Long Before Dawn

     Some people said the good things in life were plentiful.

     In Serena Estrada’s opinion, they were few and far between.

    This was the thought Serena was pondering as she walked through the dimming streets of Chicago.

     When she passed a flickering streetlight, she pushed her long black hair out of her face and checked her watch. It was about eleven.

     The sound of honking cars, skidding tires, and people talking filled her ears. She took a deep breath, inhaling the sweet scent of baked goods from a nearby store.

     She looked up. Massive skyscrapers rose from the sidewalk in an everlasting race to reach the sky. The full moon hung in the sky, and the stars around it flickered like puppets on strings.

     A flicker of movement caught her eye, and Serena pivoted to face the other side of the street. A shadowy figure, almost disguised in the shadows of an alleyway, faced her.

     He had disheveled brown hair and brown eyes that seemed to follow her every movement. He was wearing a simple t-shirt and jeans, but something told her he was not average at all.

     She met his eyes for what seemed to be the hundredth time in this city and kept walking. 

     She reached the bottom of a tall building and walked through the door. She took the elevator to her floor and stepped out, only to freeze in place.

     The door to her apartment swung back and forth from a breeze, emitting a soft creaking sound. Papers littered the floor around the door blowing out of her room.

     Serena tiptoed across the hallway and peered into the room. She slid the door shut behind her as she entered and let go of the breath she’d been holding. Serena grazed her hand across the wall until she found the light switch.

     The lights flared on, burning her eyes like the sun. She blinked to clear her vision and looked around.

     The torn couch which had been here when she arrived was overturned. Papers littered the floor, and someone had knocked her small foldable desk to the floor. The window was open, letting a small breeze flow in from the summer night.

     Who had been here?

     Serena kicked her heels off and crossed the room to open another door. The blood pounded in her lungs, and goosebumps spread across her skin.

     The hard pillows lay on the floor, their stuffing leaking like blood. The mattress sprawled upside-down on the bed frame, the thin blanket tossed onto her nightstand.

     She checked the closet and bathroom to her right before righting the couch and sinking down into it.

     A light, flowing piece of music filled the air.

     Yanking her phone out of her pocket, she said, “Hello?”

     “Serena? How are you?”

     She recognized the voice as a waitress from the diner, Aileen.

     “I’m good. Is something wrong?” she asked, walking to the nearby window and peering out. As if waiting for her, a person below leaned against a building right outside her apartment. Serena shivered and yanked the curtains shut.

     Not now.

    “Some suspicious people came by the diner,” Aileen responded, a slight tremble to her voice. “They asked about you.”

     “And?” Serena held her breath.

     “I tried not to tell them too much, but they kept asking.” Aileen’s voice broke. “They know when your shift ended and where your apartment is.

     “Oh, Serena, I’m sorry!” Aileen cried.

     Serena cursed. “I have to go.”

     “What’s going on? Are you in trouble?”

     Trouble? That was an understatement.

     “I can’t explain now. I’ll contact you later.” Before Aileen could respond, Serena cut the call.

     She turned to her bedroom and pulled a suitcase from inside the closet. Tossing a couple clothes inside, she latched it shut. With a few clicks on her phone, she had tickets to a flight out of Chicago.

     She peeled off the waitress uniform and changed into black fireproof boots, a white top, and a black leather vest.

     Serena charged into the bathroom and turned the shower valve to the highest possible temperature. Steam started to fill the room as she grabbed the suitcase and opened her door.

     She sprinted down the hallway and slammed her finger on the elevator button. When the doors opened, she raced inside and pressed the button to take her to the ground floor.

     This was not good. At all. She’d be lucky if she got out of this alive.

     Unfortunately, she was never lucky.

     She took one of the side entrances of the building, emerging in a parking lot. Cars squatted in many lots. A few people scurried to their apartment, eyeing her as they passed. Not many wanted to be out at this time.

     Neither did she, for that matter.

     She wound through the cars and crossed a road, not bothering to look both ways. The wheels of her suitcase dipped into a pothole in the sidewalk and Serena cursed as she yanked it out.

     The cold touch of metal met her head and a freezing hand gripped her wrist.

     “Let go of the suitcase,” the voice said.

     Serena looked up at the barrel of a gun at her head and released her grip on the handle. The suitcase clattered to the ground as she allowed the figure to lead her into the alleyway.

