I make it in time to see Jay on the east side of the wall. He's there, finishing a piece of cheese. I jog up to him and he looks up.
"So, why do you want to talk to me?" I ask.
Jay stands up and holds out his hand, "Let's start again. Hey, I'm Jay."
I eye his hand, "Hayden."
He grins, "You're not going to shake my hand?"
One thing that you learn in street fighting is not to trust anyone. A hand shake can end up with you flipped over and on the ground.
"What do you want, Jay," I cross my arms over my chest.
He smirks and withdraws his hand, "You're smarter than I thought. You think I would trick you?"
"Yes."
"I wanted to talk to you about... our world," Jay sweeps his bangs out of his eyes.
"Save your lectures for the government," I say.
"Feisty one aren't you?" he has a small smile on his face.
"Whatever," I roll my eyes.
"Do you know why I spend my time on this side?" Jay asks me.
"Cause you have to," the words immediately spill out of my mouth.
He laughs, "Oh, Hayden. You never have to do anything. We always have a choice. Whether you make the right one is a different question."
"Get to the point," I tap my foot impatiently.
"There's a... special group. They want change. Start over the whole system. In order to do that, they need strength and money," Jay looks me in the eye, "They need people like you. Ones with strength if they hope to achieve this dream."
"So? You think I care about that?" I look away from his stare.
"Yes, I think you do. Wouldn't you want revenge? For what they did to you? Your parents?" Jay presses.
He's done it. He went way too far. I do what all girls do when they're pissed. I slap him, as hard as I can. There's a bright red mark on his cheek and he places his hand over it.
"You think I would just give away my life for some stupid group that wants to do the impossible?" I shout at Jay, "You think I would trust some stranger like you? I don't know how you found out about my parents, but I'm over it."
I stomp away and don't turn around when Jay calls my name.
I hear him walk after me and I start to run.
"Hayden! Wait, please!" I hear Jay shout.
"Go away!" I yell and pick up the pace.
The sound of his feet fade away as I keep running. I come to a slow walk when my legs start to ache. I look around and spot a small pub. There's nowhere else to stay so I start walking towards it. I'll probably miss the afternoon fights but right now, I don't care.
I open the pub's door and everyone in there stares at me. I don't make eye contact with anyone as I walk and sit at the bar. I pull out my pouch of coins and pull out a coin. The bartender turns around and her eyes glitter at the sight of the coin.
"Water," I order.
She quickly takes the coin and fills a beer glass with water.
I sip the glass and everyone goes back to their gambling and drinking. A few minutes later, two middle aged men sit beside me at the bar.
"Hello, beautiful," the one on my right purrs.
I narrow my eyes, "Hello."
The one on my left chuckles, "You're gorgeous. You know that right?"
"Thank you," I say stiffly.
"I know a way you can repay me," the left one grabs my arm.
This is trouble that I really don't need right now. I'm about to grab his hand and pry it off of me when the man on my right grabs my other arm.
"You're not getting away that easily," he grins at the bottom half of my body.
I'm about to hurt him where it counts when one of them pulls out an army knife. Fists have no chance against weapons.
The man on my left throws coins to the bartender, "Getting a room for a bit!"
She looks at me sadly. If she got in the way, she could end up like me or worse. Help only goes so far in this place anyway.
I walk quietly with the men and they walk me upstairs to the second floor containing bedrooms. The man on my left pushes open the door, revealing a small room with only a thin mattress and a blanket.
They throw me on the mattress and the man with the knife quickly comes behind me and presses the knife to my throat.
"You're going to be a good little girl, understand?" he whispers.
He's holding the knife so close to my throat that I can't nod or say anything without breaking the skin.
The other man sits next to me and grins. He starts to pull down my pants-
That's when there's a loud banging on the door and someone barges in.
"What the hell?" the man on my left shouts and stands up.
"Get away from the girl," I hear the intruder growl.
I know that voice. It's Jay of course.
"Keep the girl there," the left man orders his friend, "I'll deal with him."
He walks up to Jay but he's a street fighter. We know how to deal with situations like this. It's our life. When the man lunges at Jay, he's flipped over on his back, unconscious.
The man pressing the knife into my throat presses harder, "Take one more step and the girl's a goner."
"I don't think you're the one that should be threatening," Jay pulls out a pistol from his front pocket.
I have no idea how he could've gotten a gun. The government is very watchful for any weapons of any sort. You can be sentenced to treason for just holding one.
The man holding the knife stiffens, "If you shoot me, she's going down with me."
"You have three seconds."
"Look here. We worked hard to get this girl-"
"One."
"Don't do something you'll regret-"
"Two."
I could feel the man with the knife start to tremble and he flings the knife to the corner of the room and raises his hands up in surrender.
"Good choice, sir," Jay drops the gun back in his pocket and steps toward us. The man scrambles away from me and runs out of the room, forgetting his passed out buddy on the floor.
"You okay?" Jay asks me, looking me over for any wounds.
"Yeah," I answer, "How did you get the gun?"
He pulls it out again, "Oh this? I got special connections."
I narrow my eyes, "Were you stalking me?"
"Does that matter?"
"Yes! I shouldn't be in the same room with a creepy stalker with a gun!"
"Hey now. Is that anyway to treat your hero?" Jay chuckles as he puts it back in his pocket.
I stand up, "I have to go."
"It's dark now, Hayden. You can't go now. You should stay for the night," he says.
"Are you kidding me? I'm not staying here another minute," I growl.
"Let me stay with you for the night," Jay looks at me.
"I'm a big girl, Jay. I think I can take care of myself."
"I got the gun."
Then it hits me, "You still trying to make me join that stupid group?"
He stands up, taller than me by a few inches, "Maybe."
"Well, it isn't going to happen," I hiss and start to walk out of the room.
Jay walks after me and grabs my arm, "I'm serious, Hayden. It's dangerous at night."
"I don't care," I yank out of his grip, "I'm getting out of here."
"I'm coming with you then," he says firmly.
"Whatever," I start walking again, "Be a creepy stalker."
"You're not very grateful are you," Jay chuckles, following me.
I scowl and exit the pub and Jay doesn't let me lose him. I pick up to a jog and he doesn't miss a beat. Soon, I spot the shadow of the wall and slow down a bit. I stop and sit down against the wall when it comes up. Jay sits down next to me and we're there in silence.
"So this is where you sleep every night," Jay says.
"Yeah," I answer and close my eyes.
"Kind of cold," he murmurs.
"You get use to it," I say.
Jay doesn't comment and his breathing soon becomes light snores. I can't stop thinking about tonight. How he came to my rescue.
"I got to stop thinking about this," I whisper to myself, "Friendships never last here anyway."