Tasha Taylor: I had people wondering if I would make her life traumatic enough for her to hate humans at first! But I think it's obvious now just why she loathes them so much. And not to mention she has gone somewhat mad.. she can still hear voices don't forget.
Galadeidre: Well, this is all part of her 'turn to the darker side' but more is going to happen. So keep reading! Hehe. I hope you didn't well in your exams! Nice to see you back on track with the story! Thanks for reviewing.
Sych: Yes, you helped me with the hat part! I think it fits in nicely. So thanks for that! And yup, she's insanely insane. Well, almost, she's not over the edge just yet. You'll know when she does. Dark, twisted, and haunting? Correct. Hehe.
Dancing Through Life: Lol, short and.. not so sweet. I like the way you added 'please' after it, lol, as an afterthought.
Rogue 151: Irene, who's Irene? I'm confused since I haven't mentioned anyone called Irene.. Oh well, I'm glad you're liking it so far!
Legolasfreak2: Hehe, pleased that you enjoyed it! I have updated now!
Chapter 10The morning quickly came upon the short street in outer New York. The soft sunlight filtered in through Raven's recently released curtains. Raven was sat on the floor of her room, curled up against the wall, glazed eyes staring unfocusedly at the floor. Her eyes were shimmering from recent tears which marked shining trails down her soft blue cheeks. There was a dark blue patch at her right temple when her father has kicked her, and dark blue scratches where her wounds from the gravel flooring were healing and leaving traces of scarlet stains. She wasn't moving. She just sat there.. unaware of her surroundings.
All she could feel was the slow thump of pain throbbing through her head at every heartbeat. The strike to her head ached even now and pulsated pain every time she dared to blink.
Slowly, Raven roused out of her thoughtless staring and looked up slowly to glance around her room. She winced slightly as the pain made itself known in her head. A low and tired sigh trembled out of her lips as she leant her head back on the wall. Her escape attempt had been a terrible failure. But maybe it was trying to tell her something. That it was as simple as that, she could not leave the house. That there was no place for her in the outside world and she was just going to have to accept that; even if it meant staying in her prison, in the room that used to be her place of refuge.
She licked over her dry lips cautiously, blinking her aching eyes a few times. The colour of pink on her blue lips was surprising to see, the pink stood out so vividly on the dark indigo flesh. Then, out of these same lips came another of her sighs. That wasn't much else she could do now. She would have to accept her fate. This was her home, and this is where she would stay forever under the heavy guidance of the dungeon master.
Just then, the door to her room opened slowly, the floorboards creaked, and then the door closed. Raven tilted her head slowly to watch her mother walk slowly over to her, bearing a saddened expression and reddened eyes, "Raven.." she murmured, coming round the side of the bed to sit near her daughter, "I'm so sorry, I didn't – "
"No.." replied Raven quietly, "It's alright. It wasn't your fault. It just goes to show that I really am supposed to stay here," she smiled extremely weakly before looking away with a defeated glaze over her electric eyes.
However her mother spoke up in a determined voice, "No, Raven," she insisted, "You are not supposed to stay here. I will get you out of here!"
"It won't work!" cried Raven, now raising her voice, which shook with years of contained tears.
"It will," came the forceful reply, "I will get you out. Away from your father, where he can't hurt you."
Raven snorted softly, "He's wise to the escape, he won't let it happen again."
"Look," murmured her mother as she leant closer, "you tried to sneak out before, and that didn't work. This time, don't try to be quiet, just run."
"And he'll chase me, and catch me, and drag me back," answered Raven monotonously, as if bored. She sighed before tilting her eyes back to her mother.
But her mother shook her head, "No. We know he's faster than you, and stronger, but if you get the head start you can hide."
"And how can I get a head start?"
"I don't know! We'll lock him in somewhere, trap him. Anything! But you are getting out of here Raven. Just tell me when you are well."
But Raven laughed quietly and shook her head, "I will never be well. I'm polluted, infected. Isn't that what dad thinks?"
"I mean your head.." whispered her mother softly, gently raising a hand to lightly brush over the bruise.
It was the first time her mother had ever touched the darker skin of her daughter, and Raven flinched in surprise, turning startled eyes upon her mother, "My head is fine.." then decided Raven, suddenly feeling a sense of hope seep in from the finger tips of her mother's warm soft hand, "I want to go. Where is my bag?"
Her mother pulled it off the bed and slowly handed it to her, "But Raven, when do you want to leave?"
"Now," grunted Raven, as she jumped up off the floor, pulling the bag over her back, "I'm not using the front door."
Gemma stood up beside Raven, now frowning at her words, "Not the door? Then how else?"
Raven strode over to the window, her hands worked at the mechanism to unlock it. She made a faint grunt of irritation; it was still bolted partly shut so she couldn't escape from her earlier days of captivity. "The window," she responded to her mother, "I worked out a way to get down.. if only this damn thing would open."
"But – "
Raven tried to force the window up on the thick metal clasps, but it was no good. The window wouldn't budge any further than five inches. She could feel herself getting swiftly angry again. The same burst as it were downstairs where she retaliated against her father. Her striking eyes gave a flash of impatience before her voice grew and she made an angered yell of, "God Damnit!!" before her fist was brought down upon the pane of glass. Her mother screamed, but it was drowned out by the suddenly hiss of shattering glass which sparkled as it fell out of the wood frame and over Raven's limb. They twirled and spun like a thousand diamonds, scattering over the window ledge and floor.
