Yup, just goofin off. ;) (gif)
This dedication is so for Norkers' motivating attitude towards me. It made me publish so damn early too. Love you, Norkers! <3
~Rose
I immediately attempted closing my mouth to conserve whatever oxygen I had left. I had let go of her, and now I was trying to get out of the water, break free from the surface. It was like the water had turned to acid. And now it was burning at my skin, dissolving the thin layer of it as it worked its way to my flesh.
My hair was floating around my head like ink, creeping into my vision as I stared out in front of me. I could see the dark sky refracted above it.I closed my eyes to shield them from the sting, but to no avail. My head was getting woozy. The severity of the burns forced my eyes back open.
The acid entered my lungs. I choked with pain, now starting to panic. Why was the surface so damn far away?
But after a moment of horrific realization, I hadn't fallen so deep into the acid-water in the first place. It was I who was going slower than ever, my movements restricted with the agony of the burns. Both external and internal. They were slowing rapidly.
I reached my hand towards the surface in vain. And they altogether stopped.
My body hung in the water, ever so slowly sinking back centimeters at a time. My eyes were half closed, keeping them on the big silver moon above the surface. Red streaks crept into my vision and surrounded it. I could see my hand now, blurry but visible with the little consciousness I had left. It was raw, bloody, rapidly dissolving away to soon reveal the bone underneath.
I guessed that was what the rest of my body looked like. I couldn't imagine how my eyes were, nor did I bother now. Soon I'd just be a pile of bone, burned and sizzled to death. This must be the worst way to die.
Something grabbed my outstretched hand.
The liquid disappeared around me.
I landed on solid ground. I coughed harshly, forcing the burning liquid out of my lungs. It stung my insides further on the way out. Locks of wet hair stuck to my face as I rolled to the side, my vision still red and blurry. I involuntarily let my eyes flutter closed, blackness overwhelming my senses. Throwing me into unconsciousness layer by layer.
The last thing I felt was a gust of cold air brushing against my hot burns.
*****
My eyes sprang open. I gulped a mouthful of air, my chest heaving almost painfully. A flash of bronze skin caught my eye. I glanced at my arm next to me. It still had long streaks of pink across it, but one hundred and ten times less severe as it was initially.
I blew a sigh of relief, though I could feel a sharp pain shoot up my stomach every time I shifted. I rolled onto my back, a groan slipping past my lips. The hard marble was cold against the bare skin of my lower back from the material of my shirt sticking to my skin.
Wait, marble?
I bolted upright, taking in my surroundings. It was a dark place, dimly lit by orange bulbs scattering the ceiling. It seemed like an oil factory because of the dark patches of oil stains on the ground. Large metal cylindrical cans were neatly stacked around, along with discarded electronics and a few generators here and there. The source of electricity. I must have been located in the basement.
"Familiar?" I turned my head to the sound. I growled at her, snapping my jaws.
She raised her hands in a gesture of surrender. "Whoa, take it easy. I was the one who had to suffer the burns with you."
I appraised her. She seemed unscathed apart from the slightly lighter brown shade of her hair. I felt my own hair, glancing at a lock of it. It was lighter as well, just a shade or two. Still dark though.
She smiled, causing me to pull an expression completely opposite to the one she had on her face. "There's a new glint in those dark eyes of yours. Burning bright as ever." If I wasn't so furious, I would have cared enough to point out that there was a trace of envy in her tone. But I don't care.
I slowly lifted myself from the floor, flexing my stiff muscles. Her eyes, on the other hand, were the complete opposite of what she claimed mine were. Cold, like ice. Like Fallon's. His black eyes flickered in my mind momentarily. Dark, endless. But a determination sparked in them from time to time. A furious passion of protecting anyone and everyone close to him. Even if he wouldn't admit it, his eyes would say everything.
"I just noticed we were never really properly introduced," she continued, her envious expression wiped clean. "I'm Adrianna. Perhaps you've heard of me?"
I shoved away the currently irritating feeling of familiarity to the back of my mind. Everything seemed familiar these days.
"Perhaps I have," I said quietly. "I just noticed how inconsiderate I was being. I didn't ask you how you felt after that little dip in the water."
I was in front of her in an instant, yanking her head to the side and I pushed her hair away. It revealed another wound she must have not got around to healing yet on her neck. It was a mixture of red and purple, slashed across her neck to her back.
She shoved me away, growling at me in turn. A cruel smirk lifted up the corner of my mouth. "Why Adrianna, dear. Are you hurt?"
"You wouldn't be acting like this if you knew what I knew!" She snapped venomously. I raised an eyebrow before discarding it. She wasn't going to tell me what she meant, she'd just leave me hanging forever with curiosity so great I wouldn't be able to rest in peace in my grave.
"You seem way too involved in us," I noted out loud. I was taller than her by an inch, so she had to tilt her head up to look at me. "You can't be the leader."
"What would you know?"
"Unless..." I frowned at her. "You're working for someone else. Someone bigger. Meaner."
"I assure you, I'm meaner." She glared up at me. "He wouldn't think of doing this."
I followed her gaze to the side of the room. Two pairs of red eyes glowed from a triangular patch of shadow next to a can. Letting my eyes adjust, I realized with a start they belonged to the green-eyed twins.
