Spook
Christina rolled her eyes as she loaded her stuff into a new car. She'd liked the van. It had had a lot of room. Now, thanks to Christian's phone call, she'd lost the van and she had to stay away from that car type for a while. So, she had a little tiny van like couriers used. Small. Not so fast. And nowhere near the tank the combi had been.
She looked over at Christian and swiped a hand through her hair. "So. You hungry? We'll go get something to eat."
Christian
"Whatever," Christian replied softly, his head down.
He shifted slightly, taking some weight off his wrists that were hand cuffed behind him again. As he moved, the shackles on his ankles clinked slightly.
Spook
"Ok." Christina raised her eyebrows slightly and closed the back doors of the van before jogging around to the front. She opened the door and got in. "Lean forward. I'll take the cuffs off so you can eat when we get something." She closed the door, then fished in her pocket for the handcuff key.
Christian
Christian did as he was told and leant forward, enough to lean his forehead against the dashboard.
He closed his eyes and breathed evenly, not showing any emotion.
Spook
Christina got them off quickly, then leaned back to get a first aid kit out of the back. "Here." She handed it to him, then started the engine and drove out of the airport, glancing at him occasionally. Right, how much money did she have left? She'd definetly have to pawn some of the stuff she'd lifted, or take down a bounty. She sighed, and bit her lip, shades back on her face. Dammit, this was going to be difficult. "Sing out if you see a drive through place where we can get something to eat."
Christian
Christian slowly opened the first aid kit and found some ointment. He rolled up the sleeves of the huge jacket she'd found for him and began to apply it to his once-again-red wrists, wincing slightly every now and then.
That done, he put a small amount onto his eyebrow ring, wiped his hands, and began to put the stuff away.
When he looke dup again he spotted a drive-through place. He glanced at Christina, noticed she hadn't seemed to see it, then lifted his hand to point to it.
"There," he said softly.
Spook
"Thanks," Christina said as she swung the vanaround into the entrance. "Anything in particular you want?" She slowed to a stop behind the car that was ordering.
Christian
Christian just shook his head.
He gazed out the window again, wondering where the heck he was, as he cracked his knuckles again. Wherever he was, it had taken a plane to get here, so he probably wouldn't be back in Tulsa in a day.
He was growing more desperate to talk to Kirk again.
Spook
Christina leant out and ordered some bacon and egg muffins, some blueberry muffins, hashbrowns and two cups of coffee. She went to the next window and flipped open the drink holder in the front, before paying and getting their food. She put a cup of coffee in the holder on Christian's side. "Yeah, and a couple of packets of sugar and milk. Thanks." Christina got them, and they slowly pulled out of the fast food place, Christina sipping on her straight black coffee as she moved back into the city traffic. "Help yourself to whatever you want." She put her coffee back down and slid a tape into the tape deck. If he wasn't going to talk, she was going to listen to some music.
"I am still living with your ghost
Lonely and dreaming of the west coast
I don't want to be your downtime
I don't want to be your stupid game..." Everclear sang as she
stopped
at some traffic lights, before pulling to the right and heading
towards the beach areas.
"With my big black boots and an old suitcase
I do believe I'll find myself a new place
I don't want to be the bad guy
I don't want do your sleepwalk dance anymore
I just want to see some palm trees
I will try and shake away this disease..."
She started cruising for a cheapish motel, occasionally sipping from her cup of coffee and eating one of the muffins.
"We can live beside the ocean
Leave the fire behind
Swim out past the breakers
Watch the world die..."
OCC: Santa Monica by Everclear.
Christian
Christian rolled his eyes as he drank the black coffee, using both hands. He glanced at the muffins, but didn't touch them for a while. When he finally did, he only had one.
Spook
"No vacancies, no vacancies..." Christina murmured to herself as they drove along. She snagged a hashbrown and munched on it. The tape wound on.
"Let's just drive your car
We could drive all day
Let's just get the hell away from here
For I am sick again
Just plain sick to death
Of the sound of my own voice
We could leave behind
Another wasted year
Just get some cheap red wine
And just go flying..."
"Ah. Vacancy." Christina went to the end of the street and doubled back. She could smell the ocean from her and she breathed it in appreciatively.
"I think I lost my smile
I think you lost yours too
We have lost the power to make each other laugh
Let's just leave this place
And go to Summerland
Just a name on the map
Sounds like heaven to me
We could find a town-
Be just how we want to be..."
A few words out the car window with the owner, and she was on the way to something that would actually suit her purposes better. A caravan park, with an adjoining camping ground. And it was right near the ocean. She was dying for a swim. Maybe if CHristian stopped being such a dick, she'd see what she could do.
"No one really gives a fuck about us anyway
We could live-
Live just like we want to live
No one here really cares about us anyway
We could be-
Everything we want to be
We could get lost in the Fall
Glimmer Sparkle and Fade
The Sparkle and Fade
Fall Glimmer Sparkle and Fade
Forget about our jobs at the record store
Forget about all the losers that we know
Forget about all the memories that keep you down
Forget about them
We could lose them in the
Sparkle and Fade
We could leave them behind
In the Sparkle and Fade
Yeah Sparkle and Fade
Fall Glimmer Sparkle and Fade..." The tape wound to a stop as she
pulled in at the office and booked a small cabin for a couple of
nights. She got the key, and some directions, then drove slowly into
the park, looking for the cabin. She noted some payphones, a kiosk,
amenities block, gamesroom... all the usual crap.
OOC: Summerland by Everclear
Christian
Christian took a deep breath. He knew it was a public place, so he'd have to be careful about what he said. Lat alone Christina having to be careful about what she did.
"How long are we gonna be here?" he asked, looking around.
Spook
"A few days." Christina shrugged. "I have contacts here too. New ones. Who Tanya won't know about. But they're still good. Got some stuff to pawn, look up some of the newer larger bounties...stuff." She opened the door, and went round to CHristian's side, opening it for him. "Swing your legs round and I'll unchain them." She let him see the knife hidden up her sleeve, just as a warning. "I can unpack by myself, after I get you settled."
Christian
Christian did as he was told, not that 'getting settled' sounded very appealing. He made sure to look and make sure no one was around, before shuffling so his legs were hanging out.
"You do realize how many humans are here, right?"
Spook
"Yep," Christina said shortly as she unlocked his ankles and stuffed the shackles in a pocket of her cammies. "Which is why if you don't behave, you're going to spend the days chained to the bed with a gag in your mouth. You haven't been talking all that much anyway." She moved back to let him get down. "But some companys better then no company. For now."
Christian
"For now," Christian stopped himself from chuckling as he jumped from the van.
He stretched his legs for a moment, one having gone to sleep, then jumped to get the blood circulating again.
Spook
"Such a brat," Christina murmured as she unlocked the door. RK jumped out of the van fluidly, then stalked over to it. "You need to stay hidden as well. I don't think they like pets." RK gave them both a haughty stare, then swayed inside, flicking his long busy tail. "You a cat or a dog person? I prefer cats." She went to the van and got a cooler of food she'd ordered to be packed into the plane.
Christian
Christian looked around, guessing that he probably wouldn't be seeing much more of the view once he was inside.
"I'm... not an animal person," he shook his head.
"You get an animal, you get attached to them. Just causes trouble when someone who hates you kills them in front of you."
Spook
"Hmm, see your point. While the wolf and the malamute are definete bonuses in most situations, Mouse went to pieces when she couldn't feel them. It would be worse if they were dead. I think RK can take care of himself, however. Can't ya?" The cat yowled in agreement. "See? RK's fine." The alien hunter looked at Christian. "Inside now, please."
Christian
Christian closed his eyes, memorizing the view before making his way inside.
"You must be almost obsessed with Mouse," he shook his head once he was in, "you talk about her too often."
Spook
"She got away, and she managed to do something that convinced to leave not only her alone, but those she cares about who I might go after," Christina said as she followed him in and dumped the cooler on the small table. "She survives. I have great respect for that."
RK leapt onto the chair and mewed imperatively.
"What, like you didn't scoff any food we left from breakfast? Glutton."
Christian
A small smile appeared on Christian's face, but it quickly faded. He just stood in the middle of the room, not knowing what she wanted him to do.
"So you have an idol. Go you."
