Street Kids

Devin was still in wolf form as Rhys answered the phone, even as he asked if the demon was gone. Yes that damn bast*rd is gone. Devin wished he could answer in wolf form, now thinking of the impending situation. Why hadn't he just thrown his pants off first? Where the heck was he gonna get men's trousers from now? The only ones he could think of were May's dad's, and he would feel disgusting if he were to put them on. He was surprised May hadn't burnt all her dead Father's stuff by now.


He slowly walked over to Rhys and the phone so that he could listen in, sitting down just outside the house, but still being slightly taller than Rhys even in wolf form.


May listened silently, not making a sound as Rhys explained EVERYTHING. Kira? Dead? She blinked a few times, looking down at the ground. Kira was dead? Jason, the normal human kid, had teleported out of sight? Caroline was planning to betray them?


It was wayyy to much to happen in a few hours. But then again, ever since she met this group everything seemed to happen in a few seconds, with what they'd been through, it felt like she'd known them for years, yet in reality it had barely been a month or two.


As Sheena looks at May, her own face is stoic, she holds out her hand for the phone, and once Sheena has passed it to her, she speaks into the end of it, her voice tight with barely contained emotions, "Hey Rhys, i-is the demon still there? Are you guys okay?" She hated how that last question sounded, since Kira was anything but okay, but she hoped Rhys would know she meant Devin and him. She could barely even think to complain about Devin was still there, what with Kira's death and Jason's disappearance.
 
Hood had stood in one place for a long time, stuck in his thoughts and putting much concentration to hearing Sheena's conversation with Christian over the phone. He listened for a while, keeping both his thoughts and emotions in check... that was until Christian mentioned blowing his head off. Blinking in surprise and giving a start, the creature smiled lightly, then began to laugh, only silencing his chortling at the few strange looks he got from people around him. He could hardly wait to go to the prison, now, knowing that afterward, he could seek out Christian and his pack and show them just what he was.


Pushing away the sudden surge of bizarre joy at the concept of what pain he'd cause once he finally met up with Christian's lot, he moved over toward Caroline again, keeping her in his sight as he waited for the other girls to finish whatever they were doing, no longer holding interest in listening for the time being. Instead, he moved around the various stations and gathered a few essentials along with some medical supplies they were sure to need. Moving back to Caroline, he tilted his head. "You have some of the money, correct? I figure getting a few things like this would be useful if things go awry." As usual, his words held a strange and disguising calmness to them.


Looking back toward the showers and restroom areas while he awaited the girl's answer, Hood's brow furrowed just slightly. "What is taking those two so long?" he questioned aloud, then tilted his head, ears twitching lightly as he overheard a spatter of the conversation. He paled just slightly at the news, an unknown feeling of what he could only assume as sorrow washing over him. "It would seem," he began, voice a bit lower than usual. "That we are not the only group having difficulties on this trip..."
 
Rhys looked at Devin who was still in wolf form and raised an eyebrow. He didn't question him still being in wolf form and turned his attention back to the phone call. He heard May on the other end as well and was happy that at least everyone on their end was okay. Or seemed to be. He wasn't sure.


"Me and Devin are fine. The demon is...gone as well. I am glad you called but I think we need to go and find Jason. We all need to talk together soon though," Rhys said. He said goodbye and hung up the phone turning back to Devin.


"Well Sheena is going to be mad I didn't really give her time to talk but we need to find Jason. He's more important now. .... Why haven't you turned back?"
 
Devin, still in wolf form, looked at Rhys with startling bright blue eyes as he spoke, it sounded like a groan came from the beast as he scratched at the floor slightly. Dammit why can't I talk? As he scratched, it made a pattern in the dirt, the wolf looked down, then, as if he had an idea, he looked back up almost excitedly.


He stepped back a bit, then spun around so that he was facing his back to Rhys as he moved his paws at a fast pace. After a few moments, he stepped out of the way, facing Rhys so that Rhys could read what he had written.


My clothes ripped when I shifted, could you grab the smallest pair of jeans from the guys room upstairs?


Devin hated resorting to putting on May's Dad's jeans. But what other choice did he have? The wolf sat down, you could almost feel the awkwardness.


