The final shuriken struck Olivia's arm and she cried out.
“First strike's mine,” Felicity declared as she appeared in front of her. Though Olivia had expected her to attack, even with her vampire senses, she couldn't detect the direction it was coming from. Olivia held tightly to her injured arm, the wound unable to regenerate as the weapon remained lodged in her. Felicity's eyes had warmed up unexpectedly when she saw Olivia clawing at her arm.
“Stop moving, I'll get it out,” she said. She fell beside Olivia and put her hand to her arm but was caught by Olivia. With the shuriken still stuck in her arm, she grabbed Felicity's wrist and held it tightly.
“I've finally gotten your last throwing star.”
“You wanted it to get lodged in your arm?” she sat back, bewildered.
“Surprised?” asked Olivia, her voice getting smaller but a faint smile on her face.
“At your stupidity? Yes.”
Olivia's grip was tighter on Felicity's arm, so much that she could feel the bones grinding beneath the skin. She winced at the pain, but tears did not well in her eyes. “Are you enacting your revenge? Quite the sore loser you've become,” Felicity commented through gritted teeth.
Olivia pulled out the kunai from her pocket.
“I never wanted to do this,” Olivia admitted.
“Do what?”
The kunai struck Felicity's jaw and blood spurted from the cut. She took her free hand to her face but still did not cry. Her eyes were bold. “You wanna kill me? Go on, do it. It's natural order....considering how many I've killed.”
“I would never kill you,” she confessed. “But I couldn't...”
The scent of Felicity's blood had stopped Olivia in her verbal tracks. Felicity smiled, a rather sweet smile.
“You smell it too? Something—”
“Shut up,” her voice was more pained than annoyed as she screamed at Felicity and then her eyes went dark.
Olivia pulled her head from Felicity's neck, her body languid and covered in blood.
No, she thought as she sank into the trunk of the tree.
“Olivia?”
Felicity's voice was a murmur as her name choked out of her month. She coughed. “You're a vampire...but how?”
She looked down at a bloody Felicity, her eyelids hanging over her blue eyes and threatening to close.
“I wish you didn't...”
“Didn't what?” she asked through coughs, her eyes studying Olivia's.
“I wish you didn't know that I was a vampire.”
Felicity's eyes shot open, her imposing blues bright on her face but without their usual iciness.
“I wish you would just forget...” Olivia's voice was almost a whisper as she stared at her.
“Forget what?” Felicity asked, her eyes blinking rapidly. She put her hand to her jaw then to her neck, pulling back a crimson stained palm. “What happened?”
Nine
Felicity had not awakened for three nights after the incident. Having lost so much blood, a house call was made to Dr. Patel who showed up on the fourth night and took her vitals grudgingly. Even Mar didn't feel she should sully her hands on account of Felicity and her accident. Olivia had only guessed that her blood would seal up the wound but it made sense when she thought back on all that her mother said in her Vampire History class. She had learned that vampires also came equipped with their own magic, mind tricks that they could impose on humans but didn't know how true that tale was until she had involuntarily stripped Felicity of her memory. Still, with her mother aware of what she was she figured it would be easier for incidents like this to be covered up.
She fell back on the couch just outside the infirmary. It was a room set up in Anne and Ferris Arlington's home where Dr. Patel could tend to all the wounded students after fighting, falling out when blood had no longer became enough for their survival or in the rare case they drank bad blood. The couch smelled of cigarettes and wet clothes as she tossed on it, pathetic weeds she intended to pass of as flowers in her hands. She wanted to feel sorry for what she had done, and deep down she did but nothing, no one's death or hospitalization could ever hurt her like Alexa's. She thought of Troy's cold eyes, a stark contrast to the warm and inviting eyes he had smiled with when she had saw him by the water and at the recreation center. How was he? Was he still slumped over Alexa's body? Had he set up the funeral arrangements? Would he try to reach out and find the family she had hidden from him? Or maybe he had called the police and they were on a manhunt at this very moment. Her head shot up and the door creaked open, a tired looking doctor pulling a hat over his head and bidding them goodnight. He forced a smile to Olivia before walking out the door.
She pushed the door open and saw Ferris' hand at the base of his wife's back as they stood over Felicity. They turned and noticed too many balls of blue were staring at her as she stepped back lost in the color, their faces drowned in the blur. Anne smiled at Olivia and held her hand out to her.
Olivia stepped cautiously forward then took her hand.
“She's stable now and will probably be awake soon,” said Anne.
“That was amazing, what you did,” added her father. “I'm sure she would've found it inspiring.”
“I'm honored, considering she is the best.” She spoke highly of Felicity since she was asleep and being in front of her parents, it was the least she could do.
Ferris agreed. “It's high praise. Felicity doesn't yield to many and even those she admired, she would never let them know. Her pride is her strongest defeat.”
Olivia didn't know what to say to his words. She felt uncomfortable as they continued to talk about their fight in the forest like an epic Pay-Per-View match. She broke their cheers.
“Still, I'm sorry for doing that to your daughter.”
