2. FORTITUDE

Fortitude (noun)

Strength of mind that enables a person to encounter danger or bear pain or adversity with courage.

Chapter 2

(Mako P.O.V)

I run, sprinting back towards the squatting boy. Bringing my arms as high as possible into the air. Pursing my lips, I swing a metal pipe I found laying near the trash on his head, so hard that my hand vibrates at the collision. Chest heaving up and down, relief washes over me as I hear loud sirens in the distance. The boy falls to ground clutching his head groaning in pain. I throw the pipe from my shaking hand and reach out to the ground clutching my bag instead. Heaving it up as I give the bleeding man reassurance.

"Help is almost here, hang in there!" I tell him stepping over his limp body and walking away. My heart skips a beat when the bucket hat boy wrenches himself from the floor, glaring at me his hands into fists, hatred furrowing his brow and crinkling his turned-up nose. I turn around running away as my body orders. My shoes tugging at my toes uncomfortably, not only have I never worn shoes for this long before in my life but also never ran in them... ever. I can hear his footsteps behind me, as if he's breaking the ground with each step he takes. I don't even know where I'm going, I just tell myself to keep on running. I take a turn into an ally and sprint through it. Some yellow advertisement lights help light my way, my sneakers getting soaked into the water that smells like urine as I keep going.

"Oh no no no!" I come to a stop looking around in panic. A dead end... not a wall... I think a restaurant actually. I glance behind me identifying the boy's figure coming my way. With the heart flutter; I instantly push myself into the dinery finding it empty. Tables with bottles and plates with unfinished fresh food, filling the place with spices and garlic aroma. People have run away from here? It's not far from the scene but not close either. I look around for a place to squeeze myself into; to hide, anything that will boost my survival percentage. But I'm late. I hear his shoes click and clack as he walk inside. This isn't what I planned, this is not the fun I came out for. I freed myself to make friends, to eat food I'm not allowed to... to live. I didn't come out here to sweat and die!! Panic swells inside me once again, almost too much to bear. But I take a deep breath and force myself to try to accept the situation. I turn around stepping back further into the restaurant. He gazes at me eyes as sharp as the knife in his hand, lips pressed shut taunting with anger.

I smile... force it.

(Tall boy P.O.V)

"Listen, I admit it. I'm nosy and...and I'm sorry. I didn't mean to annoy you or anything." The girl in front of me rambles in a low wobbly voice, rubbing her mitts together, smile ripping her lanky hair cupped face, showing a set of teeth. She brushes her sweat-wet hair out of her face taking a seat on one of the chairs beside her, laying her arms on the table.

"I mean, it's your right to be mad." She continues, her elbows pressing at her sides as she takes a spoon from the table. What the shlock is she on about.

"You were just...eating, it's normal. I mean, I ..." She drifts looking at the spoon in her mitts, wrinkling her nose at the remaining bits of food on it. Staring up at me and blinks up at the ceiling and back down pressing a smile as she rubs the spoon clean on her clothes.

"I eat too, perfectly normal." She adds taking the spoon and tugging it at the plate in front of her. Bringing it to her mouth she hesitates but ends up pushing it into her mouth. Placing the spoon down on the table with a bang louder than needed, she throws her mitts in the air and shrugs wincing as she swallows down.

"Seriously, my bad." The little girl offers standing up sauntering towards me. Stopping by my side, not shaking nor running out the door... Anger swells up inside me. Her audacity! How dare she look at me like I'm just someone she knows?! I press tightly at the knife in my mitt.

"I'm sorry, I hate it when people annoy me while eating, so I totally relate." She nods in agreement with her statement pressing her lips together, her eyes glued on my shoulder not meeting my eyes. I don't think she's okay in the head... I bring the knife up towards my face checking my reflection on it, I can clearly spot my veins right on my shlocking face. Can't she see it too?!

"So, my apologies. Hope you never meet someone as nosy as me in the future." The girl ends stepping towards the door, I grab her arm before she takes another; her smile disappearing as fast as I blink. Her mouth slightly opens and her lips tremble.

