No Want, No Hunger, No Shame
--
Chapter 9:
--
Milly sneezed loudly, and the sound seemed to echo in the room. It broke the suppressed silence surrounding her quite efficiently, that was for sure.
She sat near the fire that crackled merrily, but failing to warm the room. It was Nicholas's living room, to be precise, and she was sitting stone stiff in his chair with blankets piled around her and a handkerchief close at hand. She was anything but relaxed, though (how could she be??), and she was more than sure it had nothing to do with her cold.
In fact, she knew exactly what had her so upset, what had distressed her so much that she sat like petrified wood, spine straight, in such a comfortable chair.
Meryl had gone off without her.
Milly had promised herself that she would always go on a hunt with Meryl, it was a custom, and they were partners.
Of course, once her suspicions had been confirmed, she found that she really wasn't very surprised after all.
Meryl was like that sometimes.
However, Milly's musing were cut short as Wolfwood re-entered his living room with a cup of steaming tea held carefully in his hands. He held it wordlessly out to her, face stony and grey eyes stormy. And then Milly sighed, forcing a weak smile onto her pale face as the realization finally hit her hard.
Meryl had gone out alone. With half the vampires in London out for her blood, no less.
All she had was weapons, there was no backup this time.
She was in great danger, and the half-blood was probably long gone by now, if he knew what was good for him, that is.
And, Milly though dully, accepting the tea, there is nothing I can do to help.
--
A sudden sense of warmth passed briefly through Meryl's body as she continued to stare ahead, frozen to the spot. It left her tingling, and her limbs aching as though they had just woken up. She could feel the hold Legato had on her breaking away, and the vampire didn't seem to notice one bit.
Still, though, she felt as though she had been turned into stone or sculpted from rock, making her unable to move. It sickened her, but the sudden feeling left her possessed body prickling with life.
She was still trapped—unable to move, but as the sensation washed over her once again, a feeling a prisoner might have when he was set free set in.
And she had been, in a sense.
Meryl—quite suddenly—found she could flex her fingers again, and she unconsciously curled them into tight fists at her sides.
The golden-eyes vampire's attention had been averted somewhat rapidly to the half-blood, and he had unconsciously set her free from his mental hold in doing so.
The half-blood…
Meryl had never felt happier to see the blonde man, and she figured she never would again, so she decided to enjoy it.
Taking her seemingly perfect opportunity, the petite woman unfurled herself mentally and physically from the vampire's power. Sighing soundlessly as she freed herself, Meryl glanced briefly at the two bloodsuckers before beginning to slowly edge away. She kept her eyes locked on the two tall forms having a silent standoff in the middle of the street all the while; she wasn't about to risk any sudden attention. It was safe to say she was uneasy and nervous that the blue-haired vampire might once again force her under his hold.
So, taking great care not to scuffle her boots on the stones, Meryl turned and searched behind her for and escape route. A sensible idea, as only thought on her mind at that moment was to find someplace to run before doing so.
She quickly dismissed a few exits before locating an alley followed closely by another street branching off into the dirty suburbs.
That's it, Stryfe, your escape route. Now don't screw up and you'll probably get out of this alive!
All thoughts on getaway, the petite woman nearly jumped clear out of her skin when one quick gunshot cracked through the still silence of the pressing air.
Meryl whirled around just in time to see Legato aim his gun at the half-blood—and quickly decided this was no longer a good or healthy place for her to be.
So, she turned and ran, all the while fighting the urge to hurl herself to the ground when several more gunshots sounded in the air.
She had the horrible feeling that she was going to be shot!
Thinking quickly, she changed her getaway course to the darkened alley. Better to hide quickly than risk a bullet in the back.
It was nearer; it was safer at that exact time, so Meryl spun around it's corner—slipping slightly—and slammed her back hard up to the wall. Unfortunately, her force and speed was rewarded by a violent bought of coughing, and she tried—unsuccessfully—to stifle the noise lest someone hear her. Muffling her coughs with her sleeve, the petite woman glanced around the dirty alley and began to edge away from the entrance.
It was better to be as far away from the two vampires as she could make herself. Although, creeping in the darkened stench of a grimy alley was not exactly where she wanted to be…
The petite woman sighed in relief as her violent bought of coughs subsided, and she closed her eyes and turned her face skyward. A crack of thunder suddenly shook the buildings, and Meryl found herself praying it wouldn't rain.
