Fan Fiction |
by Rain
Friday, 7th June 2002, 3:10am
The lean and tanned figure ducked into a dark alley and stumbled around blindly. His right hand clutched tightly onto his profusely bleeding wound on the far left of his chest. Beads of cold sweat were streaming down from his forehead. His shirt stuck to his skin, drenched in sweat and blood. The pain throbbing from his torso seemed to worsen by the seconds. For a moment his vision seemed to threaten to black out, but he immediately shook his head vigorously, shaking the possibility away.
“No, you can’t do this… You have to run…,” he whispered faintly to himself.
He daren’t take a backward glance, for he knew every second he wasted, was every second they are closer to capturing him. True enough, herds of footsteps began taunting from a distant. He quickened his limps, as he furiously wiped away the fluid blend of sweat and blood trickling from the deep gash on the right side of his head. His left hand pushed aside all the objects blocking his way wildly. His breath quickened into short, frantic ones. He panted heavily. His lungs seemed to be exploding with pain. He finally darted out of the other end of dark alley.
Recollecting every bit of strength he had left, he broke into a mild jog. His ears pricked at every little sound. He could almost hear the echoes of their menacing shouts. His eyes scanned quickly around the empty streets. Everything was silently still except for his heartbeat and heavy breathing. All stores and shops by the street were dark and shut down. The street lamps dimly lit the dead street. Where could he seek shelter?! He knew he would not be able to stay conscious for long, he was losing too much blood.
He tried desperately for all the gates of the stairs at the sides of the shop lots, but they were all securely chained and locked. The echoes he heard in his head were now mocking in reality. He alarmed and picked up his pace. At the end of the street, he leaned against the last door of the corner shop. He could feel his heart drowning in exhaustion.
I can’t make it… he thought dejectedly, sinking slowly to the ground. Turning to pound his fist on the wall, his eyes caught the most unexpected line of words he thought he would ever encounter at such a moment.
‘If you find all doors closed, try this one…’ a line of small wordings were stuck at the edge of the door he was leaning against.
“This must be some kind of sneering God sends me at the hour of my life and death,” he thought but nevertheless gave the door one hopeful push…
___________________________________________________________________________
Friday, 7th June 2002, 8:00am
RRRRrring!!!
The fire-alarm-like clock of Niki blared annoyingly, disrupting the otherwise peaceful apartment.
Niki groaned sluggishly and knocked away the alarm clock grumpily, causing it to crash noisily onto the floor and instantly stopped ringing. Smiling dreamily, she pulled the comforter over her head and snuggled back to sleep.
Suddenly, the door of her room barged open in a bang. The person stormed in quickly and pulled Niki’s sheets away. Niki curled up and used her palms to shun her eyes from the glaring morning rays.
“NIKI CHOW LAI KEI!” Michelle yelled, but was only responded with a few lazy grunts.
With all her might, she pulled Niki out of bed, where they both fell with a loud thud. Michelle had yet climbed up from her fall but Niki had already settled back to her cozy nest of soft toys.
Michelle looked at her sleepy friend, “You’re impossible! I’m going to shoo you away back to your own house…”
Surprisingly, the quietly spoken line successfully provoked Niki enough to instantly spring up from the bed.
She stood before Michelle and saluted with her eyes still half shut, “Good Morning Madam!”
Michelle only shook her head, “Gosh, I don’t know what to do with you… It’s a wonder how Tavia managed to wake you for classes during the uni years…”
Niki looked about to fall back to bed when Michelle added threateningly, “Your big time client will be waiting for you in an hour’s time at HK Royal Court. If you lose this case, you have just confirmed your ticket back to your house!”
Niki immediately straightened up and rushed out to the bathroom. Michelle followed from behind shaking her head helplessly at the sleepy head. She then remembered her frying pan still sizzling on the stove and rushed just in time to save the bacon from being burnt.
By the time Michelle laid the breakfast beautifully on the table, Niki was already grabbing her bag, struggling to pull on a stoking and buttoning her blouse right.
“Gotta go Mich, I’m terribly late!” Niki managed to scream-mumble out of her lips that were pursing tightly on a thin black file. A few strands of hair were still very much out of place.
“Breakfast!” Michelle cried after the door that slammed shut.
Michelle looked at the two sets of breakfast and laughed. To date, Niki had yet ever waked up in time to ever have breakfast with her since their return to Hong Kong two months ago. Yet every morning, Michelle still made two sets of breakfast hoping Niki would miraculously be able to actually appreciate it one day.
After breakfast, Michelle tidied up the VCD mess in the living room which was the main culprit for Niki’s lack of sleep. She was forever watching the never ending dramas late into the night, getting further addicted by the episodes. While tidying, the corner of her eyes caught the framed photo of their convocation displayed on the TV set, where 8 smiling faces gazed merrily out at her.
Instinctively, her right hand reached to pick up the photo frame. Niki’s cheeky and adorable face was far left. She was the only daughter of an average Hong Kong family who runs a small business in the Hong Kong streets. Upon her return to Hong Kong, Niki’s parents and grandparents were all present at the airport to welcome her home.
