when hunger strikes

[lue]

Freeze City was exactly as she remembered it – it was crowded with people and reeked of human pollution. The further one traveled into the heart of the city, the worse it stunk. Lue had come to the conclusion that everyone had been here so long that they were numbed of the odor and therefore somewhat oblivious to it. She couldn’t imagine ever getting over the smell – but she was a wolf, so maybe it bothered her more than humans.

A different scent traveled through the air, reaching her nose and tearing her mind from her previous thoughts. It was a tantalizing smell that made her mouth water and stomach complain about how hungry it was. Lue was dirty, bruised, hungry, and quite simply exhausted. She had no money, and had no place to stay but the streets. If she didn’t do something about it, she wouldn’t last long.

She instinctively reached for her stomach as it let out another groan. Maybe it knew she had no money. That it wouldn’t be fed any time soon. And it was screaming at her, pissed that it was stuck on such a useless, lousy creature that couldn’t even fend for herself. She bit her puffy lip in frustration, tasting the salty blood that ran out of the wound. The pain did nothing to stop her mind from mentally beating her to death. No. I’m not useless. Or lousy. And I can too fend for myself. I’m strong. I’m a wolf.

Lue seemed to take on a different train of thought just then. She knew she needed to survive, and she certainly wasn’t going to starve. There were ways of getting what she needed – she had often done these things in her past. So why was now any different? She rose to her feet and checked her appearance in the window of a nearby store. A layer of grime and dirt covered her face and her lip still bled. Not to mention her white hair was stained a light brown color from the dirt. She tried to wipe some of it away, but stopped when she realized it really didn’t matter.

Tucking her hair behind her ear, she eased her way into the movement of people, following the scent of food. It led her to a corner with multiple food stands – some with fruits, some with breads, and some with meat. Being a wolf, she naturally chose the meat stand, eyeing it hungrily. Lue had one last moment of guilt wash over her for what she was about to do. But as her stomach growled loudly again, her hand snapped forward and she snatched a large chunk of meat from the stand. Then she turned and ran.

“Thief! Stop her!” The meat stand owner shouted, a thick vein pulsing in his temple as he grew angrier. A few people nearby turned to witness the scene. A man in the crowd even lunged toward her, attempting to stop her from escaping – but Lue scratched him with her claws and socked him in the face before breaking from his grasp and disappearing around the street corner and into a nearby ally.

[Adelaid]

While the streets teemed with life, Adelaid was just relaxing in an alley. There were times to fight, and times to relax. The day was rolling by slower than normal, and of course, she was waiting her friend, who was lost somewhere, she was sure. Trouble assisted Lue and her along their journey. But at the moment, there was only one question on her mind, and that had to be the fact of where her friend was. Looking out onto the street, she looked at shops and what they offered, but most was human junk. One shop sold weapons, and it wasn't surprising that the silver glints caught Adelaid's eyes. The clerk noticed her stare, and laughed outloud at her. Something about it caused her skin to shiver. It was knowing, and yet accusing.

"Hold your breath man, cause I'm not buying anything." But while the man didn't relent, Adelaid finally had to walk away. There was no end to the games humans played. Adelaid fumbled with the gun strapped to her back. It was difficult to keep in times when she slipped into her lupine skin, but it was always with her when she was human, and she used it in times of need. But who could have guessed that time would be so soon.

As she paced back into a stand, she heard whispering behind, but whispering was loud to her. And when she turned her head, there was no mistaking she was looking at city scum. A man was smiling at her, almost toothless. Dirt filled several facial crevices around his head, while a smell radiated off him as well. With a wink, he tried to indicate some form of sexual attraction, no doubt. Adelaid gave him a rude gesture, hoping that was all that needed to push him off. But when she felt two hands encircle her hips, anger flared brighter than any red.
"Baby...why don't we go get lost for a few?" Moist breath tickled the hairs on her neck while gentle but rough lips pressed onto her skin.

"Get off me now, ass." Adelaid stiffened, wanting to reach for her weapon, but as the man leaned into her, she knew exactly what was now against her gun.
"No need to be..." A hand slowly traced it's way up the front of her shirt. "Hateful."

