The elevator shook slightly as it went up the number of floors, Zoe began to
pace back and forth impatiently. The elevator made a swift ringing noise as the
doors opened once again. Zoe stepped out and looked at her surroundings. In front of the elevator entrance sat her duffel bag, She hoisted it up and placed it on her shoulders.
"I leave 'ere for a few hours and ya' still pounding on the thing you stupid
scuff!"
A familiar voice boomed from a room that was attached to what looked like the living
area. Zoe peered into the area to see the man shaking something. As she walked
in further to have a better look she saw whom he was yelling at. Another man who
was much taller then the first man she met, yet he was shaking in fear. He had
brilliant blue hair, he was also remarkably tall and lanky looking, but what made him stand out the most was that his eyes were all
black, as if they were hollowed out holes.
"I dint mean to Muds! I was' jus' tryin' to fix it thats all!" The man's
hollowed out eyes were open up very wide, possibly in fright but Zoe couldn't
read him very well just from his eyes.
"Thats what you said last time your bloody oaf!"
"Excuse me?" Zoe said sheepishly.
The blue haired man opened his mouth about to say something but his eyes
turned to look at Zoe standing in the entrance of the kitchen.
"Murdoc, whossthat?" He asked while blinking in question. Murdoc let go of
the man's neck and looked at Zoe. Another impish smiled appeared on his
face.
"Nuffin' important 2D" he responded plainly. "So whatcha' still doing here for doll?"
Zoe ignored his question.
"I want you to "SUMMON" me back home now... Please?"
"Don' you tell me what to do! If you wanna leave so bad go back to that rabbit hole!"
"You can't let me go home through that... THING." Zoe complied to him in a meak tone of voice.
"I sure as hell can let you you go back through there luv!" Murdoc said simply.
"But... Its your fault I am here in the first place! If you won't let me go back safely then I think that you should let me stay here until I can find a way to get me back then." Zoe pleaded.
"I don't 'ave to take any responsibility of you!" Murdoc growled without any sign of empathy in his voice.
Zoe clenched her fists on her sides. If he was not going to bring her back home then She had to think of something that would convince him to let her stay there until she could.
"I am the succubus thing you summoned!" Zoe blurted out. Silence filled the room once she uttered those words. Zoe swallowed hard, Perhaps it was a bad idea to just blurt that out. She began to nervously fidget with her pendant dangling from her neck.
Murdoc's eyes narrowed, he trudged closer to Zoe and snatched the pendant
while it was still around her throat, slightly choking her.
She sneered at him, he ignored the venomous look on her face that was aiming towards
him. He dug his hands in the pocket of his trousers and lifted up what seemed to be a necklace, he then examined what his in his hand and the other around her neck. Zoe peered over to the object in his hand, it was the other half of her pendant, Zoe's mind said with shock. Murdoc continued to examined it then grinned.
"Well then, I guess I was wrong about ya' Doll face." He crooned softly and
placed his other hand under her chin and began to caress her skin, his hands
were rough and clammy, calluses were formed on his fingertips. Zoe shook her
head to get his hand away and tried to back away' Murdoc still held onto the
pendant around her throat.
"You can let go now!" She sneered at him. This guy was horrible at first
impressions, he was so egotistical, narcissistic, and rude! Did he not
understand "COMMON COURTESY?" Zoe thought to herself quietly.
"Yo' Muds I told ya' to leave 2D alone man! Ya' need to clean out your ears
or sumthin?" A larger man with blank, white eyes stood in the doorway. His large
snow white rims got larger when he made eye contact with Zoe, behind him was a
girl who looked about the same age as Zoe with short, layered, black locks of
hair, she kept quiet while the larger man began to speak again. "Whose she Muds?" He demanded.
Murdoc simply smiled and let go.
"Oh nuthin special... Just a lil' succubus I
summoned to do my bidding thats all, Shes gonna be my new little hobby til' I
get my love for the bass back."
The tone he said it in made it sound like he was
bragging as if he won the Noble Peace prize, it made Zoe's blood boil inside her
eardrums.
"Succubus? Whaddya need a succubus for Muds?" 2D's black pools on his face
blinked with curiosity.
