Today, on my self-assigned lunch break, I walked down to the coffeehouse on the corner of Appalachia and First that opened last week. I browsed their menu for a moment, and I was relieved to see a generous selection of cold brew and cold foam flavor combinations. I happily ordered my usual chocolate milk cold brew with raspberry-flavored foam. I had brought along a new book, the first of a series that I was very drawn to the description of, called Darkness's Bane. It's an interesting read about a heroine finding out her true strength in the darkest time of her life. I was nearly six chapters deep when my alarm apprised me that it was time to start my walk back to work.
I walked back leisurely and sipped what was left of my coffee along the way. For a moment, I felt like someone was watching me. I did not change my pace but instead turned a full one-eighty on my heels and began walking backward. I did not see anything strange or anyone off-putting in my surrounding area, so I pushed the feeling off as nothing. No one bothered me or even spoke to me on a typical day, so my day-to-day life was, in general, utterly mundane. I find that fact sublime. I have never had a more peaceful and relaxed time in my entire existence than right now. I sighed happily and entered my office building. I tossed my empty coffee cup into the recycle bin and moseyed over to my desk. I noticed something laid overtop my computer monitor and moved closer to investigate it.
A feeling of panic sank into my chest as I took a small step closer. My breath shuddered to a halt as an icy dread set into my very core. An hour ago, I felt safe and secure in my life here. I was sure that I had finally lost that goon who was tracking me. Clearly, I was wrong. I got too comfortable. I was not sure how they had managed to unearth my location this time, but there was no doubt in my mind about who had done this. I would likely have been amused by the morbid humor behind the newspaper clipping in another life. In this life, I am horribly freaked out. After all, who would be comfortable seeing their own face plastered on a newspaper tabloid with a bold headline "Kasia Elise Found Dead on 12/06/2092"? That was today's date, and that was my real name with a more-than-slightly-outdated photo next to it.
Obviously, I am alive, and the imagery depicting an actual newspaper article was photoshopped to look authentic. However, the feeling it put into me was not fake at all. I immediately tossed the fabricated paper article into the shredder. Then, I pressed the shortcode to factory reset my computer and pulled the prewritten resignation notice from my drawer. I quickly signed the bottom. Finally, I grabbed my gun from the underside of my desk and my keys from on top of it. After one last glance around the room, I took off faster than I had ever moved before. I quickly weaved my way towards the back exit to the building. Time to get the heck out of here and time for another new identity.
I am not going back to Gustav's court no matter how far they chase me, and I guess they finally understand that because they brought out the death threats. If Gustav wants me dead, I can not stay in this city for another moment. Even with a new identity, his henchmen would track me down. That is the one thing I always sort of admired about vampires: they will track down exactly what they want to the very ends of the earth and some even into the depths of hell. Hell is the precise place where I will be sending the next vampire I encounter after reading the gruesome description of my death in the newspaper clipping they had left on my computer.
According to the incredibly detailed article, an unknown shooter planned to fire two shots at me somewhere near the corner of Appalachia Lane and Summer Street as I walked home that afternoon. One bullet entry point would be to the head and one to the chest. I would die on-site as onlookers attempted to call for help. The killer would escape, and police search efforts would be fruitless. The print date for the paper had been listed as tomorrow, but the headline had declared my untimely demise would take place today. There was no time of death listed in the article, although other details were meticulously spelled out. I shuttered at the thought of lying in a pool of my own blood and shuddered again as I remembered that I had crossed that very intersection just moments ago. I guess I should have trusted my gut about someone watching me.
I burst out the back door of the building and into the employee parking lot. I left my car here, usually, because my apartment did not come with free parking and work was only three blocks from there. Plus, I had no qualms about walking over to this lot when I needed my car. Gustav's guys had never been the smartest when tracking me, and they often fall short at checking out all possibilities of escape. That is, in all probability, why I had not been killed in the years leading up to now. I am always one step ahead of them. I always have a backup plan. Lately, though, I have gotten too relaxed and too careless with my life. They are so close to catching me, and I can only hope my complacency in this identity has not managed to be my undoing.
