Fan Fiction ❯ Blood From A Rose ❯ It All Began ( Chapter 1 )

Chapter 1

"Hey! That's my doll!" the little girl yelled at the blond boy running away with an old rag doll clutched tightly in his hand. She began to chase after him, soon proving she was very quick and agile, for she caught up with him promptly. Before the boy could speed up, the girl jumped on him, quickly to a position where she was sitting on his stomach. "I want my dolly back!" she commanded.

"Well, you can have it when you get off of me," he wheezed, "You're heavy, I can't breathe." that earned him a slap on the cheek, but she got off of him, and he gave her the doll.

"By the way, what is your name?" the dark haired girl said.

"Johnny Maughn, what is you name?"

"I am Ebony Mathews."

"How old are you?" Ebony held her head up proudly as she looked at him smugly.

"I am seven and three quarters!" she stated.

"Ha! I am eight and a half!" he said to her, earning him another slap. "Ow, that hurt, what was that for?"

"Why did you take my dolly?" she asked him meanly.

"It's better than pulling your hair, isn't it?" he told her, grabbing a lock of her chocolate hair.

"Well, yeah," she looked over to the swing set and smiled slyly. "Do you want to play on the swings?"

"Sure!" he yelled as they raced over toward the swing set.

+++

A nurse walked down the hallway emotionlessly, turning into one of the rooms. There was a little red headed girl, who was silently playing with her toys. The nurse put on a phony smile and bent over the younger child.

"So, Molly, how are you today? Are you feeling better?" she asked sweetly. The younger nodded, and continued her occupation with her playthings.

"Do you remember how old you are?" she asked the little one. Molly nodded slowly.

"I am four," she said sadly.

"Do you remember what your math lesson was?"

"I learned addition two weeks ago, and then subtraction, and then multiplication," she told the nurse matter-of-factly. The nurse decided that the little one was fine, so she left the room. Molly waited for the sound of clicking heels to stop before she burst into tears.

"Why can't I be like the kids out in the playground? I want to be like them, normal," she whispered to herself as she watched the boys play basketball on the court. "I don't want to be a stupid clone, I want to be a normal kid!" Her cries became a little louder as the cheers of the other children became more prominent as one of them scored a basket.

+++

A cry was heard from outside a dusty house, near the back. A sandy haired woman ran out, to see a little blonde boy behind the house, crying and clutching his knee desperately. She ran over to him and knelt beside him.

"What happened, Zack?" she asked him. He looked at her, a guilty look spread across his features.

"I was playing, and I had a bottle, and, and, and I dropped it when I tripped, and, and I got a piece of glass in my leg!" he cried desperately. She picked Zack up and started walking to the house.

"It's okay, little guy, you shall live on," she whispered in his ear, making his crying cease to hiccups and small sobs.

"Sorry about your bottle, mommy," he said, hugging her as tightly as a small boy could.

"It's okay, I have a million," she reassured him. They walked into the house together, the small boy smiling now.

+++

Quickening footsteps were heard through the dingy alley ways, as a young woman with fiery red heir swerved around a corner, in a full run. Sweat dripped off of her forehead as she hurled herself over the trash cans. Female voices were heard behind her, they had figured out about her escape from the hospital. She smirked as she saw a rail of a fence. The young woman hopped over the rail, only to notice that there were two floors till she hit the bottom.

+++

"Well, Ebs, what do you think about the war rumor going around?" a woman with onyx hair asked. The woman with darker brown hair looked at her friend.

"I doubt it will happen, because who would be stupid enough to start a war like that, it would be pointless to me," she answered. The two walked into an alley and into the ghetto center.

"I'm not so sure about that. Men and women have been really hateful to each other lately," she said.

"Listen to me, Cris, it won't happen," Ebony said. The pair walked over to the fountain, and watched as a young girl flipped a penny into it. They looked over to the ghetto soda machine, where there were fifty-cent sodas.

"Hey, lets go get a pop," Cris said as she pulled out some change and began to count.

