Luka sat still as the girl requested, however barely responded to her as she began sewing up the wound, as if he either didn’t feel the pain or simply wasn’t letting it show through. The truth was he was far too anxious to move. There were slight flickers of flinching with every move, though this was more from a terrified anticipation rather than a reaction to the pain of the stitching. In truth it was a rather mild pain compared to that which was already emitting from his throbbing side. When she was done her words caught him by surprise, causing the boy’s eyes to widen.

He knew he should thank her, but he was willing to let anything through. Mainly for risk of letting himself get attached to her. “I suspect so.” He answered when she asked if he’d be able to leave soon. She just wanted him gone, the same as him. The next question caused him to frown slightly. “I’m surprised they haven’t already if I’m honest. They would have realised quickly enough that they’d lost me and once they do they’ll double back and begin checking houses… shops.” He looked up as suddenly the small blue cat from before poked its head through a hole in the ceiling and whistled at him again.

“What?!” The boy stood up quickly however it was too late as he heard the front doors open and a set of heavy footsteps enter. The boy stood slowly and backed away slightly as he looked around for a way to escape or hide. He could hear the man outside looking around, before eventually he began to question the girl, asking her if she’d seen any suspicious characters around. The boy had nowhere to go, nowhere to hide. Luka felt his heart rate accelerating again as he moved to stand behind the door to the back room. If nothing else it may give him a chance to get the drop on the guard if or when he came looking.

He looked up to the blue cat as the small creature was still looking at him and he waved his arm silently. “Go!” The boy hissed softly, waving his arm again. “Get out of here. I’ll catch up to you.” It looked at him for a long moment, blinking innocently before pulling its head back in and disappearing through the roof. “Be safe.” He whispered softly to himself, turning his attention back towards the guard in the other room. However something was wrong. He was quiet now. Too quiet. Once again Luka tensed. Had he been heard? Had the girl given him away whilst he had been distracted?

He heard the door lock, and the man crossed the room back to where he thought the girl might be. “Well I’m sure you can find… some way to make my time spent here… not a complete waste…” His eyes widened slightly at the realisation. This was not good. It was things like this that made him lose hope in the human race. With him they at least had reason. There was no reason for this. No excuse. His eyes began searching around the room. He usually wasn’t fond of weapons, in this case there may be no other option.