Hello. This is the real opening for the Reall Shadowhunters of Atlanta. Please, read, review, favorite, or whatever you want to do with it. It has almost nothing to do with the characters of the books, so if you're looking for them, you can stop here. If you want a thrilling ride through a new city, and a host of new Shadowhunters, carry on. Now go. Read the story.
- FishShips
Sitting inside the half full train, 15 year old Joshua Hightower tried his hardest not to smile. His sister was waving her hands animatedly in front of her parabatai, who, in turn, was trying his hardest to ignore her.
"Chase, did you even hear what Bri said, or were you too busy staring at that guys butt?"
Her braids swished around as she tilted her head towards the boy in question. Chase drew his eyes away from the distraction and focused on the girl. He drummed his fingers against his thigh. For a few seconds the soft click of his nails against the black leather was all the noise in the train. Eventually, Chase broke the silence.
"Is both a valid answer, Lizzie? Because I was definitely doing both."
"Okay then," Lizzie said, narrowing her eyes. "Tell me. What did my sister just say?"
"I didn't get all of it," Chase admitted, running his hand through his short cropped hair, "but it was something along the lines of, 'Blah blah blah, unused section of track. Blah blah, something about Five Points. Blah. A nest of Vermithrall, maybe a few Iblis. Yada yada. Morgana can't come. BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH. Michael, Kieran, and Andrew will meet us at the station."
He said the last name with disgust. Lizzie just looked at him and raised an eyebrow. Chase leaned against the window, grinning triumphantly.
"That good enough for you?"
Lizzie sighed and went back to leaning against him.
"I'll take that as a yes," Chase continued, pulling a Sensor from his pocket and pressing buttons at random. "I wonder when they'll be adding the Flash rune," he mumbled, "Can't be long now."
Josh smirked as his sister punched Chase in the arm.
"It's actually Midtown," she said quickly, "not Five Points."
It was always strange, looking at the two of them. Chase, tall, broad shouldered, and blond couldn't possibly contrast more with Lizzie's slim, dark frame. Yet they were practically inseparable. Up until that past spring, their families had worried that the two would break their parabatai vows and start dating. Then, to the general relief of everyone except for his parents, Chase Whitehall informed the world that he was not in the market for a girlfriend. He already had a girl friend, and she was more than enough for him to handle.
The train stopped, and most of the remaining mundanes shuffled out. Only the boy who had caught Chase's eye stayed. Standing alone, Josh wished momentarily that he had a parabatai. The fluorescent lights caught the Alliance rune he had printed on his forearm, and he shut the thought away, leaving it for some other train ride. You already basically have one, he reminded himself. The train lurched forward, and Joshua lost his balance, sprawling to the dirty floor.
"Really, Josh?"
He lifted his head and found himself eye to eye with Brianna. His oldest sister had draped herself classily over the more spacious back seats of the train car. Her hair cascaded to the floor like a curtain of oil. Her eyes were locked on his, and they looked very irritated.
"Are you gonna stand up or what? Just because this is your first underground trip, doesn't mean you get to be incompetent again."
Suddenly, the sword sheathed on his back felt three times heavier. He climbed to his feet, brushed himself off, and squeezed in to the small space next to his sister. The train rumbled out of the tunnel and slid onto a bridge. Joshua stared out the window. Below them, countless mundanes drove by on the highway. In the distance, the Atlanta skyline gleamed like a shooting star in the quickly fading light. All over town, vampires would begin to wake and walk the streets. The Shadow World would once again brush within inches of mundanes, unnoticed, as it always had.
The train hurtled into another tunnel, and the city was lost from sight.
At the next station, the train screeched to a stop. The four Shadowhunters hustled onto the platform. Chase stayed back a moment, scratching through the Glamour rune on his palm and shooting a smile at the guy at the front of the train. The guy waved back at him as the train rolled away. Josh sat down on an empty bench and watched Brianna pace the sparsely populated platform. Lizzie and Chase fell in beside him while Brianna continued patrolling the floor. Eventually, she gave up. She stalked over to where Joshua and the others were sitting and stood there, eyes blazing.
"Where are they?!" she yelled, oblivious to the long, pale figure rising up over her shoulder.
"They should have been here-"
"Five minutes ago?"
Brianna whipped around to the source of the voice, and the dark shape swooped down and grabbed her face. Josh jumped to his feet, ready to defend his sister, until he realized that she wasn't being eaten. She was being kissed. He sat down, feeling incredibly embarrassed. Brianna pulled away quickly, leaving a thin, tall boy standing confidently in the middle of the floor. She regained her composure almost immediately. She stomped back to the young man, and everyone on the bench leaned forward to watch the action unfold.
Brianna spit words like bullets. "Andrew! What was that for? Where were you? Where are the others? Tell me."
