CHAPTER I
The burning wouldn’t stop, no matter how
much I writhed. The feeling coursed excruciatingly through my veins, biting my
skin, scalding my body. I couldn’t see--my eyes were squeezed shut and refused
to open, and even though I wanted to scream my paralyzed throat prohibited the
escaping of any noise. I felt my long, waterlogged hair streaming through the
liquid around me, and I clutched my arms against me in a futile effort to stifle
my harrowing anguish. I could feel the mechanical oxygen mask over my nose and
mouth and could even hear the hum of the tubes attached to the equipment outside
my cage, but my brain seemed to refuse to accept this and I felt the sensation
that I was suffocating anyway. I threw myself against the glass in a desperate
effort to escape, but this accomplished nothing, since I was horribly exhausted,
and I pitifully slid my hand down it, silently begging for mercy.
None came, and I slowly fainted away into
darkness.
*****
I emitted a terrified gasp and sat
straight upwards, flinging the torn blankets from atop me. I sat for several
seconds in absolute silence, with the exception of my heaving breaths, and
slowly cast my gaze in a gradual circle around me. After of several seconds of
absorption I recognized the familiar scenery of the alleyway around me, and the
reassuring sounds of barking stray dogs and scurrying mice. I exhaled a long,
weary breath and collapsed backwards, running a hand through my long, tangled
blond hair which had grown noticeably damp with frightened sweat.
"........A dream...." I murmured breathlessly, gazing up towards the
sunless heavens above me. "...That’s all it was.....Some
nightmare.....That same one I’ve had for the past week and a half..." I
exhaled a short, breathless sigh, and after a pause I suddenly leapt to my feet
with a jolt. "....Aah!! There’s no time for me to be daydreaming!! I
gotta get going!!"
I turned and crouched again, folding up
the wrinkled sheets I had been sleeping beneath, then placed them neatly near
the large silver garbage can situated in the corner. I let out an amused giggle
and swept my hand over the back of the snoozing black and white stray cat
enveloped in the shadows. "Aww, you came to protect me, Lucky?" I
chuckled happily, watching the small kitten glance up at me through one blurry
amber eye. The other one, disgustingly raked with large scar, remained closed.
She let out a quiet chirp and curled back up into a ball.
Humming softly, I trudged over to a
pipeline positioned towards the front of the alleyway and kneeled down by the
faucet, which was dripping steadily from the lack of use. I forced the rusted
knob to turn, then emitted a squeal of disgust and stumbled backwards. "Damn
that’s cold!! And I thought the mornings were freezing..."
After forcing myself to wash in the frigid
water that flowed from the conduit, I yanked a dirty, faded dress over my head
and straightened the black fabric belt about my waist, then wrapped a torn shawl
around my shoulders. I combed my fingers through my knotted blond hair, then
lifted a wide straw basket up onto my arm. With strain, I managed to push open
the top of the abandoned dumpster and reach inside, pulling out several large
bouquets of flourishing flowers (somehow the climate within the refuse heap was
warmer than the one of the outdoors and they were able to blossom rather
successfully). I slid several bunches beneath my arm into the basket, then
released another weary sigh and headed towards the entrance into the alleyway,
out towards the street.
*****
"Help a girl in need, sir?" I
asked innocently, strutting up to a passerby and holding up a flowering tulip.
"Best price you can get anywhere, 3 gil a flower, 40 for a bouquet!"
The man gazed cautiously down at the bud I
held in my fingers, then pulled his hat further down over his face and continued
onward. "No thanks, miss."
"Oh, please, sir, don’t turn your
back on a starving child!!" I begged piteously, chasing after him with
sorrowful eyes. "....I...I haven’t eaten in days, and I need a new
shawl......It is so very cold today, please have a heart!! It’s like
purchasing karma!!
"I said no thank you, miss," he
repeated, turning away and transversing a street at a crosswalk.
I stared after him for several seconds, my
breaths misting in the cold air, then clenched my fists and narrowing my eyes in
rage. "Selfish bastard!!" I shouted angrily, even though I knew he was
well out of earshot. "You come back and say that to my face! You’re gonna
get one helluva scalding when the devil comes for your ass,
mister!!"
