Death Cast

00.9 | The Penultimate

Running away was no problem for Jaerim. Even though he knows that he will be captured at some point, he decided to give it a go, nevertheless. His plans for the future are still in flux, and he isn't quite sure how to continue. The quick death mark did not offer him the opportunity to make a choice.

The question: "If you will die tomorrow, what would you do?" is under no circumstances an easy one to answer. Notably if it happened very suddenly.

The phone rang again, rousing him up from the stupor. Instead of picking up the phone, he tucked it away in his pocket and joined the mob. People did not have time to examine his appearance as they fled to safety due to the vehicle collision and subsequent explosion caused by the gas leak.

This is the ideal time to mix in and get lost in the crowd.

Such optimistic thinking is, unfortunately, impossible to achieve. The tall, white-haired man who had been keeping an eye on him earlier was still there. Nobody could fool Barron, even if they wore a disguise, for grim reapers see directly into the souls of humans.

In this instance, he has a thorough grasp of Jaerim's psyche.

The greater the distance between Jaerim and the scene of the tragedy, the more calm the crowd got. There are still a lot of people moving around, but they appear to be paying close attention to their surroundings. No one should be negligent since the flash report included this location as still being in the vicinity of the escaping Autumn.

Jaerim was acutely aware of the peculiar stares that others were giving him, especially pertaining to the gauze concealing his face, which had darkened as a result of dried blood. He was able to get away from their gaze by dropping his chin and making a hasty turn.

It's just that as he raises his eyes to see which way to walk, he is confronted by a line of police cars waiting for the light to change. The car's windows were not completely closed. Trivett was conversing with some colleagues via a walkie-talkie when he sensed an eye on him.

Looking ahead, the deep black eyes met him with which he had just recently gotten acquainted. His mind reacted promptly. Trivett pressed the car's alarm to activate a signal. The thundering sound instantly attracted the attention of passers-by as well as all of the officers searching the area.

People's ears were pierced by a loud static, forcing them to cover them. A mighty voice announced his presence loudly enough for everyone to hear. It said, "An Autumn was detected in the crowd. Please adhere to the drill and look for the safety points... I repeat, an Autumn was detected..."

The crowd buzzed with excitement, like bees whose nest had been disturbed, as they moved around, hunting for clear spots. It made the streets more chaotic, allowing Jaerim to hide within. He didn't look back to see if anyone was chasing him because he already knew he was being hunted.

Trivett found Jaerim racing over to the sidewalk, shoving people around, even tripping over a garbage can. He drew the contempt of those who surrounded him. Someone spotted the police officer staring over and at the young man running ahead. It grasped its arms, intending to chastise him for his impolite actions.

It didn't work for Jaerim in any way whatsoever. He kicked the person in the leg, unconcerned with the consequences of his conduct. The individual shrieked, shoving Jaerim away. The power was completely uncontrollable, and Jaerim was driven towards a nearby bicycle parking lot.

One push is enough to knock one bicycle down, and due to the close proximity of the parked bicycles, the single push caused a domino effect. The commuters who were set to part ways or ride their bicycles were trapped in the mire.

The consecutive attacks made Jaerim disoriented as he lay down on a bicycle. His ribs are throbbing from dull pain after one of the pedals knock him hard. Jaerim's cheeks are already burning from pain, and despite the possibility of shattered ribs, he has surprisingly not lost consciousness.

Jaerim shook his head as he struggled to get to his feet and tried to take in his surroundings. His eyes were trained on Trivett and his men as they emerged from the vehicles and headed toward him. The last of his energy was summoned, and he grabbed a random bicycle and sped down the street.

His balance is off at first. The bicycle wobbled on the sidewalk, colliding with the wall or people before he was able to straighten it out and gather speed.

Trivett had not expected the teenager to flee on a bicycle. As luck would have it, there were still passengers in the vehicle, and just in time for Jaerim to mount the bicycle, the automobiles had shifted to their side.

"Quick, follow him! Don't lose sight of him!"

Bicycles can just not keep up with cars in terms of speed. Jaerim was barely able to get away from the clutch by blazing through red lights and finding streets that were accessible to small automobiles. He made a deliberate choice to enter a tight path that could still accommodate an automobile, but only by treading slowly on it.

The tiny street is teeming with people. The majority of them chartered a location to build a small food stand business that was primarily comprised of street snacks and other fried specialties. Small shops selling refreshers and peddlers advertising their products are also present.

Considering it was still early in the day, several people congregated along the counter to either chat with coworkers or place orders. Jaerim entering the crowded place did not get any attention since there were also small carts driving around delivering goods.

"They won't dare to chase me in this place, right?" He asked himself. If they do, they have to get out of their cars and rush into the crowd.

However, much to his surprise, Trivett not only rushed to the passageway without minding the people, he even dared to open fire! Jaerim was almost at the end of the passageway when gunshots were heard.

The panic-stricken individuals scurried around in search of a safe refuge. Seeing the car trespassing, they all rushed beneath the tables of the food booths to avoid it. Gunshots pierced the air, aimed at the lone individual attempting to cross the frantic crowds.

One of the bullets hit the back wheel of the bicycle. He was already wobbly in his state, and with one wheel gone, it brought the bicycle to a screeching stop. Jaerim was flung to the hard ground after being hurled into the air.