“You can't be sorry for your actions and be a vampire. They just,” he said with a shake of his head, “don't go together.”
“What weapon did you do that with?” Anne gestured to Felicity's jaw.
“A kunai.”
“It's a great weapon,” she said, glowing.
“So I've heard.”
****
Felicity had barely been up for more than a few minutes when the Matriarch had paid a private visit to her recovery room. She brought her human food and medicine when she had awakened, most of which she spat out in disgust even though it did make her feel better. She was slipping her bandaged arms into an ivory jacket when Mar got up from the bed and spoke.
“Go on a hunt tonight, with Olivia.”
She didn't wait for a nod or word from Felicity before she shut the door behind her. Felicity pressed two fingers against her ribcage and winced at the aching sensation throbbing from a wound that wasn't healing fast enough, and she was pretty sure she had broken a few bones but didn't know if they had operated on her. The soles of her feet burned as she slipped her feet into her shoes, opting for running shoes rather than her usual boots. She limped out the door, slamming it behind her, angry that her body refused to cooperate with her. When she was outside, she saw Olivia sitting at the steps of her house and marched toward her, albeit with a limp.
“Olivia!” she barked.
Olivia looked up at her, studying her face as if reading the expression looming on it and gauging how she should react but instead stayed quiet.
“We're going hunting.”
Felicity couldn't recall much of the fight or how Olivia had gotten the upper hand and managed to beat her but she wasn't angry at that. No, not at the outcome of the fight. She just couldn't help how angry she had been at herself, for being so weak at this very moment. She was in immense pain, but she tried to cover it with rage and began taking it out on everyone, even Randy who had come to her side and tried to whisper something. She shoved him away before he could speak and he knew she was projecting, so he didn't take offense to it. Olivia knew it as well and as usual, she was unaffected by her passionate display of emotion. Olivia had long since felt the sting or jolt of any extr
eme emotion. She didn't know how to show pure affection or pure hate, only indifference, except when it came to her sister. There was always something about being next to Alexa that drew happiness out of her, and when she had left, it was like she had lost a part of herself. Only Noah and sometimes Allison had been able to draw out any humanity she had left, but even that was rare. She stood up and dusted her pants off and walked to Felicity, several inches shorter than her when they were opposite each other.
“Why do you want to hunt with me?” she asked.
“I don't.”
Olivia nodded, the realization setting in but it was Noah who had spoken up.
“The Matriarch wants you two to hunt together?”
Olivia was aware of his appearance yards before he was upon them and she figured Felicity had as well, as she didn't bother to acknowledge his existence, keeping her eyes on Olivia. “Shall we go?”
“Yes, of course.”
Felicity had already turned to leave when Noah grabbed onto Olivia's arm and tugged her back. “What are you doing?” he asked.
“Just as you said, my mother wants us to hunt together.” She briefly wondered what her mother had hoped to accomplish in forcing them to hunt together, but nothing she could say or do would get her out of it.
Noah bent down and leaned in close. “But haven't you stopped to think why? I mean, it's Felicity....I'm pretty sure she is deranged and psychotic. She'll probably try to get you to kill someone.”
She sighed as if it were still natural. If only you knew, she thought, how many I've killed just being outside this colony. But she only said, “It'll be alright,” and walked forward.
He pulled her back, his hand still tight on her wrist.
“Like hell it will,” he said. “Take this.” Noah pulled out a blood bag from his pocket and pulling her palm forward, he placed it in her hand.
Fangs threatened to come down but she fought the thirst, pushing it aside. “Where did you get this?”
“My mom's stash, just take it with you.”
She nodded her head with thanks and then ran to catch up with Felicity. At least she wouldn't have to feed off of another human again. She pondered for a minute if she really minded feeding off of a human but Felicity's sharp tone when she called to her stole her away from her thoughts.
They stood in the parking lot of a strip mall, a thin sheet of sweat lining Felicity's body. Felicity wiped it from her forehead and with the same hand, motioned Olivia forward. She crashed an item that was in her hand into the glass window without much subtlety. A loud alarm had gone off but it went unnoticed by the two. Olivia saw that she used her bow to break the window and was still using it to knock away the excess glass that clung to the sides of the door. She stepped over the glass and with her bow again, slammed it into a glass casing that held expensive jewelry.
“Why are we raiding a jewelry store?” asked Olivia, between the shatters.
“My Marc Jacobs stopped working,” she said, holding her arm out to Olivia. “I have to know what time it is to avoid the sun.”
Felicity undid the watch and threw it to the ground, replacing it with one she randomly picked up. She held her arm in the air and nodded in approval at it then turned to leave but not before grabbing a few other pieces of jewelry. “Here,” she tossed a silver watch at Olivia but she avoided it.
“What is wrong with you? It's just a watch.”
“I do not need one,” she said as she eyed the silver piece of jewelry.
They dashed out of the store and slid into the dark crevices of the strip mall just as Olivia heard police sirens wailing. She figured they were still a few miles out as Felicity didn't make mention of their sound. When they had gotten enough distance between themselves and the store, Felicity stopped and started heaving profusely, fighting for air as she gripped her aching body parts.
