Alice stirred, her body screaming at her, burning her consciousness awake. Slowly her eyes opened, greeting her to a world of smoke and flame. She blinked, trying to clear her eyes of all the dust and debris that rained down all around. Off in the distance she could hear the sound of people screaming, their voices distorted by the ringing in her ears.

She was cold, her body unresponsive.

But gradually, she could begin to feel something, a pain, a pain that grew and grew, with more coming back to her as the seconds past.

She’d fallen from a building. How many stories had it been? Six? Seven? She couldn’t remember.

Bracing herself with her arm Alice struggled to sit up, trying to ascertain her bearings. Below her a car sat, ruined, its roof completely flattened and it’s windows smashed, leaving shattered glass spread around in a large area. It honestly looked like a scene straight out of a movie.

"Noelle’s going to kill me..." Alice thought, rolling off the car roof, her strength failing as she landed, causing her to collapse to the floor with a solid, meaty thud. Still and unmoving, she laid there, her limbs spread out on the floor as her eyes tried to focus, their vision blurred and unsteady before slowly steadying once more.

Above her the building was in ruins, it’s glass and steel skin torn, shredded apart by the explosion that had launched her here. All throughout small fires continued to burn and people could be seen running through the structure, their figures obscured by the smoke that coiled around them. Looking away, Alice attempted to stand, steadying herself on the ruined car, oblivious to the crowd that gathered around her. Some stared at the building, others filed the destruction all around, many just stood motionless, their feet rooted to the spot in shock, unsure of the girl who stood before them. Alice cared not for their gawking and continued to move, staggering slowly across the carpark, the gathering crowd parting as she did so.

Gradually her stagger became a walk and then, when she was sure her legs wouldn’t fail her she ran, disappearing off into backstreets of the financial district once more.

It was a good hour before Alice re-emerged from the backstreets, exiting out onto a world vastly different from earlier in the day. People still bustled back and forth, going about their business, their clothes dirtier, older and more ragged than before, but nonetheless they were average, normal people.

What had changed however was the surroundings. Gone were the neat, organised roads and gleaming towers of glass, replaced by a winding maze of passageways and courtyards. All around Alice, she could see the true unrestrained nature of this district, from the steep uneven staircases, carved straight into the rock, to the shanties, made of plywood, corrugated metal and sheets of plastic. This district, cobbled together as it was, was one of Alice’s favourite places, and her safe haven.

She darted through the streets, ignoring the small stalls that flourished here, their wares effortlessly blending the worlds of magic and non-magic. Her legs burned as she continued to run, the path winding it’s way higher and higher into the hills, taking her far above sea level.

Her destination was located within the winding maze of streets, passageways and courtyards. It was a small room, that sat suspended upon the mountain of shanties beneath it. It’s appearance was completely unremarkable - made entirely of the same corrugated iron and rough brickwork as the rest of the slum - but it was hers, and it was somewhere she could call home. A place to rest, and recuperate after the days events.

Alice stepped forward and placed a hand to the door, instantly feeling the layers of magic that clung to it, sealing it tightly in place. For a moment she stood there, unmoving, verifying everything was as she left it. She couldn’t be too careful, if someone had tampered with it, she could be in deep trouble, but thankfully all seemed to be in order. Confident the room was still sealed, she took a breath and channeled her mana into the invisible symbols engraved on the door, unlocking them one by one, until the door clicked and swung open, beckoning her inside.

The interior was as unremarkable as it’s exterior, filled with only bare essentials and accentuated with one old, lopsided bookcase and even then it was a tight fit. Walking forward, crossing the threshold of the doorway she smiled warmly, feeling glad to be back at home. Turning round Alice closed the door and sighed, the relief spreading through her, as she began reforming the outermost seal on the door. She wanted to be secure, but having to undo all those seals could cost her in an emergency. Only when the seal was complete she could finally relax, throwing the money laden backpack from her shoulder and collapsing onto the bed without even taking her boots off.

Alice wasn’t aware she was asleep until she woke up. And when she woke up she almost wished she hadn’t.

"Of course I was followed," She said, groaning. "Just my luck!"

Around the room Alice sensed a dozen or so presences, as they roamed about, flitting from cover to cover. Even if she hadn’t sensed them, she’d still probably heard them, they weren’t being all too quiet about it, nor did they need to be, they had her surrounded.

She frowned and slipped off the bed, hunkering down within the shadows of the room, trying her best not to be spotted as she moved about the room, gathering the backpack, and making ready to escape. Unfortunately for her, the room only had one exit.

She cursed, smashing her hand into the cement floor. No-one said this was going to be easy, said a faint voice inside her head. But you just had to go and do it. Didn’t you? The men continued to roam through the darkness, closing in on her. So? What are you going to do? The distance between the men and her ever shrinking. Fight, fight and survive. She bit her lip hard, hard enough to make it bleed, the blood rolling down her chin. Survive. Do whatever it takes and survive. She could hear them, their footsteps were right outside the door.

Leaping forward Alice darted to the doorway, pressing herself tightly against the wall. Gently she rested a hand upon the door itself, then with a deep breath, she undid the seal on the door, leaving it to swing open gently in the evening breeze. What followed next, could only be described as pure pandemonium.

The man slowly approached, unsure of the door that slowly swung open, almost as if it was inviting him inside, into the darkness beyond. He could feel his heart beating in his throat. He wasn’t trained for this, he was just a regular thug, just like any other. Yet for some reason right now, tonight, he was decked out like a soldier, with twenty others, all of them, just like him. Their gang had been hit hard, he got that, and they’d lost many good men, he got that too, but what he couldn’t get was, why was he here? In the pitch black darkness, storming a tiny room in the middle of the slums. None of it made any sense.

