Chapter 29
Rick felt a tug, something inside him that he couldn't pinpoint. He stopped; Kate made a noise of protest but he couldn't focus… She saw the look on his face.
"What is it, Castle?"
His brow furrowed. "Something's wrong…" he said slowly, but he didn't know what. "Never mind," he said. "I probably just feel weird from earlier. Or you, do you feel..?"
"No, I'm fine…"
Kate bit her lip, sitting up, missing his mouth on her skin but knowing nothing was going to happen for a while. It had been an eventful night, she shouldn't feel hard done by. It was normal that he wouldn't be in the mood. She pulled on her shirt and panties, leaving Rick sitting on the bed.
Alexis blinked, forcing herself to stay conscious. Her skin was on fire, burning with pain and cold and terror… She was weak, so weak, and her throat… She could feel something warm trickling down her battered body. Her arms screamed with pain; they were tied above her head. Her legs sagged; she tried to stand so there was less strain on her arms, but even performing the small movements was too much. She let out a moan of agony. She had no idea what was happening… It was a nightmare, a horrible nightmare. She was going to wake up at any moment, warm and safe in bed at Paige's house-
Paige. Where was Paige? Images flickered in front of her eyes, fragmented, broken… She remembered a scream that faded to a whisper and a gasp, she remembered… Paige was dead. And she was about to go the same way. She fought harder against her restraints. It was a dream, it had to be a dream… But if it wasn't, she was NOT going to die. Not like this. Not like this.
She saw a face in the darkness that abruptly disappeared as everything went white. When she got used to the light Alexis realised she was not, as she'd thought, in a dark torture chamber style basement. She was in a bedroom. She wasn't tied to some kind of evil contraption. She was tied to a fancy four poster bed. And her captors weren't grimy, monstrous men. They were a beautiful, beautiful couple, in their twenties, maybe, pale and clean, smiling gently at her. She knew psychopaths could look just like regular people, but she'd never imagined that they'd be like this.
"What… What do you want with me?" she asked, her voice breaking as she tried to speak. Her throat hurt. She wanted-
Water. The woman brought a cup to her lips. Maybe it was poisoned. Alexis didn't care; she drank deeply, spluttering.
"Careful. It's not going anywhere," the woman said gently. There was something about her voice. And then they made eye contact and Alexis realised that this was the loveliest, most wonderful woman she'd ever encountered. She would obey her every instruction.
"What is your name, sweetheart?" the woman asked.
"Alexis," Alexis said clearly.
"Alexis. How pretty. I am Victoria, this is William. We're sorry about… All this. It was necessary. But if you promise not to leave, I can untie you now."
"I promise," Alexis said calmly. The woman smiled.
"Good girl."
Alexis felt her wrists being released; she flopped down onto the bed. Victoria sat beside her. She felt the bed move on her other side; William was sitting with her too. He put his arm around her. These were two of the loveliest people she'd ever met. Alexis smiled.
"Are you in pain?" Victoria asked her.
"Yes," Alexis admitted.
"I am sorry for that. And I'm afraid that in a moment you are going to be in a lot more pain. I could stop it… But I'm afraid I don't want to. Do not try to leave this room. And do not scream."
"Okay," Alexis said a little sadly. "But-"
"Quiet now," Victoria said, pushing her back onto the bed.
"Think, Castle. What is it?"
Rick's head was in his hands, he growled with frustration.
"I don't know. I don't know! Something bad, something very bad is happening, near here. You think! Why am I feeling this?"
Kate thought hard. She had no idea. Blood. Blood… Everything was about blood.
"I… Call your family," she told him.
"It's 3 in the morning," he protested.
"Call them anyway."
Rick took out his phone, calling his mother. She answered, groggily, on the tenth ring. She was fine. Annoyed at being woken up, but fine. Then he called his daughter. There was no answer.
"Her phone'll be on silent, she won't see the call."
"Where's she staying?"
"Her friend Paige's…"
"Do they have a landline?"
They had to go up to the loft to find the number in the telephone directory. It rang too, but there was no answer.
"It would ring, they would hear it," Kate said, worried now.