I exhaled an aggravated breath, then
whirled about and stomped back towards where I had been standing before.
"....Jesus, are the people in these slums getting more and more
egotistical, or is it just me?" I huffed angrily, fidgeting with the flower
bud between my hands. "Usually when I use that story, someone will give me
money to eat or something.....Ahh, I don’t need him, I’ll get my
wages some other way."
I surveyed the pedestrians around me, then
randomly chose one and ran up to him. It was a young man, probably in his early
twenties, accompanied by a girl of about the same age. The man had spiky blond
hair and unnaturally deep blue-green eyes, while the girl possessed long auburn
hair and hazel eyes. Both glanced over at me when I approached.
"Good morning, sir," I greeted
as friendily as I could. "Care for a flower to impress your
girlfriend?"
"Huh?" He blinked several times,
then glanced down at the girl. "...Well, we’re kinda in a hurry..."
"Oh, please, it will help a homeless
girl!!" I interrupted deplorably, clasping my hands in front of me.
"Please....Many people seem to not care about the poor anymore, and I’m
beginning to lose my one source of salary......I’m so hungry.....and so
cold..."
"Ummm..." The man gazed
uncomfortably at my disheveled face, then back at the woman on his arm.
"Oh, come on, Cloud, don’t be such
a miser," she scolded. "Get a couple flowers from the poor girl."
She grinned. "....Remember, roses are my favorite."
"Ok, ok," Cloud huffed, pulling
out several coins. "Here, here. Three roses for Tifa, please."
I smiled, then reached into my basket and
pulled out the specified number of blossoms. "Thank you so much," I
acknowledged, accepting the money and placing the flowers into the woman’s,
whose name I guess was Tifa, hands. "Such deeds eventually pay off in your
favor."
"Not at all!" Tifa exclaimed,
totally interrupting what Cloud was about to say. "You just be careful, ok?
There are a lot of weird guys out here in the slums, and it’s no place for a
girl like you."
I smiled gratefully. "....Thank you,
I will." With that, I turned and headed back in the direction that I came.
Tifa and Cloud continued on their way down the street.
"She was very sweet, don’t you
think?" Tifa asked, bracing herself against a rush of wind that swept
furiously through the dry, frosty air. "It’s too bad that even pretty
young girls like that can still be subjected to poverty and
misfortune......These slums are a horrible place to live..."
Cloud exhaled a distant sigh and gazed up
towards the sky above him. ".......Yeah.....Y’know, that girl....she
kinda reminded me of ....Aeris..."
"...Well, she was a flower
girl," Tifa huffed sarcastically, spiteful at the mention of her rival’s
name. "Besides that...." She suddenly blinked, then whirled mockingly
towards him. "....You thought she was hot, didn’t you??"
"H...huh??!!" Cloud spun towards
her, and his face washed a faint shade of crimson. "I....I did not!!"
he protested defensively, turning his head away.
"Heehee.....Cloud, you’re bright
red!!"
".....Women..." Cloud muttered
almost inaudibly, gruffly thrusting his hands into his pockets as Tifa continued
to taunt him. Suddenly he blinked, stopped walking, and felt around his pocket.
"...Hey--!"
"Hm??" Tifa turned back towards
him as he forced his pocket open and gazed disbelievingly inside. "Cloud,
what’s the matter?"
"That...that little rat!!!"
he suddenly shouted furiously, whirling around to glare behind him.
"She...she was nothing but a goddam little swindler!!"
"What?? Cloud, what are you talking
about??"
"That damn flower girl!!" he
huffed tumultuously, clenching his fist. "I...I don’t know how she did
it, but....somehow, amongst our conversation, she swiped my goddam
wallet!!"
*****
"Hahahahaha!!!" I laughed
triumphantly, ducking into the safety of a shaded alleyway and leaning back
against the wall. "This is perfect!! What a pair of suckers!! They took my
poor innocent stories hook, line, and sinker!! Hahaha!!" I reached into my
pocket and pulled out the leather poach I had swiped from Cloud’s coat and
shook it, listening to the jingle of enclosed money. I hungrily ripped open the
sac and spilled the contents into my hand, then let out a cry of disappointment.
