Octagon Project 1: Melody Halloway

~-17-~

Mel had just finished one of her late night workouts and was walking through the hallway into the kitchen light-footed to see Vanessa quietly making her way to the front door. Didn't surprise her. Mel walked over to the fridge and waited until Vanessa's hand was on the door handle before opening the fridge.

"Plan on running?" She asked, grabbing a bottle of water and closing the fridge. Vanessa gasped and spun around, meeting Mel's blank but threatening stare. Mel was in her sports bra and running shorts since the boys weren't around and she figured that if Vanessa saw her scars, even if dimly, it would give her enough of an idea on the kind of person Mel was. Mel sat down on one of the bar stools and twisted off the cap of her cold water.

"I forgot to warn you that I don't sleep. " Mel said with a shrug, taking a long drink of her water and looking at Vanessa again who was still staring at Mel. Mel was dripping with sweat and her body was decently tan in Vanessa's opinion. She was probably the most muscular girl she had ever seen. "I did warn you though, that running away could get you shot."

"You and your threats. " Vanessa said quietly. "I'd like to see when you'd actually follow through with any of them." The moment she finished talking, Mel had a kitchen knife across the room. Vanessa froze as it whizzed by her ear and Mel shrugged.

"Guess that's up to you to find out." She told her. "But I can tell you one thing. I never miss a target." With that Mel began to walk back to the training room with her refreshing water in hand.

"Well, you missed with that knife. " Vanessa called back.

"I wasn't aiming for you." Mel answered with her back to Vanessa as she walked down the hallway. In the dim hall lighting, Vanessa stared at Mel's back in awe. Scars crossed her whole back and a blue ink tribal tattoo went straight down her spine. It's design faded from time. On her right shoulder blade, a slightly newer looking black tattoo sat there. It's octagonal shape appearing as though it were melting with a single flame in the center. Looks like her boss was right. She really has been to hell. But living a life of killing, Vanessa didn't think she's come back from it. After hearing Mel say that she hadn't been aiming for her, Vanessa slowly turned on her heel to figure out where the knife landed. She froze when she saw Justin standing there, holding the handle of the knife near his ear and looking at Vanessa with a dull expression.

"She's always out trying to kill me." He commented, lowering the knife and walking over to the island counter in the kitchen to put it away.

"But you guys live together. " Vanessa stated.

"That don't matter. She was already here for a good eight months before I showed up."

"And how long have you been here?"

"About two months. This life grows on ya, I'll say that much." Vanessa looked off to the window even though the blinds were closed and it was dark out. "I mean, don't get me wrong, the chicks here are hot af, especially Mel, but that doesn't mean things in this life are how you want them."

"Yeah..." She muttered.

"Aw yeah, you got your assessment in the morning." He said, tapping Vanessa's shoulder.

"What exactly do I do at my assessment?" She asked, almost afraid of the answer. Justin shrugged and plopped onto the couch, crossing one leg over the other casually.

"It's different for everyone. No one really knows. But I'm sure you'll do great no matter what Mel says. She's just a party killer."

"Was she always like that?" Vanessa sighed, collapsing onto the couch next to him as he draped his arms around the back of the cushions.

"Don't know. Zack and Roy say she was." He said, running his fingers through his hair and sighing. Vanessa nodded. "Well, since you can't run away, you should go get some sleep for your big day tomorrow." He said, giving her a nudge. Sighing, Vanessa got up and walked off to her new and unfamiliar room, shocked at how comfortable she found the bed.