Chapter 6
"You know what I just realized?" Karla asked, looking over at Carmilla. The two of them had been sitting quietly in the living room for a while now, Karla huddled up on the couch watching TV and Carmilla on one of the chairs working on something on her laptop.
"Hm?" Carmilla said distractedly, before looking up at Karla after a few seconds.
"Despite sitting fairly close to each other the whole time, not once did you react to my scent with your usual urge. You must truly be sated right now." Karla said, looking relieved as she said it. As much trust as she had in Carmilla's self-control, it was still unnerving when she looked at her with those hungry red eyes.
"I certainly feel sated at the moment, but even when I do catch your scent, I feel more protective of you, than predatory right now." Carmilla said, she hadn't really noticed how she reacted to her friend's scent before she had mentioned it.
"Protective?" Karla said confused, not having expected that little bit of information. "How so?"
"The minute I stopped drinking from you, in my mind, you kind of went from prey to something I had to protect. The sudden change was actually really weird, but I'm glad it happened, since I had to hold you close to prevent you from dropping to the ground. Before, I would have immediately fallen into the bloodthirst, and with you being so close I doubt I could have stopped myself." Carmilla shuddered at the thought of what could have happened.
"Maybe some implanted instinct of your power? Maybe it realizes that you can get more from me over multiple feedings, than if you kill me in the first?" Karla said, feeling weirded out by her statement. "Gosh, this feels strange to talk about."
"No shit. I mostly just ignore the weirdest bits, but then you decide to point it out." Carmilla chuckled. "But I would actually be really glad, if my power no longer pushes me to kill you. Or if it even makes it easier, to only drink as much as you can safely give."
"That would be nice. And if you don't take too much, I might not even feel like crap for a day or more afterward." Karla agreed. "And also, I can't help being curious about your powers and bringing up the weird shit. Better we find out about it, before it bites us in the ass. Or the arm or neck if you're doing the biting I guess."
"Fair enough." Carmilla chuckled. "When we're already on the topic, how are you feeling?"
"Pretty good actually, but that might just be because I'm lying down. If you help me up, I can give you a better answer." Karla said stretching out her arms for Carmilla to take. "I need to go to the bathroom anyway. I'm surprised I didn't have to go sooner with all the juice I've been drinking today."
"Your body probably used it to replenish all the fluid you lost." Carmilla walked over and lightly grasped her friend's hands, before carefully lifting her up, making sure she didn't tip over. "Careful now okay, don't strain yourself."
"I'm fine!" Karla said, before letting out a startled "Whoa!" as she felt the whole room moving.
"You don't look fine." Carmilla said concerned, having caught her friend before she could fall over.
"Just a little woozy that's all. I always feel a bit dizzy when I get up too fast. It was just a bit stronger than it usually is" Karla waved her off, taking a few shaky steps toward the hallway. "See, I can already walk on my own, no need to worry."
"If you say so." Carmilla said, not sounding very convinced. She did, however, let Karla walk to the bathroom on her own, only staying close enough to catch her if she would suddenly tip over.
"You gonna follow me into the bathroom too?" Karla asked jokingly. "I am only a little weak, not completely handicapped you know."
"Just call out if you need my help." Carmilla said, used to Karla's antics by now. She walked back to the living room after Karla closed the bathroom door, keeping an ear out, in case Karla needed her help.
It was a few minutes later, when Karla shuffled back into the living room. Having freshened up a little, she did look much better already.
"I think, I'm going to meet with the girls tonight, trying to get them on board with the plan." Karla announced after sitting back down.
"You're feeling up for it already?" Carmilla asked, worrying that her friend might push herself too far.
"Pretty much yeah, getting up and down any stairs might pose a challenge, but just walking and talking I can do." Karla said confidently.
"If you're sure." Carmilla said dubiously, realizing that she wouldn't be changing her friend's mind anytime soon. "But I'm coming with you."
"Sure, but I think it would be better, if you stayed out of the meeting at first." Karla proposed. "Until we know for sure that they are on board, you shouldn't reveal yourself to them."
"Makes sense I guess." Carmilla said, surprised at how quickly her friend had agreed. "I'll stay out of sight, and you can just call me if you need help or are in trouble."
"Sounds like a plan." Karla said, leaning back on the couch. "I'll text them and tell them to meet me at Petra's house, it's the closest to here."
