Angel of the Damned

AotD - 5

       Drake made his way back through the crowd, turning away several frantic women begging for ammo and a few children who tried to get him to take them with him.  Finally making it back to the room, he swallowed his frustration and uncurled his fists. When he entered, he saw Nathan clutching his face and Ebony standing in the corner, a knife in her hand.

       “Unde naiba sunt eu!1” she shouted.  Fear filled her voice.

       “Yup, definitely half vampire,” Drake said.  He walked over to Nathan, “Let me see.”

       Nathan removed his hand, revealing a slash in his cheek oozing blood.  Nathan ground his teeth as Drake examined the wound. “She moved hellishly fast, didn’t even realize she had the knife ‘til she nearly gouged my eye out with it.  What the hell is she saying?”

       “Yeah, she got you good,” Drake said. “She is asking where she is, it’s vampiric tongue.  I am surprised you don’t understand her.”  Drake turned to Ebony and held his hands out. “Ebony, please put the knife down.”

       “Where am I?” she asked.  The knife never moved from its place.

       “You are in Arkane,” Drake said, then added, “Well what remains of it. It’s a human city about a hundred miles east of Darkwater Forest. Where are you from?”

       “I lived in Paradiso,” Ebony said. “But I haven’t been there in, in…” she dropped the knife and began to shake. “What, what year is it?”

“Is she serious?” Nathan asked.

Drake watched Ebony as she began to shake, look around and try to shrink into the wall.  Drake pursed his lips, “I think she is.  Ebony, it is twenty forty-three.”

Ebony’s head jerked down to meet his gaze.  She spoke hesitantly, repeating the year in a questioning tone.

“Yes, does that surprise you?” Drake asked.  He took a step towards her and she shrank away from him.

Her eyes darted in every direction, probably searching for an escape route.   Her jaw became tense and she grabbed the sides of her head, a scream of agony distorted by her teeth.

“Ebony?” Drake asked.  He reached out and gently touched her shoulder.

She slapped his hand back and shoved him away. “Who are you? What are you doing to me?”

       “Ebony,” Drake said. “Ebony, calm down, we are your friends. We don’t want to hurt you.”

       Ebony collapsed into a sitting position with her hands entangled in her hair.  Muffled sobs escaping her.

       “Ebony, we aren’t going to hurt you,” Drake reiterated.

       “No, no, no, no, no, no, no,” she mumbled. She whimpered in fear, pushing herself further into the corner and shaking.

       “Ebony, I am not going to hurt you,” Drake said.  He knelt down and removed the knife out of the floor.  Quickly handing it off to Nathan, he reached out to take Ebony in his arms.  She lashed out at his arms, trying to shove him away.

She jumped to her feet and ran over to the door, fumbling with the knob.  Through a rip in her dress, Drake saw the two barely visible wing slits in her back.  She managed to rip the door open and started down the hallway.

“Ebony!” Drake shouted, sprinting after her. The door at the end of the hall slowed her down for a few moments, but not long enough for Drake to catch up. Panting from exertion, she burst into the main commerce, head whipping from side to side, searching for a route of escape. Drake had almost caught up when she bolted again, dashing to the right and deeper into the station. Drake growled and darted after her, then followed her lead and vaulted the turnstile for the platform, a guard yelling after him angrily. "Sorry!" he shouted over his shoulder, and poured on the speed, trying to catch up to the fleeing woman. Her fear filled eyes locked onto him in her run, and he shouted again. "Wait! I'm not gonna hurt you!”