Chase













Under the open sky, the rain continues to pound on you, and it’s less like you’re sprinting after a man than it is swimming after him.  You shout, but the thief only runs faster, this time in the street, dodging traffic and people with umbrellas. 

For their part, the Umbrella People helpfully slowed down and stared. 

You see the man round a corner into an alley, and for a split second, you wonder if you should follow.  You slow down as you approach the alleyway, and notice that it’s a dead end.  The fact that this seems like a great place to have the climactic scene in a Hitchcock movie does not escape you. 

Your clothes hang wet and heavy as you stand at the mouth of the alley, holding your knees and panting.  “Hey!” you shout, “I think you took something from me!”

The pain in your head comes out of nowhere, and in the vague recesses of your consciousness you are aware that it is now raining pretty-good-size rocks, one of which has struck you.  The water from the sky mixes with the blood from your head almost immediately, turning everything in your vision a rusty red.

The older man emerges from behind a dumpster and starts walking toward you, oblivious to the rain.  He is holding another stone, and tossing it up and down one handed.  “That’s not all I’m gonna take from you,” he grinned, “if you don’t leave me alone.”  His eyes fall on your bag.  “What else ya got, anyway?”  You assume what you’re pretty sure is a fighting stance as best you can, which is difficult considering the already watery-seeming world got a little more swimmy after you got nailed in the head with a rock.  You open your mouth to speak, mostly to convey how sorry you were to have disturbed him, wish him a nice day, and get the hell out of there, but he interrupts you.

“Hey - are those… are those OREOS??”

Well, are they?  If yes, click here.
If not, click here.