The Basement

Name: Jacob Alvarez

Age: 19

Gender: Male

Persona: Musician/Busker

Picture and Description:

Spoiler

Personality: Jacob is extremely warm and sensitive but rarely knows how to convey his emotions in words, usually trying to get his feelings across through his actions. He is kind, but fairly naive - when things are going badly he takes them too much to heart and can become even more withdrawn and silent than usual. However, he is generally optimistic when it comes to other people's problems and tries to help those he cares about whether they want it or not.

He's a bit of a pushover and will tend to agree with whatever other people say regardless of whether he actually agrees or not; he rarely acts in an aggressive or pushy manner.

Important Possessions: His guitar, of course.

History: Jacob had a fairly stable upbringing, except for the fact that his parents would not support hs desire to follow a career in music, encouraging him towards academia. Now that he's out of education, he is seeking the life he always wanted.

Secret: (will come back to this?)

Theme Song: Second Chance by Shinedown (Or, if you know Spanish, this one is better.)

Up for Love: Yes

Other: n/a

Ginger

"Ya, dude. You ain't gon last long 'round here if ya ain't careful." Giner sighed and looked up at the faint stars in the night sky over the city. "Stick with me, I'll hook ya up with a place to crash soon enough. But after that stunt with Lucky, I don't think I can smuggle ya in to my place." she laughed quietly and shoved her hands in her sweater pockets.

He nodded slowly and followed close as she walked down the side walk. This city was dangerous, but also the only refuge of run aways and orphans like her. Even though now she was too old to be considered an orphan child. She was on my own now. Ginger sighed and fingered her necklace, then looked over to the guy. He eyed the necklace.

"If you don't mind my asking, what's the story behind that?"

She shrugged "Wasn't much of a secret to begin with." She put my hand back in her pocket and stared up at the faint stars. "His name was Jordan, I thought he loved me. Then he skipped town and left me dry."sheI sighed, "S'usually the way things work here."

He looked at the path ahead of himself, thoughtful. Ginger knew of a very cheap hotel nearby that usually let her stay with a discount. She nudged him down the ally to their right and continued on.

"So whadda about you? What's your story?"

Before he could answer she saw she had taken a wrong turn. They were in a dead in ally, one way out. She swiftly turned around to see a menacing figure standing in the mouth of it. They were trapped. But she wouldn't go down without a fight.

Tom

The night before

Tom flashed a rare smile, flicking though the bundle of dirty notes with a sadistic joy. One hundred, two hundred, three hundred; and all he had to do was fish a bullet out of a mans arm. He placed the money to his face, smelling the sweet smell of success, he would eat well tonight. He shoved his money back into his satchel, this was a dangerous place and people holding bundles of cash where easy targets. A beggar crawled towards his , thin grimy fingers outstretched, thin twig like body draped in rags. It croaked, the smell of piss and blood unbearable. Tom looked at it with cold blue eyes. Maybe be he should put the old dog out of it's misery. The doctor in him noted his discolored yellow skin, the yellow pupils; Hepatitis no doubt. It was terminal, he reached for his Colt but then again why waste a bullet?

He kicked it, striding away. The other scum edged away, there was something about that overconfident strut, ferocious frown that seemed to sing danger. He hated Old Harles with the deepest loathing, the smell of blood and sweet, the tar covered walls gang tags crawling over them like fire ants. Sometimes he longed for the luxury of the upper east side, the green of Ireland or the comfort of Yale but here business was good, there was always someone in need of a illegal liver transplant, someone wanting a cheap boob job, someone needing him.

He caught sight of a gang of tan youths chasing after a chubby black haired kid. He noted the boys bag, it was heavy... A little more cash wouldn't hurt and unlike the gang he wouldn't murder the kid, probably just knock him out maybe steal a kidney.
He followed, his long legs carrying quickly though the derelict backstreets, he stayed in the shadows. His hands found his trust old colt double eagle but he didn't need it, miraculous the fat kid escaped managing to climb him way on to a roof. Luck bastard, all he would lose today was a kidney. He considered climbing up the rain pine, running his long fingers though his long black hair but why bother, he couldn't stay up there forever.

