Family Ties

[Velveteen]

--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--

<Velveteen> After having spirited Satine away and tended to her wounds, leaving her somewhere well hidden and secure while she slept, Velveteen knew she had yet to face her husband. She also knew he was not going to be pleased about what had happened and nor could she fully explain it. It was a moment in which her emotions were too overwhelming to sort rationally. She sat in the darkness and frowned. The longer she left it the knew the worse it would get. She knew her husband well enough to know that much. That coupled with the fact that he hadn’t even tried to contact her meant that he was likely on the point raging right now but she had to make this right somehow. It was the how that eluded her. With a heavy sigh she tomed back to the Eyrie and stopped by the table where everything had happened the night before. The scent of Satine’s blood seemed to have permeated the wooden walls and she froze in place.

<Micah> He couldn’t believe that she had done what she did. For what seemed like hours Micah had stood there staring at the empty chair, wondering what the **** had just happened. He hadn’t been aware of anything - the passing of time, Remington leaving nor could he recall Bunny coming back in to clean up the mess left behind. She’d tried her hardest but the fifth time Micah had thrown a chair at her head she decided her services weren’t needed and she fled.

Vel hadn’t come home. She wasn’t there when he woke up and he didn’t bother to try and look for her either. The night apart had done nothing to calm the raging storm inside of him, if anything it made it worse. Maybe she knew that. In fact he was pretty sure she had a good idea what awaited her when she returned. So he sat at the table and took his gun apart and decide to give it a good cleaning. It gave him something to do other than dwell on current events.

<Velveteen> He would have known she was there the moment she materialised but nothing about his body language let on in the slightest. Nor did he look up to glare at her or jump up and yell at her. The fact that those responses were absent meant that this was bad. God how she hated it when he ignored her. Anything but the silent treatment.

She approached the table and stood behind a chair, her fingers clasping and curling tightly about the wooden back feeling like a kid in trouble. “I’m sorry I left last night but I…..had to.” It explained nothing, but she really wasn’t sure what else to say at this point as she waited for….something.

<Micah> He knew she was there. He’d sensed her the second she appeared on the landing. Normally he’d greet her and ask her if she’d had a good hunt. Things weren’t normal now and she hadn’t been hunting. What she had been doing was something that he had never expected her to do, and he was so angry at her that he couldn’t even stand to look at her. Never had he been so furious with her. Ever.

The words she spoke fell on deaf ears and the urge to move out of her presence was overwhelming. He didn’t trust himself with her. But he forced himself to stay seated and focused all of his attention on the gun in his hands, taking longer than usual to do what was normally such a simple task.

<Velveteen> She gripped the back of the chair so tightly that the wood groaned in protest causing to ease off a little before it snapped. This was completely new territory for her and she really had no idea how she was supposed to deal with it. How could she explain the things that had happened? She couldn’t. Trying to rationalise it in her mind was near on impossible but to convey those same sentiments in a way that sounded rational was even worse. “Babe...You don’t understand.” The truth of it was...neither was she.

The one thing that convinced her the night before beyond the shadow of a doubt was likely the only thing that might salvage things for her now, but how did she make him see or listen when he refused to. “Don’t you even want to know why?”

<Micah> Silence. The only sounds that could be heard were the sound of the water bubbling in the hot tub over in the next room and the clicks and snaps coming from the gun he was piecing back together. Once that one was completely reassembled he grabbed Pestilence and proceeded to take it apart. It was filthy, just as he knew it would be.

Micah bit his tongue so he didn’t answer her. Of course he wanted to know. That was the question that kept running through his mind. Why. But he wasn’t going to ask it. She deserved this, and she was going to have to put a lot of effort into trying to get him to listen. There were several things he could forgive. Things that he had forgiven. But this? No. It was wrong on so many levels that he just didn’t have the words for her.

<Velveteen> Her head tilted back and she looked at the ceiling as if she would find the answers to her questions there in the knots and grain of the wood. Of course that wasn’t going to be the case but it gave her something else to focus on other than the fact that her husband even refused to acknowledge she was in the room. Her mind went over the events that had pushed her over the edge in those last surreal moments before she vanished with her look a like.

At first she thought she was imagining it. The sudden burn on her cheek. The tears that didn’t exist and then the pain….In her mind it was just a psychosomatic reaction to things she was seeing and the inability to process the tumult of thoughts and feelings that bombarded her. For a moment there she felt just as she did when they had her on those drugs as a teenager. She wasn’t herself and instead felt as if she were watching herself from a short distance away. A mere observer in her own realm of consciousness. “You need to see this. Even if you can’t look me in the eye.”

She moved around to stand beside him and started undoing her jeans to push them down over her hips to expose her thighs. Usually when she was undressing in the presence of her husband it was for entirely different reasons but what he would see there was not something that she could explain. In the exact same place that he had driven the knife through Satine’s leg there was an angry wound. It looked recent but had healed a good portion since it first marred her translucent flesh. “Look!” She demanded, her voice thick with fear and frustration.

<Micah> He refused, though the frustration in her voice, along with the fear almost got to him. But then he remembered why he was ignoring her and that steeled his resolve. It wasn’t going to be that easy for her. It’s wasn’t that he was trying to punish her - no, that wasn’t true. Maybe he was in his own way. Had things gone differently then he might be more willing to do what she was asking of him. As of right now though he just couldn’t do it.

<Velveteen> “If you want to know why, then you have to look.” She felt rather silly standing there half undressed, but until he saw he couldn’t even begin to know why she left when she did. All she knew at the time was that it was freaking her the **** out and she had to get Satine away. What if he had cut her throat or worse? Though that was about as bad as it got for a human. She panicked, pure and simple.

“You wont believe a word I say until you see it. I still don’t believe it myself.” Her voice had grown soft and almost sad. She couldn’t deal with this on her own but she didn’t feel this was something that anyone else could know right now. Not even Satine. It could be used against Vel, somehow, and that was something she refused to risk. “I had to get her away before she or anyone else found out.” Her head tilted as she tried to see his face. “Please? It happened as soon as you stabbed her in the thigh. I could feel it. Please look.”

[Micah]

--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--

<Micah> The last piece of the gun snapped back into place with an audible snap and once that was done he folded his hand in front of him on the table. Satine. Of course that was the only ******* thing she cared about right now. Never mind that that cocky ***** had shot her mouth off and acted like a badass when they were trying to get answers out of her. His wife seemed to have forgotten that part. ******* Satine.

“I just had to get her away!” He mimicked her tone but sarcasm dripped off of every word. “Don’t be mad at me Micah I had to do it!” His hand hit the table and he stood, finally turning to face her. “No. I will not look. I don’t give a ****. If all you care about is some crazy *** ***** who resembles you, and nothing else, then I don’t want to hear another ******* word.”

<Velveteen> She flinched, more from surprise than anything else, as hit the table and stood. Her lids fluttered briefly as she tried to understand the depths of his anger. Is that really what he thought? Had she ever gone against him such a way that he could automatically think such a thing. Not only was she scared and confused but now she was hurt. Her jeans were pulled up and fastened as she moved away, trying to avoid the glare that bore right through her. “Of course that is not all I care about.” Her words were barely audible as her voice sounded small and foreign to her own ears.

Her first instinct was to turn and run away again but that wouldn’t help anything. If anything, at this point, it would have just made it worse. This time when she spoke she did so clearly. Her chin took on that defiant tilt as she looked him straight back in the eye. “And you, of all people, should know that.”

