'Iron, when was the last time I tasted it? A funny thought to have, after getting punched in the face.'
I held a hand to my cheek. Aiden was always too good at punching people, and maybe too terrible at actually talking.
"For goodness' sake, Aiden" I spit blood on the ground. "What the hell was that for!?"
The boy was a picture of anger, closing his fists tight, looking at me like I offended his family ten generations back.
"You don't get it, do you? You're so stuck inside that head of yours, you-" He raised his fist, but instead of hitting me, he drove it into the vending machine beside us.
[BANG]
"You are a terrible friend, Luke. How could you forget!?"
We were out by the vending machines, on the quiet side of the bleachers overlooking the track. No one ever came here, which was why our trio always did. Today that property of our little retreat was helping to great effect in keeping our fight hidden from anyone else.
"What are you even on about, Aiden? Did you hit your head during training again?" He just stared at me this time, almost burning a hole on my face.
'Okay, think, what did I do? Even if he's a hothead he wouldn't hit me out of nowhere, he's still my best friend. Forget... What did I forget? I was training late yesterday... Yesterday... Oh.'
With a hand still on the rapidly forming bruise on my cheek, I managed, "Look, I'll make it up to her, okay? I'm sorry! I was so busy yesterday, I was so close to beating my best time, Aiden, you have to understand-" He shoved me to the side and started walking away.
"She cares about you, Luke. A lot. You could at least pretend to care a little about her back." At the end of the bleachers, he looked over his shoulder. "I hope you manage to be the fastest, Luke. I hope you get the Olympic medal you want and get to commemorate all by yourself, since you seem to plan to leave everyone that cares for you behind."
He disappeared around the corner.
[BANG]
"Damn it!" My fist rattled the vending machine, and something inside dropped with a clunk.
I really messed up this time. Yesterday was Sophia's birthday party. The birthday party she had been talking about for the last two months. The one where she bought all of us tickets to go to the amusement park together. The one where I didn't show up.
I rested my back on the vending machine, sliding down and sitting on the ground.
'Maybe I did deserve that punch. God, I'm such a-' Quiet footsteps approached, interrupting my thoughts. I knew them instantly.
Sophia turned the corner around the bleachers, approaching from the same way Aiden had left. Her face had my heart in a vice. She wore her usual simple makeup, but I could see it. The puffiness around her eyes, the way she was forcing a small smile.
'I really, really messed up.'
"Hey..." - She stopped in front of me.
"Hey..." - I didn't really know what to say - "I'm sorry, I was so caught up-"
"Don't, please." - She forced her smile a bit more - "It's fine, I know."
She crouched in front of me, gently moving my hand away from the bruise.
"He really hit you good huh?" - She looked worried for a second - "I'll go get you an ice pack, wait here-"
"No!" - I cut her off, startling her a bit - "I mean, no. Thanks. You shouldn't care for me like that. Not now."
She got up, taking a few steps back and letting out a big sigh.
"He didn't mean it, you know? Aiden loves you like a brother, Luke. He's just worried." - She always sounded so motherly, even more than my own mother sometimes. Aiden poked fun at her for it, called her the group's mom.
"I don't know about that, something tells me he was pretty serious about it this time." I got up, but not before getting whatever had fallen inside the vending machine. - "Ice Cherry" - I read. A sports drink. Fake cherry flavor. I hated it. I held it out to her. "You want it?"
She wrinkled her nose, waving me off - "I don't."
I tossed it into my bag, slung the strap over my shoulder, and started walking.
"Walk with me?" I turned to her.
She nodded, quietly walking a few steps behind me.
"You were so excited for yesterday. I'm really sorry, Sophia."
She continued to follow me, still silent.
"I know how much it meant to you... But look, I can make it up to you, alright? I can take you guys this weekend again!"
"This weekend?" she asked. There was a sharpness to her tone I didn't notice right away.
"Yeah, I'm gonna be busy the rest of the week, you know. Training every night. But this weekend I'll make time, I promise." We were almost at the school gates now.
"You always say that," she said, her eyes fixed on the ground.
"I mean it this time! I was so focused, so close to beating my best time. And I did it! I managed to set a new best yesterday!" - I got excited just remembering it. I even turned back again to her.
But she wasn't smiling.
"Was it worth it, Luke?" She seemed almost absent minded.
"What do you mean?" I was puzzled.
"You skipped out on us. On me." Her eyes were glistening. "Why don't you get it? I try so hard with you, and you didn't even remember my birthday!"
"Look, I'm sorry, its not like I wanted to-"
"Shut it. I don't wanna hear it anymore. Not again. You know what, Luke?"
I had never seen her this mad.
"Well, I'm happy for your new record," she said. "And I hope your father is proud, wherever he is."
My smile faltered.
"You shouldn't have said that." I muttered.
"But I did." Her gaze didn't waver.
I felt it, anger bubbling within me. I always had a sore spot on talking about my father, and she knows it. She knows it, and yet she said that. Maybe, maybe...
"Maybe if you stopped running after me like a lost puppy everyday," I regretted it even as the words kept spilling out, and yet, I didn't stop. "You would have had other friends to call to your birthday, no?" I could immediately see her jaw clench.
There was a tense moment of silence. Her eyes glistened. She let out a long sigh… and then, to my shock, smiled. It wasn't joy, not even bitterness. A tear threatened to spill out, but she rubbed it away.
