Rising slowly out of her bed, Ginger stared out at the night sky, watching
the gleaming stars remorsefully. Everything outside seemed so calm. So
direct was the contrast between the quiet and the turmoil in her heart that
she wanted to scream out loud, pleading for mercy. How was she expected to
stay calm under such terrible circumstances?
Walking over to the window, she sighed heavily in the darkness. How had
this all come to happen? Why to her? Why was so much pain forced upon her?
She hated it.
First, her mother had gone off to God-only-knew where, leaving Giovanni to
take care of her, their only daughter. Then came all the pain that went with
being a member of Team Rocket. The stress of assignments, hardly seeing her
father, knowing that he and everyone else she knew was in constant danger.
And now this.
Of course, she had expected the danger with the Rockets. But… the police
breaking in? Arresting almost everyone? Condemning her father?
It was almost too terrible to think about. As it was, tears were beginning
to swell up in her eyes.
What could she do to ward off the terrible pain? Everything hurt, and she
didn’t want to be alive…
The answer hit her like a bolt of lightning.
There was one way to take the pain off of her.
Take it out on someone else.
Hard eyes darting around, she picked up her glinting dagger and slowly
slipped into its sheath. The way out of pain was inflicting it, and she
realized that she had no problem with that as she quietly slipped out the
door.
-
Darkness surrounded the girl’s shadow as she slipped silently along the
back routes of the city towards a group of dark houses. Everyone was
obviously asleep. “Easier for me,” Ginger thought with a smirk, walking up
toward number three.
Shaking the knob, she realized with a start that it was open. “My God,
could they make it any easier?” she muttered, walking in.
Of course, there could’ve been an alarm. There could’ve been guards. But
there weren’t. “The fools,” she thought. Didn’t they know they were exposing
themselves to danger?
After all, Jessie and James had gone against the Rockets. They’d been with
the organization long enough to know about the strong sense of vengeance,
hadn’t they?
Well, if they had, they obviously hadn’t taken it into consideration.
Slipping into the next room, she saw something moving on the couch. A large
blanket was partially draped over the top, and she realized that one of the
two was sleeping in there.
Quietly, she stalked over, and saw the fiery red hair falling over the
shoulders of the young woman who lay in front of her. “This is the end,
Jessie,” she muttered, drawing the blade quietly.
After a quick observation, Ginger decided that a quick kill would be best
for the situation, and, swift as a rattlesnake, struck the soft throat.
Bolting up with a small yelp, Jessie widened her green eyes, than spat
blood onto the floor. Her face immediately turned white, and the eyes glazed
over as she fell back, clutching her neck.
Ginger looked on without compassion. Yes, the task had been accomplished
easily, but it had also been strangely fulfilling.
Suddenly, she heard the sound of footsteps, followed by, “Jess, are you
okay?”
It was James. How had he heard? “No matter,” Ginger thought, walking toward
the entry to the room.
“Jess…” James walked in sleepily, and Ginger saw that he had been awake, as
his hair was still combed back, and his eyes were red with weariness.
“Hello, James,” Ginger stepped out quietly, holding the dagger.
“Who…” James stammered, than stopped. “I knew it. I knew you’d come and get
us…”
“Of course you did,” Ginger edged forward, knowing the resistance would be
little. This was inevitable. She felt it, and was sure he did, too.
“Please…” James began to back up.
“You betrayed us,” Ginger’s voiced was calm yet sinister as she advanced
with the gleaming weapon.
“Oh,” James whimpered as he found himself backed up against a wall.
“Goodbye, traitor,” Ginger raised the blade, and plunged it into the man’s
chest.
James opened his mouth to scream, but Ginger was faster, shoving the dagger
into the side of his neck, watching coldly as the blood spurt out onto the
floor as he fell, a look of horror frozen on his white face.
“Sweet dreams, you two,” Ginger laughed bitterly; sliding the knife back
into it’s cover, unmoved.
It was time to get out of there, before anyone came back, before anyone
suspected anything…
Closing the door behind her quietly, Ginger realized that the actions had
helped sooth her soul. Now she felt calm. Calm, and unafraid.
