Prologue

I'd been running for as long as I could remember and I knew I would be running for a long time.

I can hear the music blaring as I stand in line. It's freezing outside, but I am close to the front of the line. I wrapped my arms around myself and move forward. I have no problem getting inside with my fake ID and once I'm in; my eyes have to adjust to the darkness. I did this a lot, using this fake ID I spent hundreds of pounds on just so I could keep away from any interested parties coming my way. There are multi-coloured flashing lights on the dance floor, but they are not bright enough to reach beyond that. It's very crowded tonight. As I make my way to the bar, dancing drenched bodies press and rub up against me. I hated the feel of other people's sweat against my skin but I try and ignore it, if I do I can make it to the bar and drown my sorrows. I feel their eyes on me as I pass. I always felt a little out of place at places like these, it was easier to hide in crowded places though, no one looked for fugitives in bars.

I ordered myself a gin and tonic, nodding at the barman passing he clump of pounds across the bar. He stuffs the money in the till, and goes off to make my drink. I let out a little sigh, and check my phone quickly. It after nine o'clock and I have a couple of messages, scan them quickly. They are mostly updates of the movement of the government groups. They were in a nearby town, at the town hall probably searching through records for my existence, luckily I had left that own the night before and used the cover of Tessa Marigold. They weren't looking for a young women named Tessa, so they would simply gloss over this file. I also wore an auburn wig back in that town, they were looking for a girl with chestnut brown hair riddled with blonde highlights, not a girl with auburn hair. Hiding was easy enough when you've been doing it all your life.

Most people only had one or so covers, I had thousands. Mostly under names that had nothing to do with my real one. My most recent one was Vicky Sigh, a twenty two year old nurse at the local hospital. I had taken so many imaginary jobs over the years I practically had qualifications for any job on the market.

I sip gently at the cool glass, watching the droplets on the outside of my glass condense against my skin to create a wet texture. The cocktail simple and delicious, even refreshing. I love the taste of gin is matured with juniper berries, giving it the distinctive flavour and aroma of pine. The tonic is bittersweet, so imagine those flavour profiles intermingling, in addition to a twist of lime. I down it in one, nodded at the barman asking him to get me another one. I would much rather live in a drunken haze then the poison reality.

Next to me a young man is sitting on the stool, his eyes are wide and coloured in a deep hazel shade. His eyes somewhat remind me of my mother's eyes, the same colour and childlike wonder. His cheekbones were well defined and high. Around his jaw there was a light black stubble, I guessed the guy was going for the ruggedly handsome look, I was going to deny it, and it was a good look. His hair was a black shade and spiked up the front. The only thing that was a bit off with him was the slightly pointed nose he possessed. He wore a dark green shirt and a brown leather jacket over the top of it. He wore dark blue ripped jeans and a pair of green trainers. If I were a normal girl I would of probably walked over to him and give him my number. My number was too precious and gave away too much of my identity. I just wished one time I could just talk to a guy without worrying he might sell me out to some government agency.

He gave me a brief smile when I was given my second helping of gin and tonic. I momentarily smirked at him before drinking again. I felt a hand tap me on my shoulder, I turned around to see a guy with greasy blonde hair and a face stained by ache. He wore a grey jumper and blue jogging bottoms.

"Hey, you wanna dance?" his southern accent drawled.

I ignored my natural instinct to laugh at him, this young guy was way younger than me and looked about as attractive as a slobbery kiss from your grandmother. Let me tell you a kiss from my grandma was beyond disgusting.

"Urm, hey kid I think I'm a bit young for you. Maybe try one of those other teens over there," I shooed him away.

I heard an annoyed grunt as he shuffled off into the murky background of the club. I rolled my eyes, not pleased that I seemed to be eye candy for teenage boy high on hormones. The young guy sitting next to me just laughs a little at this whole scene. I guess from the other side of this awkward situation it might be amusing. I, however, did not see it.

"Shame you two would have made a lovely couple," the guy remarked.

"Personally I think he was more into you," I retorted.

He smirked at me, his full lips upturned into a warm, and frankly adorable smile. I smiled sheepishly back at the man, I think this is the closest I've been to flirting since secondary school.

"I'm Grant Ward," he introduced himself.

"Vicky Sigh," I said.

There was no way that I was going to give him my real name, at least not that easily. I just downed my last drink, passing the money over the counter before leaving the bar quickly. I pushed wooden door, the cold air pushed against my face. I pulled up my collar, trying to keep the warmth of my body up despite the cold of the evening. I walked briskly down the street, clutching my handbag tightly. I couldn't wait to get back to my hotel room and snuggle down in the warmth of my duvet. I was longing to fall into the deep sleep of the night.

