South Dakota, Thursday Morning
For obvious reasons, Dru hadn’t slept well. Up before dawn, she made her way to the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee. Kennedy and Dinah had helped her board up the back door, but the kitchen was still drafty. Dru poured herself a cup and pulled her mother’s quilt tighter around her shoulders.
Last night, after they’d cleaned up the dust that was all that remained of her father’s body, they’d discussed the best way to find her father’s truck. The only clue they had was the drawing Kennedy had found when she idly flipped through Dru’s sketchbook. The pencil had dug into the paper, shading great blocks in shadow. It was the back of a warehouse, butted up against another large building, broken windows hinted at by pencil shading. There was a busted chain-link fence, and in front of the fence was the familiar shape of her father’s truck.
Dru had no memory of drawing it, but it was mixed in with the sketches of her dorm room she’d done on Tuesday night. Her grandmother would have been proud of her for displaying a new talent. But for the moment it just frustrated Dru.
If she only had someone to talk to that knew the area. Her father usually had at least one contact when they moved into a the area. The thought had no sooner formed then Dru was on her feet and running to the living room. Carefully avoiding looking at the stain on the carpet, she opened the firebox and rifled through the papers until she found the small ragged address book her father kept his contacts listed in.
She paged through the book, deciphering her father’s scrawl as she did so. Most of the numbers were from down South, a few from California, and a few from Maine. Dru even recognized some of the them - the hunter in Carmel who surfed almost every day unless he was too injured from clearing out sucker holes with a team of hard-faced mercenaries; the women who lived out on the back bayou miles away from anywhere and kept the gator spirits pacified and cleared out; August in New York who swore in gutter Polish when he drank and could make a think shining yellow flame spring from the tip of his finger if he was in the right mood.
Finally, three quarters of the way through the book, she found a scrap of paper with a number in the new area code. Nothing else. No name, no inked cross that meant it was a safe number to dial. Dru turned the paper over in her head, debating her next step.
Which was decided when Dinah woke up, listened to what Dru had found and offered her her cell phone.
Dru dialed the number and waited as the phone rang. Two rings. Three. Four.
Some picked up but they didn’t say anything. She listened counting off the seconds as a faint, indecipherable noise rustled in the background.
One one thousand. Two one thousand. Three one thousand.
There was a hissing sound, breath escaping between tongue and teeth, not quite whistling.
Six one thousand. Seven one thousand. Eight one thousand.
“Don’t hang up, little girl.” It was a male voice, young sounding, with just a trace of an accent.
Dru shuddered, the faint taste of wax oranges and salt in her mouth.
Nine one thousand. Ten one thousand.
“Quiet as a mouse. Fine,” the voice said with a short bitter laugh. “When you’re ready for more answers, come find me. Corner of Burke and 72nd. You can walk right in.”
The phone book had a small local map inside its front cover. It was enough to show that they’d need to get to the local bus terminal and change buses to get to the address. The entire walk there, Dru turned what information she knew in her head. They had an address of what was probably a trap. But if you knew where the trap was, you could find a way to spring it. They just had to be careful.
And lucky.
***
Kennedy
It probably was a trap, and Kennedy, leaning over to squint at the larger map on the bus terminal wall, knew it. But as far as she was concerned, their odds were pretty good: three girls who didn't look like they knew how to kick ass could be pretty easy to underestimate.
If she was at all nervous, it didn't show in her posture or in her voice when she spoke. (Attitude. It was all about the attitude. It'd get you just about anywhere if you knew how to work it.) "Okay, so I don't usually do public transit, but looks to me like there's only one line running through there." She tapped a finger against their destination on the map. "We might be screwed if we don't have a way out."
Dinah
Dinah was grimacing at the same map, having to agree with Kennedy. She was also pretty worried about walking into a trap; less for herself, or Kennedy, and more for Dru, and what she might find out. "How they knew to call you there in the first place... maybe we shouldn't just walk up to the front door, you know? Get the lay of the land, first. Or break in. I don't think just walking up is a plan."
Dru
Dru agreed with what Kennedy and Dinah were saying. She stared at the map, willing it to show her something different. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. She should just make sure their trail was clear, head back to the house, and work out another plan.
A bolt of pain lanced through the center of her brain and Dru sucked in breath, flinching as it passed through her almost as soon as it had come, leaving only a ringing sound in her ears.
She looked up and stopped, blinking at the sight before her.
The world stood frozen in sharp detail. The buses were caught mid-idle, clouds of breath were hanging out of everyone's mouth, each puff of exhaust or breath solid like wax castings. People stood, balanced on one foot or another, lie the movie of life had just hit pause and someone had forgotten to tell her.
A snow-pale fluttering caught Dru's eye as it moved atop one of the buses and Dru stared.
Her grandmother's owl fluffed its wings and pinned her with a yellow stare. Its head cocked to the side as if to say What are you waiting for?
Clear hard air had hardened to syrup as Dru made her way towards the bus. It felt as if she was swimming against a strong tide. The door of the bus was open and the driver was motionless, a CB handset to his mouth and his eyes shut in the middle of a blink.