With that, Adelaid dropped a tad, swinging her elbow so that it connected with the man's groin. With a huff, he leaned forward to balance the pain that was once his pleasure. Turning around, Adelaid ran her fingers through greasy, slick hair. Grabbing fistfuls, she brought her knee with such swift force, that it was a struggle to keep his head in one place. She swiftly smashed his head two more times and than left him sitting down on his knees. With a quick kick across the face, he spiraled around, fainting on the ground. Adelaid leaned closer, taunting him now. She looked into his pockets, found a knife, gun, and a few coins. Adelaid knew a man like this was rapist, or something worse. Sighing, she walked back onto the street and sold the gun and knife. With a flick of her wrist, she indicated that someone should look back on him in a few hours.

Looking over her shoulder, she saw Lue running towards her, with of course, a few things of meat. When she was closer, Adelaid waved her past, and just shook her head. An old man tried to run after her, but there was no where to run, now that his breath was out. Adelaid walked forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. Slipping him two gold coins, she ran after Lue. After catching up to her friend, Adelaid shook her head with annoyance.

"Damn you, Lue! Why do you do this?!" Of course, the answer was there. They weren't the richest people around. And they were traveling, which left money low, and there weren't any possibilities for jobs. Expect bounties.

[lue]

After catching her breath, Lue wiped the sweat on her forehead away with her arm and leaned against the cold ally wall. “The hell with that! We don’t have enough money to splurge on everything we need. And we need food.” Lue knew Ade wasn’t oblivious to their situation in the city, but for some reason she felt the need to explain her actions to someone. No matter how repetitive it was. She didn’t particularly enjoy stealing from people who were probably in a similar situation to them. But really, what choice did they have? The only money they had was from the occasional bounty they received for capturing wanted criminals. And they hadn’t received any for weeks. Which was becoming a problem.

Tossing half of the meat to Ade, she slid her back down the wall until she was sitting on the ground and began to tear pieces of the meat off with her fingers. “We can’t keep paying them like that Ade. You may feel bad, but we’re running short on money. And if we don’t get another ‘job’ soon, we’re going to be fucking broke. And then what?” There was a bite to what she had said, but this was the way Ade and Lue often spoke to each other. It was how they got by in life.

After a few minutes, Lue rose to her feet. "Look, I'm just frustrated. And frankly, exhausted. Wait here." Tucking what was left of the food under her arm; she stood on a nearby dumpster bin and easily scaled up the side of the building using the drainage pipes and uneven bricking. They had spent quite a bit of time in cities like this, so Lue was use to getting around fast when down below it could take triple the time. With a running start she leaped from one building to the next. It wasn’t too difficult – the buildings were fairly close together. But even so, a human may have some trouble with the distance. Lue however, didn’t think twice about it. And in moments she was slipping the meat into a small bag with a few other essentials inside and slinging it over her shoulder. She had left the bag behind while she went off to 'find' food.

She returned a minute later, leaping down from the building and landing at Ade’s side. “So, did you find us a 'job'?"

[Adelaid]

Lue's attitude was not unexpected. There was a defiance to the female wolf, as much as maybe Adelaid also. But there was anger and malice laced between each word. Something about the city bothered her, and maybe it was the fact that they didn't roll around in cash. Sure, Adelaid had gotten a few coins, but that wasn't near enough to help them alone, as Lue had pointed out. Adelaid mutually watched as Lue searched for a bag, and threw her meat into it. She might not mind if it gets disgusting, but Adelaid did. Letting her fangs chop into the meat, the red she-wolf made sure each piece of food was gone before she looked back to Lue.

Of course they needed Jobs, and Adelaid was left to do such searches. Criminals were always in the city, and that left plenty of money for the two to collect. It was a good thing that they were masters at what was expected of them. Adelaid fumbled with a patch at her leg and pulled out two sheets of paper. Reviewing them first, she nodded and looked back at Lue. "Here are two jobs. One is for a thief." Thief was maybe a simple word for a master mind like this. He broke into houses will the people were even in them. Sleeping, showering, etc. His skills were amazing, and the job would be complicated. They would have to hide out and wait for the criminal. The reward was good, and Adelaid was positive she would snipe a few of the coins laying around the thief's base, and there was no doubt about that. Adelaid wasn't worried about the thief, but more about how Lue would handle a quiet job.

"Second one is for a rapist..." Trailing off, Adelaid wondered if she had already taken charge of this charge. But the picture didn't look anything like the grease monkey that had attempted such actions on her. "But get this. He didn't just rape a mother and a child. He raped the father too." That, even for human standards, was strange and hideous. Adelaid knew that if she found this man, it would be her teeth that would find his neck. "Both pay a whole load." Maybe that would keep Lue from her missions too. Adelaid didn't know why she worried so, but she did.

