3:30 AM Tuesday
Keith was running through the maze of white doors and walls as he tried to find a place to duck into. He knew that someone had to have heard that gunshot, whatever the hour of night. He was looking down corridors, trying to find a break in the monotony: a sign, a window, even a wall section that looked different. But there were none-- just like the alleyway he and Ian were just running out of, everything looked the same.
"What is this place?" he asked. "It looks some kind of hospital, but that girl seemed a little too healthy to be a patient. Maybe this is like a barracks or something-- at least that would explain how well-armed she was," he reasoned, and then gulped when he considered the possible deadliness of any guards he might run into.
He ducked into an alcove, trying to get his bearings and catch his breath in a spot where he was hopefully out of range of anyone's view.
"All right, I just have to try and figure this place out a bit. All of these rooms must house more people, so this place should be a whole lot bigger than what I've seen so far. Next, at least everyone's still asleep; although that girl could prove to be a problem. What else? I know there's something I'm missing!"
Keith pounded his fist against a wall in frustration, and was about to curse himself for the noise when he realized what it was he was 'missing.'
"This wall," Keith said, "it's pulsing; it isn't still, there's a slight hum to it." He looked around and carefully listened, then placed his hand on the cold floor. "Even the floor's humming. It's just like on that bus, this whole place is moving."
The young man wiped his glasses on his shirt to clear off some smudges, and he continued to think.
"All right, I'm pretty sure this place is too big to be a plane-- and besides, there's no lightness at all on my body. Wherever I am, the gravity is simply too strong."
Keith held up his glasses towards a light on the ceiling to check the clarity of the lenses.
"So that must mean… I'm on a cruise ship. No way, stop talking like that! No boat could be this big; the hallways just seem too wide. It's more like a hotel… but one that moves? It must be a ship then… but one this big?!"
Keith sighed as he held his pained head in his hands. "It's no use… trying to make sense of this place has just ended up confusing me even more!" Then, quite suddenly, he heard a faint hissing click and a feedback wail carve its way through the brightly lit hallways.
"Sounds like the receiver in class before morning announcements are read…oh no." Keith quickly got up as a feminine voice he recognized tore through the silence in the air.
"Attention, all crewmembers! We have a level 2 security breach in the females' quarters! There is an unidentified male running loose on board; I repeat: there is a male running loose on board! He is armed and dangerous, restrain him on sight," it belted.
Then, a loud, sharp alarm rang through the halls, rendering Keith's cover effectively blown. The agitated announcer had said more, but Keith was concentrated too much on running to care. When he first left Barnette's room, he tiptoed lightly to avoid catching anyone's attention, but now, with what he assumed to be the whole crew after him, Keith was in a full blown sprint. His speed was only hindered by the anger boiling in his throat.
"Armed, huh?! I left your gun in your gun in your room, damn it! Shit! Now I've gotta rush to find a way outta here. If that girl is any indication as to the rest of the crew, then they are certainly not friendly-- what's more, they'll probably be just as well-armed as her!" Keith gritted his teeth as he dashed through the hallways to try and find an exit of some kind.
"Come on, where is it? If all you are coming in after me, then I should be able to find a way of getting out!"
He stopped for a brief rest, but then broke away again in an unknown direction when heard footsteps catching up around a corner.
"There he is!" came a girl's voice from behind him. He quickly doubled his pace.
"Ah, hurry! He's going down the 200's hallway! Noli, you come with me. Trina, Cassidy, set up a block down the starboard end after the hall splits. We'll chase him down the port side corridor to the Registry."
"Right away!" and with that, two sleepy crewmembers ran down another hall, leaving one girl still in a playful set of sky-blue pajamas with her superior.
"Should I inform Ms. Gascogne to lay a trap for him?" asked a brunette called Noli. When no response from her superior came, she asked again.
