4 comments/ 15251 views/ 5 favorites Beyond Redemption Ch. 01 By: Lucifix She sat in front of her computer listlessly and mulled things over in her mind. She mentally went over the conversation in her own head, checking for loopholes and hints she might have accidently missed. Having finally come to a decision she opened her laptop and stared for a moment at the black screen then began typing as her white script appeared in the upper-left corner of the screen: I will agree to your terms if you meet my demands. No compromise, No regrets. After hitting the "enter" button, she wiped her sweaty brow with her wrist and her shaking slowly began to subside as a feeling of relief settled on her at the thought of the terms she had just agreed to. She had lived far too long and it was becoming tiresome to live like this. She sighed as her vision blurred and the room was slowly sliding out of focus. She felt every second, every minute and every century of her life in her tired body keenly. Her old scars ached and her eyes rolled up into her head as she suffered another flashback. Her shaking got worse before subsiding again. And only after a searing hot pain flashed through her body, shooting along the scars on her back, was she jostled back to reality. She came back to her senses in time to see the reply flash up on her screen, this time in blue script: You've made a wise decision. You know what to do, do your part well and leave the rest to me. Although I do not approve of your decision this is the least I can do on her behalf. She smiled shakily upon seeing the reply and nodded in a manner that seemed more like she was trying to convince herself that she was doing the right thing. As if to reassure herself she quickly typed back: You will allow me to keep my heritage? The reply came almost too quickly as though her question was expected: We hold fast to our contracts and we stand by what we agree upon, you will neither lose nor gain anything unless you agree to it. This normally would have raised a red flag of alarm in her, but Ray was at her limit. She didn't have the strength left to continue and just hoped that like this she had at least managed to somehow secure what small measure of sanity she had left. She staggered to her feet and grabbed on to the couch for support. She scanned the room. Her room. It had only been hers for a couple of months but it already felt like home. It was actually an apartment, but it was minuscule compared to what she was used to only a mere century ago. Still, it was snug and she liked it. She sighed in resignation and shuffled towards the balcony, one arm caressing her across the stomach and the other reaching out for supports on the way. She lived on the seventh floor, which was quite a drop. It ought to do the job nicely, she thought. And without the slightest hesitation, only a hint of sadness, Ray jumped up onto the balcony railing and let herself fall... * *********** He had been shouting and banging on the locker door for sometime now. He had no idea what time it was or how long he had been locked in the school locker. All he knew was that his legs were now numb from the crouching position the tight space had forced him into, and he now had a dull headache from having shouted for so long. Finally, at long last, he heard a deep, gruff voice from behind the locker door --"hello!?, is anyone there?" Seth let out a muffled cry of relief from inside the locker after recognizing the voice of Ben the janitor. -"Ben! It's me Seth! Seth heard the tinkering sound of the keys Ben always carried and a few seconds later the locker door swung open. Seth squinted and blinked a few times to adjust to the hallway light. Ben looked at him sympathetically and after helping him out of the locker with a tug asked in a gruff voice. --" did they get to ye again lad?" Seth sighed in resignation and nodded while averting his eyes in shame. Everyone knew he was being bullied, but unless he stepped up himself and complained about it, no one was about to help him. Although his being bullied was common knowledge, only Ben knew the full extent of it. He had many times before released Seth from the confines of lockers, gym rooms, showers and toilets. Ben looked at him in a mixture of curiosity and pity -"how long have ye been locked in there?" Seth, still wallowing in shame, spoke to Ben's knees in what he hoped was an offhand manner --"a few hours, give or take." Ben shook his head and clapped Seth on the shoulder sympathetically then said in a stern voice, -" why don't ye fight back lad!?, they're all but a buncha cowards the lot of'em." They had been over it many times before, but this was the first time Ben had given him deliberate and direct advice. Not that those same guys hadn't tried to get a piece of Ben, with him being the janitor and all, he was a constant target of student pranks, and he dealt with them accordingly and effectively. Only Seth knew how kind Ben really was. Seth looked at him as though he was about to say something then quickly changed his mind and shook his head quickly. He nodded at Ben in thanks, picked up his bag and walked down the hall and around the corner towards the exit. --" this is the last time I pull ye outta a stinkin locker lad!, next time ye fight or I'm leavin ye in till the morn'!" He heard Ben yell at his back. Seth just sighed and shook his head again and continued walking. His school was located in the suburbs and he normally took the bus to school, as he lived in an apartment downtown, but as there were no more busses at this hour he was forced to walk home. It was dark outside when he exited the schoolyard, the stars were already visible in the sky. He took a deep breath of fresh air which felt like heaven in comparison to being confined in a small locker with nothing but the smell of sweaty socks as company. With a quick glance at his wrist-watch which read 09:13 P.M, he set off towards his apartment at a brisk pace. Being seventeen, in high-school, and a stereotypical version of a geek was tough, he thought as he walked. He had walked home so many times at night before that he didn't even have to pay attention to where he was going, it had become muscle memory, which left his mind free to dwell on the events of the day and thoughts that generally circulated in his head ever so often. He thought about how Sydney had laughed at him today while he was being shoved in the locker by Nathan, the posse leader. When his thought trail reached the part as to WHY they were bullying him, he couldn't think of any reason. Sure he liked comics and strategy games, he also loved to bake and cook. It was a hobby of his which he intended to craft into a profession later on in life. Yes, he wanted to be a chef, and as ridiculous as that seemed. He didn't feel that it justified being bullied. It was an enigma to him. He loved the way his mother had smiled when she tasted his cooking, and the way his father supported his ambition to become a chef enthusiastically even though he would rather Seth did something more "befitting of a man" after high-school. Seth was no one special in his own mind. Even his looks were average, he thought. He stood six feet tall and had broad shoulders. He considered himself physically fit in general since he was after all training martial arts, though he was only still a beginner. He had nice muscles, though still a little on the skinny side, but in comparison to Nathan, he looked rather scrawny. Nathan was a football player and was rather beefy. He felt a stinging sensation in his chest as his thoughts wondered to Sydney. She is the most popular girl in school, and the prettiest, AND she is dating Nathan. He admitted to himself that he had a secret crush on her since the time he once found her crying in one of the bathrooms. Having left the door ajar, he heard her sobs while passing by. She had looked so pretty with her swollen eyes and tear-streaked face. She had hugged him that time and he was too shocked to say anything comforting and just held her to his chest as she cried. Then, without a word, after having cried herself to silence, she stood on tip-toe, her full lips barely brushing his for a moment before meeting his warm cinnamon-brown eyes with her own startlingly blue eyes, then she kissed him, crushing her own lips against his for a moment, before she had run out of the bathroom and disappeared without having had said a word. He wondered if he had hallucinated the whole thing, since later that day his head was being shoved down a toilet by a laughing Nathan, accompanied by a laughing Sydney, who was twisting a lock of her chocolate-brown hair around her finger carelessly as she watched Seth being given a swirly. He hated Nathan, that was for certain, but he couldn't bring himself to hate Sydney. He couldn't help but replay that kiss in his mind when he thought of her. He felt again how her soft lips pressed against his own. He cursed himself still for having been too shocked to say anything comforting to her. And now he cursed silently as he noticed the bulge in his pants while walking. It wasn't good to think of Sydney in public. He made a mental note to himself to leave such things for fantasizing before bed. He turned right and walked around the corner, having realized with a start that he was already in town. He passed through an ally way and around another corner before walking down a deserted, dark street located behind a building that faced the main street with all the shops. Two more blocks and then he would be home. This street had no lamps and it always made the hairs on the back of his neck rise whenever he had to walk through it at night. As he passed one of the customary tall apartment buildings in that area just a block away from his own building, A large object falls in front of him, so close that it nearly collides with him. He heard the swoosh! Sound in his ear as it nearly clipped him on the shoulder before hearing a sickening sort of splat as it collided with the sidewalk at his feet and he was suddenly drenched in warm liquid, thick with the smell of iron. Startled, Seth stumbled on his own feet while trying to take a step back and instead fell on his arse. He held perfectly still, barely daring to breathe as he squinted in the darkness, straining to see what caused the impact. At first, his heart fell as he thought someone had thrown a garbage bag out of their window as he happened to be passing by. This day couldn't get any worse he thought as he got to his knees and inched closer for further inspection. His hands on the sidewalk barely a few centimeters away from the object in question, he was able to make out the silhouette of a humanoid form sprawled in front of him in the darkness of the street. Oh GREAT! He thought, thinking it was probably one of those sex dolls that some angry fetishist had thrown out of their window in anger. In his shaken and disheveled state, he failed to realize that a sex doll did not account for the pungent smell of iron that was now thick in the air and on his clothes. He was tired, hungry, and now he was annoyed. But as the sound of a lone car coming down the street alerted Seth to his own surroundings, it also flooded the pavement with light from its headlights, illuminating what was barely an inch away from Seth's hands. Seth looked at the scene before him and scuttled backwards stumbling clumsily on his own hands and feet, shock and horror splayed across his fair features. Her body lay face down, but her face was turned towards him, or what was left of it. The part of her face that had collided with the ground had spattered across the pavement. She was drenched in blood. The entire pavement surrounding him was spattered in crimson. He looked down at his hands and realized with horror that he was spattered with blood too. It dripped down from his soaked dark-blonde hair onto his chest. He took a deep breath swallowing the bile that was rising in his throat and took a moment to look at the girl, before the car passed them by, oblivious, and plunging him into darkness again. The image was burned into his eyes however and much too late, his adrenaline finally kicked in. he quickly grabbed his bag and rushed towards his own building. Half way there, he slowed down to a stop and after a few gulps of air to prevent himself from vomiting, he realized that he saw her finger twitch in that brief moment of light. He had assumed she had died on impact, but he vividly recollected her eye (the one that hadn't been crushed) it was of purest amber in color and stared directly at him. Her pupil had contracted in reaction to the light. He couldn't make out much more, as everything was covered in blood. OH MY GOD! She might have still been alive then! He reached for his cell phone and dialed 911, but before making the call, he thought he should go back and check in order to decide which to call, an ambulance or the police. He sprinted back to the pavement and tried to illuminate the area with the flash of the camera on is cell phone, but to his utter astonishment, there was no body. The only evidence of anything having happened was the large puddle of blood on the ground and the red droplets that were oozing down the building wall. Seems he was seeing things often these days, he thought. First Sydney's kiss, and now this. He shook his head in disbelief and turned to walk home. He walked up three flights of stairs before stopping at the fourth landing and took out his keys to unlock his door. No one was home to welcome him. He lived alone. His parents lived in a near by small town that had no high school which forced him to relocate on his own to study. He still visited them as often as he could, and they were always generous and gave him money to make up for the bus tickets he had to buy. They also paid him to come and cook for them, his father often said jokingly. He smiled to himself at the thought of his parents and the realization of how lucky he felt that they were of the kind and understanding type. He was exhausted after the events of today, and without even undressing, he just took off his shoes and left his backpack near the door, then, after making sure the door was locked, he made his way through the living room and into the bathroom. He turned on the water and stepped underneath the hot jets, fully clothed. He panicked for a split second at the crimson water that was running down his grey jeans and down the drain before recalling that he was covered in blood. After a few seconds of relaxation, he started to remove his clothing and wringing the blood out of them before tossing them in the hamper. Standing alone in a steaming hot shower made thoughts of Sydney come to mind unbidden. This time, however, he welcomed them. He felt himself grow hard as he replayed the kiss in mind. He let his imagination go further and he was now kissing her back, his hands sliding down her back to squeeze her small ass as she moaned into his mouth. Seth gripped his penis and began with slow motions as his imagination ran rampant. She was now pulling his shirt off and they broke the kiss for a few seconds as his shirt came over his head, then their lips met again passionately. He began unbuttoning her shirt until it was unbuttoned half way down before sliding his hand inside her laced bra to fondle her full breasts. Seth was now stroking his shaft in fast motion, his cock was erect and extremely rigid. He could feel his pulse from the large vein that ran along his shaft. After fondling her, he slid the shirt off her shoulders and let hang around her waist, then sinking his fingers into the softness of her ass cheeks, he carried her over to the sink, her legs wrapping around his waist. She leaned back against the mirror over the sink and groaned loudly as he lowered his head to her right breast and began sucking it very hard. He imagined she would like a little rough treatment. He then did the same to the other nipple, while pinching the previous one and twisting it between his thumb and index finger. He was close to coming now, as he stood in the shower, his cock which was considerable in its erect state had swelled a little more as he was getting closer and closer to his anticipated orgasm. He bit down on her nipple and she screamed, tangling her fingers in his dark-blonde locks and yanking. Her nipple bled a bit and he lapped at it soothingly with his tongue, drawing a soft moan from her. Then she nuzzled up against his ear and whispered a request to let