Order 2: Morning of Laments
Morning light filtered into the cracks of the heavy curtains. It poured itself onto Skey's tired and motionless face. It wasn't long she slowly opened one eye in irritation of the peeking sun. The clock ticked and tocked on the wall. It was near time for Mass but she felt so tired and worn out, she hoped Maxwell would accept a pardon from her for this morning Mass. Water dripped in that agonizing steady drip in her small bathroom. It wasn't enough sleep. Eight hours just doesn't cut it anymore these days when you do strenous and dangerous work like she did. Twenty hours didn't even seem like enough. Skey forced herself to sit up in her soft but plain bed, her eyes still not being able to focus right now. Her fingertips rubbed her temples in a gentle, slow manner trying to massage the lightness in her head away. The water continued to drip in its annoying manner and the sun protested against the shut curtains as one single ray had penetrated into the dark, shrouded room. Skey looked to the ray in disgust just wishing it'd go away and leave her alone. Clearly mornings weren't her time of the day.
" Skey! Ye awake?"
Skey's head turned up as she heard that gruff, Irish accent speak to her. Anderson was always up at this time and Skey knew well his routine. First get up and dress. Then he would take two bayonets and go train for a while, usually an hour, in the garden. After that, he'd shower and make himself presentable as a priest. Once he finished this, his routine was to come by her dorm and make sure she was awake. Skey knew that he knew she was a pain to get awake in the morning.
" Barely."
The door knob jiggled as it was being turned. Anderson let himself in, poking his head in to see if she was truly out of bed and awake. When he did see her up, he was astonished. Most of the time she would lie and stay in bed!
" Weel, weel...yer actually up? Thas ae Novelty!"
" Bite me, ALEX."
Anderson frowned. He hated being called by his first name, much more by a shortened version of his first name. That wicked grin had posessed her lips when she knew she had made him annoyed. Skey hopped up, still in her clothes from last night. Anderson stared her over then poked her shoulder.
" Ye slept in THON? Why didnae ye jus put them in ae pile or something?"
" Well one, I was kind of tired. I felt too lazy to take them off and change. Plus, why the hell would you care?"
Anderson stood straight and bopped her on the head lightly with his Bible. Skey squinted then looked up to him with crossed arms and a pouted face.
" Nae cursing in the House O' the Laird, Skey. Ye know better."
He gave her a small smile though and a wink before walking out to head for Maxwell's office to pick up any assignments for the day. Skey sat back on her bed, thinking over either to lay back down or to get up. She treated it like any other day when she knew better. Today, she was a full fledged Paladin. She'd been taught endlessly by Anderson to be perfect in her tactics of fighting, to eradicate targets efficently. Almost a year now but she endured it all and with welcoming arms. Skey closed her eyes and could still see it all. There she laid in the pouring rain on some desolate backstreet in Rome. Filthy, hardly dressed and so drugged up on the addiction she knew she'd die in the matter of minutes. She was ready to close her eyes and sleep the luscious eternal sleep of peace. That horrid life...it changed when she saw that priest walking down the street, stopping and kneeling by her.
" ...Ye ok? Yer ae mess..."
As the thunder clashed loudly in the flashback, it startled her to open her eyes to the darkness of the room and that annoying sunbeam. Skey pushed herself up and ripped the curtains open, scowling as she crossed her arms looking up to the gay and innocent sky of the day.
" There you happy? I opened the curtains."
Maxwell sat in his office, fully dressed and typing up some documents on his laptop. No other sound was heard in the room except for the continous hitting of fingertips on the board's keys. The curtains to his office window were widely open, a full view of the garden able to be seen and admired. Lately, there had been many reports of vampires spotted all over Rome. And anytime he sent a Paladin to check it out, it always turned out to be a true vampire. How come all of a sudden they are starting to show up? Though they are true vampires, they were distinctly known to be young ones. But unlike the epidemic a year and a half ago, this was not no chipped vampires. These were original article. Maxwell never thought original vampires still existed and if they did, they would keep a low profile from such organizations like Iscariot. Maxwell's typing slowed, then came to a final halt as he kept feeding his thoughts. Something was brewing trouble and only been dormant until now. Now, Vesuvius was awakening and like Pompeii, the organization could be in the path of a raging and unstoppable fiend. Old age is getting to me. I'm getting paranoid. Hmm, calm down, Enrico. This may just be a medium sized epidemic. Not no monster problem. There was a soft rapping on the cherrywood door to Maxwell's office. Maxwell looked up quickly then sighed, relaxing back in his chair.
" Come in."
The doorknob clicked as Anderson opened it and pushed the door open. Maxwell greeted him and motioned with his hand for Anderson to have a seat. Anderson put his hand up, gesturing no.
" Nae, Ah'm fine jus standing. Ah've come tae see aif A've got any assignments."
" Hmm, you may. I'll have to see how many reports there are by this evening. I also been meaning to talk to you about Skey."
