The Burning Rain

Chapter One

Rho pulled the old jacket tighter across her chest, an act of uncertainty and indecision. It wasn't that cold—she had only brought the damned thing for comfort—but it was raining, and she needed to appear normal. Annie Malts stood before her, shielded from the rain by the overhang attached to the deserted gas station, eyes wide and questioning.

"So, you're innocent?" The hesitation sounded more like disbelief to Rho, as if the woman couldn't quite believe it because she'd never seen it for herself. Rho was frozen, no words good enough for a reply. She couldn't lie because this woman deserved the truth—her name was 'Annie' for crying out loud! What a pure name. And to think that this would probably be the last conversation she'd ever have. But what if the rain was wrong? This lady seemed incapable of being guilty or anything near it. Rho had found out last night that Annie had two kids waiting for her at home with a sitter.

The only thing that had kept her from following through up to this point was the ever-intensifying sparks on the back of her neck. It was as if the rain knew she was questioning her assignment; it had never stung like this. But she couldn't keep her mind off those kids who had the same bleach-blonde hair as their mom. What would happen to them? And... what would happen to Rho if she didn't follow through?

Rho stood there, staring apprehensively at Annie's stained white trainers. She worked at the old folks' home outside of town. "What did you do?" She asked, eyes tight. Maybe if she could justify the crime then the rain would let her off the hook. Though part of her suspected it was stupid to hope.

"Excuse me? What did you say?" The woman looked like she might take a step closer, then thought better of it. She was only a couple of feet from the borderline between life and death.

"What did you do?" She yelled this time, drops falling harsh across her face. Annie flinched. Rho still hadn't gotten over her last two kills—her first two kills. The guilt had been mining away into her conscious, whispering the names of her previous targets. Ellis Walters. Stanley Ryan. "You're guilty! Why?" The words tore out of her with desperation—she didn't want to hear Annie's name thrown back at her in the middle of the night and be tormented further beyond oblivion.

Rho caught the exact moment Annie understood what she was getting at. Her body stiffened, she drew in a quick breath, and the look in her eyes evolved from confusion to fear. Annie started to stammer, started to try and explain herself, and Rho pitied her. And she pitied herself for ever thinking she could provide justice or find repayment for her own suffering and loss.

Her shoulders fell, dropping the burden of the kill, and she shook her head slowly. She didn't need an explanation anymore—it wasn't her concern whether or not Annie got what was or wasn't coming to her. There would be no killing from now on. Let the rain do its own bidding. It could find someone more ruthless than she; Rho no longer wanted any part in ending lives.

The instant her decision was made, her skin began to flash with lightning. She looked to her uncovered hands where tiny sparks of pain landed, but then they flew to her hair and she covered her head, trying to protect her scalp from the burning. She quickly ducked and raced under the overhang, her mind scrambling to figure out what was going on. Her eyes darted around as she realized she'd been attacked. Again, she focused on Annie and found the woman taking a step closer to Rho with her hand outstretched, a look of worry replacing her one of fear.

Rho was smart. She was a fast learner. But it took her longer than necessary to understand what had happened. The rain had told her 'no'. It had laid it out nice and neat; kill or be killed. Obey or be punished. Rho sank to her knees and tried to slow her breathing down. This was it, then—the moment she determined who she would be. Her body tensed when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Annie's. Annie Malt. Annie Malt. The name flooded her senses and she couldn't handle it. Rho jumped up and pushed Annie out into the rain.