Ollie MacQuoid and the Journey To Rubius

Chapter Two

For a few moments, Oliver could only manage a single thought. I'm screwed!

The man jumped back, dropping Oliver's coin bag. "What in the -" his eyes locked on the girl dropping from the branches- "Hey! You!"

The girl snatched the book off of the ground where it had fallen and dove to the side as the man's burly hand shot out to grab her. She disappeared into the market faster than Oliver could wipe his bloody nose, holding the book under one arm. Cursing in rage, the man thundered after her, pushing shoppers and merchants alike out of his way as he went.

Had Oliver been anything but a blundering fool, he would have turned tail and gotten the first train ticket home. However, Oliver was, in fact, a blundering fool. A curious, blundering fool.

While he couldn't actually see the girl or the man, it wasn't hard to follow them, for they left a trail of overturned carts and disgruntled townspeople in their wake. Sidestepping over a pile of rolling tomatoes, Oliver passed through crowds of grumbling shoppers and puddles of spilt brine until a sharp corner led him into a courtyard at the center of the market. An old fountain stood in the middle, half-sunken into the wet ground. A few feet away, Oliver watched as the man dragged the girl, screaming loudly, out from under an abandoned cart and threw her to the ground. With the book still locked in her stubborn grasp, the girl kicked the man in the shins and rolled to her feet, only to be grabbed by the arm again and swung harshly into the fountain's steel perimeter. The man ripped the book from her hands and smashed it into the girl's side once, twice, but her fight never faltered. Oliver could see people watching from their carts, but nobody moved to help her, even as the man pulled her up by the shoulders and began roaring in her face. In a last attempt to save herself, the girl thrust forward and sank her hands into the rippling fountain water.

POP!

The water erupted in all directions, drenching the entire courtyard (Oliver included) with metallic, freezing water. In the collective shock, the man's grip on the girl loosened and she took off, book abandoned.

"Wait!" Oliver cried, pushing his way past the flood of dripping, disgruntled shoppers. The man, too busy wiping water from his face, barely noticed Oliver run beside him and snatch the book from the ground — if he had, he didn't bother to follow him. Oliver ran back into the busy market, past the lines of identical stalls, and would have undoubtedly gotten lost had it not been for the blur ahead of him, weaving with grace between the hordes of people. The girl ducked behind a stall and took off in the direction of the rocky beach nearby. Oliver trailed a bit behind her, careful not to be seen. He caught up with her nearly 10 minutes later, when she collapsed with exhaustion beneath a rocky outcropping.

"Er — Hello?" Oliver said.

Now, he expected her to be startled. Maybe even scream a little. What he hadn't expected was the firm punch she landed to his jaw before unleashing a torrent of anger upon him. "You stole my money!" She said, eyes blazing. She went to punch him again.

Oliver ducked out of the way of her fist. "What?"

The girl hit him in the shoulder and sent him to the ground. "I saw you with that little coin bag! Who do you think E.S is, asshole?"

"I didn't! You dropped it!" Oliver replied.

"And you used it?" The girl said angrily, "Do you know how long it took me to save that up?"

"I can explain! I promise!"

The girl drew back her fist again but paused upon seeing the book Oliver held over his head as a shield. "Is that my book?"

Oliver grasped his tingling cheek in one hand and held the book up with the other despite its heaviness. "You dropped it in the market," he said with a weak smile, "I wanted to bring it back to you." He held it out further in an invitation for her to come closer. Though she seemed reluctant at first, the girl lowered her arm and took a step closer. Oliver struggled to his feet.