her suck his cock. He groaned in the shower, his eyes shut tightly. Fully absorbed in his fantasy. She slid off the sink and got to her knees in front of him, unzipping his jeans and pulling them down as though she wanted nothing more than to taste him. She moaned longingly as she noticed the large bulge in his boxers and quickly pulled them down. Just as his large erection was freed from the confines of his boxers, she clamped her moist, warm lips around the head and ran her tongue over the tip, tasting the pre cum. She ran her tongue along the shaft, lubricating it, then she began sucking it, taking it very deep, sucking him all the way down to the base of his cock. She started to increase the pace until he felt like he could no longer hold back. He gripped her hair and began fucking her mouth until he felt his cock swell and explode as he came deep into her throat. Seth awoke from his fantasy to find that he came all over the shower wall. He felt light-headed and dizzy. That was the first time he fantasized about anyone like that. He almost felt guilty. After regaining his senses, he washed up and shampooed his hair, scrubbed his body then turned off the hot water, letting only the cold water run. It felt spectacular and refreshing against his steaming skin. After a few seconds, he turned the shower off and walked out after grabbing a towel. He turned on the TV and flipped through a few channels before deciding that he was too tired to watch anything. He turned the TV off and headed to bed. He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. He was laying in his bed naked and Sydney was riding him, her full breasts bounced and she was moaning loudly as she screamed his name. He reached up with one hand to fondle her breasts, while sliding the other one in between where their bodies met to rub her clitoris. She looked amazing with her chocolate brown locks bouncing around her shoulders. Her blue eyes were sparkling and her pale skin was glistening with sweat. -"yes yes fuck me harder Seth!" she screamed. She bent forwards and Seth roughly grabbed her ass with both hands and began ramming into her from underneath. He switched grips to her hips in order to press her down, sinking his large cock further inside her. He felt her vaginal walls convulse around him and he knew she had climaxed. He sat up, forcing her back and down unto the bed, then with an animalistic snarl he lifted her legs up on his shoulders and sank his face in her cunt, biting and sucking her clit roughly as she thrashed around on the bed. He licked up all her juices then shoved two fingers into her soaking cunt. He felt her convulse again before he started to fuck her with his fingers as fast as he could, then adding a third finger. She came yet again, screaming his name. She lay there panting for a second before gently pushing him back down unto his back again, then she positioned herself to ride him, this time facing away from him. She grabbed his swollen cock and positioned it right at the entrance of her anus, then started to slowly lower herself onto his head. He couldn't hold back. The tightness of her asshole was causing him to feel agony because of how slow he was entering her. He quickly sat up, wrapped a strong arm around her waist and forced her down on his rigid shaft, impaling her. He was buried to the hilt in her amazingly tight ass. She screamed as delicious pain and pleasure ripped through her and climaxed as he buried himself deep in her arse. Then she started to ride him, bouncing up and down as he watched with fascination as his hard cock slid in and out of her asshole. Beyond Redemption Ch. 01 He was about to climax when suddenly his room window shattered and the most beautiful girl he had ever seen came crashing through it, roaring. She had olive skin, blood red hair and eyes of purest amber, which were now flashing dangerously. She was dressed in an odd assortment of tan robes that had two slits running up each leg. There was an odd symbol drawn on the chest that Seth did not recognize. She was carrying a sword which looked far too large for someone of her build to wield, but as she rushed towards the bed where he and Sydney lay, with his penis still imbedded in her ass, she whipped it around and over her head, making it seem weightless. As she swung it forward again with a feral snarl, she lopped off Sydney's head. It had all happened in a split second, and Seth was now left with a decapitated corpse which was squirting blood everywhere. Sydney's head rolled away. Seth stared at the red haired girl in shock, he had seen her before, he just didn't know where. But as the blood spurting from the corpse spattered all over the girls face. Seth's stomach lurched as he recalled the image of the blood-drenched body that had nearly fallen on him before. She was staring at him, her eyes filled with primal rage and malice. This was all too much to take and Seth woke with a start. He was drenched in sweat. He looked to the clock on his bedside table. 04:00 A.M. Going back to sleep was not an option after that nightmare, he thought. He got up, went to the kitchen to make coffee, came back to his room and switched on his computer. He sat down to browse the web and lost himself in thought. *********** Beyond Redemption Ch. 02 Hey everyone. I meant this story to be full of mystery, gore, horror and action, but at the same time I wanted it to have some humor. I wrote this chapter as fast as I could after realizing it would be awful to keep you all waiting after ending the previous chapter so mysteriously. For once I wanted a strong female lead in a story, and that was one of my reasons for writing this story  sorry we're off to a slow start, but im trying to introduce the characters properly before the real action begins, so please bear with it, im sorry. Looking forward to all your comments and criticism :D! For those of you who already commented, thank you * *********** Seth nearly jumped out of his seat when his alarm went off with a shrill sound. He looked at the clock and saw that it read 6:30 A.M. It was time to get ready for school. He rubbed his eyes wearily then stretched his arms above his head, groaning. He had been up since four o'clock after that dreadful nightmare jostled him out of his sleep. He was up all night thinking about the events of the previous day. Had it all just been a hallucination? It felt like a dream. For some reason he was not as shaken up as he knew he should be. He knew now that that what he saw was someone commit suicide. But where had the body gone!? He had a feeling that she was alive though. He didn't know how. His stomach gave a lurch when he recalled how her face had looked. He felt sick as it dawned upon him that he may have actually found her rather attractive. Even in that bloodied state. He shook his head, dismissing the thought. What he realized now was that life was short, and his existence was fragile. He no longer wanted to live like this. Being bullied everyday, coming home every night, soaked in toilet water. Deep down inside, he felt angry, bitter, and tired of it all. He wanted it to end. He thought of Ben's last words and decided that next time, he would fight. He slowly got to his feet and walked over to the dresser in the corner of the room. From inside the first drawer he pulled out a pair of black jeans and a white long-sleeved button-up shirt. He then opened the second and surveyed his large assortment of black socks that came in various thicknesses that he used according to how cold the weather was. Today he took a thin black pair. He was very orderly like that. It irked him when he could not find something in his own apartment. His entire wardrobe consisted of black and white and various shades of grey. That was how he liked it. It saved him the hassle of having to match clothes in the early hours of the morning when he was barely awake enough to remember his own name. He had but two blue shirts. They were from his mother. She had given them to him complaining that he looked so dull always wearing the same colors. He got dressed quickly and even glanced in the mirror to see if anything needed adjusting. For some reason he felt self-conscious today. As though he was out to impress, but was not quite sure how. He looked rather gorgeous with his light-gold complexion from the sun, his cinnamon brown eyes, dark-blond hobbit hair and his white button-up shirt that he wore over black jeans that fit him just right. He rolled up the sleeves. Now he was ready. He ate a quick breakfast, grabbed his bag but noticed with a jerk of annoyance that it was stained with blood. He had forgotten to wash it yesterday. He emptied it, noting with relief that none of the books were soaked or stained and replaced them in his spare bag. He then put on his shoes, grabbed a light jacket and walked out of the apartment. After locking up, he headed to the bus stop. ************ He got to school at 7:45. Fifteen minutes until classes start. He went to his locker, deposited his bag after taking the books he would need, then slammed the locker shut. He turned to walk away but he bumped straight into Sydney. She staggered back a little and glared at him, annoyed. -"watch where you're going, idiot!" Seth looked down at her with his best condescending expression, though his insides clenched with nervousness. -"takes one to know one I guess." Her beautiful face twisted in confusion at his words. She wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed. Seth suddenly noticed that he didn't really like her at all. In fact, if she hadn't looked so good, he would find her rather annoying. His insides unclenched with relief at the realization and he felt liberated. Her confused expression made him chuckle. Her beautiful face was suddenly not so beautiful to him. He walked past her, ignoring her now furious expression. -"Nathan is going to kick the crap out of you for this!" she yelled after him, stamping her foot angrily. Seth turned around to face her, his heart racing as he fought to keep his expression calm. -"Tell Nathan he knows where to find me. I would love to see the look on his face when I tell him about what happened between us" He laughed at Sydney's dumbfounded expression then turned on his heel and walked towards class just as the bell chimed. He settled himself in one of the front seats and readied himself to take notes. First lesson was history. Sydney walked in, threw him a scathing look which he ignored, then settled herself in the very back next to Nathan. The teacher had already written up a few things on the black board and was waiting for the rest of the class to settle in. Mrs. Janson cleared her throat and a relative silence settled over the students. -" Before we begin today, I have the pleasure of introducing a new exchange student!" Mrs. Janson looked delighted as she gestured towards the door, which stood ajar. The door swung open and Seth's breath caught in his throat as he watched her walked into the room and stand in front of the class. His brain went numb and he suddenly felt too warm. Mrs. Janson beamed at the new student. -" well go on and introduce yourself to us dear!, don't be shy" Seth estimated her to be around his height, but for some reason he felt like she looked down on everyone from a far greater height. There was something demanding about her presence. She was intimidating and innocent at the same time. She flung her long blood red locks out of her face. she had olive skin. Her eyes were large like a doe's and were framed by thick black lashes. Her brows were thick and shapely, the same blood red of her hair. They reminded Seth of the pictures he had seen of the Pharaohs of ancient Egypt, except they were slightly thinner and didn't extend as far. Her features were soft but at the same time strong. Her nose was perfectly shaped and fit in her heart-shaped face nicely. Her lips seemed to have a natural redness and were scrumptiously full. She was dressed in tight black jeans and a tight black turtleneck that caressed every curve. It was obvious she had large breasts that were nicely shaped and sat firmly on her chest. Her waist was narrow and softly flared out into full hips. She was deliciously curvy. Her build was somewhere between slender and average. She looked athletic. Except for her murderous expression and her cold demeanor, she looked like walking porn. His insides clenched with the now common sense of nervousness as she looked him straight in the eye with her all-too-familiar amber eyes, and spoke: -" My name is Ray Costeaux" Her voice was melodious and she had what sounded like a middle-eastern accent. That voice of hers sent shivers down Seth's spine. When she finally looked away, he realized that she had him spellbound. He started and looked around him and was amazed to see that everyone was silently staring at Ray, mesmerized. He cursed when a bulge in his crotch area made itself known to him. He didn't know what to make of this. He was so sure that he had seen this very girl spattered across the pavement only one block away from his apartment last night. Yet here she was, very much alive, standing before Seth, inducing erections. ~ I'm one sick individual~ Seth thought, as he realized how many times he had gotten hard over the many gory moment regarding this girl. ********** Ray was aware that she had everyone entranced. She was used to it. It's been so long since she last had human contact. She could hardly remember anything from the previous day, only that she had dreamed a rather annoying dream. The boy that sat in front of her was without a doubt the one in her dreams. She glanced to the very back and saw the girl with chocolate brown hair, which confirmed her suspicions. She didn't want to believe what the dreams were telling her so she simply pushed that thought out of her mind. Instead she concentrated on giving Seth the well-practiced death-stare she held in reserve for people who truly pissed her off. How dare he screw a girl so shamelessly in front of her! even if it was only a dream!. She thought it was strange that he didn't resonate to her presence. Little did she know about the turmoil boiling beneath the surface of Seth's calm expression, about how he was fighting the urge to pounce on her. She suddenly felt insecure and looked away, breaking eye contact with him. Her death-stare melted away leaving her expression blank. She suddenly moved from in front of everyone and the class started in unison. She calmly walked over and occupied the seat right next to Seth. Mrs. Janson cleared her throat again and then launched into the boring history of 1900th century USA. Seth had trouble concentrating during the lesson. He kept glancing to his left, where Ray sat, leaning back against the chair, her arms crossed over her chest. She looked at Mrs. Janson with such assiduity, as though she would like nothing more than to memorize exactly what happened during 1900th century USA. He noticed a thin scar along her cheek. It looked faded and probably wouldn't have shown at all had she been a little lighter. Seth realized she didn't have any books or notebooks with her. After taking a minute to calm himself and steady his shaking hands, he reached over and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned her gaze to him questioningly, her amber eyes boring into his unintentionally. He gulped nervously and hoped that his voice would sound normal when he spoke. -" I couldn't help but notice you don't have any books or notebooks. If you want, we can sit closer together and share mine." He could have kicked himself! It sounded like a bad attempt to hit on her. "sit closer together".. sounded more like an offer to touch his penis...why didn't he just offer her his book? He knew it all by heart anyways. He was pulled out of his thoughts by the scraping sound of her desk as she scooted closer. Oh My God!!! She was getting closer! Seth threw a silent fit while Ray made herself comfortable next to him, completely oblivious to the effect she was having on him. He looked around to see how much attention they had attracted and was not surprised to see the annoyed glances and angry whispers and curses that the other boys in the class were directing at him in jealousy. Ray nudged him in the ribs painfully. He started and turned to sit properly. -"Pay attention, just because you think you know it all, doesn't mean there isn't a hidden meaning." Ray whispered in his ear, making his cock throb painfully as