© Copyright jvaughn, 2015. All rights reserved. Copyright violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
When I started writing this, I had planned to finish by Christmas. LOL! That obviously didn't happen. It ended up longer than I expected, and well, other stuff came up. I'll still continue to post regularly until it's finished even though that will probably be sometime in February. Hope you enjoy. Please don't forget to vote, and I'd love to hear what you think. --J.
Chapter Nine
Kim glanced up at the sky and quickened his pace. It was the eve of the solstice, the shortest day of the year, and the stars were already starting to come out. It would be a clear, bitterly cold night. The temperature was negative ten Celsius and dropping, and a stiff breeze added its bite to the chill.
Kim clutched his bag of groceries more tightly to his chest. He usually tried to avoid going to the grocery store after work in the winter, or if he did go, he went to the one close to his house in Zonei. But Raeden's appetite had picked up, and since he had partially morfed a few days earlier, he'd been ravenous. Kim wanted to make sure he had enough to eat.
Fuel to help him heal,
he told himself. But he couldn't afford to buy the quantity and type of food he needed from the store in Zonei.
He had, however, hired Carlos and Pablo to escort him to the edge of Zonem. Now he was on his own, trying to turn the fifteen-minutes from the border of Zonei to his building into ten minutes.
He was only eight blocks from home when he saw the men. First he noticed one, standing very still in a shadowed doorway. He would have focused all of his attention on him, but something—perhaps a noise—caused him to glance to the other side of the street. There was a man there too, also standing in the shadows, almost opposite the first man. It was clearly an ambush, but whether they were waiting for someone in particular or just for the next available victim was unclear.
Kim had to make an immediate decision. Go between them and hope they didn't accost him or turn around, back the other direction, away from home. He turned around and headed for the nearest cross-street, keeping his pace fast and even, straining to hear if they were following him.
Hearing nothing, he risked a quick glance back. One of the men was following at a distance, his pace matched with Kim's. The other was nowhere in sight.
If he's still following me after I turn the corner, I'll ditch the groceries and run,
Kim told himself, trying to keep a rein on the stark terror that was building in his chest. He reached the corner quickly and turned onto the side street—it was narrower than the street he'd been on, but not quite an alley. He hadn't gotten very far when he saw someone enter the street at the far end.
Okay, an ambush for sure. He dropped his groceries then and ran toward the cross street he had just come from. He'd only taken a few steps when the man who was following him turned the corner, blocking his path. He was joined immediately by another man.
Shit!
Kim got a look at their faces in the fading light. They were young—teens probably—and hungry.
Quents!
They were hungry for more than food, Kim guessed. Quents fed off violence and destruction.
Kim whirled and ran the other direction, trying to judge the size and swiftness of the youth who was blocking the exit at the other end of the street. He couldn't allow himself to think about the last time he'd become a victim of quents—his brain would seize up entirely. He had to focus on escape.
His heart was pounding in his ears as his eyes swept up and down the street, looking for a way out. The quents had planned their strategy well. There were no alleyways off this street, only doorways. The businesses had all closed. Everything would be locked.
The quents behind and the one in front of him were not running to catch him. They were confident that they already had him trapped. The one in front stopped and waited for him, his teeth catching the light as he broke into a broad gin.
Then suddenly there was movement to Kim's left. Another quent materialized from behind a garbage bin, not more than thirty feet away.
A whimper of terror came out of Kim's mouth. On his right a short distance away was a set of grated metal stairs, leading up to an iron door. On instinct, Kim headed for them. The door would undoubtedly be locked, but perhaps he could use the height to his advantage somehow.
He was on the sixth or seventh step, about halfway up, when he was pulled to a halt by the large youth behind him. Kim tried to twist away, but the quent had a tight grip on his jacket. Without thought, Kim unzipped his jacket and, narrowing his shoulders and straightening his arms, he dove forward. His jacket slipped off and the youth fell backwards down the stairs, letting out a sharp cry.
Kim had lost his balance too, but managed to regain it with a few quick steps to the top of the stairs. He desperately tried the metal door, but it was locked, of course. Looking back down, he saw that the quent who had grabbed him was lying at the bottom of the stairs, rubbing his elbow and glaring up at him.
"You're going to be so fucking sorry you did that," he snarled.
Kim ignored his comment. His brain was too occupied with saving himself. It was at that moment that he realized the area under the stairs could be a sanctuary of sorts. It was enclosed by a sturdy newsteel fence with a gate that was padlocked. Whatever it had been protecting had long since been removed; the enclosed space held nothing but bit of debris. The risers on the stairs were open. Kim wasn't sure he'd be able squeeze through them, but he was sure going to give it a try.
He knew he'd have to act fast. The other quents were reaching the bottom of the stairs now and the first one was climbing to his feet. As soon as they realized what he was attempting, they'd be upon him. Without hesitation he sat down on the second to the top step and slipped his feet through the opening. Flipping over to his stomach, he slid backward until his butt came in contact with the risers. Grunting, he used his hands to push, and shimmied his hips frantically.
"Hey!" One of the quents had noticed his escape attempt.
At that moment, his hips wiggled free. He blew all the air out of his lungs as he struggled to fit his shoulders through the narrow opening. Luckily he was thin. He turned his head sideways, and it was a tight fit. His ear caught on the metal grating and his wool hat came off as he pulled his head through. He let go with his hands just in time. One of the quents had made it up the stairs to grab him. His fingers brushed Kim's arm as they slipped out of his reach.
He felt himself falling and braced for the landing. He lost his footing on the uneven pavement and fell, managing to protect his head with his arms as he crashed to the ground. He sat up, shaken but unharmed, then pulled himself to his feet and positioned himself against the brick wall, away from the fence but mindful that he wasn't too close to the stairway. The quent who had almost grabbed him was now sitting on the stairs glaring down at him through the risers.
