AN: Sorry this is so short, but it's kind of like a two part chapter thing. I think it'll be more effective if I put the second part up tomorrow (which I promise I will do). The second part should be longer too, to make up for it I guess.
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A volt of electricity ran through Ada. It's Him. It had been weeks and for the first time since their encounter, it was him. He was standing rigidly upright as if in anticipation. The dank alleyway was usually only frequented by hobos and stray cats, but he didn't seem to mind. Today, he was there.
He was in the alley that she had almost been mugged in on her way home from work one night. The alley that never failed to instill a shuddering thankfulness in her. Whenever she passed it by, Ada remembered the harsh grip of that desperate man and the luck of the policeman on his way to work. Whenever she walked past that dark alley, she thought of him and his dark glasses. She remembered that he had seemed more like a modern gunslinger than any type of night cop. It wasn't merely his stance that convinced Ada he was something more. She highly doubted that many police officers wore trenchcoats and knee-high buckled boots on their way to work; not to mention that he was wearing sunglasses at night.
That didn't matter, though. It was inconsequential as they say. It didn't matter because he was there now and this time he was within her grasp.
Briefly, a thought flitted across Ada's mind as to why she was standing there on that desolate sidewalk at this time of night. She knew that she had somewhere to be and that she must of come from someplace; but where? A chilling wind tugged at her skirt, but she didn't notice. The wind could have torn the skirt clean off, but she would have made no move to get it for fear that he would disappear as he had before. She was paralyzed by the mere prospect of talking to him again.
A thought struck her. Blindsided, Ada asked herself, "Is he even really there? It's happening again isn't it. This fixation has been plaguing me for so long. It has to be him. Right?" Horrified, Ada mustered all her courage and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, he was still there. Ada let out a deep breath that she hadn't realized she was holding and took a shaky step forward. Refusing to let her knees lock together, she continued this Frankenstein Stagger until she reached the opening of the alley.
Ada opened her mouth to speak, but before she could make a sound a man flew down onto the ground in front of her. He didn't fly so much as gracefully landed. Ada made a move to help him, for she assumed he had fallen off the roof of the building next to her, but having landed on his feet the man seemed fine. Of course Ada's benevolence quickly wore off as the man started to shoot. Not at her, but at him.
"No!" she screamed as she ran forward into the line of fire.
The man ceased his firing and stared at Ada in surprise, "What are you doing here?"
Ada crouched next to the bleeding man. It felt like the world was shaking around her. No, that was wrong. She was the one shaking. Ada placed her hands on his chest in a futile attempt to stop some blood flow and gasped when the dying man grabbed her hand.
He pulled her closer with what strength he had left and whispered, "Open your eyes."
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A volt of electricity ran through Ada. It's Him. It had been weeks and for the first time since their encounter, it was him. He was standing rigidly upright as if in anticipation. The dank alleyway was usually only frequented by hobos and stray cats, but he didn't seem to mind. Today, he was there.
He was in the alley that she had almost been mugged in on her way home from work one night. The alley that never failed to instill a shuddering thankfulness in her. Whenever she passed it by, Ada remembered the harsh grip of that desperate man and the luck of the policeman on his way to work. Whenever she walked past that dark alley, she thought of him and his dark glasses. She remembered that he had seemed more like a modern gunslinger than any type of night cop. It wasn't merely his stance that convinced Ada he was something more. She highly doubted that many police officers wore trenchcoats and knee-high buckled boots on their way to work; not to mention that he was wearing sunglasses at night.
That didn't matter, though. It was inconsequential as they say. It didn't matter because he was there now and this time he was within her grasp.
Briefly, a thought flitted across Ada's mind as to why she was standing there on that desolate sidewalk at this time of night. She knew that she had somewhere to be and that she must of come from someplace; but where? A chilling wind tugged at her skirt, but she didn't notice. The wind could have torn the skirt clean off, but she would have made no move to get it for fear that he would disappear as he had before. She was paralyzed by the mere prospect of talking to him again.
A thought struck her. Blindsided, Ada asked herself, "Is he even really there? It's happening again isn't it. This fixation has been plaguing me for so long. It has to be him. Right?" Horrified, Ada mustered all her courage and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, he was still there. Ada let out a deep breath that she hadn't realized she was holding and took a shaky step forward. Refusing to let her knees lock together, she continued this Frankenstein Stagger until she reached the opening of the alley.
Ada opened her mouth to speak, but before she could make a sound a man flew down onto the ground in front of her. He didn't fly so much as gracefully landed. Ada made a move to help him, for she assumed he had fallen off the roof of the building next to her, but having landed on his feet the man seemed fine. Of course Ada's benevolence quickly wore off as the man started to shoot. Not at her, but at him.
"No!" she screamed as she ran forward into the line of fire.
The man ceased his firing and stared at Ada in surprise, "What are you doing here?"
Ada crouched next to the bleeding man. It felt like the world was shaking around her. No, that was wrong. She was the one shaking. Ada placed her hands on his chest in a futile attempt to stop some blood flow and gasped when the dying man grabbed her hand.
He pulled her closer with what strength he had left and whispered, "Open your eyes."