The world snapped around her like a rubber band. Sound flooded back, engines and coughs and people talking, the low moan of wind. Dru stood at the door, staring at the driver as he finished jabbering into his radio and glanced at her. "Getting on the bus, kid?"
Her heart thumping, Dru turned over her shoulder and called to Dinah and Kennedy where they were still standing near the map. "Guys, come on."
She was running on intuition now. But the sight of the owl was a small comfort.
Kennedy
Intuition was as good as anything, as far as Kennedy was concerned, and she turned away from the map to catch up to Dru as quickly as she could.
"So much for a backup plan," she muttered as she walked, not sounding terribly broken up about it. "We're good. We can work it."
Dinah
Dinah, meanwhile, having been facing Dru, actually saw her blink out of existence, then re-appear next to the bus, and was gaping, even as she hurried to catch up. "What the heck was that?" she asked. "And are we sure it's a good thing?"
"How did you do that?"
Dru
Dru led them onto the bus and took a seat about a third of the way back. It was close enough to the driver that no one should bother them, but far enough away that he wouldn't try to make conversation.
"I don't know," Dru admitted, keeping her voice low. "Everything just stopped and then Gran's owl was sitting up on the roof of the bus. It won't lead me wrong so here we are.
Kennedy
...they were banking on an owl that Dru said she could see but neither of them could. A few months ago, Kennedy would have said this was completely insane.
She still thought it was insane, but she was learning to make room for this kind of insanity, even though there was a slight trace of envy in her eyes as she listened to Dru. She'd been too engrossed in the map to notice the blinking away, and damn, that was useful.
"Do we know anything at all about this contact of yours?" Not that she'd have a problem with just walking-- or bursting-- on in. But a little foreknowledge wouldn't be of the bad.
Dinah
"Aside from the fact that he knows who you are," Dinah said, still thinking that emphasizing that was a good idea. "And what do we do if he's a bad guy? And human?"
Dru
"No. There are some names in dad's book that are marked so I'll know they're safe to call," Dru replied. "This one wasn't. But all that could mean was that he was a new contact and dad wasn't sure he could trust him."
"If he's a bad guy, make it so he can't follow us. Then get the hell out here and go back to the house." She wasn't going to think about what that might entail. Right now it was a matter of staying alive.
Thirty minutes later it was once again snowing heavily and the ringing was back in Dru's head. Without really thinking about it, her hand reached out and pulled the stop cord. Dru motioned Dinah and Kennedy to follow her and stepped off the bus into snow.
Dru glanced around at the surrounding warehouses as the bus pulled away and her grandmother's owl glided through the air over their head on soft muffled wings.
"This way," Dru said, following the owl as it went down an alley.
Kennedy
Yeah, the 'if he's human' part wasn't really sitting well with Kennedy, but she refused to let it show other than as a slight crease in her forehead as she flanked Dru down the alley. At least it wasn't knee-deep in snow in here, but it was cluttered with junk, like any self-respecting (for lack of a better word) alley. Constance had drilled her about locations often enough that she knew at least in theory what to look out for.
"Great place for an ambush," she said between her teeth.
Dinah
"Can't disagree," Dinah muttered back. She was going to pull out the Canary Cry if either of the other two were in mortal danger, and there was always TK'ing someone to the ceiling-- but if there was more than one person waiting for them, this could get dicey.
Trusting Dru's owl and her gut feeling was hard to do. Just being hyperaware seemed to be the only response she had available, though. Kennedy seemed to be on the same page at least.
Dru
Dru was reading that same page, remembering the lessons in cover that her father had drilled into her and watching the shadows warily.
The owl turned in tight circles over their heads as they approached a blind corner. Dru stopped, peered around the corner and saw daylight. It looked clear and she looked up - no owl. They were where they were supposed to be.
A few steps forward brought them out of the alley and into a weedy, trash-strewn vacant space. To Dru it looked familiar and she turned from side to side taking it all in.
There were the two buildings squished together, broken glass in the windows. It was a different angle from what she'd drawn, but it was the same scene, right down to the truck on the other side of a battered chain link fence buried under a hood of deep snow.
"Damn...."
Kennedy
"Holy shit," Kennedy breathed. "You drew this."
She got a good look at their surroundings, frowning at the heavy snowfall on the ground. "This is gonna be a bitch to move in, but c'mon, let's get going."
Dinah
"All in favor say 'aye'," Dinah said, slogging forward. "We can come back later. You can talk to him on the phone, later. Mysterious informants? Are only helpful if you live to make use of the info, Dru."
Dru
For the moment Dru could care less about the mysterious contact. She'd found the truck. They had a means of escape if they needed it. And deep down, she was was relieved for that last contact with her dad.
"Yeah, let's get it dug out," Dru agreed as she waded through the snow and ducked through a jagged slash in the fence.
She was halfway to the car when a sharp pain lanced through her head. Dru cried out and doubled over as her eyes teared.
