Redemption (Chapter 1)

He walked down the alley, his boots ringing on the pavement. His long black “reverends” coat flowed out behind him. The meger sunlight that came into the alley glinted off his sunglasses. There was a whisper of movement. He span around, drawing twin guns as he moved, like water, the like wind around him. He fired, the soft thump of a silencer and a lick of fire from the barrels. The headhunter went down without a sound. He moved again, shot and another one went down. Another one came on, and another, and another. They flowed like bugs from all directions. He moved like wind. But then he realized that even though he was hitting every one, he was being closed in, a wall of bodies was closing him in. He felt like at the bottom of a well. There was no noise. He was left alone. He threw his head back to the sky, which had turned dark and cloudy, and screamed…

And awakened. Dimitri gasped, his breath coming fast as he sat in bed. He realized that he was grasping the bedsheets with an almost painful grip. He slowly opened his hands, feeling the tendons creaking with the effort. He slipped out of bed and half stumbled to the bathroom. He flipped on the light and went to the sink. He splashed water on his face and through his hair. He looked at himself in the mirror. Just an ordinary young man, a typical college student, just an ordinary joe, he repeated to himself. He shook his head, trying to stop his thoughts. Finally he dried his face and walked back to the bed. He laid down, but he knew no sleep would find him again this time. He closed his eyes, moved his hands to sezia and cleared his thoughts. After a few moments he was deep in meditation. His last thought before slipping into the deep, almost dreamlike state of meditation was that he would see his senshi…

Damien