Haunted Roads

Who: Mikal & Alex.
Where: Sidewalk down the block from the Towers.
When: Late Night
What: Chance meeting.

Tonight had been a good night for Mikal. Work had been surprisingly rewarding, and she was damn near confident that she'd be able to pay the bills and afford a bit of the white stuff. It was always nice to know that not every fella in this town was cheap. But of course, in Mikal's line of work, that same thought also lead to the realization that more and more men were willing to pay out of pocket just to catch a glance at some naked girl they didn't know wriggling around to some trashy music. It seemed that every bit of positivity had some kind of tragic downside to it these days.

Like the man that had been following her for the last block or so, for example. It wasn't exactly uncommon to have some drunken sleeze lurk around outside to try his luck with the girls. Of course, most of them became disenchanted the moment they realized that, no, you didn't walk around with your clothes off all the time. But then there were those that pushed the creep factor to a new level. They were rare, but she supposed it was just one of those occupational hazards. You know, came with the territory and all.

She was doing her best to ignore it, subtley quickening her pace while she rummaged into the bag hanging by her hip for her cigarrettes. Her jacket, a simple back zip-up hoodie was slung over her left forearm, and when she finally managed to withdraw the pack of Malboro Reds she had to readjust it, slinging it over her shoulder instead so that her arm could be employed to better pack the cancer sticks instead. The smack of the cardboard box against her wrist seemed to echo; it was really rather late, and at the moment the road looked pretty much deserted. Late hours in a big city was also a hazard. She'd be sure to add it to the growing list.

Finally the Old Town Towers building came into view. Sighing in some relief, she did a slow jog the rest of the way to the stairs, pausing only briefly to pull a cig from the pack with her teeth. However, that seemed to be more than enough time for Creepy McCreepster to close the distance between them; she felt a hand on her arm just as the sole of her neon blue flat touched down on the first step leading up to the front doors. So close, and yet...

Whirling around to face her persuer, she knotted her brows and narrowed her eyes at him, jerking her arm roughly from his grasp. "Back off, asshole." An unintelligible slur was his response right before he lunged at her again, sending her off-balance so that the two stumbled away from the stairs. Adrenaline coursed through her as she found her back suddenly pressed into the wall, her heartrate accelerating with fear and anger; this guy was seriously going to do this right here!?

She groaned in disgust as the smell of his breath, a vile combination of alcohol and god-knows-what, invaded her senses but was immediately distracted when she felt one of his hands fumble clumsily for her. "What the hell do you think you're doing? Hey!" A scuffle ensued then, ending when a sound slap was delivered across her attackers face. This only served to anger him, apparently, because she felt his hand collide with her jaw a moment later, the cigarrette falling from between her lips, the taste of blood in its wake. This was not looking good.

Who: Alex and Hesper
Where: Nox's apartment
When: Late Night
What: Alex is freaking out about Serena moving and goes to see his BFF but finds his sister instead.

So Serena had dropped a bombshell on him. She had gotten a job offer. She was moving across the country. And he had a feeling that she really didn't care whether he went with her or not. When he made mention of his plans, his obligations here, she said that it didn't change anything about that, her leaving. And then a big fight ensued, he accused her of running off with Kayden, she insisted that she was NOT doing that, and then the fight ended when he took off, slamming doors behind him.

After way too much to drink, he was human after all, he decided to go to the one place where he knew he would find someone to talk to, Nox's apartment. He would have called first, texted, something, but he was really really drunk and he dropped his cellphone in the pisser and now it wasn't working at all. He'd have to go get a new one tomorrow. So on rather unsteady feet, he made his way back to the Towers, narrowly avoiding a spill down the stairs once or twice, and onto the floor where Nox lived. He pounded heavily upon the door.

Now normally, Alex was a good looking guy. He was never entirely clean shaven and he had a tendency to wear his hair a little too long because he never got around to cutting it, and tonight was no exception. Granted, his eyes were a little red and glazed over, but he still looked nice in his tight jeans, his cowboy boots, and his white wife beater, not that he cared, and not that he thought Nox would care how he looked either. All he knew was that the women at the bar hadn't minded his slightly disheveled appearance at all.

Once more, he pounded on the door. "Nox! Open up, man! I gotta talk to you." He hadn't thought about the possibility that he wasn't there, or that he was sleeping. But if no one answered, he'd probably just have himself a seat in the hallway there until someone showed up.

