Chapter 3: A Game___?

 The siren had stopped a few seconds later, and panic clawed inside Kai's heart. Each breath was more frantic than the last.

"I couldn't afford to get caught," Kai thought, his nerves screaming in protest as his feet raced against the pavement. "I couldn't let them find me." 

His muscles burned with exhaustion, but he didn't dare to stop...not even to catch his breath. His only goal now was to escape the chaos that had already consumed him. Behind him, he could hear the growl of an engine. He glanced over his shoulder, he saw the black van rev up, its headlights cutting through the dark. Luis's men vanished into the shadows. The van door slammed shut with a sharp thud, and Ricky barked," Start the van. Hurry up. Move now!!"

Kai's chest tightened. His mind raced. This tangled web of lies, deals, and deceit. Luis knew how to react in these kinds of situations, but Kai didn't. He....he was just a kid from the streets, who just wanted to make an honest living, trying to make something of himself with the restaurant. But the world around him was not genuine. 

He looked ahead again. Without thinking, without a plan, Kai ran as much faster as he could. But his body screamed in pain. He could feel his muscles burning with every step he took. He wasn't sure where he was going, but he knew one thing: he had to get away no matter what. 

Suddenly his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out, without stopping, and glanced at the screen. It was a message from Michael, his cook friend who had worked at the restaurant with him for years. 

"Don't ask me any question right now, Mike. Just take care of the restaurant for me. I'll explain later."

Kai didn't have time to explain to anyone. He didn't have time to stop and think about what he would do next. His hands shook as he put his phone back in his pocket. He could count his breathing, growing more labored with every step. He felt the pavement under his feet slip out as he veered into another side street. He found it difficult to see through the darkness. His legs burned with exhaustion, but his heart was racing sharper now. His ears were only focused on the sound of his feet hitting the ground.

The first police cruiser sped past him. Its bright light was enough to blind him for a few seconds. Kai quickly ducked behind the stack of crates, his body pressed low to the ground. He looked at the sparks made due to the tires screeching on the pavement. He could hear its whir in the distance, the siren echoing into the night. They hadn't seen him___at least not yet.

He took a deep breath and held it, trying to steady his pulse. But he couldn't help it. The weight of what had just happened broke him. He had lost everything. Ricky was gone. The restaurant was no longer his to protect. Luis's men were still out there, haunting him. They came anytime to claim him. The police were looking for him. If they caught him, he has to pay double and the prison sentence___he couldn't live 20 years there. So all he had were his legs to carry him away. 

Moving deeper into the labyrinth of alleyways, he stumbled forward. The cold air of the night bit his skin. As he rounded a corner, he spotted an abandoned doorway. Its wood cracked and peeling. The building seemed forgotten by time. It was an old place, deserted, but that was what made it perfect for someone like him in this situation. He badly needed somewhere to breathe. Somewhere to think. And for that this place was heaven.

He leaned against the brick wall of the building. His whole body trembled with exhaustion. His legs were like lead beneath him and his breath was ragged as he fought to catch it. He closed his eyes to give himself some relaxation, but the chaos in his mind wouldn't let up. It was like the whole world was spinning out of control, and Kai was stuck in the middle of it.

Suddenly the cruel wind picked up, sending a piece of paper flying through the building. It swirled in the air before smacking against his face, the soft rustle of the paper the only sound in the otherwise quiet building. Kai blinked, frustrated for a moment. It was ridiculous, almost absurd. Here he was, running for his life, keeping himself safe from the police and Luis, and the wind was toying with him like it was some kind of joke. 

He quickly peeled the paper off his face, still half in a daze, and looked at it. Something caught his eyes___the ad. It was for some kind of game, a competition with a sixty million dollar cash prize for the winner. His head was dizzy, and for a moment he forgot everything. He couldn't believe his eyes. He blinked twice before he looked at the ad again. The words blurred together for a few seconds, but then they hit him. A GAME? The idea seemed as absurd as everything else. 'What if I could win?' he thought. The possibility of escaping everything, of starting fresh with that kind of money...it was almost too difficult to ignore. 

A bitter laugh escaped his lips, a dry, humorless sound that caught in his throat. He laughed at himself, like a crazy person. This was it. This was where he had ended up. A fugitive, running away from the people he had trusted most in his life, with no clear way out. He wasn't sure if he was still running from the police or from his own choices, which made his life a living hell. 

The distant footsteps echoed in the empty streets, snapping him out of his thoughts. He forgot that the police were still out there, searching for him. The adrenaline surged back into his veins. He knew it wasn't safe for him to stay here for long. His heart hammered in his chest with the thought that he had to keep moving. 

"Just a minute," he whispered, trying to catch his breath. But there was no time to even celebrate this. Slowly he stood up, kept running. His legs were still unsteady beneath him. The alley was still quiet, but he could feel the darkness closing in around him. Though the sirens were faint now, that didn't mean the danger had passed. He didn't know how long he had been running, or how much longer he had to run. But one thing he was sure about, there was no turning back now. 

Kai looked at the page one last time. A game. A Prize. A change. An escape. It wasn't that simple. But nothing was ever simple in his life. 

"Not today cop," Kai whispered, as he took a step forward, then another.