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Post by Arai on Sept 11, 2007 8:29:41 GMT -5
People bustled about her as she stood in the street. Arai wondered exactly where she was; she had never been very good with directions. Her feet ached, the soles on her sneakers worn down almost completely. She had walked for what seemed like years, only stopping to hide at nightfall. Her direction was nonexistent; she had no real purpose anymore. Walking by a store window, she stopped for a second. An interesting face peered back at her. The hair was short and ruffled, unkempt, and the face was dirty and scratched. She then realized it was herself. She looked like a homeless waif! How far she had come from the popular, always perfect-looking Anna. Shoulders a bit more slumped, she continued on. As she passed by a restaurant, her stomach growled hungrily. Placing a hand across her too-slender waist, she willed it to stop. But the food smelled so good! She began to salivate, imagining biting deep into a hamburger or a slice of pizza. Louder this time, her stomach gurgled again, reminding her she hadn't eaten in quite a while. Arai forced herself to keep walking. She had no money; hence no food. Unless she stole it. The thought crept unbidden into her brain. No! She would not be reduced to a common criminal. She may have lost her friends, her home, her family, and everything that was important to her, but she still had her pride and integrity. But she also wanted to live. She couldn't make it much longer without food. Standing on the corner of a street, she bit her lip as she pondered this dilemma.
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Post by Brandon Smith on Sept 11, 2007 8:39:08 GMT -5
As the young lady walked, gunfire rang out from the alley to the left of her. Four loud shots echoed through the alley and out into the street as a small dust cloud emerged from the alley. As the dust rose, a figure emerged from the dust. In his hand he wielded a M4, military issued machine gun. As he walked out of the dark alley police cars began to swarm around him. "Great" he muttered to himself and swung the M4 over his shoulder on a strap and pulled out a 9mm pistol. He looked for a way out and saw one. A woman was standing watching all of this. Arai. He came up behind her and placed his arm tightly around her neck and pressed the gun to the side of her head as the police got out of their cars. " Back off, or the woman dies! " He yelled as he pulled back the hammer of the pistol.
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Post by Arai on Sept 11, 2007 8:50:11 GMT -5
She jumped at the shots, her hunger instantly forgotten. A crazy man stepped out of a nearby alleyway, brandishing a gun. He looked armed to the teeth, ready for a fight. Too stunned to move, she saw him move towards her as if in slow motion. Sirens flashed adn blared as the police pulled up. Her initial relief at the safety they offered was soon squelched as she became the target of the man's attention. The cold circle of the gun barrel pressed against her temple as she was held captive. She heard a click by her ear. Arai had watched enough movies to know that he had just cocked the gun. He had no problems with shooting an innocent person. Her hands instinctively clutched at his arm as it wrapped around her neck, squeezing her airway. "Please," she whimpered weakly. She was only 19, but she was certain she would die if something didn't stop him. Closing her eyes, she waited for the fatal shot.
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Post by Brandon Smith on Sept 11, 2007 8:58:15 GMT -5
The police officers watched in horror as Brandon pressed the gun barrel to the side of the womans head. Her heard her plea but did not respond. He clutching at his arm did her no good. He held her tightly, but not enough to kill her, but enough to force her to gasp for breath and be very afraid. The police officers lowered their weapons hoping that Brandon would release the woman. He looked around again and spotted a black hummer that had stopped because of the sirens. He went for it, pulling the woman along with him. He shot at the windshield and the man jumped out. Brandon opened the side door and pushed Arai inside and hoped in as well, going over top her and starting the vehicle. He locked the door so she could not jump out and began to drive the hummer, plowing over a police cruiser as they began to follow, sirens blaring. He looked over at the woman. " Now lady, i don't want to hurt you, but you must do as i say. " He said calmly, keeping his gun aimed at her and driving down the city streets with one hand, going 60 miles and hour.
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Post by Arai on Sept 11, 2007 12:27:14 GMT -5
She found herself tumbled into a nearby car, then the roar of a motor filled her ears and they were off. She shakily got into a sitting position, buckling her seatbelt out of habit. Her teeth were nearly rattled from her jaw at his rough driving. Sirens screamed in pursuit, the red and blue reflecting off the windshield. Light brown eyes wide, she turned and looked at the man who had taken her. He looked to be rather comfortable with a gun, judging by his arsenal and his ability to hold her at gunpoint while driving. For a few seconds, she gaped at him. This whole scene was too unreal, too much like so many movies she had seen. Opening her mouth to speak, she realized she must have left her voice behind in the city, because no words came to her. Closing her mouth, she tried to swallow, but her mouth was dry from fear. Instead, she just nodded wordlessly, eyes darting around, looking for any way out.