What a warm family… Michelle watched as Niki jumped onto her father who returned her hug as dotingly. Niki’s grandfather actually pinched her cheeks while the two other women just stroked her hair and commented how thin she looked after leaving home for 4 years.
To her family’s dismay, Niki did not intend to move back with her family, but instead chose to share an apartment with Michelle, claiming her wish to be independent while trying to ‘run away’ from her over protective family. Her parents agreed a deal with her, that if she lost her first case, she would need to move back immediately. Michelle let out an unintentional laugh at the amusing episodes of Niki and her family.
Recalling Niki’s family reminded Michelle of her own family. She had returned to Hong Kong for her adopted ‘half brother’ Kin Wah, leaving behind her father who was running international business based in England… and her… half sister, Vicki. Next to Niki, the beautiful face complimented with two sparkling chestnut eyes was as captivating as when she first saw it 8 years ago.
They had been best friends and sworn ‘sisters’ until when Michelle was stunned by the fact that she was actually the daughter of her father’s mistress, now his second wife while Vicki was the daughter of Vincent and his legible wife, Fiona, until their divorce. Michelle had accused Vicki of cheating her trust, but her rationality got the better of her in the end. She had accepted Vicki was just another victim like her, but most of all, she had accepted her as more than just her half-sister. Michelle touched the face that portrayed so much emotion but usually let wisdom and composure lead her in decision making. She had missed Vicki and their times together a lot.
Leo’s face was sticking out beside Vicki’s. Leo had been Vicki’s faithful admirer since Vicki entered her first year in Oxford and they finally got together last year during Valentine’s. Michelle was not too sure if Vicki had the right feeling for Leo. Vicki had always claimed that Leo and she were missing the sparks in love. They were comfortable, and have mutual understanding, but they lack the magical feeling in love. Vicki is now working for a firm that had offered her a contract before she even graduated while Leo found a job in an architecture firm and both of them had stayed back in England.
Michelle’s eyes wandered to the next face where she saw a slight smile drew over a face that looked slightly vacant. The face with neither too much of joy, nor did it appear too down. It in fact looked quite calm and gives a sense of maturity. Michelle found herself staring back at her own face during graduation.
Kenneth’s genuine smile still flashed out some warmth whenever Michelle looked at the photo. Kenneth had unexpectedly been her pillar when she suffered major distressed in her life during the investigation of her father’s case. The case that had revealed many facts she never thought she’d be able to accept then, but Kenneth walked through with her. Michelle was actually taken aback because Kenneth actually understood her so much, perhaps even more than her inner self.
Alec and Tavia were both wearing pure joyful smiles. Innocence and sincerity shone out from both their eyes. Alec had been the clown of their friends but sometimes Michelle wondered what actually lied behind all his comical face making abilities. Tavia is quite a shy lamb, but nevertheless a girl special in her own ways. Maybe without Vicki by her side, Michelle will now find her way to know more about these good friends of hers she had been too selfish to take much note of before.
Raymond, this guy is another friend as close to her as Vicki. He had always helped her, cared for her more than what friends do, but she had no chemistry with him. Back when she was living in a broken family suffering violence from her father, Raymond had always been anxious for her, and she accepted his care and love as family love. Raymond’s cheeky smile with a peace sign he held up reminded her of a boy who never matures, yet claims to want to protect her forever. However, when the one person who touched her heart turned up, Raymond had bowed in defeat in a much more gentleman manner than Michelle expected of him.
The one person who had touched her heart… He had invited her frozen heart from behind the bars she trapped herself within ever since Daniel’s death, he showed her the warmth that still existed, he took her heart for a soar with his, yet when they were at the highest peak, his mask was uncovered and revealed all the lies behind. She had plunged deeply from that peak. The fall was so deep her heart bled to death, so hard… her wounds seemed to hurt every time she recalled the name. Wallace Huo, the name will never replace Daniel’s, because it had won itself an irreplaceable spot. The name that triggers her tears that once used to listen to her command, but now only obeys the summons of the name Wallace Huo.
Out of the blue, the door of her apartment banged open widely but no one entered hurriedly. Michelle jumped and hastily replaced the photo on top of the TV, brushing away the single tear bead that trickled halfway down her cheeks. She was about to take her first step when Niki’s back appeared slowly. Her hands seem to be dragging something very heavy. Somehow, the blood running in her veins turned cold as she felt a strange shiver down her spine.
“Niki? What are you doing still here?” Michelle asked, but Niki was too busy to answer.
Shaking herself to her sense, she hurried towards Niki to help her with whatever she was having a hard time moving and her eyes widened in horror when she saw the lifeless corpse of a bloody man Niki had been struggling to drag into their apartment.
___________________________________________________________________________
END of Chapter
Author:
Okay, how's the chapter? I agree the recap is boring esp those who've read WR, but well it's the introduction and takes care of those who haven't read WR. And I can safely say it's the only chapter that is this boring I guess. Hehe... The rest will be completely new I promise you... :P Oh, and I'm BAD at giving chapters' titles... gosh... I just crap, so bear with it. If you've any suggestion, I'd gladly use them. Haha...