Piper Chapman is a young twenty-four year old. She's completed the basic tasks of life. She finished highschool and even graduated from college. She spent a whole year traveling and doing small jobs around the cities of New York. She had everything that life would give her. Except more time.

Piper loved taking pictures.

She took them for herself and took them for others. It was quick money but the cash wasn't something Piper needed too much She was also sick. A sickness that could make her time here on Earth a lot shorter than she imagined. But at the same time she always thought it would happen. She had this sickness before but overcame it around her middle school days.

She spent highschool doing everything she was supposed to. She didn't go out to hang around friends or party. She did her work and graduated on time. She was basically a teacher's pet. Her friends would always complain about how she'd never do anything fun, but she didn't care. She was just thankful she had a chance to finish school.

She was inspired by her older brother, Danny. Danny was a good kid, he was practically the perfect son Piper's parents wanted. Danny wanted to be a doctor, sometimes when Piper was sick he'd pretend to be her doctor and 'cure' her. Whenever he could, he'd take her to their backyard and pretend to take her around the world.

Piper also had another brother, Cal. Cal was a good distraction to take her mind off treatment. Piper was homeschooled during her first treatment because her parents believed going back to school could be overwhelming for her, Piper would've been completely fine with going to school but she didn't complain about being home because she had Cal.

Cal was expelled from his school because he brought a knife. Apparently, he wanted to impress a girl and show her some crazy knife trick he could do but word got around that he brought a weapon and he was sent home right away. He was then homeschooled along with Piper.

While Danny was away Cal was like Piper's only friend. Piper oddly didn't feel so lonely, maybe it was because she had some pretty awesome brothers.

But as they grew older Danny grew distant. Piper was better and enrolled in high school. Cal remained homeschooled and did his own thing. Piper made a few friends but none really stayed, after highschool she went into college hoping that she could accomplish her last basic goal. And, she did.

Piper made a friend during College. Her name was Polly Harper. Polly managed to convince Piper to come out of her shell a bit from time to time. During the last year of college her sickness was beginning to come back. Of course she took the treatment for a few months and managed to graduate college.

Afterwards she decided to discontinue her treatment. She wasn't going to die as soon as she stopped getting treatment or whatever. The type of sickness she had was slow, slow but harmful. She knew her time would be cut short though, she just didn't know when. She didn't want to know when.

Her parents debated with her on the treatment plans but Piper couldn't be convinced. She didn't want to feel like this sick little girl she once was. She wanted to live her life and become satisfied with what she's done.

"You're, Piper right?" A woman with curly hair spoke to Piper, she wore a red shirt that was tucked in black pants. She wore a bit of eyeliner and held a smirk on her lips.

"Yes." Piper nodded, "that's me."

"Well, Red will be with you soon. Just uh, sit tight." She pulled out a chair from a nearby table, Piper took the seat as the woman turns away from her to fill the shelves.

Piper quietly looked around the small market. Most of the shelves were half empty. Piper has read the reviews of this place, for a market it was becoming popular.

Dmitri's Russian Market was owned by a Russian man named Dmitri, simple as that. Dmitri passed away from an illness Piper wasn't told of. Galina Reznikov was the wife of Dmitri, she now owns the shop.

Piper was in contact with Galina, the two talked about what Piper would be doing to promote the shop. The market has been in the game for a while now. Only recently it upgraded to a new paint job and logo on the outside of the small building.

Piper doesn't pry too much but she likes to get to know her clients. She wants to know people's stories, what makes them the way that they are and she doesn't always meet people who want to chat, they pay her for a job and she gets it done, end of discussion. But sometimes she does meet someone who wants to talk.

Once she met a family, a mother and a father who had a little boy. They wanted a few photos of the three of them on a train track while holding hands.

The little boy had a disease. But this sickness was going to take his life a lot sooner than anyone expected. The doctors told the boy's family that he might not make it to the age of six.

He was four. Quite the bubbly kid. Piper also spoke with him and she found out he loved trains. His father had a job that stuck him in the office and his mother was a nurse.

Piper knew how hard it must've been for them, especially with a parent in the medical field. She got to know them quite well but they never specified what sickness their son had, but Piper assumed it must've been hard for them.

