Chapter 1

Her senses lit up in a flash. Cold, rough concrete rubbed against her cheek and the bare skin on her knees. A sour, sharp tang permeated the air, so thick it filled her mouth as she sucked in a panicked breath. Eyes flinging open, she saw cobwebs and dust caked atop the long forgotten debris of an old warehouse. A few seconds passed before she realized there was a cacophony of shouts, shots, and slams coming from the floor beneath her ear.

Scrabbling to a quick sitting position, she backed away from the middle of the room until she hit the wall. Looking around, she slowly tried to fill in the emptiness of her memories.

Where was she?
 Why was she here?

And most terrifying…

Who was she?

Trying desperately to find any scrap the familiar, she realized that the noises she had heard when waking were coming closer. Definitely gun shots and bodies crashing into hard surfaces. And shouting. The same word. A name.

"Lily! LILY!"

It was the deep, hoarse voice of a man lined with frantic desperation.

BANG!

Another gunshot sounded, from just down the hall. They were close enough now that she could hear the sucking and squelching sounds the typically followed a blade. It did nothing to reassure her. She had no memories and seemed to have come to in the middle of some sort of battle.

Looking around frantically, she realized very soon that she may need to defend herself. It was only then that she noticed her appearance. Heavy black combat boots stained with mud and something that she chose not to name. Close fitting black pants made from a tough material full of straps and pockets. And holes; two separate gashes marked her left shin and right knee, blood crusted on the frayed fabric. A warm, roomy green plaid shirt hung on her shoulders and as she twisted to look closer at her torso, she saw the chest holster that strapped two pistols to her body, just over a dingy white tank top. She became aware of the coolness that seemed to be a blade secured to her back.

Without her consent, the panic and chemicals in her body lurched and she jerked to the side as she stomach emptied on the cold, dirty floor. Apparently whatever was going on, she seemed to be a part of it judging from her attire. Flashes of light and a sour smell filled the blank voids in her mind; was that sulphur?

SMASH!

Feet from her, the door crashed open sending dust and smoke swooshing into the room. Two men barreled out of the haze. One was tall with shaggy brown hair and curious eyes; carrying an ancient looking blade as well as a sawed off shotgun. The other had close cropped dirty blonde hair with intense, searching green eyes. He too carried a sawed off gun and a long, bloody machete. Within seconds, their eyes lighted on her crouched form against the wall.

"Lily!" the green eyed man rushed toward her with an apparent relief in his voice. She skittered away from her, not reassured that he knew her. Stopping short, he looked at her with questions in his eyes.

"Lil… what are you doing? Come on! This place is swarming," he said quickly looking towards the door as if he expected something vile to pour from the opening. The other man had been watching the door but he looked puzzled at her when she stayed on the floor, crouched like a cornered, wounded animal.

"Lily, are you okay?" he then asked with more softness than his counterpart. He kept his eyes on her, kind and questioning. Both men then exchanged loaded glances with one another that kept her right on edge. A huge explosion from the other end of the hallway slammed reality back into their faces. Ground shaking slightly, the two men made some quick decisions.

The shorter man quickly stowed his weapons into holsters around his person and moved quickly to her. His jaw set into an even harder line when she continued to flinch and crawl away quickly. With an unrelenting firmness that was laced with an intentional tenderness, he wrapped his arms around her, pinning her arms to her side and scooping her legs up off the ground.

Terror continued to build in her and she thrashed wildly, feeling sharply the various cuts and bruises that were evidently scattered across her body. Within seconds, she realized how terribly weakly she was as her desperate attempts for freedom did little more than irritate the man.

"Lily. Lily, stop," he said softly with softness that suggested familiarity. The second time he said her name, she stilled, continuing to eye him with fear and suspicion. Hurtling toward the door, the two men headed at a breakneck pace down the hallway they had just come through. Despite herself, she looked around at the carnage. Bodies laid everywhere while the heads belonging to those bodies laid in other places. In between the corpses and severed heads, large pools of deep red blood spread across the floor.

She felt her stomach go cold again and little drops of icy sweat slid down her neck and lower back. Clearing the last few stairs, they emerged into the shadows of twilight in another few steps. Not slowing or stopping, they turned a few corners before skittering in the gravel near an old black Impala. The man carrying her jerked the driver door open and slid her into the middle seat while he scooted in next to her. Filling the other seat, the shaggy haired man slammed his passenger door shut while shouting, "DRIVE!"

Not needing to be told twice, the car roared to life and peeled out of the gravel lot spraying the night with bits of earth. Several minutes and miles of road passed between any one spoke. She sat there acutely aware of their proximity and her own anxiety induced trembling.

"Lily, what the hell?" it was the driver who broke the silence, looking concerned and just a little angry. Glancing from one man to another, she decided that she must be Lily and they were waiting for her to reply.

"I… I…" she stammered not sure what to say.

"Lily are you okay?" the other man asked. Deep concern ringed his hazel eyes as he stared deeply at her. She felt naked like all the layers of misery currently coating her had been striped away; it was unnerving to have someone look at you knowing more about you than you did.

"No," was all she could stammer, her voice breaking and moisture leaking from the corners of her eyes.

"Hey, hey, it's okay. It's fine. They didn't hurt you and we're fine," he replied soothingly, wrapping a warm, safe arm across her shoulder. Despite her lack of familiarity with anything going on, she felt safe; protected. After a few deep breaths, she tried to start talking.

"I… I… don't remember anything," she finished.

"Well, they must have smashed your head pretty hard at that bar. We caught up with them within the hour so," the driver started. Lily didn't move or make any comments so his voice died away.

"What's the last thing you remember?" the brown haired man asked.

"Nothing," she replied softly, barely more than a whisper.

"What?" the driver asked, now sounding alarmed.

"Nothing. I… I don't remember anything. Where we are, who I am, who you are," she whispered feeling guilty admitting that she had no memory of these two when they clearly seemed to know her well. Again they shared a heavy look. The arm cloaked over her shoulder stiffened a little, as if unsure that it was appropriate.

"It's okay."