Chapter One
This was a night like no other. Alarmingly, silence and eeriness permeated the city. Apprehension cleverly disguised as calmness, providing a false sense of safety. Despite this, the streets were emptier than ever, the once humble town turned into a roaming ground for thugs and lowlifes of every kind. During nightfall, people scurried to their homes, locked their doors and didn't even dare peer out the window. Oh sure the city itself looked innocent enough, with the modernized buildings, friendly looking shops and freshly-paved roads, but there was an evil lurking that no one on the surface could even comprehend.
The police don't even bother patrolling anymore, leaving inhabitants constantly searching for any form of protection. The force has had suffered so many casualties with so little successes that the police academy had been forced to shut down because of the lack of recruits. The remaining officers are cowardly and incapable. It's survival if the fittest around here. Every person for themselves. Sometimes desperate beings turn to nefarious sources, which often leads to adverse consequences. Those with money leave, while the rest are stranded in a place any sagacious tourist wouldn't take a step in. So once the sun bided farewell, the only people who remained outdoors were those with souls blacker than the darkest shadows that concealed the true nature of this city.
However, darkness cannot exist without the opposite and equally powerful force: light. Not everyone in this town was a criminal or terrified citizen. With fear and hopelessness swirling around like a tornado, one girl decided to take a stand.
Young Sierra was perched on the edge of a rooftop, analyzing everything within her eyeshot. Nothing seemed to move and no sounds invaded the silence. She slumped a bit and brushed the bangs from her face. It was past two am, and Sierra refused to come down. A gnawing feeling told her that something dreadful was about to happen. The frigid cold didn't stir Sierra nor did the gentle drizzle. The girl yawned, struggling to keep her eyes open. Nothing had happened so far tonight, and a part of Sierra was grateful for that, and yet was she unconvinced the stillness would continue. Something always happened. It was just a matter of time.
"Sierra," a voice blared from her earpiece.
"Ach!" Sierra gripped the small devise, trying to lower the volume. "I can hear you. You don't have to shout."
There was light laughter on the other end. "Well sorry, but you weren't responding earlier."
"That doesn't mean you can blast my eardrums off, Leah."
"Not going to ask if I detect any alarms going off in the area?"
"No. I figure if something happened, you'd tell me immediately."
"Look, it's super late and I'm exhausted. Can we just call it a night?"
Sierra thought for a moment. "I'm going to stay a bit longer. You can go to bed if you want."
A sigh. "You know that's not going to happen. I need to make sure you're safe and don't need back up."
"Don't worry about me. Go to sleep. You really need it."
Another chuckle. "Seriously? Is the city's greatest hero not tired yet? You should stop before you totally wear yourself out."
"I'm fine," Sierra insisted. She did not, in any way, consider herself a hero. For the past three months, she's been risking her safety to fight crime. Not nearly as easy as it sounds. Sierra has a black belt in karate, and other martial arts trophies and awards. Skilled with weapons as well, Sierra was familiar with how to wield an everyday object to make it dangerous and the proper way of disarming an opponent. Sierra wasn't reckless. She knew real life fights were nothing like training and was always cautious when approaching conflict. People fight dirty. One mistake that meant nothing during practice could prove lethal in the real world. But Sierra knew what she was doing. For the most part.
Sierra admitted she wasn't the most skilled fighter in the world, but she couldn't just stand by while her town was being terrorized. Sierra was now a well-known vigilante. Famous, but with a secret identity. Sierra paid no attention to the attention, in fact, she despised it. Instead, she focused on getting deeper into the underground traffic of professional criminal masterminds. The petty delinquents Sierra defeated on a daily basis was accomplishing absolutely nothing. If Sierra wanted to save the city, she would have to find out where the big boys were playing.
"Sierra, you can't lie to me. Get your butt back to my place before I drag you back myself."
"Or you can come out and join me," Sierra offered.
"Oh no. I can't throw a punch to save my life. That's why I'm much happier sitting behind my laptop and playing back up." There was a pause. "We're besties, and I want to help you on your crazy mission, but I wouldn't be much of a friend if I allowed you to suffer needlessly."
"I am not suffering." Sierra protested.
"Yes, you're tougher than you look, but seriously, staying out this late? Isn't that a bit much?"
"No. Besides, I can't sleep."
"So instead you sit on a cold rooftop all night? Come over, please. We'll watch movies or something."
"Fine. I'll be right over." She clicked the gadget off. Sierra adjusted her black mask and got to her feet. The scent of day-old cigarette smoke lingered in the air along with uncanniness. Sierra whipped her head around when she heard a loud metallic jolt. It proved to be nothing but some old pipes giving away under years of pressure. Sierra spun around slowly, not entirely sure of what she was feeling. She sensed a set of eyes on her, but was unable to spot the onlooker. Shrugging it off, Sierra leapt off onto the fire escape and climbed down to the ground, completely unaware of the flash of a distant camera capturing her image.