Down The Rabbit Hole [Chapter 7]

[Freyja]

Nodding quietly, Freyja twisted the rifle across her shoulder, letting the heavy weapon settle in a new position to keep from cramping her up. She wrinkled her nose for a minute as she thought, glancing at the two of her family that were standing with her, and debating with herself. Hudson was still young, both in his life and in the general sense. He was new to being a vampire, still wet behind the ears, as it was. At least compared to Caligrace, and most certainly compared to herself. She wasn’t going to be able to keep an eye on the both of them. They were both precious to her. Both important to her. She didn’t want anything to happen to either of them, and knew that she was going to need another set of eyes on them if she was going to get them through this place unscathed.

If she was going to get help, now was the time to do it.

She pulled out her phone and tapped through her contacts, doing her best to decide on who would be best, though the choice was hardly difficult. She tapped Every’s name and opened up her messaging thread.

TEXT
TO: EVEE

Eve. Get your ***
out to Gullsborough.
I need your help
with something
down in the Labyrinth.
You up for kicking
up some trouble?

She sent the message, and turned to grab the redhead’s arm, halting her turn before she could begin marching toward the door into the lower level. “Wait. I have some help coming.” She hated to have to admit that she would need help, but she felt uneasy about what was happening. About the things down there being so close to her progeny and to Hudson. They were her family. They were extensions of her very self, of her blood, of her soul. She wouldn’t ever see harm come to them. If she had to sacrifice her pride for that, well, it was a small price to pay, even as heavy as it might have weighed on her. She sighed, and gave Cali’s arm a little squeeze.

“We should wait for her to catch up. And then, maybe we should see about finding a more direct route down. Blasting my way through all of those bodies took so long, Cali… I was starving down there. It was… not fun. So very not fun. I’ve been sober for what feels like a week. Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve stayed sober that long? I feel so… so…” She shrugged her shoulders and threw up her hands, unable to even think of a word to describe it. She made an exasperated sound in her throat, and looked to her childe with wide, icy blue eyes. “But together, we can do this. We can do this, I know we can. You, me, your creation… and Eve. I know she’ll help. She’s always been there when I needed help before.” She gave the redhead a smile, then, and pulled the rifle from her shoulder, letting the butt hit the ground at her feet.

“We’re going to be unstoppable. You wait and see.”

[Caligrace]

I have help coming.
Those four words stopped her cold, and she found herself slowly pivoting on her heel to face the blonde, brow arched. “You have help coming,” she repeated, the words drawn out with slow uncertainty. It wasn’t every day that the blonde admitted a weakness, and it caused a cold chill to race through her bloodstream. If she was frightened enough to reach out, to allow someone other than her progeny to bear witness to her weakness, she knew it was going to get ugly. Whatever the Dane had encountered within the damp, dank walls of the Labyrinth had left her reeling. Hating herself for having missed the earlier signs of weariness in her sire’s brightened gaze, she allowed herself to take the few steps that it would take to bring her back to Hudson’s side, her hand pressed to his shoulder.

“I had already texted her. When she didn’t answer, I figured she was either with you or already neck deep in some serious ****.”

Using her free hand to brush a red curl from her face, she tucked it behind her ear as she finally allowed her gaze to travel the full length of her sire. From her golden mane to the scuff marks on her boots, she drank the woman in, and felt her smile drop inch by inch. The woman was a mess. There was a smear of dirt on her cheek, dried blood on her palms, and her clothing was covered in ash and… god, she didn’t want to think of what else. It was then, she began to realize the full extent of their predicament. It was then, she realized just what she had called her childe in to do. Swallowing back the guilt, she gave the man’s shoulder a gentle squeeze as she listened. Hunger wouldn’t be an issue. The bracelet that adorned her slender wrist held enough magical properties to keep her satisfied, but what if she were to get injured? She would have to feed, then, wouldn’t she? Oh, ****. What was she about to do?

