Time seems to slow to a crawl. Within the infinite span of an instant, there’s an agonizingly long moment of absolute stillness. A sudden rush of calmness floods the inside of Eli’s mind like a flood. He’s going to shoot! Is all Eli can manage to think before his body spurs into action. Why am I moving?! The reason is right in front of him. Audrey charges headlong towards the ex-officer, sidestepping the barrel while simultaneously twisting the weapon upwards, tearing it from the hands of the stranger. In the next instant she tosses the weapon far into the distance, her body smoothly connecting one action to the next, moving evenly one step at a time. A fraction of a second after the weapon is thrown, she pushes past the man, his face reddening even further as the reality of the situation slowly begins to dawn on him. As Audrey rushes past him like a gust of wind, the man snaps his head towards Eli, but even then, it’s too late. Taking advantage of the blind spot Audrey created, Eli slips right past the man, tightly following his companion’s heels, barely thinking of the consequences.

The alley is dark and narrow, and it takes every effort to not accidentally trip over the towers of rotting boxes and black trash bags. The crunching of glass and the spraying of pebbles sing out from beneath the boots that are slightly too small for Eli’s feet. The noise is combined with heavily panting breaths, the sounds closer to sighs than of those of exertion. Memories flash through Eli’s mind, a sense of deja vu ramming into him like a truck. The bag weighs heavily on his back, and he is seized by the intense fear of losing everything once again. All that keeps him pressing onwards is the small back of his companion in front of him. Her subtitle intentions, that she trusted him enough to show, fill him with confidence. The thought of losing everything, of losing her, propels him onwards, forcing his body to the absolute limit as he runs with the wind on his heels..

Right turn, then left. Right turn again, left again. They weave through the narrow streets and alleys, escaping through the incomprehensible failure of a city. Audrey’s movements, though gradually becoming slower and slower, give insight into her experience, and with the way she unhesitantly chooses which direction to travel, Eli has no doubt that she knows what she’s doing. They run in silence, unconcerned with the others condition. They both know that they have no choice but to run. Hesitate and their pursuers might catch up to them. They can't afford a loss. Not now.

Her figure slowly dissolves as Eli trails behind her, his mind gradually entering a state of calmness as the pair's movements sync up. A silver light engulfs Audrey, and with every step, a trail of silver is left behind. Like molten metal, that trail connects into thin lines, interweaving together to form a web. The walls quickly unravel into a blur of red, the paths the construction workers took clear to Eli’s eyes as he gazes at the river of history. The individual strings interact and interweave, merging together into towering structures of forgotten stories. They've been there for decades. Perhaps centuries. Unseen, yet persistent, the embodiment of Time itself. Audrey’s own silver strings mingle with the passing red. Every rock she unconsciously kicks up is connected with a line of silver. Every tipped over box is tied to the following action, forever a part of the young girl that heedlessly pushes onwards. Each and every action leaves a mark, a stain of interaction incapable of being scrubbed away. Soon, the entire alley is filled with a silver luminescence.

“Hey, snap out of it!”

With a startled jolt, Eli lurches to awareness, shocked into motion by Audrey’s sudden rebuke. It’s only until he looks around feverishly does he realize that he’s not running anymore, and is in fact standing stock-still. Surrounding him on all sides are metal towers. Sky-piercing skyscrapers hundreds of floors tall, glowing magnificently with the neon colored billboards, a slideshow of advertisements apparent on every single one. Eli blinks, and suddenly notices the people, crowds of gray husks with hunched figures, facemasks and scarfs blocking their bare skin. In their gloved hands are phones and briefcases, purses and school bags, every person moving somewhere to do something, not a second spared to speak to a stranger or observe their surroundings.

As he looks around at the unfamiliar scenery, eyes wide in wonder and fascination, Audrey’s face enters his field of vision, and in the flashing colors and murmur of voices, Eli truly takes in her appearance. She’s cuter than he realized, though at present the amount of filth covering her lowers her charm. Her skin, the typical unhealthy pale that everyone has, has been caked in brown splotches of mud. Her small button nose is red at the tip from the cold, and she occasionally sniffs while shooting him a sharp look. Her eyes, a piercing blue nearing purple, seem to glow with emotion, the small orbs constantly taking brief moments to scan their surroundings before once again locking onto him.

