The beginning of the end
Who: Eily, Clementine, and Anne Marie When: Afternoon Where: Anne Marie's casa
Clementine had tried to calm herself down but it wasn’t really working. She’d tried to force her way out of the cage too but that sure as hell wasn’t working, so when she heard the telltale noises of someone approaching the stairs, she panicked. She went to the small blanket on the ground and curled up on top of it, facing the wall so that crazy bitch wouldn’t see her face immediately.
She could pretend she was sleeping, right? That might work. She willed her breath to be somewhat even and clenched her good eye shut, hoping she’d pass as asleep even though she doubted she’d actually be sleeping anytime soon.
Eily woke up with a splitting headache, and in more pain than she figured she'd ever been in. She groaned, shifting. Unfortunately, she shifted onto her carved side, and the sharp pain bit into her consciousness, startling her awake. She gasped, and scrambled up, realizing a few things in rapid succession. She was unbound, her wounds seemed to have been tended to at least in some respects, she wasn't where she'd been before, and there were bars. As she looked around wildly, she also saw another blonde. “What's happening? Where are we? Who are you?”
The gasp scared her and Clementine could feel herself shaking. It was still somewhat dark in here despite the candle that was lit and she hadn't exactly been staring at whomever had made an appearance, but the voice. That voice was new and confused enough to make Clementine think she was a different person. Scrambling up also, she reached out for one of the bars for stability and was all at once overcome with the fact that she wasn't alone anymore. Which was great and horrifying on many levels. "I'm Clementine. Don't know where we are. Can't really tell you why we're here either but there's a crazy bitch," She whispered, "Upstairs and god knows what she wants to do with is…Who are you?"
Clementine. It didn't ring a bell. Wait, maybe? Had Lochlan mentioned her a million years ago? Something like that? She didn't know. But her vision snowed slightly as she tried to look around too fast and Clementine wasn't the only one gripping the bars for support. Eily hissed in pain, however, as she gripped it with her glass sliced hand. Swearing softly beneath her breath, she looked around again. “Clementine, I'm Eily O'Reilly,” she said, trying her best to steady her voice as she was already feeling along the bars. “And this all looks like hell right now? But don't worry,” she said.
"Don't worry? Me, don't worry? You're hissing over there. You should sit down." She could barely make out the girl in the other cage, with one good eye and a searing headache. There was a cup of water and two pills in the corner of her cage, abandoned, and Clementine seriously considered for a moment that maybe they weren't badly drugged and she could offer them to Eily for whatever pain she was in. But then she thought better of it and didn't mention them. "Eily, what happened to you? Are you ok?" Eily O'Reily. O'Reily… "O'Reilly like the bar?"
“Sitting down is for people who aren't me,” Eily said, attempting a smile, to sound humorous, but it didn't come off right. “Never could sit still,” she added to the attempt. She found where the door was, and started feeling along the bars of the cage door, to see if she could find the hinges. She recognized them from the encampment. Which blew, because they'd been made not to break easily. Damn them and their wish to not unleash murderous werewolves on the populus. “I'm fine,” she lied. “Don't worry. And yeah, O'Reilly like the bar. Lots of O'Reillys around. They'll get here.”
"It's…ok not to be fine. With me, at least. Maybe we should know what happened to each other so…so when that woman comes back, we'll not be in the dark. Or something. I don't know." The attempt at humor wasn't lost on her but Clementine wasn't feeling very chuckly at the current moment. "O'Reilly like Lochlan." That was good, that he'd come with the rest of the O'Reilly's. That someone was looking for them. If Zania was still alive, she'd be looking too.
“He's one of them, my cousin. He'll be coming for me. Just wait long enough, and he'll come crashing in if we don't get out of here first,” she said with perfect confidence. So it had been Lochlan who'd probably mentioned her. “If you really wanna know, let's just call it some lacerations, bruises and maybe a concussion. And dehydration,” Eily said, not getting into details. If she never, ever had to get into details about her time with Wes, that was going to be for the best. “What happened to you?”
