Fantasy Into the Darkness [Open]

[Phadia]

The smell of disinfectant made Melissa's eyes sting as she continued to scrub the shower tile.
Despite scrubbing for the last hour or so, and despite the fact that her hands were starting to burn, she knew she couldn't stop.
It would take another hour or so until it was clean. And even then....
The young woman sighed, pausing to look down at her work.
A sudden noise made her flinch, practically dumping over the bucket of cleaner.
Her eyes widened instantly, head whipping towards the source of the noise.
"I made the payment! Just leave me alone!"
The words fell out of her mouth before she could stop them. Her voice sounded distant, bouncing against the cold bathroom walls as it returned to her ears.
"I know that."
A man's voice came from around the corner, and Melissa could see the heatwaves distorting the floral patterned wallpaper even from the tub.
"I was only checking in. It's common courtesy, is it not?"
Then there was a chuckle.
"You do know that the shower's been clean for the last forty minutes or so, don't you?"
Melissa squeezed the sponge in her hands, her knuckles whitening.
"What do you want?" she hissed towards the unseen man. "Surely you're not here to give me cleaning tips."
Then man chuckled again and stepped into the bathroom. He looked... surprising professional. Black suit, white shirt, red tie, black sleek hair. At a glance, he looked like a normal man. A lawyer or banker perhaps. Yet, Melissa knew he was more than that. He was the judge, jury, and executioner all rolled into one.
As he entered the room, the bathroom mirror instantly steamed up.
In his outstretched hand, he held a yellowed piece of paper.
"Just a friendly reminder in case you were planning on.... breaking our agreement. Your life is in my hands, remember?"
The young woman forced her expression to remain level, dropping the sponge, and climbing out of the shower. She hurried to the sink, not facing the man standing in her bathroom.
"I'm aware of that," she spoke quietly and tried to hide the fear in her voice.
"Oh, really? Because I was told you considered backing out of the job last night. You know, there are thousands of other people who are willing to take your position. If you think the job is too much...." The man smiled as Melissa whipped around to face him.
"No!" She practically yelled, lunging for the paper in the man's hand.
The paper promptly vanished in a puff of smoke.
"Then you better be careful, human."
Then man's body began to distort and fade.
"And remember," he added as he disappeared. "You're never alone."
With that, Melissa found herself in the empty bathroom, staring at the place the man had disappeared. She absentmindedly rubbed her right wrist, thinking about the recent encounter.
Then, with a shake of her head, she grabbed her jacket from the back of the toilet, and ran towards the front door.
If she didn't find her next one by the end of the day....
She suppressed the urge to shudder, and ripped open the door, stepping outside.
Without slowing down, she headed towards the nearby park.

 

[Eliasdagood]

Tara is sitting on a park bench, enjoying a cappuccino, and watching people pass by through her dark glasses. She sighs softly, the scent of all the humans around her making it hard to focus. She needs to hunt again tonight. Hopefully she can get a drunk fool home like she usually does. That way she can get the blood she needs without having to kill them. That’s always nice.

She comes back to focus, a very strong fear scent hitting her. There’s an undertone of Sulfur there as well, which generally speaking, can only mean bad things. It’s a bit hard to notice under the smell of cleaning chemicals, but it’s definitely there.

Tara watches the girl enter the park, and hums softly, getting to her feet. This should be interesting.

 

[Phadia]

Melissa hurried to a nearby bench and took a seat, wanting to blend in as much as possible. Physically, it wasn't hard. She didn't look any different after making the deal, after all. Same hair, same skin, same clothes.
Only difference was something completely unseen to the human eye. The contract.
It wasn't even the "traditional" contract. She hadn't sold her soul. No, what Melissa had lost was far worse...
Yet, she was still alive.
And, as far as she was concerned, she intended to keep it that way.
In order to stay alive, she had to find the next person....
She nodded at the elderly woman on the bench next to her. Not her... The elderly woman smiled back.
"Nice day, isn't it dear?"
Emily forced her own smile, eyes only briefly meeting the faded blue ones, before continuing to scan the park.
"Yeah."
Her reply was more of a veiled 'leave me alone' than anything.
Focus...
"Did you hear about the lately murder? They say it might have been connected to the one back in May." The raspy comment made Melissa flinch inwardly. She glanced back at the old lady and gave a tense "Oh, really?" as a response.
"Yeah. They say it's a serial killer. But in our town? I think it was coincidence."
There! Melissa spotted her next target, then turned towards the old lady, trying to look as normal as possible.
"Excuse me, I just have to...."
She trailed off suddenly, her view to her target obstructed by an unfamiliar figure. The woman was tall slender, giving off an essence of royalty. Yet, to Melissa, she could sense something else. Something more sinister.
Her eyes drifted upwards, locking with the woman's.

