Post by Rae-Star Berii on Jan 18, 2013 13:56:42 GMT -5
Rae had been allowed to go to the shops, she was picking up a new outfit for this evening, apparently she was going to the Gallery for a grand opening, apparently it was a black-tie event and her uncle was very excited about it, he was very much looking forwards to it. So he had given Rae his credit card and he had told her to make herself beautiful, more beautiful than she already was. So she had been allowed out of her prison. After so many escape attempts she had become a captive, only allowed out on his arm, only allowed to be around him, so this was the first time in several days where she had been out of the apartment at all.
It was her birthday.
She had no one to celebrate it with, but it was her birthday. Today she was nineteen years old and what did she have to show for it? A black eye and a graze upon her cheek. He had given them to her this morning, a warning that should she try anything she would receive much worse. Since…everything had happened he had become violent, it was worse than it had ever been before, but Rae was surviving. She had tried to cover the marks with make-up, wearing thick eye-liner and foundation to hide the worst of it, but the purple bruise was there for all to see no matter how she tried to cover it.
With Eli at her heel she had headed to the mall, for a while Rae had just wandered around, looking lost, feeling alone in this big open city, where people looked at her and people wondered what had happened to her and no one asked her. When she came to the travel agents however, she had frozen to the spot. She could leave, she could try again, she could run now, with his bank details… it had felt like a good idea for mere moments and she had watched, her palm pressed against the glass, as a happy couple booked a holiday, maybe their honeymoon, maybe a romantic getaway, maybe just a break from their mundane lives…and she wanted that. She hated them, was jealous of them…was angry with them.
Security moved her on, and Rae pulled her coat around herself closer. She felt naked, she did not have her back pack, she did not have her gun…just her dog, who was forced to wait outside the mall, chained to a lamppost. Without her defences she felt feeble, unable to take that step, unable to brave the violence and chance freedom.
Rae bought herself a cookie and sat under a statue, sat on the floor with her legs curled up she ate slowly, like a mouse breaking each particle off and taking her time to slowly chew it and watched the whole damned world go by. Dreading the task of finding a dress for this evening, she was procrastinating with people watching.
Post by Craig Jamerson on Jan 23, 2013 11:49:36 GMT -5
The bustle of the city was a hassle to many people. It was hard, for instance, to find missing people in this mess of a city. Though, that was hardly a bad thing for Craig, who had recently become an escaped convict and was surely considered armed and dangerous. He would have to flee the country in short order, certainly, but for now... now he had a score to settle. Sitting in a chair casually, he'd been following Rae's movements for a pair of days now, waiting for her to be completely unattended. Her Uncle Taron was keeping a tight leash on her indeed. Now, however, she seemed to be utterly by herself as she nibbled away on a cookie under a statue. Craig watched for another minute, looking also at those around him for anyone who seemed to be taking particular interest in him or Rae.
Satisfied that no one there was of significance, he stood and approached Rae from behind and to the left. He waited until he was only a couple of feet from her and stood there silently watching for a moment, deciding what to say. She'd apparently been well taken care of in the hospital, but Craig could see a couple of bruises that had not occurred during their scuffle with the Vampyre and his servant on her arm. Craig's thoughts darkened at the meaning of them. It was possible, yes, that they were the result of some new job, but Craig imagined them to Taron, the physical manifestation of a dark past. Finally, he opened his mouth to speak. "Long ways from Reno," he stated matter-of-factly. "How was your trip?" he asked semi-rhetorically, eyes sparkling with playfulness during the moment of reunion.
Post by Rae-Star Berii on Jan 24, 2013 12:56:42 GMT -5
She saw him almost immediately, the cookie dropping, unwanted from her fingers and it crumbled on the floor beside her feet. Rae was off the ground in moments, springing from her sitting position she darted at him, she forgot all reservations and ran at him. Rae wrapped her arms around his neck; the tiny girl cocooned him with her arms and legs and tucked her face into his shoulder. From her lips came a rush of air, a huge sigh of relief and a whimpering sound that was something like ‘I’msogladyouralive’. It was all of those things, relief, joy and uninhibited compassion. Rae had no idea what had happened to him after the hospital, news from Reno hadn’t travelled this far West.
