Thanks, for the review, Lexi. The song is 'Forgotten' by Linkin Park.
Please, please, please, please, please review.
Chapter 3
A small spot of light floods the floor
And pours over the rusted world of pretend
And the eyes ease open
And its dark again
Rena stared out the window, lost in thought. She felt Ramon grab her hand, "Penny for your thoughts?" he asked.
"It's nothing," she said, leaning her head on his shoulder, "Just drifting."
She felt him nod, "I have a bad feeling," he said.
"You think we made it out too easy," it wasn't a question.
"Yes," he nodded, "If the Night World really wanted the Taylors in Las Vegas, then we should have had to put up more of a fight."
"You sure seem to know a lot about this so called Night World," Mrs. Taylor accused.
Ramon turned to her, "It's just common sense, lady. We were sent here to get Cal back, that means the Night World probably wanted him, but we just found you all hiding in the back yard. That doesn't make much sense to me."
"I still think this is some sick joke!" said Cheryl Taylor.
"I don't ca-"
"Hey, guys," Mackenzie said from the drivers seat, "I think someone's following us."
Ramon slammed his head back against his seat, "Shit!" he said, "Shit, shit, shit, I knew it!"
Mrs. Taylor was taken aback, "Excuse me?" She was ignored.
"Raleigh, Jett," Shea said, "Grab some guns, don't shoot unless we're shot at, but be ready." They nodded. "Mackenzie," she called to the front, "Try and lose them. Everyone else, grab on, this is going to be one hell of a ride."
"This might be a bad time to say this," Mackenzie said, "But I've never been in a high speed car chase before."
"I think it's time you learn," Ramon was harsh.
She swerved into the right lane and accelerated. The car behind them copied. Mackenzie kept swerving in and out of lanes and the pursuer kept doing the same. A few minutes later, the highway turned into a two-lane road. "Shit!" Mackenzie muttered. She accelerated even more and said, "Brace yourselves. Raleigh, put some kind of shield around the car." She looked back, meeting her sisters eye, "Trust me." Raleigh nodded. She closed her eyes and started to murmur a spell. Mackenzie slammed on the brakes.
They all fell forward as the car slammed into the bumper. Someone hissed. She threw the car into reverse and was satisfied to hear the crunch of metal. Switching gears once again, the tires squealed as she sped off towards L.A.
***
"You're kidding! A car chase, no way, bro."
"Yeah," said Ben, "The police were chasing this bad Porsche down on Wilshire. Dunno why though."
"Probably some drug dealer," his sister replied. "They're always driving those flashy cars. It's just asking the cops to chase them if you ask me."
"I didn't ask you, sis. Have you studied for history yet?"
" 'Course not, you're the one who needs to study in that class, dumbass." She smiled and stood up.
"Did you just call me what I think you just called me?" He asked, rising.
"Uh." she stepped back behind a table, "What? Would I call you anything?"
He moved closer to her, "Oh, I think you---" The phone rang. "Hello?"
"Benjamin, hello." The woman's voice had a heavy Mexican accent.
"Oh, Mom, hi, what do you need?"
"I need you and Theresa to come and pick me up at the restaurant."
"Huh?" He asked, "You need both of us to come?"
"She's so young, and that apartment is dangerous. Please, just come and pick me up." She sounded frustrated.
"Fine, we'll be there in a few."
"Goodbye."
He hung up and looked at Theresa, "Come on, we get to go pick up mom."
"I don't want to go." Theresa crossed her arms.
"Too bad, Mom said you're coming."
"Ugh, Benji, don't make me gooo," she pouted.
"Come on." They left the apartment for the garage under the building. It was a little darker than usual. Theresa seemed scared.
"Ben, something's wrong here."
He shrugged, "You're just overreacting." The car, an olive green model from the mid 1970's, was in one of the darker corners of complex.
"I'm serious, hermano," she looked around quickly, "Something's wrong here." Theresa walked a little faster.
"Stop panicking, Resa, you've never liked it down here." Ben quickened his pace to catch up with her. "I wonder why Mom didn't want to take the bus home."
"Did you hear that?"
"Theresa."
"I'm serious!" She said in a panicked whisper. "There it was again."
"Stop playing," inadvertently they had both stopped moving.