[lue]

There were wanted signs and posters for criminals scattered all around Freeze City. They covered building walls and billboards outside the local police center – or what someone might call a police center. You see, they weren’t very efficient in their jobs and hardly ever caught who they were after. That’s why Ade and Lue had so many opportunities for rewards. And it was also why Lue wasn’t surprised at the date printed on the first paper Ade pulled out.

“This sign was posted three years ago. How can they not catch someone after three years?” She took the paper from Ade to get a closer look at the man’s face and read the description for herself. A thief. Thieves were a huge problem in Freeze City. They were everywhere and there were new ones popping up every day. Heck, Lue even resorted to stealing every once in a while – but only minor, essential things; never house break-ins. Especially while the owners were home.

She took a moment to evaluate the first case. “Well… He must be staying in the city somewhere if he’s stealing so often – and large things at that.” Lue read the bottom of the paper to herself – it had a list of some of the things that were stolen. Television sets. Furniture. Other expensive electronics. But the thing that really caught her attention was the last thing listed. “Safes.” Lue said it out loud as she read it. “He’s not working alone. Humans aren’t strong enough to steal those sort of things unless they have at least two other accomplices.”

Somewhat satisfied with her evaluation, she handed the first paper back to Ade and took the second. There was a sort of malice in the rapist’s eyes that wasn’t there in the thief’s. This man was a sadist who enjoyed making his victims suffer – and they would make him suffer for that. “Fucking psycho.” She said as she read the description of what he had done to the unfortunate family. The date stated that the incident occurred only days prior. “We’ll just have to keep our eyes open for him. There are so many fucking creeps in this city – he’ll easily blend in.”

After scanning the second wanted poster a minute more, she handed it back to Ade. “What do you think? There’s a lot of money involved if we can capture them. But it’ll be tough – that’s for sure.”

[Adelaid]

Adelaid smiled with everything Lue said. The two of them took the term, 'Great minds think alike', to a whole new level. Everything that she noticed, Adelaid had spotted as well. But some clues were embedded deep within the pictures, things that could be guesses and opinions, but some could be certainly correct. Shifting weight onto one hip, Adelaid cocked an eyebrow and thought about the idea of there being a few more thieves in the act. It was true that humans couldn't lift a safe on their own, but there might have been some Noble technology at play too. But to think of a Noble stealing from the Slums of their own city was ludicrous, but even so possible. Adelaid learned that you can never rule out something absurd, because in their world, everything was ludicrous.

"We could be dealing with Rogue wolves." Taking the flier back, she looked at the rough image. There wasn't anything in the eyes that indicated something feral. "Could be neutral wolves. There are quiet a few of them around these days. Eric doesn't help that." Since the Noble rose to a political stand point for the wolves, three sides were created. Pro, Con, and Neutral. Adelaid herself was a Pro wolf. She was told Paradise was a real-live place. A place of happiness and bliss. One where the lies of humanity didn't curse them. But her own ideas were complicated. There was never the want to search. But a wolf like Lue as Neutral. Simply didn't give a shit one way or another. They were usually they were usually the wolves that stirred up the most trouble. There was nothing to dedicate their time and energy to, and that resulted in crimes that infested the city population. "We might also be dealing with a human being framed. I go with rogue wolves." Nodding and folding the paper into a square, she tucked the sign in her pockets.

The rapist would probably be the easiest one though. A life full of trauma led to acts of rape, murder, and theft. But for a man to rape another man, well, that alone was strange. A childhood trauma was probably the result of this man. "We can't be too sure if he was gay or straight. For a straight man to rape another, well, that would be a strange thing." Nodding again, Adelaid pieced all their ideas together, and came up with a simple place of their search. "Down-town. Slums. The man probably has a family. Father that beat him, and raped him. All we need to look for is his face, maybe wrap up a few stories in the town." Small towns erupted around the main city. Humans wanted a sense of containment and family, but most times the small structures led to harmful out comes. Gossip was wild-fire, while violence was daily.

With all the facts together, Adelaid smiled. This was going to be a good hunt. Lue and her were the best. The city should look into hiring them full-time. But no. They worked behind the scenes. Attention like theirs could be dangerous. The Nobles wanted wolves that would do their bidding, and die if not. Adelaid and Lue enjoyed their own freedom, even if the pay was sometimes small.

