Alarms blared in the background the fancy restaurant on main street glowed as fire grew around it engulfing the building. The culprit whistled a cheery tone as he pushed off the concrete sidewalk with his skates. On his back rested a backpack filled to the brim with valuables, cash mostly. The sirens of police cars and firetrucks rang in his ears, muffled by the black headphones resting on his head. He rolled on unbothered by the gathering at the rubble of the former restaurant.
He tilted his body slightly, moving around the corner out of sight, the chilled air of the night brushing against his face as he accelerated down the hill, path lit by the full moon looming above his head. He disappeared into the night, hindered by none.
The arsonist whistling turned to humming as he slid to a stop at the door of a small, but cheap, apartment building three miles away from the crime scene. The place smelled of old garbage and looked better than it was. The criminal slipped in, the doors unlocked, and the reception area sat empty, a common sight no matter the time of day.
The soft sound of rolling tires followed the robber as he made his way down the hall, coming to a stop at the last door to the right. His humming cut off for a moment as he rummaged through his pockets for a key before resuming as he slid it into the lock twisting it to open the door. The door opened without issue, the hinges squeaking in an eerie manner.
Wheels passed over the wooden floorboards without issue before coming to a stop before the old, damaged coach that rested not far from the kitchen and right next to the bedroom. The apartment had only three rooms, the bedroom, the bathroom, and the kitchen/dining/living room area.
The culprit collapsed on the old coach, dust billowed up from below him as he plopped down, swinging the back off his back and beside him. A sigh left his lips as the tension in his shoulder dispersed.
“What a night, Apricot, what a night.” The arsonist muttered to himself as he stared up at the water damaged roof above him.
Grunting he sat back up reaching down and taking the roller skates off his feet placing them beside him on the couch. “Well, I suppose I should hit the hay now shouldn’t I?” Apricot spoke to himself, standing up. The soft tune returned as he hummed while making his way from the couch and into the small bedroom a few feet away, hidden away by only a flimsy brownish door.
The door opened with loud creaking customary for the place Apricot had taken residence in. The bedroom he entered featured peeling wallpaper, a tiny bed that took up the majority of the space in the room and a bedside table that doubled as a dresser. The room looked more fit for a closet than a bedroom. And perhaps, Apricot began to wonder as he fell onto the stiff mattress, it had been before they turned this place into an apartment building.
His eyes closed to the sight of peeling wallpaper and a water damage ceiling. A smile on his face in spite of it all. Tomorrow was a big day. The biggest heist of his career as a C-list villain would take place.
Apricot rose with the morning sun that streamed through the tiny window that sat awkwardly off to the side of the closet bedroom. A deep breath through the nose and out the nose rang out in the silent room as Apricot raised his head slightly as he brought his wrist to his face, blinking green lights informing him it was 6:35 in the morning.
Four hours of sleep then huh? Not the worst he's even done. His body lifted off the stiff mattress as his legs swung off it, planting on the floor. Apricot raises his arms above his head stretching both them and his back. He held the pose for a few seconds before standing up. His hands reached to the clothes that hung out of the open dresser door beside him. He proceeded to swipe them, changing out of the smoke scented clothes he had previously been wearing.
Calloused hands opened the door to the living room. The small figure of Apricot walked out, the same soft tune falling from his lips that he had been humming the night before. The soft pitter patter of his socks hitting the floor accompanying him into the kitchen. To the oven that had broken two weeks ago, and the fridge that hardly kept his food good.
Swift fingers swiped a cartoon of nearly rotten milk out of the fridge, placing it on the counter next to the few dirty dishes Apricot had failed to wash the day before. The whistling from his lips faltered as the sound of angry shouts made its way past the thin walls of the apartment. A soft sigh left his lips as he went on making his breakfast. The cheery song did not return as he did so.
Apricot spent the majority of the morning after breakfast reviewing the plans he had made earlier that week. The annual showing of the newest inventions would be taking place on the nearby university campus, as it did every year. Thanks to his excellent hacking abilities (of which he had none) and inside connections (a favor for a favor, the light up building was his half of the deal) he gained the knowledge of the layout, security, and the showings that would be taking place this afternoon.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Speaking of afternoon, Apricot's eyes flickered to his watch reading 10:42, it was time to head out. The tune he’d been whistling on and off all day returned to his lips. Skates slid onto his feet with practiced ease and the small nondescript backpack fell against his shoulders with a light tap.
Show time.
The college campus felt cramped with the amount of investors, scouting agencies, college students, and everyday citizens that had come together to see the showing. It truly felt marvelous. Apricots heavy duty off road skates slid across the grass, the sidewalk completely covered in people. Apricot didn’t bother wandering aimlessly as the masses did. He knew where his objective would be.
