Retrospect

Twenty-two

   The icy air stung my skin as I flew around the corner, my breaths becoming shallow and my heart pounding fiercely. Running from officers was a daily activity now and I'd been growing tired of it. About a minute later, I caught up to Miles who slowed down to a fast walk, checking behind us to make sure nobody was following. We hadn't even known for sure if they'd been after us at all, but it was better to be safe than sorry since we'd witnessed some pretty strange things going on.

   Miles and I didn't speak as we searched around, keeping an eye out for any officers. "Do you think they're coming?" I asked, risking one last look back.

   Miles shook his head and pulled up his hood that had fallen down when we were running. I did the same and looked over at him. "What do you think they were doing to those people?" I said, not sure if I really wanted to know.

   He shrugged, sounding winded when he spoke. "Can we not talk about that right now?"

   I nodded, feeling a pit lodge itself in my stomach. We both went quiet for a few minutes, so the hissing air taxis and advertisements around us were the only sounds that filled my ears. Groups of people were strolling around the street without a care in the world. Their laughter echoed off the skyscrapers and in that moment I wanted to be able to laugh like them. To actually have something to laugh about after all this time of running and hiding and worrying about my parents. I think Miles and I both needed a distraction from what had just happened.

   I spotted a fruit stand up ahead. Warily, I spoke up since I wasn't sure if Miles was in the mood to talk. "What's your favorite fruit?"

   Miles looked over at me with a flash of confusion on his face. Then he looked ahead again and located the fruit stand. I saw a small smile tug at his lips and his gaze flicked back over to me. "Raspberries," he answered. So, as we went past the stand on my right, I subtly grabbed a couple of the berries while the man working was looking another way.

   Once we were far enough from the stand, we ambled on and I held out the handful of fruit to Miles. "Here," I offered. He looked over to me again and suppressed a laugh.

   "Thanks," he said as I dropped the fruit into his hand. He threw one up in the air and caught it in his mouth, an instant smile appearing on his face and I couldn't help but smile too.

   We wandered along, Miles eating more of the raspberries until he turned to me, a flash of an idea flicking on in his eyes. "Catch," he said, right before he threw the last raspberry into the air in my direction.

   I made an attempt to save the little fruit from landing on the ground and surprisingly, I moved and successfully caught it, biting down on the tangy, sweet fruit. The juice spread over my tongue and I grinned at the wonderful taste it brought. "Good choice," I commented.

   "I know," Miles agreed, putting his hands in his pockets. His green eyes lingered on mine for a moment before he turned his head away.

   I looked down at my sneakers and shifted my bag on my shoulder uncomfortably. Miles and I didn't speak for a while after that until I felt his hand latch onto my upper arm. His voice was more serious now, more forceful as he searched over a group of people up ahead.

   "Keep your head down," he ordered, letting go of my arm. I had no idea what was going on but I did as he said. I tried to peek from underneath my hood and I could see figures dressed in black not very far from us. They were coming our way and I knew immediately they were officers.

   "Miles, we have to go somewhere else," I protested, afraid to look up. I could hear the officers' voices getting louder and my hands began to shake. Miles ignored me and kept walking. "Miles, we have to go now."

   Without any indication, he grabbed ahold of my hand. I tried to pull away from him desperately but he held onto me, forcing me to face the oncoming officers. "Let go," I demanded through gritted teeth. His hand squeezed mine even tighter. To anybody else, it would look like we were just holding hands and that Miles wasn't crushing mine.

   My heart raced as I saw the officers' boots from the cover of my hood. A group of people stampeded by us and my eyes followed the familiar black boots as they clicked right by Miles. I held my breath until I knew they were behind us now, heading the other way. Miles loosened his grip then, then released my hand from his.

   "Wasn't that bad, now was it?" he eventually said. I let out a breath and the silver street below my feet had turned into jelly.

   "Right," I lied, shoving my cold hands in my sweatshirt pockets to stop them from shaking. "They could've recognized us."

   Miles glanced over at me and smirked, the flickering, colorful lights of the skyscrapers dancing in his eyes. "But they didn't," he reasoned. "That was fun." He was trying to convince me, but it wasn't working. The adrenaline was pumping through my veins still, and I was lucky my heart settled down once the officers were a safe distance from me. I could breathe steadily again. The realization that I had made it past them alive hit me all at once and I started laughing a little in astonishment.

   The night sky was a deep blue and the lights of the city winked at me from above as I stared up at them, feeling suddenly invincible. I inhaled the scent of perfume and hamburgers from the nearby restaurants and the fresh air that swept up into my lungs, filling me with life.

   Miles grinned and our eyes met. The red and blue glow of the store we passed reflected in his gaze and washed over his hair and it was like we were both under some spell, neither one of us speaking. Then, Miles' smile faded and we looked ahead again. "I think we're almost there," he mumbled, speeding up so I was left alone with my thoughts.

   Wrapping my arms around myself, I walked along, the chilly air brushing my face softly. As much as I wanted to just find my parents and get it over with as soon as possible, there was a part of me that didn't want the night to end. I wanted to stroll through the city forever and let the illumination around me sprinkle the ground. I stared after Miles, weaving through the crowds of people ahead of me and out of sight, through the streets of the Sera Section.