Kennedy
"Dru!" Kennedy barked, fighting her way through the snowdrifts to her side, nearly tripping several times on the way. "What's the deal?"
Dinah
"Crap," Dinah said, skidding over the snow, and reaching over to grab Dru. "Dru? C'mon, let's get to the truck. Just keep moving--"
Dru
It was hard but Dru managed to get her focus back, sucking in a deep breath the way her grandmother had taught her. Her hand reached into her pocket for her keys as she stumbled towards the truck.
Behind them, a loud growl sounded.
"Run!"
Kennedy
"The hell?" They could get to the safety of the truck, or go after the growling thing, and in this terrain the latter option was dumber than Kennedy would opt for. Mentally cursing the way the snow slowed her down, she reached out to try and hustle the others along. "Come on, come on, let's move!"
Dinah
Dinah was doing the same thing, grabbing toward Dru to drag her from the other side, and sending a burst of TK behind her to throw debris into the path of whatever was making that sound. "Go go go go go go--"
Dru
Behind them there was a roar and a crash as Dinah's TK sent a broken pallet into the the side of the werwulf that had been leaping towards them.
It didn't stop it for long. It quickly twisted around the obstacle and leapt towards them once more.
"Down!" a voice yelled, and habit and training had Dru responding to an order like that. Mindless of the snow she dove to the ground, hoping momentum and their grips on her brought Dinah and Kennedy down as well.
Kennedy
Kennedy barely had time to take a breath to say something before she went crashing to the ground along with Dru, tasting snow and dirt as she hit, already starting to roll to one side to grab one of her knives.
Dinah
Dinah slammed to the ground too, rolling over and frantically lashing out, one arm over Dru. "What the--"
Dru
A shotgun roared and Dru floundered, turning over in the snow as once again the world turned to clear syrup, snowflakes hanging suspended in the grey sky and the werwulf hanging in the air over her caught mid-snarl, a long string of saliva flying back to splat on one hairy ear. She could almost see every hair etched on its pelt, as well as the ruins of a shredded pair of pants. Its legs bent back the wrong way, fully extended for the leap. Its long, lean face screwed up in a snarl of pure hatred.
It hung there as Dru struggle to scream before the world snapped again with a sound like ice breaking. Something hit the werwulf from the side and it tumbled before landing and sliding through the snow.
"Get up!" the voice yelled again and Dru didn't hesitate, grabbing at Dinah and Kennedy's arms to pull them with her.
It was only a few more feet to the truck. "Come on!" Hopefully they could make it there while the werwulf was distracted by whoever had the shotgun.
Kennedy
This was Kennedy not arguing-- this was, as a matter of fact, Kennedy abandoning her attempt to unsheath her knife and scrambling to her feet as fast as she could go with Dru's help and her own rush of adrenaline.
"Let's go, let's go, c'mon!" Not, she suspected, that any of them needed the instructions; it just beat the hell out of yelling in terror.
Dinah
Dinah was up and going, skidding to a stop in front of the truck, whirling to face whatever had attacked them while Dru got the keys out. "God," she gasped, seeing the size of the werwulf. Frantically, she scanned the area, throwing everything she could find at it, no matter how flimsy, just keep it away, keep it away---
Dru
Her fingers tingling madly, Dru made it to the truck and pulled the keys from her pocket. The key went into the keyhole easily and the lock popped up.
Reaching under the seat Dru pulled out the flat, heavy field box. She was never supposed to touch it, but facing down a werwulf counted as an emergency. Her dad would understand. Grabbing the Glock and a clip of ammo, she slapped it in place then turned to assess the situation.
The werwulf was snarling and limping as it circled the stranger. The stranger that was walking on the snow and leaving no footprints behind. The hell? Dru wondered.
"Kennedy, start the truck and get ready to get us out of here. Dinah, come with me and be ready to toss more shit if that thing makes another leap at us."
Kennedy
Kennedy's eyes flashed briefly with irritation at being relegated to getaway driver duty, but she nodded, slid behind the wheel, and held her hand out for the keys, slapping one of her knives onto the dashboard within reach.
"Don't do something stupid," she warned, as if she was anyone to talk.
Dinah
"Please tell me there's a plan," Dinah said, following in Dru's wake as closely as she could, and shooting Kennedy a worried look. "Because booking now, that would seem smartest."
She reached and grabbed a trash can with her telekinesis, ready to throw it hard at the big wolf guy's head at the first possible second.
Dru
The plan, such as it was, involved the shotgun the stranger was carrying, Dru's Glock, and Dinah's TK. "We're going to book. I just want information."
"I'm behind you," Dru said more calmly then she felt as they approached the stranger.
Christophe Reynard
"You should get out of here," he replied casually, eyes still on the werwulf.
Dru
"I'm armed," she replied, edging forward and raising the gun as he circled out of the line of fire. "Besides, I've got questions for you."
Dru raised the gun and the werwulf snarled, glaring at them before backing up two steps, whirling and bolting. She fired, the shotgun roared, and the werwulf howled before leaping through one of the broken windows of the warehouse and out of sight.
