The Lion Tamer

Chapter 1

It was dark with no moon the only way to see was by the scattered street lamps that barely reached the allies between the buildings. Kyra didn't know where she was going now but she knew she couldn't stay here any longer. She picked up her old habits of picking pockets of people in the street, but she doesn't take as much as she used to, she only takes what she needs. Most of the time she can find work doing odd jobs for people in the nearby neighborhoods, but when things get rough, she does what she has to. She wants to be a better person, but she can't settle down. Not while they're still chasing her.

She first saw the signs of them last night. One of the men in the local bar was talking about how he was approached by some guys from the Panthers and they were asking for a girl by her description. Luckily, she had never encountered the man before so he had no idea who she was or that she was there. Recently though she felt like she was being watched. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end and a shiver went down her spine. Something.

Kyra had the feeling again and this time there was nowhere for her to hide. She was in the middle of a dark ally and felt the shadows shift, someone was watching her. She didn't give them a chance to take her by surprise. She suddenly sprinted for the mouth of the ally and tried to get onto the street, but she was a little too late. A man dressed in black stepped into her path and blocked off the exit. He grabbed her by the arm, or at least he tried to. She caught him before he could. She was as quick as a striking viper, she took hold of his arm and flipped him over herself. She had him pinned in less than two seconds.

Once he was secure under her, she ripped off his hood and came face to face with her dear old friend, not the sarcasm, Tyler. "What do you want? Cause I ain't going back and you can't kill me. You might as well give up." She sneered at him. "You know the consequences of trying to leave the gang and one way or another you will either come back or die." He replied while clenching his teeth. Kyra knew she could only run for so long and pride too big of a thing to them to just let her go. It doesn't help she was the best they had and they wanted her back. It's been months since she left and they've tried everything to convince her to rejoin them. None of it worked though. She wanted out, and she always gets what she wants.

"Well, if you won't just stop chasing me then there's only one thing I can do now." He thought she had finally given in. He started to smirk, but before he could she knocked him out. She slammed his head into the ground hard enough for his eyes to roll back and he fell unconscious. She knew it was time to move on to the next town. She left him there in the ally, but she took all of his weapons from him and placed them in her pack. You never know when they could come in handy.

So far it always takes them two weeks to track her to her next destination. There is no reason for her to go anywhere special so she just takes the map out or her pack and flips a coin. Where ever the coin lands, is the next place she'll go.

She heads back to the abandoned building she's been using as shelter to gather the rest of her things. The building is your typical rundown office building that when up in smoke, but its frame is still sturdy and has a roof in most places. She found it completely by accident as she was walking down the street one night and it had started raining. It wasn't too cold yet because it was early Autumn. It had made a nice place for her in the last two weeks. She had to admit it was getting tiresome moving around so much, but what could she do? She couldn't go to the police because they ask too many questions, and she was too afraid to get anyone else involved. The less people know the better. She didn't want anyone to be afraid of her, and she didn't want anyone to get hurt.

Once she was finished gathering her things she left for her next destination, Fairview. It was farther away than she normally goes, but that just means its perfect. Kyra gathers the little bit of money that she has and heads to the bus stop. Her map conveniently had the stops labeled and, in the back, had a schedule. The next one was due in twenty minutes. She walked for fifteen minutes when she finally arrived and waited for five. The bus was blue and white with the words, State Bus, on the side. She was happy to finally be leaving this town. She didn't like staying in one place for too long, just enough to gather some cash. It was a two-hour ride to Fairview and she decided to sleep on the way, who knows when she will find a place to rest once she arrived.