Chapter 1 – The chase

The impossibly acute sound of glass breaking was enough to catch our attention - the three of us, the waiters working in that bar-café bordering with less safe areas of the city. All of the waiters - me included, just stared at the scene that had been created close to booth number ten, one of the most reserved parts of the place. Our boss liked to call them "the VIP booths", because those who wanted to be discreet… asked kindly to sit there. And my boss got a substantial compensation for that. He didn't admit it, but I was absolutely sure he charged extra for keeping the discretion.

Anyway, lots of eyes now gazed upon a woman, dressing with a fur coat and miniskirt, high heels and too much make-up on, standing in front of the booth, facing someone who remained there sit and strangely calm. It was a man, I was willing to bet – but I wasn't exactly sure. Tonight, I hadn't been assigned to cover VIP booths. Thankfully, today I was covering normal tables, with normal people just talking and hanging around.

"Don't stare, Elie, it's rude." Someone whispered at my left ear.

Startled, I recognized the voice at once.

"So do you know the couple, Frances?" I asked, making my way to the main counter, always with an eye on my tables. I wouldn't want complains from any costumers.

"Yeah." She said, half-smiling. "They come here every Thursday night. He's married. She's not." She then clarified, widening her eyes and making a smug face, an obvious sign that she enjoyed this kind of scene.

"And how do you know that?" I asked, somehow taken aback. Yes, my curiosity was genuine. She worked here since I did, and I didn't know those kind of details about costumers. And our Boss – Larry - held a very strict policy about us flirting inside the establishment. So, that left me with the sickest image of Frances and her ways of getting constant update in the suburbs.

"I have my sources." She admitted, blinking an eye at me. "Plus, the guy is hot. Not to mention rich. Did you know he recently bought that house close to the river bank?"

"No, I didn't." I admitted. And proud of not knowing it…, my mind added.

"Uh. I would find amazing that you actually knew something about the community, Elie." Frances' sarcasm was impossible to miss. And, as much as it disturbed me, I actually behaved a little off from everybody in the neighborhood. But that was me – I've always had been like that, a little too much lonely, a little too much for myself.

And as I had ended up here, in the suburbs, absolutely random, still was a mystery, even to myself. I didn't know my parents. An aunt had raised me – at least, that was what she always said to me: That she was my aunt and that my parents couldn't see me. As I grew, the why's and the how's appeared, multiplied thousand fold, but always without answers. I ended up admitting defeat, giving up to knowing who my parents were and where were they, why they had left me with an aunt to raise me.

Until one day, aunt Julie didn't come up to pick me up from school. It was raining. She always picked me up when the weather was nasty. Rain, snow, hail. But no, not that day. Thankfully, a friend of mine gave me a ride home… where I found the whole 911 team, looking at me expectantly.

It couldn't be a good thing. As I stepped out of the car, one of those man dressed in white approached me and said "I'm so sorry, Elie."

Without thinking twice, I ran inside, passing by arms and bodies trying to keep me away… until I finally reached the living room, where the only mother I had known remained sat in her favorite couch, as if she was taking a nap.

"She suffered a heart attack." Someone behind me informed, as my eyes filled with tears, tears that kept falling silently, mourning the death of the woman who had taught me everything in life.

After a long legal process, I was finally free from the government claws. I was 19 then, I had finished high school, and surprisingly, I had inherited a modest apartment right across the city, plus all the belongings of my aunt Julie – her car included. Which was my car now.

However, the insurance company never paid what was supposed to pay – considering aunt Julie's natural death – and the situation was still being taken care of. After all, she had that terrible smoking habit, most likely it was that that got her killed in such early age.

After all, aunt Julie was only 45 years old.

So all that meant that I had to work to support me. And save some for university – one day, I would go to university.

But meantime, I would have to pour thousands of drinks and waiter for a long time… until I had saved enough to get me in college. Well. At least I didn't have to pay for the house nor the car. That was luxury enough, considering that the majority of those living in my block… lived in a rented apartment.

A cold blue, male stare in my direction woke me up from my reverie.

"My call." I whispered, heading towards booth number 3.

"Elie, another round of tequilas, please." The blue-eyed man said, and I nodded, returning swiftly to the main counter and starting preparing the drinks.

"Got a fan, Elie? How come you don't tell me that kind of news?" Frances tone sounded naughty and curious at the same time, as she approached me.

"Honestly, Fran." I said. "I don't even know the guy." And it was true. I didn't know him. For me, he was just a face, just one more costumer that attended the bar and that was it.

