Astrid's POV

It had been two days since I had escaped the compound and had been taken in by a young boy who I called Soren now. He was quite happy with the name I had picked for him. So far my injuries have mostly healed except for my feet, which still ached.

I had just come back to the shack after doing some odd jobs for the old lady in the bakery that Soren introduced me to. She had given me a few loafs of bread for my help and I put them on the little table.

After a few minutes Soren came back in holding up an apple and a pear for me to see.

"Look what I found." He happily chirped.

"Found" I said with a raised brow. "More like swiped."

"Ah Astrid, don't give me that look." Soren whined as he placed the fruit on the table and I gave him half a loaf of bread.

"I don't like you stealing. You'll get in trouble with Sector Security." I tell Soren as I begin to peel the apple.

"Those guys won't come after me." Soren replied. "They have their hands full with trying to control the Outcasts."

"Hey Astrid, do you have a boyfriend?" Soren asked me curiously.

"What!! No!!" I yelled surprised. "Wait, why would you even ask that?"

"When I was in the marketplace I saw this weirdly dressed guy asking about you. He had a picture and everything." Soren replied while munching on his loaf of bread.

"What do you mean weirdly dressed? Describe him to me." I tell Soren and peak out the window.

"Well.........He had brown hair, wore dark glasses and he had like one of those suits on that you would see people from the other areas wearing." Soren told me as I was still looking out the window.

"Did he have a long black coat on as well?" I ask as I spot someone nearby.

"Yeah he did." Soren replied while looking at me curiously. "Why?"

"Because he is right near this place, and if he's looking for me then it means trouble." I tell the young boy and grab my bundle.

"Astrid, you're leaving?" Soren asked sadly.

"I got to little man." I tell him and ruffle his hair. "I most likely won't be able to stay in one place too long."

"Then I'm coming with!" Soren declared boldly.

"No Soren." I tell him. "These are dangerous people. They'll hurt you if they know you are with me. I'll lead him away from here. If anyone asks, you never seen me or heard of me."

I take one last peek out the window and see the man scanning the area. Then I turn back to the little boy. "Don't worry. I'll be okay." I tell him quickly and sneak out of the shack. "Goodbye Soren" I whisper but I got no reply back. It really hurts to leave the kid on his own again but I didn't want to involve him in what could be a dangerous situation.

I look back and see that I'm being followed. I quickly try to blend into the crowd and give him the slip but this guy was very good. He kept me in his sights at all times. I decide to speed up a bit and head into an even busier part of the slums.

I look back once more only to notice that the guy wasn't behind me anymore. 'Did I give him the slip?' I thought just as a hand clamped over my mouth and I was dragged into a dark alley.

I tried to scream and kick but my assailant only tightened his grip on me and dragged me further into the darkness.

"Don't make this harder than it already is." Was growled into my ear as he pushed into a dead end.

"I'll scream." I threatened but the black dress man simply laughed.

"Go ahead." He told me. "These are the slums. It's not like anyone would care."

From out his jacket he took out a handgun and I flinched back. I saw him screw on a silencer and I instinctively held the bundle closer to my chest.

"S...So you are going to kill me." I say trying not to sound scared but the tremble in my voice gave it away.

"I'm simply fulfilling my employer's wishes." The man stated and then points the gun at me. "The item please and I'll make this as painless as possible."

"No!! You don't understand!! He can't have this item. It will mean the enslavement of all human and dragon kind." I yell as I inch backwards.

"Well......That certainly is a new one." He says while giving me a quizzical look. "I've heard many excuses before but that certainly was original."

"It's not an excuse!" I shout. "My sister died getting this away from that madman. I won't let him get his hands on it again."

I saw the man lower his gun slightly before he raised it again. But he was knocked to the ground before he could pull the trigger.

"Ooff" The man said as I saw the little shape of Soren clutch onto his back.

"You leave Astrid alone!!" Soren yelled and pounded his little fists into the man's back.

"Soren watch out!" I yelled as the man pushed the boy off of him.

"A kid?" The man asked perplexed as he saw the young boy. "What is a kid doing here?"

"Soren get out of here!!" I yell at the boy.

"Yes kid get out of here." The man said as he trained his gun on me again. "This is no business for a kid to be involved in."

"NO NO NO" Soren yelled at the man. "You're gonna hurt Astrid!! I'm not gonna let you!"

"Soren get out of here!! Now!!" I try again to get Soren to leave. At least this man had the decency not to kill anybody in front of a kid.

"But Astrid if you lose that thing then all the humans and all the pretty dragons in the sky will have to obey an evil man." Soren said and it looked like he was about to cry.

"Please mister, let Astrid go or a very bad man will become King of the Wilderwest." Soren pleaded to the man.

I saw the man lower his gun slightly as he addressed the boy. "King of the Wilderwest. That's simply an old legend kid."

"But there has to be some truth to the legend." I interjected catching the man's attention. "Why else would they want this artifact back so badly?"

The man groans and pinches the bridge of his nose, which caused his glasses to slip up a bit. I suddenly notice a glint reflecting off his glasses and I glance up to see a sniper sitting on one of the multi storey shacks.

"Sniper!!" I yell and dive for cover behind a dumpster just as a shot rang out.

"Soren!!" I shout as more shots were directed into the alleyway.

"I'm all right." Was shouted back to me and I saw that the man must have grabbed Soren and dove behind another dumpster.

"What the fuck is going on here!" The man shouted.

"Hey, watch your language. We have a young boy here!!" I shouted back and I could see the man place something on his gun.

"Are you seriously reprimanding me for that NOW!!" Was shouted back to me as I ducked further behind the dumpster as the hail of bullets intensified.

The barrage stopped and I thought that the shooter had to reload. The man who currently had Soren behind the dumpster thought that too as he emerged, his gun, which now had a small scope on it, aimed at the sniper.

He fired once and then fired again.

"Didn't you hit him the first time?" I asked hesitantly peeking from behind my hiding spot.

"Of course I did. Had to get the second one as well." The man simply stated and hid once more behind the dumpster.

'How did he know there was a second one?' I wondered when I heard the engine of a car pull up at the entrance of the alley.

"No time to chat." The man tells me as grabs my arm hauling me up and to the car. He had Soren who was squirming under his other arm.

"Get in. Those guys probably weren't alone." He tells me and shoves me into the backseat and lets Soren slide in next to me.

He gets behind the wheel, turns off the automated driver, and we take off in the direction of the Middle-class area.