Abandoned

An abandoned building.
Two rooms.
Three boys. Three girls. Three vampires. Three humans. Three couples.

How and when they got there, they don't know. All they know is that someone put them there for a reason… and they have to save their soulmates before the time is up.

9:00am
'The Little Boys Room'

Three figures lay slumped against the wall, faces pale and drawn. They were unconscious – knocked over the head with clubs. Usually it wouldn't have affected them had the weapon not been wood, but as a matter of fact it had been oak. Pretty damn hard – especially when it came crashing down at the speed of a bullet.

Nevertheless, one was starting to wake up. His eyebrow twitched, arcing beautifully over his lidded left eye. Had his eyes not been closed, they would have been emerald green… the colour of the sea.

"Mm?" he put a hand up to his head slowly and then opened one eye. He was no stranger to darkness; his vision was almost perfect in the twilight that clothed the room around him.

He could see the shabby wallpaper lining the walls – a colour that had once been cream that was now more of a faded yellow – and the linoleum flooring running under his body. It felt cold and slippery and he sat up hastily, longish-black hair falling in front of his eyes.

"Where–?" he began, and then he looked down at his companions. Two others had been bundled in here with him. One had ash-blond hair and a soft face that had once been so mocking that it had been scary. The other had stylish, short dark hair. He was shorter than the blond but musclier. And Morgead recognised them both immediately. He lived with them at Circle Daybreak HQ.
Ash and Quinn.

"What the hell?" he breathed. Morgead was wearing the same thing he'd had on last night – a green shirt to match his eyes, ripped black jeans with chains and an 'Anarchy' wristband. The bandana that had been woven round his head was now discarded some place anonymous.

Ash and Quinn were still fully clothed – Quinn in his usual black attire: bomber jacket, black shirt and tight-fitting jeans. Ash was wearing his golden t-shirt with the eagle crest in the centre and his three-quarter-length beige trousers. His shirt was flecked with blood.

Morgead looked down at his own shirt. It was stained on the shoulder – probably from where he'd been hit over the head. Almost on instinct, he felt the spot on his crown – but it had long been healed.

Scowling, he stood up. The room was like any other – if not a little old and rotten. There were two windows, both boarded up. But being a vampire there was no point in pulling off the wooden boards – Morgead could see just as fine as if the room was surrounded in sunlight.

He wasn't afraid until he thought about her. Jez. His heartbeat went up a notch and he looked about wildly.
Nope, definitely only three in the room. No girls hiding in the corner. But where the hell was he? And where was Jez? Who had done this?

"JEZ?" Morgead cried, voice hoarse. He waited a while, spinning around in this claustrophobic room, feeling lost and confused. There was no answer. He only succeeded in waking Ash and Quinn up.

Morgead's heart was in his throat. He thought he was going to collapse. Immediately he thought of a kidnap attempt on the Night World's part, but he didn't really think that they'd abandon them like this in a shabby building… or would they?

Ash sat up, bringing a hand to his head. He was groggy. Unlike most vampires, who wake up immediately, Ash didn't. He dragged out the moment of sleep until the annoyance levels of his friends were really tested. Today was no different.

"What happened?" he groaned, rolling his head about on his neck. Ash didn't seem to realise anything was unusual about where they were… just that he had been hit over the head and it still hurt.

Quinn didn't sit up. He kept lying on the floor. The terrifying thing was that he kept staring up at the ceiling – not giving anyone a hint that he was alive or had just woken up. He said nothing. He seemed to realise what had happened, seemed not to care and was absolutely calm.

Morgead had had enough.

"Ash, wake up! And Quinn – say something!" he growled. He towered above them, but had Ash been standing Morgead would have been shamefully dwarfed.
It was good that he was the only one standing, it gave him an advantage. He could lecture them all he wanted.

Morgead reached out with his mind. Being the second strongest telepath in the room, he felt it was his duty to locate the girls while Quinn seemed to be out of it.
As soon as he shut his eyes and concentrated, Quinn sat up – his dark eyes fathomless and unforgiving.