"What the hell---this guy is more broke than I am!! There’s
only....one...two...seven...seventeen!! Seventeen freakin’ gil!! What a stupid
waste of my time..."
I exhaled another annoyed breath, then
pocketed the money, straightened the strap of the basket on my arm, and headed
back out onto the street. "Oh, well, there’s got to be some rich
creeps out here..." I examined the people that passed me by, but most
didn’t cast a second glance in my direction. I even attempted to approach a
couple, but they simply refused my by a silent wave of their hands or ignoring
me altogether.
"Damn..." I panted in
discouragement. "Looks like no one cares at all...."
Famished and weakened by the icy climate,
I leaned back against a vast wall lining the sidewalk and rubbed my bare arms,
which had turned noticeably paler and numb from the cold (fortunately, my
constant exposure to such temperature assuaged my fear of becoming frostbitten),
and exhaled a breath. "......Y’know, I really could use some new
clothes..." I whispered softly to myself. "Nothing too horribly
expensive, but maybe a coat, or at least a sweater..." I immediately
snapped myself back into reality and stood up straight. "...What am I
talking about!" I exclaimed to no one. "I’ve been perfectly fine
this whole time!! I don’t need anyone, I don’t need anything! I’m just
fine!" I snorted out a matter-of-fact breath and crossed my arms.
"....That’s right, I’m a loner! A survivor! An...an...outcast...
"Ah, well, whatever," I
interrupted myself, sliding my basket off my arm and placing it lightly down
onto the pavement. "I need a break..." As I stretched my sore muscles,
my gaze gradually drifted to a large pile of random garbage, probably close to
ten feet tall, leaning against the wall only a yard or two away. I stared over
at it for several seconds in silence. "...Jesus, Allie, have you really
sunk this low...?" I asked myself as I approached the heap. "Searching
through trash for something to keep warm...? You really are desperate,
you stupid bitch..." I exhaled a sigh and lifted myself atop a sturdy box,
then began rummaging through the refuse for any type of cloth or source of heat.
"....This is disgusting..." I moaned, seizing a bleached quilt but
realizing it was stained with patches of dried vomit. "I can’t believe
I’m doing this..." Several seconds of silence passed, with the exception
of my hands searching through the waste and the sounds of passersby behind me (I
was determined not to turn around and reveal my face to any of them), and I soon
found myself humming random tunes that popped into my head. "...All I want
is a room somewhere....far away from the cold night air....with one enormous
chair, oh wouldn’t it be lovely...?" I continued to murmur the lyrics
under my breath, then froze as I felt a pair of staring eyes boring into my
back.
I didn’t move for several seconds, then
gradually cast a glance over my shoulder until I completely whirled about to
face my spectator. My confused azure eyes eventually met a pair of sharp scarlet
ones.
It was a young man, probably in his late
twenties or so, with long black hair falling loosely around his shoulders. His
skin was unnaturally pale, and he stared blankly at me through his unnatural
crimson eyes. Red eyes...? I thought to myself, gaping perplexedly back
at the man. I...I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a color before...
The man did not budge from his spot on the
pavement, and I forced myself to stifle a shiver as he continued to gaze
straight through me. An icy breeze whipped straight down the sidewalk,
fluttering the stranger’s coat and causing his thick ebony hair to stream. His
ashen face soon became revealed to me, and I found him remarkably handsome;
however, the dismal air about him sent several tremors cascading down my spine.
My eyes finally fell to my flower basket
on the asphalt, and immediately I snapped back into reality. Exhaling a
startled, "....Oh...!" I leapt down from my perch atop the box, landed
clumsily on my feet, snatched up my bassinet, and raced up to him.
"....Care for a flower, sir??"
He blinked several times, appearing to
return from some sort of reverie. "....What?"
"A flower," I repeated, lifting
a snapdragon from my basket with a smile. "Do you want one? They’re only
3 gil apiece, and it’ll help me get some food and clothes. Please?"
