Grey
Chapter Three: Hunted
Shawn was being very uncharacteristic and un-Shawn-ish. As I lay in my bed, I could feel him lapping at my neck with his tongue, his hands caressing up and down my sides. What immediately struck me as weird was the fact that he had stayed the night. Usually he left right after we were done, but now he was still here, and he was being gentle. I tried to turn around so that we lay face to face, but the strong arms held me in place, dominant, controlling, but so unlike Shawn with the gentleness of it when he – as if in apology – snuggled into my neck. He drew in a deep breath, and suddenly the broad chest pressed against my back began rumbling, sending vibrations throughout my body. I liked this Shawn. He was nothing like the man I had discovered after I stopped taking the pills. I frowned as I remembered breaking up with him in the canteen. Was he trying to get me back? Had I given him another chance? I couldn’t remember. Somehow I doubted I would have let him in the night before. Had he come in by himself? Had he come in this morning, trying to be gentle and sweet so that I would give him a chance? It all seemed so absurd. I already had given the man his chance. No way would I suddenly let him in again. Although this felt really comfortable, I had to shrug him off. Couldn’t let the prig get the wrong idea now, could we? I slowly tried to wrench myself free, but the grip only tightened. The practiced mouth by my neck began kissing its way up to my ear, letting out a deep, hot breath. Against my better judgment, I shuddered and had to hold in a sound that could quickly turn this situation very awkward. ,,You taste as good as you smell,” Shawn whispered into my ear. Okay, something definitely wasn’t right. Shawn would never behave this way; he would never talk this way. Either there was a stranger in my room, or Shawn was suddenly a very confused man. The voice didn’t sound like him either. The voice was deeper, coming from his purring chest. Shawn was purring? ,,Shawn?” I finally croaked out. The sound of growling – like an animal growl – made me stiffen and I opened my eyes with a start. I wasn’t in my apartment in Ayers’ company. The walls of a building was replaced by those of a car, the windows letting in the rays of the morning sun, the sky a beautiful mix of many colors from the deep dark blue of night to the sweet orange and pink of dawn. The seats in front of me were unhabituated by Mary and Norewood who had pushed the back of their seats down until they were almost in horizontal positions, making it easier for them to sleep. As the memories rushed to my mind, I figured that there was no way the man lying behind me, sharing the back seats with me, could be Shawn. ,,Jeff?” I asked, knowing I was right when the snarling became purring again. ,,What are you doing?” Although I was surprised, I couldn’t bring myself to raise my voice when Mary and Norewood were still sleeping. But I couldn’t not say anything when the man – a total stranger until yesterday – was kissing my neck and sniffing my… scent – at least I thought it’s called a scent. It took a moment before Jeff answered. In that time he took a deep breath from the place where my shoulder met my neck. ,,Just tasting you,” he answered, all innocence when he began kissing my throat. My breath hitched in my throat when I felt a little bit of a fang grazing against my skin. I drew in a deep breath as I took control of my body again. I tried to get out of his arms – only to find it impossible the way his arms had encircled my waist in a vice like grip. I gave up. ,,You can’t just go around sniffing and tasting people,” I hissed. A chuckle sounded from Jeff’s rumbling chest. ,,You are not ‘people,’” he batted my argument away as invalid. Seriously? I thought and tried more wholeheartedly to get out. ,,Let go!” I hissed. ,,Easy, little tiger.” Jeff leaned against me again, lapping a path from my jaw to my ear once again. He let out a hot and moist breath before he pulled my lobe into his mouth, a fang biting slightly into it – as if he wanted to pierce it for me. I couldn’t help it; I cringed, bit my lips together. Jeff smiled around my ear, and suddenly he let go of me, his arms withdrawing, his body pressing away from mine. I only realized too late that it was Jeff’s arms keeping me from rolling down on the floor in the car. Letting out a yelp I rolled down rather inelegantly and had a hard time getting up in a sitting position. When I turned around to glare at Jeff, he was openly smirking at me, his fangs showing a little, his dark eyes unarming my irritation. He reached out with his hand and stroked a finger down my cheek. ,,You told me to let go,” he reminded me, all innocent smile suddenly. Before I could say anything in retort, Mary sat up groggily, her brown eyes blinking as she looked at us. She frowned when she saw me sitting on the floor but seemed to shoulder it off when she looked at Jeff’s smug expression. ,,God, the