Just like that, a ground-shaking announcement made its way to his ears.

"Jaerim Ashford, according to Article XXX of the constitution, anyone seen marked with the Maple Leaf will lose all of their rights of existence and thus shall be executed immediately.

"Any sign of resistance will be considered an act of endangerment to the public. An order of shoot-to-kill will be implemented..."

The fall wasn't light. New wounds were opened by getting dragged to the ground. Many people are also stepping on him, incidentally, generating more bruises and scrapes. He avoided the throng of people by rolling into the corner until he hit the wall.

Jaerim shakily gathered his feet and walked to the crowd, his pace was increasing until he broke into a run. His appearance was instantly visible to his pursuers, who had gotten out of their cars and were aggressively chasing him.

He has an edge in this situation. Jaerim has lived in this neighborhood for a long time and is well-versed in the area's best-kept secret alleyways. Another gunshot was hurled into the air once again.

He ducked for shelter, but he didn't slow down or halt his pace. He took advantage of the opportunity to make a quick left into a dark alley leading to a packed marketplace. Trivett and his men followed immediately, but were met by an onslaught of people.

The marketplace is one of the busiest areas in the morning, much busier and noisier than the former street they had gone to. There are more stalls erected, accompanied by many establishments packed tight side by side.

Vendors selling various items advertised their products by yelling loudly while buyers in every walk of life went left and right bargaining for prices. One man pushed a cart filled with baskets of vegetables, passing right in front of Trivett.

The people's attention was instantly drawn to the uniformed personnel. The eye-catching orange-y emblem could only indicate they are from that specific division. People in the crowd naturally formed a route for police officers to move through.

Trivett didn't have to exert much effort to push through the crowd, but the sheer volume of people made it difficult for him to move freely. The obstacles in his path made it impossible for him to start a fire carelessly or even advance as rapidly as he would have liked.

He frowned and looked at his subordinates. "You two take this road. You will get to the other side. Request for reinforcements and tell them to block all the possible exit sites."

He separated his team into smaller groups so that they could focus on different areas at once. Trivett carried Myles with him, and they patrolled the nearby stalls looking for hidden places.

"Sir, this Autumn didn't seem ordinary," Myles said as he vigilantly looked around. "He was able to slip into our watch twice!"

Myles' statements elicited no response from Trivett. Every autumn was unique, and he had learned this from personal experience. Only a small percentage of Autumns are capable of becoming serial murderers, and this number is even lower for those who are essentially innocent but choose to pose as fugitives.

It is quite understandable, since nobody wanted to die just like that.

The stalls in the open market are different from the ones in the grocery. The products were placed everywhere in crates that make very good hiding places. With all the people around, they could easily bypass these obscure areas.

The two didn't notice the small figure lurking among the crowd of customers. Jaerim spied through the gaps in the crowd. With no one following him, he made his way through an open side door and into an even more small hallway before rushing at a high speed.

After running for a while, he didn't see anyone following him. Jaerim lets out a sigh of relief. He looked for a quiet spot where he could relax and rest for a while. The adrenaline's dwindling effect made him understand how unfit his physique was.

The moment he knew he was safe, his body collapsed. However, he kept his body buried between the littered containers so that nobody would notice his desperate plight. In time, the wounds he sustained began to show signs of swelling, becoming increasingly painful.

When he turned to face the sky, Jaerim noticed it was noticeably darker than usual. The city was enveloped in ominous gray clouds, beckoning for a downpour. The silence provided by the location caused his thoughts to become jumbled, and he began feeling sleepy. Somehow...

Somehow, he thought, dying in this state was not bad at all.

It's just sad he will die alone without people knowing. Probably, before anyone could discover his body due to the smell of his rotting flesh, he would have been gone for many days. He now started wondering why he was running away from home in the first place.

Is it to escape from those officers? Or to escape death?

When he pressed his pockets, he noticed his phone was missing. It appears to have dropped somewhere. A few feet further, he spotted it strewn across the ground. Groaning, he stood up once again and went over to get it. He was about to snatch it when he heard footsteps. Assuming it was the police, he disregarded the phone and scurried to a nearby corner to hide out.

Trivett incidentally caught Jaerim's silhouette when the person entered the alleyway. He called his subordinates and tried to trap the person. The alleyways in the old district are like a maze. It increased the likelihood of becoming lost for anyone entering the area for the first time.

His attention was drawn to a phone that had been left on the ground while he was exploring the unfamiliar territory. It was picked up by a subordinate and brought to Trivett. He tapped the button on the side of the phone, which unlocked the phone and displayed a screen saver of six young men in silly poses.

It merely took one glance for the officer to recognize Jaerim's face.

Trivett detected a movement from the corner of his eyes. He handed the phone back while signaling Myles to follow him. With guns in their arms, they made their way through the alley, which was wet from dirty drainage and animal carcasses, slowly.

Jaerim could hear their footsteps coming closer. With all of his might, he tried to cover his mouth with one hand and bring his legs closer to his body. Listening to the movement around him, he resisted the instinctual urge to move.

Things seem to move slowly. Before his eyes, he noticed the muzzle of a rifle, then a leg moving with great haste towards him. Jaerim couldn't help but whimper as he closed his eyes in defeat. A minor scuffle preceded a loud bang.