I Am Night. 1 Zara stood silently at the gate to the compound. It was Tuesday, and raining heavily. She brushed a strand of chestnut hair from her pale face and sighed. Zara was 14 years old, pale skinned, with freckles and dark brown eyes. She was Nothing special, or so she thought. She didn't like this area of town. It made her feel uncomfortable and slightly scared. Rusty barbed wire was strung sloppily across the top of the gate to the compound, sharp, hazardous and not to be reckoned with. She pulled the hood of her tattered jacket over her face, plunging her features into darkness. She hated waiting for whatever jerk her uncle had hired to do his dirty work, which was very dirty at that, too. Suddenly, a black '02 Mercedes, with a cracked wing mirror and darkened windows swung noisily into view, complete with tyres screeching and the exhaust spewing fumes everywhere.. "Finally.." Zara grumbled, by this time she was cold and hungry, which had led to a bad case of grumpiness. Without further ado, the passenger door clicked open, and a tall, broad man stepped briskly out. Zara was quite surprised, as she was used to, and expected, slobs and sleaze bags, but not this man. He had black tinted sunglasses, a sharp, newly ironed grey suit. His face was oval shaped and deathly pale. His handlebar moustache was neatly trimmed, his thick black hair had next to no gel in it, and even though it was a windy night, not a single strand of black hair was out of place. He was of average height, With a red silk handkerchief in his suit pocket. He looked like some sort of strange biker-gentleman hybrid. This man was certainly different. Zara narrowed her eyes. This couldn't be one of her uncles employees.. Could it?. He was dressed better than her uncle did himself. And he had high standards. The man paused to fix a silver cuff link in the shape of a key on his jacket, then turned his steely gaze towards her. He began to speak. End of chapter one.