3Hello, hello. I am Hellhound23 and I will be storyteller for the evening and will be presenting the upcoming story.
This is my first fic I've set in the Mass Effect Universe.
I hope you'll join me for the first chapters and stick around for the rest of the upcoming series. I plan for this to be carried all the way through Mass Effect 3, so three mainline books and then a couple spin offs that detail both time between the games as well as the actions of characters outside the purview of the main storyline.
That being said: This story is rather dark. It contains graphic violence, depictions of hard drug use, human trafficking, domestic violence, and sexual violence. If that is not your cup of tea that is perfectly understandable.
Well. Nothing further.
Welcome to Mass Effect Alternative
BOOK 1
THE RED
CHAPTER 1
FOR WANT OF A FAMILY
It was a cold night. Rain pelted the sidewalk in waves and ran into the street before being splashed back up onto the concrete by passing ground cars. An innumerable number of pedestrians rushed to and fro along the sidewalks and alleys. Whether on urgent business or just eager to get out of the rain The Girl couldn't tell. The Girl was entirely to busy to stop an examine what these people were doing. She ran along the sidewalk at about hip height with the adults around her. Her bare feet smacked the wet concrete as she bobbed and weaved through the crowd. She was leaving bloody footprints behind as she ran.
The Girl didn't know where she was going or where she had come from. Just that she had to run. Something bad had happened. She wasn't sure what. Something had happened to her he-
SMACK
The Girl fell on her butt as she ran headfirst into the man standing by the lamp post.
"Watch where you're going!" The Man in Red whirled around and snarled at the Girl. The Girl's eyes widened at the bared teeth and her eyes stung as blood ran down her forehead and got into her eyes. She wiped her eyes and got up to run away even as The Man's face softened somewhat at the sight of what appeared to be a street urchin. One of the thousands in the Atlanta-Miami Metroplex.
The Girl scrambled to her feet and she ran the moment the bottoms of her feet hit the concrete. Straight into the road.
"Stop, Kid! You're gonna get run over!" The Man in Red tried to grab the Girl, but she slipped his grasp and ran into the busy street. Ground cars slid to a stop. There was the sound crunching metal as one of the cars was rear ended by the vehicle behind. Horns filled the air alongside the angry shouting of the drivers as the Girl streaked across the road in a panic. The Girl's feet hit the sidewalk on the other side of the road and continued into an alley.
"Kid! Stop! Goddamn it!"
The Man in Red's voice echoed through the alley as the Girl made for a corner up ahead.
The Girl rounded the corner and once again fell on her bottom as she ran into someone twice her height. The Girl shrank from the tall man in a purple shirt. She stared at the long thin scar that ran down his face and neck.
The Man in Red before snarled at the Girl. This man was stone faced. The Scarred Man stared down at the Girl.
"That was some stunt back there kid, but you're going back now."
The Girl's brain screamed at her that she should recognize this man but trying to remember made her head hurt. The Scarred Man reached down and the Girl scrambled away. He lunged and the Girl screamed aloud when he grabbed her shirt. The Girl began wailing as the Scarred Man dragged her through the alley towards a corner.
"Don't move motherfucker!"
The command echoed in the alley. The Girl twisted her head around to see the Man in Red. He was pointing a gun at the Scarred Man. The Scarred Man stood and stared at the Man in Red. They stared at each other before the Man in Red lowered his head a little and nodded in the Girl's direction.
"Let go of the kid."
The Scarred Man didn't move.
"Who is she to you?"
"I said drop her!" There was an ominous click as the Man in Red took the safety off the gun. The Girl looked back at the Scarred Man and his lip curled. His eyes narrowed and he dropped his chin slightly.
"This isn't any of your business Red. We're a long way from Tenth Street."
"It's close enough. Drop the kid."
The Scarred Man slowly moved his hand to his waistband.
"I ain't gonna to do that, Red."
The answer was a single loud crack that made the Girl scream, close her eyes, and cover her ears. The Scarred Man let go of her shirt and collapsed. She opened her eyes and saw a puddle of blood spreading out from the Scarred Man's head. Grey lumps of flesh spilled from a large hole in the back. The Girl wailed and backed away quickly. She ran into something and felt arms on her shoulders. She whirled her head to see the Man in Red.
"Don't look, Kid. Look at me. Not him."
The Girl trembled and stared at the Man in Red. He looked around and put his gun under his jacket before reaching down the same hand.
"Come on, Girl. We gotta get out of here."
