“Shit!” “Shit!” “Shit, Shit, Shit!” “This is not looking good.” The sirens that had been echoing through the whole broken village is finally fading away. The vivid red and blue blaring lights had also stopped illuminating the night sky, finally letting the unusually bright moon to fully shine. But that wasnt what he was worried about. “How unfortunate, Opium,” a voice called. “Your luck finally ran out.” Catching his breath, Opium crouched high above the village, his back pressed against one of the many sun-bleached stone chimneys that jutted from the sloping rooftops. Hidden in the shadows, he turned his head back, eyes narrowing as he spotted four silhouettes aproaching across the weathered terracotta. Not cops. Luke. And his goons of course. “Come on out,” one of them said. “Nowhere to go.” The buildings huddled tightly, shoulder to shoulder in a slummy fashion. With only a few huge gaps here and there. Facing Opium seemed to be one such gap. “I’ve been itching to cave your face in. your eyes might even sink further into your skull this time.” Luke yelled before chuckling. He finally tore his gaze from the four silhouettes and turned his head quickly to the other side and looked down from the left side of the building to peek at the drop. ‘Far…’ His stomach turned from the sight. “Come on out. Just give up, there is no where to go.” One of the goons said. ‘Oh yea?’ He took one last deep breath before stepping out of the shadows. Currently, from their POV, Opium stepped from the shadow of the chimney (which was just below the top left corner) and walked perpendicular to them arriving just below the top edge of the roof. He looked like a bad joke of a kid: rail-thin, swallowed by an oversized charcoal tee and baggy black jeans ripped at the knees; hair to his shoulders; eyes sunk deep like he hadn’t slept in a year. In his left hand, a white grocery bag crinkled with snacks and energy drinks. In his right, a blue plastic bag, tightly knotted. “Alright, you got me. I must admit, I thought you dumb asses would have fell off by now.” Opium said in his usual smug tone. “How about I give you guys some snacks and we’ll both be on our seperate ways.” Raising his left hand. He raise a raised the snack bag and jingled it. “How about you give us that blue bag instead, and we’ll ‘maybe’ let you leave with only bruises.” Luke shouted back Opium acknowledging such an obvious theatrical lie, he glanced down at the blue plastic bag that is lowered in his right hand. Opium glanced at the blue bag, checking the knot and the bulge. Four hundred bucks worth. The cops were after him for it. So did Luke. He lowered his left hand holding the snack bag. Then raised his other hand holding the mysterious blue bag at half the height. “Oh this old thing? Hmm you drive a hard bargain.” “This old thing?” He raised it halfway, casual. “Since we’re all friends, ill give a special deal. whoever jumps first gets the bag.” Done with his jokes, they spread into a semicircle around Opium, readying to pounce towards him. However, before they could, Opium pulled out a drink from his snack bag and hurled it towards the 4. Hoping it would distract them even for a second. They flinched. He spun, sprinted, and jumped off the edge behind him. “Is he mad?!!” Shouts and curse. After running towards the edge, they saw it. a narrow lower roof just below the lip, a hidden step you couldn’t see from their original angle. Opium was found running, tiles rattling underfoot. “Follow him!” Luke barked. They scrambled after him, late to the drop and bleeding seconds. They ran at full first trying to catch up with the boy. Opium reached the far edge of the second roof. If the map in his head was right, there wouldn’t be another hidden ledge. No second drop. Which left him one stupid option. — The roof sloped downward, carrying him faster toward the edge. Opium reached the end and used the momentum to launch himself across the gap, aiming for the ladder platforms on the opposite building. Without that second rooftop earlier, the leap would’ve been impossible. With both hands extended to protect the tied bags from smashing into the wall, there was barely any room to land. Although the ladders were long, the platform itself was quite short. He rolled with the momentum, his back slamming into the side of the building. Pain shuttered his body. As he glanced back, he saw the his chasers were already about to jump themselves. Luckily, one couldnt muster up the courage to jump. ‘1 down, 3 to go’ However it was no time to gloat, quickly getting up. Pushing the hand loops of each bag up his forearms, he grabbed the first ladder and climbed. There were several more to go before reaching the rooftop. To make matters worse, the others were far closer than he liked. “Get back here you little shit!” One of luke’s goons shouted. One wrong move would mean his capture. Steering his mind away from details of what would entail, if he did get captured. He focused on series of climbing and pivoting to the following ladders. The independent sway of the two bags threw off his balance, and his thin hands grew raw with each ascent. The burst of stamina he’d gained earlier was burning away fast. After what felt like an eternity, he had finally reached the last ladder to the top. However his relief was short lived has one of the 4 were dangeriously close. The leading goon lunged, grabbing Opium’s ankle and yanking him off-balance. Sparks of sudden fear and terror enter his mind. The chaser grabed was tight and he was not able to get free. A sharp spike of fear shot through him. The grip was tight; he couldn’t shake it. Instead, Opium looked down, then dropped all his weight into the captured leg, driving his shoe into the guy’s face. He tumbled backward, crashing into the two behind him and sending them all down the ladder in a tangle of limbs and curses. Wasting no time, Opium then continued to climb up the last ladder once again. Below, they untangled themselves and scrambled upward again. Luke was the first to crest the roof. He froze for half a second, eyes narrowing. “What the hell is this.” Before him stretched a thick maze of laundry lines, heavy with garments and sheets. The entire rooftop was covered in them, so dense that only the shadow of the boy they were chasing flickered across the hanging cloth. Luke hauled himself fully onto the roof and charged toward the moving shadow. His followers were still at the bottom of the ladder, struggling to keep up. — Opium darted through the maze of laundry lines, snatching smaller garments as he ran. Socks, scarves, loose shirts. They tangled in his hands until he had a lumpy bundle. He stopped, turned. Through a gap in the cloth, a shadow sprinted toward him, closing fast. Opium didn’t run away. He ran straight at it. Luke saw the change instantly. The scrawny kid he’d been chasing was now charging him. As soon as they both past the last veil of clothing that covered the other, Opium lowered his running stance a bit, preparing to charge at Luke with the collection of cloathing as a cushion. Seeing this, Luke prepared for a head on collision aswell, knowing he has the upper hand, he’d crush the boy. However at the last second, Opium hurled the wad of clothes into Luke’s face. Fabric wrapped across his eyes, obscuring his vision. He shifted his body to the right and dove. Rolling under Luke’s left arm. As he came up, he swung his leg into the back of Luke’s knee. The bigger boy went down hard, cursing. By the time Luke ripped the laundry away, Opium was gone. his shadow vanishing deeper into the hanging sheets. Behind him, Luke’s crew shouted in frustration, tangled and lost among the lines. He had gotten away. (with the two getting lost and behind in the clothes, and luke couldnt find him) ‘Serve you right.’ After a very short celebration in his head. He hopped over a few more buildings until finding another collection of ladders on the side of a building and descended down. Reaching the floor. This time he moved slower, catching his breath. He was not far from his home but not close either. Taking his time only exerting energy when he saw cops around. He adventured home. ‘The absolute worst is yet to come’ ‘I would rather be caught by those fuckers than . . .’ Complete terror on his face, he was unable to fully flesh out that thought.