Legend of Fire: Book 1 of the Alrymnian Chronicles

Chapter 4: The Better Part of Valor (Kaitlyn)

Most people never really stop to think about it, but a woman's scream tends to accomplish a couple of things. The first is that it attracts attention. People nearby will reflexively look around for the source of the noise, and even those further away will at least be alerted to something having happened. However, the more important thing is that it's often really loud, and can often surprise people right next to you. Like Tyler, in this instance.

Of course, screaming by itself doesn't really solve anything, which is why I then proceeded to punch Tyler in the throat and take off running. I knew it wouldn't delay him for long, but it did buy me a little time, and after all the crap he'd put me and my brother through, it was incredibly satisfying.

"Guards, get her!", Tyler called out, his voice somewhat hoarse.

Hearing a commotion, I risked a glance behind me, seeing several more men rush out of the building in pursuit. Trying to quell my panic, I turned out of the alleyway and continued running. See, when you're only being chased by one person, it's relatively easy to escape, as once you're out of his sight you can hide or turn around a corner, and he has no way to know where you went. On the other hand, when you're being chased by a group of people, you'd have to outdistance everyone to try something like that. Even then, they can just split up and search everywhere, making escape far less certain.

I knew my best chance was to get out of sight immediately, so I started turning almost randomly through the streets, ducking behind every building I could, and getting myself somewhat lost in the process. Unfortunately, there's another downside to being chased by a large group of people, namely that one of them is almost certain to be faster than you. Although a couple of my pursuers seemed to have fallen behind, every time I looked back I noticed one of the men had outdistanced the others, and was gaining on me.

My heart pounding, I put on an extra burst of speed, gaining some ground as I tried to think. Just continuing to run wouldn't help me much, I was already starting to tire and they'd catch me eventually. On the other hand, with one of them right behind me, I didn't have time to hide. Realizing I'd have to fight at least one of them, I unsheathed my dagger as I reached the end of a row of houses and ducked behind one of them. Hearing the thug's footsteps approach, I waited until he was nearly on top of me before sticking my leg out to trip him.

As my pursuer came around the corner at full speed, my leg connected with his, sending him sprawling on the dirt. I knew that wouldn't be enough to seriously delay him, so before he could get up, I plunged my dagger into the back of his leg. The dagger went in up to its hilt, and almost instantly blood pooled around the wound as the man yelled in pain. Reflexively I stepped backwards, taking a moment to look at the man I'd just stabbed. He was young, with blond hair, maybe twenty or so. His fists clenched as he struggled to his feet before collapsing, his leg unable to support his weight.

Some shouting from behind me made me realize I was still far from safe, that my other pursuers were catching up. Hands shaking, I started running again, realizing too late that I'd forgotten my dagger. Shaking my head, I tried to push the scene behind me from my mind as I looked at my surroundings. Houses rose on either side of me, one-story affairs that were a mixture of stone and wood, mostly fallen into disrepair despite the signs that people had been living in them recently. I frowned, realizing that I was in the section of town being used to house the Alrymnian Guard. There should have been at least a few soldiers nearby to help, but the place resembled a ghost town. 

Gasping for breath, I continued to look around for something I could use. I'd been running at nearly a full out sprint for a couple of minutes now, and I knew I couldn't sustain it for much longer. At this point outrunning Tyler's thugs wasn't an option, I had to get off the street. Heading to one of the houses, I tried the door... locked. The next couple in the row yielded the same result, and the time it would have taken to break through a window was something I couldn't afford. As the men chasing me approached, I spied a couple of boxes stacked near one of the shacks. Running towards the pile, I climbed on top of it, before jumping towards the edge of the roof.