Wrong turn (OPEN)

[arielle]

A shiver ran down Arielle's spine as a cold gust of wind blew by her. She pulled her jacket in close and pressed on. She had thought that it would be nice to explore the city around her new loft. So far she had come up disappointed. She was lost. She had tried to call Kaden, strictly for directions only, but she learned that he had already left. He hadn't even told her where he was going. A heavy block of sadness laid on her gut. She was no longer sure what she wanted form him, but she knew she didn't want him to disappear on her. She clicked her tongue in annoyance as she looked around. She was hopelessly lost. Suddenly, she heard a loud noise from an alley a few feet away. Accompanying the crash was harsh laughter. She heard one sly voice call out.
"Here Kitty kitty kitty, Come put and play..."
His words were badly slurred and she could smell strong cheap alcohol with out even being able to see them. She crinkled her nose. She did not like what else she smelled. Blood. Another voice lashed out in anger at the first
"SHUT UP YOU RETARD! She's a damn Vampire too."
She could sense a third male. Their breathing, while all harsh and heavy, had unique rhythms and she was picking up on all of them. When they emerged out of the shadows she was surprised to see that they were barely adults. She guessed that they were 17-maybe 18 at the time they were turned. No doubt it happened to one of them and he told his little friends. Of course, they all wanted to be apart of the club so they turned each other. Brats. They were most likely already trouble before they were vampires, now they were trouble and extremely dangerous. She regarded them coolly, taking them in with her green eyes. The first one who called out to her grinned. He had blood left on his chin and teeth. The open display disgusted her. He circled around her slowly. Taking him time to look her over. Arielle felt as though he was doing unimaginable things to her in his mind. When she met his gaze his all to sly grin confirmed it. She refused to look away, refused to let them know she was afraid. She through him a Kleenex from her pocket.

"Maybe you should clean up your mess. You'll draw attention to yourself."


He took it and tossed it to the ground. The other two laughed at her gesture and his response. The drunk vampire circled around her again, this time stopping directly in front of her.
"Come to a small gathering we're having pet. Maybe I can draw some attention from you."
He traced her face with his grubby fingers. It was not in the fashion that Kaden used too. Kaden was soft and sweet when he did it, this man was crude and hard with it. Arielle slapped his hand away.

"I don't hang out with pigs."

She tried to walk away but the other two vampires stopped her. They were wearing amused grins. Something about their dark demeanor and the way the shadows hid part of their faces unnerved her. The drunk grabbed her arm and spun her around. He pulled her harshly against him. He held her so tight that she felt she could not breath. He took his free hand and let it wander over her back side. She squirmed but it only made him hold her tighter and explore her in a cruder manner. When he spoke to her his breath was hot and it smelled worse than anything she had ever smelled before.
"I'm not asking you kitten. I'm demanding it. You'll come with us or you'll be sorry. "
He licked the side of her face. His tongue was sticky and rough. She almost threw up with the thought of the substances that his trail would leave. Arielle acting as quickly as she could. She broke free and thrust he knee into his groin. The blow shocked him, but did not drop him. She had to repeat the assault two more times before he fell to the ground. She dashed away from him but something cold and hard made contact with her face. The blow knocked her backward off of her feet. She looked up momentarily and seen one of the others dropping a trash can lid to the ground. The drunk that she had assaulted slowly removed himself from the pavement. The look he gave her filled her with fear. he dragged out a large knife from the back of his pants. He began to move closer to her the other two following close behind him. He laughed.
"C'mon Boys. I'll teach you how to skin a cat."
Arielle's eyes widened. Her hand slipped around something hard he gripped it and waited. We wished Kaden would appear and rescue her. But he was long gone. From the looks of it she would have to do this alone.

[crash]

As he rounded the corner his suspicions were clear. He was detecting on vampires. There were three men advancing on a young woman on the ground. It was hard for him to control his anger. It was pathetic enough that packs of mortals always took advantage of the lone femme, but for three vampires to try and take advantage of one of their own? What the hell is wrong with the world? He quickly composed himself. He did notice, from the shadows he was lurking in, that the femme had her dainty fist clenched around a steel pipe. The other oafs wouldn't notice that nor would they expect it. He smiled while looking at her briefly. What did you do to piss them off trinket?

