Prisoner

The Eyes

I whipped my head around, my eyes searching for the pair responsible for the feeling of unease crawling up and down my arms and legs.

I might as well have been jumping at my own shadow; around me, I was only in the way to the people trying to get along with their day. They simply did not have time for any girls to find a pair of mystery eyes, who in turn, I figured, must be attached to a mystery person. Had I just imagined it? I shook my head, my stomach turning uneasily. I wasn't really crazy. No need to let my brain trick itself anymore with thoughts like that. 

Eager to move along with the flow of people and away from anyone's sight, I simply let myself be lead. It was quite easy, just letting myself drift. I didn't need to think about it, I could just let it happen. Could all my days be like this? Easy and without too much thought, or worry, or fear? 

Come on, Ren. You're in the real world now. I scolded myself. Real life, being a part of the world, meant work and determination. And I wanted to have that. I wanted to work hard and be determined and create a life for myself, a fortress away from my past. 

Watch yourself.  I was brought out of my head by Silas, who managed to nudge me away from the edge of the curb where I had strayed to, lost within my own head. That could have ended badly. I could feel the good-natured smile that he gave with a shake of his head. Sheepishly, I edged myself through the crowd to the much safer side of the sidewalk. This allowed me to peer up at the giants rising from the ground. To me, these buildings all around me looked like modern art coming together to paint a far grander picture than one individually by itself. They were so tall! I felt invisible next to one, such a small girl in awe of such a large creation of man. 

Really, Ren, they're just buildings, Silas chuckled. I shrugged his laughter off and stalked down the street, not really sure of where I was headed, but hoping I would end up where I needed to be...which, again, I was also not quite sure of. As I walked, I filled Silas in on what my dreams had been showing me. The sign letters, The Boy, the name; Corvo. That was all the clues we had to go on and it was looking as though that would simply not be enough. I pondered trying to fall asleep again, hoping that The Boy--Corvo--would contact me as I slept, giving me a bit more insight on where it was I needed to go. I would know it if I saw it, certainly, but in such a vast place, simply searching through the streets wasn't going to be a very big help. 

I think we should keep searching, Silas suggested. He felt rather adventurous today; he wanted to explore our new life more. I did, too; but I couldn't forget Corvo's words to me in the last dream; 'Hurry, or they'll get us both.' Who were 'they'? I hoped that had nothing to do with what I had experienced only a few moments ago. The feeling of being watched, dissected with someone's eyes, scrutinized. 

Ren. I looked around, hearing the urgency in Silas's voice. Something was wrong. There it was; that feeling again. Someone out there was looking directly at me. I turned my head, my eyes jumping over everything I could find, searching for who it was making me feel this way. I felt trapped; how was it that now they were here too? Were they faster than me? Did they know where I was going? Without thinking, I took flight, darting down the street, feet thundering on the sidewalk, skidding when I was about to run into someone, making a sharp turn when I wanted to lose the horrible feeling. I pushed myself to go until I no longer could, wanting to stretch the distance between me and where I had been as far as I could.

Soon out of breath after running as long as I could, I looked around me, pressed to the side of a stone building as though I was on a ledge, ignoring the looks people were giving me. I had no way to shield myself from whoever it was that was doing the watching; I felt terribly naked, like I stuck out in this modern society like an outdated thumb. 

I need to find Corvo. Find Corvo. Corvo. The faster my mind went, the shorter the orders I was giving myself. Short, concise, easy to process. Scanning around me as if crossing a street, I hurried along, breathing heavily, not able to stand still and rest in case the feeling came back to haunt me. Somehow, I knew it would. Silas urged me along, lending me energy when I needed it and verbal support when I didn't. I could feel him watching, surrounding me like a shield. 

"How do they keep finding me?" I murmured to myself, keeping my head down as I walked quickly. As soon as the words left my mouth, the air, along with any sound, was snatched from me as I ran straight into someone. Even Silas hadn't had time to warn me. I hit the ground, scraping my skin on the unforgiving concrete. My head collided with something hard, and I could see stars dancing along my vision like fairies. I reached out to grab one dazedly, my fist closing around nothing but air. 

I was roughly dragged up by my arms, and I yelped in pain, both as the grip holding on to me tightened and my head was jerked with the rest of my body. Why did Silas sound so faint? Was he even talking? A voice cut through my thoughts like a knife, forming harsh words I could not understand, causing me to jaggedly piece together what was going on. Whoever was holding on to me wasn't a good guy and right now I was not safe. Taking in a gulp of air and praying my vision cleared, I listened for the voice to come again. As soon as it did, I wished it hadn't. Two words, whispered triumphantly, caused me to shake. 

"Got you."