Chapter 1

Author's Note: Welcome to Away From Eden, my NaNoWriMo novella! I happen to be quite proud of it, and I hope you enjoy it too.

All the characters and settings and stuff belong to me. All similarities this bares to other stuff is all a coincidence. Onto the story!!

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They where getting closer. She could hear their footsteps getting louder. She had been running for so long that she was wearing out, and she knew that soon they would overtake her. Her heart felt as if it was pounding out of her chest. Fear had taken over all of her instincts, and even though she was exhausted, it forced her legs to keep moving.

She wanted to turn around. She wanted to look at the men chasing her. She wanted to ask them why they were chasing her, although she had an idea. But Devon Marshall had good instincts. They told her she was crazy for wanting to stop and that if she did stop something terrible would happen. And almost as if her instincts had to prove themselves, she could hear it tell her “I told you so” as something flew past her, almost cutting off a piece of her auburn locks.

Her heart was pounding in her ears now. She needed to escape, to get away from these men chasing her. She wanted to stop running, to have a chance to breathe. And then, as if in answer to her silent prayers, an opportunity presented itself and Devon hastily took it.

The three men chasing Devon were right behind her as she turned a corner. But as they followed suit, she was gone. One of the men swore loudly, causing several people to stare. Not that he noticed. Mike Davenport lived his entire life not caring what people thought of him. That’s why his back and left arm were covered in tattoos, and that his dreds were dyed a deep purple. It’s also why he normally dressed in ripped shirts and jeans, always topped with combat boots. But he was working now, so his bulky frame was stuffed into a business suit.

Mike and his teammates worked for REX, short for Retrieval and Extermination. They had some fancy job title that sugar coated their duties, but Mike always believed the name said it all. They kidnapped or killed anyone their boss told them to. No questions asked. In exchange they got food, board, and of course, cold hard cash. And man, what a lot of cash they got. Mike could care less what happened to the people he hunted. Karma’s a bitch, he’d always say. He’s get his one day. He knew that. But by then he’d be stinkin’ rich.

“Well now what?” asked one of his companions, Darren Quiller.

Quiller was the newest recruit to REX. He was constantly on edge, and he was usually tapping his leg whenever he was nervous, just as he was now. He also had the uncanny ability to piss off all the other members of his team. So he was always trying to prove himself. He hated it. He knew he was just as good as the other guys, and he’d prove it to them. Someday.

“She’s gotta be around here somewhere…” said Mike gruffly, lighting up

Quiller turned his lanky head to get a better view of his surroundings. There were a bunch of houses (or were they apartments? Quiller could never tell) across the street, each with a heavy padlock. As for the street itself, it was narrow and there seemed little place to hide. Behind them was the street in which they had just come. There was no way in hell she was able to double back without them seeing her. To Quiller, that only left one place in the street where she could have gone.

“Maybe she’s in the pub,” he said, motioning to the large building to their left.

Mike and his other teammate, Jordan Blair, looked at each other, then burst out laughing. They were laughing so hard that Mike’s cigarette fell from his mouth and onto the ground where it went out, and Jordan began to pull at his long raven hair, as per his usual routine when he found something amusing. Quiller began to shake in annoyance.

“You’re a fuckin’ moron,” said Mike once he calmed down “You know that?”

Quiller shook more. He hated when they did this to him.

“No young lady would be foolish enough to go into that den of wolves,” chimed in Jordan “If I were Miss Marshall, I would be more afraid of them than us. After all, I am the female expert of the group.”

Mike and Quiller couldn’t help but roll their eyes, but both knew that it was true. Other than their fearless leader, Jordan was by far the best looking of the group. He was slender, yet built, his long raven hair stood perfectly in place, and his hazel eyes seemed to smolder whenever he spoke. He also knew exactly what to say. He could get any woman to do anything he wanted. Which came in handy when he was trying to put a bullet in her head.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” replied Mike, lighting another cigarette “Let’s just split up and find her. She’s gotta be around here somewhere.”

Devon watched through the dingy window as her three pursuers scattered and disappeared from view. She let out a sigh of relief. They were gone. She was safe now.

Or so she thought.

Quiller was right. She had entered the pub. And the instant she turned to leave it, she saw dozens of hungry eyes upon her. Almost everyone in the place was staring. Some were even approaching her. Most were drunk, and all were horny. Devon could only imagine them undressing her with their eyes. She had to get out of there, and fast.

Before she could, one of the drunkards overtook her.

“Heyyyyyy theerr cutie…” he slurred “Wherrr ya goin’? You shof hanggg wif me… Ima real nice guy…”

Devon unconsciously took a step back. She wanted to leave. Now. She could feel her fear returning. She turned to escape. Only to find the drunkard blocking the door.

“Come on cutie…” slurred the drunk, either unaware of or ignoring the fear blatantly shown on her opal eyes “I’ll buy youuu a drink.”