Shadow was awakened suddenly by the light sound of the coffee maker
dripping the brew into the pot. Rubbing her eyes, she saw that the time was
seven in the morning, and wondered why the quite sound had woke her up.
Standing up, she stretched her arm muscles back, yawning and walking over
towards the window as she did so. Her back ached strangely, and there was an
odd stiffness in her wrists, but she managed to ignore them and peer
outside.
Gray, looming clouds covered the usually blue sky, sending a strange
sensation of gloominess through her already upset body. Of course, the
correspondence of the weather with her feelings seemed a bit uncalled for,
but she decided it was better than being upset on a sunny day.
Looking down at herself, Shadow suddenly realized that she hadn’t changed
out of her clothes the night before. Shrugging it off quickly, she opened
the door and headed down the stairs quietly, not sure of who was awake and
who was asleep.
Peering into the kitchen, her eyes caught the full coffee cup and the mugs
sitting next to it with a sense of pleasure. One thing had gone right; there
was fresh coffee. Pouring herself a cup, Shadow took a sip of the liquid,
decided she liked it, and walked quietly out of the kitchen.
Faint voices floated out of the living room, and Shadow wondered who was up,
as she didn’t quite recognize the voice. They sounded strangely metallic,
and almost distorted.
Looking in, the girl nearly laughed.
Throwing soft light over the furniture, the television gleamed quietly while
two newscasters discussed some issue or other. Nearly hitting herself over
the head for being so stupid, Shadow seated herself in the soft velvet
chair, feeling the comforting material with her fingers.
“Hey,” Felicity barely looked up from the newspaper she held in her hands,
absorbed in the article her eyes darted across. Lying down on the couch, she
took a sip of the cappuccino she had set on the floor, savoring the vanilla
flavor.
“Hi,” Shadow turned her eyes toward the screen, and saw Ginger sitting
quietly on the couch, a strangely empty look in her eyes. “What’s with
that?” she wondered, but brushed it off as the television broadcast caught
her eye.
“Today, Jessica Ross and James Pike were found dead in their rented house
early this morning,” the woman began to read off her paper in a surprisingly
dull voice for a murder story.
“Jessie and James?” Shadow thought, as the woman continued.
“The two were obviously stabbed to death, as the medical professionals have
confirmed.” A picture flashed onto the screen, showing the two bodies, the
blood trickling down her neck and their haggard heads rolling lifelessly.
Shadow cringed, and looked at the two others in the room. Felicity was
paying no attention, too involved in the paper. Ginger, however…
The girl was staring quietly at the screen; the yet somehow intent look
plastered on her expressionless face. She showed no signs of disgust, no
signs of anything…
The television called her back. “As of now, the case is believed to be
murder, though no fingerprints are apparent.”
“Well, of course,” Felicity muttered. Obviously, she had been paying a bit
of attention. “A good criminal always wears gloves.”
A shudder went through Shadow’s body at this remark, but she recovered
quickly. “Why did I do that?” she wondered.
“The murderer is believed to have been involved with the recent trial
against Giovanni, who was sentenced to a life in prison, as well as
occasional torturing.” A few clips of the trial appeared on screen, showing
the two on the witness stand.
“Occasional?” Ginger muttered, shaking her head. “She calls every Saturday
occasional?”
“Most officers believe that a Rocket member, angry over the fall of their
organization, attacked the two for turning against them Though this has been
unconfirmed, it is easily accepted,” the woman shuffled her papers, and
Shadow heard a cough behind her.
“What’s goin’ on?” Mike flopped into a cushioned chair, and looked towards
Shadow.
“Hey,” Dan sat in chair near the blue-eyed girl.
“Hey, guys,” Shadow nodded her head toward the program. “Take a look at
this…”
“All we know about the murder is as follows…” she paused to look at her
notes and adjust her suit.
“Who was murdered?” Mike’s eyes gleamed with interest, and, though he knew
it was a bit odd, he didn’t mind. Deaths like this always managed to catch
his attention.