Almost a split second after her attack on him she realised what she was actually doing, Rae flinched back, flushing with sudden embarrassment and unhooked herself from him, stepping back several small steps. “I mean- I’m glad you’re okay.” She murmured, tucking her pale pink and rainbow tinted hair behind her ears, shyly. For a moment she was completely carefree, for a moment all the horror of that night and the things that had happened since were gone, washed away first by relief then by embarrassment, and now, as she chewed her thumb nail, she watched him carefully.
“What-What are you doing here?” Rae asked, finally- even if she was secretly glad he was here.
Post by Craig Jamerson on Jan 24, 2013 13:19:53 GMT -5
Craig oofed as the shorter person missiled into him. He patted her upper back and let out a breathless, "Good to see you, too." Rae pulled back from him, looking rather embarrassed as she bit at her thumbnail. "What- what are you doing here?" she asked of him and Craig's expression turned quizzical. "Your uncle came to speak with me in jail. He said that if he got me out that I could never see you again," Craig blushed lightly, realizing how pathetic he probably sounded. "I told him that if I got out without his help I could see you as much as I liked and he agreed." Craig snorted, "Though, he probably didn't expect it to actually come to fruition. Anyways, I'm here to let you know that I made it without his help. To let you know I'm safe." His brown eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched slightly as he finished, "To settle a score."
The geneticist's eyes returned to Rae's. "He hasn't... done anything.. to you, has he?" Craig asked, eyes searching for an answer in her expression. He was concerned for her and was doing nothing to hide it. He felt awkward at the way he was opening himself up; it'd been so long since he'd been with anyone and he'd always consumed his time with work.
Craig heard her out and then changed the subject, "Anyways, I've got to get out of the country. Maybe take a plane to China," he thought aloud with a shrug. "I thought you might be able to get me a fake passport and a few other forms of ID so I can get out. You see," Craig began, placing an arm about her shoulders to draw her closer as he bent his head for discretion. "They're charging me with the murders of that night." Craig gently pulled her along with him as he walked towards the exit. "They seem to think I killed those 13 people and I've got a pretty sizeable warrant out for my arrest. Especially after a Dragon destroyed part of the jail and I suddenly went missing." Craig gave her a toothy grin, eyes sparkling at the half-boast. "Needless to say, they've probably got a few questions for me now." Craig stood up straight, looking as casual as he could manage. "So, how about we have a meeting with this uncle of yours?" he suggested with false cheer.
Post by Rae-Star Berii on Jan 24, 2013 13:35:54 GMT -5
She blinked at him; frowning a little bit as he explained everything to her. “He said- he said …what?”
She had known he was in prison; Taron had taken great pleasure in telling her that, her condition for moving back to Chicago in the first place was if Craig was out of prison. Her Uncle had said Taron had refused his help and then had refused to want anything to do with Rae again, that he was angry with her, that if he never saw her again he’d die happy. She…felt sick…with guilt and grief, thinking of him in prison…when all of this was her fault.
She played with the edge of her shirt, straightening it slowly into place and then her eyes came back up to him as he continued, as he questioned her and Rae looked down at the floor, at her feet, unable to meet his searching expression. Her skin flushed as pink as her hair and she shoved her hands into her pockets defensively, shutting down the emotional hatches inside her brain. “I’m fine.” She said, almost automatically, this wasn’t something she wanted to talk about, particularly out here in the middle of the mall.
Anyways, I’ve got to get out of the country…
Perhaps her heart sunk a little as he gave her the real reason for seeking her out and Rae felt stupid, she felt ashamed of her complete delight at seeing him and the liberation she felt only moments ago sunk back into the background as he explained he needed a way out of the country. Rae wet her lips and nodded; “I can help you.” She said, quietly, but she had hundreds of questions now; about Dragons and prison and how he escaped, but she didn’t ask them, reverting to her shy, somewhat quiet self.
How about we have a meeting with this uncle of yours?
