continued up it. They would still both head for the four-A building, through different routes. Alex ended up leading her follower in a full circle twice before taking a sharp turn in the other direction, before he turned the corner. She had turned into a slim alley, Thinking fast, she scrambled up the fire escape overhead, tossing her board up first to free her other arm./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Her chest heaved, but she suddenly cut off her gasp when the man walked into view. She froze completely, but he just glanced down the alley and found nothing. He didn't look up, though, and walked right past. She let out a relieved breath, laying back on the metal grate for a moment to calm down./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"It was Alex's idea to have code names for the buildings, as a safety precaution to keep their hunters one more step behind them. However, it was May's decision to name the buildings by their place on the map. Apparently, 'Flying Fish Mart' wasn't as inconspicuous as 'seven-G'./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Alex looked around, quickly getting her bearings. At this point, she knew the city like the back of her hand, and realized that she had just chosen the best possible fire escape to climb. It was the building right next to the one she was currently sitting on./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"The whole block was abandoned, and a few broke tourists would inspect its crumbling bricks and rustic rusty doors. Hopefully, nobody would see nor mind an unruly teenager climbing the structures. Alex made the four-story climb up the metal escape route, half expecting it to break with each step she took. It didn't however, and she was thankful she didn't have a fear of heights./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"After reaching the top, she kept herself ducked down as she bolted across the roof, just in case anyone was watching from below. The last thing she needed was the police after her. Praying that she didn't misjudge the distance, she took a running start and leaped the gap between the two buildings, tumbling after landing, partially on accident./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Alex tugged on the door to the roof, already unlocked and ajar. She left it open, in case she needed to make a quick exit later, before plunging into the near-pitch-black staircase, the only light coming from the windows on the floor below and the door above. She ran over to a window to see if May was anywhere close. She poked her head out the window into the alley in search of her, but yanked herself back in at what she saw./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"strong. . . . ./strong/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"My heart nearly stopped. May was still so focused on trying to get the door open to get into the building, by the time she heard the van screech to a halt, it was too late. She was trapped. I had to hold my position, if I had any chance of rescuing her. Couldn't very well do that if they had me too. I looked down on the scene from where I hid./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Wow, what a cliche way to abduct someone. In an alleyway, with a van. It was a miracle that there weren't even any homeless people nearby; no witnesses. It took every fiber of my being to stay where I was, ignoring both my fight and flight instincts. I could help much more from the third floor, so I stayed put./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""May! Run! Go, now!" I screamed, with as much strength as I had. My throat still burned, and I found myself contemplating what I would do for a cold bottle of water. I ducked back down before anyone could see me./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I saw her attempt to run past, but, all of a sudden, the van doors flew open, and a large man in a black suit stepped out, and in front of her passageway. She ran into him at full speed, knocking her backward with the force, not even flinching. I winced as her head hit the pavement with a sickening thud./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""No!" I choked out, holding back a cry of despair. At that moment, my mindset changed. They could call that their first mistake. They just took, and hurt, someone I cared about. I was done with staying away. Now, it just got personal, and they would regret it./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Before they could take her away, I acted. "Hey! Over here!" I yelled, waving my arms over my head to attract their attention. I didn't know what I was doing, it was almost like an instinct. However, it worked./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"The leader pointed an accusing finger up at me. "Get her," he commanded. "Now!" Immediately, his goons raced for the door. I didn't wait to see if it was unlocked./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"With a sudden burst of energy, I grabbed my board, sitting next to me, and tucked it under my arm, rushing to the fourth, and final, floor. They'd try to surround me from the bottom. They already tried that last time, I barely made it out. I had to dive through the stupid dog door, just to escape. After that, I was more careful about how long I stayed in a house I was raiding. Once again, something I never would have considered before./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I shoved past the already unlocked door, and onto the roof. Without a thought, I leaped from one rooftop to the other. Luckily for me, I wasn't scared of heights. However, I was very much scared of kidnappers in three-piece suits, so I did my best to avoid them./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I raced down the stairs, skipping four at a time. I burst through the entryway, silently thanking the vandals and their apparent need to remove the door. I could still hear the men shouting in the building, trying to see where I had gone./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I saw the black van speeding up the street, and without thinking, chased it. At the moment, I wasn't considering what I would do if they caught