"Elie, come on!" Frances said, her tone bored and slightly angry. "The guy's been here almost every night, his eyes follow your body like a freaking neon arrow!"

And as an answer, all I could do was… make the most appalled and shocked face on Earth, not believing Frances' words. Even my hands stopped preparing tequilas.

"I can't believe you didn't notice!" Frances declared, almost as shocked as I was. And, with a deep sigh, she continued. "You really have to stop videogaming that much. It's making you lose complete notion of the real world, Elie."

What kind of comment was just that? I couldn't even say a word in my defense.

"What has videogaming got to do w-"

"It has a lot to do." Frances interrupted. "It makes you a complete anti-social being. You don't contact with real people, you're always fighting to save the Planet, saving energy to kill the bad guys, plus handling swords and magic powers and spells that are so obscenely unreal!"

I could only stare at her with complete disbelief. There was no need to be that bitchy. She had her hobbies. I had mine. Period.

"Life has more to it, Elie. And you're letting it all pass by."

And with that, Frances left, apparently to take care of the situation next to booth 10, since the lady just stood without saying a word, meantime the mystery man remained sit, while a sparkling pile of broken glass decorated the ground next to them.

When I was almost done with tequila round, I felt a presence next to me. A male presence. The space the man occupied and the smell he emanated allowed me to recognize him immediately.

"Hey, Larry." I said, without even looking at him.

"Got everything covered?" He asked, his tone neutral.

"Yep. No problem." I informed. "Except for number 10. Frances's there." I added, sparing a glance towards Larry, who gazed immediately at the place Frances was right now, smiling very openly towards a very empty booth. The woman had vanished. But apparently, the man hadn't.

"Geez." Larry whispered, and made his way towards the hidden, shadowy booth.

And I decided not to look to what was going to happen. I already had seen it – several times, and I didn't want to be part of it, mainly because it involved nasty whispers, threats and crying. Larry wanted us to keep up with the rules, but let's admit it – most of the girls working here didn't obey his rules. And he didn't like that one bit. Apparently I was the only one here with a pair of neurons working in consonance.

Minding my mind with my impending order, I headed to the table, where my cold-eyed costumer and his pack of friends were already staring at me.

"Sorry for taking so long." I said, genuinely sorry for taking that much time getting their drinks. "There you have it." I said, while I placed the tequilas in front of each one of them. Now I could actually count them – they were six. Six guys, all dressed in black as if they were part of some mafia group, all together tonight in some testosterone-filled reunion.

"It's okay, Elie." The one with blue eyes said, smiling at me obviously wanting to get small-talk out of me. "You can compensate me by telling me a bit more about yourself."

I looked at him, that man with an ultra-confident smile on his face… he was cute and all… and all that black made him look extremely mysterious and charming but, come on.

"You know my name and where I work." I said, my tone polite and neutral. I didn't want to be rude, but I couldn't just let this guy stick his nose into my life just like that. "That's plenty enough." I added, planning on retreating at once.

But the man rose from his seat instead and his smile widen even more, as if he was having a hell of a good time with the situation.

"No." He said, towering me like a black shadow with clear, frozen eyes. "That is not nearly enough."

Oh, shit. I didn't like his tone, I didn't like his stance… but most important of all, I didn't like his influence. Reflexively, I shivered, out of fear, because the bright in his eyes transmitted the most dark … and obscure intentions.

"Choose." He suddenly said. "Here or somewhere else." He added then, holding a bulk of dollar bills on his hand, gesturing it to me.

Taking in his actions, his confident stance and his freaking smug face… I suddenly felt an almost imperious will to punch him in that pretty face of him. How dare he? Treat me like a piece of meat, for sale?

"I think you're confusing me with someone else." I informed, trying to remain calm. After all, the least I needed was Larry to intervene. I was grown up woman already, I knew how to defend myself. "I'm a waiter, not a whore."

"Really? I can't really see the difference."

I stared back at the man, who had thrown at me those sarcastic words. Oh, he wanted to play jerk on me? I took my time considering what to answer him. And then, the most unexpected came out of my mouth.

"Then maybe you should consider seeing your ophthalmologist." I declared, my tone casual. "Your sight is clearly compromised."

And with that, I simply left, headed towards the main counter. Larry was there, staring at me with the most shocked face on his face.

"What?" I said, staring back at him.

"What the hell did just happen there?" He asked, as if I was the one to blame.

