Chapter 2

"Are sure this is the best we'd be able to afford? Not to sound conceited or anything, but isn't this a little small?" Austin wandered around the tiny apartment inspecting it.

Aralyn shrugged. She knew it was small, but at least it had two bedrooms, unlike all the others they had visited. "You know, we might be able to find a better place if we went during the day." Austin said almost hopefully looking at Aralyn.

"In Las Vegas? This city sleeps during the day, but if you want to you can."

"What's your problem with the day? The whole why down here we took the night buses."

"I'm just not a day person, that's all." Said Aralyn as she stared outside.

But Austin wasn't listening anymore. Instead he was putting his jacket back on, and heading for the door.

"Where are you going? We just got here. Don't you want to unpack, or something first?"

"Nah. We have all the time in the world, remember? I'm gonna hit the streets of Vegas."

"Okay, just don't come back here married or anything. I'm going to look for a job."

"A job! Already?"

"Yeah, the apartment isn't going to pay for itself." Said Aralyn

"You sound like my mother, you know that?" Austin said

"No, but thanks for that." Said Aralyn, who really just wanted to go to bed, "I'll try to be a little less mature next time I talk, okay?"

Aralyn hit the streets of Vegas with little enthuaism. This place just didn't suit her. People where everywhere, and every light in the world seemed to be on here. Of all the cities she had been to she'd never felt this out of place. Everyone here seemed like they had no care in the world, or were trying to escape their worries. No one seemed to really care about anything, including themselves. People swaggered all around her drunk. One man came up to here, and asked her to marry him. He was unshaven, and smelled strongly of achohol, and smoke. Aralyn just pushed him away, and kept walking.

"What, do you think you're too good for me? Well, your not! No one is!" the man called after her, and Aralyn rolled her eyes. She hoped she wouldn't have to stay here long. After a while she found a small club with a "Help Needed" sign in the window. Aralyn looked at the club shook her head, and walked in. All she thought was this is going to be a very long night.

Aralyn walked into the apartment. In her hand she had a fist-full of addresses and phone numbers. She knew that she got most of these possible jobs from her looks rather then skill, but they were still jobs.

Austin wasn't back yet, but Aralyn didn't let that bother her. She wasn't in charge of him, besides it was his choice to come. She hadn't asked him to.

She wanted to finish un-packing, but didn't have the energy. Without really realizing it she went into her new bedroom, and fell asleep.

It was one of the first lessons she learned, never wander away. She never really knew why it was so important until the day it almost got her killed.

She was three years old. Her mother had taken her to the market before everyone closed up their shop. She had seen some jewelry that a lady was selling on a cart. She liked it because of the shimmers it made. While her mother was looking at clothes, she slipped away. But before she could even get close to the cart a crowd of men walked directly in her path. She tried to move out of the way, but was grabbed from behind by one of the men.

She started screaming, and a hand was put over her mouth. She tried to twist away, but the man's grip was too strong. The man took her to an ally, darkened by the night, and threw her into the wall. Tears were running down her face, and her nose was running. She cried out for her mother, and the man smacked her to silence her. Then he turned from her and took something from his bag. The girl hugged her knees in the corner of the ally, crying silently.

Then someone walked into the ally. The man didn't even get a chance to turn around before a hand was around his throat.

"I've been watching you Smith. I warned you, remember? Did you think I was going to let you murder a little girl?"

The man sputtered, gasping for air.

"Well?" said the man. The little girl didn't make a sound in the corner of the ally, but she did try to adjust herself so she could see the man.

"You wouldn't understand." The man called Smith spit out with effort.

"Oh really? Try me."

"That's the work of the devil, that one is. She has to go. The filthy thing." Smith said

"She's a child, not the work of the devil. That's people like you and me." The man's voice was full of discussed, and he threw the man into the wall where he went limp and fell to the ground.

The girl sat there. She was too scared to move. Then she felt two large hands awkwardly pick her up.

"Where is your mother?" the man said. He tried to sound kind and happy, but he wasn't very good at it. Silently she pointed towards the market place, and said in her small voice "Clothes."

She looked up at the man, and watched him. Then she said, "You're cold." The man smiled in spite of himself. "I'm used to it." He told her. The little girl smiled back. "Daddy was cold to." She said, almost in a sad voice. The man was too stunned to move for a moment, and then recovered. He was sure what he had just thought was impossible. No, he was sure it was. The little girl stared up at him, her little pigtails had some dirt on them, and so did her face. Her look was very sincere. The man smiled at her again, and continued walking. The little girls mother was overjoyed to see that someone had found her daughter. And thanked him. As he handed the girl to her mother the girl said matter-of-factly "Mummy, he's cold, cold like daddy was." The mother looked at her daughter, fear filling her eyes for a moment. Then she said, "It's wrong to tell stories. It's very bad, Ana! Tell this man sorry." Then the woman apologized, saying "I don't know where she's comes up with these things. I hope she didn't insult you." But the man just smiled slightly, and shook his head.

Later that night, while the girl was getting a bath, she told her mother she liked the man's eyes. The mother smiled and told her daughter she did too. But there was something else about him too, that the mother didn't say anything about, but she was sure what she was thinking was impossible. She just wandered. She half hoped she would run into him again, but at the same time she was scared of him.

Aralyn woke up suddenly. She looked around, to see what had woken her. Then she sighed when she saw it was just Austin coming in. She could tell he was drunk. He staggered towards his bag of belongings, and took something out. Then he charged into her room.

"Austin, what are you- Aralyn stated but stopped when she saw what was in his hand. A stake.