A Girl On The Run

Again, Georgia ended up finding herself wandering, along one of the old, uncared for streets in the slums of yet another city. Three in the past two weeks already? And yet she always seemed safest in the filthiest places. How she managed to stay as clean as she was was her secret and hers alone. She shivered as wind howled past her, her eyes squinting against the feeling of infection it brought to her nose and her eyes. These cities were some of the worst things people could have done. She pulled her sweater around her body, but it was not enough to ward off the chill and the sting of such air as it whipped around the buildings of this city that reached for the sky.

Still.... She guessed this place was better than the last. There were less people in these parts than in the slums of the other cities, so there were less sneers and cheap, stupid pickup lines. Whenever someone came forward to threaten her, she was able to find some way to escape, some amazing, some pathetic, but she still made it. Luckily, no one ever made the move to try and rob her, though. Wandering as she was with only the clothes on her back, most suspected her to probably be some runaway or fugitive from something. They had no clue how right their thoughts were, though she bet they never could have guessed at the type of circumstances chasing her.

She slipped a hand into her pocket, withdrawing from it a cigarette, leave the box in the pocket, and a lighter, slipping the thing between her lips before attempting to light it, cupping her hands around the flame as she flicked the lighter a times. Finally, a puff of smoke, and she lowered the hand holding the lighter, slipping it back into her pocket while taking in a heavy drag. Her chest clenched up tightly on the smoke that infiltrated her lungs, her eyes clenching shut again at the sting of the stuff before letting herself breath out, strained to keep from coughing. It was poison. It had to be. But after receiving it from someone kind, she could not just throw it away. It left a slight tingle in her body, as though warming it, and her constant shivers became less violent. She gave a sigh of smoke, her shoulders slumping just slightly for a moment.

She looked behind herself quietly, as though looking for someone following. Finding no one, she turned her attention to the dark, almost ruined buildings around her. There were few with lights, were were quite obviously makeshift, as most of this neighborhood had no electricity. She figured this place was better than any to spend the night.. She slipped up the stairs of the next abandoned complex, finding to her delight when she tested the door that it was unlocked. She pulled it open and slipped right on in with another glance around the street before closing the door after herself.

She turned quietly and looked about the place, coughing quietly, though unrestrained. This place was musky and stale.... Old... She wondered how long it had been since someone lived here. It had been well cared for by whoever owned it before, she thought, finding to her surprise that it was not only dry, but the wallpaper was still clinging to the walls neatly, scarred only by other likely homeless people. It seemed there were none around now... She shuffled forward quietly, her steps leaving marks on the floor as she displaced dust and shuffled through the trash.

She looked around the place thoroughly, except in the darker places, making few failed attempts to turn on the lights. She was right that this place was without electricity. Once she was done looking around on the first floor, she head on up the stairs quietly, the wood creaking beneath her feet. She wouldn't dare touch that rail, either... Upon reaching the second floor, she looked quietly on, sighing softly. She again explored the empty rooms, which were less trashy than down below, grumbling something before slipping into the one room by a fire escape, sitting beneath the bare, dusty window.

She drew her knees up beneath her knee, and for just a second, she seemed to redden for a moment at the idea that she might possibly be visible, beneath that skirt. She hated to be so self-conscious over the disgusting curse, but she couldn't let any-... The right people already knew, and she was alone here, now, because of it. Alone, cold, and hungry... She'd maybe find her way to one of the centers tomorrow and look for a soup kitchen or something. Whatever they were called... She didn't know. She didn't grow up in a town where poverty was a problem.

She hugged quietly at her knees, drawing a hand up to pull the cigarette from her mouth and sigh, again releasing smoke into the stale air. Troublesome things they were... She hoped she didn't come to like them, good for her relieving her nerves or not. She turned her head to lay her cheek, staring off blankly at one of the walls. A mistake was all it was when she was getting changed for school.. No one should have seen it. It could have all been avoided so easily, so she could still have friends that didn't think she was a freak, so that she wouldn't be running like she was.. But it wasn't.

