He grabbed her hand and dodged past the crowd. Shouts rang out behind him but he ignored them, focusing instead on getting away. They darted through the busy street, crashing into several people and getting quite a bit of unwanted attention. Buildings flew by as they ran, adrenaline pushing them faster and faster, their feet skimming across the ground. Following instincts, he made a sharp turn into a dank side street, nearly crashing into the clowder of cats swarming around a dumpster. Shady characters watched in disinterest as the two passed by, before slinking off to complete their "legal" businesses. Smoke clouded the street and passionate cursing could be heard from the open casino and bar doors. Scattered about were puddles of alcohol and bodily fluids, shattered glass and cigarettes adding to the atmosphere.

Bounding up a fire escape two steps at a time, they pushed through into broken down stairway. Spiraling up, they crashed through the door, set the deadbolt and collapsed. Heavy pants filled the air as they caught their breath. A breathy, raspy laugh made its way out of the young boys mouth before he launched into a coughing fit. Sitting up, he checked on his companion. Arms shading her eyes, she lay there, chest heaving up and down. Resting his fingers on her thigh he tapped. While fairly new to Morse code, he was making progress, prior experience with sign language making it easier.
H-O-W B-A-D ?

Barely moving, she shook her right arm slightly. Leaning over, he gently took hold of her arm, inspecting the damage. Luckily, he had gotten there before anything too extreme happened. Only a bruise and bloody cuts, small enough to pass for cat scratches. He sighed in relief, having expected much worse. Reaching into his back pockets, he produced a pack of antiseptic spray and bandages. Gently dabbing it on, he winced as she hissed in slight pain. As he patched up her arm, he double checked that nothing else was hurt. She had started hiding her injuries, knowing how much he worried. Satisfied, he helped her up. Together, they say on the edge of the building, feet dangling above the heads of mingling passerby's.

D-I-D Y-O-U H-I-D-E Y-O-U-R
S-T-U-F-F ?
He asked, tapping it out on her open palm. Laying his down, he waited for her reply.
O-F C-O-U-R-S-E . B-E-H-I-N-D T-H-E P-E-A-C-H .
While speaking using sign language was a lot easier, it felt secretive and personal to use Morse. Something that only the two of them knew after digging around in her grandfathers old collection of books and journals. Also, she had promised to help him learn so at every possible occasion, she demanded he only speak with Morse. Some nights, they would stay awake till the early morning tapping out messages to each other through the thin ceiling and floor.

Sitting in comfortable silence, they enjoyed the rare moment of peace. Down below, people scurried about, doing all kinds of things. A single father ranted into his phone as he held onto his three children. The old couple manning a broken down food stall swatted away at the buzzing flies. Street urchins had teamed together to create a impromptu performance, balancing and juggling various items they had pilfered. Women in skimpy outfits prompted a new bar, winking seductively at everyone passing. Down the street, several house alarms went off, signaling another one of the many break ins today. High above, a train speed away, moving silently across the rails. As his eyes followed the train, he noticed what they had been waiting for.

Nudging her, she tore her gaze away from a fighting couple to stare at him. Excitedly he pointed behind her, eyes wide with excitement. Turning expectedly, they stared at the glorious sight before them. Sinking below the sea of skyscrapers and rubble, the suns dying rays washed the entire city in pink. Color enveloped the streets and brightened up the dingy corners. In the light, everything was bright and beautiful and breathtaking. For that split second, it was perfect. Everything was perfect. And then it was gone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today was tiring. I was forced out of my hermit hole and had to deal with my mortal enemy. Movement. Hissssssssssssssssss.

QOTC: What's your ideal landscape/scenery?

Thanks for reading!
- FAH

Written: August 2, 2017
Published: August 2, 2017
Last Updated: January 1, 2018
Picture: NanoMortis on DeviantArt