Waking Up Dead
Ketti: Well, this isn't technically the surprise I've been hinting at. Due to real life intruding on my muse, the srpris will be scattered across a few days, apparently. You'll probab;y get more of an uidea of it the next update. But for now, enjoy a chapter I had half written for I do't remember how long and finished last night.
"Here, drink this." A feminine voice purred in her ears, the rim of a cup pressed to her lips, and Seras felt so thirsty that she didn't fight it. She was just so tired, and she felt sick, and her slightly feverish mind fell back through the years to the orphanage where the nuns would nurse her like this when she was ill. So she drank, the tangy liquid reminding her a bit of tomato soup, the ache in her throat was soothed by it and she fell back into a more restful doze with a half smile curling her lips.
Officers Simon Davies and Eddie Kalvosh were poking around the empty warehouse, lost among the camera flashes and plastic baggies, their own hands gloved as per regulation as they examined the vacated cages. "Do you really think our Kitten was held here, Simon?" Eddie asked solemnly, a sick feeling in his gut as he observed the dried blood stains. They'd need samples of them, and any hairs stuck in the cracks for DNA testing. "I hope not." Was the only answer Simon could give before the large double doors burst open in a flash of red light from the setting sun.
"What in the..?" Simon muttered, straightening up from his crouch to squint at the silhouettes marching into the crime scene. The bare-bulb lights from the ceiling caught on golden army uniforms, and Simon groaned under his breath as he recognized the shield insignia on their shoulders. "Shit."
One of the men, the leader presumably, stepped forward from the throng and pursed his lips as he stared somewhat disdainfully at the police officers scattered about the large space. "What are you doing here? This case was taken out of your hands. This is Hellsing jurisdiction now."
There was a great outcry of disbelief, but all the protests were muffled under the paperwork shoved under their noses. With muttered curses and plenty of disparaging remarks, the police were forced to vacate the building, as well as to leave all their samples behind as they were also Hellsing property now.
"This isn't going to just end here," Simon swore to Eddie, "we're going to find her come Hell or high water."
Seras woke with the rising moon, yawning hugely and stretching her arms over her head, back cracking satisfyingly. "Man, I haven't slept that good in ages!"
A chuckle met her ears, and she turned to observe her rescuer, Neekz, sitting cross legged on her bed in casual black slacks and a grey tanktop, the hair pinned back from her left eye with blue clips, and her gleaming white locks tied up in two pigtails at the back. "Good evening, Sleeping Beauty," she purred, dipping her head in a regal greeting, the cheeky grin on her face ruining the act, and Seras' cheeks flushed before she laughed, bobbing her head as well.
Everything was happening so fast, and now that she had a quiet moment to think she chewed on her lower lip until she accidentally broke the skin with her much sharper upper canines. "So," she sighed, "I'm a vampire now. So what do I do?"
Neeks got up and sauntered over to the couch, flopping down beside her and draping a casual arm over her shoulders. "You learn a few tricks from an old pro, and you survive."
"That sounds so bleak, just surviving." Seras frowned, fingers clenching in the too-long sleeves of her borrowed shirt.
Neekz shrugged, laying her head on Seras' shoulder, and the blonde shifted a bit uncomfortably. "Well, we're undead now, so we can't exactly live, but you learn to find the pleasure in the night, kid. And, hey, you're not alone, you've got me until you find someone better."
Seras smiled weakly, and her stomach rumbled, making her blush. The argent haired stranger laughed and leaped to her feet to prowl over to the fridge and toss Seras a small bottle that read 'V8', the blonde's nose crinkled a bit as she was never too fond of the salty taste. Neekz' brow arched and a hand fell to her hip, "It's all I've got toots, bottoms up."
Seras shrugged and unscrewed the cap, pinching her nose with one hand and closing her eyes as she tipped her head back and took a great big gulp. Surprisingly, she found that she liked the taste, and was quick to finish it, much to her new 'teacher's amusement. There was something about that look in Neekz' visible eye that made Seras wonder what the joke was, but she didn't ask. Instead, she turned her head, and observed the tv in the corner. "Hey, do you mind if I watch the news?"
"Eh? Hm… Sure, why not." Neekz threw her arms up behind her head and dropped onto her bed to watch the telly with her guest, an absent look on her face as she seemed to drift away in her thoughts.
"…In other news, the search for missing police officer Seras Victoria has had no leads. If you have any information, you are asked to call Crime Stoppers." Seras' face went blank as she saw herself on the screen, hands clenching into fists.