With a gasp Raven pulled her hand away, surprised by her attack. She spun her head around to stare at her shocked looking mother who only managed to murmur a frightened, "He will have heard it.." before spinning on her heel to run out into the hallway, her feet banging down on the stairs to find her father.
Raven stared as she watched her mother go. With a gasp she spun back to the window, ignoring the oozing blood out of her right fist. She grunted as she climbed onto the window ledge, safely easing herself through the broken window, managing to miss the shards of broken glass that glinted in wait for some skin to snag. She made a faint gasp as she jumped down onto the roof of her porch. She pulled her bag more securely on her shoulders before she walked slowly to the end of the porch, looking down. It was only a short drop now. She could do this.
She held her breath and took a leap.
She landed perfectly on the gravelled driveway, only a faint crunch beneath her landing trainers signalled her arrival to the outside world. Behind her she could hear her father's enraged voice begin. Like it was some starting gun, Raven's feet burst into action, she began sprinting down the driveway as she heard the front door open, and her father staggered out of the door into the spot where Raven had landed seconds before.
"No!" she heard him cry in an infuriated voice.
"Evan!" came the call of her mother, who too ran out onto the driveway beside her husband.
At her mother's voice, Raven stopped in her run, now in the centre of the driveway. She made a heavy gasp before spinning her head to look back her at mother. She didn't know why she had stopped.. or why she felt the urge to watch her mother. Maybe it was a look of gratitude.. of forgiveness. But whatever it was, it had took up precious time, for in the next second, Raven was surprised to feel a strong grip around her body as her father lunged his arms around her in a bid to get her back in the house.
"No!" cried Raven, suddenly bursting to life from her silence. Her arms spread trying to force his tight grip off her. But it remained tightly wrapped around her, pinning her arms to her sides.
"Come on!" he snarled, "Back in the house."
"No!" screamed Raven, thrashing all the mightier, "God Damnit get your hands off me!"
But Evan wasn't bowing down to her wishes. He held her tighter, trying to force the struggling life out of her, "Shut the hell up!" he snarled.
"Mum!" Raven shrieked. In that moment, she felt one hand burst free and she suddenly spun to slap her father across the side of his head. He staggered back a little in surprise.
"You little – " he raised his fists, ready to pummel her down. The fist came, straight for Raven's face. He was gonna kill that little wretch.. that mutant.
But he was surprised to find hands grip him from behind and he was jerked backwards. Gemma's face came into view in front of him and she shoved Evan back, her hands grabbing the neck of his clothes as she furiously pushed him away from Raven, "For God's sake!"
"What the hell are you doing?" roared Evan down into the furious face of his wife.
Raven straightened, extending her arms from what had been a tight pin. She gasped as she saw her mother suddenly dive in to separate her father from her.
"Go Raven!" her mother screamed, "Just run!"
"No!" bellowed her father, trying to get around Gemma's obstructing body that still tried to keep him as far away as possible from their daughter. He wanted to get past, but he would never hurt his wife. But as he saw Raven beginning to turn, he decided to take action. His hands roughly gripped the shoulders of his wife before shoving her face first down onto the floor. As she lowered he leapt over her, racing after Raven. At the push, her mother had given a shriek of surprise, and once more Raven span her head to glare at her floored mother, and her oncoming father.
He hurt her. He had just hurt her mother.
Once more that anger bellowed inside her. Suddenly, Raven found herself running back over to where she had landed out of her window. Her already bleeding hands dived down to grab the largest fallen shard out of the bits of stone and she turned with viciously narrowed eyes of vibrant yellow. She glared with pure hatred at her father who had followed her back up the drive. However, his run stopped when he saw the large piece of jagged glass that she held up like a dagger.
"Oh come on.." snarled her father, the amusement all too obvious in his tone, "What are you gonna do with that?" He made a sarcastic laugh before reaching forward, his hand snaking out to grab her again. But instead, her hand grabbed him and she pulled him closer. She heard him stumble, heard his gasp of surprise as he lost his footing at the tug. As he fell, Raven crouched and spun, driving the glass piece deep into his thigh.
Her mother had watched the scene from the floor with widened eyes, and her scream was all too piercingly frightened at the crescendo of the fight.
He fell.
Raven raised her hand slowly from the bloodied mass at her father leg, staring down at the floored beast. She had beaten the monster's system. She was out of her prison. She was free. She straightened to her feet, turning her blood-specked face to her mother giving one last look before her foot drove back and struck her father in the face. He made a loud cry of pain, hands flinging up to his face at the strike.
She licked at her lips slowly, turning her eyes from her mother before looking down at her father and smirking manically, "I beat you. You could never hold me forever. They told me what you were."
"They?" gasped her father, cringing at the pain is his leg. The blood was pooling spectacularly.
But Raven didn't answer; she just grinned and crouched down to him. Her face darkened and eyes narrowed viciously, "I hate you. You hurt me and you hurt my mother. All because I was a mutant. Well, you're not my father anymore.. You're just a bastard. A worthless bastard." With her words finished, she raised out of her crouch slowly and with a calm look to her mother she turned, her legs coming back to life as she sprinted down the driveway, spinning out onto the road without a look back.
She ignored the curious faces peering out of their doors and windows; she ignored the alarmed shouts from her neighbours. She just ran, she had to get away from that man. If only she knew.. that soon.. she would meet him again for one last time..
She's out! Review, review, review. Reviews make me feel happy and all that goodness. XD