He stepped out of the shadows whistling a lively tune. He skip-stepped on occasion. All four pairs of eyes moved into his direction. The woman seemed shocked and relieved that someone had wandered this way. The three brutes seemed angry. The one in front, closest to the girl signaled for the two to take him. He laughed to himself. The leader was more incompetent looking than the others. The one on the left spoke to him. "Go on now. There ain't nothing of interest here for you." His face was dark and menacing. Crash hoped that never in his life would he look like that. He smiled slyly. "Well, you see. That woman owes me money. If you have a problem with her then you have one with me." He smiled innocently. This would make the drunken idiots think that they had the upper hand. Lefty lunged at him. Crash quickly slung off his guitar case and flung it around to met the vampires face. It met with a deafening thud and Lefty fell to the ground motionless. Crash had succeeded in knocking him out in one blow. He was impressed with himself. The vampire to his right looked warily at him. The head man screamed at him to kill him. Righty attacked. His fist landed hard against Crash's face. It moved him back a remarkable distance. He spit the blood from his mouth. He looked up and grinned at Righty."Nice hit. Too bad you are going to regret it." Crash entered the fight full force. He tackled Righty down to the ground. It knocked the wind out of him momentarily, but the drunken vampire regained his composure quickly. Crash stole a glance at the pretty girl and hoped that she would take advantage and take down her own attacker.

[arielle]

A relaxing wave of relief ran through her body as the new vampire walked onto the scene. His distraction had provided her with a small enough window to grasp a better grip on her weapon and move un-noticed into a slightly better position. It had also given her a boost of confidence. Before she had been nervous about hitting her assailant and then trying to scramble away from the other two, that is, if her assailant was even knocked unawares.

It was less than a few seconds that she had to spare before the drunken vampire turned back to her. He finally reached her. She did not have to pretend to be nervous. Even with her new found courage she was still deathly afraid. Not so much of the drunk, but of the large knife that was with every second inching too close to her body. She had never liked knives, but she especially disliked one that had the intention of skinning her. Possibly even, skinning her alive. Her mouth became very dry at the thought of that. She was almost to the point of surrendering and giving up. She could feel her nerve spiraling down but then she caught a glimpse of her rescuer. She could not see the fight, but from the sound of it, it did not seem as though he was winning, but when their eyes met she caught a glimpse of his face. He was grinning at her! This was amusing to him! The two of them fell to the pavement with a loud WHOOSH. Her own predator turned to see what had happened. This was his mistake. She took advantage of her opportunity and slugged him across the face with her steel pipe.

She quickly jumped up. The smell of alcohol and blood made her stomach churn. He made a slight wheezing noise. At that Arielle began beating him with the pipe. She knew that she could not kill him with it, but she wanted to assure herself that he would not get up before she was long gone. Finally she stopped. Her arms ached with the pain of beating him. They dangled at her sides. The final vampire left stopped in the middle of the tumble with her rescuer. He looked at them both nervously before trying to flee. When passing her she whacked the back of his head with her pipe. He fell face down onto the ground. She kicked him once and then threw the pipe down on him. He did not try to struggle. He didn't even move.

Satisfied she grinned at the dark stranger.

"Thank you for coming to save me, even though you seemed to be enjoying yourself greatly."

She brushed off the dirt from her clothes.

"I'm afraid I am rather new at this though, My name is Arielle Dillard."

[crash]

With a satisfied smirk he began to take off his jacket. he let it drop to the ground as he pulled off his shirt. He fashioned it around her head to help stop the bleeding. He didn't think she was aware of the rather large cut she had suffered from her blow. When he was finished he pulled his jacket back on. "I'm Mason, but everyone calls me Crash. You didn't do too bad yourself miss Arielle. But, I'm afraid you suffered a slight blow. I think we should head to my apartment to fix you all up." He took her arm in his own and began to escort down the alley. His phone began to ring. We winked at her while he answered. "Maggie! I thought that I might be hearing from you...CRASH! You were supposed to be here twenty minutes ago! Where are you?....Well, Maggie. It's actually a very odd story. Right before I was about to be at the bar I found my new lady friend being attacked by three drunken men. I would hate to think of what would happen to her had I not came to her aide"...He smiled playfully at her. He was very impressed with the way she had handled herself. She very well might have been perfectly alright if he had not wandered along. He studied her face shamelessly. He found her very beautiful. There was something about her that intrigued him. It had been a very long time since Crash had met a woman who had taken him aback. They were usually all the same, the women he met. Young, silly, not interested in anything but themselves, pitiful, and uninteresting. But this particular girl Crash wouldn't mind taking a while to know. He actually hoped for the opportunity. He waited while Maggie took a long pause. When she finally did start to speak the anger in her voice was gone. "well...is she alright?...She is now, in fact I'm very impressed with how she took one down all by herself, but we were headed to my apartment to get her all cleaned up. I can send her alone and still come in though if you needed me too..." The sly grin on his face told Arielle that he knew Maggie would deny that notion. "No, no, no. She is probably very upset and shaken. The boys are just now walking in, I'm sure that one of them will cover your shift...Thanks Maggie, You're a peach... Oh its alright, but Crash?...yeah? ...I didn't know you had a girlfriend"....Crash laughed aloud. "Well, thats because she has been hiding. I'll see you tomorrow, Maggie. thanks."