"Ms. Barnette? Should I give Ms. Gascogne a heads-up?" Still no answer came. The green-haired girl was panting heavily and favoring her left wrist-- her face was twisted in a painful scowl; Barnette Orangello was seething inside. Noli thought about pushing her luck with a third attempt at asking the question, but then decided to try another angle.
"Perhaps we should wake the doctor and see to that wrist of yours, Ms. Barnette? I could get someone else to help fence this male in--"
"No need to get more males involved in this!" she hissed. Immediately Barnette was brought out of her trance and she arrogantly shook her wrist.
Then, with her glare plastered down the hall, she started running with Noli, and then suddenly turned to her.
"Noli, meet up with Trina and Cassidy and reinforce that starboard block. This male's a bit more dangerous than the others; leave him to me in the Registry," she said, and then she produced the same revolver Keith had used to escape her room, so as to prove her point to the brunette.
Noli nodded, and then ran down another hall. Barnette waited to make sure Noli left. Of course she was worried about the girl's safety, she knew the young recruit wouldn't stand a chance against this male-- but Noli's safety wasn't Barnette's only reason for sending her subordinate away. When Barnette was sure of her solitude, she checked the action of the revolver one more time by firing it unloaded. Then, she pulled out six rounds from her pocket and loaded every empty chamber of the cylinder before spinning it shut.
"I won't let you beat me again," she angrily whispered. Then she took off running down the hall, revolver gleaming silver for vengeance in her right hand.Meanwhile, down the hall, Keith cursed out loud as he ran.
"Starboard, port… damn, this is a ship! Okay, so those girls said they'd lay a trap for me at both ends of a hall when its splits. If I turn portside, I'll run into a trap set in the Register, whatever the hell that is. And I doubt that there'll only be two girls waiting for me if I head starboard," Keith reasoned.
It was then Keith realized something that struck him so hard, he actually stopped running to ponder it further.
"Wait a minute…'only two girls waiting for me starboard…a level 2 security breach in the females' quarters?' And why do I have to be an unidentified male for them to have to restrain me on sight? Something's going on here, and I don't think they're chasing me just because I breached security."
Keith wanted to consider the plethora of questions he had just devised, when his train of thought was broken again by footsteps approaching.
"Shit! Shouldn't have stopped!" he cursed, and then broke off running again.Finally, after an eternity of running down one hall, he found a crossroads, just like the Barnette said; the corridor he was taking suddenly divided left or right.
"Well, I wish I knew what port and starboard was," Keith said, debating which path to take. "No time to think, just choose a way." And with that, he turned to his left and ran as fast he could. Much to his disadvantage, he was heading into a trap laid for him in the Registry department...
3:42 AM Tuesday
Keith dashed down the hall, duffel bag bouncing up and down on his back, when, much to his surprise, the alarm suddenly shut off. Keith stopped, but after a few seconds' hesitation, he started running again.
"They must have cleared enough halls to no longer consider it a general alarm. That means they're closing in; it would probably be wise to start looking for another place to hide," Keith thought.
When he reached a darkened portion of the hallway, he tried several doors to see if any would admit him in. The keypads on many of them indicated "locked," so he darted back and forth across the corridor, checking doors left and right for any unlocked ones. Over and over again, he found he was unlucky. Finally, he came to a rounded door and he was grateful to find the keypad read "Unlocked."
Before he hit the switch for the door to open, though, he suddenly took a real good look at where he was: he was at the end of the hallway. Keith took his hand off the keypad and thought for a moment.
"So, here I am, at the end of a hall, and I still haven't run into any girls." He looked at the door again. "This must be the door to the Registry, then." Keith darted his head to any other possible ways to go. When he surmised that his only two choices were to turn back or enter, he bit his lip in regret.
"Damn! No matter where I go, I'm screwed now! No wonder they shut off the alarm: they knew that this hallway leads only to Registry… they were driving me down the hall to this place intentionally; I was trapped the moment I went this direction."
