Alek

Chapter 21: Mae Kazimi

Chapter 21: Mae Kazimi

I've been walking for the past ten minutes.

I think.

After Alek Russo left me bleeding and soaking on the wet and deserted road, I crawled onto my feet and walked the opposite way he'd gone. I remembered not caring about where I was going as long as it was far away from him, and had limped as fast as I could whilst drowning in the rain.

Now, I walk past a row of brightly red shops, dragging my feet and forcing my body to keep on moving. I've lost one of my knives somewhere on the street and only have three left, and I have to stay out of trouble.

I am in no shape to fight.

The tall buildings surrounding me suddenly feel like they are caving in and the bright red lights are blinding me as I hurry down the sidewalk. There are hardly any cars in sight except for a few, and I don't notice them because of the pain that is making me half delirious.

The funny thing is, I don't even remember getting hurt. I don't remember tearing my skin or hitting my knee against the concrete, but whenever this happened, it hurts like hell now.

My phone rings and I pull it out of my pocket to check who is calling.

Avery.

I ignore it and shut it off, realizing that my phone screen is cracked and hanging by a very thin thread.

I sniffle, about to toss it onto the floor and smash it until it breaks, but I pause. I don't want to leave things that belong to me randomly on the floor in the middle of a strange place. Just like Alek had recognized the charm on my phone from three years ago, someone else could probably recognize my phone as well.

I slip it back into my pocket and lean against a building for support so I can catch my breath.

"Excuse me?" a small voice calls. I turn around to see a young black girl waving in my direction, her braided hair in a long ponytail. She is holding an extra large cup of something steaming hot and my stomach growls. Surprising me, she hands it out to me, "I got it for you."

I stare at the large hot cup in her hands and blink.

"For me?" I rasp, clearing my throat and looking back at her. "Are....are you sure?"

She smiles, and her smile is so warm it makes my entire body tingle, "Of course. I saw you limping in the rain and I didn't want you to get sick."

"Thank you," I whisper. "Thank you."

She shrugs and hands it to me before waving and walking down the opposite way of the sidewalk and towards the road to cross it to the other side. I stand there, holding the large cup in my hands and staring after her.

As soon as she's out of sight, I open the cup and quickly begin to drink, sniffling between sips. My nose is running and my fingers are wet. My clothes are dripping with water and my head pounds and feels heavy with my hair soaked with water.

The hot chocolate does wonders to my tingling body.

I begin to walk once more, and slowly, I lose count of how many minutes I've been walking for. It's as if time disappears and it's only me and the world.

It's like time has stopped.

As I am slowly finishing my hot chocolate, I stop near a stray garbage bin that sits outside a closed restaurant. It's probably around 3 AM and I'm so tired I can hardly keep my eyes open so I stand there as I slowly drain my hot chocolate.

A weird tingling creeps up my spine and I freeze.

I'm being followed.

My Shadow training instantly kicks in and I lick my lips. I have to act casual. I have to act as if I don't know anything and keep going my way.