monkey is in heat,” she murmured and adjusted her seat so she could sit upright. ,,We don’t have any breakfast.” She looked almost sad as she said it, and I couldn’t help but laugh a little. Was this how the usually serious-looking brunette was when she had just awoken? Somehow I put that sentence more together with Jeff but perhaps those two had more in common than I originally thought. Well, I had only known them for a day after all. Jeff grunted, a frown marring his face. Almost as if unknowingly instinctual, he traced his finger up to my hair and soon cradled my skull, fingering and caressing my dark locks. ,,We can’t drive through any town in this car,” he said, circling some of my hair around his finger. When he let it go, it remained in a little curl sliding down in front of my eyes. ,,There are bullet holes, there is the side mirror-” ,,And,” Mary interrupted, a finger raised against us, ,,it’s a car full of fugitive paras. If those men from last night were hunters, then there are bound to be more roaming about nearby.” ,,But we don’t know if they were Kelly and Quincy’s men or the hunters.” Norewood sat up and frowned. Jeff shook his head. ,,They can’t have been with Kelly and Quincy – they weren’t paras. Miss Frying-Pan and Mr. Mustachio would never ‘succumb’ to the need of human help.” He shook his head a little in resignation. ,,Great.” Mary swore under her breath, then looked out the windows as if she was expecting someone to barge through the woods and shoot at them again. ,,That means they’re hunters.” I finally realized that I had no idea where we were – fallen asleep in the middle of our escape as I had – and raised myself by my hands, finding my seat again. Before I could sit down, though, I had to push Jeff’s feet away. Surprisingly, he complied and even let go of my hair. For a brief moment I actually thought there was light at the end of the tunnel regarding this weird man, when he – once again – succumbed to his increasingly bad habit, perhaps even addiction, and he took my arm in a relaxing hold. Sighing, but letting it be for the moment, I turned toward the window closest to me and looked out only to find trees wherever my eyes went. We were in a forest, but the trees were thin and with a lot of space in between. The sun shone easily through the branches and highlighted the dirt floor. The trees and bushes and ground still looked moist and wet from the morning, but as the sun rose, they would get dryer with the rising temperature. The sky was taken over by thin white clouds with patches of clear blue. Around the car I could see no trail leading to this place, so I assumed Mary had turned into the nearest forest she could find and hoped that the trees would give us cover for the night. ,,What do we do now?” Norewood asked the exact question we were all thinking about asking. Mary sighed and made a wide gesture with her hands. ,,Even if we were willing to risk driving the car, we would only be able to do that for approximately one hour at most. The gas tank is getting dry.” ,,How far are we from Chesting?” Jeff asked, inquiring about a town I vaguely remembered Shawn talking about once. Mary shrugged her shoulders. ,,I really can’t say. An hour? Three hours? However far away we are, we won’t be able to make it.” ,,What is there in Chesting?” I asked, kind of getting tired of feeling left out. I was one of the runaways, too, after all. Jeff’s fingers had begun making soothing circles over my bicep. ,,There is a man who can – perhaps – help us,” Norewood answered my question, though he looked dubious. ,,But I thought Hutton hated Blake.” ,,He does. With a passion,” Mary answered before she looked hesitatingly at Jeff. ,,Even if he decides to help us, he will demand something in return. His services aren’t cheap.” She let the fact that perhaps we couldn’t pay his prize hang in the air like a foul odor. Jeff shrugged. ,,What else can we do?” Both Mary and Norewood sighed in unison and looked out their windows, uncertain. ,,What’s with this Hutton you’re all so worried about?” I asked, just knowing that there was more to it than a supposedly high prize in return for his help. Jeff ignored me, continuing to make those freaking comfortable circles against my skin, Norewood stared out his window, Mary out of hers. ,,Hey!” I yelled, getting irritated. I wrenched my arm free and avoided the man when he lunged for it. ,,Tell me what this is about!” At last, Jeff seemed to give in. ,,It is actually a little funny,” he said while the smile broadened. ,,Don’t let either Hutton or Blake hear you say that,” Mary warned, though a smile was also tugging at her lips. ,,Well, it’s all because… It’s really silly, isn’t it? Well, Blake is married to a woman named Juliana-Marie, Liana for short, and her father wasn’t exactly pleased to find out about her para husband.” He gave me a look as if I could figure it out by myself somehow. I just raised my brows and waited for him to continue. ,,Although Liana’s father