angels & demons | noelle

[aaron seymour]

'1284 Grant Avenue. Fourth floor, six windows from the right. 312-345-5152.' Folding the letter back into eighths, the man returned it to the pocket of his jacket. His eyes rose to look at the number engraved on the frame above the entrance to the building. '1284' They read. Looking up and down the building, he figured it to be an apartment building or maybe an office building. The shades were drawn on the lower floors, making it difficult to figure out what it was exactly. Either way the job should be simple enough, there was no one on the street at all from what he could see and he found an ideal sniper's nest on the building just behind him the day before. He always made sure he was one hundred percent prepared and in the clear before making the hits, otherwise it would leave the police with evidence leading to him, besides the corpse that is.

There was a chill in the air from the looming winter season, making the killer huff warm breath onto his hands and rub them together. He turned his back on the building and proceeded down the alley between his target and his nest. Finding the fire escape, he jumped a little to reach the bottom rung and heaved himself up until he could catch his foot on the ladder. Then he climbed. One floor, then two, until he was on top of the building, six floors up. Upon setting foot on the concrete rooftop, he paused and took a look at the city around him. There wasn't much he could see before his view was obscured by buildings. He came to the conclusion all cities looked and were the same. Someone's loved one was always killed in some way or another. Most common in dark, deserted places, to those traveling alone. But never, ever, had he imagined it would happen to him. He was supposed to do the killing, not some punk looking for a good time. Not to his wife.

It was the same mental pep-talk he gave himself before every killing, it got his blood boiling and took away the guilt long enough to get the job done. But it didn't last forever. A scowl found its way to his brow, darkening his once light eyes. He walked along the side ledge of the building until he came to the air conditioning vent. Kneeling down, he carefully undid the already loose screws from the day before and lifted the vent to pull out his sniper rifle. Carefully replacing the grate and screwing it back tightly as he had found it, the man held the weapon against his side as if a reflection of the stars would glint off the metal and give away his position.

Aaron Seymour knelt behind the ledge of the building, crouching behind the extra two feet of building to keep himself hidden as he screwed on the suppressor. Aligning it with the mouth of the rifle, he gave the piece a good whack until it screwed itself on with only a tightening on Aaron's part. He held the killing machine with both hands. It was suddenly too heavy for him to hold and he had to lean it against the ledge to regain himself. Who knew there was so much power in such a mechanism. Enough to take life. It was an utterly terrifying thought, one Aaron refused to think about at the current moment. He had a job to do and now was the time to do it.

[noelle ackerman]

My best friend gave me the best advice
He said each day's a gift and not a given right
________________________________________________________

What time was it? Time enough for the sun to be sleeping, so why couldn't she? Noelle Ackerman felt frustrated as she laid away in bed and stared at the fan on her ceiling. She was debating taking a personal day tomorrow, because if she didn't get any sleep then she would be cranky and would probably take it out on her students without meaning to. Dancing was tough, and those who signed up for it should have known that from the start. The young woman liked to give them a break every now and again though; it was only fair for their hard work. Their break could be her not showing up. Then again, that would mean that another dance teacher would take over the class for today, and as far as the other students were concerned she was the most easy going one. Now there was a scary thought.

Noelle rubbed her hands over her face, then kicked the sheets off of her and sat up with her legs hanging off the edge of the bed. Immediately a chill crawled up her spine, reminding her of the oncoming of the winter months. Instead of crawling back into bed, though, where it was warm but where she knew she wouldn't get any sleep, the teacher stood and grabbed her silky bathrobe off the chair next to her nightstand. After sliding it on and neglecting to tie it, Noelle carefully took the book off of the table and left her room. It was times like this that she wished she could find a stable relationship, so instead of waking up and being alone and could wake up, roll over, and hope the other person was awake so she had someone to talk to. She had major difficulties when it came to guys though. The problem? Noelle was too trusting. She tended to believe many of the things they say because they seem like a good guy. But, just once, the young woman wanted to find a man who stayed because he wanted to be with her, not because they liked her butt.

