The Fourteenth Cookie

8 - We've got to make it

As the cookie knew the area better than the little boy, she was the one leading the way. Quite the paradox given that the cookie was leading the way but it was the little boy who was the one pulling her, now. This unorthodox arrangement, somehow, proved to be working-out well for them. Regardless of who was leading and who was following, who was pulling and who was being dragged, they subconsciously both knew where it was they needed to head towards. The most important thing was not in which direction to run, but to continue running really fast and they did precisely that.

They used a series of back streets and alleyways, they went over a small cement wall at some point and even ran through an abandoned warehouse. They ran and ran and ran, looking back every once in a while. No matter what they did, the quintet of strange men managed to stay on their tracks. They would get ahead of the men at a certain point and moments later they would notice all five men being virtually only a few steps behind them, once again. The cookie and the little boy were more nimble and inventive in their path-choosing and running but the men were no amateurs and could keep up just fine, no matter what the duet tried.

Without realizing it, the cookie and the little boy ended-up at an impasse. There was an emergency exit ladder to the right, but the cookie could not jump that high. The little boy lifted her up softly and placed her in his shirt's pocket. A loud noise was heard. It was definitely a gun shot. They were now shooting at them, on top of everything else. The boy jumped up, reached the ladder and started to climb. They both nearly had a heart attack as during the boy's hasty jump the cookie almost came out of the little boy's pocket and practically fell off to the terrifying void below.

The boy had started climbing-up quickly, confidently, successfully, but suddenly he missed a step by mistake. His foot did not land on the place it should have and he lost his balance. His right shoe fell off. The cookie looked at him in anguish through the opening of his shirt's pocket. He pushed hard though and managed to regain his footing, continuing to climb rapidly even with one shoe on. More shots were heard as the two of them had nearly reached the top of the ladder and the roof. They were very close to making it, but things were by now becoming increasingly dangerous.