He grabbed an bottle of jack out of his bag, and made himself at home on the dirty coke covered floor...

He heard the sound of clamoring metal. He snapped out of his alcohol stupor, his hand this time reaching for his brass knuckles. The fat kid and.... and... a cute red head climbed down the drain pipe. His lucky day! Two kidney! He looked up, it was night now, and night time was for hunting...
He followed the pair, drifting in the shadows . He watched like a wolf, eying his beautiful prey as the slipped into a dead end...

Tom

Sorry, it's a little long

He strode down the alley way, sliding in a new magazine, just in case. The girley turned, and snarled launching her self at him. But all it took was the flash of the colt in the moonlight to silence her. " Any of you freak have STIs?" he snarled, deep voice echoing across. The pair stayed silent, he took that as a no. " Any other incurable diseases?" he hissed, stepping closer. " What do you want!" growled the pretty one. " Only to harvest your organs, Ginger" he snarled. The chubby one gave a whimper. " Empty the bag kid," he snarled, pointing his gun at the kid's head. The boy gasped but did was he was told, random items feel on the dirty floor. He scanned the pile, nothing that he didn't already have. Except, a bright blue piece of paper. " Pass me that piece of paper kid." The boy moved forward, giving him the pamphlet before running back to his girlfriend. Tom looked down In the dark he could make out the words. 'O'Connor for president! He can save America'.

He stood there for a second... His father running for president...

Rayne:

I loathed the way his tongue smacked out every time he saw me, and a sting of repulsion danced in my whole body. For that moment I regretted eloping that night, but the sweet face of my daughter washed this regret and I mentally scolded myself from thinking so. What if Peter had turned out to be such a jerk? Hadn't that marriage given me the sweetest gift of my life? My daughter, Sara!

My eyes again turned to Lucky, his eyeballs were still rolling and his friends patted his back. Yeah, he's doing such an awesome job! Clumsily, I cleaned the table and in process some of the leftover fries slipped from the tray and fell down.

"She's pretty sweet," one of them, the tallest exclaimed and Lucky smirked only to stare at me hardly. The way his good-for-nothing ruffian friend had said 'sweet' made vines crawl on my legs. I felt my body harden and the fork that I had just kept in the tray was about to go into his skin, when I stopped. You can't risk that, Ray.

"What could I bring you, sir?" I forced myself to speak, scrunching shut my eyes to be opened seconds later. Lucky got up from his chair to caress my cheek. As a result, my insides started gyrating and before long I was perspiring.

"Please, sir," I spoke in a muffle, and he held my wrist. My hatred towards him was increasing and the fork that still my hand clasped was eager to pierce through his skin. But I held on my urge to act violently.

This was no normal locality. Murders, rapes, drugs were like what a normal place would consider as festivals. This all was heavily celebrated here and the least one could do here for survival was to stay quite until somebody hit you first.

"Why, honey pumpkin? I just got my beard shaved for you," Lucky avoided my pleas and continued racing his hands across my pale skin. Splinters pinched my whole skin as his touch created a feeling of disease within me. His stale breath released fumes on my face and I flinched back in protest, but he snaked his hands around my waist.

"Help!" I shouted, and from behind his friends brought a duct tape to cover my mouth. I furiously started kicking in the air, but never managed to reach him. Shifting my eyes in their sockets, I realized that people were dumbly looking at the scene unfold them and no coward was ready to save me or at least try of saving me.

"You're mine now," he hissed, and this one sentence had told me that I had had enough of him already. No way I was going to go with him. With huge care, I brought the fork in my hand towards the front and poked it on his stomach. A ear-splitting scream. Then rising my knees, I aimed for the place where it hurts the most and in no time I was able to count his teeth for his scream had grown louder.

