Manhunt the Evader // Evade Fanfiction

Chapter 1 // The Little Shop

"Man, how did you get hurt this badly?"

I was lying on my back on Galf's bed. It was nothing fancy, only a frame with a comfortable mattress. For half an hour, I had spent most of my time staring at the ceiling, counting the many cracks that had been nearly stained on the smooth roof. Cracks were not the only one that decorated Galf's ceiling like a pizza, mold were like the second main topping of the 'pizza'. 

I slowly sat up from my resting position before being greeted with a sharp pinch. The pain from my shoulder never left me. I could feel the bullet lurking into my muscles every time I tense it. Iron, red liquid dripped onto the wooden oak floor as Galf turned towards me with a clean, wet towel.

"Alright, I want you to hold that wound with this towel," Galf said with a soft smile, "I will get the bandages when I find them,"

Carefully, I clenched the wound with the soggy material. I held back every scream that were about to come out of my mouth. After a while, Galf came back with tweezers and a roll of yellow bandages. The metal tweezers were intimidating, the metal texture reflected the fear of my eyes. 

"Jard, remove the towel,"

Not keen, but eager to get out of this hell hole, I dragged the towel away from my skin. Though its condition was much better after the material was applied, I could still feel the metal coat of that fucking bullet in the area. Galf took a deep breath in.

"Try not to scream too loud,"

"Wait what,"

Galf, out of nowhere nor empathy, dug his tweezers right into my skin where the wound was. My immediate reaction was to scream until my head rolls onto the floor. 

"FUCK!"

I could feel the tweezers digging deeper and deeper into my pale skin as I screeched every at movement. Finally, the splitting pain stopped as Galf puts an item onto the metal tray beside him. It was the bullet. He gently removed the tweezers before patching the injury with a nice, coated bandage. Although the bandage spiked a bit of pain receptors from my shoulder, it suddenly settled down comfortably.

Without a word, Galf walked towards my bag before pulling out the bronze teleporter that had been waiting for his collection. I could hear his footsteps roaming through the wooden floor as he placed the teleporter onto his inspection table. Grabbing his magnifying glass, he closely inspects the ancient artifact while clicking his tongue.

"Such a beautiful Bronze Teleporter," Galf cut the silence as he looked at me, "I would say it's worth around 60 points on the Daily market,"

I knew it.

"Yeah, probably by luck from the pedestal," I said with a meek smile, "usually I was greeted with a bunch of common stuff like a green barrier or a simple mask,"

"Yes, it is a surprise to get something this rare off the bat,"

Galf puts his magnifying glass away before walking towards the counter. He opened the counter as his fingers crawled into the slots. 

"And because of that, $2000 is yours,"

My expression lit up as he handed me the batch of notes. In normal trips in the dimension, $900 was the reward limit. However, this day was my lucky day. $2000? I could buy a normal microwave with this much money if I wanted to. I eagerly took the patch.

"Thank you so much, Galf," I said.

Galf hugged me as a reaction. I've got to admit, it was the first time I smiled through a tough and tiring day. I'm guessing he was happy to see me smiling again. A smile after debt took my life away. Galf backed away as he grabbed the bronze teleporter and placed it on the pedestal in his shop, marking the item for 60 points. 

"Jard, the colas' in the fridge,"

"Right, thanks,"

I grabbed a couple of colas from the freezer before I left the shop. Giving a short wave to my only best friend.

"Oh yeah, one more thing!" Galf spoke before I disappeared into the streets, "next expedition, don't go too hard on yourself. Your shoulder still needs a few days to recover,"

"Don't worry! I won't!"

I was all alone again. My footsteps echoed every wall of the small, stoned buildings. It probably rained during my expedition as the stoned pathways were coated with damped rainwater. The lights flickered as I roamed through the empty hallway. The small food market, a place that would be open for God knows how long, was my second savior. I entered through the glass door before picking out my late-night dinner. The shop was nothing special, it was stocked with scrapped food like sausage rolls, small party pies and cup of noodles. I walked into the food aisle before reaching my hands on both the chicken and beef flavored cup noodles. Thanks to the heap of money that Galf gave me, it was enough to last me a couple of weeks, months even. With no hesitation, I grabbed two beef cup noodles and two chicken cup noodles. I placed the items at the counter as the shopkeeper scanned the four cups.

"That would be $20 for those, sir," he spoke.

I placed down two $10 bills for the pay. He took the money and placed it into his counter. Of course, I would have robbed this store, but why would I? This place is like heaven to me. The shopkeeper raised his eyebrow.

"Well, hello, Jard," he said, "Never expecting you to be this excited,"

"Yeah, I know," I responded, "I just finally have enough money to pay the bills for my apartment for at least another month. At least repay a few college tuitions,"

"That must be exciting news for you," he said with a smile before putting the noodles in a bag and handing them to me, "Welp, have a nice rest!"

"Thank you, shop keeper!"

It wasn't long before I could find my apartment. The hallway was cramped, not much breathing room for the walls and my shoulders. Finally, I was met with the entrance to my room. I dug into my pocket for the small key. I unlocked the door before opening to a small room. It was nothing special or as special as Galf's medical room. It was only a mattress with a scruffy, old blanket. I walked towards the table in the corner of the room before putting the cup of noodles into the small cupboard. It was the first time that small cabinet is filled with food. I grabbed out the chicken flavored noodles before ripping the seal off. My fingers wrapped around the handle of the boiling kettle as I poured the boiling water into the small cup. After a few minutes, the noodles were ready.

Oh, the smell of the noodles brightened me. The taste of the delicious apartment delicacy was touched by my tongue. The wonderful smell filled the small room. It made me stop worrying about everything else. From my unpaid tuitions to the struggle of living in this apartment. 

Finally, it was bedtime. Sometimes I wonder, where do the dimensions come from and how were the artifacts manifold the area. Those were questions that had been hovering around my head when I was seconds to falling asleep. Maybe it's a question I might answer tomorrow. I closed my eyes before drifting off to a magical place.