Remembering Rose

Chapter Six- Guns and Roses...

Walker's POV:
Life is a fickle friend, one I had been battered and bested by more than once. She throws fate in our faces and calls it lemons. She waltzes by with Time to a tune we don't hear. She loves us then hates us, and she doesn't give a fuck what we have to say about it.
Where Life is at least occasionally friendly, Death is not. He is a thief that raids our existence and takes what is dear to us. He laughs at our attempts to matter in a cosmos that is ever infinite. He is our greatest fear.
And two days after Rose's night terror, Death came calling.
***
"Rose, get back here," Farley screamed as he blindly ran down the hall. Rose attempted to stifle a giggle as she sat on top of Peony's fridge, Farley's glasses sitting on the top of her nose.
"Peony, should she be up there," Galen asked from his spot at the kitchen table.
Peony let out a quiet laugh and tugged a loose strand of her chestnut brown hair. "Galen, Galen, Galen," she sighed, "I caught her climbing on top of the tube yesterday. Her being on top of a nice, sturdy fridge is the least of my concerns. Now eat your breakfast before it wastes!"
Galen answered by letting out a grumble before taking a large bite of the toast Peony had made him. I couldn't help but laugh, Peony had him whipped. "Walker the same goes for you," she huffed when she heard me. I looked at the butter knife she had pointed toward me and held my hands up in surrender. Okay, so maybe she had us all whipped.
Before I could take a bite though Knox came running into the kitchen. His green eyes--just a shade lighter than Peony's--were wide and his dark hair was wild. "Reds!" He gasped, and with that single word our morning was sent into a chaotic spiral of disorder.
Galen shot up from his seat, golden eyes flashing dangerously. "How many," he barked.
"I saw six and Vanessa saw four more," Knox answered as he tugged Peony close to his side. She flinched instinctively, most likely being brought out of a hideous memory. Lilith, who had been busy stuffing her face, quickly wiped her mouth and reached towards the gun hidden under the kitchen counter.
"What are we waiting for," she growled, "an invitation?"
Everyone let out sounds of agreement and then we were thundering down towards the street, banging our other gang members' doors.
You see that the thing about being a part of a gang--you mess with one of us, you mess with all of us. By the time we had made to the street outside ten other members followed our initial six, and several others peered from their flats surrounding us.
I stood at Galen's right side, Knox stood at his left, and Farley just behind us holding onto Lilith and Peony.
"Galen Blackwood, what a pleasant surprise," called the sickly sweet voice of the Reds heir, Phoenix Davis.
Phoenix was a vixen with long, fiery, red hair worn wild around her pale face. Icy blue eyes glared at Galen with an unparalleled rage, and a smirk marred any possibility of goodness she might appear to have. She was a downright bitch, and every Reaper hated her guts. "Peony, dear, I almost didn't recognize you without all the blood," Phoenix continued.
Knox and I took a step forward, fully prepared to strangle Phoenix with our bare hands.
"I'll show you blood, you rat!" Peony growled. My eyebrows shot up and I spun around to see Lilith holding Peony back.
"What are doing here Phoenix," Galen exclaimed bring the attention back to himself.
Phoenix smiled, which was even more terrifying than her smirk, "Oh, I was just being you a present."
With that she nodded at one of her goons, and a large....thing was thrown at Galen's feet. Instantly, I felt myself blanch. It was Steward, an older member of the Gang. Or a least, it was all that remained of Steward. Several of the gang members behind us shrieked, appalled by the tortured body at our feet. Anger swelled through my veins and I waited for Galen to give me the signal.
"Take that as a warning, Blackwood, the next time we catch one of your's in our territory it'll be one of them," Phoenix motioned at the five us surrounding Galen. Her talon nails picking each of his closest friends off.
Galen took a step forward, pulling out his gun, and aimed it at Phoenix. His eyes flashed dangerously and I knew we were about to set off another battle. However, as Phoenix went to grab her own gun her hand closed on emptiness. Her eyes shot open wide and broke from Galen's gaze. "What the fuck," she gasped patting her waist band furiously.
Confused I shot Galen, Knox, and Farley a look, trying to understand just what was going on. Each of my friends returned the same startled face...
...Until Rose appeared at Galen's side. I mean that quite literally, one moment she hadn't been there (upon reflection I realize that she had actually been left on the top of the fridge) and the next moment there she was, her delicate hands holding Phoenix's infamous red pistol.
Phoenix must've noticed her at the same time as the rest of us because suddenly she let out a horrendous shriek. "You little slut, who do you think you are?!?"
Rose smiled, and I noticed from spot near her that her pale eyes began to darken like before. She pulled her shoulders back and met Phoenix's fury with an innocent defiance, "Rose Darling."
The air around Phoenix crackled. She was like a roaring inferno ready to burn Rose to an ash. However, Rose simply answered by raising the red gun and pointing it at Phoenix's heart. She said a singular, simple word that suddenly doused the fires, "Go."
Sapphire eyes. They belonged to a different part of Rose, a part that was cold and broken. They were the sign, I realized, that meant our Rose had faded and someone else stood before us.
Phoenix hesitated, but the click of her gun being cocked quickly set her into action. She glared into Rose's sapphire eyes and then called her men to leave. Then Rose's eyes paled and she turned to Galen bearing one of her stunning smiles. She put the safety on the gun, tucked it in the waistline of her jeans, and began her way back up to the apartment. Her wild gold curls bounced as she skipped barefooted away from the stunned crowd of Reapers.
Farley let out a low whistle, "We need to put a bell on that girl or something..."
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Hello all my absolutely beautiful readers! So first things first, the pic above/to the side is Phoenix. She will play a pretty vital part on our story so remember her! Second thing is that I just want to thank you all! This story means quite a bit to me and I appreciate that you took the time to read it. Alright, that's enough mushy stuff. Bai!
-agirlmadeofstars