I was now free. Free of his stares, free of the fearful life I had led. Or maybe it was just the beginning.

Dropping down the knife, I raced for the exit of the restaurant. His screams echoed in my ears, pounding against the numbness that had formed in my mind. What had I just done? I was just running, and for a moment I didn't know if I was even making an effort to run. It was coming naturally to me as adrenaline coursed through my veins.

"You, wait!" Somebody barked and I knew it was one of his friends. I didn't bother turning for if they were following me then knowing it would only slow down my pace. While running, the laughter of my kid echoed and soon only that I could here was her wailing. What would happen to her now? Would she become orphan?

As the thoughts circled around my head, I banged into a cushion, only to realize it was a human.

Elijah

The man with the pistol stared at the pamphlet I had handed him. I watched as emotion raced from his heart and his brain to engage in a twisted battle across his face. For a second, just a second he loosened has grip on the gun. Ginger seized the opportunity; grabbing the man's wrist and forcing it up in the air. Their was a loud bang and a flash of light. It tore through my senses and imprinted itself in my vision; a ghastly purple blot. I couldn't see well, but I definitely heard the sound of the gun being thrown against a wall. I lunged forward, my finger's scrambling in the moldy dark for the metal demon.

Just as it looked like Ginger was about to lose I found it, and pulled myself up in an instant; gun brandished fiercely.

"HEY! Get off of her!" I yelled. They both turned to me and took a step apart. I kept the gun locked on the man's middle section, so that he couldn't jump or duck out of the way. He had a cut on his forehead, and some pretty nasty bruises on his chin. Ginger was worse for wear, with a split lip and a black eye. I didn't get a good look; had to focus on the mugger.

"Oh no you don't" I said as he moved into the shadows. "Out here in the light" I took a few steps back and kept aiming as the man stepped into the pool of orange cast by the weak efforts of the street lamp.

"Kill 'im Eli' Ginger spat. "Fool tried to kill us" I considered her words. Just as conflicting emotions had conquered the man, so they did me now. Ginger saw my hesitation. "Oi, if he had the gun; you'd be smoked by now" I thought.

"No. If I kill him I'm no better than he is" Ginger looked shocked and the man started thanking me, but I cut him off. "But if I wound him, take all his money and leave him near a hospital..well then that just might be fair"

I waited for Ginger's reply. Did she agree with my plan?

Tom

She lunged, body flying though the air. It went so fast, the shot so loud.That eternal flash of light, metal flying into the air.

How could he! How could he! Just let the prey get away! He was going to die... He was going to die. An image of Rose, tears flowing down her face... No, he was going to go down with a fight. She might have an element of surprise. He had skill, years of boxing, karate lessons and college athletics on his side. Something sharp ran across his florid,burning he felt blood run down his face, he had underestimated the girl. He gave a war cry, loud deep and strong, plunging his fist into her stomach. As she buckled he threw an open palm into her face aiming for the nose. Suddenly fasted than a flash of light she recovered, an upper cut to the jaw. He missed hitting her in the eye instead. Anger boiled up his fist flying though the air, squarely in the mouth, blood and spittle soaring gracefully in to the air like ballerinas dancing swan lake.

Then he realized. The boy. The gun...

"HEY! Get off of her!" yelled the chubby sheltered looking kid, pointing his gun at his chest. he stared the kid in the eyes. Did he have the guts? He stepped back into the shadows testing the boys resolve. " "Out here in the light" he said, his voice strong but he could detect fear, hesitation.

"Kill 'im Eli" snarled the red head, blood dripping out of her pretty little mouth. "Fool tried to kill us" spat the chick. He rolled his eyes. He was no fool, he had a medical degree for god's sake, he was defiantly smart enough to see the fear in the boy's eyes.
"No. If I kill him I'm no better than he is" said the boy strongly the ginger giving and blood filled gasp. "But if I wound him, take all his money and leave him near a hospital..well then that just might be fair".

