The Shadow Wraith (A Gone AU)

Chapter 2 (Part II)

  Pearl swiped her gun from under her pillow and quickly slid it into her pants pocket. She heard Drake's door open and she breezed past him, her hurried footsteps heavy on the stairs.

  She reached out to unlock the front door and removed the chain lock. This gave Drake enough time to catch up and he pushed her aside as he opened the door.

  "Stay." He growled.
  "Like hell I would." She snapped back.

  She waited until Drake was out the door and closed it behind him. Then she stripped off all her clothes and turned herself invisible.

  Being invisible was different than simply changing features of herself. It was extremely difficult and required a lot of concentration to maintain. She had to be constantly aware of everything going around her and adapting her skin to her environment, like a chameleon. It had taken months and months of practice, but she had finally mastered it.

  It didn't feel anything different from what she usually felt, but when she looked down, she was gone. Keeping an eye on her surroundings, she slipped out of the house.

  Her gun seemed to be floating in midair, and she stuck to the shadows and bushes as she crept across the street. For all the self-moving objects that she had been responsible for, she had never been caught. People's brains allowed them to see whatever they deemed possible, and they'd make up an explanation for it that doesn't involve magic.

  Pearl hid herself in the front yard of a neighbour's house, close enough to hear what was happening. She had clearly been late- the argument was already getting heated.

  "I'm the sheriff of this town." Drake was saying, "and you're doing to do whatever I tell you to." Despite his words, his eyes were challenging, daring. Scared? they seemed to say.

  They should be. Pearl thought.

  The leader obviously caught unto the challenge. He raised his chin and tried to stare Drake down, something hard to do when he was half a head shorter.

  "Make me."

  Drake smiled in that cold, detached way of his. Too much teeth and too little warmth.

  In that moment, the leader seemed up realize that he had made a mistake. He backed up, hands up in the surrender gesture, but it was too late.

  Drake whipped out his gun, fast as the strike of a snake. The knife that one of the bullies held now looked like a toy.

  There were five boys in total, all fourteen or fifteen. They had looked intimidating as a group from her window, but now it was apparent that they were doubting their decisions. They saw that their opponent had a gun, and sure knew how to use it.

  Then the leader broke the silence. "Weapons out!" He yelled.

  The group scrambled, reaching into their pockets and belts. The leader and one other had a pistol. The rest had knives. Pearl saw the boy that they were picking on silently crawling back to his house, escaping in the midst of chaos. Drake barely spared him a glance. He came not because he had a job to save the boy, but for fighting the group. He couldn't care less if the boy had lived or died.

  "Leave if you know what's good for you, pretty boy." The leader said. He was trying to stand tall and puff out his chest, but his eyes were scared and his whole body was like a spring. Bound tight, ready to bounce at a moment's notice.

  Pearl had to bite down on her bottom lip to keep from laughing. Pretty boy.

  "What're you going to do?" Drake asked, keeping his voice calm and cold.

  The leader lifted the gun. He was holding it steady, at least, but Pearl noticed that he hadn't even turned off the safety.

  Drake, clearly, also saw. "Do you even know how to use that?"

  "Yes!"

  "I do." The other boy with a gun said. "I've fired one."

  Drake wasn't impressed. "Hit anything live?"

  The boy turned pale. "No."

  "What's your name?"

  The boy didn't even question. "Seth." He replied.

  "Well, Seth." Drake said slowly, making a show of checking the magazine. "You're going to learn how the pros play."