Against the World

Ch 1- Brii

I curl up into a ball, lying on the cold, wet asphalt. I shiver, and pull my Attack on Titan beanie down on my head, and adjust the hood of my dark green sweatshirt. Snow is falling in Manhattan tonight. My Ugg snowboots are doing a fairly good job of keeping my feet warm, even though both they and my sweatpants are soaked. I shiver and hug my knees in closer to my chest, desperately trying to sleep and get warm. I feel the blade of the knife in my backpack press against my shoulder blade. When I finally do fall asleep, its the kind of half sleep that still allows constant vigilance. A catnap of sorts, but this time, I dream. It's not really a connected dream, more just images. Images of my brother, hanging dead upside down, blood writing on the wall behind him. Images of the white walled mental institute my parents were kept in. Images of running away with my friends, just the 6 of us. Gunner, Connie, Macie, Diana, and my best friend of all of them, Natasha. Next, images pass of the death that followed. How the girls killed each other, how Diana had killed Natasha and Macie, and how something inside me had snapped, and how I had taken my dagger and run it straight through my friends heart. How I had watched her die. How her blood soaked my hands. Now, images of being dragged away from Gunner and Connie float into my half-dream. All of their screams, the screams of everyone I've ever loved haunt my vision. I jolt fully awake, shaking with sobs. I have this dream everytime I try to sleep, and I never get to full sleep, and I'm never out for a long time. I don't even know if Connie and Gunner are still alive in that wretched place. I don't know of I will ever see them again.
I decide that I'm done trying to sleep, and I stand up and hike through the snow, and out of the little alleyway I was sleeping in. I wonder if maybe I can get better sleep down in the subway, where its probably warmer. So, I walk through the tiny slum I've been staying in for the past few days, and make my way to the main part of the city. There, I find a subway entrance, and stroll down the steps. I can already feel the temperature increasing to be slightly more bearable than before. At least there's no snow here. As I walk, I play with a strand of my messy blue hair, tied back into a low ponytail, so I can get my hat and hood over it. I push my way through the broken machine a that guard the subway, and start down the long hall. A train stops in front of me, and I reach into my backpack, pull out my handgun, and slip it into the pocket of my sweatshirt.
I step onto the train, and everyone stops what they're doing to look at me. It's a gang, a group of guys. I notice the dead bodies and blood and assume that they've been fighting.
"

Look pretty girly, of you're gonna be on this train, you gotta be in my gang, or" He grins piggishly "my girl." He attempts to put a hand in my waist, but I slap him across the face.
"I'm gonna do whatever the hell I want asshole." I reply, glaring at him.
"Now don't make me kill you pretty." he says. I pull the gun from my pocket. I look out of the corner of my eye, and see a guy who looks about 16 smirking at what his gang leader's saying. I point my him directly at his head.
"Keep talking like that and he dies." I say calmly, glaring at the gang leader.
He smirks "You don't have the-" but he's cut off my the sound of a gunshot. The 16 year old boy's brains splatter on the window of the train, and the vehicle lurches into motion. I grab a hold of one of the bloodstained metal poles with one hand, still holding the gun in my other hand.
I don't look back at the gang leader but I add "Touch me and your next." No one dares challenge me after that, but I'm fully aware that they're all staring at me in terror.
I get off 5 stops after and for good measure, fire another shot, and hit another person, I don't know where. I walk down the subway and stop when I see a girl who looks about my age, with curly brown hair, olive skin, and dark eyes. She's with a talk boy who also looks about 14, with messy black hair, pale skin, and blue eyes. I walk up to the pair and introduce myself.
"Name's Brii. I'm gonna stay with you two for as long as I want, I won't kill you, as long as you don't kill me." and with that, I sit down next to them and continue "And you are?"
The girl looks incredulous, and angry, but the boy grins and says "Hiya! My name is Austin, and this is Emlyn." I realize I haven't spoken to anyone in two months, and nod my head to them, curl up on the cement next to the boy named Austin, put my backpack under my head as a pillow, and promptly close my eyes.
"Excuse me?!" The girl named Emlyn exclaims. "What makes you think you can just come here and order is around?!" She growls. I sigh and sit up.
"You're right. I'm sorry." I exhale. "I should've asked. May I stay with you for a while?" I ask, smirking.
"Yes!" Austin exclaims. "We've been needing another person in our group for a while. And my Austin senses say we can trust her!" I smile a little at his innocence. Emlyn smiles too. I curl back up into a ball, set my head back down on my backpack, and close my eyes. This time, I fall asleep quickly, and it's a heavy sleep too, one with no dreams.