Hello Readers,
I am very sorry if I took too long in updating. Please forgive this humble writer (cowers in fear). For now, I will skip this part of the introduction, because I know you feel bloodthirsty and murderous (gulps).
Here is Chapter 7
She walked steadily towards the parking lot, while listening to her IPod. The sun had set hours ago and the lot is vacant. She was in a rush this morning that she just parked at the far back next to the old gym. Suddenly, she feels scared as if something was following her. She refuses to turn around and began to walk briskly to her spot. However, the feeling did not cease and she starts running. She reaches her car and fumbles inside her bag for her keys.
She finally finds her keys, but then her bag spills all her belongings to the ground. She kneels down and quickly tries to stuff all her things. A shadow looms beside her, quickly scaring her.
"P-p-please…don't hurt me…" She mumbles as she pulls her bag to herself and sits beside her car.
"Calm down…" a voice replies back to her softly, and she realizes that the shadow before her was of a handsome man. She looks up and is immediately enthralled by his looks, unaware of the danger she was in.
"Oh! I thought you were going to-" Her words were cut off when he grabbed her by the neck. The man ignored her sputtering and pulls her closer to his level.
"You are now unable to speak." He commands as he stares directly into her eyes and compels her to be quiet. Unable to scream for help, she closes her eyes as he viciously bites her neck and drinks her blood. After drinking every drop, he discards her dead body to the ground and begins to walk away. As he disappears back into the shadows, the girl's body burst into flames burning everything in sight.
Rogue tossed and turned in her bed, unable to sleep. She turns once more and sees her roommate snoring lightly in her bed. She sighs before pushing the covers off and standing up. She grabs her black hoodie and carefully exits the room. She silently makes her way through the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge and sitting down by the counter.
"Can't sleep too?" Logan asks as he entered the kitchen without her notice. She was slightly startled before relaxing once again in her seat.
"Yeah, my dreams are getting too vivid for mah liking." She mutters as she starts ripping the label off the bottle.
"Want to talk about it?" Logan replies as he grabs a beer from his secret stash, pops it open and drinks it. Rogue is silent for a moment, before shaking her head.
"Look, kid. It ain't good to keep things bottled up inside, it'll drive you nuts quicker. Trust me, I've been there." He said as he pats her on the head while finishing his beer. "Just remember, you have an early danger room session tomorrow and since you missed yesterday's session, you'll be in Scott's team."
"Ugh! Can't you give me mah own team instead? Scott is more uptight in the morning." She complained as she glared at his retreating figure. He shook his head and scoffs, before leaving her alone again. Not long after he left, she grabbed the water bottle and headed back up to her room.
Henri was still curious about his father's reaction, so he goes to the front porch to talk to the one person his father had always confided to. She was sitting in her rocking chair, calmly reading a book.
"Do ya need anything, child?" Tante Mattie asked as she dog-eared the page she was reading and closed the book.
"Tante, père been acting weird lately. Ever since, I told him about what happened to the Reapers." Henri replied as he sits down next to her.
"What happened to dem reapers?" She inquires as she turns to look at him.
"They snuck inside one of dem old mausoleums that are under the protection of our guild, ya know those ones. Yet, they never came back out and the oddest thing about it was screams were heard, before it got all silent again." Henri explained to her as he squirmed under her gaze. She shakes her head and leans back to her seat.
"They might've come across an old corpse and ran out of there." She suggested as she closes her eyes and relaxed.
"But…the lookout said they never ran out. I even got Etienne check it out and-"
"Now, listen carefully Henri. I don't want any of ya or ya cousins going over to that place, ya hear? Dat part of the cemetery ain't safe for nobody. Ya'll stay away from there, alright?" Tante scolded as she turned to glare at him.
"A-Alright, I just wanted to make sure that the lookout ain't lying to us." He replied as he was startled by the sudden outburst of the woman. Her gaze softened and smiled halfheartedly at him.
"I don't care about dem reapers. I need ya to promise me that none of ya are going back there ever again." She reasoned as she placed a hand on his shoulder. Henri was confused, but nodded nonetheless.
"I think I'm gonna go check on Merci, see if she's alright." Henri said as he stood up from his seat.
"Alright, go on ahead. She was looking for ya earlier anyway." She answered as she relaxed in her seat once more.