The longer she stood there, the more anxious she became, and she didn’t realize that she was absently pulling at a loose thread on Hudson’s shirt. Instead, her attention was on her sire, her teeth mauling her lower lip until it bled. “I have some pills in my bag,” she heard herself say, even as she dropped her hand to tug at the strap, her fingers deftly sliding inside to find the metal case. “They should be enough to tide you over for a bit.” Tossing the case to the Dane, she tossed her bag back over her shoulder and scrunched up her nose. “Of course we will be. We’re already unstoppable. I thought I was the anxious one, doll. I think you’re sorely underestimating our abilities,” she chuckled, and even went as far as to try and put a little more conviction into her words. If she could make herself believe it, Freyja would be no issue.

They had a job to do, they had to find whatever it was that everyone was after before it was too late.

[Every]

wearing

The first text message was ignored.

Every stood at her desk, looking down at the screen of her tablet her fingertips hovered over the falsified police bulletin that she had been working on. A scanned copy of the drawing that Amalea had given her had been adjusted to be smaller, as well as the photograph that had obtained from a security camera through her hacking. Her hair had been swept back, keeping it away from her face after a few strands had begun to get on her final nerve as they brushed against her throat. It was almost perfect, one replicated after another bulletin that she had stolen from the police department, and, it would at least make life miserable for the man whom her uncle had hired, for now.

“Suspect is armed and dangerous. Wanted for questioning as suspect in homicide.”

Of course, Every had her plans. She had back up plans, and some of them would come in due time, but for now? She’d make herself comfortable by tugging at strings. Rolling her head on her shoulders, the shadow turned off the tablet and lifted her arms above her head to stretch. “One down. Too many to go.” She wrinkled her nose before she moved her hand to rub at the back of her neck. There was a nudge at her hand, Richter’s snout rubbing against her flesh. Absentmindedly, she patted at the animal before she seemed to appreciate what attention was given. It didn’t surprise her, Richter had always preferred Spade to Every as a master.

The large cane corso went to lay down at the foot of the couch in the dwelling, the steady dripping of the water behind the walls soothing to the animals that she owned, as well as their owner. Again, her phone beeped - a different text message from the one before. It was strange that a few months ago, she would assume that it was only spam, but now, she’d placed herself back within a social line. She had a family again, small, but one that was growing. Her friends were of both old and new faces. There were people that she would die for, and people that she would live for and it was a different feeling, one that she didn’t have to worry about leaving for the time being.

Reaching into her back pocket, Every collected the device and tapped the screen. Her eyebrow lifted as she let out a soft huff. Freyja’s first came into view, followed by Caligrace’s text. There was no doubt what they had planned; she had seen the announcement by the Administrator, she’d seen all of them. There was an angle that she couldn’t quite her finger on that made her uneasy about the individual, particularly the simple fact that they always appeared and disappeared just when trouble was on the horizon. With the exception of announcing when **** was bound to hit the fan, or disabling human use on CrowNet, Every didn’t believe that ‘The Administrator’ was remotely useful for anything but broadcasting.

In regards to the sirens, she only liked one of them. Ayuka had been polite, friendly. There weren’t many that she knew, truthfully, but at least the woman had given a better introduction to her species rather than the blatantly violent introduction that she had on her own. All in all, there was no reason that she trusted either side. She didn’t know enough about either, and therefore, she’d keep her loyalty to herself - besides, any time that it seemed that vampires did what they felt was right, something blew up in their faces. Longslade had been a mess; it was something that the city itself was still recovering from. Her thumb hovered over the screen as she considered it. The labyrinth wasn’t easy ground to cover…

A group message was created between the three women, a text sent out in response at once: I’ll be there in a few.

“Locryn, I’m going to need you to watch the dogs for a bit and run Apparition - if you need any help, ask Chelsea or her brother. They can run it. I’m going after a key.” Her thrall lifted her hand to show that she had acknowledged her, a sigh escaping past Every’s lips as the shadow moved to put on a pair of sneakers. Her mind linked into Zachary’s immediately, her wraith following unspoken instructions as she saw his gaze focus on the nearby transit before heading north. She collected a knapsack from the closet, a glance at the stupid owl nicknamed Derp Derp that Enver had given her several years ago sitting on a shelf with a tripwire shotgun resting underneath it had her rolling her eyes.

