BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG
It appeared to happen in slow-motion as I fell, the heel on one of my boots snapping in half. Bullets flew through the air like rain, piercing my dress and poking holes in it, gunshots reverberating all around me as they hit the against the ground and glass windows of stores. Fear coursed through my veins like a wildfire as I crashed against the ground, horrified of what might be waiting for me if I allowed myself to get caught.
All I had wanted was to hide and never come out, to never let anyone get killed because of me again. Unfortunately, unless I come out of this alive and safe, I don't think that's going to happen. I can't let these guys catch me. If I get caught, someone might get killed in the process of saving me (according to Nightmare) and if I let people get near me, they'll die.
BANG BANG BANG
I'll live in the woods. I'll move out of Clover Tower. I-I can...go somewhere someplace where no one would ever be able to find me.
As I reached this quick and short decision, I staggered and stumbled, pushing myself up as I ran, flinching as pain flared through my right ankle. A scream ripped itself out of my throat as a bullet scratched against my shoulder wound, leaving a nasty cut as blood trailed down the skin. It didn't hit and go through me, but it just barely missed leaving a hole in me by a bit.
I ended up falling again, and found myself get grabbed roughly and pressed against someone's chest. I was about to fight back and struggle, when something cold and metallic pressed against my temple.
The man holding me cocked his gun, smirking. He leaned down and asked, "Did you really think you could escape, girl? You outsiders must be so fragile; you're scared of a little bullet."
Scowling, I tried to hold my tongue. Sadly, that wasn't an attribute I was used to using-I even had trouble around Vivaldi. However, there was one big difference between Vivaldi and this man.
Vivaldi was friendlier.
"Please, like I'm scared of that. I'm more scared of your mom than you." Ah, White Chicks...Very racist movie, but extremely hilarious. "Did you know that your mom was so ugly, that every time she looks at the mirror it cracks?"
He wasted no time in grabbing a fistful of my hair and slamming the butt of his gun against my head, leaving me disoriented and extremely dizzy and light-headed. It didn't take long for a migraine to start to form as he threw my against the ground. I curled up into a ball and held my head with both hands, tears welling up in my eyes as I bit my lip. My eyes were squeezed shut and I refused to uncurl as the man kicked me in the side. I gasped loudly as pain wracked my rips, and as I opened my eyes, I saw black spots dancing along my vision.
I just didn't want people to get hurt... No one deserved the same fate as John.
No one...
"Alexis!"
I cried out in pain as I recieved a kick to the stomach, losing feeling in my arms and legs. I had been running for so long... Who was calling for me? I saw a blur of pink and heard enraged screaming.
"WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE-!"
BANG BANG BANG
"Kill him! Grab the girl and-!"
BANG BANG
"Get the hell away from her, damn it!"
BANG
I froze, holding my breath as I felt a pair of arms slide underneath my back and legs, lifting me up in the air. I tried to stop myself from trembling, but it was starting to become increasingly difficult.
BANG BANG BANG
BANG
BANG BANG BANG BANG
The man holding me cursed and broke out into a fast sprint, holding me close and keeping me from falling. "You faceless are gettin' sloppy!" Through my tears, I could make out pink and black...and gold. Pink hair and a golden eye...
BANG BANG BANG
Boris quickly shifted his grip on me as he jumped onto a mushroom, before launching himself in the air and pointing his gun with one hand, shooting rapidly at the faceless who were attacking. "Hold on tight! This is going to be a bit bumpy!"
My vision finally clearing, though black still surrounded bits and pieces, I could make out where we were and how far away...down...the attackers were. I went still, completely silent as fear coursed through my veins, before letting out an ear-piercing scream as I clung onto Boris for dear life, not even caring if my dress flipped and I ended up flashing someone my underwear. I was more worried about living than I was my dignity and pride.
Boris winced and complained, shooting a couple more bullets as he landed on a rooftop and started running, jumping from one roof to another, "Ow, ow, ow! Not so loud, okay!? My ears are sensitive!"
"I-I don't care if they're sensitive-GYAH-!"
BANG
BANG BANG BANG BANG
"WHERE THE HELL ARE WE GOING!?"
"Just hold on! You'll be safe in a moment!" He promised, not really reassuring me as I continued to scream. "Hold your tongue!" I didn't do as told until I saw him jump off the rooftop and fall towards the ground. If I had continued to scream when he landed on his feet on the ground, I probably would have bit my tongue off. Boris whirled around almost the exact instant we landed, pointing his gun at another dark-suited faceless.
BANG BANG BANG
"J-Just-Just get us out of here!" Oh god. Oh god, oh god, oh god, we're gonna die. Boris and I are gonne die... "WAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"
"Stop screaming already!"
