RUN.
Lenore sprinted down the dark path in front of her, burning flames licking her heels as she barely kept ahead of the noxious fire that reached for her. Her heart pounded and her legs begged for release. She only quickened her pace in response, unwilling to give in to her weaknesses and ultimately be swallowed by the fire.
In the distance a door revealed itself from the fog of darkness, she reached her hand out. She would make it this time, she would reach it before the flames beat her. The distance began to close as she kept her pace.
Closer, closer...
She could hear her heartbeat now.
Closer..
The roar of the flames intensified, but she ignored them.
Closer...
She lept the last few yards, the tips of her fingers brushing the doors handle-
...THUMP...
"Uuuuugh...damn." Lenore woke up on the floor, facedown on the old hardwood of her room. She grumbled, and slowly rolled over to gaze up at the patched ceiling above her. "I thought I could beat it this time..." she said, but alas, just as she nearly reached the ever elusive door that plagued her dreams, reality quickly brought her back to the run down orphanage she resided in. Someone giggled.
"You okaaay?" said a small voice. Lenore sniffed, and dragged her hands down her face.
"Totally fine. My forehead caught my fall." She said, and turned her head to see a little girl with short brown hair staring at her. She put her hands on her hips in an attempt to look stern. It only made her look cuter.
"You slept allll morning!" she huffed. Lenore blinked, realizing how tired she was.
"I feel like I slept for years..." she mumbled, and sat up before attempting to rub the tiredness out of her green eyes. It didn't work, and she resolved to feel like a complete zombie the rest of the day. "What time is it, Sarah?" she asked the little girl.
"Lunch time." she answered. Lenore rolled her eyes, remembering that the five year old still used meals as a measurement of time. A knock came from the bedroom door, and a young woman entered, a look of worry on her pretty face. She tucked a lock of her dark blonde hair behind her ear as she took in the scene before her.
"Is everything alright?" she asked. Gasping at the red mark on Lenore's forehead. Lenore grinned in reassurance.
"I'm good, Miss Theresa, just fell out of my bed." she said. Theresa gave a sigh of relief, and she glared at Lenore.
"And please tell me whyyy you are falling out of bed after twelve in the afternoon?" she asked, crossing her arms.
"I overslept, Miss Theresa, I'm sorry." Lenore looked down at the floor sheepishly. Theresa stared hard at Lenore for a moment before deciding she was telling the truth.
"No more late night playing, Lenore, it's not healthy for a child your age. It'll stunt your growth." she said in a motherly tone. Lenore laughed at the remark, appreciating her caretaker's worrying. Theresa ran the orphanage. It was a busy job, as she was the sole caretaker of twenty children. No surprise there, since the orphanage resided just on the outskirts of the Narrows, an area of Gotham that was riddled with criminals of all sorts. It was amazing this orphanage kept open, and the kids weren't on the streets, but Theresa wouldn't have it. She worked all day to keep the kids healthy and happy. She took on the role of everyone's mother, and Lenore loved her for it.
"I'm already taller than most the kids my age, I could slow down a little!" she grinned again, and stood up. It was true, she really was tall for her young age of twelve. She figured she'd be kind of pretty, if her unruly rust red hair that barely went past her shoulders would just stay in place when she brushed it. She walked over to the old mirror she had hanging on the dingy wall and grimaced. "I'd definitely be prettier if I didn't have these bags..." she muttered, pulling on one of her lower eyelids. Even her freckles couldn't hide the dark circles.
"That's what you get for sleepin' all day..." Sarah said, and Lenore stuck her tongue out at her. Sarah replied by blowing a raspberry. Lenore gasped in dramatic shock.
"You dare make the battle cry of my people? I shall destroy you!" She lunged at Sarah and tickled her to the floor, making Sarah create giggly shrieks.
"Ooookay, time-out kiddos." Theresa said, breaking up the tickle fight. "I have an errand for you, Lenore, can you pick up some things from the store for me? It's for tonight's dinner." Lenore snapped to attention and saluted.
"Aye-aye, Capi-tan." she said. "Whatcha need?"