The Girl tentatively reached out a hand and wrapped it around the Man in Red's. He lifted her up and then into his arms. The Girl slowly tried to get comfortable before she put her face in the Man's neck. She kept her face there as she felt the Man in Red begin to walk. She heard the splash of his boots in the running water of the rain. The Man spoke quietly.
"What happened to your face and feet, Kid? Did you that guy back there hurt you?"
The Girl lifted her face out of his neck and tried to remember, but her head hurt. The Girl looked at the man and shrugged.
"I don't know."
The Man in Red frowned as he began to walk down the sidewalk again. It was filled to the brim with pedestrians. Shoulder to shoulder and all rushing in different directions. The Girl looked around at the crowd and how it parted before the Man in Red.
"Ok. How about your name? Where's your home? Your Mom and Dad have to be worried, right?"
The Girl tried to remember again, but her head really hurt and her eyes filled with tears. Her lip trembled and she became afraid that the Man in Red would become upset.
"I don't know. I'm sorry."
The Man in Red shook his head and wiped her tears with his free hand. A large thumb wiped them away and the Man smiled.
"That's ok. Don't worry."
The Girl pulled her head back to look at the Man. He was light skinned and had short facial hair on his face, like it was barely there. A red knit cap covered his head.
The Man stopped and looked both ways. He crossed the street in a crowded crosswalk and strode up to a bar. The Girl looked up and her face was lit by a neon red sign. It proclaimed that this was "The Red Room." The neon lines around the sign flashed and wrapped around the words before forming into an overfull foaming glass at the end. The Girl stared at the sign before looking down when the Man opened the door.
When they entered there were few patrons in the bar. The Girl looked around and tried to hear the quiet chatter from the few people sitting at the tables. The Man in Red walked past the bar and gestured to one of the bartenders. The Girl looked at the woman behind the bar. Her blonde hair was in a ponytail and she wore a small tartan skirt with a shirt tied off underneath her bust. A white hand towel was thrown over her shoulder.
When she saw them coming the young woman smiled coquettishly at the Man in Red, biting a glossy lip, before noticing the Girl and grinning a wide smile. She leaned over the bar to get a closer look. The woman's sparkling green eyes stared into the Girl's.
"Hello, sweetie." The woman pulled the towel from her shoulder and wiped the Girl's forehead.
The Girl pulled away and curled into the Man in Red's jacket as the woman ran a finger over the Girl's head. The Girl hid her face back in the Man's neck and heard woman's smile in her voice as she addressed the man.
"Bringing in another stray are we?"
The Girl felt the Man's shoulder rub on her face as he shrugged.
"She was lost. One of the Bombers was after her. I think she hit her head. Would you take her for a bit? I'm going to go find Jarrod and see if we can get her home." The Man lifted the Girl from his shoulder and sat her on the bar. He smiled at her.
"I'll be right back, ok? Stay here with my friend."
The Girl's lip trembled and she nodded. The Man walked further down the bar before disappearing behind a wooden door further into the building. The woman came out from behind the bar and came to stand in front of the Girl. The Woman's eyes moved over the Girl. The Girl's lip trembled as the woman looked her over.
The wide smile turned small and gentle. The woman stepped forward and, again with the hand towel, began wiping off the Girl's face. The Girl pulled away but a gentle hand was placed on her shoulder.
"Don't be afraid, Sweetie. I've just got to get you dry. I'm Crystal. What's your name?"
The Girl tried to remember her name but it made her head hurt. The towel ran over the Girl's face as it screwed up and tears filled her eyes again.
"I don't know. Please don't be mad."
Crystal frowned and put the towel back on her shoulder and lifted the Girl into her arms. She went to sit on a bench with the girl on her lap. Crystal wiped the Girl's tears before wrapping her in a tight hug. The Girl hugged her back and put her face in the woman's shoulder
"Shh, shh, shh. It's ok. I'm not mad. Do you know your mom and dad's names?"
The Girl shook her head in the woman's shoulder. Crystal hummed as she rubbed a comforting hand on the Girl's back.
"That's ok, Sweetie. Me neither."
The Girl drew back and looked at Crystal.
"You don't have a family either?"
Crystal smiled and shook her head.
"I got better than a family. I got the Reds. We're all family in the Reds."
The Girl stared at the woman in wonder before turning at the sound of a door opening.
The Man in Red returned out of the same door he'd disappeared into. Behind him came another man in a red jacket. The second man was a little older. His brown hair was longer and more well kept and the Girl saw he had a little piece of wood sticking out of his mouth.
"This is her, Jarrod."
