My feet feel like cement. I don't like this alley way. It's dark and creepy. This man could be leading me to who knows where.This man is suspicious. He screams creepy uncle to me. "You spoke about people who are like me," Derek muttered, keeping his voice to a low whisper." Derek glanced around the dimply lit alleyway. "Are there others like me who are scared?"
"If you keep up I may answer that question!" The dark-skinned man jumped on the side of the ladder scaling the two story wall in the climbing through a window.
"Wait, what in the world?!" Derek felt some saliva pool at the edge of his mouth.
Clenching his heart he felt the pulse of nervous slosh through his body. "Damn it!" Leaping up Derek grabbed the edge of the ladder, his feet dangling for a moment. He felt his are pulsate with power as he cleared the ladder in one leap and landed in the room on his chest. That hurt. Peering up Derek quickly made his way to his feet. "You almost left me behind!"
The man turn back with a grin an pointed into the hallway. "If you couldn't handle that, how could you face what is to come. Now onward!"
With adrenaline kicking in Derek leaned forward dashing into the pitch black voice of the hallway. Derek's chest tightened, his breathing ragged, but then something extraordinary happened. His vision adjusted slowly at first, then with clarity. The outlines of the doors, the walls, the very contours of the space materialized in his vision.
"Whoa," he breathed, surprised. He was seeing in the dark.
He picked up speed, his body moving with instinct now, following the man as they leapt through another window, landing on a balcony. The night sky stretched out above them, city lights twinkling like distant stars.
"There is something stirring," the man said, glancing over his right shoulder, "were about to bring this city to it's knees?"
Derek frowned, the weight pooling on his shoulders. "What do you mean? " His voice held a heavy uncertainty.
The man held a creepy smile. "You will see. For right now you have done well to keep up with me. Do you have any formal training in sports?"
Derek's mind wandered, a fugacious laugh escaping his cracked lips. "Middle school? I was too busy chasing women in high school and college. Speaking of college I dropped within the first quarter. Been wondering every sense. I've always been fast."
"That feel sits with me all to well…the life of one that wanders," the man nodded. "Let's get moving" With a momentous leap the man cleared a five foot gap between the dilapidated two story building landing on the room next to him.
Derek stared after him, his heart thumping in his chest. He didn't know how, but he was feeling it too. That wild, untamed energy.
"The craziness continues," Derek muttered, pushing his right arm, which was pulsating slightly. His knees were weak, but he had no choice. He had to keep moving. He sprinted toward the gap, hesitated, then jumped his feet barely catching the edge of the roof.
His knees hit the ground with a thud. Not again. Derek winced, his arm throbbing, but he quickly scrambled to his feet. Man he's quick!
"Not bad for a bumbling idiot," the man called over his shoulder, a hint of teasing in his tone.
Derek shook his head, a smile forming slowly. "This better work out in my favor."
"Don't worry, it will be worth it," the main sad a serious hint to his voice. "We're almost there."
They reached the edge of the roof. Derek slowed, watching in disbelief as the man disappeared over the side, effortlessly jumping from a three-story building.
"No way," Derek whispered, staring at the edge. Did he just jump off?
Derek edged toward the side, peering over. Below him was a narrow alley, and at the end, stairs leading down. The man was already on the ground, waiting.
I'm not doing that, Derek thought, but he couldn't stop himself from taking a tentative step forward. My knees feel wobbly. Like a childhood snack.
Keeping his balance Derek climbed down the rickety stairs as the metal clacked against the brick walls of the older style apartment. His eyes met the man who was tapping his right foot looking at his watch.
"Not one to take risk, huh?" the man said with a smirk. "Do you need a few minutes to calm your bleeding heart?"
Derek paused for a beat, then put his hand up. "Don't mock me. Led the way" Following closely behind the man Derek eyes noticed the narrow alley way lined with graffiti.
"Welcome to you new home," the man aired, pushing the door open with asunder. "Don't be shy. Make your way over here."
It's time to change my life. Everything within my bones tells me this is a bad idea. I have nowhere to go. I hope you can forgive me Ken. Derek walked through the door a click and lock an ominous reminder that there was no turning back.