"'She is kinda... Small?" 2D began to stare at Zoe
aimlessly. Zoe gasped at the comment and crossed her arms.
"I'm not small... I am an adult thank you very much. I am nineteen!" She said boldly.
"Keep quiet for jus' one minute luv." Murdoc demanded.
"She don' look like some succubus to me Muds... Ya' sure 'bout this?" The
larger man stated blandly.
"'Course I'm sure fat ass! Now 'nough with the questions!" Murdoc sneered.
"My name isn't "succubus" you know... Its Zoe..." Zoe wanted to say it louder
but was too scared of the consequences.
" Zo-Wee!" 2D chirped," I like that name, it sounds very joyful if you ask
me."
"You dont have to emphasize the pronunciation silly." Zoe gave a half-hearted smile while 2D began to repeat in different pronunciations of her name. At least some people in the household werent hostile.
"Aight' now that we are all acquainted lets get going doll face." Murdoc
grabbed Zoe's arm and dragged her out of the kitchen to the living room.
"Bye Zo-Wee!" 2D's voice chirped again.
"H-hey! Hold on a second! Can't we discuss this? I have something to ask!"
Zoe stammered. Murdoc let go of her arm and glared at her.
"What is et'?" He tapped his foot impatiently.
"Well... Where am I first off?" Zoe asked trying to be polite.
"Whys 'at matter to you now?" Murdoc spat.
Zoe took in a deep gulp of breathe. Stay calm, stay calm, she chanted in her head.
"I think that I deserve the right to know where I am on the map at least."
"Yer' a feisty lil' devil aren't you dolly? Welcome to my humble abode, the home of the Gorillaz! There now, thas' enough questions for today don' you think? Now lets keep going luv." Murdoc grabbed her arm again and began to drag her once more.
Zoe held onto placed her hand on her arm and tried to pull
away with no avail, either he had a grip of steel or she was just not very
strong. Zoe's instinct took over, she opened her mouth wide and bit down on
Murdoc's clammy, bony hand. His skin tasted bitter, salty and musty. The putrid
taste made her eyes water.
Murdoc stopped dragging her , but still clung onto her arm. A long pause came
between the two, Zoe hopped that he would let go before she could no longer
stand the taste of his skin in her mouth anymore, she felt her stomach lurch,
her eyes watered more, and gag reflex was starting up.
"You can release your fangs now dolly,I don' wantcha' throwing up your guts
all over me!" Murdoc demanded. "If yer' hungry your jus' gonna 'ave to wait."
"Thank God!" Zoe muffled then released Murdoc's flesh from her mouth she took
the sleeve of her shirt and began to wipe off her tongue as she coughed. After
she was down she stood up straight and looked Murdoc straight into his
mismatched eyes.
"I want to go home! Now transport me back home now! I may be that succubus
thing that you are talking about but I DO NOT have any powers or any stupid shit
like that!" Zoe shrieked.
"Put you back already? Fat chance luv, I am actually enjoyin' you being 'ere,
I always wanted a cat... You will make a nice pet." Murdoc said with a sarcastic
tone.
"Well, thats too bad because i refuse to play your stupid little game!" Zoe
declared.
"Well too bad, 'kuz if you wont play my "little game" then you will have to
go back to that hellhole! Does that sound like a funner game? Being eatin' by a
effin' rabbit?" Murdoc cackled.
"... N-No..." Zoe began to shiver from the memory of the freakish demonic
rabbit from before. She was not going back to that place ever again.
"Guess its settled then luv." Murdoc stated merrily, Zoe stiffened up
again.
"I-if you don't put me back home I will do it myself!" She declared with
false bravado while giving him a glare that was full of venom. She walked over
to the front door about to open it, it would not bidge, it was locked shut. Zoe
began to yank on it with all her might until her arms hurt.
"Ya' need yer' own key to get in and out luv." Murdoc said blandly.
"I will break out of here somehow!" She screamed at him again. Murdoc's eyes
narrowed at her.
"Then I will just summon ya' back dolly!"
"Well then I! ... I will... I will go back home again somehow!" Zoe screamed
at him, but Murdoc simply sneered at her.
"Whenever you try to go back home I will just summon you back over 'ere again
and again luv! Admit it! You can't win!" Murdoc scoffed and began to stare down
her venomous glare.
