Chapter Two

Valisa

The man behind the cash register... Is a man with neither emotion nor value... He is a big man, uncaring to the world around him. For this reason, he is lifeless and unwillingly pleasant to be around... I have been studying this fellow for quite some time now, and I have come to the conclusion that this man lacks social concern for any man. My valid reason for this is due to the way he completely neglects one man whilst doing business with him. Then he goes on to the next. No hi, no nothing. He is silent. Not at all does he make any eye-contact, either...

When he came to me, or, it came my turn to step up to him, I was not greeted, just like the people before me... And though I may seem upset with this behavior, I am not; because I am just studying this man for whom he really is, and I enjoy doing so. You could say it is one of my hobbies: to study people. I do this because I am interested in the human nature, and it has been a study and hobby of mine since childhood. There is just something very interesting about it. I feel this way with everyone, because to me, everyone is interesting. Even I am interesting. For instance, I refuse to use contractions while I am thinking, but if I am talking, it does not matter as much. It is perplexing, and very intriguing, too - just as this man is. He lacks feeling and depth of understanding, but he is not so much as a puzzle when compared to other emotionless people. And sadly, there are thousands of those... And that is very sad to think about.

Anyway... I did not want to think about that anymore, so while he was checking my groceries, I turned my head to find a very strange-looking man standing behind me. His hair was dark, like a jet black, and he was clothed poorly: meaning he had holes in his jeans and dirt-stains on his white T-shirt. He appeared to be very thin because so many wrinkles were creased in his shirt that it looked absolutely impossible for him to have a "normal" weight. But what was most apparent and unusual about him was the huge, thick, black sunglasses he was wearing. And it did look rather funny, I had to admit. So, I couldn't help but smile at him.

I turned my head back around and started digging through my purse to pay for my groceries. Still smiling, I said, "Nice glasses," to the man behind me. And he said, "Thank you," returning a smile back at me.

I picked up my bags and began my trip to exit the store. Looking back, I noticed that I had forgotten a bag. I went back to go retrieve it.

"It's ten ninety-five," I heard the cashier say to the man in the sunglasses as I picked up the bag that I had forgotten.

The man in the sunglasses became awkward and started to dig in his pockets - perhaps in search of money.

"Umm...," I heard him say.

He turned to a man beside him that I had not noticed before, probably because he was hidden behind the stranger with the sunglasses this whole time... And I noticed that he, too, was wearing sunglasses.

"Do you have any money on you?"

Then I saw that stranger dig through his pockets, and then replied with, "No."

The other stranger tilted his head up towards the ceiling. "Ah, shit..."

They slowly backed up very, very strangely... The cashier just watched them quizzically as they continually kept backing up more and more. The glasses slid off from the stranger I had first met to reveal an even more shocking appearance.

The man had blindfolds over his eyes. Literally. I did not know what to think. All I could think of at that moment was how very odd it looked...

And before I knew it, they broke out into a dash and ran out of the store. I could hear the cashier shouting out at them to stop. And then very suddenly did I recall the face of that blindfolded stranger: like I had seen him before... And in seconds flat, the name came to me as fast as he and the other stranger had bolted out of the store.

Blink Burnheart - a wanted criminal who is said to have attempted murder on his mother at age twelve. Parents of the child had claimed that he was insane and was therefore sent to an asylum. At age eighteen, the lunatic had escaped and is now running around the city with a friend known as Kyx Bearingtin. Kyx was another wanted criminal. At age thirteen, the man had supposedly threatened his father with a knife, with his father in turn to claim that he was insane, too. Thus, he was sent to an asylum as well...

I do not know whether to believe all of this or not, but... What I do know is that the two men are, in fact, wanted criminals. Police chase after them all the time... And chances are if that was Blink, then that was Kyx too that I had seen run out of the store with him.

I had not much time to think. I had to go. I had to go now!

I ran out of the store, stopped, and saw a man climbing into his car. Quickly, without any thought, I ran over to the man and yanked him out of his car just as he was getting in, and inside I went.

I panicked a bit because I had never driven a car, because I had never owned a vehicle. But now was my time to try. So I slammed my foot down on the gas pedal and found out very quickly how bad of an idea that was. My body was instantly thrown back into the seat and now I had to think twice as fast if I was ever to prevent myself from crashing into anything. I eased up on the pedal, though, which had made the car slow down, but still - I had to catch up to that stranger and his friend, so I was still going pretty fast.

I saw them running along the sidewalk ahead of me and in the distance I could hear the police chasing after me - their sirens going off like mad. I sped up a little and eventually caught up to the two strangers. Then I slowed down to maintain their pace.

I yelled out the window, "Get in!"

The stranger with the sunglasses still on looked at me through the window and exclaimed, "Are you nuts? There's no way I'm getting in that thing if it's still moving! Stop the car!"

Stop the car? Now that I think about it... I don't think I can...

So I shouted back to him, "I don't know how!"

"What? You don't know how!"

Then I heard him swear under his breath. "Jesus Christ, now we're in trouble..."

"Look," I said, "You can either get in now or you can go to prison for all I care. What's it gonna be?"

He thought about this for a second or two before I saw him grab the other stranger's arm and reel him in closer to the car.

"Could you at least slow down a bit?"

I slowed down a little, just as he asked.

"We're really going in there?" I heard the other stranger say.

"It's faster than we'll ever go on foot," the stranger with the sunglasses replied.

He came closer to the car, still holding onto the other stranger's arm with one hand while trying to open the door at the end of the car with the other. He succeeded after a moment's worth of struggle.

I watched him climb into the car and to then assist his friend afterwards. It took a really long time for the blindfolded man to fully adjust to what was really going on.

Once they were both in, I pressed my foot down harder on the pedal to speed up more, and saw in the rearview mirror that the police were still chasing after us. On instinct, I pressed my foot down harder to speed up even more.

Never in my life have I been able to picture myself aiding any wanted criminal escape from the police... And realizing that I am doing it right now is simply beyond my imagination... But I have to do this. I have to do this. I have no other choice... I just had to keep telling myself that.