Chapter 2 #2
The two sets of footsteps behind us made me act on impulse. I looked over my shoulder to see that the Defender had brought a friend. I flicked my head to the left and Archie nodded, following my movement straight away. I dropped his hand to keep my balance as we dashed down the hill.
Our pursuers laughed at our apparent stupidity. Another jet of light blasted from behind us, grazing my ribs. I doubled over, the pain stealing the last of my breath.
“Come on,” Archie yelled, grabbing my hand again to pull me forward. My lungs protested, every breath agony as the wound at my side bled freely.
The road split into three. Archie dragged me to the left. “It’s a dead end,” he yelled.
“Then why would you pick this one?” I wheezed, clutching my ribs with my free hand.
This street smelled strongly of fish, making it even harder to breathe. The river cut off our escape route, and I panicked, turning to Archie. He threw himself on me, dragging me down with him. The cold water hit my skin and I gasped in shock. He’d flung us into the rushing river.
“Take a deep breath,” he warned, giving me a second before pulling me under. My lungs burned, already drained from the run.
We both kicked our feet, holding tightly onto one another. A small increase in pressure on my hand told me to keep going. Just a bit more. The surprisingly strong current helped carry us further away from our pursuers.
Finally, our heads broke the surface and I inhaled desperately, coughing up water. The Defenders’ faint voices sounded in the distance, and I pulled the shadows close around us. Archie dropped my hand at once as the familiar coldness spread through my fingers.
“They ran this way, I’m sure of it,” a deep voice called out. We looked at each other as the voices faded, laughing silently in relief.
My heartbeat was loud in my ears, the mix of the hot sun and cold water only worsening the uncomfortable sensation.
“You can stop that now,” Archie reminded me, and I let go of the shadows. My hands were numb inside my gloves.
He hitched himself out of the water, sweeping his dripping hair out of his eyes before reaching down to help me out. Gratefully, I took his hand. He gave a quick tug and wrapped his arm around my waist. I winced in pain as his hand found my skin.
I looked down to see the gushing wound at my side, my black linen shirt torn open. The fabric was burned where the Defender had hit me. Despite the pain, I couldn’t help but embrace the fact that the light hadn’t pierced straight through my body.
My legs shook with exhaustion, and I instinctively reached for Archie. He guided my arm over his shoulder, crouching slightly as we walked toward his home.
I laid on his kitchen table, the wood feeling rough against my bare back. Every few seconds, I inhaled sharply through my teeth as he stitched me back together. The irrational thought of slapping his hand away occurred several times.
“I’m almost done, I swear,” he said apologetically.
“You better be,” I whispered, grabbing the fabric of my pants with a tight fist. The light material was already mostly dry from the heat of the sun, but my gloves were still dripping wet.
To distract myself from the pain, I looked around. His house was only a little bigger than mine and Lili’s. He was born here in the city, without any powers, so he didn’t have to hide in the outskirts. But he’d lost his parents young, like us.
He had his work equipment and a bed pushed up against the wall. A few generic paintings, that I suspected were already here when he moved in, sparsely decorated the fading walls.
The ceiling was dirty with spiderwebs. “Don’t you ever clean up in here?” I teased. As a response, he broke my delicate skin with the needle once more.
I sucked in a breath. “Prick.” He laughed. I would be lying if I said this was the first time Archie helped me out of a tight spot. In fact, that was how we’d become friends in the first place.
Lili and I had barely been in the city longer than a week when I found myself in trouble. The first time I tried stealing, I was caught.
I was just 12 years old, and I was desperate.
It was the only way I could think of to get food.
I was roaming the streets by the river when I saw the fish market.
I figured no one would notice if a couple of the slimiest fish went missing.
So, I pulled my hood over my head and strolled as casually as I could toward the stall.
The merchant was engaged in a loud discussion with a fisherman down the road. I quickly snatched a fish from the ice-covered table and tried to stuff it into my pocket. To my horror, the fish was still alive. It twitched, and I squealed, dropping it. That’s when I noticed a boy staring at me.
It was evident that he’d seen the whole thing because he looked half shocked, half amused.
I gave a quick glance at the merchant; he hadn’t heard me.
This boy was clearly working for him. Would he tell on me?
When I looked back at the boy, he pressed his index finger to his lips.
Then he beckoned me closer with that same finger.
For some reason, it didn’t seem like he would expose me.
I took a couple of cautious steps toward the boy as I took in his features. He had autumn colored hair and stunning blue eyes that were swimming with compassion.
He ducked under the table, and I followed him. I almost gasped at the sight and smell of even more fish. He wrapped a couple in paper and handed it to me.
“For the record, I would stop carrying fish around in your pocket. The smell is bad enough already,” he chimed and gave me a little wink. I inhaled, wondering if he was talking about me or the fish.
I felt the needle sink in and out of my skin one last time, effectively stopping my reminiscing.
“What were you thinking about?” Archie asked, wiping the blood from my side and his fingers with a damp cloth. I sat up and looked down at his work. He’d cleaned it up well.
“The first time I met you,” I smirked, jabbing a finger in his chest. “You still haven’t told me… were you really talking about the fish smell that day?”
He chortled, throwing back his head. Then he looked at me with those blue eyes that hadn’t changed in all the years I’d known him. His face had gotten more angular and orange stubble sprinkled his chin. His hands had grown rougher and his arms and shoulders wider. “You know I wasn’t.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “Thanks for repairing me,” I grinned, trying to jump off the table only for him to push me back down.
“Why the hurry?” he cocked an eyebrow as if he didn’t already know.
“Lili is waiting for me. Also…” I pulled out the now soaked gift that Ann had given me and threw it on the table with a loud, wet thud. “You just ruined my new calendar.”