The boy closed the door behind him and horizontally inserted the approximately half-meter-long iron pipe into the curved door handle before turning to run toward the other end of the passage.
The men chasing him pulled at the door, but it was blocked by the pipe and wouldn’t open. Furious, one man kicked the door. After several kicks, the pipe slid askew from the handle, making a “clang” sound.
The man opened the door panel and saw the passage led directly to the opposite alley, but the boy had vanished.
He waved to the three behind him and shouted, “Two of you go around and block him.”
The man and another companion directly chased through the passage. The alley on the other side was a dead end. Going right offered no escape, and going left would be intercepted by the other two companions. No matter which way the boy ran, they would surely catch him this time.
When the men and their companions ran out of the tunnel entrance, a small figure flashed from a shallow recessed wall corner in the dim tunnel, swiftly and silently running back towards their original entry point. Near the door, they picked up an iron pipe from the ground and then leaped out of the tunnel, sprinting towards the other end of the alley.
The boy had already run out, and cool raindrops slanted across his face during his sprint. A triumphant smile played at the corner of his mouth.
The rain grew heavier. Although he was sweating from running, getting wet felt comfortable, but stopping would make him shiver from the cold. With only these clothes, getting completely soaked in the middle of winter would surely make him sick.
He had to find a safe and hidden place to take shelter from the rain.
He seemed familiar with the local terrain, twisting and turning into an abandoned factory area. Bypassing a warehouse with locked doors, at the rear wall corner, he pushed aside some grass, revealing a narrow hole. He crawled through, avoiding stepping on the grass. After entering the warehouse, he slightly rearranged the grass, ensuring no trace of his passage was visible.
The boy stood up, weaving between the massive mechanical equipment and boxes in the warehouse until he found a large machine. He opened the maintenance door and crawled inside, switching on a flashlight.