She threw a few flashlights and replacement batteries inside - the last time she’d gone in, her phone hadn’t been enough, as well as a headlamp, so that she could go hands free from time to time. It took her a moment to decide on which backup blade to grab - ultimately, Princess would have to do. There was enough ammo thrown into the bag to kill a small village if she was conservative with it and as she lingered on whether or not to bring a jacket, she ultimately brought it with her. “Alright, what all can I do…” She wouldn’t need to use the transit as she would leave her dwelling underneath Gullsborough, decisively using celerity as she made her way to the labyrinth, and then into the tunnels below.

"Zach," She greeted as her wraith floated to her side, the man giving her a nod of his head in greeting. "If you start singing anything involving Alice in Wonderland, I will find a way to hurt you." He sighed. It was a book she'd read a hundred times and rather than respond, she flipped the dead vampire off. "Not nice."

[Freyja]

“That’d help.” She murmured, snatching the case from the air. She dumped several into an open palm before she tossed the case back to her progeny. She nodded her thanks, and tossed them into her mouth, fingers moving over the barrel of her rifle as she swallowed, checking the shape of her weapon as her pale blue gaze swept through the darkness around them. She gave her childe a crooked smile, a twisted smirk that showed her relief. She sighed, her free hand pushing back through her golden mane

“I don’t underestimate us at all, girl. I’ve just pushed my way down there, and I think having another frame of thought won’t hurt us. Besides, you know she’s almost as good as either one of us.” She chuckled, her nerves already clearly calmed as she let her fingers tousle her hair before letting her hand fall to her side. She let her gaze move over her childe, and again over Hudson. The two of them being there wasn’t just a liability. It gave her a reason to be strong, because she couldn’t go and make a fool of herself in front of her lineage, in front of the people that looked up to her. She swept her hand around her belt, checking that her ammunition reserves were still at decent levels. She didn’t want to be somewhere down there in the dark, somewhere in the thick of it all, and find herself running dry at the most inopportune moment.

Satisfied, she nodded to herself and checked her phone, seeing that Eve had responded in a group text. She smiled, having known that the woman wouldn’t let her down. Her asking for help was such a rare thing that she couldn’t see anyone truly desiring to decline. She shook her head and tapped out a quick response.

TEXT
GROUP CHAT

Knew I could
count on you.
Don’t be too
long. Trigger
finger is itching.
I doubt I can
keep Caligrace
behaving for
much longer.

She chuckled to herself, and watched her childe out of the corner of her eye as she moved to lean against the rock face of the ledge she’d been on a moment before. She eyed the pair again, thinking quietly to herself about how far they had come, how much they had grown. Cali was practically a first-rate vampire herself, now. It wouldn’t take much, before she was surpassing Freyja herself. She was both proud, and afraid. Afraid that, when Cali saw that she was, indeed, stronger than her sire, she would see that she didn’t need her anymore.

Even if she knew it was all ridiculous, that was one fear that had nagged at the back of her mind, shadowing her thoughts since the first few weeks after she had turned the little firecracker, and had seen how quickly she had taken to being a vampire, how quickly she had gained power. The girl would be a legend one day. That made her smile.

“We should find our way past where I left off in no time, even if we can’t find another way down. But do you have any ideas about where we might look for another way through? Something faster than hacking and blasting our way back down there? I might have a few.”

[Caligrace]

Without lifting her gaze from her phone, she snatched the case out of the air. Ignoring the ping when the metal connected with the white-gold of her ring, she quickly tucked it back into her bag and grinned. “I figured it would. You should start coming prepared, Frey.” There was very little heat to her lecture, and she made sure to blow the blonde a kiss – even as she typed out a scathing response to the group chat. Of course her sire would make it seem as if she were the troubled one – even though they all knew that out of the three of them, Freyja was far worse. She was the master of chaos, and she loved her all the more for it.

