The Link

Chapter One

                                                                       EMORY:

THE MAN'S NECK was locked between one of my arms with my free hand formed into a fist that dug into his head. His hands scratched at the arm that secured his neck in a firm grip as he struggled to breathe or break free. I had him on his knees while I was behind him, tightening my grip the more he struggled.  Students had come to gather around us, forming a circle around the thief, Viola, and me.

     "O-okay, I'm sorry . . . I'll give the lady's bag back to her," He gasped trying to catch his breath. "I won't come back here. J-just let me go. Please!" He begged.

     I looked over my shoulder to give Viola a question that she caught by looking at my eyes. She nodded with a small smile and with that came my release. I let him go and pushed him to the floor with my foot while my arms crossed each other smugly. I tilted my head at him with a triumphant smirk on my face as he stumbled backwards and dropped the bag between his hands and made a run towards the exit. I leaned over to pick up the small black purse that lay discarded on the floor and tossed it to Viola.

     "Thanks Em." She chirped gratefully. She zipped open her purse with matching black nail polish and rummaged through it, making sure that nothing had been taken. I chewed the gum in my mouth and blew a bubble with it. I sighed in annoyance, spitting the gum out in a nearby trashcan. I stretched my arms and dusted off my uniform skirt.

     "Don't call me that Vi. You know how much I despise that nickname." I whined childishly before taking notice of all the people still around us.

     "Shows over guys, scram!" I shouted, shooting a glare to all the kids who had yet to leave. I could understand their interest in what happened though. Thieves were incredibly rare since everyone had a supply of money to pay the quota fee that living in the S.A.R had but there was the occasional bailer who didn't have enough money that month and tried to hack into the storages but they were always caught. Other times the person who didn't have enough money would just leave the S.A.R and go back to the real world. Honestly, I didn't really like living in this digital world anyway. Everything felt too artificial. The grass? Fake, walking through it felt like walking through stiff mud. Though I suppose this reality had its own perks along with the bad ones.

     "Sure you do," She retorted after zipping her purse back up. "Anyway are you going to the party over in Hydra? I heard Cate and her friends were going to be there."

     "Well if you see her you can tell her to go jump off a cliff." She rolled her eyes at me and tied her thin dark braids in a ponytail.

     "That's not usually how a girl talks about her girlfriend."

     "Well it's a good thing that jerk isn't my girlfriend then. Anyway I've got to get home, I'll call you later or something." I said, waving her off before breaking into a sprint. I looked up at the sky, its colors a dark blue and grey with thin clouds. I crossed out of the school's gate and ran all the way down the block, passing buildings that lit up when you were near them leaving a rainbow down the sidewalk of Buale street. I pushed my way through the ever growing crowd of the busy street and weaved through the mass of bodies. Some people had tails, others had unnatural eyes, a number of them were aligned with tattoos or markings all over their bodies, and almost everyone had questionable fashion choices. My father always did believe that our server "Berserker" attracted the strangest people and I had never doubted him.

     The crowd thins down as I turn right to make my way down a narrow alley. The sounds of people are far behind me and it's all but dark except for the colorful lanterns above that light my way home. Glows of purple, orange, red, and blue illuminate the path and I can see my own skin like a shade of lilac gleam like the moon. The alley goes down a long way but my home is one of the many that is lined up to make the alley walls. I stop running, catching my breath as I walk over to the tiny porch on the left side of the alley wall. Like all the others, my black house has no door, only a gate around it, and a silver rectangular pad in the center for identification. I heave my bag that is soon slipping from my shoulders and place my hand on the pad, watching with disinterest as a blue light appears like it always does and outlines every trace of my palm.