Piper kept in touch with the parents and soon after the pictures Piper took their little boy had passed away.

Piper keeps a copy of one of the photos she captured, it tells a story. A story she didn't want to forget.

She always believed her pictures could tell something.

But she wasn't ready for the story that wouldl unpack in front of her.

The market's door opens with a ching revealing a woman dressed in a red suit with black librarian glasses carrying a light orange envelope.

"Nichols! My favorite junkie!" The woman threw her arms around the woman who spoke to Piper earlier.

"Hey! We have company." Both women look over to Piper, Piper cocks and eyebrow.

The woman eyes Piper with curiosity as she pulls back from the hug. "And who might this be?"

"The photographer, you know, the woman who's helping Red promote this place." Nicky answered.

The woman cleared her throat. "Right, my bad." She chuckles, "anyway, Nicky I got the papers Red needs."

Nicky smiled, "good, I hope it's whatever she wants because that woman does not stop talking about it." Nicky outstretches her arm, she glanced toward Piper again before turning back to the woman dressed in red.

"How about you keep our guest company." She gives a playful wink and pats the woman in red on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, I'm just coming and leaving anyway." The woman in red turns to the back of the store, she turns back to look at Piper. "I wouldn't mind staying though."

"It's best if you do." Nicky replies, "Red's in the back dealing with… Tricia's latest friend."

"Ah." The woman nods, she hands over the envelope. Nicky walks to the back of the store leaving just Piper and the woman alone.

"Well, hello camera girl." The woman smirked.

"It's Piper." The blonde corrected.

"I'm Alex."

Alex walked closer to Piper, stretching out her arm to shake with her. Piper gladly returned the handshake with a gentle smile.

"What keeps you in the business?" Alex suddenly asks.

"What business?" Piper tilted her head.

"You know, taking pictures." Alex scratched the back of her neck, she cleared her throat. "Everyone does something for a reason, so why do you take pictures?"

Piper thought for a moment, gathering her words together.

"Pictures leave behind a story." Piper replied, her voice soft as she thought of all her previous photos.

Alex crossed her arms, getting interested. "Yeah? And what story would this place give in some pictures?" She asked.

Piper looked around the shop again, when she travelled she also tried going to places that were "less fancy" so to say. Piper grew to love the little shops she visited because when she was a kid, going out wasn't really her thing but with her family's money, they would take her to the most expensive places for her birthday or any special event happening.

Piper didn't mind that though, those places were absolutely amazing. But there was something about a small shop that touched Piper's heart.

"This place shows that someone cares. A person who makes sure this place is so clean that a bug wouldn't dare crawl a single tiny foot in this place. This place shows hard work." Piper answered.

Alex nodded with approval, "trust me this place does take work." She chuckled, "do you take pictures of people?" She questioned.

Piper nodded, "sometimes, yes."

"Even… Revealing ones?" Alex wiggled her eyebrows.

Piper cocked her eyebrow, "do you like… Sensual photography?"

"Whatever you call it." Alex grinned.

"I have once." Piper admitted, "for a couple."

"What if I'm… Interested in having my photo taken like that, but how about we ditch the camera and it's just you and me?" She winked.

Piper wasn't sure if she was serious or not but her words got caught up in her throat, before she could reply their conversation was cut short by Galina coming from the back of the store.

"Please tell me you're terrorizing my guest." The older Russian woman reaches her hand out for Piper to take.

"Nonsense Red, just making your camera girl comfortable."

Red rolled her eyes, "Vause, please make yourself busy and find Tricia. I need to have a word with her."

"No offense Red but, I don't see why we keep her around." Alex sighed, "she's making a lot of problems."

"She's young." Red replied, "she'll have to learn. But I need you to find her before she does anything else." Red ordered, Alex nodded and before leaving the shop and looks at Piper again.

"I hope to see you around." Alex winked again before heading off.

"Don't mind her." Red turns her attention back on Piper, Piper smiles at her response and Red lead her to the outside of the shop.

"I want the first picture to be the name over there." Red pointed to the store's name that was imprinted on the right side of the store. Piper opened up her camera bag and started to set up her things. Red watched her.

