Three voices shouted at him to stop. Although he could not see who was shouting, he knew it was aimed at him. Snuffing out the fire from his finger with a wave of his hand, only the faint trail of smoke remained.
The voices were louder now, yet Storm could hear fear in their demands. "Stop where you are!" So it was true..., an entire city has outlawed the use of magic. "P-please stop where you are and lay flat on the ground. N-now!"
From underneath his black fringe, Storm could now see where two of the voices had come from. There was a large, fat man in a creased blue shirt and black trousers panting a few metres in front of where he was standing. "Out of breath from running here," Storm thought, laughing to himself.
Behind him was a younger officer in the same pressed uniform, which fitted him better than the larger man. He had drawn his gun, aiming it at Storm with a shaky hand. He looked inexperienced in life, too young to know anything of the world.
"Now, where's the third one?" Storm mused quietly to himself.
The younger of the two officers, sweat dripping from him, was pleading with him to lay down, and let them take him in quietly. The larger one was looking like he was just catching his breath now.
Storm's ears twitched as he picked up the sound of approaching footsteps behind him. Everyone in the vicinity had ran away screaming when he was lighting his cigarette with a small bit of fire from his hand. He quickly decided this was where the third officer was.
Calmly raising his arms out to his side, he bent his knees to the ground; his black trousers already dusty from the long road to Loens Gate. "Okay officers, you got me!" Storm announced with a casual smile, showing off his perfectly shaped, white teeth.
The fat officer had drawn his gun, aiming it at him as he approached slowly, one little step at a time.
Suddenly, a flash of bright white light erupted throughout the area with a loud screech. "The kids in the last village loved that trick," Storm thought to himself, remembering the fireworks show he had put on to repay them for their kindness.
Blinded and deafened, the officers began falling to the floor, covering their eyes from the light, and groaning in pain from the noise.
Taking his chance, Storm sprinted for the alley to his right, and without breaking his long stride, he leapt up and over the wall at the end. Looking up from where he had landed neatly, he realised he was just behind a busy market place, and a smile graced his lips.
The perfect place to disappear.
A large number of people filled this market place; the noises coming from those wanting to buy, and those trying to sell was flooding the street in a wave of sound.
Storm kept to the outside of the street, the tall stone and iron buildings towering around him, their shadows keeping the market cool and sheltered from the wind.
"Time to get some new clothes, and some warm food," Storm thought.
Spotting a small shop towards the end of the street, he made his way through the throbs of people going about their business, being careful not to push anyone as he slid past them.
Reaching the store, he instantly noticed the brightly lit sign: "Chris' Place: All Your Supplies in One Shop!"
The shop seemed quiet enough, where he knew he could be served quickly. He made his way through the large open entrance, gliding over to the till, and noticed no-one was there. "Hello?" Storm shouted impatiently. Looking around, he realised it wouldn't be so easy to escape from in here, so he didn't want the police to come searching for him here.
Turning back to the counter, a small voice came from the door at the back of the shop, "Hold on a sec, I'll be right with you!"
Falling through the door a moment later was a small girl, no, woman, carrying two very large boxes, which were almost the same size as her. She turned to see who had called her, her shoulder length blonde hair swirling round with the movement. She had an innocent face, but Storm could tell there was more to her than there seemed. Staring at him with her deep green eyes for a moment, she said, "How can I help?" her voice rising slightly as she asked.
Looking away, she threw the large boxes one arm at a time to the corner as if it wasn't much effort, before turning back to him expectantly.
"Where can I find some warm food and a bed?" Storm asked her quickly.
Letting out a scowl, the girl began straightening her clothes. Her brown waistcoat, a short sleeved white shirt underneath, which was buttoned all the way up to her neck. Her outfit was finished off with a small blue bow. Giving him a calculating look, she nodded towards the door, "There's a small inn just across the other side of the market square. Are you not going to buy anything?" As she spoke, her tone became less friendly as it had seemed before.
"She obviously doesn't like people wasting her time," Storm thought, as he took in her scowling eyes, and defensive demeanor. "Thank you," Storm replied, letting slip a small smile, realising then how dry and cracked his lips were. As a second thought he asked, "Do you have anything to drink?" not wanting to make the poor shopkeeper feel he had been wasting her time.