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Post by Brandon Smith on Sept 11, 2007 13:11:21 GMT -5
He continued to drive, the police cars continued to follow him. As he drove a large truck with water jugs drove through a stoplight. The light was red for Brandon but he drove right through it, clipping the end of the truck, knocking the water jugs all around on the road behind him. The hummer kept going at a steady pace. As the police cars paused at the mess at the stoplight Brandon swerved and turned into a car garage and made it to the second level just as a police car drove past on the road below. He was clear. He parked the car perfectly in a parking space and turned to look at the woman, who by now was completely frantic. " Miss, are you alright? " He asked as he holstered his pistol and glanced over at her again, listening to the police sirens whiz past the garage.
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Post by Arai on Sept 11, 2007 13:23:52 GMT -5
Arai sat there a minute, hands clutching the door handle in a death grip, eyes wide and breaths short and quick. Her heart pounded in her ears so loud she was sure it was about to break free of her chest. She began to control her emotions, closing her eyes and willing her breathing to slow, her heart to calm. She could feel the adrenaline from all the excitement and fear rushing through her veins like a cool fire. Normally, she was calm and level headed. This time, though, she had been pushed too far and her snippier side came out. "Oh, yes, I'm perfect. I've had a wonderful day. Let me tell you about it, okay? First, I wander around, I haven't eaten in what seems like forever, I'm completey broke, my feet are blistered and sore, and then, just when I thought life couldn't get any better than that, a crazed gunman bursts out of nowhere! Unbelievable, right? Next thing I know, he's off shooting around, and then I get the esteemed privelege of being held captive by this ruffian! I got a tour around town too, after being ingraciously thrown into this ugly hunk of metal. So, except for my completely shot nerves, raging hunger, and bruised body, I am doing perfect. Just swell, in fact!" she bit out, golden flecks in her brown eyes snapping, "and then you have the audacity to call me 'miss', suddenly all polite after snatching me off the street and kidnapping me!" Crossing her arms angrily, she glared out the windshield, refusing to look at the gunman.
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Post by Brandon Smith on Sept 11, 2007 13:31:55 GMT -5
He listened to her talk and couldn't help but smile as she told him her story and finished it in a rather childly fashion but looking out the window. " Well that sounds exciting. Let me tell you how my day went. " He said as he sat back in the seat of the hummer, sirens now a good couple miles away. " I was flying in the usual Black Hawk helicopter that i normally fly in on missions. After spotting my target myself and my three man team jumped from the chopper onto a rooftop. After confronting our targets i lost the other three men of my team as we took down 13 dangerous 'targets'. " He continued to call the vampires that he had slain targets for he did not wish to tell her who they were really killing unless she asked. " In the process I too was injured. " He said as he gestured to a bullet wound in his side. " As i killed the final suspect in a dark alley i stepped out and saw police swarming me. Well i didn't have time to explain myself and took a woman, jumped in a car was pursued by police but yet drove safely here. " He said as he crossed his arms and looked over at her. " Now, in spite of that, who has had the worse day? " He asked calmly.
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Post by Arai on Sept 11, 2007 13:39:31 GMT -5
She dared a side glance at him, scoping him out. So her initial guess had been correct. He was comfortable around guns and trained to fight. She saw the dark stain of blood around his wound. She knew how to fix it; she had planned to be a doctor. But Arai was proud. She saw no reason to help him. "Well," she retorted, "I would not say you had a good day, but you also knew the risks when you started your mission. You went willingly, took care of your targets, all that. I, however, was innocently wandering around, lost in a town I don't even know the name of, near starving to death, when you come along and take me hostage. I wasn't expecting that. You had to have considered the possibilities of getting injured when you went after your targets. So, I think overall I have had an equally suckish day, if not worse." Popping open the lock on the door, she began to pull on the handle. "So, now that you don't need me to be your shield from the police, I'll be going," she finished.