Keith sighed deeply at his stupidity. How he could have let himself get fenced in, he didn't know. It was a lesson he should have picked up by now: never fight your enemy's fight. Now he was stuck and had nowhere to go.
"Well, I should at least be a good sport, then, huh?" he joked. "Fine… if this is it, really it, then just like last time, I won't go down without a fight," Keith finished, as he clenched his fists tightly in rebellious frustration.
"…not without a fight, ever…"
Then, Keith's thoughts turned to his missing friend. It was only now he realized he had not run into Ian since the alleyway, and Keith very realistically considered the possibility that Ian had not survived the encounter. This was the thought that finally killed his confidence.
For a moment, he thought of actually letting himself get caught peacefully. Fighting wouldn't help him, now that he was trapped. All he could think to do now was to follow the plan of his captors.
"So be it," Keith said.
And with that, he stood, walked to the keypad, and then pushed the "open" button. The door slid across, and Keith was blinded by powerful white light. He stood tall though, with a free arm shielding his eyes. Apart from his the top of his forearm, Keith couldn't see anything else. Then, as his vision grew accustomed to the room's brightness, he could see he was in a sort of meeting room. It was a large room, with high ceilings, and two rows of tables and chairs were in the center of it. As his eyes moved across the room, he could see an empty opening towards the back, possibly leading to a larger room.
But his visual examination of the Registry was cut short when he looked directly in front of him: a tightly grouped line of girls surprisingly around his age, were all dressed in sleepwear, yet brandished fierce-looking guns in his direction. Keith chuckled at this strangely arousing contrast, but raised his hands nonetheless.
He stood for a moment longer, then an older woman's voice spoke.
"All right, pal, that's far enough... now just drop the bag, get down on your knees, and keep your hands in the air," said Gascogne Rheingau.
Keith did as he was told by the muscular woman. Her commanding voice and imposing physical build told him this was a woman who was in charge of something, so he'd best follow orders. Suddenly he realized how familiar a situation this was...
"Now just stay where you are," Gascogne ordered.
She then leaned over to one of the girls and told her to grab the duffel bag, while she gave another girl a pair of cuffs like the ones used on the other males at the beginning of their journey home. Gascogne was still a bit sleepy from being woken up to deal with such a new development, but after hearing the report from Barnette, and after taking a look at the boy herself, she could see Keith was very much a threat.
Keith was still kneeling with his hands up, trying to calm his breathing down. He saw one of the girls, a blonde, come running up to take the bag and another girl with what looked like a pair of hand restraints to come and tie him up. Keith felt he needed more time to think up a better plan, but he seemed to only have this one chance. Therefore, as the girl with the cuffs came to restrain him, Keith was already shifting his weight to his toes when both of them stopped in their tracks. For a moment, even Keith was confused, until he heard footsteps behind him.
He was about to turn around when he suddenly heard a voice he had grown to know rather well.
3:46 AM Tuesday
"It's okay girls… this one's mine," Barnette stated.
She had Keith in a dead center shot with her revolver and walked up behind him as she motioned for them to toss her the cuffs. She was grinning evilly wide at the idea of taking this male down herself. Vengeance was sweet, she had to admit that. When the two left, she moved in closer. Keith could barely contain his happiness. Now the situation had gotten a great deal more familiar.
"So, she finally caught up with me, huh? What was it that one other girl called her, 'Barnette?' Well, Barnette… if you want to get even, that's fine. But, you won't get very far if you keep trying these same tactics," Keith thought, grinning.
He couldn't believe she was going to try this again.
"Is she really that desperate for revenge? Poor girl, now she has to pay the price again."
As the girl in the purple pajamas neared the boy on his knees, Gascogne carefully broke down the scenario.
"What are you up to, Barnette?" Gascogne wondered. "Why is it that you wanna take this male down so badly?"
She then shifted her vision to the young man kneeling.
