1-Vanessa

It was cold in my dream- unnaturally so. I was sure that if I could see anything at all, I’d see my
fingertips beginning to turn blue, just like always. The cold stone floor provided me with only the
comfort of knowing that I was grounded- something rare for a dream. I wrapped my arms around my
body and hugged myself. My arms and hands were sticky, with what I presumed to be…Well, let’s not go
into that.

I’d had this dream before- I’d lived this dream before. It was far too powerful a memory to be
repressed (disappointing, really) and my overwhelming fear of this experience caused it to manifest in
dream form. One of these days- when I finally had the time- I’d go see a psychiatrist who could hypnotize
me into forgetting it had ever happened…Either that or I’d hit my head against something really hard. I
decided that if the latter hadn’t happened by the time I had time for the former, then I’d go see a
psychiatrist.

In any case, that didn’t matter at the moment. It was funny- I’d had this dream so many times that
by now I knew I was dreaming. I pulled my knees up to my chest and sat upright- no longer in the fetal
position. My knees ached and my feet were screaming for some sort of blood circulation, but I knew that
if I just held on for a little while longer, I’d wake up and be fine again. Well…You know what I mean.

Waiting there in the dark for the moment when I would wake up really made me want to die…
Just like always. When this had actually happened to me, I tried killing myself too many times to count,
but nothing ever worked. Sometimes I hoped that my captor would take things a little too far and just kill
me himself, but I knew that would never happen. He was too smart- had everything planned out to the
very last detail. It pissed me off.

Then, when I had begun to think that I would never wake up, the sound of approaching footsteps
grew louder until whoever had been walking was standing outside of the door to my cell. I heard the
latch click and the creak of the door swinging open. A dark, low chuckle resonated throughout the cell.

“Get up.”

I was frozen in terror. My dream version of this scene had never taken things this far. As though a
visitor in my own body, I slowly rose to my feet. My legs tingled as the blood rushed to them all too
quickly.

My captor smirked- he was the only thing I could ever see in my nightmare. Slowly he walked to
me, taking my chin in his hand. He turned my head from side to side as I grit my teeth and glared at him.

“Wake up!” I wanted to scream. Of course, it wasn’t all that I wanted to do. I wanted to push him
off of me- kick him where it hurts and run as far away from him as possible. However, it was never meant
to be.

“I love when you get that look in your eye.”

My heart rate picked up. I knew what would come next, and I was determined to wake up before
it happened.

He pushed me backwards, and I slammed into the ground hard. I clamped my eyes shut tight,
and when I opened them again, I was staring at a ceiling fan.
 “Shit.” I mumbled, rubbing my eyes. That was cutting it a little too close. I examined the room I
was in- beat up and half run down. Not bad considering where I was. The clock on the bedside table was
flashing twelve in annoying red LED lights- busted…I wasn’t surprised. But, I knew that the walls to this
place were paper thin. I reached out with my right hand and knocked on the hard wood.

“What?” The muffled call came, sounding half awake.

“What time is it?”

A pause. “1:45.”

I frowned. Nice to know that it only took me forty-five minutes to relive my most traumatizing
moment. Rolling over on the tiny cot I was forced to call a bed for the night, I closed my eyes and tried to
fall back asleep. I wasn’t afraid to dream again- I knew my previous nightmare wouldn’t haunt me twice
in the same twenty-four hour period. My next dream was less chilling than the last…but not by much.

I was in a castle…That much I knew for sure. Unlike my nightmare (as I had taken to calling it) I
could see where I was and what was around me. It wasn’t as cold, but I could hear the powerful
drumming of rain. Spying a spiral staircase, I followed it up to the roof where I heard the sound of metal
hitting metal. Wiping the rain water from my eyes, I wandered in the direction of the sound. I eventually
stumbled upon two men who were sword fighting.

One was clad in a blue trench coat- his platinum blonde hair drenched by the rain, concealing his
face. He swung the katana in his hand crazily with overpowering strikes.

The second wore baggy black pants and a red vest- his hair was also hiding his face, but it was jet
black. He had a similar katana in his hands, but was handling it with precision and expertise.

When I thought that they would go on forever, Blue stepped wrong and slipped in a puddle of
rain water. His katana flew out of his hands, and Red’s sword pierced his abdomen. A gut wrenching cry
was torn from his throat, echoing off of the castle’s towers. He crashed to the ground with a resonating
thud that turned into the sound of someone banging on the door to the room I was in.

Reluctantly, I opened my eyes. “What?” I yelled.

The door swung open- the frail older man I knew as Frank was standing there.

“It’s eight.” He croaked in a throaty voice. “Bar’s opening. Get up and get out.” He slammed the
door behind him.

I groaned. Of course I was grateful to Frank for letting me stay in the upper room of his bar, but I
hated waking up early each day when it opened. Reluctantly once more, I swung my legs over the side of
the cot and stretched. My cell phone was sitting on top of my jacket, which had been consequently tossed
in a corner the previous evening. I snatched it up and checked the time.

6:53.

“That lying son-of-a-“ I didn’t finish my sentence- it would do me no good. Instead, I grabbed my
robe and a towel and headed for the bathroom. It was going to be a long day.
1-Ruben

I was having that dream again- for the third night in a row. It was getting old. I mean, after the
first time it did get less intense and suspenseful, but come on…I don’t have that kind of attention span.
The rain was painful. Even though I had my jacket on, it still felt as though each drop was penetrating
right through and chilling my core. My hair was in my face- dripping wet and getting heavier by the
second- making it harder to see.

I was holding a katana in my right hand. It felt alien to me, and I wanted desperately to toss it
aside and finish this fight the old fashioned way- with my fists.

