Flying, Running ✓

Moonburn

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This is an entry for Inked_wings contest.
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As the credits of the movie that was definitely not worth Tricia's seven dollars ended, she dragged her feet after Louise, who was skipping in excitement.

"Oh my god Tricia! That movie is simply amazing! It's the bomb dot com of all movies! That part where they kissed- ah!" Louise squealed with both hands covering her face, bouncing towards the exit and to the frigid night air.

And then she stopped in mid-bounce.

Tricia turned to throw their two empty popcorn boxes in the almost overflowing rubbish bin, and when she faced Louise, she was very much confused. She walked to the wall nearest to the two glass exit doors and leaned against it, folding her arms, her eyebrows slightly raised.

Louise was clutching onto the empty stand where free umbrellas were given away so tightly, so so tightly that her knuckles turned white, matching her pale face and complementing her cream jacket. Her lips slightly parted, she loooked towards Tricia, and released her grip on the stand to clutch Tricia's arm.

"Tri-Tricia, can we go home by the other exit?"

"The other one? You mean the one that connects to that dark alley?"

"Yes Tricia! Can we go home by that way instead of the main exit? Please? Pretty please?"

Louise clasped her hands together, looking up at Tricia, fluttering her eyebrows underneath her glasses. Tricia grimaced and looked away, holding a hand out to hold back Louise's face that was surreptitiously inching nearer and nearer to her own.

"Louise."

"Pretty pretty please?"

"I hate my life."

"Pretty pretty pretty please with a pretty cherry on top?"

"Why."

"Tricia!" Louise dragged her name out, and pulled at Tricia's arm like an annoying baby trying to convince the nanny to give it more food.

"Fine!" Tricia relented, and she stormed towards the other exit that was further and spookier with an ecstatic Louise by her side.

***
The alley was dark and quiet, with the slight musky smell of rotten vegetables for some reason. Cardboard boxes were stacked haphazardly on the sides of the alley, dangerously close to falling and revealing the items kept inside.

The duo traipsed along their way, with Tricia trying to wiggle her way towards answers as to why Louise did not want to use the main exit, and Louise skillfully guiding them towards another conversation starter.

A "piang!" rang out in the silence. It was not as loud and as near as what the two thought, but it accentuated the stillness, the quietness, the danger that they were in.

And it was a great danger.

Tricia's hand searched for her pepper spray in her slingbag and tightened her fingers around it, while Louise's head whipped behind. Her gaze hardened, such an expression uncommon on her usually cheerful and jolly face. With her shoulders hunched, she gestured Tricia to quicken up her steps, not noticing that Tricia had already started speeding past her.

Tricia stopped, and as she turned around, her fingers, like a missile locked on to its target, wrapped around Louise's slender wrist, and she pulled the two of them into a run.

The slight slanted rays of light from the exit of the alley morphed into a dash of hope, and the two ran towards it with all their might, Tricia's steps even and strong, Louise's unsteady like the pitter patter music of rain and fading.