"There's something about this male, something that makes him different from the others," she thought.
Then she saw Keith's mouth break into a sly grin. Gascogne nearly choked when she realized what was about to happen to Barnette, without the purple-eyed girl even knowing he was going to do it. She was within arm's reach of Keith when Gascogne yelled her warning.
"Hey! Careful Barnette, not too close! He could try something--" Gascogne began. Barnette stopped from her smiling approach when she came to realize she had tried this before. She raised her gun again, but it was too late.
Keith arose to the left from his kneeling position, sweeping Barnette's left ankle which caused her to fall forward. Then, he applied quick pressure to her wrist, causing Barnette to release the gun, which he grabbed with his left hand as he sidestepped behind her, all while she continued to fall forward. He then quickly trained the gun on Barnette, who was now finished with her fall, and instinctually turned to face the young man while on all fours before him. Another smoothly executed maneuver.
"Stand up, Barnette," he ordered her. "The sweep only stuns your ankle, now stand up and turn your back to me!"
Realizing her gun was gone, the girl did as the male told her-- hate it though she did. Now on her feet with her back to Keith, Barnette cursed herself as she recognized the advantage she had him in twice was now reversed again, and she knew he would not go making the same mistake a third time.
She was right. In fact, Keith had taken two full steps backward from her, just to be safe. As Barnette got to her feet, he shifted his focus to the line of girls in front of him. They were all shocked wide-eyed, like they had just watched a woman take a bite out of her own newborn baby. In another moment, though, they had taken aim on him again-- although with Barnette in the way, he knew they wouldn't risk it. He felt this could be a good way of escaping.
Suddenly his eyes locked on with Gascogne's.
"Somehow she knew I was going to make a move," Keith thought. Not wanting to stay long enough to let Gascogne take her own chance, Keith thought it best to make his exit…but not without getting his bag, first. When he saw it was near Barnette, Keith smiled internally at the idea of returning the favor.
"Kick the bag behind you, Barnette… now, goddammit! What the hell are you waiting for? Are you deaf, sweetheart?!" Keith raged as loudly as he could.
Shocked by his sudden burst of anger, Barnette quietly obeyed. She couldn't believe it! A man dared call her by her name, and then raised his voice to her? And now she was actually scared enough to obey him? She blushed furiously as she followed his order, darting her eyes back and forth from the ground to the other girls standing nearby. What would they think of her now? After all she'd said before...
However, the yell's effect was meant only to be a deterrent. And Keith knew it had worked.
This was the voice Keith saved for the restaurant, when one of his helpers went belligerent, or were just plain annoying. There was no real anger behind it, yelling was just a skill he picked up to get people to respond to him more easily-- a fact Gascogne noted as she examined the scene. Now her interest in this boy's story was truly piqued. She tried to consider where and how he could have learned to suddenly use so commanding a tone.
"What was he in charge of, I wonder?" Gascogne thought.
Her questions, though, were put to rest when she saw Keith backing out of the room; he was trying to escape. Keith slung his bag over his shoulder and kept the gun trained on the green-haired girl in front of him. In his mind, it was time to get out of there. Slowly, he backed away, making sure she stayed directly in front of him by at least three feet; essentially, he was using her as a moving shield.
It was a disgusting tactic, this he knew, and he would definitely have to apologize, but there was no time to be nice. He just hoped the door was thicker than the one for Barnette's room. Step by cautious step he inched his way back to the huge doors he had walked in through. Then when Keith was directly behind the doorway, Gascogne decided to speak, signaling with a free hand for the other girls to take careful aim.
"We could shoot you right here, ya know; it would all be over in a matter of seconds," Gascogne mused. She was hoping to faze the boy, yet she saw no change in his eyes. He was as stubborn as Hibiki, and worse for her, more cautious… smarter. Then Keith scanned his eyes across the room, taking stock of how the situation had made the firing squad very nerous. At length, he breathed deep and spoke.