“Jessie and James.”
“Our old friends?” Mike exaggerated the last word, drawing it out
ridiculously.
“Yeah, them,” Shadow nodded, half grinning.
“Well, who did it?” Dan asked, rubbing his eyes, and forcing himself to stay
awake. He wasn’t exactly an early riser.
“Take a look at what they know…” the girl’s blue eyes looked toward the
newscast.
“The two victims were stabbed to death in their house at about midnight last
night. Both evidently died immediately. The wound from the murder weapon was
almost definitely caused by a Veneblade, which is uncommon and should be
easier to track down than any other type.”
“Fools,” Felicity thought, looking up for a moment. “Most people would
dispose of the blade after using it!”
“A Veneblade?” Shadow’s mind was hit with a thought. “But isn’t that the
kind of knife Ginger uses…?” She shook her head. Of course, Ginger did. That
didn’t mean anything.
Then again, she had wanted Jessie and James to suffer for what they did… “No,” she told herself. “I’m being silly. Of course Ginger didn’t do it.”
Sure, she was used to seeing people killed, but that was when the other was
also armed. Never had she seen anyone killed in cold blood… In fact, the
only person she would have expected to be able to do that was Felicity. So
of course Ginger hadn’t…
She couldn’t shake the thought off her mind, and the image of the blade on
the screen provoked her anguish further. “All right,” she finally thought,
and stood up, catching a glimpse of Ginger. The girl looked so cold, so
empty… She didn’t look like she normally did.
“Where are you going?” Dan looked up at her.
“Getting a drink,” Shadow motioned toward the kitchen and headed out,
leaving the others to watch the television.
“God, why am I doing this?” the question turned itself over in her mind.
“Why am I going? Even if she did kill them, I shouldn’t care. I should be
used to the murders by now…”
She stood in front of the doorway to the library.
Ginger’s room.
“Should I?” she asked herself, but was already in the doors before she could
think further.
Shadow’s first reaction was that everything was fine, as she quickly looked
over the room.
On second glance, however, she saw something glint on the desk.
Without second thoughts, she knew that it was the knife.
Walking over, she picked the weapon up by the handle and gasped.
Even though the clouds covered most of the light, she could see through the
faint grayness. What she saw was blood.
Covering the blade, the crusted, dried-up body fluid sent an eerie sensation
through her mind, and she knew perfectly well who the blood belonged too.
“What the hell are you doing up here?” Shadow whirled around and found
herself looking at Ginger’s cold, green eyes as the girl stood in the
doorway.
Sighing, Shadow set the knife down on the desk. “Might as well come out with
it,” she thought, and then spoke. “You did it.”
“What?” Ginger attempted to look innocent, but Shadow could see that she was
perfectly clear as to what was being referred too.
“You killed Jessie and James,” Shadow looked down at the gleaming knife
blade.
“No, I didn’t,” Ginger stared straight into the glassy blue eyes, her mind
rushing. How did she know…?
“You really should clean your knife after you kill someone,” Shadow pointed
to the weapon, and Ginger realized now.
“T-that was for something else…” She wanted to hit herself for stumbling
over the words so foolishly.
“Don’t lie. I know you did it,” the younger Rocket folded her arms.
“Well, so what if I did?” Ginger’s voice became irritated. “It’s not as if I
haven’t before!”
“Never in cold blood.” Shadow replied coldly. To her, the killing of an
unarmed individual was senseless and inappropriate, even for a Rocket.
“No…” Ginger replied slowly. “But now I have.”
With that, she walked out the door, than turned around. “I’m going back
downstairs. If you want to come, go ahead. However…” she paused. “If you
don’t want to be anywhere near me, then stay up here.” Having said this, she
started down the stairs.
Shadow stood, stunned. Ginger had know precisely what to say, and had struck
something… “She’s right,” Shadow’s mind raced. “Of course she’s right. I
shouldn’t let this bother me…” With that, she walked out, though she knew
full well she would not forget.
