You’ve always had the ability to see the red threads tied around people’s fingers connecting them to their soul mates. You’ve been following your string around for months, hoping to find who your soulmate is. One day, as you’re following it, the string goes limp. After a few more hours of searching, you find the severed end of your thread with the other part nowhere to be seen.
Although new to bounty hunting, Faith had learned quickly enough to become her county’s top dog in a matter of years. With this quick rise to the sun, Icarus was bound to fall just as suddenly. Fall Faith did.
She had been chasing this punk for five blocks, eyeing her favorite pizza joint as they rushed past. Goddamn did she need a slice. This asshole was keeping her from melted cheese.
Perhaps that’s why she threw in extra vigor when throwing him against unforgiving bricks. “Why did you even run, man, you’ve been sitting in your mother’s basement for months. I didn’t see a treadmill down there!”
Instead of bending to the will of Lady Justice and Faith’s ribbing, the criminal only laughed into the hard wall he faced, “I just had to get you here.”
Faith was suddenly on high alert, “Wha-”
He turned around suddenly and pushed her to the other side, arm against her neck. She choked before giving a shove and swiping with the electric baton she carried. He fell to the floor, rebounding quickly allowing Faith to get a solid kick to his chest, spinning around and nailing him again before landing two punches in his gut. She was about to introduce his head to her knee, when a force flew her into the bricks behind her and metal curled around her wrists.
Faith tried to finish her earlier thought, “What the f-” but a blinding light and the man exploding into chunks of bloody guts flying everywhere really shut her up. If only to keep the criminal carne from entering her mouth. She stood speechless as a woman regarded Faith’s gasping form. She wore decidely unvillainous clothing, a green cardigan with a sharp blouse.
“Hm.” She seemed unimpressed with what she discovered. Regardless, she spoke again, “Hello Faith.”
Blinking wildly, trying to gain her bearings, Faith replied intelligently, “How? Who! Why? Fuck!”
“Calm down,” the mysterious murdered suggested.
Faith started to get offended, the murder was annoyed at her. The PTA looking femme fatale who exploded someone’s life all over Faith’s boots dared to admonish her. “What do you want, lady!”
Inexplicably the stranger was suddenly uncomfortably close with a freakish speed, it took mere seconds, “I want you to remember this. Remember what I can do and remember my face,” Faith’s eyes rushed around the mundane features obscuring a maniac mind, “because someday I will call on you to do a job. And you will not have a choice.”
Faith just stared.
This only caused her captor to smile, “I know what you can see,” a glance down to Faith’s hand caused such a restart to her heart she almost blacked out right then. “I know it’s why you aren’t surprised at what you just saw, only horrified. You may have began only by seeing the strings, but now you’re hunting down the people with the ability to manipulate them.” A perfectly manicured hand was suddenly at Faith’s throat, “That’s okay.” Her eyes met Faith’s, “For now.”
Suddenly the woman stepped back and even turned around, giving Faith time to look up in disbelief and gasp for air.
“One more thing.” She faced Faith once again who inwardly started falling apart as her red string was being lifted closer to the madwoman, “Tell anyone else and they’ll be in just as much trouble as this guy.”
With that last statement and a blink, Faith was suddenly on her knees, unconstricted but heaving. When the woman left, so did the gore and any other sign the incident had occurred. Faith gave herself time to look up at the moon, ‘Well, that could have been worse.’
A movement by her hand made her glance to see what fat rat declared it their land, only to watch as the red string started floating and writhing. ‘What,’ Faith looked in horror as it became taut, ‘No!’
Faith might be irresponsible enough to eat pizza for all meals and pay her rent late, but she actually had the mind of her cop father. She grew up with the mentality of family safety over everything and protecting those you loved, she also grew up knowing that sometimes those protectors were lost to us. Doing what they loved.
She knew her dad wouldn’t have done it any other way.
Digging in her pockets, searching for any kind of knife she thought about years into the future, when this witch might again appear. Who Faith might be with and who she might be sacrificing. Until she could figure out this woman’s endgame and how to defeat her, Faith couldn’t risk losing another loved one. Even if they hadn’t even met yet.
Faith had stopped carrying knives since she gained so many gadgets from weapon making friends, now she thoroughly regretted not being a little old school. She stopped as she reached in the last pocket, pulling out a matchbook with a single match.
The pull felt stronger now, they might be minutes away. Faith wasn’t even sure if this would work, the strings had sometimes been tangible with her- but, well best not to question it before even trying. She sent a prayer to the moon, she believed this would work just as much as she believed she would eventually find her soulmate again.
Faith forced herself to drag the stick across brick, a single flame illuminating her face and ultimately severing a connection. Then she shrunk into the shadows, even though darkness descended and she doubted she’d see more than the figure of a stranger- she had to stay.
She cried and she watched and she believed. One day it would be safe and they would be reunited, she’s sure of it.