“Giving up so soon?”

I laughed loudly and shook my head. “Not a chance.” I ran in again, swinging the sword wildly,
and managed to catch my opponent slightly off guard- slicing his bare arm. He hissed in pain and anger,
retaliating with more accurate strikes. I resorted to blocking them with my arms- shredding my coat.

“Damn you…” I muttered, gritting my teeth. I struck again, and we exchanged a massive amount
of blows. Just when I thought I was going to win, I slipped in a puddle and began to fall backwards. The
katana flew out of my hands, and I felt a sharp pain in my solar plexus. I hit the ground hard- smashing
my head against the stone ground. A dark shadow appeared over me, laughing hysterically.

“You lose.”

I saw the sword headed for me again. I closed my eyes, waiting for the pain to come again…But it
never did. I opened my eyes again to the comfortable darkness of my office. I coughed loudly and sat up.
Immediately, I winced at the pinch in my neck- probably caused from falling asleep on the couch.

“Davis!” I whispered loudly.

My brother groaned. “What?”

I leaned back to alleviate my back and neck pain. “What time is it?”

I saw his hand shoot up and make a grab for my leg. I lifted it up in the air so that he missed.
“What was that for??”

He sat up from his spot on the floor, glaring at me and rubbing his head.

“It is one forty-five.” He said slowly and venomously, carefully enunciating each syllable. “Either
shut your mouth andgo back to sleep, or I will gladly do it for you.”

I groaned, squeezing my eyes shut. 1:45? Damn…Only forty-five minutes had gone by. “I guess I
should go back to sleep…”

But what I really should’ve done was gotten up and gone down to the Blue Moon bar to drink
myself silly, like I usually did when I had this dream. Instead, I fell back asleep and took a trip back to
dream land- not good.

I was in a long, dark hallway with wrought-iron doors on both sides. The air around me was
damp and musty, so I assumed that I was underground. The painful sounds of screams and cries coming
from the hallways led me to realize that the rooms in front of me were cells.
 Footsteps sounded behind me, and I quickly pressed up against one of the doors as a dark,
shadowy figure strode past me. I sensed a sort of sinister aura about him and decided to trail him. He
stopped outside of the very last door on the left and unlocked the door. Pushing it open, he laughed
darkly.

“Get up.”

Sitting on the floor was a chick who looked about sixteen. She had long, mahogany hair and
mocha colored skin with dark lines- I assumed they were abuse wounds- decorating her whole body. Her
eyes were a milky white. She slowly stood up, trembling.

The man I had been following approached her and took her chin in his hand. I did not like the
disgusted and frightened look in her eyes and opted to turning away. I walked back into the hallway and
moved in the opposite direction, hoping to find a way out. There was a light at the other end of the
hallway, but before I could reach it I woke up.

Now it was light outside. I winced as the sun’s rays hit my eyelids. Somebody had opened the
window, waking me up.

“DAVIS!!”

I knew letting my younger brother live with me was a bad idea. As soon as I had dumped his
unconscious body on the ground and collapsed on the couch, my gut had screamed at me that I was
making a mistake...But that could’ve just been because I hadn’t eaten. Oh well.

Said brother poked his head into my office, smirking at me. “You called?”

“Why the hell did you open the goddamn window?” I demanded to know. “What time is it?”

He looked behind him. “Six fifty-three. You should get up.” He left.

I covered my eyes with my arm. The saddest part was he was right- I knew I shouldn’t lay
around all day with work to be done. I sat up and looked around the small room. My desk was torn in
pieces- my chair was too. The three file cabinets in the corner were tipped over and papers were
everywhere. I realized that my window wasn’t open- it was broken. In fact, the only thing still intact in the
room was the couch I was laying on.

I stood up and felt nauseas. Leaning out of the window, I emptied my stomach of mostly bile
before spitting and coughing harshly. Davis reappeared in the doorway.

“Don’t expect me to clean that up, because I won’t.” He said, crossing his arms in front of his
chest.

“Shut up.” I glared at him. Staggering towards the doorway, I pushed past him and headed for
the bathroom. It was going to be a long day.

2- Vanessa

After my shower, I headed back to my room to get ready. Frank didn’t like it when I hung around
the bar all day (not that I was crazy about it either) and so I decided to go out for the day. Dressing myself
didn’t take long- it was the suit up that would. My belt alone weighed at least seven pounds- and it
wasn’t even fully loaded. My nunchakus were missing- I’d lost them in my last fight- and my sickle chain
was now just a chain. I usually had three or four large clips of bullets, but now I was down to one. I had
my trusty glock, but the eye piece to my collapsible sniper had snapped clean off. My vest was too light-
it usually had all bullets in the pockets, but those were gone. I pulled my steel toed boots on over my
pants and my fingerless gloves with the built in brass knuckles on my hands. The familiar weight was
comforting. Stuffing my cell phone into my pants pocket, I left the room and walked down to the bar.
Frank was sitting at a table, drinking out of a half empty Jack Daniels bottle. He looked up at me.

“Leaving?”

I nodded. “You wanted me out of here anyway, didn’t you?”

He shrugged. “Nah. I just don’t want you to sleep all day. Never know what could happen.”

I rolled my eyes. “Whatever, old man- I can take care of myself.”

I heard the familiar ding of the bell signaling that the door was opening. Both Frank and I turned
to see who was walking in. A well dressed gentleman strode over to us.

“Bar’s not open.” Frank said, taking another swig from him bottle.

“Then you shouldn’t leave it unlocked.” I frowned.

“I’m not here for a drink.” The visitor said. He looked at me. “I hear that this is the place to go if I
want to get a job done.”