To: Group Chat
It’s all a ruse, Shadow Cat. You know I’m the angelic one. Ask Hudson. He’ll back me up.
Now get your *** here before I end up feeding this blonde to one of those zombified mutts. ;)

Tapping the send key, she moved to pocket the device, before she paused. “Wait, wait, wait. How did I just get service – when I didn’t have it ten seconds ago?” Stepping from Hudson, she held her phone up and squinted as she watched the bars on the screen rise – and then disappear completely. With a sound of confusion, she took a step back – right into Hudson, and watched as a single of signal appeared. “I think you’re a conduit,” she whispered, her voice completely serious – though her eyes were lit with amusement as she finally slid the phone into the pocket of her jeans. “I suppose if anyone is going to understand what we’re dealing with, it’d be her. She’s been here a lot longer than us, and she probably has more insight.”

Pressing a hand through her hair, she tipped her head back to rest it against Hudson’s shoulder, her gaze locked on the ceiling. As her sire spoke, she counted the cracks and the cobwebs, her mind slowly starting to fade as she began to catalogue every little crevice. By the time she turned her attention back the blonde, she had the entire floor of the labyrinth mapped. “I don’t think so, girl. Whoever built this place was thorough. We could try to snatch a key off of one of the shambling idiots, but unless you’re thinking of blasting our way through the doors, our best bet is the key, isn’t it?” She didn’t doubt her sire – if she said there was another way, she’d believe her – but so far she hadn’t noticed any crack in the floor, or any hidden hideaway in the walls. Then again, she wasn’t built for this kind of adventure – her strengths laid in her intelligence and her charisma, not in finding hidden keys and fighting… whatever the hell these things were.

[Every]

It was without a doubt as Every entered the Labyrinth that she knew had she been human, it would grow warmer the further inside she got. That was how caving systems worked, but would it be the same for this? There were creatures within that were enchanted, inhumane. It would only make sense that the system of tunnels and floors beneath their feet would be the same. Her jacket was pulled off once she was out of sight of human eyes, the cloth being stuffed into her knapsack as her weapons were retrieved. The handgun was tucked into the waistband of her jeans, the blade held properly in her right hand - she retrieved a flashlight from her bag, as well. Although she knew in time, her eyes would adapt to the darkness, it was just easier.

Her phone had spotty receiption, any message received going unchecked as she slipped into a dead zone temporarily until the chime came back out when she stepped into an area with more bars. As she put her foot down, a squeak escaped past her as she recognized the signs too late. Her weight pressed into a spike trap, the pointed ends shooting towards her and it was on instinct that the shadow scrambled backwards, nearly missed. "Oh for fucks sake." She muttered to herself. It was the spikes slid back into place that she rest her back into the wall, digging the device out of her pocket to read the text message.

You both are equal menaces. Phone is spotty, turning it off for now.

After she pressed send, she turned it off and tucked the device away. It'd help to conserve battery, plus the fact she wouldn't need it for days down on the ground, she wasn't worried. "Find them and give me heads up about traps." Every instructed as Zachary smirked down at her, clearly amused. The ghostly appearance of her childe, the childe that had never returned as a vampire - dying immediately at the hands of a hunter, was irritating enough. "Got it, Eve." His deep voice had her rolling her eyes as she bent down to pick the trap up. After a few moments of deciding, the shadow threw it back into play before it connected against the ground. There were footsteps down the hall, the voice in her head calling out, "Eve, some sort of skeleton on your way."

Her knife was tucked away. She brought her gun back out, removing the safety as she headed towards the skeleton. "Firearms are better with some of these things, might as well start out right." She thought as she went, setting her flashlight above it and gripping the metal properly. The creature shuffled in her direction, Every's grip tightening on her gun as her finger was held over the trigger. Years ago, she had difficulty even touching a firearm, but now? Now, it was secondhand nature, just like her blades. The moment the creature shuffled into view, she fired off two shots. One to it's knee, causing the skeleton to buckle beneath its weight, the second shot piercing its skull and causing the back to explode into pieces. Zachary found the girls and Hudson, hovering nearby and simply watching as she overheard their conversation.

"Every says blasting through the door won't work."

