In The Darkness

Chapter 7

She stood in the middle of the small town of Salisbury. It looked normal enough, the full moon shone brightly in the sky. Everybody was in their houses sleeping no doubt for there wasn't a single light on in the town.

She walked down the street, the snow crunching under her feet. It was so quiet, so peaceful.

All of a sudden an explosion sounded in the distance. Then another one, closer that time. The house in front of her erupted in flames.

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She woke in a cold sweat. The image of the burning house etched into her mind. She looked at Agnes, who was sleeping next to her in the big antique bed.

After the incident in town that day the three of them went back to Agnes' house and, regardless of Duo's protesting, they stayed the night.

She looked at the clock next to the bed. The evil thing told her it was two in the morning. Only two hours since she fell asleep.

Sighing she got up and put on her pants (she had already been sleeping in her shirt) and quietly, so as not to wake Agnes, walked out of the room.

She went into the living room. Looking around she could see that it was larger than Duo's, maybe double the size. On the south wall was the fireplace. In front of it were two fluffy and, as she learned earlier, very comfortable chairs. Behind the chairs on the north wall was a couch to match. In front of that was the T.V. On the east wall were two windows and the west wall had the door leading in from the hallway. Sleeping on the couch was Duo. He was covered in one fairly thin blanket. The rest of them were on the floor.

She watched him for a while ß(stalker!!!!). She thought briefly of how cut he looked when he was asleep. When he was awake he was so serious or sometimes even dangerous looking, which she found herself oddly attracted to. But it couldn't compete with the innocence of when he was asleep.

'He is rather adorable when he's in dreamtime isn't he?' that familiar telepathic voice said. At the end of the couch she saw Whisper's ice blue eyes.

Not responding Destiny walked over to the window and looked out over the forest that it over looked. Whisper jumped onto the windowsill next to her.

They sat there in silence for a time before Destiny finally asked, 'What's dreamtime?'

'Precisely what it says,' the cat answered. 'It's the time when you're asleep and dreaming.'

'Why does he wear that cross?' Destiny asked, quite randomly. 'It's a Christian symbol and he practices the Wiccan faith.'

'I've asked him the same thing many times myself,' Whisper said. 'He never gives me an answer but I assume that it has something to do with the woman who gave it to him.'

'Who was that?' Destiny asked.

'You'll have to ask him,' Whisper answered. 'It's not my place.' She looked at the girl. 'And what about you Destiny? How did a young girl like you become a rebel fighter?'

Destiny smiled ironically. 'That's quite a story,' she responded, 'and a long one.'

'We have plenty of time,' Whisper said.

'Well about the rebel thing,' she started, 'you can blame my brother for that. He isn't my real brother by birth though. We just sort of adopted each other.

'I've lived on the streets all my life…or all that I can remember anyway. I can't remember my parents and I don't know if Destiny is even my real name.'

'But then why choose that name?' Whisper asked.

'Because it was on the back the picture,' she answered. 'When I was young, maybe six years old, I woke up in an alley on one of the L1 colonies. I couldn't remember anything. All I had was a picture of two people I believe to be my parents and me. Although I couldn't read it then I later learned that on the back it said "Destiny/ April 20, A.C. 182/ New York."

'I was alone on the streets for five years. Then one day I found the boy I now call my brother. He was hurt pretty badly. In fact, he was unconscious when I found him.

'I took care of him as best I could. We talked little when he finally woke up days later. He was very quiet and if it weren't for his broken leg he probably would have left.

'I soon learned that he didn't have a name or a family like me. He was a trained assassin. He didn't work for anyone, just took on jobs as they came. He told me what the back of my picture said and then I finally had an identity.

'After he healed he didn't leave me like I thought he would. I watched him leave but I new he was always there and felt him nearby all the time. He stayed hidden for a few weeks before I was attacked by a bunch of drunken men. He nearly killed them, which surprised me because they were big and I think there were maybe four of them. But either way he saved me and after that he never left my side. He trained me as an assassin just like him and we've traveled together for the past two years as mercenaries.' She stopped and looked over at Whisper.

Looking out the window the cat asked, 'So what are you going to do now?'

'What do you mean?' Destiny asked.

'Are you going to help your brother?'

'I don't need to,' she said. 'He can take care of himself.' Then as she looked out the window she smiled and said, 'See.' She walked towards the front door.

Whisper looked in astonishment as she saw the boy who was tied up earlier that day move silently to the edge of the woods.

Jumping off of the windowsill, she followed Destiny to the front door. Destiny put on Duo's jacket and quietly walked out the door, Whisper close at her heals. She walked around the house to the back where he was waiting.

He didn't look much better than he did earlier. Now he had a gash over his left eyebrow and his bottom lip was bleeding. It looked like he had a rough time getting away. She closed the distance between them and he embraced her tightly as if she was going to disappear.

Pulling out of the hug she asked, "What took you so long?"

"What they lack in intelligence they make up for in strength," he said in his stoic voice.

Wiping blood from his eye she asked, "Where's Nanashi? You didn't leave him behind did you?" If it meant getting out alive himself he might have done that. Unless it was her in trouble, that was just how he thought.

"Working," he said. Before she could question further he grabbed her arm and started to pull her into the woods. "We have to go," he said. "This place will not be safe for much longer."

Realizing the meaning of his words she tried pulling away. However, his grip on her arm was too tight for her to break free from. "NO!!!" she yelled. "You can't!! If you attack OZ now they're going to destroy this town."

"That's none of our concern," he said. "We're fighting for the colonies and that means the people of earth are our enemies." (AN: It's amazing what the lack of Dr. J has done to him.)

"OZ is our enemy," she cried, "Not the innocent people of this town."

An explosion was heard in the center of town. Then another and then she saw the flames. That's when, to her horror, another exploded right in front of Agnes' house causing the left side to collapse. The side where Duo and Agnes slept crumbled to the ground either killing or burying them both.

After that things seemed to happen in slow motion. First she saw Whisper run to the house, and then in her horror-stricken sorrow she broke free from her brother's hold. She ran towards the house but lost her footing in the snow and fell face first into the white stuff. She tried to get up but her brother was on top of her, holding her down. He finally found the pressure point he was looking for and she stopped struggling and slowly drifted into darkness.

The last few things she was aware of was Whisper running into the blazing rubble, her brother lifting her over his shoulder and the crow perched on the roof of the remaining half of the burning building watching them leave the light of the full moon reflecting off it's eyes.

To Be Continued

<Corvus> Fuck you. That's all I have to say. FUCK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!

<Firefly> Calm down. You don't need to yell like that.

<Corvus> Why do you do this?

<Firefly> Torture is my hobby and my #1 skill. It's so much fun.

<Corvus> For you maybe. But it pisses me off.

<Firefly> Well you're just gonna have to deal with it.

<Corvus> You are a bitch when it come to cliffhangers. Do you know that?

<Firefly> Yup! All my friends tell me that. I'm so proud of myself.

<Corvus> But why?!!!!

<Firefly> Well if I leave it at a cliffhanger then people want to know what happens so they keep reading. Every good writer knows that.

<Corvus> Duo better not be dead.

<Firefly> *laughs nervously*

<Corvus> Hey!!! HE BETTER NOT BE!!!!!!!!!!

<Firefly> Ahhhh--you R&R now please thank you!!! *Runs away from angry mob of fans*