Chapter Three
It wouldn't be so bad. So long as she could stay here at this table, not moving except to occasionally pour a little more burning erasure into her brain. God, it was terrible whiskey. Vivien grimaced but continued to stare straight ahead. To anyone else it just looked like she was absorbed in the band. If she concentrated really, really hard, she could keep everything still and silent. Except she was going to have to go to the bathroom soon. Either to pee or throw up; she couldn't tell which yet.
She vaguely recognized the song playing as 'White Rabbit' and she usually didn't like psychedelic music but right now it seemed the most perfect thing in the world to hear. She even surprised herself by mouthing a few of the more fitting lyrics. That had to have been dredged up from college. No. She hadn't gone to college. She only thought she had. So maybe she only thought she knew the words? This was confusing as hell.
Definitely going to be sick. But pee first.
She rose carefully, hoping that if she didn't let her brain know that she was moving it wouldn't keep up. She just wanted to keep this numb feeling; just a bit longer. God, for a bottle of oxycontin! That was really feeling no pain. She pushed the urge away and stumbled towards the bathroom.
"Nurse Lake?" the voice that called her name caught Vivien by surprise. Lake. Right, that was her name. She spun then waited for the room to stop spinning with her. She couldn't stay in this haze now, not if someone here knew her. Shake it off. Sucking air through her teeth she forced her eyes to focus and mentally swept the cobwebs away with an imperiousness that she'd forgotten she had. Some old habits were useful.
"Miss Lucas?" it took her only a moment to place the brunette addressing her. She would've been quicker but she was still cutting through whiskey fumes. Ruby looked taken aback by the recognition, but then she looked surprised to see the therapist in a bar at all.
"Yeah, sorry, I didn't think it was you. I haven't seen you since –." Ruby paused. Vivien knew that pause. It was the pregnant silence of so many of her patients when they didn't quite want to recall why they'd met. Vivien rummaged through her mental file folder. She'd been keeping notes so long she sometimes thought in medical shorthand. Dislocated shoulder. Something about a drunk guy at a concert.
"That's usually a good sign. Seeing me generally means something's wrong." Vivien played off the awkwardness with a smile and shrug. The best successes in her career were the people she never saw again. Stop dribbling ironic nonsense.
"I hardly expected to see you here. Doesn't seem like your kind of place." Ruby nodded to the table with Vivien's jacket still resting on a chair. Fortunately the bartender had been tactful enough to keep clearing her empty glasses. One tumbler of whiskey sat politely half full; very decorous.
"I was," Vivien paused, realizing she didn't have a convenient lie, "Passing by. I didn't want to go home."
"Me either. It's just so crazy out there right now."
"I don't think the crazy is outside." Vivien mumbled, wishing she hadn't had to sober up. Wiping away the alcohol meant she could think clearly again and she did not want that.
"I know." Ruby muttered just as quietly and with a tone of frustration that perfectly mirrored her own. The younger woman avoided her eyes for a moment, letting them both acknowledge each other's sympathetic state. Ruby swept her eyes over the bar, checking it was still the same as it had been every other night she visited.
"You picked the right place. I always come here when Granny's on my ass. The drinks are cheap and the singer's hot." The waitress finally declared, pulling out one of the spare chairs and tilting her head in inquiry.
"Sure. Have something on me. But excuse me for a moment?" Vivien answered the unspoken question before walking as quickly as she could to the bathroom without running. What was going on? Everyone was different. Everything was the same but it wasn't. There were people drinking in the bar that she'd never seen drink in her life. She'd even spotted a couple of the nuns!
Vivien washed her hands and splashed water in her face, hoping the cold would slow down her feverish mind. She gazed at the mirror, the splatter of droplets distorting her reflection. It wasn't the same face that she'd washed this morning. She stared at herself, feeling the whiskey turn to bile. Same color hair, eyes, skin; yes. Same traces of eyeliner and lipstick that had worn off through the day. It just wasn't the same face anymore and the closer she looked the stranger she felt.
Even Ruby had changed. Usually the younger Lucas woman just vibrated with enthusiasm and hormones. She was a one-woman party at all times and didn't seem to mind that she both caused and supplied 90% of StoryBrooke's gossip. She still looked like she was on the verge of doing something inappropriate (that could just be the clothing) but she also looked more self-possessed than ever before. There had been a territorial glint in her eyes when she looked around the bar, like she was surveying her domain.
Vivien emerged from the bathroom, silently congratulating herself that she hadn't thrown up yet. She slid back into her seat across from Ruby and figured the girl didn't notice; her eyes were completely riveted on the band. There was certainly no way she'd heard her, not in all this noise.
"Leo's just a big softy you know." Ruby announced, taking a sip of her drink and still not looking at her. How the hell?
"Which one is Leo?" Vivien gamely played along, trying to work out how she'd been detected.
"The lead singer. He's got all those tattoos and piercings, see? He thinks it makes him look tough. It's just cause he's really such a kitten." Ruby's smile was affectionate if a little predatory.
"You've known him long?" Vivien didn't mean the question like it sounded. She'd just wanted to make conversation. As long as they were talking about banal, superficial things she could keep her head clear. But as soon as the words were out she knew she'd asked the wrong question. Ruby's eyes had darted to hers with a flash of fear and confusion.
"I- I don't know." She looked away, obviously a little embarrassed by the admission.
"Forget I asked. It doesn't really matter," Vivien waved the subject away, "History is for school kids and cheesy romance novels."
