Burn

Killer was gone.

Brandon glanced up at Jimmy as they walked together to training. Everyone else was in a celebratory mood after Killer was forced out. They could all breathe a sigh of relief.

But Jimmy hadn't changed at all. He was in the highest position possible, and he'd gotten rid of the one person he disliked the most. But he didn't celebrate.

Brandon had seen the scene played out in the minds of others. He'd seen the large group of Lost Landers gathered at the border ready to break through if Killer didn't get his way. He'd seen Killer leap for Mr. Smith, his dad and Brandon's, and Mr. Smith's face in the split second before he realized that his power wasn't coming forward.

And he'd seen when Jimmy leaped, knocking Killer to the ground, drawing his own knife against Killer's throat. It was a move that had only worked because Killer was actually going for Mr. Smith's throat. A normal fight between Killer and Jimmy didn't end quickly. They were both evenly matched in skill, and Killer's power which normally gave him an edge over people who were used to relying on their power to help them didn't work on Jimmy who had a power that no one really understood.

Jimmy couldn't kill him in front of his group without them rioting. And anyway, the shame of being defeated and left alive was worse.

The two brothers walked quietly side by side. Nothing had changed and yet everything was different.

It was still dark out. The sky was just beginning to lighten. They turned a corner and Brandon could see the large tree with its pink leaves near the playground. When Brandon saw it, he couldn't help remembering that day his mother had left.

Mary told him the story of the two brothers. He still remembered how she smiled and winked at him when she said, "They missed a spot."

Brandon listened for the buzz of Mary's thoughts as they walked past. Jimmy didn't want Brandon visiting her at the care center. He said because people would think he was still acting like a baby. But Jimmy lead them past here every morning. His thoughts were a black hole to Brandon, but it seemed as if Jimmy lead them past every morning with the hopes of seeing her. Maybe, in some way, he was still keeping an eye out for her. With Killer around, Brandon hadn't blamed him.

She still woke up early. He still caught her thoughts. His heart always paused in mid-beat when he caught himself or Jimmy on them.

One second before Jimmy, Brandon halted. They stood by the tree where Brandon had first met Mary. It was too quiet. Brandon didn't catch any thoughts at all.

"Brandon, stay here." Jimmy, without the benefit of Brandon's mind reading power, somehow already knew something was wrong. Some deep set instinct of his that was impossible to just train.

Brandon nodded and stood by the tree as Jimmy ran to the stone steps that would lead to the basement where Mary lived. He looked around, a chill sneaking up his spine. There was no one in sight. Usually they saw someone they knew. He stepped out from the tree, glancing around. There was something dark and ominous about the place now. Something was missing.

He glanced over in the direction Jimmy had disappeared. For a moment there was nothing, and then he saw it. Something out of place on the dewy green grass. A spot of brown, a deep unnatural brown tinged with red, moistened by the dew. It had been scrapped off, as if someone had wiped his feet either before entering or before leaving.

Brandon broke into a run then. He ran down the stairs, following the trail of prints. At the bottom of the stairs, his mind stopped.

"The brothers didn't get along very well. They used to have horrible fights, but since they couldn't use their powers to really hurt each other, they could fight for days and no one would ever win."

The only detail he could take in was Jimmy kneeling beside her, his back to the stairs. He turned, furious, more furious than Brandon had ever seen. "Get out, Brandon." He said it even as he reached back and pulled the blanket from the couch to throw over her exposed body as if he knew that Brandon wasn't going to leave.

Brandon's legs were numb. He could hardly move them. Walking back up the stairs would be impossible. The only thing he could do was walk over to her other side and kneel down next to her.

She wasn't gone. Brandon could still catch the fluttering of thoughts from her. They alternated between the warm sunny days she'd spent under the tree with them and deep dark stormy days that slowly took over her thoughts. In her mind, the hand that held hers, Jimmy's hand, was the hand of her parents, tightly holding her as the dark storm approached with a rumble.

Brandon sat on his knees next to her, afraid that if he touched her he'd bring awareness to her of where she really was. He looked up at Jimmy, taking his eyes off her for a moment. He'd never seen Jimmy cry before. It was a strangely peaceful moment in the middle of the raging storm of her thoughts. The tears fell quietly and shocked Brandon into silence. Brandon was so fascinated by this reaction from his brother, he could only watch as he felt her thoughts slipping away.

It took a second before he realized he was crying too. He wiped at his eyes as her thoughts quieted. Then it wasn't a black hole. It was nothing. It wasn't a completely dark void, it was nothing like she'd never been.