He went to put his hand upon her arm. That was one of the last things she wanted. She pulled her arm back, away from the man. Pain shot up her elbow; she had made contact with something. She hesitantly turned, unsure of what was behind her. She had hit one of the few men not staring at her, a man with dyed red hair, in the back of the head. He was gripping it, cursing in a foreign language. He must have been playing cards, because they were now scattered all across the table.

“Uh, I’m really sorry—” Devon began

The man rose to his feet. He was a foreigner. It was obvious. Devon had never seen a foreigner before, and couldn’t help but stare. He seemed unusual, even for a foreigner, with his dyed and spiked hair, his green eyes, and so many earrings embedded in his right ear she wondered if there was any ear left. And his outfit— ripped jeans and a black tank top under a leather jacket topped off with a large leather collar and a spiked bracelet. He obviously didn’t care what others thought of him.

She was snapped out of her reverie when the strange foreigner grabbed her by the arm so hard it hurt. She tried to pull away from him, but his grip was way too strong. And he was angry. Very angry. He brought his face within an inch of hers and began cursing at her in his original language. Or at least she thought he was cursing. She had absolutely no idea what he was saying. But she didn’t have to. She got the message loud and clear. He was mad she ruined his card game.

She tried to apologize again, but the words were lost as he began to pull her out of the pub. She kept trying to pull away, but he was too strong. She tried to yell, to plead, but nothing would come out. And she suddenly realized something. This foreign man scared her much more than those strangers in suits.

The foreigner flung Devon away from him once he had dragged her into a nearby alley. He was saying something. Devon couldn’t make out what it was. The sound of her heartbeat was too loud. He said it again. She opened her mouth to say something, anything, to calm this man down, but no words would come out. He pulled out a gun. Devon closed her eyes. She never imagined she would die at the hands of an angry foreigner. She didn’t want to die.

“Someone save me!” she thought desperately, knowing it was hopeless.

Devon heard a soft thud. She must have been dead, she thought, and that must have been the sound of her body hitting the ground. Strange, she hadn’t heard the gun go off.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” yelled a soft voice

Someone had stumbled upon the scene. At least her killer was caught and she hadn’t died in vain.

The foreigner grumbled something. She heard footsteps. They were too graceful to belong to her murderer, so it must have been the bystanders. He was going to examine her body.

“Miss?” said the voice “Miss, are you all right?”

Devon opened her eyes. She wasn’t dead. She wasn’t even shot. The thud sound she had heard belonged to the bystander’s groceries which were scattered behind the indignant foreigner, who had found intense interest on an orange which had fallen out. In front of her stood the bystander. He had a warm and smiling face. He had neat brown hair that ended abruptly past his ears, and long bangs that almost covered his eyes. And what eyes he had. Such kind, warm eyes, framed perfectly by his glasses. They made her feel safe for the first time in a long time.

Before she realized what she was doing, she threw her arms around the stranger and began to sob on his shoulder.

This was the part the three REX members dreaded: reporting back to their fearless leader, informing him of their failure. None had the courage to look him in the eye as they stood sheepishly in his office. They glanced at each other, pleading for them to say something, but not having the courage to say anything themselves.

Their boss growled behind his desk. He was an impatient man.

“Well?”

“Uh, well…” Mike stammered “Ya see Vale…”

“You lost her,” their boss said bluntly.

“H-How?” squeaked Quiller, surprised.

“It’s not rocket science you morons,” he growled “You don’t have the girl in your possession. It means only one thing: you failed. Again. Honestly, how had is it to capture one teenage girl?! You’ve had much tougher assignments than this…”

“Sorry sir,” they mumbled

“Which one of you screwed up?” he asked “Or are all three of you incompetent morons?”

“It was me, sir,” Jordan said suddenly, surprising his comrades. Jordan Blair did not take the blame for anything, even if it was his fault.

“Then stay here Blair, we need to talk,” said his boss “Quiller, Davenport, you can go.”

Quiller and Mike shot Jordan a sympathetic glance before leaving the room.

Ronan Vale, head of REX, turned to face his remaining subordinate. He seemed quite young to the head of an organization, but he had caught the eye of his boss because he was so brutal. He ran a hand through his long jet black hair, then faced Jordan with his cold brown eyes.

“So…” said Ronan, allowing a small smile to escape his lips “It was all your fault then, Blair?”

“Yes sir,” replied Jordan, trying to fight back the smile forming on his own lips.

“You’re not covering for your moronic teammates, are you?”

“No sir,”

“I doubt that,” he couldn’t help but smirk.

Ronan didn’t care if it was his fault or not. Either way he was going to be able to vent his frustration.

It turned out her savior’s name was Janus. Janus Valentyne. He and the foreigner lived together, and it was in their apartment that she now found herself. Janus had some ointment, and was gently holding her arm with his free hand. His touch was completely different than the foreigner’s. His was rough and painful. Janus’ was gentle and soothing. Devon couldn’t understand why she trusted the stranger so much.

“I’m afraid this will sting a bit Miss Marshall,” said Janus

He lightly applied the ointment over where the foreigner’s nails had broken her skin. It stung and she recoiled slightly from it. But Janus continued to apply it despite her reaction, because if he didn’t “it would get infected.” When he was done with the ointment, he carefully applied a small bandage to cover the wound, then stepped back to examine his work.