They waited a few more hours for the sun to set, and from there a bit longer until they decided they were ready to go. Carmilla was once more wearing a black hoodie to cover her figure and on Karla's advice, she had also put a scarf in one of her pockets, in case she wanted to cover up her face.
It took them a while to get to Petra's apartment, since Karla had to take a few breaks in between. They did eventually arrive and Carmilla left Karla on the front door, to hide in one of the alleys nearby. Karla, meanwhile, started the arduous climb up the stairs to Petra's apartment.
Feeling slightly woozy and out of breath, she knocked on Petra's door, already hearing multiple voices from the inside.
"Hey girl!" Petra said enthusiastically when she opened the door and recognized Karla standing in front of her. Petra's long black hair was pulled up in a ponytail and she was clothed in a long and comfy-looking bathrobe. She gave Karla a quick hug before pulling her inside. "Come in, come in. The others are already here."
"Hey everyone." Karla said cheerfully, after she followed Petra into the living room, stopping short when she saw someone was missing. "Wait, where's Cho?"
"She couldn't come today." Answered Petra having walked over to the couch, where Anna and Claire were sitting. Anna was a short white girl, that Karla had taken under her wings after she had first met her two years ago. She had long blond hair and blue eyes and looked like the perfect propaganda picture for the E88. Claire on the other hand was a tall and lean woman and out of all of them the oldest at 32 years. Karla and Claire had been friends for years now and she was, despite her abrasive personality, one of Karla's best friends aside from Carmilla. She used to look a lot like Karla, but with the first visible signs of aging, she looked a lot more like a strict teacher. Especially with the scowls she normally wore, when she wasn't trying to entice a customer.
"Cho said, she had a regular today she couldn't just drop, or he won't come back again." Added Anna, being the closest to Cho in age, they had formed quite the close friendship. "I nearly cancelled as well, but you said it was important."
"I did." Said Karla, sitting down on a chair facing the couch. "It has to do with what we discussed the last time we met."
"You mean the missing girls?" Asked Petra, leaning forward with interest. "I didn't think we had any way to find them. Did something change?"
"Damn right did something change." Interjected Claire before Karla could answer. "Two more girls disappeared just a few days ago. I didn't learn about it until this morning, when one of their friends called me and asked if I knew anything."
"Shit, I didn't know about that." Karla was concerned to hear that even more girls had gone missing since the last time they've talked. She could only hope, that Carmilla might come up with a way to get them back. If they were even still alive that is. "But yes, it's about that. Do you remember how we talked about finding protection of our own? I might have found a cape that is willing to offer us assistance."
"Didn't we talk about this the last time?" Asked Claire confused. "There are no capes around here, that are both unaffiliated with any of the gangs and also strong enough to provide protection. And I didn't hear about any new trigger going around."
"It is a new trigger, actually." Explained Karla, careful with how much she said. She didn't want to reveal her friend's identity just yet. She decided that she wanted to play it on the safe side for now. "I knew the cape from before they triggered, and I have seen them use their power already. I trust them and while they might not be strong enough to solo Lung anytime soon, they are more than capable enough to deal with the foot soldiers."
"And what would that mysterious cape want in exchange for their protection?" Asked Claire. "We have discussed this already, we don't have anything to offer. And I definitely don't believe that they are willing to risk their lives for us, from the goodness of their heart."
"They're actually not asking for money, they want something else instead." Answered Karla, having expected Claire to be the most distrusting of them.
"So, they want our bodies instead?" Claire scoffed. "And how is that any different than what the ABB is doing?"
"No offense to you Karla." Anna interjected. "But, if I have to choose between an unknown and looking for protection by the E88, then I'm choosing the empire, sorry. Better the devil I know and so on."
"No need to be sorry, I can totally understand how you feel and would probably act the same. I'm actually surprised you haven't already gone to them. They would welcome you with open arms." Answered Karla.
"I distrust them about as much as I do the ABB. I just know, that because of my looks I'll be handled with a bit more dignity and respect, than by the ABB." Anna said, showing her revulsion at the idea. "It's only a last option of desperation, one I'll hopefully never have to choose."
"Good thing then, that you won't." Said Karla, bringing the topic back on track. She looked at Claire and spoke. "The cape doesn't want our bodies. They don't want much actually. Just a bit of blood every few weeks. It's not that bad really, it's similar to when you go to donate the blood at the hospital."