Frank leaned back in his chair. “Sure. Why not?”

I ignored him. “What do you need, chief?”

“I’m looking for an assassin.”

Frank stood up and walked back behind the bar. “This is yours, Nessa.”

I glared at him. I hated that nickname.

“Here’s the deal.” I told our guest. “You pay half up front and half when I’m done. I don’t do
women or children and your price’ll double each day it takes me. My ante is six hundred for murders.”

He chuckled, reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out a wad of money. “I can pay you this
up front and the other half when you bring me his head. I’ll gladly double this each day it takes you.”

I took the money and counted it- there was three thousand dollars. I whistled softly. “Damn.
You’ve got yourself a deal. Who’s the poor sap who’ll help me finish paying off my bike?”

“I know for a fact that he’s in town.” He handed me a photo of my target. “My number is on the
back. Call me when you’ve finished and I’ll reward you.” He nodded at me and walked out.

I smirked and tucked the picture into my pocket.

 “Don’t be too mean.” Frank said, returning to his seat. “Knowing you you’ll shoot him in the leg
and drag it out for a week just for that cash.”

I laughed. “I think you know me a little too well. I’ll be back within this next week…You can
count on that.” I waved to him as I stepped out of the Blue Moon bar and into the bright light of the city.
My blood was on fire with excitement. I inhaled deeply and headed out into the city.

2-Ruben

Despite Davis’ protests, I left my place to go out for a drink. I felt better after my shower, but I
still felt like crap.

“You have a headache so you’re off to a bar?” Davis had asked me. “I fail to understand your
twisted logic.”

“It’s okay, little bro.” I told him. “Someday you will.”

“Someday? You’re older than me by three minutes.”

He had had a point. Whatever.

As I walked down the street I began to feel uneasy- the way I usually did right before I got into a
fight. The feeling still hadn’t passed by the time I got to the bar, but I shrugged it off and ordered my
usual. Frank, the bar tender, tapped the bar in front of me.

“Your tab’s due at the end of the month.”

I leaned back and waved my hand at him. “Then I’ll pay it at the end of the month.”

“The end of the month was yesterday.”

I sat upright in my chair. “How much do I owe you?’

He wordlessly handed me a receipt. I felt sick again when I saw the amount on the paper.

“Listen…” I groaned, emptying my glass. “I don’t exactly have the money this month…”

In an instant I was staring down the barrels of a shotgun. “Then get out.”

I slowly stood up and began to walk backwards, keeping my hands up in the air.

“Frank, leave him alone. Sometimes I swear to God you’re more trigger happy than I am.”

Frank lowered his shotgun and I turned to see a chick standing there with her arms crossed. Long
bangs covered her eyes, but not her smile. Her arms were covered in purple sleeves and folded across her
chest. She tapped me on the arm. “You’ve got two weeks.” She told me, sitting down at the bar.

I joined her. “Thanks babe. How ‘bout I treat you…”

“You’re already in debt.” Frank snapped.

 She sighed. “I’ll buy you one, then.” She nodded to Frank, who refilled my drink.

“I owe you one.” I said, raising my glass to her.

She said nothing, only sipped from her own glass. She looked over at me. “At first I wasn’t going
to say anything, but now I’ve got to know…Did you get into a really bad fight, or something?”

She was talking about my face- my beautiful face that had been scarred by the events that had
recently taken place. She was talking about the wound that had stretched from the top of my right
eyebrow and all the way down to my chin- the wound given to me by my brother’s sword that was
beginning to heal quite nicely, as a matter of fact. I shrugged.

“You could say that.”

She continued to stare at me. “How does one obtain a wound such as that?”

I emptied my glass again and stood up. My headache had come back and that ominous feeling in
my gut had gotten worse.

“Sorry babe, that’s on a need to know basis. Confidential information, you see. I’m sure you’ll
understand.”

She said nothing, and I walked out of the bar. I got about halfway down the block before I
realized that I was being followed. Whatever- it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle. I turned down a side
street, making my way down an alley. Still, my pursuer pushed on. He was a tricky one- stayed hot on my
trail until l I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out my gun. I felt him stop, and I continued to
wind in and out of the buildings in the city. I stopped against an apartment building and caught my
breath. The feeling in my gut returned- but not soon enough- and I felt a sharp pain shoot through my left
shoulder. I looked up at the building I was leaning against and saw nothing. A voice in my head told me
to turn around, but I was too tired and didn’t make it fast enough. A chain caught my wrist. I swore and
turned around to see who was assaulting me. It was the girl from the bar.

“Well I knew that I was a good catch but this is ridiculous.” I muttered.

She yanked on the other end of the chain and I stumbled forward a step. “Easy there.” I pulled
back and she let go- the chain flew up and nearly hit me in the face, but I dodged it.

“Hey, I liked that chain!” She yelled at me.

I unwrapped the other end from my wrist and discarded it. “Oh well.”

I heard the familiar bang of a gun being shot and dropped down to the ground just in time. A
bullet whizzed by my head. “Jeez, I’ll pay my tab!”

She shot again- I evaded again. The glock in her hand was a deep crimson color. I somersaulted
towards her, rolling out of the way as she shot at me, and kicked upwards- knocking the gun out of her
hands. Her foot connected with my back and sent me tumbling backwards. I hastily got to my feet. “I’ll
pay extra?”

She threw another kick towards me- this one aimed at my head- and I caught her foot.
 “Tsk, tsk.” I grinned. I pushed her foot, tipping her over backwards, but she swiftly rolled to the
side and got back on her feet.

“You just don’t give up.” I groaned. I really wasn’t in the mood for a fight- let alone one against a
girl- but it didn’t seem as though I had much choice.

