This took me about a month to plan, and I'm hoping to finish this by 11:59pm on Feburary 28th, 2013. It may or may not happen. It all depends on my productivity. If I do, hurray! And shame on me for bailing out in November, which is 31 days of 50k writing madness.
Here. Have part of a chapter 1:
Chapter 1
The rancid
scent of acid burned his throat as he advanced forward. His daggers were
forcing him to come closer than usual, causing him to step and nearly slip in
the slick venom of the demon. It was rapidly taking advantage of his position
and nearly sent him sprawling in the puddles of murky, green poison. It was
close that he could see the slick scales and black-tipped claws, which had
nearly scratched his eyes out multiple times since the fight had begun. It
chattered madly as he swiped down and buried the dagger into its rubbery skin.
It squealed; the sound sent shivers through his spine. Thick blood spurted from
the wound and he hissed, kicking the thing in the head.
There was a
quiet gasp behind him. He swore and took the final blow, slamming the other
blade into its head. The rapid breathing quieted. He turned to see a rather
small girl staring wide-eyed at him. Mustering up his best scowl, he glowered
at her.
“Go home.”
“Y-you’re
hurt!” She blurted. Her silver hair was the only detail he could make out in
the dark alley.
“Go away,” he
demanded and stooped to collect his weapons from the mess of scales and venom.
Still, she did not leave. In fact, she had stepped closer and held out a slim,
dainty hand.
“Please,” she
whispered. “You could die from that.”
He chuckled,
“Will I?”
“You
won’t…attack me, will you?”
He examined
her closely; he took in her long wool coat that reached her knees and then a
sliver of jeans tucked into black boots with buckles up the shin. Her metallic
hair flowed down her back in silky waves and stopped just above her waist.
“Go home, I
don’t need a doctor.”
“N…no, you
don’t,” she stammered nervously. “Let me touch you.”
He raised an
eyebrow, “What?”
“Don’t hurt
me,” she insisted and put her hand on his arm. He remained still as the
throbbing slash on his bicep closed beneath her fingers. She looked up at him
when only a faint scar remained of the battle wound with raw terror etched into
her features. “Y…you look mad.”
“That’s one
way to put it,” he said with a long-practiced calm. “So, Silver, how did you do
that?”
She blinked, “Silver?
I…I… don’t know. I – uh – are you hurt anywhere else?”
“A few
scrapes and bruises,” he waved it off. “But… I need you to come with me.”
“You just
told me to go!” She stumbled back with a yelp and then continued to slowly back
away. “I – I think I’ll go do that, now.”
“Running
won’t do you any good,” he advised. Silver’s bottom lip quivered and he could
almost taste the fear coming off of her.
“Don’t hurt
me,” she repeated with a sob, “please!”
“My name is
Dank,” he began slowly. “You’re probably safer with me than you believe.”
“M-my name is
Star,” she finally said. She was now nearing the entrance of the alley and
looked relieved. She truly believed she could get away. She touched the walls
on either side of her; the alley narrowed the further you exited.
Dank sighed,
“I’m the good guy.”
“What you
killed begged for mercy! It promised answers and to aid you in something. It
pleaded you desperately! He said you were not a stupid bird and proceeded to
call you a powerful Raven. How can you
be the good guy?!”
In the moment
she blinked, Dank placed himself at the end of the alley, which was about two
feet in front of her. He braced himself on either building beside him. Star
whirled around and whimpered. He had moved impossibly fast and silently; she
had not even felt a rush of wind when he jumped over her. His eyebrows were
furrowed with question.
“You could
understand it?” He growled, his posture becoming rigid. He was suddenly
prepared to strike.
“You…you
couldn’t?” Her eyes grew wide again. He could now see the green irises with
hazel specs and the thick mascara making her eyelashes look full and long. He
slowly shook his head and tears started to freely glide down her cheeks.
“I…just
please come with me, Silver. I am not going to hurt you.”
