Author's note: Okay, sorry it took so long to update this. I was actually finished with this(practically the whole story actually) a long time ago, but pressing school matters came and I got booked, like, forever. So, here it is!

Chapter 7: "Snuffing out the candle"

The loud grunts and yells fell into the ears of darkness as the two factions clashed, senseless, inane, and yet important. A beta ran up to Lilith, swinging at her with a right hook, but she ducked and swung her right hand with an uppercut, hitting him in the chin. She succeeded by connecting a hook with her left fist, and then a powerful kick to the face that sent the man back down. On the other side, an Alpha crushed his counterpart against a pillar, and then batted him hard over the head, knocking him down. Gabrielle swung a two by four at the back of a man who was overpowering an ally, but then found herself getting knocked down by another enemy.

Bryan downed an Alpha with a strong right fist, and turned to find another one ready to swing his head off with a steel bat. The sound of vacuum filled Bryan's ears as he ducked and rammed his knee to the Alpha's gut. Raising both hands, he clubbed the man at the back of his neck, putting him to sleep. Another Alpha ran up to Bryan just as he regained composure, and knocked him back to a steel mesh that was leaning on the wall. He felt the blunt force against his chest, while the mesh wasn't hard enough to do any real damage to his back. His opponent charged in, but was soon met with a hard boot to the face. Bryan then pushed himself away from the mesh and knocked his opponent down with a forearm.

A few feet away, David felt a sharp pain in his rib as an Alpha swung a bat at his side from behind. Another one came up his front, and cracked his fist against David's jaw. Boots then stomped him down to the ground, as he futilely tried to block the assault with his hands. One of the men, an African American, stopped bringing his feet down on the broken man's body and decided to finish the job with his bat. It was only seconds before he could swing it on David's head that a loud crack on the back of his bald head knocked him unconscious. Joan had just smashed a cinder block over his head. The other man yelled out and tackled Joan to the ground in retribution for his fallen friend.

She fought back under the man in blue's weight, clawing at his face and pulling at his blonde hair. He let out an angry scream and grabbed her by her own hair and slammed her head to the concrete floor, letting out a thud as for a moment, all air left Joan's body. A surge of pain ran down her spine, as all her strength was lost. Her eyes gaped wide open at the sight of the young man raising her fist to possibly crush her face. "Asshole!!" cried David, running up to the man who brutalized his girlfriend. The blonde boy turned just in time to see the bat of his partner get smashed right at his face, nearly ruining an otherwise good one. Everywhere they looked, chaos ensued, as battered bodies fought with all their strength, using weapons out of nearly anything they could get their hands on.

Back on the other end, an Alpha ran and tackled Bryan from behind, pushing him face first to the hard wall. A strong elbow then crashed right at the back of his neck, once again pushing his face onto the wall with a loud crack. Bryan coughed out blood as the Alpha pressed against him from behind, once again ramming his elbow at the back of his head. He then grabbed Bryan's hair and slammed him face first against the pillar, and then second to a wooden crate that was beside them. Blood was pouring all over his face.

There was a toolbox on the crate, which mercifully for him, was narrowly missed. Bryan's pain was unbearable, and his only motive then was to make the assailant feel worse. The alpha, a young, shirtless, skin-headed man with khakis, raised his head once again, ready to pulverize it on the wooden crate, when Bryan kicked his foot back, hitting him below the belt.

The man grabbed his crotch as pain seared through his abdomen and pelvis. Bryan then grabbed him by the back of the head with both hands, and slammed it on the wooden crate, strong enough to crack it, and he followed by slamming his boot and the back of his enemy's head, further smashing it against the wood. The shirtless man slumped on the crate, dazed from the pain, when Bryan scooped the toolbox up with both hands, and swung it hard on the young man's forehead much like a golfer would a ball, practically throwing him off the crate. Not content, Bryan threw the toolbox down at the young man's stomach, then reaching down and picking up the wooden coop.

The young man still had his hands on his abdomen, facing down with his back arched up, when Bryan smashed the crate on his back. A female Alpha then came up and threw herself at Bryan's back, choking him by wrapping her arms around his neck. Her short brown hair waved in the wind as Bryan tried to shake her off, she wore red tube top and black jeans. Another Alpha came up and punched the Beta on the gut, bringing him down, on both knees with a cry of agony. The female then jumped down and proceeded stomping on his back.