"Is that why you look a bit sick?" Asked Petra, she had stayed out of the discussion so far. "I was meaning to ask. You were looking quite pale and exhausted when you knocked on the door. Did you already give some of your blood for protection?"
The other two took a closer look at Karla and agreed with Petra. Karla had tried to hide some of the paleness with make-up, but apparently wasn't really successful with it.
"I did yes." Admitted Karla. "I guess you could call it a proof of concept, and a prepayment to secure their services."
"You trust them that much?" Asked Claire, not liking how Karla had seemingly jumped the gun with the cape.
"I do actually, yes." Confirmed Karla.
"And what exactly are they doing with that blood?" Asked Claire, suspicious of a possible master that used the blood of people to control them or worse.
"That I can't say." Said Karla, not wanting to reveal Carmilla's dietary needs just yet.
"Can't or won't?" Claire asked to specify.
"Won't." Said Karla, before realizing what had Claire so suspicious. "You think they use the blood for a nefarious purpose, right?"
"Not much else you can use blood for, is there?" Claire answered.
"Fair enough." Said Karla, thinking about what to say. "While I won't give you any details, I can at least say, that they are not using the blood for any nefarious purpose that will harm the donor in any way. Of course, I could be mastered or otherwise forced to say this, but if I were, I would have probably not told you about the blood anyway. And let's be honest, why would anyone go through all that effort to master some random hookers. There would be much easier targets to go for, if all you needed is blood."
"I guess that's true." Claire acquiesced, not really having a retour for that. "So, to summarise, a bag of blood every few weeks and they will watch out for us?"
"Exactly." Said Karla, hoping that her friend was starting to come around to the idea.
"I guess we can try it then." While Claire wasn't completely convinced of the cape's sincerity or effectiveness, they were running out of options. And as much as she was a sceptic, she did trust Karla and that she wouldn't lie to them. Both Petra and Anna nodded their heads, visible relief showing on their faces with the possibility of safety. "So, when are we going to meet them?"
"I was planning to arrange a meet after you guys agreed to it." Karla said, reaching into her bag to get her phone.
As she pulled it out, suddenly a ringtone became audible. "It's not mine." She said, after a quick check, as the others looked at her in surprise.
Meanwhile, Anna had reached into her own bag, as she felt her own phone vibrating. Pulling it out made it clear which phone was ringing, as the sound suddenly became much clearer.
"It's Cho." Anna said confused, not expecting a call from her. She pressed on accept and put the phone on speaker. "Hey Cho, I'm here with the others. Is everything alright? I thought you were with a customer."
"I think I'm in trouble." Came a slightly panicked, out-of-breath-sounding voice from the phone. "A van showed up at one of my usual spots and I think it is now following me."
"Did you see inside?" Asked Klara, getting a bad feeling about the situation. "Are there any ABB members inside?"
"I think so yeah." Cho answered, sounding desperate. "I only got a quick look, but I'm pretty sure I saw gang colours."
"Cho where are you right now?" Karla asked, she had already started to type a message for Carmilla detailing the situation.
"I'm trying to walk away, but the van just keeps following my turns. I don't want to start to run and provoke a reaction." Answered Cho, sounding more panicked by the minute. "I'm south of the docks, close to that sushi place we used to go "SIM-CHI" or something."
"Are you walking southbound?" Kalra wanted to clarify.
"Yes, why?" Cho confirmed before letting out a squeak and saying in a panicked voice. "Oh god, I think they are speeding up, what do I do?"
"Cho, just keep on going south, okay?" Karla tried to reassure her friend. "I'm sending someone to help you."
"What?" Cho said. "Who?"
It had been nearly 30 minutes by now since Karla had entered the flat and Carmilla was starting to get bored. At first, she had been entertaining herself by using her enhanced senses to get a feel of the area around her. She had never realized it before, but the amount of ambient noise in a city was incredible, and you could build a pretty good picture of what was going on around you.
It had been fun at first, listening in on the conversations in the apartments around her, but it had quickly gotten boring, when she mostly just heard them talk about work or some random tv program in the background.
By now she was just sitting on a dumpster, using her newfound strength to make a sculpture with some nails she had found nearby. She could easily bend them in strange shapes without hurting herself. She hoped that Karla was finished soon, or she might run out of nails.
So, it was with some relief, when she felt her phone buzz. Pulling it out, the relief quickly turned to concern and anger as she read Karla's message.
Cho, one of girls, in danger.
