and Chains
So now I�m running late. I have to drop all this stuff at my apartment, change and be at the club in less than an hour. I should probably hop a transport but I see nothing coming so instead I end up half walking, half jogging through town. The first week is supposed to be easy. I�m beginning to see why my tour guide yesterday looked so exhausted. But at least the people on campus seem nice. They don�t act put off by the eyes. Or make jokes. I was prepared for that. Not that I planned on hiding them. I�ll never wear total coverage contacts again. They itch and make my vision cloudy.
I finally make it out of Metro Olde and into the Underside. My apartment is on the outskirts. Tourists don�t come here. The streets are somewhat let go, littered with trash and occasional broken glass, but it�s not as bad as it looks. Shocked me completely when I first moved though. Public areas aren�t dirty where I grew up. The higher you go, the cleaner it gets. But now this is familiar. You mind your business and people don�t bother you.
I pull my jacket a little tighter around me and step up the speed, just below running. Unless you have a good reason, you don�t run here. It only makes people nervous. Still, I�m moving pretty fast as I round the corner.
Slam.
The breath is knocked out of me as I plow headlong into what feels like a leather jacket covering a brick.
�Excuse me.� I apologize, stepping to the side to go around him.
�No, excuuse me.� The brick laughs. I hear the rustle of chains. This has not been my week, I think repressing a sigh. He grabs me, his fingers digging into my arm. From beyond him I see at least five other people step forward.
Shit.
�I�m very sorry for running into you, it was absentminded of me.� I say, shifting my weight and hoping he doesn�t notice. Maybe they�re just in this for a couple of laughs. If not, I�ll have to try and run for it before I�m surrounded.
�Did you hear her Bill, she�s soooorry.� Now I know where the chain sound is coming from. Bill saunters towards me with a long set wrapped between his hands. My stomach is flipping and my bag feels heavy on my shoulder. Scratch that, this hasn�t been my month. There is no way I can take six guys. Best bet is to break and run.
I twist my arm towards his thumb, throwing my weight back and turning around. Then I�m running as fast as I can screaming �Fire� at the top of my lungs. You can�t yell for help around here, Jhaelyn told me. People don�t care.
The brick is still laughing and before I have enough time to wonder why, three more people melt from the shadows in front of me. One is carrying a large stick, another is holding a rope and yet another is tossing around a copy of Bill�s chain. I quickly decide they must be from the same group.
�Fire! Fire! Fire! Fucking Inferno!�, I�m yelling. Obviously nobody cares about fire here either. Fine time for Jhaelyn�s advice to fail. They�re closing in, taking their sweet time because they know they�ve got me.
The street is completely empty. I know if they can reach at me all at the same time, I have no chance. So when I see the hint of a skinny alley within reach, I tear off like a souped up blastboard on caffeine. Even if it�s a dead end, they�ll have to climb over each other to reach me. And if push comes to shove I can shift without anyone noticing. Which is good, because around here, bystanders are more likely to shoot me in half-form than the gang assaulting me.
I whip into the alley. Of course, it leads nowhere. There aren�t even any convenient ladders or handholds. At least I have a wall at my back. This has the makings of a bad action vid. Unfortunately it�s my life and it�s going to hurt. A lot. I shift into a fighting stance, brass knuckles folded around my fist like an embrace. Whatever these guys want with me, I�m going to be unconscious or dead and take a couple of them with me before they can get it.
I hope.