b-but been only a day! Will update before tomorrow promise. Am working on it now, trying out the shorter format.
Delayed because I was trying to hunt down some military information. So it's still really long for a chapter! It's the novelist in me. Apologizing for further perversion of characters. Enjoy. Raven stared down at the younger woman. Her eyes narrowed. Pretentious little upstart thought she was going to decide things with a threat? “What do you think you're going to do, shoot me?” Raven growled out. “Whatever gave you that idea?” Allie snarled back, stepping forward. Raven felt her entire body screaming to walk away, but she ignored it and stepped forward instead. The two closed the gap between them until they were face-to-face. Allie puffed herself up and purposefully bumped her chest into Raven. “I don't think anyone wants to see you back here after what you did,” Allie said, with a satisfied look when Raven cringed. “Did you think he'd be happy to see you?” Raven felt a pain in her heart at these words, but the anger that flamed up inside her negated the feeling quickly. “Don't play around, child. Who are you even?” Allie's cheeks flushed in embarrassment. She couldn't pretend to claim a relationship with her superior, and she knew Raven knew that. The problem with living in such a small community meant that everyone knew everyone elses' business and word of any sort got out quick. Especially if it was some scandalous news about the sheriff. And scandalous news it would be as most of the older community still felt that James and Raven belonged together despite their 4 month split. “Get out of here,” Allie said, her fingers trembling against the holster of her gun. “NOW!” she screeched, unable to keep her composure. Raven was startled, but unable to bear the screaming of her body's flight response, she huffed and turned on her heel, stalking from the clinic. Allie stood gasping in the waiting room, before she threw her Styrofoam cup at the floor angrily, unable to do anything else. Raven stomped outside, her trembling fingers searching her pockets for a cigarette. Her fingers snaked into her back jean pocket, and found nothing. She frantically checked each of her pockets before coming to the stunned realization that she had quit months ago. She brought her hands up over her eyes and rubbed her face, smearing her makeup accidentally. Chris had been the one to make her quit. In their posh upscale apartment in the city, he had not even tried to hide his disdain for her nasty habit. Trying to please him, she had suffered to quit. That had been one thing about James she had liked. The fact that he had never tried to change her. But that also was why she ended up leaving. She couldn't stand that he never tried to change her. Perhaps she was just difficult. Running her hands through her hair, she felt the stiffness of hair product. That had been Chris' influence as well. Their relationship had been an awkward moment that turned into a torrid affair before she had been swept away into the city. She still remembered him approaching her, at the neighborhood block party, when James had been working overtime. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Raven smiled as she watched the festivities. The streetlights were just coming on now, and the sun was sinking in the sky. Loud music was blaring out in the street from the speakers and people were dancing around laughing and having conversations. It was the last hour before everything would be shut down and put away. Raven looked around, wondering where Melly was off to. She grinned as she saw Melly off to the side, sitting underneath the lights and talking with Natalie. “Grow up so fast, huh?” said a voice behind her. Raven turned and saw a man with chocolate hair and deep brown eyes. His smile was non-threatening yet Raven felt her heart jump. “You have children?” she asked, in an attempt to be friendly. “No,” he said. Confused, Raven continued smiling. How did that awkward conversation turn into this? Her back was pressed up against the closet wall and she gasped as their lips disconnected. Melly was at school, James was at work, and Raven was in the coat closet with another man. A man she didn't even know that well, but who was completely sweeping her up in his pace. Slumping to the floor, she tried to shake her hair back into place. Staggering to her feet she pulled a cigarette from her back jean pocket, noticing the wrinkle that came over Chris' nose. She stepped out onto the patio and lit the cigarette, inhaling deeply. She knew what she was doing was wrong, and it wasn't as if she had stopped loving James. The screaming was nothing like she'd ever heard before from James. James was always so calm and collected, a rock that she could lean on. The man pacing in front of her, ranting and screaming at the top of his lungs wasn't James. She felt like screaming back, but she had nothing to say. She was leaving him for a man ten years his junior, and moving away all at the same time. “What are you thinking Raven!” he yelled. “I can't take this right now,” James said, rushing into the kitchen. He returned a moment later with a bottle of whiskey. He twisted the cap off. “Go ahead, leave me Raven, leave our child!” He tilted his head back and started downing the entire fifth. Raven grabbed her suitcase and almost ran from the house, hearing the bottle crashing on the floor behind her. James stood in the kitchen, his shoulder heaving. He was in disbelief as he began shaking violently. At last he punched a hole straight through the drywall in the kitchen, turning to watch Raven's disappearing back out the front door. