What You Deserve

Walking with the man, I couldn't help but feel paranoid. "How did you know that I was with Frank?" I bit my lip.

After a short silence, he spoke up, "Frank didn't tell you much about mementos from vampires, did he?" to that, I shook my head, "vampire's scents don't just fade... especially on things they carry around with them a lot. If another vampire can smell the heavy scent of a vampire on a human - especially if they see the item - they know that they aren't to touch that person. Some vampires don't respect these unwritten rules, though. And if they don't see the item, they might attack the person anyway. Young ones do this especially - they don't know any better."

Memento. I shifted, thinking about it for a moment, and reached up, grabbing the little locket that hung from my neck. The vampire smiled, "we know that if we touch you, we may as well have poisoned ourselves. Vampires get pissed when their territory is trampled all over."

I made a sour face at his wording. Territory? As if... I was owned? Nobody could really own me. Especially not somebody who had just claimed to have used me!

It seemed like he picked up fast, and chuckled, "don't like that word? It's pretty correct - sorry to say. There's little better wording for that," as I was about to respond, I saw him turn his head. "Sorry, Miss," he glanced at me, his red eyes glittering, "that lady over there's trying to get my attention - she's an important woman," he nodded his head as a goodbye, and mumbled a, "go straight to your hotel - it's dangerous out," and walked toward the woman, who - I realized under a street light - had identical eyes to his.

Maybe listening to him was in my best interest. Maybe.

Or maybe doing what I wanted was in my favor. I'd much rather that, regardless. It wasn't like there was much for me to really care about with Frank gone. Thinking about it, it may be considered a bad idea - and potentially suicidal. But... I'd prefer going with my desires than some stranger.

Hell, for all I knew, he was going to already be in my hotel room, with that lady vampire blocking my only escape, and drain me of my blood.

Seemed like a lose-lose situation to me. So I thought I'd make a stop before going to my hotel.

It was on the way anyway...

I turned down a nearby street, casting a glance down a nearby alley, and had a flashback of a "rat" of a vampire, kicking me in the gut, and Mikey and Gerard saving the day. It made me wonder where that vampire was now. Actually, where they all were now - as I spotted the darkened house that one could have considered my prison for, in my opinion, not a long enough amount of time. Or perhaps, it had been too long. So long that I considered the ones that had taken me captive to be my friends.

I found myself at the front door, and placed my hand gingerly on the knob, debating on seeing if I could open it, but thought better of it, and pressed my forehead against the wooden door. "Frank.." I whispered to the door, as if it were him. "Why, Frankie?" I let the last syllable slip from my mouth without even realizing it. Wasn't that was Jamia had called him? Frankie? I half expected the door to slip open, and Frank's soft face poke around the door, just to smile as if nothing had ever happened, and ask why I was out in the cold.

With a shudder, I drew my hands up to the back of my neck, and fiddled with the silver clasp that had been resting on my skin, fighting the tears threatening to slip from my eyes and onto the ground. Finally, I managed to undo the necklace, and attempted to open the locket, but my hands shook so wildly that it fell between my fingers, and onto the ground in front of the door with a soft clink. "Oh..." I heard my voice quiver in a whine of sorts, and my body shake violently in reaction to the thought of even trying to bend down to get the locket.

So, instead, I just... turned around and walked away. I was going to leave it anyway. It was already on the ground, so why pick it up just to set it down again?

I wasn't even sure if I wanted to know the contents of the locket.

Now, I began to hurry away from the door. After my mind had finally found itself again, I realized that I didn't want to be seen there, and left before any of the vampires could come out - or perhaps come home. I jumped, thinking I heard a small thud, but continued on. After a moment, I glanced back - slightly surprised that I couldn't see the silver locket glittering in the light off of a street lamp. Almost as if it wasn't even there.

Continuing on, a new set of crimson eyes set themselves on me, a shadowed smile slipping out of an alley, as a young woman stared at me, her dark hair tied in low pigtails, and her lips stained with red lipstick - or perhaps another substance. With another step forward, my gaze,meeting the woman's, she finally spoke, a sentence that sent a shiver up my spine, "hello, Jade. It's nice to finally meet you."