There were foot steps, anxious footsteps of a small compact body hoping down the stairs and stopping at the bottom. Brandon caught Shawn's thought. For half a moment she actually feared that Jimmy had...

"They resorted to hurting anyone who became close to the other. They burned through the whole world this way."

"It was Killer," Brandon heard himself say. "He did this."

"...I hope that you make it...
...I hope that you find your way..."

Lyrics from Closing In by Imogen Heap

Next: Chapter 15: The Walk

*****************

I'm not done breaking your heart yet.

Also, I've been thinking about this for a while. I started a forum spring where anyone can ask me questions if they want. It's here.
Read more!

Gone

"Killer's gone."

Shawn had spoken the words with a smile and a sigh of relief. Mary was not the only one to have been creeped out just by meeting him. There were plenty of others. It seemed that anyone who had come in contact with him had the same uncomfortable impression that left them jumping at shadows and looking over their shoulders.

"Jimmy ran him off," Shawn said as if it was supposed to mean something to Mary.


It had been months since that day Brandon and Jimmy had taken her to the village. She hadn't seen Jimmy or Brandon since. It had been a last goodbye right before Brandon's own training began. She had expected that she wouldn't see them very often, but she hadn't expected to not see them at all.

"Only ran him off?" Mary had asked.

Shawn had smiled semi-bitterly at that. "Now you're starting to think like one of us. It wasn't his first choice, but there were circumstances. Killer managed to cover his ass pretty well. It's the only reason he's still breathing."


She hadn't realized how tense she'd become since that day in the village. It was silly; she was no one, but still Killer's presence was something that unnerved her. Of course she was safe where she was. It was a protected place that was surrounded by tribe members. Killer was gone, and even if he could somehow return, someone was sure to spot him.

Shawn kept her up to date on things going on outside around her even when she didn't think she wanted to hear it. "You know, Jimmy's become the second in command. Just like his father had been. Getting rid of Killer has pretty much sealed it for everyone, including Henri."


Mary hadn't said much to that, and Shawn hadn't added much else.

******************************

She heard the footsteps, boots on the stone stairs. It was a soft sound, too loud in the quiet of the room.

Something was wrong. It was entirely too quiet, and it wasn't until she heard the boots on the concrete that she realized it was the quiet. Normally, the sounds of those above her loudly talking and laughing annoyed her, but this lack of noise sent chills down her spine.


She closed her book, putting it down in her lap before standing up quickly, the book slipping from her hands and falling onto the small rug Shawn had found for her to make the large living space feel more like a home.

There was only one entrance, and he had entered from there. Her mind worked quickly, running through plans, trying to see a way around him. She stepped back, away from the couch, not wanting to turn her back on him, not wanting to move too quickly.

Slowly, he followed her, strategically keeping himself between her and the one place she most wanted to go.

Her voice strained to escape from her tightened throat. "This is a protected place. You can't be here. I thought Jimmy..."

That made him grin the same way he had that day in the village when he first saw her with Brandon and Jimmy.

"Bennet is good. He knows how to protect himself. Keeps a good eye on that brother of his. You know, even my father is afraid of what Jimmy'd do if anything happened to his little brother."

Mary's heart froze at the mention of Brandon. Had this monster been around Brandon? Had he hurt him?

"Don't worry. The little shit is fine. This is where you come in."


Mary had a hand on the kitchen counter of the island. "What?"

"We're going to send them a message. From me and you." They were in the kitchen now, her back to the stove as he leaned towards her. "I'm sure we have lots of time before anyone comes checking on you."


His voice was husky with excitement. She hadn't been sure she'd be able to do it until just then at the sound of his pleasure at her fear. If she could just get away, someone would hear or see her, someone might help her.

Mary reached a hand back and grabbed one of the knives from the utensil pot behind her. It crashed to the ground as she swung her arm around to stab him. But she'd never stabbed a person before, and he had probably killed plenty of times in his young life. He grabbed her arm, holding it strongly away from her body. It was then, trying to not look into his evil smirk that she saw the large hunting knife strapped to his belt in its own sheath. She knew there was no way she could grab it with her other hand and use it in time. As the thought occurred to her, brushing away her last shred of hope, he reached forward and grabbed her free hand.


Holding both arms apart, he stood before her, looking down at her, his smile so near her she could bite it. Her parents had given their lives to see she got away with her life. She refused to give her life up easily.


Brandon ~11, Jimmy & Mary ~18, Killer ~18/19


Burn -->



And just who the heck is Shawn anyway?
Read more!

The Other Brother

The sight took Mary's breath away.

She looked out over the water. It was more water than she had seen in her entire life. Brandon laughed at her awe. "It's the Edge of the World. Like in the stories."

