The Thief (Short Story)

---

Source

---

Tamec sprinted down the street. A glimpse of a figure could be spotted briefly before slinking behind another dumb-struck citizen. He ran past a person crashing to the floor. Unheard threats were shouted as he ran by. The thief was agile enough to avoid any collisions, and strong enough to charge through anyone they couldn't slip past.

The thief slowed and peered over their shoulder, and caught Tamec's eye. Human, brown hair, blue eyes with a face covering. Their clothes were black, apart from their boots, which had been painted with odd shapes and spirals.

A face in the crowd stopped to stare. Fingers pointed in the direction of the fleeing thief. Nobody else seemed bothered. Some wore expressions that said this sort of thing happened each week.

A clearing gave him pause to catch his breath. He looked around in a panic, but they were nowhere to be seen. Blue neon lights flickered across the wall of an alley, cast down from nearby advertisements. A dancing shadow caught his attention and he made his way over to the entrance.

Without knowing where he was, it was unwise to enter off-streets, but the fear of losing what little he had to lose was worse than the consequence. Weaponless, token-less, and in a strange world wasn't what he wanted. Tamec knew he would be lost completely if he didn't try to get back what was stolen from him.

The light at his back, he wandered into darkness. Any confidence he had while chasing was now lost. He crept cautiously and listened as the noise of the city streets disappeared.

There was a break in the alley, and stuck in the centre he didn't know which way to go. Each direction was picturesque; still and dark. A noise alerted him and he made his choice. Left.

His eyes were open, and his ears fixed on his surroundings.

The wind rushed at him. Crunch. A plank of wood collided with his face. He felt his nose open. Blood flowed. Eyes watering. Hunched, he raised his arms blindly and blocked the next strike. Through partial vision, he saw the thief. Their plank reeled back once more to hit again. He raised a hand and managed to grab the piece of wood. He wrestled back and forth but lost his grip. They wrenched the plank back. Before they could swing, Tamec ducked at charged at them. The lost footing had the thief landing on their back. Tamec held his arms. A knee to the back almost lifted him. Tamec scooted up, to avoid another knee, and pinned the thief's arms with his own knees.

With one hand on their throat, he wrenched back his arm, ready to punch. He opened his eyes, and for the first time could see clearly. The red mist dissipated the instant he realised it was a woman.

"Get off me!" She snarled at him.

"I want my stuff back," Tamec responded without any confidence.

"Oh yeah, or what? You gonna hit me!?" She screamed. "Come on then, big man, punch me!"

Tamec could feel himself deflate with each word. He sighed and shifted to stand back up. He was going to help her up, but before he could she was standing, and about to run. Before she could get away though, he grabbed the sleeve of her jacket and wrenched her back.

"My tokens. Now." Tamec said.

She rolled her eyes and reached under her jacket with her free hand. After producing a small leather wallet, she chucked it at him. He knew it was his, but he inspected it anyway while continuing to hold her.

"Check it, it's all there, now give me my arm back."

"I should call the ZPD," Tamec said.

"For pickpocketing? You're new here, right?" She started to laugh. He was distracted by her laughter, and without warning she wrenched her arm, he lost his grip, she was gone within a few moments.

Before turning the corner she looked back, but he had no reason to chase her anymore. Within a few seconds, she was gone. He stood alone in the alley and then turned around.