".......I......" He gaped
incomprehensibly towards me, then exhaled a weary breath and took several steps
backwards, straightening the collar of his coat. ".......No thanks. Flowers
aren’t exactly my style."
"Hey, wait!!" I called, running
after him as he continued down the sidewalk. I suddenly grabbed hold of his
jacket. "How can you do this?? Have you no heart?!"
"..........No." With that, he
shook me off and continued walking. "Thank you for clearing that up."
"...Hmph." I turned angrily and
walked in the opposite direction. "I should be the one thanking you."
"Eh?" The man spun back around
to face me, watching me duck into a sidestreet. "Thank me for what?"
I cast a quick glance over my shoulder to
check that he could no longer see me, the emitted a gleeful laugh and pulled out
the wallet I had captured from his pocket when I had seized him. "....For
more than you know, moron."
I brushed my hair behind my ears, then
turned and proceeded down the sidewalk. "Two suckers in one day," I
giggled to myself. "This is getting easier as time goes--" I was cut
off and a startled cry escaped my throat as I was suddenly knocked off my feet
and sent sprawling to my left hip. "Hey--!!" I angrily glared up and
spotted a large man, with whom I had directly collided, standing above me,
swaying unsteadily as he dazed down at me. "Watch where you’re going,
idiot!!" I snapped furiously, then emitted a irritated gasp as I spotted
several bouquets of various flowers spilled out in the slush lining the street.
"You jerk!! You made me drop two days worth the flowers! Two freakin’
days!! You stupid moron!!"
"...Watch your mouth, chickie!"
he bellowed in return, his words slurring clumsily as he pointed down at me.
"You ain’t got no right ta say anythin’ ‘bout me, understand??"
He’s totally wasted....Gross....!
"Oh, yeah?" I huffed angrily, retrieving my fallen blossoms and
getting to my feet. "Well, apology accepted, you dolt!!"
"What’d I just tell yas...?!"
he sputtered inebriatedly, seizing my wrist and jerking me back towards him as I
attempted to leave.
"...I don’t know, I couldn’t
understand you, you drunken bastard!!" I hissed, yanking on my hand in an
endeavor to escape. "Let go of me!"
"You’d betta watch your ass,
sweetie..." he hiccupped, tossing my wrist away acrimoniously and pointing
a shaking finger at me. "The way yous been actin’.....it could get chas
hurt....it’d be a shame, a pretty lass like you...heheh..."
"Hmph." I straightened the
basket on my arm and whipped my head away from him, then turned on my heel and
sauntered back the way I had come. "Jerkoff..." I muttered, casting a
glance over my shoulder back at him. "You’re in no position to tell me
anything until you sober up! What an idiot...!"
*****
Business did not pick up any further for
the rest of the day, and I didn’t even get a chance to steal any other money
pouches besides all those I already had. Dusk was beginning to fall, and the
clouded heavens began to release drifting flakes of snow. I had wandered several
long, icy blocks away from my residence, so I decided to take a breather in an
deserted back alleyway and rest my sore feet.
"Heehee..." I let out a soft,
victorious giggle as I pulled out the wallet I had stolen from the second man
and began to count its contents. "Holy crap!! Two hundred, two hundred
fifty....three hundred seventy-five gil!! Jackpot!! That guy must have just
gotten his paycheck or something!! Wheeee!!" I began to search through the
rest of the wallet, and my eyes fell to a photo ID of the same dark man I had
stolen it from. "........‘Vincent Valentine’...." I read quietly,
glancing towards the man’s deep ruby eyes. "What a weird guy....What was
that feeling that shot through my body as soon as he glanced over at
me...?"
"Hey, guys!" someone called from
behind me. "It’s Eliza!"
"Huh?" I turned as the forms of
several dusty adolescent males stepped out from the shadows behind me, and
immediately I stuck out my tongue towards them. "...You idiots. What
dumpster did you climb out of?"
"The same one you did, dearie,"
one with ruffled brunette hair, who I knew as Claude, teased me, giving me a
light pinch on the shoulder. "Who’re you to judge?"