Running for your life really narrows down your priorities to the essentials. I opened my car and took possession of my emergency bag. After tossing the car's keys and title into the backseat, I took off at a fast but unassuming pace away from my usual route. I headed straight towards the bus station. At least I had a plan this time, even if I was not prepared for this to happen today. My emergency bag was packed with everything I would need to start over: passport and ID under a new name, enough cash to secure a new apartment and transportation to get to a new city, two changes of clothes, and some basic toiletries. My friend Staff Sergeant McLaine had packed this bag for me back when I was under NZ Island's military protection. That was a long time ago, right after I had escaped from Gustav's Court.
McLaine died the day she gave me this bag, and I have been on the run on my own ever since that day. I have done everything within my own capabilities to ensure that no one else would get hurt or die because of me. I became whoever I needed to be to blend in and go on living without involving others in my affairs. My relationships with others were strictly business-related or consisted of only extremely casual and brief conversations. I take care of myself and no one else needs to have any hand in that. It's better this way.
There have been several instances when I have had to drop my life and run because I felt that Gustav's men were getting too close for comfort. I used to be very on top of their movements and always made sure that the henchmen and Gustav were never too close to being able to find out where I was hiding. I never ever got comfortable in my place in life. I simply played the role that whatever my current identity was, was fulfilling. So, thanks to that, no one ever misses me when I'm gone. No one even notices because I'm never essential. I'm just an uncomfortably placed wallflower in someone else's world.
At least, I never got comfortable until Cora Rester. She... I had such an easy life. Logistics freelancing was so simple that I did not even have to think about it while I did it, and it paid the bills plus some. Maths and logic are absolutely my strong suit. I spend about four hours at work per day, and I can relax and enjoy my time after that with little to no trouble or responsibility involved. The simplicity of living this specific life got to me, and I started enjoying living and having freedom for the first time. However, I almost completely forgot that I am not free. I'll never be free as long as I am on the run with a psycho vampire tracking my every move. Gustav would not stop until he got what he wanted.
Everything that has happened to the people I loved happened because I did the only thing I could think of to gain my freedom from Gustav's crazy plans. I went to the military and told them everything, thinking they would be able to bring him down. Of course, I had underestimated his military connections and the amount of terror he was willing to reign on this island in pursuit of me. That is why I am where I am today. Gustav is far crazier than those two little haunts led me to believe all those years ago and far more dangerous than I thought to give him credit for.
He destroyed everyone who helped me when I escaped, and he has continued following me since then. No matter what identity, inconspicuous job, or niche coffee shop I choose to hide in Gustav always finds me. I always end up having to drop my life and run again. I had no parents to protect me, teach me, or raise me for as long as I could remember. The closest person I ever did have to a parent lost her brother, her only living kin, all because she decided to help me. Eliza probably hates me now, as much as I hate to think that.
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I kicked myself out of my thoughts and began to run now, rather than speed walk, towards the bus station. I was far enough away from my typical route home that I did not think running would bring me any of the wrong people's attention. Gustav's guys are too dull to think of checking the bus station for me. I knew that I had to get there before the five o'clock busses out of town boarded though. If I did not make it before boarding ended, I would be trapped in the city until morning. Being trapped here would mean that I would have to spend all night dodging vampires for my life because eventually, they would fan out to search.
My breath was short, and my lungs felt like fire when I finally skidded to a halt at the bus ticket window. I am sure my messy red hair and the tear stains around my sapphire eyes gave a ridiculously pitiful appearance as I frantically spoke to the attendant, "I need a ticket for whatever bus is going closest to the shipyard, fast!" I shoved money into the window and did not wait to collect my change or hear my destination once the ticket was in hand.
