Well, I certainly know how to make a good second-first impression, don't I?
~ THEMESONGS ~
Na Na Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na) ~ My Chemical Romance
Losing Touch ~ The Killers
.C.I.W.
4. Back to Rook
I'd been wandering for a while, really not knowing where I was, while the streets gradually emptied around me. There were a few drunkards in alleys I didn't care to go down, but other than that I was alone. It was about oh-dark-thirty when I somehow found myself in front of what appeared to be a dilapidated hotel. The letters were falling off on the sign and all. I stared up at it, thinking my photography teacher would have a field day with this place, when I heard movement inside. From the outside it looked dark, but you could definitely hear people in there. Who knows, maybe their power was out.
It was a hotel. They'd know where I was. I could go in and ask at the concierge desk or something. I'd get strange looks, but it'd be worth it. Besides, I was used to strange looks.
It seemed like a good idea at the time.
I located the front door with a minimal amount of difficulty and opened it. It creaked like a horror movie.
All the voices inside fell silent, and it was so dark in there that I could hardly see my hand in front of my face. It was eerily quiet, but I knew there were people around. I could hear them moving in the darkness, even though it almost silent. It was like they were all gonna jump out and yell, "SURPRISE!" though apparently I was not destined to have a very belated surprise birthday party.
An icy hand gripped my shoulder. I may or may not have jumped a little, and I may or may not have let out a tiny scream.
"Well, what are you doing here, little girl?"
"I'm here for a bit of direction, actually. Where am I?" I asked, turning around. I almost screamed again at the sight of the guy behind me. He was gigantic, and incredibly skinny. And white as the kid of a sheet that mated with a ginger.
"Well you're in the very best hotel in New York, of course." His voice was as raspy as a chain smoker's.
"That was a test. You passed." I started to back away toward the door. New York. I could work with New York. And I was starting to get a bit creeped out.
I got a lot creeped out when I bumped into another body on my way to the door. Looking in the corner of my eye, I saw a girl that was just as pale as the man. And more pale people were gathering.
At this point, it was seeming pretty obvious that I had just walked into something that would be a bit difficult to walk out of.
"Listen, um, thanks for the info, but I gotta get going now. Places to see, people to go… I mean, um, places to go, people to see, right…."
Not my most eloquent of moments.
Long fingernails dug into my shoulder where I was backed up against the girl. She was surprisingly strong for being thin as a twig. Her mouth spread open in a smile as my eyes rolled back to look at her. If I wasn't mistaken there were fangs.
My eyes traveled around the room, meeting bared fangs in the mouths of every person in the room. Let's have a big hurrah, everyone. I now knew I was in a world with vampires. Mr. Creepy with the raspy voice began to walk toward me, smiling.
As one of my favorite songs states, there's a moment you know you're fucked. Now was this moment. But I'd be damned if I went quietly.
In one movement, I ducked and swung underneath the skinny girl behind me's legs. I barreled out the door on my hand and knees, and was immediately caught by my ankles.
What? I didn't do this often.
I jerked my legs back and heard a satisfying crunch as my foot collided with my captor's nose. The grip loosened and I jumped up. Wasting no time with looking back, I started to run down the street. I felt a hand snake around my waist, but swiveled and avoided it.
But I had no time to feel triumphant, because a vampire with a lopsided nose in front of me had me skidding to a halt. The hand found my waist again and I was pulled in tight against a freezing body.
"Gotcha…" Mr. Creepy laughed in my ear. I shuddered. Vampires were disgusting. I mean, they were dead. Not sparkly and attractive. They were dead. His head bent around my neck, his hair in my face.
I chomped on a big hunk of his hair and pulled, dragging his head up and away from my neck. When I had gotten him far enough, I kicked him in his sweet spot and darted across the street before the guy with the messed up nose had time to react. This time I didn't stop for anything. I careened down alleys and side streets and ducked behind dumpsters and corners. I could hear shouting and footsteps behind me but I didn't stop. I saw the sun peeking over the horizon after a while, but I didn't stop.
.C.I.W.
The sun was beating down and people were filling the streets again, but I was still acting like a total maniac. I don't know (I didn't stop running), but it must've been miles now. Hours since the vampires. But I was still running and jumping. Maybe it was the adrenaline and the weightless feeling in your legs that you get after a while of running. I'd missed it since cross country ended. It was invigorating.
Also I felt like I would probably pass out if I let myself stand still too long.
"Claire!"
Was that my name? I ducked behind a building then got back out onto the sidewalk.
"Claire!"
That was definitely my name.
And then I saw her. She was walking towards me with this big, huge smile on her face, like a kid at Christmas.
Madi.
She looked the same as I remembered in Maximum Ride. Same hair (albeit a bit longer), same grayish blue eyes, same paleness, same freckles. She was probably the same level of conceited, too.
Rage bubbled up. She had left me to think I had this crazy dream, and now, months later, it had happened again. I'd been alone, without knowing where the hell I was, and almost had gotten killed by vampires. And now here she was, smiling at me like some idiot. Thinking everything was okay, and we could be the best of buddies. There was no way she was getting off that easy.
I pulled back my fist, and punched her in the face.
"You liar!"
Crunch!
"What the hell?" Madi shouted, her hand flying to her already bleeding nose.
But I wasn't done yet. I drop kicked her, making her fall butt-first on the pavement. She dropped like a rock, eyes wide in shock, registering she was under attack. Good. She had no right to act so innocent.
"You told me it was all a dream! A dream! And now this happens, and I didn't know what the hell was even going on, and where the hell I was, and I almost got killed a few miles back! You left me! To fucking vampires!"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Madi cried, trying to grab my wrists on the as I pummeled her with all I had. She was beginning to look madder, her sated plain eyes sparking in annoyance. Good. I hit her shoulder hard.
