Chapter Four

I ran through the back alleys of Stratos City, the cold concrete buildings being my only company as I ducked through the quiet streets. I knew she had to be out there somewhere. Everyone was so sure she was dead, but I had proof. I pulled the piece of paper out of my jacket pocket. The only thing that still sparked hope in me that my sister was still alive. It was just a scrap of paper, torn off of a receipt from a cafe with the letter M written on it. It was clearly her handwriting. I remembered it, I could never forget it, especially not now.

The receipt was for a place called Java the Hut. I’d never heard of it, and the name sounded stupid. Was it a reference to something? I couldn’t say for sure. But I asked some of the people in my class, and some of them seemed to know it. Apparently it was one of those up and coming mom and pop shops that was getting popular with kids my age. Maria was only two years younger than me, so it made sense that she would have gone there, but the real question was why? If she was okay, why was she going to some cafe? Why not come home, why not tell us she was okay? For a whole year, everyone believed her to be dead. I’d held out hope for so long but now I had confirmation, but all I could think to ask was.. Why?

I rounded the corner and turned onto the street that the cafe was supposed to be on. Just a couple blocks more and.. Oh. Oh no. No, no no no no.

The cafe was gone.

Or, it was more accurate to say it had been burned to a crisp. Set ablaze, charred remnants of what was once a nice cafe, now toppled to the ground. What could have caused this? When did this happen? It had to have been recent.. right? 

“What a troublesome event,” A voice that came from behind me sent a chill up my spine. His voice was deep, like a void that threatened to swallow up all life around it-- the kind that inspired dread, and made the air around us run colder than it already was. I couldn’t move, like his voice alone paralyzed me, anchored my feet to the ground. A voice screamed in the back of my mind not to face him. I shouldn’t even move. What was this feeling? “Seems some crazed customer went and set the place on fire after they served him a cup of coffee he believed to be subpar. You should be careful young man. You never know what sorts of unsavory characters you might run into in this city.”

I knew I shouldn’t look at him. Every fiber of my being was telling me to run, but I couldn’t stop myself. Slowly, I turned back to look at him. My eyes locked with his, and the crimson hue of his eyes filled me once again with that dread that only just then began to subside. I couldn’t forget his face if I tried. His features were sharp, almost regal, and his hair barely reached past his ears. It was evenly split down the middle, black on one half and white on the other half. He held himself highly, as though he believed himself to be above everyone else. Upon seeing what little of my face was uncovered, his eyes narrowed as though he were trying to stare through me.

“Have we met before?” His voice took on a curious tone. To my knowledge, we hadn’t, and I was more than thankful for that. Something about this man told me that it would end badly if I got on his bad side.

“No,” I answered him hesitantly. I probably shouldn’t have, thinking back on it, but I had a feeling that it would have been better to just answer him than to ignore his question. “No, I don’t believe we have.”

“Ah,” He waved it off. “It must have been someone else I was thinking of then.” He looked down at me once more, filling me with that dread yet again. “A kid like you shouldn’t be out so late. It’s dangerous at night. Especially if you start hanging around places like this.” He shot me a knowing look before turning and beginning to walk away. There’s no way he knew why I was here, right? Did he know something about Maria?

No. That would have been too big of a coincidence. That couldn’t have been it. It didn’t matter now, he was gone. I was thankful he didn’t attack me or something. I hoped I’d never run into him again. Something about the way he said that I shouldn’t be hanging around places like this stuck with me though. Even though the street was a little crowded, I suddenly felt eyes on me. From every direction. A wave of paranoia washed over me and I felt sick, with my knees starting to shake.

I had to get out of there. I had to get home. It was safe there.

I had to run. Now.