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Encounter

Eight twenty-five.

The two officers from before enter the station side-by-side with rifles in arms, mumbling to each other. Noticing them, I swiftly turn my head and look away, trying to avoid any eye contact as well as make myself look as inconspicuous as possible. The officers make their way down the length of the station, still murmuring to each other about wanting to go home and about something their co-worker said during their lunch break. Once they're about halfway near the other end of the station, I stop my face and watch them intently. One of the Peacekeepers comes to a halt and scans the area. The other clears his throat at a group of young adults that were staring at them.

As the officer finishes scanning, he says, "The monorail station seems to be clear. Let's start asking around now."

Shit. I need to get out of here and fast before they weed me out. The officers split up and approach two different groups of people, asking them if they've seen anything or anyone suspicious recently. I pick up my bag and ever so slowly make my way back to the left-side exit, hoping no one would point me out.

Unfortunately, one of the guys from a group of delinquents points his finger in my general direction as I hear, "I didn't see nothin' strange, officer, but that chick over there was actin' kinda funny 'bout a half-hour ago."

My heart begins racing. I sneakily peek behind my shoulder just as the guard turns to look at me. Just as my eyes meet his, I start walking a little bit faster.

"Excuse me, miss," The officer calls to me, starting to walk towards me, "May I speak with you for a moment?"

I move more swiftly, almost reaching the exit. I have no choice but to run, so I do.

"Hello? Girl with the long black hair," he notices I'm intentionally avoiding him and preparing to move faster, "Excuse me! Hey!"

I'm starting to sprint now, running past the big red 'Exit' sign, and down the stairs to the street below. The officer is now chasing after me.

"Get back here! Stop running, or I'll shoot!" the officer shouts, raising his firearm.

"Don't do it!" the other Peacekeeper yells and pushes his comrade's rifle downward, "We were given specific orders NOT to shoot the Flawless!"

"Grr... Fine! I'm calling the captain!"

I refuse to look back as I force my legs to move as fast as they can down the sidewalk and around the corner of the monorail station building, sprinting past multiple people.

"Captain Horus! We've found a Flawless!" One of the officers shouts into his communicator, "Female, teen, black hair, grey hoodie, and white backpack heading north into Calida street!"

"Well, shit! That was fast!" Horus responds to him, "Stay on the Flawless' tail and don't let her escape!"

After running a decent length away from the station, I turn myself around into a nearby alleyway and peek around the corner, trying to catch my breath. The two officers from before are now chasing me! I continue moving and push myself more in-depth into the alley in hopes of escaping the officers like my life depends on it. I eventually come to a chain-linked fence and chuck my bag over it. I kick off the ground and latch myself onto the obstacle, climbing up and over as swiftly and as carefully as I can, but I mess up my footing at the top and drop to the ground on the other side of the fence.

"There!" an officer points me out as the two enter the alley, "Hold it right there! Don't move or we'll be forced to-"

"No, you dumbass!" the other cop kicks his buddy's legs, "We can't open fire unless Horus gives us the OK!"

"Damn it! Can we at least give a warning shot or something?"

“No!”

'Okay, these guys are a lot dumber than they look,' I think, 'Maybe I'll leave them be.'

With that, I give the two officers a smile, wave before grabbing my bag, and begin bolting down to the other end of the alley.

"God damn it, man, she's getting away!" an officer shouts as he kicks his comrade's leg again out of frustration, "The captain is gonna break our arms if he finds out!"

The duo turns back the way they came and begin circling the outside of the second building. I, on the other hand, take a sharp right after I come out of the alley and turn left into another narrow passage between two different buildings. I keep running and running until I inevitably reach a solid concrete wall - A dead end.

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"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" I groan, angry at myself for rushing in without looking, "God, I hope they didn't see me come through here."

My ears pick up a slow but heavy set of footsteps coming up from behind. I hesitantly turn myself around, and my vision meets with the red eyes of my follower. His spiky, brown hair glistens in what little sunlight peeks between the buildings into the alleyway. His crooked smile compliments his intimidating stare more and more as he approaches.

"My compadres may not have seen you come this way," Horus chuckles stoically, "But I sure as hell did, princess."

I look at the ground to avoid staring at his creepy face any longer, and simply ask, "Why the hell are you guys chasing me?"

"I'll be blunt with you, princess," he responds, "We are only followin' the instructions our boss gave us."