"I CAN'T HELP IT!" Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, damn it, my head. Oh god...I flinched and blinked multiple times, trying to clear my vision as darkness threatened to overtake it. The dizzy feeling came back even stronger, and I think my migraine increased by tenfold-
My grip on Boris' boa and shirt tightened considerably, as I was holding back a scream. His ear twitched in response to my actions and he jumped through the broken glass doors of Papa's Cakes bakery, rushing over to the counter and jumping over it, scaring the hell out of the poor manager as Boris ran into the backroom.
BANG BANG
BANG BANG BANG
The gunshots hurt my ears and I squeezed my eyes shut, feeling Boris shift me in his hold so he could carry me with one arm before opening the back exit door. The gunshots were louder than ever, and I was more than certain that multiple innocent faceless had died. It was all my fault, too...
Suddenly the gunshots stopped ringing and...it was quiet. No screaming, no yelling or shouting, not a sound of crying or running or even of glass being shattered. It was just...quiet. It was rather comforting, but at the same time quite discomforting. "B-Boris?"
"Hm?" He asked with a smirk, before walking outside-No, wait, that wasn't right. "What happened-Ah, ya know what; just tell me later. We need to fix those wounds of yours. Jeez, Alexis, what happened to ya?" He then frowned and leaned his head down, sniffing my face. I tensed, flinching and squeezing my eyes shut. When Boris pulled away I opened them, watching in confusion as he scowled. "And you smell like mice-actually, you're covered in it. Almost makes me hungry." I stilled at the horrible thought of Boris cooking me and eating me alive. His ear twitched and he muttered, walking further into the room, "Relax...I'm not gonna eat ya. I was joking."
"R-Right..." Oh, god, my head... "Oof!" I grunted as I was suddenly dropped onto something soft and...slightly like leather, but not. I looked down and saw I was on a black-colored couch, decorated with a single hot pink pillow. It was then I realized I was in a bedroom. Squinting my eyes, my vision still incredibly blurry, I saw a bunch of white skulls, golden chains hanging from multiple objects-the ceiling included-another couch that was a purple-pink color with black-and-pink zebra striped pillows, and a black-and-white bed with a grinning cat face on the headboard. There, what I think at least, is a magenta colored bathtub in the bedroom, next to a weirdly shaped pink dresser-cabinet thing. "What...?" My mind wasn't completely working.
"We're in my room." Boris explained, grabbing my chin with his hands and turning my head in multiple directions. His nose twitched and I flinched when he raised a hand up to my face, brushing my bangs out of my eyes and forehead. He frowned and scowled, ears twitching in annoyance. "They got ya good. Hold still, this might sting a little." I was about to ask what he was doing, when he leaned forward and licked the wound on my head. It hurt, at least for a few moments, before my agonizing migraine slowly started to fade. My vision was getting less blurry too, as the darkness dancing was vanishing.
"B-Boris? What-What are you doing?" I felt my face heat up a little as I made to lean my head back and away from his tongue, but he quickly grabbed my leg arm.
"Cheshire Cat saliva heals," He explained. "Why do ya think I lick my wounds all the time?"
I deadpanned, "'Cause you're a cat. And how come your saliva heals? That just sounds ridiculous?" He raised an eyebrow at me and smirked, asking,
"So ya don't feel any pain fading away? Here, give me your shoulder. The pain in your head should be gone in just a short while, since I got rid of your wound."
"What-no-! H-Hey-!" I protested, trying to yank my arm back, but due to exhaustion I was even weaker than before. "Get-Get off of me!"
Boris ignored me and pressed his tongue against the cut on my shoulder, dragging it across the red line and onto my slowly-forming scar from Elliot's bullet. I winced.
"D-Dude, hey, stop that! That one wasn't-That one wasn't even caused by them-" I shut myself up, watching in amazement and awe as the wounds slowly started to close. The scar began to fade, and the cut was beginning to become a small pink line before vanishing into pale skin. After a few more licks, my bullet wound scar vanished as well. "Whoa..." Boris pulled back with a smirk.
"See? I told ya, my saliva heals..." He then paused, gaining a thoughtful face. "Why do ya taste like mice, though? Have ya been hanging out with Pierce lately?"
"Um, yeah, he's one of my best friends." I replied, confused as to what he was insinuating. Boris looked surprised at my words before smirking, leaning towards me again. I leaned back uncomfortably, not liking the close distance.
His ears twitched at my actions, and he asked, "You two aren't together? So Pierce won't get mad if I play with ya for a bit?"
"P-Play?" My face grew red quickly as I realized what he was suggesting. "H-Hell no, get off of me!" I tried to move out from under him, but he quickly grabbed my arm and grinned, pushing me back onto the couch. I tried to push him away, but he-just like everyone else- was stronger than me. Damn, this was getting rather repetitive. I need to work out or something. "Boris-!" I felt his hand pull at my choker, tugging the ribbon on the back of my neck off and slipping it off. Trying to hide the bruises before he could see, I wrapped my hands around my neck. I could feel my heart beating faster in fear, horrified of what was going to happen.