He returned the phone to his pocket. He walked as close to Arielle as he possibly could. He smiled at the few couples that past them. He pretended that he did not see their confused faces directed at Arielle's awkward head fixings. He hoped that none of these nice people stumbled upon the three men they had left lying on the cold pavement. When the three of them woke up they would be severely upset. He continued leading her to his apartment. He pondered on where her sire was, how long had she been a vampire, how and why she was turned, but mostly how wonderful she smelled. Even after such an alarming experience. he finally cleared his throat. "Arielle, if you don't mind me asking...Where is your sire?"

[arielle]

Arielle allowed Crash to bandage her up. She grinned at the though of his name. Crash. She liked it. It sounded dangerous and unkempt to her. She enjoyed the phone play. She was sure that he was allowing her to her every word. He played around with his co-worker, or perhaps boss, without skipping a beat. Arielle found it fascinating, but then again...why would he fret if he missed a nights work? Would they really fire him? If they did he could just find another job-or maybe he is old enough to not even need one. Maybe it is just something he does to fit in with the mortal world. Thats why she got a job. Arielle was probably the youngest vampire walking the streets of New York, but she was most likely the only one who was so financially taken care of. Still, she wanted a job. It would make her feel better to have one. She sank in close to Crash's side. He openly smiled and nodded at the passers, but she tried to avert her eyes and look away. She was afraid of drawing unwanted attention.

She wished she could come up with something to talk about, but oddly enough she was pretty satisfied with just being in his company. She was sure that he felt the same. Then, he asked the inevitable question. She had hoped that she could escape it, but she was not so lucky. She stopped walking and paused in the streets. In most cases, from what little Arielle had managed to scrape together, the sire normally stayed with the childe' for a time to help teach him or her 'the ropes'. Hunting without being seen, control, what powers they had acquired, how to use and control them...and such and such. The only thing she knew was how to sire a fledgling if she wanted one. She knew she never would. Kaden hadn't offered to show her anything else. He had just packed up and left. She was unsure of why.

She looked at crash and smiled as best she could. She decided that she should explain as much as she could in one sitting, this was not a subject she wanted to bring up often. It was in her past, and sooner rather than later she wanted to keep it that way.

"A little over two years ago, while I was in Amsterdam, I allowed a friend of mine to drag me to a rave. As it turns out, it was a haven for vampires and it resulted in a blood bath. I fortunately got out okay, but I never seen my friend again. After that, I became slightly obsessed. I spent days and nights going over anything and everything I could find on vampires. Then one night I was walking with my dog and there one was."

She laughed at the memory.

"He was standing there. he had blood on his face. I could see his fangs. He dropped the little fox to the ground and I bolted. I was terrified and I felt like I ran miles. I finally fell and then he was just there. Somehow, through the fear I thought he was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. He had beautiful blue eyes. He told me that I didn't look appealing enough too eat so I shouldn't worry. I passed out. He took he back to my cottage, cleaned me up, changed my clothes and tucked me in. After that he was always somewhere when ever I needed him. So...

She let her voice trail off. She sighed. This part was always embarrassing for her to talk about. She wondered if now that she was a vampire her face could flush. She forced herself to focus on something else. She couldn't look at him and finish.

...So, we became lovers. One day we got in a huge fight and I left London. I came here to relieve stress, I suppose. He ended up being in the same club as me. I was surprised he was in the same state. He ranted on about a woman vampire who for some reason hated me and wanted to kill me. I didn't believe him, I thought he had followed me and was purposely trying to make me upset. But as it turns out. He was right. Auralie tricked me and my French friend Antoinette. She almost killed us. Kaden saved me. I had already lost so much blood, it was the only way he could save me. Antoinette and I stayed with him until I turned, but then I left. I haven't seen either since. I don't know where she went, but Kaden left New York. He has houses all over the world. There is no telling where he might be.

She grinned as she looked up at him. She had been expecting to miss Kaden after she had spoke of him but she didn't. She was beginning to believe that she never loved him. Maybe they both just had an obsession.