"Are you shlocking kidding me, you messed with my stuff, hit me on the head and all you say is sorry?" I ask tightening my grip on her arm. She eyes my hand on her nervously,

"No, I kid you not. Well... it was your bad to begin with. I misunderstood, I thought you were injured and tried to help. Sorry for trying to help you, okay? now let go." She says firmly, her fear masked by her affirming tone. She gives me a glance that ends before I blink.

"The thing is, I lost my meal cause of you. And I'm hungry." I prod eyeing behind her past the door, blue and red lights going the way of where we came from. Police... Hastards.

"Well I'm not a food service, now let me go..." She presses trying to pull her arm free, of course I don't budge. She sighs throwing her head back,

"Oh come on! This is my first time here ever! and you have to ruin it! The first few hours of me being free! seeing people walking, running, looking at stores, seeing kids for the first time!" She says, giving up on the show of composure. I lose my grip at that last sentence. How is this possible?

"This is your first time out? like from..." I trail off not able to name the place, it leaves a grim taste in my mouth. She nods eyeing the floor droopy,

"Yes! It's my first time ever! kids are so tiny and cute!" She exclaims her eyes widening and gleaming. She seems to forget I'm still here.

"It's so beautiful out here, I bet in the morning it would be amazing! And..." She says jumping up and down. I back away, looking down at my knife. It's not like I never used it on my own kind.

"I think kids are. . . cute too." I stutter interrupting her; looking away. I place the knife in my pocket.

"Yay, who knew we would like the same thing." She says raising her eyebrows in mockery stroking her arm where I was holding.

"I can leave?" She asks pointing back at the door. I nod, I'm not really hungry anymore and I'm not bothered. She thanks me walking out the door and I follow. She stops and takes something out of her bag. A camera? She places it on her face and takes a pic of the eating place we came out of.

"Photographing everything I see out here." She mutters lightly at my questioning looks, placing the camera around her neck not meeting my eyes. We leave walking in silence, I want to ask her how she made it out, how she looks so composed and... unflappable compared to me on my first day out here. But the words aren't forming.

"Oh no!" She echoes loudly yet softly eyes wide. I look ahead at where she's staring. The police is standing right at the end of the ally, a bunch of pulpy fsheks in their ironed uniforms. We're stuck at this dead end.

"What are we going to do?" The girl asks itching closer to me. I give her a once-over from head to toe,

"You called them, remember?" I mock bitterly. If I get caught I'm so done for, I'll be put down or worse, taken back. I search around for a ladder or something to help me jump up the buildings surrounding us.

"Technically I told some people to call a doctor... help, not them... now what?" She stammers placing a hand on her twisted mouth as if about to vomit.

"You didn't do anything, just pretend you're one of those fsheks." I offer her walking away, I need to leave. Letting her live and giving advice is an act of a saint coming from me, if I were her I would appreciate it.

"What? no no, they'll take me back! no way." She disagrees following me like a loyal dog. Now the police moving forward coming our way. I spot a ladder, a green bin below it. I jump up on the bin and grab the railing to the ladder, the rust digging at my mitts as I go up. I hear the police call but I don't stop. Coming to the roof, I jump onto the ground and heave myself up but before I can take a deep breath I find myself yelling,

"What are you doing!?" The girl throws herself over to the floor next to me her hair a sweat mess, sticking on her neck. She stands up holding her back like some elderly women; pulling strands of hair out of her mouth.

"Running away, what else?" She elaborates meeting my eyes for a split second then taking a glance over the roof,

"They're coming up!" She beams, a slight smile of what I think is hysteria is displayed on her face. Gaining my strength to stand up, I take off running towards the building ahead. I hear her footsteps behind me. I don't stop, running as fast as I can to jump ahead to the next building, I can see the gap isn't that much and this will help put a distance between me and the police.

"Wait! Are you going to jump? You might fall!" I hear the girl warn critically. But that doesn't stop me, my life depends on this anyway.

