16 Runner from Rifles: Act II

Skipping sounds of a not so distant warzone rioted in the air, making vacancy in stuttering silence. The boy and his pitch black cat Ryohu had been hiding in the dense bushes in a grand garden of people unknown to them.

Given the observatory and first impression factors, the people most likely possessed great wealth. Whoever they were, it was sure to say that the two pilgrims were grateful for their existence and for their sense of gardening. They have hid in the bushes for almost two hours straight.

Even with the not so distant sounds of cold rifles, their situation was, give or take, stable and durable for the time being.

They heard voices relatively close to them, be it from the neighbors from the block or other wandering officers, but the fact of them vanishing straight away was mildly reassuring, to say the least.

Cramps constantly kept attacking the boy's weakened body. The sitting position he was in was nowhere near comfortable, but moving around too much would only cause distraction through the shakiness of the green leaves.

The good thing was that his bag was removed from his back and set down next to him. Ryohu was still inside, however the bag was widely open and an ear or two, or even a small nose would, eventually, pop out.

The cat kept convincing the boy that the situation was clear several times, but the paranoia was bigger than the giant. Sure, he would peek through the bushes here and then but that was all that he would do before returning to hiding and not moving.

No blame should have been brought upon the boy. It was true that he was immensely scared of being caught. How could he not be? All that he ever knew was on the line.

The moment he would start reconsidering and forming an escape plan, Orchard's hollow expression would pop up in his mind and trace him back to being frozen and petrified. There was no way he could try and make a run for it, at least that's what he had convinced himself.

Minutes passed and new voices joined the game.

The sky was bright and blue, strangely unfitting for such tremendously nerve-racking situations. Voices of yet another two officers that were raiding and searching the area appeared, but this time a new contestant was present.

It was an old, wrinkly female voice. The accent on it was highly stretched and the sentences flowed in an elegant manner. From what it sounded like, the voice came straight from inside the mansion.

It seemed like the woman was good friends with the officers, weirdly enough.

"Ah yes, everything is in the clearest order, just as it is every month."

"We are inclined to check your humble home, so let's not make any misunderstandings…"

"Oh, heavens no! Misunderstandings are my least favorite thing… Now then, take this."

"We were expecting nothing else from the likes of you, madam."

The boy peeked through the bushes once again. It was brighter than usual but everything came to clear sight. The woman was giving the officers a small bag of golden coins. She was clearly bribing them so they wouldn't enter her house. This was corruption at its purest.

But that wasn't the end. One of the officers proceeded with a question.

"Say madam, have you seen an adolescent in a robe and a bag running around these parts?"

"I certainly have not. Why would you ask such a bizarre question?"

"One of the colonels set a search party for him. We were ordered to execute him on the spot."

"My, my. I wish you luck and I hope that he will suffer tremendously for betraying the land and the Lord almighty."

In this moment, the boy felt a strong shock cruising through his whole body.

This is where fear grows a stage bigger. This is where fear turns into physical pain.

Without a shred of clear thinking, the boy closed the department of the bag in which Ryohu was in, put the bag on his back and took a shaking and loud inhale. It was notable that Ryohu was unsure of what the boy's intentions were and that great tension had taken over him.

This is where fear got the best of the boy. It overtook his psyche so severely that he himself had no idea what he was about to do.

The officers were just about to say their goodbyes to the wealthy woman and head their way. That schedule changed when they heard a loud shake that sounded like white noise. Both of them looked to the side and saw the boy jumping out from the bushes and taking the fastest sprint he could have performed.

He took a sharp drift around one corner of the mansion and disappeared from their point of view. Alarmed, the officers put the woman back into the mansion and started chasing after the boy. This was where it got crucial.

As soon as the boy took a turn, a rock wall that was leading to another side of the street appeared before his eyes.

With sweaty hands and an itching wound, the boy quickly climbed over the wall. Right when he jumped down he heard male shouts and screams. It was more than obvious that he was heavily persuaded yet once again.

He led himself into another street. Truth be told, this was the busiest one yet since he was in an area where people with more income lived and spending money to them was an addicting habit, so they would often go outside.

His emotions were roaring wildly. His eyes danced to a thousand rhythms at the same time. He repeatedly kept avoiding the crowd which consisted of peasants and nobles on the street. It seemed like he was an ant evading the rushed footsteps of angry humans.

Then an uncomfortable event followed up. While caught up in the entropy of a loud and busy crowd, he accidentally bumped into a big man who seemed far too irritated for what he was already. The man looked down on the snow pale boy and grabbed him by the robe, lifting him up in a rough manner.

The man kept ranting on something about "disproportional manner and looking in front of yourself" but the boy's brain didn't register a single word that it heard. He was way too concentrated on other things.

Seeing that the boy was either teasing him or a lunatic that escaped from a mental asylum, the big man threw the boy to the side of the street, expelling him from the crowd. The man couldn't be bothered with crazed cases, so he continued his way.

The boy sat in pain and started hearing more unlikely sounds that came from the mouth of the military. He started thinking to himself.

[I have to run, I have to run, I have to run...

I HAVE TO RUN! THEY CAN'T KILL ME, NOT YET! She's]—

The boy stood up like an alcoholic would, drowsy and uncertain, and continued to drift his way through the streets.

After a few minutes of running, next to the tired legs and fatigue, the boy started feeling nauseous. He was sure of the fact that he was slowly approaching the district's end as residential objects and locals began to appear less frequently.

To be frank, he still had no common sense. His plan was nonexistent. In the end, maybe exiting the district and escaping off into the boundless fields and hills was the most rational and instinctual thing to do.

But would he really manage to achieve it?

Thumps of dread started forming behind him. It was clear to him that those were the deadly bangs of a rifle, maybe even numbers of them. The tiny amount of people that were in the street started scattering around, leaving it dead for the most part.

The boy wanted to run faster but he started losing energy and as soon as he knew it he could run no more, even next to the adrenaline that held him captive.

With once again no time to think and no breath to catch, he tried turning to a set of staircases that would lead him into a smaller building. Unfortunately, it was no use.

As soon as he tried doing that, a bullet passed right next to him, slightly scathing his hospital robe. Just moments after, the boy was surrounded by five officers with loaded rifles.

There was no escaping it now.