Spook
"Not an idol, just..." Christina shrugged. "She's what I could have been. Maybe. I should swing round her way sometime. If I still have RK." She petted the cat and he started to purr majestically. "Or to see Natty." RK arched his back and licked at her fingers. "Got to ring Alice again...make sure she's alright." Christina frowned slightly. "See if she's found anything out about Miette...and Craig. People fear Craig, but they communicate with Alice."
Christian
"Craig."
Christian closed his eyes again, one hand on his hip, the other running his fingers through his hair.
"Dammit."
Spook
RK flowed to the ground, looked up at Christian, carefully brushed past his legs and then leapt onto the double bed. The cabin had a bunk bed and a double for the residents.
"You know Craig. Always has a plan. Wouldn't be surprised to learn he's using her, while she thinks she's controlling him." Christina shrugged, then went to get a few more things out of the car, like clothes, toiletries and such.
Christian
"If she's even telling the truth," Christian raised an eyebrow, watching the cat.
Putting his other hand on his other hip, he licked his lips as he looked around.
Spook
RK watched Christian with interest. What an odd twolegger. He licked his paw thoughtfully, while his golden eyes gleamed.
Christina locked the van, cursing quietly as she juggled the stuff on her hip, then walked back into the cabin and dropped it on the table. She closed the door again, and locked it. While it was pretty feeble, it would give her some warning. She opened the cooler and started to put food away in the small fridge and the iceblocks into the freezer. "Coke?"
Christian
"No, no..." Christian shook his head, returning RK's stare.
There was something weird about that cat.
"Doesn't go well with the coffee."
Spook
"Suit yourself," Christina shrugged as she opened a bottle for herself. She seemed to be craving the sugary stuff, when she'd barely been able to tolerate it before.
RK gazed back, golden eyes serene and the tip of his tail twitching ever so slightly as he contamplatively licked his paw. How...intriguing these twoleggers were turning out to be. Alice had been interesting, but the dynamics here... He flexed his paws, small curves of claw showing as he thought before he settled into a relaxed crouch, tail wrapping around him.
"Shackles at the least. Handcuffs...in front, maybe," Christina thought aloud as she put the coke down on the bench and dug in the pocket for the shackles.
Christian
Christian saw what she was doing, and sighed.
He began to take jacket off, leaving him in his black muscle shirt, brown pants and heavy black boots. He threw the jacket over a nearby chair and cracke dhis knuckles again.
Spook
"Hand to hand, no powers, and I can kick your ass so please don't make me hurt you. It could be a while before you saw a hospital," Christina said calmly as she got the shackles out and disentangled them.
RK's tail moved a bit quicker. How very interesting. He tilted his head slightly to watch what happened next.
Christian
"What?"
He spread his arms, confused.
"It happens to be uncomfortable... well, worse... when I have that thing on me," he indicated the jacket.
Spook
"Yeah, well..." Christina shrugged. "Two words. Phone call. Could've been easier." She walked over to him as she got the handcuffs out, shackles dangling over her forearm. "I'll cuff them in front, so you can get a drink or something if you need to."
Christian
Christian just shook his head, holding his hands out in front.
"Can you blame me? I saw the opportunity and took it. Think I would have let it slip?"
Spook
"No. Not really. But then you shouldn't be so...bleh when I have to do this." Christina slipped the cuffs round his wrists, making sure they were tigh enough that he wouldn't be able to squeeze his hands out of them but they weren't pinching either. She knelt and quickly put on the shackles before rising and stretching. "You can have the double if you want. You won't even fit in the bunks." She turned her back and rummaged in her bag, retrieving a book to read and then settling into one of the chairs.
Christian
"Bleh?" Christian raised his eyebrows.
Then he shrugged.
"Whatever."
He turned and made his way to the bed, sitting on the end and watching the cat again.
Spook
RK watched him back, then decided to creep a bit closer in hopes of garnering a petting. White furred paws kneaded the bedspread while the tom purred.
Christina got up silently and fitted a needle to the sedative holder. At least he was on the bed. That made *that* easier. She slipped up behind him and slid the needle into the vein on his neck, depressing the plunger in one smooth motion before stepping back several steps.
RK's golden eyes widened slightly in puzzlement. What *was* she doing?
Christian
"AH!"
Christian jumped, his hands flying to his neck.
"$#!+ing hell..."
He looked back at her, seeing the needle in her hand, and gulped.
"Oh man..."
Spook
"Nighty night." Christina waved her hand slightly. "I suggest you lie down before you fall down."
RK glanced around wildly, before jumping to the ground with a bit of a thud. He wasn't staying around when that twolegger was beginning to sway quite alarmingly.
Christian
Christian groaned as he began to feel dizzy again, and his vision went blurry.
He fell backwards onto his right elbow, desperately blinking his eyes, before falling onto his back and letting the sedative do its work.
Spook
RK poked his head over the edge of the bed and blinked at Christian. What in the world...he jumped onto the bed cautiously to investigate.
"Watch him for me, RK. He wakes up and goes out, come and get me." Christina turned and left, sliding the shades back down over her black eyes. She locked the door behind her and started to walk aimlessly. She heard guitar music, so she headed towards that.
RK looked at the door where Christina had disappeared, then back at Christian. Well.
"Hey, good work," Christina said as she emerged into their line of sight. She looked at the teens consideringly. "Nice to hear someone who can actually play. For once." She leaned against a tree, and folded her arms slightly as she smiled. "Name's Chrissy."
Noah
"Noah," Noah said, standing up to greet the new arrival. "This is AJ, Lyssa, Amy, Adam and Chris."
Spook
"Nice to meet y'all," Christina drawled. She could sense their powers, and debated whether to tell them or not what she was doing to them. "So, what brings you to the East Coast?"
Alyssa and Amy
"Road trip to the beach," Lyssa said.
"We're from Tulsa," Amy put in. "What about yourself?"
Spook
"Ah, road trip. Fun." Christina grinned. "I'm a bit from everywhere, but I been through Tulsa a few times." She tilted her head slightly. "Born in India, but I grew up here, mostly. America, that is to say." She bit her lip lightly. "Seeing as how I can sense all your powers, I should warn you in advance that while I'm nearby, you won't be able to use them. Sorry bout that. My power's Null."
Noah, Alyssa and Amy
Noah frowned.
"Well, that means I can't get us any kero. How far away do you have to be for them to work again..."
"You keroholic," Alyssa grinned.
"Hey, I'm thinking about all of us here," Noah replied.
"I don't have any powers anyway, so it doesn't bother me. India, what was that like?" Amy asked.
Spook
"Oh, you can still get drunk on the kero. I don't affect that," Christina said cheerfully. "India...it's hot. Very, very hot. Dry. Lots of people. Mainly humans, not much of a alien community. Not even that many mutants, which is odd for a place with that high a birth rate. So, Daths, I'm guessing since you're going on about kero."
Room69, Alyssa and Amy
Noah looked confused for a second.
"No, I mean..."
Adam stepped in. "Noah's power is creation, so he usually creates all the kero up, but seeing as you're here... we're not going to be able to have any."
"Kero," Chris whimpered pitifully.
"It's also how we all started drinking way before we were meant to," Amy grinned. "And yeah, Dath's. You?"
Spook
"Ahhh..." Christina nodded slightly. "Human Dath hyrbid. Let me see what I can do about the kero situation." She took the shades off her face and blinked slightly. "Damn. I get so used to never taking them off..." She bowed her head for a moment, then vizualised pulling all her power in, so it just covered her skin. "Try now."
Room69
Noah quickly created up a large batch of Kero that would last them through the night, then set about creating cups.
"I never get sick of seeing that," Chris grinned.
"What, of him creating or of kero?" Adam asked.
"A little from column a and a little from column b."
Spook
Christina released it again and if she hadn't been leaning against a tree, she would've been swaying on her feet. "Well, I haven't tried that particular trick before." She slipped a packet of cigarettes from her cammies into her hand, before lighting up. "Hey, if you're Daths from Tulsa...you'll know the Hansons and Mouse? Or not?"
Noah, Adam and Amy
"Yeah... we played a show with Hanson before," Adam said. "We're a band. Well... Noah, Chris and another guy and me are. These are our groupies."
"Pssh, groupie this," Amy replied, flipping him the bird.
