Welcome to Gaia! :: View User's Journal | Gaia Journals

A rush of students hastily ran from the school grounds. They gathered with their friends or grabbed their bikes and zoomed away, however one student didn’t. She was staring at a slip of paper, as she slowly walked.
Aimée looked up and at the street signs wondering where to go. Emma had given her instructions on how to get to her house right before slapping on her skates and rocketing off. “Here is the way to the pub next to my address, I need to get some spare parts for the tractor so I’ll meet you there later.”
After an hour Aimée still hadn’t found the right street, and she was getting creped out. It felt like someone was watching her. In fact three people were watching her. Suddenly two men stepped out from a dark alleyway in front of Aimée, “Are you lost sweetheart?” Said one. “We’d better make sure nothing happens to you.” Said the other. Their voices were harsh and unsympathetic. One was fat and clean shaven, the other was twig thin and his face bore a grimy goatee, Aimée was terrified.
“N-No thank you,” she said her voice trembling, “I-I’m fine.” Aimée turned to walk away, but the fat man hit her on the back of the head, she let out a soft gasp and fell on the hard cement path, unconscious. The two men dragged her into the alley and into a beaten up car. But unknown to them another was watching, one who had been following Aimée from school, the mysterious prowler was Alice Treeroot.
Treeroot witnessed Aimée’s kidnapping and sprung into action. The forest had taught her more than anyone knew, around school she stayed on the rooftops. While she was following Aimée’s kidnappers she used lampposts, power lines, trees and other car roofs to keep up, the chase went on for a kilometer, but Treeroot kept the same distance all the way.
“Nothing's going to happen to you,” she said, “I promise.”


* * * *


Aimée awoke to find herself in a shadowy room, once her eyes had adjusted to the darkness her heart beat quickened. There were six men who all looked like thugs in their mid twenties, brandishing switchblades and sharpened wood stakes. Aimée lifted her head and they all looked at her, they where grinning like foxes at a trapped lamb, Aimée found out why, she was tied to a chair, with her hands behind her back, with a piece of tape over her mouth. One man stepped forward, he had greasy black hair, bright blue eyes, a square face and looked younger than the rest, he grasped Aimée’s chin roughly, and his voice was menacing and threatening,
“Well done Twig, you and Chubby make a great team. This one will fetch a good price.”
His sly grin grew broader as Twig responded, “and good fun, right boss?”
The gang laughed, and Aimée’s eyes filled with fear. The boss pulled out his knife and held it at Aimée’s neck; the cold steel sent shivers down her spine
“Now,” he declared, “you will do what we tell you, and this won’t happen again.” At that moment he lifted his blade to her cheek, kept her head still and sliced a deep gash in her skin, she whimpered under her gag as a tear slid down her cheek. Suddenly in a blur of black, the boss lay on his back two meters from Aimée, and standing next to her was a man in a long black cloak and full face mask, fixed in a forceful position, with a dagger in each hand, the gang knew who he was but Aimée couldn’t believe her eyes. Aimée’s all time hero was defending her, he was just as she imagined, and the boss uttered the words that most were afraid to say, “Dark Dagger.”
The boss picked himself up and wiped blood from his lips, Aimée’s eyes never left Dark Dagger, his voice was deep and sounded like a lion’s growl,
“If you lay one hand on her again you will be my first kill, Grease.” His eye’s flashed scarlet red, Dagger was beyond angry but Grease wasn’t giving up.
“If you haven’t noticed, Dagger, there are six of us and, one of you.” His sly grin creeping across his face once again, “Kill him.”
Dagger leaped into the air and landed on one gang member’s shoulders, stabbing him in the chest, but not before Twig pierced Dagger’s back. He hardly flinched, instead he span around and kicked twig to the ground. The gang kept gouging Dagger but he didn’t even grunt, or touch the ground. Finally the whole gang lay bleeding and unconscious and Dark Dagger stood in the middle of the carnage with five knives in his back and one in his shoulder, he was breathing heavily. Dagger looked at Aimée, his black eyes full of pain. Black? Aimée thought, they looked red before.
Dagger limped behind her and cut her bounds, Aimée jumped up, tore off her gag and ran for the door but stopped, looking back she saw Dark Dagger kneeling on the ground leaning on the chair, a pool of blood had already started to form around his knees, she took a step toward him,
“No, run.” His voice was weak and slow, “I can make my way to the rooftops, I can...” he tried to get up but fell down again. Aimée ran to his side and lifted his arm over her shoulders, wrapping her arm around his waist, supporting his weight. “What-What are you doing?” Dagger asked. What am I doing? Aimée asked herself, she didn’t dwell on it though; Aimée looked in his eyes and answered his question,
“One good turn deserves another.” I must be going mad; she thought his eyes look brown now.