The girl made her way out into the living room of her apartment, then over to the window on the far end where there was a window seat that she liked to sit and read at when she couldn't get to sleep. The window was already open a crack (no wonder it was chilly in here), but she took the liberty of opening it all the way so the cool night air could wash over her as she read by the light of the moon and the streetlamps. Sure, it would only make her apartment colder, but that was what heaters were for. This was much more relaxing then turning on a light and reading on the couch.

Noelle settled down in the seat, resting her arms on the window sill and propping the book up so she could read it easily. Opening the novel and removing the bookmark, she began, finding it easy to already become lost in the story. That was the best thing about books. They brought you away from your own life and troubles for a moment of peace inside someone else's. She could see why people loved acting so much, because how fun would it be to play one of these characters? She thought it would be almost as much fun as dancing, and that was saying a lot.

In the midst of her romantic adventure, something distracted her. A tiny snowflake fell and landed on the middle of the page where she had been reading, quickly dissolving and leaving behind the smallest dot of water. Noelle's eyes averted skyward, searching for any sign of a snowfall in the darkened sky. Softly, gently, little flakes floated downward toward the asphalt. There wasn't going to be enough to make it stick, but it was enough to make Noelle smile. Her eyes fell a little bit, stopping at the top of the building across the street from her as her mind wandered into deep thought. Each breath she took chilled in the night air, and gave her the feeling of impending snow. It was possible, after all it was November, but that would just be getting her hopes up too soon. The nights were cold, but the days were still too warm for such a thing. If they were to get snow, it would be gone by morning.

________________________________________________________

`Status: Finished!
`Tag: Aaron Seymour
`Word Count: 750
`Lyrics By: Nickelback - If Today Was Your Last Day
`Notes:

[/font] pic by me
*is mad excited* ^-^ [/blockquote][/size]

[aaron seymour]

It took a good two minutes for Aaron to turn around and raise the rifle onto the ledge. He pulled down the bi-pod to balance the weapon easily on the rooftop. He would have a much better shot if the gun was stationary instead of swaying with his pulse. His shot had to be perfect, if it wasn't the man he was assigned to take out would live to tell about it. There was about a zero chance he would know who his killer was, but it would just be one more nose digging deeper. The police had that covered, but they wouldn't know Aaron if he held a gun to their heads. He could very well be the next Zodiac killer, without the ciphers. The Zodiac was almost 40 years ago and technology has come a long way since then. Of course, there were still two letters that remain unsolved, but Aaron wasn't going to take a chance with leaving a lead of any sort.

Positioning himself carefully behind the gun, Aaron wrapped one hand around the body of the rifle and the other on the trigger. He held the gun tight so he didn't push it off the building when he pressed the butt against the front of his shoulder. Leaning foreword slightly, his right eye socket pressed against the scope and he counted four rows of windows, checking them for any sign of movement. Many were either dark with the shades drawn, or just had the shades drawn. They couldn't see him. They would never know until the man, George Crache, didn't show up for work the next day. Until he missed a few days and people started to worry because he wasn't answering his home phone or his cell phone. Until someone finally went to his house and found him dead on the floor, the telephone off the hook.

On the fourth set of windows, Aaron shifted the weapon to the far right and began counting to six. At the fifth window he froze and moved the scope down one floor. He swore he saw something move. Carefully, he adjusted the scope on the dark window and held his breath. Someone was there, in the window, out in the open. Because the apartment behind the person was dark he couldn't quite see the face, but looking at everything else he concluded it was a woman. She appeared to be looking up, admiring the stars he concluded. Then he felt something tiny and cold hit his hand. He removed his face and looked up. It was snowing. She was admiring the snow, first of the season. It even excited him for a fleeting moment before he remembered his job. He couldn't do it with her sitting beside the open window. She would surly hear the breaking glass as the bullet made it's target.