She had always thought that the stories were just stories with no real truth to them. It was easier to imagine that their world was covered in land and dirt and grass and only existed as far as she could see. And yet here was the edge of the world right before her.


Jimmy sat beside her on the picnic table, his thigh touching her thigh, his arm touching her arm. On the other side of her sat Brandon who smiled at her, the light brightening his eyes. They had surprised her with an invitation to go to the village. Jimmy had even talked to Shawn, the care center's supervisor, so Mary wouldn't have to. Shawn had raised her eyebrows when she told Mary that she knew about the invite and that she could go. She has wanted to know more, to know what was going on between Mary and Jimmy, but Mary was sure there wasn't anything to tell. And even if there was, it didn't seem right to share it.

There was a strong wind that blew in off the ocean, stinging her face and shoving her hair around. She had to keep fighting with her hair to keep the strands out of her face, but she kept turned towards the wind, her eyes shutting against it as it ran over her. For a moment, she almost felt dizzy with the weight of the new experience pressing down on her. The new idea that her world did have an end and she'd lived near it this whole time. Then she felt his hand on hers, and her eyes opened to glance at him. She caught the faintest smile from him. The distance between them was not far, so his hand didn't have far to go from his leg to her leg where her hand rested.


"Thanks for this, you guys."

Brandon slipped his hand fully into her other one easily, as if it didn't require thought, it was the most natural action in the world. "It's not fair that you're stuck there all the time."

She shrugged. "I have it better than most." And it was true so far as she was concerned.

Jimmy, hand still lightly on hers, said softly. "We better head back."

They walked up the hill, the three of them, past the broken stone wall, and into the forest that had probably been grown as a barrier to the Edge. The sun was moving past noon, slowly working its way over towards the hills in the distance.

"Jimmy." The voice surprised Mary. It was smooth and dark, with a tinge to it that made her skin crawl. Jimmy's hands moved from hers and turned towards the voice right away. He stood in front of her so that she couldn't see the man speaking. "And Brandon too. And who's this with you?"


Brandon had stepped towards the voice as well so that he almost stood beside his brother, just a little ahead of Mary. Both of them seemed tense as if they were getting the same bad feeling that Mary was just from the voice alone.

"Killer." Jimmy's voice was clear and strong. "What're you doing here?"

"Just want to see the Edge of the World like everyone else."

Mary didn't want to move, afraid to catch the attention of the stranger Jimmy called Killer, but she felt an urge to stand closer to Jimmy, especially when the other's eyes fell on her.

"Is she a new sibling? Maybe she's your pet."


Brandon took her hand, gently tugging her away, but she was rooted to the spot watching Killer and Jimmy. It was clear that Jimmy didn't like him. There was a change over his entire body, a new stance, his muscles tense, particularly in his arms as his hands contracted into tight fists at his sides. Mary wondered if they were going to fight, but the other one didn't looked threatened. He almost looked as if he were smiling at her.

"What do you want, Killer?" Jimmy folded his arms, moving towards Killer as Brandon continued tugging. It became too insistent for her to ignore, and so she finally turned away and followed Brandon away and out of the forest towards the market where more people were standing around.

"Who was that?" A shudder rolled down her muscles, and she pushed her shoulders back to try and get rid of it.

"My brother." He looked up at her, his innocent face both angry and helpless. "My other brother. From my dad. He's from the Lost Territory."

Mary looked at Brandon in surprise, stopping for a moment in her tracks until he pulled her again towards the market. "What is he doing here? I thought they couldn't be here." Lost Landers were worse than normal Wildlanders. They were said to be cannibals. They lived in the dirt and ate each other to survive.

Brandon shrugged. "Jimmy says that he's dangerous. They want to keep an eye on him." In a very low voice, he added, "He thinks bad things."

"What do you mean?"


He looked up at her with eyes that looked wounded, as if someone had told him something directly to hurt him. It was easy to forget sometimes that he could catch thoughts and that sometimes it probably was exactly like that. She wondered if Killer had thought bad things about her, and Brandon, his eyes already wounded, seemed to become even more concerned.

"He thinks about what he's done. He likes to hurt girls."

Mary could feel her brows lowering over her eyes. "Was he thinking bad things about me?" Her voice was low, a whisper that was stuck in her throat. "Is that why you pulled me away?"

Brandon looked up at her, his brows mimicking her own. "Yes."

Mary couldn't handle being around people. She didn't want to go into any of the little stores. They stood beside the market, waiting for Jimmy. It didn't take him long to reappear, a dark shadow over his face in deep contrast to his earlier faint smile when the sun had shone down brightly on them.


