Fallen

[Circus]

The smoke from his cigarette rose like formless snakes toward the pristine blue sky above. The growing ash had reached its maximum length and fell from the body, raining grey specks over the bustling crowd on the streets below. The man was leaning on the railing of the balcony, the cigarette hanging carelessly from his mouth, peering seemingly at nothing and observing everything.


He pulled a loose stick from his jacket pocket and held it to his side as footsteps approached the figure from behind.


"Knew I'd find you out here, Al. Ah, thanks," the man said taking the cigarette and lighting it. "You're always out here looking down on the city. Looking for anything in particular?"


"Not really."


"Being out here is better than pushing papers all day, am I right, buddy?" The man leaned his back against the railing and gave a playful nudge, blowing smoke up at the sky. "It's good to get some air on hectic days like this. Man, it's beautiful today."


"I guess," he took a drag.


The two were perched on the 9th story of an office building looking down towards the city below. The work they did was nothing spectacular. Some menial paper pushing for a middle-manager who was managed by another middle-man. The work the firm did was neither important or meaningful, but the pay was good. One could live comfortably being a cog piece.


The building was one of many in the metropolitan area. The mirrored structures reflected the blue of the sky that many would call "beautiful". For Al, however, the world was grey. Through his eyes, all life gave off a faint but prominent light. Before he had fallen, that living light was incomparably radiant and beautiful and stunning, full of color and magic that one could look from above and never tire. There was nothing in this world, or any world, quite like the sight of that living colorful light.


But that was before.


Now the world was grey. The light had vanished from his eyes and there was no more living color. He had fallen.


Al had taken habit of looking out at the world below like he had done before, looking at the mesmerizing bounty of the living, but now it was a dismal exercise and had been for far, far too long.


A final drag before he flicked the butt away. He watched it fall toward the people below, slowly drifting and swaying.


Then he saw it.


A flicker of gold, a ray of light thought long lost danced before his vision like a single drop of rain. It was quick and unmistakable.


Al took off, running from the balcony and to the staircase where he bound steps three or four at a time.


"Hey, Al, where you running off to, man!" he heard from behind.


The speed of his run washed out the noise around him and blew the brown hair from his eyes, but he knew where to go.The fallen man crossed the street, jumped over the hoods of cars, and paid no mind to self preservation.


Al had entered the square where the golden light had shimmered briefly. He turned and turned for any glimpse. Finally he stood on a newspaper stand to get a better vantage and then he saw her, golden like the sun. It was like a single sunflower among a field of grey ash. He ran, bumping and shoving his way through the crowd.


He was drenched from head to toe, his dark grey suit unmistakably dirty as he extended his hand out and grabbed her shoulder, turning her to face him. Her glow was immense. There was a genuine lack of words from his gaping mouth. Al's eyes danced around her face, from eye to eye, tracing down her nose to her lips; he took it all in. He stood entranced and naked.


Finally, "I," his voice trailed, mesmerized.

 

[InnocentThorns]

It was the kittens. They were going to be her downfall.


The only reason Hesper was in the city in the middle of the day instead of being at home, sleeping for that night, was because she had decided to cut out the middle man. It was pathetic, giving that trust fund baby private dances. Preston could pay for it like everyone else. She had gotten the name and number of his supplier out of him the last time he had been in, looking for a quick thrill and offering not nearly enough in compensation. She was not going to fuck him, that was never going to happen, but he was easy to schmooze when he was high as a kite. So she had a name and number, and was on her way home when she heard the sounds.


Mewling. Sad, hungry mewling, and she found the box in an alley, covered with an ancient towel. Four heads with barely open eyes and downy ears popped up, and she immediately picked them up, so she could take them somewhere safe instead of leaving them to die. But it had been hard to concentrate after that free hit Zakir had offered her. Whatever he had, it was good stuff. It was in a package in her purse, and he had liked that she would be a regular customer. Not high paying, but regularity was hard to find this day in age. So she left with a freebie and what she came for.


Now she was looking for the animal shelter she had looked up on her phone, checking the address frequently so she did not forget what she was doing. It was the sound of upset kittens in her arms that was really what kept her sober enough to keep herself focused on her task. But she was only a few blocks away, and she got to the animal shelter, telling the workers that she had found them in an alley, and then gracefully backed out before they could rope her into taking one of the precious little monsters. Hesper liked cats, all animals, really, but she knew they deserved a much better home than she could give them.


There was a breeze in the city that day, blowing coppery hair away from her honey brown eyes, and she idly reached up to tuck it away from her face. Most of her long waves were tied back in an elastic, but there was something about even the slightest breeze that moved it out of its binding. It was irritating on the best of days, enough to make her want to shave her head on the bad days. Tucking her hands into the pockets of her worn but butter soft leather jacket, Hesper crossed the street when everyone else did, keeping a tight hold on her shoulder bag, so nobody got any stupid ideas.