“There,” said Janus with a smile “That should do it. How does it feel?”

Devon suddenly realized why she trusted the stranger. He reminded her of her mother. Always there when she needed her, always smiling, always gentle, always saying the right thing to make her feel better. And she was the one person Devon missed the most. Her mother was no longer allowed to smile in this world. Her death had caused a bit of Devon to die too, and caused her father to change. It was her death which put in motion what led her here.

“Are you all right?” asked Janus “Are you still hurt?”

“Huh?” Devon snapped back to reality “Oh, I’m fine. Thank you. I was just lost in though, that’s all.”

Maybe her mother sent Janus to help her heal. But if that was the case, why did her mother also send her that scary foreign man too? She glanced at him. He was standing in the corner, looking apathetic. He saw her staring and half-heartedly grumbled an apology. Devon frowned.

“I am terribly sorry for what Kei did,” said Janus “Sometimes I have no idea what goes on in that thick skull of his.”

The foreigner, Kei, shot his roommate a glare, but when their eyes met, Kei’s badass persona seemed to shatter. He actually seemed sorry for his actions now.

“It’s all right,” Devon admitted “I was more afraid of those guys that were chasing me.”

“You were being chased?” Janus said, surprised

Devon nodded. “Those guys have been chasing me for a while now. I’ve managed to give them the slip a few times, but they always find me. I had just given them the slip again when I hit Kei in the pub.”

“Gomen,” said Kei gruffly. Apparently he was apologizing in his own language.

“I am sorry again for my lover’s actions,” Janus said again with an apologetic smile.

“Huh?” stammered Devon. Did he say lover? She didn’t care that her savior was gay. In fact the word gay never even registered in her mind. She was more stuck on the fact anyone could love that crude foreigner.

But it would explain why her mother had sent her the foreigner as well. She could not send one without the other.

“Yes, we are madly in love… Surprising is it not?” said Janus “We are polar opposites. But yet, they always say you cannot choose who you fall in love with. It appears fate has brought the two of us together, despite our differences.”

“Yup, he’s all mine,” added Kei, speaking English for the first time since they “met.” He seemed to be beaming ear to ear when talking about Janus. “If ya want the proof, Jan can show you the piercing I—”

“Kei, darling,” said Janus, trying to hide his annoyance “Miss Marshall does not need to know what we do in our private life.”

Kei looked down and awkward silence filled the room.

“Miss Marshall,” said Janus, breaking the silence “About those men chasing you…”

“Yes?” Devon looked up

“Have you told your parents or alerted the police?” he asked “They have a right to know something such as this is occurring…”

Devon looked down. She would have loved to go to her mother about this. But that’s impossible. And she would rather have died at Kei’s hand than go back to her father. She was convinced he was the one sending those men after her in the first place. And she couldn’t go to the police. If she did, they would just send her back to her father.

Devon gathered her courage and looked up, staring into Janus’ caring eyes.

“You’re a runaway, aren’t you?” he asked, pushing his frames back into place.

Devon looked away, unable to answer. Even though she wanted to. She just couldn’t find the right things to say.

“Well, if you wish to,” said Janus “You’re more than welcome to stay here for a while. It is small, but I think it is quite comfortable.”

“I—” Devon started, delighted at the proposition

Kei slammed his hand against the wall. Janus and Devon looked up at him. He was fuming.

“Hold on Jan!” yelled Kei “You can’t make these kinds of decisions without me! It’s my apartment too!”

“Is that so?” said Janus, a smile on his face which could kill “I do believe you lost the right to say anything when you pointed a gun at that child’s head.”

Devon shivered. She wondered who was more frightening, Kei or Janus.

Kei whimpered and his anger subsided. “I have needs too ya know Jan…” he whined.

Janus lost it. “For god’s sake Kei!” he yelled “Can you think with anything other than your penis?!”

Kei looked like he was slapped in the face, and got angry once again “Low blow Jan!”

“Uh, um!” Devon said as loudly as she could “It’s okay, really. I really wouldn’t want to impose… Thank you for your kindness.”

Devon bowed and went to leave. She would have loved to stay, but she didn’t want to ruin their lives for her sake. She was not that selfish. As she opened the door, the argument ceased.

“Oi, gaki,” Kei called out, causing Devon to spin “I didn’t do that to your leg, did I?”

Devon stared at him in shock and surprised. How—? She didn’t even think she limped anymore.

“U-uh…” she stammered “No. It’s an old wound… Real old… How did you—”

“Someone did that to you,” he pressed “Right?”

“M-my dad…” Devon admitted, looking down.

“Sir your ass down,” he said, somewhere between a request and a command “And while you’re at it, make yourself comfortable.”

Devon smiled. Although he failed horribly, she could tell he was trying to be nice. Janus put his hand on her shoulder, flashing his signature smile.

“What he’s trying to say is that he wants you to stay. That is, of course, if you want to.”

And she wanted to. Oh yes she wanted to.