Two weeks and there had been numerous attempts to capture her, to drag her off to some horrible place. Two weeks, and she left behind her witnesses of her sometimes epic escapes, or grimy ones. She felt herself smirk, taking another drag after. Well, her luck had been pretty good, she guessed, for her to still be free right now, and for her to manage escape every time that capture seemed to be the inevitable. She hoped she could keep it up.. maybe she could even throw them off her trail? Who knew, maybe they had no clue where she even was right now... That was a relaxing thought.

Sister Valentine had already laid the traps by the exits of the place. They had been watching her for several hours, walking around the town. They all had come to the unfortunate conclusion that trying to capture her outright was not going to work. She was as slippery as the devil himself. Truth was, Valentine wasn't sure her traps were going to make much difference in the end. All of it rested on the shoulders of everyone else. She was just there with the hopes of tipping luck in their favor instead of in hers. She slowly took a quiet breath as she laid the last trap, near the fire escape, but a little more obviously than the others, just enough so that those going in could see it, but was not likely to be spotted on the fly. Her eyes closed quietly as she took a deep breath, and stood, backing away from the trap before turning around and retreating into the concrete jungle. She was keeping her attention on her traps, of course. She would know when one of them went off. She had a sort of sixth sense for that.

Sister Mary Anne quietly leaped forward into the fire escape as soon as she saw Sister Valentine withdraw, stepping carefully but quickly around the trap before sliding up into it. She was there to be backup, and only backup. She was only there with the hopes of tipping the scales. She knew she was only here if things went wrong, and she was happy for that. The demon they were seeking was as sly as a fox. She would have applauded her had she not been such a horrid creature. She slowly crossed her claw-wielding hands over her chest, merely waiting to lunge from concealment should she need to. She silently scoffed. Chances were, the girl would sneeze the moment she lunged, and end up making her hit someone on her own side, instead. Well, regardless of the consequences, they were all ready to die in the service of the Lord. She took a deep silent breath, and settled down to wait, watching through the dim lighting beyond the fire escape so that she could keep a keen eye on events.

Of the warriors, Sister Patricia Rio played the most important part--if everything went according to plan. She quietly stood back, waiting for the right time. Everything had to go exactly according to plan else she was sure that the girl would escape again. She probably would end up escaping anyways. Somehow. She could not possibly see how, but that creature was hedonistic with how slick she was. She slowly growled under her breath as she rest a hand upon the hilt of her sword, beginning to quietly cross the street. No one paid her the slightest bit of mind. She was just a nun with a sword, nothing to see here. Actually, nuns could do just about anything and no one would question them. After all, who knew what nuns really did, or what they were really up to? Who questioned the actions of a nun? It just seemed rude. Even the youngest seemed to wear maturity on her like a garment. She walked to the trashy home, and slowly twist the knob. She grimaced in disgust. She wished she could help everyone under the Lords light, and it sickened her that she could not. All the signs of homelessness and poverty laying around her. She slowly pushed through the door, holding it open for a moment, before pulling it shut. She quietly began to advance towards the stairs, beginning to climb them one by one. But she wasn't the key operator here. She was only a body guard. To make sure nothing happened to the mission-critical staff.

Sister Mary Katherine had a serene look on her face. She always did. Warmth emanated from her skin, and love radiated from her words. Not that she spoke right now. She did not look like she was trying to be stealthy, but eyes paid her no more mind than they did anyone else. She glided by silently, following Sister Patricia up the stairs. She slowly took in a gentle, deep breath. She had heard many stories about the poor child up ahead of her, but she was as soft and kind as she always was. Everyone deserved a chance to return to God's light. She took in a deep, gentle breath, before slowly stepping along the hallway towards the room they were seeking. Her breath was silent, her footfall was silent, everything was silent. She did not let Sister Patricia open the door for her, taking hold of the handle and pulling it open casually, making enough noise to let the other person behind the door that she was not trying to enter without warning.

