Chapter 1: A New Home
In a corner of an orphanage a 16-year-old girl sits and cries. She sits dressed in black with piercings everywhere, including two on her lip one on each side, belly button, four on her nose to on each side her eyebrow and her tongue. Her black hair looking even blacker as she sits in the dark corner. She has no other place to go, except maybe a different corner. Day after day she sits in the same corner and cries. No one knows why, no one ever bothered to ask. No one paid any attention to her. No one even knew her name. One day some one actually noticed that she was missing from her usual corner. She had run away, wanting to escape life itself, but unable to run fast enough.
She ran a little but as soon as she got tired she walked. People gave her funny looks, all looking at her with hungry faces like she was a piece if meat waiting to be tasted.
She went as far as she could before the sun sank below the horizon. She thought it best that she found a place to stay for the night. An abandon warehouse seamed like the perfect place. She slipped in an open window on the first story, found a dark corner, and curled up in a ball to sleep. It was one of the first times she was in a corner as quite as a mouse.
A loud noise was what awoke her sometime during the night. She sat up and listened. She could swear she heard people talking. She stood up and started walking toward the sounds of voices. She found them. A tall muscular black man dressed in leather and an older white man with long white hair and unshaven white whiskers. She continued to walk closer and closer. The words became clearer and clearer.
"So how many were killed tonight?" the older man asked.
"Many, but there were some that got away," the other replied.
She moved as close as she dared. Listening to every word.
"What about Frost?" the older man asked.
"No sign of the coward," the other man answered.
She moved a little closer, knocking something next to her over. The older man picked up a gun off of a near by table while the other drew a silver sword from its sheath.
"Who's there?" the elder asked.
She didn't dare move. For the slightest sound she made, they would hear. The larger of the two men came up behind while she was focusing on the man with the gun. She screamed.
"Let me go!" the girl screamed with horror.
The man looked at her neck, examining it carefully. Then forced her mouth open. The girl, terrified and confused, struggled to get lose but was unsuccessful.
"There's no marks," the man holding her said to the other.
"Bring her here," the other replied.
The man dressed in leather dragged the struggling girl over to where the other man was standing. As soon as they reached him, he let the girl go. She stood there waiting for one of them to say something.
"You can call me Whistler, and the man behind you is Blade. What are you doing here?" the older of the two asked.
"You can call me Artemis, and I ran away from the orphanage and I needed a place to stay the night," the girl answered still a little afraid.
"Well then Artemis, I think it's time that you go back to the orphanage," the man called Blade said without even looking at her.
"No one will ever no I was gone. Look, I'll leave now, I'm sorry to have intruded," Artemis said looking from one man to the other.
"I'm sure someone has noticed and your not going anywhere at night," Whistler said staring at Blade as if to tell him that she was to stay.
"She can stay, but only for the night. First thing in the morning I'm taking her back," Blade hesitated.
"Make a bed for her," Whistler said going back to what he was doing before Artemis knocked over whatever it was that she knocked over.
Blade made her a bed in an extra room while she stood in the same spot that Blade had placed her in.
"You say you're from the orphanage?" Whistler asked.
"Yes sir," Artemis said trying to be as polite as possible.
"Why? What about family?" Whistler wanted to know more about their unexpected visitor.
"No family, no friends, nothing," was her reply.
"Do you know what happened to your family?" Whistler asked.
"I'd rather not talk about it," Artemis said turning her head away from Whistler so he would not see her face.
Blade came walking back, looking irritated, and not even saying a word.
"Don't worry about him. He'll come around. I have a feeling he'll grow to be quit fond of you. And you of him," Whistler said grinning.
"I'm afraid I don't understand. After tomorrow morning, I'll never see either one of you again. Aren't I going back to the orphanage?" Artemis asked a tad bit confused.
"What you fail to realize is that I know what teenagers go through. We'll take you back only to find out that you ran away again. I lost my wife and daughter and maybe you can bring the joy back into my life by being something like a daughter. I'll talk to the orphanage and tell them that I'm willing to adopt you. Blade will understand," Whistler said with an even wider grin.
"How did you lose them?" Artemis asked.
"Just the same as you not wanting to talk about your loses, I'd rather not talk about mine," Whistler said turning his back to Artemis.
"It was five years ago. I was 11. I heard something in the middle of the night and decided to find out what it was. But no one was in the house at all. Even the police couldn't explain it." Artemis explained hoping that Whistler might know something, but knew that he wouldn't.
"The Wood family?" Whistler asked.
Artemis nodded as her eyes started to fill with tears.
"Everyone knows that story, it was all over the news," Blade said coming up behind Artemis not even making a sound.
"How do you do that?" Artemis asked turning to face him and looking deep into his dark brown eyes.
"Let's just call it an unwanted gift," Blade said walking over to a stool and sitting down upon it.
"It was a few years ago. A stranger came to the house. I offered my hospitality only to find out that he was a murderer. He took both of their lives, but I was able to get away," Whistler said sadly.
"I'm sorry," Artemis said frowning.
"As am I. I think it's time for you to get some rest. I'll explain more in the morning," Whistler said.
Artemis was so happy. She was finally going to have a family. She slept well that night. No longer having to sleep on the hard mattresses of the orphanage. She didn't have to cry herself to sleep. As she lay in the bed that Blade had made her she couldn't help but smile.
"Are you going back out?" Whistler asked Blade as soon as Artemis was lying in her bed.
"Not tonight," Blade said getting up off of the stool.
"Good-night then," Whistler said.
"Good-night old man," Blade replied. ????