"That pervert offered me money to go out with him." I said, now busy with glasses and coffee cups about to come out of the drying machine.

"Elie." Larry's voice held that tone of… doubt. I was sensing a "but" coming soon. "That man is… one of the main contributors to our community here. You can't just simply-"

Oh, for Christ's sake!

"I don't sell myself, Larry. Not here, not now, not in a million years." I clarified, now clearly pissed off with my boss's theories. He just stood there, looking at me with those big eyes of him and his amphibian abdomen.

"I'm not saying for you to do that, but you could at least not be… unpleasant? He donated-"

"I don't freaking care! I am not going near that man again. I'm done with this conversation Larry."

Now I was really mad. Come on, it wasn't bad enough that costumers thought I would go with them for money, and now my own boss was advising me to just not be unpleasant with an idiot that obviously considered that money bought it all. I didn't care if he had contributed or donated for the whole freaking establishment! I just worked here and Larry paid me to waiter, not to play extra-nice with special costumers. I did my job and I did it according to his rules – rules that did not include "be nice to the ones holding sets of dollar bills on their hands."

What was left of the night passed by with no incidents. Frances had made it with the guy from booth ten – she got his phone number, waving at me the piece of paper with "Success!" printed on her forehead.

As my tables were concerned… Larry took the liberty to go and talk with the gang from booth number three. I didn't make an extra appearance there and Larry just remained there, engaged in some talking with the blue-eyed pervert.

Behind the counter, I took discreet glances towards them, hoping to find in their facial expressions something that helped me to conclude that everything was okay and that the jerk would leave me alone.

I busied myself with other orders, passing by those blue eyes occasionally, but the man didn't spare any glance in my direction. Which was good.

Close to one a.m., I waved at Larry. I needed to tell him it was my time to leave. I was done with my shift and I needed to get home, get some rest… God, I needed that.

"So, you're leaving?"

"Yeah. I'm tired." I said, half-smiling. "And tomorrow's my day off." I added, blinking at him, hoping he wouldn't call me in some sort of emergency, as sometimes happened. I was really in need to rest – I was working extra hard lately because I needed the extra money to… well, save. Save – that was all I could think about. University. Get a real job.

"I know, Elie. I'll try not to call you." He laughed.

"Very funny." I said, laughing as well, taking off the tag with my name on it and putting it where it belonged. I was wearing a simple, black t-shirt and casual jeans, with black sneakers – another norm from Larry: no cleavages, no legs and hips showing. My hair, arranged in a ponytail for work, now fell off, reaching my shoulders, chest and my mid-back: half-wavy, brown and long – maybe too long now. I had to consider shortening it a bit – my hair was a morning nightmare to take care of.

Now putting my wool blouse over the t-shirt, the scarf and, finally, my warm coat, I was finally prepared to go.

Finally, go home and sleep.

"See ya Sunday, boss."

"Take care."

I nodded, knowing what he meant with that. Larry was completely against my un-accompanied travels from the bar towards my apartment. But I couldn't bring the car, and besides I only had to walk two blocks, it was nothing!

Leaving calmly the bar, waving a silent goodbye to Frances and the other girl, I made my way out of the bar, meeting a very cold and freezing Friday night.

As I walked towards home, the icy breeze threatened to cut my skin, like thousands of nano knifes injuring my skin, my eyes, my nose.

The street was silent, there was no movement – no cars, no people walking around. Just me, silently walking towards home, thinking of my warm bed, the heater on while I showered and then I would prepare a nice warm hot chocolate before I would launch myself to the next mission I had to complete under the kickass Siren Phasewalker, aka Lilith character: Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot, an extra from that amazing Borderlands, Game of the year edition. It had cost me almost a day of work to be able to buy it but it was well worth it. I loved videogaming and it was definitely a jewel in my collection.

Well, a girl had to have hobbies. I was 23 and I enjoyed gaming – so what?

Anyway, as my mind drifted about the ways I was going to access the Bank and start a riot, I didn't pay attention to the moving shadows drawing close to me.

Not excessively close, but – silently - those shadows moved, begging my eyes would find them. Until that eventually happened.

My mind focused immediately on the movement across the lot. Yep, I wasn't dreaming. Someone was there. Several someone's.

And as I walked, my heart beating faster, my eyes seemed to recognize the shadows standing confidently across the lot, not ten meters from me. I only had time to half-open my mouth with shock.

"Surprised?"

That voice, giving up who that shadow was in fact. The blue-eyed pervert from the bar.