I ran to the bus that matched my ticket number and boarded. I went straight to the rear seat that did not have a window and collapsed into it. When the bus pulled out of the station, I finally relaxed a little in my momentary safety. I had scanned the other passengers as I came on board, and there were no vampires. The lack of vampires was a relief because even members of other vampires' courts would quickly turn me over to Gustav simply to maintain peace for their own families. No one boarded the bus after me, so I felt relatively confident I had successfully lost the henchmen from the office.
As the bus rambled down the long dirt road from the station to the highway, I started to feel a strong urge to sleep. I was feeling too tired for it to be natural. Before the bus's tires even hit the pavement on the highway, I found myself drifting in and out of consciousness. This is weird. Was I drugged? I thought to myself before falling into darkness.
I awoke a while later when the bus I was on abruptly swerved to the right sending me sideways nearly into the wall. I was startled but caught myself from falling over. I looked around quickly to assess the situation. Nothing looked weird inside the bus. I leaned forward and peered out the window next to the seat in front of me. A wooden pallet was lying in the thick black tar stain we called a road, and the bus had narrowly missed hitting it. I sat back but remained alert this time. Relaxing too much is what got me into this mess to start with. I must break that habit, and I have to do it fast.
I could smell sea air coming thru an open window a few rows up from me. However, when I peered out of the window a moment ago, I had not seen any signs of water. We must have been close to the shipyard by now, judging by the time shown on my watch. Apparently, I had been asleep for over an hour and a half. However, I had no clue where we were based on what I had seen. I have never come to this side of the island before, so that was not surprising. I just wished I could see the water already. I was incredibly nervous.
This plan was my absolute last resort, and I fully intend to execute it today. I am going to the mainland, and I plan to find safety among the humans. Everyone knows NZ Island is controlled by the numerous vampire courts that live here, despite elaborate attempts at heavy human military presence. The vampire's control became especially clear to everyone after the attack on the base when McLaine died. NZ had one of the best military forces available for a country of its standing, and it was ripped apart easily by Gustav's men. The mainland was supposed to be vastly different.
According to the rumors I had heard about the mainland, there were very few vampires and even fewer full courts there. This is because one hundred and fifty years ago, a war broke out between the werewolves and vampires of the mainland. With the eventual help of humans, the werewolves were able to drive the vampires into a retreat which resulted in about eighty-nine percent of the vampire population being contained on the island. Unfortunately, the werewolves also lost many of their people during the retreat. Several packs were captured and dragged to the island for enslavement, while others were completely wiped out during the battles. The packs that remained on the mainland stayed on their packlands and did not interact with the outside world. Some even say that battle was where the last Fae died, although history tells us that occurrence was actually a hundred years before the battle. I think I will be safe on the mainland due to the low communication between humans, werewolves, and vampires. I will be able to hide among my own people without interference from the magical world. That is my only hope for a normal human existence.
The bus finally stopped another thirty minutes later, and all the passengers stood up to gather their belongings to exit. I remained seated. Once the last person was about halfway up the aisle, I stood, stretched out my legs and back, and put on my emergency bag. I proceeded cautiously up the aisle, keeping an eye on the surrounding area out the windows as I went. I had never seen anywhere quite like this area. The forest to one side of the road was so dense that light appeared to disappear before it ever met the border, but to the other side of the road, there was the stark contrast of lush, blindingly white sand and the evening sun shining on the water.
The smell of sea air here was much more pronounced, and I slightly questioned how I had even smelled it so far off before. Maybe it was my imagination earlier, but I have never seen the sea before, so I am not sure I could have made up the exact scent. My eyes lingered on the dark tree line, and, for a moment, I thought that I saw movement. A leeriness crept into me as I now hurried up the aisle and off the bus. I'll be more than happy to rid myself of this hellscape of an island as soon as humanly possible.
It felt as though someone was watching me now, although I could not see anything in the denseness of the trees. My gut feeling on that sort of thing was not something I intended to question again. So, I ducked my head and blended into the crowd that had just departed the bus. Most of the people around were people who worked here at the shipyard, but I could tell that a few of the others were like me and looking for safe passage from this hell. Maybe one of them has a better plan to board a ship than I do. After all, my plan at this step is honestly to just wing it.