he felt her breath on his neck. She smelled exquisite. Her scent was mysteriously tinted with jasmine and sandalwood. It was as though her body was giving off invisible steam. Seth could literally feel the heat radiating from her body, along with that alluring scent. Bringing all of his self-control under his command, he pushed aside his urge to jump on her, and instead asked: -"what kind of hidden meaning could there possibly be?" She bit her lip thoughtfully, making Seth wish they were alone as his cock gave another painful throb. Her reply was both simple and cryptic: -" the answer to tomorrow." Beyond Redemption Ch. 03 The bell chimed signaling the end of the first lesson. Ray ignored Seth completely as she abruptly stood up and slowly made her way towards the door. She sneaked glances at everyone through her lashes. Today's generation certainly did not measure up to her standards. They were slothful and stupid. In her day, these people would have died through survival of the fittest. Being here was degrading. She inhaled deeply. Yes, she could smell pheromones mingled with perfume and ...fear? Her gaze swept over the classroom, taking in the facial expressions and the overall atmosphere. Of course, people tend to disguise their fear. She shrugged and made to walk through the door not really being arsed to investigate further when Nathan blocked her path. There was a strange glow in his eyes and his cheeks were red as he towered over her, slightly panting. Ray felt the instinctive urge to blast him into oblivion. How dare he obstruct her way! He who was not even worthy of licking her feet! Just as she tensed her muscles with anticipation, pain seared across the scars on her back, making her stiffen in agony. She gritted her teeth hoping her expression didn't give her away. Display of pain is a display of weakness. As the pain began to fade, so did her unreasonable rage, her shoulders slumped and she had worked up a sweat. Nathan was still staring at her, blocking the door. The other students behind her started to crowd the door, but still giving her a respectable berth as they didn't know what kind of person she was yet. No one had dared to tell Nathan off yet, not even Mrs. Jansen. They held their breath waiting for Ray's reaction. Ray's primal rage was replaced by annoyance. It seemed that everyone but Nathan felt the air crackle with electricity and backed away from Ray as waves of fury emanated from her body. Nathan mistook her angry expression for nervousness at the thought of him asking her out. So he puffed out his chest importantly and said: -"I'm Nathan and it's the duty of the captain of the football team to show new students around the school. A babe like you would definitely look good walking down the halls next to me. So whaddya say then? I'll definitely show you around everywhere and I'll take real good care of you." He stressed the last sentence and leered at her. Ray looked openly disgusted and fought to keep her temper in check for fear of the horrendous pain she new she would feel otherwise. She took a deep breath to steady herself. Before she can reply to Nathan, however, a smaller figure with chocolate brown hair flew at him and started biting and scratching at his face like a rabid cat. Sydney was humiliated, and she wanted Nathan to pay for it. How dare he ask another girl out when SHE was his girl friend? -"I hate you! You bastard! You son of a bitch!" Nathan roared and backhanded her, sending her sprawling to the floor. He laughed at her. -"why would I want a used up slut like you? I'll date whoever the fuck I want bitch. You're just another lay and you were a really good fuck at that." He chuckled at her enraged expression and then reached for Ray's waist intending to pull her closer to him. Ray watched as he backhanded Sydney and felt no sympathy for her at all. It was her fault for not learning how to defend herself. Weaklings... the lot of them. As Nathan was reaching out towards her, she felt her rage build up again and her scars began to twinge in pain. PAIN BE DAMNED! Ray whipped her leg around with lightening speed, aiming straight for the solar plexus. Before anyone could register what happened Nathan was thrown against the lockers outside the classroom, causing them to dent inwards from the force of the blow. He was knocked unconscious and there was blood trickling down the side of is head. The entire class rushed out and surrounded him, and student who were already in the hallway were startled and crowded over for a better view. Whispers and gasps were being exchanged and there was much commotion. There were flashes of light as the crowd clambered to take pictures with their cell phones. Seth knew the rumor that Nathan got his ass handed to him by a girl half his size would spread like wildfire, but he didn't care about that just now. During the entire encounter, he was staring at Ray. He felt her rage and he noted the pain she felt. He felt it inside him. It made his eyes tear. He saw her fall to her knees after kicking Nathan, tears rolling out of her beautiful eyes as she squeezed them shut and bit her lip in pain, drawing blood. Mrs. Jansen fainted after one look at Nathan. poor old woman wasn't accustomed to seeing much violence and she was rather old fashioned. Sydney got to her feet crying and started walking over to Seth, purposefully swishing her hips. No one had noticed that Ray was now on her knees, hunched on the floor gasping as the pain reached an unbearable climax. Seth shot to his feet and was walking towards her without thinking. Ray was in pain and she needed help were the only thoughts in his mind, But he was intercepted by Sydney who threw herself into his arms, crying pathetically. He tried to push her away but she clung to him. He was looking over at Ray the entire time while absentmindedly trying to brush Sydney off. He stopped dead however when he heard a rumbling growl come from Ray. She stood up slowly and turned to glare at him, and then her gaze locked on Sydney, still clinging to him. She moved so fast that he barely registered her movement. She grabbed Sydney from the back of her Jacket and tore her away from Seth with a possessive growl then slammed her against the blackboard, knocking her out. She then tossed her to the floor where she lay crumpled in a heap. Seth stared at her, fear evident in his eyes. But as his fearful gaze met hers, he saw her eyes glaze over and knew that she was going to lose consciousness. He caught her as she stumbled and fell. *** Ray fought to stay awake, but the pain was making it hard. She felt the blackness that was closing in and tried to maintain focus. But at her eyes met Seth's, she saw the fear in them and she instantly felt regret. She knew that seeming vulnerable would quench that fear, she could feel it in his thoughts. She stopped fighting the impending blackness, allowing herself to slip into darkness and fall into his arms. **** Ray looked around. The familiar walls, tan in color and made out of stone were welcoming. She inhaled and smelled the aroma of incense. Yes, she knew this place perfectly well. It was where she was created. It was home. She looked down and realized she was dressed in the traditional robes of the temple, made from Egyptian cotton, tan in color, with slits that ran up her legs from the sides, with the insignia of the ancient Egyptian goddess Bast on the chest. How she loved this place. She walked along the hallway, admiring the sculptures and artwork along the walls, then through a door that led to the altar, only to find the entire room turned over as though a storm had struck and the walls smeared with blood. Her heart slammed against her chest as she realized which time-period she was in. it all played out in her mind like a video being fast-forwarded. Legend had it that the goddess Bast, the great desert lion, was the daughter of the god Ra. She was created to restore and maintain order, but her thirst for blood became insatiable. So her father tricked her into drinking an excess amount of beer which he tainted with blood to trick her into a stupor that she did not awake from. When she did wake, she was completely docile, a demure kitten. What the legend failed to tell was that because of her thirst for blood, she pillaged villages and slaughtered people mercilessly; saving only one young man. He was so beautiful that she fell in love with him, and he, just as taken with her beauty and ferocity fell for her. They mated and Bast gave birth to a litter of desert lions that later grew and were able to shift into human form. Their aging stopped from the moment the shift occurred. She realized there was a gap in her memory when she was suddenly thrown into blackness, as though someone had cut part of the video that was her memory. Then her memories continue from when she and her sisters, the girls she had grown in the temple with, had trained with, were restrained and locked in the temple as Ra was deceiving his daughter into submission. When Bast fell into hibernation, so did her children. All but Ray... She knew why she hadn't fallen into hibernation, but she couldn't remember. She just knew that she had to run away from the temple and nearly died in the desert. Why she was running, she did not know. There was a nagging sensation, as though the memory was just beyond her reach, when suddenly she was thrust into a different time-period and the faces of two friendly middle-aged people flashed in her mind. They were a married couple with kindly faces as they answered their front door. "How may we help you?" asked the woman politely. Ray did not remember what happened after that either. She had a sinking feeling in her stomach and dull pain throbbed from her back where she knew her scars were. What happened to that couple? Why was she still awake and not in hibernation like her sisters and her beloved mother? The last thing she saw was the handsome face of a man she recognized but could not quite place. He was looking at her tenderly and was whispering to her softly but she could barely make out the words. He ran his fingers along her cheeks and tears leaked from the corners of his eyes. It broke her heart. He leaned closer and kissed her lips softly then said in audible whisper: -"go now! run!" Ray looked down to see the ornamented hilt of a dagger protruding from his abdomen area. His blood was all over her. But numbly, as though following orders, she turned around and ran as fast as she could into the scorching heat of the desert... ***** -"Will she be all right?" Seth asked the nurse worriedly. -"Not to worry, She's just exhausted by the looks of it. Nothing serious." An attractive nurse tended to Ray as she lay motionless on the bed. -"Is it all right if I stay here with her?" -" Sure, I'll just need your name so that I may inform your teachers that you won't be attending the next lesson." -"Seth Connor. And thank you Miss Kadena." Seth had carried Ray to the nurse's office and sat next to her bed. He watched her restlessly toss her head around on the pillow, clearly distressed in her sleep. He wondered if he should wake her up or just let her sleep through it. He felt his hands shake with fear of what might happen if he... He shook his head as though telling himself not to be silly. Of course, he should do something that might relieve some of her pain. He reached out towards her hand which was laying at her side and gently twined his fingers with hers. She mumbled something in a strange language in her sleep and furrowed her brows, making a crease appear between them, But her hand tightened around his a little. He watched over her silently. After an hour, he became worried when she held still for so long that he thought she might have died. As he leaned in to check her breathing by putting his ear near her mouth, he felt her soft breath tickle his jaw. He felt slightly high from being so close to her, inhaling her soft scent, and didn't realize what he was doing until his lips were suddenly locked with hers in a tender kiss. He withdrew suddenly realizing he would have been dead had she been awake. But for some reason, the thought didn't scare him so much. He felt it would have been worth it. He shook his head, tutting. -"What am I? a masochist?" he asked himself in a loud exasperated whisper. He felt his erection strain against the confines of his jeans for the second time that morning, but brushed it off determinedly. Instead, he leaned closer to Ray's ear and whispered to her gently; -"come back to me, I'm waiting for you" He knew he would stay by her side until she woke up. Until then, he would puzzle over why she made him feel things he never felt towards anyone before. It was unlike him to care so much for someone he barely knew. Deep down he really believed that he could be of use to her. For some reason, he felt that she wasn't as invincible as she seemed. The feelings he had for Sydney were put to shame next to how Ray made him feel. Though he was intimidated by her at first, when she stood in front of him that morning, he felt he was looking at the loneliest person in the world. He lost himself in thoughts of her and slowly fell asleep... ***** Ray moaned and stirred in her sleep. Her eyes snapped open suddenly and she sat up so slowly but wearily, Seth was dozing off near the edge of the bed with his head on his arms, his fingers caressing the palm of her hand. Ray leaned her head to side, taking in his tousled dark blonde locks and his long lashes. She acted on impulse when she slowly moved her other hand across her lap to brush away a stray lock of hair from his brow. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around drowsily. His eyes slowly widened as he realized she was awake and he still had his hand in hers. He felt his pulse quicken, but tried to remain calm on the surface. She sensed his tension but ignored it, instead she leaned in closer to him and softly kissed his cheek. -"thank you" , she whispered in his ear. His heart skipped a beat when she kissed his cheek and he felt elated. Suddenly a bell chimed in the distance, rousing them both from their contemplations. Seth quickly glanced at the clock near the door. -"shit! It's eleven o'clock! We missed two lessons", Seth groaned. Ray gave him a strange look before smiling slightly. -"well we can always just revise it after school. We live next to each other. Didn't you know?" Seth looked at her surprised. He didn't expect her to speak to him so naturally. He stuttered nervously while trying to reply -"well uh, yeah uh, that would be great. M-m-my place or y-yours?" Deciding where they would revise made him think of how alone they would be. He didn't know how much self-control he had. He wondered if she would strike him dead if he lost it and just kissed her. He realized he was staring at her and looked away embarrassed, clearing his throat. Ray suppressed a smile, it seems her previous assessment was at fault. He IS resonating to her presence. -"you don't have to be so tense, Seth" He felt a pleasant shiver run up his spine when he heard her say his name. He looked up in time to see the corners of her mouth twitch. She was suppressing a smile. He felt the tension leave him and he gradually relaxed around her. He smiled at her charmingly, making her feel warm in the pit of her stomach. -"speak for your self! You don't have to suppress your happiness at being around me" he teased. Ray snorted derisively and stood up, then flicked Seth's nose with her thumb and index finger. -"ow!" -"Let's get a move on, we've already missed two lessons and now we're missing lunch" At her words, her stomach gave a large rumble. Seth chuckled but quickly held his hands up in surrender as she threatened him with another painful nose-flick. ******* Lunch was enjoyable enough. It would have been much more enjoyable if people didn't stare so badly at Seth and Ray as they walked into the cafeteria. Seth was sure that at least ninety percent of the school was now informed of the Nathan incident. But that wasn't what caused the stares. Ray had piled up so much food on her plate that it was in danger of spilling over. She sat down and shoveled it in her mouth, moaning with content. Students and teachers alike watched with amazement as she put away two more such plates of food. Seth thought it might have been the buzz of the milk machine, but he heard a distinct purr from Ray as she ate her food. She was a strange one all right. But Seth felt like he can accept