Side Stories: Jaxle

Piper spent the rest of her day, cooking, cleaning, and pleasing customers. At the end of the day she took off her apron hung it up and locked the restaurant.
She brushed hair from her face as she walked down the pavement. The moon hung high covered by a blanket of clouds. Only few stars were visible.
She walked to the doors and opened them.

Jaxle got a call on his phone, some time into the night, telling him the location of another assassin. He pulled on his coat, and his sunglasses, and stepped out the front door. He turned, and looked at Piper. He froze. He hadn't expected anyone to be in th hall, so he'd left one of his revolvers temporarily uncovered.

Piper stopped and turned towards Jaxel. She looked down to the gun in his hands and fear flashed in her eyes.
She was speechless.
Why did they keep bumping into each other like this? Especially when he had guns. She was starting to feel unsafe in her own home.

Jaxle knew he wouldn't talk his way out of this. He slowly put his revolver in to it's holster, covering it with his coat. He slowly pulled his door shut, putting his keys in his pocket.

Piper cleared her throat. “Um. . . I’m just going to act like I saw nothing.” She walked towards her door feeling awkward. “Night.” She added and when she was in her house she locked the door and grabbed her knife. They made her feel safe.
She sat down on her blue sofa and stared at her TV, nothing was on the screen.

Jaxle slowly breathed out, walking out of the front door. He breathed in the cool night air, and began walking down the street. He had one target, one of the main leaders of the Assassins. This was serious.

Piper fell asleep on her couch. The knife held in her hands resting on her chest.
**Fail**

Jaxle turned down an alley, seeing a man dressed in a black suit. The man turned to Jaxle. "Oh my god...it's you..." He whispered, and Jaxle nodded, raising his revolver. A shot craked through the night air.

A few minuites later, Jaxle opened the front dor, walking into the hallway. He took off his sunglasses, letting his eyes shine naturally...well for him anyway...in the hall.

Piper awoke hearing footsteps in the hallway. she knew it was probably Jaxel and she wanted to see what he was up to.
She opened her door wiping sleep from her eyes. She froze her blue eyes staring at his glowing eyes.
"What. . . what the fuck are you?"

Jaxle paused, looking over at her. He sighed, closing his eyes and putting his sunglasses back on. "You probably would've noticed anyway..." He said, quietly, looking down. "I'm...you wouldn't believe me." He said, sliding his door key in to the handle and twisting it.

Piper gritted her teeth.
"I believed everything about the assassins." She said matter-of-factly. She balled her hands into fists her knuckles turning white.
"I haven't totally freaked out so far."

Jaxle sighed, stopping at the doorframe. "I'm a spirit. A ghost." He said, walking through in to his apartment and throwing off his sunglasses. He went to shut his door.

**Where is this story going!?!?!?!**

Piper stood in her doorway her knife still in her hands. She was shocked, amazed, and a bit scared. Why was he so antisocial?
Piper stared at his door for a few moments letting everything soak in. "I believe you." She said quietly, mostly just for the sake of saying it. She knew he wouldn't be able to hear her.
She closed her door and restrained herself from going up to his door and pounding on it till he'd come and listen to her. She believed him, and she wanted to know more.
"Curiosity killed the cat." She said to herself as she pressed her back against the door and slipped down till her knees were pressed against her chest.

Jaxle heard a click as he walked in to his bedroom. "Oh shit..." He whispered, jumping back as a shotgun blast ripped through the wall. The assassins had come. He burst through his front door, pulling out 2 revolvers and aiming at the door. "Piper, run." He said, without taking his gaze off of the door. Out of nowhere, a shotgun blast ripped through his chest. He flew back, in to Piper's door, slamming off it and falling to the floor. He lay still, bleeding out and waiting to see what the assassin would do now.

Piper stared at Jaxel for a few seconds. And then the shot was fired and Jaxel had a bullet in his body. “Jaxel!”
She froze staring at the man clothed in black. She couldn’t move, when she was afraid she didn’t run. Her gaze traveled from the hole in Jaxel’s chest to the man in black clothing.

A shot went off, and the assassin sighed, falling backwards. Jaxle stood behin him, lowering his revolver. He had no visible wounds or damage to clothes now. He put the pistol away, and looked over at Piper. "We have to leave. Soon." He said. He felt bad for roping her into this.

Piper stared at him for a few more seconds. The only things she could think of saying came out of her mouth before she had enough time to react to his urgent words.
“I believe you.” She said and felt like an idiot.
“I- Okay. When do we need to leave?” she asked wondering what they’d do, where they were going and why the hell he cared about her safety so much.

"In a couple of hours. They'll burn this place for sure. I've got a truck outside, for the suitcases." Jaxle replied, turning in to his house and grabbing all the weapons he could find. Stuff the rest of it. He loaded the weapons in to a bag and waited for Piper

Piper grabbed a few bags and stuffed them with the knives her dad had made her. She stuffed some cloths in them and by the time she was done she felt fear continue to flow over her body. She didn’t know this Jaxel boy. She barely knew what a spirit was. But something about him made her feel safe.
She met him after she was done.

Jaxle threw both the bags in to the back of aa black van, and started the engine. "I built this van for travelling, so there's a bed in the back. I won't need it. He said, climbing in to the front and starting the engine. "What did you bring, anyway?"

Piper looked down at her feet and cleared her throat. Her brown hair falling over her face.
“Um, Cloths. . . and knives.” She said her voice quiet when she said the last two words.

"Knives?" Jaxle asked, not looking back. "What for?"


*FAIL OF ALL FAILS*

Piper shook her head.
"Nothing, My dad made them for me." She looked at him, waiting for him to look at her like she was a freak.

"Fair enough." Jaxle said, as the Van pulled away from the apartment. He looked in the rear-view mirror, then grimaced as an explosion ripped through the house. "Bastards..." He said, growling.

Piper looked over her shoulder and back to the house her eyes wide with fear. "Oh my god." She said it almost as a whisper. Her gaze fell on her feet and she was silent for a few seconds. "Bloody hell." She said letting the whole situation sink in.