me. I just had to get my friend back. I had been too concerned with getting myself out of dodge that I had let them get away. They soon drove out of sight, leaving me with heart palpitations and a grudge./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I forced myself to turn back, to head home. I moved as fast as I could, mapping out what turns to take to confuse any followers. I didn't think there were any, but as I'd just seen, it never hurt to be careful./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Suddenly, I was blindsided by someone who seemingly came out of nowhere, practically flying at me. He knocked me off my board, and it rolled a few feet away, like a pet off its leash. At that moment, I felt a multitude of things, but the surprise and force knocked the wind out of me. As I struggled to breathe, I felt a painful ache in my chest. Ignoring it, I tried to stand, to no avail. Somehow, my legs ended up entangled with his, and his weight pinning me down didn't help either./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Anytime you'd want to move, thanks." I said with a helpful shove, eager to keep moving./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Upon realizing his position, he scrambled to his feet, allowing me to move. He held his hand out, offering to help me up. I hesitantly accepted it, simultaneously sizing him up as he helped me to my feet. He didn't seem that threatening, in a brown pinstripe suit and ratty white converse. His hair was sort of in a tousled disarray, probably intentional. With a lanky figure, he stood a good foot above me, looking about in his early thirties./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I remembered that I should probably be on my way, after being slowed down. I muttered an apology, and started off. I soon saw that he was following me, and wasn't going to leave anytime soon. I tried to shake him off, but there he was, trotting alongside me, his longer legs putting him at an advantage./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Are you gonna leave me alone? I'm a tad busy, if you don't mind." I said, trying to tell him to go away as politely as I could. he looked up thoughtfully, as if he really had to think about it./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Nope," he said, grinning as he popped the 'p'./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I sighed. I was really not in the mood for, well, emanything/em right now. The last thing I needed was a liability. The man looked more adapted to life in the office, judging from his attire. Suits weren't usually the best for running in, but he seemed to be getting the job done./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""You're just gonna follow me around? Got nothing better to do?" I asked, but he still didn't take the hint. He must have thought I was being sincere, or something./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Um... basically, yeah." he said, and I noticed his British accent, out of place in the United States. I brushed it off, though, with other things to worry about./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Whatever," I muttered. "Your funeral."/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I turned a corner, and there stood two of the men, brandishing an odd sort of gun, one that I had seen many times in their presence. I stopped, planting my foot on the ground so quickly I nearly stumbled forward, and yanked my new 'friend' back, before he waltzed into view, blowing our cover. I managed to grab his arm, but not soon enough. We had been seen./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Run, now!" I hissed, stomping on the end of my board to pop it up into my hand, shoving the pinstriped man into an alleyway. I had no idea how the men would react in the presence of the general public, but I didn't want to find out. They had always seemed a bit too trigger-happy to me./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I turned a few corners before accidentally leading us into an alleyway, the men still in pursuit. I pushed the man behind some dumpsters, and he still hadn't said a word, which I found odd. You would think he would put up a fuss at being pushed and ordered around by me, but he seemed to understand the seriousness of the situation with what little information he had, and stayed silent./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I kept him behind me, in case the men found us. There was no point in them hurting him to get to the person behind him. However, he pushed past me, peeking out a bit. I was about to yank him back to safety, when I saw him pull out a silver tube, with a blue tip. He fiddled with it for a moment, pointing it at the weapons. I found myself peeking out from behind the dumpster as well, literally risking my neck to satisfy my curiosity./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"He pressed a button on the side of it's crackled metal shell, and aimed it at the gun. The blue hemisphere lit up, and the device emitted a high warbling sound. Clearly, this wasn't meant for stealth. The noise was accompanied by the sound of the men's guns sparking, and they dropped them with a clatter, the shock reaching their hands. Instantly, they picked them back up again, confusion riddling their faces because the guns would no longer fire./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"They looked up from their weapons, glancing around for the cause of the shock. Both the pinstriped man and I yanked ourselves back behind the safety of the dumpster, pressing ourselves against the brick wall. I turned to look up at the man, to see how he was reacting. His grin was as big as mine was./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"After a few moments of investigation, the men stopped trying to get their guns to work, pressed a finger to their left ears and nodded simultaneously, then left, which surprised me. They hadn't even stopped to look around for me, even though they obviously knew I was there. Not that I minded, of course. I made a mental note of the occurrence, cautiously stepping out from behind our hiding spot after a few long moments to ensure that