Aegis (Book Three)

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

I haven't seen the man with the red eyes, and no one else has either. The thief and murder seemed to have vanished from everyone's radar and I am thankful, he has already tried to kill me once, I don't exactly want to see him again anytime soon, never would be preferred. Although a sinking feeling tells me that I will see him again.

Sitting in class, I notice the girl with red hair across the room. She still sits across the table from me every day at lunch, yet we never speak. I sometimes glance at her, but she never looks up from her lunch. Not that I blame her, nobody talks to me either.

Standing up in my seat, I put my books into my bag and sling it over my shoulder as I head out of the classroom. Weaving through the crowd, I try to avoid everyone and just focus on getting out of this blasted school. As the front doors enter my vision, I see the downpour going on outside and I can't help the grimace. I hate the rain with a burning passion. I know how some people love the sound and smell of the rain, but here in this part of the city, everything floods, everyone is miserable, and the stench is almost amplified.

Stepping out into the rain, I start my trudge home from school and am not even phased when multiple cars speed by, hitting the massive puddles, splashing my pants. I don't really care, because for once I do have a place to do laundry and shower now.

Dragging myself across the city, I stop under a few buildings and watch as the raindrops fall from the grey sky. I know that the minimal greenery in Circa city needs this water, but I just prefer it when the sun is out. Continuing, I stop at a crosswalk and look around. My hood is now soaked through, but it's not like my hair will care. T shaved my curls off yesterday, I prefer it that way, I don't have time to deal with the thick textured nature of my hair.

I watch as an older woman continues into the crosswalk adjacent to me and the light flicks red. She hobbles along obliviously with her cane and her umbrella. I hear the squealing of the tires and my head flicks sideways as a car tries to screech to a halt. Lunging out into the street, the car hits my shoulder first as I push the women and move her out of the way. She stumbles and trips, but I barely notice as I am thrown a few feet into the intersection. My body hits the ground hard and my skin hardens upon impact. My head smashes into the ground and I recoil.

Blurry memories cross in front of my eyes and I can feel a hand smashing my head into the sidewalk. The buildings seem tall around me and everything is out of focus as the pain radiates in my skull. I can see the large red boots of the man, as he stalks away from me, and the sense of relief in my chest confuses me.

Hands grab me, and I shove them away and yank my hood on tighter as I push myself to my feet. I can see a few people around me, and traffic is completely stopped. Keeping my hood close to my head, I cover the hardened spot of my face and avoid eye contact.

"Are you stupid?!" A voice screams at me and I grit my teeth.

"Back off, you could have killed her!"

"She's the one who jumped into traffic!"

"She was saving the old lady you were about to turn into roadkill!"

Looking around quickly, I duck out of the circle and run over and grab my bag and phone off of the ground before sprinting away. My body starts to ache the more I move but I try to ignore it. I stop in an empty alleyway and I know I need to release this energy somehow, but I am still so disoriented. Going to lean against a wall, I miss and hit the ground again. Lying on the ground tears form in my eyes and that image pops up again.

I call T and she answers quicker than I anticipated. Her voice is irritated, and I can hear people yelling in the background. I just tell her that I am back from school and she acknowledges my statement before hanging up. Climbing back to my feet I drag myself home and barely make it through the door. I shrug off my now completely drenched sweatshirts and throw them in the dryer and yank off my pants and hang them to dry.