Tom shook his head. He was seven feet tall, he more than hard to drag him to a hospital and everybody knew the system was corrupt. He was going to die, he might as well have some fun before the kid ended his life.

"Really kids, I wasn't going to kill you. Your kidney are with more if they are harvest from a live patient. I was going to gas you with that chloroform in my bag cut you open and take one kidney each, so you would still live, and sell them on the black market. You would probably wake up in a gutter somewhere absolutely fine but minus an kidney. But kid before you kill me, there is just one thing i want you to do. If you ever meet a Anna-Rose Corleone, tell her that Tom loves her and he's very much sorry."

Tom loves her... he had finally admitted it. He was officially a sick freak, I love with a fifteen year old. He closed his eyes, maybe he deserved to die.

Elijah


"Really kids, I wasn't going to kill you. Your kidneys are with more if they are harvested from a live patient. I was going to gas you with that chloroform in my bag, then cut you open and take one kidney each, so you would still live, and sell them on the black market. You would probably wake up in a gutter somewhere absolutely fine but minus an kidney. But kid before you kill me, there is just one thing i want you to do. If you ever meet a Anna-Rose Corleone, tell her that Tom loves her and he's very much sorry."

I took the man's words with a grain of salt. Ginger was still focused on killing him, and after hearing that this man went around stealing organs from the less fortunate he had earned no favor's from me. Yet perhaps he means well.

"Why don't you just ask people if they want to donate? I'm sure it'd be easier than gassing them." Ginger rolled her eyes.

"Oi, the bloke's obviously a nut, smoke him already"

" In a minute" I shrugged her off. She groaned and rolled her eyes once more. "Meanwhile can you get my stuff?" she looked me over.

"Oi, whadda I look like, a freakin' PA?"

"Please?" I really didn't have time for this conversation. I was holding a man at gunpoint! Ginger begrudgingly agreed.

The man opened his eyes. "Well...?" he asked. I was thinking of how to answer. Tides of emotions mixed in a swirling tsunami, that washed through my body, engulfing my heart, carbonating my blood, and setting my brain in a tempest of different opinions. I made my decision when Ginger returned.

The flash wasn't as bright this time, though the sound still clawed through my ears and rang my head like a bell. The man screamed and dropped to the ground, clutching his thigh. Blood spouted in between his fingers; pushing forth like the ugly head of some dark beast. I walked over to his writhing form.

"That was a warning, if you try to follow us or mug anyone I know again the bullet will go some place little more dear to you than your leg" I then turned and took my bag from Ginger, who spat on the man.

"That's for the lip" she snarled. We then turned and left the man on the sidewalk; his blood becoming a pool of crimson repentance in the neon ocean of concrete.

Ginger started leading me towards the motel she had mentioned earlier, I wonder exactly where it was?

Ginger

"Oi, that took some outta me." Ginger huffed as she wrapped her arms around her waist.

This is why she didn't get in scuffles when she was still healing from the last one. Ginger glanced up at Eli. She couldn't help but wonder if he was alright. She knew he didn't do any real fighting, but shooting someone for the first time was something that always stuck with you.

"You okay, Kid?" she asked quietly.

Her mind faded off to that time, not so long ago.


Ginger, Lucky, Tank and Ozzy were all sprinting down the sidewalk. A lady's purse in hand as they ran. Ginger was used to these petty thefts. That was nothing new for her. But what had set her off ease that day was the gun in Ozzy's hand. The one that Lucky had told him to take.

But that didn't make her run any slower. They quickly twisted into an ally, when someone stepped out in front of them.

"I think you should give my grandma back her purse." he demanded it. Trying to play hero.

Lucky chuckled and looked over to Ozzy. He raised the gun and cocked it. Ginger's heart raced at that moment. She couldn't let them kill him. They all laughed as the man started trembling. He wasn't expecting this. She could tell.

"Ozzy stop!" Ginger screamed as she lunged at him.

She grabbed the gun from him and pushed him to the ground. Before Lucky could start lecturing her the man lunged at Ozzy with a knife, stabbing him twice. she gasped, only seconds before he had seemed so helpless.

