I Was Running
Anonymous, 57 B.E.
Translated by Thump
Published by Thump at Smashwords
Copyright 2011 Thump
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I was running.
They were in pursuit. The guard I mean. I'm not sure what I did. I couldn't remember a thing. I found myself in the neighboring province, a huge flourishing city state where the people were oppressed and sought after for crimes they did not commit. Was I home?
I ran the length of several buildings until I found a grand ornate city hall. It was the only building with electricity, and seemed like the only piece of modern technology in an otherwise archaic town where visitors were scarce. I hurried inside, the guard hot on my trail.
The hall was a bustling marketplace, the workplace and restaurants of the serfdom and the royal family alike. Women walked about with pots on their heads past the soldiers who would throw scraps of their meal at them for enjoyment. They were fat and dull, these guards, oblivious to the struggles of the life of man.
I chose to forsake the stairs on either side of me in lieu of the banner I saw beneath the balcony. I looked down upon a very wide staircase leading to a basement. I jumped over the balcony and slid down the banner. Although the pursuing guard did not see where I had gone, the patrolling guard seemed not to favor my actions, and drew their blades and firearms, slowly closing in on me. I had landed halfway down this large staircase, and noticed a hallway to either side of the floor above me, then a guardsman at the bottom of the stairs, so up I went as the guard began firing rounds.
As I rounded the right hallway, I sped down a flight of covered stairs on this side of the building. I knocked over a chef or two and pushed my way through a set of doors. Here was a large restaurant of five star quality built just beneath the town of third world residency. What's more, the waiters seemed unaware of the inhumane monsters they served. I took to the kitchen in search of an exit. I trampled a rather large chef, stumbling over his belly as I rose, and pushed through the doors.
Another restaurant? I wanted to turn back to verify and make sure I wasn't going crazy. I was in a bar of some sort, one of those family friendly restaurants with televisions sets about the walls. Interestingly, nobody was eating food from this restaurant. They all had fast food bags and to go cups. Why would they be here? The kitchen was still in business, and they were taking plates. I had no time to worry. I hopped over the bar and pushed through the kitchen doors. I singed my left arm on a stove as I ran past, but the adrenaline kept it from burning. I took the door into the next room.
A fast food restaurant. I couldn't believe my eyes. Cheap plastic tables, hairnets, precooked food; the only thing missing was the bad service. I slowed my running a little here, confident I had outrun the guards, and looked at the people on either side of me. They were all eating... Deli sandwiches. I saw a cook come from the kitchen with a sandwich and sit it on a table to my right. I slowly pushed the doors to the kitchen, perhaps the only time I hadn't almost killed someone in the process, and ignored the kitchen as I walked into the deli.
And there I was. A delicatessen, where the food was prepared behind a glass counter, meaning there was no kitchen to conceal any more restaurants. The people around me were eating deli food and there was a happy chef sitting plates on counters for the customers. A very large man, about seven feet tall and probably just as wide in muscle, was making dough, shaving meat, mixing sauces, washing dishes, all by himself. He was the sole worker in this deli and he had nothing but a smile to show for it.
I heard the clattering of pots and trays behind me, and ran to the back side of the deli, which had been hidden by a wall. I almost had my hand on the door when I heard a voice. 'Don't go through,' she said. I looked to my right. A woman sat at a table drinking coffee. I turned and looked through a small hole in the wall, and the guard was walking into the room. She said, 'So you're being followed? Wait here.' She walked to the counter. 'The usual please.' The chef smiled at her and nodded. The captain of the guard walked to the counter, and looked over. From his right a woman came up to him. 'Can we help-' He threw her to the floor by her collar. He was a nasty, famished man, much smaller and weaker than his men, and wearing something of a general uniform, contrasting their silver armors. He wiped sweat from his upper lip and whipped his dirty hair from his face. He grabbed a guardsmen, who must have been some sort of elite judging by his full helmet, and shook him, shouting something. 'Relax,' the lady said as she sat back down. 'Those doors... look through them.' I looked.
There was... Nothing. It was a whitish glow, but all I could see was nothing. 'Have a seat, and don't move.' Her order was called, somehow being finished in that thirty seconds, despite requiring the oven to my toast the bread and melt the cheese. 'Can I have another please, I'm meeting with someone.' The chef said something to her, his brown skin glistening in the light of the back doors. She sat back down. 'Your food is ready. Don't act suspicious. Just get up, grab your sandwich, thank the man, and sit back down.' I did as she asked; what else could I do? If I walked through the doors, surely I would... fall? Float? Disintegrate? I walked to the counter and grabbed my plate. As I thanked the chef, the captain yelled something and they were looking my direction. I knew it was over then , they had seen me. At least the last thing I could do in my life was stay true to my promise to the woman. I turned back and walked to the table, and when I sat down, the captain and his two top men turned the corner.
The strangest feeling overcame me. I looked straight at the woman, pretending not to notice the captain looking directly at the table. He turned back and forth between us, his disgusting hair almost touching the table. 'Have either of you seen any... interesting looking characters around here?' I remained still, as I was told. 'Right. Well, be sure to let me know if you do, understood?' His eyes pierced my soul, and they narrowed as he looked directly at me. He stood that way for a long time. Finally, he stood back up, brushed back his hair, turned on his heel, and walked out of the deli.
'There, we have gotten rid of him. So, what's your name?' I was still in shock, staring through the hole at the door, and didn't answer. 'Look, he won't be bothering you anymore. You've got a fresh start, I took care of that for you. I'm a Magus, I cast a spell on you. Everyone who has been looking for you has now forgotten who you are. Unfortunately everyone who has ever known you will forget about you too, but hey, beats getting your head cut off by the V.A. Now, how about that name?'
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