Adder

Chapter 1: Runnin' With The Devil

TW: Strong Language.

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"It's been a week since the incident that left the small town of Ollaf, Wyoming in an uproar. The home of their founding family was burnt to the ground. Davenport Sr and his wife were both pronounced dead on the scene while their son remains in critical condition. Before he was placed back into a medically induced coma last night, he had this to say to the police:

"It was that devil girl! She did thi-"

Silence engulfed the room as the television was shut off. She'd been on the run for a week, and now the entire state of Wyoming was looking for her.

Thanks, Michael.

It was 7am, and the sirens from the newscast had woken her up. Now, the only sound that filled the room was running water.

Ryu.

It was time for them to leave anyhow; they needed to keep moving. Adder grabbed the few things she had taken out of her bag last night and shoved them back in, pulling out her toothbrush before tossing the duffel onto the bed. She turned her head to the sound of a door creaking open. A fluff of damp, brown hair peaked around the corner.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I wake you?" Ryu's voice always sounded soft, like a fuzzy blanket on a cold winter night. He stepped out of the bathroom, his towel hugging his waist as he walked towards the duffel bag to retrieve his clothes.

Adder shook her head in response before grabbing her toothbrush she laid out on the bedside table and walking into the small bathroom. Closing the door, she stepped up to the sink and wet her toothbrush before putting the toothpaste from the tube Ryu had left on the counter onto it. As she began brushing her teeth, she took a long look at herself in the mirror. Messy braids trailed from her hairline down to the bottom of her shoulders, her grown out bangs framing the sides of her face. Her puffy eyes sat on top of her high cheekbones; there were small, dark circles forming beneath them from the past week. Her clothes were wrinkly, not like she had the time to fix that, and her hands shook as she rinsed off her toothbrush. She heard a quick, urgent knock on the door before it opened, Ryu covering his eyes as he stuck his head in.

"Um, hey Adder, we gotta go. There's some cops outside," he spoke urgently, peeking through his fingers to realize she was decent before grabbing her forearm and tugging her towards the door. "No time for shoes, gonna have to be sneaky and head out the back barefoot, okay?"

Adder gulped before nodding. "Shit, okay."

The pair walked out from their room, quietly shutting the door behind them as Ryu ushered Adder in front of him and towards the back entrance. The sound of voices echoed throughout the halls, putting Adder even more on edge. Just as they reached the last corner, a tall man walked up, dressed head to toe in police gear. He was very well-kept and looked seemingly perfect, his black hair falling elegantly against his soft skin. The only thing that was imperfect about him was a small scar on his left cheek, just below his eye.

And he recognized Adder immediately.

Adder and Ryu turned to make a quick getaway, but the man grabbed Adder by the arm.

"Ah-ah-ahh... Not so fast," There was a mischievous twinkle in his eyes as he looked Adder up and down. "So this is the infamous 'devil girl,' huh?" A scoff. He didn't seem in a rush to alert his colleagues.

"Hey-" Adder tried to pull her arm back towards herself but to no avail of freeing it, "let me go. I don't know what you're talking about." Her heart was racing as she stared the man dead in the eyes, trying to seem as confused and offended as she could.