"But I don't think... we may have met Mouse, but I don't think so," Chris put in,looking confused.
"I don't think we have," Noah said.
Spook
"Mouse, bit short, brown hair at the moment, lots of tats, and if you'd met her, you'd probably remember the wolf she has a bodyguard." Christina chuckled slightly. "Engaged to Taylor. Which is nice for her. Dropped in on them a while back."
Noah and Adam
"Oh, Mouse." Noah nodded. "AJ and I met her at the Ball."
Adam grinned. "Well, bully for you, Noah."
"Yeah, it is."
AJ
AJ moved closer to Noah, feeling uneasy at not being able to use her powers.
Not that she was planning to use them, but still...
"I remember her. Mouse... Jane... whichever we wanted to call her."
She tilted her chin up and scratched her neck.
"She had a wolf that Taylor was talking to outside."
Spook
Christina nodded. "And a malumute now. Apparently they keep threatening to castrate Zac with their teeth...which might be a good thing." Her leg suddenly started to ring. "'Scuse me." She unbuttoned the pocket and got out a mobile. "Hello?"
"Spooky! I can seeeeeeee you!"
"What the hell? Who is this?" Christina's eyes went wide and she swivelled rapidly, looking for whoever the caller might be.
"Alice, darling. Who are those darling children with you?"
"Daths from Tulsa. Don't scare me like that."
"Terribly sorry." Alice giggled.
"Oh, I know. You're so terribly sorry everytime you scare the shit out of me. What have you got to drink?"
"Spooky, you know the question always is, what don't I have?" Christina laughed, and then Alice stepped out from behind one of the tents. "And you could be very dead. Catch." Alice threw a bottle at her, and Christina caught it handily, returning her mobile to her pocket. "So, who you talking to, Chrisssssssy? Mouses?"
"Not today. What happened? Why are... you here, instead of in Oklahoma City?"
"Oooh, bad nasty YIRAAAS agents. I had to close down the Rabbit Hole for the moment." Alice bounced. "They didn't like it when I sent them running. How's RK?"
"He's with Chris."
"Oh, darling puppy boy." Alice spun.
"What are you on this time?"
"I forget. That's a Dath version of absinthe, Chrissy. No sugar needed, however." She looked at the teens. "They're so cute! Why do you always find these really cute people?"
Noah
Noah put his arm around AJ and gently caressed her waist.
"O...k."
Spook
Alice giggled harder. "I'm Alice Carol, also known as Alice from Wonderland. I'm the owner and propretier of the club called the Rabbit Hole. Neutral ground to anyone, except the people who manage to annoy me mightily. You're all welcome to come when I reopen. I'm on soma holiday at the moment. So. Who wants to fly to touch the sky?"
Christina snickered as she sat down against the tree and opened the bottle. "Did you bring glasses?"
"Chrissy, I have no idea what you're talking about." Alice bounced over to Christina and slumped to the ground next to her in a mess of colourful clothes.
"Well, it wouldn't be the first time. Salut!" She raised the bottle, then drank deeply.
"Oh, mad tea party!"
"Yes, Alice."
"Because the last one got so ruined." Alice pouted.
Christian
It was quite some time later when Christian's facial expression changed.
He squeezed his eyes open slightly, blinking rapidly, but keeping his body still. Turning his head to the side, he saw he was in a cabin. That's right... brought here by Spook.
With a groan he lifted his hands to his head.
Spook
"So, you know their names, Chrissy?" Alice asked, waving vaguely at the very confused looking group of teenagers.
"Alice. I just had some of this whatever the hell you put in it, and you expect me to remember?"
"Well, no. But it's worth trying." Alice snagged the bottle off Christina. "So how is my kitty?"
"Well, I'm good. And RK's fine. He keeps staring though. And eating things which he shouldn't."
"He's a special type of cat," Alice said mysteriously. "I got him off a Chaos warlock."
"Reeeeaaallly now. And yet you gave him to me. Thanks a lot."
"Oh, RK's harmless." Alice giggled, diamond eyes flashing. "If you're female. Doesn't like guys at all. But he doesn't mind Christian."
"Guy looks like Taylor Hanson. What the hell else do you expect?"
Alice rolled around on the ground, laughing.
Alyssa and Chris
Alyssa grinned. "Poor girly Tay."
Chris grabbed some kero. "He's not that girly. Ok, he is."
Spook
"Annnnnnnd, he keeps getting kidnapped. Pooooooor Mousey." Christina shook her head.
"Bad, bad, bad girl, Chrissy." Alice clapped her hands over her mouth and giggled hard.
"Oh yeah. Bad to the bone, that's me."
"Wicked, wicked demon child."
"'M not a demon. No horns, or those...other things."
"Pfffft." Alice looked over at the group. "I have antifreeze cookies. Want some? They're very good."
"Oh yes!" Christina held her hand out. "Cookies are of the good."
AJ and Christian
"Tay's not as girly as I thought he'd be," AJ said, cuddling up to Noah again.
*****
Christian looked around as he sat up on the bed. His vision still wasn't the best, and he'd tried using his atom manipulation... so he must still be in Christina's range.
Hopefully she wasn't planning on returning anytime soon. He was surprised at the amount of sedative she'd given him... it definately wasn't as much as before. But then she'd only had a split second to do it before she'd backed off.
He rubbed his neck, and tried to move his feet. Looking down - almost falling from the bed from dizziness - he remembered the shackles. With a gulp he leant forward, and began to undo his bootlaces. Taking his boots off, he found he could in fact slide the shackles off. He was guessing she wouldn't have thought of him doing that...
Noah, Adam and Amy
Noah grinned and kissed the top of her head. "Nah, he's pretty cool."
"Or just pretty," Amy put in, reaching for more kero. She giggled. "Kerooooo!"
"Amy's drunk," Adam said.
"Shut up, am not."
"Are too."
"Bite me."
"Later."
Noah rolled his eyes at the display.
Spook
"Drunk is good. Drunk is a good place to be," Christina said.
"Hiiiiiiiigh is better!"
"At least with kero, I know what's gonna happen. Who would know with the stuff you cook up."
"But you love me! Everybody loves Alice."
"Chris doesn't like you."
"He looks better with a collar on. So pretty! If he was a girl, I'd do him in a heartbeat. It's the, the black hair. I loooooove black hair."
"Straight."
"I know! It's such a pity, cos Chrissy is so pretty but she won't play." Alice pouted. "Bad puppy, ruff!" She snapped her teeth. "Bad puppies don't get to come to the ball. The rabbits will run."
"You're making even less sense then usual."
"But honestly, Chrissy! You should do him."
"We covered this back at the Rabbit Hole. No. Not happening."
Christian and AJ
Christian groaned once he found his way to the bathroom, his boots back on his feet. He began to wash his face, hoping to get some vision back.
As he looked up at himself in the mirror, he saw his eyes were bloodshot, and he looked like he hadn't slept for a week. He put a hand up to the mirror, but didn't touch it.
"Man..."
He wiped his face off, the chain of the hand cuffs tinkling, then leant against the doorway as he stumbled from the bathroom. Squinting, he spotted the jacket where he'd left it on the chair. He made his way over, grabbe dit, and took it to the bed. Laying it out, he sat on it, then managed to tie it around his waist. He rubbed his face as he looked around again.
Getting up, he stopped for a moment until the dizziness subsided, then headed for the kitchen area. Opening the drawers, he began to look through the knives.
*****
AJ watched Alice with a weird look on her face. Jeezuz... and she thought they were bad back home.
Chris, Noah and Amy
Chris reached for a cookie and ate it, grinning as it started to hit him.
"Hiiigh is funnnn!" he said.
Noah finished his cookie and took a swig of kero. "I can see through time."
"Can you see Trogdor?" Amy asked. "I can. He's burninating the peasants!"
Spook
Christina looked at them, confused. "Who's Trogdor?"
"Trogdor!" Alice said happily. "He was a man... no he was a dragon man... or maybe he was just a DRAGON! But he was still TROOOOGGGDOOORRRR!" She waved her arms around.
"Ok then..." Christina raised an eyebrow slightly.
""Burninating the country side! Burninating the peasants! Burninating all the peoples! In their THATCHROOF COTTAGES! THATCHROOF COTTAGES! And Trogdor comes in the niiiight!"
"I'm glad one of you at least know what she's talking about."