"Shh!"
"What the." a faint female voice said, "Ohmigod!" she screamed.
Ben looked like he might run to help the girl. "Are you loco, Ben? That girl is probably down there with some pimp or dealer. He might have a gun!"
"But she might not," he insisted.
"¡Estúpido! What other kind of trouble could she-"
"Help! Help! ¡Ayudáme! ¡Ayudáme!"
Ben started running. Theresa watched him go. After a few seconds, she set off after him, muttering, "She's not some helpless damsel, dumbass."
"Get away from her!" Ben yelled, coming to the rescue. He didn't expect the sight he saw. Instead of the girl's attacker pointing a gun at her, or holding a knife, he had both of his hands on her shoulders, and he was nuzzling her neck. The girl's eyes were streaming and she was whispering, "Madre de Dios," as a mantra.
Before he knew it, someone pushed him to the side. Ben saw the man advance. "Snap!" A female voice yelled, "Ignore him, he's human." The man turned away.
Theresa rushed to Ben's side. "That's Ana, from 2D!"
"I'm aware of that, sis." When the new girl yelled, Ana's attacker's head snapped up. He threw Ana to one side. There was an ominous thunk. Ben and Theresa moved to Ana's side.
Theresa checked her pulse, "She's alive, but her pulse is really weak."
"Probably the blood loss," neither of them questioned why blood was spurting from her neck. "I think one of her arteries was pierced."
"Why?"
"That's the only way I can explain why the blood is bursting out that way. We need to stop the bleeding, or she'll die in minutes."
Theresa looked at him blankly, "How?"
"Apply pressure," He put his hands over the bite. Blood still flowed down the side of her neck.
"Didn't that chick in that one movie put her fingers in the wound to stop the bleeding when that guy got hit by shrapnel?"
"What?"
"In, um.Pearl Harbor! When they get bombed."
Someone pushed Ben out of the way again; this time it was a girl, a strong girl. "Will she turn?" One of the others asked.
The girl checked Ana's pulse. "No, she's still alive, for now." She turned to Ben and Theresa, "When was she bit?" She demanded.
"What?" asked Theresa, "What bit her?"
"A minute ago," Ben answered, "Maybe two. Right before you got here."
She nodded. Turning to one of her cronies she snapped, "Jest, slow that bleeding!" She faced the two siblings again, "Nothing happened here. You saw nothing, if anyone asks you. Got it?"
"But what about--" Ben started to ask.
The girl cut him off, "Nothing happened. Do you understand that, or do I have to make you understand that?"
Theresa grabbed his arm, "Come on, Ben, we need to get Mom."
"Do run along now."
"What about Ana?" He asked.
"We'll drop the girl off at the Emergency Room, okay?" Ben nodded.
***
Mackenzie parked the van about three blocks away from the old brick apartment building that was now Circle Daybreak HQ. "Welcome to the City of Angels," said Jett, "Home to numerous gangs, and a growing murder rate."
"Jett!" said Raleigh. She turned to the Taylors, "It's not really that bad."
"We're about three blocks from HQ," said Mackenzie. "Let's go." Walking quickly, but cautiously, the group took almost ten minutes to get to the building.
A guard behind a desk at the entrance stopped them. "Name?" he asked.
Rena stepped to the front of the group, "Rena Hedwynn," she said.
He typed something in and looked up. "Okay," he said. "Go to the third level and wait in the conference room. Rena nodded.
They went to the elevator, and once everyone was in, Cal pressed the button for the third floor. When the bell dinged to announce their floor, they got out and went to the only conference room on the level. Kate Braxton and Tamyn Coldise were waiting for them. Rena went up and hugged Kate, "I've missed you, Kate," she said softly.
Kate smiled. She turned to the rest of the group, surveying them. Nodding she said, "Good job. Were there any difficulties?"
"Nothing we couldn't handle," Shea answered.
Kate nodded again, "Everyone but the Taylors is free to go. Rena, your mother would like to see you; she's in the room number 3E."
"Okay," Rena said.
Everyone left. Rena went to the room Kate said her mom was in. She opened the unlocked door. Sure enough she was sitting on a couch waiting. "Hey, Mom," she said.