"I like Danielle Steele!" Ruby mocked offense but her lips had curled up into a wide smile of relief. Vivien released a tiny breath she'd been holding. Disaster averted. She did not want to be asking those kinds of questions. She didn't want to know anything nor give anything away. Apparently Ruby felt the same.
"What about the other two? Who are they or do you only have eyes for the pussycat?"
"The bass player is Marshall. Everyone just calls the drummer Toothpick."
"Appropriate." Vivien agreed, eyeing the drummer. To say he was skinny would be to credit him with something like a body. The man had the build and definition of tangled coat hangers. She winced slightly, realizing she'd seen him in some of her NA meetings. In a town as small as StoryBrooke it wasn't really Narcotics Anonymous anymore. It was Narcotics Pretend We Don't Recognize Each Other. He had only come a couple times and by the look of him the steps hadn't stuck.
"Sometimes Fay sings with them. She has a really sweet voice." Ruby elaborated, draining a shot and ordering another.
"Glinda." Vivien corrected before she could stop herself. That brought Ruby's attention back around quickly.
"You know who she is?" she leaned forward, curious and skeptical at once.
"I met her briefly in here. She said her name wasn't actually Fay. It's Glinda." Vivien grabbed her tumbler and took a sip of whiskey to end her statement. Mistake. The alcohol might not be affecting her brain anymore (or not as noticeably) but it was still definitely hitting her stomach. She was going to need a lot of water.
"I don't know her." Ruby spoke as though it was a fact full of surprise and wonder.
"Well, I only just met her tonight. I know it's a small town but-,"
"No! I mean I don't know who she is at all! Usually I can at least guess where people are from or I've heard something about them! I've never heard of any Glindas." Ruby shook her head emphatically. Vivien wished she wouldn't do that because it made the room look like it was moving again.
"I don't think they're a race. Just one woman. Although she wears enough pink for an army of Barbies."
"But it's the same with Marshall and the band, I don't know-." Ruby stared at them, then looked at Vivien and her eyes widened again, "I don't even know you."
Lake's stomach coiled itself inside out. She could feel the color draining from her face at the same moment all the blood exploded into her heart. Keep breathing. Stay calm. Do not overreact.
"I don't know you either." She managed to make her argument through clenched teeth. Hopefully her words sounded composed because inside she was falling apart. Ruby opened her mouth, the beginnings of an interrogation building in her eyes. Then the room really did spin.
A massive wind ripped through the closed windows, showering them in shattered glass and whipping everything around them into a frenzied maelstrom. The deafening screeching sound that accompanied the violent whirlwind was too unholy to be nature. Everyone had been blown to the ground and most decided to stay there. A few crawled under tables, lacerating themselves on broken glass. The more advanced drinkers passed out the moment they hit the floor. Ruby and Vivien both jumped to their feet, fighting the gale and its debris until they were in the street.
The sun had set but the darkness settling in the sky was unnatural. The howling came from multiple directions, moving around and echoing off the buildings, impossible to pinpoint.
"What's going on?!" Ruby screamed to be heard over the din. The air was full of panic and danger. Alarms sounded, walls splintered, in the distance there were explosions and a rising chorus of human shrieks behind the wailing and wind. Vivien could feel the danger before she saw it.
"Duck!" she lunged and dragged Ruby to the ground as a car that had flipped sailed over them. The two women had barreled behind a truck, fortunately one too heavy to be blown away but it rocked anxiously. Vivien stared at the sky, observing the violent colors that were swirling into darkness. This wasn't a tornado or hurricane. This was something more . . .familiar.
Ruby's scream brought her head snapping around and Vivien saw the shape diving towards them. Ruby was getting to her feet to run again.
"No!" Vivien knocked her down.
"Are you crazy?!" the waitress screamed as the therapist got to her feet, blocking her collapsed form as the attack hurtled close. The howling monstrosity swooped down, poised for a death strike but stopped short. It hovered in the air, glowing eye sockets boring into her.
I haven't seen a Soul Eater since I was an apprentice! Vivien marveled, staring at the Shadow Being. She could remember turning one loose just to have a hunting competition. Who could find the prey faster? They were like pets; always looking for their next meal, loyal to a point. They were junkyard Dobermans, great for protection but short on social skills.
The hollow gaze lost interest in her and without a sound it swept back into the fog and mist that was rolling over the town. The increasing volume of screams in the distance acted as a sonar, announcing its direction. It was heading to the center of town. City hall? The sheriff's office? Granny's? She didn't take her eyes off the horizon, even when Ruby grabbed her hand to hoist herself up.
"What was that thing?" the brunette demanded with a shaking voice.
"Soul Eater. Someone must have offered up a victim." Vivien couldn't imagine who in this town would summon such a thing, or why. She finally shook herself back to the present and checked Ruby for injuries. When the girl straightened up she limped a little. That dive and roll must've sprained her ankle. Not surprising, given the shoes she was in.
"You looked like you were about to touch it!"
"I – no, I wouldn't. I just haven't seen one in a really long time." Lake swallowed a little, realizing her fingers had indeed been reaching out to the demon. It wouldn't have done any good.
"I never want to see one again. Why weren't you scared?" Ruby had to lean on her a little to walk with her injury. They needed to get her back to the inn and an icepack; it was already starting to swell.
"It's here for prey and I know I'm not who it's after." Vivien shrugged. It was partially true. She knew without a doubt that the monster was hunting. She just left out the obvious: it was a SOUL Eater. It was only a threat if you had a soul. With that thought Vivien decided it was time to calmly throw up.