CHAPTER ONE: FLIGHT

Rain drops shot at the ground as Jinx raced through the storm in spite of the burning in her calves and pounding in her head.

When did she start running?

How did she get outside?

“Wait!” a voice called after her and even though another step forward might threaten to buckle beneath her, Jinx pressed on, squinting through the blurred darkness for someplace, any place, to hide.

To her left, a lush forest. Trees, shrubs, grass; no doubt plenty places to hide, but additionally plenty of places to trip. Uneven ground and mud puddles likely wouldn’t be her friend as she evaded her attacker, yet to the right, abandoned buildings of a city long dead were nothing more than a maze of cracked avenues and dead ends. Neither choice seemed right, but as Jinx’s searing legs wobbled beneath her, screaming out with each additional stride, staying on her feet was no longer a viable option.

The harshness of breath closing in on her was enough of a warning to kick her into gear. Her pursuer was closing in and she had no desire to find out what they wanted. With a wince in pain and a less-than-scary grunt, Jinx peeled off to the right, through a blown open hold in a chain-link fence, catching the skin of her exposed limbs on every free hanging edge, and feeling the blood trickle out immediately. She fought her way through, screaming when a clammy hand took hold of her ankle and yanked. Jinx dropped to her face. For a moment, dazed, she writhed and whined. Not much found her mind but the far off image of someone’s bronze skin and soft brown eyes. Though she was without a memory of the owner of the face, she wanted to see it again.

She growled loudly and shoved her free leg down at the hand clasped around her ankle. A crash of thunder startled Jinx, but a second later, her ankle was free. She crawled forward and stood to her feet, slipping a little on the slicked pavement, but eventually finding solid ground. She continued forward with a slightly limp to increase the difficulty, but the lack of footsteps behind her calmed her slightly.

She set a new goal for herself: hide.

The next opening between buildings was only as far as she could make it. She stumbled up the alley, flinching at the sudden movement of rats from the end.

Of course it was a dead end.

Another roar of thunder shuffled Jinx along. If she could just rest, just for a few minutes, she’d be strong enough to make it to a place of refuge. She trudged forward, up to the dark green dumpster overflowing with filth, and behind it where she slid down against the fragmented brick wall to sit.

She brushed the strings of her own drenched, blond locks back against her head and whined as her back flared in anguish at the movement. When she brought her hand back into her view it was swirled with pink and blue, no doubt the dyes washing out from her hair. Her gaze followed the colorful drops dripping from her hands down to her scraped and bleeding legs. With nothing more than a seafoam, hospital gown protecting her from the elements, her legs and bare feet had taken the brunt of her fleeing.

Suddenly, a hand slammed against the thick, metal corner of the dumpster. Jinx screamed and attempted to scoot back, but having left her feet proved fatal, she no longer had control of them. The same person who’d been chasing her moments before, slowly crept into view. Her eyes, nearly gold, bore into Jinx as she closed in. Her long, light brown hair, held high on her head in a ponytail, drooped over her shoulder. From beneath her black t-shirt fell the pendant of a necklace; an ‘R’ with a loop and leg that appeared to be bleeding.

“Hey...” the woman whispered.

Jinx turned her head and buried it into the crux of her elbow, hoping that her death would be quick. The bronze face and brown eyes began fading from her consciousness.

Who was he?

“Shady?” another voice entered the alleyway.

“Fuck,” the woman spat. After a shifting above her, followed by the feeling of the looming weight dissipating, Jinx dared turn to face the scene again. The woman who’d been chasing her was standing and making her way back around the dumpster. “What?” she growled.

“Feeding?” the new, male voice asked, a thick accent to it. English perhaps?

“What do you think?” the woman replied.

Jinx held her breath. As they spoke, their voices were growing fainter.

The man scoffed. “You always take the best bits for yourself. I bet you didn’t even leave any leftovers.”

“Do I ever?” the woman hissed back, barely audible.

Jinx sat still for a long time. Feet on the pavement faded slowly until they were absent and soon only the hiss of rain and distant claps of thunder were present.

She’d lived. She’d actually survived... whatever it is she needed to survive.

Realizing so made her eyes heavy and the compression of her skull a much more prominent pain. She peeled her eyes open as best she could every time the lids magnetized towards one another, but with one final meeting, she couldn’t part them again, and to the calming rush of rain she passed out.

A soft, steady beeping found Jinx’s ears. She took a deep breath through her nose, reveling at her ability to do so as the scents of bleach and plastic filled her nose. She wiggled her toes next, at least she tried to. Much like in the alley before, no amount of brain commands or internal wishing would allow her to move her legs. She focused her attention upwards at wiggling her hips, shifting her arms and bending her fingers, actions that were all successful.

“Jinx?” a gruff voice started.

Jinx winced and then slowly opened her eyes. She glanced up and over and her heart bashed. Staring back at her with a worried expression, was the same bronze face and brown eyes she’d seen while fleeing her chaser. He smiled at her and she smiled back.

“Piston.” His name occurred to her the moment she saw his face. Her fiance, Piston.

He leaned down to her, the image of him drowning out the bare, white walls of the room around them. He placed a gentle kiss on her cheek and then brought his forehead to rest on hers. “I’m so happy you’re okay.”

“I was saved,” Jinx replied, smiling, “by someone with a bleeding ‘R’ tag.”

Piston leaned away as his eyes returned to their concerned state from a moment before. “A bleeding ‘R’ tag?” he asked. “You think you were saved by--”

“I know,” Jinx said. “I was saved by a Ruthless Rogue.”

Piston rubbed Jinx’s head gently. “Jinx, the Ruthless only kill.”

Jinx shook her head, ignoring the searing pain that rang out as she did. “Not this one. She saved my life.” Jinx took another deep breath. “I have to find her.”