Her mother turned around, "Rena!" She stood up and crossed the room, embracing her daughter she said, "I've missed you."
"Me, too."
"Come sit down, have some tea." Jace Hedwynn sat down again, and poured herself a cup of tea from a little teapot.
Rena grimaced, "I didn't like tea yesterday, I don't like it today; and I won't like it tomorrow, Mom." Her mother laughed.
"So how have things been with you?"
Rena rolled her eyes, "You know, we're getting by. I think having so many people in one house works better in the Real World."
"You could always stay with your father and I," Jace suggested.
"I don't think so," she looked around the room, "It's a pretty small apartment."
"It was just a suggestion." She paused for a moment, "How are you holding up?" she asked softly.
"I'm okay," Rena was stiff. "I just.I miss her, you know? We were best friends forever, and now she's gone. And." A tear slid down Rena's cheek, "She was a.a.sister to m.me, and.she's.dea.dead now." Her mother enveloped her.
"There, there, baby, it'll be okay." Rena continued to son onto her mother's shoulder, wishing things were different.
***
Kase Jackson waited outside the rundown building. His team should have been out five minutes ago, "What's your status?" he asked into his walkie- talkie.
"We need two more minutes," his team member, Hawk Nesbit, replied.
"Hurry, man, I've got a bad feeling." There was no response. Kase waited the additional time. After three minutes, no one radioed back. He left his look out spot and walked toward the warehouse where his team was.
A girl came running out. "Run, man," said the third member of his team, Darcy Turner. Kase ran. "They got Hawk," she said. "Came up right behind us and snapped his neck. I hightailed it out of there."
A door slammed behind them, "Shit! They're behind us," said Kase.
"No matter what happens," Darcy said, "Get out, do not stop for me."
"Same goes here." She nodded.
They ran for another minute or so, Darcy could see that Kase was getting winded. "We're almost to the car," she said, "Come on, Kase, we can both make it."
He lost his footing and fell flat on his face; Darcy paused. A mini-arrow from a crossbow came sailing their way. The Nightworlders were almost on them, "Go, Darc," he said. She didn't have to be told twice. Kase screamed when the enemy grabbed him. She sped up and made it to the car. The door was unlocked and the extra set of keys was in the glove compartment. A Nightworlder tried to open the car right was she started it. Speeding off into the night she cried for her lost partners.
Darcy parked in front of the Daybreak building and ran inside. The guard asked her, "Name?"
"Darcy Turner," she said wiping her eyes.
"What's your business here?"
"My team was just captured and killed."
"Level three," he said. She got into the elevator.
When she got out a woman was waiting for her, "I'm Rebeckah Braxton," she said, "Please come with me, Miss Turner." Darcy followed her. She was led to Thierry Descouedres's office. "He'll be right with you."
Darcy took a seat and waited. A few minutes later a man who looked no older than eighteen walked in. "Hello, Miss Turner."
"It's just Darcy," she said, "Sir."
"Darcy," he corrected. "What happened?"
"We went in on a minor surveillance mission. My team has been watching a building that seems to house a lot of Night World activity for a couple weeks. Tonight it seemed deserted, so we decided to go in and try and get some intel on them. We were sure that no one was there. One of my team members, a shapeshifter, Hawk Nesbit, and I went in. The human in our team, Kase Jackson, stayed out on guard duty. We made it in fine, and got some information, but then some vamps snuck up behind us. One of them snapped Hawk's neck, and I distracted them by throwing a file tray in the other direction, and I got away.
"Kase was at the door, trying investigate, I guess, when I ran out. Our car was almost a mile away, and we started running. We were almost to the car and he tripped. I tried to get him, but the Nightworlders were almost on us, and he told me to go. So I went to the car and drove here. I wasn't followed."
"You're sure?"
"Yes, sir."
Thierry nodded. "I'll have a room set up for you. In the morning, I'll want to discuss the information you found."
"Yes, sir."
"You're dismissed."
"Thank you, sir." When the young lamia left, Thierry sighed. Two more members killed. It didn't look good for Daybreak. But it hadn't looked good for over a month. What were two more casualties?
Two too many.
A little piece of paper with a picture drawn Floats on down the street Till the wind is gone The memory now is like the picture was then
When the papers crumpled up It can't be perfect again
Please, please, please, please, please review.
