Hey, for those of you who are reading this for the first time and noticed that my chapter four happens sort of twice, sorry, I can't replace it. There are things about Ran in that chapter that I don't feel like retyping, so disregard anything other than dialogue in the repeat chapter. 'Kay?
"Hi, I'd like a room for a night for one." I told the receptionist. She sat behind her desk, probably not a care in the world except what she was gonna feed her snot nosed brat when the night shift was over. She typed something into her computer console and smiled at me.
"Pay in advance or after?" she asked, winking at me and blushing. I repressed a weary groan and rolled my eyes. I pulled my wallet out of my vest pocket and threw some credit card or other at her. She did her thing, swiped it, the whole nine yards and gave it back to me. She handed me a card key with the monster logo on it (a big blue M with an eyeball and a fang on it) and a spare in case I misplaced the first one. The receptionist smiled again at me and I promptly turned my back on her, not sorry to be rid of her. If there was ever a rock star to be sick of his fame, it was me. I was by no means suicidal, nor did I want to die, but I hated to be loved for what I was instead of who I was. I knew what I wanted in life, and it was minor drugs for my depression and my friends.
Right now, I wanted my friends.
I looked at the card. It said suite A2. I walked down the first hall I came to, and by some ironic stroke of luck, with everything else that'd happened that night, I came to A1. I skipped over to A2 and swiped the card key. The door opened and I stepped inside and closed the door behind me without even bothering to turn on the light. I crossed over to the bathroom and turned the cold water on full blast. I ducked my head in and shook my head to get the chlorine mucous off my face. I shut the water on and placed my hands on either edge of the porcelain sink, staring at the drain and thinking. Why didn't Freddy call the cops off? Ran hadn't done anything but help us and the only way he could think of to express himself was to sic the cops on her? It made no sense. Unless he was afraid of her…but that was laughable. She was a teenage girl, an abused one no less. But sometimes victims of abuse rose up and struck back…no, her uncles were human, and like she said: it was us she was supposed to protect and harvest, monsters and humans alike. So there was no reason Fred should be afraid of her. I shook my head and went back into the main bedroom. I threw the covers off the bed and flung myself down. It was 12:25. I was exhausted. I turned over on my side and closed my eyes, thoughts of turmoil, the band and a shining white light turning in my head.
Light shone on my face and in return, I threw a pillow over my eyes and ignored it, wanting every last second of sleep that I could get. But since sunlight is so damned persistent, especially when one doesn't want to wake up, I was forced to roll out of bed and remember where I was. I was in Des Moines, Iowa at a Mobile 6, waiting for the moment I would be able to see my friends and family, my band, in the hospital and we could get Ran and get the hell out of this state.
I got up and stumbled into the bathroom. I turned on an ice cold shower, shook my jean vest off and hopped in. The cold water woke me up and I gulped some down and felt it pass through my gills, cleaning out the mucous gunk that gathers there naturally to protect them from the dirt in the air. For all the good it does, with all the crap in the air these days. I shut the shower off and jumped out, toweling myself off lightly. I pulled my vest back on and grabbed the card keys, not bothering to make the bed again. Let the maids take care of it, see who flirted with me next time. When that happened, I liked being remembered as the depressed jerk who never accomplished anything. On my way out, the receptionist flashed me a suggestive smile and in return I flashed her a suggestive finger. Without waiting for her to make a face, I stepped out into the middle of the parking lot. With some surprise, I saw that the tour bus had been driven into the parking lot of the hotel. I hopped on board and was surprised at the mess there. The blood wasn't yet completely dried and there was a faint coppery salty odor. The salt smell was stronger.
"I guess the guys should lay off the salt." I mused to myself, turning the key in the ignition and hoping it would start. The engine turned and started and I backed out of the lot and drove into the street. I still didn't know what hospital they'd been taken to.
"The police station…" I muttered. To distract myself, I turned the radio on and cranked it, a heavy metal song Damon'd been listening to on CD last night. The city streets gleamed too bright after last night and it hurt my eyes. I turned onto Wright Street and saw a police car up ahead, pulled over. The guy had his shirt unbuttoned and appeared to be mowing down on an Italian sub. Ranch dressing flecked his mustache. Just my luck, to run right into a cop when I was looking for a police station. I pulled over, slid the window over and stuck my head out.
"Hey, 'xscuse me!" I called. The cop started and looked up at me, a piece of bacon dangling out of his cat-like mouth. He looked ready to shoot me for disturbing his lunch. I refrained from making a disgusted face, remembering all too well the one occasion I had been stopped for drunk driving, the result of which was only half my fault.
"Yeah, whaddaya want, pal, I'm on my break!" said the guy, tearing a huge chunk out of his meat sub. Gross, I thought. I'm a carnivore, but just the way the sub was made looked wrong. Fleshy strips of bacon hanging out, cooked turkey, beef, lettuce and what looked like pale green chunks of dragon steak just oozing blood out of the damned thing. I hadn't eaten anything since last night's show and my stomach was still turning at the sight of it.
"There was an incident last night, some members of a band were taken to a hospital, I'm their drummer. D'you know which hospital they were taken to?" I called out. I turned down the stereo so I could hear the guy and he set down his nauseating sandwich and stepped out of his cruiser. He walked up to the bus window and craned his neck up to look at me. I knew I looked like a mess, my dreadlocks all messy and tired lines under my eyes. My tongue ring felt very slimy in my mouth because I hadn't been able to brush my teeth yet.
