Homeward
He watched her like a hawk as they drove. She rolled down the window early in their drive and he hoped it wasnt to yell at passerbyers. He'd have to snap her neck then and what good would all this have been.
He thought about what he could do with her. She was new, she didn't know anyone, and he'd have her alone out in the woods in his underground home. He could keep her captive, make her his blood slave. Chain her up to the walls. He suspected if she didnt know anyone then no one would miss her. Wall chain was a bit too much for his speed but the possiblities were endless.
She had chewed her finger nail dangerously low and he was hungry. He hoped that she didn't start to bleed to soon or they possibly wouldnt make it home.
Next exit and turn right.
This was the first time he had kidnapped someone and took them to his home like this. Usually his killings were always fast and painful. Once in a while he'd force them to take him to their home. Or he would take them somewhere vacant.
So why now was he planning to store her at his home? The very place he was hiding?
He never did understand his thoughts and now wasnt the exception.
I'm trying to show you that your not weak anymore. I'm not trying to hurt you. If i wanted that, then i would have killed you in the first place. Brutally. Not by accidently getting carried away in tending to your wounded knees.
He squatted to her level when she did not accept his hand.
My name is Panos and yes I got angry when you mocked me by laughing when I told you about vampires. That's not why I hit you. You coulda blocked that blow easily.
Vampires are real Fallon. I know it doesnt sound real or even feel real at the moment. You are going to need to feed soon. By feed I mean blood, perferably human blood. Animals work but they are like eating Mcdonalds everyday. Not that great for you. Best to use as a last resort.
He looked down to the ground at his shoes for a moment while he thought. Her actions were odd. She was so afraid of everthing, of him, of fast movements, of being hit. It was like she had experienced it all before. He shook his head and looked back at her.
Whoever made you this way Fallon, cowering and hiding from blows, You will have the power one day to show that person what it's like to be on the receiving end of pain. I promise you.
Not being weak...having power...not being afraid...those were things Fallon had dreamed of once. Was it now a reality, after all this time? But if that part was true, it meant the other was true as well. Had he really drained her blood, and replaced it with his? Was she really now...like him?
"I wasn't laughing at you...I'm sorry. I was laughing at the absurdity of...all this."
She waved her arms around, but still spoke softly. She held out her hand to him, and stood. Even under the current circumstances, Fallon didn't want to be the reason for anyone's discomfort. And that included Panos.
"I don't want anything to do with 'him'...power or no. I left that life behind me when I came to Nachton. Now, it's even farther behind me.
Should I thank you for taking care of my knees...or curse you for causing me to fall on them. And I guess I should thank you for bringing me back? You say now that basically my life is totally different from what it was. If that is really true, I do thank you. I'm just not sure it is."
Her eyes now took on a faraway look, as she tried again to comprehend what it was that Panos had told her.
She went back to the couch, sat down, and leaned her head into the back of it.
"I believe there must be more to all this though...so much more I need to know."
She looked at Panos, and patted the couch next to her. For all of Fallon's fears, and insecurities, she was still a friendly woman. It would take time for her to fully grasp what she had become, and change her personality because of it.
"You say I'll need to feed, but animals don't sound like they are the healthiest means. How do you ... I mean, you can accost people, but I can't do that. I can't stalk someone and then attack them. I mean, please ... could you see me doing something like that? Can't I get blood from a hospital ... or blood bank? Otherwise, I can't see me surviving on anything BUT MacDonalds. It it will keep me alive."
Yes ... the thought of jumping on the back of some poor soul, and biting into their neck ... well, it just wasn't going to happen.
"Must I now stay out of churches...and away from crosses...will I go up in flames if I step into the sun? Can I no longer eat Italian foods? Oh wait...can I drink or eat anything besides blood? Can I turn into a bat, and fly?"
It all sounded ridiculous, but Fallon wasn't joking. Every question was asked with complete seriousness.
Even if she wasn't one hundred percent on board with the whole idea yet, knowledge was something she understood the value of. And ... just in case ... it wouldn't hurt to know these things.
Not being weak...having power...not being afraid...those were things Fallon had dreamed of once. Was it now a reality, after all this time? But if that part was true, it meant the other was true as well. Had he really drained her blood, and replaced it with his? Was she really now...like him?