Immediately Dru turned and pointed the gun at the stranger. "Who the hell are you?"
Christophe
He ignored her, his head tilted as if listening. "We'd better move," he said finally. "This is an old haunt of his, but still useful. His other pets will come back in force, sooner rather than later."
Dru
"You're not answering my question."
Christophe
"It's Reynard, Christophe Reynard. I hope your friend can drive that thing," he said, tipping his chin towards the truck.
Kennedy
From her vantage point in the truck, where she was struggling a little to get the key in the ignition, Kennedy had already decided something about this guy really put her off. (She hoped she could drive this thing; it sure as hell wasn't her brand-new, barely touched sports car.) She watched him through narrowed eyes, grip tight but not white-knuckled on the wheel, but her gaze would occasionally flick over to the broken window the werwulf had used to escape.
He wasn't sinking into the snowdrifts. He was barely making an impression on it at all. Kennedy was running over every lecture ever from her Watcher and for the first time wishing she'd paid more attention, because she was pretty sure this world's rules weren't her world's rules, but still. What. The. Hell.
Dinah
Dinah had noticed the same thing. With Karla doing it all the time, and her own recent mastery of it, she was half-impressed and half-irritated that she and Dru were getting their shoes muddy and this guy was staying pristine. Jerk.
Also, with the not answering questions? Big jerk. Although he had said... "Pet? Whose pet? And quit blowing us off. You can walk and talk at the same time, right?"
Christophe
"Ash belongs to something that would delight in eating a little girl like you for breakfast," Christophe replied, his eyes still on Dru. "Your friend needs to get that truck started and you need to get out of here, Dru."
Dru
"How do you know my name?" Dru demanded. He nodded as if she confirmed a guess and if Dru hadn't been holding the gun, she would have facepalmed. Way to fall for the oldest trick in the book.
Christophe
"I know a lot about you," he said calmly. "I know you should be in school, I know you're scared. You shoot me and you'll have more questions and a dead body on your hands. Go home."
Dru
"What did you do to my father?" Dru demanded.
Christophe
Christophe shook his head, "I told him to leave well enough alone, that's all. I told him he was lucky to have made it this far. And I told him what I'm going to tell you. Go home and lock your doors and leave the night to us."
Dru's mouth opened in a silent O as Christophe's eyes glowed and he smiled. The fangs grew out of his jaws, upper and lower canines much longer then any human's.
Kennedy
"What the shit?" Kennedy hadn't been able to make out much of the conversation from inside the truck, but that was unmistakable. No bumpy-face, no yellow eyes, so not her world's kind of vampire, but she was pretty sure that was a universal sign.
She grabbed her stake from her pocket and started to hurl herself out of the cab toward them, but now was one hell of a stupid time for the door latch to stick. "Ow!" she blurted out, swearing up a storm under her breath as she struggled futilely with the handle.
Dinah
Dinah lashed out immediately, TK to the solar plexus, and didn't bother to see if it had an effect; just grabbed Dru's arm and turned to run. Getting more answers could wait, and getting back the night, too. "Time to go!"
Dru
Despite Dinah's tug, Dru was rooted to the spot. She watched as Dinah's TK slammed Christophe back. He recovered with a supernatural speed and was back in front of Dru before she could react.
Christophe
"I am Kouros. A djamphir." His chin lifted proudly. "And you're nothing more than helpless right now. Go home."
Dru
Swallowing past the lump in her throat, Dru held his gaze. "Tell me what happened to my father."
Christophe
"Some other time," he grinned, his fangs prominently displayed. "Soon, since you'll be seeing me again. Now go home, little girl. And lock your doors."
Dru
There was a sound like ripping paper, and he simply vanished, snow spraying up in an impressive fantail. Dru screamed and squeezed off a shot, tracking the smear of something wrong bulleting through the air. A breath of scent wafted through the air smelling of warm apple pies.
Kennedy
"What the hell are you doing, Dru?" Kennedy was demanding from inside the truck cab, one foot jammed down on the brake as she finally got the damn engine to turn over. Jesus, vampires were supposed to be fast, right, but they weren't supposed to do that, but he'd been there and now he wasn't and --
There was blood on the snow, in the direction Dru had fired the gun, bright red against the white drifts.
Dinah
"...he's a what now?" Dinah had to ask, bewildered, still tugging on Dru's sleeve, even after flinching at the gunshot. "Aside from right. And a jackass. But still right, and going now--" She looked over at Kennedy, saw her trying to start the truck, and then looked back, paling at the blood on the snow. "Earlier than now!"
Dru
They were right. Dru knew that. But that didn't stop her from taking one long last look at the warehouse. Somewhere in there was the long concrete corridor her father had walked down, the door he'd opened. She wanted to go in there and find it. See if anything of his was left behind. But there just wasn't time.
Still holding onto the gun, Dru let Dinah lead her to the truck.
It was time to get the hell out of there.
