The gun hits his chin as it's pulled from his hand by the random girl, throwing him back to the ground. "AH! Who the hell are you! Owch. Damn it!" I watch as she tumbles near me, holding the gun tight. I scramble to my feet, the bag still hanging around my neck, and leap towards the entrance once more.
Althea slides the gun into her bag and sprints after the ginger. She outruns him easily and pins him to a wall, their faces inches away. "My mother is a police officer. As a result, I've been doing fitness since I was five. I can easily outrun you, I could pummel you to death, or I could simply shoot you with your own gun," she snarls, twisting her hand into the ginger's t-shirt. "So I suggest you think carefully about your answers. "Guns are banned in this area. Why do you have one?"
My eyes feel like they are ripping; I don't think they've ever been this wide before. "I-no- It's not mine! It was in the bag! I just wanted money I swear! Shit, you're strong!" My hands instinctively hang lazily in the air, despite me being scared. I take a deep breath. I've never stolen anything before and the one time I do, everybody is on me like a vulture. "If you wanna know why she has a gun, then go after her! Isn't that more important? You know what, you can have the bag I- I'm- I didn't mean… I'm sorry. I just thought it was worth it." Her hand is tight on my t-shirt. I know it'd be impossible to run. I don't want to hit her. I don't want to hit her. I don't want to hit her. "What are you gonna do now?"
Althea narrows her eyes at the ginger. "Tell me your name." She loosens her grip on him.
"Err- Tom. Tom Hurt. I'm really stupid I swear, I won't ever do this again." My eyes dart between hers, looking for anything I can find.
"Well, Tom, I could turn you in for stealing. Instead, you're going to help me find whoever you stole the gun from. They seem to be much more of a danger than you are," she said with a derisive snort. She let him go completely.
"I would love to help, but I can't. I'll be late for my volunteering job over at that charity shop down the road. You know the one for sick dogs? I'm not a bad guy. I'll give you the bag and you can do what you want with that." My voice has calmed back to its normal rhythm. If I get away from this alley, then I might be able to jump on a bus and get away. The bit of money that was in the purse might get me far enough to never see this girl again if I'm lucky enough.
"Listen, ginger, my girlfriend volunteers there. If you care about those dogs so much, I'll call her and she'll cover your shift," she offered coldly.
I take a deep breath. Sliding my hands into the pockets of my yellow hoody. "Ok." I look to the ground. "You're the boss."
Althea was taken aback at the ease of Tom's decision, but she decided not to fight it. "Alright then." She set herself behind him and put a hand on his back, pushing him forwards toward the station.
I keep my head down, staring at the floor. I can't go to the station. They don't have my records surely. Shit, maybe they never found out it was me anyway. Damn it… "Hey. I err… I lied. Since we're going to the station anyway I may as well be honest. My name's Alastair, not Tom. If you don't mind, and I know you should since I've fu-… messed up pretty hard, I really don't want to go to the station. I'm sorry, and if we could do this any other way, I'll do what you want." The calmness of my voice almost surprises me. Back to the girl, I can't see her face. I keep my head low.
Since his back is turned, Althea lets her face soften. She almost feels bad for To- Alastair. Almost.
She steers him away from their original route and instead they head towards her place instead.
"We're going to my apartment. I have a computer set up there that connects to police records."
She takes out her phone and calls Maia.
"Hey, babe," she greets happily.
"Al, I've been calling you all day!"
"I know, I know. I'm sorry. Listen, I need you to make sure my mom doesn't come around to mine tonight. It's a long story- just tell her I'm sick or something."
Maia hesitates. "Fine. For you. Call me tomorrow, yeah?"
"Yeah. See you later."
Althea hangs up and pushes Alastair a little faster. "Alright, it's settled."
"Wait what? Are you sure? I mean, I'm a criminal I guess? Do you normally do this cause you're really putting yourself in danger- I mean I wouldn't do anything but other people might. Th-… Thanks. I promise I won't steal anything." I keep my head facing forwards by what feels like her wishes. She has a girlfriend? Shit I don't want her to feel unsafe or anything. Ok. Ok stop being a prick. Stop, she's ok. You're fine.
Althea does a superficial read of his mind, and it's a mess of questions and worries.
"I can protect myself if I don't feel safe. Your gun won't be the only one in my house," she assures him.
"Well, maybe I should be the one scared eh?" He nervously laughs, moving past fewer shops and more buildings that look like homes or apartments. "We nearly there by any chance?"
Althea nods, forgetting he can't see her. "Yeah. It's that tall white building by the park."
"Wow." I stare at the building, a smile flickering. "I thought that the police got paid badly and that's why they're always angry…" I smile at the girl, eyes darting around a sec, "Well maybe they're just like that around me huh?"
Althea fought down her laugh, but small snicker slipped out. "From what I've seen, you tend to have that effect on people." As she was looking around at the familiar sights, she realized she hadn't even given him her name. "I'm Althea, by the way," she added.
"Al and Al haha, guess we'll have to stick to normal names." I try to keep my smile but… "Hey err… You don't think she needed that gun for protection right? I just… I don't know." I take another deep breath and tap my leg a little with my left hand.
Althea bit her lip. "I hadn't thought about that… We'll see what kind of business she's in an who she works with once we get to my apartment." As she said it, they arrived.
After fiddling with the keys, the two finally entered the apartment building, entering the nearby elevator and slowly rising up to the right floor. I begin to hum a common elevator tune out of habit, bobbing my head slightly. I catch Althea's eyes and quickly stop.
A small smirk plays across Althea's face at the quiet humming filling the small space. "I keep trying to get them to put in a music system."
(I have no clue how to write a descriptive sentence saying that Marco, un-freezes himself. Let's just say that he did.)
'Shit. He got away.' Marco sighs and takes out his phone. He dials his girlfriend's number. "Hey, Ella. I need you to help me. Find Fire and Air's numbers. We need to practice out elemental magic." He hears Ella hangup.
(oh jeez I'm so sorry do you know how you'll find the Als?)
(Umm. No. XD)