<Micah> “I thought I did. But apparently, I was wrong.” The attitude rolled off of her. It wasn’t going to help her, if anything it was only going to make it worse. “You took a human, that YOUR childe carelessly exposed himself to, off to parts unknown and hid her. I’ve know you to do some crazy **** woman, but this is by far the stupidest thing that you have ever done.”

He wanted to throttle her, and Remington, and ******* Satine and whoever else he decided was on his **** list. Irrational yes but that was where his mind was. “Explain yourself.” Not that he was in the mood to hear her excuses, but he wanted to know why she’d done this, and he just couldn’t wait any longer. He had to know.

<Velveteen> “She is….not going to get away, if that is what you are saying. I may do some crazy **** but I aint fuckin stupid.” Her brow furrowed angrily at the seemingly lack of faith he had in her right now. “I know what happened and I know what it means but there is something else. Something that could change this whole ******* deal. How much? I have no ******* idea.” She was angry with him now for not listening. For not being there when she needed him and for a moment she contemplated keeping it to herself and just taking the heat rather than look like she was trying to make excuses.

“I can’t just tell you. You have to see it. You wont believe me if I just tell you.” She made no move and met his gaze head on. She wasn’t taking anything off until he agreed to look. Feeling stupid once tonight was enough.

<Micah> He gave her a rather incredulous look. “What the **** do you mean, something could change the whole deal? The only thing that’s going to happen is she’s going to be killed. Or she’s going to be turned.” If she honestly thought that he was just going to let it slide because Satine looked like her she had another thing coming. “There is nothing that you could show me that is going to change my mind. What you’re doing….hiding her? It goes against every single ******* thing that I believe in. She’s seen too much. And just because she ******* looks like you it doesn’t give her a pass!” If she was seriously thinking that she could keep her hidden she was crazy. Micah would never allow her to do that.

<Velveteen> Velveteen sighed and undid her jeans once more. “I am not sure that killing her is an option right now.” Her eyes fell to the angry wound on her thigh and hoped he would at least look. “I felt it when you stabbed her and then...this just….appeared. How or why I don’t even know.” She looked up to watch his face, willing him to look and at least listen. “There was pain and then a blinding headache and I was so scared and angry all at the same time. It was unlike anything I have ever felt and I don’t know why I did. I’m still...scared.”

It was a hard thing for her to admit. Fear had not been something she felt a lot of and the only thing that really scared her these nights was the loss of or something happening to the man in front of her. It was all too much at once and Velveteen was just not emotionally equipped to deal with the amount of feelings that she had been exposed to the evening before. “I don’t know what is happening.” Truth shone in her eyes that now glistened with the hint of tears. She needed him to help her. To tell her everything was ok but she also knew that it wasn’t in him to do that just yet. Not yet.

<Micah> He pressed his lips together. Disapproval rolled off of him in waves but he did look at what she was showing him. A ragged, ugly looking wound on her thing in the same place he stabbed Satine. What the **** was that? It didn’t make any sense but there it was in plain sight for him to see. It did change things. But it didn’t change the fact that he was still furious with her. “Fine. We’ll figure this out. However - Im not changing my mind. If you aren’t willing to have her killed then she’ll be turned. I will not budge on this. You get the answers you need, and it will be done. She will remain here, with us, until you know everything that you need to know.” He pinned her with a furious glare. “Have I made myself clear?”

<Velveteen> She redressed and nodded sullenly. It wasn’t the answer that she had hoped for but it was something and it bought a little time for now. She wanted to ask how long. She wanted to say not yet. She wanted to feel his arms around her. Instead she simply nodded and made her way into the lounge room where she summoned the woman who was still sleeping. Her wounds had been tended and bandaged and Velveteen was fairly certain that the painkillers would have her knocked out for quite a few hours yet. Several blankets were pulled up over the sleeping woman and she turned to give her husband another nod. She trusted him. She always had. He had to know that was not the reason that she had ran. He had to.

[Satine]

The sound of a door slamming was not what it was supposed to be. It was so loud that it sounded more like it was about to be ripped from the hinges. Chester, the annoying prick, was on her last nerve. What time was it anyway? Satine looked around and couldn’t see her posters that were supposed to be on her walls. Well, what the **** was this? The more she glanced around in the darkness she soon discovered her furniture was gone. Where the hell did everything go? The ceiling was spinning out of control as she looked upward. The spins were setting in. She knew what that meant. So, she would need to puke. There was a popcorn bowl somewhere. The question was where the hell did she put it?

A distant crash shattered Satine’s focus on her search for the elusive bowl. She lifted her head and it felt like a brick slammed into it. Back down she went. Not this **** again. The stupid ***** slipped the meds in her dinner. A groan escaped Satine’s lips as she shook her head and reached for her feather pillow. At least that was salvageable. Her tongue pulled slowly from the velcro effect it had to the roof of her mouth. Whatever that was in the bottle that her zoned out mother sprinkled over the spaghetti sauce was not the usual sedative. This one had her feeling like she was being sucked down some black void the more she thought of rising from where she was flat on her back.

Slowly her parched lips opened. Satine decided that she seriously needed to brush her teeth once this was over. The smell of her breath was rotten under her own nose. Did Mom leave the hamburger out for a couple days, rediscover it, slide it back in the fridge before she cooked and served it over the pasta? She had done that before. The woman had no limits on what she would do to debilitate her and Chester. Each time the mother of the century struck and left her mark it had one self-serving common goal. She could get her fix of attention and the temporary freedom to load up and blow her mind without the interference of a daughter who had not completely given up on her and an abusive drug dealing mate who hated when his good stuff was sucked up faster than a vacuum cleaner could. Satine was sure the woman was going to kill her and Chester before she ever got the pleasure of cutting the man’s worthless head off. Another loud slam shook the walls around her and this time the bed beneath her felt like it was unstable. Had he got ahold of a wrecking ball? That was it. The man needed to die.

Satine’s skin was instantly covered with a fine cool mist as she bolted upright from her bed. Another night of rumbling already had begun and this time she was waking to find all her limited possessions gone. Her anger and resentment was building like a volcano ready to lose its top. She would pickle him and freeze him once she grew bored of his squealing for mercy. She was closer to smiling already. The spine of her plans were set years ago. They were so disturbing she never told anyone. She would never see the light of day again if she did. The images that came to her mind brought comfort to her every time this chaos started. Yes. Chester was going to die. Tonight.

Satine stood on her bare feet. She looked down at them and wiggled her pale toes as if she had the time to waste in doing so. She yawned and stretched. What was it going to be about this time? Someone looked at him wrong? Did they pass out in the bathroom behind the locked door she now felt like she needed? Maybe Mom finally pulled her head out of his *** and decided to tell him to take a flying ****? She could only continue to hope. For the moment her body was more than ready for whatever was about to go down. She was on fire with awareness and he was in for an asskicking he had coming for a long time. A roll of her body had her landing nimble and quiet like a cat on the floor. Her arm shot under the bed and with a long reach she had the handmade ax in her grip. The ******** was going down.

Satine could feel it. This was it. Her heart was pounding to the beat of the music that filled her head. She tried to shake her head to lower the volume the music was blasting but it was impeded by the sensation something was fixed over her head. Her peripheral vision was suddenly gone. It was awkward but when she finally got the ability to bend her head enough she looked to her hand where the ax should be she found it empty. Instead she had spaghetti noodles slithering through her fingers. Slowly they came to dance like a handful of thin serpents in the palm of her open hand. She screamed and shook her hand. The noodles turned into long maggots and ultimately disappeared beneath her toes. A quick hop to transfer her weight from one foot and to the other had her relieved that nothing was to be found.

