Underground - Chapter 2

I sat there for a while, dazed at what had just happened. I was more disturbed by the thought of how the water would have been my guts if not for that mysterious person. People began running from their cars and asking me if I was alright, already forming a small crowd. They exclaimed at how it seemed that the owner of the black car was aiming to kill me, driving at that speed. Some even confirmed it by claiming to have heard the car speed up as it approached.

 

Bewildered and not the slightest bit amused at the idea of someone trying to slaughter me, I tried to suppress my raging heartbeat and regain control over my breathing. Confusion whirled through my mind as I tried to search for a decent reason of why someone would want me dead. I had no real enemies - I was pretty sure that I have done nothing to upset anyone - and I doubted that anyone outside of my circle of friends and family even knew of my existence. I also did not owe money aside from the dollar I borrowed from my elementary teacher. On a second thought, she must have been insane to bulldoze me for it, if she still recognizes me. And I was never a member of an illegal organization; so why would someone be interested in getting rid of a trivial character like me?

 

I shook the thoughts away and reassured everyone that I was alright before standing up on shaky legs. The woman to my right me steadied me before they gave in, and some nice driver even asked to take me to a hospital or back home. I took a deep breath and declined their benign offers. No limbs seemed to be broken, and the bruise that had certainly formed on my back was not life threatening. I did not want to waste my time being interviewed by police or any other sort of media, for there was still an appointment which I must attend. A police siren can already be heard approaching down the block, so I wriggled through the gathering circle of spectators towards my escape.

 

I tried searching for the silhouette of my rescuer among the crowd of people, but he seemed to have disappeared just as silently as he had appeared. In the place where the male last stood was my friend the umbrella, neatly shut and wrapped. I stooped down for it and quickly strode towards the small coffee shop, where my friend was still waiting for me.

 

Some of the people sitting near the windows have left to join the commotion, but most remained in their seats sipping on large cups of steaming coffee or munching on some sort of baked good. The aroma of sweet coffee and freshly baked cookies brought a rumble to my stomach and immediately shut out the earlier incident. After purchasing a drink to warm myself, I began looking for the person I was supposed to meet.

 

Suddenly, a finger flew out behind me and tapped me on the shoulder. I flinched at it landing on the exact place as the other hand and subconsciously took a step backwards, bumping right into the owner of that hand.

“Hey, watch it Salmon.” I exhaled in relief upon hearing the childish nickname spoken by a familiar voice. I turned around to face my friend, who was around my height and dressed in his usual - a Kiton suit adorned with a neon tie.

 

The second son of the CEO of a multibillion entertainment corporation and my best friend since the beginning of time, Julian Erne was the culprit for my arduous journey. We have not met for almost half a year since he did not attend a university within Canada or, in fact, any university at all. As the appointed heir of his father’s company, Julian was well prepared and educated for becoming big cheese when the time comes.

 

Julian already controlled parts of the company as a part of his training; but it still left a chunk of free time on his hands. With this time, he travelled around the world to supervise the filming of some projects, while using business as more of an excuse to tour the world for leisure. Though lazy and silly at times, Julian completed his assignments with complete seriousness and perfection - this was most likely the reason behind his father’s choice to have him over the eldest son, who was corrupted by all the money and power tagging along to the role.

 

As for the past six months, my friend had been filming a movie somewhere in China. According to him, it was a fairly large production which would likely satisfy the company’s lustful financial advisors for a good while. The place seemed familiar to me upon hearing its name, and I realized some time afterwards that it held many ancient sites, one of which my parents worked on for a long time.

 

Sometimes I was jealous of Julian, of his ability to relax while I pulled all-nighters on projects, of how he could get everything he ever asked for, and of all the places he had traveled to. However, I would immediately shake off those immature complaints upon realizing how much time and effort my friend dedicated into organizing and preparing to become the next CEO. Julian was, after all, under much more stress than I was. I always felt awful for even having those thoughts.

 

“Is something wrong?” Seeing how tense I was, the tone in Julian’s voice immediately jumped from teasing to concern, “You were holding a big breath there.”

 

His question aroused the scene of the incident and sent a slight shiver down my back. I must have held a ghastly expression, for the worry deepened in Julian’s unique crimson brown eyes. Forcing back my casual tone, I led him to a table and recapped what had happened on my way here.

 

Julian furrowed his perfect brows several times during my description, especially at the part about the mysterious man. He remained silent, staring at the table for a long time after I finished my recollection. When Julian finally looked up again, he seemed almost startled to see me sitting in front of him. Regaining composure by a quick smile, Julian apologized for ignoring me and immediately responded.

 

“It’s rather that the driver was incapable of thinking straight, or he wants you dead. The latter wouldn’t be likely, because I don’t see why he would do that;” Julian sipped his coffee, probably French vanilla, and laughed, “I don’t see anything for him to gain by killing you; as you said, it couldn’t be revenge, and, no offense, he wouldn’t be using your death as a tool to confront anyone, simply because you’re not important to a majority in any way.”

 

Warming my hands with the steaming cup of coffee, I listened intently to what Julian had to say. He usually thought about things which I would have missed. However, this time, he did not provide any additional information. I nodded at Julian’s reasons, and considering his earlier reaction, queried about my saviour.

 

“How about that black-coated person? Do you know… anything about him?”