Boris easily pried my fingers off of my neck, and he let out a small sigh. "I knew it. Okay, Alexis, spill the beans. Who did this to ya?" I opened my eyes and looked up at him in confusion and shock. "Was it Dee and Dum? I know they're violent." Boris sounded a little irritated at this point. "Why didn't ya tell me someone hurt ya? I would've shot them."
I deadpanned, "I highly doubt you could kill Ace." His eye widened in surprise before he scowled.
"Damn it, of course it was him. I should've known." He then paused, looking at me with a narrowed eye, "Why did you act like I was going to hurt you?"
My eyes widened and I felt my face heat up. How-Why did-Why did I act like he was going to hurt me!? I-I'm sorry! Okay? I'm sorry! "Y-You said-You said "play" and-and I thought, well-uh, W-Wonderland isn't really-" Okay, damn it. I'll be honest here. I thought Boris was going to rape me or something of the sort. My mind is still a little haywire from the attack. "You-You know, nice to people, so-" I continued rambling, trying to avoid telling him the truth as I tried to think of an excuse.
"..." He was silent, just watching, before a sly and amused grin spread across his face. "Ya thought I meant something different-Haha!" He laughed loudly at me and I shut up, scowling with an embarrassed red face. Now, this was humiliating."You're more perverted than I thought, Alexis!" He leaned forward again, trapping me on the couch as he grinned mischievously, "Do ya want me to do something to ya?"
I was horrified.
"NO!" As if to act on my statement, I raised a leg up and kicked him in the stomach-only to let out a howl of pain as I cradled my sprained ankle. "Ow, ow, ow, damn it-!" Tears welled up in my eyes. I had forgotten all about my foot. Boris quickly regained his balance and looked at me in alarm.
"Alexis; what happened? Did you trip while you were running?"
"Ow, ow, ow! No! I just-One of the heels snapped and broke, okay? Just-Just take me back to-" I cut myself off, remembering my decision. "Actually, just-just leave me in the woods."
"I am not going to leave ya out in the woods, Alexis. It's still night, and with those guys on the loose-"
"It's better than nothing!" I snapped, irritable. "People keep dying because of me, and if I go back to Clover Tower Nightmare and Gray aren't going to ever let me out of the tower again without multiple people with me and-and-and if-if those-if those people come with-" My voice cracked, my shoulders starting to tremble. Boris froze. "They-They'll die too..." I quickly raised my hands up to my face and wiped at my tears frantically, trying to calm myself down as I took in deep breathes. "I-I just don't want anyone else hurt, okay?"
"...What made ya think that it was because of ya that they were killed?" Boris asked after a couple of moments, sitting down on the floor in front of the couch I was sitting on. He sat cross-legged, looking up at me expectantly, waiting for an answer.
"B-because the crazy people are after me!" John, Nightmare, Pierce-they all said so. The one guy in the alley even mentioned that they were after me. "It's because of me that they're dead!"
"That's stupid." I flinched at his cold words, and blinked when I felt him cup my face, forcing me to look up. "Look at me, Alexis." I reluctantly did so, blinking a couple of times. "They didn't die because of ya. They died because some stupid faceless people had grudges, and they were going to take that grudge out on ya. They did take that grudge out on ya. It wasn't because of ya bein' a target that they went after ya. It was just because those stupid faceless wanted revenge."
"...How-How do you know they wanted revenge?"
Boris looked a little guilty as he sheepishly smiled. "Nightmare may have told me a thing or two about ya bein' hunted."
"...He didn't rape you in your sleep, did he?" Boris choked on thin air, and it took all I had not to burst out laughing. I could just imagine Nightmare coughing up blood at my question. Well, he would be if he was here at least.
"Wh-Where'd ya come up with that!?"
"He's an Incubus. Ya know, like a Succubus. Only male. And you happen to be wearing a skirt, so for all I know he could have mistaken you for a girl. You do have long hair." Long hair's cool. I blame my brother for that-his hair stops just at his collarbone.
"What's wrong with long hair!?"
"Nothing. My brother has long hair. I'm just saying that Nightmare may or may not be gender-confused." Okay, now I feel mean, but I've been attacked and beaten and healed all in the same time period. I think I deserve a break. I could feel a yawn coming on, and it took all I had not to pass out then and there. My eyelids kept fluttering. If I fell asleep now, Nightmare would know that I was making fun of him...he might try and hurt me in my dreams...I don't...want that to happen...
...I'm sorry Nightmare...I was only...only...
...jokin'...
"Alexis? Alexis, hey, wake up!" Boris' voice faded out as I fell forward, darkness enveloping my vision completely.