is very resolute on helping all paras get the justice that they, we, deserve, he is a little bit NIMBY about it.” ,,Nimby?” I asked, not knowing what it was. ,,N-I-M-B-Y: ’Not In My Back Yard’ – it’s from the time when everyone started debating nuclear power,” Jeff elaborated. ,,So, now Liana’s father does a lot of work to help the paras – but he really loathes to help any friend of Blake. Can you guess who Liana’s father is, little tiger?” ,,Hutton!” I would let the ‘little tiger’ thing slide for now, but sometime in the near future I was really going to show him where I stood. It was just a little difficult on the backseat of a car during an escape. ,,So he won’t help us because of his son-in-law?” Mary let out a refreshing laugh. ,,Don’t say that word where Hutton can hear you – he would rip your heart out of your chest and eat it for supper.” ,,It’s definitely the best shot we have,” Norewood said, brightening up a little. ,,But won’t he help us to Proctor instead of Blake?” Mary shrugged. ,,Proctor is better than nothing – and especially better than the hunters, and Quincy and Kelly.” ,,Proctor?” I asked, remembering Jeff mentioning the name yesterday. ,,The diplomat?” Jeff nodded and was about to open his mouth to probably explain about him to me, when Mary interrupted. ,,Okay, we know what we want to do, guys, but what we don’t know yet is how we are going to do it.” She nodded her head towards the front window, as if to emphasis the whole world with her small nod. ,,We don’t know how far we are from Chesting, we don’t have enough gas, we don’t have breakfast-” ,,Sorry I’m interrupting,” I said, as a sudden lightning of a realization shot through me. ,,But how did you two come here yesterday? Can’t we go there?” Already both Norewood and Mary were shaking their heads. ,,We were teleported here,” Norewood said. ,,One of the tenants on Portobello Road, Raven is her name, has the teleportation Talent,” Mary explained. Before I could ask again, she continued. ,,Portobello Road is where we are headed. It is where we live.” Already I could see a gleam of longing in her eyes, as if she couldn’t wait to be home. Home… I wondered what it would be like. Would I also come to think of Portobello Road as home – despite the rather odd name. It made me think that we were all going to live down one single road with no side streets, and a very long walk from one end to the other. ,,I say we drive the car as far as it can go, and then we walk the rest of the way,” Jeff said, a determined smile on his lips. ,,It can’t be that far considering how far we got yesterday.” Mary sighed, her forehead wrinkled. ,,I don’t know about the car. It’s a little risky to drive around in it as it is now.” ,,Do we have any other choice?” Norewood asked, raising his shoulders so that they almost reached his ears. Everyone shook his or her head, and Mary started the car, rolling her window down. ,,God, I need some breakfast! And a bath. It’s not sanitary for a woman to sleep in a car stuffed with three males, one of them being a freaking money.” Jeff gave her a predatory smile through the rear view mirror. ,,Oh, come on, you know you like it,” and he tensed his biceps, showing his bulging muscles. ,,Show-off…” Mary got us out of the forest and onto a small gravel road with fields of corns on one side, and the forest on the other. She drove as fast as the speeding limit advised, and soon the forest disappeared to be replaced by more fields. Looking over them into the horizon, I could see the farms scattered with big wide spaces of cornfields in between. After half an hour we saw a sign signaling that Chesting lay 60 kilometers ahead, and Mary cursed. ,,With this speed and our dwindling gas we won’t make it all the way there. But we’ll get close.” Every pair of eyes in the car was focused on the little red arrow nearing the E by each second, and the signs by the road telling us we were getting closer and closer. By the time the car started making unpleasant noises there were still a good portion of km ahead of us. That’s when an idea hit me hard in the head. It actually surprised me that I hadn’t thought of it before. I placed my hand by the air-con vent and connected with the car. If I could sustain the wire-lights in Ayers’ company building, then I could also make the car at least get inside the town. I let the motor draw from my power as soon as the gas was out. ,,What?” Mary frowned and looked down at the little arrow. ,,We shouldn’t have any-” ,,Grey? You’re driving?” Norewood asked as he looked at my concentrated expression and my hand. I nodded and closed my eyes. If I wanted to keep this up I would have to concentrate. Sustaining other sources weren’t the favorite part of my Talent. I focused on only moving a couple of valves in the engine – moving those made the rest of the engine work on its own. All other noises subsided and I was completely submerged in myself by the time I could feel a hand closing around both my arms, then moving