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

station was underground, so he went down the steps and waited for Daniel’s text. It came a few minutes later telling him he was on the train that was coming up on the next stop. When the train arrived, Jelani saw his roommate step out of one of the cars farther down. When he spotted Jelani, he trotted toward him. They clasped hands and shared a relieved, heartfelt hug before Jelani indicated they get back on the train. Since it was just past five o’clock in the morning, not many people were out, so they had a car to themselves.
    “So you wanna tell me how you survived being thrown through the window and to the ground, ten floors down?”
    Daniel huffed, shaking his head. His hair was disheveled, but he looked otherwise unharmed. “Only through a stroke of good luck that our friend hurled me a little too far. I cleared the walkways and flew right into the water. I’m not going to lie and say the impact didn’t hurt like a bitch, because it did. But other than that, I made out okay. When I finally made it back and climbed out, you and that guy were already gone.”
    He leaned his elbows on his knees and ran a hand through his black hair. “Some of the neighbors were standing in the hallway, wondering what happened. Apparently they heard the glass break and then they heard a man hollering, so they called the police, who showed up about ten minutes later.” He took a deep breath and blew it out, his cheeks puffing. “Imagine what it was like trying to come up with a good lie to the police.”
    “I’d like to know how you explained being dripping wet from your night swim with all your clothes on.”
    Daniel grinned and reached inside his shirt, holding up a silver chain with a piece of smooth, carved jade dangling. “My great-grandmother gave me this for good luck,” he said. “There is no way I wouldn’t dive into the water to get it, so it was only half a lie, which is why I think they didn’t call me a liar outright. Whether they believed me is your guess or mine, but they wrote it down and let it go at that. All I had to do was pretend that I was surprised to see the shattered window and what was obviously a struggle that went on.”
    The computerized female voice announced that they had reached Marine Drive. “Where exactly are we going?” Daniel asked. “When you said to jump on the SkyTrain and where you’d meet me, I figured you wanted to get someplace far away, so I bought a three-zone ticket.”
    “Smart man,” Jelani said, nodding. It was then that he noticed Daniel was wearing his backpack. “Looks like you came prepared.”
    Daniel slipped out of the straps and unzipped the back. Jelani peeked inside and felt some relief. His knife was in there, as well as a change of clothes.
    “I searched everywhere for your wallet but couldn’t find it.”
    “I’ve got it right here,” Jelani said, patting his thigh. “You really took a risk grabbing my knife and a change of clothes for both of us. It would have looked more than suspicious to the cops, don’t you think?”
    “Hey, I was willing to risk it. I’m sorry I ever doubted you. That little flight through the glass and into the ocean made a quick believer out of me. I still can’t believe I’m alive. And speaking of alive, I’m ready to hear your side of what happened.”
    Jelani related everything that happened after Daniel had been thrown from the window. His roommate listened quietly through the entire story until, finally, Jelani finished. They had ridden the train all the way to Richmond.
    “Wow! That’s quite a story. Pretty smart with the mirror thing.”
    “Yeah, thanks. It was all I could come up with. I still can’t believe I’m alive. I can’t believe we’re both alive.”
    Daniel nodded. “Well, I wouldn’t mind keeping it that way. And is this in some way related to why we just rode the SkyTrain to Hongcouver?”
    Jelani laughed. The city of Vancouver had a large Asian population, particularly Chinese. After China