She said nothing; only flicked the hair out of her face. A chill ran down my spine when I saw that
her eyes were a milky white color.

3- Vanessa

After I had left the bar, I headed downtown to a guy I knew. This guy- Slug, they called him- had
records on nearly everybody in the city. If I was going to find this guy, Slug was my man. His place was
the basement of a tobacco store- dark and dusty as it always was.

“Well well well…” he sneered as I walked down the stairs. “Look who it is. Haven’t seen you
around in awhile.”

I grit my teeth. I hated coming here. “Shut up, Slug. I need to find a guy.”

“Surprise surprise. I can find this guy…For a price.” He cackled, rubbing his hands together
gleefully.

I frowned. “You owe me Slug. Remember when I convinced Frank not to stop supplying you
with your fix?”

He cursed and glared at me. “Fine. Who are you looking for?”

I handed him the picture of my target. He squinted at it; then laughed again.

“What?”

“This guy?? Oh man…I sure feel sorry for you.”

It was my turn to glare. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

He smirked at me. “This guy is on so many different hit lists…I think I’ve been hearing about ‘em
since…last winter, and nobody’s been able to get him yet.”

“Spare me the details.” I snapped. “Do you know where I can find him or not?”

He nodded and handed the picture back to me. “Of course I do.” He turned his back on me and
began to rummage through a box in the corner. “I haven’t had anyone come looking for him in a couple of
weeks though…I thought he’d finally bitten the dust, but then you come along…” He chuckled, lifting
out a piece of paper. “Here we are.”

I snatched the paper up from him and quickly memorized the information printed on it.
“Perfect…” I mumbled. “Thanks Slug.”

He took the paper back and put it in his pocket. “Anything else?”
 I shook my head, beginning to walk out. “That’s it.”

“Are you sure?”

“Bye Slug…”

I left his place smirking. I had thought about dragging this job out for a few days but I knew I’d
get bored of it soon and six grand was a generous amount. I checked the clock on my phone- it was
roughly nine forty-five. Sighing, I decided to stop by Frank’s bar again to let him know that I was off for
good. When I got there, he had his shotgun out and pointed at someone. I sighed.

“Frank, leave him alone. Sometimes I swear to God you’re more trigger happy than I am.”

The guy turned around and I felt my heart leap. It was him- my target. I tapped him on the arm
before sitting down at the bar. “You’ve got two weeks.” I glanced at Frank and nodded slightly. He
winked in return.

The guy tried to treat me to a drink, but I turned the tables. I ordered the only thing of Frank’s I’ll
drink- iced tea. I needed a scapegoat- something to get him out of the bar and onto the streets. Spying a
mark on his face, I saw my opening.

“At first I wasn’t going to say anything, but now I’ve got to know…Did you get into a really bad
fight, or something?” I tried my best to sound as clueless as possible to catch him off guard.

He paused, probably remembering the incident that had given him his wound before shrugging.
“You could say that.”

I could already tell that he was uncomfortable, I just needed to push him a little further.” How
does one obtain a wound such as that?”

He drained his glass and stood up. Perfect. “Sorry babe, that’s on a need to know basis.
Confidential information, you see. I’m sure you’ll understand.” He exited the bar.

I slowly finished my own drink before standing up. “I’ll be back.” I said to Frank.

“Don’t play with the poor boy too much. He owes me a lot of money.”

“I’ll pay it.”

“Sure you will.”

I laughed, walking out. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. He was about halfway down the
block…Within shooting distance, but as soon as I stepped out of the bar he knew I was following him.
But he didn’t know I knew that he knew…Which was extremely good for me. I trailed him for another
three blocks- he began to wind in and out of the buildings, going down alley ways and crossing streets. I
pulled back and let him get a little further ahead. He finally stopped up against an apartment complex. I
hid on the emergency exit of another building and pulled out my glock. I aimed and squeezed the trigger.
The bullet hit him in his left shoulder. I jumped down; grabbing the chain wrapped around my belt and
threw one end of it. I felt it catch on something and I smirked. He turned to face me.

“Well I knew that I was a good catch, but this is ridiculous.”

 I pulled on my end of the chain, hoping to either tear his arm out of its socket or pull him
forward, but he barely stumbled forward. “Easy there.” He pulled back and I let go, hoping the chain
would take his head off, but being disappointed once more.

“I liked that chain.” I growled.

“Oh well.” I heard him say as he tossed my chain to the side.

Grimacing, I grabbed my glock and shot at him. He dropped to his stomach and the bullet barely
missed him. “Jeez, I’ll pay my tab!”

I almost laughed. Almost. I shot at him again but he somersaulted and kicked the gun out of my
hand. I mentally swore and hoped that it hadn’t been too badly damaged. I loved my glock. I put my foot
on his back and pushed him backwards. He stood up.

“I’ll pay extra?”

I kicked again- at his head this time- and grit my teeth when he caught my foot.

“Tsk, tsk.”

He tipped me backwards and I rolled like he had before to stand up again.

“You just don’t give up.”

“Speak for yourself.” I flicked the hair out of my face and brought my hands up defensively. This
guy was good- Slug wasn’t joking around when he said he felt sorry for me. He didn’t seem human to
me…he was too quick and too nonchalant about this whole thing to just be a normal guy…Of course,
when I usually got called out for a hit it wasn’t your average thugs, but this was too much.

“Look babe.” He said, running his hands through his platinum blonde- almost white- shaggy
hair. He looked familiar, but I couldn’t put my finger on where I’d seen him before… “I don’t know what
your problem is with me, but you’re wasting your time.”