"Yeah, I wasn't part of that raid, but my pal Benton was. I'll ask him." said Mr. Disgusting Sandwich. He left to use the radio in his cruiser and I thumped my head on the back of my seat and stared at the ceiling.
"'My pal Benton'. Right. Well, if this guy 'Benton' can tell me where to find my band, I won't tell his ass to 'get bent'." I muttered under my breath.
"Hey, guy!"
I stuck my head out the window again.
"He says your friends are at Iowa General, it's about three miles down this road, then take your first left, the hospital should be right there." he said. I gave him a mock salute and attempted my first half assed smile of the day. He smiled back but I could tell all he really wanted to do was go back to eating his gross sandwich. I rolled my eyes and turned the radio back up, driving in the direction he'd told me. I stopped at a light up ahead and readjusted the rearview mirror while I waited. I was taller than Damon and it was a wonder that such a mediocre thing as the rearview mirror was even still in place after the tornado. Some girls in the car next to me shouted at me and waved, making kissy faces and I turned the radio up louder and ignored them, gritting my teeth and resisting the urge to scream at them. The light turned green and I took the opportunity to gun it and speed past them. Heavy metal music blared in my ears and I began singing along, not well, because it was early for me, but with gusto. I saw the hospital looming up ahead, a big tan building, ugly and very hospital-looking. I pulled into the parking lot and figured screw it. If anyone had wanted to steal anything from the famous tour bus, they probably already did it last night while I was sleeping. I parked it and didn't bother locking it. It wouldn't have mattered anyway, seeing as both doors were shattered, thanks to Ran's foot. I wondered what she was doing right now.
"I told you, I didn't do shit!" I screamed for the hundredth time, banging my fist down on the table separating me from the ugly cop across from me. He had a mob of spiky black hair and very red-looking skin. His eyes were all bloodshot and he smelled like pot. It was making me sick. I folded my wings behind me and stared the wasted cop in the eye, making him calm down. His eyes went out of focus and he pressed a button that would open the door.
"Leave." he said. I more than happily obliged. Outside the dingy room, prison cells lined the walls where all stated of monsters either languished or simply sat bored behind bars. Upon seeing me, another cop took me by the hand, which was very heavily bandaged now, and unlocked the cell door they'd thrown me in the first time. The reason the cop's hand was bandaged was because he'd made the mistake of trying to grab me by the elbow yesterday. He didn't know I had sharp fins on my hips and elbows that are a defense mechanism as sharp and as dangerous as a switchblade.
"Hey, lady. The pig done questioning you?" asked the only other cell occupant, a young, good-looking lizard monster like Freddy with orange eyes and blue skin. He had long red hair that was done in very sloppy dreads. Light gold streaks had been bleached in single strands on either side of his face.
I turned and stared at the guy. From his jumper, his name was simply 0068664352. His real name was Anthony and so far he was the only friend I had in this place. I neither knew nor cared why he was in, but I'd heard rumors of a vampiric blood cult and at least twelve lives. He sat on the edge of the cot, which, ironically enough, was the same exact model and size of my bed back home. I went and sat next to him and he whistled softly. I glared at him from under my hair and he backed off. He really did look so much like Freddy, and I hated him for it, despite his good looks. He caught me staring at him.
"What?"
"Nothing. You look like someone I know, that's all." I said.
He snorted."Probably.I got sixteen siblings. You know his name?" he asked.
"Freddy."
Anthony laughed.
"Freddy, goddammit! Yeah, Freddy's my little brother! Damn! How is the runt?" he laughed.
Suddenly, someone banged on the bars.
"Hey! Your name Ranekaera?" asked the prison guard. I glared at him.
"Yes."
"You got a phone call. Says his name's Guppie." said the guard. I smiled. Finally!
He unlocked the door and handed me a cordless and I took it and said "Hello?"
"Ran! How are you?" said Guppie.
"Fine. How's Freddy?" I asked bitterly. At his brother's name, Anthony smiled broadly, revealing bloodstained fangs. He must have been biting and drawing blood from himself, I thought grimly.
"Come on, Ran, he said he's sorry, we're at the hospital right now."
"And?"
"The staff here is baffled. They haven't had to do a thing to help them at all. Seems you covered it all, kid. Congratulations." said Guppie.
"I know. The cops here are assholes, half of them smoke pot and the other half couldn't find their own asses with both hands and a flashlight, I need to get outta here." I said, not bothering to keep my voice down. I wanted the other inmates and the prison guard to hear this. Some of the guys laughed and one of them actually went so far as to cheer me on.
"Heh heh, no shit. Listen, bail on you is 100 dollars, I'm gonna be over in a minute to bail you outta there, okay kid? I called our agent and we're clearing your name even as we speak. How you doing?" he asked.
"Oh great. I haven't been raped yet." I said, only half joking.
"That's not funny. I'll be right over okay? Hang tight."
"Yeah. See you. Hey, Guppie, tell Freddy I met his brother."
"I will. Bye,"
"Bye."
I hung up the phone and flashed Anthony a thumbs up.
"You getting out?" he asked.
"Yeah."
"Cool. I still got two years left to serve. They might let me out on parole, though." he said hopefully.
"Great." I said, smiling back. I mentally made a note to myself that if I ever heard Anthony was let out, I'd personally find him myself and give him the biggest hug of his life just for existing. I never forget a friend.