Resting upon the roughly woven mats, the radio blared in the background. Celine Dion was belting her Titanic ballad as Sen suddenly gained the upper hand. After side-stepping Kevin's roundhouse, she managed to sneak past his defences, throwing him over her hip.

As they grappled, Kevin turned the tables by trapping Sen in a headlock.

Roy sighed as he watched her tap out. Sen could take her fighting skills to the next level, if she could overcome her tendency to quit as soon as the fight turned unfavourable. With the fight over, he resumed putting the equipment away.

Transitioning from its music program, the radio reported the evening news.

“Today was a tragic one for the Scorpions. Known for their armed robberies and muggings, they have been found dead inside a house at the corner of 5th Avenue. Police say that heavy duty explosives were used in this mass murder. Neighbours who heard the explosion contacted authorities right away, but the criminal has yet to be found. We now switch to an interview with Constable Reeves.”

“The perp was definitely using a remote control,” Reeve's deep voice droned. “It explains how the neighbours didn't see someone running from the crime scene. The police are doing what they can to investigate the case. We suspect --”

The radio was suddenly switched off. Sen stormed into the back room and gathered her belongings.

“I'm heading off now. Gotta cook dinner.” she explained. She turned to beam at Roy, except her eyes weren't smiling; they were icy cold.

“Take care of yourself, and good luck on your exams.”

Roy didn't understand kids these days. Their emotions rode the moodswing rollercoaster - calm one instant and livid the next. As he opened the door to let her exit abruptly, he saw something unexpected. Was it just his imagination, or was there a black figure on the roof? As he looked again, all he saw was the lamplight illuminating the tar roof, tinged with a hint of veridian.

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Author guidance for This story

The first two chapters are part of the Prologue. It is the intended hook of my story.

The remaining three chapters are intended to give an introduction to Sen, as the Prologue was a bit vague. My intention is for readers to be able to relate to Sen.

updated Feb 2 '11 by Danyl