Zoe's eyes began to tear up again. She tried to force the tears to stay
inside of her sockets, but the burning sensation came over her and they fell
onto the floor. She began to breakdown in front of Murdoc.
Murdoc could just stare at her quietly. For once he felt bad making someone
cry. Was he getting soft-hearted? He growled under his breath then grabbed Zoe by her arm
once more, this time with a gentler grip. He was expecting her to pull away and
resist again but to his surprise she kept her head down and allowed him to pull
her.
He led her to the elevator and selected the floor that he desired. Neither
said a word while they waited. The elevator ringed and the metallic doors
opened. Murdoc placed his hand on back onto Zoe's arm, about to grab it again
but she pulled away and stared straight ahead of them with no emotion on her
face, just wet eyes from her tears.
"Follow me doll." Murdoc said bluntly as he walked ahead of her.
"Whatever..." Zoe mumbled with malicious tone, Murdoc did not seem
to even notice her insult. They kept walking down the barren hallway until they
came to a black door.
Instead of opening it up with his hands like a normal person should have he
kicked the door open, Zoe's left eye began to twitch again.
"Now was that really necessary." She scolded him.
"Feh, its MY house and its MY door doll face." He simply retorted back and
looked over to her with an impish grin spread across his thin, sallow, lips.
"Wont you please come in luv?" He motioned his hand inside of the room. "ladies
first of course."
Zoe scoffed and walked inside, the room was very large with no windows at
all, the only way the room was lit up was by one small lamp that casted shadows
along the room's scarelette colored walls. Liquor bottles littered the floor,
along with cigarette butts, porn magazines, and dirty clothes. She cringed when
she saw that she had stepped into an unknown fluid on the floor. She sulked at
the thought of what it might have been. In the middle of the room was a king sized bed with a black quilt, there was no
sheets on it though. Next to the bed was a simple brown nightstand with three
drawers.
"Welcome to my secret love nest my lil' dolly," He waves his arms around
triumphantly as if he won a battle. "Now make yerself at MY home... And Don' Touch
Anything!" He snapped at her and placed a cigarette in between his teeth. "Want
some beer luv?"
"Umm... No thank you I don't like beer..." Zoe blinked repeatedly.
"Your old 'nough to drink 'ere." Murdoc stated.
"I don't want a beer." Zoe said bluntly.
"Aw, I see, vodka then?" Murdoc began pouring a large glass.
"No thank you I dont want any form of Alcohol-" Murdoc handed her the glass
before she could finish her sentence.
Zoe looked at the large glass then looked back at Murdoc who was slugging
down the whole bottle of vodka. She looked back at her glass, it smelt awful to
her. She took a small sip, after all she had never tried vodka before. She
instantly regretted her decision. The drink was very bitter she put a hand on
her mouth and forced herself to swallow, the vodka burned as it trailed down
into her stomach.
"Ya' gonna finish that luv?"
Zoe looked up to see Murdoc staring at her glass with eyes like a hungry
wolf. She handed it to him.
"No thank you..." Zoe sighed and looked down at her lap, everything was just too unreal
for her at the moment.
"Somethin' wrong doll?"
Zoe let out another sigh, Like he really cared about what was wrong with
her.
"Everything... Is just... strange for me right now...I just want to get out
and go home." She let out another heavy sigh.
"Well this is your new home now luv, its not that bad ya' gotta admit that...
Would you rather be lost in the streets of London rotting in an alleyway? Or
back in the vortex with those bloody demons." Murdoc replied while his
snake-like tongue liked the rim of the glass that had once held vodka. "Be
grateful I am lettin' a lil' smart ass girl like you stay 'ere dolly."
Zoe clenched her fists on her lap and gritted her teeth. She was glad that
Murdoc had not sent her back into the vortex but hated that he was a complete
ass.
"Well then... Wheres my bed?" Zoe demanded.
"Oh my... I guess there is only one luv, But dont worry I wouldn't mind
sharing with you" Murdoc smirked. He laughed at Zoe's disgusted look plastered
upon her face.
"I feel so sorry for you Murdoc... Because since I am the guest that means
YOU get the floor." Zoe stated happily making Murdoc frown.