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Post by Brandon Smith on Sept 11, 2007 13:48:42 GMT -5
He listened to her and nodded. " Very well. You may leave if you would like. Or....i could take you to go get some food. " He said calmly. " It is the least i can do. After all, i did abduct you against your will. " He said as he glanced over at her, watching her hand on the handle of the door. " Just let me bandage this wound and then we can get on our way. "He said as he opened up a pocket in his pants and pulled out a few bandage packets. He removed his vest and shirt. There was blood all over his chest and waist, some his, some not. He eyed the wound and the bandage trying to figure the best way to place it.
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Post by Arai on Sept 11, 2007 13:57:39 GMT -5
She hesitated at the mention of food. Her stomach decided to chime in with a painful gurgle. She did need to eat. Though she didn't trust him; didn't trust him a bit. Still.......it would be better than stealing. With a small sigh, she let go of the door and sat back, watching him struggle with the bandages. She bit back a smile at how clumsy he was being. Such a wound was so easy to bandage. But still she refused to feel pity for him, refused to offer help. She had a stubborn streak; maybe those rumors about redheads being proud and hot-headed were true. Pulling down the sun visor on the passenger's side, she looked at her face in the blurry mirror. Her short auburn hair was still ruffled and unkempt; her face a bit gaunt and hungry looking. Her skin, no so long ago clean and flawless, now hid behind a layer of grime and dust, her scar on the side of her face standing out whitely. Reaching up a hand, she absentmindedly traced the scar from her forehead to her jaw. It had healed; though not cleanly. She would probably be stuck with it for life.
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Post by Brandon Smith on Sept 11, 2007 14:05:11 GMT -5
After fiddling with the bandage for a few minutes he just stuck it on the wound any which way, not really caring at all. He looked in the back of the hummer and there happened to be a clean white shirt. He took that shirt and used his old black one to wipe up the blood that was all over his body. He then placed the white shirt on and looked over at her again. " Alright. So what are you hungry for? " He asked calmly as he started the hummer and drove down out of the parking garage and onto the street.
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Post by Arai on Sept 11, 2007 14:11:07 GMT -5
She looked out the window and rolled her eyes. The doctors she had worked with would have a heart attack if they saw his halfhazard bandage. If this guy wasn't careful, it would get infected. Especially if the bullet was still in there. Whatever. His loss. As they started moving, she got a better chance to look at the town, her curious light brown eyes scanning everything. "I don't know," she absently replied, "I don't know what's around here. Plus, when you are starving you don't really care what you eat, just that you eat." Her stomach still rumbled irritably, demanding sustenance. She felt drained of energy, not only from the excitement of being held hostage and chased through town, but also from the fact that her body was completely devoid of any sustenance. Leaning her head against the back of the seat, she closed her eyes wearily, a slight headache throbbing in her temple.
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Post by Brandon Smith on Sept 11, 2007 14:18:19 GMT -5
He listened to her and smiled. " Well then Pizza it is. " He said as he pulled into a nearby pizzaria and parked and turned off the engine. He opened his door and walked inside. He figured she would follow. He then ordered a cheese pizza and payed and sat down at a two man table and waited for her to accompany him. His eyes darted this way and that, wondering if a police car would drive past and recognize the vehicle. He shook his head and sighed and waited for the pizza. In a few minutes it came out and a waiter brought it to the table. Brandon began to eat, for he was rather hungry as well.
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Post by Arai on Sept 11, 2007 14:34:30 GMT -5
She almost groaned with anticipation as they entered the restaurant. Her nostrils flared, taking in all the delicious scents. Saucy, spicy tomato smell dominated, mixed with hints of sausage and cheese. A warm feeling enveloped her as she looked around. The place was small, but homey, with only a few other people inside. She almost couldn't stand the wait as the man ordered the pizza. Sitting across from him, she observed that he was rather jumpy. He had reason to; he had broken the law, after all. When the waited walked towards them, pizza in hand, it was all Arai could do to not reach and snatch it from his hands. The second it hit the table, she grabbed up a slice and began to eat. She had been raised with impeccable manners; chew with your mouth closed, take small bites, chew your food thoroughly, don't eat too quickly. Right now, it was all she could do to keep her mouth closed. Finishing the first slice in an astonishingly short time, even the crust, she picked up another slice and began to scarf it down, her sensations filled with the warm meaty sauce and rich cheese.
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