A/N: I just wanna say thank you to everyone for your awesome reviews! All except sooomeome…*hack*CAIIIIT!*hack* *Grin* Love ya sis…
Seriously, you have all kept me writing! My policy is you review, I update. Thankee!
Lydia: It's not a bio. All of my characters have some of my traits. Cali just happens to have a lot of them…Yes, I really do hate men. Heartbreak will do that to a girl…No, I have nothing published…but I have almost two books written. If you want a sneak peak at book three in the series (which I haven't written for real yet^^;; ) Go to www.fictionpress.com . Do a search on Cali Vinett and you'll find my single story. Thanks for the reviews!!
Emily: Yep, I write books. I have no publisher…but I'm working on it. =)
Luna: Thanks for all your motivating reviews! Seriously!
And thanks loads to everyone who put this story in their favorites! Means sooooo much to me, considering this is my first non booklength fic…Lol
Chapter 6: Search and Destroy
**Suze**
So I'm sitting there tied up in this old, abandoned building, and trying to stay conscious, when I suddenly hear Cali talking to me. I jumped and looked around, trying to find where she was coming from. Then I stopped, realizing I must've been hearing things. As soon as she told me to hang in there, I started to wake up. I saw Paul looking at something, and throw something and whatever he was looking at, and then all sense of Cali disappeared…
"Let me go!" I yelled at Paul. You would've yelled to, being tied up in a freezing cold building. Heating, anyone? I mean really.
Paul knelt in front of me. "Oh, no. You're the bait, Suze. For once, it's not you I'm after. Cali is a rival to me, and we can't have that. Cali's also the type of girl who'd go hero and try to save you. No doubt your beloved Jesse will come with her so he can save you while Cali's trying to defeat me. Then she will be mine," he said, grinning evilly. No, not evil. Sadistic. He was scary! Damn! And he was after Cali…Okay, I didn't know Cali that well, but I liked her. Not to mention the fact that she hated Paul. She seemed to hate all guys. I wished I could warn her…Paul was more powerful than she thought he was. He could really hurt her. Cali! I thought as loudly as I could, and wasn't surprised when she didn't answer me. I knew I didn't have telepathy. Oh well…it had been worth a try…
"Now you just sit tight while we wait for your heroes to come save you," he said with a smirk, and stood up to walk around.
Crap. How could I warn them? Then it hit me. Duh! Jesse! I called. I looked around, trying to find him…but he didn't appear. What the - ? Oh. Paul probably did something to me so Jesse couldn't hear me…
**Cali**
I sighed. "Alright, let's go. I'm gonna try something new, since I don't know exactly where they are. I'm going to be in a kind of a half trance as we walk so I can trace her aura…or Paul's, whoever's is stronger. I don't know if I'll be able to keep my body conscious while sending my subconscious out." When Jesse said nothing, I rolled my eyes. "Basically, if I collapse, catch me," I said flatly. I sat on the edge of the bed, and closed my eyes. Suze, I thought, calling to her subconscious mind. I couldn't sense her...this was probably the stupidest thing I could ever do. Paul…I thought hesitantly. I found his subconscious mind, but stayed as far away as I could while still able to sense him. I concentrated on keeping the sense of him in my head as I opened my eyes. "Okay," I whispered to Jesse. I didn't have enough strength to speak and keep my senses half on Paul, and half on the world around me. "You have to help me out the window and back onto the ground…" My voice sounded weak to my ears, and I almost wondered if I was actually talking. I had two pictures in front of my eyes. I had Suze's room, and then where she and Paul were. I could see them both, and I had to pay close attention, shifting. The vision was so confusing that I almost couldn't distinguish between the two places.
"Calixte?" Jesse said. His voice almost pulled me out of the half trance.
"Shh," I said, shaking my head. "Out the window." Jesse was just going to have to start obeying my orders. I felt his hand latch onto my wrist when he walked out the window onto the porch roof, and he pulled on me slightly, leading me onto the roof. I looked down onto the ground while looking at Suze and Paul. Suze was trying to get out of the ties and not succeeding; I watched Paul walk over and tighten the ropes. I clenched my hands into fists, angry at Paul.
"Jump," Jesse suggested, down on the ground.
I stood at the edge of the roof and looked down. I hesitated, then walked off. I fought hard to keep Suze and Paul in my vision as Jesse caught me and set me on my feet. I winced, feeling a headache coming on, and then started jogging in the direction I thought they were. Jesse was, of course, right next to me. I jogged for about half a mile, then turned right. I had never been good with athletics. I was way out of shape, and could've really used my car about now…
"You alright?" Jesse asked when I stopped for a second to catch my breath.
I was leaning on my knees, breathing hard. "Fine. Shit," I added when I lost the other image. "I lost them." I ran a hand through my hair. "I think I have an idea of where I'm going now, though. Come on, Jesse. I want to get there before Slater does something to Suze," I said, and started jogging again. I was going to injure myself, I just knew it…
"So you know where you're going?" Jesse asked me skeptically.