 

[Eliasdagood]

Tara looks at her, her brown eyes glittering with what looks like amusement. Tara loves these new bits of technology, like colored contacts. They make her life so much simpler. She walks toward the bench, sipping her coffee.

“I’ve got to agree. At the very least, I’d say there are two different killers. Serial killers tend to have a pattern, and I’ve spotted two different ways of killing, as well as one occasionally mugging and leaving the victim unconscious.” She speaks calmly, seeming perfectly relaxed. This is something that just doesn’t bother her anymore. Of course, she’s one of the killers, so she really has no reason to be afraid. Not of whatever child is killing the other humans. Probably this girl, statistically speaking.

 

[Phadia]

Melissa could feel the color draining from her face.
Who was this woman?!
Her hazel eyes searched the new arrival, her nose practically wrinkling in surprise when she didn't detect the familiar smell of smoke and burnt skin.
If she wasn't a demon.... what else could give off an aura like that?
Either way, she could tell by the way the woman was looking at her. She'd been pegged.
Trying to act confident, she added, "That would make sense."
She tried to catch a glimpse of the person she'd seen from before, but they had disappeared. The mark had been clear, too.
Melissa tried to force her expression to remain level, despite the rising panic. She'd lost her mark! Now she had to find another.... and she'd better do it fast.
"Well, this has been nice, but I have an appointment I need to catch."
Rising from the bench, she excused herself.
This woman wasn't her mark, and she wasn't a demon. There was no reason to worry....

 

[Eliasdagood]

Tara chuckles. “Of course. After all, dangerous to be out and about. Who knows what could happen?” She says, watching Melissa walk off for a while. As soon as she’s sure it won’t be noticed, she starts following. Tara is incredibly practiced at stalking someone for long periods of time, and Melissa’s distinct scent isn’t doing the poor girl any favors.

She’s curious to see what kind of person this is. She seems young, too young to be so jaded as this. Besides, it’s obvious she doesn’t want to kill. Maybe Tara should do her a favor… She chuckles at the thought. Turning Melissa would certainly make it easier for her to stomach a kill, of course, and would give her the tools to do it much more efficiently. Still, Tara wants to know more about her before she does something like that, so she simply follows.

 

[Phadia]

Melissa wandered around for a while, completely oblivious to Tara following her.
She would walk along the path for a long time, studying people off in the distance, before sighing to herself and continuing onward.
None of these people are marked!
She clenched her fist, suddenly angry at losing her target the first time around. It was hard enough to kill as it was without having the added stress of being unable to find the kill.
After several more minutes of searching, the girl stopped and took a seat on a nearby rock, forcing her posture to look calmer.
After all, who knew when somebody could be watching?
She could practically smell the smoke already.
If he came back tonight...
The tears had started falling before she could stop them.
It was in times like these she wished she had a friend to confide in. Of course, such an allegiance would never be permitted. They'd be marked before she even had time to say "Hi!".
Yet, it didn't stop Melissa from hoping....

 

[Eliasdagood]

Tara sees her sit down, the scent of fear just getting worse. She sighs, and goes to sit next to her, glancing over at her like she didn’t just discreetly follow her around the city for the past ten minutes or so. She acts like this is still perfectly normal behavior.

“You know, I’d try a bar.” She says, looking down at her long, pointed nails. “Assuming your prey is what I think it is, that would be my best guess about where to find them. Because either they did something stupid while drunk, or if they know they’ll be killed, often the response is to get absolutely hammered.”

No one was close enough to hear that, she made sure of it. “You want to go for a hunt together? You get a kill, I get fed, it’s a win win, really.” She just doesn’t give a single damn, apparently.

