The Runaways

  • Thread starter roseprincess2144
  • Start date
R

roseprincess2144

Guest
Original poster
Red couldn't keep up with Axel. He was running way too fast for her. Red had poor lungs and trying run away from an angry shop owner didn't help. Red had been looking around the store earlier even though she didn't have any money. Thinking that no one was looking she took a few small cans of food and fruit. She and Axel hadn't had much to eat in the past few days. Red hadn't realized that the store owner had been watching her, so when he tried to come after her she freaked and began running, calling for Axel as she did. Looking back Red should have been paying more attention to her surroundings but what was done was done. Now she ran but she couldn't go much farther. Red stopped when they reached an alley, "Axel go! I can't run anymore." she said in between breaths.
 
Axel only heard when his name was called and looked up just to see Red hauling ass out of the shop with the owner hot on her tail. Hands working on overdrive, he snagged a few more items and shoved them into his cargoes, and took after, snatching a brown paper bag on his way out. Red had stopped in front of an alley, Axel taking a shortcut to pass both of them down so that he could catch up to her. He knew that she had an asthma problem.

Sweet graces for brown paper bags.

"Breathe into this, alright?" he coaxed her gently, while no so gently shoving the bag over her mouth. Wasting no time, he hefted her by the waist and dropped her into the relatively empty dumpster, closing the lid. Quickly, he lit up and leaned against the wall as nonchalantly as possible.

The store owner skidded to a halt just outside the mouth of the alley and eyed Axel warily. He pointed an accusing finger. "You were there with her," he sneered. "Where is she?"

"You were tailing her. You left me there," Axel pointed out.

"And met you here," the other man shot back without missing a beat.

"Think it was meant to be?" Axel smirked.

"Fuck you," the store owner spat.

"That's bad for business, you know..."

The irate owner, in a fit, grabbed Axel by the A-shirt and held him up against the wall. "I don't have time for your wise ass. Tell me where the girl went."

"She went to your store today," Axel answered cheekily. Then, all he felt was blinding force against his jaw before hearing the heavy footsteps of the owner as he searched the alley, muttering obscenities. Of course the man's search was fruitless because why would a girl willingly hide in a trash can?

Axel doubled over when a large fist tried to make it through to the other side of his gut.

"Fucker," the older man hissed in his ear. "If I see you again, I'm going to paste your face over my office wall."

"Flattered," the seventeen year old gritted out. When the other left, he straightened and reached into the dumpster to help Red out of it.
 
Red only nodded when Axel put the bag to her mouth. She didn't even notice that he had placed her inside the dumpster until he closed the lid. Red didn't even have to sit down to be able to fit inside. For being almost seventeen Red was a shortie. She stood at whopping 4'11". Red leaned her ear against the wall to hear what was going on outside. She couldn't hear much but she did hear Axel take a few punches. She winced. Red hated to get Axel in trouble for something she did. A few minutes later he opened up the dumpster and helped her out. Red noticed the red mark on his cheek from the punch. "I'm so sorry!" she said. "I didn't want you to take my punishment. You should have told him where i was."
 
Axel unconsciously covered the area where he was hit on his face and shrugged. "I've taken worse, even if it had been a while since my last beating appointment." He moved to the mouth of the alley and looked around to see if all was clear. "Besides, it was fun to see how mad I could drive him."

It was a known fact that he had a penchant for making people angry and push all the wrong buttons -- half the time it was just an impulse he simply couldn't ignore. "And I wouldn't hand you over to him. I'd be standing at that wedding from the moment I get to me seat." He winked a green eye at her with a wide grin before patting his pockets. "Plus side is I get to keep you and the food, right?"

 
Red couldn't help but to smile back. His grin was contagious. "Well I guess you have a point. What did you manage to get?" Red asked walking towards the edge of the alley where Axel was. "Think we'll be able to find a roof tonight?" she asked after looking around. The coast was clear enough. But now it was a matter of where they would sleep. Red would kill for a bed but bevgars cannot be choosers. She looked up at Axel.
 
Kicker walked nonchalantly down the back street with a wide grin on his face. He couldn't believe how lucky he had gotten. After his friends were run out of the brown house by police back in Darktown, Kicker went back to drifting from place to place, trying to survive. He had lost most of his clothes and possessions in the raid but he was more or less back on his feet so to speak. He still had his old flat top acoustic guitar and his carry bag but most of his clothes were gone and he was out of cigarettes. He had just bought new strings with the money he had earned playing in a seedy backalley bar. The owner was generous to let him sleep in the storage room for free as long as he played a few hours every night. The tips were okay. Enough to keep him from starving, or wanting another cigarette.

