Pitch Black

“I just don’t understand,” I grunted, crossing my arms and watching as once again, Blakely kicked Liam’s ass. Liam was stronger than Blakely by a long shot, but something about the girl’s quick movements were always too much for us all, especially if she could get one of her feet under you. “How in the blazes does she do that?”

Louis laughed lightly, watching as Blakely pulled Liam up. Though tonight was Ashling’s night to teach, afterwards, a couple of the guys wanted to fit a bit with Blakely. The past few days had wounded their pride. No matter how long we held out against her, she some how had us pinned, or on the ground in the end.

“Blakely is quite the contradiction,” Louis explained as Zayn stood up, rolling his shoulders. Perrie snickered as he took his stance, knowing Blakely was about to make short work of him. “She’s small, but she is faster than anyone I’ve ever met. She doesn’t have to be strong either, though she is. She knows where to place every hit and use enough force to do damage. She doesn’t over do it.”

I nodded, watching as Zayn swung, but Blake was too fast. She ducked under the swing, tackling Zayn by the waist and slamming his body on the ground. He rolled over on her, pinning her backwards. For a moment I thought he had her but she threw her head forward, colliding skulls with a sickening sound.

Everyone, including myself, flinched. Zayn staggered backwards, clutching his head and sitting as the world was spinning. Blake was up on her feet, already in a fighting stance, but it was obvious that Zayn was done for the night. She had hit him like a bloody bolder.

“Told you she has a hard head,” Danielle joked as Zayn got up, holding the bump that was quickly forming on his head. He didn’t look upset, but he definitely looked like it hurt. “Blake’s done that to me before. Hurts like a proper bitch.”

Blakely’s blue eyes then settled on me. Louis and I were the only two that hadn’t fought her tonight. But I didn’t want to fight her, for once. I wanted to talk to her. We needed to go on a raid soon, and I wanted her to go. “I’m not going tonight. I want to have a full head on me for later. Louis can have a go.”

Louis clapped his hands and got up. I was expecting him to approach her slowly, but he did something none of us expected. He launched a glass cup that he had been holding at her. But somehow she had seen it, rolling on the ground and sweeping out her foot, taking him down.

The boy rolled as he hit the floor, coming to his feet easily. He swung at her, a right hook but she sidestepped it, grabbing his arm and pulling him forward. He went falling forward from the momentum, knees hitting the ground. Blakely was on his back in minutes, wrapping her arms around his throat and cutting of his air supply.

Everyone watched, and for a moment, we thought that she wouldn’t let him go. Louis clawed at her arms, but Blake’s face was set in stone concentration, one of the more beautiful expressions I had seen on her face; she was beautiful when she fought.

Letting him go, Louis broke out into laughter between gasps of air, panting on all fours as she stood. He shook his head, looking up at her. “You did that to me when we first met, you know.”
“Yes,” she agreed with a small smile. She offered him a hand and pulled him up. “Except, that time, I almost didn’t let you live.”

After explaining what each person had done wrong, Blakely went into the small kitchen, fixing herself a glass of water. I trailed into the kitchen, watching her movements. She was dressed in dirty jeans and a tank top, which revealed the tone muscle in her arms.

After barely a few weeks of knowing Blakely, I had come to appreciate that she was a very strong person, though she could be very abrasive and harsh. Learning that her and Ashling had been twins was shocking, seeing that Ash was a very calm, very levelheaded person.

Blake… she was like fire, burning anyone who screwed with her, and she could easily spread her flames, harming anything that she wanted. It was something that I both admired, and worried about. But I also knew that it was qualities I possessed.

“Are you going to say something, or continue staring as I drink water?” she questioned, making me realize that she was facing me, looking me over the cup as she sipped it. I shook my head, expelling my thoughts. “Because as much as I appreciate the staring- well I actually don’t appreciate it. So stop.”

A grin worked it’s way on my face. It was obvious that for whatever reason, she didn’t know she was beautiful. Probably because she hadn’t looked in a mirror for the past few years. “We need to go on a raid soon,” I explained, leaning against a wall and crossing my arms. Niall entered the kitchen then, listening to what I was saying as he sifted through the pantry. “With all the extras here, we’re quite close to running out of food. I was wondering if you’d like to go.”

“Of course. I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Of course she wouldn’t. She set the cup down, brushing a strand of dark hair from her face. She casted her eyes at Niall, a suspicious glance coming over her face. “Niall can go too.”

He turned at the mention of his name. “I went last-"

“You have a good response to my attacks,” she cut off, leveling him with her eyes. They flashed a dark blue, which made me stifle a snicker. Her eyes were very intimidating, when they did that. “So we could use someone like you. Not to mention you negotiated your survival when you came across us.”

It was obvious the reason Niall wanted to stay; he and Blakely both knew I would leave Sam and Ashling behind. Sam because she was a child, and Ashling because she was the smartest, and the most capable to think of a way out if something happened. “Fine. You make a fair argument. Who else is going?”

“Louis,” She said at the same moment I said Perrie. We both looked at each other long and hard. “Both.”

“Fine.”

Having us both calling the shots was a very difficult thing. But something about Blakely made it hard to say no. Whether it was because I thought she was different than the others, or because I did not want to risk the argument, I could never tell. Either way, disagreeing with her was something that often came with a price.

“When do we leave?” Niall asked, looking back and forth between the two of us. It was obvious he was now unsure of who he was taking orders from, which annoyed me. He had been listening to me for years. “So I can pack my things.”

Blakely looked at me and shrugged. So she was going to let me have this one. “First light.”

*

The halls were quiet, the sound of sleep the only thing audible from a few rooms. Usually was the first one up when it came to setting out on raids. And yet, I was not surprised when I pushed open the door to Blakely and Louis’s room, finding them talking quietly in the middle of the room.

Both of them sat very close, arms touching. They were in their old world, leaning over something and talked in hushed voices. They were so close, sitting there, and I felt something like irritation creep up my spine, though it was stronger than irritation.

“I can hear you breathing,” Blakely called out quietly, not turning around. I raised my brows as Louis raised his hand in greeting. I walked over to see what they were doing. “You were quiet at first, and then it changed to a deep breathing. You sounded kind of mad.”

“That’s silly.” Leaning over Louis’s shoulder. In front of them, they had a list of things that they obviously needed. It was written in very neat scrawl, which I recognized as Ashling’s from her various schooling lessons. They were names of things I had never read. “What the fuck is all that?”

“Stuff Ash needs for her labs,” Louis answered, still focusing on the list. I had no idea why they were staring at it so hard. It wasn’t as if the words were going to run away. Then, Blakely pulled out a lighter, holding it to the paper and flicking it on. The parchment was ashes in moments, making me reel in surprise. “We memorize it. Don’t want a list of things we’re using to find a cure to get caught if we are, do we?”

My shock was obvious, for Blakely turned, smiling at me a bit. “You’re not the only one who thinks of everything, you know.”

“I suppose not. Are you both ready?”

They stood, shoulder light packs and nodding. “Good. Perrie and Niall should be up by now. Let’s go get our raid on.”