A/N: Ok, well this story died a while ago, but I've decided to revive it- however I'm now doing it by myself. So there will be no Jex part written by LaraCroft. I hope that you still enjoy it.

Silver

COUNTING THE CROSSES

Chapter Two

He could not move. He could not think. They were at his door already! How could that be? No answers came to him.

The banging on his door continued. "Open up! You have five seconds to comply!"

Aseeki unfroze at the sound of that cold, uncaring voice. Immediately his head was flooded with a thousand thoughts, all of which he was finding impossible to answer. And that was not good at all, especially as the biggest question was: what to do now? Unexpectedly autopilot kicked in and Aseeki ran for his bag as the thumping at the door grew in force. Flinging his bag hastily over his shoulder Aseeki turned and sprinted back the way he came. In a single bound he leapt up onto the pathetic excuse for a bench top and punched his gloved fist through the only window in the apartment.

He began pulling out the loose shards of glass, making a hole big enough to climb through, when he heard one of the hinges tear from the wood. Aseeki leaned over the edge and glanced at the drop below. His heartbeat quickened and his throat tightened.

The drop was at least five metres, survivable but probably not without injury. Aseeki would be lucky to get any cushioning from the cracked paving below. He hesitated. Was there any other way?

Suddenly the door burst inwards. Four figures rushed into the room, tazers in hand. Aseeki peeked over his shoulder to see the hard Setapi faces of the Merash- the heartless police. These aliens were the main bringers of grief to the people of Earth.

All four of them raised their tazers, lining him up. Without another thought, Aseeki launched himself out the window, narrowly missing a tazer shot. Aseeki fell fast. His stomach felt as if it was trying to escape out through his mouth and panic began to flood his mind. Seconds later, his feet slammed onto the ground.

A jarring pain cursed upwards from his ankle, crippling him onto his knees. Aseeki looked back up to the window. Two of the Merash were looking down on him, one preparing himself to jump. Aseeki tried to get up but the pain was unbearable.

Suddenly a Merash landed on the ground, just metres away. Aseeki forced himself up. He began to move. A tazer dart zoomed towards him. He tried to dodge. The dart hit him in the ankle. Aseeki felt pain on top of pain, spreading through his already sore ankle.

However Aseeki kept moving. The Merash cursed behind him in their guttural language and began to run at Aseeki. Aseeki shuffled faster, dragging his right ankle, the dart still sticking out of it. The Merash was gaining, and fast.

It was only then that Aseeki felt the dart taking effect. The dart was, rather quickly, releasing a chemical that would eventually spread throughout his whole body to paralyze him. Aseeki was lucky that he had not been shot in the chest, because if he had been, he would have been immobilized by now.

The pain from his ankle was slowly numbing as his ankle fell asleep. Almost immediately Aseeki began to make more ground, feeling slightly strange, being only able to feel every second step. Aseeki pelted down the alley, the numbness spreading upwards.

Up ahead was a t-intersection before a dead end. Aseeki looked behind. All four of the Merash were on the ground, pursuing him. Aseeki pushed himself to run faster but already the numbness had reached his knee. He started to stumble.

Suddenly he dawned on the t-intersection. He turned right and ran down a short alley. This alley ended on the main street. That thought was like the light at the end of the tunnel for Aseeki. If he could just get amongst the crowd then maybe he'd have a chance.

Aseeki ran past a lone trash can and entered the street. He looked around. It was empty! The whole street was empty except for an old man to Aseeki's left who was locking up his shop. Aseeki faltered. What now?

Aseeki found his eyes drawn to the old man. He watched as the old man fumbled and dropped his keys. The old man turned his back to Aseeki and bent to pick them up. Aseeki took this as his chance.

With surprising speed, Aseeki ran to the left and ducked into the store, just before the Merash rounded the corner. Aseeki ducked down below the window frame and tried to catch his breath. He waited a couple of minutes before he cautiously began to raise his head.

Right out the front of the store stood four, imposing Merash. Just watching them stand there informally, Aseeki was struck by a sudden urge to attack. His hand went subconsciously towards his bag, reaching for his most prized possession, his Rangut.

A Rangut was a weapon that Aseeki had designed himself. It was a small black, flat, oval-shaped gun, flat on the top and bottom. The Rangut could carry five darts, each loaded with poisonous blue-green algae and a dash of acid. Aseeki had chosen to use the blue-green algae as his main substance because it was found everywhere in this polluted world. It was only the acid that Aseeki had trouble finding.

Slowly Aseeki drew his hand away and contented himself with watching. The Merash were unsure of what to do now. They looked in all directions. Aseeki watched as one of the Merash spotted the old man, ambling way.

Aseeki's insides tightened again. What if they got the old man to open the shop up again? He couldn't run anymore. Already his entire leg was without feeling. With a quick pull, Aseeki ripped the dart from his leg. Thankfully he didn't feel a thing. Then slowly, Aseeki laid himself flat on the ground. If they were going to look in here they were going to find him. He'd given up. 'Oh well, I tried my best', Aseeki thought as he drifted off to sleep.