It was a nightmare. It had to be. Satine looked to each of the four walls surrounding her and found no door. Now she was back to being flat on her back again. Wasn’t she standing? She was sure she was on her bare feet. She tried to look down but her neck was stiff. Something was in the way. What was it?

That is when the music got louder and the reality of what was taking place became increasingly skewed. No ax, no doors, the music and maggot pasta in the hands. First it was all there. She could see it, feel it. Now it was gone and she was off her feet. The more she thought about it she realized she couldn’t kill Chester either. The man was already dead, right? None of what she was looking at was happening. Yes, that confirmed it.

Satine needed to wake up. The nightmare was going to kill her. The presence of an alarm clock was always worthless for her and she was certain that is why she was having difficulty now. She always fell into a deep sleep just about the time she was needing to rise. Sleeping with one eye open the majority of a night was always to blame. That, chester, Mom and those damn med bottles.

The form on the sofa writhed slowly feeling a sharp pain in her thigh. Satine’s leg froze and a cramp set in. Hands slid across the space around her. The movement of each finger was a struggle. The joints were stiff which made the half efforts all the more difficult. One finger would stretch while the other would curl. A pawing began at the cushions beneath her. Eyelids flipped slowly trying to free the orbs beneath to receive the cool air to their dry surfaces. Instead of relief the burn that had been there longer than Satine was coherent began to spread. The drugged up hand balled up into a weak fist and went to rub her eye and met up with an unexpected surface. It paused then went back into the process of trying again to rub the eye despite the barrier locked around her head. This time it was displaying confusion as it rapped her knuckles lightly at the hard surface in random spots. The result was a disorienting.

Something wicked was coming. Satine felt the shiver up her spine as she fumbled her body upward to stand beside the sofa? Her head felt too heavy for the movement that should be simple. She looked down. Where the hell was her bed? The volume of the music increased as she turned around to look for that door that should be right where her eyes focused on. The wall swayed then rippled. She tried to rub her eyes again but it didn’t change what she was seeing. The wall shifted and now there was a set of elevator doors.

Finally there was a way to get out. One foot stepped in front of the the other until Satine was moving in a slow jog to the doors. She knew this song. What was it about? Off to Neverland? She tripped over her own feet and saved herself from falling on her face. Her upper body was thrown off balance when whatever was on her head bounced off the closed doors. She scrambled quickly to her knees and pushed at the doors. Each hand pounded at them over and over.

The doors slid beneath Satine’s shaking hands ultimately parting as she pulled them back. She looked at the space that opened and what she saw was enough to send her backpedaling on her hands and feet. A white rabbit in a dark suit? What was in his hand? This can’t be real! She flipped around, lifted up and started running just in case it was. In the first step she felt the burn of muscles recently sewn together pulling against the stitching that held them together. Each advance of her feet had her feeling more pain. If she was not awake before she certainly was now.

Satine ran across the wood floor and felt like she was being yanked back when whatever was on her head was constantly clipping and brushing at ...branches? She slid on her heels to a stop and looked around. Branches? She looked back and found the weapon wielding rabbit in a suit gone. Finally...she was awake. She needed to make sure. Her hand slid down to her thigh and her fingers tapped at the painful spot. Something was stuck to her. She patted and then pulled at the bandage. What was beneath it? She ripped it from her body. Her fingers went back to what she prayed would not be there. It couldn’t be. That would mean everything was real. Rabbit headed men in suits, the branches she was looking at, those larger than trees tattooed thugs and the woman who was a mirror image of her. Her fingertips curled and her nails scraped fast at the surface and the pain that followed the wake of her fingers digging at the sewn flesh inspired the scream that came from the depths of her lungs.

Satine ran through the hallway and found a bathroom. She grabbed the door, slammed it and locked it. Her heart was racing. A warmth soon covered her thigh and finally tickled the surface of her shin and foot. She looked down and found the top of her pale foot covered in blood. Her hand lifted and the tips were covered with the same. It was real. She pulled open drawers and looked in places for something. She wasn’t sure what until her eyes finally caught her reflection in a mirror. A white rabbit hood stared back at her. Her hands tugged at the lock on the side and the base. It wasn't coming off. She needed to get it off. She needed to get free of it and get the hell out of where she was being held.

Hiding out in the bathroom was not going to be the place to do it. She took a deep breath and unlocked the door. Peeking both directions she made her way back down the hall and disappeared into what appeared to be a bedroom. Wasting no time she went to tugging open the drawers and tossing out anything that proved useless to removing a paddle lock. Bolt cutters. Surely these freaks had a set of those laying around. Her hands were a blur as she dumped drawer after drawer and tossed the contents over her shoulders when she didn’t find what she needed. A deep thud echoed from the floor and she looked down next to her barefoot to see what missed landing on her toes. A gun? A big gun! Satine reached down with her shaking hand and took hold of it. Oh yes. She eyed it slowly. It just may be better than a set of bolt cutters. She found ammo with the next drawer she opened and a big knife. Just like the one that skewered her thigh.

Satine was ready to do whatever it took to get out alive. She left the bedroom and made her way to the elevator. It made a sound of cables moving and she moved fast back towards the hallway. This time she passed the bathroom and found everything went dark the more she moved forward. Her hands holding a weapon in each moved slowly back and forth in the air searching for walls or a door. As soon as she found one she was good as gone. If anyone tried stopping her they were in for a reminder that she was not interested in sticking around any longer to see what could happen next.

[Micah]

He had left the room when Vel had summoned her “sister” into the Eyrie. It was the safe choice. Obviously there were forces at play that Micah didn’t understand but he did know one thing. Had he stuck around he would have forced Vel to make a decision and if she refused him he would have forced it on her. What she was doing was wrong on so many levels. Sister or no Satine was still a human and she was a threat. She’d seen too much and there was going to come a time in the not so distant future that she was either going to become one of them or she was going to die. That was all there was to it. Black or white, no grey area.

Spending the night away from Vel was something that the killer hated but his anger was still present and the more he dwelled on the situation the hotter the flames of anger burned inside of him. He wanted to lash out at her, grab her by the shoulders and shake her, ask her what the **** she was thinking. This level of rage he was feeling towards his wife was new. Never had he been so incredibly angry at her and until this whole situation with the human was resolved he was pretty sure that he would remain in that state. Micah didn’t like it at all, but Vel wasn’t thinking. She was usually more logical than this but with the possibility of finding a link to her childhood that logic seemed to have flown out the window. Trouble, that’s all Satine was going to be.

The night he had spent in his old hut had done nothing for his foul mood. Vel hadn’t attempted any contact probably already guessing his mood. He didn’t want to see her. Didn’t want to talk to her. He wasn’t ready to and until he could look at her without wanting to rage at her then he’d keep his distance. He had however, promised her that they would figure it out. How he was going to manage that he didn’t quite know yet. Eventually he’d have to lock it away until he could deal with it on his own, in time, and in his own way. Right now he needed to grab **** from upstairs as he had no intention of staying within ten feet of either of those women.

The elevator ride to the highest level of the tree was quick and before he realized it the door was sliding open. Stepping out he realized that it was unnaturally silent. Where were Bunny and Scott? They were supposed to be watching the stupid human but it seemed as if the place was deserted. Micah didn’t like that at all. He couldn’t even sense Vel but his anger at her could very well be clouding his senses. Drawing his gun he decided the best thing for him to do was investigate.