[OOC: Preplayed with blondecanary and brat_intraining. Much love to brat_intraining for coding. No teal deer were injured during this pre-play. NFB, NFI, OOC A-OK.]
Last night, after they’d cleaned up the dust that was all that remained of her father’s body, they’d discussed the best way to find her father’s truck. The only clue they had was the drawing Kennedy had found when she idly flipped through Dru’s sketchbook. The pencil had dug into the paper, shading great blocks in shadow. It was the back of a warehouse, butted up against another large building, broken windows hinted at by pencil shading. There was a busted chain-link fence, and in front of the fence was the familiar shape of her father’s truck.
Dru had no memory of drawing it, but it was mixed in with the sketches of her dorm room she’d done on Tuesday night. Her grandmother would have been proud of her for displaying a new talent. But for the moment it just frustrated Dru.
If she only had someone to talk to that knew the area. Her father usually had at least one contact when they moved into a the area. The thought had no sooner formed then Dru was on her feet and running to the living room. Carefully avoiding looking at the stain on the carpet, she opened the firebox and rifled through the papers until she found the small ragged address book her father kept his contacts listed in.
She paged through the book, deciphering her father’s scrawl as she did so. Most of the numbers were from down South, a few from California, and a few from Maine. Dru even recognized some of the them - the hunter in Carmel who surfed almost every day unless he was too injured from clearing out sucker holes with a team of hard-faced mercenaries; the women who lived out on the back bayou miles away from anywhere and kept the gator spirits pacified and cleared out; August in New York who swore in gutter Polish when he drank and could make a think shining yellow flame spring from the tip of his finger if he was in the right mood.
Finally, three quarters of the way through the book, she found a scrap of paper with a number in the new area code. Nothing else. No name, no inked cross that meant it was a safe number to dial. Dru turned the paper over in her head, debating her next step.
Which was decided when Dinah woke up, listened to what Dru had found and offered her her cell phone.
Dru dialed the number and waited as the phone rang. Two rings. Three. Four.
Some picked up but they didn’t say anything. She listened counting off the seconds as a faint, indecipherable noise rustled in the background.
One one thousand. Two one thousand. Three one thousand.
There was a hissing sound, breath escaping between tongue and teeth, not quite whistling.
Six one thousand. Seven one thousand. Eight one thousand.
“Don’t hang up, little girl.” It was a male voice, young sounding, with just a trace of an accent.
Dru shuddered, the faint taste of wax oranges and salt in her mouth.
Nine one thousand. Ten one thousand.
“Quiet as a mouse. Fine,” the voice said with a short bitter laugh. “When you’re ready for more answers, come find me. Corner of Burke and 72nd. You can walk right in.”
The phone book had a small local map inside its front cover. It was enough to show that they’d need to get to the local bus terminal and change buses to get to the address. The entire walk there, Dru turned what information she knew in her head. They had an address of what was probably a trap. But if you knew where the trap was, you could find a way to spring it. They just had to be careful.
And lucky.
***
Kennedy
It probably was a trap, and Kennedy, leaning over to squint at the larger map on the bus terminal wall, knew it. But as far as she was concerned, their odds were pretty good: three girls who didn't look like they knew how to kick ass could be pretty easy to underestimate.
If she was at all nervous, it didn't show in her posture or in her voice when she spoke. (Attitude. It was all about the attitude. It'd get you just about anywhere if you knew how to work it.) "Okay, so I don't usually do public transit, but looks to me like there's only one line running through there." She tapped a finger against their destination on the map. "We might be screwed if we don't have a way out."
Dinah
Dinah was grimacing at the same map, having to agree with Kennedy. She was also pretty worried about walking into a trap; less for herself, or Kennedy, and more for Dru, and what she might find out. "How they knew to call you there in the first place... maybe we shouldn't just walk up to the front door, you know? Get the lay of the land, first. Or break in. I don't think just walking up is a plan."
Dru
Dru agreed with what Kennedy and Dinah were saying. She stared at the map, willing it to show her something different. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. She should just make sure their trail was clear, head back to the house, and work out another plan.
A bolt of pain lanced through the center of her brain and Dru sucked in breath, flinching as it passed through her almost as soon as it had come, leaving only a ringing sound in her ears.
She looked up and stopped, blinking at the sight before her.
The world stood frozen in sharp detail. The buses were caught mid-idle, clouds of breath were hanging out of everyone's mouth, each puff of exhaust or breath solid like wax castings. People stood, balanced on one foot or another, lie the movie of life had just hit pause and someone had forgotten to tell her.
A snow-pale fluttering caught Dru's eye as it moved atop one of the buses and Dru stared.
Her grandmother's owl fluffed its wings and pinned her with a yellow stare. Its head cocked to the side as if to say What are you waiting for?
Clear hard air had hardened to syrup as Dru made her way towards the bus. It felt as if she was swimming against a strong tide. The door of the bus was open and the driver was motionless, a CB handset to his mouth and his eyes shut in the middle of a blink.