"It's no use," he mused, black hair framing his face perfectly – his sharp cheekbones succeeding in making his apologetic grimace mocking. "I've already tried, Morgead. I can't sense them."

Morgead's eyes snapped open. He should have known that that was the first thing Quinn would do if ever he woke up without Rashel at his side. He was overprotective of her. After all she wasn't only his soulmate – which gave the Night World reason enough to kill her. She was once The Cat. The best vampire hunter of all.
Goddess knew what the Night World would do to her if they caught her.

Ash seemed to be waking up completely. He opened his eyes fully and then looked slowly around. "Where's… Mary-Lynnette?" he said – a yawn dividing his sentence. Morgead huffed uncomfortably and went over to the door on the other side of the room. No doubt it was locked, but he thought he'd try it anyway.

Quinn felt that the question was directed at him and sighed. "She's not here, Ash. Neither is Rashel or Jez. If you cared to pay attention you'd notice that we are in a room with no sunlight and no way out." Quinn's tone was deadly. His voice was clipped, dripping with poison and fairly cold. He got like this when Rashel was either in a mood with him, or wasn't around.

Ash's eyes flew open. His head darted to and fro, apparently searching for his soulmate. She wasn't there. He couldn't trace her misty blue eyes anywhere.
He jumped up like a startled cat, and clawed up his hands. He looked left then right and then his mouth fell open.

He turned sharply to Quinn. "Where are they? The girls…? Where have they gone?" he hissed, darting over and landing next to him in a predatory swoop. Quinn seemed unaffected. He kept staring at Ash with a calm and calculating gaze – his eyes seemingly bland.

"Only they know that," Quinn said with noted patience, and settled back – watching Morgead tug at the door handle endlessly. The door clicked once or twice. But didn't open.

9:00am
'The Little Girls Room'

Rashel prayed for the hundredth time that she was asleep. Again she slammed her elbow against the door. Again the pain flared up in her right arm. Again and again and again – an endless routine that grew monotonous with every jam of the door. Nothing would happen each time, yet she'd try over and over and over and–

"You're arm will be black in the morning at this rate," Jez murmured, her eyes hidden beneath thick black lashes and lowered eyelids. She didn't mean to look so narrow-minded. She didn't mean to look so disapproving. She'd been poisoned, and whatever had been given to her was slowly taking its toll on her body.
Her head was spinning.

Mary-Lynnette was succeeding in her task of pulling the boards away to reveal the window. But it was hard for a human, and her fingers were riddled with splinters. She winced in pain every time one sunk in, yet kept going and kept yanking at the wooden planks until daylight rushed in.

The light stung Jez's eyes. The room was hazed in a foggy green light. She felt warm and then cold… her mind was clear and then she gradually began to forget things… sometimes she felt sick and then she just felt empty.

Rashel grunted and gave up on the door. She slid to the floor as her elbow failed – yet again – to provide their escape.
But now that the window was there… maybe they stood a chance of climbing out. Mary-Lynnette pulled the last board away. It was huge and diagonal, stretching across the window.

When it was loose and on the floor, Rashel limped over – her right arm numb with pain. She could hardly move with all the stars shooting up one side of her body. She tapped the window once. Twice.
Normally, she would have scowled. This time, she just dropped to the floor again and cupped her head in her hands – expression so utterly blinded with grief that even Jez paid attention.

"Rashel? Rashel, what's wrong – we… we can get through it, can't we?" Mary-Lynnette stammered.
She knew the answer before Rashel spoke.
Her hands began to tremble at her sides.

"It's reinforced," Rashel replied, thickly. Her eyes showed no mercy. "The glass may be around five inches thick. It's like a submarine – there's no way can we get out that way." She scowled.

"…And the doors hopeless," Jez put in, voice distant and weak.
The other two turned to face her in worry. Jez – the liveliest – was rapidly losing consciousness.
Mary-Lynnette bit her lip and then looked down at the floor.