She nodded quietly.
He took her arm and led her to his Harley. He put her on the very front of the
seat and slid up behind her, “Sorry. No helmet. Just hold on.”
Dank turned
onto the busy roads of New York City and gunned the engine. He swerved between
different cars and taxis that honked at him, but he waved them off. He even
skipped several stoplights before slowing down.
Soon they
reached a quieter spot and they had somehow reached the heart of Manhattan. He
pulled up in front of a two-story building with an old Volkswagen in the
driveway. Dank parked next to this and ran up to the front door, towing her
along, before barging straight inside.
Chilly wood
floors were the only decoration in the bland white foyer until Dank stepped in
through the swinging door. The living room had a large flat screen TV with a
tangled game console attached to it. Headphones were flung down on one of the
three couches surrounding the TV, and several beer cans littered the floor.
Dank chose to ignore the articles of clothing strewn about.
He walked
over to the wall beside a door and banged on it repeatedly, “Jig! Jig! Choose
another day to bang a girl. I need you.”
Quiet
swearing was muffled by the wall, but then there was a shuffle of clothes and a
zipper. The door swung open and Jig walked in while buttoning his jeans. He
wore no shirt and his shaggy blond hair was a complete clawed mess atop his
head.
“What the
hell do you -.” He paused and looked over at Star, who was clutching Dank’s
jacket and hiding behind him. “Ah…Who’s this?”
“Hold out
your arm,” Dank said. Jig did with a raised eyebrow.
He used his
knife to cut open Jig’s arm, and the hawk snarled and snatched his hand back,
staring at the blood oozing from the fresh wound, “What the fuck, Abijah?”
Dank ignored
his partner and peeled Star from his jacket, pointing to Jig, “Heal him.”
Star stepped
forward and clutched Jig’s wrist with shaky fingers. He watched in horror as he
healed, then his eyebrows furrowed and he stared at the pale fingers wrapped
around his wrist. Then he redirected his glare to Dank, “Awesome. A Robin. Now
what?”
“Jig, she’s
not a Robin,” Dank snapped. “She’s not… Resurrected. She doesn’t have wings.
She seems truly lost. The only thing that made her appear different was her
hair.”
Jig pinched
the bridge of his nose, “What’s your name?”
“Star,” she
said more to the leather jacket than Jig himself.
“And
you’re…human?”
“As far as I
know…”
Jig suddenly
whirled around and reentered the kitchen. There were a few murmurs, female protest,
and then a door slamming shut and heels clicking on the pavement as the ‘guest’
walked away. Dank guided Star into the kitchen and went to join Jig at the
counter, which was to the left of the entrance. Jig had his palms flat on the
island, hanging over the sink which was overflowing with dishes.
He snapped
out of his trans and went to set up a coffee pot by adding water from a gallon
and putting a French blend of coffee into the filter. It bubbled and Jig took
out three coffee mugs. Dank eyed Star closely as she quietly walked across the
room, pausing at the dining table.
“Wouldn’t
touch that if I were you,” Dank laughed. “That table has seen more than its
fair share of ladies.”
“Ah, shut
your gob,” Jig hit him upside the back of the head. “It’s fine, girl. Don’t
trust this maniac.”
She offered
up a small smile and Jig poured three steaming cups of hazelnut coffee. He slid
a cup across the island to Star, who came over and sniffed it. Jig couldn’t
help but watch her as she gingerly added cream and exactly a half spoon of
sugar to her coffee before sipping it. She was extremely delicate.
“You’re
something else,” Jig exclaimed. “How long have you been able to do this?”
Star peeked
up at him timidly, “About nine years.”
He nodded
slowly and Dank grabbed an apple from the fruit basket near the fridge.
“Would Sy
know?” He asked around the juicy fruit. Jig shrugged.
If you have read through all of that, then you have all my gratitude. I do hope to finish this soon enough. Y'know, even though I'm about 6-8k behind. I can do this!
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