Note: Hey guys! This chapter came pretty quick. I actually loved writing this chappie. I hope ya'll enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Things are really heating up. I've really developed the story line since I started writing this. It's getting exciting! Tell me what you guys think!
Disclaimer: I don't own Newsies, or Spot Conlon.
A Change of Time Chapter 7 – Shadowed Figure
Spot Conlon was holding a gun. He raised it, pointing the deadly weapon at a tall figure standing in the shadows. When Sharron looked closely, she realized there was another figure besides the three she had initially seen. This figure was bending over the prostrate form of the third person she had noticed when she first arrived.
"You animal," Spot said in a raised voice, his eyes cold points of ice, filled with a frightening hatred. The hunched over figure lifted its head, it's eyes wide. That's when Sharron realized it was a girl. And a moment later, she realized something that made her head pound.
She impulsively fell back, holding in the scream that wished to escape. As she fell, she accidentally hit a button by the door, and it automatically shut. The timer changed back to what the girl assumed was her departure time. As the spinning commenced, all Sharron could do was stare at the metal time machine door. A bitter taste filled her mouth as the truth sank in. The bent figure had been none other then herself.
Sharron found herself escaping the machine as quickly as she could. She choked in a breath of cool night air as she stumbled from the metal contraption.
All she wanted to do was fall down in a bed somewhere and forget everything she'd seen. But Sharron knew she couldn't forget. The scene that had been taking place in front of her would happen in just a few days. She didn't understand everything, but she could still see the figure on the ground, herself, Spot, and the shadowy form.
The girl shivered as she thought of the utter hatred in Spot's eyes. She knew what her mission was, at least partly. She needed to figure out just what was going to happen, and why.
Sharron felt a drop of sweat trickle down her neck. Finding answers would probably require entering the machine, and watching the scene play out in its entirety. She shuddered at the thought. It held no appeal for the girl.
Sharron pulled herself to her feet on the corner of a building next to the alley. She'd seen enough for tonight. Tomorrow she could visit her father, and if he were conscious, discuss what she had seen. Sharron crossed her arms in an assuring gesture to herself as she started to make her way back to the lodging house. She turned her head slightly to the left, glancing briefly across the road.
That's when she saw it. A small orange glow pierced the darkness, followed by a stream of pale smoke that wafted toward her on the night breeze. Suddenly, the girl felt that she was in the worst danger, and completely helpless.
She turned around again; facing away from the glow, which evidence told her was someone smoking a cigarette. Sharron began to walk, and winced as her shoes on the cobblestones produced a rather loud noise. She tried to walk softer while retaining her pace.
The girl cast a glance back, and saw the light of the cigarette moving closer, before she heard the clomping of boots trailing behind her. Drawing in a deep breath, she increased the speed of her walk. When she again looked behind her shoulder, she saw a man in the light of a street lamp.
He wore a long coat that reached almost to his ankles. Large black boots enveloped his feet, and a hat swathed his face in shadow. What she could see of his countenance was stony, void of emotion. His eyes were hard.
A gust of wind blew the man's coat open, and Sharron saw the glint of a handgun in the light he had now passed. She gasped, and increased her speed further, actually running now.
As her feet flew over the street, an unsettling thought entered her mind, and the extent of what it could mean caused a lump of fear to form in her stomach. The handgun was black, and though she didn't know what model, or much about guns at all, one thing was clear. The weapon concealed in the man's clothing was not from this time. It was most definitely from the twenty-first century.
In her haste, Sharron tripped on the worn road, and skinned her knee. As she scrambled to her feet, the scrape on her knee throbbing, she saw the man quickly closing the distance between them.
The thought struck that he may have been playing a game with her. He would follow, letting her run as fast as she wished, knowing full well that he would catch up. It was a cat and mouse game. But apparently the man was done playing.
He pulled the gun out from inside his jacket, but didn't point it. Instead, he kept walking towards her, his steely eyes focused. Those eyes, they were so..evil. A shiver ran up Sharron's spine as she realized it. They were the eyes of a killer.
Sharron sprinted away, realizing the lodging house was still probably a few blocks away. She would never make it. Her hazel eyes roamed the street, trying to decide on an effective coarse of action.
Finally her gaze rested on a small opening off of the street. It might be a dead end, or perhaps a side street. Without much else of an idea, Sharron decided to take her chances. She hurriedly entered the gap, and was pleased to see a small opening leading out on the other side.
Sharron decided she might try to trick the man in the long coat. As footsteps approached, the girl slipped behind a jumbled stack of crates, some of which were broken. She heard crunching as the man's feet crushed the remnants of a glass bottle.
Sharron peered through the slots of one of the crates, and found she could see the man. She saw his eyes rove the alley, and she watched with apprehension as he looked behind a stack of boxes on the far wall. She held her breath. Would he check here next?
Instead, she saw the man drop his cigarette to the ground, putting it out with his black boots. At last he disappeared out of the alley's exit, probably thinking he was pursuing Sharron.
The girl breathed a sight of relief. She was right here. When Sharron knew the cost was clear, she came out from her hiding place, and ran the last blocks to the newsboy's home.