disconcerting mixture of neon lights
and empty shop fronts. I was sure I had been on at least some of them before
when I was freerunning but they didn’t seem familiar now. I saw nobody else.
Geez,
how much alcohol had been in the drinks? First I was mad at my vampire #1 for
telling us to drink it, then I was mad at myself for listening. Then I was
thanking vampire #1 because, to be honest, I did feel pretty good.
But
I was lost.
The
high buildings on either side of me made it nearly impossible to see the
Queensbury campus where I had come from. I had never been to this part of the
city and definitely not at night. I needed a better vantage point.
Thinking
clearly (because that’s what I was doing best at the moment), I latched on to
the nearest fire escape. It was ten stories to the top of the building. There
was a lot of fumbling and nervous swaying side to side and the monk’s robe was
nearly impossible to lift my legs in, but I finally made it up.
At
last, a good view. I saw the campus behind me. I had come out above the thin
layer of smog and dirty streetlight below. Dark faced glass sidings and vacant
rooftops surrounded me. Lights from the tops of buildings and cell phone towers
looked like stars and I leaned back and felt my skin prickle as I got close to
the edge and a rush of wind brushed up the side of the building. A lot of the
buildings were about the same height. Perfect for Parkour.
Probably
shouldn’t try it when I’m buzzed, but still perfect for Parkour.
I
made a mental picture of which way I had to go to get back to campus and
started climbing down the other side of the building.
Man,
the guys in the alley were quiet.
I
mean, I’m a quiet guy, but they made no sound at all. They had formed a little
Congo line from the rear of the building I was climbing down all the way to a
truck, turned off and dark. There were five of them. At least I thought there
were; my head was spinning again.
I
let go of the fire escape and promptly stumbled over. The men kept handing
boxes to each other, completely oblivious that I was there.
Maybe I should try to stop
them, I thought. Wait,
what was I doing? I had no idea who these people were or why they were here, or
even if they were doing something illegal. Maybe they were being all stealthy
and secretive and loading boxes in the dead of night because…okay, that did
sound illegal.
But
what was I supposed to do about it? I should just walk away and call the
police. They would be able to take care of this, this was their job. And yet, I
had to do something. It was if I just let them continue doing whatever they
were doing then I would be no better than Sykes. He had said we were the same,
at least in abilities. I still wasn’t willing to believe him. He was right and
yet he was wrong. He had chosen what he wanted to do with his powers. He wanted
to kill and cause fear. It was time for me to choose what to do with mine.
The guy at the rear of the line, the one moving boxes from the back of
the building, finally noticed me.
“Hey!” He immediately dropped the box and pulled a gun on me. “Who are
you?”
I…I
just kind of stood there. At least part of my brain was making a plan of
attack, imagining where and how I could take each one down. But I was a little
slow on the uptake.
The
other men turned. They also pulled guns. Guns. Another sign this was probably
illegal.
“Hands
up, freak show, or I’m putting one between your eyes,” the man near the truck
said.
“You
can’t see my eyes,” I said disbelievingly. I could reach him pretty quick.
“It’s
just some bum,” another said. “Give me the next box and get him out of here.”
“What
if he tells someone?” the man near the truck said, keeping his gun on me.
“He
won’t know what to tell anyone if you shut up,” another man snapped. “He’s
probably all shot up anyway.”
Both
men lowered their guns a bit.
And
that’s when I
and empty shop fronts. I was sure I had been on at least some of them before
when I was freerunning but they didn’t seem familiar now. I saw nobody else.
Geez,
how much alcohol had been in the drinks? First I was mad at my vampire #1 for
telling us to drink it, then I was mad at myself for listening. Then I was
thanking vampire #1 because, to be honest, I did feel pretty good.
But
I was lost.
The
high buildings on either side of me made it nearly impossible to see the
Queensbury campus where I had come from. I had never been to this part of the
city and definitely not at night. I needed a better vantage point.
Thinking
clearly (because that’s what I was doing best at the moment), I latched on to
the nearest fire escape. It was ten stories to the top of the building. There
was a lot of fumbling and nervous swaying side to side and the monk’s robe was
nearly impossible to lift my legs in, but I finally made it up.
At
last, a good view. I saw the campus behind me. I had come out above the thin
layer of smog and dirty streetlight below. Dark faced glass sidings and vacant
rooftops surrounded me. Lights from the tops of buildings and cell phone towers
looked like stars and I leaned back and felt my skin prickle as I got close to
the edge and a rush of wind brushed up the side of the building. A lot of the
buildings were about the same height. Perfect for Parkour.
Probably
shouldn’t try it when I’m buzzed, but still perfect for Parkour.
I
made a mental picture of which way I had to go to get back to campus and
started climbing down the other side of the building.
Man,
the guys in the alley were quiet.
I
mean, I’m a quiet guy, but they made no sound at all. They had formed a little
Congo line from the rear of the building I was climbing down all the way to a
truck, turned off and dark. There were five of them. At least I thought there
were; my head was spinning again.
I
let go of the fire escape and promptly stumbled over. The men kept handing
boxes to each other, completely oblivious that I was there.
Maybe I should try to stop
them, I thought. Wait,
what was I doing? I had no idea who these people were or why they were here, or
even if they were doing something illegal. Maybe they were being all stealthy
and secretive and loading boxes in the dead of night because…okay, that did
sound illegal.
But
what was I supposed to do about it? I should just walk away and call the
police. They would be able to take care of this, this was their job. And yet, I
had to do something. It was if I just let them continue doing whatever they
were doing then I would be no better than Sykes. He had said we were the same,
at least in abilities. I still wasn’t willing to believe him. He was right and
yet he was wrong. He had chosen what he wanted to do with his powers. He wanted
to kill and cause fear. It was time for me to choose what to do with mine.
The guy at the rear of the line, the one moving boxes from the back of
the building, finally noticed me.
“Hey!” He immediately dropped the box and pulled a gun on me. “Who are
you?”
I…I
just kind of stood there. At least part of my brain was making a plan of
attack, imagining where and how I could take each one down. But I was a little
slow on the uptake.
The
other men turned. They also pulled guns. Guns. Another sign this was probably
illegal.
“Hands
up, freak show, or I’m putting one between your eyes,” the man near the truck
said.
“You
can’t see my eyes,” I said disbelievingly. I could reach him pretty quick.
“It’s
just some bum,” another said. “Give me the next box and get him out of here.”
“What
if he tells someone?” the man near the truck said, keeping his gun on me.
“He
won’t know what to tell anyone if you shut up,” another man snapped. “He’s
probably all shot up anyway.”
Both
men lowered their guns a bit.
And
that’s when I
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