| Acceptance |
[18 Dec 2004|04:05am] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 listless |
] |
------ Non Journal Entry ------
Pale hands flexed against their bonds and reddened eyes looked desperately from side to side. They searched the darkness that seemed to go on forever and harsh pain filled breaths escaped those dry chapped lips. Hands continued to flex against their bonds even though it was pointless. At least it gave Jordan something else to think about. She could block out the pain for a few seconds before a blink would remind her of how much pain she was actually in. So far she was doing pretty well with the not puking thing. For that, she was proud of herself. God, all she wanted to do was rub at her eyes. Pour water in there, something or anything to help with the pain but she couldn't. The duct tape made sure of that.
Jordan inhaled slowly and she hissed softly as the pain in her neck seemed to thud slowly with every breath she took in. She didn't want to think about what colour those bruises were and she definitely didn't want to think about the damage done to the back of her head." I hate this fucking town." She muttered to herself as her head lulled towards her chest. She had been fighting the lure of unconsciousness for so long but she knew if she shut her eyes. She wouldn't be opening them again. And besides, her eyes hurt less when she kept them wide open.
A sharp pain shot up her one side as Jordan moved a little too quickly and she gasped loudly. She didn't care about the pain; she forced her eyes shut as she felt the tears coming. She would not cry. She couldn't afford to. That was a sign of weakness and right now, she had no time to be weak. She had very little hope of being found but there was no reason to share that with Xavier. She only hoped that his arrogance would be his downfall. He was blinded by his confidence and one of these days, it would destroy him. She had seen it happen before. To men and to women.
Her hands tightened on the arms of her chair and she lifted an eyebrow to the grooves she could feel there. The same grooves she had made whilst he had inflicted that pain on her. She had no idea her nails could cut that deep; it was a good thing to remember if she ever got out of this place. She focused her thoughts on something else. She thought about William and remembered the feel of his lips against hers. She could almost hear him and she could almost taste him. God, why had she left things the way she had? She should have gone back. She should have said something, she should have been more willing to understand but it was too late now. Jordan couldn't help but smirk. 'The things you do when you don't think your life is in danger, the things you do when you believe you will see tomorrow and you'll have plenty of second chances.' Jordan felt a true sense of irony at this moment and she didn't like it very much.
The faces of her family flashed through her mind and she remembered each moment with them. She savoured them because she had no idea how much longer she would be left in peace. If one could call this peace. Her head tipped back and her eyes looked upwards into the dark. Jordan knew something would happen. He would think of something else to do to her and she would deal with it then but for now, she had to gather her strength and make peace with whatever maker she believed in because she couldn't predict the future.
She was a government trained agent, she knew about these situations and she didn't have blissful ignorance to hide the cold hard facts from her. She had a minimal survival rate and she knew that things would only get worse. It would escalate until he was bored and tired of playing the game. She would look for an escape at any moment but she could barely move. Duct tape pinned her to this chair and stopped her from tipping it over so making a break for it was out of the question.
Jordan wouldn't break. Not for him, never for him. He would have to kill her first before he saw her break. She would never give him the satisfaction and she didn't care how much it took from her. She would not give in, she would not surrender and she sure as hell wouldn't feed his ego. If she was going to die, she was going to do it with some dignity and with her chin held high.
But even after all her brave thoughts and silent pep talks, she was still very much alone in the dark.
|
|
|
[18 Dec 2004|06:10am] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 awake |
] |
Andi crawled on her belly through a narrow passage in one of the mines. Sheknew perfectly well she shouldn't be there, but what did that matter? It didn't, and that was xactly the point. She was where she shouldn't be, doing things she shouldn't do.
She passage opened out into another cave, this one half collapsed with a rock fall. She smiled to herself and started moving rocks this way and that, waiting for the one that would loose the whole pile into a new slide.
When it happened, she dodged out of the way and watched it go. It opened up a whole new passage to a different cave, and this one had obviously been part of the original mining operation that had brought Searchlight to life.
A little exploration netted her a pair of skeletons, bleached by time and creatures that dwelled in the darkness that was the mining system. Demons and other more common creatures alike, she'd killed quite a few in the weeks she'd been in the caves. She wondered, briefly, if anyone had even noticed her absence.
She'd called the bar once, and spoken shortly to Nyx, recommended a guy to come work at the bar for him, with Claire having been killed and all. Things were getting rougher and roughre in her home town and she wasn't at all appreciative. She sighed at the skeletons and shook her head sadly.