I could sense something wrong…There was something about the way he spoke, the way he acted-
his body language- that suggested he’d seen it all before and just wasn’t interested anymore. I didn’t say
anything in return. I took a step closer to him and he sighed.

“Besides- haven’t you taken enough beatings for one lifetime? I really don’t want to give you
another.”

I froze; my blood ran cold. No. A small voice in the back of my head said. There’s no way he could
know about that. You’re over thinking this- just kill him and go on with your life like you’d originally planned.

I listened to the voice and ran in again, throwing a punch towards his nose, but he caught my fist
and shook his head. “I tried to warn you.”

Out of nowhere, his own fist collided with my jaw and I was out cold.

3-Ruben
 I felt bad about hitting her- I really did. But, she started it and I wasn’t about to be shown up by
some girl. That was exactly what I told Davis when I dumped her, unconscious, on our couch, but we
don’t exactly see eye to eye, so he didn’t buy it.

“What the hell is wrong with you??” He nearly screamed at me, beginning to turn red. “She tried
to kill you so you bring her HOME? Do you have zero common sense??”

I rolled my eyes. “You’re so melodramatic Davis. It’ll be fine.”

He shook his head and retreated into the kitchen. I looked down at the girl on the couch in my
‘lobby’, as I liked to call it. I strolled over to my desk and sat down- leaning back in my chair and
propping my feet up on the desk. I closed my eyes, stifling a yawn.

“It’s not even noon and I’m already tired again.” I muttered. I needed a nap.

“Sleeping on the job?”

I cracked an eye open. Davis was standing on the other side of my desk with his arms crossed.

“Job?” I asked. “Give me a break- we just got back last night. Besides, it’s not like we’ve got any
customers.” I closed my eyes again and ignored his angry sighs of protest. Before I knew it, I had dozed
off and the hours had gone by- it was dark out. I got up and stumbled into the kitchen.

“Look who’s decided to be productive. Now that it’s night, I suppose you’ll be off to that bar
again.” Davis snorted.

I ignored him. He didn’t know anything about drinking. I leaned up against the counter and
heard a crash.

“Your little friend seems to have woken up.”

I reluctantly went back to the lobby and saw her standing by the couch, looking around with an
angry yet puzzled expression on her face.

“Where am I?” She demanded to know, glaring at me.

“Chill, babe.” I grinned. “You’re just at my place.”

She seemed to relax, but was still staring at me intently as though there was something written on
my face. It made me wonder if Davis had done anything to me while I was sleeping.

“What?” I asked.

She frowned. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

I was still groggy from my nap, and wasn’t in the mood to play mind games, so I groaned. “Yes,
actually.”

She didn’t seem to know how to respond to that, and pouted at me instead. “You…You seem
familiar to me. And now I remember where I’ve seen you before.”
 I raised an eyebrow. She’d seen me before? Well I’d seen her before too. I guess that made us even,
but had she seen me in a dream as I had her? I knew that I should find out, but I wasn’t exactly ready to
trust her yet.

“You’re the one from the castle.” She concluded, taking a tentative step back. “You’re the one who
got stabbed.” She laughed at me.

I frowned and grit my teeth. That’s what I was afraid of. “Hey missy. I am NOT ‘the one who got
stabbed’!”

She put her hands on her hips. “Then who are you?”

I was not about to give up so easily. “Who are you?” I growled, walking up to her.

She glared up at me and I glared back down at her.

“Will you two quit being absurd?”

Leave it to Davis to act like we were all old pals.

“Dinner’s ready.” He disappeared back into the kitchen.

I looked at the girl, who had seemed to calm down just a bit. I was feeling guilty, even though she
had tried to kill me. “Come on. Let’s eat.” I winked at her, and she scowled.

I led her into the kitchen and sat her down at the small, round table pushed against a wall. There
was a pot of soup witting on the table.

“It isn’t poisoned.” I said, grinning.

She lifted an eyebrow at me. “Why would you poison your own food…?”

“Well, Davis made it.” I shrugged, joining her at the table. “And he’s been trying to kill me for
years.”

“How you’ve managed to stay alive is beyond me.” Davis appeared behind me, sitting down as
well. He looked at the girl and she quickly averted her gaze. It didn’t shock me- my brother tended to
have that effect on people. “I heard that my brother assaulted you.” He continued.

“Hey, she was the one who tried to kill me!” I protested.

“It’s not like it’s anything personal.” She grumbled. “I’m just doing my job.”

This caught my attention. “Your job?” Was she like me? The demon hunter?

She nodded. “Some guy offered me six grand to kill you. How was I supposed to turn that one
down?” She shook her head. “But you’re good…Maybe too good.”

Well that was an ego boost if I’d ever heard one.

“See? I’m not the only one who wants you dead.” Davis said, as if that was supposed to make me
feel any better.
 “So are you going to give up? I kind of like my head where it is.” I asked hopefully.

“Not that you use it.” Davis muttered. I hit him on the arm.

“I still don’t understand.” She said. “I watched you die.”

Both Davis and I froze. He slowly looked at me. “What is she talking about?” He asked quietly.

I looked at her. “In your dream, right? You dreamt about us fighting that one night?”

She nodded. “And he,” She pointed to Davis. “Killed you.”

I had that same dream the previous night…The same night that I had dreamt about her. “What
else did you dream about that night?”

She hesitated before speaking. “I think you already know.”

She was right- I did know. I stayed silent, though, and let her continue.

“So let’s not talk about it.” She stood. “And we’ll go our separate ways.”

I stood with her. “I can’t let you go.” I said suddenly, not even realizing what my words meant
until they had already left my mouth.

She looked at me. “What do you mean?”