As he stepped up the small flight of stairs a noise to the right drew his attention and thats the way that he went. It didn’t take him more than a few seconds to find the source of it. The hatred that blossomed in his chest at the sight of that ridiculous bunny mask was instantaneous and a rather feral snarl was ripped from his chest. Satine. Of course the stupid ***** was trying to escape. That just wasn’t going to happen if he had anything to do with it. He wasn’t quiet as he approached her, making sure that his footsteps were loud and as angry as he was. The barrel of the gun was pressed against the back of that mask and he leaned in close to where her ear was, making sure he put every ounce of hatred and venom into his words that he was feeling. “Your sister isn’t here to save you now *****.”

[Satine]

The warmth of Satine’s blood was slick as the fluid oozed up between her toes as she stepped around in the dark. Her leg was still bleeding thanks to her own fingertips clawing at it for proof she was awake. Cold wood beneath each step she took reminded her that she was ill-prepared for making a run for it despite how she was on the idea of escape from neverland. It was one of those life or death moments. It was pulsing through her and nothing else was registering. She had a choice to make and she had done just that as she tossed each dresser drawer out and dumped it as soon as the place seemed to be void of the presence of the sadistic trio from hell. Everything as far as she could remember back seemed to bring her to the point where she stood with a weapon in each shaking hand.

Loud footsteps were riding up behind Satine faster than she could move her body to turn. She felt the grip of the weapon in her right hand slide into a comfortable fit. Was there such a thing when life came down to this moment? Her petite wrist stiffened and froze. She channeled her strength into each hand. She may never hold anything with more purpose than she did the gun and blade at that very moment. Each one she was banking on saving her life. Her jaw tightened and her heart began the pounding her feet neglected to.

The scent of death was quick to fill the space around Satine in the dark. She had smelled it before. Chester seriously reeked when all was done and over back home. The odor was coming back to haunt her now? Really? **** all if she wasn’t losing her ******* mind. There was the pertinent matter of having to save her *** and Chester’s memory was really going to try and upstage the moment. He was such a self-absorbed prick. Even if he was a dead one. Words found her ear and that confirmed no matter how bad the man chopped into several frozen pieces smelled the stench of death was having nothing to do with him as much as it was the goon behind her and well...her own weakening mortality.

The husband of the century was sounding increasingly pissed off with each word he enunciated from behind her. The coolness from his massive body loomed over her and she felt a shiver down her spine. Something tapped and connected to the back of the mask. Was it the knife again? She swallowed slowly hoping he didn’t hear how much fear she took down and tried to hold back. A word he said stuck with her. Sister? Now her teeth lined up tight and she felt the extra push within to act. The woman he referred to not being around to save her *** was the very one that had her in this position. She was scared as hell but now that part of Satine that was always a little off balance and ready to tear apart what tried to break her to begin with took over.

“Or you…” Satine hissed.

Satine had to make a choice as her petite hands curled even tighter around the weapons in her hands. Which one was she going to use? What one would be capable of dealing the most damage and giving her the bigger window of opportunity if one was to be gained? Was the gun loaded? Who kept a gun loaded and ready to fire in a drawer? These clowns proved anything was possible. Her mind cartwheeled the choice she had to make as the scent of his breath blanketed over her shoulder and reminded her she was out of time.

Satine heard the soft footsteps of another moving. There was stirring and it was neither of them. Was that a subtle clearing of a feminine throat? The sudden scent of sweetness in the air surely wasn’t the imposing wall of violence behind her. It was instantly refreshing as odd as that seems as such a defining moment. Time to act, to move, to run or die if need be. Satine turned and with her right hand dropping the blade she took the massive gun in both hands without thinking of anything else but doing what her finger did next and pulling back the trigger.

The hazing of rapid gun shots firing and the kick of the weapon that pumped back sent Satine stumbling back while trying to hold on to what seemed to be coming at her more than the tattooed tree of man was. Her blood drenched foot slid back and her other tried to compensate as the gun kept firing in her hands pushing her to stumble and slide backwards in the dark. Her hands were frozen in fear. That was the least of her concerns. What happened next was more bizarre than anything else that she had seen up to that point.

Satine backpedaled on her slick bare heels then finally lost her balance altogether and landed on her ***. The dark that surrounded her was instantly gone. She scrambled to her feet shaking and looking around quickly raising the gun again as her shivering hands clasped it ready to fire it again. She saw empty interior and walls surrounding her. A door came to her view as she spun around. Nothing was standing in her way now. She ran to the door and pried her right hand from the gun long enough to pull it open and feel the snow covered ground kiss her bare feet. If she was supposed to be deterred by the chill as she sprinted towards the mass of city lights ahead of her she wasn’t. She was not going to stop until knew she was safe.

[Micah]

When he was a child his mother had told him that it wasn’t nice to hate someone. “You should never hate, Micah. Hate is a strong word. You can dislike someone, but never, ever allow yourself to give in to hate. It will change you.” His mother had been an intelligent woman and as he grew and went through life that was the one thing that he allowed himself to hold on to and respect. During his travels he met many people, men and women alike, that he absolutely couldn’t tolerate to any extent but he always heard those words in the back of his mind. And he always listened. At the time he didn’t understand how powerful hatred could be. Until now.

The hatred that he felt for this woman was indescribable. Every single thought he had about her added fuel to the already raging inferno that churned inside of him. It started as a slow burn in his gut that first night that she had sat there in that chair, smarting off and acting like she was the one that held all of the cards. That slow burn grew and grew until that hatred consumed him whole. Micah wanted nothing more than to put an end to this miserable ***** but Velveteen be damned. At that point in time he didn’t care if she could feel what Satine felt. He. Didn’t. Care.

He should be concerned about that. This was his WIFE. The one person who kept him sane, who kept him grounded when he needed it the most. Without her he would be a raging psychopath. But as he stood there all he could feel was disdain and disgust. This was HER fault. If she had just kept her cool none of this would have happened but Vel just had to have a moment where her conscience got the better of her. Now look where they were. Harboring a ******* human who had seen too much. It was insanity. And he would be damned if he allowed it to continue.

“Me?” He laughed like she’d said the funniest thing he had ever heard. “I don’t need her to save me. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.” Even now after everything that had happened she was still trying to take control of the situation. **** that and **** her too.

Soft, hurried footsteps could be heard from behind him and the scent of the perfume that Bunny always wore wafted around him. He turned to his thrall, eyes shooting sparks of fury at her. The girl cowered underneath his stare knowing full well that she had fucked up. “I will deal with you later Destiny.” He threw his words at the thrall like icy darts. Bunny actually whimpered. His rage had never been turned on her in such a way and she was having a hard time processing it. She went to apologize, grovel, anything to get him to calm down but he was so far beyond reason that anything she would have said would have fallen on deaf ears.

Micah saw movement out of the corner of his eye and there was no time to react before the quiet was shattered by the sound of gunfire. The ***** had a gun. How the **** had she gotten a motherfucking GUN?? Rapid fire too. It packed quite the punch for someone as small as she was, as was evident by the way she stumbled from the kick as it sprayed bullets through the air at vampire and thrall. Air hissed through his clenched teeth as he took a bullet to the shoulder and another to the upper thigh. None of that matter. Mere annoyances that he would simply shrug off and pretend they didn’t even exist. The pain was something that he welcomed but it didn’t stop him from bringing Eternity up, aiming for that ******* creepy mask that still covered her head. Finger on the trigger he tried to fire back but his fingers refused to cooperate with him. And he knew why. Regardless of his rage, disgust and disdain the thought of hurting his wife was something that he just couldn’t cope with. He couldn’t hurt Satine, and it pissed him the **** off.