Chapter 3
A small spot of light floods the floor
And pours over the rusted world of pretend
And the eyes ease open
And its dark again
Rena stared out the window, lost in thought. She felt Ramon grab her hand, "Penny for your thoughts?" he asked.
"It's nothing," she said, leaning her head on his shoulder, "Just drifting."
She felt him nod, "I have a bad feeling," he said.
"You think we made it out too easy," it wasn't a question.
"Yes," he nodded, "If the Night World really wanted the Taylors in Las Vegas, then we should have had to put up more of a fight."
"You sure seem to know a lot about this so called Night World," Mrs. Taylor accused.
Ramon turned to her, "It's just common sense, lady. We were sent here to get Cal back, that means the Night World probably wanted him, but we just found you all hiding in the back yard. That doesn't make much sense to me."
"I still think this is some sick joke!" said Cheryl Taylor.
"I don't ca-"
"Hey, guys," Mackenzie said from the drivers seat, "I think someone's following us."
Ramon slammed his head back against his seat, "Shit!" he said, "Shit, shit, shit, I knew it!"
Mrs. Taylor was taken aback, "Excuse me?" She was ignored.
"Raleigh, Jett," Shea said, "Grab some guns, don't shoot unless we're shot at, but be ready." They nodded. "Mackenzie," she called to the front, "Try and lose them. Everyone else, grab on, this is going to be one hell of a ride."
"This might be a bad time to say this," Mackenzie said, "But I've never been in a high speed car chase before."
"I think it's time you learn," Ramon was harsh.
She swerved into the right lane and accelerated. The car behind them copied. Mackenzie kept swerving in and out of lanes and the pursuer kept doing the same. A few minutes later, the highway turned into a two-lane road. "Shit!" Mackenzie muttered. She accelerated even more and said, "Brace yourselves. Raleigh, put some kind of shield around the car." She looked back, meeting her sisters eye, "Trust me." Raleigh nodded. She closed her eyes and started to murmur a spell. Mackenzie slammed on the brakes.
They all fell forward as the car slammed into the bumper. Someone hissed. She threw the car into reverse and was satisfied to hear the crunch of metal. Switching gears once again, the tires squealed as she sped off towards L.A.
***
"You're kidding! A car chase, no way, bro."
"Yeah," said Ben, "The police were chasing this bad Porsche down on Wilshire. Dunno why though."
"Probably some drug dealer," his sister replied. "They're always driving those flashy cars. It's just asking the cops to chase them if you ask me."
"I didn't ask you, sis. Have you studied for history yet?"
" 'Course not, you're the one who needs to study in that class, dumbass." She smiled and stood up.
"Did you just call me what I think you just called me?" He asked, rising.
"Uh." she stepped back behind a table, "What? Would I call you anything?"
He moved closer to her, "Oh, I think you---" The phone rang. "Hello?"
"Benjamin, hello." The woman's voice had a heavy Mexican accent.
"Oh, Mom, hi, what do you need?"
"I need you and Theresa to come and pick me up at the restaurant."
"Huh?" He asked, "You need both of us to come?"
"She's so young, and that apartment is dangerous. Please, just come and pick me up." She sounded frustrated.
"Fine, we'll be there in a few."
"Goodbye."
He hung up and looked at Theresa, "Come on, we get to go pick up mom."
"I don't want to go." Theresa crossed her arms.
"Too bad, Mom said you're coming."
"Ugh, Benji, don't make me gooo," she pouted.
"Come on." They left the apartment for the garage under the building. It was a little darker than usual. Theresa seemed scared.
"Ben, something's wrong here."
He shrugged, "You're just overreacting." The car, an olive green model from the mid 1970's, was in one of the darker corners of complex.
"I'm serious, hermano," she looked around quickly, "Something's wrong here." Theresa walked a little faster.
"Stop panicking, Resa, you've never liked it down here." Ben quickened his pace to catch up with her. "I wonder why Mom didn't want to take the bus home."
"Did you hear that?"
"Theresa."
"I'm serious!" She said in a panicked whisper. "There it was again."
"Stop playing," inadvertently they had both stopped moving.
"Shh!"