Who: Alex and Serena
Where: Their Apartment
What: Making up is hard to do

The apartment smelled like food with only a little bit of burning scent mixed into it. Hey! He couldn't become a gourmet chef overnight, right? But he had tried and that was worth a lot in his book. And so far, the end product didn't taste too bad. It wasn't as good as what Serena could cook, but the point was that she didn't have to cook it. And not having to cook usually made pretty much anything taste better.

For the past couple of days, all Alex had been doing was sleeping and working. His time out with Prissy had worn him out, and left him a little bit mind-fucked. That girl was something else. And he was something else when he was with her. There was no way in hell he was going to tell Serena about that whole thing though. She would kick his fucking ass from one end of the Towers to the other and back again. Some things were best just kept to one's self.

Barefoot and wearing nothing but his plaid pajama pants and a wife beater, Alex found himself actually dancing around the kitchen. He had the Allman Brothers playing, Midnight Rider, blaring fairly loudly on the stereo in the living room. Singing along, he took the Ziti out of the oven and popped in the garlic bread. Serena would be home any minute. Of course the thought had barely entered his mind when he heard keys rattling in the door.

She would have little to no time to react before her purse was taken from her and tossed aside, and she was grabbed by one hand and pulled in for a twirl around the dance floor, or the foyer if you really wanted to be picky about it. He dipped her, pulled her back up, then he let her go. "Hungry?" He raised his voice enough for it to carry over the sound of the music.

Who: Alex and Prissy
When: 7pm
Where: The Towers Lobby

Alex was actually a little bit nervous about tonight. The conversation he had had with Nox was still weighing heavily on his mind as was the whole situation with Serena. It had been an impossibly long day and he had seen neither hide nor hair of his sister. He had thought about calling this whole meeting off, sending a text to let her know that something had come up, but he didn't. He wanted to see her. He wanted to be here. He felt as though he had to be.

He had showered, shaved, and had dressed himself up pretty nice. His jeans were tight, his cowboy boots polished, and his button up shirt was left un-tucked but was certainly free of any wrinkles. He smelled of cologne, Cool Water to be exact, and as he waited there in the lobby, his hand running back through his already mussed hair to make it even more out of order, he got more than one look from the ladies that past through. Yep, Alex was definitely a ladies' man.

There was one thing he hadn't figured out yet and that was exactly what he was going to give her in the stead of what he had originally planned to do. It was insane that he had even thought it, that he had gone through with it. He barely knew this girl. It was entirely unlike him to give a girl he didn't know anything at all much less build a car for her. He wasn't going to give it to her though, or at least in his present mindset he wasn't. He was going to list it and sell it and use the money for something else. Maybe he could say that the surprise was just a nice dinner or something of the sort.

Alex looked down at his watch to see what time it was, sighing a little as he moved his hands down to tuck them into the pockets of his well worn jeans. Maybe he should have brought flowers. That might have been a good idea. She didn't seem like the flower-loving type, but then again, what woman didn't like a show of appreciation like that?

Who: Nox and Alex
When: Monday night, 10ish
Where: The Barking Spider Tavern, then Nox's apartment

Nox finished with work later than expected, but it had taken time to tie up all the loose ends at the crime scene. He had to make sure everything was catalogued, photographed, and taken to the lab if necessary. Then there was the matter of sealing up the residence to ensure any evidence that might still be lingering would stay undisturbed. Elderly woman, killed in her own home. Her husband was missing. Nox didn't like to think about it, but the pieces were starting to add up. It appeared as though he'd likely stabbed the woman to death and ran. How could someone in their 80's, after more than 60 years together, snap like that all of a sudden? It didn't make sense to Nox, then again, few things he saw had any rhyme or reason to them. People were insane.

When he realized he'd soon be leaving, he texted Alex, telling the guy he was on his way. Heading for his car, Nox gave his partner a pat on the back, "I'm off to meet up with Serena's brother. I'll call ya tomorrow." With that, Nox left, trying to clear his mind as he drove. It was difficult not to carry around the gruesomeness of his job, though he'd gotten better at compartmentalizing his life over the years. It was the only way to function. You had to turn off your soul sometimes while working, and you had to put the disturbing scenes in a box when you weren't specifically dealing with them. He couldn't think about that stuff right now, he needed to focus on whatever might be bothering Alex.

