Chapter 8

chapter 8 of my novel

“The train should be here in a few days or so,” Audrey explained to Reid, “In the meantime, we’ll just have to wait here until it shows up.”

Reid looked up at the sky. Grey clouds were beginning to form. It was going to rain sometime soon. A cold gust of wind blew past him, nipping at his skin. Or snow, maybe, Reid thought bitterly.

“Wait where exactly?” Reid asked.

Audrey shrugged. “The clocktower probably,” She said, “I know it’s a bit of a downgrade from the castle that you’re used to, but most other places we’ll have to pay and I don’t have much money. It’s best we stay under the radar anyways.”

Reid just nodded. He knew that he probably had enough money in his bag to stay in a hotel for a few nights, but he was under the impression that Audrey wouldn’t take it.

“Oh, Reid,” Audrey said, as they began walking down the cobbled road “There’s one thing you should know.”

“Yeah?”

“If the Patrol comes for you, I don’t know if I’ll be able to rescue you,” Audrey said, “It’s kind of a part of my job to make sure that they don’t find out about my friends and most of the Patrol guards I’ve encountered have some kind of training. It won’t be the same as fighting those two vandals that got you a few nights ago.”

“Oh,” Reid said, uncertain of how to react to what he’d just been told.

“I hope you understand,” Audrey said, “But I just thought you should know, just in case they come after you.”

“Do you think they will?” Reid had not actually thought much about the Patrol since he had left the castle. The thought that the Patrol was around had been at the back of his mind, but he had never thought of how much of a threat they posed. He had no idea what they would do to him if they got a hold of him. Would they kill him? Or would they keep him alive? Reid had no idea, but he hoped that he would not have to find out.

“Well,” Audrey said, “Word travels quickly. It’s possible that they’ve heard rumours about your powers already. Anyways, let’s go get some food or something.” She started walking down the street at a brisk pace.

Reid ran to catch up with her. “Wait,” He called, “You can’t just tell me that and then leave!”

“Why,” Audrey said, “I don’t think that it needs to be further elaborated on.”

“Do you really think that people know about my powers already,” Reid said, “It’s important! I gotta know!”

Audrey shrugged, and continued walking.

“Oh come on,” Reid said, “Just give me something!”

“You wanna know what I think,” Audrey snapped, “I think that it’s a possibility, and that alone is a reason for you to be careful. I don’t think they’ll treat you any differently from their other prisoners just because you’re the prince.” She looked at him with an intense gaze. “Can you promise me one thing, Reid?”

“Yeah.”

“Stay safe,” She said, “If something happens, I need you to promise me that you will do whatever you can to stay safe. Don’t let anything bad happen to yourself. Can you promise me that, Reid?”

Reid nodded. “Yeah,” He said, “I promise.”

Audrey smiled. “Good,” She said, “Now let’s go get some food.” She picked up her pace slightly and shoved her hands into her pockets. Reid followed close behind her with his head down the whole time. He was really hoping that no one would recognize him. Now that he knew that there might be people trying to hunt him down, he felt more vulnerable. He could see people in the streets going about their day to day business. They all looked like normal civilians, but any one of them could have been a Patrol member. He looked up at Audrey, who was just a few feet ahead of him. Even trusting her was a huge gamble. Was she really living in an abandoned town with other people with powers? It seemed so far fetched now that he really thought about it. Deep down, he knew that he should have just stuck with the plan and went to Morbane, but it was too late for that now.

Audrey led Reid into a side street. She studied her surroundings before turning invisible without warning.

“You don’t have to come with me,” She said, “But I’m going to get us some food.”

“You don’t need to be invisible for that,” Reid said, “In fact wouldn’t it be better if…” He stopped talking once he had figured out what Audrey’s intentions were. She was going to steal food.

“Like I said,” Audrey said, “You don’t have to come. I’d understand it if you don’t want to be associated with someone committing petty theft.”

“Audrey,” Reid said, “I can’t let you do this.” He grabbed wildly at the air, hoping that he would be able to pull her back and stop her.

“Stop Reid,” Audrey said calmly, “You look insane. I get that it might look bad if you’re caught hanging out with someone who commits petty crime on a somewhat regular basis.”

“You’ve done this before?” Reid exclaimed, “I can’t let you. I have money, I could…” He stopped talking once he heard footsteps moving away from him. Audrey had left him alone to fend for himself.