Each step made his heart race quicker and quicker, his hands shaking with adrenalin, the fear drowned out all he’d been told, all he’d been taught. It left him blind, blind to his surroundings, blind to the others who pressed up against his back, and blind to the girl dressed head-to-toe in black, who stood flat against the wall, her breath steady and eyes focused.

Alice didn’t even let him finish crossing the threshold before she attacked, grabbing his gun with her right hand, pulling him stumbling forward into a strong left hook, which struck out, connecting cleanly with his throat. Instantly both hands went to his throat - releasing his weapon, his body bent forwards - as he struggled to breath. Good, the voice in her head yelled, encouraging her forward. Without pause she grabbed the gun, twisting it away from him, before ramming the stock violently into his face. The impact sent him reeling, his legs buckling beneath him as he stumbled out of the doorway. Alice stepped forward, flipping the gun round, and shouldered it, ready to use, it’s muzzle pointed down, towards the man she’d stolen it from.

"Well, well, well. Now that is impressive," a familiar voice said, almost mockingly. "So you’re Alice, the little rat who managed to sneak into our meeting."

"That’s right! It’s great to finally meet you face to face Samuel, thought I must say you’re nowhere near as impressive as I was lead to believe," Alice responded, tightening the grip on the rifle in her hands.

"Oh really, now that is a shame. But anyway, enough small talk. You have some things that belong to me. I want them back."

"Oh really? What could they be."

"Don’t play with me girl! I know you have them, my men saw you as you left. Took us some time to track you down, but here we are, and we want. I want my goods back."

"If I remember correctly, you hadn’t paid for them yet," Alice remarked, tilting her head slightly as she did so.

"That may be true, but Oliviers dead. You made sure of that."

"I won’t even bother telling you it wasn’t me who killed the old fool. Thought did cross my mind though."

"Well, honestly I don’t care if you did kill him. In all honesty? I’m somewhat glad towards whoever did, makes this deal so much better for me. Once I get what’s mine I mean," he explained, motioning towards the backpack. "And, I’m guessing it’s in there."

"Maybe," Alice said. "But you’ll never know."

"Oh really? Why’s that?"

"Simple. This," she said, smirking as a violent storm of mana erupted around her, briefly obscuring her from view. When she reappeared, her hand was stretched out before her, it’s skin glowing and burning much like a roaring flame. Alice grinned and then, in the next instant the world beyond, disappeared, lost within a hellish fire, that swifty propagated, filling the space between her and Samuel with a immense shockwave.

Alice staggered, her mana reserves almost entirely depleted, her hand shock and trembled, but remained outstretched as she desperately tried to remain standing. All around thick black smoke and small burning flames encompassed the bar, obscuring her vision.

Just as she was about to relax the tension in her body something caught her attention, sending her mind into overdrive, attempting to draw every last ounce of ability from it, and her body. Almost without thinking she leapt sideways, legs and arms raised in a desperate attempt to protect herself. An instant later, a weathering amount of automatic fire burst through from the smoke, slamming into her, the force of the impact sending her sprawling. She hit the ground and rolled, numerous shards of broken glass stabbing into her as she did so. Funneling the flames away from her, Alice stumbled to her feet and continued to run.

For Alice the world seem to slow, with each step seeming to last an eternity. She could feel her heartbeat, it’s distinct pounding emanating erratically from her chest. This great pounding, this great pressure, she could feel it; every single beat. But she couldn’t hear it, her ears too occupied with the rapturous cacophony that besieged them. With these feelings she continued to run, urging her battered body forward, deep into the darkness of the night and then, without thinking, she leapt forward, letting gravity embrace her and swiftly cast her down onto the corrugated roofs below.

On instinct Alice rolled as she hit the roof, tossing herself haphazardly onto it with a painful thud. Not stopping to gather her breath she continued to run, the adrenaline numbed the wounds and helping her continued forward, racing between the numerous shanties that surrounded her. As she continued to run she considered the options, there weren’t many, none of them were good and she new she couldn’t hide.

On impulse she suddenly burst into a nearby shanty, flying across it’s living area before throwing herself through an open window, carefully dropping into the alleyway below. As soon as she landed she planted her back against the wall, listening to the sounds of those who pursued her, they were running far above, probably searching wildly.

After waiting for a few seconds, she broke from cover ducking low as she crept along, trying to keep her ragged breathing under control. She couldn’t hear them anymore. They were either above, remaining still or had pushed on to another area. Alice glanced over her shoulder, seeing nothing apart from an empty alleyway.

She tried to remember the layout of this part of the district, to no avail, the damage she had taken scattered her thoughts, making it hard for her to focus.

Without a sign of anyone else around, she ran forward, bent double through the alleyway. She wished she’d listened to Noelle, and hadn’t been stupid enough to take this job on her own, promising herself she’d apologise to Noelle when she next saw her.

Then she saw it. Up ahead maybe twenty meters away, a chainlink fence that bordered the district, beyond which a forest sprawled it’s thick foliage perfect camouflage for her escape. It was tall, standing several feet high, but luckily for Alice, piles of crates and other abandoned rubbish piled up against it, giving her the perfect opportunity to clear it.

She looked over her shoulder once more, checking to make sure no one was there. Sprinting forward the second she confirm it was safe, covering the ground at a breakneck pace, a pace that surprised even Alice herself. Reaching the fence she jumped, springing off the crates and launching upwards, her left hand gripping the top of the fence, steadying herself as she vaulted it.

Suddenly an explosion rang out, it’s dry crack racing through the air into Alice’s ears. Almost as if on command, her body weakened, her arm buckled and gave out, tossing her tumbling to the ground, like a puppet with it’s strings cut. The dull thud of her head hitting the dry soil was the last thing she heard as she blacked out.

Next Chapter: 5 - Turmoil I: Wolves