"What do we do?" she said softly, hands balled up into fists.
Rashel raised her head, black hair flowing around her and parting about her face so the others could see her piercing green eyes. "We have to get Jez to one of our healing witches back home." She replied, her voice steely.

Mary-Lynnette sighed. "How can we manage that? There's no possible way…"

There was a clatter from above. The three girls looked up – Rashel first, her head lifting sharply. Mary-Lynnette looked around the room first, then up. And Jez did with very slow movements – her head jerking on her neck. They thought the ceiling was about to collapse.
They were wrong.

A speaker dropped down from the ceiling with a sudden rush. White noise filled the room. Jez covered her ears – her senses heightened by the drug she'd been given. She screamed, but the sound was lost in amongst the other noise churning out from the speaker.

Rashel and Mary-Lynnette ducked their heads until the sound stopped and Jez stopped screaming. There was a rattling of what sounded like a microphone. Then there was only silence.

When about a minute had passed, Mary-Lynnette gulped – finally getting the courage to speak. "Rashel, what do you think–?" she didn't get to finish.
"Welcome, ladies and gentleman, to my humble abode. I will be your host for the entire twelve hours this show is airing…"

"Show…?" Rashel repeated, then noticed that a camera had dropped down opposite the speaker. She scowled.
Jez ducked her head, her face waxy and pale.

"… I will be bringing you the best survival game show you have ever seen. Now, bearing in mind that this is a one-off special, guys and girls, be prepared to watch 'Abandoned'…"

9:30am
'The Little Boys Room'

"'Abandoned'?" Quinn mused, "How original."
Morgead cursed. "The Night World… it has to be…"
Ash waved a hand for him to shut up. The person talking over the loudspeaker had stopped.
"Would my contestants please refrain from speaking?"
The voice was male. Deep and eccentric – like some of the old game show hosts who smiled too much.

Ash, Quinn and Morgead scowled. They'd noted the camera. They hadn't realised that it came with a microphone too.
"Now, contestants, this part is for you. Ignore the cameras on you, sit back and remember to have fun."

Ash snorted and folded his arms. By now the three were standing up and huddling by one of the walls, glaring up at the speaker defiantly.
The voice grew serious.
"Rule one: no vampire abilities. Rule two: be as emotional as you want and finally Rule three: if you don't reach your soulmates by 10pm this evening, you won't ever see them again…"

"What!" The three vampires shrieked, postures shifting defensively. Their murderous expressions were dropped suddenly – and the only emotion they showed from then on was pure worry.

The person over the speaker had been talking cheerily… happily. It made him sound even crazier.

"And if y'all wanta call me something – my name's Keeper, and you will all stick to it, got it?" This wasn't said in a corny accent. 'Keeper' sounded African-American and very talkative.
The cheery voice played over and over in Morgead's mind and infuriated him.

"Where are the girls!" he screamed, leaping up at the camera.

Keeper – his voice bearing down on them via the speaker – laughed heartily. "You won't find them unless you try, little Dracula. Game starts in thirty minutes. Now go along and play."

9:30am
'The Little Girls Room'

Jez lifted her head. "Was that… was that Morgead?" she whispered. "I… I heard a… a shout,"
Mary-Lynnette crawled over. "Yes, Jez. And that's a good thing, because it means the boys our here and they're going to come and find us. But the thing is, if we get moving too, we'll find them quicker."

They'd all heard the boys shouting. They'd heard the game rules. It didn't mean they were happy about it either. Never see our soulmates again…? There was a hole in Mary-Lynnette's stomach that wouldn't fill. She gulped. Then helped lift Jez up.
"Come on. We're getting out of here."

"Little Dracula. Hmm, so this 'Keeper' guy knows that the boys are vampires." Rashel thought aloud, standing up also. She went over to Jez and got her right arm, while Mary-Lynnette assigned herself to Jez's left.

Mary-Lynnette blew a strand of hair out of her face. "What now?" she groaned as they lifted Jez up off of the floor.