"He's funny, your cousin," She said, happy to try and think about something, anything, that wasn't this hell they were both in. Clementine repeated the words over it her mind, and softly out loud. "Lacerations, bruises, concussion, dehydration…" It would be good to know, good that she knew in the event that this crazy woman wanted to hurt them more. "Uh…I got attacked. Hit in the face and knocked out. So…possible concussion, my eye's swollen shut, and bruises. I, uh…I have some water here, but it came from her. I haven't had any yet, I don't trust it. Also some pain meds, which I sure as hell don't trust either. I…wouldn't recommend you having them either but if you're dehydrated and you want to take that chance, it's yours," She said, scooting closer to the bars nearest Eily so that she could try and make out the details of the girl.
Eily found a hinge, and started to try and work out how to get it undone. Which wasn't easy with the pain she was in. God she wanted to sit down. But she couldn't. “He is,” she agreed, hint of a smile on her lips as she said it. It carried in her voice, too. “He's funny, and sweet and awesome, and a stone cold fucking knight in shining goddamn armor when he wants to be. He's the best partner to have in a crisis ever. And he's comin for me. That's not even to mention my big bad brothers,” Eily said. “So don't you worry, Clementine, whatever's happening to us – there's a clock on it. And it's already...well. However long it's been since I was taken – ticked down on it.” She actually felt a little better with the other girl there. Eily did better when protecting someone. When she felt like she needed to be strong for someone else.
Clementine felt at ease with Eily here. She wasn't alone, she wasn't in this by herself anymore, and Eily had people coming for her. Lots of them, apparently. "Add to that my roommate, if she's..if she's able to." Heading over to the corner, she picked up the water and the pills and started back toward Eily. "Do you want this?" She asked, holding up the cup a bit so she could see it. She watched her try and work on the hinge, wanting to tell her that it was probably not going to work, but the loss of that immediate hope she was feeling felt way scarier than watching Eily work at hinges right now, so she stayed quiet.
Anne Marie had been busy upstairs, making herself lunch, plus lunch for her guests. That’s what they were at the moment-- guests. Later they might be victims. She supposed they were also sacrifices, if it came to that, but she didn’t think they could work the spell if they were dead. She hummed to herself as she opened the door, then headed down the basement stairs, a sandwich for each of them, plus a bottle of water. Her smile brightened when she saw them. “You’re awake,” she grinned, going to see Eily first, setting the sandwich and water outside the cage, but within her reach. “How’re you feeling?”
Eily stopped fiddling with the hinge when she heard her captor coming, but stayed on her feet – even if that was only possible through very heavily leaning on the bars. “Not super well,” she said, trying to get a read on this girl. “I'm in a cage, for starters.”
Clementine shut up instantly when she heard Anne Marie approaching, taking the time to hide the cup of water and pills behind her before sitting down on the floor. Maybe she wouldn't see them that way. She didn't say anything when she spoke to Eily, not sure what to say that might make the situation any better, or if there was even anything to say at all.
“I know,” Anne Marie sighed. “But that’s just until I get you all here and you perform the spell. I’m thinking that maybe we’ll start practicing later today, just to make sure you’re ready. You’re my West, you know.” She turned to look at Clementine then. “Just like you’re my East.” She clapped her hands together, clearly excited about this. “I just can’t wait to get started!”
“West?” Eily asked, looking at the food. She didn't feel hungry, even if she knew she should be starved. But water...that she needed. “What's your name?” she asked the new girl. She very carefully got herself to the floor, moving as close to Clementine as she could, that protective thing still going on. But she so far was going to play along with Crazy here.
East. West. Spells? Trying to make sense of this was hurting Clementine's head worse. She watched Eily move closer and desperately wanted to reach out for her hand through the bars, but instead just gripped at her clothes a little tighter. With nothing really to add and not sure her voice was steady enough anyway, she shakily just tried to not frown at Anne Marie. It wasn't really a smile, but it wasn't a frown either and that was the best she had right now.
