Limitless

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Chapter 14 - Harmony

I wake up at dawn, and the dim light makes me squint. For an instant, I'm disoriented. Why am I lying in an abandoned building? I try to get up and the pain hits me. I've been stabbed, I realize. Then everything rushes back to me. The Griz Fight and the boy who saved me.

Jess hurries over when I stir. 'How are you feeling now?'

She looks vary of me. 'Sore,' I mutter. I don't want her to know that her bandaging wasn't that good. 'Much better than yesterday.' I add.

It takes me a moment to realize that the boy who saved me is sitting in the balcony, his legs dangling out. He's watching the ocean. I hide my embarrassment. I would have never missed a detail like that if I hadn't been stabbed. When I was in and out of sleep last night, I noticed that the boy left the building, and I didnt care to get up and see where he went.

'I hope you don't mind waiting a few hours before eating.' He says. 'I lost money in the Griz Fight and we don't have much to buy food.'

He blames me for the loss. I just nod. I am hungry, but I can surely manage. I realize that I haven't turned on my microphone yet. Alec must be mad at me.

'Jess,' I sit up. 'I'm going down to get some water.'

'You sure you can manage on your own?' She helps me up.

'Yeah. But if you see my floating on the water unconscious, by all means, come and help me.' I walk towards the staircase.

'Be careful.' She says. The stairwell is mostly broken down, with no handles. I have to accept that Jess did do a good job wrapping the bandage, I feel way better than yesterday. I reach down faster than I though I could and walk to the water.

It's almost been five days since I came and I still cant get used to the landscape. The crumbling buildings and the stench. I click the microphone on.

'Jess. Are you all right?' Alec's voice comes through the static.

'I'm fine.' I say.

'What were you thinking? Leaving the microphone off for so long?'

'I had a minor injury during a Griz Fight. A boy and girl saved me and I'm staying with them for now. Should be able to leave tomorrow.' I walk further to get some water.

'Did you think he is Hope?'

'No, not really. He doesn't seem like that. I'll go find more once I can walk better.'

'Walk better? What kind of minor injury is that?'

'I got stabbed, nothing much.' I clutch my wound.

'Should I send reinforcements?' He asks.

'I'm fine,' I repeat. We talk a bit more and then I walk back to the library.

* * *

I observe the rescuer all day long as we walk along the city. I take note of everything, no matter how small the detail is.

He hurt his right arm, for instance. His face expression changes when he is using the hand. He doesn't seem to be able to move too far up or down with it, so he must have injured it recently.

His face is perfectly symmetrical, a mixture of Anglo and Asian, beautiful behind the dirt and smudges. His left eye is slightly paler than his other one. I thought it's a trick of my eye but then I saw it once again when we passed the bakery. I wonder if it was something he was born with.

I notice other things too: How familiar he is with the streets of the city. It seems as if he can navigate through them blindfolded. He looks at the buildings as if memorizing them. Jess never refers to him by name. Just like the way they call me Girl. I have no idea who he is. When I feel light-headed and tired, he stops for a rest. He seems to sense my unease without me uttering a word.

As afternoon approaches, we escape the blinding heat by walking through the markets. There are vegetables and fruits and almost every edible thing that's cheap enough for the people to buy. We have lunch there and I notice that Jess near sighted. But she still seems to be able to identify things far away.

When evening approaches he notices my fatigue again and calls it a night. He leads us to an alley where a series of garbage bins line the wall. We push a few away and create a sort of wall around us. He motions us to sit down, and he starts unbuttoning his shirt.

I blush scarlet and thank all the gods for the upcoming darkness. 'I'm not cold and I'm not bleeding,' I look away. 'I don't need the shirt.

He looks at me. I expect his eyes to be dimmer in the darkness, but it seems to reflect off the light from the building on top and glow as bright as it does during day. 'Who said anything about you, sweetheart.' He seems amused. He folds the shirt neatly and places the shirt on the ground. Jess sits down and places her head on it, as if out of habit.

I clear my throat. 'Of course.' I ignore the boy's low laugh.

Jess stays awake and talks with us for a while, but then her eyelids grow heavy and falls asleep. We sit in silence for a minute or two. I look at Jess. 'She seems fragile,' I say.

He laughs. 'She's stronger than she looks.'

'You're lucky to have her with you.'

'I'm very lucky,' He looks at Jess. 'How's your wound?'

'It's nothing,' I grit my teeth even as I say it. He notices it.

'I think the bandage needs changing.' He deftly pulls a few from Jess's pocket without disturbing her and sits next to me. 'I'm not as good as Jess, but I'd rather not wake her.'

He unbuttons the bottom two buttons of my shirt and pulls it up. My cheeks turn warm and scarlet. He takes a knife from his boot; it's a simple one with a wooden handle. He cuts the bandage and slowly pulls it out. There's still a bit of blood from my wound but it stopped flowing.

He throws the bandage away. 'We'll stay here till morning,' he says as he puts the new bandage on. 'I shouldn't have made you walk so much. But its not a bad idea to put some distance between the Griz Fight folks and you.'

I can't help looking at his face. He doesn't seem like a desperate street kid. He has so many more sides to him that I wonder if he has always lived in the poor areas. He notices me studying him, and pauses for a moment. A secret emotion darts across his eyes. A beautiful secret. He must have similar questions about me, how I'm able to pick out minute details like that. He's so close to my face that I can feel his every breath against my cheek. I swallow. He draws closer.

For an instant, I think that he might kiss me.

Then he quickly looks down my wound. He tightens the bandage and pulls the shirt back down. He sits down and leans against the wall, his hands rest against his knees. 'Tired.'

'Yeah,' I nod. 'I guess I'll leave you guys alone for one more day. I'm just slowing you guys down.'

'Sure, but you could stay with us too. We could get some easy cash out of Graz fights if you fight like that.'

I hesitate. 'I like to stay on my own.'

'Fine with me.'

After talking for a few more minutes, the boy rests his head against the wall and closes his eyes. His breathing starts getting steady and I know he has fallen asleep. I lie down against the cold asphalt and fall asleep after a while.