A pained cry came from behind him as the gunfire came to an end. Turning he saw Bunny on her knees both hands pressed against her stomach. Bright red blood stained the pale shirt she was wearing, it stained her hands and rained down on the floor. He turned back to Satine just in time to see her disappear through the wall and into the fadeportal. Micah tried to go after her but Bunny whimpering behind him had him warring with himself. “You *****. You ******* *****,” he whispered venomously to himself as he made the decision to help his thrall.

Dropping to his knees beside the girl he helped her lay on her back and pried her hands away from her stomach. It was bad. So bad. There was blood everywhere and the acrid scent of gunpowder filled the air. His ears were still ringing from the shots Satine had fired at them. “You can run, but you can’t hide.” Micah pulled his shirt over his head and pressed it to the gaping wound on Bunny’s stomach and got to his feet. “VELVETEEN!!!” This was her fault. And she was going to fix it by going after that psycho ***** she called sister. When she found her? Satine’s time was limited. He would make damn sure of that.

[Satine]

The bite of the frozen ground beneath Satine’s bare feet was less painful with each contact. The backsplash of the cold flying back at her exposed shins reminded her of the burn she was feeling earlier on the soles of her feet. What she couldn’t feel at her toes she could now appreciate on her legs. What a mess it was becoming. The weight of the gun in her left hand had her fingers aching from the tight hold she had on it. She wasn’t sure what happened back there but the gun that was physical evidence she did something. She did a lot and she was now at that point she was willing to do even more. The gun staying in her hand was proof. She would kill if she had to...again. ‘Hell hath no fury like a woman. Period’ came to mind. Her mother was right about at least one thing.

Satine rounded the corner of the block and was greeted by the neon lights of some seedy all night shops that appeared to be open. It took this for her to be glad to see one.The pace of her pale feet slowed down to a jog as her heated breaths continued to seep out through small holes to cloud the air in front of her. She swallowed hard and paused for a moment to try and catch a normal rhythm of breathing instead of the pant for life she had going. The inside of the mask was like a sauna. Despite the thin dark sleeveless shift she appeared to have on she felt the sweat on her exposed skin starting to cool as she stood there. Where the minimal clothing came from she had no clue. She woke missing her shoes, sporting stitches down her thigh and the blasted rabbit mask over her head that felt more like she was stuck in the middle of a shell and couldn’t break free thanks to the padlock on the base.

Satine knew she was taking a risk standing there but she needed a plan fast. She got this far and she she refused to accept her luck was going to end now. The awkward cocking of her head had the flashing Chartreuse light of ‘OPEN’ beckoning her to enter the small shop in front of her in desperation. She looked down at the gun in her hand. Her hand was attached to it like a child’s to a blanket in the dark after waking from a nightmare. It saved her *** once and she was damned if she was going to give it up now. She was pretty sure the rabbit mask over her head was going to draw more attention than what she was holding behind her back as she pulled open the door. The small bell jingling on the door made her arrival known.

Surely the clerk in the shop she would encounter would have seen far more interesting than Satine as her feet stepped onto the warm floor. The soles of her feet were instantly on fire with their slow thaw. Each step she took intensified the wicked flames she felt like she was walking through. Her unique orbs were hidden deep beneath the mask as they scanned beyond the nudie magazines and the displays of fetish gear for a face that could notice her. Where was the help when you really needed it?

“Looks like Alice found her way out of the rabbit hole with a souvenir.” A male voice coming from the back of her caused her to jump unexpectedly. “Looking for a little tail to go with that?”

Satine figured he spotted the gun at the small of her back clenched tightly in her grasp. It was likely peeking out to the side of her petite hips as well. She hardly was used to concealing weapons and she certainly wasn’t dressed for it.
“Not funny. I have an emergency.” Her lips quivered beneath the mask where the shopkeeper would not see her true level of panic across her heated face. “Please help me.”

Satine spun around to find a surprisingly appropriate looking mid-sixties suited man that could fit into a boardroom meeting much better than the seedy shop he was currently standing in. She gave up holding the gun behind her back since it was causing her shoulder to ache. The white and black diamond floor tiles under her thawing wet feet felt like glowing coals. She shifted her weight trying to look as normal as possible.

“I can if you tell me what you need.” His eyes scanned her slowly and didn’t stay in one spot in particular. He had seen far worse indeed.

“This…” Satine lifted the gun and tapped it to the padlock on the base of the mask that dangled at her neck. The contact of the barrel of the gun and the metal the lock was comprised of echoed up into the mask. “I need it off. No questions. I just need it…”

Satine was caught for the first time overwhelmed with the reality of her situation. Her eyes started burning and she choked back the tears. ‘Not now! God Damn it not now!’ screamed in head and set her straight.

“Off?” The man was walking toward the counter as he finished her sentence much to her relief. He lifted a rather large bolt cutter. Not your average shop size. He winked and wiggled his finger for her to come closer. “Would you believe you are not the first to ask me such a question?”

“That is a relief.” Satine stepped forward and looked at the counter then the tool he had produced. “You sure that will work?”

“Like a charm.” He slid the cutter into place and leaned over a little to catch her attention. “You ready to be set free little rabbit?”

“Do it.” Satine held the gun tight at the front of her as he followed her wish.

With a few grunts on the part of the man dressed for success the padlock dropped loudly on the wood surface of the shop counter. Wasting no time the gentleman made quick work of unfastening the mask as if he knew the general ways such were applied and removed. The heat of the enclosed hood escaped as he pulled on the ears at the top and lifted upward. Her hair spilled down onto her shoulders and the cool air kissed her face in confirmation. She was free at last.

“Thank you!” Satine was unable to refrain from blurting out her obvious appreciation.

Before another word could be said Satine bolted like a rabbit from a hunter out the door and down the street. She was on the run and had no time to stop and make friends with the wolves that she passed on her way.

[Velveteen]

--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--
<Velveteen>The balcony on the second floor of the Eyrie was becoming like a jungle. Overgrown with various plants that she had planted to have on hand when needed. Though their usefulness had become rather redundant. When they needed them before they couldn’t find them and now...all one had to do was name a plant and they were buried in a pile as everybody rushed to get rid of their overabundance. In reality she could have pulled them up and given the pots to someone who would make better use of them but for some reason she was reluctant to do so. Gardening was never high up on the woman’s list but she found something relaxing and rather therapeutic about tending to the tangled mess.

She was being rather ruthless as she trimmed and pulled, bundling up the various foliage to be sold at the shop a little later when the sound of her name being yelled rather harshly broke the serenity. She recognised the booming voice immediately as Micah and she could also tell straight away that he was all kinds of pissed off. Not only was it obvious in his tone but the way he used her full name, though she could not imagine for the life of her what she had done. She had been rather well behaved of late and hadn’t really been anywhere when a thought struck her. “Satine!” The woman’s name rolled over her reddened lips in a rushed whisper as everything in her hands ended up on the floor in a messy heap.

It took only moments, maybe less before the rushing woman was stopped dead in her tracks. The sight of blood and her husband kneeling beside the woman barely registered as the metallic scent saturated her senses. The whites of her fangs flashed fiercely and she growled. The sound was a guttural, animalistic noise made purely from instinct as she rushed forward with only one goal in mind. To sate the raging hunger that had sprung from nowhere.