"Ah, a busy day, I see!" another
with long black hair in a ponytail, named Will, exclaimed, snatching the wallet
from my unexpecting hands. "Why can’t you be a good girl and actually
sell flowers for once, Eliza?"
"You--!! Give it back!!" I
commanded, lunging towards the wallet. However, he simply held me back with his
foot and began to thumb through the enclosed money.
"Whoa-ho, this dude’s loaded!"
he asserted happily, holding up the cash for the rest of his gang to see. "L’il
Eliza hit the freakin jackpot!!"
I gave him a punch in the stomach and
stole the wallet and money back from his hands and slipped both back into my
pocket. ".....Hmph. Maybe if you morons actually went out and got
yourselves a job, you’d have a similar turnout."
"Since when did pickpocketing
classify as an occupation?" a third gangmember with dirty, short red hair
named Ryo, questioned sarcastically leaning his chin on the back of his hand.
"And who’s gonna hire a bunch of homeless bastards like us?"
"I dunno, but you can stop picking on
me." I stuck my tongue mockingly out at all of them and smiled. "Just
cuz I know you all want me..."
"I don’t know about your body, but,
damn, I could sure use all that cash you pull in every day," Hiro, a tall
teenager with short, pale blond hair, commented dreamily, holding his shaking
hands out towards the fire he had started in a garbage can. "You could at
least loan us a couple bucks now and then."
"Hey, why don’t you guys all become
newsies like I suggested you do?" I asked them. "It may not pay the
greatest amount, but it’s a job, and they’ll even let you stay
indoors--"
I was interrupted as Damien, the final
gangmember with long brown hair held back in a braid, let out a cynical laugh
from the depths of the alleyway. "That’s a joke," he snorted,
glancing over at me from beneath his mahogany bangs. "We ain’t made to be
hangin’ out with any bunch of freakin’ strangers. And a newsy is one a the
most tedious jobs a guy could have."
"....Well, you don’t have to be so
unappreciative," I huffed angrily. "I was just trying to help..."
"Let’s face it, Eliza, we ain’t
meant to have jobs," Damien interrupted, casting his gaze away from me.
"Some of us worthless bastards were born to just sit in the shadows and
waste away."
"...Don’t talk like that, it
won’t be this way forever..."
"This is the way it’s been so
far."
"Yo, Eliza, you wanna stay with us
tonight?" Hiro suddenly asked in a desperate attempt to change the subject.
"Ryo managed to swipe some food from the marketplace."
"No, I think I’d better just go
home," I replied. "I’ve been out walking all day, and I just want to
go to sleep. You guys take care, ok? I’ll see you tomorrow." They all
called a farewell towards me, and then I continued down the street.
I stepped inside another alleyway another
block or so down to take refuge from the falling snow, then leaned back against
the wall and exhaled a weary breath. "...So tired...and cold...and
hungry...I wish that--" I let out a terrified scream as a hand suddenly
seized my wrist and whipped me roughly around to face a pair of fiery scarlet
eyes. I emitted a gasp as I recognized the form of Vincent Valentine, the main I
had robbed, standing in the shadows and exerting a tight grip on my left wrist.
"You little thief!!" he snapped
angrily, yanking me towards him. "Give me my money back!! Now!!"
"Let go of me!!" I ordered, then
let out another frightened gasp as I noticed his other hand, his left one, was
replaced with a golden steel claw, like the metallic arm of a wild animal.
"What..what that hell...?!"
"I said give it back to me!!" he
hissed, meeting my eyes again. "I’ve spent the last hour searching the
goddam city for you!"
"...Nnnn..." I gaped at him in
unmasked shock, then yanked on my wrist in a pathetically shaken escape
endeavor. "I said let go of me!!"
"My money first!" he demanded
nastily, extending his frightful metal claw towards me. A timorous squeal
escaped my lips, and immediately I reeled backwards and shielded my face with my
free hand. I could feel frightened tears welling up in my eyes, and I whipped my
head aside in a desperate custodial position.
