The Rider (Complete)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Kade's lungs burned and he was out of breath. He was sucking back his oxygen supply at an unsustainable rate, depleting his only canister. Once it ran out, that was it, he would be dead. His legs were moving as quickly as possible, despite his limp. 

It was midday so there was plenty of light, however, much of the sun was blocked by the tall buildings. He made it six blocks without encountering any danger, but he was still far from home. Ducking in an out of buildings, he navigated blindly through the dead city, heading down back alleys and back roads, trying to maintain a low profile. The city was massive, but with that, there were a lot of hiding spots for scavs as well, which made him nervous.

In the distance, he spotted movement so he ducked into a blown out wall and withdrew into the shadows. He lay in wait for a moment to catch his breath and to avoid being spotted. Blood soaked into his boot. He lifted up his pantleg to reveal a wound that didn't know he had. He would definitely need treatment at some point soon, but that wasn't likely to happen. Within seconds, a group of scavs ran past with their guns drawn. Kade retreated back against the wall and remained still.

When the timing felt right, Kade poked his head out of the building. Struggling to his feet, he steadied himself on his wounded leg and hobbled forward. He picked up his pace with each laboured step and made it another two blocks before stopping once again. To his delight, he began to recognize some of the buildings. He had been there before.

In his excitement, he threw caution to the wind and became careless. As he made his way down the middle of the street, he was spotted.

"Hey!" someone called out. "There he is!"

A shot rang out and Kade ducked his head. He could hear the bullet whiz by. There was another shot, then another. Parts of the ground exploded mere inches away from his fast-moving feet. He found refuge in one of the buildings. Bullets ricocheted off the brick and echoed throughout the street. Through deep inhalations, he kept the oxygen flowing through his body. The ever-depleting levels was constant on his mind. If he were to make it back to Endocrine, he would definitely need to re-up.

The scavs pursued on foot, but had stopped firing. Kade was in no condition to be involved in a foot chase, but knew the consequences of getting caught. Gritting through the pain, he kept moving, darting in and out of buildings in a sporadic and evasive pattern. 

Breathing heavily, he needed to regain control over his heart rate not only to conserve oxygen and energy, but he felt like he was about to pass out at any moment. Evidently, he was no longer in the kind of shape he used to be where he could run for several kilometres in the scorching desert heat. Finding a spot in a building, he hunkered down in a dark corner.

Again, Kade thought about how much oxygen he was expending. It was like being invested in a stock with one's entire life savings, and then watching helplessly as the stock plummeted.

Crouching low with his back against a wall, Kade sat up and peaked out a small window. He could see several scavs. It appeared as though they had split up to look for him. Kade sized up one of the guys who was by himself, and felt as though he would be an easy target. 

Looking around him, Kade found a sizable chunk of brick that was heavy, but could be held in one hand. He picked it up and then let out a deep breath to calm his nerves. Using the wall for assistance, he stood up and sneaked up on the lone scav. 

The ground was made of loose dirt, which absorbed his weight and allowed him to move quietly, even as he was running. Plus, since everyone wore helmets, this acted as a barrier to dampen the sound.

Kade moved quickly almost as if he had forgotten about his injury. He covered the distance between him and the unsuspecting scav within seconds. When he was within arm's reach, Kade raised the brick high and clobbered the scav on the back of the neck. The scav went down, plowing face first into the ground. A plume of ash billowed out around him. Kade dove on top of him and began to club him repeatedly, bashing in the scav's chest with the rock.

With his heart rate elevated, Kade quickly searched the scav for anything of use — a weapon, disguise, oxygen canister. The only oxygen canister was the one in his helmet. Kade took a deep breath before removing his oxygen canister and swapping it out for the scav's canister. The scav's oxygen canister had significantly more oxygen than he had, which he was pleased about. It would buy Kade some more time. He could have kept both, but in doing so would bring about an agonizing and cruel death for someone who was likely just misguided or coerced into his depraved ways. That was in Kade's nature.

While crouching low, Kade ran across the street and hid once again. He needed to calm his nerves. His hands were shaking and he was breathing way too hard. He closed his eyes and attempted to regain control over his breathing. He recalled his time with the monks and how they taught him how to breathe and calm his mind and body. Like a Zen master, Kade took a moment to meditate. Despite being in the midst of a chaotic manhunt, Kade was in a state of relaxation in his mind and body. When he opened his eyes again, he had recalibrated. He wasn't so panicky and high-strung as he was before. 

He slowly stood up and made his way through the building he was in. Traversing down hallways, through debris fields, and over piles of rubble, Kade emerged on the other side of the block. Through sheer luck had found his bike. He wasn't sure what sort of damage it has sustained in the crash, but it was his only means of escape.