He didn't touch her again, though it was what she wanted most. She felt a little shaky. Their peaceful day intruded upon by the realities of the world around them.

Brandon slipped his hand into hers and held on tightly without saying a word or even looking at her as they walked back.


Ages: Killer ~19, Jimmy & Mary ~18, Brandon ~10/11


Gone -->

***********************

You all remember Killer, right? This of course calls for an updated family tree. I told you on the original tree that I left someone off. Now you know who.
Read more!

Closing in

This time Mary knew the knock.

It was a soft knock, almost polite like he didn't want to bother her. She knew exactly who it had to be though she wasn't expecting him back so early. Brandon was sleeping, hopefully, the next room over where all the extra beds were for the children who had to stay over night. Jimmy had left Brandon with her to head out on an important mission the day before.

She opened the door and there he was, as she had expected. "Brandon?" He softly inquired.

"He's asleep." She pointed over at the room next door. Jimmy glanced that way, looking exhausted himself. She took in the sight of him before her. Though they'd known each other for a few years, she always felt surprised when she saw him. Each time it was like he was slowly morphing into someone else completely. Not just growing up, but really changing. His muscles seemed more developed. He seemed taller. The look on his face more exhausted, worn out, and older, though he never lost that charm when he smiled at her.

She stepped back to let him in. It seemed natural in an unnatural way. She couldn't help the memory from months before that surfaced as she gave ground, inviting him to follow. Her stomach flipped when he stepped in after pausing at the threshold, shutting the door behind himself softly. His eyes seemed locked onto hers as he stepped forward enough to shut the door putting him very much in the center of her small room. But his gaze was different from that other time. He wasn't sizing up her weaknesses. For a moment, he almost looked their own age.

She smiled up at him. She hadn't really been expecting him until the morning at the earliest, but most likely not until the afternoon. He had the entire night to himself without his little brother to do whatever he could possibly have wanted. Most people his age hung out at the various fire pits and bonfires or spent the night fucking away.

Jimmy glanced around her tiny room his eyes falling on the stacks of books. Most were presents from Brandon and him, but there had been plenty of books she'd owned before and plenty she'd managed to save on her own since.

"My parents always had books," she said as if he'd asked. "Their house was full of them. I think I spent my first few years sleeping on them."


Jimmy watched her with eyes so clear she could almost see the natural faucets in the irises that made them sparkle from time to time. "You've never mentioned your parents before."

Guilt pumped into her heart, freezing it. She could almost picture the guilt as a black liquid suddenly reaching for her heart. "I know." She glanced up at him, his gaze almost softening (or perhaps it was just all in her head like everything regarding him). "You don't talk about your parents either."

It wasn't really fair to expect him to. She knew that. No one really discussed their past. It was over and done with and there was no use in thinking back. But part of it was also because in many cases, her included, it was all they had left were the memories of a life lived differently.

In one smooth movement, he slipped an arm around her waist gently so that they were standing closer than they ever had before. "I'll tell you about mine if you tell me about yours."


Mary closed her eyes. The black liquid of guilt inside her heart sat in her chest threatening to drown her. "I left them." Her voice was low with shame. "There was an attack on our village, and we were taken. It wasn't going to end well." She leaned closer to him, her lips almost on his shoulder as she remembered that day. There had been another family taken, the woman hurt badly for amusement. "Mom distracted them. Dad covered me and told me to run before they noticed. And so I left them behind."

Jimmy pulled her closer, and she put her arms over his shoulders, aware of his hand slipping around her back. She could feel the tears waiting to spill. It had been years since she'd last cried; she couldn't even remember what she'd cried over. It always seemed to happen that way. Tears came when she was least expecting them and never when she wanted them and never at any of the times she thought they would come.


He was nearer to her than he'd ever been, and it wasn't her imagination. They were standing nearly cheek to cheek, his hands on her waist. Mary knew she should fear him still without knowing the exact reason why, but standing there together so close, she was already in too deep for anything more to matter any way. She couldn't call it love, but it was something that existed without a name that pulled her to him.

Without time to think there was no time to fear, so even without knowing exactly what to do she did the only thing she could think of doing and placed her lips on his. For one frightening moment she expected him to shove her away, but he didn't. His lips grazed hers, gently taking her bottom lip between the two of his. She could feel his hand on her back holding her steady while pressing her to him gently.


Her heart was beating too fast. The new blood pumping quickly pushed away the black liquid of guilt she carried with her constantly. It flooded her chest the same as the guilt had and for a moment she felt as if she couldn't breathe.

