Underground - Chapter 6

 

That car stared back smugly at me from its place down the street. That was definitely it; I could have spotted it coming from a mile off. Though the terrific thing passed in a flash, its silhouette was cross-hatched into my brain; never mind the warning sirens already screaming at the back of my mind.

 

I posed there staring alarmingly at the van, as if a deer caught in the headlights, for another few minutes before noticing that no one was in it. I leaned closer to the coffee shop, fearing that the car was going to suddenly flash open its glowering eyes and rear up on its back wheel onto the sidewalk, finishing me once and for all. Seeing that was not going to happen, my legs slowly unraveled from their unnatural position and returned to face the same direction as the rest of my body. They felt like jelly, partly from the stretch but more so from the fear slowly palpitating through my veins.

 

Just for the sake of future reference, I tugged my hands into my pockets nonchalantly as I kept to the outer edge of the sidewalk and strolled towards the car. My pace slowed as I approached it, giving myself enough time to check out the license plate as well as the interior of the vehicle. The windows all except the front were, much to my prediction, tinted from the curious passerby. I took down the plate number on the front with my photographic memory and checked the back just to confirm. I doubted that the number was registered.

 

Obtaining what I had gone for, I abruptly spun around to make my way back home. I caught a tiny gasp and the edge of a cloak disappearing behind the eroding building of Tim Horton’s.

 

Too many things happened today, and I was always the clueless person behind on the action. Refusing to let an opportunity slip by, I reached the back of the brick structure within a few quick strides, only to find the culprit evaporated into thin air. I immediately surveyed the surrounding area for a running figure, but was unable to find any.

 

Swearing under my breath, I kicked an innocent acorn into the distant bushes. I leaned back on the solid surface behind me and tardily slipped down onto the frigid pavement. Sighing in distress and dropping my eyelids to cover the slowly unveiling chaos, my head lolled backwards in search of support. The frost slowly crept up from the cement onto my bottom and the frozen numbness rediscovered me. I forced my eyelids, heavy as lead, open to the navy above.

 

My surroundings seemed blurred as my vision readjusted. Something was off; a rounded bulge was perched within a few inches of my face. That extra object certainly did not belong to the building; or was it even close to being a part of the inky sky. The blob flinched at the movement of my eyelids and swiftly detached from the building. Spontaneously realizing that this “blob” was my spy, I bolted up from the ground and lunged myself towards the mysterious mass. The shock had been drained out of me for that day, and in its place stood clear and untainted logic.

 

My vision had yet to return, and I was convinced this was the work of the “blob”. Trying to suppress the panic that had begun rising into my chest, I managed to stand still.

 

“What have you done?!” Everything seemed to be covered in a veil despite my attempted to shear through it. The blurred shadow stood still and did not answer.

 

There was no way that I was willing to remain obscured from the truth. Flinging my arms madly, I dragged my numbed legs towards the silhouette like a newly risen zombie. My observer was rather slightly frightened by my movements or was admiring his or her masterpiece, for the blurry figure paused for a second before turning to escape from my futile attacks.

 

That second was, however, enough for me to grasp the head of that person. A layer of cloth contacted my hand as the wanted beneath broke away into a run. A cascading mass, presumably hair, spilt out as the figure raced into the light woods beside the plaza. I knew it was impossible to follow given the state of my rigid legs and impaired vision. Fortunately, the latter was beginning to clear up as trees and bricks sharpened into focus. All was not lost; I held a clue to the identity of that person and had come to a conclusion that “blob” was probably female.

 

After a while of hiding under their blankets and massaging, my eyes had rediscovered most of their abilities. The sky was completely dark, with a few stars already littering its ceiling and proudly announcing the arrival of night. I pulled out my frozen cell phone, and with a click, revived the screen. 7:43, 2 unread messages read the digits above the security code. I ignored the notice and returned the metal slice of technology into my back pocket as I sat off for my house.

 

There was definitely something fishy going on. Almost flattened by a car, not to mention that the driver had the intention to do so; getting involved in an archaeological plan that I was not a hundred percent sure was legal; and spied on by an incredibly suspicious individual capable of temporarily impairing my vision. These were not things I encountered often; not to mention that they all happened on the same day. How did I suddenly become the victim of all these things? What was going on? Why was I a part of this? My mind was boggled by numerous theories as I stepped back onto the sidewalk illuminated by the towering lights.

 

I sighed in frustration at my cluelessness and vowed a second time to call it a day. I forced my mind to wander onto the hot chocolate waiting to be made and the research on my project urgently demanding to be done.

 

An engine of a car started up by the streets, but I forced my eyes in the direction of the line of houses ahead and ignored it completely. That was all the stress I wanted to handle, and was determined to shut down my brain for the few remaining hours before the sun hauled me out of bed again.

 

 

Reviews

[Wind Chaser]

So... This is where I ended off for NaNoWriMo! Meeting the amount of words each day had just been too much to handle and school already demanded more than I could afford. There is a quite a way to go for the plot, and it will be written, eventually.

On the other hand, I have started a new novel named "The Apocalypse Game", and am slowly chowing down on it. I could work at both and update at a slower pace, or focus more on one and slack off a bit on the other (both will continue though!).

Any suggestions?