Slavers & Stalkers

Chapter One:

Glowing green eyes opened to stare up at a white ceiling. Ivy sighed deeply as she rolled over and shut off the alarm chiming beside the bed. She hated the fact that she had to be at work in two hours, hated the fact that when she got off work she would come back here and do nothing again. Why couldn’t anything exciting ever happen around here? She just wished for something different to occur for once, was that so bad? The only time anything different ever occurred was eight years ago when she saved that silver haired renegade from being caught by the guards chasing him. Sighing again, she crawled out of bed and headed to the bathroom to shower. Nothing like that would ever happen again.

Once dried and dressed in black slacks and a light tan tee for work, Ivy left her room and headed down the short hallway to the common room. She smiled as she noticed her mother was up and sitting within their large, pillowed recliner; she appeared a lot better this morning. For the past ten years, Mannie had been terminally ill with no cure for whatever disease it was she had. The doctor’s weren’t sure what Mannie had, but Ivy no longer cared. They gave Mannie six months when she first found out and now it was nearly eleven years later and she was still kicking and looking quite healthy. Again the memory of when she was six passed through Ivy’s mind.

She had approached her mother a month before she was diagnosed and asked if she could be a great and powerful tigress for Halloween. It had taken Mannie two years to sew her costume, but Ivy hadn’t minded. She hadn’t even cared that it was really an orange and black kitty suit and not a tigress. Ivy was just so happy Mannie had made it for her even with being so ill. Ivy had pleaded with Mannie to let her wear it though it wasn’t even near Halloween yet and eventually she had allowed her to.

Ivy’s smile widened as she approached her mother and kissed her forehead. She loved her parents deeply even though her father was hardly around any more. Timothy had stated his office needed him to work longer hours, but Ivy knew the truth. He stayed away longer so he wouldn’t have to watch Mannie wither away into nothingness while he was helpless to stop it. Making certain Mannie had everything she would need close at hand; Ivy said good-bye and left for work. Though she still wished something would happen in this boring town, Ivy couldn’t help but smile at the morning.

The scent of lilac and roses was strong in the slight breeze as she unhurriedly headed toward the restaurant she waitressed at. Though she hated the normality of this world, she had to admit she enjoyed the scents that belonged to it. At the eastern edge of the city was a small forest of pine trees where she would go to relax after work and revel in the scent of pine and wilderness. Ivy sighed deeply again when the restaurant’s walls came into view, she didn’t want to be at work yet. Taking one last deep breath of the lilac and rose filled breeze, she entered into the smoke filled restaurant.

Nine hours later, Ivy slowed when she noticed her front room window was busted out. Her brow creased in consternation when she heard her father’s baritone cursing steadily within the house, he had never ever raised his voice before to anyone. Approaching the door, Ivy threw away all of her caution and rushed inside at hearing her mother crying. She stopped not even a foot inside and her eyes widened in shock at the men accosting her parents. Bounty Hunters she thought at noticing the knives and short swords strapped to the men’s sides, along with the dark grey jean jackets they wore.

Ivy’s eyes darkened and fury filled her when one of the men slapped Mannie because she wouldn’t stop crying. Her hands clenching into fists at her sides, Ivy found she could not keep still any longer. How dare they hit her mother! Without wasting another moment, she ran up and leapt onto the back of the man who had struck Mannie. Blindly, Ivy dug her nails into his cheeks and dragged them down toward his chin. Two of his friends ran up and snatched her from his back as he screamed in pain and frustration. Whipping around to face her, Ivy smirked at the blood rolling down the man’s face with little bits of flesh dangling down his chin. His eyes darkening further in fury, the man hit her as hard as he could. She didn’t stand a chance against his greater strength and quickly tumbled into unconsciousness.

It was several hours later when Ivy regained consciousness and found shackles secured to her wrists and ankles. Her back stiffened when she heard several men laughing above crying and cursing. Awkwardly rolling onto her side, she watched as one of the Bounty Hunters nudged another with his elbow before nodding in her direction. Both men smiled evilly before turning and grabbing her father.

Timothy fought them the best he could with being shackled as well, but it didn’t deter the Hunters at all. They placed him directly in front of Ivy, then brought out an extremely sharp looking knife. The Hunter wielding it turned it this way and that under the light, causing the blade to shimmer brightly. He smiled an instant before he thrust the knife into the side of Timothy’s throat. Ivy screamed and struggled within her bonds as she helplessly watched the blood streaming down her father’s neck and chest.

The Hunters tossed her barely living father out of the way, before dragging Mannie over and placed her in the same exact spot they had placed her father. Ivy shook her head frantically from side to side; they couldn’t do this, not to her mother. Not after she had survived her illness for so long and everything else they had been put through. Ivy began pleading with them to let Mannie go, but it only caused them to snicker and smirk. Tears formed as she watched the same man slowly rake his knife across Mannie’s throat from one side to the other. Ivy’s eyes darkened in fury as she watched her mother’s slight form fall to the ground unmoving. They would pay for this, no matter how long it took. They would pay dearly for killing her parents.

Ivy was numbly aware of being dragged down dark streets towards the docking bay. She didn’t care where they were taking her or what they were planning to do to her once there. All she cared about and wanted were their deaths. Soon as the shackles were taken off her, she would get her revenge on them. There was no fury fueling her actions this time, no desperation to protect her mother clouding her judgment. It was just her and them and the instant she was free she would show them just how dangerous a Leaflame could be.

Ivy’s head rose as they quickly ushered her into a small shuttle. Despite the numbness she felt over the loss of her parents, fear filled her when they opened the door to a cramped and extremely small compartment. It was pitch black inside with the door opened and would be even worse once the door was closed again. Ivy didn’t think she could handle being locked in there for any amount of time; she hated small, dark places. There was no doubt what-so-ever within her mind that that was where they were going to keep her for the entire trip to wherever it was they were going. Before she could plead with them not to put her in there, they shoved her into the compartment and slammed the door shut on her.