𝐃𝐄𝐋𝐓𝐀, 𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘦

ᴢᴇʀᴏ

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DΣᄂƬΛ

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THE SICKLY GREEN STAINED THE SKY, SPLATTERED IN GRAVE NEONS THAT CONTRASTED AGAINST THE CEMENT BENEATH IT. Tanned palms shook and dark eyes welled with tears, teeth grinding as their sights were set on the crimson painted on the concrete. Their own hands were covered in the red color-- it dripping through the cracks of fingers and spraying the ground in the iron-tainted liquid. The ringing in her ears seemed louder and her vision started to blur, feet tripping over themselves as her body sank to the floor in agony. Her brown eyes flickered to the blank face of her brother, shaking fingers reaching out to caress his jaw. Cold. He was so cold. He shouldn't be this cold, should he? And his eyes-- they stared through her, like he couldn't see her. Her brother had always had good eyesight, their Ma and Pa always praised him for it so why couldn't he see her. Why were his eyes so blank and unblinking. Her hand raised again, placing itself onto his shoulder before shaking it. Nothing happened. Why didn't anything happen? She shook again: still, nothing. 

And the red, oh the red. It fell in waves from between her fingers and pooled beneath her brothers head, staining his blonde hair a distasteful shade of muted pink. Oh her mother wouldn't like that. "Jonah, get up." Her voice was gravely in the empty street, the sound of it stirring the floating debris around them. She let out a nervous laugh, this time hooking her hands underneath his armpits in a grave effort to yank him upwards. "Jonah this isn't funny anymore, let's go." Again she was met with no response and her hands shook violently, legs fumbling like a newborns under the weight of her brothers body.

"Jonah, please!" Spit flew from her mouth and her eyes were wide with stinging tears flowing freely. She shook his body desperately-- back and forth. "Jonah please I- I can't do this alone. Jonah wake up." Her cries were tainted with death and despair, a type of guttural scream that echoed for miles. Her clothes were caked in blood and her fingernails clawed at her throat, trails of hot sticky blood trailing their way down the cuts on her neck. Saliva dripped down her chin and her palms were decorated in crescent shaped cuts, five for each palm. She had watched the downfall of those around her and now was left to live out the agony alone-- all alone.

The crunching of boots caused her head to whip around, baring her yellowing teeth at the man. He was tall, taller than average. His eyebrows furrowed deeply as he accessed the scene in front of him-- multiple dead bodies, pools of blood polluting the grey beneath, and the figure of a girl covered in said blood baring a pair of sharpened teeth at him. He just about left her but the broken look in her eyes made him reach out a calloused hand towards her figure. She hissed again, backing away like a startled animal. He cleared his throat.

"Come with me if you want to live, kiddo." She grit her teeth. "And how do I know I can trust you? Hell you could be the same person who murdered my family!" Her hand gestured towards the multiple bodies laying slack around her. He let out a dry laugh before holding out his hand once more. "You've got no reason to trust me, but it's either you kind-of trust me or you get eaten alive by the Enforcers." As if on cue flashlight beams danced through the dust and uplifted debris. The girl grunted before grasping his hand, yanking herself up. She gave him one last glare. "This does not mean I trust you, it means I'd rather trust a stranger than end up like the rest of my family." He nodded in confirmation and ushered the girl towards a back alley, her following a distance behind.

His auburn eyes glanced back at her before raising a question. "What'd your name, kid?" The girl scoffed, kicking a rock. "Why would I give up mine when you haven't even told me yours, old man." He let out a genuine laugh at that, running his hand over his face. "You've got a mouth on 'ya kid. It's Vander, and as of now your current guardian so get used to it, kiddo." She nodded before silence overtook them once more. It wasn't an awkward silence but more of a comfortable one, one where both parties knew that their relationship held mutual respect.

"It's Delta."

Vander stopped and turned around, raising a bushy eyebrow. "What?" The girl shrugged, running and vaulting off a building wall and landing on a pipe above. She crouched there like a cat, tilting her head. 

"My name. It's Delta."

Vander nodded before continuing on, the sound of Delta jumping from pipe to pipe keeping him company.