With the sudden flipping of a switch, Eli realizes Audrey is waiting for a response. He’s not exactly sure as to what response would be appropriate to give. Eventually, he cobbles together enough information to form a proper question.

“Um… W-what do you think Griff has planned?”

“... Well I’m sure it’s not good. There’s no chance he’ll be able to win against the King, the power between the two groups is way too big. All this will result in is more deaths, more people getting caught up in something they have nothing to do with.”

Eli nods. It’s only natural for it to be that way. If the school system taught him anything it’s that the rulers of the city have an unlimited supply of resources, and they’re able to create any outcome they so choose merely by tossing a bit of money at it. Following such thoughts, Eli reluctantly runs his fingers through his crusty hair, a blush spreading across his face.

“I know it’s kinda stupid of me to ask this, but are we almost to the hideout? I kinda lost track of time while we were running…”

“Haaaah… yeah we’re almost there. You know, you kind of weirded me out for a second there, staying quiet like that. I thought something was wrong with you.”

“Oh you know, ha ha, having a gun pointed at you is sorta stressful. I guess I blanked out, so I don’t remember much besides following you a little ways.”

Audrey sighs again, shaking her head as she begins to walk down the crowded sidewalks, very obviously avoiding being anywhere near the main road.

“Well whatever, we’ve made it to one of the districts in the city proper, Neau, to be specific. We’re four blocks away from base, and from how the time’s looking, I’m saying we’re a little behind schedule. I got a bit mixed up while we were running and we lost about an hour of progress, though I guess I didn’t need to mention that since you were even aware of what was going on, ha ha…”

The two continue to chat as they weave through the crowd, going over the specifics of their previous encounter. Soon running out of things to talk about, the discussion runs dry, leaving only silence to fill the space between them. Suddenly, Eli’s eyes are drawn to the strangely shaped case that Audrey has slung over her shoulder, her hands clenching tightly onto the straps that loop around her arm. With nothing else to talk about, he decides he might as well ask.

“So… um… what’s that?”

Audrey turns her head slightly, her gaze scrutinizing, as if contemplating as to whether he’s trustworthy enough to give such knowledge to. After a moment of silent marching, she concludes that she might as well, they’ve come this far, they should also clear any confusion between each other. She also persistently feels the urge to have him around her, and senses that coming clean with such information will allow him to stay around longer.

Moving closer to him, to the point that their arms are blushing together, Audrey whispers to Eli in a low voice. Her eyes glint with a dangerous light as she glares at the passing crowd. Her movements become more deliberate with every step she takes.

“It’s my Dad’s. Something he used to have, and something he gave to me… It meant a lot to him, so I have to make sure to keep it safe. It’s not something you’ll find lying around on the streets, so I can’t separate from it. It’s rather special, especially since it was the last thing he left me.”

“Oh, umm, I didn’t know… I’m sorry about your dad.”

“He’s not dead, if that’s what you're thinking. He’s in prison right now, and he will be for life.”

“Oh… um…”

The silence, starkly more awkward than before, buffets the two of them. Audrey berates herself for being so matter of fact, while Eli sniffs out of embarrassment. Soon that silence is filled by Eli being unable to resist his urges, tentatively prying deeper with a bit of hesitation.

“So, um, what did he do…?”

At this, Audrey bristles up, stopping in her tracks to shoot him a forceful glare. Her eyes pierce through him, as if she is speaking to a complete stranger, though one has to wonder whether Eli isn’t a complete stranger.

“Nothing! He didn’t do a damn thing!”

“Y-Yeah! I’m sure! There’s no way he’s guilty, I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding!”

“Misunderstanding? Yeah right. Nah, my Dad was set up and framed, no doubt about it. They couldn’t kill him, but they did the next best thing. They locked him up and took away everything he ever loved.”

“O-Oh… Um, yeah…”

Another sigh fills the silence as Audrey turns on her heels and continues forward, leaving the conversation behind her. As she walks away, almost fleeing, her face burns bright red in shame and embarrassment. Eli’s eyes are drawn to the case so tightly gripped in the girl's small hands. She dearly loves her father… I wonder what really happened... The urge to know the unfiltered truth wells up within him.

A bubble of unreasonability. It feels like it’ll burst in any minute.