“No.” She said, more steadily. “That’s not a good idea.” Rae told him, putting her brain into business mode as her shoulders squared off and she straightened to her full five-foot-nothing. “He won’t be pleased to see you and if he doesn’t kill you for it, he’ll take it out on me.” She paused, glancing around herself a moment. He was a wanted man, being out in the open would not be good for him; “We could find somewhere quiet…talk…if you wanted. Work out your, uh, travel arrangements.”
Post by Craig Jamerson on Jan 24, 2013 13:48:25 GMT -5
Craig was taken aback by her sudden negative. "No?" he asked, clearly surprised. He watched her as she explained and then snorted derisively. "I thought it was clear that I wanted to deal with that." Craig nodded regarding the travel arrangements and walked the distance to the exit and into the crisp Chicago air. He wasn't used to the cold; at least not the cold of Chicago. He was from Nevada. In the Rockies, sure, but it wasn't the same. The air here was stuffier and had an almost artificial taste to it with mildly strong winds. Definitely not home.
Once outside, Craig continued talking about Taron, "I'm trying to help you be free of him. He can't take something out on you if he's not around to do so." Craig sighed, looking straight ahead. "I see how defeated you are when he's brought up and it's not you, Rae." Craig didn't turn his head to look, merely dozed straight through, "It's not you at all and to be imprisoned like this is definitely not you, either." Craig finally paused for breath and looked sideways at the rainbow hair. "So why don't you fight for freedom? You could even come with me, if you wanted," he offered seriously before turning back to the scene before them. Craig turned his path slightly, heading straight for a white Subaru Outback that he'd rented yesterday with a gesturing hand to let Rae know it was the one he was headed for.
Post by Rae-Star Berii on Jan 24, 2013 14:04:24 GMT -5
Outside there was a second person happy to see him; the little brown and white mutt wagged his tail, barking merrily as Rae and Craig pressed back into the cold air. He’d been with her, she tried not to go too far without him, but she had to leave him outside the mall when she went into it.
Rae smiled, the dog always made her smile and she paused for a moment, bending to him and untying him, letting him bound and dance around Craig for a moment before she called him to heel. Bending to the dog she stroked the animal’s fur, having given his words a considerable amount of thought; “Look- I can’t.” She told him, not looking at him; she didn’t want to see disappointment or anger in his eyes as she denied him once more. She couldn’t go with him, the micro-chip in the base of her skull saw to that, wherever she went she would be found, there was no running away.
Standing she was quiet once more as she followed him to the white 4x4, Eli tight on their heels, running off ahead to sniff at the car before running back to be fussed once more. The dog, despite it all, was still treated like a king.
Her voice sounded once more, quietly, tenderly but completely dejected; “I’m sorry, but I’m not who you think I am.”
Post by Craig Jamerson on Jan 24, 2013 14:39:16 GMT -5
Craig frowned at her words as he opened the driver door. He looked over the car at her and asked, "What do you mean?" Craig ducked inside the car, fastened his seat belt and inserted the keys into the ignition to start the car before he cranked the heat up to blast warmth into the cab. He patted Eli and scratched him behind the ear briefly as he listened to Rae's explanation. She joined him in the car, staring out of the window; "I can't leave Chicago." Craig raised an eyebrow at her as he rubbed his hands in front of a vent and decided to ask the obvious, "Why not?"
"Because I'm trapped here." She said, as if it was obvious. "Because he was supposed to be dead! Not even being dead could stop him coming after me!" Frowning, Craig asked, "What do you mean you're trapped? And clearly, he wasn't dead. That doesn't mean you have to stay with him. Especially after all he's done!" Craig put the car into gear and began pulling cautiously out of the parking spot, eyes focused behind the vehicle.
"You don't know what he's done...you don't even know what you're talking about." Rae sighed, turned to face him with her beautiful brown eyes; "Craig, please, just leave it okay? I'll be fine. We should worry about you now." Craig sighed in return and put the car into drive and heading out of the parking lot. "What, then? Am I supposed to just leave you here to have God-knows-what happen to you?" he asked, frustrated. He had planned on getting her out of whatever mess she may be in, fix this problem with her uncle... maybe even kill if the situation called for it. He was not, however, prepared to just leave her there and hadn't expected it in a million years.
