Capture

Chapter 13: Plan A

A little, just a smidge, pissed that this didn't save the first time I wrote it.

Chapter 13: Plan A

I, for one, have never crawled through an air vent before but would have believed them to be small and dusty. I was right about that. I was cramped with the sides way too close to my face for comfort. My arms were stretched out in front of me seeking purchase. Manu was right about me fitting but only by so much. I wish I could reach my screw. I wouldn't be moving any faster with a clenched fist but the thought of a weapon of some kind being available to act was a pressing instinct. Just in case a Natural found me or if I have to defend myself from the beast.

If I wasn't focused on being as silent as possible in such a strained situation, I would imagine I would be humming Mission Impossible out loud, rather then in my head. It was just the swishing sound of my clothing rubbing the bottom of the vent and my breathing. The vents would awake every few minutes, swirling dust and chilling me. 

I had to keep moving at all times. I had stopped once in the beginning and nearly lost my cool in the claustrophobic space. The vents vibrated sound better when I wasn't in motion. I couldn't hear distinct words, just multiple voices shouting and the faint sound of alarms. It was safe to say that the Naturals had discovered me missing. Hopefully, they thought that someone was trying to steal me away again rather then me running, since they still didn't know that I could fully move. 

Following Manu's directions, I had reached the final grate. I was pretty sure I could crawl in reverse but I wasn't sure how fast I could do it. With my faced pressed up against the vent I could see out into an empty room. It was silent. Then I was falling forward.

Falling wasn't accurate. My hands had been propped against the grate and when it was removed, my front half wasn't supported. My back half was still wedged in the vent while the rest of me dangled from the opening. I heavily lifted my head to give Manu a glare. He had a sheepish smile on his lips, the grate front in his hands. 

"A little warning?" I hissed. 

"No time," He whispered, reaching under my arms and pulling me out. My feet dangled a good foot off the floor as he assessed my appearance while holding me like a child. I'm sure I was covered in dust and grime. Manu surprised me by bringing me closer to his chest in an awkward short hug before reuniting me with the ground. Wait, did he sniff me?

"I have informed them my need to leave as an urgency within my coven I must tend to," he whispered. "I will most unlikely be suspected of malice."

"Thank you," I breathed.

"You will not feel gratitude when you comprehend how you are to exit the premise," a smirk grew at the corners of his lips. Manu explained how we would escape, he was going to walk out of the building with me. 

"This was your plan?" I scoffed when Manu produced a large duffle bag. "I'm a bit heavier than most clothing, it will be a bit obvious."

"Not if I carry you in a calculated way," Manu reassured in his cool tone. "Once outdoors, we will enter my vehicle. You may release yourself then."

He had a special car with sun proof windows that would allow him to travel. Manu expressed concern whether or not it would have to be abandoned at some point in our endeavor, in the case he was followed. In that case, Plan B was to have me steal a car and cover him during the day, while I drove. He talked about Grand Theft Auto as if it was to be done easily. The real had part if that plan were come to play was that humans weren't supposed to drive. And one glance at me screamed human. 

"How do we find the human colonies?" I asked. "Its not like we can find them on a map."

"Fortuity, my particular coven protects a satellite colony in exchange for bodily donations," He said, clearly gauging my reaction."Our region does not intersect any suburban, only rural."

"So your diet...?" I shivered. It was childish but the though of 'donating' almost made me want to stay. There was no way that any of the Supernatural were just 'cool' with humans and would allow then to remain living their lives as normal.

"Is sustained upon human donations watered down with animal blood," Manu's face grimaced. "The rurality of our region is of interest of Night Beast. To appease our two region's treaty, we must share hunting grounds on rotation." 

He quieted then spoke again. "We must leave soon, the moon will rise within hours."

He unzipped the duffel in one fluid movement and gestured for me to get in. I stepped and moved to lay down. In the same smooth flourish, the dark canvas was zipped over my head.

"Just don't drop me!" I called out from the dark. Manu didn't answer but I would bet he was smiling, the stupid vampire. I was jostled in his arms and then he was moving. I tried my best to be limp and heavy. 

It was both unnerving and comfortable to be near him, as it had been back in my room. The same unknown need was pleased with him. The rest of me, although I was growing on the idea of him, was not comfortable with trusting anyone not human. I was worried that I would end up screwed over by any of the species.

I could tell when we were outside, it became much quieter. The air was freer, even from inside a duffel bag. Speaking of the duffel, I would have to ask what its original purpose was. Emilee's duffels always smelled terrible, and there was no odor clinging to the inside with me. 

Manu shifted me horizontally and let me fall. There was a quiet click of the door shutting and the engine began to hum into the cabin. We were moving. I had freed myself after a minute of struggling. The vampire was no help at all. He was sitting stoically in the drivers seat. 

"What the hell was that? I told you not to drop me!" I growled, trying to flatten my fizzy static filled hair.

"Hm? Did you now?" I had pulled him from a thought, I could see it fading in his dark eyes. I adverted my eyes and his small smile grew larger to flash teeth.

"You know I did!" I yelled, trying to be unaffected by the fangs. Crossing my arms, I grumbled. "Eyes on the road! Ug, just drive." 

He didn't responded. I laid my head against the window pane and watched as we passed the boundaries. Before the Announcements, we never really left our safe boring town, and after them, I never though I would ever. After all the free human colonies were supposed to be a myth. I guess all myths are based on some small facts. I was so close to being completely and unapologetically me. 

I was going to be human and all it encompasses.