they weren't just around the corner./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"With the threat gone, we snuck away, and I started to lead Pinstripes to my makeshift home. It was more of a base, really. I made fake detours and turns like I usually did, and it wasn't until I was nearing home that I realized that he was no longer behind me./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Now, I could have simply just left him. I didn't need him to slow me down. But he had been seen with me, and I couldn't risk someone else's life. Luckily for him, I had a strong moral compass. I retraced my steps and soon found him./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Standing in front of one of the suited men, with a gun pointed at his chest./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Pinstripes looked stupidly unconcerned, but I heard him talking to him, uselessly. I once again had the fleeting thought to just emrun away/em, but forced myself not to. He wasn't the same one that had seen us the first time, but I knew that word travels fast with them. It worried me how close this was to my home, but I could deal with that later./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Making a split-second decision, I ran up to them, reaching into my pocket, pulling out a film canister. I popped off the lid with my thumb, and flung its contents in the face of the man. He roared angrily, dropping the weapon to rub at his face with his hands. His sunglasses were thrown to the ground, and I could see his eyes were scrunched shut. His face had instantly began reddening, and I winced, feeling tremendously guilty./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Shaking myself out of my thoughts, I bent down and grabbed the gun from the ground and slung the strap over my shoulder, freeing one hand. Pinstripes started pulling me away, latching onto my upper arm that was currently holding my board to my side. In a daze, I almost let him, before remembering what I still had to do, and tugged my arm out of his grip, reaching into the side pocket of my bag and taking out another film canister, rolling it to the feet of the man. Hopefully, he would know what to do./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Pinstripes took my arm and again tried leading me away from the danger. I rolled my eyes, "This way, c'mon!" I said, jerking my head in the general direction. With nothing else to go off of, he followed me./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I cut across the overgrown yard, skillfully avoiding any obstacles hidden by the grass. Pinstripes, however, wasn't as lucky. He caught his foot on a hole in the ground where a wooden post once stood. In its place used to stand a "For Sale" sign, I assumed. He stumbled forward, bumping into me, sending me forwards a few feet in a domino effect. I managed to stay upright, turning back to see him grinning sheepishly./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Sorry," he said, bounding past me to the porch, hopping up on it to come to a halt in front of the door. It was boarded up, and clearly done years ago. He brought a hand up to trace the frame, clearly confused. I let him ponder that as I tucked my board just barely under the porch, where I could access it easily when I needed it./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"He reached down, trying the handle, but it didn't budge. He slipped the odd tube out of his pocket again, about to use it on the lock, when I protested, "Hey!" I yelled quietly, getting his attention before he could go on, "You're gonna blow my cover. Over here." I said, with a beckoning wave and a small smile on my face. I guess after all this time, deep down, I still needed somebody to witness my cleverness./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"He tucked the device back into his pocket, following me around the side of the house. He must have been expecting me to lead him further, because he bumped into me-again-when I stopped at the piling of firewood. We gave each other an identical look, and I went on, subconsciously showing off./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I carefully stepped up onto the unstable-looking structure, using them as stairs to reach the chimney behind it. It was comprised of large stones, each separated with a layer of ancient concrete that would crumble if you pecked at it enough. It made it easy to quickly scale the eight-to-nine feet that I needed to get to the terrace over the first floor./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I scrambled up onto the platform, glad for all of the practice I'd gotten from indoor rock climbing. I kept myself low, shifting to lay on my stomach with my head poking out from the edge to peer at Pinstripes. "Well? You coming?" I asked, with a proud smirk on my face./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"A number of seconds later, he had made it close enough to take hold of my outstretched arm, and we both struggled to get him up onto the ledge. For someone that looked as thin as a toothpick, he sure had some weight to him. Once safely perched, I pushed up the window, climbing through it and jumping down into the room, Pinstripes close behind./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Leading him across the empty room and down the stairs to the first floor, my walk was unobstructed, and I didn't realize that his wasn't until I heard him start sputtering behind me. "Oh, watch out for the cobwebs." I called out, and he muttered a sarcastic "thanks" under his breath./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"We entered the main room, and I could see the gears turning in his head as he took in the state of my "home". A backpack was tossed on what used to be a dining room table, as well as a video camera and a laptop. A paper bag leaning against the wall was filled with empty food packages, cartons, and cans./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Pulling the gun-strap over my head and leaning the weapon against the wall, I gestured to a cheap folding chair for him to sit in, and he cautiously took a seat, wondering if the flimsy plastic would even hold anyone's weight. I couldn't relax enough to stay still, much less sit down. I went over to the table, holding the power button down on the laptop, turning it on. I shrugged my backpack off of my shoulders, dropping it onto the wooden table./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"As it booted up, I turned back to Pinstripes, leaning on the table with my arms folded in front of me. "So," I said, "You're probably wondering what the hell's going on."