Chapter 1

A/N: I'm back! After people saying the ending was too dark (in truth it was) I have decided to continue the story into part 2! Please R&R as they mean a lot to me. I have my own style of writing that I will not change so if it's the writing style that's bothering you: tough luck, but if you have an interesting idea or perspective on the story, feel free to review or PM me. Enjoy!

"Now here is a riddle to guess if you can, sing the bells of Notre Dame. Who is the monster and who is the man?" – The Hunchback of Notre Dame

"Fair is foul and foul is fair; hover through the fog and filthy air" – Macbeth

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The blinding white light was what got Luke's attention. The piercing rays half blinded him, breaking the muddy haze he was in. Once this had subsided, the cavernous openings of a great hall were visible, its roof streaked with white and gold paint; glistening and sparkling like stars in the night sky. In front of him three figures stood, familiar but still vague to him somehow. When the first turned around it all clicked in his head. In front of him stood Matthew, Will and Joyce; warm smiles spread across their faces and a welcoming sparkle in their eyes. Turning to his older brother he asked:

"Where's Edward?"

"He got off at another stop" Matthew replied, leaving the details vague.

Nodding briefly, half understanding, Luke pushed the issue no further. Suddenly, the gilt doors opened up, once again flooding the room with light. Luke felt drawn to it, as though some magnetic force was drawing him closer to the entry, some unseen force pulling and nudging him towards it; like the mysterious force that drives birds home after migration. Closer he got, edging further and further as the light consumed his senses. No pain or feeling was left in his body as he edged towards the light; a firm arm grabbed his shoulder, wheeling him around from the light to face the figure of a dark haired woman staring desperately into his soul. As quick as the woman appeared, she pushed Luke away from the gate as he fell to the floor. Waiting for the slap of the cold marble, he opened his eyes instead to the sensation of damp moss hitting his face. The cold water shocked him awake, stumbling to his feet he noticed the familiar dark sky looming above him. The crackle of gunfire was lighting up the horizon. He checked his body, finding it clad in the familiar green camouflage he was so fond of, now it just reminded him of all the blood on his hands. A faint whisper of a woman's voice, a voice he recognised as his mother's, filled his head.

"Correct what is right, fight what is wrong. Return to your friends, I'll be here ever-long"

The voices startled him once again, disorientating him for a split second as he took his bearings. In front of him a young Edward stood, rifle in hand, shouting at Luke.

"Luke! Luke! What do we do with him? He's a traitor and a coward; we can't let him live!" Edward shouted, his dark rifle unflinching from a kneeling figure, sobbing faintly through the cotton sack placed over his head. Luke walked softly over to the prisoner and removed the sack. A bloodied face of a boy, no older than 11 was revealed, his swelling eye giving away the rough treatment he had experienced.

"Let him go" Luke said quietly.

"What?" Edward exclaimed, readying his rifle once again.

"I said, let him go" Luke rose and turned towards his brother. "We have killed soldiers and men who have families. We don't need to murder a child as well" Luke said, staring his brother in the eye darkly.

"I don't give a shit about who we murder; he gave away our position and caused one of our friends to get killed!" Edward shouted, drowning out the fiery crackle briefly. He rushed towards the boy, pointing his rifle directly at his head; the kid now whimpering softly as he was muttering a prayer underneath his breath.

"Edward, no. We have shed enough blood on this god forsaken land for a life time. End this brutality and turn your guns on the real enemy. You're a soldier, not a murderer."

"What do you suggest we do with him then?" Edward asked.

"What does he know?" Luke asked.

"Not much, we blindfolded him early on" Alex said, the voice of his dead friend caused Luke to whip round, the pain stabbing at his heart.

"Then we let him go" Luke said, moving to place a barrier between Edward and the boy.

"How can you say that? Are you weak like your brother Matthew?" Edward spat out, readying his rifle yet again.

"I'd rather be weak than a monster" Luke quipped callously. Staring down his brother, Edward finally subsided, shouldering his rifle again before cutting the binds of the boy. Pushing the cold steel to the boy's throat he said:

"If you mention anything to those Argies, I will personally blood eagle you in the town centre of Stanley and hang your corpse up for everyone to see" Edward released the cowering boy from his grip as he scampered away.

The white light returned, swallowing Edward whole as he ascended away from the scene. The red tracer fire from the rifles strafed the sky, each tiny dot of light shooting away from an unseen point on a hill or in a dugout, the rhythmic rumble of artillery serenading to the scene in front of him. Upwards he went, the light growing stronger until all he saw was its consuming warmth. More and more the light intensified, blinding him from its raw power.

And then just like that, all went black.

