Precious Metals (On Hold)

Prolougue

The boy ran through the busy streets, his shirt sticking to his skin, glued by his sweat. The road was paved with dirt, and the buildings on either side towered over him. He kept bumping into people as he went by. Each time, stammering, he'd apologize. His heart raced in his chest. Sjon would whip his head around every few seconds, peeking behind him. His dark hair fell into his eyes, irritating them and blocking his vision.

In the distance there were a group of people following him. He felt sure they must be right behind him. They had been following him for weeks, right behind his every move. He was in deep trouble.

It all started when he discovered hacking. He had no real job, and not an excellent education. He was okay at hacking--certainly better than anyone in India--but not more skilled than the Russians or the Americans. Yet he still made a living. More than a normal salary. He moved out of his parent's house and dropped out of school. After that, he moved to Bangalore, where he had heard there were some high paying jobs. He rented a nice apartment, but not too extravagant as to be unusual.

Sjon started taking more and more hazardous jobs until he was in over his head. He accepted a job to hack a significant government institution, but he never dreamed it was the International Space association. It was newly formed, around 2348, but it had one of the best security systems in the world. Hundreds of white hat hackers had worked together to exterminate any gaps in the code. Unfortunately, none of them would tell Sjon what he needed to know in order to breach the system. Either that, or they were imprisoned for distributing intelligence between other wannabe hackers. So, he forged some documents and sent them to the ones that hired him, hoping it'd fool them long enough for Sjon to escape India.

He had fled his tidy apartment immediately, hoping to have a few days head start, but soon found that he kept happening into mysteriously dangerous situations. Cars had nearly driven right over him, shipping crates had fallen inches from his head, and the treacherous actions only seemed to increase the farther he ran.

Until today. This afternoon, his life hadn't been at risk. He had been relatively safe. Still, he ran as fast as he could, through the streets of what he thought was a small town somewhat near Mumbai.

His stomach growled. Sjon needed food. He slowed down and stared at a run-down restaurant across the street. He needed food if he was going to continue on like this. He slowly stumbled over to the building, his hunger overwhelming his sense of danger.

The grumpy waiter plopped a dish down on the table. It might've been cheap and crappy, but Sjon didn't care. He hadn't eaten in days, and he needed sustenance.

The meal was greasy, with noodles and vegetables. He dug in quickly, devouring all that he could. After a few seconds, he realized how quiet it was. His anxiety spiked, his heart beating faster than before. The mushrooms seemed to dry up as soon as the anxiety hit him, and his food no longer looked appetizing. He needed to get out. Now.

As he stepped towards the door, trying to escape the quiet, he felt a bit lethargic and unstable. He swung himself over to the table again and sat down. Maybe he hadn't eaten enough? He looked at the now gross looking food and shoved it away. By the second he was getting worse.

He threw up all over the floor, leaning over his stomach, holding his body. The cooks in the restaurant were nowhere to be seen. In fact, there was nobody inside the restaurant. He looked down at the food that used to be in his stomach, adorned with little drops of blood scattered along the floor.

Shit, he thought. Poison.

It wasn't how he wanted to go. He wanted to do something more; he felt as though his life wasn't over yet. He still had something to accomplish-- he could feel it, just out of his reach.

He collapsed and fell to the ground, shaking and sweating. Looking at his reflection in the store window, his normally dark skin seemed green and pale. His eyes were wide with fear. Sjon watched himself as he shrank to the ground,until he could not keep his eyes open any longer. He heard faintly, the sound of footsteps coming towards him, more danger. As his consciousness faded for the last time, he wondered if anyone would remember him, or if he'd just be lost in the history of the universe as a small and insignificant speck of life.