"What the." a faint female voice said, "Ohmigod!" she screamed.
Ben looked like he might run to help the girl. "Are you loco, Ben? That girl is probably down there with some pimp or dealer. He might have a gun!"
"But she might not," he insisted.
"¡Estúpido! What other kind of trouble could she-"
"Help! Help! ¡Ayudáme! ¡Ayudáme!"
Ben started running. Theresa watched him go. After a few seconds, she set off after him, muttering, "She's not some helpless damsel, dumbass."
"Get away from her!" Ben yelled, coming to the rescue. He didn't expect the sight he saw. Instead of the girl's attacker pointing a gun at her, or holding a knife, he had both of his hands on her shoulders, and he was nuzzling her neck. The girl's eyes were streaming and she was whispering, "Madre de Dios," as a mantra.
Before he knew it, someone pushed him to the side. Ben saw the man advance. "Snap!" A female voice yelled, "Ignore him, he's human." The man turned away.
Theresa rushed to Ben's side. "That's Ana, from 2D!"
"I'm aware of that, sis." When the new girl yelled, Ana's attacker's head snapped up. He threw Ana to one side. There was an ominous thunk. Ben and Theresa moved to Ana's side.
Theresa checked her pulse, "She's alive, but her pulse is really weak."
"Probably the blood loss," neither of them questioned why blood was spurting from her neck. "I think one of her arteries was pierced."
"Why?"
"That's the only way I can explain why the blood is bursting out that way. We need to stop the bleeding, or she'll die in minutes."
Theresa looked at him blankly, "How?"
"Apply pressure," He put his hands over the bite. Blood still flowed down the side of her neck.
"Didn't that chick in that one movie put her fingers in the wound to stop the bleeding when that guy got hit by shrapnel?"
"What?"
"In, um.Pearl Harbor! When they get bombed."
Someone pushed Ben out of the way again; this time it was a girl, a strong girl. "Will she turn?" One of the others asked.
The girl checked Ana's pulse. "No, she's still alive, for now." She turned to Ben and Theresa, "When was she bit?" She demanded.
"What?" asked Theresa, "What bit her?"
"A minute ago," Ben answered, "Maybe two. Right before you got here."
She nodded. Turning to one of her cronies she snapped, "Jest, slow that bleeding!" She faced the two siblings again, "Nothing happened here. You saw nothing, if anyone asks you. Got it?"
"But what about--" Ben started to ask.
The girl cut him off, "Nothing happened. Do you understand that, or do I have to make you understand that?"
Theresa grabbed his arm, "Come on, Ben, we need to get Mom."
"Do run along now."
"What about Ana?" He asked.
"We'll drop the girl off at the Emergency Room, okay?" Ben nodded.
***
Mackenzie parked the van about three blocks away from the old brick apartment building that was now Circle Daybreak HQ. "Welcome to the City of Angels," said Jett, "Home to numerous gangs, and a growing murder rate."
"Jett!" said Raleigh. She turned to the Taylors, "It's not really that bad."
"We're about three blocks from HQ," said Mackenzie. "Let's go." Walking quickly, but cautiously, the group took almost ten minutes to get to the building.
A guard behind a desk at the entrance stopped them. "Name?" he asked.
Rena stepped to the front of the group, "Rena Hedwynn," she said.
He typed something in and looked up. "Okay," he said. "Go to the third level and wait in the conference room. Rena nodded.
They went to the elevator, and once everyone was in, Cal pressed the button for the third floor. When the bell dinged to announce their floor, they got out and went to the only conference room on the level. Kate Braxton and Tamyn Coldise were waiting for them. Rena went up and hugged Kate, "I've missed you, Kate," she said softly.
Kate smiled. She turned to the rest of the group, surveying them. Nodding she said, "Good job. Were there any difficulties?"
"Nothing we couldn't handle," Shea answered.
Kate nodded again, "Everyone but the Taylors is free to go. Rena, your mother would like to see you; she's in the room number 3E."
"Okay," Rena said.
Everyone left. Rena went to the room Kate said her mom was in. She opened the unlocked door. Sure enough she was sitting on a couch waiting. "Hey, Mom," she said.
Her mother turned around, "Rena!" She stood up and crossed the room, embracing her daughter she said, "I've missed you."
