The dock groaned and creaked below me as I dashed after the boy. He’d left the dock and headed off through the shipyard; I sped up to see which way he was headed. A group of seamen lounging about with drinks by the ship store called out to him as he passed, and laughed good-naturedly when he gave them a quick wave but kept on running.
“Hey! Hey! Guy in black, hold up!” I yelled (I’ve never been a very shy girl.)
I ended up chasing that guy all through town, as he crossed through the café and down a deep alley, never stopping once. I, on the other hand, was quite sure my lungs would collapse if this kept up much longer. I mean, geez, what kind of track star was this kid? Yet, all in the name of being a Good Samaritan, I urged my aching legs on, determined.
The eye-patch boy finally slowed deep in a maze of alleys. He stopped looked around a bit, then climbed in through the splintered window of a decrepit building. Common sense should have told me that he was up to know good, skulking around in abandoned buildings, but then, I’ve never been one to put sense before curiosity. Panting like a dog in a sauna, I climbed into the window after him. The building was empty inside, curtained with cobwebs, and carpeted with dust. Dim light shone through from another window at the opposite wall, illuminating the footsteps in the thick dust. There seemed to be more than one set of prints, I noticed absently.