Runners, Chapter 2

[02.Room.And.Board]

He sat there, for a while, looking at her, which in the back of his mind he knew to be creepy, but he couldn't help himself; covered in blood, sticky and dirty and bruised, she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, and when he looked at her everything around him got blurry, as if her presence made everything else less important. He stared at her for a long time before her eyes lazily opened.
"What time is it?" she asked, breaking him out of his trance.
"A...are you okay?" he stammered, shifting uneasily in the chair.
"Time."
"Its almost ten," he said, glancing at his computer, still at his hip.
"Ten? Hell...I was out for a while."
She began to get up, and he went to hold her down.
"What are you doing? Two hours ago you couldn't move, you can't get up!"
"Unless," she said, wincing as she tried to make a throbbing head pain pass, "you want me to pee in my bed, you'll let me go to the bathroom. You gave me some rest, I can make it."
"Some rest?" He protested. "You almost died, some rest isn't enough."
"I'm a tough girl, honey. I need to wash off too. This stuff smells horrible already."

He watched as she staggered into the bathroom. To be fair, he hadn't seen that many injuries on her. He couldn't help feeling like she just let him carry her because she didn't feel like walking back. Now he was sitting in her apartment while she washed herself, and it was getting late to be walking outside. And who the hell was she, anyway? Then again, who the hell was he, to her? There was a sort of mutual trust going on that Colin wasn't entirely comfortable with.

She emerged from the bathroom some time later wearing a towel that struggled madly to hide any significant portion of her body. Her skin was now devoid of red, so he could see the scars and bruises better. This observation was followed by the realization that he was intently staring at her barely-covered body, and his face went red as he looked away. Who comes out of the shower glistening and wet with a tiny towel in front of a kid anyway? He nervously stumbled out of the room, hand over his eyes. She laughed.

"Come on, honey," she said from the bedroom, "its just a body. No need to get worked up."
Colin struggled to find anything to say, but just ended up making some nonspecific sounds. Terrific, now he looked like a pervert and an idiot. He helped himself to a can of soda while she changed. She came out of the bedroom wearing a tank top and underwear. It wasn't a huge step up from the towel, and did nothing to dissolve Colin's immense discomfort. She got herself a drink and sat across from him at her tiny table.
"So, what is my brave savior's name?" she asked, cocking her head.

"My name is Colin."
"Colin, huh? And do you normally walk around picking up bloody girls in alleys?"
He struggled to answer, but couldn't think of anything to say. He really didn't have a good reason to have taken her here. He looked away, embarrassed.
"Well, my name is Eve. Thanks for helping me out."
"You..." he said, then hesitated, vocalizing an observation as he was making it, "you don't seem too hurt."
"What can I say," she chuckled, "soft glass is a nice thing to fall on."
"It's just... you had a lot of blood on you.
She only smiled, and stood up, going into a cupboard and getting out a gray pot. She filled it with water and put it on the black heating panel on her counter.

"It's late. You can stay here tonight if you want, but I should warn you I'm getting up a little early tomorrow."
Colin agreed, and accepted a cup of tea that was handed to him. He took one sip and almost gagged; it was made with actual tea. Real tea leaves were not something a resident of the 3rd Sector could ever hope to afford. The natural taste was too much for a mouth unaccustomed to it. Eve let him lie on what could charitably have been called a couch. It was rock-hard, and v-shaped from wear, so that it took him over an hour to find a position that didn't cause (much) pain. He had the intention of going back and trying to figure out the day, but a deep sleep overtook him.

About four hours later, he was dragged out of his sleep, someone shaking him lightly by the shoulder. It was Eve, fully dressed (not that this meant much).
"Sorry kid, but I gotta get goin'."
He tilted his head, and looking out the window saw that it was still dark. He groggily asked what time it was.
"Almost four. We really should be going."
"Why, what's going on?" he asked, slowly sitting up. He sensed the slightest uneasiness in her voice.
She smiled at him, but he could see the insincerity of it.
"Things are about to get a little messy. We need to go."
He saw urgency in her eyes, and that was enough. He got his shoes on as quick as he could, and he kept asking what was wrong, but she wouldn't say anything.

Then the first volley of bullets came through the wall. They sailed upwards into the ceiling, ricocheting off and clinking as they landed on the ground. Colin instinctively fell to the ground and covered his head, his entire body shivering with terror. Eve was calling to him to move, but her words didn't reach him; he was in his own world of fear. Crawling over, she grabbed his collar and heaved him out into the hallway as the bullets stopped coming.

"What the hell is going on?!" Colin voice faltered as he yelled, his ears still ringing.
"We're being shot at, I'm afraid. Get up, and go to the top floor," Eve responded, getting up and running down the hallway towards the stairs. When they had reached them, she stopped and looked at Colin, smiling weakly.
"Thanks, Colin. I'm sorry you had to get shot at. Just go up and wait about thirty minutes, it should be clear then."
"What? Where are you going?" he questioned. He was leaning against the wall; his legs were still trembling.
"I'm running, honey. They're after me, and I'm not in the mood to be caught."
"But they've got guns," he protested, "how are you going to survive?!"
"I'm very quick," she said with a smirk, and began to bound down the stairs. Colin stood there for a minute, watching her skip down. She was just going to go out there and face whoever was shooting at her? She was so...confident. Her unease, it had only been for Colin's wellbeing. That thing began to well up inside him again, but he knew it was suicide to go after her. What was he going to do?