Post by Rae-Star Berii on Jan 24, 2013 14:55:54 GMT -5
She felt withdrawn, like she was going through the motions as she answered his questions, not committed in any way to her answers. Leaving Eli to distract Craig she very much watched the world outside of the window as it went by, the cars on the road, the people on the street all drew her attention away from the conversation and how awkward she felt having it. Last time they had talked about this they had been in a stolen light blue car on the way to the airport- before Reno happened, before she let him down…
She turned to him, her voice almost a whisper as she sighed ”Craig, please, just leave it okay? I’ll be fine. We should worry about you now.”
Of course he wasn’t happy with that answer; Rae wasn’t even sure why he wouldn’t let it go. What was he hoping for? A companion so he wouldn’t be lonely on the run? Had she not been in the situation she was, maybe she would’ve taken him up on it, maybe she’d have run with him, when they’d met she’d become sick of being alone with only Eli to talk too, now everything was completely different. It was all so screwed up. She ran her fingers through her hair, thumb brushing over the back of her neck, touching over the little bump in her skin, which twinge-d like a newly brought out bruise...
She sighed again and spoke once more, carefully choosing her words out before she said each of them; “It makes my life easier to just live like this, like it’s easier for you to run away to China right?” Rae picked her nail for a moment and then looked back at him calmly; “You know, we could just fake you’re death, it would be so much easier than hiding you out in China.”
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Last Edit: Jan 24, 2013 16:18:31 GMT -5 by Rae-Star Berii
Post by Craig Jamerson on Jan 24, 2013 15:50:51 GMT -5
Craig grumbled slightly as he pulled up to the light and took a right after looking around carefully. "I know it's easier to just ignore whatever the situation of your life is. It's easiest for me to just get a card from you and vanish like we'd never met." Craig threw a glance her way as he stated simply, "But we have." Craig's eyes returned to the road as he followed through an exit to the highway. "And I don't want to know that I didn't do everything in my power to make things right. I want to know that you're doing well as I begin a new life. We can both do that," Craig motioned with a hand, "Start new lives. Even if it's not together, we can know we helped each other along wherever we are. Me, free of persecution and you," Craig stopped talking a moment and looked intently at Rae before finishing, "Free of persecution, too."
Craig returned his eyes to the road and took another exit to a (relative) side road. "Wouldn't that be best? Living free of fear? Sure, we could fake my death, maybe," he said, explaining his reasoning, "But I'll always be looking over my shoulder. Besides, I've been on the cover of a magazine and made a bit of a name out of myself. Someone'll recognize me eventually and then what?" Craig pulled to a stop several cars behind a stop light. He turned to reckon with Rae. "Then what, Rae? I'm back where I'm began, that's what. In prison, but now I have escaping from prison charges. Do you know how long we're talking about? Life without parole doesn't end until I do." Craig followed the car ahead of him over the intersection and maintained course. "And you want me to just ignore all this and let you go back to that?" Craig shook his head firmly and concluded, "No, that's not how this is supposed to go."
Post by Rae-Star Berii on Jan 24, 2013 16:08:18 GMT -5
For a long time she didn’t say anything, she couldn’t bring herself to look at him. How had she been so selfish? How didn’t she realise that this wasn’t about her, it was about him and his need to feel worthwhile? His whole life had been pulled from under his feet because of her, because she pursued the vampire and persuaded him to be part of this. She could’ve just killed the vampire, hunted it and killed it without his knowing, she could’ve kept him out of this game that she called her life. As they pulled away from the light and onto the intersection she spoke once more. “There’s a micro-chip in my neck- it’s nestled between the vertebrae of my spine- so I don’t try to run away again.”
The words hung in the air for a moment as Rae pulled her feet up on the seat, resting her chin on her knees and sunk down into a new sort of darkness, an extraordinarily low mood for the girl. She’d tried to run away several times, heck, she’d even gotten out of America. She’d sunk so low that she was done fighting for herself now; she was through trying to find her own path her. It wasn’t going to get her anywhere.
“So this- this can’t be about me anymore.” She murmured, voice shy, “-I’m stuck here. It’s got to be about you…and you’re life now…whatever that means for you.”
