Chapter Five
Dawn, Over the Wall…
Drip…drip….drip…
Ryley's eye's fluttered opened slowly, his cheek twitched as the icy morning rainwater tapped against it, splashing him with a refreshing wakeup. He moaned, the headache was still living deeply inside his head, and somehow his right leg was bruised severely. Pursing his lips and clenching his teeth his pushed himself up –his arms wiggling with weakness. The wood was dry…thankfully, and the blanket he was tucked into was warm and soothing against his numb body; the shed had numerous holes in the roof, and the floor showed heaping piles of rubbish. Ryley paused for a minute, retracing in his mind what had happened, he remembered surprisingly well: every raindrop, and every detail. He shivered with hunger and thirst.
He now stood to his full five foot eight, a bit woozy, but he could withstand it, he brushed the dirt off his wrinkly clothing and pants.
"Gooooood morning!" a slender finger tapped him on the shoulder, Ryley jumped like a cat slightly.
"Whoa!" His heart quickly stopped beating loud.
"Ahem, well, here's some tea." The teenager replied courteously, she stood in front of him and smiled presently, her eyes, beaming with red happiness, her hair; pushed softly behind her, it glistened with a black streak of sun. Beautiful, she was one to admire all right, and Ryley couldn't help himself. But, something caught his eye abruptly and made him snap back to normal. Two, bat like wings stoke out of her head, they were tattered and beaten sadly, fortunately, they weren't too distasteful.
"T-t-hanks," He felt the waves of heat purge off the cup she was holding, he was blushing terribly, and foolishly tried to hide it. He didn't know what'd he should say next; it was like staring at two seven year olds playing 'marriage'
She gave him an adjacent look, "You…okay there?"
"Oh? Uh, Sorry, I'm just cold…" Ryley stuttered, harshly making any audible sense. He tapped the mug against his numb lips, and pushed the cup upwards, the stinging sensation of heat heated his fingers and throat. Though it was kind of painful, it was soothing.
"By the way, stranger. My name's Maya Darkwood. And you might be?" Maya sipped her tea, it hued an orange aroma, the steam swirled like silk into against her face. Her eyes laid blank when she turned to him. "-The Prince of Hyrule, what are you doing in a place like this?" She spoke firmly, expecting a straight answer.
Ryley looked at his feet, he spoke coldly and sudden. "I…ran away…"
"Why?"
He gave her a fixed look, which would scream an answer: 'None of your business'
She took the hint, but refused and asked again, more formally the second time, "You ran away? Eh? It might not be any of my business but –why?" She tapped her foot unaware.
He sighed in agony "Because of my dad. If you want to keep your fingers…I suppose you should stick to your own business." Ryley bowed and muttered a thank you, while dusting off his shoulders and proudly made his way towards the door.
She like a spider; guarded the door, arms and legs widespread. "Tell me. I won't tell anyone! I promise!" Her eye's glistened with eagerness. Oddly, her unique bat wings were twitching.
"I don't want to see someone get hurt, I'm thankful what you've done, and once this 'situation' is cleared up. I'll give you a friendly award. But please, mind…your own business." He said all in one sentence, while shoving his way through her stance. Outside, in the dull gray morning he stopped; facing the teenager again. He gave a soft look and prickled his toes to move.
Through the ringing silence she spoke clearly, twisted with a voice of tears. "I came here to find my father."
For five minute's there was nothing. The air was thick with nothing. Only the hum of the clouds and sky petted against the silence. It was eerie, and very awkward, for both of them. His mouth opened, but no sound came out, he could even feel the stinging routine of voice tickle his throat, but he just couldn't.
"I-I-I'm sorry to hear that…" Ryley said disheartening, as he continued, woe with the sin of guilt and pity. His footsteps echoed painfully into Maya's ears, softer, and fainter they echoed until finally he was out of sight.
She lost her will, along with her balance, she fell against the wall slowly, and rubbed against the side until she locked into a sit, tears cried from her red eyes as she buried them into her bony knee's. Discarded on the plank of scratchy wood beside her laid her chipped teacup, a hot steaming pool of tea fell through the cracks. That was all too sudden, and too harsh! Why would he say such a thing? After all I helped him too, and that ungrateful rich snob just left! ARRGH! He mind buzzed a million and one things to call him –all very 'colourful' and 'pleasant' then the other. Anger quickly replaced her depression, as she stood up. Her feet pounded with ache as she stepped into the morning gaze, her eye's flaming with regret and frustration as she walked swiftly in his direction. He's going to pay! She told herself over and over.
