Sanity

Salvage

SALVAGE 

"Tch," Someone says from behind me. "kids are such messy eaters." I whip around and pull the hair back from my damp forehead.

"Who are you?" I breathe.

"Who are you?" He mimics. Deciphering his motives is difficult. His voice and face sound friendly, but the smirk plastered on it says otherwise. He doesn't seem intimidated by the gun laying limp in my hand.

"Summer." I tell him.

"And I can assume you're the Fou scare?" he asks.

"The Fou?"

"It's French for insane." His grin unnerves me, maybe only because I’m still jumpy from the child.

"Are you French?" He has dark skin, dark eyes, dark hair, dark clothes. He doesn't look like he speaks the language of love.

"Nah," His laugh surprises me. It's genuine and full. He turns around and erases the board. "I read it in a book." He pauses for a moment, his hand still pressed to the white board. "My name's Link." he says.

"Are you going to turn me in?" I ask.

"I thought about it," he replies. "But you killed the boy, and the Fou tend to leave each other alone. If you were really turning, he wouldn't have come after you, and you would have left him."

"You seem to know a lot about them," I counter. "The Fou."

"I was in a very special part of town when this all started."

"Which is?"

"Inner city. It's full of them." he motions for me to join him as he walks.

"How'd you get out?" I ask. He looks strong enough, but not a brute force. There's no way he would have been able to take them all.

"I'm fast and I'm good at hiding," The bang of a door flying open comes from a few hallways down, followed by shouts and orders. "Which you'll have to learn how to do right now." He grabs my arm and pulls me down another hallway. It's dark and glass covers every inch of the floor. Footsteps slam down the hallway we were once occupying.

"Gunshot wound!" someone calls. "It must have been her." Link curses.

"You can't use that gun anymore, not around here." He says as he pulls me up the a staircase.

"What am I supposed to use then?" I whisper.

"You shouldn't have to use anything as long as we're in the city boundaries. They must have missed the child when they swept through." I nod, even though he can't see me. Maybe it's to reassure myself. Once at the top of the stairs, he closes the doors and sticks a chair through.

"This should hold them, considering." he says.

"Considering what?" I ask.

"There's a limited weapon supply. You're only allowed to shoot the Fou."

"This isn't my gun." I say automatically, though unsure of why.

"I figured that. We'll get your stuff back as soon as we get to headquarters."

"Why are you risking everything to help me?" I ask. It has been bugging me since he pulled me to the stairs.

"I'm tired of this town," he says. "And I'm tired of being motionless." He pulls open the rooftop door and clear sunlight streams through. Blind, we climb onto the roof and wait for our eyes to adjust.

"Glad you could make it." A man says. We are surrounded.

SANDIN

"What do you think you're doing?" The man repeats. His hair is startlingly pale against the dark exterior of the hallway.