Dark Dues-- Ch. 1

Last Updated: December 8
Dark Dues--Chapter One

* The sharp protest of rough cloth grating against itself jerked Ana from her daze. She eyed her fellow travelers warily, her eyes mere slits as she examined them. The culprit of the loud noise was a teenager, a year or two younger then herself, wearing stained corduroy pants, looking for a seat on the crowded train.

But Ana didn’t trust this young man. She didn’t trust anyone, really. She knew that her naturally heightened sense of paranoia was being aggravated by living alone in a city, but she couldn’t help but feel suspicious about people she had never met. Every where there was danger, in Ana’s cool eyes, and nothing was more dangerous then a stranger. She hated having to ride the train and be around unusual people. Half the time she sat stiffly next to an old woman who just didn’t smell right, the other half alone, glaring at anyone who even THOUGHT about sitting beside her.

As this youth was about to do.

“Seat taken?” He asked in a jovial tone, eyes like melting chocolate meeting those of stormy gray. The boy carried within him a carefree, almost innocent attitude--but those were the most dangerous, Ana thought to herself.

Still… she would only be sitting next to him for a few stops. Maybe she was being too paranoid… “No.” She gruffly replied, scooting over as he flopped down on the brown threadbare seat, his arms falling loosely on his legs. His right leg, she noticed, was bouncing uncontrollably, but she pulled her eyes back to the safety of the landscape blurring by her window-- at least the landscape was a little less dangerous then a stranger.

She closed her eyes, breathing deeply even though some sixth sense of hers warned against it. She was surprised to smell a pleasant odor from the boy, that of a rather expensive cologne she bought for her father. A light, non-oppressive musk, it always reminded her of the woodland behind her father’s get-away cabin up in Oregon. Peaceful and rugged… but that didn’t mean that this BOY was that. Hardly. If anything, it just made him all that much more dangerous.

After all, how could a teenager afford such expensive cologne?

She forgot, of course, the fact that she was a teenager and could afford such things.

The train began to slow, and some women chattering in a foreign language in the seat behind her stood, getting read to depart. She sneaked a look at the boy next to her, to see if he too would depart so soon, but he was merely sitting there, staring straight ahead, a distant look in his otherwise warm eyes. She shivered, and returned to her careful examination of the landscape outside, wondering if the boy would leave at the station after this one.

The train jerked to a halt, causing the standing women behind her to almost fall over the seat. The oppressive odor of heavy fragrance invaded Ana’s nose, and she winced-- the women’s perfumes were horrible, almost like an over active skunk’s gland. She nearly wrenched, but the women quickly scurried out the opened train door, and a lone man in a black trench coat entered, his dark gaze shifting across the train.

He isn’t right. A voice in Ana’s head warned, making her wince. Get off the train.

Ana just shrank in her seat, for once glad she was sitting with someone. At least the dark man, as she dubbed him, wouldn’t sit next to her. She shuddered when he fixed his eyes on her, and walked menacingly forward (was her imagination playing tricks again?) until he flicked his gaze on the boy next to her and stopped. His pale face turned almost green, and he spun on his heel, taking the seat by the door just as the train began to roll forward, the soothing hum of the train’s motion ringing above the din of voices again.

But Ana wasn’t paying attention to such things.

Her heart had ceased to pound loudly in her chest-- now it just flopped irregularly. She was keenly aware of the boy next to her-- he seemed to change, his body tense, as he too watched the dark man. His jaw was clenched, the skin at his throat pulsing with his heart beat, and there was a fierce glaze to his warm eyes, reminding her of a mother animal protecting its prey.

At that, she shook her head and tried to go back to watching the landscape. Really, all this happened to be was an over active imagination sprung loose after a hard day at the University--

“Seeker…Seeker…Seeker.” She heard a voice mutter behind her, and turned with wide eyes of fear to see an almost crazed looking man staring straight through her, rocking to and fro.

She shivered, wondering why all the weirdoes had to be on HER train. Only two more stops, she thought to herself, willing the train to move faster.

She jumped in her seat when she heard a creek--but it was only the boy… well, man, she realized, the boyish image faded as he stared at the dark man, repositioning himself. He looked ready to lunge up at the man, but by the way his jaw was moving, he was struggling with something.

Some duty, the voice called again. He’s the Guardian, the other a Seeker. You can trust him…

Yeah, right. She retorted, almost snorting. Trust a stranger? Fat chance of Ana Doyle ever doing that in this lifetime.

Behind them, the man still muttered: “seeker… seeker…” , but his voice was growing fainter, and fainter still. Fear was riding on his voice, and something began to snap in Ana.

Fool… stop imagining things. Move on the next stop. She thought, as the train began to slow down. The man beside her was even more tense, his every being focused on the dark man. She shivered, the intensity of his eyes almost terrifying for her to behold.

Her heart sped up as the Dark Man stood, the wobbling motion of the Train not deterring him. He looked directly at Ana, his gaze probing and full of intense loathing. “You.”

She shivered, shrinking back in her seat even as the man next to her moved to shield her from the Dark Man’s view. Imagining things now? The voice said in her mind, and for once she didn’t have a reasonable answer.

“Stay behind me.” The man in corduroy mutter, the train moving slower and slower as it entered the station. He slowly stood, moving completely in front of her, the Dark Man watching his every move.

“You cannot keep me from my Prey.” The dark man sneered, his voice the grating of a fork in the garbage disposal. “I can, and I will.” Ana was comforted by the pure belief resounding in his words.

“You will fail.” The dark man rasped, and she idly noticed his hand reach towards the corduroy man before her, his palm beginning to glow a strange dark green color.

“You would threaten the lives of all these innocents?” Corduroy asked, his voice pale with sickness at the dark man’s behavior.

“I will have my Prey.”

“Then you will die.”

“We’ll see about that.” The dark man said, as a blast of energy flew out of his palm. Impossibly, however, it stopped an inch in front of the man. She could see the energy, a sickening wave of death, slowly creeping towards the man…

“Arivoka Impendium.” Corduroy muttered, and the wave of death groaned as it turned towards its former master. The Dark man looked on in fascination as the cloud hit him full on, causing him to jerk and spasm just as the train came to a halt.

Corduroy grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet, dragging Ana towards the back door. “Wait!” Ana cried out, but Corduroy wasn’t listening. For some strange reason, no one in the compartment was looking at them, but had a bizarre dullness to their eyes--

Corduroy pulled her down the stairs, and then ran down the platform, his grasp on her arm strong. “Hold on-“ She began, but was panting for breath, trying to keep up with him. They flew down the escalator as the train speed back out of the station, the Dark Man still inside.

She knew it. She could feel his dirty presence leaving…

Corduroy jerked her forward, running towards the half full parking lot. This time she dug her heels into the ground, causing him to turn and look at her, the intense look in his eyes fading.

“We have to get you out of here.” He calmly said, as if stating the weather was fine.

“What-“

“I’ll explain. But we aren’t safe. Seeker’s can travel in packs.” He sagely said, pulling her again. She tried to keep up with him, as he ran forward, before stopping next to a blue Taurus.

“Seeker’s?” She repeated, as he grabbed some keys out of his pocket and fumbled with them, trying to find the right one.

He looked up at her, his eyes warm, but also cold at the same time. “They want to kill you.”