"I'm short two cans of peas, and I need an extra head of lettuce and some carrots." Theresa said, handing her a list. "Just in case you forget."
"Cooool, I'll head out now. I need to stretch my legs." Lenore put the list on her bed and walked to the large trunk she kept at the end of it to retrieve a change of clothes and her brush. Sarah pouted.
"Can I goooo?" she asked, tugging on Theresa's white blouse. Theresa sighed at Sarah's constant need to be with Lenore.
"I don't know, baby-"
"I wanna goooo, though." Sarah's face began to turn red as she became upset. Theresa became a bit flustered at this. Lenore gave a little smile.
"I can take her, Miss Theresa. It's right down the street." she said as she slipped on her black jeans and a red shirt with yellow skulls on it. Sarah nodded quickly and tugged more on Theresa's blouse.
"Yeah, yeah, see?" she said. "Down the street, I'll be good." she said. Theresa finally sighed and looked to Sarah.
"Okay, but you must stay right beside her, alrigh-"
"Yaaaaay!" Sarah jumped up and down in excitement and ran to Lenore as she finished brushing her hair as best she could. "Hurry up!"
...
"Hold onto the bag tight, you got it?" Lenore asked as the exited the little store. Sarah had insisted on carrying the bigger bag, but she was having trouble keeping it up in her small arms.
"Uhm.." she said, becoming a bit frustrated.
"Wanna trade?" Lenore asked. "This one has your candy bar anyway." Sarah nodded sheepishly and they traded bags. Sarah dug into her to retrieve her candy bar with glee. They both walked down the old street that was nearly deserted, save for the occasional passerby. Not many people came to this area at all, and most of the building were dilapidated, the windows boarded up as ivy and weeds covered the cracked walls and ground. Lenore didn't much mind it, though. It was quiet here, and she preferred it that way.
As they continued their walk, Lenore noticed some new fliers taped to the glass of a closed up shop, and she stopped to investigate. They were wanted posters of some of Gotham's notorious with yesterday's date.
"Two-Face, Poison Ivy, Scarecrow...damn." She muttered, looking at each of the villain's mugshots. None of them looked angry in the pictures. Instead they seemed to hold an expression of boredom. "They probably knew they'd be getting out pretty quick, eh, Sar'?" she said with only a sliver of amusement. The more crazies that broke out, the more the Narrows stirred with criminal life. It was one of their top areas of organization, and that alone made it difficult for anyone to want to visit the little orphanage that rest just outside it's borders. "Probably all think we're some criminal's brats anyway.." she said, her eyes darkening for just a moment as she thought of her fellow orphans who would most likely never be adopted for exactly that reason. Not many were ever adopted, either staying in the orphanage until adulthood or being picked up as young recruits for the crime life. She didn't judge the ones that left early. Despite Miss Theresa's efforts, there was little hope for kids like her to get a decent home. Crime became the easiest way to get money, and the more days passed without a family to take them home, the more attractive the criminal life seemed. Days passed where she patted herself on the back for not giving in to it herself. Miss Theresa helped a lot with that, and she was the oldest child at the orphanage. That alone made her feel like she had a responsibility to the rest of the kids. She looked down to see Sarah as she thought this.
But she wasn't there.
Lenore spun around in a circle, taking in every detail of the street to see where she could have gone.
"Sarah?!" she called out, a small shout responded from around the corner, and Lenore took off as fast as she could, halting when she finally rounded it.
"That's miiine, gimme my candy bar!" Sarah was crying, her face red and tear-stained as she reached up to take her candy bar back from the thief that stood above her, snickering. Two others stood by him, laughing. Lenore narrowed her eyes at the scene. She recognized one of them anywhere.
"Daniel Daggett..." she said, catching everyone's attention. Daniel scoffed as he saw her, looking her up and down in judgement.
"Well if it isn't one of the lonely little freaks of Gotham city...Loser Lenore..." he said with a grin. The teenager wore some nice tan slacks and a white button up shirt, the sleeves bunched up at his elbows. His dark brown hair was badly slicked back, ending in a cowlick. His cronies flanked him and crossed their arms, daring her to come forward. Lenore tsked.