"Its MY bed!" He sneered and got closer to Zoe, she could feel his hot breath
on her face.
"Its called being POLITE." Zoe sneered back and turned her head away from
him. Murdoc's eye twitched in annoyance, he grabbed her chin and forced her to
look at him.
"MY house...MY room...MY bed...MY rules..." He let go of her chin and walked
to the edge of the bed, ignoring Zoe's presence he stripped down to his briefs
and layed down under the covers.
"Your going to bed at this time?" Zoe shrieked, wasn't it in the afternoon
now?
"I can go to bed whenever I want, you go do whatever...I dont care... Just
keep your yap shut and DONT TOUCH ANYTHING!" Murdoc turned over and after a few
minutes began snoring.
Zoe stood there for a while, she then tried to lay herself on floor, she
moved around trying to get comfortable, after many failed attempts she just lay
down in a fetal position and closed her eyes. A few more minutes passed and she
still could not fall asleep, she rose back up to her feet and quietly left the
room.
"'member dollface...If ya' try and go home...I'll just summon you back..."
Murdoc mumbled as Zoe closed the door behind her.
"After I find out more 'bout this spell thing then you can go home." He thought to himself then turned on his side and started to snore.
Zoe stared with a blank face at her surroundings, nothing but an empty hallway lay before her.
She began trudding along the floor. The mansion reminded her of a maze. She continued to walk down the mazelike hallway, after a few steps she couldnt take it any more. She turned to face the wall and slammed a fist into it as hard as her strength allowed, she then broke down in tears and slumped onto the floor.
"Everything was going wonderful until now! I'm trapped here in this hell-hole that I cant leave! With no on but HIM!...And...And he...Is such an Asshole!" Zoe wept to herself.
She wiped her tears away, but just wiping the tears so that on the outside she seemed unfazed did not comfort her.
Zoe dug in her mind for songs, she began to sing. Being the oldest kid of a single mom made Zoe learn to comfort herself without any help from others. She would sing to herself a favorite song of hers and wait for the hurt to dissapear. Zoe looked up at the dark ceiling of the hall, it was rimed with cobwebs. She began to sing louder.
"All alone in the dar,k No walls or windows, Trying hard to define Heaven from hell, Standing out in the rain With just one shadow Nothing to see or believe Beyond myself "
"Is that Richie Sombora? " The girl with short black hair that was hanging around the others downstairs was standing by her. Her fringe covered half of her face, but you could see one eye piercing through it. Her eyes were large,, slightly turning upright and the color of a peridot. Her expression was flat but that one eye showed signs of sympathy.
"I-I am so so sorry! Did I disturb you?" Zoe rose back up to her feet and
wiped off her tears, smearing her eye make-up. The girl simply gaver her a toothy smile.
"You did not disturb me,I heard someone singing so I walked to the source, then I just saw you on the floor and thought Thats so unnatural thing to do, something must be wrong." She stated happily,
Her attitude was very spunky .
"I'm glad that theres someone in this household that I don't irritate... " Zoe sighed.
"So you like Richie Sombora?" She looked up and asked the girl.
"I adore Sombora-sama, he is one of few that made me want to play guitar." She said.
"I am Zoe, what is your name?" Zoe asked lightly.
"My name is Nuudoru" She chirped and slightly bowed.
"Nuudoru?... So your name is Noodle." Zoe smiled began to
examine Noodle's features, "Hmmm... By any chance are you Japanese Noodle?"
"Yes! Yes I am! I am from Osaka region. How did you know that Zoe-san?"
Noodle cocked her head to the side in a questioning manner.
"Oh! Well its just that... My great-grandfather and great-grandmother came to
America from Japan, but they came from the north area, up up up in Hokkaido,
Japan." Zoe made a raised hand motion.
"Oh wow! Hokkaido is so far away from Osaka, I hear its very cold there too." Noodle's one unveiled eye blinked with interest.
"I don't remember if it was cold or not, I was only two when we visited there." Zoe smiled.
"So you are part Japanese then Zoe-san. Do you listen to some Japanese music then Zoe-san?" Noodle asked, the tone in
her voice seemed very interested.
"Yes I do! I only listen to Japanese rock and techno though... have you ever
heard of Despairs Ray© ?" Zoe smiled, Finally a nice conversation that didn't involve arguing.
