Back-Alley Deals

As the curfew calls out - a call home as the light of day sets in - you make your way towards your apartment with bleary eyes and tired bones. You hover outside the doors for just a moment, looking around for her.

It became a habit for the two of you, greeting each other as the curfews switched. She ran off to school when you came home from work and you left for work as she got ready for bed. There was always that brief moment - whether from the windows of your apartments or in front of the buildings - that you saw one another.

You lean against the building and watch the crowd milling about. You don't remember a time before all this happened - the curfews, the creatures. You haven't seen the sun properly in years, not since you were a child, but working nights paid better. Nightsider's ask fewer questions too. The only incentive you have to switch back to a Daytimer was her. You yawn as you glance around. She should have darted past by now, you think, where is she?

There was something shifting down the alley between your buildings that catches your attention. You think about ignoring it - you don't want to miss her after all - but something...something was pulling your gaze. Light began to crest over the other buildings and there was a glimmer of gold down the alley. You think it looks similar to...

"Aurora?!"

You sprint towards the familiar blond hair and stop short as you notice the pool of blood seeping out from under it. You look around for the attacker, anything that could have caused this, and spot two other figures.

Bile fills your mouth and you have to look away. You take a few deep breaths to stop yourself from vomiting at the sight of their limbs - their bloodied limbs - torn apart and strewn about. You steel your nerves for another glance, hoping to see who they were so you can inform the Watch when they arrived.

You recognize a few of their features; they were similar to Aurora's - the man's nose tilted up at the end, the woman's eyes seemed too large for her face. Those familiar eyes were wide and lifeless, an expression of pain and horror warped any other resemblance to the sweet and innocent girl they raised. They were her parents.

You drop to your knees next to Aurora and pull her head into your lap, checking her breathing (shallow), her pulse (faint). There is a wound above her eye that was still trickling blood. Her eyes flutter open for a second. Her pupils are pinpoints swimming in a blue-green sea. They waver, never focusing on your face. You speak, trying to keep her awake, "Aurora? Please...just-just hold on alright? I'll...I'll figure something out; you're going to be alright just...please. Hold on for me," you look back towards the street for the Watch that was usually stationed outside your building, but he is nowhere in sight. You feel frustration bubble within - weren't they supposed to be on patrol? You don't care about getting caught breaking curfew, not if it means getting her help.

"Po...lar...is..."

Her voice is so weak it hurts you to hear it. You stroke her cheek and hush her, "it's going to be alright," you lie. What else can you do?

You look around, desperate for anyone - anything - to find you, to help you.

Any...thing? The whisper seems to echo down the alley before circling you. Are you sure about that? The voice was stronger now, closer. It felt like something was pressing against your skull -

You put a protective arm over the girl in your lap. If it wants to play games then you can play along, Will you help her? You are fearful of speaking aloud, not wanting to worry Aurora. You check on her again; she is unconscious.

Perhaps...

You look around; the alley was still empty. "Show yourself," you say, "if we're making a deal, then I want to know who I'm talking to."

There was laughter - slow and menacing - that fills your mind. You flinch, trying to move away from the echo of it. The light of the rising sun is still tucked away behind a building and the alley is plunged into true darkness. The streetlight was too far away to shed light on the two of you. The buildings around you are dark - and you begin to wonder if the demon is playing tricks on you, maybe using the shadows to scare you, but you don't have time for any of it. You would face the consequences after she was cared for.

"Enough with the tricks, show yourself!"

The laughter dies and a figure steps out of the shadows. No...the shadows themselves move away from it, like a cape dropping to the ground. You can't focus on the figure. Something about it blurs your vision as you look towards it and averts your gaze the longer you stare.

I don't think you're in a place to make demands...

"If you're just here to play tricks then fuck off," you say, "Watchmen will be here soon enough, I'm breaking curfew after all." You don't like thinking about how they would know, but you've seen it before - how they always show up when someone was out when they weren't supposed to be.

It chuckles, so you are...the figure begins to circle you, and yet it was I who appeared before you. What does that say?"

You glance towards the end of the alley, "you're keeping them away," you observe, "why?"

You asked for anything...why not offer my own services? It's been ages since I made a deal.

You can hear the smile on the demon's lips. You can feel the threat of teeth near your neck for a moment before the figure is in front of you again.

You want her to live, don't you?

Her blood was seeping into your jeans and you felt sick. It was now or never; she didn't have time for you to debate the morality of your actions. "I don't care what you want from me, just save her."

The figure became clear for a moment - long enough for you to see the sharp grin properly - before it is a blur against the shadows once more.

I'll come to collect one day, Po-lar-is, its voice is a whisper in your ear, and you feel a chill run down your spine. There is something touching your shoulder - a hand?

And then pain. You writhe as heat floods your body, filling your veins and boiling your blood. You bite your lip to keep from crying out - the taste of hot iron slides across your tongue.

The sensation ends as quickly as it started; the fire retreats back to your shoulder and lingers there until the demon removes its hand. "Now...now fix her," your voice is shaky, but you hold your head high. Now is not the time to look weak. The laughter fills your mind again and you feel a headache forming.

Look for yourself, boy. She is perfectly fine.

The shadows part and you look down. There is still a scar above her left eye, but it looks like it has healed. The color is returning to her cheeks. Aurora looks as though she just...fell asleep. A tear falls onto her cheek and you realize you are crying. You look up to thank the demon, but it is gone, along with the shadows. The sun's rays finally spill into the alley and you feel relief.

Aurora begins to stir in your arms and you shush her, moving to pick her up so that she can't see the carnage beside you. She looks at you with groggy eyes and smiles, "Polaris! How -" her question is interrupted by a yawn, "how was work?" She looks around, finally noticing where she was. You keep your expression blank. "Polaris?"

You don't want to explain what happened - how her parents are dead, how you made a deal with a demon to save her - so you say nothing. There is a Watchman walking down the street and you call out to him. An echo of that hideous chuckle follows you as you carry Aurora to a nearby clinic. But that is a problem for later. Right now, Aurora needs you.