It was time to try and find her way out of this maze, her supplies were running very low at this point, and she sort of missed the comfort of her bed.
She'd get where she needed to be, one way or another though. It would just take time.
|
|
| Submerge |
[18 Dec 2004|11:12am] |
Devon had gone straight from that encounter to where Amy was supposed to be staying but she wasn't there. No sign of Paul either so for the moment. Devon headed home. All he wanted to do was curl up underneath his covers and forget anything had ever happened. He pulled his keys from the back pocket of his jeans and thanked the Lord he had brought those at the very least. He had noticed his lack of clothing shortly after his run in with that man. Devon slipped the key into the lock, turned the key and then pushed open the door. He slipped in as quietly as he could.
Milly smiled at the sound of the key in the door and shut her book and slid off her bed. "Hey there, gorgeous," said Milly in a form of greeting. She saw Devon beginning to step in and frowned at the sight of his torn clothing or really, lackthereof. "What in the world happened to you?"
( Old Face )
|
|
| No Idea |
[18 Dec 2004|03:08pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
shocked |
] |
------ Non Journal Entry ------
It had happened again.
Kris' eyes opened slowly and she found herself in unfamiliar surroundings. Her work clothes were stained with blood. Someone else's blood. She inhaled slowly but as she did, that same nausea washed over her and she jerked forward to throw up. After a few moments, she stopped and wiped a shaking hand across her mouth. Her dark eyes lifted to peer through long strands of hair.
Where was she? How had she gotten here?
She could remember going to work, talking to Ben and seeing Theo exiting out of the back. And then she had followed him. After that, she didn't know what had happened. Her hands lifted to curl around her ears as a scream seemed to echo in her head. Kris' eyes slid shut and her face pulled together as she tried to remember past the fog that clouded her mind.
Very slowly, Kris got to her feet and staggered to one side. Her body slumped heavily against the wall and it took her several more breaths before she could even lift her head. She finally recognised her surroundings. The back alley behind the casino. Kris groaned faintly as her jaw seemed to ache and as she turned her head, blood trickled from the corner of her lips. Obviously someone had hit her there and she couldn't even remember who.
She slid her tongue over her lips to catch the blood before she pushed away from the wall. Her body shook for a moment as she attempted to find balance in her very tilted world. Once she was sure she could walk without falling over, she did just that. One step at a time. Her eyes constantly searching the darkened area for clues, any hints as to why she was here and covered in someone else's blood.
As she got closer to the flickering light up ahead, Kris' eyes narrowed in on what seemed to be a body lying on the ground. Her stomach tightened with every new step she took and as she came closer to the body. Her lips parted into a silent scream. All Kris could do was stare. Her expression was one of horror and disbelief. The man's chest was cut open and his heart was missing. His eyes were wide and stared into the light as it flickered over his cold, lifeless corpse.
" Oh god no.." Kris finally muttered. Her eyes dropped to her hands which were stained with blood, his blood. Her hands began to shake at the realisation dawning on Kris. This could not be happening. She would never have done this; she didn't have it in her. She just didn't. Her legs gave out beneath her and Kris found herself on her knees.
Her mind went to Elfleda and the things she had awoken inside of her. She was capable of this, she knew it. She recalled the men she had hurt when she had been under her influence. All those things that lay beneath the surface, all those things she never talked about. Those were the things that had been driven to hurt those men. Had something driven her to this?
She realised how much trouble she was in and yet she didn't even register it as her eyes stared at the body. This could not be happening. It just couldn't. She wished she could remember something, anything. She needed those memories to give her some peace of mind. Kris continued to stare for a very long time, her head screaming for her to move, to get away from the dead guy but her body didn't listen. It remained where it was, a sort of shock had taken over and all Kris could do was sit there.
This could not be happening. It just couldn't.
|
|
| Chaos |
[18 Dec 2004|11:06pm] |
"I'm here when and if you need me. Remember I love you and you're not alone."
She'd listened to his message five times.
Rhiannon closed her cell phone and let it slide from her fingers. Her back was pressed to the windshield of her car, and the cold hood numbed her legs beneath her. Up ahead, a 1927 version of Evening Clothes played on the screen of the drive-in movie. She was parked in the distance, far away from the sounds of piano accompaniment and the mundane chatter of locals.
Sometimes she went there to patrol. That field full of parked cars and amorous teenagers was a virtual buffet for the vampire population. Other nights, she would go there to think. Tonight, and the night before, she'd gone there to escape.