"Hell, why not?" Ebony also dug into her pocket as they headed toward the rusty old machine.

Her head spun around as she heard a scream let out from the second story of the run-down apartments. Before the two could get out of the way, a flash of red was seen, and Ebony let out a harsh breath as a bundle of arms and legs collided with her, taking all of the breath out of her lungs. Cris yelled out when the two hit the ground, hard. The red head pulled herself up, and tried to run away. The girl let out a shrill yell when a cold hand grasped her shoulder tightly.

"What in the hell were you doing, jumping off of a balcony and all?" Cris asked her.

"Let go! I have to get out of here before they find me!" she whispered harshly, pulling her arm away. The onyx haired woman gave a look of confusion.

"Well, we could help you out, but you are going to have to trust us," Ebony rang out from the ground. The red head let out an embarrassed gasp and helped her up, blushing. As soon as Ebony was up, she patted the girl on the back The younger smiled slightly and faintheartedly.

"Well, let's get out of here, then!" Cris yelled and smiled. The taller women, who happened to be Ebony and Cris, carried the girl around and out of the ghetto. That is where they put her on her feet. Cris looked at her, studying the younger's features. "You look very familiar, I must say, what is your name?"

"Molly," she mumbled. Cris gave a shocked looking expression.

"That is familiar too!" she yelled.

"I have a feeling you are named Molly Houghs II," Ebony said. Molly looked up at her, a surprised expression pulling on her features. Ebony laughed. "I know who you are, you must be Molly Houghs' daughter, am I right?"

"Well, in a way, you are," she said sadly. Cris was now by all accounts confused.

"Wait a minute, you are the daughter of that scientist cloning lady? That sucks," Cris said bluntly.

"I, am Molly Houghs II, but I am not really a full person, only half," she said quietly. Cris sighed impatiently.

"You two are too deep for me," she muttered. Molly let off another invisible smile. Suddenly the younger noticed that they were turning into another street.

"Hey, were are we going?" she asked the two. Ebony looked down and smiled at her.

"We are headed to one of my favorite places, Chums Corner, a restaurant," she said to the youth.

"One of the few places that will still accept both men and women," Cris explained. Molly looked around. This street did seem to have a lot of dark and brooding figures lurking about it. She had never known that the world had gone down to such disaster. "Hey, I have a question for you, kid."

"Yes," Molly looked up to the onyx haired woman.

"Why did you say you were only half of a person?" Molly looked to the ground.

"I will explain it when we have more privacy," she said, looking over to the people, showing what she meant. Cris seemed only partially content, she obviously had wanted to know right then. "I have a question for you," she said. Cris looked at her, obviously daring the youngster to ask. "When did the world go so far down?"

"Ever since WWIII, then humans became really interested with cloning, and we are stuck here now," Ebony answered. Molly cast her head downward, and began shaking. The elders gave her a grave look. "Are you, a clone? Is that what you meant by only half of a human?" the girl nodded her head, and hoped they wouldn't see the tears beginning to stain her cheeks yet again. They soon made it to Chums Corner, and they went inside.

***

A sandy haired boy looked out at the dusty fields, to the city that was threatening to occupy the peaceful desert. He looked up the old man beside him. He was also staring at the walls of inhumanity.

"I remember a time, Zack, when it wasn't like this, where the world was halfway peaceful," the man said, "I was fifteen when everything went downward, into the depths of Hell," he said, "that was in 2020, and I am now at the ripe old age of 59!"

"I see, but why has the world gone so far into despair, Grandfather?" he asked quietly. The old man took in the last breath of his cigarette, and snubbed it in the tainted ashtray. He looked at Zack and smiled sadly.

"The people made that choice, dear boy, we cannot change it. Though I believe that hope is still in the world. We just need to find the people willing to get out of it," the old man babbled. Zack stood suddenly, and smiled down at the old man.

"That's it! Let me find these people. There may just be enough to stop all of this!" Zack said happily.

"Zack, I doubt that you will find many people who will even talk with you, let alone join you on a hopeless quest," the man said, rocking himself back and forward, to keep from sleeping.

