The prompt I used for this piece was “Write a story that starts at the end of a longer narrative.” I had a previous idea which fit with this prompt, so I dusted it off and applied it here, where it quickly evolved away from what I originally had in mind. This feels to me like just a scene rather than a full story in its own right, but I did have fun hinting at the story which came before this point. In my mind, it’s some kind of cyberpunk heist thriller. Will I ever write the whole thing? I can’t say for sure, but now I’ve got another idea in my back pocket. Enjoy!
Half a dozen officers blocked the entrance to the apartment building, so Sable went up through the fire escape instead. At least that way no one would see the bruises on her face and the blood on her clothes.
The bedroom window was still unlocked, thank goodness. Sable pulled herself over the sill and thudded on to the floor. Her brain told her to get the hell up, that Becker’s goons would come crashing through the door to kill her at any moment. Instead, she lay on the floor with closed eyes, gulping in mouthfuls of air.
I must look dead, she thought. With all the blood she’d lost tonight, she might be halfway there already.
She pressed her hand to a pocket on her jeans and felt the tiny lump still tucked away there. The NexCo flash drive – the fucking drive that had caused this whole mess. Sable fished it out of her pocket and glared at it.
She wanted to burn the damn thing, or flush it, or just chop it to pieces in the garbage disposal. Maybe that bastard Becker would leave her alone then, once she no longer had proof of his dirty secrets. Maybe then no one else would have to die.
And Aero wouldn’t have died for nothing, wouldn’t he?
Wincing, Sable managed to sit up on her knees. She tucked the flash drive back into her pocket – it hadn’t reached its destination yet. That job was on just her shoulders now.
“1503 Canal Street,” she whispered to herself. “Break down the steps.” Get to the drop point, unlock the data server, upload the flash drive and then get the hell out of town. Laid out like that, it actually sounded like she could survive the night. And the next day – don’t get ahead of yourself.
The bedroom door pushed inward, spilling a thin strip of light on to Sable’s face. She froze, then found herself fighting back fresh tears. There stood the little gray kitten, no doubt looking for Aero. It poked its head into the room and mewed.
“Cloudy?” Sable said. Like a puzzle piece, the damn thing’s name had just clicked into her mind at last. Aero would have beamed with pride.
The kitten stumbled towards her but stopped a few feet away. It mewed again, as if to voice its displeasure with the absence of its human. Who, Sable thought, was most likely still lying broken in a pool of his own blood.
“I…I’m sorry,” she choked out. “I tried to save him. But he’s not coming back.”
The kitten crept closer. It paused a moment, then rubbed its head against Sable’s leg. When it crawled into her lap, Sable couldn’t hold back anymore. She picked up the kitten and clutched it to her chest as she wept.
“I won’t leave you,” she said when she returned to her senses. “You’re going to be okay. I promise.”
Sable washed her face in the sink, splashing away the tears and blood. There was little worth taking from the apartment, just the emergency backpack stuffed in the closet. Food, cash, fake IDs, a first aid kit, a change of clothes and a gun. Sable had the contents of each pocket memorized.
The kitten presented more of a problem for her. Putting on an oversized hoodie, she slipped the little creature into her front pocket. It eagerly curled up, and by the time she was ready to leave, she could hear it snoring.
As she locked and bolted the front door, Sable heard low voices and the sound of metal boots thudding down the hall. She retreated to her bedroom, locking that door behind her too. The pounding on the apartment door came as she was climbing over the window ledge.
“Open up!” someone shouted, which was then followed with “We will use lethal force if you do not comply!”
Sable threw up a middle finger at the closed bedroom door and crawled out on to the fire escape.
By the time she reached the bottom of the metal stairs, she could hear the sounds of yelling voices and splintering wood echoing from above. With a hand around the sleeping kitten, she looked ahead and began to run.