The Fugitive

The Introduction

Nick Sievers' POV

We followed the brown-haired, scrawny kid down the stairs and into a thin, dimly-light hallway. I had to angle my shoulders sideways to squeeze through. Soon enough, though, the space widened out. Not a lot, but just enough for me to carry a corpse through. Figuratively, of course.

"You can't tell me what to do!" a voice shouted, followed by the slamming of a door.

A streak of long, electric blue hair stormed past me in the narrow hallway, knocking me against the wall. I jerked around immediately and clenched my fists. "Excuse you."

After her raced a man, who brushed right past me. "We work undercover! Bright blue hair isn't exactly inconspicuous, you know."

The woman the hair belonged to whirled around. Her face was long and gaunt, ending in a pointed chin. At her side, gloved fists curled and uncurled. "I'm not a little kid you can boss around."

The man, who wore a tank one size too tight and had a nose too big for his face, responded, "Stop acting like one and I won't treat you like one."

I sighed. Another classic example of a situation I don't care about. "Hello?" The hallway fell silent as the man and woman, along with Aldridge and Derek, looked at me. "Look, I enjoy fights as much as the next guy, but I'm not here to listen to you all complain. So if someone would gladly explain...."

The man flashed me a smile. "Of course. Where are my manners? I'm Finn."

I nodded. Despite Finn's cool appearance, I could see the distrust flash momentarily through his eyes. Ah. So they knew who I was.

"Maisie," the girl said. But her eyes didn't show any fear or lack of trust. Not a challenge, either. I was almost surprised that someone who knew who I was could remain so neutral. Or maybe these people really didn't know the truth. What has they heard about me?

The boy who had opened the hatch for us cleared his throat. "My name is James. Hi." His eyes didn't quite meet anyone's in the room.

I nodded. "Names are nice and all, but that's not what's important. Let's find Jay."

"Jay?" Finn questioned. He looked at Derek, idiot Derek, who nodded. Finn smiled. "Oh, of course. Jay. Well, I believe that was only part of the bargain if you helped us first."

God. I imagine myself stabbing Finn. He was so overconfident and brazen, his warm blood pooling out onto my hands would be a pleasure. Maybe after all this was said and done, I would have the chance.

I clenched my fists but nodded. "Well then, let's get started."