"TROOOOGGGDDDOORRR!" Alice giggled hysterically.
~*~*~*~
RK watched Christian with some confusion. What was the twolegger doing? He ghosted along behind CHristian, golden eyes showing his curiousity.
Christian and AJ
Christian found the kind of knife he was looking for, then bent slowly - so he wouldn't fall - to slip it into his right boot. Just as a precaution.
Looking up, he noticed RK.
"Hey..." he began with a small smile, reaching out to pet the cat.
He sighed as he scratched him, then leant against the sink to stand up again.
*****
AJ watched Noah, not having the faintest interest in eating one of the cookies. She's stick to kero.
Then she laughed at Alice.
Noah
Noah took another swig of his kero.
"Trogdor," he sang quietly.
He leaned over and kissed AJ's nose.
Spook
RK brushed up against Christian's legs, purring loudly. A nice male twolegger. For once.
~*~*~*~
"Trogdor," Alice said in agreement. "A bag of illusions against a burninator? Silly, silly British man." She shook her head, magenta strands scruffing up more. "Siiiilllly maaaaan."
"What is a burninator?"
"Troooooogdddooorrrr is a burninator!" Alice nodded descively. "I wanna go swimming."
"Ocean's that way." Christina waved her hand.
"Come skinny dipping with me! We can shock people!"
"Noooooooo. I don't think so. Ask them."
"Wanna go swimming?"
AJ and Christian
"Not I," AJ raised her hand, "too freaking cold for the Aussie."
*****
Christian took a deep breath as he looked toward the door, then was suddenly distracted.
The window by the bed was open. And there was no screen on it.
Glancing down at RK, he made his way over to it. He leant against the wall for a moment, annoyed by another dizzy spell, before opening the window further.
Leaning out a little, he saw a small laneway leading around to the front. Luckily, there were only trees in front of him. No one could see him.
He leant his hands on the window sill and pulled himself up, resting one foot on the sill before jumping through and to the ground. He fell forward onto his hands and knees,, and put his face in his hands for a moment, trying to get himself together.
"Ok..."
He knelt up and leant against the wall to stand up, before stumbling forward and heading for the beach.
Noah and Adam
"No thank youuuu, I'd rather stay here with AJ and - "
"And screw her?" Adam asked, swaying in his seat slightly.
"No. Well yes. But we're not going to," Noah replied.
Spook
RK fluidly jumped out after Christian, took note of his direction then started sniffing for Christina. There! He set off running.
~*~*~*~
"Well, I'm going swimming," Alice said, standing up, swaying more then slightly. "Does annnnnyooooonneee want to come swimming? Or you can just watch me."
"You're gonna drroooown yourself."
"Will not."
"Will too."
"Will not."
"Will toooooo."
Christian
Christian watched RK, and decided to follow the cat.
Stumbling slightly, he finally came to the beach, and hit behind some rocks when he saw people on the beach. Squinting slightly, it didn't take him long to recognize Christina... and Alice? What the heck was she doing here?
He groaned a little, realizing he didn't know who the teens were. Probably more freaks of Alice's.
He sat back for a moment, blinked a little (his vision getting better), then stood again and began to stumble in the other direction.
Spook
Alice calmly pulled her top over her head as she started walking towards the water.
"Alice, sweetie, you're going to freeze to death."
"I won't!"
"Or drown-ooph!" Christina was hit by a mass of fur and muscle. "What the- RK!" She petted the cat, frowning. "Why are you...oh, shit. Where is he?" She stood and RK started off again. "Don't die on me, Alice!"
"I'm not planning to die anytime soon- HOLY CHRIST, THAT'S COLD!" Alice shook her head and then dived back under the water, clothes in a pile on the sand. "Oh COLD!"
"Told you!" Christina called back as she ran after RK.
Adam and Amy
"She's naked," Adam said obviously.
"Duh, idiot," Amy replied.
"I'm making a point."
"Yeah, in your pants."
"Screw you, Amy."
"No thanks."
"You sure?" Adam wiggled his eyebrows at Amy and she grinned.
"You're an idiot."
"You love me because of it."
"No, I love you in spite of it."
Christian
Christian stumbled through the trees, sometimes tripping on branches in the sand.
Eventually he stopped and put his hands on a tree, then leant his forehead on them. He didn't know where he was, and he wouldn't have a clue of how to start guessing. He figured it'd be easier to sleep it off and try and clear his head in the morning.
He saw a slight hill up ahead, and sighed. He began to head for it, realizing the sandy hill led down into a small cove - shut off from the rest of the beach.
He made his way down, and stood at the bottom for a moment, just looking at the water.
Spook
Christina followed RK, stumbling and weaving as she tried to adjust what she was seeing to reality. Damn Alice. What the hell had she added to the kero? At least she hadn't drunk that much of it...
RK trotted along, yellow eyes alive with curiousity. Honestly, these two leggers were so interesting. He loped down to where Christian was as Christina leant against a tree for a moment, before walking down to where he was.
"Why do you do things like this, Chris?" Christina said tiredly as she walked down the sandy slope. "Shit!" She missed her footing and fell over, before getting up. "Stupid lack of will power when it comes to Alice..."
Christian
Christian gulped and hung his head, closing his eyes.
"Why do you think I do things like this?" he questioned.
Spook
"Am I that bad to be around?" Christina asked softly. "I'm sure that Mouse by now, has gone to find someone who can find Taylor. Blakesley will get what's coming to him. Tanya's fine. Craig is still not findable."
RK padded over the sand and headed for Christian. He looked at the water consideringly.
"Don't even think about it, RK. Your fur would take forever to dry."
RK sneezed, then sat down near Christian's feet. Well. He'd only been thinking about it...
Christian
"It's not about Taylor," Christian shook his head, looking up at the water again.
"It's... everything. It's $#!+ing everything."
Spook
"Well, anyway. Cabin again, please." Christina drew a pistol from her cammies and cocked the hammer backwards. "I might be a bit drunk, but I'm sure I can hit you if I need to. Ah, teen angst..."
Christian
Christian heard the gun and gulped slightly.
"If you're going to shoot me, why don't you get it the $#!+ over with?"
He turned to her, eyes hazy.
"Because I can't take this much longer. You said it yourself... my life is screwed. And at the moment it sure as hell isn't worth living."
Spook
Christina blinked. This was not something she had expected to hear. "I don't particularily want to shoot you. I happen to like you, however much this would make it seem I don't. I enjoy talking to you. Everything's so cold and distant now...you make me feel. I...this is hard to explain, and guess what? Both our lives suck. We're both screwed. No matter what the f*ck we do." The corner of her mouth twitched. "And to think I had you pegged as a survivor..."
RK watched the byplay with interest.
Christian
"But what do I have to survive for now?" Christian shook his head.
"I betrayed Tanya. I betrayed Craig. And I have thousands of deaths on my hands that I'm starting to feel guilty about, and I don't want to feel it..."
He felt the traces of tears welling in his eyes.
"Tanya said I was at a crossroads, but everywhere I look there's a dead end. I have a million memories that I don't want, and..."
He shook his head, and looked out at the water again.
"And there's not a damn thing I can do about it."
Spook
"But they want you to survive," Christina said softly. "Or Tanya does at least. No one wants me too. My mother should've drowned me at birth. She said often enough that she wished too. No powers, such a disappointment, a reproach to the family, a slur on my father..." She swayed slightly, feeling the pain cut into her as if it had only been this morning the words had been said. "Useless, worthless...god. I thought having a power would help. It only makes it worse...I'm so cold, inside and out."
Christian
"Why should it matter that others want me to survive, when I don't?" Christian kept control of the lump in his throat.
"Sometimes... I wish I had a mother. But then I stop and think that if... maybe it wasn't a coincidence that Craig took me in. Maybe someone had their eye on me in the first place, and that's why she left. They drive her out and killed my father. My so-called father."
He fell to his knees, a tear running down his right cheek. The first since even he couldn't remember.
"I'm supposed to be this great hunter, trained by the best," his face played a decieving smile, "but look at me."
He looked down at the cuffs on his wrists.
"This isn't me. But then again... who am I? Not even I am ever going to know the answer to that."
