Within the Sound of Silence

She walked in anger; heavy boots leaving a trail of heat in her wake along the cracked pavement. She was done with the pathetic sacks that swarmed her at the bar in that shit hole of a planetoid. The same deal every time she went in, didn't matter that her attire screamed contained violence. Black turtle neck, dark blue jeans, black combat boots and her favorite old black duster. She wasn't anyone's 'sweetheart' or 'shuga'. She swore the next sonuvabitch that tried to lay a hand on her was gunna taste dirt for a week.

She had made good on that promise...too bad the knuckles of her right hand were gunna hurt for the next day or so. Oh well, hittin' that piece of shit had been well worth the bruise.

As she echoed the promise of death on her lithe footsteps down the winding path, she felt an unease slither through her bones. Some thing was out there in the inky black of the colony... An intelligent glare shimmering like deadly starlight with every move she made.

She was being hunted.

"Fuck this...I'm Not in the mood." She snarled under her breath, hands having disappeared into the deep pockets of her coat, covering the twin six inch blades she clutched in a white knuckled grip. If this bastard wanted a piece of her, it was gunna die trying.

The itch at the back of her neck only intensified as she got to her front door. Whatever was trailing her hadn't made a move...not yet. Quickly, she slipped inside and locked the many deadbolts that lined the heavy door frame. It was allot, sure...but a girl can never be too careful. Not in a 'verse set on ghostin' you the first chance it got. Better to be safe then, well...dead.

Hours passed like the trickling of rain; pattering gently along the walls of her mind, keeping her on edge...waiting for the moment shit royally hit the fan.

But soon exhaustion set in...whatever had been tracking her, hadn't made a move to attack. If it was one of those mooks from the bar, they'd have tried a go at her the first chance they got. They weren't the brightest asshats in the 'verse. Whatever this was, wasn't human. Why? Human's are sloppy. Period. They always slip up. No...this, whatever This was...was smart, real smart.

There was something else too... There was somethin' about this that felt...familiar somehow. Like a voice in a dream you just can't place...

After fighting herself, she lost the battle and ended up collapsed in pair of dark gray loose pants and a large black shirt against the cool sheets of her mattress. Hoping, that sleep would wash the uneasiness away.

If only she'd known how Wrong she was...

*  *  *

Darkness enveloped her sleeping form as a silent shadow emerged from the night itself. Two orbs of burning silver blue light trailed the curves of her body, memorizing every line, taking in the very sight of a creature he'd thought he'd lost so long ago. It been too long since he'd seen her, too long having tasted her scent on the back of his tongue when he breathed her in.

My god, she was beautiful.

It was painfully obvious how much had changed...everything about her screamed a warning, a defense against any who would dare get too close. The sense of unease, as though even in her sleep, her body thrummed with heightened awareness. He knew how he had to play this out. Nice and easy. He recognized that energy that pulsed in waves from her still form; a primitive alertness against anything that threatened to prey on her in such a vulnerable state.

It struck something deep within his being, witnessing this new behavior with a Hawk’s eye clarity. She was more like an animal now… In fact, she was frighteningly more like Him.

Not exactly what he was expecting.

Encased in shadow, he stood within the silence. Watching her even breathing, the rise and fall of her chest… Instinctively knowing that not everything is ever what it seems. Knowing she wasn’t peaceful, that if he made even the slightest sound, she’d be on her feet and ready to kill within the span of a heartbeat.

How did this happen? The short time they’d spent together couldn’t have created this new creature that feigned innocence just a few feet away. Had his brief influence in her life all those years ago…been so great? No. This wasn’t something you Chose to become. This was something inside you, buried deep beneath layers of domesticated Humanity. A genetic trait generally dormant within the masses strewn out across the universe. How didn’t he sense this before? Perhaps it had awakened during his long absence. What had triggered it? What horrors had she encountered in those long nine years without him there to protect her?

The answers would come in time…

First thing’s first, approaching her without incident. Would she remember him? Was she so far gone now…so detached from her gentle nature that she’d try to protect herself at all costs? The time for weighing his options was over. The innocence he'd loved about her, appeared to be nothing more then a faded image within the layers of anger she wore like a defiant shield.

For a moment he was conflicted, torn as to whether he should go through with this…until a faint energy danced through his heightened senses. There, hidden within the sound of silence… He could feel it, like a soft ember glowing defiantly within the black. Which meant there may be hope after all...

…and there was only one way to find out.

A deep rumble lifted into the darkness like living thunder when he took a silent breath and growled, "Hold your breath."

-End Part One-