Post by Craig Jamerson on Jan 24, 2013 16:20:15 GMT -5
Craig blinked at her words and found it suddenly difficult to focus on the road. He leaned forward over the wheel as his mouth tried to form words. "Well we can take it out. Or disable it," Craig offered. "You're good with gadgets and whatnot. Why not do that?" Craig was finding himself in a bit of a situation with all this news and frowned as he took a left turn at a conveniently green light.
Craig thought about the matter and started quietly, "You know..." he bit his lip, wondering if it was a huge mistake to say what he was about to. He glanced sideways at Rae, taking in her image in high detail with his mind as he mustered the courage to finish his thought. "We could kill him..." The words hung from his lips as if he hadn't finished his thought, but the silence from him after the words and closed mouth would surely cue her in. He entered the parking lot of a motel and parked near the end of a line of cars before shutting off the car.
Post by Rae-Star Berii on Jan 26, 2013 12:13:57 GMT -5
If she could’ve taken it out by now she would’ve, if she could access it in the awkward place at the base of her skull then she would’ve dug it out of her spine the night it was placed there, but unfortunately for Rae her Uncle was the one who had taught her about computers and how to manipulate them and if he had taught her, he must’ve been better right? So, for a moment she didn’t answer him and it wasn’t until he mentioned murder that she looked at him. For a long time she looked at him, her hazel eyes scanning his face, looking for any indication that he might have been joking; could he truly mean that? She’d often thought about it, often tried to figure out if she wanted it or if the angry bubble of rage and hatred was warping her mind and making her think she wanted it.
Wetting her lips slowly she waited as the engine silenced, waited longer still as the world around them became silent. Then she simply got out of the car; how could she begin to talk about this with him? How could she begin to make him understand? Her eyes went up to the motel sign, up to the shabby looking doors and the rusted stairways and she sighed; sadly. This was his life now, because of her, this was his life now, because of everything.
“Are we going inside?” she asked him, gently. “I mean- we shouldn’t talk in the open, should we?”
Post by Craig Jamerson on Jan 26, 2013 12:25:29 GMT -5
Craig sighed as she exited the vehicle. He'd known that was a bad thing to suggest and he'd done it anyways. Why couldn't he just let things be sometimes? Because I care, that's why, he answered himself as he got out of the car, locked it, and closed the door behind him. Then Rae said something he did not expect. "Are we going inside? I mean, we shouldn't talk in the open, should we?" she had said. Craig's lip twinged upwards for a split moment before his face became all business again.
Mostly business. "Yeah, room 113," Craig said, pointing to the room number directly in front of where they had parked. He extracted a access card from his pocket as he made his way to the door; once there, he swiped the card and opened it up. The room was typical of American motels; one questionably bowed-in bed, a TV on a cheap dresser, a dim light over a cracked mirror standing guard over the sink. Just beside that, the bathroom. There was a mini-fridge beside the television set's dresser and Craig immediately went over to it and opened it up. Satisfied that his samples were undisturbed, he closed it up with a smile. Only then did he take off his coat and throw it over a chair in the corner. He turned back to Rae and asked, "So, what do you want to do? End this tyranny or just make me a passport and be on our separate ways?"
Post by Rae-Star Berii on Jan 26, 2013 12:43:50 GMT -5
She followed him into the room, standing close to the door as she closed it behind her. Her eyes flitted over the furnishings; over the cheap TV, the sunken bed and the crack in the mirror.
She didn’t move from the doorway, keeping close to it anxiously and playing with her fingernails. As he spoke she came into the room a little more and smiled softly as Eli ran up on the bed, bouncing a little in his playful way before he rolled around in the bedding before darting off towards Craig once more.
The pup was happy to see the man, of course he was, and pausing for a momentary fuss he came running back towards Rae and licked her hands. It took Eli a little longer than necessary to realise his mistress and best friend was nervous.
She bent to him, kissing his head and kneeling on the floor beside him as she stroked his fur softly; it gave her something to do and something to distract herself with.
“Killing someone,” she said, looking up at her friend for a moment, “are you sure?”