[lue]

Lue furrowed her brow and nonchalantly chewed on her lip as she considered the fact that the thieves could be wolves. It made sense – wolves were naturally stronger and swifter than any human. Not to mention they were often living a low quality of life and could easily be pushed to the point of stealing to change that. “Neutral wolves hmm? It’s possible. I mean, look at me. Breaking and entering houses all the time to rake in the dough.” Lue let out a hearty laugh implying that it was a joke before restoring her composure.

What Ade said made sense. If wolves weren’t searching for this ‘paradise’ or avoiding it, they were doing other things. Whether that be taking on a human life or stealing to fit in with the others. “We can’t rule it out, that’s for sure. We’ll have to do some major searching. But once we find just one of them… we’ll be able to make the fucker squeal.” She grinned to herself, imagining how easy it would be for Ade and her to ‘convince’ the thief to sell out his friends.

It was Ade’s next words that pulled her from her pleasant thoughts. Although she wasn’t sure if the man was gay or straight, she figured it didn’t much matter. Whether it be a gay man raping women or a straight man raping another man, it wasn’t a pretty thought. Hell, you’d have to be one messed up mother fucker to even consider raping someone in the first place. “I agree about the slums. We can start by asking around there. We’ll find our rapist in no time. But we have to be careful. Things spread fast in a close-knit community like that. There are all sorts of people listening… If he finds out we’re after him – this will be a lot more difficult than originally planned.”

Suddenly things were looking up for Ade and Lue. They had a job. They were going to get paid. And she knew they’d collect the rewards in no time. Her previous sour mood seemed to drift away and she couldn’t seem to keep an anxious grin off her face. “Well...” Lue slung her bag off and began digging through it. Though there wasn’t much more than a few essentials in the small bag, it always seemed like she could never find what she was looking for right away.

Eventually she pulled out a long, sharp knife and an old raggedy shirt. She ripped a long piece off, pulled up her pant leg, and carefully tied the knife to her calf with the cloth in a way that was comfortable, easy to get to, and wouldn’t fall off or cut her. Normally Lue was content with going wolf when she was in danger, but to avoid blowing their cover in the slums, she was going to need something to protect herself with as a human. Especially while snooping in the dark.

“Let’s get on it then.” Lue said as she threw the sack onto her back and made her way back to the rooftops. She flashed a glance down toward Ade before taking off in the general direction of ‘down town’, her short white hair bouncing as she ran.

[Adelaid]

Adelaid watched as the knife was wrapped around Lue's leg. Another thing that separated the two; was their use of money. Adelaid felt for the gun-blade tucked behind her back. It was neatly slung in a perfect case. The blade had meant life and death for her. She cared for it as much as she could. And to some people, she didn't look as if she was having money issues at all. But with the care she took, the care of her body was sometimes missed. Lue over looked petty things though, and always shared what she had with Adelaid, even when it might not be the other way around. Lue was getting her things together, and Adelaid couldn't help but want to give her a small bag or something. But when she moved to do so, something in her stopped her. Lue was the closest person to her, but her walls were built, and it seemed impossible for her to give out a simple object, as if it was giving away a piece of her very being.

As she leaped up to the roof, Adelaid watched as the her wolf form took dominance. To wolves, they saw the real object of their lives. They might try and be humans, and blend in, but wolves had the eye. They broke through gladours and simple dressings. Lue was a wolf, as much as Adelaid was. Adelaid sometimes resented the fact that she was a wolf. She was proud of her race, and such, but there were times when she built strong covers, and tried to pretend to be a human. Deep down, somewhere, she wondered if a human life was what she longed. Every time, like now, she would shake her head feverishly, and whisk away her thoughts. The guilt that came with them made her sick in the gut, for she felt like she was betraying Lue herself. Lue didn't want to be human, so why should she? Why should she think so?

Knowing that thoughts were only dangerously close to headaches, Adelaid leaped at the buildings walls, pushing off each with four powerful legs. After a few pushes and leaps, she was standing on the roof. The darkness of the city was haunting, as always. Life still teemed in the city though, with deals to be made and people to see. Adelaid lifted her nose to the air and just inhaled. Some scents were ugly, but some were old. Old scents that made her think of home. Looking around, she wondered what the humans were thinking if they saw her? All they would see is a human looking at the sky, because she didn't let her real cover drop. In this city, Wolves were demons. They were feared. One time in the city, she remembered she was sneaking at night, being only a wolf, only that. She came upon and father and a son looking out over a field. Her eyes watered at the touching moment, but her heart squeezed from a distant hatred too.

