Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada

"You stupid goddamn slut!" shouted a harsh tenor voice. Which was soon followed by a resounding slap. "You're cheating on me?"

Gabriella Smith cowered in the corner of the living room of her childhood home. Just feet from her stood her father with his fist raised over her pleading mother.

"Baby, never! You know that," whispered her mother fearfully. She raised her arms in what looked like submission. "I love you."

"LIAR!" Charlie Smith shrieked, striking her mother across the face.

"Dad, stop!" cried Gabriella, covering her ears with her hands.

"You stay out of this you little bitch! I'll get to you next!" screamed her father, throwing the flower vase at her face violently. Gabriella ducked just in time, letting out a soft whimper. The blue ceramic shattered where her head had been a second before. Scrambling to her feet, she ran into the kitchen and swiped the phone from the marble counter. She punched in the numbers as soon as the dial tone sounded.

"911, what's your emergency?" asked a serious female voice.

"I need the police; my father is threatening me and my mom! Please hurry, 32 Ashsweet..." Gabriella started to plead, but the phone was viciously pulled from her ear.

"What the hell have you done?" screamed her father, shaking her painfully. He pushed her away from him into the island in the middle of the room. She winced as the counter made hard contact with her lower back.

"You're no daughter of mine," he sneered, reaching into the back of his jeans and pulling out a handheld shotgun. He lifted the gun and pointed it menacingly at Gabriella.

Gabriella raised her hands, attempting to ward him off. Her lip quivered as she said, "They...they'll know it...it was you that did...did this. I...I've called the police, a...and they'll be here an...any minute."

Charlie cocked the gun and smirked. "Don't worry about me, Sunshine."

The sound of the shot seemed to shake the room as the bullet blasted towards Gabriella.

She scrunched her eyes closed, bracing herself for the pain. Yet as she stood there, time seemed to slow. A sudden energy burst forth from within her chest, not painful, but somehow draining. Her eyes snapped open to watch a cloudy mist of white energy stop the bullet in its path before spreading throughout the room in a matter of seconds.

The bullet that had been approaching her was immediately obliterated. She let out a scream, but not before she heard another BANG sound throughout the room.

Gabriella felt the life of her father evaporating into nonexistence as the energy passed through him. Yet the white mist soon slowed and crawled back towards her like an obedient pet. It seemed to surround her, as if to protect her from any other danger, before slowly dissolving back into her skin.

She blinked quickly, her vision blurred by salty tears. Quickly wiping them away, she stared at the scene before her. Nothing had remained unscathed by the uncontrollable wave that she had created. The counters and floors were cracked, the windows on the glass cupboards shattered, and the immediate area around her indented. It was as if a meteor had landed right where she stood.

She saw the gun on the floor not two feet from her, directly beside a limp arm. Charlie Smith lay unmoving on the tiled floor, looking at her with a lifeless gaze of disbelief.

New tears began to fill her eyes, but she would not let them fall. She wouldn't spare any tears for this man. "Mom," she breathed, rushing back into the living room.

She gasped when she saw the room. Half of the floor lay in shambles with shattered pictures, broken windows, and ripped furniture. Yet the other half remained perfectly intact. Her mother...well, she could not tell what her mother's condition was.

The blond girl rushed forward, landing on her knees beside the body. Gabriella gathered her mother upright against her and checked for a pulse. A fresh wave of grief overcame her when nothing throbbed against her fingertips. She gently rocked back and forth as she let the tears fall freely. She looked around the untouched part of the living room where she sat; clutching to her mother protectively, as if her father would reawaken and hurt them again. She hadn't caused her mother's death.

There was an ugly, bleeding bullet wound slowly trickling blood in her mother's chest. It was her father's fault that Cheryl Smith was dead; but would the police see it as such?

Half of the house was destroyed with two dead bodies, and she the only survivor. What would happen to her? Would they follow her if she left? What would they do to her if she stayed? She didn't want to go to jail!