XXX

The ER room was a bustle of life yet again. The sultry summer made the nurses and doctors drip with sweat as they rushed the two stretchers into the theatres. Luke's lifeless corpse laid spread out onto the stretcher, the bloody rags of his shirt hanging torn and limps from the paramedics' desperate attempts to stem the bleeding. The Doctors burst into the theatre, an emergency team already prepared for the barrage of injured from the gunfight. Luke was rolled onto the stretcher and immediately the scalpels came out and the masks were put on. Hours passed although to Luke they were seconds as the doctors worked tirelessly on his open body. Finding the offending bullet, they moved to pull it from the wound, but as doing so, the bright red fluid started pouring out from the wound as muttered curses were replaced with calls for tools of every description. The ECG machine in the corner of the room, beeping comfortingly for the duration of the surgery, cried out in pain as the rhythmic peaks turned into one flat pain. Reaching into his open chest, the leading surgeon started to massage Luke's lifeless heart, keeping the blood pumping around his body, trying desperately to keep his life in him. Steroid injections followed, causing a spasm before a return to lifelessness. What seemed like hours, but were actually minutes, passed, until eventually the screaming of the ECG stopped and gave way to the comforting rhythm once more.

XXX

Luke gasped awake, the plastic mask smelling funny on his face as he ripped it off startling a half conscious mike next to him. The First thing he notices in the hospital room is the wrapped boxes at the foot of his gurney, followed by the golden sunflowers in the windowsill.

"What happened" Luke asked breathlessly noticing mike for the first time.

"You were shot in the gunfight, Edward and Brenner are dead. You survived" Mike said.

"Where's Will?" Luke asked.

"He didn't make it" Mike replied solemnly.

"How long was I out for?" Luke asked still adjusting to his surroundings, the pain and the dark memories swarming his brain.

"Five days, the doctors said you were probably going to die"

"Well fuck them too" Luke replied harshly.

"Where's 13?" Luke asked, suddenly getting jumpy.

"I don't know who that is, but they found another girl with Will and she was killed as well"

"Has Mrs Byers found out?" Luke asked.

"She was killed as well, by Edward..."

"Don't mention that things name to me ever again" Luke cut him off, pointing a finger at him. "Just let me rest for now, I'm tired" Luke said as mike got up from his chair and left the room. Hearing the faint slap of the closed door Luke immediately broke down, the tears streaming down his face and his sobs causing the stitches in his chest to twinge deeply, sending shooting pains deep into his core. His black heart ached, the dark feeling consuming him entirely as he sobbed himself into oblivion.

XXX

The Sun set slowly over the hospital, slipping softly behind the blood red wisps of cloud as it passed down into the horizon, its rays of fire bursting into shards at the fringes of each passing cloud. In the woods, the birds and crickets chirped, lighting up the scene of the gunfight a mere days earlier with a dirge of melancholy song, mourning for the blood and the death of innocence, For the murder of youth, for the snatching of life. In the ditch two bodies lay lifeless, caked in mud to disguise the rotting flesh held underneath. The green camouflage held 13 in a shroud, whilst the red jacket of will covered his torso enough, keeping away the elements. Animals scuttled amongst the undergrowth, the bark of a fox lighting up the scenery briefly, piercing the black veil of the night. Instantly, 13's eyes flashed open, her eyes bloodshot and bright from shock. She rolled over and was met with the decaying corpse of will, his frail fingers now pointing deathly at her, marking her out as the cause of death. She screamed, the corrupt flesh marking her soul and forcing her to empty her stomach where she sat, filling the ditch slightly as more and more seeped out of her. Before she knew it she was running away from the dark place, her spindly legs soon giving way and succumbing to weakness, planting her firmly on the soft floor of the forest. Blacking out, she too slipped into oblivion.

The next morning she awoke to the bright sun warming her face. Noticing a searing sting on her head she reached out to find a damp spot, pulling her hand away (as it had immediately sent shoots of pain into her" she saw the crimson blood. Feeling there once again, she found the nearly intact bullet and pulled it out, the final shooting pain nearly blinding her as she discarded the dense object, caked in her dried blood. She stumbled slightly, her emaciated body being dwarfed with the warm fabric of the smock, still painted with flecks of blood from the gunfight and her own attempted execution. Onwards she stumbled, half in a trance because of the blood loss or the hunger, probably a combination of the two. She stumbled into the broken shed, retrieving her last pack of skittles and quickly picked at them, giving her some slight resolve from the cold and the damp seeping into her bones.

After, she walked on, leaving the painful place behind her. Leaving her first home behind her. Stumbling around, the snap of dried twigs and the crunch of leaves provided her with a monotonous tune to listen to, drowning out the haunting memories that swam in her mind. Soon, she stumbled across a half beaten track. Following it, her half dazed mind put one foot in front of the other, summoning all of her conscious strength to perform this task, as her life quite literally depended on it. Eventually, she found a warm looking cabin. It was different from her cabin. This one had a roof and windows and light coming from it. She saw the warm light from the lamps in the window, but plastered in the wall were dancing colours of lights, vaguely mimicking moving figures dancing on a screen. She edged closer towards it, hearing the faint sounds of the TV show, as the soap opera played mindlessly on the TV and the content 14 year old girl stared unflinchingly at it.

XXX

A/N: For those of you who didn't pick up on it, when she was shot at her powers reacted before she could think and stopped the bullet from causing any serious harm. The reason why they thought she was dead was because it caused her to lose a lot of strength (Like 11 does when she uses her powers). Please R&R!