"I'd shoot it there, Dad?" The boy looked at this father with eager eyes, happy to be making him proud. The father smiled at him, as if for the first time. He rubbed his face and pointed to a rough image of a drawn dog. It was close enough to a lupine size though. "Right between the shoulders son." Adelaid was so absorbed in her thoughts that she jumped when the shot was fired. She waited for the pain, as if the shot was fired at her. But she looked back over and saw the Dad patting the boy from a clean shot. They talked a bit more, but Adelaid had enough. She ran out of the shadows, running behind the man and snapping at his heel. When she tasted his blood, she turn and fled, before the boy could imagine what happened, or before the Dad could see what it was. Let him think it was a wild dog.
'Let him think it was a wolf.'

Seeing the she-wolf's frame bob over the roofs, Adelaid realized she as lagging behind. Running off after her, Adelaid flattened her ears and started to gain on Lue, at a full sprint of course. Adelaid had kept one thing hidden though. The police officers gave her a piece of the thieves and rapists clothing. Both would be too easy to find the two. Adelaid wanted it to be a chase. This was bonding for the two wolves. The only time in the city when they could be what they were and do what they wanted. She wanted the time to slow and for the chase to stretch. But if Lue knew, she might get mad. But it was the best for them. When she was next to the wolf, she snapped her jaws and let a few rough growls escape her maw. The translation would have been something like;
"Let them run. We are wolves."
Greatest creatures alive.

[lue]

The sun was vanishing quickly now, the light being sucked from the sky like a giant vacuum. On the streets below, people were hurrying to their destinations, wanting nothing but to escape being outside during the dark hours. Many things seemed to come out at night. Something about the cover of darkness drew them out of their disguises and tempted them to reveal their true selves. If it weren’t for the wolves’ easy-to-maintain human mirage, Lue herself may have been among those who were tempted. However, she knew better than that – while there were wolves out in the dark, there were also others. Thieves, crooks, criminals. This was their time. Or so they thought. Most were skeptical of the existence of wolves and took the night time to their advantage to snoop around and cause trouble. The worse of it was that humans would then go and blame the wolves for the doings of humans.

A low growl formed in the back of her throat, but she swallowed it and clenched her jaw instead to mutely express her dismay. She truly hated humans. All they did was pollute the world, complain about it, and then blame everyone but themselves. When Lue looked over toward Ade and she wasn’t right beside her, she realized her anger had caused her pace to increase. But Ade quickly caught up the second, Lue assumed, she realized she was so far behind as she was. Lue grinned as Ade expressed her excitement in a multitude of growls and noises. She joined in, the eagerness of her friend spreading like a virus to Lue.

But their excitement was long-lived, for in no time at all, the slums came to view. Lue had come to a stop on the last rooftop, looking out onto the houses with her grey-blue eyes. At first glance, she noticed three things. One was the enormity of ‘down-town’ – it was way larger than she remembered it. The second was the quality of the houses – they were so old and worn that even Lue herself would rather live in the streets than live in one of them. And the third was the smell – it was almost worse than in the city. Lue crinkled her nose as she took a huge whiff of the stink. How can these people live like this?

“You know… This may take a bit longer than I imagined it would.” She said as she ran a hand through her salty-white hair. When she nonchalantly pulled her hand back to inspect her grimy fingernails, she realized she could barely see her hand in front of her face. The only light now was coming from the houses in the distance and the light poles that were spaced so far apart that if someone were to walk down below it would be as if they were screaming ‘MUG ME’. That was probably why few people were walking from the city to the slums, she mused.

“Hey Ade?” Lue said, pausing to look at her comrade. “When we get through with this, I need a shower.” She gave a small chuckle and flashed a squinty smile at Ade before leaping off the building in one easy motion.

[Adelaid]

What was the slums to the nobles? Looking down at the dirty homes and roads, she simply wondered why such poor conditions were alive in this City. Erick was doing a worse job than she had intended. All his words were good were lies. Powerful distributions that humans and wolves believed. Looking at the streets again, she sighed and stretched her lower back. Moaning with the relief of the restraint loosening, she flickered her gaze towards Lue. Watching her run her hand through her hair, Adelaid just sighed and wondered when the last time the she-wolf had bathed. Bathed properly, if at all. She couldn't blame her, because if she looked at her own hair, it was stingy and almost in need of a bath as well. But it was so dark that she didn't worry about anyone seeing her. Tucking her hair back into a pun, she pulled out a small knife and slit it into her hair, keeping the bun in a firm position.

