Opposite Side of the Tracks IC (Dark Wind and Freeze)

[Dark Wind]

It was a warm and breezy night, typical for South Carolina at the end of summer. Everyone was getting out of work and heading home, or some people were going to late night jobs. Others would be spending the night in the city of Cress, a beautiful city full of bright lights and a night life that attracted a lot of people. Clubbing, eating out at fancy gourmet restaurants. Well, at least that was for some people; the ones who could afford it. In the Cress projects things weren't so fortunate. A lot of it was run down. Some houses and apartments had boarded up windows and graffiti sprayed all over them in various designs. It is a place where gangs roam, the homeless struggle to survive, and the poor work strenuously to keep themselves afloat.

This is the life Kaden Lawrence was born into... And for him, this was a normal night. Walking back home cautiously after finishing some construction work on a nicer section of the city. He yawned, feeling the exhaustion steadily collect itself onto his eyes and the soreness of his muscles travel all over his body. His hand brushed over his eyes, making sure to remain awake. It wouldn't be too much further until he was back home on his bed to just pass out.

[Freeze]

A soft breeze blew blew by Kylie, her hair sailing with the wind. Her arms were crossed against her chest as a subconscious manifestation of her uncomfortably. Her face was calm but behind her cool expression, she was worried. I can't believe this, she thought, angry with herself. She never gets lost. She was almost certain her mom had sent her on a wild-goose chase. "There's no grocery store back here," she muttered quietly. "I don't even think anyone lives here."

She stopped on the sidewalk in front of the mouth of an alley with a sigh, looking around. She brushed a lock of hair behind her ear and turned toward the alley. A foul smell drifted out. Kylie wrinkled her nose. Suddenly, she felt a firm grim clamp around her right arm. "Eep--!" she said in surprise to see a burly man in a leather jacket looking down at her, smiling, showing off his yellowed teeth.

"Why don't we go for a walk?" His voice was deep and slightly menacing.

"Umm...--Ow!" she said as he yanked her toward the alley, hurting her arm. "Somebody, hel--!" Her voice was cut off but him placing his dirty hand over her mouth.

"Shut up, bitch," he snarled, pulling her farther into the alley as she struggled underneath his grip.

[Dark Wind]

Kaden could see what looked like a girl's figure off a little bit in the distance, illuminated by the soft, dull, orangey glow of an old street lamp. He shook his head, knowing it wasn't safe for a woman to be walking around these parts at this time of night. After a few more steps he decided that he would go over there and see if she was lost or something. And then it happened. Kaden heard the girl scream out in terror before having her cries muffled by her assailant. The hair on the back of his neck stood up, there was no way he could just let this happen and leave.

His fists clenched tight and his hair standing up on the back of his neck, Kaden sprinted toward the alley way. Good thing he had played sports for so many years, it was real easy to catch up to them. He didn't really think of an organized plan of attack, in fact he wasn't thinking at all. Kaden was locked in on the man and sprinted even harder until he just leaped out, lowering his shoulder in a tackle. He jarred the man's grip of Kylie loose, leaving her free and Kaden on top of the man.

[Freeze]

Kylie grunted as a force rammed her attacker and released her from his grip, sending her sprawling onto the concrete. She sat there for a moment, trying to process everything that had just happened. The spots in her vision cleared up and she saw a figure, a boy probably as old as she, on top of the mugger. She tried vainly to stand up, but lost her balance and fell to one knee. "Oh my God!" she cried out. "Should I call 911?" She didn't wait for an answer, she reached instinctively into her pocket but froze. Her pocket was empty. Suddenly, in her mind's eye, she saw her phone sitting on her nightstand next to her bed right where she had left it. Maybe it was good that she had left it there, considering a man just tried to mug her. Though, God knows what he could have done to her. She swore under her breath and knelt there with her hand covering her mouth, not sure what to do?

[Dark Wind]

Kaden sat up on top of the man with his fist raised, ready to pummel his face in if he moved. Kylie's voice brought him back to the reality of things going around him, and looked at the man underneath him. He wasn't moving but was still breathing. Definitely unconscious. He got up and turned the man over before dragging him over to the side of the alley way and leaning him up against the building wall. Finally, he acknowledged Kylie by looking over to her and shaking his head about calling 911. Who was this girl? Looked like she didn't belong to this neighborhood. Kaden got up and walked over to her.

"Come on, let's get out of here before he wakes up." He said motioning to the street, offering his hand to Kylie.

[Freeze]

"O-okay," Kylie said, following his lead back to the street, taking his hand, and not looking back to the man slumped against the wall. Once she got out, she brushed herself and turned back to her rescuer with a smile. "Thank you so much for coming to save me," she said, twisting a lock of hair in her finger casually, though her heart was still racing. "Really. I can't thank you enough. Who knows what couldv'e happened to me... Wait a minute." She stopped and took a step toward Kaden, squinting her eyes. "You look familiar," she mused, though she couldn't quite put her finger on it. "You don't go to Airam Private High, do you?" she asked, now intent on figuring out who this boy was.

[Dark Wind]

Out on the street, Kaden finally got a real good look at the girl. She looked familiar. If they weren't just in that situation, her smile might have made him shy. Easy on the eyes to be sure. He seemed to be calming down, the tenseness slowly fading away. Kaden wondered if she might recognize him, hoping she wouldn't. He was about to speak after she thanked him, but then Kylie started up again. "Wait a minute... You don't go to Airam Private High, do you?" Well, there goes that... Kaden looked away an scratched his head for a moment, before turning his eyes back to hers. He nodded.

"Yeah, I transferred there halfway through the school year last year." He said, realizing that she must be from Airam. It also explained why she looked so out of place in Downtown Cress.

[Freeze]

"Oh, no wonder!" said Kylie. She had been right about him looking familiar. There was still something that tugged at her mind about him, but she couldn't quite figure it out, and she figured it would be kinda rude to interrogate him. Finally, she just decided to give him her name. "My name's Kylie," she said. "Kylie Payne." She held out her hand to him to shake. "And who shall I call my prince in shining armor?" She inquired with a big smile, noticing that the boy wasn't that bad looking either. Perhaps this was a night of fate?

[Dark Wind]

This girl seemed to bounce back pretty quick after possibly almost being killed. Well, the worst seemed to be behind them so Kaden just went with it. He smiled at her comments and accepted her hand, grasping it with his own. They were smaller compared to his but much softer and more smooth. Like they hadn't known years of struggle. "Nice to meet you Kylie, the name's Kaden. Kaden Lawrence. And I'm no prince or knight, I was coming over to your direction anyway because well... This neighborhood really isn't safe for you at this hour." He shuffled his feet awkwardly before thinking of something else to say. "Where exactly do you live? I think I'm obliged to make sure you get home safely now."

[Freeze]

Kylie smiled as the boy talked. She just wanted to squeeze him; he was like a big teddy bear. "Oh, I know," she said, putting her hands on her hips. "My mom sent me here looking for some grocery store that sells this special fruit called a 'grapple', or something. I dunno." She brushed some hair out of her face and tried to look as good as she could. "I live in Airam," she replied. "But I wouldn't want you to take me home, it's far too late. Your parents would wonder where you are!" She faced her head downwards but looked up at his eyes, with that expression that said 'but you should take me anyways, cutie.'