I heard the clacking of footsteps against the cold concrete of the pathway. I shrugged it off, most people walked this way anyway, the way I walked lead to the big city and the housing district of the town. As I sped up to bet the cold the following footsteps did as well. I ignored the increasing of my heart rate and the sweating of my palms. I took a quick turn around the corner to walk down the alleyway that lead to the hotel I was staying in for a couple days. I hoped my pursers would just pass me and let be free of their stalking. I took another sharp corner ignoring how my heart slapped against the bones of my ribcage. It sounded like a slap across someone's face. I just wished I could ignored the way my body shuddered and how the hairs on the back of my neck stood on edge.

I walked down an alley and in front of me I saw a group of males, wearing hoodies walk towards me. I gulped, turning around to walk the other way. I then saw another group of menacing males but these wore sharp and dapper suits. I guessed the suited men were the government agents who were sent after me.

"Miss Sigh, please come with us," one of the men said calmly.

"Sir, please I just wish to go home," I reasoned.

I heard the sharp breath coming from the man who just spoke to me, he put his cold hand upon my jacket, the cold sensation running through me. I shuddered as he tried to pull me along with him.

"Don't struggle ma'am this will make it harder than it needs to be," he assured me.

It didn't feel like the comforting assurance like it should be, it felt like an order from an army lieutenant who had orders to keep me alive when they would much rather put a bullet in my brain. I silently went along with the man who grasped my shoulder tightly. This man had dark skin, and even darker eyes. His head was cleanly shaven and his across his face there was a large scar that blemished his appearance. His suit was a deep navy colour, most likely made of silk or something as equally expensive. His shoes were polished to beggary and he wore cufflinks that looked like they were made from pure silver. He seemed like a way paid man who could easily own me if I was in such a situation. Men like him always beat people like me. I was down on money and luck, I was easy prey for people like him. I could be manipulated over the simple offer of a place to stay.

"Sir, who are you taking me to?" I asked boldly.

"Back to headquarters, you are to meet with the head of the FBI, Karen Worthy," he told me.

So these were the people that had been chasing me all these years? The fricking FBI? I knew it was the government after me but I never thought Federal Bureau of Investigation would want to find me, I understood that I was more powerful than any human organisation could handle but this didn't mean I didn't deserve the same rights as other individuals. I really just wanted to be free of whatever bounty they had put over my head.

I decided I might as well try to break free of their grasps so I bent down grabbing the same pebble at the edge of the road, while I picked it up, I pretending I was tying my laces. I threw the pebble at the guy who grasped me tightly to him. The pebble made a small gash in his face and the pebble dug into the flesh of his face. He let out a deep guttural groan, letting go of my shoulder. I took this chance to make a run for it, I slipped underneath his well-toned arm and ran down the cobbled streets.

Sirens of police cars blared in the distance getting closer and closer with each ragged breath. I knew they were following me as the lights shined upon my figure. The brisk night air coursed through my lungs and dried my already parched throat. My heart was beating so fast, I was scared it would lead the FBI right to me. That, or it would burst out of my chest. Both options sounded rather unappealing and frankly disgusting.

I let my hands rest upon my knees as I took two deep breaths. In through my nose out through my mouth. After wiping away the beads of sweat on my forehead I took in my surroundings. The tall skyscrapers of America dominated the skyline, making them look like towering beasts threatening to attack us all unfortunate enough to live on the humble ground that was being subjugated by the skyscrapers.

The blood pounding in my ear clogged my brain, and I launched into the alley at full speed. I had my arms stretched out in front of me as I ran. If this path led to a dead end I wanted a bit of warning before colliding with a brick wall.

My pace picked up and I thanked whichever all powerful being decided my fate. When I saw the dim shine of a dying street light on the other side of the alley. I felt the group of men catching up with me, I ran as fast as I could trying to reach the dim light of the end of the alley. I felt a hand coil around my shoulder, I scream out begging him to let go of me. His strong arms wrapped around my waist and he lifted me up of the cold cobbled pavement. I yelled and yelled hoping that someone would come out of their house and help me.

I heard the clunking of metal against human flesh and I watched in amazement as Grant, the guy from the bar, swung at the men with a metal bar with ease. He looked like he was a champion cricket player the way he handled the bar. He swung back around and gave him a fast and powerful roundhouse kick in the ribs, he howled in torment but still raced towards Grant. He dropped the metal pipe. Grant supplied the guy with a sharp punch to the jaw, it would be powerful enough to knock him out, and I acted fast, squirming from his grasp. I ran from his grasp hiding behind Grant, he put one arm around me pushing me back from the sight of the men that pursued me. He stared at the river of blood that had appeared out of his nose and gum. He spat out a few teeth and raised a gun from my holster. I gulped, Grant ran at him, spearing him to the ground but before Grant could make the guy pay he let go of the trigger, the bullet cutting through the air like a knife through butter. As the bullet ripped through me, terrible agony seared through my knee. I fell to the ground letting out a shrill scream, my hand gripped into the cobbled ground, a warm staining my face.

