~ Harmony With Vigor ~

~ Prologue ~

(Warnings: brief mentions of killings and suicide. This chapter is very tame.)

She opened the door to the broken down house carefully. It creaked loudly, disturbing the all-too-quiet night and almost came off it's hinges. She cringed slightly at the noise while the boy behind her shook his head and scanned the area for possible enemies.

The girl stepped into the dusty house carefully, the knife still in her hand. She was on high alert, you had to be if you wanted to live, that's just how it was. Keep your eyes open, don't sleep, never turn your back, always listen, and trust no one... that's what you lived by.

She isn't fifteen anymore. She will never be what she used to be. She will never be innocent. She will never be the little girl she once was. None of them will be. What's left of their childhood will only be distant memories and nightmares. No family left anymore to console them, they're all gone. But they don't cry, crying shows weakness and vulnerability; you can't show any of those.

They've grown up too quickly. Only the bright age of seventeen for most of them. Each day someone leaves them, whether it's death by the devils or suicide. It hurts to lose someone you love, trust, and care about. So that's why you don't get connected to anyone. It just makes the whole process easier, everyone is going to die at some point.

The both of them move quietly through the worn down house, everything was still in the same it was two years ago. The back half of it was blown out, which allowed for moonlight to light their path a tiny bit. What's left of the furniture was covered in plastic and a layer of dust coated it nicely. Glass was all over the tile floor where the beautiful champagne glasses used to hang, and her mother's beloved cookie jar was on the floor, cracked beyond repair. It pulled at her damaged heart strings to see it, but it couldn't be helped. Just move on, she told herself, no point in dealing with old emotions.

They finally came to a narrow staircase that lead to the upstairs. It looked like it could barely hold any weight with how broken it was. But it was the feeling of danger that kept them alive. Each careful step up could be their last, the floor under them was covered in broken wood and glass and other house debris that could easily impale them if they fell. The stairs gave with each step and her heart was in her throat. She couldn't decide if it was from knowing she could die any moment now, or seeing how different everything was.

The boy behind her suddenly placed his hand on her shoulder softly, as to not frighten her. It was then she realized she has stopped on the stairs and had spaced out for a while. Something that they could not afford at this time.

"Need to keep moving." He said softly, almost a whisper, it was calming to hear though, something familiar.

She nodded, feeling tears prick her eyes for some unknown reason but she kept moving up slowly. The stairs creaked so bad, they knew they would be heard. This was too dangerous. But that's what made it fun.

Finally making it to the top safely, they let out a steady breath. The roof had caved in and the moonlight made it easy for them to see where they were going, thankfully. They couldn't risk using flashlights, otherwise they would find them.

The girl put her knife in the holder on her thigh and she breathed in deeply, keeping her emotions at bay. She ran her fingers over the blue reading chair that held way too many memories that opened up semi-healed wounds. The plastic felt smooth under her fingertips, it was a nice feeling. It was a sense of home. There were books over the floor collecting dust, and she could barely make out the titles. More memories came back instantly. She had to move on, and quickly.

They kept walking until she came upon the doorframe of a bedroom. It was the most intact room so far in the house. Only part of the roof had caved in, the bed was made and covered in dust. The rabbit stuff animal still sat on the corner, you couldn't even tell it used to be pink, it was now a dull gray color and it's eyes were no longer the bright blue it used to be, but now also a dull gray.

She walked in, running her fingers over anything she could, collecting a lot of dust. She ran her fingers over the desk that stood in the corner. A dead flower laid on top, all too familiar. As she tried to pick it up, it broke into fine pieces. She felt a sinking feeling, suddenly sick to her stomach.

The tall boy just stood in the doorway, watching her with curious and sad eyes. The girl then picked up what looked like a broken picture frame. She blew off the dust and coughed from the amount of it. They both tensed at the sound and prayed to God that they weren't heard. Neither of them moved a muscle and waited for a long time, until they were sure nothing was coming.

The girl ran her fingers over the picture and once again felt the tears she swore she'd never let fall again. She was past this, there was nothing she could do anymore. No reason to be sad. But no matter what she told herself, she couldn't help the one, solo, tears fall down her stained cheek and onto the broken glass. The boy stiffened again and walked slowly towards her. Looking over her shoulder and at the picture. They were people he didn't recognize except for one. He looked away and forced whatever memories he had of her away before he could feel too much. He didn't want their last memories to be sad.

"Don't." He spoke barely above a whisper to her, taking the picture out of her hands carefully and setting it back onto the table. He took her hand and lead her to the door, they were on borrowed time and needed to move quickly before time ran out.

But she grabbed the rabbit with her other hand and held it close to her chest. She felt a sob in her throat and felt sick to her stomach as she remembered. She remembered everything. All the fun times, the sad times, the times when they almost died, and the one time she finally did. The boy looked at her with more emotion then he had in a long time.

"Was her favorite." She whispered, barely audible. Her voice quivered, and was on the verge of a huge breakdown. She hadn't felt this way for a long time, it scared her. Feelings scared her. The boy touched the rabbit's long ear and smiled slightly, she could see his eyes sparkle with tears as well.

"Cute just like her." His smile fell just as quickly as it came, "miss her."

She hugged the rabbit close to her, this was the last memory she had of her.  She hated memories, but loved them at the same time.  They were all she had of her.

"Me too. More then I ever have."

She let the tears fall steadily. It didn't matter anymore. Things would be over soon. Things would okay for the first time. She would be able to see her again. She will be able to feel again.

The boy grabbed her face in his palms gently, the gesture so familiar; wonderful and painful at the same time. His thumbs swiped gently at her tears and he pressed his lips together, keeping his own emotions at bay.

"We'll see her soon." He said gently leaning down and pressing his forehead to hers taking a deep breath.

The girl nodded her head and felt the back of her throat burning, begging for her to cry out. She looked into his dark and sparkly eyes and tried to smile. He smiled back slightly, then closing his eyes tightly. It hurt and it stung.

She turned her head to the side, and to her amazement; was the beloved angel nightlight. It provided comfort on so many nights, when there was no light, no hope. It laid cracked and laying on the floor, completely covered in dust; it wouldn't bring anymore comfort.

                                                                                                           ~~~

Not edited (if anyone would want to edit, HMU!!)
Word count: 1460
Notes: I'm excited for this, have a great story line in mind, so stick with me!