“Yes, West. And blue. You’ve got this beautiful blue aura about you.” Anne Marie knew no one else could see the auras and had kept her mouth shut on the matter until she had a reason not to. Now that she was getting what she wanted, the girls, there was no reason to keep quiet. Surely they’d see for themselves when they claimed their powers. “Anne Marie,” she answered. “And you’re Eily and Clementine. I’ve been watching you.” She walked over to Clementine’s cage and set a sandwich down for her, as well as a fresh bottle of water. That was when she spotted the previous glass and pain pills behind her and frowned. “You need to drink or you’ll get dehydrated. I won’t have you dying on me. But if you don’t want the painkillers, then I won’t give them to you again.”
Blue? Auras? What the shit? Clementine's warning about bitch being crazy was looking to be true. She didn't show her reaction to that though. “Nice to meet you, Anne Marie,” Eily said. “What is it you want us to do, exactly?”
Clementine was struck dumb for a moment. She'd hoped that Anne Marie wouldn't see them and now her mind was crafting some sort of reason why she hadn't accepted her hospitality. She might need every thing that girl could bring in from the outside. "I'm sorry," She started. "I was going to, but then I fell asleep. I'll take them," she promised, this time reaching for the sandwich through the bars. She needed to make sure Anne Marie didn't hate her because right now her very life, and Eily 's too, depended in this girl liking them enough to keep them alive.
“Once I help you take hold of your powers, I’d like you to turn off the sun, permanently.” There was an evil glint in her eye as she spoke, hiding behind her kind smile. They wouldn’t like hearing what she thought it would take to turn on their powers, but she didn’t care about that part. She watched as Clementine took the sandwich, her eyes ticking to the pills and the water. She needed them strong enough to do the spell, not weak and dying. “Okay,” she said, looking at the two girls skeptically. “I’ll give you a few hours to make yourselves comfortable, then we’ll start. Any preference on who’d like to go first?”
Yep. Crazytown Bananapants, that was this chick. Jesus. Eily finally reached out to take some water, taking a long drink before she answered. At least it didn't taste drugged. Not that she knew shit about anything of the kind. “Turning off the sun. Why?” she asked, as if she just wanted to understand the plan better.
Clementine was much less focused on the why and more focused on the how. As in…how the fuck Anne Marie thought they were going to be able to mysteriously make some sort of spell happen, and what did she mean practice? Practice what? Practice how? Terrified, she felt herself shaking again and wrapped her arms around her middle, trying to force some comfort on herself. "…What are you gonna do?"
“For the vampires,” Anne Marie answered as if that made all the sense in the world. “And when I do, they’ll make me one of them.” She couldn’t wait. All that power, the ability to live forever, and the chance to be a part of something. They would praise her, and she could kill without restraint because that’s what she was meant to do. It sounded so much better than being a human. “I believe your powers will come to you under extreme conditions. That’s why I need you healthy and able to survive,” she said, eyeing Eily critically. Wes had done a real number on her. It would be better to start with Clementine and give Eily a bit of time to recover.
“For the vampires...” Eily said. She only knew of one, and hadn't met her. She also didn't like the 'extreme conditions' statement, but she didn't address that – yet. “I'm assuming you want the sun out so that they aren't limited to the night?” she asked, taking a stab at it.
Still shaking, Clementine watched Anne Marie watching Eily and was scared instantly for both options, her taking Eily or being taken herself. Reaching behind her for the pills, she scooped them up in her hand and stood up. "Anne Marie," She started gently, trying not to say the word like it was poison in her mouth. "I..actually I'd like to give these to Eily instead." She said, showing her the pills but not really offering them to Anne Marie yet. "May I?" All this talk about the sun and the extreme conditions and everything else was really throwing her for a loop, but right now Clementine knew that Eily had lacerations, bruises, a concussions and dehydration and the longer the time she could buy for them both, the better. Plus, whether she trusted the pills or not, Eily needed them more than Clementine did.
