Prologue
They had been spotted.
Fuyumi grabbed the Feng's arm. Shuttering her mind against the onslaught of his thoughts, she swung him onto her back, sprinting madly towards the fence. It quickly loomed up in front of her, but she leaped high onto an electrical box and jumped again to push off the wall of the nearby warehouse, successfully flying over the chain-linked barrier despite the extra weight of her small passenger.
However, her landing was derailed at the boy's cry of alarm at her sudden action and his panic coursed through her own mind unchecked, clouding her perception and throwing off her momentum. His grip tightened around her neck and she twisted her head reflexively, trying to breathe. She landed awkwardly and off-balance on her left foot and slipped on the loose gravel. Falling forward onto all fours, she grunted against a painful jolt that shot up through her knees and felt her wrists bruise from the impact.
"...don't want to fall... please don't drop... want to go home, please!"
Her mental functions stalled and her vision swam under the onslaught of Feng's emotions. Taking a deep breath, Fuyumi spent several seconds trying to disassociate herself from the young boy's frightened thoughts invading her mind and scrambling back up, ignoring her aching joints. She righted the boy's position on her back with one arm and resumed sprinting, pulling at the thin limbs around her neck with her other arm to breath. From her peripheral vision she glimpsed three more men chasing after them and ducked into a back alley. Fuyumi just hoped they would make it back to the main streets where it'd be easier to lose the men.
Angry shouting in Cantonese called out from right behind them, but whatever was being said was drowned out from Fuyumi's ears by the Feng's panicked inner monologue.
"I don't want to die! Big Brother... save me!"
Fuyumi suddenly flinched violently to the right as a muted shot came from behind her and a bullet cracked against the side of one the buildings.
Feng screamed.
