AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I… I’m not sure.”
She frowned. “What do you mean? That’s the way we came from.”
I nodded. “Yes, but that’s where they’re expecting us to go. I… I don’t think we should yet. Not while it’s still daylight. It’s harder to hide during the day.”
Gabi looked anxiously in the direction of the tower. I could tell she wanted to head straight back there, but in my experience, it was better to do the unexpected. I took her hands in mine, hoping she didn’t feel the tremble. I was trying to be brave, but just like her, I wanted to go straight back to the tower and look for Viktor.
“I-I know it's scary. But I’ve done this before… We should wait until the sun goes down to go back. It’s safer.”
Her eyes searched mine, and she bit her lip, nodding quickly. “Okay. Do we just wait here, then?”
I shook my head. “No. We need to keep moving. Follow me.”
When I pulled her towards the end of the alley, she hustled to match my step, lacing her fingers through mine. It was reassuring, and it felt kind of nice that I wasn’t doing this on my own. It was terrifying living on the streets by myself for so long. At least now I had someone to talk to.
We crept down alleyways, moving farther away from the tower for a little while before heading north. When we finally hit areas I was more familiar with, I relaxed enough to point out things I’d seen in my time on the streets. An old abandoned shop that looked like it was haunted, a park with a community garden that I sometimes got lucky enough to find some veggies to eat. Even a free museum that I liked to visit during slow periods, so I could pretend for a little while that I was normal. We couldn’t go in, it was too out in the open, but my stories seemed to help Gabi relax a little. She never let go of my hand, but it was comforting for both of us, and neither complained when our palms got a little sweaty.
“It wasn’t all bad, was it? Living on the streets?”
Frowning, I peeked into another alley before tugging her along. “I… I never thought about it, but maybe not… Little things made it better. People giving me food instead of a few dollars, an older man giving me his umbrella, that kind of thing.”
“A handsome Russian giving you money and trying to rescue you?” She smirked, and I blushed, nodding my head.
“That too. But… I was scared of him at first, so I didn’t see it that way.”
“Can we take a break? I’m feeling a little nauseous.”
Nodding, I found a spot under some stairs by an apartment building for Gabi to sit down. We were out of sight without being right up against a dumpster or something, which was good for Gabi’s stomach.
She closed her eyes, taking a few deep breaths, while I kept a lookout. We hadn’t had any more run-ins with the attackers, but I was over cautious. Out here, they weren’t the only threats. Gangs, rapists, police officers who were under Carson’s thumb. They were all a threat, and I wouldn’t fully relax until we were back in the tower with Viktor and Dmitriy.
“He must be freaking out…” Her voice came out all warbled and when I looked at her, her chin trembled. Squeezing her hand, I offered her a small smile.
“It’ll be okay. The sun is going down. We’ll be able to head that way soon, and once it’s dark, we can sneak through the back or something. How many ways in are there?”
She frowned. “They’ve only taken me through two, the front door and the garage. There has to be more, right?”
I bobbed my head. “Probably. Service entrance maybe?”
We were discussing possibilities when a car drove too slowly past us. I tensed, watching as it drove by before disappearing down another street. It was possible it was just someone lost looking for where they were supposed to go, but I didn't want to wait around to find out.
“We should keep moving. We can head for the park. It’s got a lot of places to hide, and it’s close to where we need to go.”
Gabi nodded, taking my hands as I helped her to her feet. Her cheeks were flushed, and I was worried she was getting dehydrated, but we had no other choice but to keep moving. We couldn’t stop anywhere unless we wanted to be seen.
* * *
By the time we made it to the park, the sun had disappeared behind the tallest buildings. We found a bathroom and splashing water on her face seemed to help Gabi a little. Then we found a spot to hunker down in while we waited for the sky to darken a little more. We had a decent view of the lake, and the fresh air and shade felt nice. A moment of peace.
Once the sun was fully set and the lights of the city overtook the horizon, I pushed to my feet and offered Gabi my hand.
“Only a little more.”
Her smile was tired, and she looked pale even in the orangish glow of the streetlights. She needed a break, and I really hoped my waiting it out plan worked in our favor. I kept us in the shadows as much as possible, using alleys and j-walking a few times to avoid the lit up intersections. We were getting close to the tower again when I saw a car similar to the one that had passed us near the apartment building. I hesitated, ducking back in the alley we were already in.
“What’s wrong?”
“I-I don’t know. I thought I saw that car earlier, but it’s dark, so maybe I’m wrong.”