Oh, crap.

And now, I was in the middle of this dilemma here. What was I supposed to do? Stop walking? Go to him and kick him in the groin? No, come on, who was I trying to trick here? He had me practically surrounded with his… guys, I suspected those same five guys that were with him back in the bar.

So, looking around me and considering the place I was at… I didn't need to think much. I didn't have much time to do whatever it was… because I simply started running.

I ran like crazy, feeling the ice beneath my sneakers and now, the cold breeze hurting my face, as I heard their footsteps behind me, despair taking over me. Thankfully I had no purse – all my belongings were in my coat pocket, only my home keys and my cell phone.

And I heard them say "Get her", "Don't let her get away.", and all I could think, despaired, was…

What the fuck do you want from me?

As I ran, making several turns in those blocks I knew like the palm of my hand – I felt their hands grabbing my coat, and I, reacting like a canine with rabies, threw my arms and elbows behind me, hitting occasionally one of them in the face.

The adrenaline flowing inside me didn't allow me to stop. All I could think was… Don't let them get you, don't let them hurt you.

Because I was the only one I could count on. I only had myself, no one else.

And before I knew it, a strong hand grabbed me by my hair and I faltered. It hurt too much, it brought tears to my eyes, but I couldn't give up. Not now, not ever.

And, with a primal scream, I pulled, as that man remained with a fistful of my hair, while I ran like a maniac… towards places I didn't know.

I was entering the abandoned industrial area now… a very dangerous place and, most definitely, not the right one to play hide and seek with six angry guys.

I made my way inside the first door I found, going up through stairs, finding only destroyed walls, doors, furniture… l was lost inside a dark maze, only the light from the moonlight helping me to see what I had ahead. The metallic sound of my footsteps hitting the fragile, about to break bridges decorating the place easily gave up my position.

And, before I could think, I got inside the first room I found. It was pitch black inside, but I didn't care. I closed silently the door, not finding a key. There was no chance for me to barricade myself here and try to call out for help.

So, I was trapped. They would easily find me. It was inevitable.

"I know you're here somewhere…" a male voice resonated, and I put my hand over my mouth, trying to conceal a sob.

Despair was taking over me.

"Hey, little kitty." That voice.

Freaking pervert…, my mind shouted, recognizing the voice of that blue-eyed man from the bar.

"I'm gonna find you, Elie." He said once again, his voice now closer. "And when I do… you'll regret your silly runaway."

Oh my God…

Inevitably, tears rolled over my face, but I didn't make a sound.

"You should have accepted the money, Elie." That voice, each time closer, scaring the hell out of me.

God, this is a nightmare…

My breathing was uneven, my eyes facing the door closed, in front of me.

"Will I find you here, Elie? Right behind this door, hidden pathetically like a scared kitty?"

His words seemed to trigger something inside me.

Lost, giving up to what was expecting me, I stepped back. I stepped back silently, knowing that, when that man would open the door, I would be the one thing he would see, like a bright point of light in the middle of darkness.

His prey. About to get eaten.

I fastened my pace, hoping to find a wall, a wall in which I would rest on, a rough surface of concrete and fainted painting.

Stepping back like a petrified feline into the darkness that surrounded me… there was no wall. My body never found a wall.

I didn't find anything at all. My body didn't meet anything concrete, not solid ground, not the consistence the atmosphere had.

As I stepped, all I could sense was warm, a dark, comfortable void where the air was thick and I seemed to float… like in a dream. Like in those dreams we regret waking up from.

I'm snapping. My body is shutting down…

Yeah, it had to be it. The fear, the adrenaline was now fading and I felt… so… out.

Out of everything.

Drifting.

I closed my eyes. It was too dark, I couldn't see a thing even if I had them open. I chose not to move, having the sensation I was being guided. That someone or something was transporting me someplace else. Like a careful and soft hand, directing me the way.

And it was then… after some long, painful moments, that my body found something. A rough surface – a place where I laid, most likely solid ground – and where silence reigned.

A massive silence.

So peaceful.

So out of the ordinary.

And I abandoned myself to the tiring sensation I felt, closing my eyes and diving into a blissful sleep.

A/N – Okay, there you have it, the first chapter from Portal. Inspiration took me today, I couldn't just stop writing. :D Hope you like it. And, btw, the reference to Borderlands is real, I had to ask my BF about it to make it believable LOL.

Now, serious stuff is about to happen.

You're all welcome to review and comment at your will.

And thanks for reading.