Blessed She Stands

CHAPTER 1:

She stood under the streetlamp, it's glow giving no warmth as the wind howled around her. Alex pulled her long, leather coat tighter around her, and thought, why couldn't we meet somewhere inside. No, it has to be out in the freezing cold. She looked side to side waiting for her sister. After a few more grueling minutes in the winds lashing tounge she saw a woman approaching. This better be her, She thought to herself. As the woman got closer she could make out her size and knew that finally she could get on with her night.

"Well it's about time you got here." Alex said over the howling wind. Her shorter counterpart looked up at her with a bewildered expression.
"I got here as fast as I could. It's not my fault the trains didn't run on time" She responded leaning over into the wind.
"Well lets just get there and be done with it." Alex said as they started off into the wind, heads lowered and praying it wasn't too late.

Alex and Jamie, walked for three blocks until they were standing outside a darkend building. With the late hour, everyone had gone to bed. They surveyed the building looking for a sign of an awake occupant. There eyes roamed all the windows in the six story structure. The building itself was becoming an eyesore, it showed signs that it was neglegted.

"Damnit, we missed her. You know that Jamie? Alex looked down at her sister.
"Yeah I know. It's all my fault blame me." She looked back at Alex. As they were turning away, Alex caught her arm.
"Wait, look," Alex pointed up to a window on the sixth floor. "I think she's still up." They headed up the stairs, grateful they didn't need to walk in the wind anymore, and rang the bell.
"It's about time." A nervous voice responded from the box. The buzzer sounded and Alex and Jamie entered the building.

Neither one noticed that they were being watched by two pairs of eyes. The hulking figures stood in the shadows and seemingly didn't notice the howling wind or the falling tempratures. One turned to the other and said.
"Brother it is almost time." The other turned and looked back and only nodded.

CHAPTER 2

"Ugh, with six floors you'd think they would put in an elevator." Alex said breathlessly. They were only on the 3rd floor.
"Ha, well it serves you right, Alex, you should quit smoking." Jamie chuckled.
"You know what? I just did!!" Alex laughed back as she took her pack of ciggarettes, crushed them and tossed them.
"Well you could have waited til we got to Sarahs apartment before doing that." Jamie scolded. Alex looked back down the stairs; she shrugged her shoulders and went down the stairs to retrieve the pack. Jamie sat on the stairs and waited, trying to surpress her giggling.
"Oh sis, I'm so glad you got to rest." Alex sneered at her. Jamie lost it and went into hysterics. She held her side trying to keep quiet. Tears streamed down her red face. Alex glared at her.
"You're gonna wake up the building and we'll never pull this off, now stop!!" Alex said with hushed urgency.
"Okay I'm fine now," Jamie said wiping the tears from her face, "Come on lets get this done." They contunied up the stairs. When they reached Sarahs apartment they found the door partially open. Jamie swung the door open and looked in. The living room was a mess, papers strewn about, clothes piled up in the middle of the room. Alex and Jamie looked in wide eyed, this was unlike there sister. Alex took a tentative step into the apartment.
"Sarah?" She called out.
"Why Alexandria, I'm ready to go." She looked to the right and saw Sarah coming out of the bedroom holding a single suitcase.
"What happened?" Jamie asked.
"Nothing I decided to leave Steve a little going away present." Sarah laughed. "What do you guys think?" She grinned at them.
"Damn, woman, get angry." Alex laughed.
Sarah and Alex turned to Jamie who again was on the verge of hysterics. She finally got her wits about her enough to say.
"It serves the bastard right." They all began to laugh as they quietly and quickly made there way down the stairs, out the building, and into the raging wind and cold.

CHAPTER 3:

The three women walked quickly down the street, being pushed by the storms wind. At every car that passed Sarah cast a nervous glance. When they turned the corner away from her building she finally began to relax. They made there way to the train station in hopes of getting back to Alex and Jamies house. They went down the stairs, grateful to be out of mother natures fury, but they entered a whole new land. Jamie got their tokens for the ride and they waited for the train. Due to the late hour most of the commuters had already gone home. Now the train station housed the side that the city doesn't like to talk about.

To anyone that walked by they saw three women sitting on a bench, waiting for the bus. Alex on the left, Sarah in the middle, and Jamie on the right. These three were sisters, although looking at them you wouldn't know, unless you looked into their eyes. Alex was the tallest as well as the oldest, she had long curly black hair that hung to her waist, she had glowing hazel eyes that changed color with her mood, she was slender with pale skin. Sarah was the shortest and the middle child, she had short blonde hair that was straight, her eyes were crystal blue, she was too thin and her skin was well tanned. Jamie was the youngest but not much shorter than Alex, her hair brown and straight hung to the middle of her back, her eyes also brown would sparkle enough to light a room, she was slender, and her skin was fair.

