Unclassified; Zero and Still Standing

Yesu didn’t stop running for a long time.

She ran through organised crowds, past stores, shopping malls, restaurants and parks, weaving through the very heart of Central City.

She didn’t even know the exact reason why she had started running in the first place.

She should have stopped long ago.

Yet it felt as though her legs had forgotten how. As though running was all they had ever known. As though she could keep running forever.

That was until she passed a small shop selling clocks.

The display flashed past in a blur.

Wall clocks. Pocket watches. Elegant grandfather clocks. Tiny bedside clocks.

Some were practical. Others existed purely for decoration. But every single one shared the same three hands.

Tick.

Tock.

Tick.

Tock.

The visual of the passing time seemed to do the trick.

Yesu continued a few more shops before her pace began slowing on its own.

One step. Then another. Until she finally stopped.

She looked down to find she had only one shoe on. Her black sock was grey with dust.

She had been running with only one shoe.

She glanced behind her as though the missing one might somehow be lying in the middle of the street.

It wasn’t.

It must have gotten lost during the fall.

She wriggled her toes. Her sock had developed several tiny holes and her big toe poked through one of them.

Yesu recalled there was once a time she didn’t even own socks. Only shoes.

And that was barely two months ago.

Some things never changed.

She sighed and walked back to the clock shop.

Stopping before the display, she rested a hand lightly against the glass.

Her eyes wandered across the clocks. Past the oversized wall pieces, the polished wooden frames, the expensive watches.

Until they settled on a row of small digital alarm clocks.

They were simple, pretty. Not overly fancy.

Yesu had always wanted one. Not because she needed help waking up but because she simply liked how they looked sitting beside a bed.

But back then she hadn’t even owned a bed so buying an alarm clock had seemed pointless.

But now...

Yesu searched her pockets. She had no money. Not even a single penny.

Some things really never did change.

Her hand reluctantly left the glass.

She had somewhere to be. Even though she still had no idea how she was going to get there.

Voices rose further ahead.

Yesu followed the sounds.

A bus stop stood a short distance away. People hurried toward a departing bus, trying to overtake one another.

"It’s cheaper if you take a bus..."

Millie’s voice echoed inside her head. Whoever had been pretending to be Millie, rather.

Yesu left the shop and walked toward the bus stop.

She didn’t run. She walked.

As she no longer trusted her legs to obey commands.

The bus pulled away before she arrived.

She didn’t hurry.

Several unlucky passengers had missed it as well and now waited beneath the shaded shelter.

Yesu reached the bus stop and went under the shade.

An elderly woman seated on the bench, wearing an expensive-looking coat despite the afternoon heat, shifted to make room for her.

Yesu smiled at her.

"Thank you." She said but didn’t sit.

Instead, she turned toward the brightly coloured transit map covering the wall.

The old woman’s gaze drifted briefly to Yesu’s single shoe before returning to the street.

Yesu traced the coloured lines with a finger and there it was.

Ellsworth.

Located at the far edge of the city. Just before the bridge.

She silently estimated how long the journey would take.

Certainly long enough for Arrow to notice she was gone.

But it didn’t matter.

She was doing this.

Another bus was arriving. Identical to the one before. Long, blue and white.

People immediately crowded forward. They rushed inside immediately the doors opened.

Yesu waited for the crowd.

The elderly woman on the bench remained seated.

The bus entrance finally cleared.

Yesu stepped forward. Then paused and looked back.

"Aren’t you coming?" She asked.

The elderly woman smiled warmly and waved her on.

Yesu nodded and boarded the bus.

The driver immediately noticed her missing shoe.

Yesu began making her way to the back. She had barely taken three steps when the driver called out.

"Hey, you."

She turned.

His eyes swept over her.

"You haven’t paid."

Yesu froze.

Right.

Buses cost money.

How could she be so stupid, forgetting something that obvious?

Maybe it was because there were no buses back at her District. There used to be, but .hoodlums kept stealing the engine parts until the government simply gave up on them.

She sighed quietly and turned back toward the exit.

The driver watched her, puzzled.

"You’re leaving?"

Yesu glanced at him.

"Yes."

"Just like that?" He looked genuinely confused. "Aren’t you going to ask for a free ride or something?"

Yesu’s face brightened. She spun to face him fully.

"Really? Can I do that?"

The driver head shifted back, his eyes trailed her from head to toe with a weird look on his face.

"Of course not."

Her hopes crashed.

"You’ve got no money." He nodded toward the door. "Get off."

Yesu scowled at him.

"I was going to. You don’t have to be so mean about it." She said.

Running footsteps pounded outside.

The driver snorted. "Try saying that after you pay up. Maybe then I’ll consider it."

"I’ll pay."

A breathless voice sounded behind her.

Yesu turned.

A fit-looking boy in sportswear hurried aboard, slightly out of breath and smelling strongly of sweat.

He smiled at the driver.

"No," Yesu said immediately. "It’s fine."

"Don’t worry."

"It’s fine." She countered. "Really."

He ignored her protest and paid for both fares.

They walked to the back together.

The driver watched them through the rearview and smiled in amusement.

"Thanks," Yesu said immediately they sat down. "I’ll pay back."

He grinned. "No need. What are classmates for?"

Yesu blinked. "Classmates?"

He tilted his head. "You don’t remember me?"

Yesu watched him closely. He did look familiar.

She tried forcing her memory into action. Recall. Recall...

"APG Prep?" He prompted.

Then it clicked.

"Oh." Yesu said. "I remember."

The cheerful guy who usually hung out with Apollo and the others.

She smiled sheepishly.

"Unfortunately... I don’t remember your name."

The boy burst into loud laughter.

Several passengers turned to look.

"It’s Daryl." He managed between laughs.

Yesu laughed too. Although her laugh came out forced. To cover the weirdness of the encounter.

Perhaps the weirdness of the whole day.

Daryl laughed even harder.

After a few seconds, Yesu gave up trying to match him.

She simply faced forward and leaned into her seat.

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