"H—ow?!" Steve glanced back as the wind wheezed out his throat.
He was being followed.
Maybe chased is the right word—but he hadn't seen his pursuers since he gave them the slip.
This was supposed to be a simple arcade visit.
Why did things end up like this?!
Ray, his only friend in school, invited him a few days ago.
Ray is the only one he felt safe with. The fact that there was little to steal from wasn't totally the reason...
But on the way he saw a group of men a couple of blocks ahead.
He paused, because there was a familiar man in with a sleek silver prosthetic arm amidst then.
That was the merchant he 'accidently' stole from the other day.
And they were walking right towards him!
Steven speedily took a turn—but just as he did, he locked eyes with the merchant.
'Shit'
"HEY!"
But by the time the merchant's bark reached him only whisps of his footsteps remained.
...
...
"Prrrpt"
Steven's lips trilled as he spat out the metallic taste in his mouth.
In the end, they caught him.
He told them he had thrown the ball away when he had actually put it in Ray's backpack, but they were having none of it.
"What are we going to do now boss?" One of them spoke.
"Should we compensate with an organ?" Another suggested, making Steven shudder.
The merchant—now wearing a pair of sunglasses even though the suns were setting—took another glance at the young felon's bloody face, his red-tinted hair complementing the mess, and shook his head.
"No, my gut tells me he'd be promising labor. Pick him up."
A moment later, a van pulled up at the other end of the alley and the evening quiet returned.
...
...
Tap. Tap. Tap.
A tanned man in uniform appeared in the alley just a few seconds after, vessels popping out of his shaved head.
"Those damn kids. If I ever—"
{"Rogers! You there?!"} His coms buzzed.
"Yeah. It's—"
{"No need..."}
"I'm already here."
A female officer walked out of the corner, gun in hand. Looking around, she gave her colleague a questioning gaze.
"Sorry, Judy, it was just some punks playing a damn prank. Don't worry, I memorized their faces just in case. They won't be laughing when we meet again." The smile on officer Rogers' face stretched uncomfortably.
His colleague sighed.
"And here I thought we'd hit it big. You know we can't afford to dawdle chasing fairytales, everyone's already on high alert for any sign of the seed being built underground."
"I know, I know, I'll try to confirm next time" Rogers rubbed his freshly shaved head as he sighed.
"Don't die before you report though... what's that?" Judy turned to leave, but just then she caught a blood-stained spot on the ground.
Drawing nearer she noticed a tiny red shard on top of it and picked it up with a handkerchief.
"What's that?" Rogers' bent towards it.
"A gift from the tooth fairy." Judy grinned. "Come on, let's check out who passed by these streets."
...
...
Pshh.
I scoffed, 'it's just a ball. Probably just another one of his toys. What is wrong with me, thinking about dragons and whatnot.'
I shook my head and stretched to grab hold of it. But the moment I touched the ball. It lit up, then it shattered into fragments and latched onto my wrist.
Then came the pain.
AAAA—
A thin needle pierced my wrist.
A shriek escaped my mouth, but I quickly stifled it. Don't judge me, injections are different from a fricking crucifixion.
It drew blood, but it didn't stop.
Horrified, I used my other hand to wrench it off.
It was then I screamed.
AAARRGGGHHHHH!
I quickly let go of the ball because what came out was not a thin needle but a string of root-like tentacles that seemed ready to take my arm down with it.
thud thud thud thud.
Immediately, I pick up multiple footsteps heading my way with even more shifting from their seats or work.
And I did the dumbest thing a human could do in an emergency.
I locked the room door.
It would only buy me a little time, but I wasn't going to let people know I'd come in contact with something possibly unknown. Not in this world.
I was starting to feel dizzy.
But just before I could pass out, the ball clunked to the ground. Quickly kicking it under the bed, the last thing I saw was door swinging open with Mrs. Brown storming in.