Justin slugged a brown haired youth, and then kicked him away with a hard boot to the gut. He shook his hand, to ward off the stinging sensation on his fist. Bryan was down on the ground, with the girl still stomping on him, while her ally set his sights on Justin.

The Alpha was another young black haired man who wore a long sleeved tan shirt. He hit Justin square on the jaw with a right hook, and followed with a left uppercut to the stomach. Pain shot up from the blow, but Justin was still able to see a right straight blow coming for him. He leaned left, grabbed the boy's wrist with his right hand and twisted it back, pushing him down on one knee. Justin then held his grip tighter and jumped up, slamming his left elbow on the back of the Alpha's neck as he went down, rendering him unconscious. He then turned just in time to see the girl head for with all her speed, lashing out her right arm to try and punch him. Justin swayed left, feeling the wind from her punch across his cheek. Just as he dodged her aggression, he firmly placed both hands on her back and pushed her with all his might, using her own momentum to send her crashing through a set-up steel ladder.

Fast as he was, Justin wasn't able to avoid Lilith dashing right in and slamming a wooden plank against his stomach, strong enough to break the plank and send the man a foot away. Bryan got on his feet, even though blood was practically spilling over his neck. He wasn't going to give up the fight.

Lorna slammed a hammer at an incoming Alpha's shoulder, then on his chest, sending him down for the count. Not too far from her was Michael, his lip and temple bleeding. He crashed his steel chair through an Alpha's head, trapping his neck in mangled steel. Michael then swung the chair sideways, dragging the young man, and slammed them both to another incoming Alpha. Everyone was unrelenting. Those who fell, stood. Those who bled, washed it off with sweat.

Paul watched Lilith take on the wounded Bryan as he stood a small distance away. A red mark was on his cheek, and he wore a loose cut-off black shirt, and his usual baggy pants. A Beta rushed to take him on, unhinged that the Alpha he was about to fight just brought down three Betas with taking only a few hits. Paul looked down, by his foot was a steel bucket. Without hesitation, he kicked it as hard as he could, sending it straight to the Beta member's face. It was enough to knock the beta down.

A few feet away, David held the bat on both ends and pushed it forward onto an enemy's throat. He let go off the blunt head and with both hands once again on the handle, swung hard, bringing his opponent down. Paul on the other hand, managed to dodge Gabrielle's incoming blow, which came from behind just by leaning to his left. She carried a wrench with her. Because of the initial diversion, David got in a clean shot of Paul's back, making a sickening crack as the Alpha yelled out in pain. This time, Paul's friend made the save as he ran up to David's side and speared his knees, sending him crashing down. It was enough time for Paul to catch Gabrielle's wrist as she tried to crack the wrench over his skull. He turned to his side, with his left hand on her right wrist, he used his right palm to shove her down, tripping her at the same time with his leg. At that moment, David was able to fend off his attacker with the bat, knocking him over the head. "David!!!" screamed Joan as she leaned on a pillar, a small distance away from the battle. Paul cracked his forearm against David's face as he turned, and then he quickly hit him with a very hard right, putting him down.

Lorna headed for Lilith, clenching her hand around the hammer she held. It was still clear in her mind how Lilith tried to stab Michael cold-bloodedly. She raised the hammer above her head and charged for the woman with a shrill cry. Lilith clasped both her hands, and dashed inwards, hitting Lorna with a powerful right elbow before the red-haired woman could bring the hammer down. Lorna fell to the ground, the blow dealt to her was so strong that she was instantly rendered unconscious.

Michael smashed a man's face against one of the pillars, and gave him a hard right fist. It was the instant he turned left that Lilith threw the steel chair he carried earlier on at his face. He was able to catch it with both hands, exactly what Lilith wanted as she booted the steel chair right to his face. Michael staggered back, and the woman came right in with a hard kick to his crotch. She then punched him on his temple with her right hand, and then her left.

With an angry cry, she kicked him right on the chest, toppling him back. The wail of sirens once again began to fill the cold air, with flashing lights that seemed to bring much more dread to the picture. "Go! Go! Go!" she heard a man shout. Lilith looked left and right, seeing everyone motioning for each other to go, and helping allies up. She then felt a hand gently grab her own. "Its time to go." He said, half yelling, half whispering. "Now." He urged, sternly yet softly. The woman hesitantly nodded, and he led her into the darkness, for a way out.

