Chapter 6

A clothing store provided me with many places to hide. Clothes rack, changing rooms, more clothes. I could simply just hide away until eventually, the cops finally arrive. I don't know how long it'll take exactly, but I sure hope they arrived fast.

I walked in, hiding behind a line of clothes, back pressed against the wall. The clothes in front of me were hopefully blocking anyone's view. Luckily for me, the employees seem to not really care about what I was doing. I held my breath, sucking in my stomach and tried not to move or make a sound as I heard heavy footsteps in front of me.

"I can smell you!" I heard Kogen shout.

That seemed like a lie. There was no way Kogen's nose was actually that strong. Then again, he did successfully track me everywhere I went. I waited, not wanting to do anything to obviously give me away.

"Did anyone come in just now?" I heard Kogen ask.

Fuck.

I burst out of the store and started running. Kogen took some time to register what was going on before running after me. This game of tag was starting to get ridiculous. I had stamina from my childhood of running around, but how was Kogen able to last this long? Surely he would have been tired out by now, especially considering his less than healthy lifestyle. I glanced back at Kogen. His face was pale and he seemed to be breathing really hard through his mouth. His face twisted into a permanent rage. He was sweating a lot, a lot more than what I assume to be healthy. At this rate, he might collapse, which is alright with me. If he collapsed, he would stop chasing after me, I just needed to outrun him for some time.

Hold on, was the distance between us closing?

I was breathing harder, and my strides were getting shorter. Was I really running out of stamina? That damn office job, maybe if I had stayed away from drinking and smoking. I looked around, there was no other option, I don't know what possessed Kogen, but he was likely to catch up eventually. I stopped and jumped at Kogen who was running at full speed. I rammed my shoulder into his gut and stepped back, Kogen having fallen backwards, clutching his core. I wiped a drop of sweat off my forehead and tried to gather myself, catch my breath.

I looked around the mostly empty shopping mall and walked away, my heart beating fast. My lips were dry.

I looked around me. There was an odd air to the place, as if there were only the two of us there. I glanced at Kogen again, seeing him still curled into a ball on the ground. I took a few steps away before glancing back again, no change seen in Kogen. I breathed a sigh of relief and walked away. I'll let the cops handle it, I wanted to have nothing to do with what was going on.

I felt someone grab my collar. Of course, just when I thought everything was fine. Maybe the office life had caught on to me, I seem to have lost my street sense. I fell backwards, feeling arms wrapping around my neck. I tried to react as fast as I could, slipping my hand near my neck. Kogen had put me into a triangle choke, but my arm was there, pushing him and preventing him from strangling me. I don't know whether it was the fatigue, but he was moving much slower than before. I felt his arm, it felt oddly cold, not too cold, but colder than most people. I struggled as Kogen relentlessly squeezed as hard as he could, my hand seemingly being rendered useless. I tried to push him backwards by leaning back, but he did not budge. I shook a few times to no avail. There was no choice, I had to pull the one move that would always free me.

With my free left hand, I balled my hand into a fist and slammed it backwards, hoping I hit gold. And hit gold I did. My fist slammed into his balls as hard as I could, Kogen letting go while screaming in pain, holding his crotch. He doubled-over and started rolling around. I looked all around me before walking to the hardware store not too far away, getting some rope. Kogen thrashed and tried to attack me through his pain, but I managed to somehow tie his hands together.

When I was done, I stood up, brushing my hands off. I breathed another sigh of relief and said, "You're insane man."

"Motherfucker!" Kogen shouted, his voice dry and raspy.

"I don't know what got into you," I told him, crouching and poking his head. "But you got to stop chasing me. It's been a pain in the ass and no one fucking likes that. So if I untie you, you walk away, and we cool, okay?"

He glared at me.

I shrugged, "Well, I mean, let's think about this. The cops are on their way, and neither you nor I want to get involved in that shit. So I'll walk away, you'll walk the other way, and then everything's nice and dandy, hope I never see you again."

Kogen seemed conflicted. He may seem mad, but even he would worry about being caught by the cops. But there was still that aggression about him that struck odd to me. I had no idea where it came from, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to know. He hesitantly, very hesitantly nodded, his face red with rage and embarrassment. I untied his hands and stepped away, dropping the rope on the ground before walking backwards. Kogen glanced at me, stepping towards me before walking the other direction, just as we had agreed. I turned and walked away quickly, my heart beating fast. I glanced back one last time, seeing no sign of Kogen. But I knew he'd be back, he was definitely going to be back.

I doubt anywhere was safe. We worked at the same office, I don't think I can go to work safely anymore until he was properly dealt with. Even my home wasn't safe. Whether he knew my address or not, if he even glanced at it, or even followed me at some point, not only me, but my sister was at risk.

I fidgeted slightly before sighing, pulling my phone out when I left the building. I keyed the phone number in and waited, phone poised by my ear as I walked.

"Hello?" Someone picked the phone up.

"Excuse me, is this the Investigation office?" I asked.

"Yes. What's your business with us?"

"Yeah, can I talk to some lady named Tickie over there? Tickie Ursup."

"Oh, hold on a moment."

It was silent for a few seconds before the phone was picked up again. I heard a familiar voice, "Hello, who's this?"

"It's Apollo, the new guy." I told her.

"Oh, what are you calling for?"

"Yeah, so you see… some trouble popped up and this guy got some beef with me." I tried to explain. "Um… just wanted to ask if I could receive my pay slightly in advance?"

"You want an advance pay?" She asked me.

"Yes."

"May I ask what the money is for?"

"I have to rent out a hotel room for me and my sister, keep us safe from that madman." I insisted.

"Don't you have your own money?"

"What? I'm broke and in debt, like I have money to afford a hotel."

Tickie let out an obvious sigh as she said slowly, as if telling a child, "Look, we can't give you your paycheque early, not will I donate you money for a hotel. Our company doesn't work that way, and the boss will kill you if you did."

"My sister is in danger."

"I know, I know." Tickie assured me. "So instead, since it's so dangerous for you, how about you bring your sister over to my place?"

"Sorry?"

"It's the only way you get out of this situation, right? To find a new place to live which provides ample security and comfort for your sister to not worry about some madman. My place has pretty good security, and I doubt any normal person could pass through."

I used to be on the streets. Doing things to survive and things to take care of my sister. I've dumpster dived more times than I can count, literally, and I've gotten beaten up almost half as many times. I knew not to trust people, especially people you've met for the first time, especially if the person was a woman, especially if they actually seemed nice. But what other choice did I have? Kogen probably knew where I lived, and Tickie Ursop was offering to help me. I don't care what I end up going through, as long as my sister's safety was ensured.

"What's the catch?" I asked her, wary.

"I'll be having you accompanying me on my next outing." She said to me.

Outing? Doesn't seem to bad.

"Okay, deal. Where do I meet you?" I asked.

"Horus Station, an hour from now."

"Alright, I'll be there." I said to her before hanging up, shoving the phone in my pocket and walking towards the direction of the Station.