As he walked down the lane, he heard a commotion come from up the street. It sounded like another storeowner had been robbed. He sighed solemnly as he remembered his friends from the brown house. "I wonder if they made it out... I hope they're alright." he said under his breath. The storeowner came barreling out of an alleyway, the rage clear on his face, before bumping into Kicker and almost sending his guitar crashing to the ground. "Out of my way brat!" he exclaimed. Kicker spat on the ground and replied, "Shove off old timer. You aren't the only one with problems." The man turned to say something but the hard look in Kicker's eyes persuaded him to ignore the comment and return to his store.

Kicker continued his trek and glanced into the alleyway that the man had come from. A look of shock crossed his face at the sight of the two people standing there. "Axel? Is that you bro? Damn you look worse than I did after that day at the mall!" The lid to a trashcan raised up and the face of a small red-haired girl popped out. "Red..? What are you doing in a trashcan... Better yet, what are you two doing here in Reacher City?!" He could hardly hide his happiness at seeing his two closest friends again.
 
Red looked up to find Kicker in entrance to the alleyway. She ran up to him and hugged him. "I could ask you the same thing. And Axel put me in there. If not I probably would have gotten in trouble with a very angry store owner. Turns out they don't like when you don't pay for stuff." she said laughing a little. Red was happy to see Kicker again. It had been awhile but he hadn't changed much. Still carrying around his guitar and looking for a way to make money to buy food and cigarettes. Red didn't understand how anyone could smoke. The idea was strange to her but then again if she tried she might have a horrible asthma attack and end up in the er. Red smiled at Kicker after pulling herself out of her thoughts. "Where are you staying now?" she asked.
 
Kicker quickly set his guitar against a wall and picked up the young girl and squeezed her tight. He had been alone for just under a year. Seeing Red and Axel nearly brought tears to his eyes. He quickly buried his face in Red's shirt to wipe them away before setting her down. He smiled broadly. "Sure they do. As long as you're scarier than they are." Kicker laughed a little bit.

"After I lost you guys in the raid, things got to hot for runaways in Darktown so I hopped a train and headed east here to Reacher City. For a few months it was almost worse than Darktown. I had nowhere to go and nothing with me but a few clothes in my bag, and my guitar. I started playing in the park trying to make a little cash but it was hard. Last week a man offered to let me stay in the storage room at his pub as long as I play every night." He held up the fresh, newly bought strings proudly. "The tips got me a new set," Kicker said happily.

He looked at Red and Axel a moment longer before motioning them to follow. "Come on. We can talk on the way. It gets cold out here at night. I'm sure I can work out something with the owner to let you guys stay." Kicker was ecstatic. He sped along the street like someone with a new reason to live.
 
Axel grabbed Red by the wrist, his longer legs able to keep up with Kicker's enthusiastic stride. It had been a while since they'd seen him. And a place to stay wouldn't sound so bad.

"So if you play for keeps, do I have to bar tend and make nice with the customers?" It wasn't a bad deal. Granted his sharp and caustic remarks got him in more trouble than he allowed himself or wanted to get into, but it had its perks.
 
Kicker chucked lightheartedly at the thought of Axel being nice to random bar patrons. "I didn't think you could play nice with anyone but Red," he said. He thought about how close Red and Axel must've become spending all this time together. It dampened Kicker's spirits a bit but he shrugged it off and continued towards the pub. He took twists and turns, cutting through alleys only the saltiest of lowlifes would inhabit. "He might make you run errands or something. I don't know." He had only met the man a week ago and he didn't want to offend him by bringing in more runaways. "Its a temporary spot until I could find somewhere a little more... kosher."

He suddenly stopped. A familiar bittersweet smell assaulted his nostrils. "Hey Axel. You wouldn't happen to have a spare cig for your ole buddy Kicker now would ya?" he asked hopefully.
 
Red let herself be pulled along by Axel. She knew that his legs were longer than hers so he was able to keep up with Kicker easier. I wonder what kind of job i'll get she thought to herself. The fact that they were about to enter a bar just registered with her when she tuned back in and heard the two boys talking about it. "Wait a second is smoking allowed in this bar?" she asked Kicker a little nervously. Red definitely couldn't handle being a dark, closed space with a bunch of smoke around her. That would be asking for an attack.
 
Kicker slowed his pace a little bit as they drew closer to the pub. At the mention of smoke, he turned around and smiled warmly. "Nope. Sure isn't. The owner hates the smell. Oh by the way. His name is Bill. He's a pretty cool guy as long as you do what he says and don't dis him." Kicker continued leading the winding journey through the dark streets and alleys. They passed by and behind looming apartment buildings, shady corner stores, dirty lounges before Kicker suddenly stopped at the corner of a building.

