**Lex**
I'd skipped school again. I have really bad ADHD as well as dyslexia so it's not like I can learn much anyway. I'd just snatched some rich guy's wallet and was heading to a gas station to buy some food. I bought a soda and a bag of beef jerky and slipped a few Ding Dongs into my jacket. In a back alley, I discarded the food wrappers and the guy's wallet but kept the cash and credit cards. I then started making my way to the closest bus stop.
I passed a fruit vendor and snagged an apple without the owner noticing then continued on my way, tossing the apple into the air and catching it while walking. A few cars passed me but I took no notice, they weren't threats. Just old junkers held together with hope, prayers, and lots of duct tape.
Suddenly, I felt like I was being watched. I glanced casually over my shoulder. There was no one behind me, but I noticed a fancy-looking car with dark-tinted windows. Way too nice for this neighborhood. I started to quicken my pace, hoping the car wasn't following me, but it just sped up slightly and continued to tail me. Thinking maybe the car belonged to a future employer, I stopped and stood by the road, waiting for the car to catch up. The car slowed to a stop right beside me and the back seat window rolled down, revealing a dark-haired woman dressed in one of those fancy business suits.
"Help you with somethin'?" I asked, leaning casually against a telephone pole, tossing and catching the stolen apple.
"I'm looking for someone," the woman replied.
"Who? Maybe I know 'em," I tossed the apple and caught it again, "Or maybe I don't."
The woman consulted a picture in her lap then looked at me. "I'm sure you know this person." She held up the picture and my smile froze on my face. It was a picture of me. "I'm looking for you, Alexa Dallas," she purred, using my real first name.
"Well, you've seen me. Gotta go now," I quipped then bolted away from the road and ducked into an alley.
People! I need to get to a public place. Whoever these people are, they won't be able to do anything to me in the middle of a crowd, no matter how powerful they are, I thought. I darted around a corner and almost trampled a guy in a dark suit. When he tried to grab me, I slammed my apple into his face as hard as I could. A sickening crack followed by a groan of pain told me I'd broken his nose, but I didn't hang around to make sure. I ran blindly toward the main part of the city, slipping into a strip mall as I heard gunshots behind me. Damn, these guys mean business! I quickly hid myself in the crowd of shoppers, staying away from windows and security cameras. I made my way through the mall and snuck out into the back alley. A quick glance revealed no goons in suits so I walked cautiously back toward my bus stop. I looked at my watch and realized I only had five minutes to get there when a goon appeared in front of me.
"Hey! Stop right there!" he shouted.
"No thanks!" I called over my shoulder.
I ran back toward the mall, opened the back door that led to the employee break rooms, and walked right into another goon. He caught my arm in a vise-like grip and pulled a gun from his suit jacket. With the muzzle of the gun pressed into my back, I had nowhere to go. Dammit!
"C'mon. Let's go," he rumbled in my ear and led me down a side alley where the black car sat waiting.
One goon opened the back seat door while the guy who held me at gunpoint shoved me into the car and sat right next to me, his gun leveled at my chest. The interior of the car was lush and looked super expensive. Black leather upholstery, real wood paneling, giant flat-screen TV built into one wall, the whole nine yards.
I glared at the woman across from me, "What do you want from me? I don't have any money. My parents are dead and the foster family I'm living with wouldn't care if I go missing. You can't ransom me for anything."
The woman crossed her legs primly and smiled, "It's not what I want from you, it's what my employer wants from you. He's very," she paused as if looking for the right word, "Fascinated with you and would like to meet you in person."
"Go to hell," I spat, then pulled my gun and smashed it into the window, shattering it. The goon beside me emptied his gun into my side. With a soft gasp of surprise, I realized the gun didn't contain bullets, but rather, small darts filled with a powerful sedative. A wave of nausea washed over me as darkness crept across my vision.
I woke up in a huge bed with my right wrist cuffed to the bedpost above my head. My jacket and my gun were both missing and the knuckles of my left hand were bandaged. I tried to sit up but saw movement out of the corner of my eye. I glanced to my left and saw a man sleeping in a sitting position, his back propped against the headboard. Crap! This can't be happening. Please let this be a dream. I mentally checked to make sure we were both fully dressed and that nothing had happened while I was unconscious. Nothing had and I let out a quiet sigh of relief. I tried to roll away, but the man stirred at the movement. Frustrated, I sat back and looked at the man beside me.
He was a few years older than me, maybe eighteen or nineteen, with short spiky blond hair and a soft, sleepy smile. His eyes opened slowly, revealing vibrant green eyes with golden flecks in the center around his pupils. Damn. Focus, Lex. I swallowed the panic that had been building in my chest and opened my mouth to speak but no words came. I licked my lips to wet them and tried again.
"Wh-who are you? Where...where am I?" I croaked.
The man's expression didn't change. Instead, he reached above my head and slowly traced the mark on the inside of my right wrist. "You are very special, Alexa," he murmured and brushed his thumb lightly across my bandaged hand.
"My name is Lex," I snapped and pulled away from his touch.
The man chuckled, "Lex, I know your secret. I know what you really are."
My heart picked up speed. He knows? How? I sat up and looked at the man who continued to just sit peacefully. He watched me for a moment then leaned his head back and closed his eyes, "I know what that mark on your wrist means." He's bluffing! He can't really know...can he?
"Oh yeah? Just what exactly does does it mean?" I challenged.
The man opened his eyes and smiled. "It means," he said simply, "That you are a demigod. Specifically, a child of Ares, the Greek god of war, violence, battle-lust, et cetera."
I leaned my head back against the polished wood of the headboard and rubbed my marked wrist. My fingers lightly traced the outline of a knife and a handgun crossed in an "X" shape then drifted across the Greek words below the symbol. Παιδί του Άρη. Child of Ares. The man continued to watch me silently.
"Who are you?" I whispered.
"My name is David. And I am your new boss."
I laughed harshly, "That's hilarious. See, nobody bosses me around and lives long afterward. No one tells me what to do. I obey no one."
David smiled in a way that sent shivers down my spine, "Well then, I guess I'll just have to convince you to obey me. Trust me when I say that I can be very convincing."
Before David could move, I shifted my left hand into a gun and pressed it against his chest. Then I shifted my right hand into a knife and slipped my hand free from the handcuffs. Pressing the blade to David's exposed throat, I smiled coldly. The entire scuffle had taken about two seconds. Surprise showed on David's face and he seemed unable to look away from my weaponized hands. The flesh, bone, and blood of my arms transformed seamlessly at my wrists into the metal of my weapons. Skin and metal fusing perfectly together to form a weapon that was undetectable...until it was too late.
"If you value your life, I suggest you leave me alone," I said not even breathing heavily.
David smiled crookedly, "Not bad. In fact, I'm actually impressed."
"Go for the gun strapped to your leg, I rip your arm off. If you try for the knife in your pocket, I break all your ribs. Call for help and I slit your throat. Understood?" I hissed angrily as David's left hand slid toward his pocket. David's hand stilled and he nodded silently. "I'm going to walk out of here and if you or any of your goons try to stop me or follow me, I'll kill you all."
Just for good measure, I pistol-whipped David across the face hard enough to knock him out and chained him to the bedposts, like he'd done to me. After gagging him and making sure he was unable to get free, I opened the window and noiselessly slipped out into the night.
Hope you guys like the first chapter. Make sure to comment and let me know how I'm doing. ~Jo