She stepped into the room after a few seconds, her hands folded infront of her waist and sister Patricia at her side. She quietly let her eyes fall upon the girl beside the fire escape. So they had been able to pinpoint her sleeping location exactly. That was admirable. She took in a deep, gentle breath, with a warm smile upon her face, that did not seem offset at all by the sword-wielding woman at her side. "Daughter, can you hear me?" She said, as if calling out to a spirit beyond her reach, but not beyond her words. "Daughter, please, hear me out, I do not wish you harm. I merely wish to bring you to a happier life. A life free of Satan, and all of his demons."

She slowly extended her hands, both of them clad with cloth with crosses stitched on the back. She held her arms out as if to take the girl into her arms. She smiled at her pleasantly. "I know that my Sister's have bore you hostility in the past but they only wish to banish the demon that is locked away inside of you. Please bear them no ill-will, for they bear you none, daughter, only the demon inside." She seemed to glow with her words, as if each one channeled more of the Lord's light into her figure. "Come with us, and we will help you rid yourself of that demon and allow you to live a normal life, forever as a normal girl." Speech was her weapon, using manipulation and persuasion was her God-given talent. She had used it to draw many lost souls to the light, and hoped to do so today.

Of course, she did not know how dark the sisterhood really was. She was aware that it was dark, she simply did not know the depths of heresy the women of the sisterhood were willing to go in order to bring a single soul to the light. She was only there to guide her towards that opportunity. She did so warmly, with the satisfaction of knowing she had helped saved another girl, and bring them closer to Heaven. She quietly smiled with her gentle lips, parted slightly giving her the expression of innocence, and purity. She was, in a way. She was pure in her heart and pure in her soul.

A chill ran down along her spine when she heard someone on the other side of the door, her brows furrowing in a look of despair and panic, though she hardly moved anything more than her eyes, looking up slowly towards the door as it was pulled open. There was a silent whine in the depths of her throat, which only came out as a teasing line of smoke from the cigarette still managing its glow between her lips. It was useless for the most part, now, though, having just about reached the filter. She let her fingers pluck the thing from between her lips, slowly lowering her hand and snuffing the thing out against the panel at the base of the wall, turning her head to stare with dulled eyes towards the nun that stepped in.

Well, they weren't entirely dull. They began to redden with the presence of tears in the corners of her eyes, though she didn't let one escape her eyes. It was maddening, running from these persistent people that thought her to be a monster. That was such a laugh... Her? A monster? They were the ones that carried weapons and tried to harm her, when she had never made such a move towards them or in return. She dropped her hand down into her pocket, withdrawing another one of the poisonous little sticks, replacing the one she just put out, and lighting it soon after. Again, there was the obvious strain that the first few breaths had on her, but she forced herself to never cough, to simply take it in.

She slipped the lighter back into her pocket before using her hands, after unwinding them from her legs, to push up from the ground and pull herself to a stand, staring at the woman as she spoke. Her words brought another stinging hurt to her eyes and her heart. Her head dropped down a bit before she reached up, pulling the cigarette from her lips and releasing a deep sigh, shivering softly. She muttered quietly, after the woman was finished speaking, "A happy life is all I want... I've done nothing wrong... Nothing to deserve these past two weeks of little sleep and constant terror of being captured by such frightening women... What I want more than anything right now is to rest..."

Her hands reached down, tweaking at the skirt she wore to smooth it back out and remove from it the dust of sitting on the floor. She, almost sub-consciously, lifted the cigarette to take another long drag of the smoky air it produced, releasing it quickly. She pursed her lips quietly, lifting her eyes to the woman. "By now, there's no way I can lead a normal life in my own hometown... The people I grew up with, my own family, reject me, and my life-long friends think I'm a freak... Please, why don't you just let me go off and live my own life.... Stop chasing after me so I won't have to be alone anymore.." She turned her eyes back towards the window quietly, as though she were tempted to make her run for it right now. Maybe next time, she'd just hop on a train and escape to some far off place..

She blinked when the girl, instead of showing a little bit of empathy towards the emotion in her speech, simply lighting up another... cigarette of all things. She found her eyes widening in shock. The girl was smoking? She was much farther away from the light than she had once presumed! She was already slowly killing herself. Oh, this poor child, she thought, her hands coming up and clinging infront of her chest. She gazed with a sorrowful face as the woman stood and walked to her, staring her in the eyes. She felt a shiver creeping down her spine from that stare--there was a demon behind those, eyes, she knew. Her figure quaked and shivered for a moment, imperceptibly, but the presence of Sister Patricia was more a comfort than she would ever realize.