     He shoved her into a wall and she turned around, seeing him standing there with the gun still pointed at her.

     “Serena Estrada,” he said with a smile that didn’t meet his eyes. “Nice to see you.”

     “Jasper Simonds,” she said, smirking. “I didn’t think I’d see you again.”

     “And why is that?” he asked, mocking confusion in his voice.

     “Many reasons,” she replied, keeping her voice level.

     He glanced at his watch, giving her a moment to judge her surroundings.

     The alley was a dead end, blocked by dumpsters a few feet to her left. She wasn’t too far from the street, but she knew he was faster than she was.

     Lady Luck had decided to abandon her, after all.

     “I’m here to take you back to the Order,” he said, meeting her eyes once again. All the mocking was gone from his voice, replaced with seriousness.

     “The Order can go to hell,” Serena spat.

     Jasper’s jaw tightened. “Move out of this alley, and leave the suitcase where it is.”

     Serena looked up to the moon. It was sliding out of its cloaked embrace of clouds.

     Just enough.

     “Not in a million years,” she said.

     His eyes widened, realizing what she was going to do, but it was too late.

     Fire shot from her fingertips, arching toward the gun in his hand.

     He rolled out of the way, slinging a bolt of ice in her direction.

     She ducked and conjured a wall of fire, only to see the flames sputter out. The moon slipped behind a cloud.

     Jasper retrieved his gun and pointed it back at her, smirking. “Nice try.”

     “Serena?”

     She turned as fast as lightning to see Aileen standing in the entrance of the alleyway, still in her uniform. She was wearing a white ironed top, and apron. Her auburn hair was pulled into a bun. Her eyes were wide in shock, and her mouth was open in disbelief.

     Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Jasper’s eyes on Aileen.

     Serena lunged, tackling him and kneeing him in the ribs. The cold ground bit into her skin and she gritted her teeth. She stepped back, the gun gripped in her hand.

     At Jasper’s glare, she said, “Nice try.”

     “What is happening?” Aileen asked, her brown eyes meeting Serena’s.

     “None of your business,” Jasper said, getting to his feet and eyeing the gun Serena had pointed at him.

     “Raise your hands,” Serena said. He shot her another glare and did so.

     “I’ve already called the police,” Aileen said, her face paling with every passing second.

     The distant wailing of sirens sounded from a nearby street.

      “You can’t tell anyone what you saw,” Jasper said.

      Aileen ignored him, looking at Serena instead. “Can you explain?”

     If she didn’t, Aileen might tell the police more. If she did…

     Jasper met her eyes again. “You can’t seriously be considering telling her. It breaks several laws.”

     “I’ve broken too many as is,” Serena shot back.

     “This one isn’t like any other law,” Jasper said. Serena could hear the urgency in his voice.

     She didn’t respond and turned to Aileen. “What did you see?”

     Aileen crossed her arms, her timidness vanishing now that Serena was explaining. “You both throwing ice and fire at each other.”

     Serena glanced at Jasper. He kept his eyes on the ground. She then began speaking. “The Order rules over a community of...different people like Jasper and myself. For reasons I’m not going to mention, I left. Jasper and some others have been hunting me since.”

     Aileen raised an eyebrow. “And you two have a history.”

     Serena looked away, an infuriating blush filling her cheeks. Jasper cleared his throat.

     Police sirens, now only a block away, interrupted the moment.

     “I have to go,” Serena said, not able to find anything else to stay.

     “You’re coming with me,” Jasper said.

     “I’m holding the gun,” Serena retorted.

     She looked at Aileen as the faint light of the moon hit the floor. “Get away from here before the police arrive. I have to go, but I’ll keep in touch.”

     “But—”

     Serena held up a hand to silence her words. Then she placed her hand back on the gun and aimed.

    The sound of the bullet split the air. Serena sprinted to her suitcase and shoved the gun inside.

     Aileen’s face was as pale as a ghost. “What did you do?”

     Serena closed her eyes and felt the warm crackle of flames under her boots.

     The fire engulfed the dumpsters and circled around the alley.

     “I’ll be damned if he doesn’t survive this,” Serena replied.

     “Where will you go?”

     Serena checked her phone. “Somewhere. It was nice being here, but I can’t stay.”

     Then she turned and walked away, the crackling of flames at her back. The fire in her hand dwindled down to ashes.

     The good things in life were few and far between, indeed.