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Raven was brought back from her memories as she saw a military vehicle pull up with a screeching halt in front of her. Stepping back, she was surprised to see three burly men exit, all in military BDUs. They pushed past her into the clinic. “Where is Sheriff Lenart?” the first one barked, his voice so commanding Raven could hear it through the glass front doors of the clinic. “The sheriff?” the petrified woman repeated back, stunned into silence. “H-he should be in the back...” “I'm Deputy Southern,” Allie said, stepping forward, straightening her small frame as if to try and match up to the much larger men in front of her. “What do you want with him?” The tall man looked down at her and grabbed her arm, “Come with us, we'll talk when we get to the sheriff,” he said ignoring her indignant shouting at being man-handled. The men burst into the back rooms, dragging Allie with them. Shortly after, Raven heard from outside the intercom system calling out for the sheriff. She turned away, her mind racing. That was when she glanced over to the ambulance bay and saw that the patrol car James had parked there earlier was gone. It wasn't long before the three men came back into the waiting room, still dragging an uncooperative deputy. Allie managed to pull free, fuming. “What the heck is going on?” Allie shouted, slapping away one of their hands as they reached for her again. In a split second, the other one had grabbed her, using his leg to trip her to the ground. She fell with a grunt, but before she could even move she was pinned by his other leg. She then was unceremoniously bound by zip ties with her hands behind her back. The first one pulled her back up with one hand and placed her on her feet. “I'm sorry ma'am, but we just don't have time for this,” he said in a gruff voice. Allie stared at him, her mouth wide open. She was embarrassed at being taken down so quickly, but before she could speak, he ushered her out the doors past Raven. They pushed her into the vehicle. Raven stared, just as surprised. “Police station,” one of them said. “Call in for the LoJack on the sheriff's vehicle.” The door slammed shut and the vehicle peeled off. Raven was left standing in the parking lot, eyes wide open. Then she hurried to her car as well, determined to find out where James had gone before the military did.
So I waited a few hours and couldn't get a hold of either of my editors I decided to do a rush job and submit this anyway. Apologize for mistakes in advance Chapter 3 - The Breach Karina Smalley rolled her shoulders back, feeling the stiffness of her laboratory coat catching on them. They always used too much starch in the wash. Her muscles ached from being in the same position for so long, hunched over the microscope. She pushed away from the table, the wheels on her chair squeaking over the pristine floor. The government facility she worked in was under the pretense of operating with the military, yet her particular specialties had led her to be moved even further internally to a private program that to most people, did not exist. She looked disdainfully over the flesh samples that were literally rotting in front of her eyes. Standing, she exited the room, her lab coat swishing about her ankles. Her cellphone buzzed irritatingly in her pocket and she pulled it out. “Yeah?” she said, not bothering to be polite. The voice on the other end was not amused. “Have you submitted your report? You're an hour late.” Karina threaded her fingers through her plain brown hair, twirling a piece around her finger. “I already told you Sgt Mocroft, I need a live sample. These...” she paused to wrinkle her nose, “Dead things you keep bringing me aren't lasting long enough for me to even run preliminary testing before they decay. The live ones are even worse. They keep reacting horribly to the anesthesia, and one of them almost bit Kira when he woke up unexpectedly–” The voice cut her off in her tangent. “No excuses Smalley, get me that report.” Karina heard the click that let her know he had disconnected. She smirked, and slipped the phone back in her pocket. --- James pulled up to the high school, his knuckles white on the steering wheel. He had driven illegally with lights flashing as he rushed home only to find the house empty. The police radio had been crackling at him, telling him to report back to the station, but he had ignored it, thoughts only on his daughter, Melly. Although it was unlikely she was still here, James found himself parking outside the front gate of the high school. He got out quickly, grabbing his M4 before closing the door. He moved to the rear of the vehicle, sliding the shoulder strap across his back as he did so. Popping the trunk, he pulled out his Mossberg 590. Although this morning like every other morning, he had checked all his weapons for ammunition, he did so again out of nervous habit. His pistol sat innocently in his holster, as if it hadn't already seen action today. James felt his fingers brush over it as he hoisted the shotgun onto the opposite shoulder of the M4. Although all his guns were loaded and ready, James still felt unprepared. Slamming the trunk closed, he stared up at the high school. In the dark, the school loomed like a giant brick monster. James could see figures loping uneasily around in the darkness from where he had parked. It cemented the sinking feeling in his gut that Melly was still here. He moved to the drivers' side door. Opening it, he turned on the ignition and flipped on the headlights. It was like a beacon. The figures that had been lumbering around aimlessly in the schoolyard just seconds before, all stood stock still. Then they turned towards the light and ran at him.
Updates have been posted to the other websites, I just haven't uploaded the latest chapters here. My apologies. I will try and get them on here sometime today. I do need your guys help to keep bumping this It shows that you're still interested in seeing more updates. On another note I will be involved in a large war this weekend so I may not be able to update then. Apologies in advance.