Discovery of the Charmers

Warming Up

Annie's POV:

I was so excluded out of everything before I was introduced to Alex. Before I knew her, I was told to remain hidden in case of accidental exposure to the target. That was Henry. I had to come up to his defenses from behind and take him down quietly. My mistake was waiting to long. As soon as I had gotten the signal to charge in and save my sister and her friends, as well as take down the target, I was more than ready. I had watched Alex for a long time. She was clumsy, but able. She was easily confused, but knew what she was doing. She also had Leo. Sort of. He was passed out most of the time, but he was able to dent their defenses pretty well before hand. Now, I'm in a "normal life." What ever that was. I was always trained as a soldier, always told to keep my guard up, never go out into civilization unless absolutely necessary. That kept me from learning simple things that applied to the social classes and the world around me. Our group laughed at me because of how pathetic I was. I hadn't tried most of the food that they survived off of, I hadn't seen any of the stuff they were talking about, I was an outcast, even in this group. Still, I was there to protect Alex and the team, and keep any remaining Crawlers at bay. That's what I was trained for all my life.

The group was of course, bored with the life around them, as New York was so busy that even the smallest things seemed like a big step. So we all crowded, and thought of something to do. Sooner or later, a plan to go on the subway to Central Park was formed, despite the looks that Jules kept giving me, hoping that I would step in. I didn't, instead, I hung back, allowing the plan to further unravel until Jules' face practically steamed with anger. Yet she didn't say anything, she just kept her head down, murmuring little comments to herself. No one cared enough to tell her to quit it, so I kept my laughs silent as we approached the subway.

The trip was loud, but that was only because Kyle was being an idiot, as usual. He was determined to yell throughout the entire ride there. He obviously had never been on a subway before. I hadn't either though, so I couldn't blame his excitement. It was packed with people, but they were all silent, Kyles screams and laughter piercing the sound barrier. The ride was hectic, and I was eager to get off. Once we got off, it was almost dark, and the stars began to show.

Central park was beautiful, yet very depressing. Garbage was strewn throughout, and there were countless homeless people living on corners. They were all sleeping, wrapped up in sleeping bags, or huddled by themselves in order to keep warm. That didn't stop Kyle from yelling from exaggerated wonder and excitement.

"This place is amazing!" His voice carried over, and he got many strange looks from the people around him. Chloe laughed, her eyes glued to the sky. She loved the stars.

"Yeah, now shush. Can't you see the people out here are trying to sleep?" Jules exclaimed, slapping the back of his head. Kyle screamed in protest, rubbing where she had hit. Just then, an old man rushed at us with a makeshift shiv, screaming "You took all of my money, AND I WANT IT BACK," rushing for Kyle and Leo. My time to intervene. I ran at him, decking him in the side, grabbing the shiv out of his hand. Throwing it to Alex, and pinning him down.

"We didn't take your money, so I suggest you leave us alone quickly before someone else takes your life, got it?" I whisper, only loud enough for him to hear. His face contorted into true fear, and he sprinted back to his corner, keeping an eye on our group.

"What'd you say back there??" Alex asked as I strutted back to the group. They all had stunned looks planted on their faces.

"Just told him to leave us alone." I replied, not wanting to anger any of them.

"Okay..." Kyle replied. "Let's not do this again, at least at this time. Let's go."