The thought went through her mind and out past her wraith's lips. She could hear and see everything that her thrall and wraith did - a neat little power that had been learned over the years. He wouldn't mean to startle them, but if it worked out that way, it would be more enjoyable to him. It was through his formerly blue eyes that she saw that Freyja had been fighting, that Caligrace was as glamorous as always. She really needed to teach both women that glam and monsters did not mix. Another skeleton shuffled her way and instinctively, the petite shadow raised her gun and fired away. As she headed towards her wraith and family, Every paused to collected a familiar looking key for the floor below. Her fingertips curled around it, picking it up after she shook off a piece of rotted flesh.

It wasn't what they were after, but it would help. "Explosives will only cause a cave in." The message was passed along as she turned it over and over in her hands. The Administrator had mentioned a key, but exactly what were they looking for? How long would it take them to get to it? The question ran through her mind until she approached the three younger vampires. "But this will work getting us lower." She held it up between two fingers, "Might as well try being on lower levels for now. I don't think we'll be able to find them on the first floor. It's too easy. We'll have to look for false walls, as well."

[Freyja]

Shaking her head, the tall Dane gave a gentle sigh to herself as she thought.

They needed an edge, something to get them moving quickly. Descending one floor at a time was going to be too slow. She wrinkled her nose in thought as she shook her head again at her childe, her lips parting to voice her doubt about blasting open the doors when a disembodied voice welcomed itself into their conversation.

It was far from Freyja’s first encounter with a wraith, and her brother having the ability to actually see them himself had jaded her to much of the experience. She’d glanced over her shoulder to see that the voice had, indeed, come from the air around them and not from some stranger lurking in a shadow and she tossed her golden mane over her shoulder with a shrug. “Right. Those old doors might not stand up to the blast, but I doubt the stairwells they’re mounted to would stand the strain either. We would spend just as much time digging our way down as we would just fighting for a key and taking the walk.” She pinched at the bridge of her nose and waved a hand in the direction of the voice.

“Tell her to hurry her *** up, we’re waiting on her.” She chuckled, and turned to her childe with a twisted smile. She lifted a hand and gently pushed her fingers through the woman’s hair. “You make sure you take care of him down here. And don’t you worry, I’m here to take care of you.” She let her hand fall to her side as she let her gaze move to the darkness, the sound of footsteps closing in on them as Every finally descended into their little spot that they’d found for themselves. She grinned, and picked up her gun. “Well, that was quick. Guess I should be used to people doing as I say at the snap of a finger.” She chuckled, playfully snapping her fingers as mentioned and turned to where she’d found the door last. She glanced over her shoulder at the older, but shorter woman and offered her a wink.

“We already have a way down to the next floor, but…” she shook her head and turned to scan the dark corridors, stepping alongside a rough-hewn alcove to avoid trudging through a black puddle, “the issue is finding a faster way down. Fighting our way through will take a lot longer, and require a lot more resources than finding an alternative route. Like the false wall you mentioned. Maybe we could find a sort of service or ventilation shaft, something that will drop us down several floors at a time. I’m just not sure that such a thing is there to find. But, it can’t hurt to keep an eye open while we’re blasting our way through one gross critter at a time, now can it?”

She turned and, as they neared the door, lifted her rifle to fire into the ribcage of a skeleton that had wandered close. The spine disintegrated into dust, the thing falling in half before it crumbled into a loose pile of bones. She kicked through it idly as she kept walking. “Thoughts? Ideas?”

[Caligrace]

When the disembodied voice broke through their conversation, she found her gaze sweeping the darkness that surrounded them – and came up empty. Either she was losing her mind, or Every had sent her wraith down to babysit them. “She doesn’t trust us alone, does she?” Her voice was light as she brushed a hand through her hair, before crossing her arms over her chest. Though she couldn’t see the man, she knew him. At least, she knew of him. “If only you were flesh and bone, doll,” she teased, before her attention returned to her sire, her fingers plucking absently at a loose thread on her shirt. She should have known coming down into the darkness, into the pit of hell and fury, that she would ruin her clothing.

