Silent City

Prologue

The stars above a darkened city twinkled in the night. An enchanted fog covered the streets as a few street lamps illuminated the sidewalks. A woman, tall and rather confident, stood at a bus stop. Despite the darkness, she was wearing sunglasses, and despite the humidity, she wore a large, fluffy winter coat with sweatpants.

She appeared as though waiting for something. She stood there for maybe an hour, waiting patiently. She never checked her watch, and she never looked around.

"A pretty girl like you shouldn't be out here at this time." Someone said to her from the alleyway behind the bus stop. "Let me help you."

The woman said nothing. She continued to stare ahead, waiting for what seemed to be nothing.

"I said, let me help you." The voice from the alleyway spoke again. Two men emerged from the alleyway and began to creep over towards her. She still didn't move. They crept from around the bus stop and over to her.

"You should let me help you." The man's voice was now in her ear. She continued to stare. The two men grabbed her arms. She didn't do a single thing. In fact, she seemed to go willingly with them into the alleyway. There were two other men waiting there. The fog was less dense.

"You guys hold her down." One of the men said. "They usually put up more of a fight.

The woman didn't say anything. She was still staring. In fact, it seemed like she wasn't aware of anything going on. Each of her arms was grabbed by one of the men, and another held her ankles. The fourth man stood in front of her, surveying her face. "How gorgeous. We found a good one, boys."

He reached out his hands to touch this woman. First her face, then her arms, and then her chest. His smile grew wider. His hand then moved down to touch the inside of her pants.

Suddenly, the men could hear her breathe. It was like she had woken up. Her knuckles cracked and she seized up. In a cold, echoey voice, she spoke.

"Get... your hands... off of me." She spoke slowly. Deliberately. Something behind her glasses seemed to glow.

"Keep her pinned." The main man growled. "You have nothing you can do."

The woman's mouth curled into a soft, sinister smile. "No. There's nothing you can do."

It was quick, and completely unpredictable. There was an explosion of light. It enveloped the alleyway and it disappeared as quickly as it had manifested. You could see the woman's hair— it was flowing beautifully, but there was no wind. From the light, she summoned swords. Three of them. Each one planted themselves perfectly into the eyes of one of the three men. The fourth was backing up into the wall.

"I swear— please, it wasn't— don't hurt me— I won't do it— just let me live—" he pleaded, shielding his eyes from this woman, who now seemed to be glowing. She grabbed his collar and stood him up in front of her.

"Please don't hurt me—"

"Hush." She hissed emotionlessly. She pinned both of his hands to the wall, and secured them with daggers. The man's moans of pain got louder and louder. "I said, hush."

Surprisingly, he got quiet. Whimpering, he looked at his three other men, swords buried in their eyes. "You're a monster... who... who are you?"

"Me?" Her mouth curved into another smile. "Oh..." she brought her hands to her face and took off her glasses. As she looked into her attacker's eyes, he gasped. Her eyes were completely black, save for her pupils, which were glowing white. "I'm no monster..."

She placed her hand on his forehead, and he gasped in overwhelming pain. It started near his feet and traveled upwards, slowly at first, and then faster. He felt his mouth burn as a vibrant orange fluid began to drip from his lips. He started to choke. Then it came through his eyes. They burned like nothing before. The substance forced its way through his eyes, feeling like they were about to be popped out. And then he couldn't see. He felt his own eye hit his foot as it fell to the ground. He tried to scream, but couldn't. He could only hear the woman's voice.