/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"strongEnjoy!/strong/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"strong~Jamie/strong/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"The Wixxa stood in front of the Seam with his head held high, masking the fear that coursed through his veins. They had failed to capture the Phoenix once more. It had been over a month with no success, and another half since the time they had arrived-that was more than fifty days on this stinking planet, and they still weren't any closer to getting off of it./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"It was a dangerous task. He had heard the legends, everyone had. The Phoenix was a being to be feared. She could tear down the universe with a single word if it was her will. The resolve of even the bravest warriors would crumble under her gaze. They were just lucky that she wasn't searching for them. It was out of the ordinary for the Phoenix to back away from disaster, to hide away in the shadows. But that was what they saw: the Phoenix shying away from danger, instead of jumping in headfirst. The Wixxa couldn't figure out what was worse./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"They weren't a cruel tribe, or even violent, for that matter. They had prided themselves on that fact, when the rest of their world turned into bloodthirsty monsters. But perhaps now the time for peace has ended./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Perhaps Zadra would be the one that led his tribe out of the darkness and back into the light. Into life. He didn't know how long his tribe could even survive in their new terrain. Despite their low metabolism and advanced biology, it was impossible for them to obtain their needed nutrients through the food of the humans they so closely resembled. He was their leader, chosen to protect his tribe, and he wasn't about to go back on his oath. He would keep them safe, at any cost./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"The Seam glowed slightly, and Zadra instinctively shuffled back a few steps. The Speaker had told him what that light could do, and how dangerous it was. The Speaker was their ticket to freedom. He had promised the Wixxa the key to escaping from Earth, at one request. They must bring him the Phoenix./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Alive./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"strong. . . . ./strong/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"The streets of Seattle are rarely calm, but anyone that lives in a city can tell you that. On the sidewalk, both tourists and resident Seattleites wandered about, the heat of the summer sun beating down on them from under the sparse clouds. Children excitedly tugged on the hands of their parents, begging for a treat from the ice cream van parked nearby. Others gravitated towards the various employees that stood outside stores holding trays of samples./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Suddenly, two figures skidded around the corner, running as fast as they could up the street. The pair of teenage girls yelled for people to watch out, without slowing down to give them time to do so. With their free arms out in front of them to deflect any stray bags or limbs in their way, they booked it through the crowd./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"As was the new life of Alex and May./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Four-A!" Alex waved to the left wildly, pushing the strap of her backpack up onto her shoulder, "Four-A! Get to the four-A!" She called out, as a third figure turned the corner in pursuit. It was a man in a black suit, of a sturdy build and quite intimidating. Alex glanced back at the man who, despite not being able to bob and weave through the swarms of people like the two girls, was still gaining on them, emfast/em./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"May seemed to notice this as well, and decided to slow him down the first way she thought of. As she ran past the store-employees, she swung her arms into the trays, sending them up in the air and scattering the samples in the wind. Alex had a similar idea, knocking down displays and wheeling kiosks in the way./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"May, taking her partial Canadian heritage to heart, barked out a short 'sorry' with every toss, push, and shove. Alex had her cruiser-skateboard tucked under one arm, holding the other in front of her, trying to shove past the passersby like a football player. Not that it was very effective, but it was worth a shot./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"People screamed in surprise as a black van screeched to a stop next to the sidewalk, and others jumped out of the way. The side door slid open, and out poured not one, but two more men in identical black attire, and they followed behind Alex and May as well./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Without a single word to each other, both girls parted ways, in an attempt to split up the group into manageable chunks. The original pursuer was closest to Alex, and continued after her, while the other two chased after May./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Alex ran down the street, while May continued up it. They would still both head for the four-A building, through different routes. Alex ended up leading her follower in a full circle twice before taking a sharp turn in the other direction, before he turned the corner. She had turned into a slim alley, Thinking fast, she scrambled up the fire escape overhead, tossing her board up first to free her other arm./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Her chest heaved, but she