"I don't think so, ma'am: if you were gonna take me out, you would have done it long before I had this gun in my hands," he began. "Besides, the two girls you sent to grab my bag were also coming with a pair of hand restraints: you had no intention of killing me, and even if you would fire now, this young lady happens to be in the way-- and you and I both know that at this range you can't risk the shaky aim of a bunch of sleepy teenage girls."
He smiled and bowed his head to all of them. "Time to be smooth," he thought. "My apologies, ladies; I'm sure all of you are excellent shots. By the way, I also apologize for waking or alarming any of you, but I simply refuse to be caught this way."
And with that, he laid a hand on Barnette's shoulder (much to her disgust) and whispered softly to her (much to an emotion she could not understand).
"You most of all, Barnette… listen, I'm sorry for whatever harm I've caused you or your pride this night. I must have done more damage than a few bruises could ever explain, and for that I truly apologize. I don't know if you can ever forgive me, but I hope you can at least understand."
Keith said this with utmost sincerity. It was really one bad coincidence after another with this girl. Barnette was speechlessly taken aback at the sincerity in his voice, but at length she spoke back-- if only to save face in front of the other girls.
"You want me to understand? I want you to understand that when we catch you, I'll personally pay you back myself," she managed to say. Barnette really was upset, but Keith's apology did have a softening effect on her anger, which he noticed. Satisfied with her answer Keith grinned, knowing he had broken through to something other than this girl's hostility. Then he leaned in close to and breathed his good-bye in her left ear. Barnette was shocked: she usually didn't even let Jura get this close.
"I look forward to it-- but in the meantime, let me help you duck," he whispered. And with that, he jumped onto and off of her back like a trampoline-- causing her to fall forward, then he shot out the keypad as he flew backward behind the doorway, and rolled left towards the door, staying behind it as the girls opened fire on him. Keith was relieved when the rounds didn't go through. He emptied the gun, checked his pockets, and then shot down the corridor running.
Inside the Registry, Gascogne was enraged.
"Who told you to fire?! Did anyone hear me say 'fire?'" she was screaming at the girls, who, in turn were shrinking away from her tirade. Some were brave enough to suggest chasing after the boy, to which she pulled rank as to who was giving the orders around here.
Barnette was sitting up wide-eyed. She couldn't believe what had happened to her just now. Had the same man who wounded and embarrassed her twice actually apologized, then saved her life? She was still shivering from the sudden warmth of his hand on her shoulder and dreamy-eyed at the sincerity and closeness of his apology.
"I'm still mad at him, though, right? Should I stay mad? Of course! This was a man after all, our mortal enemy. But would my mortal enemy save me from a death by my own people?" she questioned.
Then Barnette realized the fact that indeed the girls had fired at him, but with her still in the way. Angered by this revelation, she too joined Gascogne in yelling at the girls for endangering her. They defended themselves by saying the bullets were non-lethal, but this did not serve to quell her rage.
Out in the hallway, Keith went back to sneaking.
With the alarm off-line and everyone believing their Registry trap had worked, it was better now to trust in stealth. Especially since he knew he would be reaching the other end of the hallway, where the block was still possibly set up, although he doubted anyone would bother to keep watch. Still, Keith figured it was best to move with caution. He crept with some speed as well, knowing that it wouldn't take long for the girls to break out and probably send another full-scale search for him again. He decided he had to find a safe place to hide. As he made his way across the hall, he also noticed the first surveillance cameras he had seen all night.
"I must be getting somewhere important. Maybe I should've gone this way before and saved myself a whole lot of grief and apologies back there," he thought, slipping underneath a camera's view.
As he made his way to the end of the hall, he noticed that it was indeed free of anyone standing guard, but that another set of cameras were mockingly keeping vigil over the whole area. Keith was ready to turn back when he noticed a break in the hall, where it led into another corridor.
