(Part 1)
The night was brisk and cold. A harsh wind whistled along trash strewn alleys and the brightly lit main streets of the city twinkled like fallen stars in the blue black of the night. Icicles that had formed over the long winter month dripped water to the concrete ground below where it collected in small frozen puddles along the street thanks to the toasty heat from buildings and smoky exhaust from passing cars. The scent of baked goods mixed with wood and pine created a heavenly aroma that settled in the air and chased away the hidden rot of the city.
Christmas lights that were strung between lamp posts, fences, and gutters flashed like dancing fireflies of summer's past to the tempo faint music that could be heard playing through the closed windows of homes and cafés. Despite the lovely atmosphere that portrayed such a christmasy theme, the world was just too cold to properly enjoy it all. To make matters worse, another cold front was blowing in from the North, bringing with it heavy clouds that threatened to bury the city in blankets of snow.
Of course, this was apparently the perfect time for a spiky haired brunette with shocking black holes for eyes wearing a frown and nursing a huge grudge over everything related to Christmas, to decide to take a walk. The bitter wind nipped at his exposed face, turning his cheeks and nose a dark shade of red. He was thankful that his ears remained safe from the element beneath the fluff of his earmuffs, but that the was the only thing he was thankful about this Christmas.
His scarf was tucked tightly around his neck to protect it from the winter wind and the collar of his over coat was pulled up as high as it could go, the dark blue fabric brushing just barely against the fuzz on his chin. His boots crunched noisily on the frozen snow that glittered under the fluorescent lights lined up along the concrete sidewalk. Tom grit his teeth with a silent snarl and glared at all the lights and music that drifted along everywhere he went. Tom swore that if he heard Mariah Carey's voice singing about how much she wanted somebody again he was going to light something on fire.
That something would preferably be a Christmas tree.
Yep, Tom was pretty much the closest living embodiment of Scrooge and The Grinch combined what with his hatred for all things Christmasy or joyful. The only reason he was even walking outside right now in this weather and through the decorated city was because the car had been frozen and refused to budge from it's spot in the driveway and Tom would be damned if he went another second in that house with his friends singing carols without a drink in his hand.
He was just beginning to regret not stocking up on his Smirnoff and drinking what little he had in one afternoon when something stopped him in tracks. An echoing cry cut through the air, so high pitched and near silent that it could be played off as the howling wind. Tom froze in front of the now empty street, the alley next to him looking ominous what with it being cloaked in darkness.
Tom strained his ears for the cry again.
A couple chatting to themselves on the other side of the street, the angry honk of a car in the distance, the sickeningly joyous melody of carolers just down the block. He heard everything except for the cry.
"Maybe I'm just hearing things. Damn, I need a drink." Tom muttered to himself and moved to walk again when another piercing cry split the air.
"Okay, I know I heard it that time." Tom stated aloud before walking closer to the dark alley.
The wind that screeched in his face carried with it the faint scent of mold and rotting garbage that had Tom's nose wrinkling with disgust. He stood there, torn between ignoring the cry and going on his un-merry way to get his prized Smirnoff or to go and investigate what was crying.
When the wind picked back up, and pushed another cry to his ears. Tom groaned in a self suffering way, running a hand down his tired face.
"Well, if I don't check it out it's gonna eat away at me all night. Let's get this over with." Tom's footsteps bounced off the walls of the alley, echoing in his ears unpleasantly as he made his way into it. The buildings were so close together that Tom could reach out both of his arms and touch the rough brown brickwork of both walls. It made his chest tighten with unease at the close proximity. Now, Tom had never been one to be claustrophobic, but he was having a pretty shitty day and this whole creepy alley thing was not helping.
The shadows of the alley seemed to grow even larger, swallowing whatever light dared to peek in and snuffing it out completely and the further Tom went, the more skittish he felt. Every flickering shadow he saw out of his peripheral vision or the loud squeaks of mice or the clangs of falling cans as something brushed past them did not help in alleviating the feeling of unease.
The only thing that broke the horrible, suffocating darkness was the soft yellow glow coming from the windows of hotel rooms on the building to his left and they weren't a match for the hungry, swallowing darkness. The building to the right of Tom was connected to a bakery that only had a store front glass window which meant no guiding light from that building either.
