Chasing Shadows | ✓

01|Bonus Chapter: Future

 Fifteen years later. . .

***

THE HARSH SUN SHONE DOWN ON US WITH NO MERCY.

The warm breeze nipped and bit at my skin, trying to tear its way inside of me. Sweat dripped down my arms in thick droplets, leaving a clear trail from the dirt that covered me whole. Strong gusts of wind blew by, temporarily cooling us all down in our small, neon, jackets, but no one opened their mouths to complain. Despite the scorching heat, we all continued to work away at our own pace. I was drenched in sweat; it soaked the clothes on my back like someone had poured a bucket of water over me. The heat licked at our sunburned skin and made our blood boil like a simmering pot of soup. Even the birds were silent, and the grass stood still as if too hot to even move. The trees stood muted in the summer air, and all that could be heard was the banging of tools and a quiet murmur of chatter.

Despite the aching pain I had in my back, I didn't voice my concerns as I once again, leaned over to grab a small pile of building blocks. I gritted my teeth to stop myself groaning in pain as I straightened up.

"Hey, Trevor! Over here!"

My head jerked behind me to see one of the fellow workers gesturing me over with his hand. Ibrahim's face was scrunched up as if he was in pain, the apples of his cheeks a bright red colour. With a dirty hand, he removed his plastic hat to wipe away the numerous beads of sweat off his forehead. Keeping my sigh inside, I managed to limp my way over, coming to a slow stop in front of him.

"You doin' alright?" he asked with a squint.

"Fine," I grunted in response, "Where do you want these?"

"Just leave them here," he waved his hand carelessly, "Leo will take them up."

"I'll do it," I offered, but he stuck his hand out, stopping me from moving forward.

"Trevor,  enough," he snapped in a harsh tone, "You're going to work yourself into a grave if you keep carrying on like this."

"I don't know what you're talking about," I muttered, but lowered my eyes in shame. Despite the multiple concerns that were voiced, not only from the team, but from our boss as well, I ignored them all and carried on doing all the heavy work.

Ibrahim placed a gentle hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze, "Just go get it checked out, please? It's not like they're not giving you the day off to do it, we have enough of us here to work too -"

"I said I'm fine," I shrugged his hand off in stubbornness. 

A brief silence settled between the two of us before his eyes softened in realization.

"It's today, right?"

Instead of answering him, I bent over to pick up the few blocks I had dumped down earlier. However, Ibrahim wasn't satisfied and tried to grab the load off my arms.

"Just go home," he pleaded with me, "I'll tell them you felt sick and had to go the hospital or something."

"There's nothing wrong with me," I sighed, "Just drop it. I want to be left alone."

"Just listen to me for the first time in your life," he rolled his eyes, "You don't have to be so stubborn all the time, you know."

"I'll go get it checked out tomorrow," I suddenly sighed, feeling exhausted, "Happy?"

Ibrahim stared at me through dubious eyes for a few seconds before he slowly nodded his head.

"Okay. . ." he trailed off, "You better not backtrack on what you just said."