I felt Grant's strong arms wrap around me, he lifted me up of the floor, scoping me up in his arms like I weighed no more than a feather. He began walk at a slow pace, I buried my face into the toned chest he had. My arms wrapped tightly around his neck.

"Where'd you live?" he asked quietly.

"I'm staying in the hotel on the edge of town," I told him.

He nodded, walking briskly down the streets of the old battered town. I hoped to heaven or hell that Grant genuinely cared about me and wasn't just preying upon a young girl in need of help. We came to the large, windowed building. He pushed open the revolve door, walking through the foyer of the hotel. The foyer was painted a lemon colour on the walls and the skirting board was a dark shade of yellow. The floor was tiled in a brown mahogany colour. The women sitting at the birch coloured reception desk, nodded Grant in the way of which my room was.

We came to the white painted door, with the number forty seven painted on the top of the door in a gold shimmering paint. He kicked the door in to show the room that was once kept in a pristine conditions were trashed. My bed was unmade and the windows smashed. The mirror was broken into shards of broken glass, if I was a superstitious person I would say that was seven years of bad luck. My wardrobe was flung open my clothes tossed across the floor and my food in the fridge opened and thrown across the room, splattered on the once clean walls. I let out a little cry of anguish.

"These guys who want you ma'am must be pretty dangerous," he commented.

"You could say that sir," I replied weakly.

"I'm gonna take you back to mine and dress that wound, okay?" he told me softly.

I nodded in response to his kind words, I knew nothing of this man, not his age or even what he did for a living. Frankly I couldn't care less who he was right now, he was my only hope. This was not a reference to Star Wars, anyway Star Trek was so much better.

He kept talking nonsense to me as we walked all the way back to his apartment. Correction, he carried me all the way back to his apartment. The large building was constructed mostly of white bricks that stood out amongst the dark coloured buildings that seemed to be so popular in this region. It had several semi-circle windows and the best feature about the whole thing was the large clock face that dominated the building, it had roman numerals and was painted a mint green colour. He opened the door to the apartment block, taking me up in the lift, pressing the level twelve button. The lift was so fast we were up at the top level in no time at all, the door flung open and the lift began talking to us.

"Have a good day Mister Ward," it greeted us.

The speech was more of a drone and held no human emotion whatsoever. This was a strange place.

We walked into the open plan penthouse Grant owned, the middle of the room was the living room, the carpet was a grey colour and shaped like a square. In the middle of the carpet was a glass table with several books on top of it and a bottle of champagne as well. Two large brown sofas made of leather sat at the edges of the carpet and by the large clock face there were two matching arm chairs, decorated with an array of cushions.

He lead me through a large door to a large bedroom, the room was painted a beige colour and there were large windows which had a picturesque view of the city outside and cream curtains hung around the windows. A large jewelled chandelier hung from the ceiling, I looked at it with awe. I had never been anywhere as swanky before. A large ivory colour chaise lounge was at the edge of room, with fluffy pillows sat upon it. At the back of the room there was a dresser painted a white colour, it had a large mirror and several draws. The thing that really drew me to the room was the large bed. It was with cream duvet and covered in throw pillows, hung around the bed were some curtains.

Grant took a piece of cloth from one of the draws and he put it to the bullet wound, pressing down hard on the wound. I figured he was applying pressure to help it heal. Another piece of fabric was wrapped around my knee. Luckily, the bullet fell out of the wound when he was carrying back to his place.

"Who are you really? I know Vicky Sigh is a cover. An old friend of mine used the cover once," he asked me.

I looked down to my feet, not wanting to reveal who I really was. His fingers stroked against my face, titling my chin up to him so I could gaze into his deep hazel eyes. He leant in slowly, brushing his warm lips against my cold ones. My eyes fluttered closed as I kissed him back. His hands found my face cupping it. My hand grabbed the soft fabric of his shirt pulling him closer to me as I carried on kissing him. His kiss was soft and passionate. He pulled away slowly, putting his forehead to mine.

"India O'Connor, my name is India."

HELLO!

I'm so excited to be publishing my first story on here, I'm co-writing this with my best friend in the world Jotunheim Storm. If you haven't read any of her stories you better go do it now!

So I hope you like India so far, I really wanted to start the story of with a bang so what could be better than Grant Ward?

So in the next few chapters we will be introduced to the new school for super powered people called Inhuman Institute, were your OC's can attend, I will only be accepting 12, this means six males and six females. I will ONLY be accepting through PM NOTHING ELSE! Those are the rules, also another rule your character can be no younger than 13 and no older than 50.

This is not first come first serve only my favourites will be selected. No Mary-Sues or Gary Stus they will be overlooked and deleted. Please follow, fave and review for a better chance of getting your character accepted. Fill in all of the aspects of them form if you wish to be accepted. (Which is on my profile)

Please have fun submitting and I'll see you all very soon

**I'm Another Apocalypse **

And you are all baes xx