Fan Fiction ❯ Dark ❯ the city ( Chapter 3 )

Rain walked into the classroom.  Dark was the only person there, seated in the front row.  She had her computer on the desk, and she tapped vigorously at the keys.  Rain went to stand in front of her.  Dark grunted something that sounded like a greeting but didn't look up.

"Detention again?" Rain asked.  It was not the first time Rain had to stay late after school because of Dark.  These tutoring sessions were her father's idea.  Rain had been more than willing to help out at first, but Dark's repeated detentions held her up at school when it would have been easier to tutor her at home.

Most of the teachers were lenient with Dark.  Only one, the biology teacher, Mr. Howell, would dare to give Dark detentions for not paying attention in class.  Fortunately for Rain, he had decided to allow her to tutor Dark during the detention hour, or else she would have had to wait an extra hour for Dark with nothing to do.

Dark shrugged at the question.  Rain walked around her to take a peek at the screen.  It wasn't schoolwork.  It was Realm of the Dead III.  Dark was too busy killing zombies with an assault rifle to pay any attention to Rain.

"We should get started."

Dark was grinning, but it wasn't due to anything Rain had said.  It was probably because she had reached a new record in the number of kills.  Rain was considering reaching over and hitting the off button on the computer, but then Dark looked up and shut off the game herself.  Rain sighed.  She ejected the memory cartridge from her notepad.

"Bio notes," she said, handing it over to Dark.  "I assume you weren't taking notes in class."

Dark shrugged again.  She inserted the cartridge into her computer and began the download.

"If you keep that up," Rain warned, "Howell will just keep giving you detention every other day.  Is it that hard to just pretend to pay attention?"

Dark ejected the cartridge and handed it back to Rain.  "Howell is boring," she said.

"I know he's boring, but the subject is interesting.  Our school has a good science program.  If you do well in bio, it'll prepare you for later on in life.  The university gives special consideration for people who graduate from our school."

Looking out the window, Dark didn't respond immediately.  She never seemed listless when she had that faraway look.  Rather, it seemed there was always something going on inside her head.  Then she asked, her voice neutral, "Do I have a future?"

Rain realized her error just then.  She mentally kicked herself.  She had a tendency to treat Dark as if she were normal. 

"Well…" Rain tried to recover.  "You never know.  Things may turn out differently this time.  For you."

There was no response from the other girl.

"Dark…"  Rain let her voice trail off.  She didn't know what to say.

"We don't have time today," Dark said.

"What?"

"No time for you tutoring me.  I have to be at the lab."

"Oh."  No one had chosen to inform Rain.  "What about Howell?"

Again, a shrug from Dark.  "He can talk to the lab."

Dark went to shut down her computer.  A picture popped up on the screen.  It caught Rain's attention.  A large armored beast, grey like gunmetal.  It had huge gapping jaws and no eyes.  It seemed hunched over, crouched on legs that resembled deformed human arms.  It seemed hand-drawn.

Then the screen went black.

"Did you draw that?" Rain asked.

"Yeah."  Dark stood up and stuffed her computer into her attaché case.

"Was that...a demon?"  The word sounded strange falling from her lips.

"Yeah."

"That was good," Rain said, for lack of anything better to say.  "I've only seen pictures, but I guess you've seen them up close."

Dark said nothing for a moment.  Then she murmured something too quick and quiet for Rain to hear.

"What was that?"

"I said they are the only things beside me that can walk in land that a Storm has hit."

It took a second to process.  Then Rain smiled.

Carrying her case, Dark walked to the door.

"You're not like them, Dark."

She stopped and turned around.  Rain tried to meet her eyes without looking away.

"But Sugar's still afraid of you," she said.  "Even if you're not a demon."

Dark smiled.  It came out like a leer.  Rain wondered if she looked at her enemies that way.

"She's afraid of you too," Dark said.

"What?" Rain said, confused.  "Why?"

Dark took a step out of the room.

"Because you're prettier than her."

* * *

Edinger took both of them out to an evening seminar at the university that night.  Some guy with a big important name was giving a talk about some big important thing, and everyone wanted to hear what he had to say (except for Dark), so the lecture hall was filled, with some people sitting on the floor.  Dark had the aisle seat next to Rain.  She took a nap while the guy went on about...whatever he was talking about.  But it was hard to sleep because every time she nodded off, her head landed on Rain's shoulder, and Rain would poke her, and she would wake up again.

Once she managed to drift off, she was woken up by a roomful of applause.  People stood up and clapped.  Dark stayed seated, even though Rain was giving her a hard look.

They stepped out of the auditorium into a light shower.  The rain fell red this time.  Dark couldn't get over that.  Colored rain.

Edinger held the umbrella over himself and Rain and tried to hold it over Dark too.  But Dark said it was all right and trailed behind them, walking uncovered in the downpour.  It was cold.  She caught droplets in her hand and examined the color.  She wondered how she would look when they got home.  Maybe she would look like she was covered in blood.

Rain insisted, latching onto her father's arm, that it was too early to go home.  Edinger agreed to take them to the shops around the university.  So they went, Dark trailing behind.