I didn’t want her to get mad and try to kill me again- I didn’t think my kitchen would be able to
take it. So, I took a deep breath and continued. “Don’t you think that this little dream sequence thing
means something?”

She considered that, and then shrugged it off. “What if it does? If I never see you again, what
should it matter?”

Davis stood now. “It’s a safety precaution more than anything else. How are we supposed to
react if something bad happens and you’re not around?”

“Not that we can’t handle ourselves.” I muttered. “But he’s right. I don’t think you should go.”

She hesitated. “Okay maybe you’re right.” She sat back down. “Not that I’m concerned, or
anything. I can handle whatever life throws at me.”

“Yeah. That’s why you had all those scars.” I said to myself.

Davis shot me a look- I never once doubted that he could read my mind. I was just glad that she
couldn’t. We finished our meal and Davis chose to retire down the hall to the room he had claimed as his
own. She looked at me.

“I guess we really started off on the wrong foot.” She said, looking at me wearily. She held out
her hand. “I’m Vanessa.”

I shook her hand. “Ruben. It’s a pleasure.”

 She nodded, and then looked away quickly. “I’ll go back home for the night…Then meet you
back here tomorrow morning…Okay?”

I shook my head “Can’t do, babe. You can stay right here on the couch for the night. We’ll talk
more about this stuff in the morning.” I pointed to the couch.

She made a face and glared at me. “Fine; if you insist.” She hissed.

I left her alone in the lobby room as I crashed in my own room. I was right- it had been a long
day.

4-Vanessa

As soon as he left me in his…front room…I gingerly sat down on the couch. I really wasn’t in the
mood to sleep anymore, and if anything, I wanted to ditch him and go back to the bar. I had
contemplated killing him while he slept- who cares about good sportsmanship when money is involved?-
but decided against it. If I was to leave, I would leave him be. But, he was right. Those dreams had to
have meant something, and I shouldn’t stray far from him just in case. However, that also meant that I
was right. He- Ruben- was not normal.

And then there was Davis. When I first saw him, it didn’t register in my mind that he was who
Ruben had been fighting in my dream (and real life as well), and when things clicked, I wanted nothing
more than to get out of there as soon as possible. Seeing Davis scared me. It brought back old memories
that I really wished I could’ve forgotten.

I settled into the couch and closed my eyes, but it wasn’t long at all before I sensed somebody
entering the room. My eyes shot open and I sat up- glaring at the intruder. It didn’t shock me at all to see
Davis standing there. He was holding a gun.

“So that’s how you want to play it, eh?” I asked in a low voice. I didn’t need Ruben barging in on
us…Maybe now was the perfect time to escape.

“Don’t be stupid.” He shot back. “I’d think that you of all people would know I’m not fond of
guns.” He tossed the aforementioned item to me.

I caught it- the weight of the device and the coolness of the metal felt familiar and comforting in
my hand. “What do you want?” I asked him. I saw him move closer to me, and I stood up, taking a few
steps back.

“Still don’t trust me, I see.” He mumbled, moving closer still. I had ceased my own movements.
“I just needed to make sure that you’re…real.”

I frowned at his proximity- it was too close for my liking. “Of course I’m real.” I told him. “Do
you need me to shoot you, or is this enough proof?”

He chuckled lowly. “That’s quite alright…although I’m still not convinced. How do I know you
aren’t him in disguise?”
 “Don’t you ever say that!” I hissed. Just the thought of him made my blood boil. “I don’t give a
damn what you think of me, but don’t’ ever compare me to him!”

“Good enough.” He sighed, running his hands through his hair. “You can go back to sleep now. I
just needed that clarification.”

He started to walk away, but I still couldn’t get over what he had said. “Why would you even
think something like that?”

He stopped, and slowly turned to face me. I could barely see his features in the darkness of the
night, but I could tell that something was wrong.

“Davis…”

“Because it’s happened before.”

I felt my heart pang with guilt and a touch of fear. “What do you mean ‘it’s happened before’?” I
asked him warily.

In an instant, he was in front of me again- this time mere inches away from my face. “I mean
exactly what I said.” He whispered. “He’s impersonated you before.”

That was exactly what I was afraid of. “How many times before?”

“A few.” I could see his eyes clearly now- fire red. “It took him awhile to get you just right,
though.” He looked away from me briefly before continuing. “But when he did…I was completely
convinced it was you.”

“When was this??” I interrupted.

He took a deep breath, eyeing me. “About a week and a half ago.”

I didn’t know how to respond to that. In all honesty, I was terrified.

“You…” I could barely speak. “You’re kidding me. You have got to be kidding me.” I tired to
laugh, but it came out sounding more like a strangled cry than anything else. I shook my head. “You’re so
silly.”

“Dammit Vanessa!” Davis’ tone was suddenly very angry and violent. “I’m serious! This is no
joke! Why would I do that to you?”

I thought for a moment and failed to come up with any good reasons. “You wouldn’t.” I
concluded.

“Right.”He gently cupped my chin and looked me in the eyes. “Vanessa. Lucifer has been
impersonating you in order to control me.”

I wanted desperately to not believe him- to break away and run back to Frank’s bar where I could
just be me- Vanessa- without Davis or Lucifer, or even Ruben. I knew I couldn’t, so I did the next best
thing.

“What does he want?”

 I sensed his hesitation and saw it in his eyes. Any normal person would’ve regarded his pause as
a contemplative one, but I knew better than that.

“He wanted me to kill Ruben.”

I snorted and turned my head to the side. “Well that plan worked out beautifully now, didn’t it?”

“I thought I could beat him. He told me-“

“You realize what he really wanted, don’t you?” I looked back at him, but he was looking down. I
sighed. “Why did you even believe him?”