"I wasn't laughing at you...I'm sorry. I was laughing at the absurdity of...all this."
She waved her arms around, but still spoke softly. She held out her hand to him, and stood. Even under the current circumstances, Fallon didn't want to be the reason for anyone's discomfort. And that included Panos.
"I don't want anything to do with 'him'...power or no. I left that life behind me when I came to Nachton. Now, it's even farther behind me.
Should I thank you for taking care of my knees...or curse you for causing me to fall on them. And I guess I should thank you for bringing me back? You say now that basically my life is totally different from what it was. If that is really true, I do thank you. I'm just not sure it is."
Her eyes now took on a faraway look, as she tried again to comprehend what it was that Panos had told her.
She went back to the couch, sat down, and leaned her head into the back of it.
"I believe there must be more to all this though...so much more I need to know."
She looked at Panos, and patted the couch next to her. For all of Fallon's fears, and insecurities, she was still a friendly woman. It would take time for her to fully grasp what she had become, and change her personality because of it.
"You say I'll need to feed, but animals don't sound like they are the healthiest means. How do you ... I mean, you can accost people, but I can't do that. I can't stalk someone and then attack them. I mean, please ... could you see me doing something like that? Can't I get blood from a hospital ... or blood bank? Otherwise, I can't see me surviving on anything BUT MacDonalds. It it will keep me alive."
Yes ... the thought of jumping on the back of some poor soul, and biting into their neck ... well, it just wasn't going to happen.
"Must I now stay out of churches...and away from crosses...will I go up in flames if I step into the sun? Can I no longer eat Italian foods? Oh wait...can I drink or eat anything besides blood? Can I turn into a bat, and fly?"
It all sounded ridiculous, but Fallon wasn't joking. Every question was asked with complete seriousness.
Even if she wasn't one hundred percent on board with the whole idea yet, knowledge was something she understood the value of. And ... just in case ... it wouldn't hurt to know these things.
Well, you are a woman if you remember. Women and sometimes even us men,believe it or not, can be very good at seducing others. Sometimes they dont even feel the bite or they think it's play. Feeding off humans isn't entirely gory and horrific, unless you want it to be.
The rest are all false stories people made up to make themselves feel better. You can eat and drink anything while sitting in a church wearing a diamond cross and drinking holy water to your hearts content. There is one that rings true though, sunlight. You wont last long, possibly only minutes out in the sun. You'll boil from the inside starting with your blood. It'll get somewhat better after time, but not much. And by time i mean thousand of years. Of course thats all a blink of an eye to a vampire.
He grinned.
You could get blood from a blood bank, but it's not very fresh and i cant imagen it being very good for you. I bet it's like astronaut food. Bleck. Try it and let me know sometime.
"That's convenient then...to know I don't need to sleep in a coffin full of the dirt from where I was born. I'd hate to need to go all the way to Seattle for the dirt, and buying a casket, when I'm not dead."
A little sarcasm seeped into her voice. But she was slowly starting to feel stronger, and therefore better able to accept some of what he said. In the back of her mind a voice still told her it was all a hoax, and tomorrow she would wake up and go outside again, her only care being the thought of Ted finding her.
"Again then, I ask you. May I leave, and go back to my hotel? Even if I believed everything you said, I still would like a shower, and change of clothing. And you don't require anything further of me, do you?"
Then a thought occurred to her.
"I don't suppose you have a cell phone, that you wouldn't mind sharing the number of...I mean...in case I need something, or other questions pop up? You wouldn't begrudge me that now, would you?"
And that was asked, not necessarily because she thought she would need it, but more to show that she was buying into the whole thing. Maybe if she convinced him of that, he'd be more readily apt to let her go. A small part of her still doubted that would ever happen.
Yes, I do have a number and sure you can leave. You drove here didn't you?
He leaned back on the couch more comfortably and put his arm along the back of it. With his other hand he pulled his wallet out and produced a card from it. He tossed it onto the coffee table in front of them.
Follow the tracks in the ground. They are still fresh enough to be seen. It's dark but you'll be fine. If not you'll call right?
