Autumn in the City of Angels by Kirby Howell Page B

pavement.
    The sight of the knife pumped fresh adrenaline in my veins, and I continued sprinting east.  I knew it wasn’t safe on the main streets, so I scanned the area looking for a place to hide.  I glimpsed a mural covering the side of a large building.  Smiling faces of old movie stars in their heyday shined down on me, and I realized it was the theater at Hollywood High School.  My heart jumped, and I ran even faster, leaping up the front steps and to the entrance, then skidded to an abrupt halt.  The front of the building was in shambles, crumbled down over the top steps.  Was this from the earthquake?  What if the boy and his friends were inside when it hit?
    My heart thumped loudly in my ears as I tried to round the building without stumbling on the debris.  I desperately looked for a way in, but every entrance seemed to be caved in or blocked with rubble.  I heard gasping and knew instantly it wasn’t my own breath.  I turned as a hand swiped through my hair, pulling out a few strands, but never finding a solid grasp.  I screamed and pushed the burly man.  He stumbled over a large pile of bricks behind him and fell.  I jumped over the last few piles of rubble, landing in the grass and streaking into the street.
    I felt the entire weight of everything in the backpack as it yanked hard on my shoulders with every leap I took.  I was getting tired, fast.  I needed a hiding place, but the school was no longer an option with no entrance point.  I heard Hart cursing less than a block behind me now.
    I tried to think about the note the boy left me.  I’d looked at it hundreds of times, thousands.  I recited it to myself mentally as I ran.  “If you need me, come to Hollywood High through the H&H underground metro gray.”  H&H was Hollywood and Highland, an outdoor shopping complex that also housed the Dolby and Chinese Theaters with a subway entrance inside.  It was only a block away from the school.  The Gray Metro Line had to be beneath it.
    I pushed myself until I got to the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue.  I scanned the area until I saw a Metro sign and an escalator going down.  Sweat dripped down my back, and I panted heavily.  My legs felt like noodles.  I looked back.  Hart was half a block behind me, and closing fast.  I couldn’t let myself stop now.  There was a large clump of bushes shielding the escalator going down to the Metro.  From the angle Hart was running, he might not see me.  So I ran for it.
    I nearly fell as I ran down the motionless metal steps.  I hadn’t seen signs for a gray line, but it was too late to turn back and look for a subway map.  It got dimmer as I went further down, with the majority of the lights having burnt out.  I finally reached the subway platform and paused.  I heard Hart jumping down the last few stairs, and I scrambled behind one of the pillars into a patch of complete darkness.  I tried to breathe quietly.  Hart stopped and looked around, scanning the area.  His eyes paused on my hiding place, then slowly started toward me.
    My heart jumped up, and I swallowed, my throat burning.  The air was too thick.  I felt heat on my legs and glanced down.  From what I could see in the near darkness, I was tramping through the remains of a fire.  Some of the embers were still glowing.  Confused, I jumped out of it and looked around, my eyes beginning to adjust to the darkness.  There was a wood stack, a small table with some food wrappers and some books and maps... and right at my feet was Karl, his head propped on a bedroll, eyes closed, fast asleep.  I felt the urge to faint as the weight of the moment caught up to me.  Darkness tried to close in over me and a dull hum started overtaking my ears, but I forced myself to bite it back.  I shook my head, silently.  I wouldn’t go like this.
    I quietly backed away from him.  My heart thumped so loud, I was sure it would wake him.  I heard Hart call out to