Alexandria's Genesis

Chapter 2~Life Debt

                                             1893-Alabama    

      There he lay, his chest heaving as the blood spread across his white linen shirt. My brother, my friend, lay almost dead as the figure with bloodied hands ran away into the night.

     The pain in my heart was great, and I wanted to do nothing more than sit and weep. However, I did what I was drawn to do, what I felt I was meant to do. If I did anything useful in my life, it would be this.

     I knelt down next to him, he was still breathing, but I felt the life leaving him, being swiftly replaced with death.

     I gently placed his head on my lap, and whispered the words that came naturally from my mouth, even though I had never spoken them before.

    "Sleep, brother, sleep. Close your eyes, and the pain will be no more."

                                         ~*~CHAPTER 2~*~

                                                LIFE DEBT

     I lay crouched on the branch, glad for the familiar feeling of being part of the night. The cold wind surged through my veins like it was a part of me. The bright red banner flew high on the flat roof of the partially dilapidated building.

     I arched my back, and held my breath as I drew my arm back. The black feathers of the arrow fluttered in the wind. I kept my eyes on the target, until I could no longer see it. It was what I was trained to do. I released the arrow and watched as it whistled through the air.

    It tore the flag straight down the middle.

   "Shit" I cursed to myself.

    The man who was pacing on the roof looked in my direction. I heard his growl from where I was posted. The fact that my cover was blown angered me, but it wasn't without a solution.

    Screw training. I did what my hands told me to do. As swiftly as was necessary, I had another bow ready and released it, barley thinking. It shot him between his eyes. Dead. Served him right for not minding his own goddamn business.

    I jumped to the ground and walked towards the base camp that belonged to the gang living in Richmond. It was supposed to be a simple Life-for-life operation, but I had my own plans in mind. I didn't enjoy sharing a flat with twenty three goddamn kids.

   "Remember what we came for, Ada." I heard Nate say through my earpiece.

   "I remember." I spat back.

   "Then send the goddamn signal." I felt a tug at the corners of my mouth at the annoyance in his voice. I climbed the rusty ladder that lead to the rooftop.

    "Do you know you're sexy when you're mad?" I thought of Nate, and his tousled black hair and light brown eyes. I did what I always did when I thought of him; I shook it off and screened my thoughts.

    "D, I'm always sexy."

    I rolled my eyes and sighed. "I beg to differ...and don't call me D." I murmured. I stood on the roof and dismantled the flag from the makeshift pole. I tied it to the end of another arrow and placed it in the bow. Pursing my lips towards the wind, the arrow flew and hit the tree where Nate and Candy were posted.

     "Happy now?" I asked.

     "Fine. Now just wait for us. We do it, we get out."

     "Can you stop treating me like I'm still a goddamn Changeling?" There was no reply. Nor did I need one. Nate knew very damn well that without me, our gang would be nothing, all our territories would be lost, and everyone would be killed by the Pure Ones.

      I waited as long as I could before that last sliver of patience evaporated.

I hopped down from the roof and landed two stories below on my feet. I caught the smell of another Gemini, like a mix of wet dog and a ripe mango.

      Candy's aura would have hit me like a truck if I wasn't ready for it. "try blocking your goddamn aura, changeling." I spat. This is why they don't go on any jobs without me. Her aura was like a jumble of thoughts, booming voices and bright lights that thankfully, simmered down to somewhat blank walls.

      The five black figures appeared quickly. Three girls, two boys. They wore all black, as all Gemini did, with their gang's bandana around their neck. The red made their necks look like they were bleeding, which was slightly ironic. They didn't have any tattoos or scars. They were probably still changelings.

      "Ah, Ada. How nice to see you again." One of the girls said. It was the one at the front. She had dirty blonde hair and dark circles under her eyes. I raised an eyebrow.

       "I see you don't remember me." She said through clenched teeth.

       I shrugged my shoulders. "Probably not." I said. "You're not important enough." I said acidly.

       She flipped out a gun and held it to my face. Her hand was shaking. Why gang leaders would send goddamn changelings to do their dirty work was beyond me. Probably because they 're a dime a dozen. Just kill a random person, give them the Breath, and there you go. A confused changeling that was ready to serve the first person who offers them a little power.

       "Listen to me, you little bitch. You get out of here or I'll put a hole in your pretty little forehead."

        I was trying to keep a straight face, but she was making it very difficult. In less than a second the gun was in my hand. I twirled it around my finger. She was furious, I could tell. She wasn't very good at putting up her mental walls. But it didn't matter. I intended on having some fun tonight.

      "Don't shove things in my face." I said smoothly. And, on a whim, I shot one of the boys in the leg. He crumpled to the floor, screaming. I flung the gun where it hit a wall somewhere. "You see," I started, circling her. I saw Candy and Nate advance out of the corner of my eye. I was glad that I had a few moments to play with my perpetually unlucky and most recent victim. "One of your brothers killed one of mine. And it's Gemini's Law that I can kill one of you." I took a lock of her hair in my hand and sniffed it. I leaned in closer so that I could whisper in her ear.

       "And I chose you."