* * * *

Crack. Lightning flashed across the sky as Aimée hammered on her door in the pouring rain. Her Papa opened the door and fear bleached his face,
“Aimée,” he said, “Do you know who...? Why is he..? What happened to...?” he stopped and ushered them inside.
Aimée sat her hero on the couch as her mother walked in, she went pale as well, but got the first aid kit and started mopping up Dagger’s wounds. He mumbled something under his breath, and then he lifted his head and turned to Aimée,
“He will be here soon.” Before she could say anything there was a knock at the door, each hammer felt like a gun shot. Papa opened the door a crack and a voice was heard from outside,
“I know he’s here, don’t worry, I’m his doctor.” Papa still wasn’t shore until Dark Dagger spoke,
“Please Scott I need your help.” His voice was getting weaker by the second, Scott pushed through Papa and froze when he saw Dagger balanced on the edge of the couch, Aimée looked up at him with pleading eyes, Scott then ran to his patient. Aimée watched while he worked, his strawberry blond hair was neatly combed back, his oval face and roman nose remained still while his emerald green eyes darted all over Dagger’s back as he slowly pulled the knifes out, he had a small beard growing at the base of his chin and he looked like he did this kind of thing a lot. Dark Dagger’s eyes never left Aimée; although they were full of pain they were still reassuring. It must be the light. She thought staring into his amber eyes. Scott finally got the last blade out of Dagger’s back and they both stood up to leave, Aimée stood in front of them. Dagger put his hand on her cheek, wiping away some blood he said, “It’s not often someone saves my life,” he lowered his hand and pulled out one of his daggers, “And it’s not often someone gets this gift.” unexpectedly he cut a deep gash in his hand and dropped his dagger.
“I wouldn’t do that,” Scott warned, “you’re too weak.” Dagger placed his bleeding hand on Aimée’s wound took off his mask with his left hand and dropped it, his face was still covered by his hood’s shadow. He then placed his hand on her other cheek and stared into her eyes. A powerful energy surged into Aimée’s face, she couldn’t help but stair into Dagger’s eyes, and they were changing colour so rapidly that Aimée couldn’t count how many colours there were,
“I give you, Aimée,” he said officially, “the ‘Gift of Sight’”. Unexpectedly Dark dagger flew back like an explosion hit him luckily Scott caught him, but his hood fell down revealing his face. Aimée’s mouth dropped, she had so many different images in her mind of what Dark Dagger’s face was, but her face was not one of them. Lying lifeless in Scott’s arms was a girl she had seen once before, Alice Treeroot. Scott’s wide eyes darted to every person in the room,
“No one can know who she is.” he said. Aimée hardly heard him but nodded subconsciously, thoughts where zooming through her head so quickly that she didn’t notice Papa escort Treeroot and Scott out the back door, She’s the same age as me! But that would mean that she was ten when she started, how did she keep from screaming with those knifes in her back? Does that happen every night? All Aimée could do was stare into space. Maman walked up to her child and waved her hand in front of Aimée’s face, I must look blind. Aimée blinked and looked at her mother’s worried face. Aimée gave a weak and confused smile and Maman returned it, her eyes shifting to Aimée’s cheek. It’s still bleeding. Aimée remembered, she raised her hand and wiped some blood, then stared at it in amazement, Maman looked at Aimée and then the blood and back to Aimée again,
“What?” she asked, “What’s wrong?” Aimée looked up, “It’s silver.” She said. Something caught her eye. Aimée saw Treeroot’s mask and dagger lying on the floor, the same silver blood was on the dagger and it was slowly turning red. Aimée picked up the mask; it was rigid except for some strange, soft material around the mouth and eyes. Aimée had seen that face somewhere before and knew exactly where, it was the same mesmerizing face Treeroot had sculpted into her art assignment.