The world snapped around her like a rubber band. Sound flooded back, engines and coughs and people talking, the low moan of wind. Dru stood at the door, staring at the driver as he finished jabbering into his radio and glanced at her. "Getting on the bus, kid?"
Her heart thumping, Dru turned over her shoulder and called to Dinah and Kennedy where they were still standing near the map. "Guys, come on."
She was running on intuition now. But the sight of the owl was a small comfort.
Kennedy
Intuition was as good as anything, as far as Kennedy was concerned, and she turned away from the map to catch up to Dru as quickly as she could.
"So much for a backup plan," she muttered as she walked, not sounding terribly broken up about it. "We're good. We can work it."
Dinah
Dinah, meanwhile, having been facing Dru, actually saw her blink out of existence, then re-appear next to the bus, and was gaping, even as she hurried to catch up. "What the heck was that?" she asked. "And are we sure it's a good thing?"
"How did you do that?"
Dru
Dru led them onto the bus and took a seat about a third of the way back. It was close enough to the driver that no one should bother them, but far enough away that he wouldn't try to make conversation.
"I don't know," Dru admitted, keeping her voice low. "Everything just stopped and then Gran's owl was sitting up on the roof of the bus. It won't lead me wrong so here we are.
Kennedy
...they were banking on an owl that Dru said she could see but neither of them could. A few months ago, Kennedy would have said this was completely insane.
She still thought it was insane, but she was learning to make room for this kind of insanity, even though there was a slight trace of envy in her eyes as she listened to Dru. She'd been too engrossed in the map to notice the blinking away, and damn, that was useful.
"Do we know anything at all about this contact of yours?" Not that she'd have a problem with just walking-- or bursting-- on in. But a little foreknowledge wouldn't be of the bad.
Dinah
"Aside from the fact that he knows who you are," Dinah said, still thinking that emphasizing that was a good idea. "And what do we do if he's a bad guy? And human?"
Dru
"No. There are some names in dad's book that are marked so I'll know they're safe to call," Dru replied. "This one wasn't. But all that could mean was that he was a new contact and dad wasn't sure he could trust him."
"If he's a bad guy, make it so he can't follow us. Then get the hell out here and go back to the house." She wasn't going to think about what that might entail. Right now it was a matter of staying alive.
Thirty minutes later it was once again snowing heavily and the ringing was back in Dru's head. Without really thinking about it, her hand reached out and pulled the stop cord. Dru motioned Dinah and Kennedy to follow her and stepped off the bus into snow.
Dru glanced around at the surrounding warehouses as the bus pulled away and her grandmother's owl glided through the air over their head on soft muffled wings.
"This way," Dru said, following the owl as it went down an alley.
Kennedy
Yeah, the 'if he's human' part wasn't really sitting well with Kennedy, but she refused to let it show other than as a slight crease in her forehead as she flanked Dru down the alley. At least it wasn't knee-deep in snow in here, but it was cluttered with junk, like any self-respecting (for lack of a better word) alley. Constance had drilled her about locations often enough that she knew at least in theory what to look out for.
"Great place for an ambush," she said between her teeth.
Dinah
"Can't disagree," Dinah muttered back. She was going to pull out the Canary Cry if either of the other two were in mortal danger, and there was always TK'ing someone to the ceiling-- but if there was more than one person waiting for them, this could get dicey.
Trusting Dru's owl and her gut feeling was hard to do. Just being hyperaware seemed to be the only response she had available, though. Kennedy seemed to be on the same page at least.
Dru
Dru was reading that same page, remembering the lessons in cover that her father had drilled into her and watching the shadows warily.
The owl turned in tight circles over their heads as they approached a blind corner. Dru stopped, peered around the corner and saw daylight. It looked clear and she looked up - no owl. They were where they were supposed to be.
A few steps forward brought them out of the alley and into a weedy, trash-strewn vacant space. To Dru it looked familiar and she turned from side to side taking it all in.
There were the two buildings squished together, broken glass in the windows. It was a different angle from what she'd drawn, but it was the same scene, right down to the truck on the other side of a battered chain link fence buried under a hood of deep snow.
"Damn...."
Kennedy
"Holy shit," Kennedy breathed. "You drew this."
She got a good look at their surroundings, frowning at the heavy snowfall on the ground. "This is gonna be a bitch to move in, but c'mon, let's get going."
Dinah
"All in favor say 'aye'," Dinah said, slogging forward. "We can come back later. You can talk to him on the phone, later. Mysterious informants? Are only helpful if you live to make use of the info, Dru."
Dru
For the moment Dru could care less about the mysterious contact. She'd found the truck. They had a means of escape if they needed it. And deep down, she was was relieved for that last contact with her dad.
"Yeah, let's get it dug out," Dru agreed as she waded through the snow and ducked through a jagged slash in the fence.
She was halfway to the car when a sharp pain lanced through her head. Dru cried out and doubled over as her eyes teared.
Kennedy
"Dru!" Kennedy barked, fighting her way through the snowdrifts to her side, nearly tripping several times on the way. "What's the deal?"