Abb van following, south of docks, walking south from SIM-CHIs
Please help
Determined, she hopped off the dumpster and started to run towards the docks. While they didn't live in the docks themselves, they were close enough to it, that she thought she could get there in a few minutes. That estimation turned out to be wrong, when she realized that her newfound speed allowed her to run much faster than before.
Afraid that a CCTV-Camera could catch her face, she pulled out the scarf and wrapped it around her face. Between the hood and the scarf, her face was now completely covered, only showing her eyes.
She made good time, and only a minute later she came in sight of the Sushi place Karla had mentioned in her text. Because it was late, there were only very few people out and about, the street in front of the Shushi-place practically abandoned. This made it easy for Carmilla to spot the van Karla had mentioned. The lack of people would also make sure, that no one would witness what was about to happen. She quickly hurried closer and could now also see a girl walking in front of the van. She was pretty small, wearing very revealing clothing, and she was quite obviously doing her best, to keep herself from panicking.
Just as Carmilla came close enough to be seen by both the girl, whose name Karla had said was Cho, and the people in the van, the van suddenly speed up and quickly came up next to Cho. The side door slid open and two guys wearing ABB colours jumped out. Cho had started to run as soon as she had heard the van accelerating, but they quickly caught up to her and despite her struggling, dragged her towards the van.
"Oh no, you don't." Carmilla growled out, remembering her own encounter a few days back, she saw red.
Dashing over quickly enough, to have the gang members think she teleported, she slammed into the first of them. Despite Carmilla weighing only half as much as him, the guy was lifted off his feet and thrown into the side of the van, leaving a good-sized dent in it.
The second one showed to have better reactions than the first and had let go of Cho, which fell down and desperately scrambled away. He pulled out a knife and tried to stab Carmilla with it. This all had happened in moments, but to Carmilla's enhanced senses, it appeared as if the guy was moving in slow motion. She easily caught the guy's wrist and wrenched it to the side making him drop the knife.
A gut-wrenching crack could be heard, as his wrist was bent too far and subsequently broke. It reminded her to be mindful of her newfound strength but did little to awaken any sympathies for the man. To make sure he didn't get back up or alarm anyone with his screaming, she knocked him out, holding back quite a lot this time so the punch would not splatter his brain everywhere.
The first guy, which she had thrown into the side of the van, was back on his feet by now, obviously in pain, if his groans were anything to go by. But despite the pain, he had still managed to pull out a gun and now tried to aim it at Carmilla. Not wanting to test if she was actually bulletproof, she managed to get in close enough before he got a shot off and slapped the gun to the side.
She actually expected it this time, so she wasn't surprised when an audible crack was heard, as once more someone's wrist was broken. Before she could follow up on it, however, she felt something violently punch into her side. A loud bang followed and having focused so much on her enhanced senses, it felt like something was drilling into her ear.
Blearily blinking, trying to ignore the ringing in her ears, she saw a third guy standing in front of the van, pointing a gun at her with smoke still coming from the barrel. Cursing herself for forgetting about the driver, she realized that if it wasn't for her powers, she would be dead by now.
The driver, meanwhile, was shocked to see how little the bullet seemed to have fazed her. She looked at him, her scarf and the hood covered most of her face and let only her vibrant red eyes be shown. The piercing gaze made him feel like he stood in front of a predator and despite having been in cape fights before, he froze.
Despite the dangerous way of finding out, Carmilla now had the confirmation of being bulletproof, and that knowledge filled her with new confidence. She rushed over to him, and he only got off one more shot before she managed to grab the gun. She was happy when she realized, that she didn't break any wrists this time. Holding him up by the neck she took stock of the situation.
The fight had been surprisingly easy, even if she had made plenty of mistakes, now however she stood before the dilemma on what to do with the would-be kidnapper. She quickly dropped the idea of letting them go, not wanting everyone to already know about a new cape in town. That also excluded killing them by draining their blood, as any unusual deaths would be accredited to a new cape. A small voice inside her balked at the easy way she was contemplating murder, but she mainly just blended it out.
Seeing as death by gunshots was a fairly normal way to die in Brockton Bay and thus wouldn't raise any suspicion as it happened daily, she decided to stage a fight between two rival gangs. Using the gun, she had taken from the driver, she first shot both the guys she had knocked out. She then shot the driver in the chest, killing him instantly, she watched as the blood started to flow out.