up to cup my cheeks. ,,…ey? Grey? We’re here, Grey,” Jeff said, repeating himself a couple of times. ,,You can let go now.” Slowly, I disconnected from the engine and opened my eyes. The car was parked inside an alley – just like yesterday when we stopped for food. Norewood stood outside, leaning against his door and playing a game on his phone. ,,We’re in Chesting?” I asked, a little surprised that I actually managed to keep it up all the way to the town. ,,Where’s Mary?” Jeff smiled, relief obviously residing in his eyes. ,,She’s out to get us some breakfast.” He leaned in closer to me and sniffed at my hair. Immediately a satisfied smile made his dark eyes shine, and he began purring again before he rubbed his cheeks against my hair. ,,So good…” I drew back and freed his hands from my face. ,,Will you stop doing that?” I snarled and got out of my seatbelt. I reached for the door but before I could even touch it, Jeff pulled my hand away. ,,Don’t go out,” he said, seriousness making his features seem almost alien. Who knew the monkey could be so grave? ,,Mary will be back soon.” ,,I want some fresh air,” I said and wrenched myself free. I made the car door open without touching it and sprawled out before Jeff could catch me. Then I let the door slide back and locked it. I couldn’t help but smirk when I saw Jeff trying in vain to get the door to open. Through the window I could see his lips moving and hear the muttered curses as he wrenched and tucked. On the other side of the car Norewood looked up from his phone and laughed at me with a thumbs up. Then he turned back to his game. I turned around and leaned against the door, which Jeff was trapped behind. From where I stood I faced one of the openings of the alley and I could see a little game shop with a big adjoining garage beside it. It was closed, though. If one had such a big garage, it must be because that one wants to use it to its full capacity – or at least I would have done that if I had a big garage. In the other end of the alley I could see a little street bordering up to the meadows, meaning that had been the way we had come from. As earlier this morning, the sky was mostly covered by white clouds with dots of blue here and there, a warm wind flowing through the streets and gracing our lowly alley with a fresh gash of air. Although we were in the middle of a town I could see trees planted in front some of the stores with perhaps three meters in between. The chirping of birds came from these trees, and I couldn’t help but sigh and relax. Even though we were on the run and some people that I didn’t even know were hunting us, I was free. I felt free. I wasn’t forced to take any pills, I wasn’t confined to a building, and I could do as I wanted. ,,Perhaps you should let him out now,” Norewood said, binging me back to reality. ,,Even though we are leaving the car, we can’t let anyone find it with claw and bite marks.” His voice held a smile, and I turned around to see what he meant. Inside the car, Jeff was sprouting hair again, his claws elongating. His slittet eyes caught mine and he flicked his claws against each other, warning me. ,,All right, all right…” I murmured and unlocked the doors. There was a flash of black and white and Jeff’s T-shirt before I was grabbed around the waist and brought down to the ground with a half-changed para looming over me. ,,What the-” Before I could even begin to curse, Jeff lunged down with his head and began sniffing as if his life depended on it. His fingers cradled my skull and got entangled in my hair. When he finally seemed happy with the sniffing ordeal, he kissed my shoulder and drew back a little before he got up. His frown turned into his puppy-smile, that droopy smile he always got after sniffing me. ,,Hi, guys!” Mary said as she turned into the alley with bakery bags in her hands. She stopped briefly when she saw me sprawled on the dirty ground with Jeff standing before me, then she shrugged it off and moved over to Norewood’s side of the car. ,,I’ve brought food!” As hurriedly as he had attacked me Jeff was on his way again, taking my arm and helping me on my feet as well. He pulled me at my arm so that I followed after him. While we ate leaning up against the car – with the exception of Jeff sitting on the hood of the car with his bagel and fruit salad placed between his legs – the life in the town began waking up. I could hear cars honking, a train driving through the town somewhere, people talking and walking down the streets, music from a shop with an open door or window near the alley. They were sounds I hadn’t heard for years, but still I recognized them immediately and I were able to put images to them. Again, I realized with myself that I had no memory what so ever of the life I had lead before I started working for Ayers’ company. Who knew whether I would ever be able to remember that part of my life? During the first few minutes of eating, everyone was blessedly silent; the first priority was