Blackbourne Investigations 01 - Introductions

Chapter 1 - Max

I pushed open the diner door with a huff of frustration. Yet another business not hiring at the moment. I had spent all morning dropping off my resumes at businesses near my tiny apartment. Clothes and souvenirs shops, cafes and convenience stores but so far, no luck.

I had moved to Charleston two days ago and have spent the majority of my time job hunting. It's a bad time of year to move and business owners are only holding onto minimal staffing. Should I have just stayed where I was? At least I had had job security, poor paying though it was, and a cosy apartment. Is feeling safe while jobless and hungry better than being constantly terrified and having a job?

I pushed the thoughts away. Dwelling on these things never changed the situation. Charleston, South Carolina was now my home, for however long I could stay.

Usually I found a job fairly quickly. Over the years I had had to take any job offered and I had experience in waitressing/food prep, secretarial work, as a shop assistant and even in parts and ordering at an auto-mechanic. However, I was learning people didn't want someone who didn't seem to stick at a job before moving on.

I had grown up in foster care after being abandoned at 4. I don't remember much of my life prior to foster care, except yelling and fighting. Foster care ensured I never got a family or a home, bouncing me from place to place. It wasn't until I was 15 when my running and hiding started, caused by a fellow foster boy with a sick obsession. And so my life on the run began.

Which is why I'm standing here, 9 years on the run, jobless, scared, hungry and...wet. The skies had chosen this moment to open up and drench me.

Ducking my head down I carefully tucked my precious stack of resumes inside my jacket and pulled it closer to my body. I'm really hoping they survive the downpour as printing off more resumes isn't something I wanted to add to my to-do list.

Normally I love rain. I love hearing it on the roof while I'm snug in bed or looking at the raindrops bouncing off the roads from inside a warm room. At this very moment? I'm not enjoying it so much. I glanced up at the sky which is showing no sign of stopping this downpour anytime soon. It's time to make the dash home. My knight in shining armour? Now would be a great time to turn up.

With my head down to keep an eye on the rapidly growing puddles I sprinted through the rain.

One block down, three to go. I turned the corner and crashed into someone. Hands shot out, grabbing my upper arms to steady me which always terrifies me. I can't stand the feel of being restrained. My body reacted without thought, twisting my arms trying to get release.

'Let go of me!' I looked up and saw my captor. Brim of his cap down, thin weedy looking goatee and a sneer on his mouth.

'Well, well, well. Looks like you need someone to take care of you while you get dried off' he said as he looked me over. Tightening his grip he started dragging me back towards to the side door of a building.

I started pulling back with all my weight, kicking out with my legs and yelling. I felt the satisfaction of my booted foot hitting his kneecap, but instead of his grip loosening he tightened it then flung me against the brick wall beside us. Pain exploded through my head as it hit the wall and I crumpled, sliding down the wall into a heap. I looked up as he limped over. He stepped onto one of my scattered resumes which had fallen in the struggle, twisting it with his shoe into the wet concrete. Reaching down he tangled his fingers into my hair and yanked me up. Seeing my chance, I balled my fist and punched him as hard as I could in the groin. Scrambling away from him I frantically started collecting my resumes. I wanted desperately to get away from him but I couldn't afford any of my details to be left with him.

I grabbed them quickly, half running to the last ones now saturated with rain when he tackled me from behind, sending us crashing to the ground. Sitting on my back he pushed my face into the asphalt.

'Help! Somebody help!' I screamed, my voice cracking at the attempted volume. Bucking my body and trying to pull his hand off my head I continued to cry out only to have my cries muffled by the pouring rain and my own inability to yell.

Pain knifed through my head as he punched my cheek, then pushed my face harder into the ground.

Struggling in the wet, watching car headlights drive past on the main road, just metres from where I was, yet feeling so alone. Should I just give up? I don't think I can live this life any longer, always running, always scared. What was left to fight for? Is this all there is? Struggling through life alone? Always alone.

Tensing my back, I prepared to try and buck him off when I heard the sound of someone running up to us. Turning my head I saw a flash of fur as a dog tackled my attacker to the ground.

I rolled quickly and started crab-crawling backwards until I had the brick wall to my back. Whose dog was this? I stared in amazement as it crouched growling as my attacker cowered on the ground.