But then, as if it couldn't have gotten any worse, a tiny droplet of rain fell down to splat on the dry (for once) stones below her. Not surprisingly (and quite suddenly), a downpour started, not as fierce as the day before, but a good, steady rain. Almost immediately, Meryl found herself shivering and forcing back more coughs.
She pulled her cloak firmly around herself and glanced grudgingly up into the sky with a meaningful scowl.
It was just her luck this alley didn't have overhangs!
Sighing slightly, she sunk down to the filthy ground that was the alley.
Sitting soaked to the bone for the second time in to days, the petite woman was less than pleased. And when the sounds of the fight finally reached her ears, she had the sudden urge to scream in frustration.
Although, that would most likely end in more painful coughs…
Meryl fought back a grimace as gunshots rung blindly around the street, echoing off the tall walls and mingled with shocked and angered yells. She wouldn't have been surprised if several more bloodsuckers had shown up, but two distinct voices speaking harshly to one another above the firing told her it was still the two.
She fought back the unease that threatened to grow to sickness as the thought of the blonde being killed and the blue-haired vampire staring at her once again with those cold, indifferent eyes crept into her mind.
Rain continued to pour down on the petite woman's shivering form, and she tried to block out the sounds with the pattering of the water off the side of the buildings. Gutters were filling, overflowing, letting water pour down and splatter onto the ground and into the sewers. There was nothing but the thundering staccato of the shower…
And just as she was finally getting somewhere, managing to focus her mind on something other that the two men less than two hundred yards from herself, all firing ceased, stopped abruptly and left her wondering what exactly had just happened.
What had happened?
Meryl coughed again, the force racking her body painfully, and a feeling of nausea slowly began building in the pit of her stomach. The back of her neck had begun its rhythmic aching, throbbing painfully. She fought down the pain, concentrating on her thoughts.
She needed to know what had taken place, but didn't dare look around the corner.
Maybe she didn't want to know, she didn't want to know if Vash had been killed. She didn't want to know.
… She needed to know.
Her neck hurt…
Then, her silent pleas were answered. Although not in the way she had hoped.
It ended loudly, and she had to force herself back when her body moved toward the exit.
It all ended with one gunshot and one sickening scream piercing through the rain, meeting her ears with a vengeance that left her mouth dry and blood cold.
And then there was silence. Everything was quite except for the unrelenting rhythm of the rain beating on the cobblestones.
Now she knew someone was dead…
Eyes widened slightly and heart racing wildly, Meryl shifted uneasily on the ground. A great want to slink into the shadows and curl up into a tight ball overtook the short woman, but she stayed still, the sound of her heart beating deafening her, the throbbing in her neck stilling her. She felt paralysed; not like when that vampire had literally frozen her, but so frightened she was painfully stiff. But she wasn't about to move for the fear of being heard.
But who was there to hear her?
She really didn't want to know, but she found thoughts suddenly crowded her mind, pushing and shoving, wanting to be heard. Millions of "what ifs" ran madly in her head, each more demanding than the first and each without and answer.
What if she was found?
But what if she was found by Legato?
What if he was dead, what then?
But what if he wasn't dead, and Vash's fangs and clothes were lying in the rain, the last reminder of a half-blood?
What if he was dead? She had been relying on his all along, hadn't she?
What if Legato was still out to get her?
Meryl's time was spent so thoroughly freaking herself out that she didn't notice when the rain hardened, beating down in hard pellets and running into her eyes, nose and mouth. She didn't notice when the pain on her neck intensified, but faded when her skin had numbed, when the storm had darkened the sky. She didn't notice when the London streets fell into an inky blackness. She didn't notice when the light stopped, and she was plunged into near blackness, colour without light. She didn't even notice when the sound of footsteps invaded her space, drawing nearer, heading slowly toward the alley she sat in.
That is, she didn't notice until her instincts finally kicked back in, and then she was all too aware to her visitor. Her questions came to a grinding halt as the lone steps approached her.
The sound was mingled with the rain, haunting and ominous…
Her mouth was dry by now; she was unable to swallow, unable to wet her lips with the anxiety that she felt.
Meryl's heart pounded loudly in her ears, louder than before. It was near deafening her.