"All I have to do is start in the right place, grandfather," he said. Zack walked into the house and up towards his room. After grabbing his knife and his coat, he walked downstairs. He walked calmly into the kitchen, where he found his mother, silently washing dishes. She looked at him, her eyed gleaming sadly. The older woman took off her gloves, and walked over to the young boy.

"I know you are leaving, but you seem so young to me," she said, wrapping her tired arms around the boy sadly, "I knew I had to let go sometime soon. Now, I hope your mission goes well. I have a place for you to look. Go into the city, and look for Palace street. When you get there, I want you to look into the windows of the restaurants. Find one where there are both men and women, for there will you find what you are looking for."

"How would you know what I am looking for, mom?" he quizzed. She smiled forlornly.

"I am not stupid, I know about the war rumors," she began. "I know that men and women are acting like babies and wanting to destroy creation. I know you need to look for a place that isn't segregated."

"Are you sure to let me go?" he asked her, surprised that she knew what he was going to do.

"I have no choice, you would leave anyway," she said slowly, trying to hold back tears fighting their way up. He clutched his mother, and closed his eyes. After a little while he let go, and adjusted his glasses.

"Mom, remember that I love you, and that I will be back soon," he told her. With that, Zack walked out the door, and smiled at his slumbering grandfather. He walked off the steps, toward the city where he was to find hope.

***

"Three waters, please," Cris said, looking at the waitress. The woman smiled and wrote it down. She walked off, getting the jug of water.

"Lucky that there is still clean water here, especially since all the segregated places took most of it," Ebony said. She sat next to Molly, and Cris was opposite of them. Behind them a man was. He was very young, and had a head of sandy hair. Molly looked back and saw he was drinking some coffee, his hands on his forehead in frustration. She tapped him on the back.

"Yes?" he asked, blazing aqua eyes looking at her above oval glasses. He seemed stressed out, and tired.

"Sorry to bother you, but you seem kind of unhappy, any way I can help?" she asked him. He shook his head.

"I don't need help, I am just tired, I walked here all the way from home, four miles off," he told her. She smiled a weak smile and got out of her seat, catching the attention of the other two women. She sat across from him and looked at him with an icy green eye, for the other one was covered in locks of red hair.

"Well, maybe I can catch your name?" she asked.

"Zachery Dunder, and yours?"

"Molly Houghs II, if you must know," she said. For the first time, her name didn't bring a frown upon her face. Zack looked at her in shock.

"Molly Houghs?" he said, looking at her. "I thought you looked familiar!" She cast her head down.

"Yeah," she muttered. He put his hand on her shoulder. She looked surprisingly up at him.

"Well, how old are you? I am sure you are younger," he said.

"I am fourteen," she said, swirling her finger on the cold table. "How old are you?" she asked him after a quiet minute.

"Seventeen, just left home," he said. She smiled at him. They chatted for a while, and soon their laughter rang in the air.

+++

"God, I need a new life," a young woman with chin length chocolate hair said, looking down at the dreary streets ahead of her. She looked behind her, to see the man still yelling at her, saying he would never hire another woman again. She sighed, cloudy gray eyes flashing tiredly. A smile touched her lips thinking of how she had been fired. The woman had poked the man in his pudgy stomach, and told him to loose about fifty pounds. "Jesus, Vanessa, you are a crack-up," she said to herself. She walked toward the restaurant that held the others. As soon as she walked in, she could feel the half cheery air hit her. It was nice to be in an environment where she wasn't told how inferior she was. The first thing she noticed was a red head and a blonde boy laughing quite hard. She walked over to them. "May I join you?" she asked them cautiously. The two smiled brightly.

"Sure," they both said, ushering her to sit. Soon food had come and they were all eating merrily. Cris and Ebony were a different story. Ebony looked quite concerned, thinking roughly in her head. She gave Cris a grave look.

"I guess that the world is worse than I thought. Still, no war should be coming," she said, then the young woman paused. Cris was smiling at her, or through her, looking at Molly, Zack, and Vanessa.