to have our hunger satisfied. But after that we couldn’t wait longer to get our plans sorted. ,,Okay, we know that Hutton is here, in Chesting,” Mary summarized. ,,But we don’t know where in Chesting he lives. He has some kind of store, so we just have to ask the locals around the main street-” ,,Which is that street,” Norewood said, pointing in the direction of the mouth of the alley joining the bigger street with the game shop and the big garage. ,,Yes, but someone still has to stay close to the car and make sure no one goes down this alley and sees the condition of it.” ,,Then let’s get started,” Jeff said and jumped down from the hood, clasping his hands together. ,,Grey stays here and watches the car, and we divide us and-” Snarling, I pushed away from the car. ,,Hey, why am I staying behind? They’ve made a sketch of you, Jeff. Wouldn’t it be better-” Before I was even finished, everybody else was shaking their head, and I hesitated, wondering if there was some strange fact that only I hadn’t got right. Mary glanced at me, immediately catching my eyes with hers. ,,They have a sketch of Jeff, yes, but probably all hunters have been given a picture of you – since you worked for the company.” Even though I really wanted to help and feel like I did something, I knew they were right. A sketch could be faulty, a picture could not. The fear of having all these threatening hunters knowing how I looked even before I knew who they were made me itching to look over my shoulder and lower my voice. ,,Okay, fine.” I sighed and leaned back against the car, crossing my arms over my chest, and resigning myself to my fate. Watching over the car and keeping myself out of trouble. Mary sent me one last searching, scrutinizing glance before she seemed satisfied that I wasn’t trying to trick her. ,,Good, we’ll meet back here in an hour.” And then I was left alone. Jeff blew me a kiss just before he turned the corner to the main street, and I was left with no chance of giving him a retort. Grinding my teeth, I looked determinedly into the wall of the alley. Even if I agreed with them that this was the most rational move to make, it didn’t mean I wouldn’t be irritated about it. The minutes tic-tocked away without me doing anything but shifting my posture, looking from one alley-entrance to the other, and shuffling my feet. To think that I was going to have to wait for an entire hour of this! Looking toward the entrance out to the main street I saw that the big garage had opened – or at least one of the two doors. Curiosity and a little voice in my head saying that nothing would happen if I moved a little closer to the main street, made me go over there and lean against the wall. I glanced out to both sides but I saw no trace of the others. There were three cars and a motor cycle in the garage, they were old and had clearly been put to use with the way they looked all battered up – and surely not something you would be comfortable driving around in, in fear of the vehicle shattering to pieces while on the road. But still, they did have some charm, like four old men smiling at each other around a table of poker reminiscing old times. A man suddenly came to view from the side – probably from a side door into the game shop – and looked at the four of them. His posture screamed frustration as he wiped one hand over his forehead with an ink stained kerchief and situated both hands by his hips. He was an older man but with a fit body. Physically he had the appearance of a sixty year old, but from the wrinkles and snow-white hair I guessed he was around the seventies at least. Glancing from the cars and motor cycle to the man I figured he didn’t know much about those vehicles but had purchased them anyway to get them in good shape and perhaps selling them when they were done – with a bit of profit in it, too. Looking them over I decided I could perhaps help him a little – at least with the cars. I didn’t know much about MCs. It was still a long wait until the others returned, and from the garage I would easily be able to see them when they turned down the alley. A hurried glance more and I were moving across the street. The man had looked up and to the side as if he heard something from the game shop and disappeared from the garage. I slowed down until I stood just outside the opening. Looking over the cars I focused on the Chevy and closed my eyes. Even though I stood a little away from the car, I connected with it instantly and discovered that nothing was missing from the engine – there was just a little valve not connected with the rest of the motor. I could understand his frustration, as the valve was nearly invisible if you just stood and looked down into the machinery under the hood of the car. I almost shrieked when a hand clamped down on my shoulder and I opened my eyes to the world outside machines and electronics. The man stood before me, his hand drawing away from me, a confused and questioning frown painted in his features. Even