She gave a soft, delicate cough, no matter how hard she tried to repress it, when the girl blew smoke, and some of the second-hand entered her own lungs. The soft cough almost sounded like dimmed-down glass tinkling against other glass. Her shoulders shook slightly and she pressed a few fingers in front of her lips. Oh, God, it was so awful! She had never felt anything like that, before, and she was only getting the left-overs! Her eyelids flickered for just a moment, but she did not even scold the girl for blowing smoke, if not in her face, in her general direction. When she had gotten control of her lungs, the girl had already turned around, looking towards the window. 'No, I can't let her escape me! No one has stepped so far away from the light that they can not be brought back to it.

She stepped forward then, and slowly rest her hands upon the girl's shoulder, in such a motherly touch one would have to believe in miracles to think she was a day younger than fifty. She gave a soft, gentle murmur, sounding almost like a prayer as she spoke it; "Please, young daughter... Hear my words unsullied by the demon inside... Can't you see? This is your chance to live a happy life. Please... Just come with me, let us help you." Her voice seemed so strained with the sorrow of knowing the girl infront of her suffered torment day in and day out. "Maybe, if you come with us, you can even return to your old life--if you want to... You can do anything, afterward, without fear of being seen, no need to hide yourself."

She took a slow, deep breath, and consequently gave another delicate cough, which caused her hands to tremble upon the girl's shoulder. She obviously had frail health. "Trust me... None of us wish to cause you harm. The women warriors that have been chasing you up until now are used to fighting much more frightening, dangerous demons than the one inside of you. They are not suited for embracing a young, delicate girl with all the love and promise of a future. I can promise you that future, if you just come with me. No more women chasing you, no more nights, sleeping with fear of being caught. No more sleeping hungry. You'll sleep on a comfortable bed, every night. Have good, delicious food every night..."

She seemed almost to be begging the girl to come along, with the tone of her voice, though she still seemed to be doing it in a serene way. She sounded as if she would die happily if she came, and lose will to live if she did not. "Please, daughter, hear me, and heed me. I want nothing more, and I mean this from the bottom of my heart. I want nothing more than to see you living a sweet, normal life..." She slowly slid her hands forward, encroaching along her figure as if to pull her a little closer. She was tall, after all, and enfolding the woman into a protective embrace was easy. "Believe me, please."

She felt herself give a physical and emotional cringe when a motherly touch landed upon her shoulder under the hand of the nun behind her. Her body shivered under the woman's hand, and she gave a weak sound in response to the touch alone. Her shoulders began to sag under her hands as she spoke, continuing their tremble, as though she more or less expected that she'd be struck down as soon as she lowered her guard. Not that she had one, compared to a sword, like the next woman carried. Her head eventually fell, her lips pursing tightly around the cigarette butt, her eyes even closing for several seconds.

She, again, did not give a response until the woman had finished, and by now, the tears were hard to hold in. The last words, 'Believe me, please', was nothing more than irony, as she whimpered quietly in an attempt to speak. She had to cough to regain her voice. "As... As much as I'd love to believe you.... I.... I don't know... I just... I can't believe.." She took in a shuddery breath, closing her eyes slowly. Mention of maybe going back home had struck her hard, and while she desperately wanted to... She couldn't go back to such a shallow place and live comfortably. "I don't know where to go afterward.. After any of this..." She muttered quietly, eventually, as though she were admitting something terrible. To her, it was terrible. As she saw it now, her life was truly in shambles.

She shifted uncomfortably, eventually reaching up to pull the cigarette from her lips, letting it fall and her foot come down against it when it hit the hard floor. She had to do that, for she felt it wouldn't be much longer until the tears escaped her. All a Marlboro would do would poke her in the eye on accident. With her luck, she really didn't doubt it. She breathed heavily, letting the last of the smoke escape her lungs, reaching up quietly to wipe the sleeves of the sweater against her eyes carefully.