He turned towards Tank and she pulled the trigger. Ginger only managed to hit him in the arm, Lucky took care of the rest. She fell to my knees beside Ozzy. But it was too late.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his hand on her shoulder.

He looked genuinely worried. Ginger nodded and nudged him towards the bright neon sign that read 'vacant'. The End's hotel. They knew her well there. She opened the door and he followed me in. Lisa looked up then shook her head.

"Alecia, darling. When are you going to realize that you need to get out of there?" she asked, probably not realizing that the boy was with me.

She shot her a hard, cold glare. "Oi, Ginger. Not Alecia. Alecia is a dead name. We needa room for the night. Two beds." Ginger dropped a fifty on the counter and Lisa handed her a room key.

She looked over to Eli, and whispered. "Her name is Alecia, not Ginger. Maybe you can knock some sense into her. She really is a good girl, it's just... after her parents left..." Ginger guessed she didn't realize she could still hear her.

She turned around and pulled her hat over her face. Quickly shutting her up. She dragged Eli off to their room.

*Holy crud this is long*

Elijah

Luckily the motel had a power outlet, and my slightly scratched up laptop was able to charge. Ginger was sprawled across one of the bed's playing with her necklace from before. I got a good look at it; a keyhole and a heart attached to a thin gold chain. I wondered what the story behind it could be; she seemed to care about it a great deal.

"Oi, you got any good tunes on that iPod?" she asked. I shrugged.

"Check for yourself" I replied, and tossed the Ipod over to her. She scrolled through it for a minute before shrieking in happiness.

"Yesss. You got Price Tag!" She immediately blasted some song by Jessie J. I dimly remembered getting the music video off "Free on iTunes" Alecia got up and danced the song, singing along with the lyrics. I smiled and laughed as she did the Jerk, the Dougie and a number of plain old other dance moves. I wasn't really a dancer' so I decided to sing with the lyrics as well. For a couple minutes the damp motel room became abuzz with the positive energy we produced. The darkness was banished with the exuberance of our music. But as all good things do, it ended far too soon. Alecia fell back onto her bed with one final laugh. I decided to use the oppurtunity to get to know her better.

"So Ginger, where you from?"

Ginger/Alecia

Ginger let her head fall back on the pillow and bit her lip. It wasn't that she was hiding her past from anyone. It was more that she didn't like being reminded about it. She couldn't even remember what Her parents looked like anymore. She clasped her hands and set them on her stomach.

"Well... I'm an Orphan. I was born just outside of town actually. But when I was thirteen my parent's skipped town on me and my bro. He was like, sixteen at the time. He said he'd take care of me. He lied. He joined Lucky and the dudes and I soon followed 'im. I miss the bloke sometimes, but he had it comin'." she frowned, during the conversation she refused to make eye contact with him.

"So, you're parents just left you... and your brother is dead? Don't you have any family?" he asked. He probably didn't mean for it to sound so insensitive, so she forgive him this one time.

"Nope, none I know of. The guys been like a family for a while I s'pose." Ginger shrugged and looked over to him.

He nodded. She flipped through his iPod. Besides that Jessie J song he didn't really have any music she really liked. She walked over to him and handed it back.

"So what about you? Where ya from?" She asked. If Ginger told he had to tell.

(How long before they actually arrive at the basement? Maybe we should set a target day or something )

Jacob

I made my way down the street cautiously, guitar hung around my back and a satchel full of the few possessions I had over my shoulder. I glanced at the hastily scribbled map of this area that had been drawn onto a scrap of paper, then looked around, trying not to let my concern show. In this kind of area it would be dangerous to show any weakness, let alone that I was lost.