"I'm stronger than you think, Rose," Adrianna said. "I'm the one responsible for this game of ours. And right now, I believe you need to be snapped back into shape. Your attitude is highly dislikeable."
One of the twins emerged from the shadows. As soon as his eyes went back to normal, I deduced him as Nate. Pus the blood smear on his mouth gave it away at first.
She tilted her head to him. "Come here, Natty Boy."
He obeyed, much to my dismay. He seemed a different person, an emotionless zombie. She smiled and ruffled his brown hair. "I knew you were the better brother."
"Nate..." I trailed off.
"Blood changes him, Rose. I thought you knew your 'friends'."
Next Matt came out, looking furious. "What the hell are you doing?" He growled at her.
"I just thought I could use your help." Her dark eyes landed on mine. "I can't control her. She must be one of the only people with that irritating problem. But you can compel younger vampires, correct?"
He remained silent and just stared at her.
"I need you to compel Rose."
I started forward. "What the heck are you thinking?"
"You ticked me off, Rose," she snapped in the same tone I used. "Besides, ripper verses ex-ripper would be an interesting fight."
I was taken aback. "What?"
"Matty." He reluctantly lowered his gaze to hers again. "Do as you're told, or I will kill your brother right here and now." She pulled Nate's head back, exposing his neck to her. Nate would never allow anyone to hold him in such a vulnerable position. If he were in his right mind right now, that is.
Matt clenched his teeth together, the muscles in his jaw twitching. But nevertheless, he turned to me. The hard look in his eyes remained, but they widened momentarily. Probably spotting the uncanny resemblance between her and I. It sickened me, actually.
I felt a serious case of deja vu. I took a step back instinctively. He stopped advancing and gave me a look, as if he expected me to comply. "Matt."
"I have no choice," he grunted.
"You were never one to give up so easily." He actually looked mildly taken aback at my statement, but hid it quickly.
"Don't make this harder than it already is, Rose," he ordered firmly. "Though you were never one to back down easily, either."
"And I'm not starting now." I took another step back as soon as he started forwards again. "I am not going to fight with your brother."
"Does it look like we have any say in the matter?" he shouted. "Don't you see?! This is why Nate and I wanted to take a break. And now that she has us again, she's using us to her advantage."
Adrianna was watching the scene play out, amusement sparkling in her eyes. A smirk played at the corner of her lip and her fingers fiddled with the spaghetti strap of her shirt resting on her collarbone.
I backed away again at his steps closer. He growled. "Stop it."
"You'll have to kill me to eradicate my most ravishing quality." He was in front of me in less than a second and had me pinned to the wall by my wrists in one of his big hands. I gasped, my heart beat quickening due to the feeling of being trapped. Helplessly struggling against someone stronger. I abhorred the fact that these males could do it to me any time I "misbehaved" in their eyes.
His expression changed. From cold and careless to pained and almost comforting. I stopped struggling, falling for the involuntary spell he cast. "You can take him," he whispered as if trying to calm down my nerves. "It'll be an almost equal match."
"You have no idea what you're saying."
He smiled humorlessly and leaned closer, efficiently catching and locking my gaze with his with one sweep of his eyes. "You will fight my brother in precisely one minute," he said in a monotone, pouring the suggestion into my mind. I felt myself agreeing in response, as if it had originated in my own thoughts.
"Till death," Adrianna added from behind him, expecting him to listen without question. His eyes closed for a few seconds. You could see he was as unwilling as they come. All the while I just stared ahead like a robot until his eyes reopened.
"Fight till your last breath," he whispered reluctantly. Then his tone dropped a few octaves and went softer. "Until I say to stop."
He pushed himself off the wall with his free hand gently, letting go of me. He stared at me, as if making sure it worked. I blinked slowly, the thought forming into my mind. Blossoming into a highly necessary action.
My eyes darted to Nate's. They narrowed, turning crimson.
He walked closer, as did I, until he was about ten feet away from me. He spread his legs slightly, cracking his knuckles with the slow curling of his fingers into a fist. The deafening sound reverberated along the room. An eager smile plastered itself onto his face.
"I wonder who'll win, don't you Matthew?" Adrianna asked him, sickeningly cheerful like a kid in a candy store. His expression remained impenetrable. She chuckled and clamped a hand on his shoulder. She must not have heard the last thing he said. He visibly tensed.
Two pairs of blood thirsty red orbs flicked towards the clock. The only sound now was the ticking as the seconds dragged by. 32...33...34...35...
I ran my tongue along my canines. His grin was so wide I thought it would break his face. He lost it, completely. He was like a different person. A psycho on drugs.
44...45...46...
He wants to fight—I'll give him the fight of his life. And I will kill her after this. I will survive. I will endure this.
55...56...
He's a good fighter, I'll give him that due to all the past years of watching him spar. My heart pounded with the thrill of the fight. The desire to kill.
59...
The clock reflected into my eyes, ticking away.
12:00.a.m
Somewhere outside, church bells started ringing. Loud booming cracks sounded, fireworks exploded in the sky to celebrate new year. There was one small window just above the ground that refracted the bursts of color in the dark night sky through the glass and into the basement to throw themselves across our currently ghost-white faces. People were cheering, sounds of air reacting with the freshly opened soda cans echoed in our ears.
While in the basement, simultaneous with another explosion of colors outside, two figures lurched at each other.