"Hey you! Superstar!" a loud voice came from around the way. "Aww damnit!" Kicker swore under his breath. He turned around to Axel and Red and handed them his guitar and bag. "Hold these and stay here. Don't let them see you," he whispered hurriedly. Taking in a deep breath, Kicker walked around the corner to face a group of at least 10 boys from ages 16 to 19. They were street kids like Kicker and his friends. As he approached, the oldest member of the group; 19, tall, muscular moved forward to meet him. "Come on Chuck. I don't want any trouble. Not today." Kicker said wearily. "Well what's so special about today Superstar? Where's your pretty little guitar?" asked Chuck. "I dont have it today." "Well that's a crying shame..." Chuck stepped forward and shoved Kicker hard.

Kicker stepped back before propelling a powerful front kick straight into Chuck's sternum. The air flew out of Chuck's lungs and he landed with a thud onto the concrete. Before Kicker could even blink the rest of the gang was on him in force. They punched, kicked, stomped, and spat on him before picking up their still winded leader and moving onto find more street kids to harrass. Kicker rolled onto his back and coughed heavily. He pressed his soon to be bruises into the cold concrete in an effort to soothe the ache. "Well that was fun..." he heaved.
 
Axel raised a brow, but waited patiently for exactly two minutes. He dug into his pocket and took a cigarette between his lips, leaving it unlit. The guitar found itself leaning against a building when he saw a group of boys leave where Kicker had disappeared. He glared, having a pretty good idea about what happened. But this time he decided to let sleeping dogs lie. He could always hunt them down later.

"I'll be right back," he murmured to Red.

In no time flat, he was swinging Kicker's arm over his shoulder and lightly patting him down for injuries.

"I take it their limbs have a serious disposition toward your well being," he grinned lopsidedly.
 
Kicker reached up and grabbed the lit smoke from Axel's mouth before putting it to his own and taking a long drag. He let out weak chuckle, "They certainly do, but it's not them I'm worried about." He took another drag. "Chuck might seem like a big pussycat, but I got lucky today."

He laughed, "Haha... pussycat. I'm fine bro. Where's my guitar." Kicker stood up straight and dusted himself off. "Where's Red?" He looked over at Axel and smiled. "Did you put her in another trash can?" His eyebrow raised and his grin widened.
 
Red grumbled under her breath as both boys left her standing in the alley with Kicker's bag and guitar. However, she was happy that the bar was smoke free. I'm not as helpless as you think she thought to herself. Red only sighed though and peaked around the corner to see Axel picking up Kicker. He seemed to have a few bruises on him but other than that he looked alright. Red picked up the guitar and bag and met Axel by the entrance. "Are you going to be alright Kicker?" she asked him.
 
"There's the little lady," Axel chuckled, letting Kicker stand on his own. He took the guitar and handed it over. He looked Kicker over. "Next time, I want to make nice with their limbs too." It was his joking way of calling on him should he be needed.

"So now for a potential place to stay," he sighed, patting his pockets. "Billy boy won't mind if I bring a few extra items, right?"
 
Kicker looked over at Red and smiled. "Yeah. Im alright. Thanks for keeping my guitar safe." He winked. "It's the only thing I have to my name. I didn't want ole pussycat to rough 'er up." He looked over at Axel. "What do you mean items?"
 
Red also looked over at Axel. She was also curious by what he meant. "Yeah. What do you mean by items?" she asked raising an eyebrow. Red wasn't about to be kicked out of place she hadn't even been to yet. She liked Axel but she'd kick his butt if he caused them to not be able to spend the night at the pub.
 
Axel lifted a booted foot and let it drop heavily to the ground. The sounds of plastic, cans and other miscellaneous products rubbing together emanated from the pockets of his cargo pants.

"Store owner didn't seem to mind much since he found a little red-head he took an...interest in," he said, scratching his head of black hair. It had become a tad undone after leaving it to the wrath of the city wind. Some of the strands hung, wavy and limp in a dark frame around his squared features. "Of course he wasn't happy that she got away."

He slid a sly gaze at Red and cast an exaggerated wink, poised to move out of the way if she decided to give him a dead arm.
 
Red pretended to pout when Axel mentioned the store owner. "Heyy watch who you're calling little." Red said in mock anger. She reached over and lightly punched Axel. Red turned towards Kicker. "Well I don't know about you but its getting chilly out here. Can we go to the bar now?" she asked him.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back