On the other side of the street, she headed for the subway, considering a nap before she went in to work. Zakir's free hit would get her through the rest of the night, but that was not what she was worried about. She could work without it. But the two days off after that night were what were on her mind. She was thinking about two days spent in bliss, alone in her mind but far away from any of the thoughts that usually made that one hell of a burden. Heading for the steps that would take her down into the subway, she heard someone coming running her direction and she glanced up to make certain she was not going to get slammed into by some health nut.


The man who was running came to a stop in front of her, and she stared at him for a moment as he took in every feature of her face. The slender nose, the thin cheeks, the too pointed chin under a mouth where the upper lip was too thin. After a moment, he said a single word, and she rolled her eyes, knowing exactly what this was.


"Listen. I'm sure at the time I told you that I'd remember you forever, but you need to keep in mind that I say that to everyone, okay? It's part of the job. If you want to see me, I'll be at work tonight."


She then stepped around him, ready to head down into the subway. Hesper did not see the figure that was watching the two of them, mostly because he did not want her to see him. He was standing there, people moving around him naturally because even mortals with their barely-there perception could tell there was something off about him. Not that it was visible on the outside to the naked eye. He had made certain of that.


Long hair, so black it would have blended into a starless night hung down his back, held away from his face with a metal clip at the nape of his neck. He was clad in a white trench coat over a white button down shirt, a slender black tie, and black slacks, his Italian loafers practically sparkling in the sunlight. He flexed his fingers in the black leather gloves in which his hands were sheathed, and took off to follow the girl.


He had been following her for quite a while, out of curiosity really. But it was who she drew to her that interested him. Oh, her debauched lifestyle was entertaining enough, for a mortal. But she smelled different. Following her, he saw someone else that caught his eye. And as he passed Al, he winked one vivid blue eye at him, practically stepping on her heels. Not that Hesper would notice. He did not want her to until it was far too late.

 

[Circus]

"Wha-, no that's not- You've got it wrong," Al said hastily. As she brushed past him, a sinister chill passed through his body. The figure before him and on the heels of the woman caused a moment of paralysis in Al. The blue eye that locked with his own set of blues sent a message of fear and Al's hand trembled.


The moment passed.


Al turned on his heels and grabbed Hesper's wrist, dragging her down the subway steps, creating a path in the sea of commuters. He felt the watch of the man in white like the thread of a spider along the nape of his neck. He jumped the turnstile and urged Hesper to do the same, hastily moving his way through the crowd and onto the subway platform. The train's arrival coincided with their own and the pair forced their way aboard against the current. They moved a few cars down the line and created some distance from the ominous presence who followed them onto the tracks.


Al realized his clutch on Hesper's arm when she wrenched free, she had had enough. Among her protest he forced what he had to say down her throat.


"There is a man a few cars behind us -- Listen, just listen -- he is dangerous and is following you, or me, I don't know which," Al turned his head to look at the car behind him. "Fuck, what awful timing. You're getting off at the next stop. Hopefully he is after me, probably after me. Shit, I don't know, but you're getting off at the next stop," he looked back over his shoulder then back at Hesper's honeyed eyes, taking her in. "I know this doesn't make sense but you're going to have to trust me."


Al moved her toward the far end of the car and toward the door. The train pulled into the next stop, the doors opened, and the normal exchange of commuters occurred. As the doors were closing, Al forced Hesper out of the car, "I will find you," he said, slipping his business card into her bag as he did.


The doors closed with Al watching her get smaller and smaller through the window until she was out of sight. He felt the thread of the man in white still in the cars behind now moving toward him. He was targeting Al after all. Al moved down car to car until the last one; it was empty, except the two non-mortals standing face-to-face.


A cold sweat ran down Al's back. "Well, long time no see," he said looking into a matching pair of blue orbs.


The man in white smiled a wide, toothy grin, his black leather gloves making their leathery cry as he flexed his fists.

 

[InnocentThorns]

Hesper had no idea that she was being followed. But she was quite aware that the stranger grabbed her wrist and pulled her down the steps into the underground. She was too shocked and truthfully, too high, to manage anything until they were in the throng of travelers, heading for one of the subway cars.


"What the hell do you think you're doing? Let go!"


He dragged her onto the train and she was fumbling now for her keys. The strange man took her a number of cars down before she managed to finally jerk out of his hold, keys in her hand because she had mace on them.


"Screw you, pal," she spat back. "You touch me again and you're going to get a face full of mace. Oh, you are so, so banned."


Whoever this guy was, he was nuts. She would give his description to Luis, the massive bouncer who walked them out at night. This psycho would not be let even inside the front doors to the foyer where nothing could still be seen.


"Yeah, sure," Hesper replied, obviously skeptical as she kept her mace out.


A few people were staring at them, so she felt a little safer, but not by much. Nobody in this city seemed to care much about anyone else. She was going to spray him in the face he shoved her out of the subway car onto the new platform. The crowd dragged her the rest of the way, and the car remained empty this time, nobody bothering to get back in for some reason. The man in white stepped into the car, an amused smile on his face. He walked over to one of the seats, and sat down, his arms spread over the backs of the seats around him.