Still, she wanted more. Or at least thought she did. He wouldn't have to ask for it; she would just willingly give it to him. She was tired of her half lived life. Her life lived this way, in a dark room underground, wasn't worth the price of the lives of her two parents.

One of his hands moved to her cheek, firmly holding her when he moved back, conflict clear in his eyes. With the same hand he brushed her long hair away from her face.


"We aren't doing this." His voice was soft and quiet in the small room.

It still stung. She didn't move. Her bottom lip became caught between her teeth as she bit down trying not to think. The thoughts rushed her anyway. She was definitely reaching above her station. To him she had to be no more than a servant girl. This wasn't one of her fairy tales. Things like this couldn't happen in real life.

"You know what can happen. I'm not doing that to you."


Her heart almost cracked open at the sound of his concern. She had seen the little girl with the mother who often seemed to sneer at Mary. The little girl had a very familiar smile that matched his rarer ones and straight silky brown hair that looked as if it'd been plucked right off his head. He knew what could happen from personal experience.

Still, she wanted something. When the other girls wanted to exclude her they talked about it as if it were greater than not being owned and greater than her strange friendship with Brandon and his big brother, Jimmy, even though she knew some of them didn't have a choice. They knew that it was most likely something Mary would never experience.

This strange new curiosity frightened her and gave her a boldness that she wouldn't normally have. She still reached for him intent on seeing him and testing their boundaries. His hands wrapped around her arms, and with one smooth movement, he had her sit on the bed next to him. He lifted one foot and began untying the laces to remove one boot then the other without a word before he lay back on her small bed beckoning her to follow. She lay in his arms as he wrapped the blanket around the two of them, though around her mostly, in a tender touch of concern.


There simply couldn't be anything better than that. Safe and warm in his arms, she could feel a warm darkness overtaking her slowly before a thought occurred to her. "You didn't tell me about your family. What happened?"

She could feel his stomach muscles tighten as if she'd punched him in the gut. It seemed to take him a moment before he finally said, "My dad was unstable. He used to beat me. Before he could kill me, I killed him."

Mary peeked up at him, hair in her face partially covering her eyes, not that he looked at her. He seemed to look over her, still tense and waiting for some blow. "How?" She asked softly. Brandon had said once he'd never known Jimmy's father; he'd died before Brandon was born. Which meant Jimmy would have had to be very young.

He glanced down at her. "No one knows how. That's why they're scared of me."

Laying there in the dark next to him, the wall at her back, hearing his confession, she finally knew the reason people feared him. He lay before her tensed as if he expected her to hop up and run away. But she didn't, and it wasn't because she had nowhere else to go.

The differences between them were so obvious that it hid their one similarity very well. He had no more choice than she had. His path in life had been set long before she'd ever met him and his brother.

In the dark, she wasn't sure if he could see it on her face or if he would understand it if she were to say it out loud. He still seemed to be waiting for the blow that would come, and so she moved closer to him, deeper into his arms.


Ages: Mary & Jimmy ~16/17 (Brandon ~10)


The Other Brother -->

******************

Title for this entry came from the song Closing in by Imogen Heap. Just one of those happenstance things where I was listening to my playlist while writing and suddenly realized that whoa... this is probably Mary's song. We are not at the end of her story yet though, just so you know.

Also, a few weeks back, some of you might remember I mentioned a really good photo shoot where an idea worked out. This was it.

And so as a companion piece to this one (because hopefully someone out there is wondering how I got this shot), I present my story telling exploits. Every trick I use is actually an old trick picked up in the old days of TS2 before the infiltration of pose boxes, so I hope even my Sims 2 story telling friends will get some use revisiting the old tricks.
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The Ghost

She should have known better.

It was late at night and she was still groggy from re-reading one of her books by candle light when she heard the knock at the door. That in itself wasn't strange. Parents came at all hours during the night to drop off their children into her care. Normally she hopped up quickly and opened the door, already familiar with the knock.

But this knock was new. If she'd stopped to think about it, really stopped and not just slowed down, she would have called out instead of opening the door. Not that her door was much protection from anyone who really wanted in, it was still better than nothing.

And so when she opened the door, she was unprepared for the face peering back at her with his bright blue and very keen eyes. It was a boy who was probably a year or two older than her. Right away he gave her a bad feeling. He clearly had no child to drop off, so he could only be there for some other reason.


"I'm Aaron," he said as he took a step inside making her step back. He shut the door behind himself softly as he added, "You must be Mary."

Her instinct was to fight, but she knew she had no chance. She wasn't sure what told her that. He looked like a normal boy, and he hadn't made any threatening moves towards her. The name was completely unfamiliar to her even though he obviously knew her name. One of her survival techniques she'd developed over the years was knowing things about people she never met from over heard snippets of conversations, and she knew nothing about this one.