anything about this girl. They were told upon their arrival to the cafeteria that Nathan was taken to the hospital, but Sydney was only slightly concussed, recovered shortly and had gone home for the day. Seth was ecstatic. This day couldn't get any better! Ray sneaked peaks at Seth through her lashes while she ate. She wondered what he would think if he knew about her. How old she was, what she was and her history. She pondered about what she should do now that she found Seth. The one with the required genetic mutation. She pushed that thought out of her mind though. Now was not the time to be thinking of that. After she finished her food, they got up and went to Seth's locker to retrieve the books they would need for the next lesson. ******* The day proceeded without further drama. The only difference was that Ray and Seth were now getting along like old buddies. He could hardly believe how easy it is talking to her. She accentuated the social part of him. He found himself talking and laughing with her for hours on end. Though he couldn't help but notice how eagerly she changed the subject when he asked about her parents. When the last bell chimed, signaling the end of the last lesson, he packed up his bag and walked towards the exit, accompanied by Ray. As they walked, Seth's mind was buzzing with a million questions. He wanted to know everything about her. She intrigued him. He looked to his left where her lovely red locks bounced on her shoulders as she walked and asked the question that was bothering him for sometime now. -"Where are you from?" -"My last name is Cousteaux, take a lucky guess" She smiled slightly. -"It sounds French..." Seth looked a bit unsure as he said this. -"Bravo!" she clapped her hands mockingly. Seth bit his lip thoughtfully and Ray resisted the urge to bite him. He shook his head as though ridding himself of a thought and Ray couldn't help but ask: -"Why do you ask?" -"well, Cousteaux sounds French... but you don't seem French. You neither look French nor have the English accent that hints to French being your mother tongue." He said accusingly. It was Ray's turn to bite her lip. She hadn't expected him to poke questions regarding her origin yet. He was smart. She knew her answer would have to have no flaws for him to believe it. -"Where do you think I'm from then?" She smiled at him charmingly. Seth blushed and looked away, embarrassed. -"well, you strike me as middle-eastern" -"Well then, Mr. Connor, I'll leave it at that." She smiled mischievously and continued: -"Don't you think it's more exotic when it's a mystery?" She winked at him playfully. Seth had purposefully chosen to walk home this time in order to get to know her more. He didn't want to part from her. The thought made his heart ache. They talked as they walked and were already half way when She replied jokingly, but there was a hint of finality that warned him against pressing the matter any further. He surrendered and let the matter drop. He realized that he hadn't said her name at all. He wondered how it would feel to say. He glanced at her, somewhat unsure of himself. She sensed his glance and looked at him questioningly. He hoped that his voice didn't shake when he took a deep breath: -"Ray?" -"mmm?" She hummed inquiringly. They turned the corner that would take them down the street with no lamps. It wasn't even half as creepy during the day. Seth released his breath and looked, felt, confused. It didn't sound right to him. Ray seemed to have noticed his discomfort but decided not to comment on it. She stopped at the entrance of her building and looked at Seth expectantly. Beyond Redemption Ch. 03 Seth tried not to look sad and said in what he hoped was not a discouraging voice: -"I guess I'll see you tomorrow" Those beautiful amber eyes widened in surprise. -"what do you mean tomorrow? You're coming up with me. We need to revise for tomorrow, and don't even think of wriggling out of it" The happy bubble in his stomach that had been punctured when he thought he was saying good-bye, swelled happily again as he realized he would be spending more time in her company. -"wouldn't dream of it" he replied with a bow. Ray punched the doorway code into the code pad and stood aside to let Seth in. He noticed how alert she was as she scanned the area and then entered after him, making sure the door shut behind her. The hallway was rather small, and even smaller was the elevator. They crowded inside, trying to maintain some personal space. Seth was suddenly feeling too warm. Being this close to her, having physical contact was intoxicating. There are so many things he wanted to do with her, but she seemed like a forbidden fruit. He was too afraid of the consequences to risk anything by giving in to his desires. Most of all, to his utter surprise, he wanted her to love him. As though sensing his thoughts, he looked up in time to see her face only several centimeters away from his. She roughly pushed him against the elevator wall, pressed the "stop" button and then found his lips with hers. She kissed his gently at first then more demandingly. He struggled, trying to gently push her away, but melted to her touch as she ran a hand up his chest, along his neck and through his hair. She yanked hard enough to make him gasp and thrust her tongue into his mouth, massaging his tongue with her own. Ray had been trying to hold back for a long time and her discipline in this area was rather lacking. It was mating season and she really wanted him. She felt heat and moisture pool in between her legs and her nipples were rigid and aching. She knew it had to be him. Before he knew it he was kissing her back. Her lips were so soft and luscious. He sucked on her lower lip, drawing a moan from her. His cock was already rigid and straining against the confines of his boxers. He wanted her more than anything, but a little voice of reason in the back of his head was telling him she wasn't thinking straight. He didn't know what to do however. She was insanely strong, he discovered from his initial struggling. All he could do was be passive, which was a very hard thing to do in itself since he wanted nothing more than to rip her clothes off and take her right there in the elevator. She held his hand and led it along her thigh, up to her hip then under her shirt. Before his hand reached her round, delicious-looking mounds, His other hand searching desperately for an escape route found the "stop" button and the elevator started moving again, knocking some sense back into them both. Ray stood straight, looking extremely beautiful with her bright eyes, flushed cheeks and her heaving chest. Seth almost screamed at himself with annoyance. Why did he do that? Why didn't he continue? He looked at her in time to see her look away, slightly embarrassed. -"Don't be..." He said, as he reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. She furrowed her brows, avoiding his eyes, but made no move to shy away from his touch. Just then the elevator door opened and Ray stepped out, still slightly pink in the cheeks. -"here" she said, pointing to her door. She unlocked the apartment and walked in. Seth walked in after her and beheld the horrors within. It was the filthiest place he has ever seen. There were garbage bags near the door. Clothes all over the place. Dust bunnies everywhere. What seemed like a months worth of unwashed dishes in the sink with food still rotting in them. -"You live like this?!" Seth asked, horrified. -"well it's not much but it's home." Seth suddenly had a very big itch that he needed to scratch. He knew what he needed to do, otherwise he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight. -"Here are my apartment keys" He threw her his keys and she caught them, looking surprised. He grabbed a nearby apron and put it on. then turned to the offending apartment with a manic gleam in his eyes. -"Take my bag, go to my apartment and start revising. I'll come over once I'm done waging war here." Speechless, Ray took his bag and walked out of the apartment sheepishly. Seth cackled insanely then took out the mop, vacuum cleaner, bleach and some gloves. Then after adjusting his still hard cock, so that it didn't strain so much in his pants, He looked at the apartment and said triumphantly: -"you may think you've gotten away with being filthy, but your luck has ended as soon as I, Seth the mold buster, found you out!" And so he set to work, full throttle. ******* Ray half pouted, half giggled to herself as she walked over to his building, only one block away. She didn't expect to see such a cute aspect of him. Her nipples still ached and she felt heat throbbing in her cunt, which she tried to ignore. She should be on alert, she reminded herself. She entered the code for the gateway and took the elevator to the third floor. She unlocked his apartment and walked in. She dropped the bag along with her jaw as she beheld the cleanest apartment she had ever seen. It was probably as sterile as a hospital by the looks of it. Beyond Redemption Ch. 04 Hey guys, sorry it took a while, but the other version of ch4 that I initially was going to post didn't work out as I expected. So I put it aside for now, and re-wrote it from a scratch. I didn't like where the previous version was going and I don't think I was in the correct mood when I started it, you know?. It was more quantity rather than quality. I really didn't like it myself, so I refrained from posting it last minute. Anyways, sorry sorry sorry for the delay : **** It took a moment for her to remember that she was in an apartment and not a medical lab. She immediately took off her shoes, afraid she would contaminate this clinical apartment just by being in it. She slowly walked in, eyes pealed and alert, taking in the smells and furniture. Having determined that there was no immediate threat, she walked about lazily. There was something familiar about the smell of the apartment. She rubbed up against furniture as she walked, leaving her scent to subtly mark the territory. Suddenly, her hair stood on end as a shrill sound emanated from the room across the living room, startling her into a defensive crouch. The shrill sound continued monotonously and Ray realised it was just an alarm. She stood up and walked over to the room, slowly pushing the door open, still a bit weary. She walked across what appeared to be the bedroom and pressed a big red button on top of the alarm clock, silencing it. It was already 6:30 PM but Ray didn't muse about time at all. To her it was meaningless. She looked around Seth's bedroom with interest. There were posters of animated figures and lots and lots of action figures stood in rows on the bookshelf. A couple of shelves down she saw he had books about all sorts of things. Mayan history, European history, Middle eastern history, African history, Asian history and even American history. Intrigued, she rifled through the books until she came upon a book about ancient Egyptian history and legends. Most Egyptian history books were quite accurate. Ray knew because she was alive at the time. Thats why it surprised her at how much of the actual Bast Legend was left out. She surmised that the oracles must have had a hand in that matter. Suddenly Ray broke out in a cold sweat and began to shiver. She dropped the book as her eyes rolled back into her head. She was no longer standing in Seth's room, she was tied down on a stretcher, her head plastered down by tape across her forehead and bright florescent light was being shone in her face. A slow and steady beeping noise was heard in the back round. -"She's going into cardiac arrest!" She dimly heard a voice exclaim. -"let its heart stop for a while, lets see if we can bring it back to life then." replied a cold and indifferent voice. -"but sir! If we fail, we lose our only specimen and clue!" said another, more panicky, voice. A gunshot was fired and then the cold voice spoke again. -"anyone else care to share their opinion?" The beeping noise in the back round stopped and a steady tune was heard instead. Darkness was closing in on her vision when... Suddenly an explosion of shrill noise jolted Ray back into her surroundings. The alarm. Ray had only set it on snooze. She realised that she must have fallen at some point because she lay on her back panting. Rage swept through her as she got to her feet, walked over to the alarm clock, picked it up angrily and smashed it against the wall where it crumpled and fell to the floor in pieces and screws. She took a moment to calm down and become familiar with her surroundings again. Where was that memory from? And how did it end up in her head? She squeezed her eyes shut again attempting to re-visit the memory, wait! How did she know it was a memory and not just some hallucination or vision? She sat there with her palms pressed over her eyes but to no avail. The more she tried to remember the more it drifted further away. It was like trying to hold water in her cupped hands. It just trickled away no matter how tightly she pressed them together. Finally she gave up, and with a sigh of frustration got to her feet. It bothered her. Her whole life bothered her. Missing memories, unknown people, nagging sensations. It all started yesterday. She was fine until yesterday. Something must have happened then. She ran her fingers through her hair in agitation then as though coming to her senses, she realised Seth could be back any moment now and she should be revising. She walked into the bathroom and quickly rinsed her face then grabbed the bag lying by the door and dragged it over the table in the middle of the living room. She sat cross- legged and pulled out the first book she grabbed. She tried to get absorbed in it, but the nagging smell of the apartment assaulted her subconsciousness, and her stomach gave a tiny rumble indicating she was hungry, which did not improve her mood. She searched his fridge and then his freezer. There was nothing tasty or readily edible. She grew suspicious. She didn't really know Seth well enough to trust him. What was she even doing here, holding such a useless book and doing such useless things. What has gotten into her? She contemplated going through his belongings in order to find some clue about the familiar scent. But at that moment the door opened and Seth walked in looking smug, bringing with him a strong smell of chlorox. He was slightly sweaty from the effort it took to make her apartment fit for human habitation once again. Ray shoved her thoughts to the back of her head, and put on her happy facade. He didn't need to know anything just yet, and she would only resort to violence if he showed any signs of suspicion. She stood up, unsure about how to act. He walked into the living room and a smile lit his face up as he caught sight of her. She couldn't help but feel a bit happy to see such a cheerful face. Her stomach let out a loud rumble and she cursed as she felt herself blush. Seth looked at her in surprise and laughed. -"Whats wrong? Hungry?" he said grinning. Ray just scowled and looked down still blushing. She looked so damn cute! Seth could barely contain another laugh. -"why didn't you just help yourself to the kitchen? You didn't have to wait for me" he said, smiling. Ray chewed on her lower lip uncertainly and spoke to Seth's foot: I ...I can't cook...I don't know how. Which was entirely true, as Ray usually shifted into her feline form and ate the prey she hunted. Her few attempts at cooking had been disastrous, so she hunted pigeons, possums and other stray creatures she came across. When she didn't feel like hunting she went to the nearest restaurant. How she survived till this day was a mystery to Seth. Seth couldn't contain his surprise. -" how have you managed to stay alive this long?" he asked, amazed. She shifted her feet nervously. -"I eat fast food" She explained, "but you didn't seem to have any living in your freezer" she sniggered a little as she said this, but the joke was lost on Seth. Seth gaped at her, with an expression of disbelief. Ray pouted. There was nothing wrong with eating prey in her opinion. She didn't understand the reason behind his disbelief until he regarded her form. -" If you live off fast food how come you're so....?" he indicated her body with a sweeping gesture. Ray looked confused. Anyone who's food is that fast would lose a couple of pounds running after it. -"how come I'm so....not fat?" she asked helpfully. -"yes, precisely, how come?" Ray looked