Niek didn’t know how far he had run. All he knew was that he had no idea where he was now. He had left everything behind, including the watch his dad had got him for his thirteenth birthday, the one with the built-in GPS and compass that would have helped him now. He looked around, bewildered. It was a street like any other, but the buildings here were taller, made of metal and glass, which meant they were office buildings. He shivered. The night was cold and his night clothes were scanty protection.

He had no clue what to do now, and he wished his dad were here. But if he were, then Niek wouldn’t be in this predicament. The street lamps were quite bright though the street was deserted, and Niek was feeling exposed. He moved to the shadows provided by the large structures. His eyes fell on a low gate which led to the underground parking lot of one of the buildings. The parking lot would be empty and would probably be warmer than out here in the street. Hesitantly he touched the gate, but nothing happened; no alarm blared, no bots came rushing, no jolt of electricity passed through his arm. Emboldened, he pushed it open and closed it behind him once he was inside.

The road to the parking lot was dark and wound down through a tunnel. Niek walked slowly, keeping close to one of the walls of the tunnel, holding out his hand so as not to stumble into anything. Soon, he was in a cavernous lot which was lit by a couple of lights at the entrance and exit. He moved towards a pillar, looking curiously at the name board on it. “Selwood Corp.” was all that was on it. The name was vaguely familiar, though he couldn’t place it in his memory. After all, he had arrived in Prith only the previous day, so it was not to be wondered at. Too many things had happened, and perhaps he had seen the name from the hoverbus.

Had it really been only a day since he left his home in Aeras? It seemed like a lifetime. Niek slid down to the floor, his back against the pillar and his knees drawn up. He wondered what he was going to do. There was no going back to Uncle Ruben’s house. That much was certain. With his father missing and Uncle Ruben dead, Niek had no adult to turn to. Everything was looking bleak and he threw his head back against the pillar, tears trickling down from his eyes. He dashed them away with his hand, but they kept coming.

“What are you doing here?” The voice both frightened and startled him, and he leapt to his feet. The man who spoke approached him slowly, his hands held up as if to show Niek he meant no harm, but it did not reassure Niek. There was nothing even vaguely threatening about him, and all Niek could feel was the spike in his heart rate.

“I’m sorry,” he said, edging around the pillar. “I was just… I’ll leave…”

He was on the outer side of the column and he bolted for the entrance through which he had come, only to find it closed with a rolling metal shutter.

“It is a security measure.” the man said from behind him and Niek turned around, his back to the shutter.

“Please don’t hurt me!” he said. “I just… I didn’t mean…”

A frown appeared on the man’s face. “Quinn?” he said. “Identity of the intruder?”

Niek looked around, fearfully. Who was this Quinn? Where was he?

The man came closer. He was tall, taller than Niek’s dad, though not as broad. He was still holding his hands in a non-threatening way.

“Look,” he said. “I’m not going to hurt you. Okay? Quinn tells me that your name is Niek Hendriks. Is that right?”

Niek stared at the man in suspicion. “Who’s Quinn?” he asked. “I don’t see anyone, and I didn’t hear anyone tell you anything.”

The man smiled. “Quinn is my Sentient.” he said. “So, you can’t see him or hear him. Only I can hear him.”

He tapped his ear. Niek had heard of Sentients like that, though the ones he knew always talked loud enough for everyone around to hear.

“How does your Sentient know my name?” Niek asked, still suspicious.

“Quinn scanned your fingerprints and DNA. He found a match from your school in Aeras. Mind telling me what you’re doing here, Niek? May I call you Niek or would you prefer Mr. Hendriks? My name is Selwood, Alexander Selwood.”

Alexander Selwood. Selwood Corp. There was something in the news once.

The man was approaching Niek as he was talking, stopping a couple of feet away and holding out his hand.

Niek took a few steps forward to shake his hand. “Niek is fine,” he said, letting go of the man’s hand and stepping back hurriedly so that his back was again touching the shutter. The metal felt cold against his back through the thin fabric of his nightshirt, but it also made him feel safer.

“You may call me Alexander.” he smiled at Niek reassuringly. “Now, Quinn tells me your father is listed as Lucas Hendriks, a professor in the University of Takh, but he couldn’t find any address for your father in the University Records or anywhere else. Do you know why that is?”

Niek shook his head, bewildered. It didn’t make any sense. How many times had he accompanied his father to the University, waiting in the staff room or his office or the grounds till he was back from his lectures? How was it that his records were suddenly gone? A sliver of fear pierced him. Had Dad been right after all?

“I... don’t know...” His voice sounded scared, and it seemed to him that it was waiting to shatter into something if he let it, and he couldn’t let it, not in front of this stranger, no matter how kind his eyes were or how friendly his tone.

“All right, Niek.” Alexander said. “Where is your father? Do you know? I can call him for you.” He took off his jacket as he spoke and held it out. “Here, you look cold.”

Niek took a few steps to take the jacket and put it on. It was warm and comfortable, and too large for him, enveloping his thin frame like a blanket.

“I… don’t… I don’t know where he is.” Niek said, tears prickling his eyes again.

It crashed on him then, that his father was gone without a word, leaving him, and he wanted to cry again.

“Look,” Alexander said. “I don’t know what you’re doing here, but I really can’t let you stay here. Will you come to my house with me? You don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to, but I think my house will be more comfortable than a parking lot.”

“I’m fine here.” Niek said, his throat suddenly tight, and his pulse spiking.

“Is there anywhere else I can take you?” Alexander asked. “A friend of your father? A guardian he appointed?”

Niek shook his head, panic threatening to overwhelm him. “There’s…no...one.” He managed through a suddenly tight throat.

“Niek, I can’t let a child wander the streets at night or stay here. You must see that.” Alexander said.

Niek stared at the man, fear grasping his innards like a live thing. His throat and chest felt taut, as if bound tight with iron bands, and he couldn’t breathe. He opened his mouth and puked into the ground. He was dizzy and his face was wet with tears, as his lungs constricted and he fell to his knees.

Someone caught him, and rubbed his back, and Niek was aware of a voice coming from a great distance. “Quinn, take us home. Niek, stay with me, okay? You’re going to be fine. Just relax and breathe.” A hand was on his chest. “Feel that? Breathe Niek. Just breathe.”

Niek could feel the hand against his chest and the breathing against his body and he opened his mouth and gulped in air like a drowning man who had broken through to the surface. But his dizziness did not pass, and his vision started blacking out.

I can’t faint!

His thoughts were panicked, but his overwrought brain and too tired body had finally had enough and Niek passed out cold in Alexander Selwood’s arms.