Like A Fairytale

Chapter 17

Flo

Flo stumbled after the Shadow as he pulled him forward. Flo would never have thought that he would one day hold hands with a Shadow. Really. He never did.

In general, he had never held hands with anyone... It was a good feeling. Safe. Nice.

He almost got butterflies in his stomach if the person and the situation weren't so terrifying. The soldier was wearing the red mask, but Flo was sure that it was the man he had recently followed out of stupidity. The voice. Flo had recognized the voice. It sounded just as clear as before. As if they were not running for their fate.

Flo was sure. It was the same voice. The same person.

The man (or was he just a boy?) held Flo with his uninjured hand. It felt cold and smooth. Almost not like the hand of a human being. He did not tremble and did not seem out of breath. The silvery hair shimmered slightly. Flo stared at the hair so as not to see the destruction around him. He trembled. He felt sick.

"Come!" growled the shadow. "Don't slow down!"

But Flo was out of breath. Only the adrenaline kept him on his feet. "I..."

"Walk! We're almost there! Or do you want to stay here? All the villagers are dead!"

Of course, Flo didn't want that. He wanted to go home. He wanted to go to his bed. He wanted to crawl under his blanket and pretend that nothing had happened. "I..."

"Come. Burgstadt will already have activated the security protocol."

"This..." Flo was dizzy. But he followed the Shadow, which pulled him mercilessly on. No predator followed them. Maybe they were all dead, too.

The two were lucky. Burgstadt was not yet gone. But the emergency alarm was already sounding and the doors were closed. Steam rose from the chimneys and they heard the gears of the engines creaking and howling. "Run!" The Shadow and Flo passed by the stairs that Flo had descended. "Quick!"

Flo would have liked to tell him that he was already running as fast as he could, but he had no breath to do so.

"Come!" The Shadow ran all the faster. Flo stumbled breathlessly. "That's good!" said the shadow suddenly, clutching Flo's hand tightly. "Very good."

What's good? Flo wanted to ask, but that didn't happen either. Instead, he saw what the Shadow noticed. One of the elevators was still there. One of the windows was smashed. Perhaps the work of one of these cat-like monsters. Shards were everywhere. The Shadow pushed Flo in, then followed him.

Flo fell. Shards of glass cut into his palms. Then he heard something hissing. Next to him sat a tiny kitten. Spotted like a cheetah and with the eyes of a wolf. At the same time, the city began to move. The elevator cracked as it was pulled away with the city on a steel cable. "Ah."

"Wolf cat!"

"What?" Flo looked at the Shadow. The animal hissed and held its large ears flat, unusually fluffy wolf ears.

"That's a wolf cat! It's only a few days old."

When the soldier tried to grab the animal, Flo took it in his arms. Instinctively. The soldier just nodded, then turned the turntable to set the elevator in motion. If they didn't go up, Burgstadt would pull the elevator behind it. Flo clutched his belongings and now also the animal child. If the city reached the sea, they would drown. If they didn't fall out of the open door first.

The elevator did not move. Neither did the hub.

"Hm." The Shadow only shook his head, then kicked the turntable. Immediately it moved. "Hold on."