In the Dark
Just out of reach it swirled, mocking and condescending. It was something she had always looked for, something she'd always wanted, and like the stars that shone and glittered from their velveteen jewellery box lining, they where to expensive for her, Faith. The name seemed to bring focus back to her, a pinnacle to surround and gather.
My name is Faith Karmen. Not a bad start. She had a name. I'm seventeen years old. My birthdays on the twenty-fifth of June. In five days time. She knew today's date... She became aware of her body parts, still distant and remote they where, but she knew they where hers, even if she couldn't move them. She could recall their names too.
But where did name recall leave her? In the dark, somewhere she had never been before. Alone in the night. And she couldn't move.
Panic surged through her, swiping away what had been comforting warmth into monster filled danger. She screamed in her mind, and struggled. Gasping, her eyes opened to see nothing, not an inch in front of her. She might as well have stayed asleep if she had wanted to see. She moved her hands, or tried to move her hands, to move them around in front of her face to test the lack of light, but her hands wouldn't move. Held up, above where her body was lying.
Panic churned in her stomach again, and she tugged futily at her bonds, trying to get free. What she would do when she got free, she didn't know, but she wouldn't be held there.
"There's no point in struggling," a deep male voice commented, clearly amused. "You've been tied up with bast."
The voice to Faith was elemental, and could have been liquid, if it hadn't have reminded her of ice. Ice in a glacier, cold water that had been frozen for centuries out of time. It drew images of harshly frosted white hair, pale skin and high cheekbones. Probably a lithe, tall and thin build as well.
"Bast?" was what she said, despite all of the musing going on. Her voice came out dry and cracked. She'd always needed water to drink, twenty-four seven. It rose a terrifying thought. She didn't know how long she'd been kept here. She could be eighteen and not know it. And gods, what would happen to Talitha and Aiden? Surely they'd miss her. If they did miss her was that a good thing…?
"Made of wood. To hold vampires."
Faith didn't know how to answer. Did she humour the crazy who had her tied up, with wooden rope? Or did she point out the little flaw in his reality. She settled on "huh?" The fear pounding her heart, making her senses hyper alert. She wanted to run away... and to do that she needed to free.
"Yes, that is a problem isn't it?"
How…? Faith screamed as she felt air stir by her face, and to her shame tears started building in her eyes. There was a violent sound, harsh, and the flare of a match, the light stabbing into Faiths eyes, even though she craved light.
"Because I'm not going to let you go." The speaker was almost as Faith had imagined him to be. Beautiful, lithe, tall, but his hair was golden blonde, his eyes a greeny, aquatic blue, that could deceive one into thinking of warm, sun soaked seas, if it weren't for the furry and hate just under the surface. A rip tide? Faith whimpered as the man drew up closer.
"Don't you want to know why?"
*
Jake entered the hut with due caution. For some reason Flame had felt it necessary to keep their 'guest' in the dark. "Started without me?" he asked dryly. Flame, he thought, when will you learn?
"Yep!" Flame answered, not showing the surprise or irritation he felt at Jake just appearing. He laughed as the vermin squeaked pathetically. "She truly doesn't know." He added cheerfully.
"About the Nightworld?"
"Or witches. They're really stupid aren't they?" It was a rhetorical question, he was expecting the same answer that he would give. Jake nodded in the background.
"So, it's nice that you got a rat to play with. But did you get the target?"
"This is the targets sister. The target will come."
"Leave Tai alone!" Faith cried out, more tears streaming from her eyes as her captors just laughed. The blonde chucked her under the chin, his touch sending shivers of what Faith told herself was revulsion. The sick bastard… he had the beauty of a summer God, but inside he was ugly and cruel.
Jake shuck his head, amused at the rats' definition of his partner. She wasn't far wrong. "Don't you know how to kill cleanly?"
Flame raised his eyebrows. "Where's the fun in that?"
"They joy of the hunt."
"This is the joy of the kill."
"Making a little girl cry?" Jake raised his eyebrow pointedly. "Oh bravo."
"She's vermin."
"And nothing to do with the job."
"She is. The target is looking for her." Flame's voice was a monotone of false patience.
"You could have taken the target. We are not getting paid for that one." Jake's voice was just ice. And anger.
"And don't you know how to have fun?"
"And don't you know who to do a professional kill?"
Faith shuddered as the two men glared at each other, standing off. She swallowed and wished she could truly disappear into the wood where they'd never see her again. And hopefully forget about her.
"Why did I agree to this? You-" The one with hair of burnished red in the single match light that was still burning? Faith felt tears fill up her eyes again. She didn't understand. Why would someone want to kill her sister?
"Because the money was worth putting with your worthless ass!" The blond interjected, anger dripping off his whole frame. Like an ice storm, that freezes a whole country because it destroyed the lines. Faith felt dazed, she knew that both of the vampires- where did that come from? Vampires? She was snapped out of her thoughts as a body flew over her, and into the wall. It was the blonde one. The other was glaring in the wake, watching as splinters littered the area, including Faith like a diseased Christmas tree dropping all it's sharp needles at once. Serves the bastard right. Faith thought.
Flame shot up. What did you just say? He growled at the human. For some reason he could hear every thought in her little mind clearly. From the look on her face she didn't know she was doing it. He dismissed her and returned to his scrap with his 'working partner'. Makes us sound like prize crack whores. Flame made sure that thought was very private, but still the human heard it! What was it with her- it! They couldn't do telepathy, they just didn't have it in them- He ducked as Jake drew in for another go at him.
Flame was on his feet in a millisecond, poised, alert and exhilarated. "Surely a Fourth Fighter can do better than that, Jake."