"And that is my story. I bought an Apartment and I even got a job. I start in a few days."

A shy smiled spread across her face. She pulled out another Kleenex and delicately wiped the side of Crash's lip.

"Looks like you got hit alittle too hard too superman."

[crash]

A large grin spread across Crash Ledfords' face. She was becoming more and more interesting with every passing second. She was a human who was obsessed with vampires. Crash thought that this 'Kaden' probably had the same attraction that he, himself had for Arielle. The poor guy. She was in love with vampires, not him. That, he assumed, was the reason that her sire up and left. Maybe he finally realized the truth and couldn't handle it. He allowed her to clean him up. He liked her calling him superman. "Even Superman is taken down with Kryptonite." He laughed at her grin.

Crash waited patiently until she finished. No one had ever really taken time to try and clean up his wounds so he enjoyed the foreign effort. After she was done he stared at her for a few moments. He watched the breeze whip the loose strands of her hair across her face. He delicately pushed it behind her ear. "I'm sorry about your friend. I'm sure that he had a good reason for leaving." Crash knew that there was no good reason for leaving such a young fledgling alone. But he was never good at saying things to console people. It was the best he could come up with. He moved closer to her. He moved up so close that their noses were almost touching. he lowered his voice to a soft purr. Almost a whisper, but a tiny bit stronger. "Maybe, you fell in love with the wrong vampire. Maybe, you're waiting for someone else too teach you all about...everything." He allowed a sly grin to cross his face and he moved another loose strand of dark hair away from her eyes. He slowly leaned forward as if he was going to kiss her, but at the last minute she turned his head slightly and kissed her cheek. "Come on. We're almost there." Instead of holding her arm, he laced his fingers in with her own and continued down the alleys.

He finally led her to the back of a building. "This is the back entrance to my apartment building." He grinned and looked at her fondly. A glimmer of mischievousness gleamed in his eyes. "You sure you wanna come in? A vampires home can be very dangerous for beautiful unsuspecting women." He winked at her. "Even if those women are already vampires."

[arielle]

Arielle was still slightly flustered after the almost kiss she had shared with Crash. Now however, he was teasing her. She smiled wryly as she stepped up onto the concert steps and playfully pushed him aside. She opened the door herself and without looking back stepped into the darkness. She had never liked the dark before she had been sired. It wasn't the dark per say, it was more of the scary things that were lurking in the dark waiting for her. She was now one of those scary things. She had gotten used to the way her eyes adjusted in the complete dark. It was strange at first. She could see in pitch blackness as well as she could in a fully lighted room. It was amazing. She turned back to Crash.

"I guess it's a good thing that I'm not too unsuspecting love."

A sly smile spread across her face in the dark. She was in fact very unsuspecting. She had no idea where this was headed. Crash was something new and exciting. She had never been around anyone quite like him before. She had never been around anyone who was anything like him for that matter. he was almost like a child trapped in an adults body. he wanted to tease and play. he wasn't even really violent when fighting. It was all one big game. Arielle thought it was all rather fascinating. She wished that she could be as non chaleant as Crash was. She wondered why he was bringing her back to his apartment anyway. She could clean her own wounds. In fact, tomorrow night when she awoke the wound would be completely healed. Not ever a hint that she had a wound. No scars and no blemishes. Perfect.

"Crash? Can I ask you why you brought me down into a damp basement?"

She could hear the humming of washers and dryers. The area where you came to wash clothes must have been around the corner. A horror movie popped into her mind. Although, she could not recall the name of it.

[crash]

He stood in the dark for a moment, observing her and taking all that the situation had offered him in. This young vampire before him was once a child who obsessed with ghost stories and tales of the boogey man. Not for the reasons that most children do, Arielle did not want to hear them to be scared. She had a natural curiosity about the fiendish creatures. The child who loved scary stories then turned into a woman obsessed with vampires. Most humans, after coming into contact with a vampire, try to block it from their minds or spend their lives with a mix of therapy and fear. Not Arielle Dillard. She became obsessed with the real 'boogey man'. And now, she was the Boogey Man. How it all delightfully intrigued him. What intrigued him the most was the fact that while she was still human, and although obsessed, she did not go hunting for the vampires. It seemed that one came to her and after their meeting fell in love with her. Even as a human she had that fatal attraction. She even, not purposefully, seduced a vampire. He thought it was all rather lovely. He was fascinated with her. He took her hands and began to lead her to a far end of the basement. Finally, they came to a door.