flabbergasted -maybe he wasn't as smart as I thought- she mused. -" well because I spend the energy I attain through consumption by moving and thinking and all sorts of various manners of exertion. Presently, at least, strenuous physical activity is my forte " she said with a little smile. Seth blinked stupidly, still completely at sea. Well of course she did, but fast food was so unhealthy he wondered how she even got the energy to move around enough to burn it. It took him a moment to register her odd use of words. While it sounded sophisticated, it sounded strange coming from someone like her. It sounded outdated. She was a mystery, and the hairs on the back of his neck started to prickle. There was more to her. Ray watched him carefully, she realised she had slipped up by the strange expression on his face as he regarded her. There was tension in the air that was thick enough to slice. However, the serious moment turned comical when Ray's stomach rumbled like a storm cloud. Pushing his thoughts aside, Seth was on fire! He would not allow ANYONE he knew to eat unhealthily! not while HE, Seth the incredible chef, was alive and breathing! He walked over to her and grabbed her hand. She tried to pulled it back, but he held on more tightly. Just as she was about to give him the death-stare, He looked at her, smiling eagerly. -"Lets go into the kitchen and see what my culinary skills can do for you" Ray forgot her irritation and her face glowed as she smiled from ear to ear and bounded ahead into the kitchen, Seth tripped on the rug but was dragged along on the floor behind her effortlessly. The air was ringing with laughter * **** -" We don't know how he managed it" -" I don't care how it was managed, I want him found!" He pounded his fist on his desk violently. The figure cringing in front of him did not dare retort, so the man sitting behind the desk continued. -" how fresh is the scene?" -" its four days old, sir" replied the cringing figure, as quietly as possible so as not to enrage the man behind the desk who was already so close to flying off the handle. He was a terrible boss when he was angry. -"Any clue as to the whereabouts of our subject?" Asked the boss. -"only clue was another crime scene sir, two days old, in another city. The police haven't been informed yet so we've had some difficulty hiding our own investigation." The boss dropped his chin in his palm, which was propped up on an elbow. -"you may leave" said the boss as he shooed away the underling. As the figure exited the office and shut the door, the man behind the desk let out an audible sigh and messaged his temples. Since the day he was promoted he had been chasing the same bloody trail. It sent him all over the country, even to other countries. The case was already over a century old. Had the crimes not been continuous, the forensics giving the same result for every crime scene, one can almost say it was impossible that it was the same killer. It was the only reason why the case hadn't been closed and classified as cold. There hasn't been a crime for over two months, only for the killer to re-emerge, once again, at large only two days ago, and strike again. What made the case even more peculiar was the lack of motive, and the lack of similarities and connections between the victims. It was as if they had simply been unfortunate in being drawn out in a lottery. There were DNA and fingerprints all over the crime scene, clear as day, but there was no one registered to match it to. Curiously enough the DNA showed the same results every time. A young female who was either in her late teens or early twenties. This was the biggest missing puzzle piece of all, for how could a killer who had been committing crimes for over a century not age at all? Further more, something were simply physically impossible for a female, such as skewering a full-grown rather tall man to a wall with pokers, leaving his feet to dangle well over a few inches above the floor. That was how the grandfather was found. And so, It was assumed that the killer was a male. The man ran a finger along the nameplate on his desk, covering the the first series of letters so it read " V. Gothello". He missed just seeing that name on his nameplate. He was happy the day he became detective Gothello, but he didn't know then, that he would spend 20 years of his life hunting the person who shortly after his promotion slaughtered the Gothello family. women, children and even the grandparents were found missing limbs and some were even decapitated. That day he was phoned by an unknown organization asking him to work with them secretly from his official position. In return they promised him limitless funds to investigate and permission to do whatever he wished with the killer once he was caught, as long as he was handed in alive. Now, Detective Victor Gothello was angry because he had received information from this "unknown organization" that a possible suspect had been a captive and experimental subject of another governmentally funded organization under the guise of FBP, Fertility and breeding projects. The "captive" had gone missing, leaving quite a bloody scene. Victor was quite young when he became detective. He excelled at his job as an officer and was offered the position of detective at the age of 21. He often mused at how the happiest day of his life was quickly followed by the worst day of his life, as though he didn't have the right to be happy. He sighed again and covered his face with his palms. It was going to be a long night filled with phone calls again. But little did he know, that somewhere out there, someone was being severely punished for the escape from the lab. ***** Graze lay back in his desk-chair and yawned. He wondered how Ray was doing now. Having been her assigned guardian wasn't an easy job. She slipped off his radar more often than she appeared. Last he heard from her, She was giving up on life. Not many of her kind had the stamina to live forever on their own, without their pack. Did she know how much he loved her?He often wondered. She drove him crazy. He would do anything for her as long as she would let him touch her occasionally. But that hasn't been the case for over two hundred years. Strangely enough, it felt as though she had been changing. Graze was simply oblivious to such things. According to him, he loved her. In reality however, Graze just wanted to breed with her, instinctively. And so, with no physical contact, Graze lost his edge. He shook his black main out of his amber eyes and sighed. He did miss her. He looked down at the beautiful, naked red-haired girl sucking his dick. She played around with her tongue, caressing the soft tip of his cock which was constantly producing pre-cum. He groaned as she took it deep again, trying to swallow him down to the balls, but hardly coming more than half way down the shaft. She had Blue eyes, so unlike Ray's, and her breasts were small and perky. She couldn't have been older than seventeen. He tousled her hair around both his hands while caressing her head and she moaned, but her moan became a screech as he yanked her hair back and then quickly shoved his cock down her throat again silencing her. He began to violently fuck her mouth, speaking only long enough to tell her that if she used her teeth, he would use something far worse and more painful to fuck her cunt with. He closed his eyes and lost himself in memories of Ray, of caressing and biting her delicious breasts and having her scream his name as his swollen cock emptied its load inside her. She used to love it (or so he imagined)when he used to tie her up and hang her from her wrists from the ceiling and attempt shove as many fingers as he could inside her tight entrance while she struggled. She would eventually bleed, but he would lick it up and continue. If she couldn't take it anymore, which he made sure of, he would use that excuse to force his large throbbing cock into her ass. Her screams of pain made the experience all more enjoyable. He roared and shoved his cock so far down the girls mouth that she nearly gagged, and emptied himself in her throat. She swallowed his cum as fast as she could before it made her gag from the sheer amount of it but it was filling her mouth too fast. a drop of cum seeped down from the corner of her full lips and on to the floor. Graze saw it and back-handed her so hard that she was tossed a few feet away from him, leaving his cock erect and dripping with cum. The entire side of her face was starting to bruise. He stood up and walked half the distance to her and pointed back at the spot where she spilled. -" lick it up" he ordered. The girl, tears flowing down her cheeks, crawled forward and bent her head down to lick it up, only to snap her head up again and start to struggle and scream as Graze attempted to shove first three fingers, then his entire hand inside her. His fingers felt evidence of her virginity but ignored it. She screamed as his fingers clawed past the last barrier of her innocence. He smirked and bent down, using one hand to hold her in place and the other hand to violently plow into her, and licked the blood dripping from her tight pussy. -" If you can tell me anything about the whereabouts of our lynx, I'll bring you more such girls" said an amused voice from the shadows. Graze paused in his assault on the girl to weigh his words, then resumed violating her. -" Last time I saw her was two hundred years ago, she came by to play a little but something I did upset her apparently" said Graze, a shadow of what might be called a sad expression crossing his handsome features. -"but", he continued, "why don't you forget about Ray for the moment and come enjoy this delightful girl with me?" Grim stepped out of the shadows chuckling. He was a spitting image of Graze. They were twins. They shared everything since they were little. The habit remained as they grew older. And eventually they shared Ray as well. The oracles didn't know Graze had a twin. The oracles... if they only knew. He walked over to where Graze had the girl pressed down on the floor and nodded while grinning. He walked around so that he was in the girl's line of vision and knelt down in front of her. He reached down to wipe away a tear seeping from the corner of her eye. She flinched but then relaxed to his soft touch. -"Whats your name?" he asked, keeping his voice gentle. He saw a glimmer of hope in her eyes before she slowly stopped sobbing and said -"Nikki" before breaking down and starting to sob again. -"please please please let me go, I won't tell anyone I promise, please!" Grim gently held a finger to her lips -"shhh" he shushed her softly. He stood inches away from her face, on both knees and unzipped his pants. -" if you suck me real nice, I might let you go" he said. The girl knew it was hopeless then and went quiet. Graze didn't like it when they weren't screaming in pain. He roughly flipped her over so that she lay on her back and with one hand on her stomach kept her pinned to the floor and resumed forcing his hand inside her as her screams filled the room once again. She struggled and clawed at his arm to no avail until Grim forced her head back and shoved his hard cock down her throat while bending forward to take a small nipple in his mouth. His rough treatment of her breasts was leaving bruises and cuts as he bit and sucked and squeezed. He will have fun with her to the fullest extent. ~She won't last much longer~ He thought, but thats why he missed Ray so much. She survived anything. **** Beyond Redemption Ch. 05 First of all, I want to say thank you to all you people who commented and gave advice. It did not fall on deaf ears. When this series is complete, I'll take it down and correct it while incorporating your advice and then upload it again. So keep those comments coming :), yes, even the mean ones. *** The kitchen looked dreadful, but it certainly wasn't bothering Seth at all. He could hardly remember the last time he laughed this hard and long. Introducing Ray to cooking was a hazardous experience. She pulled faces and grimaced whenever she sniffed the enigmatic contents of anyone of the shakers that Seth's large collection of exotic spices was comprised of. Pots were upended, flour covered the floor and Ray couldn't seem to resist the urge to sniff anything that was sniffable. After hurricane Ray demolished half the kitchen, the pair decided to just clean up and eat out. Seth had endeavored and failed abysmally to teach her how to cook macaroni and cheese. After she managed to somehow put eggs in it and burned her fifth batch, they decided she was a lost cause (Ray admitted this very grudgingly, subconsciously giving him the death-stare) and commenced operation cleanup. It took one hour and forty-five minutes to clean the kitchen and even then a slight smell of charred god-knows-what still lingered in the air. They had fallen silent during the cleaning process and each of them was lost in his and her own thoughts. Seth stole a glance over at Ray while putting away the last of the dishes, entranced by how the light reflected off her blood-red hair. She was mutely scrubbing the same spot on the stove with a glazed expression in her eyes. Seth wondered, and not for the first time, what was going on behind those mysterious amber eyes. It struck him how fast their relationship was developing. He thought of how stupid teens on shows like "Jerry Springer" sound when they are certain they know their boyfriends very well when they've only met two weeks ago. He can actually relate to that. He was almost certain now that he had seen Ray before but not recently. no, this felt more like a childhood memory. Like the first time he rode a bike or saw the ocean. -"Where are you really from?" Seth found himself saying before he can stop himself. Ray snapped her head up to look at him, startled by his sudden inquiry. -"wha...?" was all she could get out before Seth cut across her. -"I'm certain that you're not french and I didn't see anything personal of yours while I was cleaning your apartment. No pictures, no books, no old clothing, and not even a phone". Ray's thoughts were zooming ten thousand miles per hour trying to come up with scenarios and excuses, but Seth wouldn't give her time to collect herself. Instead he continued -" You come out of no-where and of all the people in the school you choose to befriend me. Why?" He looked at her with expressionless eyes, Devoid of judgment. Waiting for her reply. hiding the pain that accompanied memories of years of being bullied at school. Ray stuttered and then fell silent. She was debating coming clean. But he was a stranger. But she was tired of this charade. But he was a stranger. But she wasn't even sure herself of what was going on her own life. Her brows furrowed thoughtfully. -" You're right, I'm not French. I changed my last name. Or rather, I added it. I have no family to speak of, but that is none of your business." Seth looked taken aback for a moment, realising he had overstepped his boundaries by posing somewhat private questions. He just didn't know why she chose to hang out with a loser like him. -"I'm sorry... " he stammered. But this time Ray cut across him. -"you saw me, didn't you?"she said nervously. At first, Seth didn't understand, but then Ray quickly stepped up to him and leaned into him, her forehead pressing against his chest. The bloody image Seth had seen of her splattered on the pavement was forced into his head. Alarmed, he stagged backwards, flattening himself against the counter. -"what the fuck was that?what did you do?!" he demanded, looking rather pale. -"you saw me" she repeated. Seth stared at her, at a loss for words. When he didn't reply she continued. -"I knew it was you. I don't know why I was all bloodied up or why I jumped. I can't remember anything before four days ago. The only thing that stuck out in my memory was you. I was hoping you knew me. That's why I decided to get close to you." Her eyes sought some kind of reassurance from Seth's face. When there was no forthcoming reply from him, Ray sighed and took a step back to lean on the opposite counter. Her shoulders slumped as she tried to hide the impending disappointment that would follow him rejecting her. She felt vulnerable. -"the dream..." Seth was muttering absent-minded to himself. Ray snapped her head up, a horrified expression on her face. -"what dream?" she demanded. Seth felt the heat creep up to his cheeks in