Another quick look, and I tried to memorise the drawing before shoving it back in my bag for what I hoped would be the last time. I was on my way to my new apartment, but so far I was havng little success. If my map was correct, then the apartment building should be on the corner of this street... but there was nothing but an empty lot in the place where my new home should have been. I hesitated, hoping I'd made a wrong turn somewhere and that the apartment I'd paid for did actually exist. I waited a split-second before making a right turn down a street that looked relatively well-lit. Maybe I'd be able to find someone who could help me work out where I was before it got any darker.

I strained my eyes to see if there was anyone on this road, or if I should turn back now and look somewhere else. There seemed to be a silhouette at the other end, illuminated by the dim light of the streetlamp they were leaning against. As I neared, it became more obvious that it was a person, and I approached slowly, wanting to make sure they didn't look as if they would throttle me before give me directions.

Once I was only a few feet away, relief washed over me. It was only a young man, probably a little bit younger than me, but he didn't seem to look particularly dangerous. Not that I could really tell, but he wasn't brandishing a weapon in my face just yet.

I cleared my throat awkwardly. "Erm. I, er, I need someone to help me out? I mean, if you could... If you don't mind, could you-"

I trailed off as a dark expression passed across his face suddenly, and he straightened up. "I know what you mean," he said quietly, not meeting my eyes.



(^ Just in case it's not clear, this is Pundit's character )

I would prefer if you guys stuck to two posts a day at the most to prevent people from getting lost. They can find the basement any time soon. I'm going to make sure Juli-Rose gets their first, though.

Juli-Rose

Juli sighed and put the last of the canvas' into the large duffel bag, and then stood up slowly. Then, she heard a door slam behind her.

"Where are you going?" Lexas asked icily.

"Far away," she whispered, barley able to speak.

"From what?" Lexas' voice hissed through the room, which was already clouded with dust and the seemingly tangible hatred.

"You, and Reggin." Juli turned to face her, "You've done nothing but hit me and push me since the day I got here. I'm done with it."

Lexas crossed her arms over her chest. "Go ahead, you wont last a minute out there." Juli brushed past the woman and ran down the stairs of the apartment. When she reached the street she took off running.

And she ran, and ran.

Her feet danced across the sweet grass, and she sat down by the lake. A boy, faceless and nameless, sat beside her. He picked up a stone beside him and skipped it across the lake. She picked up a rock and tried to skip it too, but it just sank into the bottom of the lake.

"Will you teach me?"

Soon, Juli couln't run anymore, and she walked until she found an empty alleyway. This would have to be home, for now. As Juli sat down, she noticed something strange about the brick wall in front of her. Leaning closer, she realized a section of the brick wasn't brick at all, but faded, dirty glass.

She rubbed the window, and looked through. Matresses were piled from the floor to the cieling. No one was in there. The matresses were still in perfect condition, from what she could tell. Juli reached into her bag and took out her largest paintbrush. She then struck the window with it until the glass shattered.

Juli then dropped her bag down into the basement, and jumped down into what was going to be her new home.

Spoiler

The Basement:
(I'll add more when I can)

Dam, dam that kid to hell. He had shot him, with his own gun! and then that b*tch spit on him. He groaned, what had his life come to?

It was a cold winter's day, snow feel endlessly from the moonstone sky. A boy sat at his piano watching the new blanket the city in it's warm embrace. His fingers stroked the keys, some Bach? or some Handel? anything Baroque? his finger's glided across the pale ivory notes floating in the air like fireflies in the moonlight. " Boy, what is this?" said a voice. Tom stopped. " Nothing father, mother bought me that CD from Old Harles. I really do like the music. Mother says it's called punk rock," he said quietly looking up into his fathers stern face, his eyes glistening like gems. Suddenly something swiped down, hitting him across the face. It stung , it stung. " NEVER, NEVER listen to this again. I have plans for you boy! I won't have you listening to this... to this FILTH!"...

He groaned, pulling myself up, dragging his body to his satchel. He had lost a lot of blood, but the wound was just superficial. The bullet had gone right though, narrowly missing an artery. To his surprise they hadn't taken any of his stuff and his gun lay abandoned on the floor, but it was to dirty here. To dirty to do anything remotely medical. He shuffled though his bag, finding a set of bandages. He quickly made a makeshift dressing, making sure to apply as much pressure as possible. He grabbed his stuff and lifted himself off the ground.