suddenly cut off her gasp when the man walked into view. She froze completely, but he just glanced down the alley and found nothing. He didn't look up, though, and walked right past. She let out a relieved breath, laying back on the metal grate for a moment to calm down./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"It was Alex's idea to have code names for the buildings, as a safety precaution to keep their hunters one more step behind them. However, it was May's decision to name the buildings by their place on the map. Apparently, 'Flying Fish Mart' wasn't as inconspicuous as 'seven-G'./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Alex looked around, quickly getting her bearings. At this point, she knew the city like the back of her hand, and realized that she had just chosen the best possible fire escape to climb. It was the building right next to the one she was currently sitting on./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"The whole block was abandoned, and a few broke tourists would inspect its crumbling bricks and rustic rusty doors. Hopefully, nobody would see nor mind an unruly teenager climbing the structures. Alex made the four-story climb up the metal escape route, half expecting it to break with each step she took. It didn't however, and she was thankful she didn't have a fear of heights./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"After reaching the top, she kept herself ducked down as she bolted across the roof, just in case anyone was watching from below. The last thing she needed was the police after her. Praying that she didn't misjudge the distance, she took a running start and leaped the gap between the two buildings, tumbling after landing, partially on accident./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Alex tugged on the door to the roof, already unlocked and ajar. She left it open, in case she needed to make a quick exit later, before plunging into the near-pitch-black staircase, the only light coming from the windows on the floor below and the door above. She ran over to a window to see if May was anywhere close. She poked her head out the window into the alley in search of her, but yanked herself back in at what she saw./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"strong. . . . ./strong/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"My heart nearly stopped. May was still so focused on trying to get the door open to get into the building, by the time she heard the van screech to a halt, it was too late. She was trapped. I had to hold my position, if I had any chance of rescuing her. Couldn't very well do that if they had me too. I looked down on the scene from where I hid./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Wow, what a cliche way to abduct someone. In an alleyway, with a van. It was a miracle that there weren't even any homeless people nearby; no witnesses. It took every fiber of my being to stay where I was, ignoring both my fight and flight instincts. I could help much more from the third floor, so I stayed put./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""May! Run! Go, now!" I screamed, with as much strength as I had. My throat still burned, and I found myself contemplating what I would do for a cold bottle of water. I ducked back down before anyone could see me./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I saw her attempt to run past, but, all of a sudden, the van doors flew open, and a large man in a black suit stepped out, and in front of her passageway. She ran into him at full speed, knocking her backward with the force, not even flinching. I winced as her head hit the pavement with a sickening thud./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""No!" I choked out, holding back a cry of despair. At that moment, my mindset changed. They could call that their first mistake. They just took, and hurt, someone I cared about. I was done with staying away. Now, it just got personal, and they would regret it./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Before they could take her away, I acted. "Hey! Over here!" I yelled, waving my arms over my head to attract their attention. I didn't know what I was doing, it was almost like an instinct. However, it worked./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"The leader pointed an accusing finger up at me. "Get her," he commanded. "Now!" Immediately, his goons raced for the door. I didn't wait to see if it was unlocked./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"With a sudden burst of energy, I grabbed my board, sitting next to me, and tucked it under my arm, rushing to the fourth, and final, floor. They'd try to surround me from the bottom. They already tried that last time, I barely made it out. I had to dive through the stupid dog door, just to escape. After that, I was more careful about how long I stayed in a house I was raiding. Once again, something I never would have considered before./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I shoved past the already unlocked door, and onto the roof. Without a thought, I leaped from one rooftop to the other. Luckily for me, I wasn't scared of heights. However, I was very much scared of kidnappers in three-piece suits, so I did my best to avoid them./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I raced down the stairs, skipping four at a time. I burst through the entryway, silently thanking the vandals and their apparent need to remove the door. I could still hear the men shouting in the building, trying to see where I had gone./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I saw the black van speeding up the street, and without thinking, chased it. At the moment, I wasn't considering what I would do if they caught me. I just had to get my friend back. I had been too concerned with getting myself out of dodge that I had let them get away. They soon drove out of sight, leaving me with heart palpitations and a grudge./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I forced myself to turn back, to head home. I moved as fast as I could, mapping out what turns to take to confuse any followers. I didn't think there were any, but as I'd just seen, it never hurt