"You can't... You can't just say that I could have those things... If the church could go so far to try and help someone like me, then why not try and do the same for everyone else? I... I would love a warm home... A warm bed and food... But I'm less deserving then the people I've seen living in the sewers and in run down neighborhoods... The people who can't help themselves any more than what's needed to survive, or for their families to see another day.. Those people helped me, too, even when they had so little for themselves... I can't... I can't just go with you without feeling guilty for them... I want to help them.." Her voice was almost broken as she spoke, tears finally escaping her eyes against the fabric of the sleeves.

After a long moment of her heavy breaths and attempts to hold back soft sobs, and rubbing her eyes, she dropped her hand back down to her side, muttering softly, "If you can promise me something... Promise that they won't hurt me... That they can fix me in some way to not be like this... And that when this is done, promise me that I can help others... Then I'll......" She seemed very deflated by all of this, even greatly weakened in some way. All of this was happening because she was born with something she wasn't supposed to have.. "Then... I'll go with you.."

She quietly stared from behind, her face a picture of sorrow as she watched the girl sag beneath her hands. Never once did the serenity crack, yet it held a definite martyring look to it. She slowly stretched out her hands, enfolding the girl into a warm embrace, and holding her close against herself as if her presence alone could banish the demon inside of her. She quietly listened to the girl speak, putting forth again that her words were not swaying her. She smiled sadly down towards the top of the girl's head, and merely held her close. She was not trying to convince her through touch, she was genuinely trying to help comfort her through a rough time. "There, there, child. I know that you have been going through much trouble, lately. It is this demon that is causing these problems for you. It is the root of your trouble."

She slowly tightened her grip, and let her hands enfold around her abdomen, being careful not to tickle or touch inappropriately. She slowly took in a soft, deep breath, and tilted her head back, murmuring softly to her; "But what you ask is impossible." It was generally her first instinct to agree with whatever was asked of her, but of this? She could not. "I cannot promise that you will be able to help them. Only you can promise that. I cannot extend your hand filled with charity, only my own. Yes, the Church has not helped everyone, but we can only do so much." She smiled quietly to herself. It was true. She had tried hard to try and help everyone she could, but she was only one woman.

"And who are we to deem who is worthy of our help and who is not? Perhaps God has manipulated these events Himself, so that you might meet me, and help me guide you along this path, so that you can help those who are in need. Those who helped you on your rough journey." She slowly moved her head down, resting her nose against the top of the girl's head. Her lips pursed together, but only lightly brushed her hair before lifting up. "Please, daughter. I want nothing more than to see you following the path happiest for you. But before any of that can happen, before you can help those who have helped you, we must vanquish that demon."

She slowly let her hands loosen, slowly twisting the girl around to face her, to gaze down into those child's eyes fearlessly. This girl was no demon herself. She was nothing more than a lost little girl who needed a shining hand to guide her back to the light. She slowly drew her hands downwards, gripping her by the elbows and holding them softly. "We can help you. Then you can help others. But we have to help you first."

She felt herself growing a bit lax in the woman's arms once they enfolded her into the woman's embrace, despite feeling a need to resist for several moments. Everything was screaming, either that she could not just simply trust this woman and her words, or that she should go with her and get out of this hell of a life she had lived the past few weeks. Her hands, trembling, still up near her chin so she could make use of the sleeves on her wettened eyes, rubbed softly again before dropping down down quietly against one of the woman's hands. Her own were were fevered, though they had a chill to them. No doubt that she was not in the best of health right now. She found herself wanting more and more to believe that they could help her, that they really could get rid of this supposed root of her troubles.. But every mention of the 'demon' made her weak belief falter.

For a moment, after the woman's deep breath, her shoulder's tightened, as though she were getting ready for some sort of strike. In essence, she was, having heard that breath before. She shivered softly at first when the woman spoke, though her shoulders, even though they relaxed after a moment, seemed to grow a bit more firm. For some reason, being told such a thing seemed to brighten her dim, dark and depressed mood. Probably because of the idea that she'd still have some choice in her life.. That seemed somewhat comforting to her.

