Verona

The headache I woke to was far worse than I have ever experienced before, and my stomach roiled like a turbulent, rogue wave. The taste of iron and sickly sweet blood corrupted my sense of taste, and there was a heavy scent of blood on me. My hair must look like hell, and my clothes are ratted and torn, my Uniform completely torn apart. I looked more Homeless than the man who was sleeping nearby, and that is saying quite a lot.

I was almost sorry for myself for the fact that I let myself Feed. I squint as I look up from having tucked myself up against a dumpster, which smelled suspiciously of decaying flesh and innards and weakly shield my eyes from the bright light of day. "Ow..." I moan, covering my eyes quickly and sniffing. "Ow, ow, ow..."

The man down the Alleyway blinks and looks over at me, head tilted. "Hey, you aren't here when I fell asleep... Where you come from?" He asks in a rough, strained voice. I look over at him, almost like I'm saluting, and I softly shrug.

"Hell, if I remember... Last I knew, I was driving home from work..." I lie easily, and the man frowns.

"Holy shit, you're covered in blood, sir... What happened to you?!" He exclaims.

"Your guess is as good as the next guys..." I say, voice weak as I shakily stand, knees knocking together like that of a newborn deer. "I think I got jumped when I pulled over to help a young lady with her car..."

"Ah, that's mighty unfortunate... Say, you got some pretty eyes, boy. All purple and deep..." The man starts, then shrugs. "People around these parts are assholes who take what others have that they don't... Kind of like 'The Purge' but mostly without the killing. You get what I'm saying here?"

"Yes, I actually do... You're quite right... and thank you, most think my eyes are freaky, and they run..." I admit, before sighing. "I feel like I should just give up..."

A sharp pain brings me from my doubt and I glare at the man, who had somehow gotten up and slapped me right across the face, suddenly. "HEY!"

"HEY Yourself, boy! Do you know why I'm here in this Alley? Do you know why I'm homeless?! Because I gave up! And I regret it every single day! I gave up on my job, my wife, my kids, everything, just because I done did something wrong..." He says, glaring right back at me. "Whatever you want to give up on, don't even think another moment about doing that! Keep up your fight, you'll break through eventually!" He then gets a curious glint in his eyes. "What you want to give up on, anyway? Job?"

I let out a sour, depressed laugh that sounded both forced and spiteful. "As if... But, if you want to look at it that way, yeah, it's a job... One that just gets harder each passing hour." I grumble, before leaning on the wall nearby and looking at the man. "I'm looking for someone... Someone very important to me... I have been looking for them for almost a hundred years..." I admit, and the man frowns.

"How old are you? How can you be looking for someone for a hundred years when you look like you're twenty-five?" He asks and I chuckle softly.

"If you've seen Transformers, would you get it when I say that there is 'More to me than meets the eye'?" I ask and the man blinks, before nodding. "Anyway... I know what she looks like... I can still smell her... I can still describe her like I only saw her yesterday... and yet... yet I don't have the most important piece..." I say quietly, before looking down. "I can't remember her name... It tortures me even more than the Russians did... It pains me more than any poison I've been injected with, any knife I've been cut and stabbed with, any bullet I've been shot with... The agony of looking for over a hundred years for the woman you feel so much love for... and yet not knowing what her name is..."

The Homeless man's dark grey eyes soften at hearing my plight, and his hand rests on my shoulder. "Kid... Well, you aren't much of a kid if you're over a hundred, aye?" He says with a soft chuckle, and I find myself joining him. "Kid... You want to know something? Do you want to know why you need to keep fighting? Why you need to keep searching for her?" He asks, and I softly nod.

"Why? Why, when it seems that the whole of creation wishes me to never see her again?" I ask, and he shakes his head.

"Because you are alive, and you love her still. Even though you cannot find her, your love continues to grow for her, correct? Your heart yearns for what you seek to hold within your grasp. Longs to fill the gap that only she can fill within you. Because, without her in your life, you will lose yourself... You will lose everything without her. That, boy, is why you must fight on. Because she is your life. And without her, you have no life to live. No purpose to continue on. No track to lead you forward."

I listen to the man speak, and I feel my heart beat stronger at his words, and my resolve returns in force. Yes. I still love the woman in my memories. I yearn for her to be in my arms as I remember her being in them so many times before. I long to fill the void within me that only her love... her being... her affection...can fill. I must find her. I cannot fail, for myself, and for her. I stand a bit straighter and let out a challenging growl, eyes blazing fiercely.

"You speak well, male. What is your name?" I ask, feeling a lot better than before, and the man grins.

"Me? I'm Bob. Bobbie Richland!" He says with a grin. "And yours?"

"Verona... Verona Nightwing." I say calmly, bowing my head softly. "It has been a pleasure to be of your acquaintance, Bobbie Richland, but I have someone to find." I start, turning away, and Bobbie grabs my wrist.

"Wait, Verona... I'm homeless, and I've been around this entire city... Who you looking for? I got connections who can help you look for her." He says and I look back at him, before nodding and pulling out my phone, pulling up the image of me and the woman together, and I show him. And I know I've shown the right person, because his eyes light up.

"I've seen that missy! Yes, yes, I've seen that young lass! She walks by each day! Always offers a little smile my way! She just came back from the hospital, I believe, not even yesterday!" 

"You've seen her?!" I ask, stepping forward excitedly, and the man nods. "Is this where she goes?" I demand, pulling out the sheet of paper that I had the final address I had not checked on it. Bobbie looks it over, eyebrows furrowed, before a wide grin breaks out over his features.

"Yeah! Yeah, this is it! You're in luck, m'dear boy! You want the directions?" Bobbie asks and I nod vigorously, before dancing around happily. He laughs at my excited little dance, then writes down directions onto the paper. He hands it back, and then grins as I quickly snatch it up and race off. Before he could sit down, though, I come racing back into the Alleyway, and he gasps as I hug him tightly. I don't care that he smells like absolute shit and heavily of urine. He has given me hope. He has given me new life.

"Thank you..." I breath softly, and he barely had time to say 'You're welcome' before he was alone in the Alleyway once more, standing there with a stunned look on his face.

I have you now, my love... I'm coming for you.