with the wrinkles and the alcohol-nose I could see that he must have been a handsome man when he was younger. A strong jaw, a straight nose and a set mouth. His eyes were dark blue and made my stomach flutter almost with recognition, but I hurriedly shrugged it off. I had never even been in Chesting – there was no way that I had seen this man before in my life. He wore a dark red bowling shirt and a pair of black jeans. ,,Good you’re back, son,” he said and offered a smile. ,,For a moment I thought you would never get out from there.” He pointed two fingers against my temple and looked at me knowingly. Stepping to the side he turned his attention toward the Chevy and smiled fondly at it. ,,I’m almost done with that one,” he said, the proud tone not escaping me. Then he sighed and wiped his forehead again. ,,But there is something… There’s something that I’m missing. And for the love of God, I can’t seem figure out what it is. I actually thought that I was a decent connoisseur of automobiles but that was all before I started fixing this one.” The frustration in the man’s voice edged me on and I moved into the garage toward the car spoken of. ,,There’s a little valve,” I told him over my shoulder and moved to lift the hood. I looked over my shoulder to ask for leave, and he nodded and gestured with his hands for me to go at it. I opened it and looked down at the engine. Most of the parts were newer but there were also some parts that must have come with the exterior. I leaned forward and to the side so that I could find the little valve causing all the problems. Behind me I could feel the man looking over me, watching what I was doing. ,,There’s a little valve here,” I repeated, louder and clearer this time. ,,It’s almost invisible…” I let my fingers brush knowingly across the metallic engine, and even though it wasn’t on, I could feel the electricity jumping at my contact. It created a comfortable purring sound in my mind. I smiled when I found the little devil and adjusted a little on it until I felt more than heard the appraising click from the motor as everything fell into place. Smiling, I drew back from the car and brushed my stained fingers down my jeans. ,,I think it’s good to try now.” The man nodded eagerly and hurried over to the front seat. When he turned the key, the engine roared to life. The game shop owner almost screamed in delight and grabbed the wheel, pretending to be out driving the thing. ,,Ha, ha! You’re a genius, boy! A bloody genius!” He got out of the Chevy again, his hand caressing its sides and he went back to me and clasped me on my back. ,,Listen, son, you don’t know how much trouble that little valve has been for me! I was almost considering selling it off to a junk dealer just to get rid of it! You saved me some money.” He squeezed my shoulder and bit his lower lip in a bright smile. His praising old man’s voice had me warming despite the fact that we were complete strangers. ,,I owe you a big one. Anything at all, you just say it and I’ll do my best to help.” I squirmed under his praising blue eyes, knowing that I had deserved it. But it seemed like such a little thing to do. I couldn’t indebt the man for something like just looking into the car then turning a single valve. Then I remembered why I was even here at all. I looked up and answered his smile with one of my own. ,,Actually, there is something I’d like to ask you. Do you know someone named Hutton? He’s supposed to live here in Chesting, and he owns a shop. Have you heard of him?” The man’s white eyebrows shot up in surprise before realization made him gesture for me to come farther into the garage. He looked over my shoulder with a suspicious glance and then turned to me. ,,Is that what that was?” he suddenly asked, nodding toward the cars. ,,Is that your Talent? Fixing cars?” Stiffened and a mind screaming at me to run away and hide down the alley and hope for the best, I widened my eyes, but stayed where I was. A realization hit me and I looked at him with new eyes. ,,You’re Hutton?” A small smile grazed his lips. ,,Yes, that’s me. Harold Hutton, at your service. Though, I think I know what you want to ask me in return for fixing my car.” A surge of relief filled me. I had found Hutton. He was going to help me –us. I didn’t know if he would still consider the favors even when he heard I had three companions. ,,I have three friends with me, too,” I said hurriedly, not wanting to surprise the man when they arrived later. ,,We have to get away from here as fast as possible. Norewood said you could get us to Proctor safely.” I didn’t want to tell the man about our connection to Blake if that meant he wouldn’t help us. A dark shadow suddenly fell over the previously happy face as Hutton looked over my shoulder at something – or someone. ,,Proctor, was it?” he asked the one behind me with a sneer. ,,Or would you prefer that bloody bastard Blake?” He spat the word out as if it left a bad taste in his mouth. Agitated, he