Eve checked the camera on the inside of the door before going out. Its range was small, but she would probably be alright. As soon as it slid open wide enough for her body to get through, she was out and running down an alley. She fumbled through her purse, drawing out a small gun. A girl had needs, after all.

After she'd run for a while she put her back against a wall, and caught her breath. If they'd seen her exit the building they'd have found her by now. She was safe, for the moment. She looked around, running scenarios in her head, trying to decide on the best place to lay low. She was about to go when she heard someone in the alley, about to round the corner. She turned sharply, thrusting her gun forward. Colin's face went pail as the barrel made contact with his forehead.

"What the hell are you doing here?!"
"I...I can't let you run alone!"

After she'd run for a while she put her back against a wall, and caught her breath. If they'd seen her exit the building they'd have found her by now. She was safe, for the moment. She looked around, running scenarios in her head, trying to decide on the best place to lay low. She was about to go when she heard someone in the alley, about to round the corner. She turned sharply, thrusting her gun forward. Colin's face went pail as the barrel made contact with his forehead.

"What the hell are you doing here?!"
"I...I can't let you run off alone!"
"And how, exactly, does your make getting shot at easier?"
Colin went to speak, but realized he had nothing to say and closed it again. Eve sighed and pulled him out of the alley and made sure no one else was there, then went off running as he trailed behind. Eve's head kept darting around as they ran; she was looking for something. It was apparent she had at least some idea of where they were going, and this gave Colin some meager comfort. He was running out of breath when she finally stopped in front of a doorway.

Eve pressed a fingerprint scanner next to a name to the side of the door, and after a minute a voice escaped through a speaker.
"Eve? What in the hell are you doing waking me up?"
"You think I'd be doing it if I didn't need to? Let us in, Charlie."
"Us?"

Colin found himself in an apartment not much nicer than Eve's. Charlie was in her underwear, which she happened to fill quite nicely. Colin looked at the floor while the two spoke in another room. He was feeling incredibly awkward around all these scantily-clad women, as well as a vague sense of guilt for not enjoying it more. Under different circumstances it may not have been so disturbing. Who were these people, anyway? No one dressed like that.

Charlie walked out of the room alone and grabbed a can from the refrigerator, which she began to drink while she looked Colin over. He felt her eyes on him and looked towards her but found it hard not to stare. She smiled at him.
"Aw, that's cute, he feels bad looking at another woman. Although, you're a little young to be goin' out with girls Eve's age."
"What, I'm not-" Colin began to protest, but he was interrupted.
"Of course, that's every young guy's dream isn't it? Chill out kid, I'm just messing with you. Really though, what are you doing following Eve around?"
Colin explained everything, and Charlie listened, not speaking, just drinking. At the end, she sighed.
"Yeah, Eve has that effect on people. Lord knows how many men have fallen hopelessly for her. It'll destroy you if you're not careful."

"Its not like she means to do it...people just get pulled into her world. We've all been there. Anyone with half a brain that knows her would stay out of her way, and yet here I am harboring you two. I can't believe she's involved you in this, though. I mean, you're just a kid."
Colin disliked her reasoning. No young man wants to be told they're young, and it is the ultimate insult to use their age as justification for anything.

Eve eventually emerged, yawning. Colin remembered that it wasn't even morning yet, and fatigue washed over him. Charlie smiled at him sympathetically as Eve put a hand on his shoulder.
"Sorry Colin, but we don't have time to rest. We have to go before we get Charlie in trouble."
"So where are we going?" he asked, trying not to seem exhausted.
He didn't get an answer. Eve started walking out the door, but Charlie got in her way.
"Evee, don't do this. He's a kid. You can't."
Eve and Charlie looked into each other's eyes. The tension was almost tangible, and it made Colin squirm.
"I'm doing this. If he wants to come along its his own decision-"
"Then tell him. Tell him what you're doing. Why they're after you."
Eve shifted her gaze away from Charlie. Charlie sighed, and looked past Eve, at Colin.
"Hey, kid. The guys after Eve are the guys we work for. And they're going to be here soon. You better leave. Just do me a favor, and leave her alone. Nothing good is going to come of this, and you don't deserve to die for her."

Eve and Colin were walking down an alley. Neither of them had spoken since leaving Charlie's apartment. A few minutes after they left, some men went into the building. The two of them watched from across the street. Once the door had slid shut she began to walk briskly. Colin followed, Charlie's voice echoing in his head. She made him think about what he was doing, in a way he hadn't been able to himself. At one point he thought he heard gunfire. It wasn't an uncommon sound in the city, for sure, but it made his stomach turn.