I followed a young man, who seemed to walk with a purpose, towards the loading docks. I was about to approach him when a firm grip landed on my left forearm. I whirled around on my heels as my right hand searched for my gun, only to come up empty-handed. My eyes met the fierce, golden, glowing gaze of a man I had never seen before. He was not a vampire, his touch was too warm for that, so I did not pull away immediately. I glanced at the already departing bus and internally cursed myself for forgetting my gun onboard. I must have dropped it in my sleep when we swerved. I stepped back slightly so that I could look at the unfamiliar face with a clear look of apprehension on my own face, but his grip did not loosen.
"Can I help you, sir?" I asked while trying to keep my voice steady.
I did not want to draw too much attention to myself here. I know that there are vampires who work in the shipyard, and I do not want to alert anyone to my existence. The man did not respond, but instead, he moved his gaze to the person I had been just about to approach. I shifted slightly to see what he was looking at. The young man I had been following was now on the landing bridge of a large ship, and another man had him by the collar. The interaction playing out in front of us appeared to be hostile.
The young man I had followed previously was then tossed into the sea with a loud splash which drew the attention of everyone nearby as he shrieked and flailed about. Okay, apparently, he was not the right choice to approach. For a moment, I thought I had seen the guy who tossed the young man into the sea look over this way, but the man with the golden glow in his eyes chose to use the distraction of frantic splashing and screams as a moment of escape. He dragged me to the far side of the shipyard nearest the tree line. The shipping containers here made it seem more private than it really was.
"Ships here do not give passage to Fae. Not even unshifted ones. Why are you risking yourself!?" he whisper-yelled at me.
Luckily for him, the sounds of equipment and ships docking drowned out anything the over-sensitive hearing of a vampire would have picked up.
"Well, good thing I am a human then! Please release my arm. Who are you!?" I demanded back to him in a hushed tone as I snatched my arm from his grip.
"You smell of Fae blood, not like a human, and the traitorous wretch up there helping check travelers will smell it just like I did. There is no sense in trying to lie just because you are unshifted. Since he started working for them, there is no chance of safe passage even for the underage to escape," he was very insistent.
"I do not know what you are talking about. I am not Fae, and I do not know anything about shifting or unshifting. The Fae have not existed for over two hundred years! Plus, I smell like pink perfume! I am not underage either, tomorrow is my twentyth birthday, and I will die if I stay on this island. So, unless you have access to a boat, I think I will take my chances," I was just as insistent in my words, even if they came out with a clip of panic.
The golden-eyed man, who was at least a foot taller than me, grabbed my arm again just as I was about to turn and head back towards the loading docks, but this time he effortlessly used it as leverage and tossed me over his right shoulder before we took off into the woods. He ran inhumanly fast thru the dark forest, but I still tried to look for landmarks so that I could find my way back out of here when I escaped his grip. Unfortunately, I could not see anything clearly enough to remember a path, and my struggles to free myself were futile. I am not sure how he did not run smack into a tree with the speed he was moving thru this darkness.
Who the hell is this guy? Why is he so fast, and why does he think I am Fae? Do the Fae even really exist anymore? I would not just be roaming around if I were some random Fae creature. I would have my own people. I am human. Fae? Fairies do not even exist! And I... I would know even less about how to shift or unshift, whatever the heck that means. Plus, what did he mean about smelling me? I smell freaking great, weirdo! My thoughts became unfocused on the person kidnapping me and more emotionally triggered and irrelevant as we went deeper into the forest. Soon, I felt myself again drifting in and out of consciousness, just like I had on the bus ride.
"I really must have been drugged," I thought aloud.
That was the only logical explanation I could fathom about this whole situation. My statement was followed by a chuckle from the man who had just kidnapped me. That is all I remember before sleep swept over me like a great wave pummeling me into submission yet again.