As the woman continued on, she found herself closing her eyes, feeling as though some of the fog, at least, had been lifted away from her mind. It'd be rather foolish to think that the church could do everything, including help every single person, though they could try. And maybe... Well, maybe some of the things that had happened were meant to be... She saw life differently during the short periods of time she spent among those in the impoverished areas, and maybe that was what spurred her on to want to help them now. She gave a quietly, soft sound, her shoulders sagging gently again after a moment at the mention, again, of the demon thought to be harbored by her body.

She let the woman turn her around quietly, lifting her head to look up towards her with the wetness of her tears still hanging in her eyes. She was no longer about to cry, but they just seemed there. Present, in case she needed them there to shed. She gave a quiet sound when the woman's hands moved down to grasp her by the elbows, thinking back for just a moment from when she was little, when her mother had done the same thing during important talks. A part of her resented that, but the woman before her had a winning argument, if there was an argument to be made at all.

Her chest rose and fell heavily for a moment, her eyes dropping back away from the Sister's gaze, staring down at the dusty, cold floor beneath them. She pursed her lips quietly before muttering gently, "I hope it's a demon you can get rid of.." She had her doubts. She had what was between her legs from birth, as far as she knew. If it really was a demon.. Wouldn't it have show up on its own, not 'naturally'? She didn't care to question much at the moment. It had ruined her life, and she wanted it gone. If this worked, then it worked. If not... She'd search for another way. "I'm scared of all of this... But it ruined my life as I knew it... I want it gone... Please.. Help me...." She muttered lowly, lifting her eyes back up towards the woman.

She noticed the girl's actions. She was trained and sensitive to things like that. She marked them down in the notebook in her head for further use, to exploit them as she needed. She was, after all, a manipulator. That was what she did. She didn't control the puppet strings, she tweaked them delicately to get them to move in the way she wanted. The girl's relaxation into her arms signaled that she was desperate for someone, friend or foe, to comfort her. The tensing of her shoulders at a simple breath told her that the girl was scared, but anyone could see that. It also told her that she was afraid of violence, not a perpetrator of it. That allowed her to stare at the girl without fear, without worry that a demon lie waiting to strike. A girl like this would not let a demon harm someone around her. She thought, anyways.

She slowly reached up, letting her hand cup the girl's cheek and lightly held her gaze in such a way, so that she could not look away again after speaking her desire to get help. She murmured down to her quietly; "Of course we can. There is no way that we can fail." She said it firmly. And with good reason, too. She believed fully in the power of the Church. Nothing could stop them, nothing from the darkness, anyways. As she said this, Sister Patricia relaxed visibly, the tension dropping out of her tendons and muscles. Sister Mary Anne quietly stepped forth out of the fire escape, her weapons sheathed in a concealed location, so that they were not visible. Neither of the two made a move towards Georgia, though Sister Mary quietly joined Patricia, where they began to communicate softly to each other in low voices.

"I knew if anyone could do it, she could." Patricia said. "Yes. I was growing worried for a moment, though. It looked like she was not going to give in." "Do you think her... 'luck' extends to conversations, as well?" Most of the people whom had been hunting her attributed that luck to the demon. It looked like she had to fight herself in order to get to the point she was at. It only took the mention of helping her 'friends' to win her over." "If that really is the case then perhaps there is a woman worth saving inside of that shell. Perhaps it would have been regrettable to kill her, after all." "Perhaps, but I think we were also necessary in helping sway the balance. She would not have met those people she wants to help if not for us."

Katherine ignored the two of them. She was close enough that she could still barely pick up their conversation, though she did not think that Georgia was. Her hand slowly caressed along her cheek for a moment, and she said; "Georgia, right? I'm sister Mary Katherine. It is a pleasure to meet you." She said, before slowly lowering the hand, and clasping one of Georgia's between both of her own. "Now, come with me, and we will get you settled in at the Church." She pulled away from the girl and began to drift towards the door, pausing at it and glancing back to make sure the girl was following her.