"I think our find has become quite popular," she said, nodding her head in the direction of the three. The two listened to the conversation.

"Well, I was quite unhappy with him trying to put his disgusting fat cells all over me, so I jabbed him in the stomach, and told him to lose weight," Vanessa recounted her day. Zack snorted into his drink, and Molly giggled. "He got angry, fired me, and so I came here with what is left of my paycheck."

"Sounds pretty rough," Ebony voiced out. Vanessa looked behind her, and smiled. Ebony continued with the unhappy frown. The woman gave her a confused look.

"Not really, I hated that job anyway," Vanessa told her.

"You can't say you hate anything unless you loved it first," Ebony said. Vanessa gave her a wry smile.

"Well, then I can say I hate it," she said, grin growing wider. "I mean, shit, when I got that job, I was pretty happy. Well, I had a fat boss who minded himself most of the time, and a paycheck that could support me in this overpriced hell hole. It was nice, until the fat fuck put the moves on me." A smirk appeared upon Ebony's face.

"Welcome to the group," she said to Vanessa. Molly gave her a look of confusion from across the table. "Don't worry, Molly, you have always been apart of it, especially since you lived after your lovely fall." Molly gave a look of satisfaction. Zack looked at all of the women.

"I am beginning to feel a little unwelcome," he muttered. He was getting ready to leave.

"No, we need a guy with us, to help us from the ass holes on the streets," Vanessa said. Zack raised an eyebrow. The woman laughed.

"I don't have to stay if you don't want me to," he said, a blush creeping to his cheeks.

"Nonsense!" Cris said, laughing.

"Well, Miss Ebony, would be alright if he joined us? " Molly asked, giving the elder a pleading look. The dark haired woman let out a frustrated sigh.

"I guess I have no choice," she said, and they all began to get ready to leave. Vanessa seemed to be the funny one, for she was constantly making the younger two laugh. Ebony left her part of the check on the table, joining Cris' money. Vanessa had insisted on paying for Zack and Molly's, who both were saying that they had their own money. Ebony gave Molly a look. The girl didn't seem to notice, for she was now engrossed in a deep conversation with Zack, which now seemed to be serious. The waitress thanked them for coming, and noticed that Molly had put down a large wad of paper money. The waitress looked at her in wonder.

"I thank you dearly for being so patient with us, don't tell them," she whispered to the woman, who was now grinning ear to ear. She hugged the waitress and caught up with the rest of the gang. Zack looked at her.

"What was that?" he asked her. She smiled up at him, for he hovered over her by at least two feet.

"Oh, I just had to thank her, it isn't everyday that you meet people who are that kind," she said. They walked out the front door, behind the others. They had walked not ten steps out of the restaurant when Molly let out a small gasp as a man pushed his way though the crowd. She hit the concrete with a speak of pain. Zack was in the middle of helping her up, when they heard a woman yelling.

"Hey, ass hole! Don't you think you should at least say sorry?" the mysterious blonde woman said from ahead of the man. He growled, and tried to shove past her, failing.

"I don't need to say sorry to a stupid little bitch who was in my way," he rumbled. The woman gave him a glare. She pulled off his hat, and threw a punch at him. It landed square in his jaw, and he fell to the ground. He pulled out a gun aiming at her. "Get out of my way, whore," he snapped at her. She stood firmly in his way. Gasps were heard as the gun fired, right through two people passing between them. Three bodies hit the ground. The body of a man, a woman, and the woman who had tried to put manners into the unruly man. A few people gasped even louder at the sight of the blonde woman's body.

"That is Gertrude Tomas! You idiot!" a woman yelled. The man stood and disappeared into the hefty crowd. Cris looked at her good friend, who stared at the scene in shock. She knew that Gertrude Tomas was a famous activist for women, and now with her dead, many women would begin to rebel against the men, and the war brewing between the two sexes would soon boil over.

"I told you, Ebs, that there would be a war, and a bloody one at that," Cris said to her shocked friend. They continued to watch as the gruesome scene unfurled.