<Micah> There was so much blood. The shots that Satine fired had done more damage than he had originally thought. He was fine but the blonde lying on the floor was far from fine. She was far too pale and her heart was racing, probably working overtime. He didn’t know much about human injuries and it made him wish that he had paid more attention to his mother when she would come home rambling about this patient and that patient. The shirt he held against her stomach was saturated with the crimson fluid and he was worried that he’d never be able to get the bleeding stopped.

That ***** was dead. When he got his hands on her he was going to wrap his hands around her fragile little throat and choke the life out of her. Nothing would please him more than to see the light fade out of her eyes. Micah knew it was just the rage talking. He’d already discovered that he couldn’t hurt Satine. Not with Vel’s reaction. However there wasn’t a chance in hell that she was going to walk away from this unscathed. No ******* way. Bunny was family, and not only that she was ******* innocent. Wrong place at the wrong time and looking at her now he wasn’t even sure she would survive.

The sound of feet hitting the floor drew his attention away from Bunny. Just as he looked up his wife appeared. ****. He knew that look and didn’t even need to hear the growl to know that she wasn’t herself. Hadn’t her sister already done enough damage? Vel wasn’t going to make it worse. His bloodstained fingers wrapped around Eternity and he aimed it at his wife’s head. “I suggest you stop right there. You aren’t going to lay a finger on her, and if you try I will use this.”

<Velveteen> It was too late for a warning. Too late to stop that which was already motion. She barely noticed that his mouth moved let alone the gun and nothing was heard over the heartbeat that thrummed in her head, pumping that precious fluid right out of the woman’s veins. Velveteen’s face contorted into something, ugly and twisted, completely unlike her. Two more steps and nothing was going to stop her. She couldn’t even stop herself, nor would she even remember this, she never did when the blood frenzy took hold.

She descended upon the dying woman in a flash, the warmth of her body and the promise of satisfaction almost within reach. All that mattered was tasting the vita that ebbed from her before she became a corpse. Her fingers morphed into long gnarled claws and in that moment she was more animal than anything that closely resembled human. Several strands of honey blonde hair was tangled in her gnarled digits with the intention of dragging the human closer. No human would have even seen any of what was happening. She would have been little more than a breeze and blurry figment of their imagination. Unfortunately for her the human wasn’t the only one present.

<Micah> She hadn't heard him. Micah knew from experience that when Vel got like this there was no reasoning with it. None. She couldn’t hear him. The only thing she was focused on was the blood and the source. That source just happened to be Bunny, a woman who was still terrified after the last time Vel had tried to feed off of her when she’d cut her finger. He sighed and squeezed the trigger. The bullet flew from the barrel of the gun and lodged itself into his wife’s shoulder and he was hoping it would slow her down.

“SCOTT!” Surprisingly the male in question appeared almost at once and shock and awe he wasn’t high. If the situation wasn’t so dire Micah might have stared at him and asked him what the **** was wrong. But he didn’t. Instead he gathered Bunny into him arms and stood, shoving her light weight at the male. “Take her to the hospital and if something happens to her en route I will ******* kill you.” He got a sick sense of satisfaction out of seeing the blood drain from Scott’s face but he turned and fled the scene. Now all that was left was a puddle of blood, a bloody shirt and the two of them.

<Velveteen> The force of the lead thudding into her shoulder lifted the raven haired vampire and sent her flying backwards several feet only land hard on her *** heavily against the wooden floor. Pain ripped through her body and she hissed as blood began to seep into the black cloth of her t-shirt. It was but merely an inconvenience and she shook it off as she made it straight back to her feet to barrell forward once more. Everything was moving quickly and as she neared once more the woman was being rushed away. Velveteen would have chased except for the rather large figure that now blocked her path.

She tried to reach around him but it was too late. She tried to shove her way passed, the human’s scent still heavy in the air would not be hard to follow, but he was like an immovable force. The woman growled in both pain and frustration but gave up the chase easily and instead dropped to her knees. Her fingers, still clawlike, scratched through the pool of blood desperately before they were brought up so that she could lick at them hungrily. Blood smeared her cheeks, ran down her chin and wetted the ends of her long hair that hung limply in the crimson pool.

<Micah> He had no idea who this woman was. She wasn’t even a woman….more like a rabid animal. A virtual stranger to him in that moment. He hadn’t even registered Vel trying to get around him to get to Bunny until she was in front of him. Micah started to say something to her but the words died before they left his mouth. Standing there watching her he actually felt disgusted. Who the **** was this….person? Sure as **** wasn’t his wife. And he wasn’t going to stand there and witness the display any longer.

Crossing the room he grabbed her under her arms and hauled her away from the puddle of blood left behind. He didn’t care if she fought him. She could try to get away, *****, cry and whine but the only thing on his mind was getting her back into her right mind. A few minutes later they were in the bathroom. Shoving her into the shower he turned the faucets on full blast and slammed the glass door so hard he was surprised the panes didn’t shatter.

<Velveteen> She hissed and growled, twisting in his grip as she fought against his strength to no avail. As the scent grew fainter, however, so did the fight that she put up. Silver orbs were wide and sightless though her pupils were big and black. If one didn’t know better they might think she was baked out of her mind. A junkie so high that that they don’t know when to stop until nature took its course and shut them down dead. Luckily for Velveteen this was not quite the case.

In the bathroom the scent of blood had all but gone except for the lingering remnants that stuck to her hair and skin and when her husband shoved her into the shower she had all the muscle control of a rag doll. The rush of water cleared her senses but instead of simply snapping out if it she collapsed into a heap on the floor. Unconscious and looking more like a pathetic, drowned rat, huddled in a corner and still fully clothed.

She had no idea how long she remained unconscious, even though it was merely seconds at most, but somewhere in there she dreamed. Dreamed that she was drowning only to be woken to a rushing stream of water over her face. It wasn’t a dream it was real, though how she got there she had no idea. Arms and legs failed and she screamed in a bid to save herself. It wasn’t until the glass pane smashed and came crashing down around her that she realised where she was though how the **** she even got here or why she had no idea. “What the actual ****?” She asked, both confused and distressed as she tried to struggle to her feet. Her legs felt weak and rubbery and weak beneath her and her hands slid along the slick tiles as she tried to pull herself upwards. “What….?” Was all she managed as she pulled herself out and onto the tiled floor gasping for air she didn’t really need.

[Micah]

--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--
<Micah> He wasn’t impressed as he stood watching her come back to herself. He surprised himself by withholding a sneer at her question. Of course she wouldn’t remember. She didn’t the last time either but he hadn't had the means to help her. This time however he did. Micah waited until she had her footing before he pushed his sunglasses up to rest on top of his head. Gathering the memory of what he had just witnessed he threw in directly into her mind. There was no other way to explain what he had seen. Her behavior….she was going to be embarrassed and humiliated and he just didn’t have it in him to give a ****.

<Velveteen> Velveteen blinked and brought a hand up to rub her temple, caught completely off guard by the memory that was shoved none too gently into her mind. To say she was confused was an understatement and when it was done she brought her gaze up to meet that of her husband. He was pissed and she remembered almost immediately that he had yelled for her but what happened after that was …..she had no idea what happened next. The memory still made no sense though as she tried to piece it together.

“Someone….someone turned Satine?” That of course was the only feasible explanation in her mind at this present time. “She….she...she attacked Bunny? But who? How? Wait….” Her brow furrowed as she recalled the images he had so willingly shared with her. The mask was gone. It was….The lines in her brow creased even further as the small black band on her finger caught her attention. It wasn’t Satine it was her! She slumped against the tiled wall at her back. “What the hell is wrong with me? Where is Satine?” Her eyes widened again and she pushed herself forward in a panic. “Who's ******* blood is that?” The questions not really needing an answer though for her own sanity she needed to hear them. Not thinking, she tried to get to the door to get out and check on her sister. On Bunny. On Scott. Where was everyone?