Time to worry was now. Pulling free the gun-blade, she swung it around, and the blade slid free. The sword was steady in her hand, giving her the steady feeling that she needed. "Lets get down in there. You take the road to the right. Meet back here in about an hour." Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a small grenade. It wasn't of any harm. It would be triggered by her own button. It would explode into colors and lights. After nodding to Lue one last time, she leaped off the roof and onto the ground. She pulled off into a jog and started to inspect a few of the houses. Up head, she noticed a house with more light than normal. With a quick pace, she moved up to the house and leaned in closely. A shutter was loosely hung, but she quietly slung it over, and looked inside.

Inside was a elderly woman, with a man sitting beside the fire place. The woman walked around as if she was making something for the. A busy and quick impatience was embedded in each action. Adelaid watched as soup and bread was brought to the man, and then she returned to work on more dishes and clothes. Looking at the haggered look of the woman, Adelaid knew something was amiss. Climbing silently into the window she braced the gun-blade against her fore-arm, feeling the cool steal. As she stalked forward, the woman turned and shrieked in terror. For a few moments, Adelaid hesitated. The old woman didn't need problems like these. This might not have been the first attack in her home, and Adelaid was sad that she had to be another number to a score she was keeping. But Adelaid lunged forward, wanting to press the edge of the blade against the man's neck, wanting to ask questions. But by the time she got there; the chair was overturned, and a slim sword was held out in front of her.

A warrior that was well experienced. Adelaid was mostly at fault for this, because she expected less. But she dropped to her knees, sliding one leg across the floor. Swinging the blade for the knees; the two blades clashed. A jarring jolt smashed her teeth together. But she learned to fight with two hands, for anything could happen in a fight. Switching arms with a casual twist, she spun on her heels and kicked out with her boots. The attack connected with the man's knee, and the force brought him down. Jumping up, she placed both her hands on his shoulders, and did a complete flip over him, landing behind him. With one more swing, she had the blade tight against his throat. She saw the woman out of the corner of her eye, fetching some kind of weapon. "Don't move! The slightest hesitation and I will kill him!" Barring her teeth, she tried to calm her energy down. She didn't want the humans to freak, knowing she was a wolf. The woman moved towards the door, but she stayed there, her chest rising and falling.

With that taken care of, Adelaid removed the blade swiftly, and kicked the man in the rear, and twirled the blade until it was a gun once more. Pressing it against his back, she leaned forward and said, "Now, I need some answers. Have you ever heard of a rapist in this area?" This was a possibility that this was exactly the man. But his face wasn't the same, so it was a little out there. "I have heard of him." He grunted under her sub-human strength, and said, "But he killed my wive." With a hatred burning into her gut, she pulled back her weight but keep the gun leveled. So this wasn't the man, but he was a victim. He rearranged himself, and started to tell his story, and his information. Adelaid didn't say anything to him, or his mother, which he was staying with. Anger was in her blood now, at herself, but she couldn't help but pull five gold coins out of her pocket. It was all she had left. Leaving as quick as she had entered, she fled the place. Not looking back.

[lue]

In seconds, both wolves were lost in the darkness of the slums. Lue took the right path as Ade had suggested, keeping to the narrow road lined with the occasional light post. It was strange – now that her eyes were adjusted, she felt more secure in the darkness than in the light. Every time she moved under the light cast by the light posts, she felt as if a giant search light was after her, pointing her presence out to everyone.

At a first glance, all of the houses appeared to be empty and dark. But if one were to focus carefully enough, some random, scattered houses were emitting a soft, eerie glow. There honestly wasn’t much for Lue to do but start at the first lit house and make her way one by one down the street. They didn’t have any clues beside a picture of the two men, but she had left them with Ade. It didn’t much matter though – Lue could remember the faces of all the horrible people they had captured over the years in detail. It was strange, like bringing them down locked them securely in her memory forever. How could I forget the faces of the all the fucking scum we have collected? It’s burned in the back of my mind. Just as the faces and stories of the victim’s are. It was hell. Yet, something about bringing one small justice at a time made it bearable. Not to mention the pay that came along with it.

