Chapter 1: THE END

Posted on June 11, 2016
CHAPTER 1: THE END
Roselyn had given up, even before that day. Life was unfair; She knew this already. She had promised herself that she would not cry, she would not scream, she would not fear, she would not love, and she would not care. She felt detached from everything around her, as though just hanging on to the real world by the tiniest of threads, dangling there.

It was just one of those days, you know? The sky was a light shade of blue, the clouds were small and scattered, as though someone had spilled a bag of cotton balls across the sky, and the air smelt sweetly of flowers from the gardens around her.

Roselyn had just stepped out to clear her thoughts. She was walking through the park near her house. She stopped for just a moment and closed her eyes, trying to let the breeze wash over her, and let it carry away all her thoughts.

Her eyes opened slowly when she heard a loud crash to her left. She turned her head, just slightly, her large brown eyes surveying the area. A gust of wind whistled in the air around her, and she tightened her jacket instinctively.

Just then, she saw a figure appear out of the corner of her vision, near the top of one of the apartment buildings. He had opened a window high up, and then slipped through and out onto the balcony. He dashed gracefully toward the fire escape, jumped down a few steps, and then flipped himself over the railing, landing flawlessly on the ground. There was only a street between them, and when he looked up, their eyes met. It was the first time she felt her heart beat in what seemed like such a long time.

An amused grin formed on his face when he noticed her, and then he pushed off from the ground with his hand and sprinted down a nearby alleyway in the opposite direction.

So cool…

He had been like a ghost, or a phantom, disappearing from her sight so quickly. His hair had been a light, silverish-white color, and it was messy, obscuring his eyes. Even after he had gone, the image lingered on her retina.
Though it seemed like it had been a few minutes, the truth is that only 72 seconds had elapsed since she first heard the sound.

Without really thinking much, the girl had covered the distance between the park and the alleyway in a matter of seconds and she peered down it, trying to catch sight of him once more. She was so transfixed, she hadn’t even noticed the others until they had darted past her, down the alleyway, as though in pursuit.

There were five of them. She counted as they sped by. The one with reddish hair had even slammed into her arm, nearly knocking her over, but he did not slow down in the process.

Other than Red, they all seemed very similar. Dark hair and dark clothes, like shadows. One of them, she noticed, had even been wearing a hood over his head. She wondered if they might be part of a gang.

Curious, and not afraid, Roselyn found herself walking quickly down the sidewalk. She knew the area here so well, it was frightening. She could see in her head exactly where that alleyway would lead to, and she decided to go around and cut them off.

Her plan almost worked too well. She could see them again, even before she intended to. The dark shadows had closed some of the distance between them and the ghost. Red was the one that was closest to catching him.

Trying to get a better look at what was going on, she surveyed the area. On the building to her left, she saw a set of narrow bars with a railing leading up to the roof; a sort of shoddy ladder. She reached up and took hold of the railing, and then jumped slightly to get her foot onto the first bar. She climbed it right to the very top, in hopes of getting a better view of the action from a higher vantage point.

Once up there, she could definitely see a lot more, but she had lost sight of them. On the north and south sides of the building, there were alleys.On the east side, there was a much taller building pushed right up against the one she was on, and on the west side, was a city street with lots of traffic. She could hear the whooshing of cars passing by, and the occasional roar of a loud truck or motorbike. Up here, the wind was so much stronger and she felt chilled.

The girl walked over to a structure that held a door leading into the building. She then peered over the edge, and down the alley as far as her eyes could reach. She just caught sight of Ghost, running there. He seemed almost majestic as he effortlessly leapt up onto a dumpster as though simply climbing stairs, and continuing with the momentum, he jumped up and caught hold of the railing of the balcony to one of the apartments, and pulled himself up and over in one fluid motion.

She did not have time to see whether or not the shadows could pull off the same feat, for someone had grabbed her from behind.

A large, rough hand covered her mouth to stop her from screaming. Little did he know, she hadn’t even tried to.

She could feel her eyes widen as this new stranger pulled her toward himself. His hair and eyes looked darker than black, and she decided that he was probably also wearing eyeliner, but it was hard to tell since his bangs were in his eyes. He had such a serious look on his face that it was almost enough to make her feel afraid…almost.

It was only when she saw his other hand that she realized why the one on her face felt so rough. His hands were wrapped in some kind of gauze, or maybe bandages.

“Hi.” He said, his tone completely and utterly flat. There was absolutely no expression on his face.

Her head jerked to the right when she heard a loud “thud” and she saw Ghost on the same rooftop as her, just a few feet away. She could only guess that the ‘thud’ had been caused by him jumping down from the rooftop above. He then looked over in their direction.

“Don’t worry.” Bandages continued, “This won’t hurt.”

….and it didn’t.

Author's Note

If you can offer any advice I would be grateful. :)