Sorah's feet pounded on the pavement as she struggled to see through the tears. She knew she wasn't crazy anymore. There was no way this was an accident. That speeder was meant for her and the stranger with the even stranger hat knew something about it.
Still, something was nagging at the back of her mind. Ignoring that, she ran onward, thankful she had worn a pair of lace-up, flat-heeled boots tonight. He quarry was fast, but not fast enough. Slowly, she was catching the human as he ducked through back alleys and deeper into the city sector known as the Vista, which was anything but.
Most of the buildings in this sector were run down; ancient, out of business factories; unused shipping warehouses and tenements that were falling apart at the seams dominated this sector of the city. Sorah guessed it was no accident he had run this direction.
She turned hard and followed him down a dark alley. She had closed the gap to about fifteen meters when he turned and ducked into a building through a wide open door. She didn't hesitate for a second, but the instant she was inside, she knew what had been bugging her.
The man had kept looking back, almost as if he didn't want to lose her, almost as if he were trying to lead her somewhere specific. She tried to stop, to turn back, but the door slammed shut behind her.
Mentally she berated herself. She had been so blinded by her grief and rage that she hadn't been thinking clearly and had let herself walk straight into a trap.
But it wasn't like she had any option. She couldn't have stayed with Drae and waited for the authorities. They would have started asking questions, questions she'd have to answer, and in her old life, she hadn't always operated inside the law. She had no idea if she might end up in prison. She couldn't take the chance that they would take Karla away.
No, even had she realized it was a trap, she'd have had no other option but to spring it anyway.
The building had gone pitch black once the door shut, and she stood stock still, listening for anything, for any movement to give her a clue where the stranger was.
Suddenly a single overhead glow rod clicked on, it's meager light illuminating what appeared to be a storage room of some sort. The only exits were the overhead door she had run in from the alley, and another walk-in door on the opposite wall about ten meters away. The room itself was about ten by ten meters and other than a broken chair, a few abandoned pallets and bits and pieces of discarded trash, the room was empty.
Except for the stranger with the oddly shaped black hat. He stood near the interior door, his hand on the room controls and with the other he pushed the hat back on his head.
"It's time for you and I to get acquainted a little bit better," he said with a creepy grin on his face, then slid the keys to the controls into his pocket.
A cold feeling grew in the pit of Sorah's stomach, yet she pushed it down. "Who are you, and what do you want with me?"
He shook his head slowly and began walking toward her. "You misunderstand. When I that we'll get acquainted, I don't mean we'll be answering questions. No, no, no, no. I mean that you'll be dying a slow, torturous death, and I'll be learning how best to make you suffer."
Sorah backed up, looking around futilely for somewhere to run, yet she knew she was locked in with this animal, and the only way out was with the key in his pocket. Finally, he had her backed into the corner. "Just tell me why."
"Oh, where would the fun in that be?" he said, then lunged the last couple meters. He grabbed her by the throat and slammed her into the wall. He leaned in close and whispered in her ear. "No, this will be so much more terrifying for you if you don't know why it's happening.. and so much more satisfying for me."
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