The night was not young but far from over, the moon hung high in the sky above the sheet metal rooftops of Townhill. An aptly named town that sat on a hill. From the moon's perspective, it must have looked like a series of quickly constructed misshapen rings, which caused the town to resemble two-thirds of a large target rather than a town or a hill. The highest point held a large communal building and the three circles surrounding it were home to many families and businesses. Leading into the town from the southeast and out from the southwest was a large road, that crossed over the river. Even though the fourth outermost ring was a thin and low wall made of sheet metal, Townhill was open to anyone sane enough to not kill everyone he ever met. Despite its benign sounding name, and the mostly sane residents, there were plenty of dark alleys for people to become forgotten or shady deals to be made.
Running on all fours atop the roofs of the mostly contiguous metal huts on the west side of the town, was a monster. In the bright moonlight, any witness to his passing might haven taken notice of the dark pulsing veins of his chest that were not obscured by the tattered remains of a T-Shirt, which hung down over his shoulders from his neck. Torn and shredded jeans flapped behind his legs as the beast moved. Eyes that look like obsidian stared down at the tiny alleys breaking up the buildings below his feet. Had there been pupils in those endless pools of pitch black, they would have been following the movements of his quarry. The beast was hunting, hunting its prey...
”No, not hunting...following...” That single thought blasted through the mind of the beast and stopped him dead in his tracks. He turned his head wildly about, attempting to look in all directions at once. Unsuccessful in having found someone to have made the voice inside its mind, the beast made what can only be a shrug. Its blank dark orbs returned to the small alleys, searching for their mark. Yet their target was nowhere to be found.
Down in the alleyways, a small girl hid from the monster above, her breathing coming in labored gasps as she tried to make herself invisible. Normally, she would have worn something brighter, but smart as she was, the girl had prepared for this. The dark t-shirt and black jeans allowed her to slip away from that which hunts her. She had an errand to run and the monster above her would only make that task harder.
”Go back, Maul... I told you to stay, I even left you something to keep you occupied,” The girl thought to herself as she tried to quiet her breathing, hoping the man above might leave without causing an issue. As she began to breathe more normally, the girl dropped something and started creeping down the alley further from her pursuer.
Closing his eyes Maul began sniffing the air deeply and rapidly, the air flooded his nose with short bursts in an attempt to locate the girl with his sense of smell. A small pleased smile crossed his lips as he opened his eyes and turned toward the location of the girl. He moved toward the scent, creeping to the edge and peered down into the alley, but the girl is gone. Left behind was a small bag that sat glaring back at the beast. Reaching a lanky limb down, the hand failed to touch the bag and the monster jerked away in anger. Throwing back his head, Maul let out a howl of rage and proceeded to beat his large fists against the metal beneath his feet. As his hands crashed into the metal, without any regard to the pain it caused him, the man started to growl a single two syllable word over and over again, the girl's name came out like some twisted and forced chant, “Fre...ya! Fre...ya! Fre..ya! Fre...ya! Fre...ya!”
Hearing the roaring chant of the monster, the girl stopped in mid-step and let out an exasperated sigh. Freya's faith in her ability to sneak away had failed her twice tonight, her companion's ability to track was much better than she would have previously credited to him. Now, he was standing on the roof throwing a tantrum she could hear a block away. Shaking her head, she hurriedly started to make her way back to the man before he got too out of hand.
As she returned, the girl could see the candles being lit in the homes of those awoke in the middle of the night by the rage of the beast above. Cursing to herself under her breath, Freya called up to the man as she neared him, “Hoy! What the hell do you think you are doing?”
Even as she raised her volume to overpower the growls of Maul, Freya realized the hypocrisy of her actions but knew it to be the only way to get his attention, “Just going to give up so easily?”
”I need to get him out of here before people see him...” Thought the girl as she began to clap her hands and ran back down the narrow alley.
Above, Maul's fit subsided as his soulless eyes found their prey once again and his primal mind returned to the hunt. Several moments passed before the beast lets loose a howl and once again commenced the chase. He followed her from above as she lead him away from those that had begun to hang their heads from their windows in an effort to find that which had woke them so suddenly in the night. Fortunately for Freya, they could not see the beast that raced across their roofs.
The girl ran through the twisting alleys of Townhill, leading the monster that pursued her back toward the more shady side of town. While none of Townhill would likely ever be considered beautiful by anyone, the northernmost part of the town was certainly worse off than the rest in the eye candy department. Even though the town was fairly prosperous, as prosperous as a town could get after the apocalypse, most of the wealth was generated and spent in the south side. The most valuable businesses in the north half were the bars, which were little more than gambling dens and brothels, and the substantially cheap inns.
It is one of those cheap inns, one cheaper than most even by cheap standards, that Freya headed toward. In Townhill, like in most places, cheap meant that no one asked any questions. As long as one paid for their room and did not destroy it, no one could care less who you brought in or what you did with them. Even the sight of her companion had not really been an issue there, the innkeeper more than likely figured that the guards would not let in a Lost. While the girl would likely agree, she could be very persuasive when she so desired. Still, she was rather certain that her companion is not quite Lost, just losing it.
The girl stopped running very suddenly, she had become lost in her own thoughts and now found herself unsure of her location. Reaching a thin hand up to the long blonde hair that cascaded down from her scalp, Freya scratched her head as she tried to see anything she recognized. Her and her companion had only arrived in Townhill a couple weeks ago. While the town was not overly large, its many winding alleyways could be very confusing, with little more than differences in the color of the metal walls around her to be her guide.