The train came and they boarded. Again, none of them noticed the two men following them, the men boarded the car behind theirs. They rode the shakey train to their stop and exited. Only one of the men got off the train. He slowly wandered towards the exit ahead of the women. They were chatting and laughing rather loudly and he overheard some of there conversation. He smiled to himself. As they came up behind him, Jamie wasn't watching where she was going, and bumped into him.
"My goodness, I'm...." She froze as he turned around, she was looking into his chest. She looked up to his face and his emerald green eyes bored into her. "sorry" she finally finished. She was visibly shaken by his eyes and he knew it. Inwardly he smiled. Outwardly, he continued to stare at her. He didn't release his stare until Alex interupted.
"Jesus, Jamie, you never look were you're going." She looked at the man, "Sorry about this." She half-dragged, half-led Jamie away. Jamie was so shaken, it took her a minute to regroup herself.
"My god, Alex, did you see his eyes?!" She was turned around looking for him but he was gone.
"Yes, I saw his eyes, and he looked like he was ready to tear you apart." Alex responded.
"No, no he wasn't, it was..... oh I can't explain it." Jamie was almost breathless.
"Jamie you'd say that if a bear was standing in front of you." Sarah giggled.
"It was a bear, he was huge." Alex laughed. They left the station only a few blocks from the house. They walked in silence. Jamie thinking of the man with the piercing green eyes. Alex thinking of protecting her sisters. Sarahs mind was on her now ex Steve.

Alex unlocked the door to thier house, and they entered. Again the men were on the sidewalk, they were looking at the house as lights turned on. The men turned and slowly walked away blending in with the shadows, and dissappeared.

Sarah looked around the house, memories welling up inside her of her childhood. She slowly made her way from room to room looking at things she hasn't seen in years. Tears welled up in her eyes, as she sat on the couch. She buried her head in her hands and sobbed. Alex came in from the kitchen, spotting her sister, she sat next to her. Alex put her hand on Sarahs shoulder.
"You want to talk, my dear sister?" Alex asked, her eyes turning the color of straw.
"I'll be okay, it's just that I didn't realize how much he took from me. How much time I've been away." She raised her head. "I've been across town for five years and couldn't even call, let alone come here." Alex sighed, and laid back against the couch, pulling Sarah with her.
"I know," she said, her eyes instantly turning grey, "All the times I tried to contact you, I knew where you were, and he kept you from us." This sentence brought a fresh batch of tears from Sarah. Jamie entered the room and didn't speak. She sat down on the couch, and her and Alex hugged their sister. Sarah fell asleep, they laid her down and covered her with a quilt.
"She'll be fine there for tonight." Jaime whispered.
"Yeah but I'll be more worried tommorrow, when he comes looking for her." Alex replied as they climbed the stairs to there rooms.

CHAPTER 4:

Steve was Sarahs boyfriend for seven years. After two years of dating, and Sarah's 18th birthday they decided to move in together. Sarahs' mom and sisters protested, but she went anyway. Right after she moved in the beatings started, the mental pain, and worst of all for Sarah being cut off from her family. He only had a cell phone, which he kept on him at all times. Mail from her parents address was returned unopened, only he had the key to the mailbox. Sarah knew her parents died, only because she read it in the paper, with her eyes swollen and red from crying she said she wanted to go to the funeral. This was what she dreamed about.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY TO ME!!!" Steve screamed in her face. She recoiled from his words. Sarah gathered all the strength and courage and repeated.
"I want to go to my parents funeral." She saw him pulling and his hand back and curl it into a fist, but she couldn't move. Her rational mind thought, he won't hit me for wanting to go.As he swung his hand forward, her mind wasn't registering and she didn't move. He hit her cheek as her head rocked her knees buckled and she crumpled to the floor.

Sarah woke from her nightmare covered in sweat and gasping for air. She took a quick survey of the room and realized she was home, she was with her sisters. She flopped back on the couch and stared at the ceiling. She listened to the house as it made it's familiar sounds. funny how somethings you never forget, she thought as she closed her eyes again. Her breathing slowed and she fell back to sleep.

Jamie laid in her bed wide awake, haunted by the eyes of the strange man she saw tonight. She tried to remember other things about him. okay the eyes i'll never forget, her mental list started, he was enormus, he had black hair and it was long, and he had a goatee, she closed her eyes, and went over this list again and again, finally she drifted off to sleep where even there his eyes got to her.