"Ok, ok!!" I sobbed piteously,
digging into the depths of my shawl and holding his stolen wallet out towards
him in a quivering hand. "Here, here, just take it!! I’m sorry!! It’s
all there, every single penny! I didn’t take any, I swear!! Just please
don’t hurt me!!"
He stared at me in silence for several
seconds, as if he was hardly comprehending what was going on. He blinked several
times, drifting back into reality, then slowly removed the wallet from my hand
and released his hold on my wrist. I immediately tumbled backwards, landing
clumsily on my side on the pavement. "...Ughhhh..." I winced slightly
at the throb that shot angrily through my hip, then gradually lifted my gaze up
to his face. He opened the wallet and gazed inside, counting the money, then
eventually shut it and slipped it into his pocket. He suddenly seemed to realize
my existence once again, and as his eyes met mine I felt a frightened jolt snap
through my bones. ".....I said I was sorry..." I choked raspily,
hiding my face and dragging myself defensively against the brick wall.
"Please....I just needed the money....I didn’t mean to get you so
angry....I was just hungry and cold, that’s all..."
"Uh..." Vincent seemed rather
uncomfortable with my terrified position at his feet, and after several moments
of gazing uneasily down at me he gradually lowered himself to a kneeling
position at my side. I immediately let out a sharp gasp and drew my shivering
arms in against me, staring at his frightening crimson eyes in exposed terror. I
felt two apprehensive trails of tears slide down my cheeks. "....No,
don’t cry," he suddenly told me softly. "I’m sorry, I didn’t
mean to frighten you. Don’t be afraid. I won’t hurt you, see? Here, I’ll
help you."
I forced myself to swallow, then pushed
myself to my feet, seized the handle of my basket, and fled down the alleyway. I
could feel Vincent watch after me, now on his feet as well, but I could tell he
was not going to make any attempt at following me. A long trail of petals fell
behind me, landing lightly on the thin coat of snow that now littered the
ground.
I had almost reached the end of the
alleyway when suddenly a powerful arm shot out from nowhere, roughly seizing my
arm and slamming me brutally into the side wall. I instinctively emitted a
stunned scream, but it was immediately stifled by a furious hand clamping over
my mouth. I was dazed for several seconds, but as my blurred vision slowly
climbed I exhaled a muffled cry as I met the eyes of the drunken man I had met
earlier.
"Little bitch!!" he snarled
angrily, tightening his grip across my lips. "You think you can get away
from me?? You made a big mistake, my dear, and I warned you not ta mess wi’
me!!"
I finally managed to wrench my head away
from his suffocating grip, and I instantaneously let out a raspy, "Let
go of me!!" and struggled furiously against his grip. "Are...are
you freakin’ out of your mind?! I said let go!!"
"Heheh..." He swayed unsteadily
on his feet, but he managed to keep his balance. "Thought you was pretty
slick, eh? Thought yous could get away from me, eh...?"
"Let me go, dammit!!" I
screamed frantically, jerking violently backwards but unable to dislodge my
hands from his grip. "Are you crazy...?!!"
"Little bitch..." he muttered
again, and I could smell the intense stench of alcohol lingering in his breath.
"You think you was pretty smart, tricking me so easily....Let’s see who
gets the last laugh..."
"What are--!" I was stopped
abruptly by a startled gasp as he reached into his pocket with his free hand and
removed a large butterfly knife, which he immediately held only inches from my
face in his quivering grip. "....Oh...oh my God..."
"I’ve won, you little
harlot..." he growled under his breath. "Now give it back to me,
before I--"
He was bluntly silenced by a loud clicking
noise behind him, and as he slowly turned to face the sound I spotted Vincent
over his shoulder, holding a black pistol in both his hands before him. My
breaths had turned noticeably harsher and ragged, and I managed to stare over at
him in absolute astonishment. "....Vi.....Vincent...."
"...Nnngg..." The man that held
me glared unsteadily over at the threatening gunman, and then his face slowly
became distorted with rage. "And who do yas think you is...?"
"Drop the girl," Vincent ordered
sternly, not moving from his immediate position. "Now."