spite of himself. -"it's nothing" he replied, just a little too quickly. They both knew exactly what dream, but promptly put it out of their minds for a better time. -"well, what now" said Ray, looking crestfallen. She wrapped her arms protectively around herself, as though it would shield her emotions. Seth imagined ending their acquaintance then and there, letting her walk out knowing he would never see her again. He didn't like that image one bit. She heard Seth push himself off the counter and step closer. He leaned in the same way she had done earlier but instead of anything supernatural, he just planted an innocent kiss on her forehead. She looked up startled, her eyes quizzical. Seth took one of her hands in his warm one and looked at her with a slight smile. -"Let's just start over as friends. I don't know what happened to you, but I do feel like I've known you before. Whether you're alive or dead, or whether you have family or not, I'm sure that one day you will trust me enough to tell me what's going on in your life." Ray beamed up at him and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. -" thank yo...." her thanks were interrupted by the loud complaints of her still empty stomach. -" I'm really really hungry.." she whined, on the verge of tears. Seth chuckled and swept her off her feet and into his arms. -"fast food it is, m'lady". *** Victor Gothello was not in a pleasant mood. He was beginning to think this case would never be solved, not even after he grows old and retires. The handsome young detective wasn't feeling very handsome or young. He had shadows under his eyes due to insomnia, and being emotionally unavailable and snappy didn't exactly do wonders for the ladies. After receiving directions to the newest crime-scene, Victor set off immediately, not wanting to get there after the police catch wind of it and contaminate the evidence. Upon his arrival to a neighborhood that looked like it was something between rural and suburb, he drove around slowly, searching for the house number written on the piece of paper he had in his hand. When he found it, he pulled up into the drive way, noticing that it was the only house without any lights on. The car that was parked in the open garage looked like it had began collecting dust. Expecting the worst, Victor gathered the equipment he would need into a case and carried it under his arm. He didn't bother knocking when he reached the door, and just pushed his way in, already knowing what kind of sight would greet his eyes once he turns on the lights. *** The following week was almost too normal to be true. Ray was becoming more relaxed around Seth in spite of herself, and Seth was only too smug about it. The only abnormal thing was that Ray had this uncanny habit of turning up around meal times and Seth had no idea how she was getting into his apartment. The first time he found her in his living room in the morning had him freaking out and hyper-ventilating from the sudden adrenaline kick. When he calmed enough to ask her how she got in, she just grinned stupidly at him and stuck her tongue out tauntingly. He had the locksmith add several different locks to his door later that day. However. Every morning without fail, Seth would step into the living room only to find Ray sitting expectantly at the dinner table with an empty plate and a fork in front of her, anticipating breakfast. The same thing would occur at dinner time. Seth assumed it was his awesome culinary skills that had her breaking into his apartment and just accepted this as one of the many oddities that came with having Ray as a friend. She was like a cat. No where to be seen until meal times. Having her around was such a hand full that Seth had neglected to call his parents for over a week. It wasn't until Friday, after he dropped Ray off at the entrance of her building that he had the clarity to recall them. Usually they would call him if he neglected to call them first. Even for a day. He picked up his phone and dialed the number he knew by heart and waited. The phone rang once, twice, and kept ringing until he got the voice mail. He hung up, not bothering to wait for the beep in order to leave a message. Paranoia was kicking in and Seth started to worry. -"it's probably nothing, they're probably just on vacation or maybe just busy..." he told himself. Trying to shake off the foreboding feeling that was fast taking a hold of him. He spent the day pacing around in his apartment restlessly, speed-dialing the same number every hour or so. The sky outside was slowly getting darker but Seth was too distracted by his own thoughts. *** Ray watched him pace his apartment nervously, taking care not to be seen from the window. It was dinner time and she was happily looking forward to good food. However, the sight of Seth pacing had her watching on curiously rather than just barging in. Deciding that she should give him the option of rejecting her company for the night, she climbed off the window frame and grabbed onto the giant pipe that ran down the length of the building. She slid down fast, landing very lightly on her feet. She punched in the doorway code and took the elevator up, and was soon knocking on his door. Seth answered looking a little tousled and rather worried, as though he had repeatedly been running his fingers through his hair. He smiled slightly at the sight of her. -"hey, so unusual for you to knock these days, whats up?" Ray looked at him, now feeling a tad concerned herself. Now that she saw him up close, he looked tired. Her eyes perused his face, looking for some indication to the cause of his distress. -"nothing, I'm just ... are you alright?" -"yeah I'm fine" came the automatic reply. -"come in." He stepped back to grant her entrance but Ray was hesitant. -"If it's a bad time and you want to be alone..." -"nonsense" Seth reached out, grabbed her hand and pulled her into the hallway. Then without knowing why, he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. He promptly ignored the squirming in his pants. -"I always like having you around, specially when I feel like I want to be alone" he whispered into her hair. Her haunting scent was filling his nostrils and he was feeling slightly more at ease. She felt a rush of affection for him and hugged him back without hesitation. She was resisting the urge to purr, but was doing a poor job of it. -"hmmm..." Seth hummed as he nuzzled his face in the crook of her neck. " you're like a giant cat" he whispered, smiling. She laughed nervously but remained silent and just enjoyed the sensation of being held. He was warm like a quilt and smelled like herbal shampoo. Their friendship had grown deeper with each passing day since they decided to start over and they were beginning to form bonds of trust. They felt it now, even though they stood holding each other, hardly speaking. The sexual tension was promptly ignored by both as they had decided to put it on a back burner and instead focus on simply getting to know each other. Seth gently began stroking her hair and tightened his arms around her before finally breaking the hug. He kissed her forehead before taking a deep breath and moving aside to let her in the living room. -"don't worry" he grinned, feeling better just by having her here. -" dinner will be ready shortly". *** They ate dinner while watching a movie rerun on TV. Tonights dinner was chicken, pasta, and some yummy sauce. Ray had eaten quite an impressive amount before falling asleep at the table. Seth didn't notice until the movie was over. He looked over at her and smiled to himself. He was beginning to feel something he would rather not admit to himself just yet. Humming quietly, he tidied up quickly. When he had finished his task he wondered what to do with her. Having decided to just have her sleep over, he gently lifted her off the kitchen chair and into his arms and she unconsciously began to purr. He chuckled to himself then carried her into his bedroom and as gently as he could deposited her on his bed. With some impressive self-control, he removed her shirt and her jeans then tucked her under the covers. After brushing his teeth and checking his e.mail one last time, he joined her. Nuzzling up behind her, he buried his face in her thick hair, held her close and drifted off to dreamland. *** It was a nightmare. He was standing in his parents house, a place he knew since he was six years old. There was blood spattered everywhere and the smell was nauseating. He felt the panic well up in his throat and resisted the urge to vomit. He was panting and crying. Something was terribly wrong. He ran through the house without objective, screaming like a man gone insane. The disgusting, sour smell was getting more intense as he crashed into the living room and stumbled over something laying in his path. He crashed to the floor, landing in a pool of moisture. He recognized the smell of iron and knew beyond doubt that it was blood. He looked behind him only to see his fathers body laying a foot or so away from his decapitated head. Averting his eyes quickly as he retched, his eyes landed instead on his mother, she hung limply on the wall, held up by kitchen knives and pokers. Her eyes were wide and staring directly at him. He saw her mouth move awkwardly as blood dripped from her lips. She hissed at him venomously, making him cringe. He hugged his knees to his chest and rocked back and forth, tears rolling down his cheeks as he stared up at his screwed mother mutely. He was sliding into shock. -"You will be erased" said his mother, smiling, flashing bloodied teeth at him. Seth buried his head in his arms, gagging, crying and sick to the stomach. Willing everything to go away. He felt a sudden warmth envelope him, and recognised the scent of sandalwood, tinted with jasmine. -"wake up" he heard Ray's whisper. *** Beyond Redemption Ch. 06 Ray was jostled awake by Seth's struggling form behind her. Still half asleep and tousled, she sat up and leaned over him, concerned. She realized he must have been having a nightmare and tried to gently shake him awake until one of his flying fists smacked her right on the head. Enraged at being so rudely awakened properly, she responded with a punch to his face without thinking , and he went still, barely breathing. Ray, now fully awake, stared at him , mortified at her reflex and tried to wake him up in a more gentle manner. So she held him, half-apologetically, and softly whispered in his ear, "Wake up" Seth's eyes snapped open as he simultaneously took a deep breath. He sat up so suddenly that it made him feel sick and dizzy, and at the same time he felt as though his head had been split in two. panic stricken, he tried to struggle out of her embrace, but calmed quickly as he realised he was awake. he squeezed his eyes shut, taking in her scent. He willed himself to relax. His skin was glistening with cold sweat and his pulse was erratic. "You were having a nightmare" Ray stated, more than asked, trying to seem comforting. Seth opened his mouth to reply, but as soon as he moved his jaw, "OW!!!!! I feel like my head's been whacked by a speeding bus!" Ray's lip twitched guiltily. "you banged your head against the headboard while you were struggling" she explained, lying through her teeth. Seth, not wanting to move his jaw anymore, merely gave a small nod. He was worried. It might just be a dream, but it felt so real! He felt his stomach clench as a small bubble of panic began to well up inside him. Instinctively, he buried his head in the crook of her neck and inhaled deeply the mysterious scent that surrounded him and saved him in what he felt like was the nick of time. Saved him from what exactly?, He couldn't possibly know, but the feeling of impending doom was so raw that he was still feeling the aftermath. His stomach couldn't seem to make up it's mind as to whether it wanted to empty its contents or not. She stroked his hair gently, over and over, until he lost himself in the steady rhythm of her breathing and fell asleep once more. *** That morning, Ray and Seth ate breakfast in silence. Ray seemed impatient and kept sneaking glances over at Seth, who was having a hard time chewing his food. His mind was still on the dream he had that night, but it didn't stop him noticing Ray's idea of subtle glances as her eyes flicked up towards his face when she though he wasn't looking. Slightly annoyed but mostly curious, he looked down at his plate then glanced up suddenly in time to catch her eye. "you've been staring at me for the past half-hour" he stated flatly. A blush was creeping up up her cheeks as she hastened to swallow her mouth full of food in order to reply. "you woke up struggling yesterday , but you haven't said a word to me about what you saw in your dream" She looked disgruntled, her tone huffy. "it was just a nightmare, it means nothinghe replied, his tone softening slightly. She scowled.?f it was indeed nothing then why do you still brood on the subject?she answered heatedly. He could hear the underlaying worry in her voice. "it just shook me up a little. You know how dreams are, sometimes they seem so unreal, other times they're lucid" He recalled the scene from last night and looked down at his toast, feeling slightly sick in the stomach again. "why, then, do you insist upon not telling me?" She whined, then continued sternly, "You know you don't have to beef around the bush with me, we're friends, you can tell me anything!" she pouted her lower lip in a mock sad-face. Seth snorted while drinking his chocolate-milk. "It's 'beat', Ray, 'beat', not 'beef'" he said, cracking up. She pouted for real this time. "Don't you dare change the subject" "I'm not changing it, but you can't go around saying 'beef around the bush', people can easily misunderstand that" he choked out, still laughing. He quieted down as he noticed her heated gaze. Ray suddenly learned across the table towards him as though she intended to kiss him. His smirk faded and he licked his lower lip in anticipation. When her lips were only a centimetre away from his, she quickly reached up and poked him hard in the jaw! Seth fell back off his chair, howling, as Ray stood up, her face glowering. "Stop mocking me!" she yelled. He just didn't understand her concern. Stupid block-head. She ran to the door, changed her mind half-way, ran back to the kitchen counter and grabbed some more toast and cheese before running back to the door, intending to put on her shoes and leave. Of course, she wasn't serious about this whole charade. She just needed to know what he had seen in his dream. If they were indeed sharing dreams, the implications were very bad. She went slow while pretending to be flustered with putting her shoes on so that Seth may have the time to orient himself and catch up. He stood up as the pain in his jaw subsided. For someone so upset, he thought she was doing a very good job at keeping her temper and violence levels low. Recalling the second time she came face to face with Nathan changed his mind however. nah... She's not upset at all, he decided, smiling. One glance at her hurried pace however made him scurry to put the food away while yelling for her to wait. She ignored him defiantly and continued out of the door, thinking it would be more dramatic to slam it shut, but she refrained, taking into consideration how it would hurt her sensitive hearing. Instead, She settled for a loud and huffy Hmph!as she quietly shut the door behind her. She stood in front of the elevator, but didn't press the button to summon it until she heard Seth scrambling to get shoes on at the inside of the door. She grinned wickedly to herself. He was such a gentleman that pretending to be angry at him almost made her feel guilty. She giggled sheepishly to herself but fell silent at once, startled by her own uncharacteristic girlish mannerism. She quickly resumed her pretence of being displeased as the elevator door opened in front of her, and Seth walked out of the apartment on queue. He quickly locked up and joined her in the elevator before she pressed the button to go down. "I'm really sorry" he said, looking perfectly serious. Ray narrowed her eyes as she scrutinized him, searching his face for any signs.... The corners of Seth's mouth twitched. "AHA!!!!!!!!" She cried triumphantly, pointing at his mouth, thinking she caught him red-handed "You're not serious at all about that apology!" Seth still fought to keep a straight face in order to deny her claim, and