He gave a curt nod and went back inside. Tante Mattie sighed in defeat and continued to rock her chair. Jean-Luc slowly walks up to the porch and sees the distressed woman.
"What's the matter, Mattie? Did dem boys give you more trouble again?" He asked lightheartedly as he sat down next to her.
"Non…Non…they didn't. Though, I am worried that Henri might be getting suspicious about the pact." She answered as she looked at him worriedly, "He told me about what happen to the Reapers. Did you talk to Aleksey?"
"Yeah, I did. He says it wasn't any of his coven or strays that killed those bastards. It was the man who created their damned kind." He sighed as he ran a hand through his hair and leaned back on his chair.
"Oh mah Lord, where is that demon now?" She asked fearfully as she instantly sat up in her seat.
"He says he doesn't know, but I know he is lying." He replied, "Please don't let any of my sons know anything about this. Aleksey still upholds his oath and that's all that matters."
"Jean-Luc, his oath won't matter if his master is awake now. Ya need to tell them sooner or later before it's too late." She reasoned, "If only I was as strong as mah mother, I would be able to protect ya'll from dem monsters."
"It is fine and I can't tell them yet. I don't want to pass the burden to them, and put them in danger." He answered as he smiled tiredly at her. "I don't want what happened to Ororo to happen to dem too."
"It ain't ya fault for what happened to her, and it was necessary for her to be safe." She said comfortingly, "Aleksey had to take away her memories, or else she'll be in more grave danger."
"I don't think it's fair for her to forget…" He said solemnly as he sighs in defeat.
"I don't either, but it was the only way…" She consoled as she smiled at him, patting his shoulders.
"Thanks, Tante Mattie. I really appreciate your help." He said as he stood up from his seat and headed towards the door. She merely nods at him and smiled idly at him as he entered the house.
The next morning, the entire mansion was in a rush. Everyone just finished the early danger room session. Some of the students were already in the kitchen making breakfast, while others were still changing their clothes.
"Hey Jean, aren't you visiting universities today?" Bobby asked as he used his powers to put ice cubes in the pitcher of juice. Amara and Rayne recoiled in disgust as they decided to grab water bottles instead.
"Yeah, Storm, Kitty and Scott are going too. Why?" She replied as she levitated a plate of bacon and sausages on the counter.
"Can I come with you guys?" Bobby inquired as he grabbed a piece of bacon and toast. Ray, Roberto and Jamie rushed in to grab their plates to get some food.
"No, you need to go to school." Ororo reprimanded as she gave the young man a scolding look. She took a cup from the cupboard and poured herself coffee.
"Wait, why is Kitty going? She's a junior!?" Roberto argued as he stole Ray's toast while he is talking to Jubilee.
"Because…I want to know the requirements to attend some of the top-notch universities here in New York." Kitty answered as she finished her cereal and placed the bowl in the sink. Rogue walks in looking tired and languidly walks to one of the cabinets to grab some granola bars.
"Rogue, do you want to come with us today?" Jean asked sincerely as she put her plate in the sink as well.
"I don't think so, I missed some classes yesterday and I need to catch up." Rogue answered nonchalantly as she took another granola bar and walked out. Jean sighed and began to clean the plates in the sink.
"Don't worry too much about it, Jean. Rogue is just having a hard time right now, just give her space." Kitty said reassuringly as she helped her clean the dishes. The others had finished eating and were now leaving to go to school.
After they finished washing the dishes and put them back in the cabinets, both girls grabbed their bags and headed towards the garage to meet up with Ororo and Scott who were already in her silver Mercedes. Once both of them entered her car, Storm started the engine and drove off.
"Ooh...which university are we going to?" Kitty asked excitedly as she lightly bounced in her seat.
"There is an open house in Syracuse (1) today, what do you two think?" Ororo inquired as she entered the freeway.
"I think that is a good idea, right Scott?" Jean replied as she turned to the older boy sitting in the passenger seat. Scott merely nodded, as he stared out of the window.
The two girls chatted, while Scott stared out the window. Ororo gave him a quick glance and smiled serenely.
"You seem uninterested, Scott. Don't you want to go to college?" She asked innocently as she looked at her rear view mirror to see if the two girls heard her. They did not seem to give any indication as they continued to talk about the majors they are planning to take.