That was when I noticed a tall, blonde guy standing walking towards us.
"She's like an enraged pixie, it's kind of hilarious." He said, amused.
I paid him no mind and launched myself full on at Madi. She rolled us over so that she was on top, trying to scramble away from me. Oh no she wasn't! I grabbed her hair, jerking her down, hearing her satisfied yelp of surprise. People were just moving around us. This was normal in New York.
"You just left me and I just can't even –" I let loose a string of profanity.
"Jace, get her off!" Madi yelled up at the blonde guy. I felt strong hands grip my shoulders and drag me up and off of her. My legs pinwheeled back, trying to reach him, but he was holding me up and a safe distance away.
"Put me down! I'm not even close to done yet!" I protested, trying to wriggle out of his grip. This guy's grip was like iron.
Madi slowly pulled herself off of the ground, wiping blood from her nose and staring me down. She looked like she was trying to control her emotions. Fuck that!
"I get why you're angry." She said carefully, like she was speaking to a mental patient, "It's perfectly reasonable –"
"YOU THINK?" I screamed, leaping towards her. I didn't make it with the guy's hands holding my arms behind my back.
"But I can explain everything! I swear it was for your own good." She paused. "Mostly. Actually it was to save my own ass, but we can go with it was for your own good. Honestly, this is quite an unexpected twist…"
I think I growled at her. I was so mad, everything was a blur.
"I'll explain, just stop acting like such a spazz, geez. I can feel my goddess-swag dwindling into levels of average."
"Take deep, soothing breaths and count to ten. I hear that helps," said the guy, whose name was apparently Jace, in mock helpfulness.
Wait… Jace?
My eyes widened and I ceased struggling.
"Put her down, Jace." Madi sighed. "Jace, this is Claire Icanthya. She's from my dimension. Claire, this is Jace Lightwood. She's read the books, so she knows you too."
.C.I.W.
We were inside the Institute before long, and I was firmly planted on a couch in the library closest to the fireplace. Jace and Madi were standing near the fireplace, Madi leaned against the wall next to it, Jace having his hand propped on the mantle and standing between her and me 'just in case'.
"So, Claire is like you?" Jace asked Madi.
"No," I piped up, "our personalities are incredibly different. I'm much more approachable, for example."
"I meant power-wise." Jace said, giving me a withering look as Madi rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest.
"Right now, it seems like it. Claire does have some of my powers of dimension hopping, but this is only the second time it's happened…" Madi bit her lip, concentrating.
"Can you please stop talking like I'm not here? I haven't gotten pulled into another dimension since Maximum Ride. Which you told me was a dream, and it clearly isn't, and you really need to get on that, Madi." I stared at her.
"Look, I'm only gonna say this once: I'm sorry. I thought it was a one-time thing. I didn't want you to be dragged into this."
"Well, obviously I have been."
"No shit, Sherlock."
"So you kind of left me for dead in a vampire infested hotel."
"That wasn't intentional."
"There's something called, The Point that You were Missing."
"There's also something called, A Point that You Don't Have. We landed in different places. I had no idea you were here until you punched me in the face. Which was, by the way, a cheap as hell shot. I thought I taught you better than that, Rookie."
"Well, I love a cat fight just as much as the next guy, but this is getting boring." Jace interrupted, holding up his hands in front of our faces. "And really, you don't want me to play Doctor Phil. Just kiss and make up, already."
"There's no way I'm kissing her." I said, a smile forming against my will.
"You don't need to fight it, Claire." Madi retorted, also smiling. "Everyone wants to get on this."
And just like that, everything was okay again. I really should work on my grudge holding skills. Honestly, they're pathetic.
"For the record, what book are we in?"
"Number four." Madi said, sitting next to me, but still a few safe inches away. I swore under my breath. If I was going to meet Jace Lightwood, why couldn't I meet him at his best? I hated book four. "And speaking of unfinished business, I have some of my own to deal with. Meanwhile, you can get acquainted with everyone. Deal? I'll catch you guys later."
With that (and no one even talking about unfinished business), she jumped up, and strode out the door without another word of farewell or where she was going. Great. I already had the sinking feeling she abandoned me. And I didn't care how she said it, it felt like she'd done it again.
Jace and I watched the empty space Madi had inhabited, not speaking.
"So, your name's Claire… That might get a bit confusing." Jace said awkwardly, breaking the silence.
"Yeah, Claire and Clary… I get it." I said. "I could tell you to call me by my middle name, but that might be even more confusing."
"Why? What's your middle name?" I opened my mouth to reply, but Jace held up a finger to shush me. "Let me guess… Jace-y."
"No," I said, laughing. "My middle name is Isabelle."
.C.I.W.
Madi here for the ShoutOuts ~
XxAmiIunexX: Took out the period because it screwed up your name in the last chapter. Anyways, you're not a bother at all. The more comments, the better! And shush! I've already said too much that Madi's going back to Ingary, that's all you'll get out of me! As for Claire… I would've punched Madi in the face too for that.
AnimeVamp1997: Yeah… Didn't even see it until it was WAY too late. Sorry :( And, oh yes, there will be many more nose bleeds to come lol
Legendary Chocobo: First off, your name is awesome. Second off, thank you! I love obsessive readers! Third off, read the books. They're awesome!
BookNinja15: Hope the chapter was good! Thanks, Fluffeh!
Nyx's Pinky Girl: *facepalm* Realized it too late. Sorry, gosh! I really don't know what else to respond with, because I feel like the chapter just answered all of your questions lol. Hope you enjoyed?