{8 Jalice}
A sweet aroma fills the air as I rub my eyes groggily and trudge down the creaky stairs slowly, from just waking up. There's the sound of laughter and continuous talking as I shuffle into the black-tiled kitchen of our house.
Malco stands with a worn, blue apron around his hips at the rustic stove and frys juicy bacon in a steel pan.
Bacon was rarely accquired for
us - but when it was, we devoured it like it was the last sweet in a candy store.
A few of our team members from Insanity were already seated and either blabbering about something to each other or stuffing their faces with crisp bacon fresh from the frying pan.
"Morning," I yawn with my eyelids drooping down, as I ease myself lazily into a kitchen chair with mismatched cushions and survey the room warily, "Where's Clansin?"
"Morning sunshine!" Malco greets brightly with a blinding grin as he scoops sizzling bacon onto a chipped plate and slides it over to me,
"To answer your question, he went out earlier today with some of the team to get more supplies."
I nod my head then give him a sour look and point a strip of my bacon at him accusingly, "Sunshine?"
"Eh," he smiles boyishly, "I thought I would give it a try."
I laugh and roll my eyes at him as he saunters away to talk to some of our chattering team - what would I do without my Malco?
~~~~~~~~
"There, all better now," I smile at the petite, little girl brought to our house and tap her nose playfully. Her bloody arm was now wrapped snuggly in pristine, white gauze.
Clansin and a few of the team members weren't still weren't back yet, so I busied myself with working at our clinic.
"Thank you Jalice, " she looks down shyly with a big toothy grin.
A tight-lipped smile forms on my lips and I shoo her back to her patient mother outside our clinic. I watch silently from the doorway as the adorable little girl babbles endlessly to her enthusiastic mother about how her arm is "magically all better."
I laugh quietly and shake my head.
Children never cease to amaze me.
>~Flashback~< 2 years ago
Living on the road wasn't so bad.
Right?
Wrong.
I could handle sleeping on rock hard benches, begging for food and money, and running endlessly from psycho scientists.
But, being eye raped by every old and grimy homeless insanitated guy?
How about a big fat NO.
I mean there's also being skinnier than a pole from starvation and it does get pretty cold at night from the chilly winter wind - but being creeped on wins the award.
It was easy to get used to after a couple weeks being a homeless insanitee, even with the winter weather and creepers. I pull my faded, yellow scarf further up my petite nose with my fingers clad in smudged, fingerless gloves. My warm hoodie was firmly zipped up to my chin and my hood over my ears to keep them somewhat warm.
When you were homeless - and especially if you were insanitated - the best place to stay was deep in the woods, so you were out of range of the Insanitated Asylum. Most homeless Insanitees just had the clothes on their back and a backpack with whatever they scavaged from their house - myself included.
It was the way of life these days.
I always take a backway through a grafitti covered alley to get to my "home" in the woods faster, and to avoid attention to myself. My faded blue and grey sneakers make muffled thumping noises as I walk quickly along a grafitti-covered brick wall.
It was almost always fairly quiet in this part of town - almost.
"Where's my money M?!"
A cruel voice and the sound of something hitting the pavement rings through the alleyway I was walking down. Being the mischeviously curious person I am, my feet inch closer to the voices and I take refuge behind a smelly old dumpster.
"I SAID," the cruel voice yells again - louder this time, "WHERE'S MY MONEY?"
Another sickening sound of bones crushing against the sidewalk and bloodcurdling cry.
Inching closer around the dumpster, I see a man writhing on the ground and another man standing over him grinning a wicked smile.
"I-I don't know what you're talking about R," the man on the ground stutters in response.
Should I wait until the man standing up leaves?
Another scream and a snap of bones. A laugh from the man standing over the other guy.
I couldn't leave this man to die.
I couldn't.
Almost soundlessly, I creep around the dumpster and sneak-up behind the smirking man. The man being harassed warily raises his head - his eyes widen at the sight of me.
Before I can be found, I signal him to be quiet by lifting a cracked index finger to my scarf covered lips. He lies back down his head after half-nodding to me, and I shove my jacket sleeves up in anticipation.
As I bring my fist back to strike the upper back of the man standing up - he speaks knowingly without turning around, his voice too sweet,
"Little girl, did you seriously expect to knock a grown man down?"
I could practically hear the arrogant smirk in his sadistic voice.
"Actually," I pause and smirk back to him, "I did."
With that statement I quickly and efficiently sock the back of his neck with a strong force from my slightly muscled arm, making him fall to the ground face first - unconscious.
I sigh in relief and pick up the man on the sidewalk gently, trying not to injure him more. He winces when I wrap an arm around his waist - to keep him from falling.
I study him as I walk him carefully through the other end of the alley I knew so well. He looked to be in his mid-forties - though big hazel eyes and greying, shaggy brown hair made him handsome.
I wonder what his name is?
"I'm Malco by the way," he smiles weakly and states my un-answered question.
"Jalice," I say and give a small smile in return.
"May I ask where you are taking me Miss Jalice?"
I laugh softly for the first time in weeks at his politeness, "You can stay with me in the woods until you recover some. I didn't save you just to die from bleeding to death."
He looks me in the eyes and gives a dazzling smile, "Thank you. I promise to pay you back."
"It's fine," I shrug, "I'm in need of some company other than creepers anyways."
We walk in comfortable silence until we reach my "home" in the woods, and I make him lie down and smother him in wholey blankets ,found in abaonded houses, so he can rest.
I chance a look backwards to see if anyone followed us, only to see a pair of bright, glittering, and sadistic green eyes staring intensely at me from a few streets away.
I have always despised those eyes for some reason.
Now, I know why.
>~Flashback Over~<
*****[A/N]*****
Long time, no see! So I've decided I'm going to update my stories every 4-5 days if that's okay.
I feel like people will stop reading if I don't update regularly. (I know I would lol).
Anywhore, have a great rest of the weekend~
~Imagine Dragons lover out