The older man nodded at the first man before looking at the Girl.
"Thanks, Chris. What's your name, honey?" Jarrod kneeled down to look her in the face.
The Girl shook her head and Jarrod's face softened. He shifted the piece of wood to the other side of his mouth with his tongue. Jarrod looked up at Chris.
"Find her a place to sleep. We'll hold onto her until we can find out where she came from."
Crystal rubbed the Girl's back and looked into her eyes before looking up at Jarrod.
"She can stay at mine. I've got the guest room."
Jarrod nodded his assent.
"Thanks Crystal."
The Girl looked at Crystal as the woman smiled down at her.
Crystal locked the door behind them as she led the Girl into her small apartment near the Red Room.
The Girl looked around the apartment.
It wasn't big. To be honest, it was pretty dingy. There was a leak by the window due to the rain. There were dirty dishes in the sink. At least she was dry where she was sitting. Her feet had been bandaged at the Red Room and there was a bandage on her forehead. She looked at Crystal and the woman grinned.
"Home sweet home, kiddo."
Crystal kicked off her sneakers and walked over to a TV. She turned it on and the channel was already set to cartoons. Crystal turned and smiled.
"Stay here, ok? I'm gonna go get some blankets and stuff for your room."
The Girl nodded and sat down on a ratty couch to watch the TV. Crystal disappeared down a hallway.
The Girl again tried to remember how she had gotten hurt. How she had come to be running down the sidewalk through a thunderstorm in a panic.
Her head hurt anytime she tried to remember. It felt like someone was pushing on her brain.
She couldn't even remember her own name…
"Shut up Mallory! You don't even have a mom and dad!" A character on the TV yelled at some other character.
The Girl giggled at that. Maybe that was her name. She didn't have a mom and dad either…
Crystal came back into the room. The Girl looked and Crystal was out of her work clothes and was now in pajamas. Her arms were full of blankets and stuffed animals.
"There's a new leak in the guest bedroom. The bed is soaking wet. Sorry, Kiddo. How about we have a sleep over out here tonight? I even brought my PJs and stuffed animals." Crystal plastered a sly smile on her face. The Girl giggled and nodded. Crystal sighed through her nose and spread the blankets out and patted the ground next to her as she changed the TV channel. It was another cartoon channel but these ones seemed older. The colors and animation were all different. Crystal laid up against the pillows and got under a blanket. Mallory crawled underneath and laid down on the pillows. She curled up to Crystal and the older woman wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"Any luck with remembering your home? How about your name?"
The Girl started to shake her head and then stopped short. She smiled to herself and then looked at Crystal.
"Mallory."
Crystal raised an eyebrow and shook her head.
"You can't name yourself after a TV show character."
The Girl blinked at Crystal uncomprehendingly.
"Why not?"
"Because…just because…" Crystal sighed as she failed to come up with a reason why.
"It's my name. I get to choose." Mallory narrowed her eyes at Crystal.
Crystal laughed.
"Ok then. Mallory. We'll go with that."
The woman and young girl turned back to the TV.
Mallory giggled as she watched a cartoon mouse smack a cat with a hammer. The cat made a scream that sounded like an air raid siren and began destroying the house trying to catch the mouse.
Crystal smiled.
"Tom and Jerry is one of my favorites. Did you know it's been on TV since 1940?"
"No…I didn't know that." Mallory huffed and crossed her arms.
Crystal giggled as she rubbed Mallory's head.
"Sorry, kiddo. I forgot."
Mallory laughed as she smacked Crystal's hand.
"That one was on purpose!"
Crystal smiled in victory as Mallory laughed and wrapped her arms around the older woman.
8 YEARS LATER
Mallory opened the door and rushed into the Red Room. The few occupants of the quiet bar looked over as the teen kicked the mud off her boots and swore under her breath. Mallory removed her red beanie cap from her head and shook her short brown hair before starting to wring the water from the hat. The teen looked up at the sound of a door opening and smiled at Crystal. Crystal scowled at Mallory.
"Mallory, for Christ's sake! Do that outside!" Crystal, in a red sweater and black pants, looked pointedly at the door. Mallory looked outside at the pouring rain falling from the thunderstorm high above Tenth Street.
"But!"
"No buts!"
Mallory muttered under her breath as she stuck her arms out to wring the hat out just outside the door. The sleeves of her long sleeve black shirt got wet again and the teen grumbled as she pulled the hat back inside and onto her head to cover her hair. She opened the door again to stomp the mud off of her boots, grumbling all the while.