"Tired of it yet?" he asked. "And before you ask trite, inane questions, I mean the mundane existence that you're currently suffering."


He reached over, straightening the lapel of his coat, "It could get better, you know. Complete your fall from grace. It's actually pretty easy, not to mention fun."


Gesturing at himself, he grinned, "And of course, your local neighborhood Fenix would be thrilled to assist you."


Everything about his posture said relaxed, but his eyes were that of a snake, sharp and cold and observant.


"Do we want to go old school? Offer up temptation? I can bring you that lovely little tartlet if you want her. I don't particularly care if you want to bang her or eat her eyes, both seem like viable options. But I'm not afraid of what you're sensing. What's watching her."


Turning his head to the side, he cracked his neck, "Please don't say no. I would loathe to do anything nasty. Well, not without good cause."

 

[Circus]

He had driven himself in a hole; there was no escape now, no where to run. Al slid into the seat across from Fenix and half-listened to his speech. His words coiled him like the snake he was, entrapping him to his fate.


"You're not going to touch her," Al looked at the man with intensity followed by a threatening pause.


"I am yours," Al resigned his fate and averted his eyes to the floor, dirty and covered with grime. Hesper's aura passed by his mind's eye, remembering the brief moment of joy in his world of grey. He had wanted to discover the meaning behind that golden glow and uncover the mystery of her existence.


No, I will find a way to escape. He will provide an opening at some point, he has to. Al formed a small sense of resistance within him self, an act of defiance and a will to live, a feeling thought long lost.


"What will you have of me, demon?"

 

[InnocentThorns]

Fenix rolled his eyes, "Oh spare me. Can you hear yourself right now? You really need to work on your lying if you want to get by."


He leaned his head back with a sigh, "That's the problem these days. Everyone's so damn used to instant gratification that it's no longer a sin. I remember when it used to take months for a good possession to take hold. Now it's got to be instant or everyone just thinks they've got anxiety. Xanax is more affective than exorcism ever was."


Glancing up, he grinned, "Speaking of instant gratification and sins, I think you should snuff out the light of your little tartlet. Sound fun? I wouldn't mind doing it myself if you want some honest. She smells...so good."


Reaching into his coat, he tossed a matchbook onto the floor of the subway car. It was black with gold embossed writing that caught the dull fluorescent light on occasion, though the background absorbed any affect the lighting had.


"When you're ready to fall completely and start feeling what living really feels like, all you need to do is crack her open like an overripe melon and take a taste of her blood. That ought to do it."


The train slowed to a stop at the next station, and he got up, winking at him again, "I'll keep an eye on you for now. But think about it. That little drop of sunshine? What's that compared to an entire world of it?"


Fenix left him alone then, slipping off the train, leaving him to pick up the matchbook with the name of a local gentleman's club. It was a clue to finding Hesper, the name of the place she worked. He would be able to find her at Tuxedo's Gentleman's Club.


~~~~


"Honey?"


Hesper glanced up from the mirror where she had been staring at her own dilated pupils, knowing someone was talking to her. Kristin was standing next to her, dressed in a purple bra and skirt with fringe over her stomach and hips and clear platform heels, making her much taller than she normally was. Like all of the women at Tuxedo's, she was beautiful, tanned and bleached and waxed within an inch of her life. Hesper was one of the very few who were not blonde, and who did not tan, but that was her thing. Like the others, she had a gimmick, and it was more about being soft and sweet instead of the sensual appeal.


"Hmm? I'm here."


"You look out of it."


She wanted to tell Kristin about the man from before. The one who had jerked her down into the subway. But she did not. Instead, she just gave her a forced smile and promised she was okay before going into her bag. There she found his business card, looking it over. Really, she should have been throwing it away, but for some reason, she just put it back into her bag and moved to pick up makeup from the table. Red lips, lined eyes, the flawless appeal of a woman that danced for money but did so in a place where it was supposed to be high class was what the owners wanted. She put gemstones along her lash lines, and made certain she glimmered and glittered in nothing but her skin first.


The clothing stayed on at Tuxedo's, but it was the best job she could currently get without making things worse. She had no desire to go to some of the other clubs, where it meant taking your clothing off completely, but making a little more money.


Her long hair was up in curlers, and she took them down, brushing out the long curls and binding them away from her face with a rhinestone headband. Then came the ridiculously expensive clothing, for as skimpy as it was. The white brocade bustier that had silver buckles that glistened in the light with its gauzy, tiny skirt touched with feathers. White heels, matching gloves, and she tried to put a real smile on her face, but it was hard. Really hard.


Getting up, she headed out into the main room of the club and slipped behind the bar, pouring herself a shot of that cinnamon flavored whiskey. It burned as it went down and warmed her stomach, but she was able to fake a smile then, able to step out into the club and do what the manager called the walk-by. The chance for the patrons to get a look at her before she was up on stage dancing. Supposedly it caused more drinks to be bought, more money to be tossed on stage, more private rooms to be booked. Hesper just knew occasionally it was good to touch the shoulders trapped in leather or wool or cotton. It got their attention.