From opposite ends of the old wooden hut they stood, glaring at each other. Jake was glaring in disgust. "Kill you bait Flame and I'll get the target." And he was gone. The light shuddered as he left.
They move so fast, and they think I'm less than they are. Flame was seemingly trying to cremate Jake with looks alone, or the space where he had been. And 'Jake' left me all alone with a pissed off Flame. Really not good. Her heart started to drive useless adrenaline around her body again as those murderous eyes where turned to her.
"That spoiled the surprise." Flame commented, still boiling. It was petrifying. Even if she'd been free to run, she couldn't have managed to make her limbs work. Please…Tears where trickling down her tight cheeks, ironically warm and wet, but brimey. They didn't earn her any pity. He liked her pain. Faith felt sick to her stomach. For the first time in her life she wished she where truly, blissfully dead.
"But that would spoil the fun." He wasn't acting cheerful. It was unnerving him on how well he could receive the vermin's telepathic thoughts. There where a million and one things he could do to the rat, and half of them didn't even involve a sharp edge... But right now he was hungry, and Jake's rant on control and efficiency... while not getting to him, was irritating. Who was Jake to know anyway? He hadn't had to grow up bottom of the pile on an enclave.
Snarling at the memory he flashed his fangs at the human. To his satisfaction it scared her more, made her cry harder, and made her body shake with the apprehension and horror. He moved faster than her eyes could possibly see, and was swiftly over her body and his fangs where tearing effortlessly into her veins. He could have terrorised her a bit more, but making her wet herself from fright could come later. Much later. The rich intoxicating blood ran into his mouth, and was as warm as her body underneath him. It was so good, feeding on free-range humans. It was almost all he lived for.
He could sense the humans mind now, beyond his own shielding. That was abnormal. He had incredibly strong shielding around his mind. Her mind… it was like a glass crystal of reflected light, slowed so he could see every shade in the rainbow. The colours where almost edible. He could taste them on his tongue. Just a dark spot here and there from… watching to many movies?
He had an image forced on him, he was the girl, Faith Karmen and she was sitting with her sister, hiding behind a cushion and peering out from under Talitha's arm that she was clutching in place.
Flame had to shake himself mentally. Way to close. What the hell was happening? So it was pretty pathetic. He could shield better than that! He ruthlessly forced her mind away, and started to slam his own shield down, but in the view of how fast her mind was coming back… it was as slow as a creaky portcullis in a bad movie… Who'd have thought that vermin could mind mesh so well? This Faith couldn't be an ordinary vermin. Maybe-
He cried out as the ground was pulled from under his feet and he was pushed head on into her mind.
I don't want to be here! Was his reaction. It rode his tsunami waves of fear that was building in his stomach.
Where is here? What's happening? What's that?
He ignored the way her mind voice sounded and started looking for the way out. The only thing he could see for miles around was her. Her and her crystal mind. Crystal like glass… And a dazzling crack of silver, humming like a soul chord on a possessed guitar.
That is not there!
Then it's a hallucination? Her mind was tart…and hurt.
Oh get over it, he thought, you're only a human.
Well thanks! You're only a bastard!
So glad you noticed!
How the hell do we get out?
There is not we!
Agreed!
Like the pop of a joint bursting they where two bodies twisting and kicking at each other, cumbersome and heavy.
"Get off me!"
"I'll do what I want." Flame responded harshly. He glared down at her, and felt his eyes walk down her cheeks, to her chin, and down to where blood was trickling enticingly down her neck, blond hair in disarray around her, like a halo that had hit the ground at high speed. To his dismay light seemed to be calling him to her… beneath her body was a beautiful crystal mind. Surely crystals shattered easily… he didn't… he couldn't…
In one unseeable move Flame was running out of the door, leaving it all behind. Everything.
Behind him, Faith stared up at the ceiling, eyes dry and burning with the need to cry. Cry for me with parched eyes… I only know what to know what true sadness is… blue… it was a song from something that had sprung unbidden to mind. Maybe if she tried to remember the rest of the song, instead of how a vampire had bitten her, messed her mind up and ran away from her… afraid? Maybe she was Faith's blond stunt double from Buffy. Faith started to giggle. The Vampire Slayer Faith would have escaped by now, as would Buffy. Buffy to save people, probably her family… her little sister…
"Talitha!" Jake was going to kill her. Faith started to wriggle free of her bounds, but to no avail. Tears slid free, and she sobbed helplessly for everything that had happened to her in the last few moments of her life. And not most of all because although it was more likely to be Talitha, her sister dying in the next hour or so, all Faith could think about was Flame… and how he'd ran away.
"Sick bitch." She told herself as she shut her eyes against more tears. "Stupid bitch!" Why would he want to stay with her anyway? Why would she want her would be torturer and killer to stay with her? Just because he managed to make you imagine he short-circuited himself into your mind?
Dizziness and a rolling sickness took over her, and eventually, although she felt like she never, ever would again in her life, she slept, cramped and sore on the ground of some building.
*
So it seems I'm totally obvious when it comes to who are sm's. Ah well. Is Flame gonna stop running to accept? What is Jake doing? And where is Tali? Well, you'll have to wait for Tai to get that one out. ;)
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Anaita Redfern –*blush* Thank you! Well here IS more! AND the delay was due to ffn. I couldn't log in to post. Honest! Not own laziness... ;) and wohoooo! Look at that everyone! She begged! ;)
Dolphin – I thank you on Tai's behalf. ;). I haven't managed to find out if Author fancies her, and the girl is just a dead girl. Thanks for the review! :) hope this isn't to much of a disappointment.
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The song that Faith was thinking of is 'The Real Folk Blues' off the anime 'Cowboy Bebop'.
