Crash and Burn (1)

don't fucking look at me like that

♚ ♛

IT WAS MISTY IN the doorway, but a small bell chimed when I pushed the glass door open. I shot the man behind the counter an easy smile before I started for the shelves. I did have a few bucks on me from when we looted Chris's apartment...a week ago? It felt like months had passed.

Everyday with Soren seemed to last an eternity. We were living in some torturous limbo, somewhere between thinking we were safe and knowing that we weren't.

And I was actually starting to get used to it. Long bus rides with Soren weren't horrible. Though we didn't seem to talk much about ourselves, Soren was always there to let me rest my head on his shoulder and sleep as we went back and forth.

Grabbing a few waters from the fridge, I carried them to the corner of the store before I shoved them in my bag. Over the shelf, I caught the gaze of the attendant on me and panicked, grabbing the first thing in front of me and shoving it into my half-open bag.

Fucking Cheerios. I quietly groaned when I pressed forward to the entrance with my hands in my pockets.

When I pushed out the door, I wasn't even surprised to see that Soren was gone. That fucker couldn't stay still for one goddamn second.

"Soren!" I hissed into the hazy darkness, hoping he'd step out of the shadow of the doorway next door. I was literally in there for two minutes, and he was already gone. "Motherfucker."

Where the hell could he have gone?

Breathe.

My feet had a mind of their own as I rounded the corner and took a quick pace down the dark, deserted street. In the deepest part of Queens, everything was silent, except for the slow, steady pace of the rain.

Bang!

A low, vibrating gunshot through the air made my heart skip. Fuck. What the hell did Soren do now?

My heart shot up my throat as all the worst possibilities came to mind. They'd found him.

Breathe.

Turning down Dutch Ave and breaking into a sprint, I fumbled when the path cascaded into dirt. A park.

"El dijo que no te rendirías, fuck."

"No me importa lo que dijo."

I could just barely catch the two men struggling in the entrance to the park, but the light glinting off of a long blade made me freeze.

Breathe.

It blurred, a slice through the air and I watched the lean shadow fall to the ground.

Soren.

I could hear my own heart in my ears when the other man kneeled down to grab hold of him.

"Te voy a matar." It was seething, the way it was hissed into the darkness. But what really seemed to burn me was that it wasn't Soren.

Breathe.

I didn't even think before I sprinted forward, crashing violently into the large shadow.

"Ah, ¡carajo!" His rough accent echoed in my ears as I leaped onto him, only to be swung around harshly, my vision swaying with the sharp movements of the blade.

"Let go of him!" I hadn't even thought to pull my knife out. I'd just run.

He whipped around to throw me off his shoulders. "¿Qué mierda?"