to be careful./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Suddenly, I was blindsided by someone who seemingly came out of nowhere, practically flying at me. He knocked me off my board, and it rolled a few feet away, like a pet off its leash. At that moment, I felt a multitude of things, but the surprise and force knocked the wind out of me. As I struggled to breathe, I felt a painful ache in my chest. Ignoring it, I tried to stand, to no avail. Somehow, my legs ended up entangled with his, and his weight pinning me down didn't help either./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Anytime you'd want to move, thanks." I said with a helpful shove, eager to keep moving./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Upon realizing his position, he scrambled to his feet, allowing me to move. He held his hand out, offering to help me up. I hesitantly accepted it, simultaneously sizing him up as he helped me to my feet. He didn't seem that threatening, in a brown pinstripe suit and ratty white converse. His hair was sort of in a tousled disarray, probably intentional. With a lanky figure, he stood a good foot above me, looking about in his early thirties./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I remembered that I should probably be on my way, after being slowed down. I muttered an apology, and started off. I soon saw that he was following me, and wasn't going to leave anytime soon. I tried to shake him off, but there he was, trotting alongside me, his longer legs putting him at an advantage./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Are you gonna leave me alone? I'm a tad busy, if you don't mind." I said, trying to tell him to go away as politely as I could. he looked up thoughtfully, as if he really had to think about it./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Nope," he said, grinning as he popped the 'p'./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I sighed. I was really not in the mood for, well, emanything/em right now. The last thing I needed was a liability. The man looked more adapted to life in the office, judging from his attire. Suits weren't usually the best for running in, but he seemed to be getting the job done./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""You're just gonna follow me around? Got nothing better to do?" I asked, but he still didn't take the hint. He must have thought I was being sincere, or something./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Um... basically, yeah." he said, and I noticed his British accent, out of place in the United States. I brushed it off, though, with other things to worry about./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Whatever," I muttered. "Your funeral."/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I turned a corner, and there stood two of the men, brandishing an odd sort of gun, one that I had seen many times in their presence. I stopped, planting my foot on the ground so quickly I nearly stumbled forward, and yanked my new 'friend' back, before he waltzed into view, blowing our cover. I managed to grab his arm, but not soon enough. We had been seen./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Run, now!" I hissed, stomping on the end of my board to pop it up into my hand, shoving the pinstriped man into an alleyway. I had no idea how the men would react in the presence of the general public, but I didn't want to find out. They had always seemed a bit too trigger-happy to me./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I turned a few corners before accidentally leading us into an alleyway, the men still in pursuit. I pushed the man behind some dumpsters, and he still hadn't said a word, which I found odd. You would think he would put up a fuss at being pushed and ordered around by me, but he seemed to understand the seriousness of the situation with what little information he had, and stayed silent./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I kept him behind me, in case the men found us. There was no point in them hurting him to get to the person behind him. However, he pushed past me, peeking out a bit. I was about to yank him back to safety, when I saw him pull out a silver tube, with a blue tip. He fiddled with it for a moment, pointing it at the weapons. I found myself peeking out from behind the dumpster as well, literally risking my neck to satisfy my curiosity./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"He pressed a button on the side of it's crackled metal shell, and aimed it at the gun. The blue hemisphere lit up, and the device emitted a high warbling sound. Clearly, this wasn't meant for stealth. The noise was accompanied by the sound of the men's guns sparking, and they dropped them with a clatter, the shock reaching their hands. Instantly, they picked them back up again, confusion riddling their faces because the guns would no longer fire./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"They looked up from their weapons, glancing around for the cause of the shock. Both the pinstriped man and I yanked ourselves back behind the safety of the dumpster, pressing ourselves against the brick wall. I turned to look up at the man, to see how he was reacting. His grin was as big as mine was./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"After a few moments of investigation, the men stopped trying to get their guns to work, pressed a finger to their left ears and nodded simultaneously, then left, which surprised me. They hadn't even stopped to look around for me, even though they obviously knew I was there. Not that I minded, of course. I made a mental note of the occurrence, cautiously stepping out from behind our hiding spot after a few long moments to ensure that they weren't just around the corner./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"With the threat gone, we snuck away, and I started to lead Pinstripes to my makeshift home. It was more of a base, really. I made fake detours and turns like I usually did, and it wasn't until I was nearing home that I realized that he was no longer behind me./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Now, I could have simply just left him. I didn't need