Spook
"Who is anyone? Who am I? I don't know anymore, if I ever did it." Christina shook her head in distress. "Stop it! I don't want to feel this. I don't want to hurt again, ever!" She moved to Christian's side, pistoldangling loosely from her hand on the side away from him. "Why can't it be like it was before?" She asked him almost plaintively, the drugs she'd consumed making her more child-like.
Christian
"Like when?" Christian almost laughed, looking up at her for a moment.
"There's not a single in my life that I can sit back and be proud of. There's nothing I've done that... I can say 'yeah, I did that. Go me'."
He licked his lips.
"I told you I was raped. It wasn't only once. I lost count after the first few," he shook his head, "but that came with where I was living. No doubt the assholes were cautious, because of Craig, but that didn't stop them getting to me."
He gulped.
"Anything... any advice I give, like not loving animals, has come from past experiences. Mostly my own. I only relate what I've been through. As I said, memories that I don't want. But if I take them away, there's nothing left. And I'm no one."
He took a deep breath.
"But right now no one is alot better than Christian."
Spook
"No, never." Christina frowned and bent down to look at him. "I never thought that." She thought for a moment. "You saved the mutant and Mouse from the labs at Quantico. I heard about that. Isn't that something you could be proud of?" She traced the path the tear had taken down his face, and then tasted the salt of it. "I always screw things up..."
Christian
"The only reason I went after them was because I felt I owed Taylor, and I still don't even know why."
Christian gulped as he looked into her eyes.
"And in doing that I betrayed the one man I thought I'd never betray. The one person who actually gave my life some direction. It just seems that whatever I do, I'm betraying someone at least. And I'm so tired of being the one in the middle."
Spook
"I don't know what to do..." The defeated words came out of Christina's mouth in almost a whisper. "How did saving Mouse betray him? I don't understand." She wanted to understand, she did.
Christian
"Because I'm meant to kill aliens! Not save their freaking lives!" Christian exclaimed, letting more tears fall as he fell backwards into the sand.
He crossed his legs and rocked his body slightly, the tears coming freely now.
"I don't know what he'd do if he saw me like this," his voice croaked a little, "everyone's pushing down on me. Everyone wants me to break. Blakesley's getting his $#!+ing wish. I'm $#!+ing breaking, asshole."
Spook
"So am I. Meant to kill them, that is. But...I don't want you to break." Christina watched him cry in some alarm. "I gave my word to Mouse and the Hansons. And I didn't kill those kids today. They were all Daths. Why is it that you can be forgiven, but I can't? That's why I'm hunting agents now, not aliens in general. Every day you stay alive and stay with me, you save someone's life." She reached out to touch his face again gently. "But if you're meant to kill aliens, I suppose that isn't that much of a comfort."
RK crept over to them both and watched them with alarm. They both reeked of pain...
"I've got kero back at the cabin. Getting drunk usually seems to dull the pain for one more night."
Christian
"So just by being here I'm betraying Craig," his voice croaked as he looked away.
"I start killing again, like I've been brought up to do, I'm betraying Tanya. Nothing works. And as for being forgiven... Tanya is the only one who forgives me. Ever. And it's only because she considers me her son."
He swiped at his tears angrily.
"Any other agent would have either taken me in or killed on sight. if they could. I was always too fast for them."
He hesitated.
"And I don't drink."
Spook
"Maybe that's what's wrong with you," Christina said thoughtfully. "You need to forget. For a bit. Doesn't it sound tempting? And hey. Every alien's life I take, I betray my parents. You know my father was a YIRAAAS agent? He was. I'm suuuuuch a disgrace. The fact that I'm alive is a betrayal. The only agent who's caught me is Tanya, so, we're even in that regard. And I betrayed her too...I suppose. Started killing again. Went to Kansas. Swear to God, the absolute worst descion I ever made. Wouldn't do it again, I can't stand this." Christina bowed her head for a moment, then looked back up. "C'mon. Let's go back to the cabin. I need a drink, even if you decide not to partake. And Alice has already forgiven you for your role in the YIRAAAS shutting her operations down for the moment."
Christian
"Well good for her," Christian rolled his eyes, unaware of how red they were.
"And yeah, back to your cabin. So you can chain me up and never let me see the light of day again."
He closed his eyes for a moment, then tried blinking the tears away.
"I'm not the only person you could have taken. There were plenty of freaks at that warehouse you seemed interested enough to talk to."
He gulped.
SPook
"Ah, but I wanted to talk to you." Christina stood and took his hand to tug him to his feet. "C'mon, Chrissy baby. Let's get absolutely shit faced. I'm only figuring this out a day at a time. We're not staying here long. Be leaving in a couple of days. Driving again."
Christian
"And that's supposed to make me feel better?" Christian frowned.
"I'm supposed to be the hunter, and yet look at me."
He tugged on the hand cuffs.
"This... this is killing me."
Spook
"And I'm already dead. So, we suit each other well then," Christina snapped. "I've been in your position quite a few times, yet I managed to survive it. Cabin. And I should see whether Alice drowned when she went skinny dipping, the nutcase."
Christian
Christian just shook his head and looked up at the sky.
"Why couldn't you just leave me alone?" he almost whined.
"What did I do to deserve this? Ok, a number of things, but man..."
He rubbed his face again.
"I know that I apparently made you feel something, and if it's that great that you want me to hang around I wish someone could have done it for me. But if you wanted me to hang around for longterm, then you're definately going the wrong way about it."
His voice cracked on the last few words.
Spook
"I'm...I don't know what I'm doing."
Christina shook her head in frustration.
"I don't feel anything any more. Well, not much of anything. Nothing tastes right. Nothing...feels right. Not like it's suposed to. You at least, usually, act the way I remember. If I knew what I was doing, I might have been able to change where we've ended up. Chains have never been my thing."
She turned from him to look at the ocean.
"Tanya just pushed me into the wrong direction...stumbled, fell, and I'm still falling into the abyss. Sorry that I seem to be taking you down with me, but as the saying goes, misery loves company."
Christian
"So you don't even have a reason for doing this to me," Christian nodded, biting his lip.
"And nothing feels right because you went to Kansas. And there's only one person to blame for that. You. If you even tried, a strong enough healer would probably be able to rid you of Null and all that other crap you ended up with."
He drew in a shaky breath.
"But please... just give me some direction. If it hasn't already happened I am truly losing myself. And I don't know how long I'm gonna last."
Spook
"You make me feel better," Christina said quietly. "I don't know why, but you do. Direction for now? The cabin, possibly getting drunk and sleep. We both need it. Proper sleep. And what Healer am I going to find that will help me? All the really strong ones work with with the YIRAAAS. They won't help me."
She shook her head again, staring at the ripples on the water.
"I'm not sorry for killing all those agents though." She turned back to him. "It...made the ache less. For a time. C'mon, RK." She bent to pick the cat up and he purred reassuringly. "Let's go back to the cabin."
Christian
Christian took a deep breath, calming himself down, his mind working overtime to formulate the beginnings of a plan.
He took a last look out at the water, then turned to her.
"Through me... they would," he said softly.
He glanced at RK, then began up the sandy slope. Back towards the cabin.
Spook
Christina took one last glance at the shining waters of the ocean, then followed him. She put the cat back down on the ground and the gun away in its pocket as she walked up the sandy slope, shoes slipping slightly on the uneven ground. "As if they would. I'm shoot on sight now." RK bounded ahead lightly for an animal of his size, and brusheed past Christian's legs. She slid the shades back down to cover her eyes.
When they got back to the cabin, there was a box sitting on the step. Christina raised her eyebrows slightly as she stepped over it to unlock the door. She opened it and RK sashayed in. She sat on the step and put the box in her lap. "You can either sit down next to me or go inside. Your choice." She opened the box. "Alice, you truly are mad..."
Two bottles labelled 'Drink me', a box of biscuits with the motto 'Eat me' dotted out in brown sugar on the tops of them, and two letters. One was addressed to Christian and one was for herself. She held up the one with his name on it for him to take.
Christian
Christian took the letter from her, then silently headed inside.
He threw it down onto the table, then sat in one of the chairs and just stared at it. His eyes weren't registering what he was seeing though, as he felt the knife still in his boot.
He glanced up at the bathroom.
Spook
Christina opened her letter and read it.
Spooky dearest,
As you may have guessed, I'm here. We've probably met at least once before you even read this. But that's the way I work. You know I'm insane.