He snapped his head up to look at me. “I didn’t know it was him.”

“Oh.” I had forgotten about that part. “So then…What do we do?”

He didn’t answer me- choosing to collapse on the couch instead. I groaned. “Davis!! I’m serious-
this is serious!”

He shushed me. “Now now…We don’t want to wake Ruben, do we?”

I frowned, sitting down on the floor in front of the couch. “Well I’m not going to just do nothing.”

“What can you do?” His tone sounded cocky.

I stood. “I’ll go back.”

He shot up off of the couch in an instant. “What?” He snarled.

“You heard me.” I patted my belt and my pocket, making sure that I had everything- I did. The
gun he had handed me was sitting on the coffee table. I reached for it, but his hand shot out of nowhere
and snatched it up.

“I can’t let you do that.”

I glared at him. “Davis, give it back. This is none of your business- it’s between me and him, not
you.”

“It is my business.” He said coldly. “I will not let you go.” He cocked the gun and pointed it at
me.

“You wouldn’t dare.” I put a hand on my glock and another where my nunchakus typically were.
Finding nothing, I grit my teeth and positioned my feet so that my left toe was barely touching my right
heel.

He rose from the couch and stood opposite me, still pointing the gun at me. “I don’t want to have
to do this.”

“You’re right.” I said. “You don’t want to do this.” I slowly lifted the gun out of its spot on my
belt.

Before I could get my own shot in, he fired the gun once- aimed at my right hand. I let go of the
gun to dodge the bullet and dropped to the ground. I swept his legs out from underneath him and
grabbed my glock. I shot at him twice, missed both times, and jumped up onto the coffee table when he
grabbed at my legs. I was halfway out the door when he shot again, hitting my right shoulder. I turned to
shoot again, but he was right in front of me. He swung at me with his gun and knocked the glock out of
my hands. I clicked my heels together and two daggers came out of the tips of my boots. I kicked at him
and jumped up, scraping his cheek. I landed and planted another solid kick on his chest, knocking him
away from me. I slammed the door behind me and then I was gone.

4-Ruben

I was woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of gunshots. Pissed, I trudged down the
hall and out into the lobby to see what was up.

Davis was standing at the front door holding not one, but two guns. Vanessa was nowhere to be
found.

“Davis, how could you!” I gasped. “Where did you hide the body?”

He turned around and glared at me. “Turn the light on.” He ordered.

“Jeez.” But I did it anyway, walking over and pulling the chain to the light and the ceiling fan. I
looked over at him and could see trails of blood running down his face. “Yikes! What happened to you?”

He grimaced and looked down at the guns in his hands. “She’s gone.”

Vanessa. “Did she do that?”

He looked up at me- the look on his face was nearly indescribable. It was a mix of realization,
fatigue, and sorrow. “No.” He slowly pushed past me and retreated to his own room. I heard the door
quietly shut.

I looked around. It didn’t seem as though any damage had been done to my place- that was good,
at least. Seeing as though there wasn’t much else I could actually do, I followed suit and went back to bed.

When I awoke the next morning, Davis was sitting on the couch staring at the two guns. One was
crimson and the other was dark purple. The latter looked familiar.

“What happened last night?” I asked him.

“Nothing.” He replied automatically.

“Davis, the crazy bitch tried to kill me.” I said, crossing my arms. “I think I deserve to know.”

He waited awhile before answering. “She left, and I tried to stop her but couldn’t.”

I swore under my breath. “Why’d she leave? I thought we had an understanding.”

He said nothing, but I knew that there was something that he wasn’t telling me.

“Davis…”

“She’s going back to Lucifer.”

 Lucifer? What was he talking about? “I don’t get it. Lucifer as in Satan?”

“Yes.”

He wasn’t kidding. I didn’t know what to say. “So…wait…I’m confused.”

He sighed heavily. “Listen very carefully, because I’m only explaining things to you once. Vanessa
belongs to Lucifer- she is his property and she is returning to him.”

Somehow, I wasn’t too surprised. I could tell right from the start that she wasn’t normal, and this
only filled in the missing puzzle pieces.

“And you tried to stop her by shooting her?”

He glared at me. “That’s not even funny.”

I put my hands up. “I was being completely serious. Would I joke about something like this?”

“Yes.”

“You know me too well.”

He rolled his eyes.

“Hey wait.” Something didn’t smell right. “How did you know that? That she’s in league with the
devil?”

“Now that is none of your business.” He tried to stand up, but I gently pushed him back down.

“Tell me.”

He looked amused. “Oh? Are you finally stepping up to be the good big brother? How many
years did it take?”

“Oh knock it off, Davis. You’re being immature.”

“I’m immature? Well I suppose it takes one to know one.”

“Davis, tell me how you know that,” I said slowly, “Or so help me God, I’ll-“

“You’ll what? Try to kill me? Ha!” He chortled. “We’ve been there- we’ve done that, need I
remind you.”

It was my turn to say nothing. I looked at him with a softer expression. “Davis, please.”

He glared at me, but responded nonetheless. “Do you remember? When we were separated when
we were nine?”

Of course I remembered. Supernatural creatures had attacked our home- killing our father and
taking our mother hostage. Davis and I had been separated- I was rescued by the owner of a clock shop-
and I had thought he had died. I recently learned that I was wrong when he reappeared in the city and
challenged me. We fought long and hard- what his motives were, I had no clue- until he stabbed and left
me for dead…But I wasn’t dead. I came back stronger than before and managed to knock him
unconscious. I brought him back home, hoping to start our family back up again. It looks like I was
wrong.