In a corner of an orphanage a 16-year-old girl sits and cries. She sits dressed in black with piercings everywhere, including two on her lip one on each side, belly button, four on her nose to on each side her eyebrow and her tongue. Her black hair looking even blacker as she sits in the dark corner. She has no other place to go, except maybe a different corner. Day after day she sits in the same corner and cries. No one knows why, no one ever bothered to ask. No one paid any attention to her. No one even knew her name. One day some one actually noticed that she was missing from her usual corner. She had run away, wanting to escape life itself, but unable to run fast enough.
She ran a little but as soon as she got tired she walked. People gave her funny looks, all looking at her with hungry faces like she was a piece if meat waiting to be tasted.
She went as far as she could before the sun sank below the horizon. She thought it best that she found a place to stay for the night. An abandon warehouse seamed like the perfect place. She slipped in an open window on the first story, found a dark corner, and curled up in a ball to sleep. It was one of the first times she was in a corner as quite as a mouse.
A loud noise was what awoke her sometime during the night. She sat up and listened. She could swear she heard people talking. She stood up and started walking toward the sounds of voices. She found them. A tall muscular black man dressed in leather and an older white man with long white hair and unshaven white whiskers. She continued to walk closer and closer. The words became clearer and clearer.
"So how many were killed tonight?" the older man asked.
"Many, but there were some that got away," the other replied.
She moved as close as she dared. Listening to every word.
"What about Frost?" the older man asked.
"No sign of the coward," the other man answered.
She moved a little closer, knocking something next to her over. The older man picked up a gun off of a near by table while the other drew a silver sword from its sheath.
"Who's there?" the elder asked.
She didn't dare move. For the slightest sound she made, they would hear. The larger of the two men came up behind while she was focusing on the man with the gun. She screamed.
"Let me go!" the girl screamed with horror.
The man looked at her neck, examining it carefully. Then forced her mouth open. The girl, terrified and confused, struggled to get lose but was unsuccessful.
"There's no marks," the man holding her said to the other.
"Bring her here," the other replied.
The man dressed in leather dragged the struggling girl over to where the other man was standing. As soon as they reached him, he let the girl go. She stood there waiting for one of them to say something.
"You can call me Whistler, and the man behind you is Blade. What are you doing here?" the older of the two asked.
"You can call me Artemis, and I ran away from the orphanage and I needed a place to stay the night," the girl answered still a little afraid.
"Well then Artemis, I think it's time that you go back to the orphanage," the man called Blade said without even looking at her.
"No one will ever no I was gone. Look, I'll leave now, I'm sorry to have intruded," Artemis said looking from one man to the other.
"I'm sure someone has noticed and your not going anywhere at night," Whistler said staring at Blade as if to tell him that she was to stay.
"She can stay, but only for the night. First thing in the morning I'm taking her back," Blade hesitated.
"Make a bed for her," Whistler said going back to what he was doing before Artemis knocked over whatever it was that she knocked over.
Blade made her a bed in an extra room while she stood in the same spot that Blade had placed her in.
"You say you're from the orphanage?" Whistler asked.
"Yes sir," Artemis said trying to be as polite as possible.
"Why? What about family?" Whistler wanted to know more about their unexpected visitor.
"No family, no friends, nothing," was her reply.
"Do you know what happened to your family?" Whistler asked.
"I'd rather not talk about it," Artemis said turning her head away from Whistler so he would not see her face.
Blade came walking back, looking irritated, and not even saying a word.
"Don't worry about him. He'll come around. I have a feeling he'll grow to be quit fond of you. And you of him," Whistler said grinning.
"I'm afraid I don't understand. After tomorrow morning, I'll never see either one of you again. Aren't I going back to the orphanage?" Artemis asked a tad bit confused.
"What you fail to realize is that I know what teenagers go through. We'll take you back only to find out that you ran away again. I lost my wife and daughter and maybe you can bring the joy back into my life by being something like a daughter. I'll talk to the orphanage and tell them that I'm willing to adopt you. Blade will understand," Whistler said with an even wider grin.
"How did you lose them?" Artemis asked.
"Just the same as you not wanting to talk about your loses, I'd rather not talk about mine," Whistler said turning his back to Artemis.
"It was five years ago. I was 11. I heard something in the middle of the night and decided to find out what it was. But no one was in the house at all. Even the police couldn't explain it." Artemis explained hoping that Whistler might know something, but knew that he wouldn't.
"The Wood family?" Whistler asked.
Artemis nodded as her eyes started to fill with tears.
"Everyone knows that story, it was all over the news," Blade said coming up behind Artemis not even making a sound.
"How do you do that?" Artemis asked turning to face him and looking deep into his dark brown eyes.
"Let's just call it an unwanted gift," Blade said walking over to a stool and sitting down upon it.
"It was a few years ago. A stranger came to the house. I offered my hospitality only to find out that he was a murderer. He took both of their lives, but I was able to get away," Whistler said sadly.
"I'm sorry," Artemis said frowning.
"As am I. I think it's time for you to get some rest. I'll explain more in the morning," Whistler said.
Artemis was so happy. She was finally going to have a family. She slept well that night. No longer having to sleep on the hard mattresses of the orphanage. She didn't have to cry herself to sleep. As she lay in the bed that Blade had made her she couldn't help but smile.
"Are you going back out?" Whistler asked Blade as soon as Artemis was lying in her bed.
"Not tonight," Blade said getting up off of the stool.
"Good-night then," Whistler said.
"Good-night old man," Blade replied. ????