Broken Railing

It seemed I barely managed to fall asleep before I was woken up by the sound of the door unlocking.

I immediately jumped out of bed. Seriously? I just came here, and the guy is already back. What was up with my luck today?

I heard the guy coming into the apartment. Soon, he'll notice that something is off. I left the tablet and my clothes just lying around on the full display in the living room, after all.

How would he react?

Well, it's not like he could do anything to me, but I preferred not to be spotted. Things would get annoying if he was able to describe my appearance to the police.

I grabbed a random jacket from the closet and pulled the hood over my head. I glanced quickly around the room to see if there was anything worth taking, but nothing really caught my eye. There was a PC, but it'd be a bother to drag it with me while running away.

Good thing that I at least had my keys and IDs here. All thanks to the force of habit. Being in a similar situation many times before, I always kept all the important items on me. It saves a lot of trouble.

There was no more time to waste. I opened the window and jumped out.

After I landed in the side alley, I heard something drop on the ground. A woman stood frozen nearby, staring at me with wide eyes. It seems she dropped her purse out of shock. How cliche.

Well, I guess it must have been surprising to see someone jump from the 4th floor and safely land, as if it was no big deal. Normal people might break their legs when jumping from the mere 2nd floor, I think. For me though, height didn't matter. I'd be fine even if it was 14th, or 104th floor.

I straightened my back and cleared my throat, acting as if nothing happened. Ignoring her completely, I walked away. Although it'd be better not to leave any witnesses, disposing of her right here and now could make things even more complicated. It was already morning and the streets were filling up. Someone might notice.

It was only one person anyway. Even if she tried to tell someone about it, nobody would believe her. It shouldn't affect my stay in this world much.

I left the alley and joined the crowds on the main street. Everyone was in a rush to get to work, so hardly anyone paid any attention to my attire. Only a few people threw me disapproving glances. I didn't blame them. I looked like a total slob, after all.

Although I did not care about anyone's opinion, I did care about the way I look, so fixing my clothes was indeed my current priority. I was barefoot, wore joggers that were on the verge of falling down, and a T-shirt with an embarrassing print. "Trust me ladies, there's plenty to go around"? I honestly have no idea what was going through the guy's head when he decided to buy it. I zipped the jacket all the way to my neck, trying to hide this horrendousness.

The shops have only just opened for the day, so there weren't too many customers in yet. It was the perfect time to do some stealing. I fixed my hood and quickly sneaked in, diving behind the closest clothes rack. It was better not to be spotted by the shop assistants. With the way I looked right now, they would definitely pay extra attention to me.

I grabbed a simple black shirt, jeans, and sneakers to change into, and immediately dumped the guy's clothes. I had no need for them anymore.

Seeing that the employees were chatting by the counters, still unaware of my presence, I decided to take this opportunity and stock up a bit. I picked up a backpack and started moving stealthily around the shop, stuffing it with anything that caught my eye. Once done, I ran out at full speed. The alarm at the entrance sounded off, but I was already a fair distance away.

I left the mall and mixed up with the crowds on the streets again. As I got hardly any sleep, I wanted to just go get myself a room at a hotel, before even thinking about anything else. If I paid for it, I could comfortably take a nap, without being interrupted. So, I wandered around for a while, collecting wallets. Pickpocketing was the best way to gain some quick cash.

Having gathered ten wallets in my pockets, I left the main street to check the results.

…I had such terrible luck today. One empty, then 5 dollars, 2 quarters, empty, 1 dollar, 10 dollars, empty, another empty, 8 dollars, a dime…

I clicked my tongue. That was nowhere enough. Should I try to use the cards? I didn't like to do it in hotels though. Higher chances of getting caught.

Leaning against the wall, I lit a cigarette. I still had the lighter of that red-haired girl from last night.

The weather was quite nice. Should I just settle for a bench in the park for now?

As I was considering my options, I heard an annoying metallic screeching sound coming from above.

I glanced up… And immediately jumped out of the way.

A large part of the railing suddenly broke off out of the fire escape stairs and came crashing down, exactly where I was just standing.

Just what the hell was going on with this world?

A car crash last night, and now this.

It might not have seemed that serious, but a large metal railing falling from a height could potentially kill a person. It was easy to avoid for me, but still…

I could brush off one accident as a coincidence, but what were the odds of having two near-death experiences within a few hours?

Extremely low. Almost impossible.

It was clear now. This world has started hunting me already.

And that could only mean one thing.

There was another "me" in this world.