She slipped her hands under her cloak, grappling uselessly for her derringers. After frantic struggling, they came out with a stake in one hand, and a gun in the other. They were her only comfort, the only things she could rely on.
And then she waited, listening to footsteps over the rain. Her heart was pounding, and fear was coursing through her veins. Resisting the urge to shut her eyes and wish it all away, she listened and waited.
The boots sounded as though they were being dragged, and with much effort. She forced herself to focus on the sounds, concentrate on her unknown opponent.
The stride was either incredibly sluggish or extremely forced. It seemed exhausted and tired. He was injured or exhausted.
She didn't know which she preferred. They both seemed fair enough.
Meryl waited, and her traitorous mind fired up once again.
Don't bother, Meryl… Her logical side was warning her, but her thoughts wouldn't listen.
What if it was Legato?
He was going to kill her…
Stop it, Stryfe!
What could she do then? She had been helpless before, and she didn't think it was going to change within the time of ten minutes.
Unfortunately, she suddenly realized the footsteps had stopped, and her eyes focused abruptly on the boots facing her. Meryl bit back a scream and gulped her fear down. She hadn't even realized he (whoever he was) had entered the alley.
She stared, stake and gun almost forgotten in her sweating hands. The boots (was it just her or did they seem familiar…?) were obviously attached to legs, which meant…
The petite woman gulped and slowly looked up.
Meryl didn't know if she was surprised or relieved to see the face staring down at her huddled form. All she knew was that she certainly wasn't afraid. She had never really been afraid of vampires, and she certainly wasn't apprehensive of the one Milly had called Vash. It was relief of a sort, and it washed over her tense body so pleasantly she almost smiled.
She was still too shaken to smile.
Meryl blinked slowly at the man before her before opening her mouth and saying the first thing that came to mind, "Is… is h-he gone?" She was sure the stutter was only due to the immense cold she was feeling.
The half-blood nodded slightly, a strained look adorning his face in the gloominess, "Yeah…" he answered detachedly.
Eyes widening slightly in mild disbelief, Meryl slipped her stake back in place, but held onto the derringer. How had this half-blood killed a pureblood?? One with mind control, no less!
"You mean he's dead?" she asked boldly for confirmation, and all traces of her stammer gone from her voice.
Vash's eyes took on an incoherent look, and he held a gloved hand down to her before stating quietly, "No."
Meryl pointedly ignored the hand, preferring to stand up on her own, and faced the man with a blank expression, "Then who screamed? I heard a gunshot, quite clearly, too." She crossed her arms, remaining a nonchalant figure while stating the words matter-of-factly.
Vash blinked as though trying to clear his vision, and began staring at the ground by his feet. Without answering, he brought one hand up to touch his side.
The petite woman watched impatiently as the half-blood took his hand away, wincing as if he had been burned. Frowning, Meryl glared. Maybe he hadn't heard…
Rain fell onto the half-blood's hand, washing it clean. Red dribbled steadily down to the stones, gathering before spreading out in the puddles.
The petite woman gasped slightly.
He glanced up, staring at her with what appeared to be panic and confusion. And maybe, was that pain mixed in there too?
Meryl received the look and stepped back slightly, her eyes wide and mouth open slightly. Hadn't she seen this before?
Then, both sets of eyes settled simultaneously on the growing pool of blood gathering quietly and running lazily through the cobblestones' cracks with the help of rain. It seeped around the vampire's feet.
Meryl had almost forgotten about that…the half-blood that was more human than he looked. So human, in fact, that he bled freely—like a mortal.
Vash almost laughed, but his face was too pale and the sound too forced to be considered anything near humorous, "That was me." He stated simply, finally answering her question before staggering to the side slightly, arm covering the wound. He sagged to the wall, leaning heavily on it.
Meryl took a half step toward the man, unsure as he unsteadily righted himself. She waited stiffly as he glanced back at her and forced a sort of weak smile.
"I never caught your name, short girl." And with that said, he teetered dangerously and collapsed forward.
Suddenly finding her arms full of a half-vampire with his head resting limply on her shoulder, the petite woman staggered back slightly. Trying to support his weight and hold her exhausted body up at the same time, she was less than pleased.
Setting her teeth firmly (in anger or pain she did not know) and tightening her hold on Vash, she grated out forcefully, "It's Meryl Stryfe, you idiot vampire."
--
--Cayenne Pepper Powder