Looking back through the scope he nearly jumped out of his skin when the apartment next to her lit up. The golden light bathed across the woman and he could finally see her face. She was looking at his building, looking right at him. He watched her, through the scope, waiting for some facial expression, the slight frown of concentration as she tried to figure out what the shadow was. He grew light-headed, realizing his breath was still contained in his lungs. Slowly, fearing she would hear it, he let it out. He needed to get the job done, how long could she sit there? It was cold and she wasn't wearing anything heavier then a light bathrobe. Maybe she wouldn't last more than a couple minutes. If she did, well... Aaron squeezed his eyes shut tightly, trying to get that image and horrid idea from his head. Never. Never. He would wait. The night was still young. There was time.

[noelle ackerman]

Leave no stone unturned, leave your fears behind
That first step you take is the longest stride
________________________________________________________

A cool breeze swept past the window and left Noelle with a trail of goose bumps going up her arm. She wouldn't be able to sit here much longer, despite how pretty it was. That is, unless she got a heavy coat and gloves, but then how silly would they be? People who saw her would think "Why doesn't she just read on the couch with the window closed?" Oh well, at least she was one of the few people in the city who could say that they got to see the first snow of the season. It was very light and almost nothing at all, but it sparked in Noelle the feeling of the forthcoming Christmas in a little less than 2 months. Christmas was the woman's favorite time of year. People always did such a great job of decorating stores and streets and Chicago just looked so beautiful. On top of that, everyone was constantly in a good mood, and you were able to go shopping for presents!

Her mind has wandered to the point where Noelle no longer comprehended what she was looking at, though she was still eyeing the top of the roof across from her. Then, something broke her deep thought. A light rattling filled her apartment, and then slowly grew louder. It sounded like someone was at her door, but was trying to get it open. Her head quickly turned to look over her shoulder, and the girl saw her door shaking in its frame. A rush of panic came over her and Noelle forgot the book was even in her hands. It fell from her grasp, tumbling to the sidewalk below as she swiftly jumped up from her seat and ran toward the door, turning on a light along the way so she wouldn't trip over anything. Her body practically fell on the door, and the young woman held her breath as she looked through the eye-hole that she had to stand up on her tippy toes a bit to reach.

What did she expect to see? Noelle wasn't entirely sure. Probably a middle-aged man dressed in dark clothes trying to get her door open. Instead, what lay out in front of her eyes was the scene of an tiny elderly woman with her key stuck in the door, becoming frustrated that it wasn't letting her into her apartment. Heaving a great sigh of relief, Noelle fell back onto her heels and unlocked the door, making sure to open it slowly as to not frighten her older neighbor. "Mrs. Ellis?" She asked in a soft tone, "What are you doing here? It's late." The woman seemed entirely confused, but when she looked up to see Noelle standing in front of her, her face brightened. 'Noelle, dear! What are you doing in my apartment?' The teacher smiled, knowing that Mrs. Ellis had been having a bit of trouble remembering things lately. "This is my apartment, you're one floor up." Mrs. Ellis took a step back, as if she were thrown off or completely surprised. 'Oh! I'm sorry. My mind has been all over the place lately..." Giving a sweet smile and a quiet laugh, Noelle asked in return, "Would you like me to take you up to your apartment, Mrs. Ellis?" 'That would be lovely, dear. I wouldn't mind the company.'

Nodding in acknowledgement, Noelle grabbed her keys off of the table beside the door, and then made sure to close and lock it behind her. It was right when she pulled her key out of the lock that the woman realized that she had had a book in her hands, but when she went running she hadn't. Noelle didn't remember setting it down or doing anything with it, which meant that she had dropped it in the surprise of someone "breaking into her apartment." That was probably even sillier than her sitting in front of the window in a coat reading a novel. Well, she could get it real quick after she brought Mrs. Ellis upstairs. At least it was only a book and nothing that would shatter when it hit the concrete.