She cocked her hand back to slap him, and Andrew grabbed it out of the air in a fluid motion.
"Calm down," Andrew pleaded. "All I did was kiss you, and you're my girlfriend. Is that a crime now?"
There was no response, and Andrew kept talking.
"Look, Bri, don't worry. The other two are coming. Michael's trying to get Kieran down the stairs. For the record, this was a terrible idea. Why would you bring a faerie to a train station? Whose plan was this anyways?"
"Hers."
Chase had stood up and pointed directly at Brianna. Andrew glared at him.
"I don't think you should talk about my girl like that, faggot. So you aren't going to do that again, kapeesh?"
He bared his teeth, and fangs glinted menacingly inside his mouth. Lizzie grabbed Chase by the arm and pulled him back onto the bench with a well-practiced motion. Brianna had already jumped in front of her boyfriend.
"Asshole," Chase muttered darkly.
"Bitch," Andrew called back.
Brianna threw her arms into the air. "STOP IT!"
Josh saw Lizzie flinch, and the two boys froze.
"You two," Brianna hissed, glaring pointedly at each of them, "are acting like you're twelve. Cut it out. You're both practically adults. You should know how to control yourselves. Do so, or I will end you both."
She shook her head slowly. "I swear, it's like I'm the only capable adult here."
"Well then, I guess I came just on time."
A tall man in a tank top and shorts stepped out from behind a corner, followed closely by another clad in light leather armor. The guy in the tank top winked at Josh, and he sat up a little straighter. The tension between Andrew and Chase seemed to dissipate, and Andrew stepped back to the opposite wall. Brianna and Lizzie let out twin sighs of relief.
"Glad you're here, Michael," Lizzie said.
"Sorry I'm late," he responded, "It's just, well; getting Kieran down the stairs was difficult."
"It was quite unpleasant," Kieran echoed.
He spoke slowly, like a drunk trying not to slur his words. A train roared into the station, and the faerie teetered slightly and then collapsed. Everyone was on their feet, but Michael moved to catch him. He grabbed the fairy by his shoulders, but on contact with Kieran's armor, he jerked back. Thin red lines crisscrossed his palms. Kieran dropped to the floor. Under the lights, thin veins of silver sparkled on the surface of the leather. Chase hurried over to Kieran, while Joshua moved to inspect Michael's hands.
"Are you okay?" Josh asked.
"I'm fine," the werewolf panted, "It's nothing major. Look. It's fading already. See?"
In fact, the burn marks seemed to vanish before Josh's eyes. The train pulled away, and almost instantaneously, Kieran piped up again.
"I am not quite completely fine, but I am far better than I was before."
He still spoke sluggishly, but no one cared. Even Andrew gave a little smile, seeing everyone okay.
"Well," he stated, "this has been an absolute disaster, but we are here for a reason besides nearly dying, which also involves probably nearly dying. Bri, can you explain?"
The girl cleared her throat before she started. "Alright, guys. We've got a nest of Vermithrall in an abandoned rail shaft, just past the opening of the Southbound tunnel. Of course, Vermithrall tend to move around a lot, so we're going to have to track them all down. Chase has the Sensor, so we're going to be following him into the tunnel, we'll mark up on the way. Let's go."
With that, she turned and walked casually over the edge of the platform. The other six followed her. On the train tracks, Michael nudged Josh in the shoulder and motioned to his forearm.
"I got it," Joshua stated confidently. He pulled his stele out from his front pocket and drew a quick Alliance rune on Michael's bare skin. The effect was instantaneous. He could see every detail of the trench they were in. He felt like he could lift a boulder, and at that moment, he probably could have. Michael grinned, clearly feeling the effects of the rune as well. Josh tossed him an angel blade from another pocket, and they moved forward into the tunnel.
About 10 yards in, Chase called out from in front of them.
"Uhhhh, guys? Who took the Sensor? It's not in my pocket. It was in there just a few minutes ago. I know it."
"It was not me," Kieran responded, "nor was it anyone else to my knowledge. Of course, I was distracted when Chase Marked me."
"Really," Andrew drawled, "you can't even keep track of the Sensor. As incompetent as you are, how are you still alive?"
"Me," Lizzie answered. She laughed when Chase frowned. "He left it on the train when he was checking out a guy. That's why I bring extra. Follow me."
She pulled a small machine from the bag slung over her shoulder, and pressed a few buttons. It lit brightly and started to hum, and they moved forward into the darkness.
Again, please review. If you like it, favorite it. More chapters to come soon, after I update my other fics. I repeat, do not be afraid to flame this. I like to know what I did wrong as much as I like praise. It makes it more fun to develop.
See you again for Chapter 2
Have a nice day,
FishShips