"Picking on kids younger than you again, Danny? Don't you remember what happened last time you did that with one of my munchkins?" Lenore said, unimpressed. She gave a half smile. "Or is that why you have two buddies with you instead of one this time?" His grin went away then, and he tossed Sarah's candy bar to the ground before crushing it under his leather shoe. Sarah whimpered, and went to run to Lenore. Daniel kicked her feet out from under her and she fell onto the pavement. Lenore became furious "Hey-"
"Shut up, bitch," Daniel said, regaining his confidence. He snapped his fingers and his cronies walked in front of him. Sarah sat up then, showing scratches on her face and arms. She began to cry.
Lenore shot forward then, aiming for the smaller goon first and hitting him right in the crotch with her knee. He crumpled, and she ducked just before the larger one could hit her with a sloppy punch. Daniel kicked at her, and clipped her on the side. She staggered backwards as they both closed in on her. They herded her closer to the wall, but she hopped up and grabbed a pipe before kicking at both their heads. As they ducked, she planted her feet against the wall and front-flipped behind them. Daniel watched wide-eyed at the display, and she shrugged as she righted herself.
"Parkour, bitch." she said, grabbing a trash can and tossing it at them both. It was a particularly hot day, and the warm garbage that spilled out onto Daniel's pants smelled thickly of dip and rotten fruit.
"Fucking cunt!" he reached into one of his soiled pockets and retrieved a pocket knife. Lenore watched in amusement as he strugledto open it with shaky hands. He finally slashed at her, and she dodged quickly. Kicking his legs out from under him and knocking him over.
"Give it up, ugly." Lenore said, putting her hands in her pockets. "Just because your uncle is super powerful, doesn't mean you are." she walked over and kicked him once in the side. "That's for making my munchkin cry..." she muttered. She smirked as he muttered something inaudible, wincing when he attempted to move. This kid was fifteen years old, and could only get his kicks when he made someone else's life miserable. His uncle, Roland Daggett, was the reason behind his rotten attitude. He leeched off his uncle's power to get what he wanted. It was until he crossed paths with Lenore he got away with it. Last time he had only one muscle-headed friend to fight for him, making it easy for her to finish them both off quickly. Growing up by the Narrows you had to learn to move quick. These idiots assumed that size alone made you the best. She shook her head at them both with pity.
'Wait', she thought. There were only two of them. Where was the other one-
"Leno-" Sarah tried to cry out, but before she could finish, Lenore was punched hard in the side, knocking her down.
"Ouch.." she groaned before another blow hit her in the stomach, knocking the air from her lungs. She cursed her carelessness and struggled to sit up and roll out of the way of another of his goon's attacks. "Shit..." she scrambled to her feet, looking around to find something to defend herself with. When she found nothing, she returned her focus to the crony as he lunged at her. With all her energy she grabbed onto his punching arm and heaved her weight into his elbow, a loud pop sounding with a follow of his painful shout. He stumbled, and she rest her hands on her knees when he didn't get back up, taking in deep breaths as the air finally returned to her lungs. She hobbled over to Sarah to calm her down. "You okay?" she sniffed hard and forced a nod in response.
"Y-yeah." she said shakily. Lenore leaned down and hugged her.
"Good girl." she said. "Let's go home now, quickly, before these assholes get up."
"Kay..." Sarah said, and Lenore lead her through the mess of teenagers and garbage in the direction of home.
...
Author's Note: Some of you may know that this story existed already, and I took it down with the intention of updates and a little rewrite. WELL, my poor computer was destroyed by a flood caused by a busted pipe on my ship, (may I mention I was in the Navy for four years) the trilogy of Lenore along with it. SOOOOO, I'm starting from scratch! Please PM me if you wish for me to write specific parts if you remember them back into the story, as it has been a while since I've looked at the files, and my slate is nearly blank of some large, but mostly small details. A little memory jog is welcomed and appreciated.
For those of you new to Lenore, welcome and I hope you like it! Please leave any reviews or contstructive criticism you wish. It's very motivating! :D