________________________________________________________

`Status: Finished! <33
`Tag: Aaron Seymour
`Word Count: 704
`Lyrics By: Nickelback - If Today Was Your Last Day
`Notes:

[/font] pic by me
aaron makes me think of clive owen in bourne xD [/blockquote][/size]

[aaron seymour]

Aaron could feel himself growing anxious. He didn't know what time it was, but it seemed that the apartment building was suddenly becoming alive. The window to the right of the woman's now had a shadow moving across it and an elderly woman had just walked into the main entrance. He hoped her room was on the other side of the building because he just couldn't wait for her to get herself settled for the night. Not to mention the young woman was still staring in his direction. She probably wasn't really seeing him though because she wasn't looking to see him. Even so, he remained stock still, peering back at her through the scope. If he weren't busy waiting for her to leave, he wouldn't be practicing stalker tactics. Even if he were, it wouldn't be with the intention of harming her.

What seemed like forever had passed before she moved, looking at something inside her apartment. He wondered what it was, but instead focused on the book that had toppled out of her hands. Just for an instant before he listened to it hit the sidewalk below. He was again focusing on her open window, trying to see what it was that had distracted her, but stopped. She was gone. But he didn't know for how long so he went back up one floor and over a window. It was dark. Pursing his lips he pulled his cell phone and the piece of paper with his directions on it out of his pocket with a gloved hand. Steadying the rifle, he held the paper with one hand while dialing the numbers '312-345-5152' with the other. Stuffing the paper into his pocket, Aaron held onto the phone with a free hand and grabbed the gun with the other. He waited.

Ring... Ring. A light flicked on in the window next to the one he was aimed at. Ring. A shadow moved across the second window, disappeared then reappeared a few seconds later as the light in the sixth window came one. Ring. "Hello?" Aaron hung up, took his position over the gun and aimed precisely. He fired once. The suppressor silenced the shot but the bullet still bore a hole in the glass window before connecting with it's intended target. He shadow immediately dropped out of sight. Aaron pulled the sniper rifle from the ledge and dropped it onto the rooftop. He breathed slowly, staring through the hole he bullet had made in the window. He was already picturing George staining the nice beige carpet. If he had a wife, what would she think? She wouldn't, George Crache didn't have a wife. He didn't have an ex-wife. He didn't have health insurance or a will. And now, he didn't have a life.

It was coming back again. That horrible feeling of guilt. He had taken another man's life, without knowing what it was exactly he did that was punishable by death. The toe of Aaron's combat boots were pressed against the wall. The left scraped off paint as he lifted it onto the ledge. This time he would do it. He would do it and leave something for the police to find. Not only the victim's body, but also that of his killer. Of the killer of twenty-five other people, twenty-two in New York, two here in Chicago, and one in Glasgow, Scotland. Leaning down to balance himself, Aaron slid his other foot onto the ledge and adjusted it to balance himself before letting go with his hands and standing upright. He swayed slightly in the breeze, but remained still six floors above the solid concrete sidewalk. His heart was palpitating wildly against his chest like it was trying to push him over, but his fists clenched and he remained still.

[noelle ackerman]

If today was your last day
And tomorrow was too late...
________________________________________________________

Mrs. Ellis had just lost her sister recently, which was why her head was in such a daze and she had come to the wrong apartment. That much Noelle had found out during the walk upstairs. She was a sweet woman, but it had been obvious the past week or so that her mind had been preoccupied with something. Her and her sister had been very close. Noelle remembered when the woman came for a visit and she had been introduced to her. She was the older of the two, but still seemed as vivacious as Mrs. Ellis herself. It was a shame that she had passed away. The young woman felt sorry as she made her way back down the stairs in her bare feet, but there wasn't much she could do about it now. She could only console Mrs. Ellis with the fact that it had been from natural causes, and she hadn't suffered at all.

