Silver

Prologue

A/N Shoutout to Bellamy_Mews for offering some helpful critiques. I'd recommend her to anyone wishing to touch up their prose a bit :)

     Jenny Todd tromped irately up the last set of stairs, clutching a crumpled scrap of paper in her fist. She hitched her skirt up to a very improper level above the ankles, and marched straight over a suspiciously dark puddle before reaching the landing. Briefly, Jenny pondered letting her skirt down again, but quickly thought the better of it. The hall where Marjory lived was not kind to women's clothing. 

     Like most of Edra City, Marjory's building hadn't yet been wired for electricity, and was poorly lit. This was a blessing to the eyes, considering the condition of the place. Garbage and broken bits of furniture littered the floor, and paint of some very ancient and indeterminate color flaked off the walls. 

     Jenny squared her shoulders and marched on towards her coworker's door, scrunching up the note even further. Marjory had left it outside her own place that morning, shortly before Jenny had awakened. The girl had the nerve to explain that she had been feeling a bit "under the weather" today, and would Jenny please be kind enough to take just one more shift for her?

     Jenny stopped abruptly at door number 18 and rapped loudly on it. No, she would not be kind enough to take up another one of Marjory's damned shifts, especially after she'd been promised this as her day off months in advance. Jenny waited a moment. No answer. She raised her fist and rapped on the door again, this time louder than the first. The girl had a habit of skipping work to go shopping, of all things, though where she got the money was a mystery. 

     Again, there was no answer. This time, Jenny kicked the door. Hard. 

     "Marjory!" she yelled, "You absolute ass of a woman! I know you're in there - open up. Now!" Social niceties be damned, Jenny would cuss as much as she wanted until Marjory took back the stupid shift. 

     "Marjory!" she yelled again, and then grabbed the door knob. It turned, and Jenny let go immediately. The cold metal, and now her hand, was covered in a dark liquid. Jenny swore, quietly this time, as a chill crept into her gut. She pulled out her handkerchief and wiped the palm clean, dirtying the fabric with a color that looked vaguely reddish in the dim light. 

     Kerosene oil, she told herself shakily, It has to be. That idiot girl is such a klutz when it comes to the lamps...

     Reluctantly, Jenny laid her handkerchief over the knob and turned it again. The door swung open easily, revealing Marjory's warmly lit room. Jenny took a deep breath, and stepped into the tiny apartment. She was met with lamp light reflecting off little puddles on the wooden floor, this time unmistakably the color of blood. 

     Slowly, Jenny let her eyes follow the puddles to the pale figure collapsed in the middle of the room. Yellow light shone prettily against inhumanly silver skin and hair, and Jenny felt her breath catch in her throat as she staggered back against the doorframe. 

     The rumors had been true.