“What's wrong?”
Felicity shot her an angry glare. “Nothing is wrong.”
“If there is nothing wrong,” said Olivia, “let's continue.”
Felicity was standing upright again, as if all the pain had left her but Olivia knew she was just biting it down. She stood up on the tips of her toes, stretching her arms in the air then turned to Olivia. “Let me ask you something, how did you get the upper hand on me?”
“You threw your shuriken,” she said, holding out her arm and then pulled it back but not before Felicity took notice and pulled it forward.
“If I threw the shuriken, at you, where is the wound?”
Olivia pulled her arm free.
“You missed, but it allowed me the opportunity to gain the upper hand.”
“But how?” she demanded.
“It doesn't matter how.”
“If you don't want to admit that you cheated, that's fine. But I will figure out how.”
Good luck, she thought. “OK,” she said.
The area which they were walking through had grown increasingly unfamiliar to Olivia, who eyed everything cautiously. It had an odd smell, dank as if they had stumbled upon a landfill but no, it couldn't have been. Trailers were scattered on top of the area, a web of weeds crawled up their faces and wooden boards lined their windows. As they went further down and found themselves away from the street, a mist grew overhead, fogging Felicity's vision but Olivia pressed on. Felicity had grabbed onto her arm, and Olivia barely felt the tug of another body on her. They continued through the area. There were houses further in, while not looking much better than the trailers, they gave the sense that they had been lived in unlike the others. Small toys were situated at the foot of the cracked steps and old cars sat on the dead grass to which Olivia's senses led her to.
“Where are we?” she asked under her breath.
Hearing the question that was probably not directed to her, Felicity answered, a smile in her voice. “Off the beaten path.”
Olivia had stopped and turned toward her. “What?”
“Best to kill those who the world wouldn't miss, right?”
“Is this what you do?” asked Olivia. “Kill people in run down neighborhoods?”
“This area and I have an understanding. I've personally provided medical care to the residents, ensuring that I get what I need without getting sick and that they're taken care of—until I kill 'em.”
Sounds had interrupted Olivia and she focused in on a conversation. Several yards ahead, came the sounds of a boy whose words were riddled with fear as they came out. She heard a woman try to console the young boy, who couldn't have been more than five or six years old. He sounded terrified as he murmured about being taken and the names of those who had disappeared. If Olivia wasn't focusing so intently on the words they were exchanging, she would have been devoured by the scent that was slowly drifting into her nose. She fought it away, staring deeply at Felicity who couldn't quite make her out in the fog.
Olivia caught the sounds of the something else, coming up behind them, like footsteps across the pavement. A man called to them.
“Is anyone there?”
Olivia remained still and quiet but Felicity, her sight disabled, turned to the sound of his voice.
“I'm armed and with the neighborhood watch,” he shouted through the fog.
His words didn't stop Felicity as she continued to walk toward him, the fog slowly clearing as if it cowered in fear of her now intimidating presence. She could see the scowl the man wore on his young face, no older than twenty six but lined with age. For the most part, he looked clean and well kept, someone she hadn't seen here before and a smile formed on her face.
“And I'm merely passing through,” she said.
“This isn't the kind of area that someone would pass through,” he said with an accusatory tone. “What are you doing here?”
Felicity half turned her body toward Olivia who was a few steps behind. The man placed his hand on her shoulder and was met with her right elbow to his nose. He stumbled backward, both of his hands holding back the blood pouring out of his nose. Felicity moved quickly
, raising her right leg high in the air and rounding out for a kick but was caught by his free hand and he knocked it back to the ground. She stepped back gracefully, unaffected by his counter. After she had stabled herself, feet pointed toward him, she pulled an arrow from her quiver, arranging the bow and arrow in her hands. The man was spitting out blood and was unaware she had a fix on him. She breathed once and let the arrow go.
He looked up, immobilized by the sight of the arrow, as if everything had slowed before him. He awaited the strike but it never came. Olivia moved in quickly, her hand extended out and caught the arrow, breaking it into two with her one hand. The man took off running, yanking his cellphone out of his pocket and punching the buttons as he turned down a road. Felicity yelled a few curses at her but Olivia was gone before she heard any of them. She grabbed onto the man and ripped the cellphone from his hand just as he started his words. She stepped on the phone, crushing it to pieces then sat him down to the pavement, her fist bunching up his jacket collar. Forcing him to look into her eyes, she repeated the phrase over and over in her head until it sounded good enough to say aloud. “I don't want you to remember any of this,” she commanded.
He blinked and then grew stiff, his chest thrust forward.
Olivia looked up and saw Felicity standing a few feet behind him, the bow at her side. The arrow had pierced right through him, a deadly first strike straight through his heart.
“Why did you do that?” Olivia yelled.
Felicity leaped forward and retrieved her arrow, leaving the man's body to slouch onto Olivia. She smelled the blood and felt it dripping onto her hands. She pushed the man's body back and stared down at the blood, her fangs growing in her mouth.
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