May held the phone silently as Rhys hung up, the beep spreading through the air before she hung up too. She slowly, taking her time, looked up at Sheena. Her face blank. "We..." She spoke in the silence, her voice sounding as though she was about to cry though her eyes remained dry, "We should probably go tell Hood and Caroline..." Caroline.


The mention of the younger girl's name reminded her of what Rhys said she was going to do. She was going to betray them? Why? Probably something to do with her Dad. Caroline didn't seem like the type to betray for no reason, although saying that, May barely knew the girl. Apparently she didn't know her at all.


"Caroline...she...she was going to...." May trailed off, not sure if Caroline's almost betrayal was even worth mentioning considering what had happened to Kira.
 
Rhys watched Devin scrawl out the writing curiously. He looked down and suddenly his whole face got hot. He was sure it was bright red and he turned away from Devin, hoping he didn't see. He fought hard to keep any images of a naked Devin from his mind but it was not easy. He looked at Devin, almost tempted to say "Just change back. We're both guys, it's cool." But no. Rhys was sure it would be much worse.


He nodded mutely and hurried out of the room. Why did he have to get stuck with Devin? He was both happy for it and not at the same time. It was confusing. He looked through a drawer before realizing it was filled with girl clothes. He blushed a little and searched for another one. Finally he located a pair of jeans. He went back downstairs and handed over the jeans, looking away.


"Here. Just put these on."
 
Devin did infact notice the red colour Rhys's cheeks turned before he looked away. If he was able to, he would have frowned. Sure it was a bit embarrassing, but not that much right? He shrugged it off as Rhys maybe just being one of those guys who were shy about those things. Not like Devin wasn't, he just probably wouldn't blush about it.


As Rhys returned, jeans in hand, Devin's wolf nodded, taking the jeans lightly enough in his mouth so that they wouldn't tear, and then proceeded to trot behind a nearby tree. See, he was shy about it too. He then shifted back, Rhys could probably hear the cracking of bones and Devin winced lightly as he stood up, pulling on the jeans. He walked back out into the open, he of course had no top on, but thankfully the jeans fit perfectly. He clicked his neck, wincing once more, "Well, that never gets easier." He muttered, "Or less painful." He looked to Kira's body, suddenly falling silent and serious again as Logan lifted his head and looked up at Devin, still laying faithfully beside Kira's corpse. "We should..we should probably bury her."


(Silly oblivious Devin xD )
 
(Don't worry. Rhys might make it obvious later. xD )


Rhys waited for Devin to shift back and he tried to calm himself. He could only imagine how Devin would react to him having a crush on him. Not well. And if he was going to be alone with the man for some time until they either located Jason or ran into the other group, he didn't want thing to be awkward. But looking at the topless man, Rhys realized it might be a little too late for that.


Drawn out of his thoughts by Devin's words he looked down at the body. "Yeah. We should bury her. Should we do it here or...." Rhys wasn't sure where else to bury her body but they couldn't just leave her to rot.
 
(Oh dear. O.o No idea how Devin would react)





Devin was still looking at Kira and Logan until Rhys spoke, looking back up at him he nodded. "Yeah, I don't know where else we'd bury her." He sighs, looking back at Kira, "I just wish I knew where, and if, she had any family buried, if I ever croaked, I know I'd want to be buried with my family."


Devin shrugged those thoughts away, thoughts of his own deceased family, and he looked around. In a stroke of luck, spotting a shovel leant up against a shed further down in the garden, he walked over to it, picking up the shovel easily and looking around the garden for a spot to bury her. He looked back to Rhys, "Where should we bury her?" He really hated this. Why couldn't he have gotten there sooner? If he had stopped the demon a second earlier, she would be alive. Seriously injured, but alive.
 
"I heard," Sheena said quietly, and she reached again for May's hand, squeezing hard as she took another deep breath, letting her shoulders rise and fall as she scratched her head absently with her free hand. "In the car...remember, you asked Caroline if someone might be coming after her...and she said something about Rhys? About a lady named Jenny who he stole from, that might be mad at her? I bet...I bet that this Jenny lady was the witch. The one after Rhys, that he just killed....you think she told Caroline something to make her come to us? She said something about him stealing from her, but Rhys said she stole from him...I bet she lied. That this witch lied to her...and probably said something about she'd help with her dad. And then Caroline got sidetracked from us, and the witch just came after Rhys and everyone herself...so if that's it, it doesn't matter. If that’s it, Caroline…was just being Caroline. And I think we both kind of get by now she doesn’t know shit about anything. So…she’s probably harmless. Annoying, but harmless….still, we can talk to her, I guess.”