He wondered aimlessly for a while. The blood seeping out of his wound. He needed rest... he couldn't call the ambulance, his father would find him. Call Rose? He would rather die than have her see him like this. He stumbled into a empty alleyway. He could see a light from a low lying window. Maybe... just maybe... He stumbled over to the broken window. Maybe there was a door... He found his answer a few meters away. A flight of stairs leading down to a locked door. He crawled over and grabbed his gun.

His aim was perfect, the old rusty lock shattering. He pushed his way though the old metal door, falling into a... Mattress factory?

Tom is the second to get to the basement. I a wait Kaywiia ( Juli-Rose's reply)

Rayne:

I stretched my glance up and saw the two pairs of eyes staring back at me. Soon I lowered my eyes to the person's mouth and the curved smile shot panic in me. Confused, I started biting my lips furiously and it was only when blood was running down them that I stopped.

"Sweets!" Peter exclaimed, snaking his hands around my head and twisting one of the strands.

"Peter?" I asked. My eyes couldn't believe them and never for a minute the thought that he was here for me crossed my mind. My heart beat began jumping high and the earlier fear of the gang members catching me washed away. "What you're doing here?"

"Came to make you my Valentine!" He huffed. Sensing his sarcasm, I stepped back and tried hard to stop myself from shaking. "Whatdya think? I'm here for Sara, you dumb head."

"Why?" I shivered.

"Because she's my daughter, too, and now she doesn't need to live with her hysterical mother. She needs me, not you," he hissed, moving towards me. He held my hair again and started fluffing them. "You know what? I really adored your hair. But that was before you were so...demeaned. I mean, look at you. Working for a cafe. And that too where? Old Harles? You've lost your brain," he rattled.

"Get lost," I spoke in a waver, completely shaking.

"Stop being so rude, Raye!" He smiled crookedly and clasped my hair tight.

"Look, she's there!" Somebody exclaimed and without looking back, I kicked Peter and ran for my life.

*_*_

Slithering like a snake in the vile streets of Old Harles, I clutched tight to my child.

"Where we goin', Mom?" She asked, and her eyes shone like diamonds. I stopped my urge to sob and held on tightly to her. With my other hand I dragged my attache and with my eyes scanned for a place to sleep for tonight.

"We need to find a place to sleep." She shot me a confused look.

I had never thought that he'd be back. That too for Sara. He wasn't supposed to be a good dad. Then why? Maybe he was avenging me. He didn't care about Sara after all. The minute I had heard they were looking for me again, I had paced for my life. Peter had tried following me but then he stopped. In all honesty, his stopping scared me more than his following would have. What was in his mind?

"One day, Rayne would be all over the newspapers. She'd have defended some great personality from going to jail, right?" My mother chirped, and my dad nodded enthusiastically.

The only person I was saving myself was me and my daughter. Sometimes I wish that if my parents had not had such high expectations from me, then maybe I'd have felt less guilty about abandoning them.

Owls' hoot echoed in my ears and I started wailing. Sara looked up from her blanket but I shushed her to sleep. A small gang of yob emerged from one lonely street and panicking I hid inside the nearest alleyway.

"No loot for today. Screw luck!" One of them said. Breathing furiously, I shut my eyes. Once they had passed me, I came out of my hiding and started walking again.

I need to crash!

Turning to my right, I saw a hole in the down side of an old, rustic building. Light came from there and I saw a silhouette pacing back and forth. A long stream of something hung loose at its back, and I could say it was a girl. But men have long hair, too, nowadays.

My curiosity bugging me, I left my luggage aside for a while and moved closer to the building. I got up from there and scanned the place in as much silence as I could and finally one of those lanes showed me an entry to the inside of the building.

Maybe this was where my destiny was going to lead me. I trundled towards the entrance.