Having just fed on Karla a few hours ago, she didn't really feel any thirst, but a voice inside her lamented on the waste of it and Carmilla had to agree. She pulled down her scarf to expose her mouth and drank from the open wound, trying to not leave any marks on the body. She stayed like this for a while, enjoying the delicious taste of the blood, until she heard a shuffling to the side. Dropping the body, she whirled around, only to see a shocked Cho, which she had completely forgotten. At her sudden movement, Cho let out a startled squeak and bolted away. Realizing how she must have looked, being covered in blood, Carmilla decided it to be best, to not force a conversation with Cho right now and just let her go.
The day had started pretty good for Cho at first. It had sucked, that she had to cancel on the girls because of a customer, but other than that the day had been great. That had been true until she had seen the van seemingly waiting for her. She had been scared then, especially when the van sped up to catch up to her and have those guys grab her, but it didn't compare to the raw terror she was feeling right now.
She had at first been relieved when someone attacked the kidnappers, believing them to be the cape Karla had sent to help her. That relief quickly turned to shock when she saw her kill the knocked-out guys in cold blood and then changed to terror when she started to drink one of the guy's blood.
She had tried to sneak away, while the cape was distracted, but must have tripped over something. The noise had alerted the cape and they quickly turned towards her. And when she saw those piercing red eyes, Cho had lost it and she ran away.
She ran for more than two blocks before she risked a look back, which was when she realized the cape hadn't followed her, or at least she couldn't see them anymore. Not believing she was completely out of harm's way, she kept on going, this time however at a much slower rate.
She turned a corner and nearly bumped into someone, at first, she thought it was the cape from before, but that fear quickly went away, as she saw who it was.
"Oh my god, Cho are you alright?" Karla asked, having caught the girl at the shoulder to not bump into her. She and the other girls had left the flat, shortly after she had sent the text to Carmilla. It had taken them longer than they liked, because Karla had to take a quick breather every now and then, but they hoped to be there in time to provide Carmilla with aid if needed.
"What the fuck Karla." Cho screamed out, finally feeling somewhat safe with people she knew, and her previous terror turned into anger. "Who the hell was that?"
"What do you mean?" Karla said confused, she had expected the other girl to be scared or relieved but not angry. "What happened?"
"That cape you said would help me, she fucking killed them all and then drank that one guy's blood." Cho said. "Who the hell did you make a deal with Karla? She looked like a god damn monster."
"Hey, okay, I get it. It has been a shocking experience." Karla tried to calm the obviously still terrified girl down, mentally cursing Carmilla for scaring her that bad. "I know she can be scary, but she is on our side okay, she won't hurt you."
"You don't get it, you weren't there." Cho said angrily, remembering the scene vividly. "She looked like a monster with that black hoodie and the blood dripping from her mouth. And those eyes…god, those eyes."
"You realize calling your saviour a monster, isn't really nice, do you?" A voice suddenly said, coming from the alley they were standing next to. The cold, expressionless voice sent a shiver down the girls's spine.
They quickly whirled around and took an instinctive step back when they saw a pair of red eyes stare at them. One could barely make out the silhouette of a person in the shadows, but the little things they saw, like the barely dried blood, was more than enough for them.
Seeing those piercing eyes once more, Cho squeaked and tried to hide behind Karla. Not that the reactions of the others were any better, even Karla, who had immediately realized whom those eyes belonged to, had to keep herself from taking a step back. Cho hadn't lied when she said she had seen a monster. Right now Carmilla made for a frightening sight, the black clothing, the blood, and then those eyes. You couldn't blame Cho for calling her monstrous.
"Thank you for helping her." Karla forced herself to say, realizing that none of the others were going to say anything. Guessing by Carmilla's behaviour, she didn't want to reveal herself right now, she decided to play along. "Please forgive my friend for calling you monstrous. She's just a bit freaked out right now and didn't really mean it."
You could see from Cho's expression that she didn't really agree with that, but luckily, she kept quiet for now.
"I see." Carmilla said, her voice once more running a shiver down their spines. "Is she alright? The ABB didn't manage to hurt her?"
"She's fine." Karla said. "A bit freaked out as I said, but physically alright. Thank you for that."
The girls could barely make out the figure giving Karla a nod before turning around and disappearing into the alley. They just stood there for a while, trying to figure out what just happened.
"Okay." Claire said after a while, still sounding a bit shaken, before voicing what was on anyone's thoughts right now. "What the fuck!"