“You were saved.” He said bitterly. “I, on the other hand, was taken to hell by those beasts.” He
wasn’t looking at me anymore. “I was made into Satan’s personal slave, and I suffered for twenty long
years…But it wasn’t just me being the little servant boy…He trained me- gave me so much knowledge
and power that I didn’t know what to do with it all. Then he released me back into this world, but
temporarily. I had an ultimatum: ‘Kill your only flesh and blood’. He had said. ‘Kill your brother Ruben,
and I will let you go free’.” He chuckled half heartedly. “If only it was that easy.”

“And Vanessa? You know her from there?”

He turned his head to look at me. His blood red eyes- oh so contrary to my light, light blue ones-
showed his pain. “That’s where she went.”

“Why?”

“Because she knows it’s what he wants.” He shrugged. “At first I wasn’t going to kill you. I didn’t
think freedom was worth that price…But then he tricked me into thinking that he was she…and that
changed everything.”

“Wait, wait.” I interrupted. “What do you mean?”

“Lucifer has the ability to, amongst others, change his appearance. He impersonated Vanessa in
order to convince me to kill you.”

I did NOT want to think about how he ‘convinced’ Davis to try and kill me. Sure, it’s not like he
was the first person to try it, but still. Some things are better left unsaid.

“And that’s the whole story.”

“The whole thing?”

“That’s what I just said.”

“Are you sure?”

“I promise you Ruben, I did not leave anything important out.”

“You’re lying.”

He said nothing- proving me right.

“But I guess it can’t be all that important.” I sighed and rubbed my eyes. “Well! Let’s go after her.
Where can we find Lucifer?”

Davis stood up and looked at me, dumbfounded. “You want to look for Satan?” He asked.

“Well what else are we supposed to do? I guess you can stay here, but I’m going to rescue your
little girlfriend.” I tried not to grin at the look on his face, but I wasn’t that strong willed.

He scowled. “Fine. But just for the record, you don’t go to Lucifer. Lucifer goes to you.”
 “But then-“ It was pointless, I knew. His words contradicted themselves on purpose, and I was
just going to have to get used to it. “So then how do we get Lucifer to come to us?”

Davis sighed heavily. “Well…It won’t be easy.”

I did not like the sound of that.

5-Vanessa

As soon as I slammed that door I took off running. To where, I didn’t know. I wanted to scream
his name out and rage, but that wouldn’t help me at all. I needed something- anything- to go on…Davis’
words floated through my mind.

“Lucifer has been impersonating you in order to control me.”

Then it hit m e. Davis hadn’t been able to carry out orders and kill Ruben…So I was Lucifer’s
other option.

Frantically, I began searching my pockets until I found what I had been searching for. It was a
picture of Ruben. On the back was a number.

“My number is on the back. Call me when you’re finished and I’ll reward you.”

I pulled out my cell phone and punched in the numbers. He picked up on the first ring.

“You have failed me.” That voice made my skin crawl.

“Please.” I gasped, clutching the phone to my ear. “I will do anything.”

“You will return here. The carriage will be there soon.” The line went dead. A horse drawn
carriage was suddenly in front of me. The horse had three eyes. I got into the carriage and closed my eyes.
I promised myself that no matter what, I wouldn’t cry.

The carriage stopped. I stepped out of it and into a darkly lit room. He was there, standing with
his arms folded across his chest and a scowl on his face. He was not happy.

“One simple order.” He mumbled. “One simple order that I gave to both of you- and both of you
failed me.”

I bowed my head. “Forgive me.”

“Why should I?” He hissed. He had a point, I suppose. “Get up.”

I straightened my back- my pulse was racing. I didn’t know what to expect. He strode toward me,
long fingers tapping thoughtfully on his chin. “Perhaps there is a way to rectify things. Stay here.”

He vanished in a puff of smoke, and then returned mere moments later with Davis. I bit my
bottom lip.

“Now listen- both of you.” Lucifer instructed. “You are to work as a team to get rid of the other
demon boy, understand? Maybe then we’ll get something accomplished.”
 Both Davis and I bowed our heads. “Yes master.” We mumbled. It was so automatic it was
frightening.

“If you fail again, I will bring the three of you back here.” His gaze sharpened. “And you know
what will happen after that.” He snapped his fingers and we were back outside of Ruben’s place.

Davis looked at me. “I’m sorry I had to drag you into this.”

“It would’ve happened sooner or later.” I glumly reminded him.

He handed me my glock, and I smiled. “Stay here. Do not do anything unless I instruct you
otherwise.” He said.

“You got a plan?”

“That’s what I keep telling myself.” He burst into the building, slamming the door behind him.

I waited outside- as I had promised him I would- and waited and waited. It seemed as though an
eternity had gone by, and I didn’t have enough patience to wait any longer. I burst into the building, my
gun at the ready, and walked in on Davis and Ruben locked in combat. It was like nothing I’d ever seen
before- they were fighting hand to hand with an intense aura surrounding them. Just as I had expected,
Davis’ aura was a fire red, and Ruben’s was ice blue.

“This is it.” I thought. “One of them will die here today.”

“You always were a bright one.”

Suddenly, Lucifer was right beside me. He was smirking and watching the fight with great
intensity.

“One of them will die.”

“And then what?”

“That, we will have to wait to find out.”

But I already knew. If Davis won, Lucifer would be able to continue doing whatever he wanted. If
Ruben won, he would come for Lucifer next. And I…I lost either way.

I shrugged and waited.

Some say the world will end in fire,

Some say in ice.

From what I’ve tasted of desire

I hold with those who favor fire.

But if it had to perish twice,

I think I know enough of hate

To say that for destruction ice

Is also great

And would suffice.

-Robert Frost

May 29, 2008- June 29, 2008

San Jose, California