Crystal rolled her eyes and set the tray of newly cleaned glasses on the bar. Chris smiled at Crystal from his bar stool as she started putting away the glasses.
Crystal finished and pointed a finger at him.
"Don't smile! It's your fault she's like this. You encourage her."
Chris laughed as Mallory sat on the bar stool next to him and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"Hey! She lives with you! If her bad behavior is anyone's fault it's yours."
"Oh yeah Chris. You're the responsible one around here." Mallory laughed and shrugged Chris' arm off her shoulder. Chris grinned and clapped Mallory on the shoulder.
"You know that I am, Mal."
"Is that so?" Jarrod's voice cut through everyone else and all in the room turned to look at the leader of the Tenth Street Reds. Jarrod, now in his mid-thirties, stood with his hands in the pockets of a red leather jacket. It was a noticeably nicer piece of clothing than the other Reds in the room sported.
His well groomed hair and rictus grin at the room conveyed the amusement that his flat tone did not.
Jarrod sat on a barstool next to Mallory. He put an arm on the teenager's shoulder and leaned in conspiratorially.
"What're you drinking Mascot? Soda or ice water?"
Mallory scowled at Jarrod as Crystal sat a soda down in front of her. Jarrod placed an faux-impressed look on his face as he picked up the cola and examined it closely.
"Going for the hard stuff, huh? Stressed out about tonight?"
Mallory scowled before schooling her face and shaking her head.
"Nah, boss. Just another job, right?"
Jarrod set the soda down and looked at Mal. The Reds boss nodded.
"Just another job, Mascot. I trust you with this. Fly your flags high."
Mallory grinned and pulled her soggy red beanie down.
"You got it, boss."
Jarrod smiled and messed up Mallory's short hair underneath the beanie. The 15- or 16-year-old girl, she wasn't quite sure which, beamed up at Jarrod. The smile stretched out the mess of freckles across the middle of the girl's pixie-like face. The Reds boss scooped up the beer set in front him by Crystal and took a long swig before setting the beer down and exhaling contentedly.
Mallory and Jarrod stood in the backrooms of the Red Room. Jarrod held a backpack in his hands and Mal stood with her hands in her pockets. Between them was a small table.
"Now remember. Straight to the house, no detours. If you see any Bombers, don't stop for them, Chris and King will deal with it. If you see the cops checking you out, ditch the bag somewhere safe. We'll come back for it later." Jarrod set the backpack in front of Mallory. It was blue and somewhat tattered. Mallory picked up the bag and slung it over her shoulders.
It wasn't all that heavy and Mallory's black hoodie cushioned it somewhat.
Jarrod looked at his watch.
"Alright, Mascot. It's just about that time. Head out. I'll see ya in a bit."
Mallory fist bumped Jarrod and then exited the room into the front area of the Red Room bar. The bar was empty excepting Chris and another Red named King who stood by the door.
Crystal appeared from behind the bar as she stood up. The woman smiled at Mallory and curled a finger towards herself. Mallory strolled over and the soles of her military surplus boots clomped on the wooden floor of the Red Room. Crystal came from behind the bar and stood in front of the teen. She raised her eyebrows at Mallory. Mallory groaned internally and then stepped forward into Crystal's arms. Crystal hugged Mallory tight and laid a light kiss on the top of her head. She whispered so the other Red's wouldn't hear.
"Come back safe, sweetie."
Mallory huffed before relenting and wrapping her arms around Crystal. The teen drew back and plastered a cocksure grin on her face.
"It's only a few blocks. I'll be back in a bit. Make sure you have my dinner ready."
Crystal smiled and stepped back before softly knocking Mallory on her head with a closed fist.
"Get going you idiot. I will have food ready by the time you get back."
Mallory smiled again and turned away towards the door. Chris and King had already exited.
The teenage Red strolled out the door and took an immediate left to head north towards Fifteenth Street. The never-ending rain of Atlanta-Miami pelted her in the face immediately. Her blue jeans at least kept her legs somewhat dry as she walked up Tenth Street towards the corner. The neon lights of the bar reflected off pools of water on the sidewalk.
Mallory looked over her shoulder and saw Chris and King following her on the other side of the road. They were a healthy distance back and keeping an eye out for any sort of trouble.
Confident that her escort was in place, Mallory looked forward and let out a slow breath. Five blocks.