Tom let out a yelp of surprise when he stumbled over a discarded box and crashed against the edge of a dumpster. Fortunately, it stopped him from having a nasty meeting with the concrete ground, but unfortunately, this also meant he got to be up close and personal with the powerful stench of week old garbage.
"Ugh, that is disgusting!" Tom reeled back, flinging his arm up to cover his nose while he narrowed his eyes at the heaps of garbage overflowing from the bins. He groaned in annoyance when he realized this smell was going to take forever to wash out.
Tom was pulled from his thoughts of laundry hell when another cry echoed forlornly in the small alcove around him, sounding more like a lost spirit as it intertwined with the screaming of the wind. Steeling himself, Tom stood up and walked closer to the back of the alley and away from the overfill of trash. He examined the area and noticed that there was an old ratty box stuffed in the alley corner almost like a forgotten relic. The edges of the box shook as something flailed wildly within it, the sounds of its cries echoing out once again.
Cautiously, Tom approached the squirming box as the sharp cries softened into low sniffles. As Tom neared the crying thing, he reached his hand out for the lid of the box and carefully pulled it aside and peered down into it. His eyes widened with surprise, mouth dropping open with a near silent gasp at what he saw.
"Holy shit..." Tom whispered, his breath fogging out in a white mist as he stared down at the small baby wailing her heart out where she was stuffed in the box.
Your tiny mouth was opened widely as you screamed and cried, your tiny hands and chubby fingers waving frantically in the air as your feet kicked madly at the side of the box. You were dressed in nothing but a fuzzy peach onesie and your pacifier lay forgotten beside you as you continued your wailing. There was only a blanket wrapped around your waist in a pitiful attempt to keep you warm.
Your entire body was shaking from the cold, your complexion frighteningly pale for an infant your age. The only color you had came from your bright pink nose and the tips of your ears. Your cheeks were flushed an angry red as snot and tears rolled down your face, your eyes squeezed tightly shut as if you were hiding from the terrible reality of this situation.
Once Tom had recovered from his shock, his hands curled into shaking fists, his eyes narrowing dangerously. How could anyone abandon an infant, especially in an alley in the middle of goddamn winter!?
"Your parents must've been out of their minds." Tom muttered darkly before he forced his fists to uncurl, wincing slightly at the sting from where his nails cut into the meat of his palms. He took a soothing breath and released it in another puff of mist before he reached down into the box, hands oh so gentle as they ran over you. He wrapped careful fingers underneath your head, having remembered hearing from somewhere that it was important to support an infant's head. He placed his other hand beneath your back and slowly lifted your flailing body up into his arms and against his chest.
He rearranged you until you were held securely against his chest with one arm beneath you. Then, once making sure you were settled, he wrapped the pink baby blanket snugly around you. Your cries had not silenced despite the change in comfort and Tom felt sympathy bloom in his chest.
"You poor thing." You had probably been out here for hours, who knew when the last time you had eaten had been or even the last time you had felt the comfort of an adult's touch?
"Hey, shh, it's okay sweet pea. Ole Tom here is going to get you somewhere nice and warm and then we'll get you fed. How's that sound?" Tom knew it was probably foolish talking to a baby who would obviously not understand what he was saying nor respond back, but he was relieved to see that his voice and hold on you was both warming you up and soothing you.
So, making sure you were secure once more, Tom began to walk back the way he had come, although this time being far more careful to avoid tripping over another box when he held such precious cargo in his arms. It was as he was making his way back home that Tom remembered why he had been out here in the first place. He looked down at you in his arms and felt a genuine smile settle on his face at the sight of you snuggling close to his chest, little fingers curled into the fabric of his jacket.
Sure, he hadn't managed to get what he had originally sought out for, but he decided that Smirnoff could wait for another day. Right now, he had far more important things to take care of.
***
Hello everyone! If you're new here, the next part won't apply to you so you can just ignore it however, if you've been a follower or reader of this fic for awhile, then you might want to peek at it.
Hi, so, I have rewritten some things about this chapter and plan to rewrite or change some things about my other published chapters. It's been a long time since I've written anything on this site, but I have grown as a writer and would like to show that through my future stories. But, for now, I'm settling on rewriting a lot of my old stuff.
If you all liked this chapter, thank Gamer_Girl_58 for the wonderful request!
Thank you all for reading and please vote, comment, request, and I'll see you all in the next chapter! Have a lovely day/evening/night!