Running Away

Amelia woke up from her daze the moment the dust hit the floor. She remembered now. The murderous fury, the sheer rush of adrenaline. She... She had just killed something. Whatever it was. She was slightly disturbed she had let her rationale fade so easily. If it had been smarter or faster... Amelia physically shook that thought away, focusing on Charlie. It didn't look like she was injured.

"Charlie, are you alright?"

Charlie slowly stood up from where she was panting on the ground. The actual physical battle, for those who aren't used to it, is very exhausting. Taunt nerves, and adrenaline don't care for your appearance, only your life.

"Un, I'm fine."

Slowly the atmosphere was consumed with silence, only the occasional gust of wind piercing the seemingly insurmountable wall. Amelia's thoughts were coated with the slick sheen of panic. 'Why isn't Charlie talking?' Another thought popped up with a vengeance, but Amelia stomped and stuffed it away. 'There's no way right? Charlie would never hate me... She still loved me even with my eye right? Right?' Amelia reached deep within her mind to pluck out all the little specks of courage she possessed. As if she was a tortoise, her arm moved slowly moved toward Charlie.

And then the window cracked with a shrill scream. A figure draped in clothing as black as the night stood in the remains of the shattered window. Charlie stood stock still, her eyes swerving to the window. She sprung worth into a tense stance a few feet in front of Amelia. It did nothing to allay Amelia's fear however. This was the second floor, and there were no objects he could have hauled himself up with. Slowly his hand, an inky blue color, reached up to take the hood off of his head. The dissonance of a white, pale face with the inky, dark hand shook Amelia hard.

'This isn't right! Maybe it's a skin condition... No, it's almost as if his fingers are those of a doll's'

The answer came to her like a smack in the face.

"...Mister, do you have a defect too?"

The man in the black was clearly at a loss for words, with a vein on his forehead beginning to protrude. Then he heard the 'too'. This time his speechlessness was for a different reason. 'Defect? Is she referring to innocence? Hahahahaha, this is amazing! Innocence being called a defect!' The man looked at Amelia with a mischievous glint in his eyes, as he waved his innocence around to gain the girl's attention.

"Are you talking about this? Unfortunately, this isn't a defect but a so called 'blessing'." he said as he shook his head and grumbled under his breath, "If it was a defect, I could get rid of it."

He turned toward Amelia and looked her in the eye. A self-mocking smile on his face.

"It's called Innocence, and you are its' apostle. One of the few 'lucky' people to be chosen by God Himself."

Amelia felt shock flood her body, but it was accompanied by a strange feeling. Something artificial. She couldn't quite put her finger on it. In front of her, Charlie had a strange look on her face.

"Welcome to the Exorcists, kid. It may not be a happy one though."

Amelia threw her weird emotions to the side, focusing a pin-point stare on the man.

"What do you mean by that?"

The man sighed, wondering if he should sugarcoat the truth or not. One look at the girl's eyes decided for him.

"Well, first off you've got about a 30ish lifespan tops. The only exceptions to that are the Generals, but they're practically on a different plane of existence. Even if you do make it back alive, you've probably got grievous life-threatening injuries."

The man in black looked at the girl once more. Nothing he had said so far had even made her flinch, even if her frown had deepened considerably. Unlike that hovering protective guardian of hers. It was somewhat understandable considering the sheer amount of bodies downstairs. But before he was required to forcefully abduction her back to the Black Order, he wanted her to fully understand the hellhole she was about to enter. He didn't like his situation even more so than before, but he definitely felt that the information he did receive helped.

"The worst part... The worst part is when you actually make a friend, and despite them promising over and over again that they'll make it back... I'm sure you can guess the rest."

He softly rubbed a teardrop earring with his thumb, running circles in a shaky pattern. Slowly his eyes darkened in the same inky shade as that of his hand. Empathy was absent.

"Anyways, I'm sorry to say this. Truly. But, I'm required to take yo-"

He was interrupted by a shoe to the face. Charlie ran up and tackled him immediately after.

"Amelia! Get out of here and don't come back!" Charlie turned toward Amelia and let out a growl, all while applying more pressure to his wrists.

"What the hell are you doing lady?!"

The man twisted and turned in an attempt to get out, but Charlie had an unforgiving death grip. His foot rose in an attempt to get Charlie off of him, but she shoved him against the cabinet, disorienting him.

"I know that you're smart enough, you won't need me to take care of you anymore! No matter what, don't let this place take you! I wouldn't be able to forgive myself If I just let you get shipped off to some place that uses goddamn children as soldiers!"

Amelia's face transformed into a scowl, before transitioning into a bitter straight line. Plans zoomed and flew in and out of her mind, trying to come up with an alternate solution. Each was rejected. Any second now the man's strength would overwhelm Charlie, and she would get captured. They couldn't immobilize him. Bribing, blackmail, and sympathy were off the table as well. He was clearly empathetic to her situation, if he talked that much about it. But regardless of his feelings he was going to do his job...

'That kind of place wouldn't be kind to traitors. We're just a mere baron family, surviving the winter is already hard. There's nothing here that could possibly motivate him to betray this exorcist organization.'

"Ok, I'll... I'll leave. And you, mister defect guy..."

'Judging by the fact that he said 'few'... I should have some value even as a newcomer. If I become a member that is. I won't let that happen no matter what.'

Her narrowed eyes transformed into slits that promised death.

"I swear that I will immediately kill myself if I so much as hear that you hurt her. I'll also find a way to contact that organization of yours before doing it too!"

'There are so many flaws, what if he has so much authority that they'll directly overlook his transgression? Or what he finds a way to intercept my message. What if... Stop, this is already the best of several alternatives.'

She spared one last lingering look, before she sprinted outside to the forest.