Dinah
"Crap," Dinah said, skidding over the snow, and reaching over to grab Dru. "Dru? C'mon, let's get to the truck. Just keep moving--"
Dru
It was hard but Dru managed to get her focus back, sucking in a deep breath the way her grandmother had taught her. Her hand reached into her pocket for her keys as she stumbled towards the truck.
Behind them, a loud growl sounded.
"Run!"
Kennedy
"The hell?" They could get to the safety of the truck, or go after the growling thing, and in this terrain the latter option was dumber than Kennedy would opt for. Mentally cursing the way the snow slowed her down, she reached out to try and hustle the others along. "Come on, come on, let's move!"
Dinah
Dinah was doing the same thing, grabbing toward Dru to drag her from the other side, and sending a burst of TK behind her to throw debris into the path of whatever was making that sound. "Go go go go go go--"
Dru
Behind them there was a roar and a crash as Dinah's TK sent a broken pallet into the the side of the werwulf that had been leaping towards them.
It didn't stop it for long. It quickly twisted around the obstacle and leapt towards them once more.
"Down!" a voice yelled, and habit and training had Dru responding to an order like that. Mindless of the snow she dove to the ground, hoping momentum and their grips on her brought Dinah and Kennedy down as well.
Kennedy
Kennedy barely had time to take a breath to say something before she went crashing to the ground along with Dru, tasting snow and dirt as she hit, already starting to roll to one side to grab one of her knives.
Dinah
Dinah slammed to the ground too, rolling over and frantically lashing out, one arm over Dru. "What the--"
Dru
A shotgun roared and Dru floundered, turning over in the snow as once again the world turned to clear syrup, snowflakes hanging suspended in the grey sky and the werwulf hanging in the air over her caught mid-snarl, a long string of saliva flying back to splat on one hairy ear. She could almost see every hair etched on its pelt, as well as the ruins of a shredded pair of pants. Its legs bent back the wrong way, fully extended for the leap. Its long, lean face screwed up in a snarl of pure hatred.
It hung there as Dru struggle to scream before the world snapped again with a sound like ice breaking. Something hit the werwulf from the side and it tumbled before landing and sliding through the snow.
"Get up!" the voice yelled again and Dru didn't hesitate, grabbing at Dinah and Kennedy's arms to pull them with her.
It was only a few more feet to the truck. "Come on!" Hopefully they could make it there while the werwulf was distracted by whoever had the shotgun.
Kennedy
This was Kennedy not arguing-- this was, as a matter of fact, Kennedy abandoning her attempt to unsheath her knife and scrambling to her feet as fast as she could go with Dru's help and her own rush of adrenaline.
"Let's go, let's go, c'mon!" Not, she suspected, that any of them needed the instructions; it just beat the hell out of yelling in terror.
Dinah
Dinah was up and going, skidding to a stop in front of the truck, whirling to face whatever had attacked them while Dru got the keys out. "God," she gasped, seeing the size of the werwulf. Frantically, she scanned the area, throwing everything she could find at it, no matter how flimsy, just keep it away, keep it away---
Dru
Her fingers tingling madly, Dru made it to the truck and pulled the keys from her pocket. The key went into the keyhole easily and the lock popped up.
Reaching under the seat Dru pulled out the flat, heavy field box. She was never supposed to touch it, but facing down a werwulf counted as an emergency. Her dad would understand. Grabbing the Glock and a clip of ammo, she slapped it in place then turned to assess the situation.
The werwulf was snarling and limping as it circled the stranger. The stranger that was walking on the snow and leaving no footprints behind. The hell? Dru wondered.
"Kennedy, start the truck and get ready to get us out of here. Dinah, come with me and be ready to toss more shit if that thing makes another leap at us."
Kennedy
Kennedy's eyes flashed briefly with irritation at being relegated to getaway driver duty, but she nodded, slid behind the wheel, and held her hand out for the keys, slapping one of her knives onto the dashboard within reach.
"Don't do something stupid," she warned, as if she was anyone to talk.
Dinah
"Please tell me there's a plan," Dinah said, following in Dru's wake as closely as she could, and shooting Kennedy a worried look. "Because booking now, that would seem smartest."
She reached and grabbed a trash can with her telekinesis, ready to throw it hard at the big wolf guy's head at the first possible second.
Dru
The plan, such as it was, involved the shotgun the stranger was carrying, Dru's Glock, and Dinah's TK. "We're going to book. I just want information."
"I'm behind you," Dru said more calmly then she felt as they approached the stranger.
Christophe Reynard
"You should get out of here," he replied casually, eyes still on the werwulf.
Dru
"I'm armed," she replied, edging forward and raising the gun as he circled out of the line of fire. "Besides, I've got questions for you."
Dru raised the gun and the werwulf snarled, glaring at them before backing up two steps, whirling and bolting. She fired, the shotgun roared, and the werwulf howled before leaping through one of the broken windows of the warehouse and out of sight.
Immediately Dru turned and pointed the gun at the stranger. "Who the hell are you?"