"And what might your orders be?" I ask in a cocky, but still afraid tone.

"To put it simply: We being ordered to arrest any Flawless citizens within the city and take them to Central," he clears his throat and lifts his free hand onto his hip, continuing with, "You see, we're part of the Altai Special Ops force known as the Hunters. We specialize in general affairs, detective work, bounty-huntin' - You name it. I'm the captain - You can call me Horus."

I take a step backward and ask, "Why are the Flawless wanted people? What did we do?"

"I'll be honest with you, princess, I don't know why you're wanted. I'm just doin' my job, so I get paid," Horus says, shrugging, "I got m'self a beautiful wife and two little boys in the Glenz district waitin' for their papa to come home in time for dinner, so make this easy for me, alright? I have no intention of harmin' you if it makes you feel any better."

"I appreciate the hospitality, but what makes you think I'll just let myself get arrested without a proper reason?"

"It's either you come along peacefully, or I have to use force," He sternly states, firmly gripping his greatsword in his other hand, "Choice is yours, puddin' cup."

'There's no getting past this guy,' I wonder, 'He looks and plays the gentle giant role very well, but I'm not about to see his patience get pushed past its limit.'

Horus holds out his hand and gestures for me to come towards him.

"Come on, girl. I won't bite," he says through his crooked smile.

'What should I do? If I go with him, I'll be hauled off to Central, and if I refuse, he might hurt me! Maybe it is best if I turn myself in quietly. This is it for me - This is it for Sachiko.'

I hold out my hand and gently place it on his wide palm, but then, something catches my ear. It's a train whistle! It's finally here!

"That's what I thought, princess. You really made this old bastard's day. You know that?"

I look up at Horus’s red eyes and stare into them for a bit. He raises an eyebrow, curious as to why I'm standing perfectly still. Giving him a little smirk, I grip his wrist, drop myself down to the ground, and slide right under his legs, flipping him onto his back from the sudden shift of weight. He grunts and curses under his breath as he scrambles to get up. I began sprinting down the path and soon exit the narrow alley, turning right and making a B-line to the monorail station as fast as I can. I glance behind me to find Horus chasing after me, face burning with rage with his greatsword ready to be swung when he gets the chance.

"You sneaky little shit! You ain't gettin' away from me!" He shouts between breaths.

I'm almost there - Almost! Once I get to the station, I'm home free! Just a little further now.

"Callin' all Hunters in the immediate area! We have a Flawless en route to Narch Monorail Station!" I hear him shout behind me into his voice communicator, "Don't let that little shit get on that damn train! That's an order!"

My legs are exhausted, but I keep running. I'm not stopping until I get on that train... Or die trying! I finally reach the station and the two Hunter officers enter my vision - They're standing directly between me and the train! I have to get around them somehow.

"Halt, Flawless, in the name of the law!" the dumb one shouts, "Freeze, or we'll be forced to fire-!"

"No, you god-damned idiot! How many times do we have to freaking tell you!?" The other officer scolds his colleague once again, "Just don't let her on the train!"

'My options are to go left and slip between the officers and wall, or to just barrel straight through them. If I go left, an officer will move to intercept me, and I'm pretty sure those guys are large enough to hold their ground if I ran into them. Wait, I know!'

I turn right, hop onto a bench that's up against the wall, and kick off of the wall onto the floor behind the officers to their great surprise. I quickly lose my balance and tumble forward, somersaulting into the passenger car of the train right before the doors close. The train begins moving as I stand up, brushing the dust off of me. I notice Horus and the Hunter officers are standing there in disbelief as they grow further and further away as the train accelerates.

"Phew," I sigh in relief as the train continuously picks up speed, "That was a close one."

"Hey, are you alright?" a young man asks me, "That must've hurt a lot."

I look up at him and shake my head, "No, no, I'm fine. It won't hurt for long."

"Okay, good. Was that the police that were chasing after you?"

That's my cue to get away from here.

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

I respond to him with only a weak chuckle, then turn around, now walking towards the back of the car. The boy watches me wobble down the aisle and tiredly press the button that opens the door to the next car. Once I'm in, I take a seat next to a trash can and finally relax for once. I slip my now filthy bag to the vacant seat next to mine, lay on my side, and rest my head on my makeshift pillow. It's incredibly uncomfortable, but it has to be the most comfortable thing I've felt all day. My eyes close as I slowly drift off into a very well-deserved nap for the evening.