Deadly

Prologue

"Hey you!" The man called out. He focused the beam of his flashlight on the walls in front of him. It flickered again, not a good sign in this dark alley. But at least it worked. He didn't want to think of what could happen if it blacked out right now. He swiveled the light around, chasing away the shadows that brought uncertainty to this evil place. He stopped when he found the girl. She was standing still, at the end of the alley, blending in with the shadows. No matter how hard he tried, she stayed shrouded in its darkness. He wanted to chase her, but he had to make sure that she was the person he was after. And if it was her, he had to be wary of what she could do.

So he stayed put, and the girl stayed hidden, both contemplating what to do. Finally, the man called out, "Step out where I can see you!" He shone his beam at the shadows. But there was nothing to see. A shadow darted past him, bringing with it a small breeze. He could have sworn it whispered, come and get me. And then he knew. It was her.

"Officer 32, requesting backup." The man turned on his locater, and sped off after the girl.

The girl in question knew that the man was looking for her. Trying to catch her. But he wouldn't be able to, not if she didn't want to get caught. Still, he wanted to play this game, so she would give him a bit of fun before he lost.

She sped through the alleyways, not needing a flashlight to guide her. Though she had only been in these alleys for a short while, she knew them well. These wet, dark paths were the perfect place for her black, ugly excuse of a soul. She found a niche in the wall where she could hide until the police caught up with her. She had left them a trail to follow, an attempt to be nice before she finished them off.

So he brought the police in, the girl mused. What next the FBI? If he was trying to scare her, he wasn't doing a good job. If he was trying to catch her, then he was just stupid. The girl sighed, and stepped out of the shadows. The police should get here at any moment, and he would probably bring backup. Sure enough, she heard footsteps coming closer. The police weren't very good at being discreet, and used force instead. The girl took off, her footsteps not making a sound. She turned and landed in a puddle, making sure the police were able to hear the splash, another noise in the trail they were following. But only she knew where it would lead.

The man continued to chase after the her. He had met up with one other officer, and there were more waiting to intercept the girl. He was surprised at how easy it was. His boss had seemed extremely nervous when he gave out this assignment. Sure, he hadn't caught up with her yet, but the girl kept on splashing in puddles and darting in and out of the shadows. Once his fellow officers intercepted her at the other end of the alley, she would be trapped.

Another thought came to his mind, unbidden. His boss had told him that the girl was dangerous, and he was rarely wrong about anything. A chill crept up his back. While the girl had shown no signs of danger, she could still be hiding something. He pushed the thoughts away, concentrating instead on finding the girl. He ran with his comrade through the cold alleyways, focusing only on his goal. After a while, they ran into the other pair of officers.

"I don't get it," the man panted. "We both came in from different directions. One of us should have found her." He shone his light around, but all the shadows fled from his beam, none of them revealing the girl.

"Wait, did you hear that?" Another officer called. The men paused, listening for a sound. They heard a splash, and all four turned their heads. The beam of the flashlight showed that there was another path off to the side.

"Clever," the man muttered, as he followed his officers down the path.

From on top of the wall, the girl had to try very hard not to laugh. None of the officers had suspected that she would climb up, and none of them realized that the splash was simply a stone she dropped in the water. They weren't following her trail, just whatever noises they could hear. She crept along the wall, until she reached the end of the alley, and with it, the four officers.

Then she waited, not even noticing the cold air around her as she watched the officers look around, confused. She needed the right timing if she wanted to put on a good show. Finally, the police started to head back, their heads down in defeat. They might have given up, but she was only just starting.

When they reached the intersection, the girl jumped down. The policemen widened their eyes in shock. They were not expecting the girl to even show herself, and now she had come to them.

She found the one who looked like the leader, judging by the amount of badges on his uniform. None of the men had moved yet, so she took this opportunity to look into his eyes.

"Sit down," she demanded, her voice barely a whisper. "And tell your men to do the same." Although she barely made her voice audible, the man knew what she said.

"Officers, sit down." He didn't bother to say more than he had to. His comrades listened. Perfect. It worked, just like always. The girl brought up one gloved hand. There was a slit in the index finger, and she now slid her finger through it. She walked up to the first officer, and pressed her finger to his neck. Black veins spiraled out, growing bigger before enveloping his neck, and the man collapsed. The leader did nothing, paralyzed by her words. His two comrades were paralyzed with fear.

She let out a small laugh. The men had walked right into this one. The girl smiled viciously as she killed the next two officers. Finally, she walked up to their leader, the man who had started this chase and brought himself and his comrades to their terrible end.

The man sat powerless, staring into her eyes. She loosened her hold on him, just enough for him to realize what he had done. As the man collapsed in horror the girl reached out and touched his neck. His fate was the same as his comrades.

The girl sighed as she took out a dark red rose. she held it in one gloved hand, and touched it with the finger of the other. Like the officers, it began to turn black. She stopped halfway, so the spirals of black were mixed with the red rose. Darkness and blood, mixed together in the form of a rose. When he came to find his missing officers, this is what he would see. He would know that she killed them. That one of them must have looked into her fiery eyes, and that he had succumbed to her will. And when he saw the men, he would know that they died by her touch. He would know that she was powerful.

Dangerous.

Deadly.