Ryley climbed onto the rotten crates, and jumped onto the slippery tiles. He maintained perfect balance as he tapped across the rooftops, his feet shuffling fast over the flattened tops, and slowed down to a pace that a sloth could beat over the pointed ones. He landed silently on the dry pavement a few metre's below, as he pushed himself up to raise to his full stance he straightened his back –it was taught and sore, a result from sleeping on a floor for umpteen hours. He continued on, into the bliss and endless maze of the slums. Since by now I was seven-ish; people were walking up and staring vexingly at him as he ventured through the ghetto, in his mind he wanted to rethink and retrace were he was. But for now, and until the unknown hunger would ram into him, the path was his destination.
Minutes felt like hours to him, mostly because the morning chill was hovering around, his hair was damp somehow, but still freely swayed around like it would when it's in water. His bone sharp knuckles and elbows were tense and were ready to win any fight. Half expected to be jumped from his Dad, his brother or any mob was on constant and paranoid alert, every pacing second jumped by him, he felt like someone was watching him, and that feeling made his spine shiver terribly.
From out the bleu a slender hand grasped his shoulder. All in a daze Ryley twisted it around to the perpetrator's back and applied faint pressure, it took him a millisecond to let go and apologize – It was Maya.
"Hey! You! I'm no done with you!" She stuttered while firmly getting onto her feet, her arms pushed onto her back making her look uncomfortably higher and stressor. "You rude! Snobbish! Stupid! Dull! Annoying! Little punk! Do you honestly think I'll go down with a fight! Ho ho, you're very mistaken –"
Ryley shut her yappy mouth with his large hand. He gestured a "shh" With his left finger. She struggled furiously for a time, then realized what he was being quiet for and cooperated.
Shuffling and grunting roared from the shadowed corner. Laughing quickly filled their minds, as two, three, six disgusting looking and threatening looking thugs appeared one by one into the scene. They chuckled as they zipped their pant flies and stopped in a symmetrical circle around the two. "Well well well, a couple out on a cute little walk? What are you two doin' in our territory."
"Y-your Territory?" Ryley blurted out.
All of them, gave him a crisp intimidating glance, one of them laughed and almost sang out "Yes, 'tis our turf you stumbled upon."
Maya's heart was almost jumping out of her chest as the sickening thought ran through her mind a million, zillion times. Tears rolled off Ryley's hand and onto the ground.
She was going to get raped.
Ryley let go, and stared at the ground sadly, and gave a smirk, in his hand, he held a small pint sized pebble he swiped from his random pocket. He dumbfounded them by chucking it at the muscular bald thugs head ajar from his left. All in one blink, Ryley snatched her slender wrist and charged into a feeble built gangster, sending him neck first onto the pavement.
All of the testosterone pumped men skipped, tripped, and ran towards the blur of Ryley and Maya, compared to their over sized chests feet and hands. They were small enough to manure around and meddle their ways out of harm's. Eventually, the dead end they were caught in was far behind the two, and the pathway Ryley went through earlier was getting stampeded.
They were a few good metre's away from the mob of thugs, they needed to go faster, but Maya wasn't snapped to yet. Ryley was literally carrying her until she blinked.
"What…what the hell? Oh!" She tumbled her feet to the pavement and lightened the load on Ryley, now they were farther and safer now that four legs were sprinting instead of two.
Like heaven, there was a light at the end of the tunnel, the market was the light however, it was both: bad and good news. Ryley broke off of Maya and dived into behind a crate after the sharp corner passed, Maya, trying not to look stupid joined in after. For second he couldn't breathe, if he did –They would smell it. He covered his mouth to even make sure, the shuffling stopped and voices grew louder.
"Boss, we've lost 'em." One of them spoke out of breath.
"Shut up!" An eye closing slapping sound echoed across the alley.
"They've escaped into the crowd…lucky bastards, lets go." He grunted and roared as he turned around, they rest following.
Finally! He could exhale. Same with Maya, she was smiling with tiredness and thankfulness. "I-I thought we'd be goners…" She said darkly.
"Sorry, that I got you into this mess-"
"No, don't say that. I'm glad you're around, you saved my life."
"As you did to mine…look Maya," He scratched the back of his neck. "I'm sorry I hurt your feelings…"
"It's okay…I thankful you saved me, heh, I must sound like a broken recorder…" She snarled and snorted with laughter.
"…What's-"
"Never mind. Do you have any clue what we do next?" She said while getting up, and brushing her pants.
"We? Wait, You want to come along?" Ryley replied while getting up as well, shaking his 'suit'
"Yes," She smiled pleasantly. "We. I'd love to be your friend."
A friend? Ryley's never really had a friend for years. He smiled, admiring the friendship he now had with this mysterious and very friendly Maya Darkwood. What challenges he would could now take with a friend he still wondered. He just couldn't get over the fact that he actually, had a friend! And not to mention a hot one.
He snapped to, after dazing into million questions. "Well, I want to leave this city."
"Great! Me too!"
END