Back on the streets of Paris, Alexei was getting weary from the chase. He had felt sure
by now his mom and dad had lost his trail. He stepped into a small convenience shop to grab a
bottle of water and a candy bar. His body was rebelling against his intense effort to escape and
was starting to shut down. He needed some fresh calories to keep going. Walking up and down
the aisles, he found the candy bar section, Snickers Bar that would do the trick. Alex set his two
items on the counter to checkout and the clerk looked at him wearily.
"Isn't it a little late for a jog?" The clerk said, noticing Alex's sweat soaked shirt and his
panting.
Alex ignored the question, just wanting to leave, "How much do I owe you?" he asked
the clerk politely.
"You look Russian son, are you Russian?"
This conversation was not going the way Alexei had hoped for. "Look sir, I am kinda
tired and would like to just pay for these and leave." Alex was now tapping his foot nervously.
"Well I‟ll tell you what. My two boys went to the Ukraine a few years ago to help push
you people back over the border where you belong. My oldest was blown in half by one of your
bouncing landmines. My youngest, he is in the back of my shop in a wheel chair, never to walk
again. I think you came into the wrong store, are your parents outside?"
Alex stood for a moment, then he looked toward the door, if he sprinted hard, he could
make it out. Suddenly he heard the click of the lock engaging on the exit door.
"Electronic lock son, you are in for a long night..." The shop owner said as his son
wheeled up into the store from the back, looking at Alexei with a scowl on his face.
Alexei knew he needed to act now or he could be doomed. In one quick motion, he let
the backpack slide down from his shoulder to his hand and with all of his body weight he swung
the pack of crystals hard at the shop owner‟s face. The swift motion caught the man off-guard as
he was whacked directly in the face by the heavy bag, causing him to buckle over to regain his
footing.
Alex knew it was a hard hit as soon as the bag made contact. Next, he reached over the
counter and searched for the button the man hit to lock the door, frantically trying to find it to
unlock the door. Success, he pressed hard and heard the lock unlatch.
The son was wheeling over to him now and Alex kicked over the magazine stand beside
him to impede the disabled boy's progress. Time to go Alex thought. As he was turning to run,
he felt a strong hand reach up from behind the counter and grab hold of his wrist. He grabbed a
pen off the counter and stabbed the hand as hard as he could with his free left hand.
The man let go as he screamed in pain and Alex bolted out the door.
He was on the run again, this time though at least he had a candy bar and a bottle of water
to keep him going but no time to think about why he was attacked just for looking different.
YOU ARE READING
Space & Time
AdventureWritten in 2014 the storyline involves an almost crystal ball view of Putin's growing aggression towards Ukraine. Mikhailya Groschev was born in the year 1952 in the Soviet Union controlled Ukraine. Her father is an Astrophysicist and a Cosmonaut...