Mallory made the final turn onto King Street and made a beeline for the nearest apartment building. She stepped under the awning and shook off the water from the worsening storm. Mallory stepped up and pressed the button for Apartment 1385. As she waited to be acknowledged she peered over her shoulder and saw Chris and King come up from behind quickly. They both stood under the awning. King shook off his sleeves and grumbled about the rain. Mal smiled and looked back forward before pressing the button again.
This time the acknowledgement came immediately.
"Who's it?" The speaker squelched out. Mal pressed down the button to speak.
"It's Mascot."
Without an answer from inside, the door buzzed and Mallory stepped inside with a smile on her face. She held the door for Chris and King. Both older Reds entered and began stomping off their boots.
Mallory shook herself off again and then trembled as she got goosebumps. It was cold. The heating was out in the lobby. She pressed the button for an elevator. A chime sounded as the elevator door opened. The Reds piled inside to feel the heat of the space heater on the wall of the elevator. Chris pressed a button on the panel and the elevator dinged as the doors shut.
The elevator ascended the thirteen floors quickly and opened to let out the Reds. An empty hallway greeted them as the doors opened. The light in the hallway suddenly dimmed and then brightened again. Mal and the other Reds looked up at the light and waited to see if they would go out permanently.
Power surges and then subsequent outages weren't uncommon during the frequent storms that ravaged the AMX. The overtaxed power grid would give up the ghost if the storms got to bad. This time they stayed on. Mal looked at Chris and he nodded down the hallway.
The gangers exited, Chris and King in the lead, and made their way down to Apartment 1385.
Chris knocked on the door as King stomped his boots on the floor again. Mal adjusted the backpack on her shoulders. Chris looked at down at the mud King was leaving on the floor.
Something in Mallory screamed as there was a ka-chunk on the other side of the door. Chris' head snapped back to the door and he quickly stepped out of the way of the door. He pulled a pistol just as the middle of the door disintegrated. Mallory's ears began ringing as Chris fired back through the door. King wrapped an arm around Mal's midsection.
A second shotgun blast made Mallory's ears ring as King turned and threw her to the ground behind himself. He turned his back to Mal and raised his hand gun. Smoke had begun to fill the hallway and alarms began to shriek. Chris fired off a few more rounds before he turned his head in the direction of King and Mallory. King raised his gun in Chris' direction. There were two gunshots in the hallway and Chris fell to the ground.
Mal looked at King, his pistol now down at his waist again as he turned his gaze onto Mallory. Mal could see King's eyes over his shoulder as they bored into her.
The traitorous Red raised his gun in Mal's direction and Mal tried to stand as a gunshot split the air. King stumbled and turned as Chris tried to get to his feet. King raised his gun back in Chris' direction and both men fired at once. King stumbled again but Chris fell to the ground in a heap as his head snapped backwards.
Mal was on her feet and her eyes absorbed the whole scene in less than a second. King fell over and began groaning as he rubbed his chest where Chris' bullets had hit him. It wasn't the first person Mal had seen shot and she noticed a distinct lack of blood.
King was wearing body armor.
As the traitor looked at his hand and saw no blood, he stopped and then raised his head to glare at Mal.
He began to get to his feet.
The teen turned and fled for her life.
The door to the stairwell slammed open as Mallory shouldered it and began running up the stairs, hoping that King would assume she went downstairs.
Mallory ran up four flights and then turned to look down as King entered the stairwell, pistol in the lead. The traitor moved towards the downstairs before he stopped to look at something on the ground.
A wet footprint.
King looked up and locked eyes with Mallory.
Mallory turned and continued running up the stairs. The traitor followed at a sedate pace.
Mallory nearly slipped as she turned the corner onto the next flight and slammed the backpack into a railing. She heard the sound of tearing fabric and the sound of something hitting the ground. Mal stopped and turned to see small bags of a red substance.
Mallory quickly scooped up the small plastic bags and continued upstairs.
She saw a door and shouldered it open and was immediately pelted in the face by rain and wind.
The door led onto a fire escape about halfway up the building. Maybe 20 or 30 floors up?
Mal went towards the gap in the fire escape where the stairwell down should be and found nothing but a hole.
There was a good bit of the fire escape missing. Rusted and fallen away. Mal stared at the abyss and then looked at the door.
Mallory looked at the packages in her hand. The packages Chris had apparently died for. The packages that King was about to kill her for. Mallory laughed despairingly as she heard Chris' murderer approaching up the stairwell through the open door…huh…the spring meant to close it behind her must have been broken.
Mallory looked at the packages and then back at the door before breathing out hard and tearing open one of the packages of Red Sand.
