There was a giggle as Janna opened her eyes. Immediately she panicked when she discovered that her arms were bound to a chair. Struggling futilely, she turned to see where the speaker was.
"That's cheap." Someone lectured from the darkened space behind her. Janna took in the bare bulb above her head, the vast expanses of blackness around her. It felt damp- as though she may be in a basement. Her heart began to hammer within her breast.
"There we go…" The unknown speaker purred, coming up close. Janna gave a start as a woman's face came out of the darkness- all glinting vampire teeth and demonic eyes. It was the vampire that had fought them in the cemetery. Janna redoubled her efforts to escape, which made the brunette giggle.
Someone else stepped into the light and Janna recognized Kendra's straight, glossy blond locks. "Its her!" Janna cried out. "The vampire you were looking for. She's the reason I…"
"The reason you what?" The brunette was there, seizing Janna's hair and wrenching her head.
"What did you do, you little-"
"Kelly." Kendra barked and her grip on Janna was immediately released.
"I wanted her to say it." Kelly wheedled, the tone of her voice- so desperately seeking approval- made Janna's skin crawl. "I just wanted it from her lips."
"She'll say it. She'll scream it."
"Please…" Janna whispered, her fear enveloping her. "What do you want?"
"You." The missing Slayer caressed Janna's cheek, the unnatural coldness of it catching Janna's breath. "We want you to join us."
"Join… you…?"
"Then you're strong friends." Kelly said gleefully, sweeping out of Janna's sight. "The strongest for our family!"
"No!" Kelly snapped, anger making her word crack like a whip.
"I want them." That sniveling voice crawled into Janna's brain, making her squint her eyes closed as the women argued around her. "You said we needed the strongest for our family, Kendra. You promised we'd be made whole."
"I know…" Kendra's voice was sweet now, warm and cloying. "We will. Starting with her."
That cold touch was on her cheek again and Janna's eyes opened, terrified at the touch- and even more terrified at what stared down at her. The maniacal, demonic eyes weren't staring out of Kelly's face- they were staring out of Kendra's.
The vampire Slayer who was a vampire leaned forward, her lips brushing Janna's neck.
"Don't worry, we won't make you wait … you'll be joining us now."
Kendra leaned forward, brushing Janna's hair from her neck. Janna thrashed in a wild attempt to escape. Her wrists were rubbed raw as she twisted and pulled at the rope that bound her, but to no avail. "No!" She cried out once and then seemed to lose control. Screams tore from her throat, drawing out and becoming wordless expressions of terror. Kelly stood this for nearly two minutes, then seized Janna by the back of her neck and shook her harshly.
"Ungrateful pig!" She hissed. "You're being given a gift and this is how you behave?"
"Gently." Kendra chided, pulling Kelly's hands from Janna. Janna's chest heaved, her breathing labored from the earlier screaming. Tears welled behind her eyes, but she battled to blink them back. Crying wouldn't get her out of this. No matter how fiercely she chided herself, a solitary tear trekked down her cheek.
"Poor girl…" Kendra murmured, her cold hand wiping the traitorous tear away. Wincing away from her touch, Janna noticed the dark gleam in Kelly's eye as Kendra fussed over her. Could it be- the vampire felt jealously?
The vampires moved away from their captive, bickering amongst each other. Janna found it difficult to listen to their low murmurings and disturbing mentions of family. Attempting to remain alert for their return, the bound woman craned her head to take in her predicament. Her earlier exertions had coated her in a light coat of sweat that was now chilling her in the damp air. She was nearly certain that they were in some sort of basement or cellar- the darkness seemed to press in on her from all sides.
Pulling until her arms ached did little to free her arms. Despair welled within her, but she plowed through it, forcing herself to concentrate on a means of freeing herself. Although she couldn't find the well placed protruding nail that the heroines in movies always seemed to find, she took heart that she was still alive. Kendra seemed put off by her rejection of vampirism- perhaps it might keep her alive for a little bit until rescue came. That the pool her rescuers would be drawn from was the bratty Joliene, passive aggressive Ashley, formerly meek Vicky and her own boyfriend, Mike, whom had transformed into someone she hardly recognized wasn't reassuring at all.
Her breathing was returning to normal, her thought processes relaxing from their frantic escape attempts. Disgusted with herself, she couldn't believe that she'd gotten herself in this clusterfuck. Storming out of that hospital like a scorned starlet in an NBC special had to have earned her some drama queen points. She wasn't prone to fits of anger- but dealing with all of these supernatural creeps like Slayers and vampires had been trying her patience. She was annoyed that Mike was making decisions without consulting her; annoyed that nearly every moment was spent watching Joliene and Vicky.
She'd liked Vicky before, she was a sweet girl- but she'd become concerned that Vicky was changing. Lately she'd begun to feel inadequate- and worse, endangered- during those walks through cemeteries. That was why she'd brought that damned knife- but it wasn't the reason she was so upset. Everyone was changing around her and she hadn't coped with it properly- and now here she sat. Janna rolled her eyes towards the ceiling, uttering a prayer to a deity that she didn't believe in that she'd have a chance to… figure this out without a life or death experience in her future.
