London. Buckingham, 1962
The blood from the bullet wound stained the perfectly cleaned jeans again.
Redrack groaned, his throat muscle rises in annoyance
Heading to the nearby bath stall, and shutting the door for privacy. I unbuckled my belt with a quick swift and pulled my pants down to inspect the injury only to find the bullet wound continue to open on my thigh, it was bleeding the white bandage I spent so long trying to cover.
"Damn it… not again"
My hands carefully adjust to open the bandage, not wanting to burn the pain further, my hand reached to the left and ripped a toilet paper from it's handle.
I pressed gently on the bleeding wound with the tissue, the white pulp absorbing the blood slowly, painting it in red.
Seeing as it slowly began to dry, I looked for a source of water to clean it, not wanting to use the toilet water due to its filth I grabbed a jet spray from the side hoping it would do the job, my palm slowly pulling on the trigger before the sudden
PSHH! "AHHH FUCK!" The water from the jet sprayed with high speed like a bullet, stinging my leg like a like an angry wasp, I gritted my teeth trying to hold the pain and not make a further commotion on the silent empty bathroom, my scream echoed a bit but thankfully it didn't reach the ears of the people outside the train station.
After a good 5 seconds, the pain slowly began to ease. I picked up a new clean bandage from my bag and began to slowly wrap it around my thigh again.
standing up and flushing the toilet despite having no urine inside the water, my hands reached to unlock the bathroom door, when a quiet conversation was heard from behind the stall and the large thick wall, the voices were almost silent but the reason it could reach my ear was due to the small window above the toilet.
"No, I haven't seen him" said an old balding man in his 40's sitting on a bench beside his wife,
The young officer held the poster with my face stamped. "John Redrack." my name written on the bottom of the picture and above it, on all caps said "WANTED OUTLAW" the officer nodded. "well if you have, make sure you report to the authorities, we've received calls saying that he went to the train station today"
he politely tipped his hat before walking away to ask other witnesses on the train station, my eyes continue to spy on the big commotion, it seemed that a whole army of cops had arrived trying to find my whereabouts, there was around 20 cops I would say, No… perhaps more.
Hearing footsteps slowly arriving to the bathroom I duck inside the stall, sitting like I was in a squat toilet, the door clicked open, entering the bathroom was two teenagers, a bit young I could tell due to their voices sounding like they've just hit puberty
"Ugh, that burrito was so not worth it." One of the teenagers stumbled to the sink to wash his greasy hands from the burrito
"I told you so! What kind of old man sells burrito's on a sidewalk? He didn't even setup something simple like a food stall!"
My legs were still on the toilet seat, reaching for my bag, and picking up a blonde wig.
The front bangs were shaped in a bowl cut, while the sides were long enough to reach the bottom of my neck, I wrapped it around my scalp, before adding a black fedora on top to further disguise myself better
finally unlocking the bathroom stall I walked out to leave the bathroom in slow subtle footsteps, the two teenagers stole a glance at me, as I exit quietly.
the two teenagers eyed at each other in pure confusion.
"Hey… Was that a woman?"
"Wait are we in the right stall?"
The air and sky were painted in gray toxic clouds, trains engine roaring on the rusty rail roads, as I could even hear the men groaning each time they lift the shovel of coal to keep the train alive,
The crowd only grew louder. Smoke curled above the benches where men sat, puffing thick cigars and grumbling between turning the page of the news paper. Birds dangling along the station roof, their chirps sharp and loud. Near the platform, toddlers clung to their mothers' skirts, faces wet with tears.
"excuse me, sorry" I slowly slithered into the shoulders and backs. my steps tight and angled like walking a narrow ledge, a sudden hit from a stranger elbow slammed into my spine. I lurched forward, wind knocked out, my hand shooting out just in time to miss clipping a girl's cheek by inches. Causing a startled gasp from her as I tried to steady myself.
The thick hairy wig started to itch a bit, but it managed helped me blend into crowd, almost no one glanced twice, but I still kept my head low, my eyes were only fixed on the tourist map of Hawaii crumpled in my grip. Cartoon elephants drawings and winding rivers and pictures of beaches
My lips were already smirking up, already fantasizing relaxing underneath the scorching yellow sun with an orange juice in my hand.
