Red-X

Chapter 17

"Hey, wake up!" I feel hands shaking me at my shoulders. I make an attempt to slap it away so I can continue sleeping. This time I get shook harder than before. My eyes stare straight daggers to an old bus driver.

"Okay, I'm up!" I almost snapped. The old man takes a step back, crossing his arms as he watches me rub my eyes and straighten my hair.

"You shouldn't be sleeping here boy," the bus driver says bluntly. "Costumers use this bench to sit and wait for the bus to arrive, not sleep. I drove to this bus station twice, and I keep seeing you, sleeping.

I must admit, getting caught sleeping at a bus station is not a good image for me, especially at my age. "Sorry about that." I said, unable to face the old man staring down at me like a disappointed parent.

"Out of all the short years I've drove in this area, I've never seen a homeless kid before. Where's your parents boy."

"I don't know," I scratch the back of my head. "Dead I think." I can hear the old man sigh out loud.

"Do you live with any adults, a foster home or something?" I shake my head, telling him no. "Alright, stay right here, I'm going to call to get some help for you."

My head shot up at the thought of what trouble that'll cause for me. "No!" I grab him by the arm of his shirt before he walked too far. "You don't have to do that." The old man doesn't hesitate to yank it away from my reach.

"I have to! It's best that you get some help." He goes inside of his bus and picks up a phone. At the panic of the moment, I decided to run for it. "Kid, where you going? I'm calling the cops!" I sprint even faster, daring not to look back.

I ran through neighborhoods, alleys, and more neighborhoods. I ran out of sight from any public eye as much as possible, till I slowed down, finding myself downtown.

Downtown can be a place where at least one person might stand out. I have a very long and trashy duffle bag, where my swords are kept hidden. Trench coat covering all of my suit except for my legs. If anyone were to stand out, it would be me. I look like I'm about to snipe someone from a top of a tower, not to compare myself to the Austin Texas Tower Sniper, but anything could happen in downtown Chicago.

I keep on walking, staying out of sight from any cops that may be looking for me. The stunt I pulled hours ago won't slide for a long shot, they'll be after my head for sure.

As I head into the middle of downtown, I catch notice of people running towards the way I'm going, even one person bumped into me and continued running without apologizing. The sight of people packing together in one place catches my interest. Is there someone entertaining them for money, do we have a celebrity in town, or is there a sale for free hot dogs? Things like this rarely happens here.

I've gotten close enough to hear what people are talking about. "How did he get up there? Someone get some help!" Are the main words I'm hearing crowd. I look up to see a man standing outside of a window of the Embassy suite. From the looks of it, it seems to be a young man, of my dark skinned color, maybe somewhere near my age.

I didn't hesitate to sprint inside the building, for I already taken note that he's at the very top floor. I don't know what room, so I'm going to guess along the way. I head to the closest elevator and pressed the up button one hundred times until one finally opened, greeting a group of business people heading out. Once the elevator got empty, I hopped inside, followed by an old lady. I reacted the wrong way by pulling out my pistol and wave it in the air so show it off. "You really don't want to be in this one, it's occupied." I hold a smile as I watch this possibly ninety year old lady run like an Olympian, out of the suite. I pressed the top floor button one hundred times so it can close faster, I don't want to scare someone off a second time.