Untitled Project

9. A temporary solution

Night was falling fast; the air had grown chilly and a soft breeze scattered brown, brittle leaves across the little park where Cian was huddled. The shirt Jacinda had left out for him was long-sleeved but not particularly warm, and the pants, socks, and shoes were no more help. The park was still fairly busy at this hour as people cut across the green micro-chasm to reach other parts of the great, gray city. Cian watched them all pass through from a bench sheltered by a long row of hedges. No one seemed to notice him, or perhaps they chose to look past him.

The bench crouched under a lonely, flickering streetlamp. In the uncertain light, Cian stared once again at his ID card. The Cian on the card felt like a distant relative. A wholly different person from the young man on the bench who existed today.

"What the fuck am I supposed to do next?" Cian asked aloud in a whisper of a voice. He looked around him. The park, for being in the middle of the city, was eerily quiet. It was a brisk night, so people were walking fast to get home, or to work, or to wherever they were going. Walking fast did not allow for much talking, so the evening was a quiet one in the little park.

"Fuck. Fuck. Fuuuuck." It felt good to swear.

Cian shoved the ID card back in the coin purse angrily. Swearing was not helping. Neither was staring at an old picture of himself. The problem was, there wasn't much more Cian could think of doing.

Could he get a cheap hotel room? Doubtful. He had one-hundred-ninety-eight dollars to his name. Even the cheapest hotel room was going to be more than that. And that would only be a temporary solution.

Could he sleep on this bench? Probably. It would be cold, and most likely quite miserable. He might get frostbite if the weather turned cold enough, but he also might not. Sleeping on the bench seemed like a plausible solution to the problem facing Cian.

Could he beg strangers for a place to crash? Well, he could, but it wouldn't necessarily gain him the best results.

Could he wander around looking for a warmer spot to sleep? Cian doubted he would find one, but walking around might feel more productive than sitting, stationary and helpless.

All of this thinking brought Cian nowhere. He was still on the bench, shivering, gazing around at a vastly unfamiliar corner of the city. Where could he go? Was he even safe here? The thought sent Cian's shivering to a whole new level. He probably was not safe here... he wasn't even that far from the North End apartment from which he had escaped only hours before. What was stopping Thorold from hunting him down? It wouldn't be too hard, once he noticed Cian was missing. For all his faults, Thorold was a cunning man, with powers strong enough to find Cian simply by the auric waves of his thoughts. Cian had never quite mastered that skill. Reading thoughts felt too invasive for Cian's liking. His own thoughts were enough for him.

Cian decided, at last, to move on from the bench. He found the nearest train station, and clambered down the steps into the underground station. Once on the train, Cian discerned that he was heading into the city. He resolved to pick a stop at random, so as not to give Thorold any extra information, if he was indeed searching for Cian's thoughts. It would be hard to find his thoughts in such a populous city, Cian knew, but if anyone could manage such a feat, it was Thorold. Cian covered his ears as inconspicuously as he could, to prevent himself from hearing the stops as they were announced. He shut his eyes, and let the train glide him along.

A few stops later, Cian hurried off the train amidst a thick cluster of college students. He kept his head down, hoping not to see any sign indicating his location. He followed the tiled floor to a set of stairs, took the stairs up, and came out on another street. This street felt closer to the heart of the city. Cian was afraid even to glance at street signs; he was remembering more and more the horrifying extent of Thorold's powers. Paranoid, Cian imagined Thorold combing the thoughts of the city, waiting to sense Cian's distinct mind, waiting to find him, waiting to hunt him down.