Quintessence

Prolouge - Fire n' Gun Shots

 Quintessence

-  D. Kozub



©All Rights Reserved 2011

Prolouge 

Fire n' Gun Shots

          It was dark, too dark for a normal night. Avery peered around the side of yet another rustic corner of a quickly becoming condemned warehouse belonging to Sheppard’s pier, an old and forgotten west end in the port of Quettus. The pier was a maze and worst yet as it was late, which was making all the more difficult to see in fallen light, but also the reason Avery was certain Loren’s group had their meetings out here. Every warehouse looked the same, a huge waste of rusting steel and aluminum, and their only useful trait was being a good hideout for anyone whom did not want to be found or noticed. Sheppard’s pier was close to the slums yet no one else lived or resided within the aging labyrinth of steel warehouses. He didn’t know why, yet he wondered because the northern slums were just around the industrial bend, a mere four blocks away, so why were their no squatters in these abandoned buildings?

            Avery shook his head, shaking a few drops of rain from his thick chestnut hair; it had been raining on and off all day. He was always getting off track, always thinking, thinking and not acting. Always wanting and not pursuing, yet meeting Loren had changed that  and tonight he was taking the next step, to make a difference, to be a part of something, to be making a difference, a step towards the world he longed for and Loren pursued.

            A tear from the sky landing on his brow rattled him back from his stray thoughts again. He looked back down the corridor of the warehouse he hung to and then to the one adjacent. Not only was he committing a crime that would surely have him charged with conspiracy, he would surely be executed if caught. There was no denying it had taken him months to get to this night but nevertheless he had made the decision, with Loren’s help, to join and participate in ideas that both of them believed strongly in.

            He stuck his hand into the right pocket of his own rustic looking, leather jacket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. He was suppose to have gotten rid of it, he knew, yet now he was glad as the numbers and letters upon it gave him courage to continue. There was Loren’s writing, the slender, but lively, letters describing he should enter building 317 on May 17th at precisely 23:00 PST. He remembered the moment from earlier today as though it happened a moment ago. Her golden hair, the slight scent of mint on her breath mixed just right with her perfume smelling of lavender and something else he had yet to discover. Her scent had become familiar and welcoming, but also unique to her as these days there were not many girls which wore perfume regularly. Her smile was usually a slight quirk of her perfectly formed lips which stunned him as much as her azure gaze could dive into him and understand him completely. His school friend quickly became his only important thoughts, yet she wasn’t trying to seduce him or push him into the path she was trending swiftly down, no they understood one another and it had made their relationship so easy. The secret she had carried was a dangerously, heavy burden and when Loren had shared it with him he took it as just another one of their lengthy and extensive conversations.

            He checked his old Timex while he replaced the crumpled paper back into his pocket. The hands read at almost quarter after eleven. “Late and lost,” he mumbled effortlessly, yet at his words a shadow shot out from underneath some pallets less than a metre from him. He jumped and almost fell over, he regain himself quickly and before he could gain a conclusion to the dark figure a meow of a cat now lurking across the corridor almost made him laugh, and maybe even leak a tear of relief.