I glared at him. "If you think you know better, you lead," I said, not intending to let him. "They're at the warehouse about a mile from here," I said quietly, continuing to jog. I shook my head, getting a headache. "When I get back home, the first thing I'm going to do is take Tylenol," I complained to myself.
"Headache?" Jesse asked gently, slowing down to a walk.
I nodded, then soon slowed down to a fast walk, too. The way the jogging jarred my whole body was not helping my headache. I had held a steady stream of power for too long. That always gave me a headache. I stopped suddenly, throwing an arm out and catching Jesse hard in the stomach. I frowned and looked at him with my jaw dropped. Rock hard abs. He had rock hard abs. Daaaamn! If I didn't know he and Suze were in love, I would've said something. I couldn't break up true love, though I couldn't help but envy them. I tried, I really did. I just couldn't push the envy away. I was trying hard not to let it show, and as far as I could tell, neither of them knew how jealous I was.
"What's on your mind?" Jesse asked me, breaking the silence.
"Just thinking about – Um, which way to go. Ah…Right," I said, pointing and walking.
About five minutes later, I stopped walking and stared at the building. It was big. Door…where's the door? What the – oh. "Window," I said, pointing to one to our left. I walked over to it and braced myself, ready for what might be inside. I did a front handspring, launching myself feet first at the window. I locked my ankles so I wouldn't sprain them if I didn't break through the glass. Fortunately, I did, and landed, wobbling, on my feet. ~Come, Jesse, ~ I called when I didn't see him directly behind me. I looked around with both my eyes and mind. Seeing no one near us, I closed my eyes and searched for Slater and Suze. The only problem was, what I saw made absolutely no sense. If that was right, then Slater was –
"Well, well, well. If it isn't the Catgirl, Cali Vinnett," a poisonous voice hissed in my ear.
"Fuck."
**Jesse**
Slater had walked up from behind Calixte with a dagger in his hand. Instead of putting it in her back, as I had expected, he put it against her throat and wrapped his other arm around her stomach. What was going on? Calixte had done nothing to him…
"But she's powerful, deSilva. She's powerful. I can't have that, now can I?" he whispered into Calixte's ear.
"Get off of me, you ass-Aah!" Calixte snapped, then screamed when Paul cut into her throat slightly. "Don't kill me…just don't kill me, I beg you…please," she whimpered. What was she doing? She wasn't the kind of girl to just give in. She glanced at me, and I saw tears in her eyes. She was planning something…what was she doing? "Please," she whispered shakily, tears sliding down her cheeks from her now grey eyes. Interesting…last time I had seen her cry, her eyes had been turquoise…Oh, so that was it. I knew what she was doing, but I didn't think about it, for fear Slater would read my mind and throw her plan off.
"Why not, hmm?" Slater asked Calixte, his tone slightly gentler.
"I don't…I don't want to die!" she wailed. Wow, could she lay it on. "Please, Paul…I – just don't kill me," she sobbed, standing straight. I looked down at her right hand, which was down by her side. The left was around his wrist, trying to get the knife away from her throat. She tensed her fingers. Claws fully extended, I thought with an internal smile.
~Jesse. Go save Suze, ~ she ordered me. ~I'll keep him distracted, ~ she added. "Please, Paul…" she begged. Her whole body shaking with "suppressed" sobs. On her order, I ran past her. When Slater tried to stop me, I saw her slash his wrist, or at least try. She missed and hit his forearm, but gouged it anyway. I could feel her power building up, and raced down the stairs, trying to find Susannah.
**Cali**
Okay, I was sacrificing myself to save both of them. God, was I crazy. I was completely insane, and I loved every second of it. I felt adrenaline pumping hard through my veins as I went into my battle stance. I built up power as I slashed at him with my nails. I was saving my telekinesis for when I really needed it, as I still had a headache, and that would undoubtedly make it worse.
"Tell me you weren't expecting that, Slater," I said cynically, brushing the now useless tears off my face. I loved acting. I really did. It helped so much. I kicked hard at him and he grabbed my ankle to flip me, but I stood on his hand and kicked at his face. He, shockingly enough, dodged and threw me to the floor. I suddenly found myself unable to breathe. He had telekinesis, too? Or was I just winded?
"Tell me you weren't expecting that," he said coldly, glaring down at me. He was suffocating me. Screw that – I didn't need air to fight. I pushed at him with my telekinesis and threw off his concentration. In the second he wasn't pressing on me, I stood and went into stance again, claws extended, body tense and ready to kill. Kill? Where had that come from?
Paul glared at me and threw the dagger, missing me completely. I didn't even need to use my telekinesis. Wow, did he have bad aim. I could've thrown better than that…He threw a ball of power at me, so I threw up a shield, off of which it ricocheted back at him. I pushed forward with my telekinesis at the same instant he did, and as we stood there, our powers locked, my head started to pound.