Right then she decided that she would give no more ground. Everything was a game to them, even something so small. Even if he pushed her, she wouldn't back down.

But he didn't press forward. He was staring at her books. "You do have a lot of books."


That caught her off guard. How much did he know about her? She didn't dare turn away from him, and she didn't dare tell him that most of her books were gifts. Brandon often brought them for teaching him to read. But she knew he was still too young to be able to barter, and he wouldn't have any resources to trade any way, so the books had to come from his older brother. She had once tried to thank him one of those times they stood under the tree together, their arms so close that she could feel the heat from his skin after his workout, but he'd refused to accept her thanks.

"Brandon says you're teaching him how to read."

He turned back to her, but she refused to move. He was too close. She was so focused on the game that it took her a moment to realize that he apparently knew Brandon too.

"Wait, you know Brandon?"

"And Jimmy. They're like my brothers."

That didn't comfort her. He still unnerved her. For once she had an inkling of what it must be like for everyone else around Jimmy.

"What do you want?" She asked him, steeling her entire body to prepare for anything.


"T'see what the big deal is." He looked down at her, his face impossible for her to read. It was an unfair advantage because she knew he could probably see her discomfort written all over her face. "I don't see it. You're just a human. Brandon, though, he seems to have bonded, and if I didn't know better, I'd think he was screwing with Jimmy."

"His power wouldn't work on Jimmy." She said it before she realized her mistake. Brandon's power wasn't something she was supposed to know about.

"So you do know." He smiled at her as if he'd caught her in a lie. "So you know he bonds easily? Last thing he needs is another one like his mom."

"What business is it of yours? How do I even know you're really his friend?"


He lifted a hand and gently brushed it against her cheek. "You are kinda cute when you're angry. I'll give them that."

She had to resist the urge to shove him away from her. There was no where to run. He stood in front of the only door and behind her there was only her bed.

Instead she shook her head, shaking his hand off her face. "What're you going to do to me? Are you gonna kill me or something?" The anger bubbled in her voice making it tremble ever so slightly. If he mistook it for fear, it would piss her off more. "This is a safe place," she added for good measure to let him know she wasn't scared. "You can't do that."


He grinned then. "There are things I could do that wouldn't kill you. They wouldn't even leave a mark where anyone could see. But Brandon would know."

It was oddly disorienting to know her safety was in mind reading ability of a boy barely even a decade old.

"Let's go outside. Less temptation," he said as he opened the door indicating she should go first. She didn't feel she really had a choice.

***************

"You like him don't you?"

They sat on the grass by the playground. The air was warm and the ground was still dry. It was late, but not that late yet. Mary found herself distracted by the sky overhead. It was a rare treat to see the glowing balls of light in the sky. Normally, she wouldn't dare to come out in the dark, but since she had no choice, she figured she'd make the best of it.

"Don't most girls?" She replied tensely.

"Most think he's cute. There's a difference."

Mary fidgeted, poking at the grass blades at her feet. She'd never bothered to think about it and she was sure that Jimmy hadn't either. It was best that way. Maybe she was only a pest to him, but he was the one who kept coming around. She had no where else to be. He had no excuse.

There was some retort sitting on the back of her tongue that was shattered by the sound of someone walking up.


It was two someones who walked up, probably on their way to the abandoned lot next door where the fire pits sat. Mary swore mentally as her muscles froze again. She was supposedly safe on the grounds, an agreement that Shawn, the woman who was in charge, had with all the tribe members. But it was the middle of the night and the only one outside with her was no friend of hers even if he was supposedly a friend of Brandon and Jimmy. It had been his suggestion to come outside. Perhaps he'd planned it so that when she disappeared at the hands of the two assholes before them he could feign complete ignorance. If Jimmy cared enough to do something about it, he'd have his targets and probably would never suspect the hand his friend had in it.

Mary glared at Aaron.

"Hey, it's that girl." The larger one in front smiled down at her. "Wanna go to the fire pit with us? It's just right there." He nodded towards the abandoned lot. "We'll bring you back."

He gave her the creeps as much as Aaron. She knew if she stepped off the grounds they had her. They might even drag her off. How could she really stop them when they out numbered her?

Aaron's hand brushed against the small of her back as he stood to face the two.


"We're busy." Aaron stood facing her, but looking at them. She wasn't sure in whose hands she would really be safest in. He could hardly be better than the two he was facing.

