Sing!

Chapter Three: Attacked

Music expresses that which cannot be said and which it is impossible to be silent

|Victor Hugo|

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Night had fallen fast upon the city. No more than an hour ago the sky was painted with hues of red, orange and pink, but all colour had faded leaving only a matt black canvas with no stars to be looked upon. The darkness was thick, making it extremely difficult for anyone to see. 

Other than the darkness and Calliope all that seemed to exist was the chilly wind that's harsh bite could be felt through her coat. She could feel the hairs on her arms rise and the bite of the wind had left its mark in the form of small bumps that were tingling on her arms, but its bite was more than flesh deep. Her blood ran cold through her veins and her bones were chilled.

Calliope wrapped her arms tighter around herself, pulling her coat closed and tucking her chin down into her pullover. Her breath was now only visible under the sporadic streetlights, the few which still lit up the crumbling city. As she walked from the east end to the north, she felt the icy sidewalk beneath her boots for the first time that season. With hours left before dawn and the air smelling of overdue snow, Calliope quickened her pace.

Spotting a taxi, Calliope began to cry out for its attention. Waving her arms around in the air, hoping that the taxi would spot her. Her hope drained as the taxi passed her, but then suddenly stopped. Sighing happily, Calliope watched as the taxi turned back towards her.

"Yo!" A man screamed as she bumped into him. Turning, Calliope saw a tall young man, dressed in a balaclava around his face, hiding his identity. Fear rose within her, but she did not show it, "you want that cab?"

"Yeah," Calliope replied as she stared at the stranger.

The taxi arrived for her. The stranger opened the door for her while saying, "Merry Christmas," Calliope was surprised at the sudden kindness and turned towards him. Replying with the same kind Christmas greetings, Calioppe proceeded to enter the taxi.

Yet, things turned differently.

Promptly the stranger grabbed her bag. The force surprised Calliope. The force sent her flying out of the car, yet  Calliope managed to stand her ground. Using her own strength, Calliope pulled her bag out of the thief's hands. The two commenced a tug of war competition between the bag.

The taxi man beeped his horn, hoping this would help. Surprisingly, it didn't. 

With a strong tug, the stranger brought the bag towards him as well as Calliope. Her back was pressed against his strong chest. The stranger's hand came into contact with her mouth, trying to hush her screams. Still struggling with the bag, Calliope did the only thing she could do. She bit down on his hand with all her force. The taste of blood soon entered her mouth, causing her to cringe in disgust.

A cry of pain was hared within the street. The stranger immediately retreats. Letting go of both Calliope and the bag, the stranger brought his hand towards him. Cursing under his breath, the stranger ran down the pathway, taxi man leaving Calliope sitting on the floor watching him.

Finally, the taxi man made his way towards Calliope. Helping her up, the two watched for a second how the stranger continued to run. Calliope panted heavily as she turned to the taxi man who by then laughed.

"Wow, you're lucky," he stated with amusement, "I didn't punch the metre yet," he laughed at his own joke as Calliope continued to watch the stranger's figure disappeared from her sight.

•     •     •

The next day, Calliope and Snow walked together down the street. The morning rays warmed them slightly as they continued down the pathways that were filled with people. Cluster's of the night's snow lay around the alley's, leaving patches of ice.

"I wasn't scared, I wasn't angry, I was surprised," Calliope admitted to Snow as she wrapped herself further in her coat, "and Snow I had no idea that this neighbourhood got so bad," Calliope announced as she glanced around the street. It was nothing like how she remembered it. There were more beggars then she remembered. More stores boarded up. Things had changed.

Charlotte walked down the street. Spotting her grandmother and Calliope, who happened to be her godmother, Charlotte made her way towards them.

"Grandma," Charlotte said with enthusiasm as she kissed her grandmother on the cheek, "Calliope," Charlotte added as she kissed Calliope on the cheek as well, "I'm going into the city, to do my tap class," Charlotte informed her two favourite family members.

"Good," Snow said as she pushed a piece of her granddaughter's hairs behind her ear.

"Talent is such a burden," Charlotte sighed, which earned laughter from Calliope and a smile from her grandmother. The two watched as she passed them both, still laughing at her comment.

"She loves to dance," Snow announced with a shrug as Snow turned away. Calliope walked alongside with Snow as they both smiled.

"I took dance class all my life right over-" Calliope stopped herself as she glanced over to what use to be Terpsichore dance studio, "what happened to  Terpsichore dance studio?"

"Gone," Snow answered, "hey look at this. Belle's library, gone," Snow pointed towards a building where various beggers lay, "Cinderella's shoes, burned down," Snow shrugged as she remembered the burning catastrophe, "Phil's gym, they bought out. It's like every two weeks a bulldozer comes, another city block is gone," Snow declared as Calliope continued to looked around the street, "they're even talking about closing the school down," Snow exclaimed, which cause Calliope to turn swiftly.

"All right, then why does nobody try to turn it around?" Calliope questioned with anger that nobody had tried to help her childhood hometown.

"The crime, Calliope. The drugs. The people who move out, never look back," Snow answered with a slight sadness, "except you. You came back," Snow said with a smile as placed her hand on Calliope's cheek.