" Maun ye ALWAYS pick on her? She's ae guid lass, Maxwell."
Maxwell frowned when Anderson said she was a good girl. When he found her, she was drugged up on heroin, hardly dressed and worse, was off the streets. She was nothing but trouble and a responsibility. Many times Maxwell had tried to find her parents through the internet and phone books even. There was no luck. It didn't help either that she wouldn't ever talk about herself. To Maxwell, she was nothing but a haughty, spoiled brat that needed a timeout. Anderson's perspective was different. Yes, it was he who rescued her off those dirty streets of Rome. He's come across many of the whores before in Rome who would hit on him and he would only shrug and walk off without remorse. Some would be sitting down, dazed and confused looking. Still no feeling but when he saw Skey laying in that dirty back street behind dirty, old buildings, overdosed and crying...that sound wouldn't leave him. The resonance haunted him if he tried passing her and when he walked over to her and looked in those blue eyes...he could tell she was near eternal sleep but could also see a small hint of her will to live and to not die yet. Once she clasped his coat's collar, so weak like a baby's grip...he broke down and decided to bring her back. Under his wing she was reformed and turned into a sharp and efficient killer for Iscariot. Sometimes she'd give him attitude and some 'lip' but he knew she would never really disobey him. She may be mouthy but she was loyal to those who genuinely took care of her. But like Maxwell, she never discussed her past with him either!
" Anderson...let's just drop the subject then. I'm not in the argumentive mood. I do though have some news. These vampires that keep showing up everywhere in Rome, they are original article vampires. No chips or anything..they are made from a single, ancient original vampire. So, like an original, they are extremely powerful. More so than the epidemic of the chipped vampires a year and so ago."
" So many originals...Hae come so suddenly? It's like ae surplus O' thae heathens."
" Indeed. I'll see if I'll need you tonight to go on an assignment. If you do, I want you to bring Skey. I'm not convinced she is ready to be a full fledged Paladin yet."
Anderson folded his arms, glaring at Maxwell from behind his glasses. He still sat idly in his desk chair, looking at the glowing computer screen absent mindedly. The man refused to make eye contact with Anderson, and it meant something bad. Maxwell was worrying. Usually he never acted such a way and it made Anderson take in consideration the actual extremes and threats these sudden original vampires may prove. The best thing to do was to exterminate down to the maker and quickly. There was no time for dallying. Without another word, Anderson walked out of the room not wanting to argue with Maxwell about Skey. Anderson walked down the long hall in all wonderment. There was much still to be done. Much judgement to be done on the heathens of this Earth.
Skey had finally decided to get up (of course, after laying down for another hour!) and go out to a restaurant to get a bite to eat. Rain drizzled down the red and white plastic awning of a restaurant's outside cafe. The sky had turned from the gay sunny morning to a stormy afternoon. Skey amused herself by thinking the sky got mad at her this morning for mouthing off to it and this was the anger it wanted to display. The light gray sidewalks became dark after a while from the drizzling rain. Skey sipped her hot coffee slowly. After she returned, she'd go get her katana swords and train a bit. She wanted to test herself against Yumie and see how well she'd fare. Yumie was good with her katana, but Skey had the fierce, undying drive to fight to the death. It'd be fun. The rain only reminded Skey of her past...maybe the sky could read he mind and wasn't angry. Maybe it was sympathizing and crying along with her heart. Skey clenched her jaw ans stifled a sob, a few tears still escaping and making a trail down her cheeks. Rainy days just weren't the same anymore. They only painted her mood with the grays and gray-blues, placing the raindrops in her eyes and depress her further. But Skey only sighed, looked to the sky and prayed to her God for happiness...
" God, please...take away my pain of the past. Don't let me suffer so much anymore. I've tried..."
" Ye tried whit, Skey?"
Skey gasped and turned. Anderson stood there with a grin and waved. Hopefully he hadn't heard everything she said. Skey let out a breath of relief then grasped her coffee cup, turning her head back. No one sat outside in the cafe part but them. The low rumbling of thunder deafened their ears for a few seconds. Anderson took a seat in the flimsy looking pipe chairs, looking to the cloudy sky. She remained silent, but the puffiness of her cheeks, the soft redness they had only pointed out she had been crying. Anderson was a bit offset cause he didn't know how to deal with these kind of situations. He looked down and away from her, trying to think of something to say to break the deafening and awkward silence.
" So...Ah guess ae storm's coming. Let's hope it disnae last through the night. Thon widnae be guid."
"...Guess not."
Her voice held a depressed tone and when he looked up, he saw a smile and heard a bit of a chuckle. It didn't fool him. He may be up in age, and not too in touch with his own feelings, but her face was so sad and so depressing. That smile was as fragile as crystal...ready to break at any moment. God, don't let that smile break into something worse. Keep her together, he prayed. Skey layed back in the chair, her eyes focused on the heavens, that fragile smile not disappearing. Whit are ye thinking, Skey?...