Gabriella gently kissed her mother's cheek, and set her down on the floor. "I love you," she whispered before quickly making her way upstairs. She rushed into her room and grabbed her backpack, shoving all the essentials into her bag, along with the rolls of cash and credit cards hidden in her parents' bedroom.

As she descended the stairs she spared her mother one last glance. Even in death her mother remained unbelievably beautiful, but she knew she would never again look into those startling blue-ish green eyes and feel comforted. She would never again hear the words "I love you," on her mother's lips. Gabriella sighed to keep from crying again and left through the back door, leaving everything she knew behind for what she hoped would be forever.

Hull, Quebec, Canada

4 years later

"Bloody Mary!" shouted Serena to her co-worker over the blaring dance music in the club she was currently serving at. The attractive blond in front of her held up two fingers and Serena shouted, "Make that two!"

Quickly twirling the bottles in her hands, she handed the three new customers their drinks, grabbed the money and moved on to the next group. "What can I get ya?" she called.

"A quick dance?" shouted tall, dark and handsome back to her.

"I'm working, maybe some other time. What do you want to drink!"

"A beer! And I'm gonna hold you to that dance!"

Serena turned away with a grin, and served the next drunken group of people.

Once things started to slow down at the bar, her boss gave her a look. Serena nodded, understanding her meaning, and pulled herself onto the bar top. With a wave to the DJ, she began to dance, moving quickly with the music. She loved this job. She got paid just as much as any stripper, but didn't have to take her clothes off to get it, just dance.

People once again began to gravitate towards the bar, to her satisfaction, and began ordering drinks like mad.

Serena kept dancing; teasing the people around her while she shook her hips rhythmically. She flipped her waist long blond hair and felt herself get lost in the music.

It pulsed through her like blood, giving her new energy and life.

Then to her dismay she felt a pair of hands reach around her waist and settle on her hips.

She looked over her shoulder only to see the dark hotty from earlier, wanting the promised dance. She turned towards him, grinding her hips to his, and then pushed him off the bar into the wave of people. He crowd surfed through the bar, angrily shouted obscenities at her.

Not caring, she continued her dance. With a final bend and turn, the song ended and she hopped back down from the bar. Once again she began to take orders, dully noticing their club security escorting the guy out.

Her boss, Vicky, gave her a sly grin and continued to bring in the orders, bending down slightly to give a little peep show.

"What a night," sighed Vicky, falling into a chair beside Serena. "You did good kid! Made over 1,500 in tips for us tonight with that little dance."

Serena sighed. "Just another day."

Vicky laughed and handed her a roll of bills. "Take the night off tomorrow, I'll have one of the other girls fill in for ya. It shouldn't be busy anyways."

"Thanks Vick, see you later." Serena waved, grabbing her coat and moving towards the door. Nodding to Bobby, their bouncer, she hid the roll of bills in her bra before pulling the thin material of her jacket closer around her. Shivering slightly at the bitter weather, she made her way through the streets.

After finally outrunning the cops a year earlier at the border of Newfoundland Canada, Gabriella, now known as Serena, had made her way to Quebec to bartend at a club. At first it had been tedious, but now, the lifestyle suited her perfectly. Late nights, loud music, and a fucking good time was what Serena lived for. Well, it was for now. This may not have been the ideal but it was what she had to work with.

The best thing about this gig was that she didn't have to run anymore. There were no cops, no out-of-body mystical energy experiences, and no murders. She was just a 19-year-old girl with more money then she knew what to do with. And she planned on keeping it that way.

Serena sighed in content as she walked, glancing over her shoulder on occasion. A habit she hadn't been able to break after almost four years on the run. She didn't see anyone, but detoured anyways, another habit she had picked up.

She walked almost all the way across the city before finally making her way to her apartment building. But it was then that she felt it. A strange sensation vibrated in her heart, somehow telling her that there was an unwanted presence around her. She glanced again over her shoulder, hoping to visually identify whatever it was that was suddenly making her feel so overwhelmed. But she couldn't see anything. Was it the cops again? Or something even more dangerous?