She disappeared into a back room, and it was only then he realised there was nothing on display in the shop. She came back quickly, smiling brightly, and placed a bottle of clear water on the clean, white counter. "That'll be 18 Zevrons then." She advised, holding out her hand to accept his money.
"What!? 18Z?" Storm said, his mouth gaping. "Fine!" he put down a 20Z note on to the counter, ignoring her outstretched hand, before grabbing his newly acquired bottle, and spun around to leave.
"What about your change, mister?" She called after him.
"Don't worry about it," Storm said, already calming down from his shock. "And my name's Storm, by the way," he added with a short wave of his hand.
He was just about outside the shop, unscrewing the lid, he threw it off the wall to his left, and it landed straight into the bin next to where she was standing behind the counter.
After the thud of the bottle top hitting the bin, the girl shouted back to him, "I'm Chris! Thanks for asking!" sticking her tongue out behind him. Chris looked down, staring at the bin with a look of curiosity. By the time she raised her eyes back to the door, Storm was gone.906Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBZiOJZHJNU
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Sweat was beading on his brow, and his limbs were twitching subconsciously, as thousands of screams joined in unison in the pitch dark ripped through his mind.
Bolting upright gasping for air, Storm told himself it was just a dream, and he swung his legs off the bed, sitting up properly. Looking around his room, he wiped the sweat which had begun rolling down his cheek. "It was just a dream," he told himself out loud this time, as if saying this mantra would make him feel better.
Throwing the covers completely off him, he stood up and walked across the warm wooden floor, allowing the splinters to scrape his feet. Entering through the opening at the other side of the room, he came to a stop in the small bathroom.
Opposite him stood a full, free-standing mirror. The gold looking framework was rusting from the many years of improper care, and the mirror itself looked as though it hadn't been cleaned since it was bought. When trying to see himself, he looked blurred, and couldn't even make out any details.
Taking a cloth, which had been left there for him by the room service staff who had been there the night before, he knelt down in front of the mirror. He gently began rubbing the rusty gold framework. A small glow from the cloth, and without much effort, the frame was beginning to shine like it was new. Going over the face of the mirror, the marks disappeared.
Stepping back, he could just see himself staring back. His black, greasy hair was sticking out in every direction bringing a faint smile to his face as if remembering something. Reaching up, he began sweeping his hair back, the grease disappearing as he did so. Shaking his head quickly, his hair then sat the way he was wanting it to. His long fringe sloping over his left brow with a nice flick sticking out at the end. Not too neat, he admitted to himself quietly, as he glanced at his grey eyes, the specks of bright blue seeming more prominent in the light spilling in from the window, almost looking as though they were glowing.
Glancing back at his hair, admiring his handiwork, his ears picked up the sounds of the market springing to life outside. The noises of stalls being set up, and the shutters being opened. It was still early in the morning.
Looking back at the mirror, he eyed his body hating how short he was. Unlike most "men" he was a little small to be taken seriously in a fist fight, but he always came out on top. No a single scar was visible on him from his head to his toes. Storm had always known how to "clean up" after receiving a bust lip, or a cut eye. It was never anything he couldn't handle.
A cool breeze swept past him, snapping him out of his musings. "Time to get dresed," Storm said to his reflection with a shrug.
Walking over to the desk next to his bed, he picked up a plain dark grey shirt, and a black pair of trousers. He had asked the barman’s wife to find him some new clothes from somewhere, and gave her more than enough Zevrons for it. Upon her return, he had told her to keep the change, and he couldn't help but laugh when she let out a huge grin. The clothes had only cost 25 Zevrons, so she had the same left in change. Probably more than her husband provided her with in a month.
The jeans fit without any issue, and as he was finishing buttoning up the shirt, he heard shouting from outside. Looking outside, it was Chris. She was running from two of the officers he had dealt with the day before.
Grabbing his shoes, he lay them on the windowsill. From this vantage, he had a good view of the whole square. Chris was running through the centre of the square with the young officer right behind her, not looking scared this time. The fat officer was trailing behind, the sight making Storm laugh a little inside.
Lining up the shoes, he flicked his finger making the shoes soar out towards the two officers who were behin her. Both shoes hit their targets cleanly in the side of their heads, knocking both of them out.
Quickly dropping out of the first floor window gracefully, Storm retrieved his shoes, and with a courteous nod to the two officers on the ground, he began following Chris towards the centre of town.
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