On the roof, Maul had also come to a stop as he watched the girl below him. He began to creep toward the edge of the roof and crouched down. The animal could tell that he was able to fit down in this alley. Tensing his leg muscles the creature prepared to pounce upon his prey. His eyes fell upon the very tips of his fingers that have worn away to show the bone beneath and he is interrupted by a few more thoughts. ”When did I become so thin that you can see my bones? Did I become anorexic? What did I eat last? You're not going to eat the girl...are you?
A particular spot of rust caught the clear blue eyes of the girl and she nodded, more to herself than anyone else, certain that she had finally gotten her bearings. Without warning, Freya took off again, running to the end of the alley and turning left. It took Maul a few more moments to be pulled from his thoughts but the beast instinctively gave chase as soon as it had noticed that the girl was gone.
Only a few more twists and turns were required of the girl before she would reach her destination, The Listless Lady, but she was not destined to reach it just yet. As she rounded one corner, Freya collided with a wall, or at least that it what she felt it had to be. When her eyes looked up though, she found herself looking at a very big fellow that did not look pleased.
Glaring down at the little girl with a menacing gleam, the man said to two others behind him that Freya had yet to notice, “Well, what do we have here? A little girl out all by herself? That's really dangerous.”
Shit! I don't have time to deal with this! The teen cursed in her mind, even as a sheepishly small smile flashed across her face and her cheeks flushed red. She opened her thin lips and let out an innocent voice, “Gee mister, I am really sorry. I-”
The girl's second sentence was cut short as soon at it started by the bare foot of the man. A little dazed, Freya rolled back and away from her assailant, then quickly looked up to find Maul. Seeing him currently still catching up, she sighed in relief. The last thing she needed was for the monster to mangle these men and she knew that he would without a second thought. Standing up the girl reached into her purse as she said, “That was not very nice, mister.”
“Oh, I can be real nice,” Replied the man as he stepped closer.
“That would be a most pleasant surprise,” Said the girl as she pulled out the only weapon she ever carried, a two foot long nightstick. Holding it by the vertical handle, Freya squeezed the small button on it. Blue sparks burst forth, arching along the longer end. Swinging with all her might, the girl caught the taller man upside the head. Twitching violently, like a epileptic disco dancer the man fell backward to the ground. His two companions quickly step forward.
Glancing back, Freya saw Maul quickly approaching. She ran right toward the two men, startling them with the fire in her eyes. Neither of them would have expected this tiny girl to react so fiercely, so violently. The smaller of the two simply turned tail and ran like the apparent coward that he was but the other grits his teeth and stood his ground. Freya dove under the man's legs and came up behind him. With a second well placed but savage swing, she sent the remaining man dancing to the ground.
Without pause, the girl took off again, trying to keep Maul away from her would-be attackers. Dashing through the alleys, she looked over her shoulder and is relieved to see him following her. Freya twisted through a couple more alleys and found herself at the door of The Listless Lady. Waiting for her companion, the girls put away the nightstick that still sat in her hand.
Maul dropped off of the roof to the ground beside her. His blank eyes stared at her as if begging for something. Shaking her head, Freya said, “I don't have anything to eat on me.”
As Maul snorted in annoyance, the girl opened the door and stepped inside. Maul followed after her and she quickly shut the door behind them. The first floor of The Listless Lady was more bar than anything else, plenty of drunk men and woman trying to drown their sense of loneliness and worthlessness in alcohol and each other. Freya would have led Maul straight up to their room but Maul had different plans. When Maul had entered, his keen nose had been rewarded with the smell of stew. A table of five sat eating the stew, with a larger bowl in the middle. Unlike the rest of the inn's occupants, they did not seem interested in anything but the food. So was Maul.
The beast hopped across the floor in a couple of bounds, right up to the table and grabbed the large bowl. Before the men or Freya could say anything, Maul had drunk half of it. Crying out in indignation, the one sitting at the head of the small table grabbed Maul's arm. Pulling the bowl away from his mouth, the creature roared at the man. Startled the man let go and Freya quickly moved in.
“I'm very sorry about this but I will pay for them to bring out another bowl.” Said the girl before calling one of the serving girls over, “I'd like another big bowl of stew brought to this table.”
With a nod the woman left to the kitchen and the tension that had started to fill the room, quickly dissipated. Pulling Maul away from the bowl, even as he finishes it, Freya tried to lead him away toward the stairs. Before she could reach them, the innkeeper seemed to appear out of thin air, “I believe I just heard that you were covering that second bowl of stew.”
Flashing a smile of nearly perfect teeth, even if they are a little stained, Freya replied, “Of course! Its just that I don't have anymore to trade, right now... So, maybe I could just help out for a bit while I am here this week to cover the stew?”
The innkeeper's jaw tightened a little but he nodded and stepped aside, allowing the two to pass, “I'll want you doing dishes every morning, bright and early.”
Nodding as she passed the innkeeper, Freya used no words to reply and led Maul up the stairs to the second floor. Walking all the way to the end of the hall, she opened the last door and held it for Maul. Closing the door behind her companion, the girl's eyes follow him in, “What the hell, Maul? I told you to stay here... I have also told you not to take what isn't yours!”
The man did not reply, he did not even seem to take notice of her, instead moving to the pile of straw in the far corner next to the bed. With a yawn, the beast laid down and curled up into a ball. A moment later and he was asleep. Sighing again, the girl just threw her hands up and shook her head. Crossing the tiny room to the bed, the open window provided just enough light to make out the small shape of the chest and chair, she sat down. As she takes her boots off, the girl remembered that she never did get to do what she had planned to do upon leaving the inn that night. Shrugging, though no one was around to take notice of it, she decided that it will have to wait until the next day. Moments later and she, like the monster in the haystack, was fast asleep.