His last sentence had a sneer of sarcasm in it as well. He doubted her ability to adapt quickly to being a vampire. She'd prolly shit herself the moment she walked into The House of Pain. From the sounds of it, he was the one person she knew in town. Definatly the one person she knew was a vampire for certain. She'd call and come back to him sooner or later. He had no doubt and it made it easier for him to let her simply walk out of there.
Standing up, she walked over to the door, and held out her hand.
"Keys?"
She asked, much as she remembered him asking her earlier. The sooner she got out of there, the happier she would be. Even if she believed every word, she saw no reason to hang around there. She wanted to be back at the hotel, in a place she found familiar, with her things, and on her own again. Not locked up in some strange underground house, with some odd man, who might or might not be a vampire.
"Yes...I'll call."
He leaned off the couch a bit and tossed them over to her and then leaned back again.
Drive safe. He said with a smirk.
Watching her undo the deadbolts would be the next fun part. Chryseis had a unique way of keeping people locked out that he didn't understand. You had to spend more time locking the door and unlocking it than being a safe distance away if you were being chased.
Fallon seemed so awkward at the moment and it give him some glee. He hadn't known what to exspect but this had gone well enough.
Thinking she was safe from further assaults, some of her spirit was returning. Though she did not like conflict at all, that didn't mean she had no voice, nor was she afraid to use it, if she felt somewhat safe.
"You like this, don't you. Watching me like a spider watches a fly. Is it really necessary for me to fumble with these things, get frustrated, and then beg you to unlock them? Knowing now that it will all just be an act, don't you think you could just let me out?"
Fallon noticed the more she moved around, the stronger she felt. What was weird was the slightly antsy feeling she was developing. She wrote it off as a normal sensation under the circumstances though, and tried not to let her impatience with Panos show. The last thing she wanted to do now, was anger him again.
"Sonofabitch."
Turning the knobs, pushing them, no matter how she approached them nothing seemed to make them release the door.
She refused to be his source of entertainment though. She turned back and faced him, hands on hips, legs spread in a strong stance. And as she stood there, she wondered...should she remain mute, should she start screaming at the top of her lungs, she she start to whine, or laugh uncontrollably... There had to be something that would drive Panos to distraction enough that he would want her out of there justa as much as she wanted out.
The insane thought that kept coming back to her, was that a part of her didn't want to leave. However, the fact that she had no choice...that she couldn't just leave, was her main motivation for wanting out.
"Sonofabitch."
Turning the knobs, pushing them, no matter how she approached them nothing seemed to make them release the door.
She refused to be his source of entertainment though. She turned back and faced him, hands on hips, legs spread in a strong stance. And as she stood there, she wondered...should she remain mute, should she start screaming at the top of her lungs, she she start to whine, or laugh uncontrollably... There had to be something that would drive Panos to distraction enough that he would want her out of there justa as much as she wanted out.
The insane thought that kept coming back to her, was that a part of her didn't want to leave. However, the fact that she had no choice...that she couldn't just leave, was her main motivation for wanting out.
The night air felt heavenly, as she breathed it in, and wasted no time getting into her car. The engine turned over, and she backed up, turning to head towards the tracks she'd left sometime earlier.
It was rather amazing that she could see them, but the tracks were quite visible in the dirt, illuminated by the Rav's headlights. Occasionally she lost track, but going at the reduced speed, she seemed to pick them up again quickly. It never occurred to her to think that her eyes might have adjusted to the night vision slightly more quickly than they would have normally, in the past.
The muscles in her neck screamed out in annoyance as she stared out the windshield, straining to make sure she stayed on the path. It wasn't too awfully long before she came up to the road, and breathed a sigh of relief. Stopping to get her bearings, Fallon almost cried out. The ordeal and horror were over, and she was free. Now, niggling suspicions of truth in Panos' words, Fallon had to determine if she was in fact a vampire, or still alive.
Turning back towards town, she sped quickly towards the hotel. She made sure not to push the speed limit though. The last thing she needed after this kind of night, was to be pulled over by an over zealous cop.
(ooc - Fallon out - And as it appears something must have happened to Panos' scribe, I'm asking this thread be locked now. Thank you.)