3:52 AM Tuesday
He timed the cameras' motion, and then dashed around the corner to an adjoining hall when it was turned away. He was about to make a mad rush down this new hall when he stopped at the sound of lively chatter. As he hid behind the corner, his heart sank when he saw another open doorway that was brightly lit and clearly had some life inside. From the conversations he could make out, Keith determined this room to be a large dining hall. The girls inside were laughing, gossiping, chatting up storms, and the familiar clanging of silverware on plates was the final confirmation he needed. Keith looked past the door's opening to see two girls enter some sort of elevator.
"There! A way out of here! If I could just reach the elevator without being seen from the dining room," Keith despaired.
There really was no other choice now. If he couldn't get in the elevator, all he could do was turn back and confront either the cameras or the party he was sure would be just leaving the Registry. Whatever the choice he made, it had to be done now. Time was running out, and he knew if another alarm was sounded, everyone in that dining room would pour out into the hallway and immediately mark him.
For the first time all night, Keith was absolutely convinced he was out of favorable options.
"That's it! I'm tired of playing their game. Enough running away… it's my turn to take some initiative, here," Keith thought. And with that, he mustered up all of his courage, took a deep breath, and ran as fast he could to get across that doorway. He bounded the distance with huge strides, hardly breathing as he neared the door. The young man was so close, so close now to fulfilling his goal.
No one had come out yet. If he could just slip by unnoticed...
Then, to Keith's horror, something emerged from the door as he was about five feet away from its opening. Instinctively, Keith quickly broke his run as he saw a set of orange pajamas break the light of the doorway.
"Turn back," his mind screamed to him, "turn back and run before you're seen!"
But it was too late. By the time he had dug his heels to finally stop running, he was standing in the hallway frozen, his dark eyes locked with the deep blue sapphires of the girl who had spotted him. She was about his height, of medium build, with the longest red hair he had ever seen. It twisted wildly back and forth like a grape vine behind her as it fell just above her ankles and framed her face with two long braids. She clutched a small cloth doll in both hands.
"She must not have been able to go back to sleep after the first alarm," he thought.
Keith was immediately glued in place. For the second instant in one evening, Keith was frozen by the superior female breeding of Mejerr. This girl was just as stunning as Barnette, with a smaller, rounder figure. Her over-sized pajamas, pink nail polish and cloth doll were clear indications that she was younger than the girl with purple eyes. Despite the difference in age, however, he stared just as disbelievingly at the undeniable attractiveness of the girl before him.
Because he wasn't expecting to be seen, Keith couldn't will himself to move as he watched the expression on this girl's face change from one of shock to curiosity as she turned to face him. Then, when her eyes blinked with realization, and her face lit up in the most terrifyingly happy smile he had ever seen, Keith came back to his senses as he realized he had stood too long to stare again.
He then turned to run when she energetically started jumping up and down in the air, yipping loudly at the top of her lungs.
"Yay, I don't believe it! One more alien! This must be my lucky day!" and with that, the red-head called Dita Liebely sped off after the terrified boy in a red shirt.
Keith was rounding the corner back to the same corridor that lead to the Registry, ignoring the cameras. He didn't care anymore if he was seen; his cover was blown once again. Keith kept the same pace when he first ran from the trap, thinking he was well ahead when, behind him he heard the same girl call out, trying between labored breaths to get her unusual message across.
"Wait... Mr. Other Alien, don't run... I just want to... get to know you... better! Please... slow down!" she begged.
Keith couldn't believe what he was hearing. Part of him actually wanted to halt and find out exactly what she meant by 'Mr. Other Alien,' but his legs wouldn't let him stop. He just kept running as fast as he could carry himself. It didn't really matter where, because for some reason, this girl was now sending him a vibe down to his bones that he should just run. He had never felt such a primitive type of fear in his life, not even in any of his previous fights.
It was like instinct. Keith was really, truly terrified of being caught by this girl.