"Sad story, Casey, that young lady is well known on the streets for her volunteer work at the shelters. Speaking of police, word has come in about the raid on the warehouse district; there were no casualties, and in fact, uncovered a human trafficking ring and five teenage girls were recovered as well as three males."
At the sight of the warehouse, Seras gasped, the area familiar to her and Neekz cursed. "Shit! Jan's going to be on the rampage for this."
Two pictures, a blond long haired man and a nut brown male wearing a decorated beanie appeared, the latter raising a censored middle finger and leering. "These two men, Jan and Luke Valentine, are the owners of the warehouse, a warrant has been placed for their arrest and questioning about the trafficking ring in their building. Any news about their whereabouts should be reported to the police."
The tv went off suddenly as Neekz jumped to her feet. "Crap! We gotta run, toots. Get underground. Jan's going to be coming after us out of spite more than anything else. You can get a shower if you need one, but make it fast."
Seras stared at her mutely for a moment, then shook her head, "I'll help pack," she said instead, strangely calm in the face of the danger. Her host laughed and threw a dufflebag at her, pointing her to the small dresser while she filled a soft sack cooler with the bottles of juice from the fridge. Seras blindly shoved the underthings into the side pocket and grabbed multiple shirts and pants that she assumed from a glance they could both wear. As an afterthought she grabbed a few socks as well. In less than five minutes they were ready and Seras was pulling a pair of borrowed pants on underneath her large sleeping shirt, the sleeves rolled up to her wrists comically.
"We're leaving," Neekz announced, grabbing Seras' arm, and blackness swirled over her vision. She thought for a moment she had lost consciousness, but it cleared a moment later to reveal a dry sewer. "Ew," she muttered, scrunching her nose.
Neekz snorted, her eyes glowing in the dark, and Seras realized for the first time that the one hidden by her bangs was red, "Get used to it, toots, we're not going topside for the next few days. Not unless we want to get our pretty asses staked in the sun by the dick face that had you in that cage."
Seras cringed at the thought and nodded. She felt a little odd, as if some voice in her head kept whispering to her to stay calm, to listen to Neekz, to be a good girl and keep quiet. The voice bothered her, but she couldn't explain why. "So," she ventured after a moment, "if I'm a vampire now, does that mean I can turn into a bat?"
Neekz scoffed and ruffled Seras' hair affectionately, "Pff, no. You need to drink a lot of blood, and maybe even kill a few people, before you earn your wings baby bat." Seras swatted at Neekz hand and growled lowly before kicking at the cement. "A sewer, please tell me we can smuggle some sort of beds down here? That floor can't be sanitary."
"Hmm…" Neekz hummed thoughtfully, grabbing Seras' wrist and pulling her along down the dry passageway, "I think I can manage that without catching Big Red's attention."
"Who's Big Red?"
Neekz paused, and Seras nearly bumped into her back. "Oh, you don't need to worry about him. I'll tell you later."
Seras woke slowly, eyelids heavy as bricks as she stretched and groaned. The smell of the sewer lay thick as fog around her, no amount of positive thinking allowing her to ignore it. Moving the lumpy pillow over her face, she tried to get back to sleep on the stiff futon, but rest eluded her. Frustrated, she sat up and made a grab for the soft cooler bag, she was thirsty. Unscrewing the cap of a V8 bottle, she practically guzzled the red liquid, licking her lips after with a satisfied hum. Dropping the empty container into the side pocket, she looked up at the other futon across from her only to find it empty. Neekz was gone.
Eyebrows knitting in puzzled alarm, the police girl craned her neck to scan the circular room for any sign of the elder girl, but there was none. That little voice in the back of her head told her she should sit and wait for Neekz's return, but the louder more rebellious part of her wanted to get some fresh air.
So she set off in a trot, looking for a ladder up to the surface while counting the number of turns in case she had to make her way back. Just when she was about to give up and retreat back to the boredom of the 'room', she saw a bright yellow ladder leading up to a dim orange halo of light around the man hole cover. Clambering up eagerly, she pressed experimentally on the lid and was surprised when it practically flew upwards, catching it reflexively before it could crack her skull, she glanced quickly from side to side before exiting the stinking tunnels for an empty trash littered alley.
She… probably shouldn't be seen, she realized with a disheartened slump of her shoulders, she wasn't exactly human anymore, and was unsure if her government knew anything about the things that went bump in the night. Perhaps they'd lock her away and experiment on her/ She couldn't do that to Eddie and Simon. So… with reluctance, she only walked a few paces to a cleaner spot near the wall to sit and wait.