With my destination set, I shove the map back inside my coat. Then CRASH! A loud thud roughed up in the street. I stumbled to the ground, and my wig lying in the dirty floor like a dead animal, my heart dropped. Crap!
"Hey! Watch where you're going- wait…" The guard was sharp, yet hesitant when he saw the blonde laid in front of me, I was on all fours, and the guard was on stand by towering me. "State your name-"
WHACK!My hand reached and tightened around a jagged rock, it was sharp and heavy and around the size of my palm. In one swift motion, I swung. The guard's head snapped to the side swelling his nose, stains of blood falling into the ground from his bleeding and crooked nose. He crumped with a grunt
"Put your hands- H-hey!" another guard shouted, but my legs already jolted out of the mess
I dove into the crowd, shoulders slamming bodies, and heads being spread to slither past. My legs pumping in adrenalineBang! Bang!Gunshots cracked the air. Screams of horror followed. The crowd broke apart in panic, scattering like startled gazelle. Mothers lifting their babies to flee and civilians hiding behind trash can and poles. Birds scattered from the rooftops, their tweeting melody drowned by chaos.
My body was the only one controlling me, my mind raced about the worst possibilities on what could happen, it was like death was breathing down my neck, if the guard was good enough, a simple shot could graze my back or at worst the back of my head.
Then through the blur of motion I caught man in his 30s appeared in front, clutching a train ticket.
perfect.
I ran toward him.
Crash.
We collided shoulder-first, both of us slamming to the hard floor "O-ow, who the—?"
"Sorry!" I was already scrambling to get up on my feet, not waiting for the rest.
The man winced, reaching for his fedora as it rolled away from the wind, but then his eyes narrowed. He spotted the approaching officers, their uniforms cutting through the crowd like wolves. He lifted a shaky hand and pointed straight at me.
Bang!
Another shot rang out. Closer this time.
The engine of the train beside me roared it's loud horn, signifying about it's set for leaving, my mind finally thinking that this was my chance.
I steadied on the edge of the train station and prepared to leap.
When my thigh decided to cramp around the bullet, and the jump started to falter its push, causing a weak leap. My eyes widen upon realizing there was a possibility I could not make it, and whats worst was that my leg started to sting my thigh like someone stabbed a knife to it in the most painful way.
The distance between the train and the station was 1.5 meters apart, and the pathetic leap I did almost made me fall into the steaming railway wheel.
My hand latched onto a rail, I dangled like a leaf, my thigh screaming, heart hammering like it was trying to escape my chest, Panicking, I put every bit of my strength to lift me up.
"Get down from the train!" The cop shot at my direction nearly hitting my knuckle, the loud piercing bullet almost made my finger slip.
but the train started to pick up its speed, The officer's outstretched gun shrank into the distance, his voice lost in the roar of the engine.
"Report to the conductor! NOW!" A superior officer commanded.
Finally able to lift myself and stand in the train but my legs gave out instantly, folding beneath me. I collapsed onto the metal grating, my pulse panting like it was about to burst, the cold wind slapping my face as the land beside blurred past.
"Damn it!"
I looked down.
Blood. Dark, thick, fresh. It was spreading from my thigh and alot faster this time, bleeding through the fresh bandage like paper. gripping the rail and dragging myself upright. Every movement sent sharp fire up my side.
I needed new bandages. A doctor.The pain wasn't fading, it was getting worse.
I pushed open the door to the first carriage, nearly empty. Just a few scattered passengers, some were just old men.
Limping down the aisle, I nearly lost my balance with each step, but the only thing that motivated me to keep going was the soft red velvet cushion, I finally dropped onto one after a long effort of pain, letting my weight sink in with a heavy thud.
Outside, golden fields rolled past the window, The world blurred by It's speeding view. I shifted, and reached into my coat pocket and reached for-
My journal, dusty and old, I flipped to a specific page, the papers were smudged in yellow, like a treasure map from a bottle
#42
The pain wasn't getting any better, the more they know I'm alive the worst it is for me to stay alive.Hawaii seems like a great place for me to visit I've heard great news from it, I hope that I'll be able to live there if possible. Sometimes I have my doubts on where if my choice of running away was the better idea, no. No. It is the better Idea, I would rather die than go back to that hell hole of a lab… I miss my friends… I miss them so much…
-John Redrack
BOOK SHUT