Don't keep falling. I know you, Spooky. And you're not acting like yourself. Have a bit of fun, talk it over with the guy. And for God's sake, don't chain him up. He's losing it, you can tell. Why do you need him for, anyway?
I don't like what's happening, Spooky. I don't like it at all. What if more people go to Kansas? And Craig...he's such a major player. With him possibly gone, but definitely out of the picture for the moment, there's ripples in the water. People are already murmuring.
The last time I have notice of Craig was when he stopped by the Hansons to play around with them. I wrote that for Christian as well, and there's a picture for him too. Just a small one.
Anyway. Here's the run down on Miette, what I've been able to find.
Miette's infomation from the YIRAAAS website, and some things that Alice and her people had been able to find out followed.
I'll be seeing you, Spooky. Think about what I've said, ok? I worry for you.
Alice in Wonderland.
Christian folded the letter back up and tapped it thoughtfully against her palm. I'd already come to those conclusions myself, Alice....
RK watched Christian. Something was wrong here...
Christian
Christian closed his eyes for the moment, breathing in the scent of the ocean through the still-open window.
Opening them again, he stood, and began to make his way to the bathroom without looking back. He shut the door behind him so that Christina couldn't see.
Making his way over to the basin, he looked at himself in the mirror again. He couldn't tell what was happening to him... it was all such a whir. And he had absolutely no control.
He crouched down to his right boot and pulled out the knife, before standing up again. Tears were forming in his eyes again, though he stayed silent.
He lay the black handle of the knife in the palm of his right hand, resting the blade against the skin of his left wrist. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, before digging it in and sliding it across. Blood immediately spilled to the floor.
Only his training stopped him from crying out. He dropped the knife into the basin with a loud clatter in the silence, then leant back against the closest wall and slid to the ground.
Spook
RK started to wail loudly. Christina came back inside and put the box on the table. "RK?"
The cat scrabbled at the bathroom door and yowled.
Christina frowned and went over to the door. She was pretty sure the cat wouldn't go nuts like this if Christian was fine. She slid open the door.
"Christian!" She looked at the blood and then at the knife in the basin. She left for a moment and got a first aid kit. She then knelt next to him in the cramped space and took his wrist in her hands, holding her thumb down over the vein and slowing the flow of blood as she opened the box with her other hand and fished for some bandages. "Why...why do something like this?"
RK was still wailing in distress.
Christian
"I just spent the last hour or so telling you why," Christian shook his head.
Then he pulled away from her with a tug.
"Don't stop it. Please."
Spook
RK wailed incessantly.
"RK, would you please shut up?" Christina said, her hand painted in Christian's blood. "You know I'm not going to. Why even bother asking? I don't want you to die." She tugged the wrist back and doused it in Dettol. "What possessed you to use *that* knife?" She bound the wrist up with sterilised bandages from the kit.
Christian
"Nothing had to be special about the knife," Christian frowned, refusing to watch what she was doing.
"It was big and serrated. That's good enough for me."
He rubbed his eyes on his shoulder, his other hand not being able to reach.
Spook
"Idiot. That's what I meant. Stand up. I need to stitch that." Christina frowned as she got up to wash her hands in the basin. Blood flowed down the sink, around the knife and washing it clean too.
RK crept in and looked at Christian with big worried eyes. He could smell the blood, the fear, the pain, the utter despair that Christian was giving off. His tail twitched slightly and he mewed softly in distress.
Christian
Christian glanced at RK, then looked away as he waited for Christina.
If the cat wasn't there, he probably could have gotten away with it. Damn it all.
Spook
Christina washed her hand throughly, then moved RK slightly with her foot. She got a needle out and threaded it with surgical thread. With a sigh, she reached out for his wrist again and unbandanged it. The blood had slowed down now, so she started to stitch. "This is really gonna hurt...but I can't help that." She carefully pulled the thread after the needle.
RK mewed again.
"Yes, RK, I'm fixing him. Nice to know you like him so much."
Christian
Christian looked at the cat again, then to the door.
"This'll be nothing," he insisted, "bullet wounds hurt like a bitch, and they're easy enough to control."
Spook
"Acid. Hurts like a bitch," Christina said as she neatly stitched up the slash. "I was on good terms with a healer though. Then. He got killed by someone..."
Christian
"Oops?" Christian raised his eyebrows.
"You have to get to the healers first. Otherwise they just start healing the others you go after. Pointless."
Spook
"He annoyed some hunter, so he got shot. He was useful though. Not many alien healers will help hunters." Christina carefully slid the needle through his skin again.
Christian
Christian sighed, wincing slightly.
"Ok, shot. Wouldn't have been me then."
He watched her work for a moment, glanced at RK, and took a deep breath.
Spook
"Mmm. A newbie. Idiot. You don't kill people you might need later on." Christina sewed up the gash with precise stiches. "He wasn't exactly on the straight and narrow. Useful." She knotted the end of the thread and reached into the medbox to get out a small pair of scissors. She carefully snipped the thread's end off, and returned the scissors to their case. "How did you get into hunting, anyway?"
Christian
"How did I get into hunting?" Christian almost laughed.
"Well let's see... father murdered when I was about five... mother goes missing. Get taken in by one of the most wanted criminals on the face of the Earth..."
He shook his head.
"Schooling kinda changed then, you know. I grew up knowing that it was what I was supposed to do."
Spook
"Mmm." Christina smeared antibacterial cream along the cut. "This should be good. Shouldn't get infected, anyway. That would be rather painful."
Christian
"I guess."
Christian dipped his head a little, black hair falling across his face and shades.
"Nothing I can't handle."
Spook
"Masochistic tendencies are starting to show, sweetie." Christina packed up the medbox, and grabbed the knife by the handle. "I prefer to inflict it, myself." She kicked the door to open it and swayed out. She put the knife away safely and put the medkit back away.
RK watched Christian, then moved forward cautiously to sniff at his hand.
"Come and have a drink. You should wash the blood off your hand first though."
Christian
Christian looked down at the dry blood marks running down his arm, and shrugged.
He lifted a finger with a few droplets of blood, and licked them off. Glancing at the basin, he returned to the main room.
"As I said, I don't drink," he insisted, leaning against the side of a cabinet, eyes scanning the room.
Spook
"And I say, you probably should start." Christina got two glasses out and set them on the table with a flourish. "What have you got to lose?"
RK wandered back out and jumped up onto the bed. Golden eyes watched the two's every movement.
"Is it just me, or does that cat do some freaky mesmerising stare thing?" She put the bottle on the table and opened it.
Christian
Christian glanced at RK.
"Yeah he does. But as I said, I'm not interested," he shook his head, "I don't drink, and I don't do drugs. Hunters need to stay focused 24/7. Especially when they're well known."
Spook
"Suit yourself." Christina shrugged, and poured herself a glass of some blue liquid. She looked at it carefully. "On second thoughts, I don't think I want to trust my health to whatever concotion Alice dreamed up. She's lucky she hasn't OD'd yet."
RK sniffed the air, then sneezed.
Christina went and poured the liquid down the sink. She sat back down in the chair and crossed her legs. "So..."
Christian
"Sorry if I worried you or anything," Christian looked up at the window, still open.
He bit his lip, trying to think of something else.
Spook
"Oh yeah, cos I just love stitching up suicide gashes in the afternoon," Christina said dryly. She got a can of Coke and opened it with a hiss. "Not a fan of blood from the people I like." What the hell should I do with you? "With people, I don't like, it's a whole nother matter, of course."
Christian
"Of course," a smile played on Christian's lips as he gazed through the window.
"It would be fun to see what could drive Kaleb to the point of suicide."
He took a deep breath, realizing he might never actually get the satisfaction.
Spook
"Making sure he could never hurt anyone, ever again?" Christina said. "We should give him to Tanya. The frustration alone would kill him. You know...having all these things to do, and being unable to carry them through."
Christian
"Yeah..." Christian trailed off, seeing similarities with his current situation.
He lifted his hands so he could study the stitching in his wrist.
Spook
"I got to be real good at that, after the first few hunts I failed miserably on," Christina said casually. "You learn to sew very quickly after ya get shot a few times...not a problem for you, of course."
Christian
"Craig didn't always have a healer you know," Christian looked up at her, annoyed.