 

[Phadia]

Melissa looked up for a moment, shock clear on her face.
Then it was gradually replaced with confusion.
Then a sort of knowing glance, like two friends sharing a secret.
"Are you a....?"
She started to ask if the unfamiliar face was a demon, but stopped herself, the word becoming lodged in her throat. Rubbing her wrist, she paused, considering the offer.
This person no longer seemed like a threat. She was offering to help her with the kill, after all.
Yet, Melissa was torn.
Despite being grateful for the offer, she knew what would happen if she accepted.
Hazel eyes darting around, she lowered her voice.
"I... I don't know how you know about me, but... if you don't want to get marked, you better stay away."
She instantly regretted sounding so hostile. She was genuinely appreciative, after all. More than anything, she was curious. Who was this person? How did she know....?
Yet, she knew it was too dangerous to allow someone in again.
"Sorry," she added, speaking in a hoarse whisper.

 

[Eliasdagood]

Tara’s eyes crinkle at Melissa’s warning. “Oh, sweetheart, I don’t think I should worry about being marked in the slightest. If you have to ask what I am, you must know that killing me would be far more difficult than you’re prepared for.” She says with a grin.

“Besides, I’m already damned no matter what I do with you. I’m not exactly innocent.” She pats her on the shoulder, still looking very amused. “In the event that I do get marked, I promise not to kill you in self defense. Deal?” Tara is really intrigued. She wants to understand what drives this girl.

 

[Phadia]

Melissa's eyes continued to dart around like she was expecting somebody to jump out of the bushes at any moment.
She bit her lip, still rubbing her wrist.
"I'm not into the whole 'deal making' thing'" she suddenly chuckled a little.
She was starting to like this person.
"I've made some pretty bad ones in my life, in case you didn't already guess."
Rising from you rock, she gave Tara a sort of half smile. She was still clearly terrified, but it was a start.
"But I guess I can make an exception."
She started to scan the distant crowd again.
"There," she pointed towards a man walking his dog.
"Can you see that?"
In Melissa's eyes, the man was surrounded by red runes. The floated all around his body, weaving underneath his skin like some sort of parasite.
"He's a mark. The guy with the dog."
She wasn't sure if the newcomer could see it as well. She clearly wasn't a regular mortal, but she didn't give off the aura of a demon either. No, she was something else... Melissa wanted to ask, but she turned her focus towards the guy.
"He's one of the people I can collect from."

 

[Eliasdagood]

Tara nods, seeing the man. She can’t see mark’s, so she’ll just go with Melissa’s word on it. “Hm. The dog may be a slight issue. Animals don’t like me much.” She comments. “But if we follow him at a distance, and try to stay downwind, Rover shouldn’t cause a scene until we’re already done.”

She gets up, and finishes her coffee, tossing it into a nearby can. “Shall we?” She asks, grinning at the human girl.

 

[Phadia]

Melissa nods, then starts moving towards the man.
Then she slows, wondering just how she was gonna do the job this time.
"I usually drug them," she informs Tara, looking worried. "But that's easy when they're in my apartment... not here in the park."
"Do you...?"
She paused, not quite sure how to finish.
"You have a plan B?"

 

[Eliasdagood]

Tara nods. “I typically follow them home, or pull the cliche of flirting with them till I can get them to my place. Do you have the drugs on you?” She asks, curious about what this girl will want to do. Tara is hungry, and all the thoughts of how the kill will happen are doing nothing to help. She longs to smell his fear, take her time, play with her food a bit. She can’t help it, it’s her nature to want to play with her food a bit.

 

[Phadia]

Melissa shook her head.
"No. I usually..." he paused, looking uncomfortable, "Do it at home. I didn't bring them."
Then she looked over at Tara.
"Do you live nearby? We can maybe lure him..."
She felt uncomfortable with the whole thing still, but part of her was excited in some morbid way. Perhaps it was having somebody helping her....
Either way, she gave Tara a nervous half smile.

 

[Eliasdagood]

She nods. “I just live a couple blocks from here. Or maybe we could get him to let me into his home for some fun. I could unlock the door, and you could come in to get your kill?” She suggests, flexing her hand, excited to let out her claws and fangs. Her mouth is watering too, which annoys her slightly.