Tag

The two children were inseparable until Jason moved. His best friend Nichole, dubbed Nicky by the then seven year old boy, always played tag everyday after school with him and several other children around the fields of the small town they lived in. Nichole sobbed harder than when she was only a baby when Jason told her the news. Jason's father had gotten a job in the city, and his employers were willing to set him up with a house there.

While Nichole was glad that Jason's family would earn more money (the Garnets never had enough to get by), that would mean losing her best friend in town. Soon enough, the moving truck from the city drove away with the last of the Garnets' furniture and belongings. The Garnets' themselves were getting ready to go. Many of the townsfolk came to see the well-liked family off. After much pleading with her parents, Nichole managed to get her siblings and Jason to play tag one last time.

The outcome was as expected. Lightning fast Jason caught them all under ten minutes. Even those who hid themselves well (or so they thought) were discovered and caught by Jason. While the kids sprawled themselves on the grassy fields, Nichole asked Jason, "Don't you ever get tired of winning Jason?" Jason rolled over and propped himself up with his elbows. He replied, "Nah. I woulda asked you if you're tired of losing to me Nicky." Nichole whined, "But you always win. You're the fastest in town, and you know all the good hiding spots." Jason's tone grew solemn and he said, "Well, you always pick me to be the catcher right?" Nichole grew red while her siblings went, "Oooooo".

Nichole started to say something when Mrs. Garnet called for Jason. The kids got up. Jason shrugged at Nichole and her siblings. He slowly said, "This is it, I guess." Nichole and her two sisters and brother crowded around Jason and took in turns to hug him. All of the kids were crying after their last hugs. Jason ran off to his mother. Before climbing into the beaten-up pickup, Jason turned and waved to the children he grew up with. Nichole waved back, along with her siblings.

Nichole was still waving when the pickup had long gone and her siblings had returned home. She sat down alone in the field and stayed there until her worried father found her and brought her home.

Time flies...

Nicky followed the four men from the rooftops of the crime-filled area of Old Town. It was not a town per se, but rather a dirty, scum-ridden outskirt of the city. It was where crime is not just a part of town, but a way of life. Seventeen-year-old Nicky had lost her parents and brother to this godforsaken outskirt, her parents in a botched robbery and her brother to a drunken driver. With her two sisters Shirley and Cassandra left and her as the oldest after Damien died, it fell on to Nicky to scavenge and steal in order for the three sisters to survive.

Now Nicky was tailing a group of four men to see if what they held in their bags was cash or drugs. If it was drugs, Nicky would throw them aside since she had no clue about peddling them. If it was cash-Nicky would be very careful on spending it. It did not trouble the girl that the men might have guns or connections, she lived and stole here long enough to know how to navigate among the streets, rooftops and alleys of Old Town. It would be just like playing tag back in the fields of her home. Easy, made easier that Jason was not here to catch her this time. God, Jason, I wonder where in hell are you now, thought Nicky as she poked her head over the edge of the building she was on.

The men had stopped in one of the countless alleys in Old Town. Their bags were unslung and plopped to the ground. Out of the shadows of the alley emerged an equal number of men, also carrying bags. The two sides stared at each other and muttered code words and greetings. Nicky did not care for the inner workings of the gangs here, she just wanted to know if there was any cash present.

Then, a phrase drifted up towards her. It was "We got the cash..." It came from the lead man of the group she followed. With silent, eager steps, Nicky picked her way down to ground level.

Nicky peeped around the corner at the men. The bags wer between the two groups. They maybe armed, maybe have itchy trigger fingers. so she had to act fast. At best, Nicky could startle them long enough to only grab one bag, before guns were drawn. She inhaled and thought of her family, both deceased and living. She turned just as the shooting started.

Nicky whipped back, the shooting stopped almost immediately. She heard someone give orders. "Right, Chris, Shark grab the dust. I'll get the money. Sly, watch our backs, cops might get here soon." That tears it! One of them will stand guard. Nicky had to either chance it or forget the bags. The choice was easy. Nicky bowled past the man sent to guard the alley and shoved another aside, grabbing the bag of cash he just zipped up.

Nicky had scaled the fire escape and was already on the roof when the first shots were fired. She heard shouting and picked up her pace. No telling if any of those gang members were skilled at navigating Old Town, she had to pick up her pace.

Nicky leaped over the gap between the two tenements and glanced back. Her eyes widened as a figure swung up the building she just leapt off. She swore as a bullet whipped past her hair, cutting a lock off. The gangster was accurate in the dark and nimble to get up on the roofs quick enough. He was it.

Time to play Tag.