Coming off the stairs, Noelle pushed quietly through the doors back onto her floor, then stopped in her tracks. Her book was still outside, probably all bent up or maybe even taken by now. It would be a waste to go all the way back to her apartment and search for shoes and a jacket if she was just going to be outside for a few seconds, so despite that it was below freezing the young woman skipped rushing back to her room and just went to the nearest elevator. Normally whenever she took the elevator there was someone already standing in there when it opened, but tonight there wasn't. It made her wonder again just how late it was, since she had yet to check the clock. It couldn't be too late, since Mrs. Ellis was just coming home, but it couldn't be anything like 9:00 because the streets weren't crowded enough.

The elevator doors parted into the lobby of the apartment complex, and Noelle hastened quickly to the front doors since it was already a little cooler then it was upstairs. Mike, the night security guard, was sitting behind the front desk, but he was asleep. That was no surprise; he was always asleep after the sun went down. Luckily, nothing bad had happened on his watch so he still had a job. Though Noelle would be sad to see him fired, she awaited the day when someone found him snoozing with his feet up on the desk and his hat pulled down over his eyes. Noelle hurried past him, her feet falling silently over the carpeted floor until she reached the doors. The girl opened one glass door as quietly as she could, not wanted to disturb the night watchman and risk him mistaking her for someone who doesn't belong here.

It was bitter outside, which she should have already known. All Noelle could think was thank God for sweat pants. The snow was still falling gently around her, and even though it wasn't sticking it still made the ground very cold. The young woman rushed down the stairs, the bottom of her bathrobe floating along silently behind her as she reached the bottom and turned the corner. The novel was there, lying sprawled out and dead on the concrete. Suddenly, Noelle felt bad for dropping it. Even though it was an inanimate object, it looked sad. Her feet carried her to her book as though she were walking over coal, and by the time she was bending down to pick it up she was already shivering. The girl closed the book, then held it between her arms and her chest when she folded her arms tightly around herself.

Noelle shuddered, more then ready to go back inside and up to her apartment. But, the snow made her stay. It was falling a little heavier, but was still so beautiful and welcoming that it made her whole body freeze so she could watch it for a moment. Her chocolate eyes lifted, following the trails of snowflakes skyward until she was looking straight up. The streetlamp a few yards away illuminated the flakes that were falling around her and made her feel so warm even in this freezing weather. Noelle loved the snow, and she could not wait until Chicago was covered again. It made traffic annoying as heck, but it was so beautiful.

Knowing that she should get back inside now, her gaze began to fall again. At least, until a dark figure on the roof of the complex across from her caught her attention. With the lights it was hard to see exactly what it was, but the outline looked like that of a man, standing on the ledge. Noelle's breath caught in her throat, was he going to jump? All the questions the asked what or why weren't important right now, because if he really was thinking of jumping it was better that she convinced him not to rather than yell up to him why he was doing it. That wouldn't help much. Noelle set her book down on the stairs, then rushed out into the middle of the street and looked up at the man again. "What are you doing?! Don't jump!" Noelle didn't know this man. She couldn't see his face, and she could see his expression. She didn't know what kind of burdens he must be carrying to have such a thought that it would be better if he were dead. She didn't know of he had a wife or children or a sibling or a mother. All the same, no one deserved to die. What ever he had done, it couldn't possibly be something that wouldn't get better in time.

________________________________________________________

`Status: Finished! <33
`Tag: Aaron Seymour
`Word Count: 996
`Lyrics By: Nickelback - If Today Was Your Last Day
`Notes:

[/font] pic by me[/blockquote][/size]

[aaron seymour]

A breeze had picked up, swirling the snow in a giant tornado of glistening speckles. It was falling heavier, but not enough to accumulate to anything. It was melting as soon as it touched the ground. It was still just a hair too warm, but that fact that it was snowing at all was a warning that winter was just around the corner. According to meteorologists, it was supposed to be a pretty bad one too. They all say that whenever a summer was unusually scorching. Aaron preferred the snow to the sun any day. He took the moment to look up at the dark sky, lightened from the clouds that brought the snow. If this was going to be his last time seeing the snow, he wanted to remember it. the precipitation trickled onto his face like rain, only lighter. His eyes closed, committing it to memory.