"Heheh..." The man let out a
quiet, intoxicated chuckle, then scowled over at him. "And why..." he
dragged me aggressively upward by my wrist, "...do you want to defend such
a miserable wretch as this...?"
"I said get away from her,"
Vincent commanded again, lifting his gun towards the man’s face. "Don’t
question my actions. Just do as I say."
"This girl...she’s nothing but a
despicable thief..." the drunk continued, holding the knife threateningly
close to my throat and causing me to let out a petrified whimper. "I met up
wi’ her while I was mindin’ my own business.....and the next thing I know,
she’s gone, and my pocket’s empty..." He turned back towards me, his
blurry, dark eyes boring into mine. "....Now, you wench..." he
grumbled angrily. "Give me back my money....all of it, you hear me? Every
single coin that you stole from me, understand?"
".....All right...all right....just
don’t hurt me...." I fumbled clumsily into my clothing, searching for the
wallet I had stolen from him earlier and struggling to move against his tight
grasp on my hands. "I’ve got it all....Just let go of me...I can’t find
it if you keep--"
"You just keep searchin’,
bitch!!" he shouted, jerking rampageously on my wrists. "Alla it, you
got me?! How am I s’posed ta gamble and booze up if some slut’s got my damn
money...? Whoo, gotta chill out....head’s fuzzy..."
"I’m not going to tell you
again." A clicking noise sounded out from behind the man as Vincent cocked
his gun, and I could feel my captor turn tense. "Let go of the girl and
take two steps away from her, do you hear me?" Vincent demanded, still not
having moved from his position from earlier. "I truly insist you listen to
me....the girl might be squeamish at the sight of blood."
"You know what...?" The drunkard
exhaled an aggravated snort, then slowly turned towards him. "I’ve hadda
just about enough of your orders!! Now get outta here before I slit this
bitch’s throat just ta spite yas!!"
"Oh God.....!!!.." I sobbed
deplorably, my voice cracking pathetically from distress.
"Release the girl and get your money
back," Vincent retorted in an unnaturally calm tone of voice. "I’m
sure it would be a great deal easier to continue on your way drinking and
gambling with your head still attached."
I could hear the two of them continue
exchanging threats, then my eyes sluggishly fell to the flower basket at my
feet. At first I had to stare at it for several incoherent moments, then
gradually bent to the side and managed to seize its handle softly between my
fingers.
Fortunately, the dipsomaniac was too
disoriented and too occupied with Vincent to notice my subtle movement. "I
said get outta here!!" he yelled turbulently, his eyes now completely
focused, to the best of their ability on the handsome man at the entrance the
alley. "You think yous can just--"
He stopped as I unexpectedly jerked in his
hands, and he immediately spun about to face me once again. As soon as his
entire countenance came into view, I swung the basket in my quivering hand with
all my force, clubbing him directly across the face and sending a whirlwind of
flower petals spiraling into the air. He uttered a surprised grunt and staggered
several feet backwards, and I suddenly felt my wrist slip free of his grip. I
contiguously tossed the basket to the ground, whirled about, and dashed madly
towards the opposite end of the passageway, where I ducked behind the corner and
continued running.
The man clutched his face in shock for
several seconds, then emitted an aggravated growl, regained his balance, and
took off directly after me. "Think you can escape me, bitch!!"
Panting, I drew in a fierce gasp as I came
to a dead end. I had managed to flee another five or so blocks by way of the
back pathways, and somehow I had taken an incorrect turn and ended up before a
tall brick barrier. Several seconds passed, and I had almost succeeded in
convincing myself that I was safe when a familiar snickering noise came from
behind me. Immediately I whirled about, and I felt a powerful impact convulse
through my bloodstream as I spotted the drunk staggering clumsily into the
entrance of the alley.
"I warned you..." he huffed,
glaring over at me with an amused statement masking his complexion. "I told
you that you should watch your ass....cuz your attitude was gonna get chas
hurt....Things like that happen to pretty girls everyday....heheh..."
"...N...no..." I stammered
fearfully, backing myself towards the all. "Please don’t hurt me..."