It had been twenty minutes when he finally spoke.
"Did they kill her?"
"Hopefully not. Charlie's a good worker, and a good talker."
"Did..." Colin struggled, not wanting to hear an answer, "did you use her as bait?"
Eve paused before she responded. "Charlie let us up. She knew what she was doing, and she knows how to stay alive."
"You didn't answer my question."
"To be honest, Colin, its not a question you'd understand the answer to."

Colin stopped dead in his tracks. Enough was enough.
"Is it true, what she said?"
"You tell me. Why are you following me? You don't owe me. If anything, I owe you. You have no idea who I am, who I'm running from, where I'm running to- you've got a home, and you could be safe and sleeping but you chose to come with me. I didn't ask you to, I didn't make you. The chances of you living through the night are incredibly slim right now, so you should just go back to where you came from and leave me alone!"
Colin's hands were balled into fists. He was angry, fuming, with himself. He searched desperately for something to say, something scathing and damaging to show her up, but he could manage nothing but turning around and running away from her.
"By the way, kid. I'm a hooker. If that makes you feel any better. Have a nice life."
He had run out of earshot, and didn't hear her apologize.

Colin paused to catch his breath, leaning against a dirty wall. It occurred to him that he had no idea where he was, and given the dubious moral nature of the people in this part of the Sector coupled with the fact that it wasn't going to be light for another couple of hours, he was probably not in the best of situations. It wasn't like he could go asking for directions, either.

It was the latest in a short but significant list of things he'd done lately. There were things that someone living in the third Sector simply did not do. Among them were:
1.)Going near anyone you didn't know.
2.)Gong near anyone injured.
3.)Following strangers home.
4.)Getting lost.
all of which he'd managed to do in the past 10 hours. Since he'd met Eve, he hadn't done one thing that made an ounce of sense. He rested his head on the wall, and barely noticed that someone else was there.

“That's what Eve does to guys,” Charlie sighed. “It never ends well. I just saved you the trouble.”
“So you're a...”
“I imagine you just found out,” she replied, leaning against the wall next to Colin. “That little fact tends to kill relationships.”
Colin blushed. Figuring that she was just trying to get a rise out of him again, he changed the subject. “I thought they'd killed you. I...”
“You didn't want to be next. Don't worry about it, kid. Self-preservation is a necessity. The boss came by my place. I told him she would have expected him to come to me first, so they moved on. I doubt he believed me, he probably just didn't want to lose two girls in one night.”
“You risked your life for her?” Colin could tell she wasn't telling the whole truth. He shifted his gaze over to her. Charlie was looking up.
“Its like I said. Eve has that effect on people. Even if you don't want to get in her pants, you just feel like you need to help the girl. Its why she's so valuable to them. They'll do anything to get her back.”

Colin ran, hoping that he wasn't going to come to a dead end as he turned a corner. Following the echoes of gunshots isn't by any means easy; all he could do was run like hell and hope he ended up where he needed to be.

“Eve is special,” Charlie had told him. “I don't know how. But knowing the girl like I do, and seeing what they're willing to do to keep her, she's got something none of the rest of us have.”
“Man, to think she's risking her life just to quit her job...”
Charlie's eyes widened, and she tilted her head at him.
“You mean, you really don't know?”

He heard a scream. It could have been anyone. For all he knew, he was running into an average Sector 3 gunfight and he was going to be full of holes any minute �" No. He knew Eve was there. He could feel that...that thing welling up inside him again. He rounded a corner, and stopped dead in his tracks.

Eve was hunched over a body. There was blood on the ground, and it was not hers. She held a small, silver gun in her right hand. He left was clutching the hair of the man under her. In front of her were three men with considerably larger guns. Given that they had her so drastically out-gunned, Colin was surprised to see that the men seemed to be in shock.

Colin felt something pushing him, and for a second time seemed to slow down and he thought he saw Eve's eyes looking at him and he found himself running. He tackled the man closest to him, toppling two of them, their heads crashing onto the concrete. Eve pulled the trigger of her gun, and a shot rang out, echoing through the alley. It almost masked the gurgled yell of the man she'd shot, the third and final one. Colin looked up to see her standing above him, gun pointed down.
“Out of the way, Colin. We gotta end this.”
“You...you're gonna kill them?” Colin stammered.
“Them or us, kid. Quick, before they come to.”
“The other two...you killed them!”
Eve sighed, cursed, and then grabbed Colin by the coat and dragged him up.
“You better damn well hope they incurred massive head trauma. I'm probably going to die for this, you know that?”
They ran.

“She first told me about it a few years ago. I thought it was a joke, and even when I knew it wasn't I didn't think she would ever actually try,” Charlie said, as Colin stared at her.
“What is she trying to do, Charlie? What's this all about? What's worth dying for?”
“Its simple, really.”

Eve reloaded her gun and placed it back in her purse.
“What are you doing here, Colin?”
“Is it true?”

“Eve wants to leave.”

“I'm just a hooker who attracts as many bullets as I do men. You've done enough for me already.”
“No,” Colin said cooly. “Charlie told me what this is about. You're trying to leave the city. You...you know what's out there, right?”
“Everyone knows what's out there, Colin. There's nothing. There is no out there.”
There was a brief silence. Finally, he had decided.
“I'm going with you.”