"There must be places where she hides? Can't we ever find out where?"
Dusk sits up, startled from sleep by the muffled voices above her. A gang, right above her hideout. Will they find her?
Apparently not. The voices move on but Dusk doesn't relax. That was too close. She gets up and throws a T-shirt over her tank, grabs her knife and slips it on, then takes the ladder rungs three at a time and ever so slowly lifts the manhole cover. There's no one in sight, but she can hear the footsteps in the alleys over. She climbs onto the road and follows quickly, pressing herself up against the wall of the mouth of the alley and looking around the corner.
It's Carakter. She thought she'd dealt with them well enough to not have anything to do with them for at least a month, but obviously not. They're more stupid than the others. Maybe because they are a bigger gang, they think they can do whatever they want, even stand up to her.
Not on her watch.
She follows them, listening to their conversation.
"The bosses are pissed. We were so lucky with that robbery two weeks ago, and then she had to go and mess it all up!"
"Yeah. And now we're told to go and kill her."
"As if that hasn't been tried a million times already. I'm telling you, she's not natural, I don't even know if she's human."
"They say if you meet her, she'll hypnotize you with her dark gaze and then kill you with the silver blade of hers before you know what's happening."
"Stop it! Those are myths!"
"Maybe, but what about the stories of Deathbolt and their Weapon program?"
Dusk stiffens, restraining herself.
"That one must be true, and she's the product of their experiments..."
"That's enough. We shouldn't be talking about this. Who knows if she's listening even right now."
The group turns and Dusk throws herself behind an oil tank without a sound. They gaze around like they're looking for a ghost, then turn back around and keep going, silent now.
Dusk follows until they reach a rundown door and slip inside. Carakter building, their home. She nods to herself and leaves. They didn't do anything, but what is the first thing they said? There must be places where she hides? Yeah, sure Carakter, she's a human, no matter what the legends say. She has to rest, though it may seem like she never does. But if she can help it, and she thinks she can, then they won't ever find her hideouts. And all that talk about her and Deathbolt? Too many memories. She shakes her head and squeezes her eyes shut for a second, then shakes her head again. She's become quite the figure of hatred for all the gangs here. She smiles grimly, but it disappears as she mulls over what had just happened.
Carakter is more active than she thought they would be after dealing with them, and she knows that she will have to deal with them again soon.
The evening grows old and the last of the light from the fiery sunset vanishes into the distance, leaving a few pink wisps behind.
She walks for a while, aimlessly, deep in thought, and it's midnight by the time she returns to the real world out of the deep halls of her mind. Stars are out, glistening in the velvety blackness above and bathing her surroundings in a pale light. Dusk stops and breathes deep.
She climbs slowly up the nearest building and stands there, looking up at the stars and losing herself in their beauty.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Dusk jerks awake, the cry of her dreams still lingering on the air. She scrambles up and looks around. It's ten in the morning and she's still on the roof.
Had she really fallen asleep? Shocked at herself, Dusk brushes her clothes off and turns to get off the roof.
And then she hears it again, and it's not a dream. It's very real. A cry for help.
YOU ARE READING
Nocturnal Gale
Action"Ow," Dusk complains, picking herself up and brushing her hair out of her eyes. Jason is good, and he's not holding back. "Oh come on," he taunts, "That didn't even hurt." "Easy for you to say," she gripes, stepping up again. She mirrors his raise...
