The Color of Your Eyes

Chapter 45: Leaves

Poke had to stop to catch his breath. He rubbed his side, the part in which he scratched himself quite a bit as he tried to escape through the small basement. On his run, he even lost his cap. Now he is covered in dirt and scratches, he hasn't eaten for a while, and worst of all, he wasn't sure if he should go home to his fiancé.

If he goes home, then what? Should he hide forever? Go to the police and report the bar owner and his minions. Will Alan even believe him? And what about Mike?

Remembering Mike, almost made Poke faint. He was supposed to finish another task for that criminal tonight, but now he wasn't sure how he was supposed to do that. Worst of all, his fiancé must have been looking all over Duskwood for him.

He is neck-deep in trouble right now.

Poke was contemplating running home and begging his fiancé to pack a couple of things and just drive to his cousin who was living on the other side of the country until all of this blows over. He just wanted to get away from Mike and from Phil. Especially from Phil! That guy was the personification of the devil! Mike might be brutal and vicious, but that bartender can be such a psychopath! How could he do that to him? Just to gain information! His fiery-haired sister was no less scary!

Poke took a deep breath and continued running through the park. No matter what, he was going to get out of here.

Unbeknownst to him, Thomas has been hiding in the bushes since spotting Poke running through the trees in Duskwood park. The park itself has a small forest, thick enough for an ambush, but not big enough to have it for more than five minutes if Thomas doesn't want to risk being seen. Thanks to the smartphone given by Jake which they used prior to capturing Poke, he was able to prepare himself between two trees Poke was bound to pass by.

The only problem was, Thomas was not the type of person to overpower another guy.

If it were Dan or Phil, they might succeed, but Thomas? He wouldn't even harm a fly, but then again, so much has happened, and he did things before he never imagined he would do.

The good news was that Thomas had the element of surprise.

Poke was almost going to pass him by. Thomas prepared himself for the impact. Poke was now getting closer, almost to where he was hiding. The guy on the run looked around, then took a couple of steps backward...

With a yelp, Thomas jumped on top of Poke, but his yell made Poke turn around just in time to see the ambush coming. They both fell down to the ground, struggling to overpower each other. Thomas desperately tried to tie Poke's hands, but the man resisted more than he had anticipated.

Poke grabbed a branch and hit Thomas' head with it, enough for Thomas to get off him, holding the side of his head. Poke tried to get up, but then Thomas grabbed one of his ankles, making Poke fall on his knees, getting his head to fall on a stone, knocking him out cold.

"Shit!" Thomas immediately got up and went to check Poke's pulse. After making sure Poke was just knocked out cold, he checked the wound on his head where he got hit by the stone on the ground.

Well, that was just fantastic, he was just bad at ambushing others. Thomas didn't waste any time and tied Poke's hands behind his back.

It was dumb luck that made him able to capture Poke back. Maybe Dan was right, maybe he really is a sore loser who can get nothing done.

Thomas rubbed the side of his head where he got hit and rubbed his blood away. It needed to be tended later, but first, he has to carry Poke to his car without being seen.

Thomas looked around, searching for his beanie, and found it almost hidden underneath a couple of leaves. He picked it up and shook the leaves off of it.

Yes, he was a loser. Jake was an exceptional hacker, Phil is a man who can get shit done, and Dan can protect people even while he is in a wheelchair. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that Richy is also capable of achieving and doing great things – aside from kidnapping Hannah and lying to them. Thomas could never deny that Richy being able to pull off making the Legend of Duskwood become reality is impressive.

And he? He wasn't able to protect, find, or save Hannah. He wasn't able to do crap during the search for her. All he mostly did was whining and feeling sorry for himself. He mistrusted Jake and accused him. He put Cleo into trouble by making her his accomplice when they tried to break into Phil's basement. Not only that... he has put Lia in grave danger by begging her to exchange herself for Hannah. They were lucky that the man without a face turned out to be Richy, but what if it wasn't Richy? What if it really was Michael Hanson? Or worse, a criminal like Mike? What has he achieved so far?

He was only capable of making a little kid cry...

Guilt and regret washed over Thomas. While he was busy feeling sorry for himself, Jake and Lia did the most to save Hannah. And now Lia was in danger. Now he has a chance to redeem himself, and he was going to prove to himself that he can do more than be a wimp and a sore loser. He will prove that more to himself than to his friends. He might not be intelligent like Jake, strong like Phil, reliable like Dan, and brave like Richy, but he was sure he can find his role in all this.

First, he should be able to do the task that has been given to him without any further fuck-ups, he thought as he looked down on an unconscious Poke.

Thomas looked around and covered Poke quickly with as many leaves as possible as he heard footsteps approaching. He was standing up just in time when an old lady who he recognized as Mrs. Campbell who sometimes babysat his little brother, walked past him a couple of meters away, near the path that lead to the train station.

"Hello Thomas, it's quite a surprise to see you here. Are you also enjoying the fresh air today?" she said smiling.

"Eh yeah, it's quite fresh, so I thought I take a walk and make myself useful by looking for something I think I might be lost in the park," Thomas said before he could think of another made-up story as to why he was here.

"Oh, are you also looking for Muffin?"

Thomas looked confused. "Eh Muffin?"

"You know, Mrs. Sinclair's cat."

"Oh that, yeah, yeah I was looking for it. The poor animal could get cold in such weather. It's soon going to get even colder," Thomas forced himself to smile, but he could hear leaves rusting coming from behind him. Is Poke waking up? Thomas saw Poke's right foot was sticking out from underneath the leaves, and he tried to cover it, by moving his foot without causing any suspicion.

"Well then I won't take any more time off of you, have a nice day, and send your mother my regards," Mrs. Campbell said before she wobbled off, walking further away. Thomas let out a sigh of relief. He looked around the park.

Now how does he get Poke out of here before arousing any suspicion?

Thomas saw a wheelbarrow and smiled.

"Hello," Thomas said casually as he pushed the wheelbarrow, in which he hid Poke, underneath a blanket and a pile of leaves, passing by a woman who was jogging while walking her dog. She nodded and didn't pay much attention to him.

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A.N.: It has been such a long time since I updated any chapters. I have been getting comments and messages from readers asking me to update. The truth was that two months ago, I have been taking care of a demented family member full-time in my place, and it was more exhausting than I could have imagined. Somehow I have finally gotten some sort of normalcy and I have been dying to write again. Yesterday when I read the interview from Everybyte on reddit to celebrate Duskwood's third anniversary, I just had to write it down again. With the support of my partner, I hope I can have the time to update more often. I already know how the story is going to end I just want to share it as soon as possible. I can confidently say that we are almost reaching the middle of the story.

With all of my readers a great weekend! And thank you all so much for your patience!