“Yes,” she answered Eily, but was then looking at Clementine, holding the pills and asking if she could give them to Eily. If she was feeling that good about her own condition, then they might as well start now. It was taking much longer than she expected to get all four girls together and she didn’t know how much work it would take to trigger their abilities. After a moment’s pause, she nodded. “She can have them, but I think it’s time to start. She’s given you a reprieve,” she told Eily as she went to get a tazer from the table. “Use it well,” she added, then tazed Clementine.
Eily took the pills, then was about to protest, but she was too late. “Why'd you do that?” Eily asked. “She's cooperating!” She did take the pills because damn she needed them. Still.
Clementine had just enough time to give Eily the pills before she felt a sharp, jolting pain at the back of her neck. Then the world went black and she dropped hard to the ground, shaking more violently now from the after effects of the electric volts through her body.
“Because it’s the only way to get her out of the cage without a fight,” Anne Marie answered, opening the cage and grabbing both of Clementine’s arms to drag her out. She wasn’t a vampire yet, and she wasn’t a werewolf; she was just a human girl with average strength. Clementine didn’t look like a fighter, but she didn’t want to risk it. Plus, it let Eily know she wasn’t to be messed with, no matter how nice she might be treating them. “We’ll be back,” she said, dragging Clementine off into the other basement room. Once in, she shut the door behind them, leaving Eily to wonder what was going on inside.
The room was a simple guest bedroom, with a bed and an adjoining bathroom. The first thing she did was tie Clementine’s hands behind her, then tie a rope around her waist. It made it easy to pull her, if need be. She didn’t bother with her feet. The girl might try to run, but there was nowhere to go. She’d locked the door, just in case.
Clementine didn't wake up right away. When she did, it took her a moment to really gather herself, as well she could anyway. Another room. A different room. A bed and a second room off to the side. She tried to move her arms but they were stuck behind her. Great. Shifting a little, she felt the rope around her waist too. Her heart was pounding and she could feel the surge of adrenaline in her, but what could she even do with it? "Why the hell did you do that?" She groaned, her voice thick.
“Because I needed to move you,” Anne Marie answered, reaching out and grabbing the rope around Clementine’s waist. She pulled her up, then began to drag her towards the bed. Her mind was racing with the possibilities of how to go about this. Pain wouldn’t be enough, she thought. No, what she needed was a near death experience. There were a number of ways she could do that. She could drown her, smother her with a pillow, strangle her… That was sounding the most fun. She’d stabbed someone before, but never strangled them, never held their lives in her hands. Anne Marie picked up a spare length of rope, wrapping the ends around her hands. Once Clementine was backed up towards the bed, she smiled wickedly. “Take a deep breath,” she said, then wrapped the rope around her neck and began to twist it, cutting off Clementine’s air supply.
Clementine stumbled over her feet, less out of fighting back and more because she was feeling a whole hell of a lot jumbled from the knock on the face, the fucking tazer, everything. But she found herself on the bed before she knew it, which was definitely not where she wanted to be. Her mind was racing along with her heart and finally she began to struggle, though very late in the game because Anne Marie already had the rope around her neck. The breath she'd gotten wasn't exactly large but she was holding onto it for dear life as she struggled beneath Anne Marie, trying to kick at the girl to push her off and away from her.
And this was why Anne Marie had tied Clementine’s hands behind her. It gave her all the leverage. When Clementine began to struggle, she pinned her down on the bed, watching as she began to choke and gasp, but that wasn’t enough. She needed her almost dead, as close as she could get her. It was a fine line and a risk, but she was willing to take it. In her head, she began to count the passing seconds, but what she was looking for was a sign that this was working.