"Me, too."
"Come sit down, have some tea." Jace Hedwynn sat down again, and poured herself a cup of tea from a little teapot.
Rena grimaced, "I didn't like tea yesterday, I don't like it today; and I won't like it tomorrow, Mom." Her mother laughed.
"So how have things been with you?"
Rena rolled her eyes, "You know, we're getting by. I think having so many people in one house works better in the Real World."
"You could always stay with your father and I," Jace suggested.
"I don't think so," she looked around the room, "It's a pretty small apartment."
"It was just a suggestion." She paused for a moment, "How are you holding up?" she asked softly.
"I'm okay," Rena was stiff. "I just.I miss her, you know? We were best friends forever, and now she's gone. And." A tear slid down Rena's cheek, "She was a.a.sister to m.me, and.she's.dea.dead now." Her mother enveloped her.
"There, there, baby, it'll be okay." Rena continued to son onto her mother's shoulder, wishing things were different.
***
Kase Jackson waited outside the rundown building. His team should have been out five minutes ago, "What's your status?" he asked into his walkie- talkie.
"We need two more minutes," his team member, Hawk Nesbit, replied.
"Hurry, man, I've got a bad feeling." There was no response. Kase waited the additional time. After three minutes, no one radioed back. He left his look out spot and walked toward the warehouse where his team was.
A girl came running out. "Run, man," said the third member of his team, Darcy Turner. Kase ran. "They got Hawk," she said. "Came up right behind us and snapped his neck. I hightailed it out of there."
A door slammed behind them, "Shit! They're behind us," said Kase.
"No matter what happens," Darcy said, "Get out, do not stop for me."
"Same goes here." She nodded.
They ran for another minute or so, Darcy could see that Kase was getting winded. "We're almost to the car," she said, "Come on, Kase, we can both make it."
He lost his footing and fell flat on his face; Darcy paused. A mini-arrow from a crossbow came sailing their way. The Nightworlders were almost on them, "Go, Darc," he said. She didn't have to be told twice. Kase screamed when the enemy grabbed him. She sped up and made it to the car. The door was unlocked and the extra set of keys was in the glove compartment. A Nightworlder tried to open the car right was she started it. Speeding off into the night she cried for her lost partners.
Darcy parked in front of the Daybreak building and ran inside. The guard asked her, "Name?"
"Darcy Turner," she said wiping her eyes.
"What's your business here?"
"My team was just captured and killed."
"Level three," he said. She got into the elevator.
When she got out a woman was waiting for her, "I'm Rebeckah Braxton," she said, "Please come with me, Miss Turner." Darcy followed her. She was led to Thierry Descouedres's office. "He'll be right with you."
Darcy took a seat and waited. A few minutes later a man who looked no older than eighteen walked in. "Hello, Miss Turner."
"It's just Darcy," she said, "Sir."
"Darcy," he corrected. "What happened?"
"We went in on a minor surveillance mission. My team has been watching a building that seems to house a lot of Night World activity for a couple weeks. Tonight it seemed deserted, so we decided to go in and try and get some intel on them. We were sure that no one was there. One of my team members, a shapeshifter, Hawk Nesbit, and I went in. The human in our team, Kase Jackson, stayed out on guard duty. We made it in fine, and got some information, but then some vamps snuck up behind us. One of them snapped Hawk's neck, and I distracted them by throwing a file tray in the other direction, and I got away.
"Kase was at the door, trying investigate, I guess, when I ran out. Our car was almost a mile away, and we started running. We were almost to the car and he tripped. I tried to get him, but the Nightworlders were almost on us, and he told me to go. So I went to the car and drove here. I wasn't followed."
"You're sure?"
"Yes, sir."
Thierry nodded. "I'll have a room set up for you. In the morning, I'll want to discuss the information you found."
"Yes, sir."
"You're dismissed."
"Thank you, sir." When the young lamia left, Thierry sighed. Two more members killed. It didn't look good for Daybreak. But it hadn't looked good for over a month. What were two more casualties?
Two too many.
A little piece of paper with a picture drawn Floats on down the street Till the wind is gone The memory now is like the picture was then
When the papers crumpled up It can't be perfect again
Please, please, please, please, please review.