"Even the knowledge of my own fallibility cannot keep me from making mistakes. Only when I fall do I get up again." ~Vincent van Gogh
Chapter 1
I strained my neck as I scanned the street on the opposite side of the alley. I went over what I was supposed to do in my head, matched it with what the School had told me, and then thought Screw this! to what the School said and just erased the information from my thoughts. I really wasn't interested in seriously bringing these kids back to the retched place that they had been trying so hard to get away from, so the School's plan was what I called a 'no-go'.
I kicked the brick wall building behind me with the back of my sneaker, feeling rather bored. And, trust me, I get bored very fast. Especially when I'm waiting for hours just so a targeted mutant gets saved by me.
The comms piece in my ear suddenly buzzed from static a little bit, and then a voice crackled to life.
"The target is heading down the street to your right," my friend informed me through the comms unit in my ear, "But be careful. Rhakky is following close behind him. Oh, and our target has a kid with him."
Finally! "Thanks, Rose," I murmured before stepping towards the mouth of the alley.
I scanned the streets again, looking for anyone that matched even a little bit of a resemblance to my target. I knew from experience that these mutants would try to keep their heads low and keep hidden. I remembered that the target had snowy hair, so I thought that he would stick to the shadows to avoid stares and murmurs. He would probably have a jacket with a hood pulled over his head, too.
I got a sinking feeling in my chest as time went on, thinking that maybe he had already passed and that I'd missed my chance. I'd done that before, but the outcome usually resulted in me wandering the streets for hours, maybe even days before I found the target again.
There was a flash of white to my left as someone turned around, and I felt a new burst of hope as my eyes snapped to that direction. I stepped out onto the pavement, hoping that the person that had turned would be the guy I was looking for. I walked after him kind of slowly before he turned again, and I braced myself for anything.
The man's eyes were dark, unlike the bird guy I had seen in the picture at the School, and his face was kind of withered and wrinkly. I had lost my hopes on some old man. As per usual, my paranoid mind was just playing tricks on me.
Again.
I sighed in defeat, and then turned around, only to ram into something that felt like a brick wall.
"Gosh, I'm really sorry-" I said, backing up some, only to cut off when I saw the person's face.
Silver eyes stared me down, as if looking right through me and into my soul. The gaze was normal, but there was flare of mystery that only told me of a bad past. I shivered slightly, and then looked more closely at the guy.
It's him, I realized quickly. I looked down at the guy's hand, and I saw that a little girl was holding onto it as if it were her lifeline. Her blue eyes told me that she was scared of the many people around her, as if she wasn't used to it, and her sad gaze met with mine. I felt a surge of sympathy for her, but it went away just as quickly as it had come.
"Sorry," I heard the guy say quietly, starting to pull the girl around me.
"Wait," I blurted, "I, uh, would like to talk to you about something."
The guy turned to glance at me. "And what would that be?"
I sighed. This was usually the part where I told the person that I was from the School, and then they would run or fly off or whatever got them away from me faster.
"I'm from the School," I stated.
The guy turned, and started dragging the little girl with him. "See ya!" he called as he raced down the street.
"Wait!" I yelled, starting to follow after him, "I'm on your side!"
That statement got me a few stares and whispers, but I didn't care. If I didn't help this guy now, he would probably be caught by another member of the School, or- even worse- an Eraser. Neither option made me feel very good.
The guy ran really fast, and he got to a point where the small girl was flying behind him. He had to swing her around and carry her as he ran to avoid other people hitting her.
I sped up, my wolf senses kicking in. I could feel fangs in my mouth as a new burst of speed sent me practically flying down the sidewalk. I was right behind the guy for a few blocks, and then he turned to go into a park. I smirked to myself, thinking how easy he was making this for me. I turned into the park opening only to find-
Nothing?
Confused, my mind did a little back track. Trees were surrounding the park, and there weren't any people in it. Benches had frost covering them from the early morning, and a lone swing rocked back and forth slowly from the wind. But no guy with a little girl.
As I was starting to give up, a heavy weight slammed into me, and I I sprawled onto the dead grass with a strangled cry as my cap was thrown from my head. I struggled to stand up, but strong hands had me pinned to the ground, so my struggling didn't help me in any way.
"Who are you, and why are you here?" the guy's voice demanded.
"I Nicole but people call me Nick," I explained quickly, "I work for the School, but I don't work for them. I'm supposed to bring escaped mutants back, but I don't. I help them stay low and under the radar for as long as possible, even getting them new identities and appearances if necessary!" I took a breath after my long explanation, hoping that the guy would believe me.
"She's telling the truth," a quiet voice said.
The weight was suddenly gone, and I found myself jumping to my feet as fast as I could. I turned around, my body poised in a fighting stance. The guy that had been holding me down was standing a few feet in front of me, his arms crossed nonchalantly. The little girl from before was standing beside him, running her hands through her long black hair.
The girl saw my eyes, and I averted my gave as her eyes widened. See, that's why I don't like people looking at my eyes. They're kind of an odd color, you would say. Considering the fact that they're a really bright green and seem to glow in the dark. Yup, my eyes are just average.
And, if you didn't notice the sarcasm there, go get some mental help.
I scooped up my cap from the ground, and then pulled it low over my face again. I turned back to face the others, my arms and legs stiff. I wasn't going to underestimate them, considering the fact that the guy had just tackled me with hardly breaking a sweat.
"Okay," I said, "Since you know who I am, how about you two tell me your names?"
The guy in front of me narrowed his eyes slightly, and then shook his head, as if to clear it. "I'm Isaac, and this is Storm." He gestured to the little girl. "And you apparently know what we are."
Before I could even think of something to say, I heard someone yelling my name from somewhere behind me. The voice was coming from the sidewalk, and I narrowed my eyes to look out and see who it was. I saw a streak of white, black, and silver run right past the park entrance, and then a person was suddenly standing in front of it again, out of breath.
"Heh heh, hey, Rhakky," I said, trying to sound nonchalant, even though I knew my friend would kill me for dragging her into this, "Wanna meet some of our new friends?"
Rhakky glared at me through her green eyes, which were quickly turning to a shade of black. It was at that moment that I knew I was about to be in bigger trouble than I ever had been in my life.
Sorry that this took so long! I was trying to get a feeling of the characters before posting. I wrote and re-wrote this chapter at least five times. No lie.
Anyways, if your character wasn't in this chapter, I promise that they will come in later. Pinkie swear!
Now, I have an announcement: I'm no longer accepting female characters! I already have eight of them. I only have two guys. Two! That's pretty pitiful. If there is anyone out there with a good OC that is a guy, I would really appreciate it if you would submit them.
Let me know if any of the OCs were out of character. And, most important, review!
Until next time,
~Dreaming