"How long have you been doing this Piper?" Red asked, Piper glanced to the older woman to answer her.

"Almost officially two years." Piper beamed.

"Pays well?"

Piper shrugged as she placed her eye to the camera, "I don't really do it for the money. I have enough of it to live out the rest of my life, however short it'll be."

"Short?" Red raised an eyebrow, "do you believe your life will be short?"

Piper took the first picture, she took the camera from her face as she responded. "It's a high chance that it will be. Cancer does that to a person." Piper was open about her sickness, she felt as though she should always remember that she is sick, just in case there were any attachments with her and another person.

During her travels she met a lot of people, people who wanted to hear a call back from her that she failed to keep up with anyone, She could be anyone she wanted when she met these different people but her sickness kept trickling in the back of her head warning her to not get attached because they'll just end up losingher anyway. Polly being the only exception of course.

"You have cancer?" Red places a hand over her heart, "I wasn't aware."

"You wouldn't have known." Piper says, she saw an odd look in Red eyes as if she knew something…

"That's why you're traveling." Red mumbled, Piper had been talking with her a few days prior to today, they shared only a little information about each other, nothing overly revealing but just enough to know each other.

"Yes." Piper nodded, "I've been back though for a few months, taking whatever job that comes next."

"Do you know how long you have left?"

Piper shrugged again, "I could have a few years left. Or maybe months… Or days."

"You're parents must been worried for you." Red says.

"They wanted me to start another treatment." Piper informed, "but I wanted something different."

"Something different? Like what?" Red waited to Piper to take her camera away from her face to stand in front of the store, she crossed her arms.

"Adventure." Piper replied.

"I want a picture of me in front of the shop." Red says, "and adventure is nice, my boys would create an adventure of their own around here." Red smiled at the memories.

"Your boys? You have sons?" Piper asked.

"Yes. Had." Red frowned, she quickly smiled again to take the picture.

"I'm… Sorry." Piper sighed, she takes the camera away again to look at the photo. "I lost a brother."

Red nods, she already knew of that.

"How about we take more photos from inside?" Red motions for Piper to come inside and after collecting her things she follows the shop owner.

After taking a few more pictures Piper was on her way to leave the shop, but she couldn't help but buy a few items. She watched Nicky check out a few items as they started to talk.

"So, how's the photos looking?" Nicky asked.

"They're great." Piper replied, "I hope it helps to promote this place."

"They will." Nicky handed Piper a bag of the items she bought, "thanks to your help." Nicky grinned.

Piper took the bag and smiled, she walked out the small shop. Piper tucked a hand in her pocket and kept her head low as she thought about what her dinner would be.

She only walked a few blocks away from the shop when she heard something snarling. Whipping her head back she saw nothing but the streetlights dimming over some areas of the sidewalk, she furrowed her eyebrows.

She continued to walk with a quicker pace.

Then that's when she heard something running, she turned around again to see a person bolting straight at her. Piper thought at first this person was some kind of jogger but as the streetlights lit up this person's features she knew her theory was completely wrong.

This person's skin was sickly grey, veins protruded from the top of it's head as there wasn't much hair up there.

Piper immediately ran, she felt the fear building up inside of her as this monster was chasing her, it was beginning to gain up on her too until she took a turn into an alleyway.

But running into this way was probably a bad idea.

She of course ran into a dead end, she cursed to herself as the growls and cries from that creature came closer. Piper dropped everything was she holding as she backed herself into the wall, she got a better look at the humanoid creature as it stalked closer to her.

Besides it's odd skin, it's eyes were blood red with dark pupils, it's canine teeth sharper than usual. It's clothes were ripped and filthy as it rises its hand up in the air, it's large nails were coming down on Piper as she shut her eyes, waiting for the impact.

Then, nothing came.

Piper slowly opened her eyes to see another blonde wearing red holding back it's arm, in a quick motion another pair of arms come around the creature's neck snapping it.

The creature falls to the ground as Alex wiped her hands on her red clothes. The other girl turns to face Piper as Alex speaks.

"Well, hi camera girl."

...

a/n sorry if there are any grammar mistakes i only looked this over twice.