"Thought you could get away,
eh?" he questioned sarcastically, slowly approaching me. "Thought you
was so smart....when the entire way you ran...was mapped out by your footprints
in the snow...?"
"No.....!!" Tears dripped
pathetically down my face, dropping to the ground beneath my feet. I could now
see the glimmer of his butterfly knife, still clenched in his fist, in the misty
lighting. "...You...you can’t do this...!"
"You won’t feel a thing, pretty
lady..." he sneered, now only maybe a foot or so from me. He placed the
dagger lightly against my neck. "Oh sure, you can guess what
happened....but while it occurs, I’m afraid you’ll be senseless..."
I screamed as he gave me a swift slash
across the cheek and then transversely on my upper torso, then seized my collar
and lashed me violently to the ground. Blood splattered to the snow in
contrasting red droplets, and I could feel more lacerations forming on my arms
and back as the knife whistled above my head several more times. My voice choked
miserably in my throat, and I felt the tears streaming down my face. "Help
me!!" I finally managed to shriek before my speech dissolved once again
into a sob, screech, and silence. "Someone, please!! Can’t anyone hear
me??!! Help me, please!!!!"
*****
I sputtered, sending several more drops of
blood sprinkling to the snow.
I slowly drifted back into consciousness,
revealing a blurry portrait of the scarlet blanket of frost beneath me and the
numerous bruises and abrasions raked across my arms sprawled in front of me. My
head pounded pathetically with agony, and with a shallow moan I forced myself to
lift my head. Tears still streaked uninterrupted down my cheeks, and judging by
the echoes sounding around me I must have continued screaming despondently even
as I had laid unconscious. I could feel that much of my clothing had been
brutally torn away, and I could see the scraps of cloth littering the ground
around me. My body burned with several unseen wounds, and my blond hair hung
limply before my eyes and around me.
I completely understood what had happened.
I was still choking on my pathetic sobs,
and my head slowly fell back to the bloody ground around me. I couldn’t tell
how long I had been unconscious, since I had no concept of time and the lighting
around me had all faded into a painful, throbbing glare through the vicious
pounding within my skull. I cried aloud again, my voice echoing around me, but
no one came to my aid. The snow still fell lightly around me, like soundless
drops of cotton, and the world about me was strangely silent with the exception
of my occasional desperate wails. I was completely alone in the alleyway,
muddled and suffering, surrounded by several thin trails of my own blood.
The drunken man had obviously departed a
long time before, judging by the fact that I could no longer see his footprints
in the snow around me. The city seemed to have quieted, depressingly silent and
suffocatingly still through the translucent sheet of falling snow. No one could
hear my wretched laments. No one could help me.
My mind sent a panicked series of jumbled,
uncontrolled messages through my brain as it finally seemed to piece together my
situation, and another sob escaped my lips as I could see what I knew the man
had done to me while I had fainted. Suddenly a gleam caught my eye, and I soon
could recognize the shape of the man’s butterfly knife laying before me in the
snow. I stared at it incomprehensibly for several seconds, choking in my own
stifled wails, then slowly reached forward and took its hilt gently into my
hands. Its icy, metallic texture felt cold against my numb skin, and I held the
blade delicately before my eyes. I then tediously laid the edge against my
wrist, just beneath the palm of my hand, and after a few seconds of disjointed
hesitation I slashed it expeditiously across my skin in one swift, sudden
motion, then watched as the blood seeped through the wound and began to trickle
to the ground. The flow grew steadily faster, and I felt myself growing
increasingly weaker.
I collapsed dimly to the snow, which had
turned a significantly darker shade of scarlet, and felt my eyes slowly closing.
My ears became noticeably deafened by the overpowering silence about me, but
through the tumultuous commotion surrounding me I could faintly hear the sound
of approaching footsteps, crunching over the newly-fallen snow. There was a
brief pause as the sound continued to approach me, but it gradually grew muted
as I began to slip away into unconsciousness. All at once a dark shadow fell
around me, and I could faintly see the form of a tall silhouette standing above
me against the blinding glare of the dim lighting about me. The figure didn’t
move, only stared motionlessly down at me.