-- Title -- Underneath The Skin

-- Author -- Masked Mistake

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~~ Chapter ~~ One

~~ Title ~~ Introduction....

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Sunlight died away as night settled in and the birds became silent as the cold air began to sweep through the forests. Flowers of red and blue blossomed as the chilly air touched their petals and their pollen glowed bright yellow against the black aura of the world around them. A large cathederal laid in the middle of this great forest and the area around it was filled with the glowing flowers. The cathederal was white and trimmed with silver, making it seem to become vibrantly light in the dark and silence seeped from deep within it. Abandoned since the early centuries, it had never been touched after the death of it's care-taker William Canary and the cause of his death remained unknown. The cathederal stood like a grand monument in all it's pride and no one dared to tear it down. For fear that a ghost would rip their skin from their bones.

~~~

The motorcycle roared to life as Natasha Gormeiz turned the key and she placed the visor down on her helmet. Balanced, she rode quick down the dirt road and made a sharp turn to the right. Twenty four, she didn't think about the future much and decided not to worry, after all she had many years to settle down. Natasha halted the bike and the rear skid around. The back wheel kicked up dust and Natasha pulled the helmet off her head. Long, silky brown hair spilled from the helmet and rested at her waist. Her baby blue eyes sparked faintly as she stared at the man who stood in the rode and she realized she was only a few feet from him. He had appeared suddenly and Natasha took only a second to stop her bike, she thought of it as pure luck. "Are you alright?" She asked and swung her leg over the bike to stand beside her bike.

The man only looked at her with his gray blue eyes and his black, curly hair was unruly. He wore a tattered jean jacket, blue jeans which covered his black boots and underneath the jacket was a black t-shirt. He couldn't have been older than twenty six, but not younger than twenty because he seemed to be finished growing. Natasha leaned slightly to the right and folded her arms over her chest. "Hello? Are you deaf?" She inquired with a sarcastic tone.

"I am not deaf, are you?" He asked with a deep voice.

Natasha shivered and chills rushed up her spinal cord. His voice was empty without feeling and emotions, it was like he owned nothing inside of him. Like he was void of feeling and it creeped Natasha out. "What are you doing out here without a vehicle?"

"Vehicle...I remember having one. It seems I've lost track of it," the man replied, his eyes still drawn on Natasha.

"Did you take anything? Like..coke...or any other drug?"

"I don't believe in drugs, nor have I had anything to drink. What are you doing out here in Nettle's Lake?"

"Nettle's Lake?? This isn't Nettle's Lake, it used to be called that over a hundred years ago. Now it's just...well...a road and a pond."

The man glanced past Natasha and backed away. "You never saw me," he muttered and crashed through a bush of thorns.

Natasha turned around and spotted someone heading towards her. The walk was manly and as he neared, she could feel his intense eyes lock onto her which made her shiver. "Have you seen anyone around this place?" He asked in a mysteriously deep, brooding voice.

His eyes were an intense jade green and his hair was navy blue, spiked slightly. He wore baggy black jeans, a sand duster which was also black and underneath that was a skintight black shirt which showed off his abdominal muscles. Natasha glanced at his right hip and spotted two swords. She looked up at the man and opened her mouth, but closed it. The man stepped forward and grabbed her arm, which he squeezed painfully. "Tell me, child, did you see anyone around here?" He asked again, his eyes now piercing into hers.

"N-no!" Natasha squeeked and winced at the pain in her arm.

"Don't lie to me."

The pressure increased and Natasha's knees buckled. "Let me go, I don't know what you're talking about!" She exclaimed.

"Yes, I think you do know. Why would you stop in the middle of an abandoned road in the middle of the night?" The man asked.

Natasha closed her eyes and wished that this was not happening. The pressure released and the man nelt in front of her. "You saw him and you will come with me until we find him, got it?! Good, now get your ass up!" He ordered.

Natasha jumped up and opened her mouth, but the man placed a gloved hand over it. "No one will hear your screams and I wouldn't do that if I were you," he warned and uncovered her mouth after a few moments.

Natasha closed her mouth. "Your name..what is it?" She asked.

"My name? William," he replied and turned away," Now follow me. You may have come in contact with that man I am hunting."

"Hunting? You're a hunter of humans?"

"No, I am a hunter of vengence. Now, come!"

Natasha looked at her bike and shuddered at the thought of someone snatching it. She followed William through the woods and recieved a few knicks from the rose bush thorns. William seemed unaffected even when one sliced through his left cheek and blood dribbled down his throat. "We will rest soon inside the cathederal," he said.

"The cathederal? You mean the abandoned one?" Natasha asked.

"Abandoned? It's abandoned...yes....for the most part anyways."

The two stepped into a clearing and Natasha gasped. The flowers glowed brightly and the cathederal stood like a haunted mansion in the middle of this field. William grabbed her wrist and tugged her along as she gaped at the beauty of this scene, but fear sweeped into her mind as she glanced at the cathederal. "We're not going inside...are we?" She asked.

"Why wouldn't we?" William inquired as he stepped up the stairs with Natasha in tow.

"I heard it was haunted by that boy who had been killed. No one knows how he was killed, but some say he did suicide."

"Suicide?"

Suddenly William chuckled and it turned into a sinister laugh. "The things people say about me is very amusing," he said.

Natasha blinked and cried out in horror. "You're William Canary!?"

"Who else would I be? Besides...you didn't think a ghost would come back from the dead and get his revenge on the killers?"

The doors of the cathederal burst open and Natasha was sucked in by the beauty and old century of the inside. "Ghosts aren't real!"

William turned to her and his lips turned to a crooked grin. "You better believe they are and I won't let you leave until my job is finished. When I have found him and killed him will you be free of your master."

"Master?"

William pulled her inside and the doors slammed closed. "I am your master now and you will obey me. First, by telling me about that man you saw and if you don't...well...I can't promise you that you'll be leaving here without scars," he said as he walked across the crimson carpet.

Natasha dropped to her knees and covered her face. She didn't believe what was happening, she didn't want to believe and she cried at her dumb luck.

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to be continued.....

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