The streets were lit brightly by the street lamps and the signs on the buildings.  Dark watched the endless parade of moving images on the billboards.  The evening crowd had hit the streets.  Most were carrying umbrellas, but some who had been caught in the sudden shower were running from the rain.

Locos was an interesting city.  Not just because it had rain that dyed its buildings different colors.  The streets were always swept clean.  The people passed you by without looking at you.  But if she accidentally ran into someone, they were polite and apologized.

She could see the reflected image of the city, tinted red, on the rain-soaked streets.  She made a mental note to tell her brother about that the next time she saw him.  Hano would have like Locos.

When Rain stopped to gaze into a clothing shop, Edinger glanced behind him to make sure that Dark was still there.  She was, gazing off at the passing traffic. 

 Poor Dark, the doctor thought.  He couldn't help a brush of pity.  It had become common knowledge about people with the Power.  Insane by twenty, dead by twenty-two.  Dark had two years of clarity left, and four years to live.

She looked back and caught him watching her.  She nodded once.  He smiled and turned his attention back to his daughter.

At a local bar, musicians were gathered out underneath the overhang.  The plaza was filled with the lively tunes of jazz.  They stopped to listen.  Even Dark seemed caught up in the music, never taking her eyes off the band.

Edinger saw this and smiled to himself.  They were making progress.  He wanted her to know the city she would have to protect.

Rain applauded with the rest of the audience when the music ended.  Dark stirred as if waking up from a dream.  She stole a glance at Rain.  Edinger's daughter was in a good mood.  She wore a red dress that was cut like a business suit.  Her hair was up, with the exception of the blond strands framing her face.  In the dim lighting, her blue eyes seemed green.  She looked mature.  More so than the other kids who went to their school.  She had been indistinguishable from the college students at the university.

She's like an adult, Dark thought.  Edinger treated her like one.  He treated Dark like...well, she wasn't sure what.

Suddenly, Rain turned to her and tugged at her sleeve.  Dark was surprised.  Rain wasn't the touching type. 

"There's a café around here that I've heard good things about," Rain was saying.  "Let's go.  We'll drag Dad along with us."

"Okay," was all Dark could manage before she was pulled through the crowd.  She looked back to make sure Edinger was following.  He was, looking a little too amused at her expense.

Rain was the sophisticated, well-bred daughter of a scientist.  She was level-headed and calm.  Dark never saw her squealing over the latest gossip like the other girls at school.  She did not get excited over little things like clothes and cafes.  She was smart, and concerned herself with greater issues.  Yet tonight, she was pulling on Dark with an energy one usually only saw in the very young.  It must have been something in the air, Dark thought.  Maybe the red rain falling.  Something.

Rain couldn't find the café she was looking for, but she found another one that served just as well.  Edinger paid for two specialty drinks and a coffee for himself.   Dark sipped her too sweet drink while Rain and Edinger talked.  They were discussing the lecture, which Dark tuned out.  Rain was animated.  Edinger discussed things with her as if she were a colleague of his, rather than his daughter and a high school student.  Dark took to watching the other people at the cafe.  It looked like a college student hang out.  Dark decided that college students were pretty lame.

"Right, Dark?"

She looked away from the crowd.  "Uh..."

Rain smiled.  "Mr. Howell was always a little too strict.  He's giving Dark detentions practically every day.  And it isn't like she's disrupting class or anything."  She looked to her father.  "Maybe you can go have a talk with him.  Tell him Dark has an attention disorder or something."

Edinger turned to Dark.  "Are you having trouble focusing in class?"

Dark blinked.  "The teachers are boring."

Rain patted her arm.  "She did really well on that math test last week."

"Congratulations," Edinger said with a broad smile.  He seemed pleased.

"Uh..."

"I see those tutoring sessions are starting to help," Edinger said.

"Dark works pretty hard outside of class," Rain added.  "And she picks up new material really quickly."

Dark was confused.  What was with all the compliments?  She didn't work hard at school.  She only did well because some of the subjects were easy.  That was all.

"Well," she said quietly to Rain, "You're not boring."

When they left, the shower had lessened to a drizzle.  In spite of that, Rain held onto Dark's arm this time to keep her under the umbrella.  For some reason, Dark allowed this.  She felt unusually tranquil.  Human contact normally ignited sparks deep inside her gut, like a whirlpool starting to churn.  Contact made her lash out to release the tension building up inside.  Contact made her want to hit and break things. 

But for some reason, Rain was okay.

"Look," Rain said.  "You can see the moons through the clouds."

It was true.

Rain was practically skipping.  Too much sugar in the drink, Dark thought.  That was it.  "Hey," Rain said suddenly.  She turned to Dark with a grin and released her arm.  "I'll race you to the car."

Way too much sugar.  Dark stared at her, then at her shoes.  They were heeled boots.  "You're gonna lose," Dark said flatly.

"Oh yeah?" Rain said, and took off running.  That was uncharacteristic of her.  Not about to be outdone, Dark broke into a run after her.  With those shoes, this would be easy...

Edinger felt a pang of guilt watching them.  He reminded himself: insane by twenty, dead by twenty-two.