"I do..." He answered before sighing humbly, "It's just…mutants are not really well-accepted right now and it seems harder for us to get into college. I just…don't want to…get my hopes up I guess."
"Scott, don't feel too discourage about the situation. People will learn to accept mutants eventually." Ororo replied contentedly as she smiled at the young man. "Even if they shun you, it shouldn't dampen your desire to get a degree."
"Thanks, Storm." Scott answered as he smiled back at her. 'Don't worry, Scott. I won't leave you; we're in this together...' Jean said telepathically as she placed a hand on his shoulder.
It was not long until they reached the university. The parking lot was almost full and there was a huge crowd of people by the main entrance. Ororo managed to find a parking spot and four of them got out of the car. Student-volunteers handed out maps and event pamphlets to everyone as they ushered the future undergraduate students to the main entrance.
"Wow, I didn't know there'll be a lot of people for this stuff…" Kitty remarked lightly as she stuck close to Scott who stood next to her.
"It's open house, Kitty. Everyone is here to check out the university and its facilities." Jean replied as she opened up the map that was given to them. "There will be a faculty member speaking today, but I don't know where this hall is."
"I think its pointing in that building over there…" Ororo answered as the three of them followed the weather witch. However, she disappeared in the crowd and they lost her.
"Don't panic, I'll just tell her to meet us up outside by the fountain we saw earlier." Jean said assuredly as the three of them walked around the campus.
"How do you know she'll be able to find us?" Scott asked skeptically as they bypassed huge crowd of people going the opposite way.
"She has her own map, so relax." Jean replied as they made their way to the club tables.
"You got to admit, this place is very festive." Kitty stated as a student offered her cupcakes.
"Yeah, until they find out we're mutants…" Scott grumbled as he followed both girls into another table. Jean glared at him lightly while Kitty rolled her eyes at him. He just shrugged and continued to follow the two.
As Jean finished looking at a table with some beautifully designed stained glasses, she bumps into someone next to her who was about to leave too.
"Oh! I am so sorry. I didn't mean to run into you!" She apologized immediately as she looked at the person she ran into. He looked very handsome with his black hair with a hint of blue; his darkish maroon eyes, and his flawless youthful face that seem to look like porcelain. He smiled sweetly at her which took her breath away.
"It is fine, my dear. No harm, no foul." He answered lightheartedly as he ran a hand through his hair.
"Thanks, and again, I am really sorry…" She said once more as she tries to keep herself from blushing.
"It's no problem. These kinds of events tend to be very crowded anyway. My name is Gabriele by the way…" He replied extending his hand towards her. Jean was about to shake his hand when Scott came up to her.
"Jean, we found Ororo already." He said as he lightly grabbed her arm. Jean was shaken out of her daze and nodded.
"I'm sorry, Gabriele but we need to meet up with a friend of ours. My name is Jean as you've heard and it was nice to meet you. Again, I am really sorry." She said as she and Scott went over to where Kitty was standing and quickly met up with the weather witch.
"It was no problem…" He mumbled quietly as his eyes flashed red and he smirked darkly passing through a crowd and exiting to the back of entrance without notice.
This chapter seemed rushed, doesn't it?
Well, it is the trickiest I have ever written and I am counting Chapters four, five and six. This is the hardest one, because I am trying to correlate a lot of things together. It is also difficult to stay away from the Remy and Rogue scenes. I want this chapter to focus on other characters too.
I said MEET not GET-TO-KNOW-THEM, so our resident vamp met one of the X-men. What do you think? Should I write another scene where he meets someone else this time? Well, I do plan to do that and lead up to him meeting Rogue.
I took a little break from the nightmare scenes, I want to focus on the women that Gabriele murders and his short interaction with them.
Again, I am really sorry for the late update. I almost lost my muse, but she came back temporarily of course. Do not worry! I will never abandon this story. I love the plot I already set up and the mythology I created on it.
I have never been to Syracuse University, so I am not sure how the campus is structured or what. Please forgive me on this one too…
Next time! We have a flashback chapter…actually a couple of flashback chapters before we can move on. Just two of them, then onto the plot!
Another Freebie: Gabriele meets Agatha Harkness, the resident mutant witch. I wonder what he needs…. Well, you do. I don't.
Anyway, thank you so much for following and reading my story. Please review!