He didn't know how long he was standing on the edge of the building, his face upturned toward the snow. But eventually his eyes opened and he was looking straight into a small break in the clouds. It was continuing to snow, but if the clouds continued to part, not for much longer. He could just see the glitter of stars peeking over the city. Maybe God was sending his angels to see what the hubbub was about. Nothing important, really. There were certainly worse things going on over the city then a contract killer ready to break contract with himself. An eye for an eye, if only there were twenty-four more of him, then he could even the playing field.

Lowering his eyes to the building across the way, he glanced back at the window where his target lay unbeknownst to anyone but himself. The light was still on and for the first time that evening, everything seemed calm and quiet. The light that had turned on beside the young woman's window was out again and her window was still, however still open. There was still traffic on one of the main avenues a few blocks away, but Aaron didn't hear any of it. He didn't hear anything but his own breathing. It floated in front of him in puffs of vapor, no longer slow and steady. He watched the young woman's apartment from his place on the ledge, waiting for her to come back to close the window. It was a dangerous idea leaving it open unguarded. He would watch it for her, to make sure that no one passing by would decide to give her a surprise when she came back. When she closed her window, then he could jump.

Maybe five minutes had passed and the window was still open, so tempting to a felon. Aaron's weight shifted and he nearly stumbled forward, but managed to regain his balance. His heart was racing again from the near fall. He knew already that he wouldn't be able to go through with it, again. He clenched his fists tighter until his nails were digging into his palms, angry with his cowardess. All her had to do was lean his weight far enough forward that it carried him down. Just as soon as the thought came, it was gone again when he noticed movement coming from the ground. Lowering his glance, he watched someone come out of the entrance to the opposing building and glide down the steps. When they went to retrieve the book, Aaron recognized it to be the young woman in the window. He watched her silently, admiring the way she stood in the snow and held the book to her chest, as if protecting it.

Then she looked up. Aaron's stomach jumped and he made to step back onto the roof and let the darkness swallow him as if he had never been there. But he was transfixed on the woman, looking straight into her dark eyes. From the distance he couldn't see their color, just the shadow of them. He was frozen, hoping that she didn't notice him there, about to take a leap of faith. Then her mouth opened and her voice carried higher, telling him not to jump. well, he did jump, but not in an intentional way. He hadn't expected her to notice him and the whole ordeal gave him a fight. Involuntarily, his body lurched and he felt himself losing balance. His arms swung in a sort of comical way as if trying to grab hold of something as his feet came out from under him, sending him toppling backward back onto the roof. He landed on his back, his legs tangled around the rifle, staring up at the sky.
_____________

eck, kind of pooy. lol

[noelle ackerman]

Could you say goodbye to yesterday?
Would you live each moment like your last?
________________________________________________________

Cold overcame her again, but this was a different kind of cold. As Noelle looked up at the shadow of a man even though she couldn't see his face she could feel him looking at her. It was possibly the most eerie feeling in the world. It was the same feeling as when you know you're being watched, and you turn around and your best friend is staring at you to see how long it would take you to notice. Only this was worse, it made her stomach churn. He seemed so dark, so cold, literally and metaphorically. Why was he standing on the edge of a rooftop if not to jump off? What sort of twisted thoughts would lead someone to do something like that? Her life felt miserable sometimes, but that didn't mean she wanted to end it. It was something that she would never understand, and in all honesty never wanted to.

When Noelle called up to him, the figure seemed surprised. It swayed back and forth a bit, losing its balance there on the edge of life and death. The woman stepped forward and held her hands out in front of her, as if it would help at all. "No!" Don't fall forward, please don't fall forward. That is what she continued to pray in the silence of her mind. He didn't want to jump, that much was obvious, because if he really did he would have done so already. Any person that wanted to live had more than the right to. Her heart was beating hard against her breastbone as Noelle watched the man try to regain his balance, but eventually fall backward onto the roof. A sigh of relief escaped from her lips. Yes, he fell, but that fall might only give him a small bump on the head.