"Oh yes I have Zoe-san! The guitarists solos are amazing! I am also a fan of a techno band called Aural Vampire" Noodle nodded.
"I love that band! The singer's voice is so hypnotic! Shes perfect for trance
beats! They had a concert in America before... But it was only in a few states
and sadly Minnesota was not one of them... But oh well, what Can you do right? I
can be just as happy listening to their CDs." Zoe said with enthusiasm.
"I only heard a few of their song, I wish I could hear more someday." Noodle
sighed and stretched her arms out, "So... You are from America then...How did you get here?'
"I...Flew...I think..." Zoe said half a mumble and half of an embarassed whisper.
"I see, what are you doing in the hallway all by yourself?" Noodle continued to question her.
"...I... Just wanted to get away from Murdoc... Since he is busy sleeping." Zoe said while looking back down at her feet. Noodle's unhidden eye changed from having a glimmer of sympathy to a narrow suspicious stare.
"Zoe-san... Are you... Murdoc's groupie?" She asked bluntly. Zoe's eyes got
so huge that they looked as if they would explode out of their sockets.
"OH GOD NO! No no no no no! Absolutely no! I am just ermm... A helper or
something? I am uh..." Zoe groaned, unable to really explain the whole story to
her. " Honestly Noodle... I dont know what I am here for... But I do know that I
AM NOT a groupie."
"Oh! Thats so wonderful Zoe-san! I am glad that your not just a groupie! Most
of them are so rude and air-headed, they can not keep a good conversation
either." Noodle stated while nodded in approval. "Its kinda late Zoe-san... I better head off to my room again. Are you going to get some sleep soon?"
"Its night time already? Wow... I guess I didnt notice anything... I havent
saw a window here at all." Zoe stammered then began to think, she was exhausted
mentally and physically. She wanted to get some sleep but she was not going to
sleep with Murdoc, the perverted old man.
"I will just sleep here then."
Noodle's eye widened. "Oh no Zoe-san! I not let you sleep on the floor like
this! That would be rude. I will bring you to a room, I no think this one has a bed, but I know it
has a good couch! This way Zoe-san!." Noodle began to walk ahead while Zoe followed close behind her.
The journey wasn't that far away from whence they came from, only about 8 more rows
of doors down to a black that was accented with a silver and pink door knob.
"This was my first room when I first arrived in Kong Studios a long time ago,
you can stay here now. Its better then sleeping on the hallway floor,no?" Noodle chirped merrily.
"Thank you Noodle, Its more then better." said Zoe with gratitude with her hand on the doorknob.
"Sometime would you like to listen to some music with me when you are not busy?" Noodle asked.
"Sometime? Sure, why not? When do you want to hang out?" Zoe liked the idea of actually having someone to talk to.
Noodle paused and placed her thumb and pointer finger under her chin in a thinking manner she then began to count on her fingers in Japanese
"How about tomorrow? That is when I will be free."
"I have nothing to do here tomorrow. That sounds good. Lets meet here in the hallway in the morning, I would ask to meet you somewhere else but, I dont know my way around here" Zoe replied.
"Oyasumi, Goodnight Zoe-san! I see you tomorrow." Noodle waved and walked
into the elevator to reach her destination.
Zoe returned a wave back to her, she faced the door again and turned the knob, the door opened with a loud squeak the that echoed through the pitch black . She felt the wall on her left side and found the lightswitch. The switch turned on a small lamp that was resting ontop a hot pink wardrobe, She gazed around the room, it was empty besides a long, pink, victorian style couch with a baby blue canopy above. It would not have been her choice of colors, but It was better then nothing.
Zoe walked in the corridors and shut the door. She slumped herself onto the couch
making dusk particles flutter into the air. They surrounded her like fluffy stars
placed on the sky. She layed there and stared at the ceiling above, dust and cobwebs stared back at her, the hallway looked cleaner then the ceiling above her now.
She closed her eyes, trying to focus on trying to sleep. When sleep decided to delay itself upon her examined her nails, then braided parts of her hair for a while.
Finally sleep claimed her.
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN AURAL VAMPIRE OR DESPAIRS RAY!