“I could wait here, I guess,” Reid muttered to himself as he leaned against the side of a brick building. It was all he could do at this point. Audrey had provided no hint as to which store she was heading to. There was even the possibility that she would go into multiple stores. Reid shook his head. He should have tried harder to stop her. He was the heir to the throne. He couldn’t just sit around while people stole from other people, in Galtia of all places. If people were committing crimes in the capital city, Reid couldn’t help but to wonder, how bad was the crime in other parts of Toltova?

It had started to rain after about five minutes. It started off as a light mist, but after a few more minutes it began to pour. The water soaked right through his clothes, chilling him to the bone. Reid noticed that one of the storefronts across the street had an awning that would protect him from the rain, at least a little bit. He dashed across the street with one arm over his head, as if that would make him less wet.

The space under the awning wasn’t quite as dry as he initially thought it would be, but it offered a decent amount of protection. He realized quickly that he wasn’t the only one who came to seek shelter underneath the awning. A beggar sat next to the door of the shop, with his hands cupped out in front of him, and his head down. He couldn’t have been much older than Reid, maybe three or four years older. His clothes were tattered and filthy. His hair was blonde, but it looked much darker at first glance because of all the dirt mixed in with it.

When Reid saw him, he immediately felt pity. He knew he couldn’t just ignore the beggar, for at this point the beggar had noticed Reid as well. He looked at Reid with pleading blue eyes. Reid approached him cautiously.

“Hi,” Reid said.

The beggar didn’t reply. He looked at Reid with a wary expression on his face.

“You look…” Reid didn’t know how to finish the sentence. Poor? Helpless? Desperate? He couldn’t think of a way to finish the sentence without sounding offensive. “You look like you could use some help,” Reid said finally.

“How so?” The beggar replied in a raspy voice, “You think I’m poor? Well, I tell you, I get by.”

“Oh, ok,” Reid said. He retreated back to where he was standing, hoping that Audrey would hurry up and come for him.

“I could use a bit of help though,” The beggar said after a few seconds of listening to nothing but the heavy rainfall, which hadn’t let up a bit.

“I can try,” Reid said, “I’m waiting for someone. I’m hoping they’ll come back soon, but I shouldn’t go too far.”

The beggar nodded. “I’m waiting for someone too,” He said. There was something about his tone that suddenly made Reid feel very scared, and suspicious. It sounded very inauspicious.

“You know,” Reid said, “I… I think I see my friend. I should get going. It was good talking t--”

The beggar had stood up and forced Reid up against the brick building. The beggar, as it turned out, was much taller and stronger than Reid, which caught Reid off guard since he had always been told that he was very tall and strong for someone his age.

“Help!” Reid shouted, “Help me!” He looked around, but there didn’t appear to be anyone around.

The beggar forced Reid closer to the wall. “No words, Reid Warwing,” He said, “I told you I’ve been waiting for someone. You can shout all you want, but I’m not about to let you go.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Reid noticed a small group of people running towards him. Thank god, Reid thought. They probably heard him and were coming to help him.

Reid couldn’t have been more wrong.

“I’ve got him,” The beggar said. Reid noticed that he the beggar was no longer talking with a raspy voice. “I’ve got him!”

“Good work, Devon,” One of the people, a man, said.

“What the…” Reid started. These people weren’t here to help him. He looked around, but the streets were just as empty as they were before. Or were they? “Audrey!” He screamed desperately, “Audrey! Help me!” It was a long shot, he knew. Even Audrey had told him that she couldn’t guarantee that she would help him, but he had to try.

Devon punched him in the face. “Shut up!” He shouted, “No one’s gonna help you.”

“Get him on the ground,” The same man who had spoken earlier said.

Reid struggled to fight back as Devon forced him to the ground. He tried to free himself from the other boy’s grip, but the more he fought the tighter Devon’s grip became. In a matter of seconds, Reid was lying with his cheek pressed against the cold, wet ground. He had never felt so helpless before. He had lived his entire life with someone by his side to help him out in case things went wrong. But now he was alone, left to fend for himself, and he couldn’t do it. He could feel tears welling up in his eyes.

Right when he was ready to give up completely, he saw her. Standing just across the street, was Audrey. Even from afar, Reid could see the horrified expression on her face.

“Audrey!” Reid called again.

“Shut up!” Devon said again.

Reid suddenly felt something stabbing into his neck. A needle, of some kind. Almost instantly, he felt the effects. He was drowsy, dizzy, and his vision was failing. He tried to resist the effects of the mysterious drug, but it only took a few seconds for him to realize that his strength was only being wasted. He gave up once and for all. There was nothing more that he could do. Before he blacked out completely he saw Audrey turn around and run in the opposite direction.

Author's Note

please tell me what you think so far