Ripple in the River

Akiya Tonendu

It was a dark weekday evening, and the clouds greyed in anticipation of the upcoming storm. The streets were deserted and a lonely crow raised its golden beak to the heavens, cawing a final warning before the skies tucked themselves away behind the growing curtain of silvery mist.
A young man closed his eyes and tilted his head up as the moisture in the air thinly coated his face, and as his dark hair kissed his forehead, he took a deep breath. Perfect.
There was no smell more comforting than that of the new rain, nor no sound more comforting than the hard pitter patter of raindrops striking a sturdy window pane.
But he could not stop and admire the rain. He had places to be. Sticking close to the thin walls of the minimal stores the town had, the adolescent crept forwards, with only one destination in mind. His only company? A small, stout container, made of a foreign material.
This material was visibly rare, visibly not of the small town the boy came from. Yet, he held it with much confidence, as if he had dealt with it for a long while already, and as though he were already familiar with its properties. L
He continued, stopping only to jump out of the way of the cawing crow that had swooped down across his path, actively seeking some invisible critter. Shaking his head, the boy crouched down to toss the crow some breadcrumbs from the garbage can. Upon glancing down, he was met with a pair of shined leather shoes and a cold sensation at the side of his head. The container he was holding was suddenly snatched away from his grip.
Tsk tsk. Don't you know not to feed the birds, boy?
The crow had perched on the new man's shoulder, the very shoulder from which an arm was pointed at the boy's head. The man pointed the object he was holding into the boy's mouth, and the boy tasted something distinctly metallic.
A gun.
"Now listen here. You are going to do exactly as I say, or this little village of yours is going to be blasted off of this planet. Capeesh?" The man had a non-rhotic voice with a hard edge, almost like a Brooklyn accent. All the boy could do was nod.
"You're going let me put these handcuffs on you, and then you're going to get in the back of this car. You understand?" He pointed towards a black Audi A4 with his head. This car, it was nothing like the boy had ever seen. It was nothing like this humble town had ever had its street graced with.
"Hey!" The boy involuntarily yanked his head forwards as he felt a concentrated yet strong force attack the back of his head. He suddenly felt dizzy, and upon touching the area in question, he felt something warm and wet. Bringing his hand back, he saw a liquid he had never seen before, and it made his knees buckle. He turned towards his captor, eyes wide.
"Did you not hear me, boy?" The man raised his hand again to strike, but the boy flinched away, arms raised as a protective shield for his face.
"No, please!" He dejectedly held his hands out and let the man put handcuffs on him. He threw the boy into the car's backseat with a hmph.
The man ran into the driver's seat and revved the engine, taking off at a speed which no speed limit would ever consent to.
They sat in silence with nothing but the sound of the now pouring rain. The boy once again looked down at his hands, heart pounding. The blood he had seen, it was not red. It was black.