him to slow me down. But he had been seen with me, and I couldn't risk someone else's life. Luckily for him, I had a strong moral compass. I retraced my steps and soon found him./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Standing in front of one of the suited men, with a gun pointed at his chest./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Pinstripes looked stupidly unconcerned, but I heard him talking to him, uselessly. I once again had the fleeting thought to just emrun away/em, but forced myself not to. He wasn't the same one that had seen us the first time, but I knew that word travels fast with them. It worried me how close this was to my home, but I could deal with that later./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Making a split-second decision, I ran up to them, reaching into my pocket, pulling out a film canister. I popped off the lid with my thumb, and flung its contents in the face of the man. He roared angrily, dropping the weapon to rub at his face with his hands. His sunglasses were thrown to the ground, and I could see his eyes were scrunched shut. His face had instantly began reddening, and I winced, feeling tremendously guilty./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Shaking myself out of my thoughts, I bent down and grabbed the gun from the ground and slung the strap over my shoulder, freeing one hand. Pinstripes started pulling me away, latching onto my upper arm that was currently holding my board to my side. In a daze, I almost let him, before remembering what I still had to do, and tugged my arm out of his grip, reaching into the side pocket of my bag and taking out another film canister, rolling it to the feet of the man. Hopefully, he would know what to do./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Pinstripes took my arm and again tried leading me away from the danger. I rolled my eyes, "This way, c'mon!" I said, jerking my head in the general direction. With nothing else to go off of, he followed me./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I cut across the overgrown yard, skillfully avoiding any obstacles hidden by the grass. Pinstripes, however, wasn't as lucky. He caught his foot on a hole in the ground where a wooden post once stood. In its place used to stand a "For Sale" sign, I assumed. He stumbled forward, bumping into me, sending me forwards a few feet in a domino effect. I managed to stay upright, turning back to see him grinning sheepishly./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Sorry," he said, bounding past me to the porch, hopping up on it to come to a halt in front of the door. It was boarded up, and clearly done years ago. He brought a hand up to trace the frame, clearly confused. I let him ponder that as I tucked my board just barely under the porch, where I could access it easily when I needed it./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"He reached down, trying the handle, but it didn't budge. He slipped the odd tube out of his pocket again, about to use it on the lock, when I protested, "Hey!" I yelled quietly, getting his attention before he could go on, "You're gonna blow my cover. Over here." I said, with a beckoning wave and a small smile on my face. I guess after all this time, deep down, I still needed somebody to witness my cleverness./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"He tucked the device back into his pocket, following me around the side of the house. He must have been expecting me to lead him further, because he bumped into me-again-when I stopped at the piling of firewood. We gave each other an identical look, and I went on, subconsciously showing off./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I carefully stepped up onto the unstable-looking structure, using them as stairs to reach the chimney behind it. It was comprised of large stones, each separated with a layer of ancient concrete that would crumble if you pecked at it enough. It made it easy to quickly scale the eight-to-nine feet that I needed to get to the terrace over the first floor./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I scrambled up onto the platform, glad for all of the practice I'd gotten from indoor rock climbing. I kept myself low, shifting to lay on my stomach with my head poking out from the edge to peer at Pinstripes. "Well? You coming?" I asked, with a proud smirk on my face./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"A number of seconds later, he had made it close enough to take hold of my outstretched arm, and we both struggled to get him up onto the ledge. For someone that looked as thin as a toothpick, he sure had some weight to him. Once safely perched, I pushed up the window, climbing through it and jumping down into the room, Pinstripes close behind./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Leading him across the empty room and down the stairs to the first floor, my walk was unobstructed, and I didn't realize that his wasn't until I heard him start sputtering behind me. "Oh, watch out for the cobwebs." I called out, and he muttered a sarcastic "thanks" under his breath./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"We entered the main room, and I could see the gears turning in his head as he took in the state of my "home". A backpack was tossed on what used to be a dining room table, as well as a video camera and a laptop. A paper bag leaning against the wall was filled with empty food packages, cartons, and cans./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Pulling the gun-strap over my head and leaning the weapon against the wall, I gestured to a cheap folding chair for him to sit in, and he cautiously took a seat, wondering if the flimsy plastic would even hold anyone's weight. I couldn't relax enough to stay still, much less sit down. I went over to the table, holding the power button down on the laptop, turning it on. I shrugged my backpack off of my shoulders, dropping it onto the wooden table./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"As it booted up, I turned back to Pinstripes, leaning on the table with my arms folded in front of me. "So," I said, "You're probably wondering what the hell's going on."/p