Making her way swiftly across the first yard, she peered in through the window of the first house. A man lay on a couch in the main room, flipping through television channels. Lue watched for a moment before coming to the conclusion that nothing was peculiar about the man and his house. The second house she came to was several houses down, and was a bit larger than the first – though no less shabby. But Lue doubted that the elderly couple inside had anything to do with the rapist or the thieves. She moved on. It was surprisingly easy to notice if something was awry. Humans weren’t too great with masking their emotions. And so a quick scan was normally enough to confirm or deny the house as the one they were searching for.

Ten minutes and twenty houses later, she came to ‘the house’. She made her way to the front window, peered in, and realized there was a blind in the way. ”Oh what the fuck” she whispered under her breath. Craning her neck, she noticed a window on the second floor that also had the blinds pulled down. But after circling the house, she realized that not only these windows had the blinds pulled down, but all the windows were being shielded by something. All the doors were bolted shut as well. Something was up about this house. She had to investigate further.

Lue knocked on the front door. It was the only way she knew how to get inside besides breaking in – which was something she would have to do when they were gone. She waited a minute, and when no one came, she knocked again. This time a burly man opened the door. His eyes grazed over her once before she spoke. ”Mr. I’m lost and I can’t find my way back home!” She pulled tears out of nowhere, her eyes flooding with the salty liquid. Through sobs, she spoke again. ”I’m-I’m-afraid.” Lue wiped away fake tears with a shaking arm.

The man gave her a suspicious look before poking his head out of his house. He looked to the right and left to see if anyone was nearby. Then he stepped out of the way and said, ”come in” through clenched teeth.

[Adelaid]

After searching a few more areas, Adelaid found herself laying on a roof, looking out over the night sky. Thinking over all the information she had obtained, Adelaid didn't know when she should activate the flash grenade. As soon as it went off, Lue would have to run towards it as fast as she could. But if she was currently engaged in something, it would only be bothersome to get pulled back from her concentration and spying. So this was a moment just to relax, and she was soaking in every minute. Finally the stars became boring though, and Adelaid laid over on her side, and tucked in her knees, drawing in the coolness of the night air. Shivers racked her body, but the chill was comforting.

A few crows cawed in the distance, and their simple noise pulled Adelaid out of her daze, and sat up. The quickness of the action caused her head to swim, but she simply picked herself up and knew time had passed plentiful. Lue had to be done, or at least waiting near the grenade. Biting her lip a few times, she fished through her pockets and found the little button that would cause the reaction. When she pulled it out, she pressed the red button and then gave it a fling. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the light flaring like a mini-sun. She started to run across the roof, and dropped down towards the streets below. When she landed, she ran faster. The threat of another human roaming the streets was real and threatening.

Further energy pushed her forward, until she was almost upon the light. Shifting herself, she slipped behind a dumpster as she noticed a small figure sitting near the light. Creeping closer, Adelaid got a good look at a child-like form dangerously close to the weapon in use. But as she stepped closer, she knew that he was of no harm. Taking the last remaining feet, she stood next to him. She didn't notice if he was at unease, or frightened. He just sat there, watching as new colors flared and disappeared. Looking down on him, Adelaid could tell he was a child of the town here. His clothes hung on him like rags, showing off his fragile frame. It made her think of the old lady, but Adelaid just sighed. She dropped onto on knee and looked over at the lights again.

"I like the lights. Their so pretty." The boy smiled to himself, but his eyes never let the grenade. Transfixed by them, Adelaid wondered what caught his eye so much. "I know what you want here." Adelaid was slightly taken by surprise. What did this boy know of her and Lue? Maybe Lue had already encountered the boy. But if she did, it probably didn't go over well. But she crossed her legs now, and squared herself towards him. "So does the bad man. He left when he heard you were here though." The boy looked at his feet, but then looked up at Adelaid. With a single swipe of passing eyes, the two were left expose. Adelaid was no longer looking at a boy, but of a small gray wolf. Scars ranged down the thin body, while new cuts were visible near his flank. Looking away, Adelaid knew that she didn't want to see anything more of the wounded wolf. There was so much past she had to deal with, that she didn't need anymore reminders of a life she had suffered through herself.

"But you can find him." With her eyes closed, she heard the voice slipping away. "Were wolves. We can do anything." The words were barely audible. There was one more thing she barely heard, and what she did hear; made her heart squeeze. 'For my mom', was the last few words she was able to detect.