Rhiannon had still not revealed the truth to her father. He'd agreed to stay with her through the week, to work on past disagreements and try to make things better. It wasn't working. Rhiannon tried to let old hurts go, to see his point of view, but he didn't make it easy. Especially when he was so stubborn about his own points of view, not giving an inch. "You'll never change," she'd argued the night before, then nearly choked on her own words. She didn't hear anything he said after that. Her mind had been taken over by one phrase, over and over again. You'll never have the chance.
Tonight, she'd walked in to find him passed out drunk on her couch. It made her so angry that she considered telling him. But she stopped herself. She didn't want him to change because it was nearly the end. If they got through their problems, she needed it to be the real Mitchell Lee talking to her, not a man motivated by fear. Her sudden desperation to make things right confused him. Each second that ticked by in his presence, Rhiannon grew more and more nervous. Will this be the hour he leaves me? And each time she left the house in anger, she wondered if she'd return to find it empty.
It didn't get easier outside. Not really. Away from her father, her thoughts turned to Tristan and Claire. She felt guilt gnawing at her insides, so strong that her stomach began to burn. What's worse, it stemmed from two different sources. In one moment, she thought, 'If I'd done my job, she'd still be alive and Tristan would be dust.' In the next, a terrible wave of regret moved through her, and the part of her that spoke in another voice called her a 'traitor'. To him.
Rhiannon laid her head against the windshield and covered her eyes with one forearm. She wasn't sure of her motives, and that terrified her. She ran through the possibilities over and over until her head hurt, thinking of the best and worst case scenarios, alternately congratulating and condemning herself. Did I tell Matthew because I want Tristan gone? Did I tell him so it wouldn't have to be me? Or did I tell him to throw them off my scent as his protector?
His lair was gone. Burnt to the ground. Rhiannon had followed the smell of smoke on patrol and stood in the center of the scarred patch of earth. Was he there, a pile of dust amongst the ashes? Had someone done this because of Claire? He deserved nothing less. Somehow she knew, however, that he was finding shelter somewhere else.
She had promised Matthew she'd help find him, and she knew what that meant. She would have to break the arrangement with Darian. It would allow her to sense Tristan, to seek him out anywhere he went. But there was a price. It would increase her loyalties to her Sire, and Rhiannon didn't want loyalties to Tristan. It would return those horrid nightmares to her, the ones that dealt death to innocent people and woke her with an intense desire for violence.
One more time, Rhiannon dialed her voicemail and listened to Joseph's message. "I love you, too," she murmured at the end, but didn't return the call. Rhiannon wondered if drowning victims ever thought twice when a life preserver was thrown their way. If there was a moment, even a little one, when they considered giving in to the pull of the water.
|
|
| Visiting Slayers |
[18 Dec 2004|11:48pm] |
Will shut the cell phone and threw it across the room. It landed on the couch and bounced off it, sliding under it. He'd been calling Jordan for the past couple days with no answer. He wasn't angry, but just a little worried. And that little was growing to a lot. She usually would get back to him by now. He had even swung by her place and knocked on the door. No answer. And with Destiny gone, along with Adam, he had enough to worry about. The house was strangely quiet.
Kris had returned from Las Vegas. Cleaner but a lot more shaky than she had been. The blood still stained her white shirt and she could still see it under her fingernails. Her tears had long since dried on her cheeks, one good thing about the very long drive between Vegas and Searchlight. Gave her time to get her head together. Dominick wasn't home, Hayden was out and so Kris was stuck as to what to do. She could go home, sit in her room and have Eddy for company but somehow that didn't seem right, not now. She needed to see another human face which would explain why she drew up outside of William's. She could have gone to Matthew's but she recalled a conversation they had had over the phone. He wasn't in the best place for visitors. She inhaled slowly and looked at herself. She was a mess but she hoped William wouldn't mind. She needed grounding and she needed to know she wasn't going crazy. She raised her hand and knocked lightly on his door.
( Problems )
( Books )
( Staying the Night )
William reached over to the cork board hanging by the back door and grabbed a ring of keys off the wall. "Here. These are the spare keys. When you get back in, just settle in. Enjoy the books. The kitchen will be all yours. I'll probably try Jordan one more time before I go to sleep. But I've had a long day. Not as long as yours, but still..."
Kris nodded her head. She wrapped her fingers around the keys." I'll let you know how it goes." With that, Kris headed out
|
|