Dark Legion-The Alliance
Chapter 1
In a small town, the mists swirled in the darkness, wrapping around every living object and drifting in the air. The woman could feel it on her skin. Though the day had been warm it had suddenly turned cold. For some reason, this made her feel uneasy. Dressed in a compromising way, she shuddered as she stood outside the club, wondering how it had ever come to her going out against her will. She cursed herself for her low self-confidence, her inability to say no.
As soon as the darkness had fallen, she had decided that she was simply going to stay inside and have a quiet night in. Perhaps watch a movie on the television or something. Or maybe just read. She hadn't done that for a long time. She sighed heavily as she looked up into the night sky. The moon was behind the clouds, giving out no light, leaving her in the miserable cold darkness.
She closed her eyes for a few minutes, leaning against the wall, shivering. She should have brought a jacket, but her friend had dragged her out of the house so quickly that she hadn't had the time. Damn her. She opened her eyes as she remembered what had gone on in the hour before.
She had just got home from her job in an office building. Answering phones, stating your company name and asking if you could help was tedious enough, but the hard part was listening to other people's problems. Most of them required her to dial the same number over and over again. She had been stressed recently, and obviously her room mate had picked up on this. She cursed herself again. In the future she'd have to close up her emotions, and show a mask. While she would be screaming inside, she would look and sound happy. Simple.
When she had voiced her worries, she had simply been laughed at.
'Come on, Steph! You've been working too hard! All that work gets you down if you don't take a break!' Steph had to admit that she was tired of work and that she was stressed, but she sure as hell didn't want to go out. It was that simple.
'But-' she tried to protest but she was cut off.
'Go out, get drunk, have fun!'
'I really don't think-' Again she was interrupted.
'C'mon Steph! Don't be such a geek!' Under that accusation, she had gone against her better judgement, in order to save her reputation and stay in the good books of her friend. Peer pressure had always been her weak point. Her inability to say no often led her into a lot of trouble. She prayed fervently that it would not end in the same way.
Steph shuddered yet again. Her roommate had decided that she wanted to spend even more time at the club. Steph decided then and there that she was not going to stick around just so then she could watch as she kissed and flirted with random men. It would all end in tears. Tomorrow, when the man she ended up sleeping with didn't call her again, she'd drag Steph out to the club yet again to drown her sorrow. It was a vicious circle that never seemed to end.
Steph sighed as she made her lonely way back to her flat, the back of her neck prickling as she became more uneasy. The atmosphere around her seemed to tingle with some kind of electricity. She couldn't deny the eerie yet terrifying feeling that she was being watched from behind, by someone that was going to do her some harm. She looked around desperately, wishing only to get indoors. She stopped uncertainly and flinched as she felt someone's hand clamp down on her shoulder. The sound that escaped her lips was quickly muffled as a hand closed over her mouth and dragged her into a dark alley, throwing her bodily to the ground. She sobbed and whimpered on the cold, hard concrete.
'Please…don't hurt me!' she begged, terrified. She gasped, a high sound of fear as she heard a harsh guttural laugh, unearthly and menacing.
'I won't hurt you…much.' There was a low growl and then another grating laugh. She could see nothing of her attacker. A pool of light given off by a nearby street lamp provided even more of an ethereal feel to the whole situation. Her heart seemed to have stopped and a huge lump had formed in her throat, preventing her from swallowing or even breathing properly. Time still seemed to move, though at an unusually fast pace. Everything was happening so quickly. How did all this happen? How had she got here? How had day turned to night so quickly?
'Stop crying,' the voice growled again. She blinked and looked fearfully into the darkness, trying to see what was attacking her, but the person stayed far away from the light given off from the lamp post. She hadn't even realised that she was sobbing hysterically until she had had this fact pointed out to her.
Her eyes widened as her attacker moved into the light. A grotesque claw shot out, wrapping itself around her mouth again, muffling her screams so then only muffled whimpers could be heard. Her eyes slowly flickered shut, believing that this was surely going to be the end of her life.
The claw suddenly removed itself, but still she made no noise. Instead, Steph opened her eyes wide again, frozen with panic. Her heart thumped painfully, drowning out all sound. The only thing she could hear was her own beating heart as it thudded like a trip hammer as she looked upon the monster that stood in the lamp light.
Black, hard, shell like skin covered its whole body. Wiry, scaly wings unfolded themselves slowly, the red, crazed eyes staring in rage. Steph's heart chose that time to calm down for some godforsaken reason. She could dimly hear some kind of hiss. The thought suddenly occurred that it was some kind of language. Whatever it was, it caused the monster in front of her to turn around and launch itself into the shadows, claws at the ready, powerful wings propelling him forwards, snarling loudly. Steph heard the sounds of some kind of steel being drawn.
She slowly sank to the ground, the strength in her legs going. Curling up, she sobbed into her knees. In the back of her mind, she was being screamed at to get out of there while she could, yet she didn't have the strength. She was too scared. What if there were others there? Others like this monster? What had she possibly done to have this…this demon attack her? There was a sudden unearthly shriek and she felt a scream tear itself loose from her throat, echoing in the sky as the demon suddenly leaped out at her, claws outstretched, ready to tear at her flesh. There was a resounding thud and the demon snapped at her once before collapsing at her feet.
Steph stared in shock, tears streaking down her face. Was it dead? Was it faking? Oh God…Oh God…what should she do?
She stifled a scream as she felt a soft hand on her shoulder. She blinked and looked up, only to find that she was staring into a pair of eyes. They were hazel in colour but they seemed to be ringed with some sort of fire. Steph blinked again and saw that she was looking into a man's face. His face was serious, his eyes alight with concern. Was it for her? Yes…it must be. She stiffened and tried to squirm away from him as she saw his other hand move. It only moved towards her in order to wipe away her tears with a cold finger. He shook his head silently as he did so, a small sad smile on his face. Steph understood, he was asking her not to cry anymore. There was no need. She had been saved.
The man pulled away from her and smiled once more, his eyes kind. He turned his back on her and then started walking away. Steph watched him go for a few minutes before she was suddenly galvanized into action when she was aware that he was leaving her by herself.
'Hey! Wait!' She ran out of the alley but paused, unsure and confused. The man was nowhere to be found. Steph blinked in confusion and put one hand to her face, where he had touched her. Who was he?
Review please? This is the first time I'm writing without my faithful OC in the fic. Gimme a little encouragement, puh-leeeeze? (huge cute puppy eyes)