“You guys need to lighten up. I’m not stupid enough to believe that igniting an explosive when we’re underground would be the brightest idea.” Mimicking her sire, then, she tossed her hair over her shoulder and smiled as the final member of their party approached. “I don’t need a babysitter, doll, and trust me. Hudson is not getting out of my sight,” she practically purred as she patted his chest. “Not that he needs me to hold his hand, either.” Stepping past him, then, she ran her fingers along the damp stone, her eyes narrowing as she ran the blonde’s words over in her mind. It would make sense, if this was a man-made structure, but how could they prove that? There was no light, no electricity. She didn’t feel anything but stone, smell anything but damp, dank air. It was created – that was clear – but…

“Do we know if this place was built by magic or labor?” Her voice was quiet as she spared a glance at the group behind her, before she moved further into the shadows, her fingers tracing a grove in the wall until she found a loose stone. Pressing her hand against it, she watched as the rock trembled, before shaking her head. “We’ll keep an eye out, but I think our only way down is to fight. Trust me, it’s not on the top of my list, but we need to move on.”

[Every]

"She sent me ahead to search for traps, Cali." Zachary explained, although the roll of Every's eyes wasn't missed by the wraith as she headed in their direction. Another spike trap was disarmed, the small shadow jumping over and out of reach of being impaled before she snorted. "She says bite me." She didn't actually say it, but she was thinking it. He could feel her minor annoyance, the pull of her lips turning into a frown as she lifted her weapon and fired a few more times. The enchanted bones collasped, the brunette simply stepping over it afterwards. "You aren't the first to say that." He smirked towards Caligrace as his attention faded from Every once she stepped around the corner.

"It's not only explosives," Every said, "but anything that can unsettle the earth. That means quake is out, as well. I don't need to be nearly buried alive again." It wasn't a secret that she hated small places, nor was it an announced thing, but she'd rather not advertise it to anyone. The woman brushed her hair over her shoulder. Afterwards, she removed three flashlights and held them out. "I think it's labor with some magic within. The creatures - they're stronger here, unlike the ones to be dealt with on a regular basis. The fadebeasts themselves are older, more vicious even than the ones I used to summon." She answered.


As Freyja mentioned needing to find a faster way down, Every gave a shake of her head, "I doubt there's something like that, but we can try. Silas is going to be looking ahead of us." She said as the wraith disappeared through the door and began to scout ahead of them, "Fighting in unison will make it less of a chore for just one person. Would there be a service exit or something of the sort down here? She sincerely didn't believe it. It wouldn't be that easy, not when the Administrator needed them to do his dirty work once more. "Our best bet is going to be doing it the nitty gritty fashion."

[Freyja]

Nodding gently, the tall blonde gave a quiet sigh as she glanced up at the dark ceiling. It was damp down here, water trickling here and there in tiny rivulets along the walls. Most of the earth around Harper Rock was wet, the town set just on the edge of a forked river, with this much rot and death underneath it was bound to be wet. It was the water that caught her eye as she walked, watching as it dripped from the ceiling, forming small divets in the floor where, over time, the dripping of water had worn away at the stone, leaving it pitted and textured. It was obvious that water hadn’t played a role in the place’s construction. And with the way that there were literal doors blocking their path, doors with locks, then there wasn’t any way that they were going to get by thinking that there was anything natural about this place whatsoever.

She scrunched up her nose in thought as she turned to glance at the women behind her, Cali tugging Hudson along behind her like some kind of guardian teddy bear, Every stalking quietly through the dark, and she felt better about their chances of finding something down there. This many eyes, they were sure to find something. She turned her gaze back to where she was walking, and moved to where she had found the door during her last trip down, reaching back to take the key from Cali’s pocket with a smile of thanks before she turned to unlock the huge stone portal.

With a shove, the stone scraped and rasped against the floor as it swung open for them, revealing a staircase down.

“Alright, one down. We better move.”

She didn’t look back as she all but dove into the darkness beyond the short light of the open door. She knew that the others would be behind her soon enough, before the door, its patrons sated, closed itself to the ancient corridor again, barring light and sound alike from the floor above. It was there, as they began their quick descent, where they would be hacking, slashing, shooting and stabbing their way through to the lower floors, that Frey finally began to wonder:

All those doors. Were they keeping them out, or were they trying to keep something in?