What was she waiting for?
She wasn't really sure, but it felt important. At least, she thought it did. As though she were being called to stand attendance. Such a strange feeling to have the way her life has been turned upsidedown. Well, she'd have plenty of time to examine it, since what little she knew of vampires said they didn't die unless they were killed. Was that an oxymoron? Maybe.
She wasn't really sure how much time had passed before she heard heavy footsteps approaching. Tensing, she leaped to her feet, gaze flitting about restlessly for any hint of who it could be. Perhaps a homeless person? But, no, those boots sounded heavy and expensive. A fellow police officer doing the rounds? That would be bad, but perhaps worse would be that blonde man, the well dressed one she thought was the older Valentine brother.
Shit, she was completely exposed up here and unarmed. She should have waited for Neekz!
The walker turned the corner and Seras relaxed a little; she didn't recognize him as anyone from her precinct, so she guessed he was a clubber taking a shortcut between the buildings, he was certainly dressed for the part.
He didn't seem surprised to see her, though his footsteps slowed as he drew closer, and she realized just how tall he was, as he tipped his head down to peer at her over the rims of his amber lensed glasses.
"Hullo," she greeted as she leaned against the wall more casually. His lips twitched before he straightened, deep voice seeming to make the very air shiver. "Good evening."
"It is, isn't it?" Seras mused, casting her gaze up to the surprisingly cloudless sky. She frowned a little as she caught a glimpse of the moon, it seemed to be dyed red, but surely that was just a trick of the light, or smog.
"The kind of ngiht that makes you want to get a bite to drink." The stranger replied with a shark grin, and she started in alarm, taking in the elongated points of his teeth with some trepidation. Laughing nervously she rubbed the back of her neck, backing away a step. "If you say so," she agreed without really agreeing.
"As it happens, I do, little lost police girl." He purred, looming over her suddenly, blotting out the very sky as his glasses glowed from the light of his eyes, a mad grin splitting his face.
Completely unnerved now, both palsm pressed to his chest, her lip curling the tiniest bit in a show of teeth. He ignored it, this time, as his hands pressed to the wall on either side of her head. "You're in the news," he breathed, the husky tone making her shiver. "By all rights that means you should be dead, but my Master has not ordered me to deal with the matter yet, soyou've been granted a reprieve police girl. Use it wisely and get out of London. I'd hate to kill you so soon, you've stirred up so much amusing trouble for me after all."
Licking her lips nervously, she pushed again on his chest, "Can you move please?"
He chuckled breathily in her ear and pulled back, patting her head condescendingly. "As you wish, my Lady." Mockery dripped from his words like honey as he bowed with a flourish of his red coat and vanished.
She had no idea what just happened but it didn't sound good. A hand landed on her shoulder and she jumped, turning in a flash to strike whoever had startled her, only to have her wrist grabbed in an iron grip, glowing eyes meeting hers in a furious snarl. "I told you to stay underground! What if Jan had found you? And worse! You were talking to Big Red! I can smell him! You idiot!"
Before Seras could even open her mouth to protest, blackness swarmed across her vision and she reeled. They were in a different sewer, a damp one. "Could've gotten both our asses killed, but did you care? No! Just ignore the only person looking out for you, I see how it is." Neekz ranted, slamming Seras against the wall and pacing in front of her, arms flailing in agitation. "got to move base, Big Red won't let good enough alone for long. You're such an idiot!"
"Hey!" Seras protested at the last insult, "that's uncalled for!"
"No it's NOT!" Neekz roared, slamming Seras back into the wall so hard she saw stars, "You have no idea how dangerous it is for you above ground right now you stupid little fledgling! Gods, I can't even fob you off on your proper Master… What am I gonna do?"
Despite the anger she felt towards the verbal and physical abuse, she also felt a little bit sorry for the stressed out Neekz who, after all, had rescued her from those bloody cages and was helping her out of the goodness of her heart despite the apparent danger involved in it. "I'm sorry," Seras muttered, lowering her head, "I'll try harder next time. Maybe if you'd just explain a few things." She stressed, hating the lost feeling that the anger was hiding.
Neekz sighed and hung her head as well, hands wringing anxiously. "I'm sorry too, I'll try to be patient… but it's hard, kid. I guess first thing's first, we need to have a serious talk about what being a vampire means. Before you get into trouble again."
"Yeah, sounds good."