Chapter 1
The moon shone bright on the pavement, bringing an eerie glowing white light to the scenery. The ancient buildings, truly a deep cinnamon abode, were bleached a superficial white in the moonlight, and it was obvious by the lack of lights on inside the homes dotting the streets that everyone was asleep by now. The streets were almost silent, with the occasional windblown plastic bag causing a bit of noise.
Pitter patter, pitter patter.
Suddenly, along the cobblestone road, the noise of shoes was heard faintly, tapping rhythmically along the ground. A black cat digging in a garbage can across the street turned its head in alarm at the random noise, scanning the area with her large yellow eyes before turning back to her finds of a half-eaten discarded salmon. On the cat's head, a witch's cap perched, with a large white buttoned-down sheet of fabric resting on the base of the cap. The cat ate the last of her remains and disappeared, going off to a city nearby to spread the news of what she had just seen.
A little girl, about eight, walked calmly along the streets. On her head was a pointed witch's cap, with a gold buckle that rested against the base of the hat. She was dressed in normal witch's attire but had a deep crimson-red Little-Red-Riding-Hood-like cloak slung over her shoulder with the hood down resting on her lower neck. She twisted a strand of her copper hair as she walked, and her deep blue eyes took in the bleached sights comfortably. She did not feel afraid; she walked this path almost every night and was used to this eerie display.
She suddenly turned right and went down a dim alleyway. Her eyes adjusted as she walked over discarded trash and cardboard boxes, almost tripping on a garbage can lid that had been tossed in the middle of the ground. She felt the walls as she neared the end of the buildings that made the alley. Her fingers passed over a brick that was slightly pushed in more so than the surrounding bricks, and she smiled, pushing it in with ease. She stepped back as the wall shuddered violently, then swung inward as if it were a door on hinges.
Inside revealed a dusty, stereotypical attic-like space that surprisingly let in a lot of natural light with the one dusty window it had. Inside was a small bed with ivory sheets; a normal, non-exciting bed. The girl dropped the backpack she had been wearing and opened it to reveal an abundance of stolen produces; fruits, breads, meats. She frowned at what she had to do to stay alive, but grabbed an apple and bit into it, savoring the crisp juices that flowed down her mouth.
If only my big sister was here to share this apple with me…
She frowned, becoming misty-eyed at the thoughts of her sister. The little witch sat down on the bed and took off her witch's cap, placing it down on a little bare nightstand beside her.
"Sissy, where are you…?" she said in a small, quivering voice. She immediately shushed herself, waving her hand in a circle towards the door, her index finger pointed towards directly at the stones jutting out. The door immediately closed, leaving the only source of natural light to come from the window. She hated being alone in the dark: it caused her to have horrible nightmares of her sister being in trouble, possibly eaten by a Kishin.
The girl looked up at the dusty window and thought about her sister, before she had left.
Her older sister was about five years older than she had been. Her name was Chibi and she was constantly unhappy because her parents had divorced and her mother had taken both of her younger sisters, named Maka and Kirsten. Kirsten had run far away on the first months of being separated from her older sister, and she was determined to find her. Though being only eight years old, she could kill viciously with her magic; unlike her sister Chibi, who was only half-witch, she was a full witch and had more access to her powers.
Kirsten frowned, a tear sliding down her cheek. She missed her sister dearly and was becoming the kind of girl she never thought she'd be in order to find her; one who stole food and lurked at night. Right now her running away was primarily so her mother couldn't find her, but she had spent too much time in this area and had to continue moving so she could be safe. She lit a candle with her magic and opened a map, surveying the area she had been and the next town over. When she found it she smiled. She was near the place her sister had always wanted to go to.
Death City.