Well, I got ambitious and had no new one shots so instead I'm entertaining you with my re-write's prologue. Look for PRINTS in roughly 6 months. Also I know I said I'm avoiding the Virals fanfiction—and I am—but that applies to reading. I might post more one shots for A New Beginning when I can. Anyway, enjoy this.


PROLOGUE

Thunder shook through the grey clouds that blotted out the New York City sky. The rain splattered the pavement relentlessly. Below, the New Yorkers hardly noticed as they opened umbrellas almost automatically.

Men in suits rushed down the sidewalks speaking loudly into cell phones or ear pieces. Women clicked by in their heels holding coffee cups of every variety. Taxis screeched as people hailed them, sending up a spray from the streets.

The rush hour chaos filled the city and no one noticed the young teen running across the wet pavement, shoving people out of their way or dodging preoccupied pedestrians. No one noticed that the kid was dressed in only a mud-spattered hoodie with the hood pulled up obscuring their face. Old, soaked sneakers on their feet. Backpack slung on their shoulders.

What the passersby didn't know was that the teenager wanted to be unnoticed.

What the teenager didn't know was that they were noticed.

The girl beneath the hood pushed her drenched hair from her face. Her eyes darted left to right. Scanning. Searching.

Blazing gold.

Her ears picked up on a screech of tires to her right. Normally that would have been a common sound for New York, but this was different from your typical taxi screech.

Her eyes locked onto the dark SUV that had just come ripping around the corner. Car horns blared and people hollered indignantly. The girl only focused on the car, white terror rippling through her. The windows were tinted but she knew there was a man with close-cropped hair and cold eyes covered by dark shades behind the wheel.

Mind blank and scared, she made a sharp left down the avenue. She wasn't sure which one. She didn't care.

She had to get out of there. If they caught up, she was dead. She shook her head trying to lodge the thoughts from her mind and kept running. Thinking fast she saw a convenience store through the throng of people. Pushing against the flow of the crowd, she ducked inside and behind a shelf of bagged candy.

She peered around the side and watched through the window as the SUV careened past. Her eyes closed as she breathed heavily and slumped as her power boost left her.

"Hey, kid!" She spun to face the voice. A young man, probably in his early twenties, stood at the counter watching her with cautious eyes. "Either buy something or get out. I don't need any riff-raff messing with the store."

She nodded and scooped up a bag of Sour Skittles and a Snickers bar. The cashier rang them through and she dropped six dollars on the counter then headed for the door.

Stuffing the Snickers in her pocket for later, she kept walking, sticking close to alley ways and large groups of people.

In no time she stopped in front of a brown-brick apartment located somewhere on the East-side of Manhattan. It was nothing special. Crumbling brick. Paint-chipped fire escape. Garbage bags thrown carelessly by the dumpster.

Looking around carefully, she decided she hadn't been followed and walked up the steps and inside. She skipped the elevator and took the stairs pulling out a key. On the fourth floor, sixth door down she jammed the key in and opened the door, stepping inside.

Firmly bolting the door she took off down the small hallway to a bedroom on the right, closed the door and slid down to the floor. The tears finally slid down her cheeks as she looked at herself in the mirror across the room. Her hair was plastered to her face from sweat and water. Her hoodie was soggy, stained and dirty along with her shoes and jeans. She tossed her backpack away from her.

Her head dropped into her arms. She was exhausted and scared. But the anger made her forget about her fears. She felt the gold seep into her eyes as she glared at the mirror. She half expected it to shatter before her.

They weren't supposed to be here. She got away six months ago. How did they find her? How did he find her? But most importantly...

What did they do to her?


Well? What did you think? That was the prologue and I'll explain on my Bio what's going on with my re-write. Unfortunately, I'm cruel and am leaving you with this for 6 months. Like I said: I'm avoiding Virals Fanfiction until I get Exposure in paperbacks. September-October guys. I only posted this cause I felt I owed you at least a taste of the re-write.

Oh and as usual, I do not own any of the Virals characters, settings, etc except for my own. Otherwise, all rights belong to Kathy Reichs.

Love ya! Don't hate me! I'll write you soon I promise!

-V6 Trick Shot.