The one behind was the one who whispered something about the full tattoo on Aaron's back. That sent shivers down Mary's spine. She knew what a full tattoo meant. Full rank, usually very high ranking especially if he already had a full tattoo at this age. Jimmy had the full tattoo as well.

The one in front still tried to appear brave. It was clear that he didn't recognize Aaron, but he clearly knew what it meant to see a full tattoo and not recognize the person with it. He took one look into Aaron's eyes and the whole thing ended quietly.

"Next time," he said with a nod at Mary before they continued on their way.

Mary stood up, her stomach feeling incredibly queasy. The full tattoo at a young age, the lack of recognition from two boys who should have looked up to him the way they did Jimmy-- it wasn't a good sign. It could only mean one thing. She'd heard whispers about it, but it was one of those things that people were split on. Either they believed it or they didn't.

She faced Aaron, looking up into his eyes as the moonlight filtered through the large tree and landed on him in splotches of light. "You're a Ghost."

Mary liked to imagine that she could face anything in her own way. And she often did. Because she had nothing, it was easy. But this one, looking up at him, she knew that if he didn't want to extend mercy to her, he wouldn't. It was like looking into the eyes of death. This was different from the others she had encountered since she came here. With the others, there was always a way out if you were quick and clever. But with him, she had a feeling she wouldn't be able to be quick or clever enough.

So it gave her a small amount of satisfaction to see him almost look surprised. "You know about that?"

She nodded. People talked and they sometimes forgot she was near. The Ghosts were very high rank in the tribe-- each a rank of their own. They only answered to the Leader of the Southlands. No one knew them or anything about them. Not even what they did. But it was obvious that they weren't known for anything good.

"We trained together you know. Jimmy's not much different from me."

Mary swallowed. Was he warning her? Was Jimmy a Ghost too? But everyone knew him. "No, there's a difference." Aaron's eyes were brighter than Brandon's in color, yet they lacked something. Maybe it was just the way he'd been eying her like prey, sussing out her weaknesses as she stood before him. "I think you like hurting people."

"Do you think Jimmy doesn't?"

She couldn't say anything to that. They only spent lunch times together hanging out under the tree. What did she really know?

"You've got guts, but you're reckless. And you're a fucking human so you're going to be nothing but trouble."

She couldn't say anything back to that.

"You're kind of an idiot aren't you? Most people would run the other direction from us as fast as they could and you probably walked right up to him, didn't you?" Aaron sighed. "Maybe you're just crazy." He put a hand on her shoulder and gently nudged her to turn around. "Go home. Oh, and when you remember this tomorrow, remember how I didn't touch you, would you? Brandon's already going to be pissed. Don't need Jimmy fuckin' pissed too."




Ages: Mary ~16, Aaron ~17/18


Closing in -->

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Hello, semi-random entry that was not planned! This story line's been written for months already. And then along comes Aaron insisting that he get to pay her a visit to check her out and see if she's worth all the trouble.

In my junk thread over at VSS I said that it was a case of my gut against my head. My brain keeps going, "But do we need it?" And my gut is sitting around with a fake little mustache she keeps grooming and a beret she has fashionably pinned to the side of her head nodding to herself and talking to characters like Aaron.

Aaron and my gut ganged up on me. But on the plus side, I bring another profile, which was meant to be shared months from now when Aaron was meant to make his proper cameo.
Read more!

Offering

Sunlight washed over the plants in the park making every thing appear to be a glowing green, vivid and alive. The air was fresh, still slightly moist with the slowly drying dew that had coated everything when the children had started to arrive that morning. Mary lifted her head, brushing her hair back behind her ear as she took in the scent of the flowers beginning to bloom and the freshness in the air.

There was something magical about it. Like her favorite fairy tale book. She felt as if she could do anything. Intoxicating.

It was still morning when he stopped by. It was his lunchtime because he started so early. He'd dropped Brandon off before the sun was out. She expected it and always made sure to be there to receive Brandon if only to see those light eyes of his brother's fall on her with a glint of appreciation.


He stood under the very large tree near the playground, leaning against the trunk with his arms crossed. It made the others nervous to have him standing there watching them, but Mary didn't see a problem so long as everyone was doing what they were supposed to do. Unlike some of the other parents, he'd never gotten mad at her, so she really couldn't see what the others were afraid of. As far as she was concerned, he was the most reasonable of the caretakers despite his supposedly being so protective of his little brother that it terrified the others.

Mary stood with her hands behind her back watching him out of the corner of her eye. The kids didn't really need her. They'd been pretty good so far, and with him around they were exceptional. It was almost comical to her the way everyone started to suddenly behave with him around.

