The sirens blared in the night.
With only the feeble light from lamp-posts to guide his way, Lukas ran through the pitch black alleyways in a desperate attempt to escape.
The rain pitter-pattered deafeningly, covering up his footsteps and the sound of his heavy panting.
Lukas jumped in puddles, soaking himself thoroughly. His clothes clung to his body uncomfortably, not to mention his hair. It hung low around his eyes, blocking a lot of his field of vision. That wan't what was important. The main issue here was that...
His sides burned terribly.
Thinking back on it, Lukas wanted to curse. He should have killed the man. Wasn't it his fault his body was aching like he'd just sprinted for the cross-country event?
Earlier, the motorcyclist had caught him off guard and tackled Lukas to the ground. When he was struggling to get the motorcyclist off of him and run away, a police car stopped by them and two men came out of the car. Lukas was not about to get arrested this early in the game. With some miraculous strength, he kicked the man in his Crown Jewels and took off.
The had police followed after him both on foot and in vehicles.
"Boy! Stop right there! If you surrender we'll consider giving you a lighter sentence. You're making it harder on yourself."
Lukas didn't even give them a second glance.
The police decided to use another tactic.
"Your parents would feel very disappointed in you! Don't you feel any shame?!"
Lukas had almost stopped to rebuke them but managed to control himself.
'My parents are dead. Who exactly would be ashamed of me?'
How idiotic.
He continued to run until he approached a corner. This looked like a chance. As long as he was out of sight for a short while, his good brains would surely devise a good plan to get out of this tricky situation.
As he skidded around the corner, he hadn't accounted for the fact that the pavement was slick with sky gunk.
He slipped and fell crashing into the ground. The taste of moist filled his mouth.
F*ck.
It was one motorbike. One motorbike. Did the police have to make such a fuss about it? When he stole more next time, would they bring out an army?
He righted himself again and continued to run.
He wondered if the others got home safely. No, to be more precise, if Wu Shen got home safely. Having that bike was important. They would use it to train everyone until the whole gang could ride it. As he mulled over his future plans, an opportunity graced his eyes.
A school with low walls appeared before him.
He didn't have to think twice before he climbed over its walls and ducked behind it.
The cars drove past without any clue that he had leapt over.
He waited until he could hear the sirens no more.
He slid down in relief. His pulse soon steadied and his hazel orbs surveyed the view granted to him. A wide playing field with white markings on it. A large building with some lights still switched on. Students talking in happy voices, teachers groaning about the misbehaviour in classes... He'd forgotten what it was like to sit still in class and stare at the teacher absentmindedly. He didn't miss it. It was a waste of his time. But it was a useful place to escape to. Both now, and before.
Two figures flitted through his mind.
He shook his head roughly. They were better off without him around.
Lukas sighed and looked up at the sky. The dark night was permeated with the strong scent of damp. Not completely revolting. Rather relaxing. He sighed once more and stood up. He'd rested enough.
He climbed back over and sprinted to the lower towns and forced his way through the forest. After a painful cycle of being slapped by wet leaves or blinded by sudden large drops of rain, Lukas reached the mansion safely.
He only stopped running when he reached the front of the mansion. Calming his heart, he knocked on the doors which were soon opened.
Waiting for him behind the large double doors were Mike and Wu Shen.
Mike smiled in relief whereas Wu Shen looked quite tired. It was understandable, he was just a boss over a small gang until recently. Now that he was actively involved in the theft of something this large, his mind would have to be shaken.
Lukas decided to ignore it for now. "Where's the bike?"
"Outside. Round the other side. Just in case."
"I see."
As Lukas made to step inside, Mike blocked him with an anxious look on his face.
"Um. Well, bro... You shouldn't really..."
Lukas grew impatient with his good friend. He had been smacked by branches, kissed by flies and bullied by Mother Nature herself. He was in no mood for all the stuttering his good friend now presented him.
"What?" The question came out colder than he intended it to. He couldn't help that his words reflected the physical condition he was in right now. Though he was apologetic, those feelings of guilt wouldn't get him into a hot shower and rid himself of the dirt that stained his visuals and tangled his hair.
"Ting-"
"Lukas!"
The voices of boy and girl were mixed together to create a chilling harmony. The mixture of anger and anxiety was not pleasant whatsoever. Lukas understood the situation. He'd forgotten to talk to Tingting about the whole affair. It was a careless mistake. A mistake that would cost him his desired shower.
Lukas decided to take a peek at Tingting's expression to decide whether it was worth spending a night camping with the worms or not. One glance told him everything.
Hmm... Snails were actually quite cute when you thought about it. Those swirls on their shells and their sticky bodies which left a trail of saliva looking substance behind them. Very cute.
Lukas had already spun on on his heel to escape but Mike grabbed his shoulder. His eyes tried to convey the message,
'You run, I die.'
Lukas sent a message of his own back. 'I don't care.'
'Please!'
'No.'
'I'll give you my share of breakfast tomorrow.'
'...I hate you.'
'Love you bro.'
Lukas dragged his feet over to Tingting. His wet dishevelled appearance strongly resembled a shaggy dog coming back home after rolling in the dirt.
Tingting held back the urge to laugh. she focused on the more pressing issue. On the fact that she was being left out in operations such as these. It upset her. She wanted to be useful to him. Weren't they supposed to depend on each other?
"Why didn't you tell me?" The voice was stern. Lukas shivered. To be frank, it hurt his pride. Being admonished like this hurt a lot. But Lukas ultimately decided that he'd deserved this much as punishment. He'd just have to make sure that anyone who spoke of this later was thoroughly 'educated'.
"...I didn't want to bother you. You were sleeping, and we didn't really need you to-" Something warned Lukas to stop speaking. It was his automatic danger sensor. It was usually quite reliable but on this occasion, it blared its alarm too late. What was said had already been said.
The look on Tingting's face was not one that belonged to a chirpy girl like her.
A boy with braids: 'He just messed up.'
Spiky boy: 'Will I finally be free from this place?'
A gold boy: 'Have mercy.'
The three boys ended up getting scolded. Xiaozhi joined in at some point too. Her character had warped into some sort of demonic elder sister. Completely different form her usual soft tone. How anger transforms people.
Well, in any case, the boys were only granted permission to sleep after midnight with their ears still ringing with high-pitched peals of anger.
It couldn't be helped.
They'd get used to it.
In the solitude of his own room, Lukas lay on his bed and looked up at the dark ceiling. He went over the events of the day in his head. Unknowingly, his lips parted and he grinned. The knowledge of what he just did shocked him. His hands flew to his mouth and covered it, but still, the grin became wider. The turbulent emotions within him grew stronger. He was excited. He flipped his body over and stuffed his face into a pillow so that his face could be hidden even more. His legs kicked back and forth. Within the privacy of his own room, Lukas spoiled himself. He giggled. The exhilaration, the thrill. This, was exciting.
This was fun.