Chronicles of Araxx - Forever Broken

Morning broke, and Lee awoke feeling sore.

All the exercise the last few days had taken its toll on her body, and she was struggling to walk. The pain in her muscles was worth the effort because it meant she was working towards her goal of getting fit, of getting stronger and faster than Kane, and werewolves and vampires. Every ache in her body was dedicated to Bree.

She stood up from her bed, stretched and headed for the shower room.

The water was hot on her skin and it felt good. She washed away all her bad thoughts with the water and soap, cleansing herself, readying herself for the day ahead.

First, she would head into the market at Camden to get some breakfast. Every day has to start with a good meal, and this one wouldn’t be any different. She dressed in a pair of plumb-red tights, a black dress which clinched in at the waist, and a long grey cardigan which billowed out behind her as she walked. She then pulled on a pair of low heeled boots before she looked in the mirror in the bathroom.

“You look good today, Lee,” she said.

Normally Bree would have said it to her, but her best friend wasn’t here any more.

Lee felt a pang in her heart, then she pushed it away. She would get revenge for her friend, then she would be able to mourn, but for now, she had a job to do.

She checked the time on the clock she got from the market the day before. It was already 2 pm. She had overslept and would have to be quick with getting her food

Lee stepped out into the street and started heading for the market, her stomach rumbling. She had money in her pocket and was thinking of nothing but the food she was going to get. Her mind was set on crepes, filled with Nutella and strawberries. That’s what she really wanted, with fresh orange juice, too.

The fronts of the shops in Camden were beautiful. They were full of mannequins wearing different Summer outfits, all in bright colours, with matching high heels higher than Lee could wear, and bags in different shapes and sizes.

There were also tattoo and piercing shops. These attracted Lee’s attention, but she wasn’t sure she could handle the pain. It seemed like a strange idea, and she couldn’t understand why a person would want to puncture their skin with a needle and leave permanent marks.

When Lee asked Bree about it, she just laughed. It seemed strange to Lee, but Bree had grown up in a world where tattoos were normal.

Everywhere Lee looked brought back memories of Bree, all of them happy.

Soon she found herself by the canal, crepe in hand. She remembered being there with Bree, both of them with their polish sausages, talking like they’d always known each other.

For the first time, Lee wondered if Bree had any other family. She knew her mother died after battling cancer and then she had to stay with her mother’s boyfriend probably because there was no other family until she killed him and had to run away, but was there nobody? Did they know she was gone? Was Bree in the morgue now, and renamed to Jane Doe?

It was too sad to think she had no one. But then again, Lee had no one either. She was all alone herself, or was she? She’d made a friend in Vaughan, or at least the beginnings of a friendship.

Exhaling loudly, pushing the pain in her heart out with the air in her lungs, she allowed herself to feel excited about spending time with Vaughan and his friends later today.

Lee finished eating and headed back through the market picking up a bottle of fresh orange juice on her way. The bottle was cold, and the juice was bitter on her tongue, but it tasted good.

There was a sudden gust of wind and a leaf fell from a tree above her to the ground. It was an orange leaf with crisp red parts. It was mid-Spring, and all the leaves on the trees were green so the Autumn leaf seemed strange. The leaf reminded her of Bree who loved Autumn and told Lee on many occasions it was her favourite time of year.

Adz, Jay and Gray were all on their way out of the flat. They’d noted that in the YouTube video the free runners had been at Trafalgar Square, and that was where they would start their search.

Gray had just locked the door and they were all about to cross the road when something caught their eye.

All three of them looked at each other, all thinking the same thing as the red-headed girl passed right in front of them.

“Do we follow?” Jay asked.

“I think we stay back and watch,” Adz said, pulling the drone and his sunglasses from his bag. “And we’re not calling Simons yet,” he added.

“Why not? We’ve found her,” Jay protested.

“I want to first make sure it’s really her, and that we’re safe to take her. For all we know, this could be a trap. You know how tricky werewolves can be.” He had a good point.

The three of them retreated into the shelter of an alley on the side of the building and watched.

Lee walked through the street with a strange kind of confidence she had never felt before. She was feeling good, and the orange juice in her hand made her feel even better. She lifted the bottle to her lips and sipped as she walked. Her heels clicked along on the cobbled pavement, and her hair blew in the wind, making her look like the star of a film.

“Oh, no,” Adz said, and when the others saw what he saw, they thought the same.

What Adz had seen was something Lee had not.

“She won’t be able to get away,” Adz said as Lee stepped around the corner.

Jay instinctively pulled his drone out of his bag and hit the call button, signalling Simons that they had found the girl and were in need of urgent help.