Thief (The Ichor Series: book 1)

Chapter 10

Chase

The day started off as sweltering hot. I couldn't fathom how it was so freakin' warm in Autumn.

I was walking in the market with Sky going to go get some supplies, such as food and water for the next couple of days.  And to hopefully find some ointments to heal Sky's bruises and cuts. But I didn't tell her that yet because I have a feeling that she would object and say that she was fine. But I saw her back, and nothing was ok with that.

Sky had woken me up this morning with her stomach loudly complaining that it was dying. Honestly though, I was already awake but I didn't want to get up and start the day just then. But I couldn't blame her stomach anyways, no one really got anything good to eat now days.   Unless you were one of those snotty rich people up in the Oro district, which clearly I wasn't.

In the Maila district, everyone had to fight to survive. The saying "Survival of the Fittest" was life here. It was normal for someone to die every day because they were too weak to survive. This doesn't mean that we don't care about the weak, because we do. It still hurts every time a person you know dies. You had a connection with them, they had an impact on your life no matter how small. But...life is life. You just have to keep going. Keep moving forward. Keep...living.

Anyways, after walking with Sky for about 15 minutes in the market, we came to a really busy intersection. Everyone was clambering around this one vendor who had some medicine to sell to the people. But I wasn't interested in that medicine. It was either fake or diluted and wouldn't work, so there would be no point in buying it. I just wanted to get across to the other side of the crowd so I could continue my walk. So I pushed and shoved my way through the masses but when I turned around at the end, Sky wasn't behind me anymore.

I started to panic and call her name, but it was too loud because everyone else was yelling as well. "I want one! And I can pay too!" "I want two for my family!" "I have money, I can pay!" everyone was shouting over the other to try and get the soon to run out medicine. But unlike them, I was shouting for a lost girl.

I probably stood there in the middle of the square, shouting her name for more than ten minutes before I gave up. I couldn't compete against the number of people shouting and screaming over one another. So instead I starting walking around the market trying to find her, and by now it was getting dark again.

I rounded a corner, the air felt colder than normal and electricity could be felt in the air. I was about to ignore it and just deem it as a storm about to come, when I felt the hairs on my arms and  neck stand up. On a normal day, I would have never listened to the voice inside my head, but this felt different. Something felt off. Something felt...wrong.

All of a sudden I was transported to a different place. Giant pine trees scaled high above me, the ground littered in pine needles and moss masking any noise of the forest. Disoriented and confused, I stumbled towards the clearing that was a few hundred meters in front of me. And in the middle of the clearing, Sky was lying on the ground in a pool of blood. A pack of wolves were circling around her, growling and snarling waiting to attack.  But as I watched one of the wolves inch its way closer to Sky, she burst into flames. Plumes of black smoke rose from her as the fire got thicker. The black smoke was starting to cover the sky and as it reached me, I prepared to smell her burning flesh. But instead, I smelled curry wafting through the air.

The smell jolted me from the forest to the alley way that I was standing in. I was sweating profusely and my head felt like it was going to split open. But I knew that I had to go find Skylar, and fast.

There was only one place in the market that sold bad curry and I knew exactly where that was. I turned on my heels and ran as fast as I could. I ran faster than I had ever ran before. My body felt like it was flying through the air with each step I took. Buildings blurred together and morphed into the black sky above me.

I ran until I came to the tent where the curry was sold. The flap was down meaning that the old man who owned the tent was asleep. He was a jolly guy in his late 50's, which is quite respected for someone in the Maila District, with white thinning hair and deep wrinkles around his mouth and eyes. He was always smiling at people and the wrinkles would crease even more, but everyone that passed him and saw him smile would smile back, and it made their day just a bit brighter. Even with the gloominess of life and with the dread of the future, a smile could make it just that more livable and friendly.

Sky wasn't anywhere to be seen but I heard people talking in the alley way a few feet away. If Sky wasn't there....I didn't know what I was going to do.

I crept around the corner, morphing into the shadows of the night. I couldn't see anything yet, but I could hear the sound of someone struggling.

As my eyes adjusted to the low light, I was able to make out the 3 figures in the alley. One was a big burly man, and it seemed as if he was pinning up a shorter, thinner person. And then there was an even smaller figure in the alley who was trying to get the burly man off of the thin person.

"Nice to see you again Skylar."

Sky!

The burly man had grabbed, who I'm assuming, Sky to his side. My eyes had gotten even better during the past few seconds, so I was able to make out the features of the man. And strangely enough, I felt as if I had seen him before. I didn't have much time to dwell on that though, I had to get to Sky before she got hurt again.

The next thing I know, I was on top of the Burly man as he laid faced down on the asphalt with his arms behind his back. I don't know how I did it, but I had taken him down within seconds and had him immobilized.

When I looked up from still sitting on the back of the Man, I noticed that Sky had run over to the thin person, helping them off the ground. She walked over to me with the lanky boy, his arm around her shoulder and her arm around his waist, helping him keep his balance and walk over as well.

Sky was throwing daggers with her eyes at the Man, and before I could react she kicked him in the head as hard as she could. The Man went limp under me, his blood staining the asphalt below him.

I got up and brushed some dust off of me. As I started to walk over to the two, who had backed away as soon as the Man went limp, Sky ran over to me and wrapped her arms around my neck.

"Thank you. Thank You. Thank You." She murmured into my neck.

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Empty Gold by Halsey