The 3 Marionettes: Chapter 2

The Three Marionettes
Chapter Two
You Can't Choose Your Friends






The bars made a resounding metallic noise as Percy finally pulled them away from the window. She was impossibly strong for a girl as petite as she, but even so, the iron bars had required weakening by means of grinding her best emery board against it. She slipped it back into the side of her boot. She heard two groans, one of her sleeping and hideously handsome cell mate, and one of the jailers some distance behind her. The first light of dawn was filtering through the grey clouds and into the cell. She knew perfectly well by now that there was no way it could hurt her, but maybe decades of hearing the myths had made sunlight unsettling for her anyway. She span round a little too fast – her guard was down - to see the man on the bed opening his eyes. She caught her breath for a moment – not that she needed it – before turning towards the bars of the cell, where she could see the jailer waking up too. “What are you doing?” The man on the bed hissed at her. She ran for the wall. No, he knew her name. He would tell. She turned to him unwillingly, “Do you want to get out of here?”
“Well, that would be preferable, yeah.” He replied laughing. She shivered at his laugh. It was perfect and balanced for something supposedly instantaneous.
“Hey!”
The jailer was up and looking for his keys. “Give me a boost!” For a guy who had barely woken up her cell mate moved fast. She slipped effortlessly through the window, checking the street for bystanders. She straightened her dress before leaning back through the window and holding out her hands for the man. “Jesus, your hands are cold.” He muttered. The jailer was still shouting for help and fumbling with his keys. He hadn’t even thought to run round and meet them at the street. The man finally scraped his feet up the wall, clinging to Percy’s arms.
He was in visible shock when he didn’t dislocate her shoulders.
She stared back with shock when he didn’t start running.
She took his hand and pulled.



“Where are we?”
Percy had been preparing herself to answer that question during the run, but still had no viable answer. “We’re moving south east of the prison,” She analysed quickly, “Towards the river.” She stopped the running as they approached a market, packed out with wildly shouting salesmen. Not far from home now, Percy thought. Not that she could go back there with the Police of her track. Her newfound companion eventually caught up and stood beside her, gasping for breath. “So,” she said turning to him, “Do you have a name?”
“Gabriel Bliss.” He removed a leather glove from his hand for Percy to shake but she was distracted as she surveyed the square.  He followed her line of focus, “What, bluebottles?” she had to admit she was surprised he knew the turn of phrase for the police; he seemed like a total gentleman. “No, not in this part of town.” She turned and took a long hard look at him. His cloak was wrapped around him at all angles and his hair flicked out in the same breathless way. Tufted and icy blonde, the jagged ends hung loosely over his wild blue eyes. He straightened out his brown pin-striped suit and looked up at her. “Well, Mr. Bliss, it was nice to break out of jail with you, lets NOT do it again.” She set off walking across the square, and deftly pinned her fire red hair into a French knot as she walked.
“Hey, wait!” Gabriel followed her, trotting to keep up with her unusually large strides. “Where the hell are we?”
“Formaldehyde Square, in the Poison District.” She looked warily around her, “You can get a cab from here back to the eastside of the river, The Citrus Quarter right?” He looked at her blankly in reply. “Well that’s where you live right?”
“Well, yeah, but..”
“Well, go on you can’t tag along after me all day!” She looked away and continued to walk. As she spoke, the market was split by the sound of a cracking gunshot. Fellow felons surrounding them, began to yell and gather their ‘Goods’ into makeshift sacks and baskets. “Tec’s!” Came the shouts, “Tec’s and bluebottles, by the dozen!”
“Oh, god, not today.” She turned to see a crowd of police approaching from the same direction as she and Gabriel had entered the square. Gabriel was staring vacantly at them and making no move to run. She sighed, perturbed and snatched his hand and pulled him away again.