AN: Too long between chapters, and I apologize. I tried to upload this one last weekend, but didn't get to.
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Chapter 37: Raun
Rabbit is the one who controls their fall and landing. Raun could do it herself, but working within that place always gave her a headache.
She turn s her head and sees Lea has squeezed her eyes closed, her face pale. Then again; everything looks pale in the other-worldly light.
Then they're out again, sun beating down from above. She's momentarily blinded by it, blinking to clear her eyes.
Lea is deathly whit, shaking. As Raun watches her shoulder relax, heaving deep breaths. "Are you trying to kill me?" She gasps.
"What?" Raun blinks.
"I can't-" Lea shakes her head sharply, "I'm fine."
"Okay," Raun draws the word out questioningly, a gesture that the other girl ignores, preferring to regain composure while facing the other direction.
Rabbit is looking around, "This won't work."
"Why not?"
"We're in the middle of a residential neighborhood."
Raun looks around and sees he's right. Neat little suburb houses with manicured lawns and flowerbeds, the colors glaring and enhanced under the sun.
There are even a couple people giving the three teenagers distrusting or curious looks.
"Right," Raun says, "let's get out of the street." She tugs Lea after her, after her as she marches to the sidewalks, Rabbit following close behind.
A kid peers over a fence to look at them. He hops down, and Raun dimly hears him say, "Mommy why did those people fall out of the sky?"
"We need to move," She says, "Where do we go?"
"This is the lake," Rabbit chimes, "the whole area's been developed." He points to a glimmer of water far off between the houses.
"South," Lea shakes her hand free from Raun's grip, "down the river until the houses end."
"And which way is south?" The Hunter asks.
Both the Proxy and Rabbit glance upwards, then point right, "that way."
Raun turns on her heel and strides off that way. These two are so alike they could be twins, and it annoys her more than it should. Just having Rabbit was bad enough, but Lea is worse. At least Rabbit listens to her orders; Lea doesn't listen to anyone, at least not that Raun's heard. The Proxy does listen closely though, close enough to gain an understanding with monsters. How she managed that is beyond the Hunter.
Maybe Rabbit fancies her too. Maybe he cares about the Proxy. Raun shakes her head. No; he doesn't even like her. Don't make this harder than is already is for you, not after seeing those things, all those monsters, and not being able to kill them. Not after having your mind scream at you to kill the black haired man.
It was hard not being able to kill them. It was like the demon and the Hunter are fighting inside her, each struggling to beat the other down, and the demon is winning.
The street is curving to the right, turning south, putting the sun on their left.
"We could just teleport there," Raun says.
"No," Lea says, more forcefully than is necessary, "I am never doing that again."
Raun spins around to face her, "Okay, then talk. Tell me what the hell happened to you."
The Proxy looks down, keeps walking. Raun turns to keep pace, and Rabbit hurries up on the Hunter's other side.
"Lea," Raun says.
"this is probably going to sound stupid to you," Lea warns, "after what you went through."
"Just tell me."
"I'll show you," She reaches back and retrieves a wallet from her pocket. From this she carefully extracts a single photo, offering it to Raun.
Rabbit snatches it before the Hunter can, and he examines it for several seconds before handing it over. He doesn't look pleased, only serious; deadly serious.
Raun sees why immediately as she turns the photograph right-side-up. In it Lea is bound to a chair, blood running from cuts, body black-and-blue from lashes. It makes her sick, especially as she notices the tears in the captured eyes, trying not to cry out in pain, mid-gasp.
Even so, she doesn't let it show. She hands the picture back to Lea, eyes betraying no emotion.
The other girl takes the picture, replacing it in the wallet, and sliding the bundle into her pocket.
"That's not the bad bit," Lea continues, "What the picture doesn't show is the injections. Hallucinogens, strong ones, and pain make night terrors. Usually it's not as bad as it was last night. Usually it's fire or blades or guns, last night it was…" She trails off, shaking her head, "it was too much."
"Okay," Raun grumbles, "there's that mystery solved."
"Why?" Rabbit asks.
Lea looks at him, "Do you know how you train a dog to fight?" Then, after a couple seconds of silence, "you beat it."
Before either the Hunter of the wolf can react, Lea's head spins to look down the street.
She quickens her stride, forcing Raun to break into a trot to keep up. What has her so transfixed.
It turns out to be a postal-service truck. As they approach the mailman comes back from a house. He gives them a curious look, one Lea returns with a sincere smile. The man grins right back, wide and toothy.
Lea walks right up to him, leaving Raun and Rabbit behind. As the Hunter makes to follow Rabbit grabs her arm.
"What is it?" She hisses.
"He has blood on his hands," Rabbit replies, "leave it to her."
"What is she playing at?" Raun asks, "getting beaten, that picture. She can't be serious."
"She is," Replies Rabbit, "No games."
"And I supposed you can tell when people are lying, yes?" Raun sneers. She inches closer to Lea and the mailman, only to have the girl glare at her. She backs off.
"Rabbit," She says quietly, "there's something I want you to do later."
After a couple minutes Lea returns and the mailman returns to his truck.
"Any news?" Rabbit asks her.
The girl sighs, "The woman the houses down is having an affair with the man across the street from us, the girl in number 412 has been having fights with her mother-easy target-and the boy in 410 is smoking marijuana when his parents aren't around."
"And that helps us how?"
"And to find a place that's not developed we need to walk at least 5 miles south."
"I'm too hungry to do that and wait around all day," Raun grimaces.
"You got all that from a short conversation?" Rabbit asks at the same time.
"Yes, and let's get food. I need something in my system."
"You're buying," Raun says.
"Says who?"
"Says me, who's broke."
A heavy sigh from Lea, though she's smiling slightly.
It's then that Raun notices the Proxy's hand is closing on air, as if trying to grasp something that's not there.
"I am taking us this time," Lea says, grabbing both their hands, "it would be great if you could close your eyes for this."
Raun pretends to do so, but she wants to see what Lea does. It must be something amazing. But nothing happens at all. There's a tug on her hand, as if Lea steps forward, then a single flash of gray before they're somewhere else. The somewhere else proves to be a stip mall, one with a few restaurants in it.
Both Raun and Rabbit stumble slightly, then regain their balance.
"See? Much easier," Lea releases their hands.
Raun's fingers burn with strange heat, and she coughs oxygen-less air from her lungs. "I like my way more."
Lea shrugs, "It hurts me."
"And doing whatever you just did doesn't?"
"No."
"You know what; fine. Let's just eat, and get this overwith so I can go back to my life and you can go back to yours, okay?"
Lea blinks, "okay."
"Good," Raun turns on her heel and strides off.
Behind her Lea gives a questioning look to Rabbit, who just shakes his head. The Proxy rolls her eyes and starts following Raun.