Taking in another deep breath, she let herself lean against May slightly, trying to push thoughts of Kira out of her mind, before she said, “Why don’t you go ahead and take a shower…I guess what we can do, if Rhys thinks we can still go ahead with this…is get the stuff we need, do what we need, and then tell Hood and Caroline when we’re on the road. We can ask her about the witch then too…but if we talk here, it will slow us down, and I kind of just want to get going.”


Stepping out of the shower, she motioned for May to get in, then kissed her quickly before stepping out. “I’ll get something to eat, something for you too, okay?”


As Sheena returns to the eating and gas station area, seeing Hood and Caroline nearly immediately, she avoids Caroline’s immediate questioning as to how come she took so long, and doesn’t look Hood in the eye. She is sure that in one glance, Hood will be able to see her emotion, her troubled thoughts, and know exactly what has happened. And now is not the time or place she can handle talking about it.


“Whoa, Caro, let me get something to eat, okay?” she waved the younger girl off. “Listen, while I go get some food, why don’t you go get a shower too, there are two stalls in there. May’s there, so you don’t have to worry about someone bothering you. I’ll get some food and some clothes to change into, and some for you too, okay?”


She is relieved when Caroline goes off without protest, and as she passes Hood on her way to stock up on more supplies and clothing for herself and the younger girl, she still doesn’t look at him as she mutters, “Lot going on…talk in the car, okay?”


By the time everyone has eaten, showered, and bought what they needed and piled into the car, Sheena again lets Caroline get into the front seat with Hood, climbing in the back with May. She glances several times at May, letting them get further down the road, before she reaches for May’s hand, holding it just before she quietly informs the other two of what she had learned from Rhys’s phone conversation. She cannot see all of Caroline’s face from the front, but what she can see of her looks like she’s gone pale, and the girl is biting her lip, her hands digging into her armrest.


“Demons are real?” the girl whispers, and her voice is very small. “Demons are real, and they got…”


“Yeah…they got Kira,” Sheena finished for her, her voice faltering slightly, before she flexed her jaw, forcing calm into her voice. “And the witch almost got Rhys. And she said…” she paused, looking at May and Hood, and when none stopped her, she went on, “Caroline, you said something earlier today about someone that Rhys stole from. A woman named Jenny. And that she might be mad at you because you were with us in the car. Well, Rhys says that a WITCH stole from HIM, stole his tail. You heard him. And when the witch showed up to kill him, kind of makes me believe him over her. So this Jenny…was that the witch? Did she tell you different…did she send you after us for some reason?”


Caroline gulped, her eyes darting, and fear and guilt come into her eyes as she looks down at her hands, her words holding a panicked edge even though she’s mumbling at first.


“I didn’t…I thought she was telling the truth. She seemed nice, she was being nice to me…I was tired and hungry and she got me breakfast, and she said she would help. She said she would grant me a wish, and help me get to my dad…she said he stole from her, I didn’t know! I didn’t know she was a…a witch…I didn’t want anyone hurt, I just, I was just supposed to bring him to her, and she was just going to take her stuff back, or talk to him, or…I’m sorry.”


She is almost in tears, chest rising and falling shallowly, her eyes glittering with her near fear at what the reaction of the others might be. Sheena was silent for a few moments, letting her feel the guilt that Sheena herself sort of thought she deserved, before relenting. Sheena was not blessed with a forgiving nature…but it would be hypocritical to stay very angry with Caroline for very long, when she herself had made so many mistakes, so often…less than an hour ago when she called Christian, in fact. Caroline was thirteen and obviously not very streetwise, and it wasn’t like she’d be the first to be taken in by a silver tongue.


“You can’t believe everything and everyone you hear, you know,” she said finally, but her voice is almost gentle, for Sheena. “It’s the streets, Caroline, even if we have a house for now. People will try to con you, they’re all trying to get what they want to survive, and if it means they’ll take you down doing it, they’re fine with that. We can teach you, if you let us…but if you don’t start to learn, you’ll never make it.”


