Raised Better

9 - Uneasy Times

"See you tomorrow, Vernon," Henry Shepard, one of his favorite coworkers, called as Vernon passed by his desk.

Sending a brief smile Henry's way, he nodded. "Bright and early," he said.

Laughing, the other man turned away, returning to his previous activity of stapling papers together. Vernon couldn't be sure, but he thought they might be for tomorrow's meeting on the quarter budget. Henry must be planning to propose something noteworthy, Vernon thought. He usually brought little to budget meetings–like most of them. Budget Meetings usually didn't have much discussion, they were more often than not held just to inform employees if they were meeting expectations or if they were going to need to make cuts in the coming months.

Still wondering just what Henry would be sharing tomorrow as he stepped out into the evening's cool air, Vernon paid little attention to his surroundings as he headed for his car. However, that didn't last long. From the corner of his eye he couldn't help but notice not one, not two, but three shadowed figures flitting in and out of his peripheral vision. It only took him a few more seconds to realize that these figures were following him. Tightening his hold on his briefcase, Vernon felt a cold sweat break out on the back of his neck.

Who were these people following him? Thugs? Or… He stamped down the urge to shiver. If they knew he knew they were there, he was sure he'd be a dead man in less than a minute from now. As his car came into view, Vernon began to debate walking past it and walking out of the parking lot altogether. Perhaps he could go around the corner to the relatively busy commercial street he knew to lay there. It had a pub that was fairly popular with the businesses in the area and it was quite likely there would be a few blokes hanging out around the front of the establishment smoking.

However, Vernon squashed down that thought as soon as it was finished. He didn't want to risk getting innocents mixed up in whatever this was. Reaching his car, Vernon held his shoulders tensely as his hand dived into his pocket for his keys. Not even having to pretend to fumble with them moments later, Vernon let them fall from his fingers as he dropped to the asphalt and rolled beneath his car. He bit back a hiss at the pinching pain his too-large body went through as he wormed his way toward the middle of the undercarriage. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw lights of all hues flash in his direction. Then, he watched the lights stop and over the pounding of blood in his ears, he heard people start shouting.

Giving a startled cry as his car was levitated off him, he wasted no time in rolling up on to his knees, then to his feet, and running. Vernon knew, from letters with Harry, that wizard wands were more than just tools for them, but weapons too. Beginning to run in a weaving pattern, he prayed and prayed that none of the green lights zooming past him would hit his open back.

Another parked car coming up, Vernon made the split-second decision to jump behind it. It wouldn't save him, Vernon was sure, but it would give him a second to look back through the car's windows as he changed his path.

Looking back through the glass, he was surprised to see that the shadow people shooting the lights weren't aiming at him anymore, but at other people shooting lights.

Afraid that there could be more shadow-people looking for him, he glanced to around before making what he hoped wouldn't be a deadly decision when he could see no people beyond the ones fighting a few yards away. Crouching down, Vernon watched the battle.

A few more lights shot from the non-shadow people's wands and by luck or, perhaps, skill, they ended up hitting two of the four shadow-people. The other two hurried in gathering up their fallen comrades before vanishing. Now standing up straight, Vernon almost made the daft decision to step out from behind the safety of the car. But, then, he realized just because the non-shadow wizards chased the ones shooting at him off didn't mean they were safe to reveal himself to.