he prayed to whatever force that existed to keep him from laughing, but the only thing that kept floating through his head was: ~ beef....beef around the bush...? He snorted, but covered it up by faking a cough-attack. Feigning worry, Ray took the opportunity to thump him on the back (sending him head-first into the elevator door). "you should really drink water after every meal to avoid getting food-remains lodged in your throat" she advised him professionally, and then added while grinning "It's OK, you can laugh, I promise I will not kill you" "Yeah, but that doesn't mean you wouldn't flay me to within an inch of my life" He replied, in mock terror. "confounded... too obvious of a loophole" she whispered under her breath, as the elevator door opened in time for the couple to see the school bus start to move. "THE BUS!" They shouted in unison, scrambling to exit the building in attempt to run after it. The bus-driver, who was by now accustomed to their tardiness, stopped the bus when he saw Seth and Ray get jammed at the building door they as they both scrambled to exit simultaneously with their backpacks. The driver shook his head, amused. "kids" *** "I found her!" Graze shouted. Grim came running out of the other room so fast that it seemed as though he materialized out of thin air. "you found Ray?!" he asked incredulously. "Yes, and I have her address right here. About a half-hour drive from our current location!" Grim and Graze looked at each other excitedly. "Should we go now?" asked Graze, glancing at the computer screen. "Yeah!... but wait.. no" Grim said, suddenly looking crestfallen. "Why not!?" it was Graze' turn to look incredulous. After all this searching, all this time, Grim was being unusually hesitant. "We have not seen her for a very long time and I want to make sure we make and impressive entrance so that she does not think we have been desperately searching for her this entire time" said Grim, apprehensively dancing on the spot. "as if you can possibly conceal that from her notice with a clear conscience, you imbecile!said Graze, annoyed at the delay. "Don't call me an imbecile!, I'm going to tell Ray on you!" Grim threatened, shamelessly. Graze had been giving him grief since their childhood, since Graze was the older sibling... by 1 minute and 32 seconds, and Grim was reminded of it only too often. They bantered in an odd manner. Living this long made their speech hover somewhere between modern and old, and constantly morphing. Graze, the more arrogant of the two, was constantly ruled by impulse. Grim was the more reasonable. His thoughts tended to follow a more realistic and practical pattern. Graze suddenly looked troubled as his eyes glazed over and he recalled some painful childhood memories involving Ray. "That is even less macho than her knowing how badly we wanted to see her, you pussy!" Graze shot back, hoping to discourage Grim from actually telling her. "I have an idea!, let us send her gifts!" suggested Grim eagerly, hoping to defer his twins attention from the immediate situation. And of course, Arrogant Graze who was always confident of having the upper-hand stupidly took the bait. He nodded excitedly, "yeah! That sounds like something she would praise us for" And so, unable to resist the urge to sit still any longer, the two undressed and shifted into their feline forms then bounded out of the back door of the little shack they were lodging in, located in the middle of the forest, in order to catch some nice presents for Ray. *** School was normal. Blissfully normal. People avoided Ray like the plague, though they were surprisingly pleasant to Seth. No one knew what would trigger an outburst from her, which kept everyone on their toes. Seth became somewhat popular in his own class as guys kept huddling around his desk during breaks. They were curious about what it was like to constantly be around Ray. Rumour had already gotten out that they lived together (he tried very hard to correct the misconception, afraid of offending her. She on the other hand couldn't care less). The only one seeming openly offended by all this was Sydney. She approached Seth on several occasions while Ray was away, but Seth never made an effort to start a conversation. She would always slink away disappointed in the end as the boys would eventually crowd her away from his desk. Ray was usually off to find the nearest snack machine during breaks, unaware of the interrogation Seth had to suffer in her absence. "are you guys dating?" "have you guys you know... done it?" Frequently asked questions were getting on his nerves. Seth sighed and answered for the hundredth time "we're just friends". He tried very hard to make it sound as though he didn't wish it were any different. "yeh! I guess you're going to be the ''just friends'' type forever" teased James, the only boy in his class who ever spared him a glance, even during the bullying. Seth took it all in good humour. Ever since Nathan backed off, Seth's friend count had started to rise miraculously. *** ~ hmmmm...~ , Ray stood in front of the snack vending machine indecisively. She was unsure if she felt like eating something salty (she eye-balled the sour cream and onion chips) or something sweet (her eyes swivelled to the Maltesers on the next shelf). "I would be recommendin the Maltesers if ye were out for somethin sweet" said the cheery voice of Ben. Ray turned around and eyed him curiously. He was handsome. He had ginger hair and freckles , and his eyes were grey, almost silver. He stood a head taller than Ray and looked rather lean as he leaned against his mop. Ray licked her lips appreciatively. Ben looked curiously back at her then at the machine. "hmm, The machine's soundin awfully loud" He looked suspiciously at the machine and came closer to inspect it. At the mention of the noise, Ray realised she had been purring quite loudly and immediately ceased. "huh?" Ben was scratching his head, confused. Upon closer inspection, he could have sworn the machine wasn't the source of noise. "oh well, no point in fixin whats fixed its self" He said to no one in particular. "So what'll it be lass?" He chirped at Ray, who he finally noticed was checking him out. Ben squirmed uncomfortably under her gaze. She must be 18 at most, he thought. He was getting the distinct feeling that she was about to pounce on him and it made him nervous. He considered most students around him just kids, in spite of only being 22 years old. But she made him feel like he was a piece of meat. He got caught up with a black dot he spotted in the swirling amber of her iris and stared. The seconds ticked by and no one said a word. Ben was feeling distinctly dry in the throat. It wasn't as if he was immune to pretty girls. And Ray was beautiful, in a very different manner. As suddenly as the atmosphere shifted to seriousness, it abruptly shifted back to normal as Ray grinned at him, making his heart skip a beat. She loaded her coins into the machine. "Maltesers it is then. Thank you for saving me from my own indecisiveness, I would have been stuck here all day" she gushed as she quickly swept forward and planted a light kiss on Ben's scratchy stubble of a cheek, before snatching the chocolate from the machine slot and skipping off towards class. Ben rubbed the spot where her lips touched, feeling flabbergasted. No way! He was not developing a crush on a student! And one that seems to have captured the interest of Seth, whom he liked very much. *** He had been working all night. There was blood smeared everywhere and the place reeked of foetid carcass. The main commotion appeared to have taken place in the living room because that was where he found the bodies. If he hadn't been accustomed to such a grizzly sight he would be outside introducing his breakfast to the pavement for several hours. The scene, the smell and the implications were enough to make the hardiest of men leave the room. Victor disposed of his third pair of latex gloves, wiped his sweaty forehead on his sleeve, then picked up his cellphone to make a call. He dialed from memory and spoke curtly into the receiver. "I need some people down here now, there's too much evidence for me to move on my own. The team might wanna take a look at all this stuff as well." He hung up and looked around. His eyes fell on the bloated, green-tinged, decapitated torso of what he estimated to be a male, about forty to forty five years old. The man's head lay a few feet away, his eyes were stitched shut. The neck of the torso indicated that the man's heart had been pumping frantically at the time he lost his head. The cut looked clean. Poor fellow couldn't have suffered much. The stitches seemed to be post-mortise, they were still red-rimmed and looked like the blood at the base of the stitches had dried out rather than clotted. His gaze swept the room, stopping once more at the body of what clearly was a female. He estimated her age to be the same as the male. She was skewered to the wall, suspended several inches off the floor with her chin propped on her chest and her feet dangling lifelessly. Victor hadn't noticed it the first time due to the blue hue of her skin, but there was a shade of black permeating her lips. It was pitch black where her lips met, as though they were glued shut. He approached the body and reached up to part her lips. It was as if they were molded shut, and he had to use a considerable amount of force before there was a sickening crack as her jaw was dislocated. Still her lips were shut. He let out a stream of profanity at the thought of what the forensic team would do to him when they got here and saw what he did to the evidence. He wedged the tips of his fingers in between her lips and attempted to pry them open, but this time they gave away easily enough. Just as he began parting them to look inside her mouth, a puff of black powder from the inside of her mouth engulfed his face. He inhaled abruptly with surprise and realized his mistake immediately as the powder made its way into his lungs, causing him to sputter and gag. He picked up his phone again, and pressed the redial button. It rang twice before a voice on the other end answered "Dr. Ferrel, to whom am I speaking?" Victor cleared his throat and managed to wheeze out a reply. "Hey Nick, It's me again, are you on your way here, or still at the lab?" "Are you all right Victor?, you sound out of breath" The voiced belonged to a middle-aged man. "I'm fine, I just inhaled some unknown substance found in the mouth of one of the victims. I don't seem to be suffering any side-effects yet, but you guys should come in with gas masks just in case." "Oh dear, I'll let the forensic team know. Do be careful Victor, would be a shame to add you to the Victims we already have waiting for us. I'll have a look at you when we get there" came the as-a-matter-of-fact reply. "Thanks, I can feel your concern for my safety doc" said Victor dryly. He hung up again and took some time to check his vitals. He seemed perfectly fine. He figured whatever it was might either kill him painlessly, or in worst case scenario, cause impotence. He sighed and ran his fingers through his dark brown hair in frustration and fatigue. He longed for his comfortable bed. He looked around at the familiar crime scene thoughtfully. Clearly it was the same killer he had been chasing down since he got the bloody job. Same method. The only thing missing was DNA evidence. He already assessed the wounds and Id-ed a positive match to wounds of other victims found slaughtered in a similar manner. He walked into the kitchen and sat on a chair near the counter, propping his chin on his palm. Something wasn't right about this scene. It felt different. Almost like it had a different demeanour. Victor considered for the first time the presence of another unknown culprit. What if it wasn't one but two? But all the previous evidence pointed towards one. Ahh! Too damn frustrating!he growled to himself. It was the first time he noticed the any presence of a second party at the scene. He made a mental note to go over all of the previous evidence in case he had missed something. Obviously it had to be someone in league with the murderer. An innocent bystander who happened across such a scene would have called it in. The black powder he inhaled was also a new addition, he reminded himself. Putting on a fresh pair of latex gloves, Victor didn't notice how his own pupils had constricted to a point that made his iris seem entirely blue. He continued to rummage through possessions, cabinets and drawers. As he moved around in the house, quietly going about his work, the hairs on the back of his neck prickled, and he stood up wearily. There was an eerie distant crying from up-stairs. He pulled out his gun and cautiously headed in it's direction. Beyond Redemption Ch. 07 I'm sorry for the long wait. to be honest this story isn't my favourite, I only come around to it now and again because I know some people actually like this stuff. admittedly, against alot of remarks that the story is moving too fast, I feel the need to inform you all that nothing drastic will take place until all the characters have been properly established. there is nothing I hate more than one dimentional characters that just fall in love, overcome a life-threatening crisis, and mate for life within the first week of an imaginary time-span. ------------------------------------ He could have sworn it was a baby, no, a child crying. it was faint, and lasted only for a second, but he was sure he heard it. The grandfather clock in the hallway stopped ticking. The pendulum stopped moving. In the kitchen, a droplet of water that had just fallen from the tap was suspended in mid-air. Frozen in time. His vision suddenly fogged up and he stumbled before reaching the first step. he reached out to grasp something to steady himself and with a sigh of relief he felt his hand close around the railing. What was going on in this house? was he losing his grip on reality? perhaps he was just overworking himself. yes, that's it. He sat down on the bottom step, trying to rid himself of his disoriented state. It took him a couple of seconds to realise something was lazily moving in his peripheral vision, as the realisation struck him he jerked his head around but it was gone. he stood up quickly, his gun at the ready. He definitely saw something. His mind was not playing tricks on him. There is was again!, He spun to face it, but once again, it had vanished. then it began anew, eerie and heartbroken, he heard the child cry from upstairs. Victor followed the voice and went upstairs, slowly, checking behind him with every step he took. He resisted the urge to rush to the crying child. He hadn't checked the second floor yet, so he cautiously stepped up on the landing, his paranoia flaring and his gun at the ready. In Victor's eyes, There were many terrible and sad things in this world, and at the tip of the summit, traumatised and abused children ranked first. The landing was at the end of a long hallway, there were three doors, the one at the opposite end of the hallway was slightly ajar and it was where the crying came from. Victor walked slowly towards it, checking the other two doors as he went. The doors swung open silently, almost as though they floated open. The rooms were neat. The beds made and laundry folded, but they were empty and dusty, devoid of any presence. The light coming in from the window cast an oddly bluish hue to the rooms, further adding to the feeling of abandonment the place had. Victor noticed for the first time since his vision fogged that nothing seemed to be as solid and concrete as it was just several minutes ago. The feeling was oddly reminiscent of lucid dreaming. He shook it off and continued to the last door. It swung open as silently as the other two did, and the crying suddenly faded into silent whispers. There was someone else there with the child! Victor immediately feared for it. "Come on out with your hands where I can see'em!" He ordered, his gun cocked and ready. The whispers continued, either unaware of him, or simply ignoring him. "Detective gothello of the local PD! I am armed and coming in" He said curtly and cautiously edged into the room, his gun held close, ready to hold out and shoot. What he saw nearly made him shoot himself in the foot. The room looked like it belonged to a little boy. There were little action figured on shelves everywhere and the bed frame was shaped like a red camaro. The room was lit by the same strange blue surreal light streaming in from the windows. But that was not the source of his surprise. In the corner next to the closet crouched a little boy, sniffling, but Victor could not see his face, for infront of the little boy crouched a young lady, her long red hair falling past her waist and touching the floor. She was facing the little boy, consoling him with soothing whispers and stroking the top of his head. Victor approached the pair quietly. He had the distinct impression they could not see him for some reason. When he could finally see the little boys face, he was no longer sobbing and was smiling a little. He had curly blond hair and oversized light-brown eyes. The girl was breathtaking. Her amber eyes were the colour of his favourite whiskey. She was olive-skinned and wore a white cotton shirt coupled with black worn Jeans. Her feet were bare and had very dark grass-stains on the bottom. He longed to touch her hair. But something told him not to. He stood and stared at her. She wiped a tear that was sliding down the little boys cheek and kissed his head. He nuzzled into her embrace mumbling something in his cute little voice that sounded like "angel". she begun to hum a strange song as she affectionately stroked his head over and over while he played with a strand of her red hair until he fell asleep. She stood up slowly and carefully walked over to the bed. Quietly she tucked the little boy in, kissed his cheek and whispered "Sleep well, Seth" in an odd accent before she disappeared out the window. Victor stood flabberghasted. He walked up to the sleeping boy and his hand hovered over the childs cheek. But before he could touch the child however, he noticed the calendar pinned onto the wall over the bed. It was dated year 1993. Aghast, Victor looked down at the child and surmised that he could not have been older than five years of age. He shook his head, suddenly coming to his senses. This was a crime scene for fucks sake! This child should not be here. As Victor reached down to touch the little boy, the moment his fingertip came into contact with the child's hair, the entire room lurched and Victor knew no more. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ They Placed the still breathing but unconcious "gift" at her door and waited for her to come home in an alley, across the street from her building. She was away for some time. Two, perhaps three hours later, they saw her get off the school bus, followed by a human. Ray was smiling and spoke to him in a most animated manner. Grim looked apprehensive. Graze looked annoyed, with a hint of jealousy permeating his angular features. "Who is that, do you think?" Graze asked, his annoyance becoming apparent to his twin. Grim looked thoughtful for a few seconds before snapping his fingers knowingly. "I know!, She's just playing with him before she moves in for the kill" Graze crossed his arms, His features now in an identicle thoughtful expression. "That is so unlike her. She used to get impatient with us for doing that kind of stuff" Grim smiled devilishly. "Maybe she got bored with the good old pounce-n-kill" Still, he felt it was unfair that she was indulging in the very thing that she used to scold them for, that being "Don't play with your food!" usually followed by a sharp slap on the back of the head. The twins watched as she entered the building along with her assumed prey. They then snuck out of the alley across the road and had a silent brawl over who got to climb the giant pipe that ran down the length of the building first. After much cursing and death-staring at eachother, they were crouched outside her balcony and could see into the stairway window near by. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ray sensed something as soon as she got off the bus. The familiar prickling sensation on the back of her neck alerted her at once. Though she sensed no immediate danger, she kept on the alert. Being followed often ended in violence, she knew from experience. Wait, what experience? She had no memory, but she felt elated over the meagre discovery about herself. She understood that this feeling was something she had long been accustomed to. She decided not to mention anything to Seth though. He would probably just overreact anyways. She decided to keep him close however, so she convinced him to accompany her to her own apartment for a change of clothing before heading over to his. They had established a daily routine of first homework, then eating dinner while watching horror movies at Seth's. Seth quickly understood that her taste catered more to horror movies since she once gave him the silent treatment for a whole day (even during meal times) after he had attempted to show her various chick-flicks, of which envolved disgusting amounts of romance and drama, and to Ray's horror – "no one ever dies! Not even the annoying ones!". Seth was at first hesitant to accompany her, afraid to see what she may have done with the den of evil that he cleansed upon their first encounter, but gave in after a deathstare that made him change his mind in 0,35 seconds. Her nose twitched upon entering the building. The scent was curiously familiar. She saw a flash of amber eyes shadowed by thick black brows for a split second. Someone she knew from her past, she thought, excited. Perhaps they can answer her questions. But her excitement faded as she realised that the scent was growing faint the further up the elevator went. Whoever it was, was no longer here, her heart fell. When the elevator came to a halt at the seventh floor and the doors parted however, a different scent engulfed her. Fresh kill. No more than half an hours death. She had trouble not salivating. It smelled delicious. As they walked out of the elevator, she looked for the source of the scent and found it laying on her doormat. A large and beautiful hare, laying in a pool of it's own blood. Seth, who came out right behind her took a second longer to notice the "gift". Ray was ecstatic, this was the equivalent of a love letter. But even better, an edible love letter. She smacked her lips and approached the edible love letter but was instantly jerked back by a disgusted and nauseated Seth. "holy shit! That is just disgusting!" he raged. Ray almost bit his hand off out of reflex and felt a stab of annoyance towards him before recalling that Seth wasn't normal like she was. He was very strange, even among other strange people. "cover your eyes and get back, I'll take care of it" he said in a strained voice. She knew he was trying to be nice, but it did nothing to improve her mood as he scooped up the dead rabbit using two pieces of notebook paper to avoid touching it directly with his hands and tossed it down the garbage shaft. She was having trouble concealing her annoyance. ~ a perfectly yummy kill... thrown... garbage ~ He mistook her expression and tried to comfort her. She just sighed in dispair, sadly eyeing the shaft lid over his shoulder as he hugged her. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Outside... Grim and Graze were livid. How dare he throw it away! She ought to rip his head off for that! What an outrage! Both almost lost their footing as they initially scrambled in attempt to rip Seth's head off for the offence. Only the shock of Ray's continued silence calmed them. " stop grinding your teeth so loudly" snapped an annoyed Grim. "Can you believe that!?" Graze raged. "Something is wrong" Grim came to a realisation that his brother had yet to catch on to. "what do you mean?" Graze was too annoyed to think for himself. "One would think that she would realise it was from us and search the area for our scents..." Grim trailed off thoughtfully. Graze looked to his twin listlessly. Approaching Ray as she seduced dinner was out of the question. Grim shared Graze's concerned look then lowered his gaze sadly. "don't you dare! If you start crying i'll never let you hear the end of it" snapped Graze. Not being able to run up to Ray and squish-hug her after all this time immediately assraped his mood enough without him having to comfort this weepy idiot. Grim sniffled but said nothing in reply. Graze continued to observe a little longer as Seth stroked Ray's back while hugging, still grinding his teeth in irritation before laying a hand on Grim's shoulder. "come along now, we'll try again at a more convenient time" He did TRY to sound comforting, but it came out as a growl as he slid down the pipe. Grim nodded and slid down after his twin. They both looked up towards the seventh stairway window wistfully before shifting in the dark alley and disappearing, melting into the the shadows. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Feeling as though she would one day have to sit Seth down and explain a few things to him, Ray tried her hardest to not be annoyed with him, after all, he had no idea what he did was heresy. Considering how he was feeling regarding the absence of his parents, she decided to forgive him for his paranoia, However, his hyptheses about the dead hare just kept getting more and more wild and absurd. He was so preoccupied with his stalker-theory that he failed to immediately notice that Ray had redecorated. When the glaringly obvious finally registered with him, he was so shocked he hadn't noticed at once. The place looked like a cross between a dragons lair, a dungeon, and if possible, the inside of old catacombs one would usually find under cathedrals. There was a model skeleton standing in the corner and a suit of armour next to the livingroom entrance. The wallpaper was changed from white to a dark roman red, and the furniture looked antique. Fake spiderwebs were put up along the upper corners of each room and a creepy looking anatomy model stood in her bedroom, where she had a fourposter bed made out of black iron. Everything in the bedroom was either dark red, black or ivory-coloured. The whole apartment smelled like sandalwood insence. He was in awe. "It looks like halloween in here!" She spared him a glance, smiling slightly while shoving her coat in the closet and began to dig around for clothing. "yes, I do love it, it's very relaxing and cosy" He walked around open-mouthed and gazed enchanted at what appeared to be a real iron maiden standing against the wall next to the bathroom entrance. "is this real?" "none of it is, which is why the whole redecoration cost me a reasonable fee of fifty thousand dollars" She said, sounding almost like a commercial. Seth choked on his own saliva at the price. "reasonable!? How is that reasonable!? And where did you get that money? Are you loaded or something?" He looked amazed. "I am not sure" She sounded mildly curious. She dug around in her schoolbag and produced her wallet, she searched around in it for a minute and tossed a creditcard over to him. "it appears to be mine as it has my name on it. I can't remember how I actually came to posess that kind of wealth though" she gestured to the apartment in general. "this is my apartment as well as everything in it, I own it not rent it" she rifled through the desk near the window and showed him the documents she found. She owned the apartment as well an estate out of the city, in the middle of a forest about half an hours drive away. "Perhaps I inherited it" she mused. She was lying to him as she didn't have any parents but she didn't know what else to say. She was missing a huge chunk of her memory. A good two hundred years judging by the date. "have you ever been to this estate?" He asked, still a little amazed by her wealth. "if i have, then I do not recall it" She replied a little cautiously. He was going to suggest what she was thinking he would suggest. "want to go check it out?" He felt his Sherlock Holms senses tingling with excitement. She was shaking her head before he even finished the question. "Why not!?" he exclaimed, looking rather put out. "I have no idea what we might find there. I imagine there is probably a very good reason that location is in the middle of a forest" She answered. "Charging head first into the unknown with nothing but a mild sense of curiosity is hardly advantageous in any situation." She continued, looking pleadingly at him. She could already see that his curiosity was anything but "mild". "But this is a chance for you regain some of your memory if we're lucky!" he argued, looking at her as though she were crazy. She was incredibly hesitant, which stumped him. She had intended to investigate, but she continued to procrastinate for one reason or another. She also did not want to bring him along. There was no telling what she would find. One look at his shining eyes changed her mind however. What was the worst that could happen, right? "Alright, we can go and have a look, however!.." she was interrupted as Seth began muttering to himself excitedly about what they may find. He bounced around the apartment and squish-hugged her with howls of joy. He was very reminiscent of a child about to go on his first school field-trip. She bit her lip worriedly. She had a bad feeling about this. She was confident that she could explain away anything strange they may encounter out there, but if it were something dangerous, she understood that Seth would at some point have to be informed. Rather have him on his guard and aware, than completely uninformed and unaware. Not that she would just stand aside and let him come to any harm... but his intellect was a powerful tool. He was not to be underestimated and could even be a great asset. For all of her years and experience, she understood that he was gifted with a brain far more efficient than her own. Humans were curious creatures. Some of them are born with amazing abilities. If he so pleased, he probably wouldn't even have to attend highschool and just skip right ahead to university. "however!" she continued, as he calmed a little. "you will not wander off without me while we're on the premises" she ordered. He nodded vigerously. "yes ma'am!" "right, we will wait for a convenient holiday before going. We most certainly will not neglect school for this" She said briskly. She needed time to investigate it first without him. She just didn't feel ready to tell him anything yet after all. His face fell a little. "oh come on, it's not like we can't miss a few days!" He whined. He stomped his foot like an angry toddler as she gave him a defiant glare that said quite plainly "no means no". He sighed and slumped into the couch. They were quiet for a few minutes. She was calculating, he was pouting. Why did she make him feel like a child sometimes, when she herself was the one who required looking after most of the time, he fumed in his thoughts. He made up his mind to go investigate the estitate himself in secret. She did not have to know. And as long as she did not find out, it would just be some harmless poking about. At least then, he could pick up on anything he missed the first time around when it was time to go with her. He did feel a little guilty about betraying her trust, but he shoved his guilt aside feeling that he had atleast earned clearance to some more of her mysterious past. He had proven to be a reliable friend, had he not? "Don't even think about going without me" She said, raising a brow. The guilty look on his face told her he had been planning to do exactly that. "but...!" He started. "no ifs, no buts, no coconuts" She cut across him severely, her tone final. He gave in with a sigh. She won... for now. "well then, what would you like for dinner tonight, m'lady?" he said with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ He slowly opened his eyes but shut them again with a groan. He heard footsteps all around him and the noise made his head pound. Someone was shining a small flashlight in his eyes, trying to assess his condition. The forensic team had arrived and was in the process of collecting evidence and dusting for prints. Beyond Redemption Ch. 07 He sat up slowly, shoving aside the hand that held the flashlight. "now now Victor, don't be rude. Sit back and let me examine you. It's the least you can do, considering you snorted some of my evidence" came the curt voice of Dr. Nick Ferrel. Victor looked around, bewildered. The room he was in looked like it was just for storage. Infact, there was no trace of the little boy or his room. It was as though he had dreamed the whole thing. Only the haunting melody of a song being hummed in his ear remained.