stepped around me with a finger raised at the person behind me. I turned around and saw Jeff. The changer was also sneering and a low growl came from his throat. He bared his fangs slightly, but stood still when Hutton’s raised finger poked him in the chest. ,,So that’s your technic now, eh, Jeff?” he spat out and gestured toward me. ,,You send in someone that I don’t know and make sure that I owe him one – and then you show up in time to demand the prize?” I took a quick intake of breath, hesitated, but then I stepped forward. ,,Hutton, I didn’t know who you were before you introduced yourself. I swear.” I looked at the man with pleading eyes. ,,We just want to get away from here safely. And as you said, you owe me one.” Ouch, how I cringed under that penetrating dark blue stare. But safety was the first priority; there was nothing else I could do. At first Hutton’s stare was relentless as he studied my face and features. Then his expression softened slightly and he sighed, and an almost haunted expression flashed across his face only to disappear just as quickly. He looked down and stepped away from both of us. ,,Fine. I’ll get in contact with my transporter.” As he spoke, he looked only at me. I figured he didn’t want to admit to himself that he was going to help friends of Blake’s. Looking at Jeff would probably make it an unbearable reality. ,,In the meantime you get your two other friends here. Got that?” He didn’t leave me with enough time to answer his question as he stormed out of the garage through a side door into the game shop. I looked at his retreating back until the door slammed in place. A light touch to my shoulder had me spinning around to meet Jeff’s dark, dark eyes. There was a slight crooked smile to his lips as he drew a little nearer and began poking me in the chest. ,,What part of ‘staying by the car’ didn’t you understand, little tiger?” I retreated from him but gave him a challenging smile in return. ,,And what part of ‘finding Hutton’ didn’t you understand? Now I had to do it all by myself!” Jeff just shook his head in mock resignation and laughed. ,,Jeff? Grey? What are you doing? We were supposed to meet by the car.” We both turned around to see Mary and Norewood stepping inside the garage. A questioning expression played across both their faces, and they walked with wary steps. ,,Mary, guess who found Hutton?” Jeff beamed and gestured toward me. ,,He’s also paid for the services.” Mary’s brown eyebrows shot up to almost reach her hairline as she inspected me. ,,You never fail to surprise, do you, Grey?” I just shrugged and smiled. What were you supposed to say to such a remark anyway? A sudden blast of light came from the corner of the garage, and we all turned around to see a man standing behind the vehicles. He wore a red leather jacket with pants to match. His hair was black with orange highlights and it was styled into thick spikes reaching out in every direction possible. His skin was obviously tanned a dark shade mixing nicely with the light red leather. The young man – about late twenties – had sharp foxlike features with bright green eyes and a crooked smile bringing even Jeff’s to shame. The strange trespasser looked up and caught sight of us, the smile quickly broadening over his chin. He nodded at us with challenging aloofness. ,,So, who wants a ride?”
Hi, everyone! Hope you like this chappie! Feel welcome to R&R - I like to hear your thoughts ^^
Thanx so much for the rates and reviews! I read them one after another while being at work, so they really made my day better ;D EdensPassing; Hehe, me too! To Jeff perhaps Grey really is his catnip ^^ midnightscream; thx for your review! I'm glad you're liking my story and it isn't something my unconsciousness has copied form somewhere else :D Qi; thanx for your review xD I'm beginning to love Grey's narrative myself! Well, him and me do have a little bit of the same humor, so it is fun to write! Hope you like this chapter as well ^^ Andrea; You don't know how much that means to me! As English isn't my mother language I go into perfectionist-mode whenever I'm writing in English! I'm glad that my rereading the chapter before uploading it is paying off ;D And don't worry: Much more action is to come! I hope you liked this chapter as well ^^ Cbs: Oh, damn, you're making me blush! Thx so much for your review! I'm glad you like the story :D As English isn't my native tongue I'm really glad you think it's well written! Hope you like this chappie, too :D js: thx for the review! I hope you like this chapter as well and are enjoying the story! Much more action is to come, don't worry xD Moose; Oh, my God! THX!!! I seriously couldn't keep my smile off my face after reading your review! My colleagues were looking at me like I was going crazy xD I hope you like this chapter as well - and I will do my best at writing this story ^^ emily; Well, here's the next chap C: Hope you like it! Much more action to come for Grey and all the others ^^