King casually checked to make sure his pistol had a round in the chamber as he stepped out onto the fire escape. Mal had dipped out here. Stupid kid. This was a dead end for sure unless she had a damn parachute handy. The fire escapes had come off this building years ago and the city didn't give enough of a damn to replace them.
Jarrod's favorite drug mule was standing as far as she could get from the door. She was facing away from King. The backpack full of product on her back. King eyed that backpack. His golden ticket.
The Bombers had heard this was coming in. They'd offered King a lot of money. a ticket out of the AMX, and maybe offworld if he helped them take it. King couldn't refuse an offer like that.
So he told the Bombers the destination was the Reds usual drug house on Fifteenth. They'd been waiting. They wanted this stuff bad. Jarrod's new product he'd gotten from offworld.
Something called Red Sand.
Whatever. Human drugs and aliens drugs couldn't be all that different. Space drugs? Whatever.
King hadn't ever seen space let alone any of the aliens out there.
Movement from Mal brought King's attention back to her. The teenager's fingers twitched and her spine popped as her body spasmed hard. King looked down to see a few empty plastic baggies on the ground by the teenaged Red's feet.
'Holy shit. This bitch must have taken enough Red Sand to kill one of those dinosaur alien things.'
King looked back at her as Mallory turned to show a euphoric grin and hands glowing blue. A blue aura surrounded her whole body.
King tried to raise his pistol as he was lifted from the ground and tossed from the fire escape in one smooth movement.
The traitor screamed as he flew over the edge and fell thirty-three floors to the hard unforgiving concrete below.
'This is amazing.'
Mallory laughed like she was a small child again. King had stopped screaming a minute ago and he must have hit the ground. Mallory giggled as she walked towards the door and opened another packet of Red Sand and snorted it into her nose.
That was crazy. She took the Red Sand and then she just waved her hand at King and he went away. Like magic.
Mallory grit her teeth as the stimulant hit her system and laughed again. Holy crap. She felt like she could take on the whole world.
Mallory descended the stairwell and found herself back on the 13th floor. Chris was lying on the ground, silent and unmoving. Mallory frowned. That sucked.
Mallory felt the Red Sand slipping as she opened another packet and ingested it. A guy wearing purple exited the apartment and said something about King needing to hurry up. Mallory laughed.
'He was in a hurry all the way down!'
The Bomber turned to see Mallory standing the hallway. His face split into a snarl as he reached for his waistband.
Mallory waved her hand at him like she did with King and heard a snap as his arm broke. The guy backed up into the apartment and screamed something about the Reds having a biotic.
Mal frowned and rolled her eyes.
'What a retard.'
She wasn't a biotic. She just had drugs. Good drugs.
Chris suddenly raised his head and looked up at her and his eyes widened. His mouth moved, but Mallory couldn't hear him over the whistling and pounding in her ears. Was that her heart pounding? Wow.
'Oh hey! Chris is alive! Good deal!'
Mal squinted at Chris. What was he saying? Asking her what she was doing? Uh…saving the fucking day.
Mallory walked into the apartment and there were two Bombers inside. Mallory waved her hand at them as they both raised guns at her. A wardrobe behind them was wrapped in a blue aura before it fell over on them both as they pulled the triggers on their guns. Bullets flew past Mallory as she heard a sickening crunch as the Bombers were crushed. Mallory laughed again and walked over the wardrobe to walk into the bathroom.
Mallory walked into the bathroom and found the Reds who were supposed to meet her dead in the bathtub. Gross. Can't go to the bathroom in here.
Mallory turned and opened another packet of Red Sand. This stuff was good. Holy shit. Was her nose bleeding?
Mallory leaned over the sink and vomited out a burst of red fluid and spit that out before snorting the next packet of Red Sand. She stepped back over the wardrobe and then looked at the open door. She should probably go check on Chris. He got shot and shit...
Mallory left the apartment and found herself face to face with Jarrod and a handful of Reds. They were holding guns. Mallory smiled at Jarrod and offered a fist bump.
"Did it, boss!"
Mallory's vision darkened and she felt herself begin to sway. Jarrod rushed forward and Mal collapsed into him.
Black closed in as she was carried into the elevator in Jarrod's arms.
Thank you for reading!
Please feel free to review. Constructive criticism is welcome.
ADDENDUM: I will be revising this story a chapter at a time. I recently re-read this and was unhappy with the state it was in. I wrote a lot of these early chapters a long time ago and it shows. So I'll be revising this story whilst also adding new chapters. Please be patient as I continue to improve The Red.