He turned Arielle around to face him, leaning with her back flat against the door she looked up at him. He grinned and pressed his body completely against hers. Their breathe mingled. Thought began running through Crash's head. The things that they could do right then, with humans a mere few feet away and only separated by a pathetic excuse for a wall. Even if one did happen to come there way they could just play with their minds a bit. They could do anything in the world infront of an onlooker and just make it so the human could not see it, or could not remember it. The thought sent delicious shivers down his neck. It had been a long time since Crash had been interested in women. He had tried for too long it seemed to find someone to spend eternity with, but he had come up disappointed and empty handed. Even a girl every now and then for amusement and pleasure only became dull. No one had caught his attention, until now. "I brought you in this way to show you something. But, I, myself, have never brought a woman in." He grinned and winked at her, "Be gentle." He opened the door and allowed her to slip away from him. He followed, and after shutting the door he flipped on the lights.

The lights set up all over the large room where in a variety of colors, but they all fell into the category of 'black lights'. In the front of the room there was a small area with a kitchen and refrigerator. In the middle of the room was a small stage set up for a band. Their instruments were all out and displayed. There was even a piano on the left wall. Just beyond that there was a section of the room set up for comfort and company. There were several couches and three over-sized chairs. There were random large egg chairs and tables randomly set up. There was a huge plasma screen T.V. set up in the middle of it all. It looked almost like a private room at a V.I.P. party. The most fascinating thing about the whole space was that the walls were covered with Polaroids of the band. Parties, shows, practicing...it seemed that there was always someone to take pictures of whatever the boys were doing. He smiled and walked up to the wall that she was studying. He pointed out the members of his band and told her alittle about them. he tried to remember the womens names that were with them, but there were far too many. "Arielle, I've never taken a picture with a girl for this wall either. But, tomorrow...when you are all healed up. We will." He winked at her and put his arms around her waist. "what do you want to do now supergirl?"

[arielle]

Arielle allowed a slow smile to spread across her face. Crash was teasing her again. She caressed his arms with the tips of her fingers. She slowly slid them back and forth over his skin. Abruptly she stopped and pushed away his arms. Her sweet smile turned into a sly grin. Crash was trying to get a rise out of her, she didn't mind the playful game. At least, she wouldn't if it would not have been affecting her. She wanted to allow herself to give in, but where would the fun be in that? She roamed back around the room looking at the pictures. She thought the room was amazing. She loved pictures. She turned back to him.

"I was told that you were going to patch me all up. So I guess you need to quit stalling and finally take me up to your room."

Her eyes twinkled with mischievous humor.

"That is, unless you have to ask your Mommy if you can have guests over this late."

She tossed a pillow over at him and then crouched behind a couch to block his counter attack. In a way Arielle desperately wanted him to be aggressive and take her. She wanted him to kiss her just once. Why shouldn't she be able to have a bit of fun? Maybe he shared the same feeling of lust, but then again...he really could be a guy who wants to help patch her up and just happens to be a playful tease.

[crash]

Intriguing indeed. Crash had attempted to dodge the pillow, but her playful banter had caught him somewhat off guard. The pillow lightly grazed his shoulder and fell to the floor with a soft plush. He grinned. He enjoyed these simple little games. Not the pillow fight, but the act of involving the two of them into a physical and playful encounter that seemed rather innocent, but really it was all a ploy. Quick as lightening he shot over to the other side of the room and switched off the lights. He crouched down and silently moved around the room. He finally approached the couch she was hiding behind. In the dark he could see her lips curves into a smile. He watched her look around anxiously. It was all too delicious. Crash silently lifted a pillow and gently tossed it at her. He then leaped up on top of her bringing her to the floor. She lay flay on her back and he pulled her wrists up beside her head and held them. He straddled her waist putting his weight down on his knees. He allowed a victorious smirk to pop up on his face. "I say miss Arielle. You started this little pillow fight and look at how easily you come down!" They were both breathing Little harder. He could feel her chest rising and falling with every breath. He closed his eyes and leaned down so that he was looking right into her eyes. "Maybe...Maybe this is what you wanted anyway." His voice had dropped to a throaty whisper. He leaned down to her neck and took in her scent. He wanted so badly to react, but he was unsure of how she felt. Instead he moved his attention back to her face and dipped in and kissed her mouth. The first was soft and short, but then he returned again and it was harder and more demanding. Crash knew he should stop. This was not what he had originally planned. Plus, she really did need to have her wound cleaned up. He also needed to give her something for the headache she would wake up with. This though, felt right. He just wanted to kiss her. Then, they could go upstairs and clean her up.