Connor My Dear Boy (FINISHED)

29

Connor was planning to leave the city. He knew very well that that was where people were most likely to look for him.

Still, he could not be expected to escape the city immediately, right? It was late and after waiting around all day to talk to Kanen'tó:kon… well, the sun was going down fast.

Connor headed back closer towards his old apartment. He didn't know where he could sleep, as he couldn't sleep inside anywhere without raising suspicion about his situation and he couldn't go back to the park (everything he had seen in spy movies over the course of his life had taught him that it was not a good idea to stay in the same place more than once when you're on the run from something).

He managed to find an alleyway that was vacant of homeless people. Connor sat down next to one of the dumpsters so that he would not be visible from the alley entrance, trying to ignore the smell and the way that flies were buzzing in the air around him. He sighed, looking gloomily around at the graffiti on the brick walls.

"This is it," he muttered to himself. "This is how I'm going to be living the rest of my life. I had better get used to it."

Connor's eyes rested on some used hypodermic needles underneath the dumpster and he cringed away from them in disgust.

"You could go back," a small voice in the back of his mind suggested timidly.

He scowled. Another part of him argued that Haytham would undoubtedly be furious with him at that point and Connor wasn't sure that he wanted to deal with being yelled at by him again, like when he climbed on the roof.

Connor figured that he could go to Aveline's place, but she was likely to tell people that he was there. The only reason why he felt comfortable finding Kanen'tó:kon and talking to him was because he probably wouldn't tell people that he was there. Would he? He did seem pretty angry when Connor showed up out of the blue and told him that he had run away.

He shook his head out of his thoughts and began to dig around in his backpack for dinner, to find that he only had one bag of beef jerky left. Connor stared at it apprehensively, wondering if he should save it for later, when his stomach growled traitorously.

Connor sighed and tore the top off, helping himself to his last bit of food. He tried to chew slowly, savoring the taste and the rest of his food. All too soon, however, the bag ran out. He tossed it into the dumpster next to him and ran his hands through his hair.

Why did he run away? It's ridiculous. Kanen'tó:kon was right; Connor's fourteen. What on earth was he thinking?

Still, Connor stubbornly did not want to admit defeat. He would not go back.

He withdrew the tarp he had bought earlier from his backpack, following the dark haired homeless man's advice. If the clouds ahead were any indication, it was definitely going to start to drizzle sooner or later. Connor wrapped the tarp around his shoulders, shooting one last glance at the needles under the dumpster, before curling up on the ground. He closed his eyes, trying not to think about what tomorrow might bring…

Connor awoke abruptly to someone shouting. He leaped to his feet, the tarp dropping to the ground, as he blinked rapidly and tried to figure out where he was.

It was still dark out, and a light dusting of rain was sprinkling down from the sky. He was still in the alleyway, but he was not alone. There was a man a few feet away from Connor who looked completely disheveled and half insane. His eyes were wide as he stared at the fourteen year old boy.