nightrunners

xv.

Cassiopeia stumbled over various items in the dark. Although she was being led by Rafe, she couldn't help but feel completely lost. Her sense of sight was completely useless and her only way out was to rely on the erratic boy pulling her. He suddenly whipped her down behind a bush and she fell into the crook of his lap. His breaths came out heavy and she could faintly hear his heart beat racing.

"Did you know about them?" He muttered into the air.

Cassiopeia shook her head, not realizing he couldn't see the motion.

"No," She mumbled, her back leaning against Rafe's chest.

"If you have something to do with them showing up, some weird fucking pact those losers made," Rafe knelt down, his breath gently touching the top of her ear, "You will never see them again, yeah?"

She felt the blood rush to her face, and she thanked her lucky stars that Rafe couldn't currently see her.

A small light flickered in front of her, registering in her head that it was Rafe's watch.

"We still have time," He rasped and stood up abruptly, pushing her off of his lap.

She plopped on the ground but was instantly yanked up by the hem of her sleeve.

"Don't fuck this up for me," He whispered into the air, dragging her past a corner which displayed another dim street light with a boy standing underneath it.

He ordered her to stay behind a building and jogged across the street. She hunched over in the shadows, watching Rafe do his business with the much shorter boy.

Her eyes were fixated on him and she studied his movements. Rafe was confident, and a little terrifying. He reigned about a foot over the boy and the shadows reflecting off of his figure made him seem much taller and menacing. Rafe brushed his two strands of hair from his eyes and handed the boy a chunk of rolled up cash.

Cassiopeia's head cocked in confusion but her eyes only widened as the kid handed Rafe a black, pointed item with a handle.

Rafe took the item and lifted up his shirt in the back, stuffing it into the back of his pants.

Cassiopeia felt her entire body grow cold and her breath caught in her throat. Rafe and the boy were exchanging words of goodbye when she shot up from her hiding spot and began to sprint in the other direction.

The only continuous thought in her brain was telling her not to stop moving. She knew Rafe couldn't be that far behind her, he did have a reputation of catching her. She turned her head to look behind her and unknowingly slammed into something familiar and soft.

She groaned in pain as the boy's arms wrapped around her.

"Cassiopeia, what the fuck is going on?" JJ whispered into her ear frantically, "Where's Rafe?"

Just as the blonde boy asked Rafe came out of the darkness and stood in the street facing the two.

"C'mon Maybank, don't make this difficult," Rafe sneered.

"You're fucking crazy!" JJ yelled, pushing Cassiopeia behind him.

"JJ," Cassiopeia protested, "Don't he has-."

"Give it up Rafe," Pope shouted from the darkness, "Just let her come with us."

Rafe shook his head and laughed as JJ stormed closer to him, "Oh, I wouldn't do that if I were you," he rasped, whipping out the item from behind him.

Rafe pointed the gun point blank at JJ, his arm shaking slightly, "You take one step closer and you'll end up like your fucking chickens."

Pope was yelling from behind JJ as John B crept up diagonally. Rafe must've sensed his presence because he whipped around and shot in John B's general direction. The sound of the gun erupting the cricket's melody.