A very good number of police officers swarmed the warehouse, struggling against the tired and battered youths with much avail. Some of the teenagers resorted to jumping through the windows, not stopping for a moment as they ran, limping away full speed. Michael slowly sat up with a grimaced look, as his body was still on fire. Heavy hands then pushed him by the back and slammed him face first on a pillar.

It was only seconds later that he felt the cold handcuffs against his wrists. Gabrielle trashed wildly at two officers' grip. Another one checked on Bryan and the shirtless boy, the latter slumped on the wall, breathing heavily. "These kids need to be in the hospital." commented a middle-aged officer as he shook his head. A young man was forcefully pinned on the floor, refusing to give up, until it was two officers who finally subdued him.

Most of the others were too tired to put up much of a fight. "God…this is just…wrong." Whispered a female officer to herself as countless kids were put in police cars and ambulances. Thirteen of the Betas were taken, eight were sent to jail, while the rest were sent for medical treatment. Eighteen Alphas were taken in as well. Remaining members of both sides poured into the streets, every man or woman for him or herself as the police officers gave chase.

Paul and Lily ran through a dark alley, with three officers, two veterans and one, a rookie, came after them. The young man was about a foot behind Lily as he suffered more injury over the relatively unharmed woman. A steel fence covered the way, much like before, an obstacle that teenagers have grown accustomed to shrug off. The allies jumped right onto the steel fence, climbing over it and jumping down in less than half a minute. Paul stumbled a bit as he landed, feeling the pain reverberate down his back where David hit him earlier. Lily noticed this and grabbed him by his hand, pulling him to run with her. She never let her concern show on her face. She believed it to be a sign of weakness. Instead she tugged his hand, her simple way of conveying how much she cared about him. Not the best way in the world.

Two sudden bursts of gunfire made her scream out. A loud grunt and two sickening cracks, like popping sounds, were then heard. Particles of blood and smoke burst into the air as Paul fell on his knees. "Jesus! Marco, what the hell!!?" cried one of the veteran officers at the rookie. 'They were getting away…" he stuttered. "You fucking moron!" yelled the other one as he climbed over the fence.

"Paul!!!" screamed Lily, panic stricken as she stood over him. She saw these kinds of things before. She sees them all the time. It was an inescapable truth to reality that she simply referred to as getting your due. Never had it happened to the only person she ever cared so much about.

Thoughts and memories rushed through Paul's eyes as he lay on the ground, turned to his side. His right arm was outstretched, his eyes were wide open while his jaw was trembling. Precipitate exited his quivering mouth as he breathed deeply and slowly.

Lily put her hands on the sides of her head and fell on her knees. It was torture, seeing that person who walked by you, ate beside you, treated you like royalty while you treated him like dirt, lying on the ground in a puddle of his own blood. "…this…all this…has to stop Lily." He whispered, his words streaked in anguish yet soft and kind.

His whole body was numb and a strange cold feeling was slithering like a serpent across his back. He knew he was dying. Paul had no other choice but to accept it. Images of his life, his family, his house, his childhood and his love, flashed in his mind. The last of those things, his love, crouched over him, in shocked silence. Paul would have loved to tell her many things, but inside he knew that there was not enough time. He would have reassured her that everything would be fine, that she shouldn't cry, that it breaks his heart when he sees her shed a tear out of sorrow.

There was never enough time. He reached out his hand, and gently touched her cheek with his palm, feeling the warmth that was couldn't be lost even in the icy night. "…live…Lily. Don't…waste what you have. I know that you and me, we aren't the most blessed of the people in this neighbor hood. I know that we had our lives taken away from us…so early." He smiled at her; his blue eyes sparkled as he did, almost as if he had no bullets lodged through his back.

"…I'm just…glad, that even through all that…I was still blessed enough to be able to know you. To touch you." Tears began to fall down his face. Lily sobbed out his name, as the dam was beginning to break. The officers stood at a distance, the three of them in respectful silence. "To be able…know how it feels to actually… love…you…" he grimaced as a wave of pain shot through his body, but he persisted on keeping his smile. "…Paul…" he looked up at her, tears were already poured down her cheeks. "…Bye Lily." He whispered, finally closing his eyes, and keeping his smile.

Author's note: And that, as they say, is chapter 7.