The voicemail message had been brief, but Alex sounded sufficiently frustrated, and maybe even a little scared. Nox wasn't sure what to make of it. At least it didn't seem critical in the way that something bad might have happened to Serena, just sounded as though the two might be at odds with one another. 'My sister has lost her fucking mind' could simply mean that she'd made a decision that Alex disapproved of. Nox assumed as much, and that was the attitude he'd keep until Alex gave him cause to actually worry.

Soon enough, Nox pulled up to the Barking Spider. He pulled up the collar of his jacket as he walked from his car to the tavern, a gust biting at the back of his neck. Once inside, he was able to pull off the jacket, loosen his tie, and have a seat.

When: Evening
Where: Serena's apartment
Who: Serena and Alex

Serena really wasn't looking forward to having this chat but she really didn't have any other choice. Kaden was back in her life and that was something that she not only had to explain, but something that Alex was going to have to accept and get used to. Hopefully everything would go smoothly but when trying to convince someone of vampires she wasn't sure that smooth was an option. Oh well, here's to hoping! Though Serena wasn't going to base the outcome of this chat on hope alone.

After her shift she had headed to the store to get beer and the makings for Alex's favorite meal. Hey, nothing wrong with trying to soften the guy up a bit, right? Now whether or not it would actually work was a completely different story but she had faith in her abilities. Besides, it wasn't like he could stay mad at her forever. And eventually he was going to have to deal with reason and yeah.

When she heard the sound of keys jingling, she stopped what she was doing at the stove and headed to the fridge to grab a beer. Oh yeah, she was going to start this by liquoring him up or at least giving him a decent buzz. "Hey, how was work?" she asked nonchalantly as she handed the bottle over. Nothing like a bit of small talk to dance around the purple elephant in the corner of the room. "I hope you're hungry, I've made your favorite..." A hesitant yet bright smile was flashed as she did her best not to look nervous. Please oh please let this go well.

Who: Alex, Kaden and Serena
When: Night
Where: The Old Town Towers
What: There could be a smack down

Things were going pretty well for Alex since he had moved to Seattle. He had gotten laid by a beautiful woman. The sex of which was beyond incredible and had exhausted him for days. He had gotten to spend a little quality time with his sister, though not nearly enough. He had found a job. And at his job, he had made a few friends, two in particular that really did him some good. Johnny had a garage at his house that he gave Alex free use of and Paul had a junkyard that was like a restoration artist's wet dream, giving him license to take anything he wanted from the place. A day after that, as if it were meant to be, a beauty of a body fell into his lap. Now, in addition to working all night, he was working during the day as well, at Johnny's garage, using parts from Paul's junkyard to restore the classic beauty that Steve had sold him for a hundred bucks. He was practically in heaven.

Tired on his feet having spent the entire day at the garage, Alex had gotten a call asking him to come in because someone had called out. And even though he was exhausted, overtime paid a hell of a lot of money, so because of that, he had agreed and dragged his wasted ass out of the bed. Serena was still at work when he got out of the shower to get dressed, so he had taken the dog out for her like he always did when she was gone for long periods of time and was heading back up to the apartment to put him back inside before he took off when Tony, completely out of character for the dog, yanked the leash out of his hand and took off barking.

"Fuck!" Alex muttered as he exhaled a sigh. "Tony, ya asshole, come back here!" He said, taking off after the dog, following the sound of his paws on the floors to try to catch him and take him home. At least he was going in the right direction instead of trying to run back outside. Maybe Serena had come home while they were outside and he had just missed her and Tony smelled him and was going to go track her down.

The footfalls stopped just before Alex rounded a corner and there Tony was, sniffing some man who was petting him. "Come here, you mangy mutt." He said, sighing as he shook his head. "Sorry man." He addressed the man, looking up at him. Why did he look so familiar? Alex had met Kaden only a handful of times so it would take a minute to come to him, but for now, he had a brow arched and was watching him carefully, trying to figure out exactly why he knew that face.

Who: Alex and Open
When: Morning
Where: A cafe near the Towers

Alex had found a job. He hadn't told Serena yet because he hadn't really seen her much since she started working full time at the hospital. But he was working third shift security at a supermarket that was open all night. It wasn't what he wanted to be doing by no means, but it was money in his pocket and that was all that really mattered right now. He couldn't live off of Serena forever. Last night had been his first shift and this morning, he was both exhausted and hungry. Serena would be gone by now and he didn't feel like cooking so there he was, sitting in a booth in some little cafe, waiting on some greasy omelet and drinking coffee that was much too strong.