She continued to struggle but at some point, it felt fruitless. She was losing the will and the energy to fit with Anne Marie pressing down on her, tightening that hold on her neck even more. She gasped again and thought she felt her eye start to drift shut. It was so black, so dark. But when she blinked, she realized it was her vision spotting out. She couldn't see her lips, but they were darkening, purpling and bluing under the lack of oxygen to her.
Just as her vision nearly blacked completely, she felt a rush of air pass through her lips into her lungs. It was painful, a shock to her system that tore through her and filled her body with sharp, necessary air.
Anne Marie’s eyes widened as Clementine’s aura brightened suddenly, almost blinding her, and she released the hold she had on the rope. That was it! The sign she was looking for! She’d triggered the witch’s magic on the very first try! She laughed aloud and jumped to her feet, so excited she did a little dance. “You did it!” she said, congratulating Clementine. “You woke it up!”
Wheezing, Clementine coughed because it felt natural, even though it probably wasn't even necessary right now. What the fuck had just happened to her? Glaring at Anne Marie through her one good eye, now spotted with red from a burst blood vessel, and struggled on the bed to push herself up and away from Anne Marie, into the corner. "You crazy bitch!" She'd tried to scream but it came out raspy and broken, more a hoarse whisper than anything else. "You almost killed me!" And she was congratulating her? What kind of demented fuck was she?
“Yes, but I didn’t,” Anne Marie grinned, grabbing her by the rope on her waist and pulling her to the door. “You saved yourself, just like I thought you would. I saw the burst of light, your aura glowing so bright. It was beautiful!” She pulled Clementine along, out of the bedroom and back to her cage. When she got there, she untied the rope around her waist, but wasn’t going to untie her hands until she was safely locked inside. “I just can’t believe how easy that was!”
Eily had been trying to listen though it wasn't sounding great either way. She kept trying to get the door open, kicking at it to try and get it loose, anything. All it did was make her heels ache and her wounds open on her ribs. When they got back, she was staring, watching them both. She didn't know what had transpired at all, and was pretty sure knowing wasn't the way to go. Even if she was just as sure she'd find out.
Clementine still felt disoriented, like she still wasn't getting enough air. She was taking it in big gulps as she stumbled into her cage, so completely beyond being scared by that cage. Whatever Anne Marie might decide to do next, what could really be worse than what she'd just done? She'd almost killed her. Thoughts swirled in Clementine's mind as she stood there near the door, forgetting her arms were even tied behind her. Forgetting everything except her thoughts. She was analyzing every word Anne Marie had said, hoping it would distract her from the ache in her throat, the pain she felt from that rope around it. When she did say something, it wasn't extremely helpful or articulate. "I hope you burn in Hell."
Anne Marie’s smile turned a little wicked as she untied Clementine’s hands once she was shut inside the cage. “I hope I never die,” she said, brushing her hands off on her jeans once she was done. Clementine might feel bad, but she was glowing brighter than ever. That had been so easy, she was ready to start on Eily now, too, even if she wasn’t in the best condition. “Your turn!” she grinned, approaching her cage with the rope.
Eily glared at Anne Marie. "Don't touch me," she tried to warn. Though she knew, she was weakened to the point where she didn't think she'd get away. Particularly if she was tasered.
Clementine had her hands immediately up, protectively, around her neck as she stared grimly at Anne Marie. "Leave her alone!" She said, louder than she expected to be able to at this moment, after that. "You don't need her, leave her alone!"
Anne Marie’s eyes darted over to Clementine, then back to Eily. She was in bad shape at this point and even Anne Marie didn’t think tasering her would be a good idea. “You can come willingly, or I can force you. Your choice,” she said, the rope reading in her hands, waiting to tie up Eily’s own.
Eily eyed her options, then shut her eyes for a moment, forcing herself to her feet. She drew in a breath, then resigned herself to whatever was going to happen now. The next part of her ordeal. And all she really held on to was the idea that all she had to do was wait. Because he'd be there, eventually.