"Are you okay?!" It might be useless, but Noelle tried anyway. It might be worth it to know that in this rotten world someone cared enough to ask. However, the air was quiet. So quiet in fact that the snow could actually be heard almost inaudibly falling onto the road and the sidewalk. The girl didn't know what to do. Should she call the police? Should she go and check on him? She should leave it be now that he was off that ledge? Noelle had never been in a situation like this before. Well, once, but she was in first grade and the kid was threatening to jump off of a bench. He only did it for the attention, because when he got it he was as chipper as a chipmunk. This was a completely different story, though. This man on the roof had almost killed himself. That was serious. Maybe she should call the police...

Finally, Noelle turned to run back inside, her feet numb from the cold road. She grabbed her book on the way back up the steps and shoved through the glass doors, not caring at the moment if Mike woke up or not. In fact, she wanted him to. However, when the woman made it to the desk, he was still asleep. "Mike." Noelle didn't want to be rude, so she spoke gently and carefully nudged his foot. When nothing happened, she became frustrated. "Mike!" Still nothing. For Pete's sake! Sleep at home, man! Instead of waiting for him, Noelle leaned over the counter and searched for the phone. She found it, pulled it out of its charger, and dialed 9-1-1 before bringing it to her ear. It rang once, then she heard, '9-1-1 Emergency Response, what seems to be the problem?' "Hi. I was just outside and there was a man on the roof and he looked like he was about to jump but then he fell backwards onto the roof and I don't know what to do. I don't know if he'll try again." The woman on the other end of the line asked for her name and location then told her that the police would be there as soon as they could. So, Noelle was left standing alone in the dark lobby, cold and shaken, waiting for the police officers that probably wouldn't be able to do a thing to help by the time they got here anyway.

________________________________________________________

`Status: Finished! <33
`Tag: Aaron Seymour
`Word Count: 730
`Lyrics By: Nickelback - If Today Was Your Last Day
`Notes:

[/font] pic by me
it was not! i liked it (: mine wasn’t that great though…[/blockquote][/size]

[aaron seymour]

The roof was cold and probably a lot dirtier than he wanted to think about. It didn't look tar and now hoped it really wasn't. His clothes were dark so even if it did rub off it wouldn't be very noticeable, but he didn't need any reminders to bring home with him. Aaron carefully pulled his foot out from under the rifle and used the other to kick it away. He could hear the young woman's voice asking if he was all right. For an instant he was going to respond but thought better of it. His heavy Scottish accent would be too obvious, especially if they were to meet again. So he ignored her, and remained flat on his back, counting to twenty, and hoping she went inside. Maybe she would think she had just had a hallucination and not bother with him anymore. Somehow he doubted it.

When he got to twenty, he waited ten more seconds for safety then popped up and leaned over the edge. She was gone. But he couldn't help but think she was calling someone to come check out the roof. It's what he would have done, to see if the person was okay and didn't actually hit their head on anything. Grabbing his rifle, he threw the strap over his head and headed for the fire escape. he was in a hurry to get far enough away that when whoever she called came there wouldn't be a trace of him. The clacking of his boots on the metal stairs made him cringe with every step, but he was in too much of a hurry to check if anyone happened to be looking out their windows to find the source of the racket. He didn't think he was being all that loud.

At the bottom platform, Aaron wasted no time with the ladder and just jumped off into the alley. He landed cat-like to let the ground absorb his weight instead of his legs. Then, he looked around. There were no lights on and he didn't see any suspicious shadows, other than himself. He didn't know what to do with the rifle that was hugging his back, he couldn't walk out onto the street with it, especially if police were on their way and he was sure the alley was a dead end, just leading to a chain-linked fence. It was his best bet though, so he followed the darkness behind the building. The smell of garbage was so heavy he held his breath until he couldn't anymore, sucking in air from his hands that smelled like gunpowder and leather. It was still better than the smell of rotting fish. Aaron walked along the fence line, hoping for a gate or a break in it but there was nothing. Probably the most well kept fence in the city and now he had to climb it.