<Micah> He blocked the doorway. She wasn’t leaving the bathroom until that mess was cleaned up. Bunny usually took it upon herself to do things such as that but…..He pushed the thought away. She was going to be fine. At least she better be. “I don’t know what the **** is wrong with you but you sure as **** better figure it out.” The palm of his hand rested on her injured shoulder, giving her a push back away from the door. “Because I find it really ******* strange that you were fine around your psycho sister but you find my thrall in a pool of her own blood and you lose your ****. That’s unacceptable Vel.”

The growl that was torn from his chest echoed throughout the small room. “Scott took Bunny to the hospital. Shockingly he wasn’t ******* high. I haven’t heard anything yet.” Micah pulled his phone out of his pocket but there were no new messages. It hadn’t been all that long. He needed to be patient and wait. And sort this ******* mess out.

“Satine,” he spat the name as if it tasted bad, and shot his wife a vicious glare for good measure. “She got her ******* hands on a gun. I caught her trying to escape. ***** got two rounds in me but Bunny….she wasn’t so lucky.” His hands curled into fists. “She got out. The kick from that ******* gun knocked her back and she fell into the fade portal. She’s ******* gone.” He towered over her, his rage plain as day for her to see. “You need to get your **** together and find her. And let me tell you something else. Her *** is mine. She’s going to pay, and pay dearly for the damage she’s done. I’ll peel it off her *** in strips if I have to. And you aren’t going to stop me.”

<Velveteen> She had forgotten all about being shot until the pressure of his hand reminded her. She winced in pain as she was pushed backwards. It was rather obvious he wasn’t about to let her passed just yet. Her hand came up to cover the wound and she tilted her chin inward to better see. “You ******* shot Me??” Her voice rising towards the end in obvious shock. “Jesus Micah. What the hell is going on?” There was a small pause as she took a moment to heal herself and after giving a quick satisfactory nod she looked up at him again. Concern shone in her silver orbs. “Is Bunny ok? Have you heard anything? She is strong.” The last part said more to herself than to her husband. She wouldn’t allow herself to think otherwise. If anything happened to that woman Micah would be impossible.

She shook her head, still having a hard time making sense of everything. ‘How did she get a gun? Why was she left alone? I thought Bunny and Scott were meant to be watching her. Where were they? Don’t worry. I will find her.” Her shoulders slumped and she began to peel off her clothes that had created a rather large puddle of water at her feet. What a ******* mess. She wanted to ask what he meant about Satine’s *** being his but he wasn’t in one of his more receptive moods at the moment. She wanted to apologise, but knew it was far too little and way too late. Somehow she had to find a way to fix this, all of it, one step at a time.

<Micah> “Yes I ******* shot you and I’d do it again too if I had to!” He snapped at her and didn’t feel an ounce of remorse. “You were eyeing that girl up like she was the most delicious thing you’d ever seen and there wasn’t a chance in hell I was going to let you get any closer.” Had she not paid attention to the memories he had shown her? He’d offered her a warning first that she hadn’t heeded. “I don’t know if she’s ok. I haven’t heard anything. Thats where I plan to head after I clean up the mess in the hall out there.”

“I don’t know where they were or why they weren’t watching her. Bunny came up behind me just as Satine turned around and started firing. That’s something she’ll have to answer herself when she's able to.” This was a complete nightmare. Somewhere out there a human was running around with a ridiculous bunny mask on her head probably screaming about the nutjobs that held her captive. The longer this went on the angrier he got. “You should have never brought her here. You should have let me ******* kill her. But now I can’t ******* kill her because I can’t risk your life.” He drew in a breath that he didn’t need trying to calm himself down. “Find her. Not tomorrow, not next week. Now. Drag her pathetic *** back here. Like it or not Vel, she’ll either become a vampire or she’ll be dead. You have no say in this now.”

<Velveteen> She glowered at him from beneath her brow as she wrapped a towel around herself, taking a moment to heal herself. Not only did that stop the pain but it also meant she no longer had to contend with the bleeding. If he thought she was happy about any of this then he was sorely mistaken and Scott was certainly going to be hearing about it when it was done. He was supposed to be watching her. If that useless **** was somewhere hiding while he was shooting himself up again that would be the end of him.

She mumbled under her breath. No amount of speculation was going to change anything and Micah was right. Satine needed to be found. “I will find her.” That was really all she had to say at this point. Velveteen hardly knew the woman. She had no idea how turning her would go at this point. What if she couldn’t cope as many didn’t and disappeared for good? Just a little ******* time was all she asked but even that seemed too much. It was obvious he wasn’t going to let her through the door. Yet she was to go find her now? Not in a ******* bath towel she wasn’t. Once her hair had been squeezed dried she dropped the towel and flicked her wrist and bowed. It really was not the time to be a smartass but she one thing she was exceptionally good was **** timing and being completely inappropriate. “At once, Master!”

The naked woman vanished into thin air, teleporting herself clear across town. She still had a full wardrobe at Alpha towers so would drop in there for clothes and grab herself a gun. Her own still sitting on the bench back at the Eyrie. Hopefully she wouldn’t need to use it.

[Satine]

“And in local news…”

The sound of the evening anchors voice echoed across the room of the apartment where Satine stood trying to shove the last of what she could fit into a suitcase. She didn’t need to take anything but she had a few things she wasted precious time stuffing into the cheap red vinyl zip up case. The robotic pig squealed as she stuffed it with sweaters she didn’t realize she had from the store. Her mind went to her boss. Now what the hell a nice guy like him was doing is a cesspool of mind blowing fuckery that was called Harper Rock was beyond her grasp. She would call Jayd when she landed back home. She was already running late for the private plane she secured to take her over the border to the coast. From there she would lay low a few more days and then figure out another plan.

Satine ignored the broadcast and went quickly to the bathroom. She could run as fast as she wanted but she would have to go eventually. While she had the freedom to do so she would. The door that usually would be closed was left open this time. If anyone was coming she would at least see them. Her fingers shook as she grasped the waistband of her pants and started pulling them upward. Her face contorted as the material grazed over the top of her thigh where the wound was getting more red and hot at the edges.The son of a ***** likely used it on the creepy crawlers with the virus or whatever the **** was being shared like the flu in a second grade classroom. Likely never cleaned the blade. A vision of him flossing between his teeth with it came to mind. The gun. She leaned back, flushed with her elbow as she buttoned up and ran to pull the weapon from under the bed. She would need it.

Satine felt an increased ache join the continuous panic that had started back at Adrenaline Tattoo when this all started. She cursed herself several times for not just handing over the tote that held next to nothing. She knew even if it delayed her crossing paths with her twin it would have been a better choice in hind sight As much hope as she had in arriving she now cursed the hours spent sitting on her *** on the plane carrying her to Canada to begin with. She found what she was looking for but it was nothing at all that she expected. No tears of joy, no answers as to why she had spent her whole life feeling disconnected and missing something. She found out there was a twin. She wasn’t nuts.The truth was out. Chester and Mom knew it all along. **** both of them. She was on her own and whatever she had landed in she was flying back out of and never looking back.

Satine longed for that first moment their eyes met. Long lost twins reuniting is usually happy, right? Wishful thinking had it all but choreographed in her head. It played out over the years while Chester’s insensitive and vile trap kept flapping on about how insane she was. Each of them would stare at eachother. Previously feeling like a puzzle that was missing a piece and then in a instant finally complete. No words would be needed.

