Heather stepped out of her apartment building and took in the cool air and sunshine. It was a beautiful day, with a few clouds in the sky and a nice breeze rustling the green trees. She messed with the apartment key and put it in the top-right pocket of her white vest. She wore it unzipped, with her favorite orange, turtleneck sleeveless shirt underneath. She wore a pair of black denim pants. just in case it got colder. In the other pockets of her vest were her phone and a small wad of money for the outing. One of her friends had just called her, saying that she should come to the mall.

"We found some hot deals," the friend said, with some giggling in the background suggesting she was talking about more than just accessories. Heather laughed and said she'd be there. She smiled at the fluttering birds and walked with confidence in her step, checking her locket absently. She was done with her tests, and she was certain she passed freshman year at college, so she had felt a burden lift from her shoulders. Finally, some fun, she thought. Buy some new clothes, hang out with the girls, flirt with some cute guys… All sorts of ideas crossed her mind. Maybe the music store has that CD I've been after…

She smiled at strangers on the sidewalks and talked to people she barely knew. There was no reason to be afraid of strangers anymore; the Order could no longer be after her. On top of that, it was a wonderful day to be out, which fueled her fantastic mood. Unfortunately she had to go underground if she wanted to reach the mall in a timely manner. She walked down the stairs to the subway, only stopping get a paper from the stand. While going down the next couple of flights she checked the headlines. None of the real news was really interesting to her. She leaned against the wall between the benches and read the entertainment section. There were only a couple other people there, since it was a Sunday morning. The one on the bench next to her looked as if he'd fallen asleep sitting up, something Heather had always thought was weird. Absently, she decided he was a bum from how bad he looked. She didn't notice him stir and glance in her direction.

"Are you done with the cover section?" He asked, motioning to the paper in her hands.

The sudden question somewhat startled her, but she took that part of the paper and handed it to him.

"Thanks."

Some ten minutes had passed, and Heather had finished reading so she set the rest of the paper on the other bench. She was starting to wonder when the train would get there, and sighed heavily, her eyes panning the subway. There were torn posters on the walls for concerts and graffiti from aspiring artists along the center supports. The trash cans had rust and stains on them, and there were pieces of gum patching holes all around the ground with cigarettes stuck in them. She looked down at her feet and noticed a can just an inch from them and kicked it away lightly in disgust. Then her eyes wandered to the paper that she had given the man. The cover-story was about dissecting the minds of killers, since the town had a fairly gruesome murder in within the past month. It was getting a lot of attention, prompting the local news channels and papers to constantly run stories about killers and warning signs. The man closed the page and handed it back to her, with a curt nod in thanks.

There was a loud screeching of brakes on the tracks as the train came. When it pulled in from the tunnel, it blew the pieces of trash on the platform around in little garbage tornados. Heather waited for the doors to open and she started towards the car closest to her. As she stepped into the car she heard the voice of the man she had been standing by make a strained noise.

"Alessa?"

She turned to see him just a foot from her, on the other side of the door. Their eyes met, his slightly obscured by long dirty-blond strands of hair, hers starting to tear up. For a brief moment, Heather felt all of the grief from two years ago well up inside her.