Red Luna.

The cold. Prologue.

As lightning zigzagged the dark sky and drops of rain began to pour down, the night became brutally cold. Anyone outside at this time under such a weather would be considered mad. Anyone who did either was hurrying home or was stuck in a situation beyond their control. And yet, the hooded figure walked casually under the downpour.

He didn't seem to care about the raging storm, the sheets of rain or the outrageous winds blowing about his black trench coat. Most of all, he didn't care about the baby un the blue plastic basket he was carrying, whether it was warm or cold, or even alive. He didn't bother to hurry for the sake of the infant, to find the nearest shelter. There wasn't any around anyway, just the dim streetlights lining the road and illuminating the inky darkness poorly.

He had a destination though, he was after all only a messenger. By the time he walked 0ast the small sign that read: Ribbon Motherless babies home, the wind was threatening to go supersonic and the rain was battering anything below. How he even managed to be unbothered and even stand strong against the harsh weather would be a mystery to anyone who saw him. He walked like a man without a care in the world, and not a care about the uncovered infant in the blue plastic basket, without even a blanket to protect it from the unforgiving cold.

The motherless babies hostel wasn't really big, just a duplex with wet peeling paint and vintage windows covered by gray curtains. He paused for a moment and looked at the home, then he looked into the basket for the first time since he started this mission. He quietly climbed the first set of stairs to the porch, he was light footed and the old wooden floorboards didn't as much as make a sound under his weight. When he got to the door, he gently put the basket down. The baby began to fuss, so he knew he had to move quickly and quietly. Turning around, he descended the stairs, hands in the pockets of his coat. He didn't look back as he lazily went as quietly as he had come.

The fussing baby quietened as if waiting and listening to the rain beating against the roof above. It took almost an hour before the rain let up, and the gentle laughter of children could be heard of one stood on the porch where the baby was abandoned. There were people still awake, but not for long as the lights shining behind the gray curtains began to go out as the household began to slumber, oblivious to the infant lying outside their door, uncovered and freezing.

It was around midnight that the baby let out a sharp cry for help, piercing the grim cold night. It couldn't take it any longer; the cold, the darkness. It cried like it would die at any moment.

The first light came on, a dim thing from the window to the left side of the building, and a shadow from inside hurriedly approached the door. As it opened, an elderly woman dressed in a wrinkly night dress and a blanket wrapped around her frail body opened the door and peeked out at the darkness first, before turning on the porch light. When her eyes landed on the squealing child in the basket, she frowned and let out a tired sigh. " Another one." She muttered. She moved closer to take a look but didn't bother to reach for the baby, just stared at it with a frown. " As if we need another one. Why don't these people stop getting pregnant? You shouldn't be having s*x if you cannot handle the consequences." she muttered with irritation.

The baby in the basket stared at her with huge green eyes and continued to cry. " Rose! I know you can hear the baby crying. Get down here!"

" Mother Sarah?" A younger looking woman hurried out of the house. "Shikes, it's cold out here." she shivered. When her eyes landed on the basket, she whinced." How on earth did they manage to come out in the storm? Heartless monsters." She immediately reached for the child. " It's soaked. No blanket or pillow. Mother Sarah, she's freezing."

" Take it inside then!" Mother Sarah huffed. " I don't want a dead child on my hands. Tend to it." she walked back inside the house.

As Rose carried crying the baby in and closed the door, a man came out." Is that another kid?"

" Obviously, Russ. Damned monsters dumped her in the middle of the storm with no blanket, pillows or even a name tag. I don't know why they always leave one on our porch when it's raining. Why can't they just come during a sunny day?"

" Because they're ashamed of themselves, that's why." He looked at the baby then and his heart softened." No namet tag? Whoever left you didn't give a darn about you. Welcome to the cruel world, Littleton."

To be continued...