**Jesse**
I raced down that flight of stairs, not sure I had any idea where I was going, or how I was going to get to Susannah. I would've just dematerialized and materialized, but I needed to be looking around, so I went on foot.
"Susannah?" I called, looking around. No answer. I walked quickly, calling her name every so often. I was worried about Calixte. I knew she was powerful, and I got the idea that she was a good fighter, but so was Slater. I got the feeling they were nearly matched as far as abilities went, but Calixte had one ability I knew Slater didn't have.
**Suze**
I had this weird feeling that Jesse was here…but I couldn't see him. What was going on? I'd felt better ever since Cali spoke to me. Maybe I hadn't been hearing things, and she and Jesse were both here…Unlikely. But hey, a girl can dream, can't she? This was it…I knew it. I was going to die here. No one would ever find me, and I was just going to sit here and die…
Suze, what are you doing? A little voice in my head was talking to me…I'm waiting for the end, I told it. No you're not. You're getting yourself depressed. You were not hearing things. Cali talked to you and gave you energy, and now she and Jesse are both here, coming to rescue you, it said. Yeah right, I retorted. I was hearing things, and Cali and Jesse are both off doing…something. Whatever Cali does, and whatever Jesse does when I don't see him…Wait a minute. This wasn't me. What was I talking about? Like Jesse would really leave me here to rot. He might not feel the same way I do, but he's too nice to just leave me. There you go, said the voice, approving of my new state of mind almost as much as I did. I didn't like suicidal thoughts…they scared me. "Jesse?" I called, hoping maybe by some chance he'd hear me.
To my total shock, he appeared in front of me. "Susannah!" he exclaimed, then knelt and wrapped his arms around me. "Oh, ah – we should get these ropes off you," he said quietly. If it wasn't my imagination, I could've sworn he'd been blushing. He reached for my arms, which were tied together at the wrists behind me, around a pole. God, was this uncomfortable. Jesse walked around behind me, and I felt him working at the knots for awhile, then I felt my arms relax and fall, hitting the floor with a thump. Jesse tossed the rope aside as I rubbed my sore wrists, and then walked back around to untie my ankles, which Paul had tied together. When that rope was off, I rubbed my ankles, too, the feeling finally coming back to them. "Finally," I said.
"I'm sorry we didn't come sooner, querida. Calixte had to find you, and I had to find her…and…I'm just so glad you're not hurt," he said, and pulled me into his arms. I wrapped mine around him, of course. He pulled back a little, but kept me in his arms as he looked into my eyes and brushed hair away from my face. My breath caught. Was he about to kiss me? In response, I closed my eyes and kind of let my mouth get all relaxed, you know? Jesse, to my glee, noticed, and went along with it. Damn, was he a good kisser.
**Cali**
I blinked and realized I was in the air, and about to come down hard. I tried to throw Paul away so he couldn't concentrate, but almost as soon as I had thrown telekinetic energy his way, Paul dodged it and threw me hard – get this – through the wooden floor. I landed hard on the floor directly under us, guessing I had about a thousand splinters in my back. I didn't give him the satisfaction of knowing he'd hurt me, but dug my fingernails into my palm, ignoring the pain that shot through my arms when I pierced my own skin. Paul landed next to me in his fighting stance.
"Had enough?" he asked me. What the hell did he mean? Had enough of a beating? Ready to lay down and die?
"Hell no, you asshole," I snapped. I licked at blood that trickled from the corner of my mouth. I hate that boy. I hate that boy. I used my anger to build up a huge sphere of power and then I threw it at him. He blocked it, but I followed the sphere and did a handspring, sending my boots flying at him. I hit him hard in the chest, not expecting to knock him down. But I did…Before I knew it, I was kneeling on his chest with one of my heels against his throat. I don't know how that happened, but it was very useful. At least, I thought it had been useful, until Paul threw me off of him. I hate being light…I tensed both hands, "extending" my claws. I slashed at him. When he grabbed my wrist, I twisted my arm and slashed at the back of his hand. He threw me, but then caught my leg. I used the angle to swing up and slash at him. Unfortunately, I stretched all the ligaments in my right leg in the process. It felt broken…but I couldn't stop to look at it. One of us had to go, and it was not going to be me.
"That was one of the stupidest things I've ever seen anyone do," Paul said dryly, almost laughing at me. It was then that I realized he was much too unbruised. He had just insulted me majorly. I swung up, still hanging from his hand, and slashed. I felt my middle claw sink into something, but I hadn't realized what it was until I fell from him grip and hit the floor on my side, wincing.
I gasped. "Oh God," I murmured, looking at him. I had slashed his windpipe…Oh God…Oh god, oh god, oh god. I had killed him. I half expected him to come at me, but he leaned against a wall, struggling to breathe.
~Well? ~ he mindspoke to me, gasping. ~Aren't you going to finish it? ~
I couldn't speak…dear god…What have I done? Now I couldn't breathe. "I…" I rasped. I couldn't think…I…oh god…What have I done? What have I done?