Free Running From the Night by R. J. Terrell Page A

a good night then,” the other guy said, raising his glass and giving Jelani a regretful look.
    “You, too, man.” Jelani said, raising his glass. Six hours, and one sweating glass of vodka soda later, the club started to clear out. Soon, no one was left but Jelani and the staff, who promptly turned the lights on. Squinting in the sudden light, he stood from the booth and stretched.
    “You know,” his server said, walking up. She was nearly as tall as him and had sandy blonde hair. Not bad looking at all. “For someone who doesn’t dance or drink,” she nodded at his untouched glass, “you sure know how to hang around till the party’s over.”
    “I just needed a place to just chill, you know?”
    “I can understand that,” she said. “Come back any time and chill in my section. My name is Danielle.”
    “I appreciate the invitation, Danielle,” Jelani said, smiling. He was sure she meant it since he’d given her a forty-dollar tip on a seven-dollar drink to let him just sit in her section. “Guess I better be on my way.”
    “Sorry to have to kick you out. Sun’s coming up.”
    “No problem at all,” he said. Never in his life had he been happier to hear those words. The sun was coming up. For now, at least, he was safe. He stepped outside the club and looked around. The street was more or less vacant, with the occasional homeless person or nightclub stragglers stumbling across the sidewalk.
    “Where the hell am I supposed to go now?” He doubted he could go back to his apartment. Surely someone heard the glass shatter when Daniel had been thrown from the room. When he thought of his dead roommate, it sent a pang of guilt into his stomach and pain in his heart. He slid down the wall till he was sitting on the ground. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes and sighed.
    “I didn’t mean for you to get wrapped up in this, Daniel. Dammit, why did I go home?”
    He was drawn from his thoughts by a muffled tune coming from his pocket. He slowly reached his hand in his pocket and withdrew his phone. He hadn’t even realized he still had it in his pocket. When he looked at the screen, he saw that he had three text messages. One was from Alisha, the second from a friend he’d met while working at the restaurant, and the third was from … Daniel.
    ***

Chapter Eight
    “Oh, this has got to be some kind of trap,” he said to himself as he read the text.
    Dude. If you’re still alive, call me. DO NOT GO HOME!
    Jelani hesitated only a second before pulling up Daniel’s phone number. His friend picked up on the first ring.
    “Holy shit, man! I thought you might be dead. I’ve been hiding out all night, waiting to hear from you. I’d nearly given up. I didn’t know what to do!”
    “I’m so glad to hear your voice!” Jelani said, trying to keep his own voice down. “How the hell did you survive that fall?”
    “Let’s not get into it on the phone. Where are you?”
    “No place specific. Are you near the mall?”
    “Not too far.”
    Jelani started to suggest they meet there, then thought better of it, wanting to be as far in the opposite direction as possible. “On second thought, meet me at the SkyTrain station in Yaletown. You got money?”
    “Yeah. I have some. I’ll see you there in fifteen?”
    “That should be enough time for me to get there. Text me when you’re close.” He ended the call and stood. After a long stretch, he turned and jogged toward Yaletown.
    O O O
    When Jelani had first seen the SkyTrain on his initial visit to Vancouver, his mind had immediately gone to the monorail at Disneyland. Several cars connected to each other on an electric track that went sometimes below ground, and sometimes thirty or forty feet above. It was a relatively quick way to get around town, and quite efficient. The location he was now nearing was called the Yaletown Roundhouse Station, named after the locomotive roundhouse that was on display on the other side of Davie Street.
    The SkyTrain