She caught his eyes fall on her and it made her stomach flip. One hand rubbed her belly as she turned back to the kids on the playground. Brandon could read thoughts sometimes (it was something he was supposed to keep quiet, but felt he had to tell her), so she had to make sure to keep hers under control. It had to be obvious though. Some of the others had started teasing her about it. "Maybe he'll show you The Room," they said. The supposed room he had that he could take his victims that not even the Leader of the Southlands would go. A place where he had free reign to be as terrible as he wanted. Mary had heard about it, but she didn't believe it.


She tried not to think about it. He didn't stay long, just for his lunch time usually. It made her wonder when he ate on the days he hung out there because he never brought himself any food. Mary patted her pocket where she kept her apple for a snack. Sometimes she shared it with Brandon if he got really hungry because he came so early and lunch was so late for him. But Brandon seemed fine today, and their lunch time would be soon.

She turned and walked up the slight hill where he stood still under the tree, the apple in her hands to stop them from shaking and give her something to focus on while she did something absolutely insane by everyone's reckoning. Even he looked slightly surprised when she stepped up to him with the apple outstretched, offered.


"I never see you eat."

He looked ready to refuse, but Mary held it out firmly to him, almost shoving it at him. If she was more familiar with him, she would have just put it in his hands and then held her hands in her pockets.

"Thanks." His eyes watched her much too sharply. They were so clear in the strangely bright sunlight it reminded her of the way the light hit the dew hanging off the plants and the playground. The light shone through them and almost seemed to reflect back. She turned away, her hands behind her back, to watch the kids on the playground. She caught one pair of bright blue eyes on her, saw possible concern wash over them, but it could have been in her imagination. Brandon was really too far away to read. The other caretakers hardly glanced back at her. She could practically hear their thoughts like shouts in her head and she wasn't even a mind reader.

He actually was eating the apple. Not in large bites, but small bites that were almost polite. It surprised her and almost made her want to laugh.


"You make them nervous, you know."

She kept her eyes on the playground and she imagined that he was doing the same. When he spoke, there was a lightness to it, almost as if he were grinning.

"I know."

She glanced at him and there was a small curve to his lips and a slight narrowing of his eyes as if it wouldn't take much to make him smile. Mary swallowed her heart, trying to mentally shove it back into place while praying that he wasn't a mind reader too like Brandon. Not that it mattered; something told her he could read it on her face.

Her heart fought its way up, tugged up by the corner of his mouth. "Why do you come here?" The words blurted out without her meaning them to, but her brain and her body seemed to be on different planes fighting completely different wars. But it was too late to take them back. She cringed while trying to not cringe, but she couldn't look away from him.

He turned towards her, one arm still on the trunk of the tree. "Just keeping an eye on my brother."

Mary nodded as if she could understand the weight of responsibility he bore raising and protecting his brother. "He's fine; I promise you. I watch out for him." She didn't add that it was because the others were scared to-- because of him.

Even leaning against the tree with one arm he stood taller than her. Mary was aware of how close they seemed to stand together, but she hadn't moved and he'd hardly moved either. Her heart beat too hard and it made her feel unsteady on her feet so she leaned back against the trunk of the tree for support, her hands pinned behind her. She tried to look away, to look out over the kids as if she could really pay attention to them with her legs feeling so wobbly. Instead, her eyes caught his which almost looked to be smiling still. It wasn't what she would have expected from someone that frightened the others so much.

"You do realize why they're scared of me?"


There was a way he said it-- his lips seemed to pull back, not in a smile, not in a threat. It was more of a grimace which she couldn't outright explain.

She couldn't outright lie. Mary nodded her head because she was pretty sure she knew why they were scared of him even if they never gave specifics.

"I don't think you do." He said it softly, his keen eyes on her clearly reading her even better than his little brother could. "Otherwise I'd have to ask if you're normally this stupid."

His words weren't harsh. She'd almost describe them as tender in some strange way. Somehow the space between them almost didn't exist, and she wasn't sure if it was just her mind playing tricks on her or if he'd actually leaned in closer. "Not normally, no."

That made him smile, and it surprised her how a smile seemed to change his face. He looked her age, and so handsome that she knew exactly why she was being stupid. Of course, she couldn't be the only one to have made this discovery, and so it suddenly made sense why everyone was so curious about him.



"Maybe I'll explain it to you some time." He said it still with a smile. "Thanks for the apple. I've got to head back."


Ages: Jimmy and Mary ~15 (Brandon would be around 8


The Ghost -->

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Thank you to the Chaos Carrier mod by ChaosMageX. He's slowly throwing mods out there that are making it easier and easier (and even more fun) to get some of these pictures. Read more!