When he met Natalia, it was hard for him to keep his mind off of her. That was how he knew that he had found something special in her. Well, not when he met her, but when he first noticed her, really noticed her, because he had been in school with her for years. The same thing seemed to happening with Prissy. Ever since that night, after he woke up the next night having slept the entire next day, she was pretty much a constant on his mind. He wondered what she was doing, if she was thinking about him, even thought about dropping by to see her, maybe sending her some flowers or something but she didn't seem like the type to like flowers too much.

The waitress came over to offer him a refill and he thanked her. "You're omelet will be out in a flash." She said, and he nodded his head, waiting for her to leave the table before he took the flask off of his hip and poured a bit of vodka in his coffee. It'd help him sleep. He'd need it. It wasn't like him to sleep all day and stay up all night and he was sure it would take him some time to adjust.

He drank down a bit of the dark liquid before he scooted out of the booth and pushed himself to his feet. "I'm gonna go outside and have a smoke. I'll be back in when it's ready." He told the waitress who nodded her head. "Sure thing, sweetie." She said, then watched him walk out, canting her head to the side to check out his ass. Alex was oblivious to this of course, distracted by the thoughts swirling through his mind. He pulled a smoke from the pack and placed it between his lips, flipping his zippo to light it, a deep drag inhaled and then exhaled slowly.

Where: The Halls of Old Town Towers
When: Evening
Who: Alex and Nox

Serena was at work, setting up her office or filling out paperwork or something, and then afterwards she was going to go pick up some stuff for the house, so Alex was at home alone, had been all day long, and he was bored out of his mind. He'd slept until noon, unpacked everything that he had brought with him, gotten online for a bit and emailed his friends back home to let them know how he was doing, shaved, showered, gotten dressed in a white wife beater and a pair of worn out jeans, walked the dog a couple of times, gone outside to smoke a couple of times, made some Ramen for lunch, watched a whole lot of daytime television, then proceeded to sit on the sofa and stare out the window as the sun began to set. It was at that point in time when he could take no more.

Sure, the neighbors probably didn't care too much for people wandering about the hallways of the building aimlessly, but that was exactly what he was doing at this point in time. He had first had another cigarette, taken Tony for a short walk, then walked down to the corner market to get a fresh pack of smokes and a 20 ounce Mountain Dew, and now he was just drifting, taking the stairs up and up and up in levels, seeing what the rest of the building looked like.

He didn't know much about building, architecture, whatever, but he knew enough to know that this building was a tiny bit strange. There was something about the way the light filtered in through the windows, something about the smell of the place that made his hair stand up on the back of his neck and make him feel completely uneasy. But it was probably all just in his head. Probably all because he was in a new place for the first time in his life. Probably because whether he would admit it or not, he was a little bit scared about being here, about being on his own, or without his parents anyways, for the first time in his life.

He thought briefly about lighting up a smoke in the hallway but decided against it. This was his sister's home, after all, and he didn't want to get her in bad with the neighbors. Instead he took a healthy swig of his Mountain Dew to sate his nicotine fit for a least a little while longer.

Who: Alex and Serena
When: Afternoon
Where: The Towers

It felt good to be out of Lake Tahoe. The drive to Seattle was.. pretty gorgeous. It was his first time ever traveling up that way and he had thoroughly enjoyed the drive. It made the more than 13 hour drive seem like it lasted only minutes. Actually, the drive was horrible. He had started out yesterday afternoon but by the time he had made it to Eugene, Oregon he was exhausted and had ended up spending the night in a motel out there. He woke up early in the morning and finished the rest of the drive, making it into Seattle shortly after noon and getting lost trying to find his way to the towers. It was just approaching 2pm when he finally found where he was supposed to be.

He parked his 1969 Chevrolet Camaro RS Z28 right in front of the large building before climbing out of the car. The jeans he wore were well worn, ripped in places and faded everywhere. He wore with it a white t-shirt that showed the tell-tale signs of many grease-laden incidents. His hair was a bit of a mess and his face stubbly but there was no denying that he was an incredibly handsome guy. He pulled a pack of smokes out of his pocket along with a zippo and placed on between his lips, lighting it up to inhale a deep drag before pulling out his cellphone and dialing his sister's number.

The phone rang once, twice, and then he heard her voice on the other end. "I'm out front. Get your ass downstairs and help me." He remarked, ashing this cigarette as he walked around behind the car to the U-Haul tag-along and opened up the lock. "I have to have this thing back by seven or they'll charge for an extra day."