Her heartbeat picked up-tempo as she hurried towards her apartment building; she had to get somewhere safe and fast. She could see it in the distance now, but it was still too far away. Fear began to build inside her, constricting her. She spared another glance behind her and then suddenly collided with, what seemed like, a solid wall. She fell straight down on her ass in the middle of the sidewalk and swore.

She glanced up and saw the guy from earlier, the one she pushed off the bar counter. He looked down at her and smirked, "You still owe me a dance."

Serena rolled her eyes, and began to get up. Suddenly, his foot swung up and he kicked her square in the face. She fell back down, gripping her burning cheek, biting back tears as she looked up at him again. "But I'm gonna settle for this," he said, reaching down and pulling her to her feet by her jacket.

It ripped slightly, and she let out a scream before slapping him, making sure to rake her nails across his skin. He stepped away from her in surprise and now gripped his own face.

Before she knew it she turned and ran down the street, shouting at the top of her lungs for help. She didn't get very far before she felt herself being jerked back by her hair. She gasped as she fell once more. But she was pulled to her feet once again and shoved into the nearest alleyway.

She was pushed face-first against the wall roughly, feeling his weight slam against her from behind. Still gripping her hair, he pulled her head back, exposing her neck. He kissed it roughly before biting it slightly. She let out a cry of pain, and began to struggle in his grasp. He pressed harder against her and let his hand roughly grab her breast.

She felt the feeling of helplessness come over her as his hand moved down her thigh. "What the hell are you doing this for? Because I embarrassed you?" she asked through gritted teeth.

He didn't say anything but spun her around to face him and slapped her. "That's for embarrassing me. This is gonna be for fun."

Serena felt a coppery substance in her mouth before he slammed his lips onto hers. They were chapped and obviously inexperienced. She bit down hard on his bottom lip, practically ripping it open. He gasped, pulling away from her before slamming her against the wall again. Holding her with one hand, he reached into his pocket and removed a knife. Her eyes widened in horror and disbelief. Was this guy serious?

He smirked at her and slowly dragged the knife down her cheek, an animalistic look in his eyes. The knife didn't leave a mark, but the pressure was enough to keep her silent.

Suddenly a loud WHAM was heard, and his eyes clouded over as he fell to the ground, unconscious. He had been hit on the head from behind.

Serena breathed in quick, shallow breaths, still pressed up against the wall as she looked to her savor. He looked homeless, wearing an old, dirty trench coat and ripped jeans. He still held the crowbar above him from the swing, as if expecting the guy to spring up and fight back. He slowly lowered it and looked to her, then smiled a toothless grin. "You ok?" he asked.

She stared at him in awe. His blond hair was mangled and in desperate need of washing, his face unshaven and smudged with dirt. His clothes hung loosely around his body, his hardships blatantly obvious. But still, his warm blue eyes were that of concern as he looked at her. "I'm fine. Thank you," she said breathlessly. She slowly eased herself off the wall and stepped over the unconscious body. "You saved me," she stated.

He gave her another toothless grin and led her outside of the alley onto the street. "No problem, do it all the time."

Still unable to breathe regularly, she looked at him again. "No really, you did. I can't tell you how happy I am that you were there when you were."

"Heard you screamin', came to investigate. No big deal. Be safe miss," he said before strolling down the street, whistling a strange tune.

It took a moment for Serena to collect herself; her relief was so great. But her heartbeat eventually slowed and she began to make her way back to her apartment. She looked over her shoulder. Not that she wasn't grateful to the man who had just saved her life, but why didn't he walk her all the way home? What if that guy woke up? What if he didn't wake up? Why the hell hadn't her mystical power or whatever it was burst forth?

Troubled thoughts filled her mind as she walked into her apartment, so much so that she didn't notice the two different pairs of eyes following her.

Thoughts? Opinions?

-Maddly Riddled