The mont their eyes t, the girl visibly froze.
And so did Yesu.
She had finally realized why the girl looked familiar.
The dorm elevator. Hallways. Swimming practice. Training. Track and field. Café. Dining Hall. Stairs.
Even toilets.
Every single place she had breathed since she had stepped foot in Echelon Academy.
But sohow the girl had been absent in those tis.
And it was at that mont, when Yesu could now see her, look into her eyes, that she started seeing the girl had been present in those places.
Like an animation coming to life in a scene.
Yesu stepped out of the queue.
And started walking toward the gloomy looking girl.
The girl looked more alard with each step Yesu took.
"Yesu," Ava called out. "Where are you going?"
Yesu didn't look back but increased her pace instead.
The girl took a step backwards, then another.
Yesu was already a few ters away.
"Hey." She hollered.
The girl turned and fled.
Yesu ran after her.
"Yesu!" Ava shouted as they disappeared into the crowd.
***
The crowd swallowed them both.
Students stepped aside with startled yelps as the girl darted between them.
Yesu followed close behind.
The girl was fast.
Much faster than Yesu had expected.
She slipped through openings that barely existed, weaving between festival stalls, spectators and wandering groups with practiced ease.
A lantern vendor barely managed to save his display as the girl shot past.
"Sorry!" Yesu called as she hurdled a crate of glowing lanterns and continued the pursuit.
The girl cut through the Physical District.
Students scattered as she sprinted directly across an obstacle course.
A contestant shouted sothing offensive.
Neither of them stopped.
She erged from the course and plunged into another crowd.
For a second, Yesu lost sight of her.
The black clothes vanished among dozens of students.
Yesu stopped.
Her eyes narrowed, concentrating.
The crowd blurred.
Faces beca indistinct.
Then—
There.
The girl appeared again.
Not erging, not moving into view.
Appearing.
Like a drawing suddenly rembered by reality.
The girl froze briefly after realizing Yesu had found her again.
Then turned and ran.
"Gotcha." Yesu exclaid.
Several students stared at her strangely.
She didn't care.
The chase resud.
Through the Elental District.
Past floating water sculptures.
Around a wind tunnel attraction.
Across a bridge ford entirely from glowing force fields.
Each ti the girl disappeared into crowd, Yesu would stop.
Focus.
And find her again.
Like pulling a hidden figure from a painting.
The distance between them never changed.
The girl couldn't shake her.
And Yesu couldn't catch her.
Not yet.
As the pursuit stretched on, Yesu knew one thing.
She had to catch her no matter what.
The festival gradually faded behind them.
The music beca distant.
The crowds thinned.
Soon they passed the dormitories.
Then even those disappeared behind them.
The academy beca quieter.
The roads wider. The buildings more expensive.
Beautiful villas lined both sides of the street.
No gates.
No fences.
Just elegant hos surrounded by carefully maintained gardens.
The area was completely deserted.
Only the sound of running footsteps remained.
The girl didn't slow down.
Neither did Yesu.
"Wait a minute!" Yesu called.
The girl ignored her completely.
She reached a bend in the road, then turned sharply.
And sprinted toward the backyard of one of the villas.
The girl vaulted over a low hedge.
Yesu followed imdiately.
Branches scraped against her arms as she landed in another garden.
Then another.
Flowerbeds.
Stone pathways.
Shrubs trimd into neat shapes.
The chase tore through one backyard after another.
The girl never looked back, never slowed.
And sohow always remained just beyond reach.
A narrow opening appeared between two villas.
The girl darted through it.
Yesu chased after her.
Trees swallowed them both.
The sudden darkness caught her off guard.
The academy lights vanished behind dense branches overhead.
Leaves rustled in the cool evening breeze. Twigs snapped beneath hurried footsteps.
Yesu could no longer see the girl. Only hear her.
Footsteps. A branch cracking. The rustle of disturbed leaves.
She pushed forward. Branches whipped against her shoulders and face.
The darkness seed determined to slow her down.
The footsteps remained ahead, close. Always close.
Then Silence.
Yesu burst through the trees and erged into an open space.
She stopped.
Carefully mowed grass stretched before her.
Another backyard. Only this one felt different. Quieter.
Almost detached from the rest of the academy.
The girl was gone.
Yesu turned slowly. Nothing.
No movent. No footsteps. No black-clad figure.
Just stillness.
Her eyes drifted further ahead.
A pond occupied the center of the backyard. Mist floated gently across its surface.
A small wooden bridge crossed from one side to the other.
The fog softened everything around it.
The water reflected pale lantern light from sowhere unseen.
For a mont, Yesu wondered whether she had accidentally run into a painting.
Then she noticed soone.
A boy rested within the pond itself.
One arm draped lazily over a stone platform at the edge while his head rested against his hand.
The fog drifted around him, unbothered. Unmoving.
Yesu glanced around one last ti. Still no sign of the girl.
Her gaze returned to the pond.
Then to the boy.
Slowly, she approached the wooden bridge. The boards creaked softly beneath her feet.
She crossed through the mist toward the opposite side.
Toward the building. Toward the boy.
And toward the place where the trail had abruptly ended.
As she reached the other side, she could finally see the boy's face through the fog.
He seed to be asleep. Fast asleep.
Yesu gave her head a tilt.
He was obviously a student. Why was he here sleeping peacefully when there was a festival going on?
She moved closer and paused.
The pond water looked cold. There were so ice crystals floating on the surface.
The boy wasn't wearing a shirt yet he didn't seem at all affected by the chill.
There were cuts and bruises on his back. Still in early stages of healing.
What caught Yesu's attention most were two jagged scars, running from one side of his shoulder downwards.
A twig snapped beneath her foot.
The boy jerked awake instantly.
And in the next second, ice shielded the bare part of his body.
He raised a hand and forcefully splashed water upwards from the pond.
They solidified into ice needles and flew straight in the direction where the sound had co from.
Where Yesu stood.
User Comments
0 comments from readers