"Most of the time I had to deal with the pain. But you have to learn, to be successful. Like when you got me on the arm... I hardly made a noise. You always have to be careful, quiet... alert..." he trailed off.
He cocked his head slightly, running a finger down one of the blood trails on his arm as far as the cuffs let him.
Spook
"I was thinking more along the lines of, you haven't gotten shot nearly as many times as I have. No need to get huffy," Christina said shrugging. "And you probably got to use a healer more often then I did. Almost makes me wish I'd been semi-adopted by the evil alien hunter."
Christian
"He's not evil," Christian insisted.
He sucked the blood off the tip of his finger, then licked a little off his arm. Deciding there was too much, he let his arms fall.
"And yeah, I don't doubt I haven't been shot as many times as you. No offence or anything, but speed was always my thing."
He smiled slightly.
"Although learning was the hard part. Bullets do hurt like hell."
Spook
"I'm evil, you're evil. According to the YIRAAAS. We're the boogey men, the thing that goes bump in the night, the monsters under the bed. Except we're real, and they're not." Christina paused thoughtfully. "Or if they are, I haven't met them yet. And yes, bullets do hurt like hell. They hit and they burn, and then they bruise and yeah. Ouch."
Christian
"I'm guessing you know how much it hurts to have one cut back out then," Christian shook the hair from his eyes.
He raised his hands and moved his sunglasses onto his head, before rubbing his eyes tiredly.
Spook
"Try getting buckshot out of your back with a knife and a wonky mirror," Christina said wryly. "I ended up getting very drunk that night. Hurt, a *lot*. And of course, with all the blood loss, the jack went straight to my head."
Christian
"Understandable," Christian nodded slightly.
"Those who can't take the pain normally do drug themselves somehow."
He squinted up at the light, then looked back to the bathroom. He wanted another knife, but because Christina was between he and the kitchen... not an option.
Spook
"Masochism is *not* a virtue." Christina got up and slid the window shut slightly. "Such the manly man, you are. It's just peachy keen that you seem to feel no pain."
RK mewed anxiously, sensing that somehow Christina was teetering on a knife edge again.
Christian
"Why do people cry... if it isn't from pain?" Christian asked softly, staring at the wall across from him.
"I do feel physical pain, just like everyone else. Only I was trained to control it. To be silent in a hunt. If an explosion goes off behind you, are you going to scream and alert your prey to your presence?"
One eye twitched slightly.
"I don't think so."
Spook
"Silent and still..." Christina shook her head. "Trained like a dog to heel."
RK kneaded the blanket nervously.
"Do you think for yourself often? You have been lately, I havta admit that. Being independent for once. Sucks, don't it?"
Christian
"I wasn't a soldier," Christian squinted a little.
"I left Craig many years ago and went out to fend for myself. Just called on him whenever I needed help, and he gave it."
He scratched his head.
"Last thing I asked for help on was getting to Isaac Hanson. Remember Dustin? He said Isaac was responsible for killing Evans. So I went after him."
Spook
"Isaac. I put a knife through his leg," Christina said cheerfully. "Not a patch on you, Chrissy. He should've been able to deflect it. But no. Concentrating on Mouse, the damsel in distress."
She bit her lip again.
"You're going to hurt yourself again, I know it. Don't especially like the thought of that..."
Christian
"I kinda have a truce with Isaac. Had a bit of a fight in their backyard and ended up with and echo flooding my head."
Christian blinked and shook his head slightly.
"Needless to say he and Zac got control. Tanya comes over, I lose my power for a month or so..."
He chose to ignore her last statement.
Spook
"Just the telekinesis though? Or did she remember about the atom manipulation as well?" Christina asked.
RK crept along cautiously, then butted his head imperatively at Christian's hands, demanding petting.
Christian
"Just the telekinesis. She knows it's something I can hardly breathe without."
Christian watched RK, and scratched behind the cat's ears.
"That was before we went to Quantico. I had to use my atom manipulation to get out of there."
Spook
"That was the first time I actually held onto an alien rather then killing at first available oppurtunity. Mouse was gonna be bait, then I decided to sell her instead. Of course, I'm nearly broke now because Tanya emptied my bank accounts..."
Christina shook her head crossly.
"Damn telepath, she snitched the passwords and account numbers right out of my head..."
Christian
Christian frowned.
"Did you ever think it could have been someone else?! A hacker maybe? A human one?" he exclaimed.
"Tanya didn't have a reason to take your money. She'd have no use for it. And there was absolutely no reason to leave you broke when she put that command in your head."
He shook his head.
"But no. You're first conclusion is always 'it's Tanya, she's out to get me'."
Spook
"And have you wondered why that is?" Christina said dryly. "Too many accounts all gone at once. Not likely to be random. And I'm not broke. Not quite yet. But I will need to get a bounty down soon..."
Christina got to her feet and moved restlessly around the small cabin.
"Restitution to the members of the families of the aliens I've killed, perhaps? Heaven knows there's a lot of them. When I didn't just wipe them all out."
Christian
"If that was the case, then why didn't she take what I had?" Christian pointed out.
"God knows I'm living off her at the moment. I've hardly paid a cent since I moved in with her... although I guess I was looking after the house."
Spook
"Because she likes you?" Christina hazarded a guess. "I know she doesn't like me. Singed her some, once."
She grinned, then bopped over to the table. She rummaged around in her stuff, and got out a small portable radio and cassette player, plugging it into a power point. She slid a tape in and pressed play.
"Well, it was like heaven in
two and a half rooms.
And then I found out,
"Single" he told me?" Christina spoke along.
"Single, my ass. Not only
was he married
...oh, no, he had six wives.
One of those Mormons, you know. So that
night, when he came home, I mixed him
his drink as usual.
You know, some guys just can't hold
their arsenic."
"Actually, that's an idea," Christina said thoughtfully as the song kept playing. "There is a video player. Worst comes to worst, I can rent some vids. You feel like pizza for dinner?"
"He had it coming
He had it coming
He only had himself
To blame..."
Christian
Christian shook his head.
"I'm not hungry," he replied, looking out the window at the darkened surroundings.
Spook
"You should eat something," Christina said frowning. "You lost a bit of blood there. Your blood sugar levels will be down."
"Hah! He had it coming
He had it coming
He took a flower
In its prime
And then he used it
And he abused it
It was a murder
But not a crime!"
The song continued.
Christian
"I *know* when I'm hungry, ok?!" Christian exclaimed, frowning.
"Just leave me alone."
He rubbed his eyes again.
Spook
"I can never seem to do that. Always need to pick at things," Christina said thoughtfully.
"And then he ran into my knife.
He ran into my knife ten times!" The song sang sardonically.
"RK, what do you think? Pizza?"
The cat meowed in agreement.
"Pizza it is then." Christina dug a mobile out of her cammies. It was a new one, becauuse she'd had to destroy the last one in case Tanya tracked her through it.
"Mit keresek, én itt? Azt mondják,
hogy a híres lakem lefogta a férjemet én meg
lecsaptam a fejét. De nem igaz, én ártatlan
vagyok. Nem tudom miért mondja
Uncle Sam, hogy én tettem. Probáltam
a rendőrségen megmagyarázni de nem értették meg..."
Christian
Christian sank to the ground and brought his knees up, hiding his face again.
He just wanted this to end. He needed another way out.
Spook
Christina ordered a large pizza and it soon arrived. She paid the guy off, and he left. "Food. Eat it. Don't make me ask you harder."
She flipped open the lid and RK abandoned Chris for food, mewing plaintively.
"Gluttonous beast. Maybe I should have ordered two..."
Christian
"I said I wasn't hungry," Christian insisted, not moving.
Then he moved his arms down to his ankles, and turned his head to lean it on his knees... facing the bathroom.
Spook
Christina looked up and saw his line of sight and the almost wistful look on his face. "Oh no. Oh no no no. You're not doing the slicing and dicing bit on your wrists again." She put the pizza down and closed the container.
RK sighed. This sounded like it would take a while, and in the mean time, the pizza was getting cold. Bother.
"Suicide attempts, bad. Living is a good thing. I won't let you die on me. Even if I have to chain you to the bed to make sure."
Christian
"The cost of living is just too expensive from my point of view," Christian sighed, closing his eyes for a moment.