It didn't really do him much good, then, to look back and see to his horror that she was catching up to him, arms outstretched before her, and loudly yelling more absurdities in his direction at the top of her lungs.
"Mr. Other Alien... Please slow down! I can't run that fast... Aren't you getting hungry yet? If you stop, I promise I'll fix you...something to eat!" she bribed.
Dita knew from experience that another alien she knew of was also really good at running, but that even the slightest mention of food would suddenly trigger Hibiki's legs to break down beneath him. But this other alien was weird; her very mentioning of food only seemed to propel him faster. In Dita's logic, she figured this to be a sign that he really must be hungry, then.
"Oh, that poor other Alien, he must have been eating those nasty pills like Mr. Alien has. I must help in him the same way!" she thought, smiling.
With her efforts now galvanized by a clear mission, Dita suddenly picked up speed, determinately closing the gap between her and the young man.
Keith, on the other hand, was losing steam. This was the third time in one night he had run with such intensity. As he started to lose the pace of his breathing, he became lightheaded with the world around him faded in and out of blurriness. Keith shook his head wildly, but as he continued to push himself, he could feel his body screaming that it had had enough. His legs started to buckle as each stride made them turn to rubber on the floor-- Keith was slowing down and he knew it, but still he pushed on.
He had come so far, so close to escaping.
"Not here," he pleaded, "not just yet… if I can go a little bit further, I know I can make it! I've never been taken down while I was giving my best-- and I know for a fact that this isn't it, I just can't be stopped here!"
Much to his own surprise, Keith's head started to clear as his strides landed stronger, more controlled than before. He even felt himself picking up speed again. This was the confidence booster he had needed. If he could just keep this up until the girl gave in, he knew he could make it.
It was just a little bit further.
"That's it," Keith huffed. "Just don't look back; it doesn't matter how close she is… as long as you're ahead, you can always run a little bit further. Besides, she'll have to give up soon right? How long can she keep up? It's not like she's any different from anyone else. I just can't... look... ba-ACK!"
Keith was about to finish his sentence, when, out of nowhere, two strong arms intertwined around his neck which not only choked him but also caused him to lose his footing mid-stride. Basically, Keith was already in the process of falling forward, but to make it worse, Dita, now with a firm grip, jumped onto his back, throwing forward all of her weight against his spine.
Then, in piggy-back fashion, she wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled her smiling face in close against his back as Keith continued to tumble face-first to the floor-- now with an extra person helping gravity along. The worst part is, he saw the floor come up to meet him, and he flinched violently at the pain he knew was coming his way. Out of instinct, Keith flung off his glasses to save his eyes.
CRASH!
Keith Greers was laying face-first on a hard floor with another person basically welded onto his back. As he slowly stretched out his arms to lift himself up, he noticed the first of his injuries: his ribs stung badly. Looking ahead of him, he saw his glasses, still in one piece, and managed a weak smile at saving something.
He was sprawled out wide, his legs lying flat against the floor, but he noticed they were still free, so he tried to bend his knees to rise, but couldn't. This girl was simply too heavy. And the longer she clung to him, the more of his own strength he was losing. Plus, when he got up to move, which was at least five attempts, Dita would simply squeeze him tight until he lay down, winded. Every time he tried to rise he could hear her giggle as she whispered to him, burying her face deeper in Keith's back as though he were a giant teddy bear.
"No you don't. I'm not letting you get away," she teased.
Strangely enough, Keith chuckled, because he and his sister would sometimes play this game whenever she wanted the T.V. remote. Dita, of course, was no 3-year old toddler and Keith noted the painfully obvious differences between the two.
At last, the young man gave in; it was useless. Once again, he succumbed to his body as sleep beckoned him. Slowly, Keith let his body win as he let out a defeated sigh and blacked out just when he started hearing footsteps approach...
1.) whew. another one down. relax, more are comin'
2.) notice anything different? keep your eyes open...