Alex sat on her bench windowsill looking out into the darkness. She thought about tommorrow, she knew Steve would come. She looked at the clock, she thought, it's 2am he should be getting his "present" right about now. Alex smiled at this, she changed her clothes and crawled into bed. She was more tired that she realized. Her dreams were strange to her, they were very dark, and a feeling of sadness to them.

Alex was even more right than she new. At exactly 2:00am Steve opened the door his apartment. His mouth almost hit the floor, his eyes smoldered in anger.

"Damn, that little b*tch." He stormed to the bedroom not expecting to find her there but not knowing what else to do. He looked in her buearu her stuff was gone.
"Her and those two b*tch sisters of hers are dead." He said quietly as he sat down on the bed. An evil grin spread across his face. Oh no, he thought, this will be too easy. Slowly he got up and left the apartment. The smile never leaving his face.

CHAPTER 5:

Alex was the first up, as always, and went to the kitchen to make coffee and breakfast. It was 6:00am and she was soon joined by Sarah. Sarah took a cup of coffee and sat at the table her eyes were sad.
"I can't believe I left him." She looked at Alex who was at the stove making pancakes. Alex turned and sat by her sister.
"Look, you did the right thing, he would kill you sooner or later, and at least here with us we have a chance at getting rid of him." Alex smiled at her sister and got up to finish making breakfast.
"Sarah will you go wake Jamie? She needs to get up, and we need to plan." Alex asked. Sarah nodded and went up the stairs to her little sisters room. Sarah knocked quietly, and opened the door.
"Jamie?" Sarah called out, puzzled because her sisters bed was empty. Sarah came into the room a little more and looked around. The hair on the back of her neck stood up. What's that smell? she asked herself. Her eyes widened and she fled from the room.
"ALEX!!!!!!!!" She yelled running down the stairs, the two almost collided. Alex steadied Sarah and looked at her. Sarah was shaking and crying.
"What's wrong?!?!" Alex asked trying not to be frightend. "Damnit, Sarah what the hell is going on??? Where's Jamie???"
"He took her," Sarah said through her tears. "Steve took her" Alex took the stairs two at a time and flung Jamies bedroom door open. She went to Jamies bed and picked up a note that was laid on the pillow. She read it.

Alex read the note for a third time, her blood was on fire. She ran down the stairs and out the front door, she stood on the porch searching the street. Although she knew there would be no sign of them. The street was quiet this morning, because of the storm last night, even the morning joggers decided to stay in.
"YOU AS*HOLE, I'LL GET YOU!!!!!!!" She screamed before the tears came. She turned and retreated to the house. She closed the door, and sank to her knees crying. The two men that were quietly following them last night, were walking up the street, they heard screaming and turned the corner to see the door close.
"I wonder what that was about?" The man with the green eyes said. The other man just shrugged and pointed to the house. Alex was beginning to get herself under control when a knock came at the door. Oh great, she thought, Now someones called the cops. She regained her composure enough to open the door. She started to smile, when her mind registered what she saw, too of the biggest men she'd ever seen, then she recognized the one with the dark hair from the train station her eyes blazed.
"Who the hell are you? what the hell do you want? and god help you if you work for Steve." She demanded and stated.
"My name is Taker and this is my brother Kane." Alex, noticed Takers eyes, the way Jamie noticed them. No wonder she was so struck by him, she thought. Alex turned to Takers brother and noticed that he was wearing a mask, and a heavy black glove on one hand. He nodded to her as a hello. Alex stared at these two men, wondering what to make of them. Finally she found the words to speak.
"Look I'm sorry I yelled at you. But, I'm really stressed out." She apologized to them. Sarah had moved herself to the living room, when her sister ran out the door screaming. She now came to the foyer.
"Alex?" She quietly asked. Alex turned to her and motioned her to come to the door.
"The reason we stopped was, we wanted to know why you were screaming, and I don't know about my brother, but I want to know who the hell Steve is." Taker asked. Before Alex realized what she was doing, she invited them in and showed them to the living room. Taker and Kane sat on the couch, Alex sat on one of the chairs and Sarah sat on the floor. Alex explained what happened sometime during the night to her sister. She watched the expression on Takers face change from concern to pure fury. After a few minutes, Taker had himself under slight control he asked.
"Do you have any idea where he is?" Taker asked. Alex shrugged and turned to Sarah.

TOO BE CONTINUED...