He turned at a stale showing off some kind of robot. His eyes slid past it without a second thought. His objective sat just ahead of him now. An inconspicuous box sitting on a mostly empty table. Apricot's eyes focused on it. The person running the stale had his back turned to it at the moment talking to, what Apricot assumed to be, a scouting agent.
Apricot's heart hammered in his chest, ringing in his ears louder than the chattering surrounding him. His left skate pushed hard off the ground. He accelerated. The box sat mere inches away from him now. His hand stretched itself out slightly as his eyes flickered rapidly from it to the path ahead of him.
Cold medal rubbed against his finger tips. They tightened around the square box. Apricot's eyes focused forward. The box tugged into his side. Glee sprang into his heart as he switched hands with the object keeping it hidden from the poor block that made it. The sweet tone fell from his lips.
“I- what where did it go?!” The frantic voice of the college student came. “THIEF!!” He cried. Security came out of the woodworks rushing straight past Apricot and to the kid.
Apricot took a deep breath as his nerves settled, his ability was doing its job thus far. He still couldn’t help himself from going a tad faster than it had before. His eyes glanced around. He glimpsed many security officials talking into headsets and moving around in search of the culprit that stole the precious invention.
Apricot remained unseen, even holding the box only barely hidden. The gates were in eye sight now, hanging wide open where Apricot could easily make his escape, just past the last few security guards. He merged into a large group of strangers heading out of the gates. The loud noises felt muffled as his heart pounded in his ears. Apricot forced his eyes to remain focused ahead.
He was at the gates now. Three… two… one… he was out. A sweet whistling slipped from his lips. It was a good day.
------- Elsewhere ------
Aprri, full name Apricot but he would rather die than go by it, slid out his soft bed when the sun rose, streaming through the window. He hummed a happy tune as he grabbed a few articles of clothing from his dresser, changing into them.
Soft pattering of socks hitting the ground and light humming followed Aprri into the kitchen where he retrieved milk for the fridge, a bowl from the cabinet, and a box of cereal from the counter. Aprri sat down on the stool on the other side of his counter using a spoon to scoop lucky pebbles into his mouth.
The morning passed in peace, Aprri managed to get quite a bit of work done remotely, he’d have to go in tomorrow however. Closing his laptop he leaned back with a sigh. Looking down at his phone he turned it. His fingers danced across the screen as he inputted his passcode. His eyes focused on the weather in the corner of the screen. 65 degrees.
Giving a happy hump Aprri stood, placing his phone into his pants pocket. He walked to the door, picking up his jacket on the way out and swinging it around his shoulder. Once he exited his apartment he made sure to lock the door before walking out into the lobby.
“Hello Aprri.” the desk clerk called to him.
“Hey Ollie.” Aprri greeted back as he walked out of the main doors.
Appri felt the slightly chilled air hit his face as he walked out of the apartment building. The streets were mostly devoid of people as he made his way down them. Aprri looked on ahead humming the same tune from the morning. A few cars passed him by as the sun beamed down gently on his back. The buildings surrounding him hummed with life even devoid of activity.
Aprri song picked up as he got closer to his destination. The park which happened to be a mere ten minute walk from his apartment. A very nice deal if he would say so himself.
“Hey you!” An angry sounding voice yelled out.
Aprri kept walking, hoping whoever it was wasn’t referring to him.
“You with the black jacket and weird hair!”
Ok rude, Aprri turned looking behind him, curious eyes widening with fear as he saw the person before him. The man looked to be skin in bones, skin paler than snow with a hint of gray to it, his eyes seemed to be bulging out of his head, blood dripping from them, his hair sparse and falling out, blood gushed out of his nose in waves covering the lower half of his face with crimson blood that looked to be dry and flaky. A crazed look beamed at Aprri from the man's bleeding eyes.
Aprri gasped in horror, “Ar-are you ok?” He managed to ask as he swallowed his saliva that had built up.
“I need it.” The man gasped and wheezed, “I need you--”
Aprri took a step back preparing to flee, “You need me to what?” He asked, voice quivering and small.
The man lurched over, puking his guts out. Aprri cover his mouth as a short scream left his lips. The man screamed pushing off the ground, arms outstretched, launching at Appri.
Aprri turned and fled, hearing pounding in his ears as sharp breaths fell from him. His eyes glanced around wildly for someone who could help him. The streets remained silent as his feet pounded on the ground and the wild screams of a crazed man followed Aprri down the sidewalk. Aprri pushed his legs harder, who knows what this man could do with whatever kind of drugs he was on!
It was a bad day.