118 Missing (13)

After the meal, Iris wanted to get as far away from that place as possible, so with a last drink from the fountain, they left the courtyard and continued on their journey.

The night was dark, but the streets were alight with lamps. They shone on most corners, so Iris didn't feel any danger. All they had to do was keep walking until they found a map or saw Kyro's neighborhood.

How hard could that possibly be?

As is always the answer - very. They reached a map only when the sun was about to rise, and it showed that they were getting closer to the approximate location, but in a very roundabout way. It would take them an eternity plus a bit more if going like this.

Iris set their course straight then, but it was already morning. The streets soon filled up with people, and they had to hide to not get in everyone's way. Thus, they found a corner and went to sleep for the day.

In the evening, they woke up around the same time as yesterday and started walking again. A bit later, they might try to catch a bus, but for the moment, it was too dangerous. There were still too many people around.

While walking, Iris was looking around, and a bit of yellowish paper caught her eye. She came over to investigate, and saw an unfamiliar bill. 'Just my luck, finding some foreign curen—'

Another thought disrupted the previous one. Wasn't she in a foreign country? Of course the bill was not familiar to her! There, right at the front was written 20 Dollars.

'I'm rich!' she rejoiced, but the reality was a bit more dismal. Although she now had money for bus fare, she was still a fox. And it was quite a problem.

'What to do… What to do…'

Carefully, she bent the bill a couple times and picked it up with her mouth in a way that wouldn't make it overly noticeable that she was carrying something. What else could she do? It wasn't like she could just transform back as she wished.

A bit later, a bunch of kids ran out of an alley. They were almost past when one of them stopped and stared at Iris. "Hey, this cat is carrying something!"

'Cat?' Iris looked back at Lucifer, but he held nothing.

Before she could pose any more questions, the boy dived for her, and she dodged to the side. 'Ah, it was a distracting maneuver!' she screamed out. The bill almost dropped down because of that, and she swore to not make another sound.

The other kids were turning around as well, so she started running as fast as her little legs would carry her. To her relief, Lucifer followed after. He meowed at her in annoyance, probably saying to slow down, but she didn't dare. There was a precious twenty dollar bill in her mouth!

Yet the pursuers were fast. In no time, they were about to catch up. One even took a shortcut somewhere and was ready to spring on her in the next intersection.

Not wishing to face that, Iris glanced to the left. The road was empty of cars, so she led Lucifer to the other sidewalk, and from there into some courtyard through a space in the hedge.

It was a mistake, though. A tired-looking middle-aged man was returning home through there, and he was not happy to see strays around his apartment building. He raised his toolbox and threw it at full strength at Iris.

With a squeak, she lunged forward, barely avoiding the heavy projectile. It passed millimeters over her head, its wind lifting her fur up. The man then cursed and ran at her, his heavy footsteps echoing loudly in her ears.

Simplest solution was to just return from where she'd come, but then she'd have to face the kids, and she really didn't want to lose her loot. This pushed her into another choice.

She stopped and raised her head to look at the man. When he was almost atop her, ready to grab her by the neck, she burst into motion and dodged his reaching hands. They flailed at the air, and she rushed past him, aiming for the other side of the courtyard.

A barrage of most vile curses were sent after her, but they could not hurt her. Breathing hard, she covered the open ground and reached the hedge on that side. After a quick glance around, she noted the place with the easiest way out and squeezed through.

There was no people there, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, they were out of danger.

But she had been too hasty in such thoughts. From the corner of the street, a wild dog ran out. It was mid-sized, but that was enough to terrify her. She turned to rush back, but the man was already at the hedge, going down on his knees to look for the despicable strays.

That way was blocked, and the other was no better. She didn't wish to face another situation with a pack of half-starved animals going for her throat.

This meant that she could only run to the left and hope that the pack would be too slow in forming to catch the two of them. With this belief in mind, she increased her speed to get away from the dog.

Her path took her deeper into the small street, but she could see light far ahead, so it was not a dead end. The darkness was quite scary, though. Her senses might be better than those of the human, but her mind was still not of a fox. She didn't feel comfortable in pitch black corridors.

When she was at the midway point, more dogs showed up. And they were on the other side of the street. Iris froze, then rushed into some alley on the side. It was even darker there, but she ran like the wind, knowing that her little life might depend on it.

The barks grew louder behind her, and her breath became ragged. Will they be forced to fight again? What if they couldn't make it this time? They were tired currently, and not as strong as before.

As she thought that, she saw a wall before her. It was blocked off by a couple dumpsters, and that was it. There was nowhere to go anymore.

Her heart stopped for a second, and she turned around with horror. Then, her viewpoint rose, and she was standing a good meter taller than all the dogs.

'Now?' she screamed out in her mind, her eyes looking wildly around the dark alley. She could see almost nothing, just shapes in the dark. They had stopped moving after her transformation, growling in low voices.

Fighting was pointless, so Iris quickly scrambled onto the dumpster, away from the dogs. Lucifer jumped on soon after, and they stayed together for a long while until the pack got tired of waiting.

It was almost morning by then, and Iris could see her own naked self in the dim morning light. The sight brought terror, but this was her current situation. She had to deal with it if she wanted to continue on her journey.

'First priority - clothes, then I'll be able to just take the bus.' With determination, she squeezed the bill in her hand. Just a bit more, and she would be back.