Satine’s imagination stretched even farther to the point she would no longer resent the woman she didn't know for being the one with the better end of the deal when they were separated soon after birth. Obviously she ended up with the shorter straw in the draw and got the thrill of babysitting their junkie teenage mother. Even that would no longer be an issue. It was supposed to turn out great and they would literally skip back to Australia and find mom clean and hopefully somewhat salvageable behind bars. Behind bars for the chop and freeze job on Chester that Satine was responsible for. Instead she found Velveteen was a nightmare that she was sure she would never be free from. Satine had enough demons. She was not going to entertain the tree size ones that the woman always had in her company and she was pretty sure whatever was going on was far worse than any crime she had committed back home.

Satine reached for the remote and clicked the off button. The black remote landed on the bed as she grabbed the cheap suitcase by the handles. She wouldn’t miss the place a bit. Her keys jingled in her hand until she reached the door. She tossed them on the table as she stepped out. She was never coming back.

Satine stepped outside and felt the fresh cool air glide across her head. She brushed her hair back and hurried quickly into the transit. She was betting the fact she was gone would be all it took for the big guy with the raging case of distemper to be happy. Micah. He had some serious issues. Then again her sister was no Ms. Congeniality. Her fingers felt the proof as her hand passed over the knot on her skull from the pistol whip Velveteen delivered. Crazy *** bitches. Remington. He took a bullet for their team. He was the only one not to put a hand on her outside lift her to all new heights up against the wall in the tattoo shop. He was likely the most reasonable out of the twisted trio. A bloody diamond tooth he presented to her in his massive open palm said as much. The sudden stop of the transit shook her to her senses.

The route Satine took to the airport was quick. Or it seemed quick when Satine was running for her life. What mattered is that she had arrived in one piece. The automatic doors retracted and she stepped inside. A small measure of relief washed over her as she looked around and found the check of the private carrier she booked with. There was no need for anything other than to let them know she arrived.

Satine’s heart pumped faster as her steps picked up towards the woman at the check in desk. It was going to happen. The blonde head lifted from the computer screen it was focusing on when she attempted to walk up.

“Excuse me.” The female lifted up from her blue swivel chair and waved to the scanning area. “Please take that route first.”

Satine was in a different world. She was finally getting the hell out of Dodge. She hoisted the suitcase in her hand a little more securely and proceeded the direction she was directed. Her stomach rumbled and the burn of bile creeped up to reach the back of her throat then slid back down where it belonged. Anxiety. She was going to be okay. A few more minutes and she would be fastening her seat belt. There was no way in hell anyone dared to come into an airport and start trouble anymore. Not anyone in their right mind. Security was tight. No worries to be had. Right?

The sound of beeping and the security personnel starting to move around was Satine’s first sign of trouble. What part she playing in it was not revealed until a hand was raised to signal for her to stop where she was. It was a blur. Her head was spinning with fear of what went wrong. Any sense of temporary calm shifted into panic. Her hand gripping the suitcase gripped until her fingertips went numb.

“I need to ask you to stop there. Your firearm…” The voice faded and her ears started ringing. Her pulse was racing like a drum pounding to the point of breaking. She hated these moments. Those cold busted scenes of discovery. She almost gagged up her stomach but held it back again. No. Not right now. She was not going to be this close and be stopped. “I said…”

Again the voice was like a blip of audible noise to Satine. Choices. Everyone had to make them. She was no different. Most of hers were not the best. She felt the pulse in her veins counting down the seconds she had to make another. Her hand let go of the suitcase and made the move for the handgun she tucked into the back of her waistband. The rib crushing feeling of all the air leaving her lungs with a unexpected force took any voice of protest she had left away. She stared at the tile floor coming at her face and couldn’t help but think how it must have been recently polished. How bizarre is that?

Immediately the brown sweater with the orange, blue patterned stripes and goofy size snowflakes came to view saving her teeth from being embedded into the tile floor beneath her. Gods she hated the sweater. It was ugly. She just never realized how much so until her eyeballs were crushed into it without the benefit of their lids slamming down to protect them from the wool.

“WHAT THE ****!” Satine was done with restraints and the unseen body that landed on her like a tick on the last warm vermin to pass by was the limit for her.

Satine was going to lose it. The panting at the nape of her neck as a thick knee pressed into her back set her hands flying and writhing to go for the gun. A tug then sudden pull had the weapon clawing up the middle of her back as it was removed.

“Relax, Miss!” The body over her commanded. She could feel the veins in her neck bulge as she roared out a sound of rage and defiance. “I said RELAX!”

“GET THE **** OFF ME!” Satine was spitting out every word leaving the saliva on her lips that didn’t find the air as she was tugged up by the handcuffs now holding her wrists together behind her back. “I AM GOING TO HAVE YOUR HEAD!”

A swarm of uniforms came at Satine and she felt even more rage boiling within. The first one to get close enough had her seeing red. She sent all her energy into her legs using the support of the guard behind her and kicked the woman in the face sending her on her back to the floor.

“STUPID ****!” Satine sent her head back trying to crack the skull of the one behind her. It was a failed attempt. Instead her muscles were stretching beyond their limits and pain started to fill her from fingers to base of her spine.

“Get her to the back now!” Satine’s eyes met a set of beady brown ones framed in a dark face. She spit at the males direction and watched the hand producing a radio shook wildly like it was going to set on fire at any moment thanks to her saliva. “NOW!”

Satine tried to drag her feet as she was shoved and escorted out of the main entrance and to a back hall. She kicked and stomped her feet as the walk continued whether she participated or not. The snippets of radio calls and talking behind her about calling in a team to corner off her bag and then search it was all she picked up. The ringing in her ears took over again and her head spun with what she could do next. A door opened and sun greeted her face. She was consumed by the fresh air caressing her heated face. A sudden haze of voice and...cameras? Satine quickly tucked her head to the right away from the clicking sound and voice calling out.

“Step back!” The voice to her right directed the woman taking pictures. The feeling of a large open hand on her head pressed down roughly forcing her to bend into the van that obviously was waiting just for her. “Get her out of here!”

The van door slammed and it was at that moment the engine took over racing the large utility vehicle down the street. Satine heard bits of things en route to wherever it was they were taking her. The sound of a seatbelt fastening, the slowing of the tires as it approached an intersection and the whispers of the idiots in the front seats who thought they had made the world safer by plucking her out of the airport. She was seething with anger at her situation she was now in. She was locked to the floor with restraints as well as the handcuffs around her wrists. What a bunch of idiots. What was left that she could do? She tried to melt the steel grated barrier between the front of the van and where she sat with her narrowing glare.

“**** Canada and **** you too!” Satine growled.

“I would advise you to save your statements for when we arrive.” The uniform in the passenger seat shook his head and went about checking his cell like this was nothing more than a cab heading for the next stop.

Satine’s face tightened up more and more as she watched his fingers tapping at the cell screen.

“Hey, check this out…” He leaned over tapping the side of the cell increasing the sound.

“Breaking news. A woman was just taken into custody minutes ago after threatening airport officers with a gun…” Satine’s ears began ringing louder and she lost the words that followed. Her eyes were crystal clear in spotting the image of her hideous sweater as the thumb scrolled down. There she was being escorted in handcuffs wearing of all things the sweater from hell on the news.

“Good work!” The cell and hand go up in the air and meet the driver’s hand for a high-five.