Rashel sighed. "Well the 'game starts in thirty minutes'."
She looked down at Jez for an instant. "Hey, girl, do you think you can get yourself used to walking?" she asked.

Jez's eyes were now completely shut. Her fiery red hair fanned about her face except for the pieces of her fringe that were plastered to her forehead with sweat. Her mouth was moving like a goldfish's – opening and closing. There were purple bags under her eyes. Her lips were wobbling and seemed to have a life of their own.

She wasn't capable of walking.
Mary-Lynnette realised the situation too. The three slowly sagged to the floor, feeling hopeless – all except Jez who could only feel confusion and a round of nausea.

Rashel kept her cool. "I'll search the room for any other ways we can escape." She looked at Mary-Lynnette. "Mare, you keep Jez company. Make sure that…"

"One other thing." Keeper was speaking again.
"One thing I forgot to mention, girls. In one of the other rooms in this apartment is the antidote needed for little Blue Fire. Now, unless you find it in precisely… two hours, you won't have enough time to find your boys. And by then it may be too late to save Blue Fire anyway. So either you get moving, or she dies. Bingo?"

Mary-Lynnette snapped. She stood up, turned to face the space between the speaker and camera and screamed: "Give us the antidote, you…!" and swore for all she was worth.
Jez groaned at her feet.
Mary-Lynnette looked down.
Keeper laughed. "Calm down, Miss Astronomer. Blue Fire's saying 'don't worry'." His tone grew serious. "Your thirty minutes is nearly up. Bring on the ultimate survival test staged by yours truly."

Rashel, her voice swift and icy like a winter storm, spoke up. Her hands were pressed firmly to one of the walls entrapping them. "I have one question." She muttered.

"Shoot,"

"Are you a Night Person? Is this getting fed to them? Are they enjoying every minute of this?" her tone was getting bitter, her voice higher and higher with anger after every sentence she spat out.

Keeper laughed. "'Course not, Kitten. I'm a humble human just like yourself. But ya got something I want and I will have it. This tape is being fed live to every television at Daybreak HQ. And I assure you, they're not enjoying it."

"Why are you doing this?" Rashel screeched, pounding the wall – yet looking up at the speaker.

"I already told you, Kitten. One of you six has something I want. And… yeah. I'm doing this for kicks. I love freaking people out of their minds…"

"Well you're succeeding!" Mary-Lynnette started up. "Tell us what you want and we'll give it to you!" she cried.

There was silence. Keeper hadn't intended this reaction.
Then the silky voice started up again. "Promise? You promise that you'll give it to me?"

"Yes," Mary-Lynnette nodded over and over.
Jez was nodding in her semi-consciousness.
Rashel looked away bitterly.

"I don't know…"
"We give you our word!" Rashel growled.

"But what about the boys? They ain't said nothing yet. All they doin' is worryin' over you three girls all alone in there."

9:55am
'The Little Boys Room'

"We'll give it to you, jackass!" screamed Ash. "Just let us out of here!"
Keeper chuckled. "All right. I'll tell you what I want."

There was a crackle of movement on his side – he seemed to be turning the microphone about.
When he did speak his voice was loud and booming, yet soft and deadly at the same time.

"I want your microchip…"

Ash's expression wavered.
Quinn looked around with suspicious eyes.
Morgead had a sudden urge to rub the side of his neck, wearily. He eyed the speaker with distaste.
"We don't have a microchip,"

"Shut up, Dracula. One of you has it and I'm gettin' it – whether you like it or not."
Pause.
"Oh! My, my! Look at the time. Game starts in 5… 4… 3… 2… 1…"

Rubbish I know. I have never ever watched Saw so I have no idea whether it is anything remotely like that, but I hope not. I hope this is unique.
Maybe this is something new to you guys. Hope you liked it so far…
And yes, it does have a plot. I'm not just randomly setting up a death scenario – okay? I would never ever kill any of them, I don't have the heart.