Christophe
He ignored her, his head tilted as if listening. "We'd better move," he said finally. "This is an old haunt of his, but still useful. His other pets will come back in force, sooner rather than later."
Dru
"You're not answering my question."
Christophe
"It's Reynard, Christophe Reynard. I hope your friend can drive that thing," he said, tipping his chin towards the truck.
Kennedy
From her vantage point in the truck, where she was struggling a little to get the key in the ignition, Kennedy had already decided something about this guy really put her off. (She hoped she could drive this thing; it sure as hell wasn't her brand-new, barely touched sports car.) She watched him through narrowed eyes, grip tight but not white-knuckled on the wheel, but her gaze would occasionally flick over to the broken window the werwulf had used to escape.
He wasn't sinking into the snowdrifts. He was barely making an impression on it at all. Kennedy was running over every lecture ever from her Watcher and for the first time wishing she'd paid more attention, because she was pretty sure this world's rules weren't her world's rules, but still. What. The. Hell.
Dinah
Dinah had noticed the same thing. With Karla doing it all the time, and her own recent mastery of it, she was half-impressed and half-irritated that she and Dru were getting their shoes muddy and this guy was staying pristine. Jerk.
Also, with the not answering questions? Big jerk. Although he had said... "Pet? Whose pet? And quit blowing us off. You can walk and talk at the same time, right?"
Christophe
"Ash belongs to something that would delight in eating a little girl like you for breakfast," Christophe replied, his eyes still on Dru. "Your friend needs to get that truck started and you need to get out of here, Dru."
Dru
"How do you know my name?" Dru demanded. He nodded as if she confirmed a guess and if Dru hadn't been holding the gun, she would have facepalmed. Way to fall for the oldest trick in the book.
Christophe
"I know a lot about you," he said calmly. "I know you should be in school, I know you're scared. You shoot me and you'll have more questions and a dead body on your hands. Go home."
Dru
"What did you do to my father?" Dru demanded.
Christophe
Christophe shook his head, "I told him to leave well enough alone, that's all. I told him he was lucky to have made it this far. And I told him what I'm going to tell you. Go home and lock your doors and leave the night to us."
Dru's mouth opened in a silent O as Christophe's eyes glowed and he smiled. The fangs grew out of his jaws, upper and lower canines much longer then any human's.
Kennedy
"What the shit?" Kennedy hadn't been able to make out much of the conversation from inside the truck, but that was unmistakable. No bumpy-face, no yellow eyes, so not her world's kind of vampire, but she was pretty sure that was a universal sign.
She grabbed her stake from her pocket and started to hurl herself out of the cab toward them, but now was one hell of a stupid time for the door latch to stick. "Ow!" she blurted out, swearing up a storm under her breath as she struggled futilely with the handle.
Dinah
Dinah lashed out immediately, TK to the solar plexus, and didn't bother to see if it had an effect; just grabbed Dru's arm and turned to run. Getting more answers could wait, and getting back the night, too. "Time to go!"
Dru
Despite Dinah's tug, Dru was rooted to the spot. She watched as Dinah's TK slammed Christophe back. He recovered with a supernatural speed and was back in front of Dru before she could react.
Christophe
"I am Kouros. A djamphir." His chin lifted proudly. "And you're nothing more than helpless right now. Go home."
Dru
Swallowing past the lump in her throat, Dru held his gaze. "Tell me what happened to my father."
Christophe
"Some other time," he grinned, his fangs prominently displayed. "Soon, since you'll be seeing me again. Now go home, little girl. And lock your doors."
Dru
There was a sound like ripping paper, and he simply vanished, snow spraying up in an impressive fantail. Dru screamed and squeezed off a shot, tracking the smear of something wrong bulleting through the air. A breath of scent wafted through the air smelling of warm apple pies.
Kennedy
"What the hell are you doing, Dru?" Kennedy was demanding from inside the truck cab, one foot jammed down on the brake as she finally got the damn engine to turn over. Jesus, vampires were supposed to be fast, right, but they weren't supposed to do that, but he'd been there and now he wasn't and --
There was blood on the snow, in the direction Dru had fired the gun, bright red against the white drifts.
Dinah
"...he's a what now?" Dinah had to ask, bewildered, still tugging on Dru's sleeve, even after flinching at the gunshot. "Aside from right. And a jackass. But still right, and going now--" She looked over at Kennedy, saw her trying to start the truck, and then looked back, paling at the blood on the snow. "Earlier than now!"
Dru
They were right. Dru knew that. But that didn't stop her from taking one long last look at the warehouse. Somewhere in there was the long concrete corridor her father had walked down, the door he'd opened. She wanted to go in there and find it. See if anything of his was left behind. But there just wasn't time.
Still holding onto the gun, Dru let Dinah lead her to the truck.
It was time to get the hell out of there.
[OOC: Preplayed with blondecanary and brat_intraining. Much love to brat_intraining for coding. No teal deer were injured during this pre-play. NFB, NFI, OOC A-OK.]