"Not necessarily. Some people put their landline phones on silent too."
"And no answer from Paige's phone… We're going over there," Kate announced.
"What? Come on, she's a teenage girl, I can't-"
"What you're feeling now, Castle… The only explanation I have for it is that something bad is happening to your blood. Your blood is your mother, your father, and your daughter. Your mother is fine. I don't know anything about your father-"
"I don't even know who he is."
"Right. So Alexis."
He was already dressed and ready to go. Kate pulled on some pants and chased him down the street. They were at Paige's house within seconds.
"There's no one here," Kate said. She could tell from outside. She couldn't hear or smell anything…
"Maybe…" Rick was scrabbling. He couldn't believe it. He couldn't…
"It's my fault," Kate said. He grabbed her arm.
"No. It is not your fault. You have no idea if this is even related to you or our kind."
"It is. I can feel it."
"I… We can track them?"
"Yes…"
They reached the alleyway in half an hour, following the path of the two girls to a bar, a club, and then a roundabout walk home…
"Shit," Kate muttered. She could smell the blood. Her fangs popped out, she hissed… They turned a corner and were confronted with lakes of it. He was messy. He had always been messy. And she could smell him here, too. She roared, screaming, burning, desperate-
"What?" Rick was beside himself. He could feel her pain on top of his own, her terror. She was so afraid, so so afraid. He watched her shrink in front of him, shrink into the nineteen year old he usually forgot she was.
"He was here," she murmured. "Hours ago. He was here with his wife. I knew they wouldn't leave, I knew it wasn't over…"
"This isn't Alexis' blood," Rick said. "This is her friend's. This is Paige's… We have to find her."
"No point. She's dead," Kate said shortly.
"What?"
"Look. Too much. He does that… He picks one, kills the rest. Alexis… She'll still be alive. You can feel her. But… honestly it might have been better if he hadn't chosen her."
"Where?"
"We can track them. You can, sure, look…"
"You're acting as if she's already dead."
Kate looked at Rick, her eyes full of sympathy. "I know him. I know what he does. And… I don't think we can save her."
Rick slapped her hard across the face. "Don't you dare say that. Don't you dare."
Kate staggered backwards, stars popping in her eyes. They only had a few hours until dawn.
"Okay…" she mumbled. "Okay. You have her scent?"
Rick nodded.
"Then, let's go."
He hadn't covered his tracks. He probably hadn't felt the need to… Either that, or he knew they would be coming and this was all a trap. They reached the hotel in under an hour.
"She's here, I can feel her, she's here, she's still alive," Rick yelled.
"Shh," Kate muttered, grabbing him, forcing him to be still. "If they hear you, we're all dead."
But something wasn't right. She could smell Alexis… But she couldn't feel him. That sickly, slimy, icy cold feeling in her chest… It wasn't there. She could smell him, he had been here. But he wasn't here anymore. She ran around to the back of the building, acting on a hunch. And sure enough…
Rick's wailing cut right through her as she lifted the barely living body out of the dumpster. She saw the glazed over eyes, the bite marks, the bruises on her wrists. She didn't even want to check the rest of the body. The girl had seconds left. Kate couldn't believe this was happening again. Her fangs were already out. She was glad Alexis was unconscious. Poor kid.
She bit into her wrist, letting some blood drip into Alexis' mouth, but the girl just choked on it. Kate groaned. She knew what she had to do.
"Forgive me," she whispered, biting into Alexis' torn, ragged skin, sucking out the last of her blood. It didn't take long. And then the girl could drink. It was going to work.
Rick had gone. He thought his daughter was dead. In a few hours, he would be right. Kate hoped her edict about not going looking for Bracken still stood… She wasn't sure, but there was nothing she could do. There was no way for her to help him. She could feel the tears streaming down her face, even though there were none. Her whole existence was little more than a nightmare. And she was about to bring this girl, this child, into it with her. It would have been kinder to everyone to let her die. When she woke up, she would remember everything.
A/N: Sorry... And sorry I've been away for so long! I've had life things to do. Can't promise to update any faster in the next few weeks, but reviews are love and love helps with everything xo
