Zero Encounters

Song 2

Keep running. Don't stop. Keep going. Zero repeated to herself, ignoring the burning in her lungs. In the dead of night, she zipped through and out of the alleyways. Her eyes scanned the path in front of her furiously and dodged all the debris blocking her way. Here and there she stumbled, but would quickly catch herself because if she stopped, she only knew it meant death. Sounds of heavy footsteps chased after her and she saw her shadow flicker along the walls from her body being exposed to the flashlights. An elderly man moved out of the way, not surprised at the pursuit.

"Hey, kid. Stop running!" A man shouted after her with exhaustion in his voice. "We're the police. Are you lost? Where are your parents?" He pointed to his colleague and the two split up from the side street to catch up to her. Both visibly tired from working a long shift and chasing her several blocks for the last twenty minutes. For a moment, she hesitated, but something in her gut told her to stay away. "Kid, you're not in trouble. We just want to help." He huffed and nearly gave up when he saw her turn the corner. Zero only kept running. Her lungs burned and her shoes were about to give up from how worn they were. All her senses told her to endure the pain no matter what.

     The officers finally blocked her escape and cornered her. They kept their distance and turned off their flashlights so she could take a moment to look at them. They tried to lower themselves to her eye line to seem less intimidating, but despite their efforts, she couldn't see through the visions flashing before her. The two officers warped in front of her into men in black suits which shook her core. "What's your name? Do you know where you live? It's dangerous out here." The younger officer asked, but she lost her voice. She frantically looked for ways to escape, but they took her by the shoulders despite her thrashing about. The grip they had on her made her stop in defeat and reality soon struck her to know she was in the hands of actual police. Her body relaxing meant every muscle aching and her breath choppy. One officer gestured for her to pace her breathing while the other officer reached out to wipe the sweat from her face, but hurried steps in front of them caught his attention.

"There you are!" A boy shouted from a few feet away. He ran up to them and took her by the hand. "I've been looking everywhere for you." He pulled her quickly away from the officers. "Sorry, I lost her in the crowd. Thank you for finding her."

"You have to be careful and not lose sight of her. It's dangerous in this part of town." The officer scolded the boy, "Where do you live? We'll walk you home."

"It's okay, our Dad is just up the street waiting for us." The boy smiled with a bow, "Come on, it's time for bed." He took her hand and broke into a run. They hurried down the street and made a left behind the convenience store.

"I don't know you." Zero said and pulled her arm away. The boy looked back to see the officers who had gone in a different direction.

"I know, but you looked like you needed help. You don't have a family, do you?" He stared at her curiously and his words stung. Zero had been living off the streets for the past month and she had begun to lose count of her days. "Here." He handed her a sausage snack. "You must be hungry. I've seen you steal a few times. You know that's bad, right?" He urged her to take it, but she couldn't bring herself to. She remembered someone's voice telling her long ago to never accept help from someone because they look for favors in return. "Take it." He said and she looked at him closely. The boy was covered in different colored bruises. She had never seen him before, but his voice was familiar. He was the boy who lived not too far from where they were. She realized it was the first time she heard him speak clearly without the crying and screaming behind the closed doors. He placed the snack at her feet and she watched him pull the bag of soju he had hidden behind a box and ran off. She figured he was sent to run errands for his drunk of a father. She ripped open the packet and inhaled the snack in two bites. The pain in her stomach subsided and she felt full for once that day.