"And if our lives are screwed, why do you defend them so much? That's something I don't understand. I'm stuck in a rut I'm never going to get out of, and the view is just..."
He cut himself off.
Spook
"Because. Because living is better then dying." Christina made a noise of frustration, sounding more then a bit like a thwarted cat.
RK perked his ears up. Well then.
"Living is always better then dying. Has to be. Otherwise what's the point of being born at all?" She eyed the bed. Well, at least there were some bits she could run chain through. She thought wistfully of the beautiful four poster at the Rabbit Hole. This would do, however.
Christian
"You tell me," Christian sighed, "because I wasn't born in the first place."
He gulped a little.
"And not even many people know it. I'm just the result of some seven- year-old experimenting with his power."
Spook
"You didn't seem to find it much of an issue when I threw it back in your face in Texas," Christina said. "I think you said something to the effect that you'd spent so much time inside a woman's body, it had to count for something. Something along those lines." She went to the table and rummaged in her bag.
Christian
Christian took a deep breath and sighed again.
"That was just me. That was just the way I saw things. Back then I actually thought I had a chance... Thought everything might have had a hope of turning out right," he almost gulped.
Spook
"Mmm? What changed?" Christina glanced at him.
RK eyed the pizza boxes.
"And what makes you think it can't? I know my lucks sucks, but you usually seem to do alright."
Christian
"You were an eye opener."
Christian sat back and rested his elbows on his knees, staring forward to the floor.
"I mean for once I actually decided to try and trust someone. WHen that went down the drain I realized... you know. That every day I just screw up something else. And it's only gonna get worse."
Spook
Christina held her head in her hansd. "I don't know what I'm doing! I told you that! Besides, it seemed like a good idea at the time. I don't know whether I'm dreaming or awake sometimes. Everyone screws up."
RK decided to get some of the pizza for himself, and bother the twoleggers.
Christina stalked over to Christian and leant in over him, putting her hands on his shoulders. "You think I really like doing this? If I thought I could trust you, I wouldn't have to do this. But you make me feel alive again, and I *need* that!"
Christian
"Well good for you," Christian's face screwed up.
"But what about what I want? What about what I need to feel? You're the last person on Earth who can help me with that."
Tears began to well again slightly.
"Can't you just let me go?" he shook his head, "I don't belong here. I'm going crazy. I can't handle this..."
Spook
"I *can't*!" Christina said, close to tears, black eyes gleaming wetly. "I just...I *can't*. And I know I'm probably going to die for it anyway. Tanya isn't the only one who's gonna be after my hide."
She shook her head, hair flying wildly.
"This is all my fault. I know that. I screwed the pooch big time, but when you've got the tiger by the tail, the only thing to do is hold on." She stalked over to the table again, and got out a length of chain from her bag. "You're not going to die on me. I won't let you."
Christian
Christian leant his head back against the cabinet and closed his eyes, before stubbornly wiping the tears from his eyes.
"Yeah... don't let me go, don't let me die. Lose, lose, lose," he murmured.
Spook
"Losing is what I do best," Christina said with a bitter laugh. "Miette seems to be doing fine, but me? Oh no." She walked over to Christian, length chain in her hands. "Everything I touch turns to dust..."
Christian
"Including me."
Christian's eyes fell on the chains, and he gulped slightly.
"What are you gonna do?"
Spook
"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, you do what you do, and I'll do what I must," Christina said cryptically. "I'm gonna chain you to the bed. I said I would, if I thought you were going to be a danger to yourself."
Christian
"This is just it," Christian winced as he struggled to stand up.
"You're not letting me 'do what I do'."
He hesitated, then looked her up and down.
"If I call the truce off, you'll have to kill me before I kill you."
Spook
"I wouldn't kill you. Might scar that pretty face of yours, but I don't think you're really in any position to kill me." Christina tilted her head slightly. "I'll keep to the truce though."
Christian
"You can't hold me like this forever," Christian raised his eyebrows.
"And face it. When it's over... I will have either killed myself, or you. Maybe both."
Spook
"Maybe," Christina admitted. "But for now, this is the way it is." She ran the chain through her fingers, before kicking out at Christian's legs and sending him down onto the bed. "But let's postphone that as long as possible." She threaded the chain through the handcuffs, then rolled to one side of the bed. A click, and she had it secured on that side. She managed to fall back across onto the other side without squishing Christian and secured the other side as well. Then she rolled off the bed with a thump. "Well. That was the fun that's not." She blinked thoughtfully as she stared upwards at the ceiling.
Christian
Christian grunted a little as his wrists squirmed, having hardly any leverage.
He looked up at the ceiling, trying to rid himself of the lump in his throat again. Maybe if he could reach the stitching in his wrist...
He looked up slightly, the chains making it awkward, then rested his head back as he felt for the end.
Spook
Christina got up and padded over to her things. She got out two leather cuffs that she thought woud fit around his feet, and some more chain. She quickly threaded them onto his ankles, and then attacthed the chain to one of them, before securing it to one corner of the bed. "Threatening to kill me really isn't very nice, you know..."
Christian
"Like you couldn't expect it," Christian almost laughed.
"I'm a hunter, it's what I do. Much like yourself. Problem is, we're aliens ourselves. Which make us targets... Not to mention makes us more effective."
Spook
"Prey and predator, all at the same time," Christina agreed. "I tried so hard not to be an alien. I didn't want to be one. I had all the disadvantages and none of the benefits." She moved to fiix his other ankle to the oppposite corner.
Christian
"I know a lot of hybrids without powers want them, and a lot of aliens sometimes don't want their power."
It was then Christian realized he couldn't reach to replace his sunglasses onto his face. He groaned and rolled his eyes.
But he felt the end of the stitching in his wrist.
Spook
"I'd rather had had any power, rather then none at all," Christina said softly. "Now...but done's done and you can't undo what's done." She got up and moved across to the table. Absent mindedly, she put a slice on the floor for RK and he wolfed it down. She picked one up for herself. "Pity that. I wouldn'tve done this if I'd known this was how it was going to turn out..." She bit into the pizza. "Sure you don't want any pizza?"
Christian
"I'm not hungry."
On the last word, Christian tugged at the knot in the stitching. He felt his skin rip slightly, and warm blood began to drop onto his stomach.
Spook
"Suit yourself." Christina shrugged. Then she saw what he was doing. "Dammit!" She got up from the table, and cursing, secured his hands apart from each other before rebandaging them. "You're a very selfdestructive person, you know that?"
She spotted Alice's letter on the table and picked it up. "You didn't open Alice's letter." Christina opened it and cleared her throat.
"Dear Darkling Childe,
You're an odd one for Spooky to pick up, and no mistake. For one, you're a bit younger then I'dve picked her for."
Thanks, Alice, Christina thought to herself. Now I feel like a cradlesnatcher.
"And you are a bit of a celebrity, in alien circles. Haven't heard form Craig lately though. That girl could just be right. One of my mindwalker friend's said she certainly thought she had him. She has a nsaty little command buried in her head too, that girl. But you won't care about that, except Kit recognised it as alien in origion. You might want to look into that, when Spooky lets you go. She will, you know. She doesn't like caged things. And you're such a wild panther. You won't be able to bear it.
Try the art of compromise. You can trust her, if you can get her to give you her word. It's the one thing she won't break. Promises, she'll twist if she can. But her word? Her word is her bond.
Try and wake her up for me. I know Spooky, and this ain't quite her. To put it simply, you want out? You find out what's wrong. And do release some of that sexual tension the two of you have got burning so brightly. Enjoy the cookies and cake.
Toodles, darkling one!
Alice in Wonderland," Christina finsihed, and shook her head. "She's a lunatic."
Christian
"Figured that out the moment I laid eyes on her," Christian mumbled, shaking some hair out of his eyes again.
He needed another haircut. And a shave.
He closed his eyes, pulling on his wrists slightly.
Spook
"She does give that impression, sometimes." Christina stood, and made her way to the bunks. She got some clothes together and disappeared into the bathroom. Water started to run as she took a shower.
RK finisjed the pizza, then jumped onto the bed next to Christian. He curled into the teen's side, and promptly fell asleep.
Christian
"Yeah, good night to you too."
Christian yawned, but was nowhere near falling asleep. At least not for another few hours.