"Thank you, Luke. I think I needed to hear that." She turned, slowly, as if time was letting me savor the terrible mistake I just made. She looked at me one last time.
"Goodbye Luke."
I stood there for a long time, watching her back fade as she walked down the street, my brain frozen in that terrible, sinking feeling you get when you regret something completely avoidable. And when she was gone, it felt like it all happened too fast.
ººº
It's just been me and Mom for six years now. When Dad was gone, neither of us took it well. Especially her. She worked longer shifts, always saying, "You know we're lacking another head nurse, so I have to step up! Don't worry, I'll be back for breakfast." She almost never was.
I stopped at the intersection, checking my phone.
'Oh yeah, she asked me to pick up food from Auntie Lu's on the way home.'
I took a turn toward the little restaurant. Auntie Lu's was a small Chinese place with some of the best food in the neighborhood. It was a good fifteen minutes from home, in a sketchy area, but always worth it.
The shop's door sat on the side of a tall building, right at the mouth of an alleyway. The sign hanging on it was flipped to Open.
I slid the door aside. A little bell jingled overhead, announcing my arrival, and I was immediately hit with the smell of spices and warmth that frankly, only an auntie's homecooking can bring.
"Hello hello!" I heard from the kitchen, along with the clattering of pans and utensils. "I'll be there in a bit!"
The shop was small and it was a miracle that it was empty at this hour. Right in front of the entrance was a counter with bar stools, usually packed with people enjoying their food, but not today. Closing the door behind me I went up to the counter.
"Hey Auntie Lu, it's Luke! I'm here to pick up what my mom ordered!"
She came out of the kitchen, cleaning her hands on a dish cloth.
"Oh Luke, dear boy. How is your mother? I'll get your food right away, I packed some extra today to put some meat on those bones!" She poked at my arms.
Now, I'm not ripped, but I'm not exactly skinny either. I'm lean! An athlete!
"Don't make that face!" She scolded. "Here, take it!" She handed me the paper bag, heavy with dishes. Then proceeded to get on her tippy-toes and ruffle my hair.
"There you go! You youngsters, especially runners like you, have to eat a lot! You need the energy!"
Resigned to fixing my hair later, I prepared to leave.
"Thanks, Auntie. See you next time." I turned toward the door, glancing at my phone to check messages.
While I was absorbed in my screen, the little bell above the door jingled. A very tall man had just walked in. I gave him a brief glance but immediately went back to my phone, brushing past him and scraping my shoulder against his.
"Ah, sorry," I muttered quickly, and walked on.
Almost reaching the intersection again, my phone buzzed.
"Don't forget the pickled ginger, please!"
With the grace of someone cursed to only have two hands, I dug through the bag... and came up empty. Sighing, I trudged back to the store.
'Closed.' The sign on the door had been flipped.
'That's weird. It hasn't even been two minutes.' I set the food down by the door and tried the handle… sliding it open.
The moment I step inside, my heart starts beating with the same cadence it has on the end of a long run. The smell is... wrong. It's not spices, it's not warm. The smell of iron, cold and unwelcoming.
I swallowed, forcing myself to move around the counter. The flip door was already open. I slipped into the kitchen. It was hard to hear it at first, over my beating heart, but hear it I did.
[Tac] [Squish] [Tac] [Squish] [Tac]
A rhythmic, wet thumping, like someone repeatedly hitting a bag full of...
My eyes landed on the tall man from before. His black religious robes were soaked in red, a large gold cross embroidered on his back glinting under the harsh kitchen light. I froze.
Then I saw Auntie Lu. She was on the floor, pleading silently with her eyes. 'Run. Leave. Call for help.'
Instinct took over. My hands found the first thing within reach—a heavy skillet. I hurled it with all my strength.
"GET OFF OF HER!!"
[DONG]
It hit him on the back of the head, making his cleaver fly across the kitchen, skittering on the floor. He almost doubled over... Then caught himself on the counter. Leaving a scarlet handprint. Then slowly, he turned to me.
"You're dead, boy."
Before he even took the first step, I was already running.
The wooden floor groaned under his weight as he barreled after me. In the brief flashes I caught, muscles writhed beneath his robes like coiled snakes. He was built for power, not speed. That was my chance.
I ran out the door... and tripped on the food I left outside.
I rolled on the concrete, scraping up my legs and hands. I scrambled up, but his boots already struck the ground behind me. His arm blocked the street, forcing me toward the alley.
I didn't dare look behind as I sprinted, I could still hear him after me, but I was gaining ground. I turned a corner... And almost planted my face straight into a chain-link fence.
With no time to think I started climbing, panic already setting in. His grip seized my backpack, yanking me down. I hit the ground hard, my bag sparing my skull from the pavement.
"Got you." He seemed almost gleeful.
"I would love to get to know you better, little friend, but I have business waiting for me back there. Don't take it personally."
He pulled another cleaver from inside his coat, I could see the glimmer of many more inside.
I tried to see his face. A boot struck mine instead, snapping my head back. Stars burst across my vision.
The cleaver rose. I squeezed my eyes shut. Waiting.
But the blow never came.
The ground vanished. Wind tore past me, a gale so strong it ripped the scream from my throat. I opened my eyes to a sky the color of blood. Below, a fortress of black stone jutted upward, a spearhead poised against the heavens.
And I was falling straight toward it.