(Mako P.O.V)

I stop in shook as he leaps off to the next building. I wish I could do that... but the highest jump I ever took is probably five flights of stairs back at home... or was it six stairs? I swallow hard as he lands and turn into a ball on the other side. After his struggle to stand up, he dashes off not paying me much attention. I'm alone. Happy I'm not in the company of a cannibal however panic stricken that I'm all alone. I look over the edge the tall boy jumped off to see if it's a long way down. It is, but I spot a ladder that stretches some way down. Before I take my leg over the railing, my eyes catch the city lights. So bright, buildings more than I can count. So big, it stretches all the way to the ocean. And it's not scary as I was told by father, it's beautiful. I snap back into reality as I hear calls behind me, nevertheless I grab the camera that's around my neck quickly snapping a picture and head straight down. My shoes hitting the metal stairs thrumming like my heart, I never ran as much as today and I would love it if my lungs weren't dying cause of that. Making it down, I walk straight ahead and take an exit in the ally. I dash as fast as my lungs allow me to. After running forward for so long, I try to stop for a breath but they are after me so I do the run-walk thing. I will definitely be taken back home if I get caught.

I ski to a stop as I come to a two way exist. Looking right then left to decide which way I should take, I feel my eyes widen, pointing my shaking finger at his limp body as he stare up at me. The tall boy, laying on the ground holding his ankle and grunting. I look up at the building he probably jumped off, not really that high... about three levels.

"I bent my shlocking ankle, help me up quick." He hisses as we both hear the police still pursuing us. Those words again...that I never heard before. I walk over to him brushing my wet loose hairs out of my face.

"Left or right though, best way out?" I ask out of breath thinking he might know as I'm new to this place.

"left." I take off running as soon as the word escapes his lips. I take a look back smiling and give him a salute mockingly,

"Thanks!" I prick as his eyes widen at me in shook frozen in place. He left me up there alone too, and almost killed a man... maybe he is dead now. Never will I help a killer, if I had the opportunity I would help them catch him. I run ahead not for long, my legs are forced to stop giving my toes a painful tingle. A dead end.

"He lied!" I hiss to myself panting and sweating. Before my lungs can take a break, I turn back and dash off, I can still make it. I catch sight of him limping away towards the right exist. Passing by the exit I came out from earlier I hear the loud heys from the police but I keep running. Should I knock him on the floor so they can catch him? That's so mean... is it? will he come after me if he doesn't get caught after all?

I out run him coughing as the air refuses to stay in my lungs. If he runs away, he might kill others. I stop and take a look back at the police, remotely behind us as the boy is limping past me.

(Tall Boy P.O.V)

I'm yanked in my place as I feel the girl's mitt on my arm. I lay my eyes on her blushed red face then glance behind, the police are almost at us. I pull my arm free and she slaps her hands on my shirt from the neck.

"What are you doing? I'm gonna get caught!" I scream at her out of breath dripping in sweat. Peering over at the police she speaks not meeting my eyes.

"Exactly." Her voice wheezy. She's just complicating things! She's handing me over so she can run away, so I can buy her time! After being so generous and letting her live! Anger scatters over me,

"I'm going to kill you! I'll shlocking invert your rib cage!... How can you betray me!" I scream at her face as she finally lets go of me jumping slightly at my threats, I can hear the police's footsteps so close. She begins to step away eyeing me carefully.

"No, if I let you go then I would be betraying the man you hurt." She chimes finally taking off leaving me behind.

(Mako P.O.V)

I dash off, glancing behind my back to see the events of the boy unfold... I hope he gets caught... I don't want any of that happening to my rib cage. I swallow hard stopping in my tracks. The police suddenly halt in their tracks, inches away from the tall boy, just standing behind him. I'm too far to hear what they're saying among themselves, but they begin to walk away towards the direction they came from, leaving the boy alone limping to his side. Why did they not catch him?! They didn't even talk to him... I mean what can he do with that foot anyway? if they were that scared they wouldn't pursue us in the first place... I wipe at my wet forehead as I watch the limping boy staring at me from a distance. He won't catch me with that foot anyway I reassure myself. I escort myself away, giving him a last glance and proceeding into my footsteps.