Vanessa Halloween One-Shot! Running her fingers through her hair one last time Vanessa decided she was happy with her look. Dabbing at one last corner of her makeup she smiled and bounded upstairs. The perpetual twilight of the upper level was broken by the bright pool of light surrounding Cyruss work on the table. Meri lounged in one of the deep leather armchairs thumbing through a volume Vanessa knew was older than she was. “Really?” Meri said with disdain as Vanessa approached. “What?” she answered defensively. “Youre really going to do this? Seriously?” “Im not that much too old. Its not like I look too old.” “Oh no. For a woman born while Oliver Cromwell was still kicking around you look marvelous,” Meri agreed, “But that costume? A vampire?” “Its ironic. You do get irony, right?” Meri rolled her eyes and went back to her book. “Its stupid. Thats what it is,” she muttered as she read. “I must admit that there is a certain dark humor about it,” Cyrus chimed in, turning in to Vanessa. Taking her shoulders he stared into her eyes intently, “Promise me you will be extraordinarily careful.” “I will, but it shouldnt be a problem. You know nobody goes out on Halloween.” Cyrus grimaced unable to argue with her logic, but still concerned that she was being reckless. “Itll be fine,” she assured him, “Im going with Cari.” “Midnight. You must be home by midnight.” “Fine,” she agreed. As Cyrus returned to his work she grabbed the plastic skull she had picked out and slipped out the door. A couple of bus stops later and she met up with Cari. The pair hit a few houses, getting enough chocolate to fuel their exploits for the night. When they met a group they knew the duo followed along for a while, Cari dragging a reluctant Vanessa through her first house of horrors. While she had started out rolling her eyes at the cheesy theatrics she was soon enough laughing and shrieking along with the rest of her group. After that the pack wandered around neighborhoods they knew putting Halloween displays in inappropriate poses and writing the occasional message on car windows with soap. It was exhilarating for Vanessa being part of a normal teen outing and for a time she was able to leave her dark past behind. Soon enough the group began to disperse as people went to parties or home. Deciding that she wanted to trick-or-treat some more Vanessa convinced Cari to break away with her before they had to go their own way. “You act like youve never done this before,” Cari commented once they were alone. “I havent,” Vanessa replied, hoping her friend wouldnt press the issue. Coming out of a neighborhood neither of them knew they were stopped by a trio of guys. Vanessa was sure that she knew at least one of them from school. The others she was sure were older. When the girls tried to skirt around them they fanned out blocking the way. Vanessa was reminded of a wolf pack as she and Cari were cornered against the side of a dark building. “Hey there sweet bits,” one said, backing her against the rough brick of the wall. “Get lost, beta,” she hissed, trying to step past him. His arm shot out blocking her path. “Not so fast there darlin.” Vanessa smiled to herself. Since everything that had happened she had done a lot of thinking. For much of her existence she had spent a lot of time feeling sorry for herself. Somehow Meri had shown her how pointless that was, also pointing out how most people wanted to either kill or protect her. After centuries of cursing whatever drew such conflict to her she began to see it another way. When she had still been a vampire she had hunted on pedophiles, her guilt at killing assuaged by saving some other girl from a dark fate. Now she realized that the curse that drew predators to her was in fact a gift. Where some other girl might have proven helpless against this group of thugs, she was not. “You really dont want to do this,” she said calmly. He smiled, leaning in closer as she spoke, “Oh. Does the kitten have claws?” Vanessa cocked her head to the side, still at ease until she noticed that the other two had Cari backed against the wall as well. “Last chance,” she said as she tried to push past him. Just as she expected her grabbed her arm and spun her to face him. Throwing her arm over his from the outside she locked it with her other hand and dropped, forcing him to follow her or hyper-extend his elbow. Instead he pulled back savagely dragging her into him. As her shoulder hit his hip she uppercut into his groin, driving herself upward at the same time. As he doubled over his mouth met with the crown of her head smashing his lips and sending him crashing to the ground holding his bloody mouth and groin both. Still kneeling she turned and drove her shoulder into the shin of the nearest of Caris attackers, gripping her arms behind his Achilles tendon as she pushed forward. Before he had even hit the ground she was on him, her elbow driving into his throat. While he writhed on the ground gasping for air she hopped to her feet and faced the last of the trio. “You wanna go?” she asked, arms spread wide. As he stepped away, all bravado gone she retrieved Cari, pulling her back to the street. “Holy shit, that was amazing,” Cari gushed. “Ive been through a lot worse,” Vanessa said as she guided them to safer waters. “Youve said stuff, but I never really believed...” Cari said, tapering off before she finished the thought. Vanessa shrugged and brushed the implied question aside. Soon they were back to collecting candy and soaping the windows of people they knew. Well before Cyruss curfew Vanessa said her goodbyes and began to make her way home. As the metro bus trundled toward her stop she smiled and thought about the nights events. Other than the single incident it had been a great night of fun and mischief. Even thinking back on the fight brought a smile to her face. Compared to the threats she had faced in her life tonight had been nothing. Even so she was glad that they had picked her instead of some other girl. Where she would have once cursed her luck at the incident now she was glad; sure they would think twice before trying such a stunt again. “Did you have fun?” Cyrus asked as she barreled through the door. “More than fun,” she replied, taking the stairs down two at a time. “Have you noticed how often she comes home covered in blood?” Meri asked once she heard Vanessa close the door to the bathroom downstairs.
Posted on: Mon, 27 Oct 2014 14:31:15 +0000
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