Slipping the strap of the rifle over his head to it cut across his chest securely, Aaron reached as high as he could go and wrapped his fingers around the chain-links. He attempted to shove the toe of his boot into a hole to support, but the boots were too wide. He was going to have to do a Spiderman. In the distance, he could hear the sirens growing steadily closer. Halfway up the fence and he could feel perspiration rolling down his temples. Finally, his right hand curved around the top of the fence and he heaved himself up, swung a leg over, then the other and pushed off. The fall from the fence was a bit longer then the one from the fire escape, but he landed the same way again, only losing his balance and falling on his rear. The sirens were on top of him now and he ended up crawling behind a shrub to avoid the rotating red and blue lights of the police vehicles as they came to a halt at the other end of the alley.

[noelle ackerman]

Leave old pictures in the past
If today was your last day
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What a night this had turned into, huh? If Noelle thought that she was getting to sleep after this then she was greatly mistaken, because there would be no way to stop her thoughts from keeping her awake. Pulling her thin bathrobe tighter around her, the young woman folded her arms like she had when she was outside and leaned back against the counter in waiting. Mike was lightly snoring behind her. He had moved a little bit while he was on the phone, even managing to open his eyes for a second at one point, but then fell right back into dreamland again. Noelle looked down at her feet, still bare and still cold. She should have gone to get her shoes, at least. Even if she didn't get her jacket, shoes would have been nice. She wondered if she would have time to run back upstairs and get a pair, but when the faint sound of police sirens broke through the silence and slowly grew louder she knew that she couldn't.

The officers were nice. A few went up to search the roof and alley while one stayed with her in the foyer where it was warmer and asked her questions. They were routine, along the lines of what happened? and when did it happen? You know, the usual. Officer Briggs was just about finished questioning her and was closing up his notepad when one of the other officers came into the foyer with something in his hands, something that she couldn't see. Officer Sears was his name, which made her think of the department store, until he stopped in front of her and said, "I'm sorry m'am, we are going to have to bring you in to the police station for further questioning." What? Well, first of all, she knew he was only being polite but Noelle was not a "m'am." Second.... what?

"I-I'm..I'm sorry, why?" Her face appeared just as surprised as her voice sounded. What had happened between the couple seconds that Officer Briggs came in to now that meant that she had to go downtown? 'We found a bullet casing on the roof where you said you saw the man. You're now our only witness to a murder." A what? Was he speaking English? Did he just say murder? He gently took her arm, telling her that he had to take her out to the car, but she began to protest. "No...no! He was just standing on the ledge! He didn't have a gun. No, please! I don't even have shoes. It's cold outside. Can I at least get my shoes?" They wouldn't let Noelle get her shoes. She knew that they wouldn't let her get her shoes. They said that they could give her some when they got down to the precinct, but she didn't want those. She wanted her own, not some leftovers from a felon on death row. Who knows where they had been, what kind of feet had been in them, that was disgusting. How could this have happened? How could Noelle Ackerman have to be hauled down to the police station and questioned about a murder? She didn't know anything about a murder. He didn't have a gun, he was just jumping!

At least Noelle wasn't a criminal, so there were no handcuffs. There was reluctance and persuading involved, but no handcuffs. Actually, not much persuading either. When she said that she didn't want to go, they said they could just come back with a warrent and she would have to. Damn cops and their....warrents. She didn't need to be questioned! Noelle already told them what she knew. However, the woman climbed into the car with whatever dignity she could muster without any shoes. Well, she definitely wasn't going to be in school tomorrow now.

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`Status: Finished! <33
`Tag: Aaron Seymour
`Word Count: 661
`Lyrics By: Nickelback - If Today Was Your Last Day
`Notes:

[/font] pic by me[/blockquote][/size]