It was weird…she should be so pissed off at her, but instead, she almost felt more tolerant of her now, like Caroline had shown herself somehow to be a little more like Sheena herself than she had thought. They would do this for her, get her to her dad…or whoever he was. Then they would go back home, with or without Caroline, depending on how that went…back to the others. Sheena had no idea what would happen then, how things would be now with Kira gone, and maybe Caroline too…and herself, within six days time, if she chose to go with Christian.


Why was it that every time things changed, it seemed that something was lost?


**


It was another four hours or so before they finally reached their chosen destination. In this time, Sheena had spent most of her time simply thinking, often impulsively making some gesture of physical contact towards May, once dozing against her shoulder. Caroline had spent much of her time alternating between silence, in which she stared out the window and thought with growing excitement and nervousness about what was to come, about seeing her father again…about being able to have her life with him again. Occasionally she broke out into fast-paced chatter, telling Hood, May, and Sheena, when she was awake, about any memories she could think of about the time she and Lewis had spent together. The closer they grew, the more fervent her words sounded, the more restless she grew, and by the time they pulled into the parking lot, she could hardly contain her excitement.


As Sheena sat up in the backseat, asking May to stash one of the extra-large t-shirts she had bought at the gas station somewhere in her body for her, in case she needed it after shifting, Caroline was already throwing off her seatbelt and opening her door even before Hood had put the car into park. She is beaming, her eyes wide with excitement as she almost sings, “We’re here, we’re here…oh wow, we’re HERE!”


Sheena is not quite so enthusiastic as she too unbuckles, throwing a meaningful glance at May. Somehow she is not so sure this will go as smoothly as Caroline seem to think.


(if you guys want to have Hood or May respond at some point during Sheena and Caroline's conversation about Kira or the witch or Caroline being a traitor, you can go ahead and say that before you proceed with being at prison)
 
Jason remembered nothing of his dream when he woke up.


He was staring up at a roof, feeling immensely tired for whatever reason. It was also very dark, which was strange. Hadn't it been daytime when he had gone to sleep?


Jason collected his thoughts. They'd been at the lake last; he must have blacked out. Upon examining himself, however, no apparent reason came to mind. There was no aching head injury. He didn't feel poisoned. He wasn't tied down or anything.


He sat up and took a look at his surroundings; to both his sides were shelves, stocked with books. Reading the covers, he deduced that he was in the 600's section- he wasn't an expert on the Dewey system, but from the time he'd spent living in a library several months back he was pretty sure it had something to do with science. The carpeted floor looked clean and the books well-cared for.


Where the shelves ended, he could see only plaster wall. Jason stood, trying to get a better view, but swayed as he was struck by a wave of dizziness. Why was he feeling so exhausted?


Walking slowly to the end of the row, Jason was given a much better view of the area he was in. In one direction were more shelves, ending eventually in a wall where a door and a wooden sign- Staff Only- hung. Jason stared at the sign for a moment, recognizing the quaint little picture of open books laying around the words. The librarian had painted it himself.


Disbelieving, Jason spun to look the other way, and was greeted with a familiar circular desk in front of closed double doors. The kids' area still had the same rug and pillows, and the big handmade "Read!" poster still had "Library" spelled wrong at the bottom. With a closer look, however, Jason noted that someone had crossed out the extraneous E. The only light spilt in the few windows; the establishment seemed to be closed for the weekends.


He blinked.


Walking out of the non-fiction section, Jason looked up into the small second-floor loft. The second story had always been his choice of hide-out- the library was on the small side and didn't have many nooks and crannies. The second floor, however, was practically labyrinthine with all its rooms and corridor; the result of dozens of additions over the years. Several buildings had also been connected to create it.


What was he doing here?


Going up the steep wooden stairwell led him to the same old dusty archives section as he remembered, and a few hallways to the right led him right to the crawlspace connecting the same old small room with the same armchair and the same window. The proper door to this room had been boarded over for whatever reason, and Jason had used to happily hide out there to wait for night hours. It was a great improvement from waiting in a bathroom stall. He looked out the window to behold the same old view, with the road in front of the hills, and the ditch he'd once travelled down. Jason couldn't see them, but he knew more signs of settlement were to his right and left.


He went back downstairs and looked around more thoroughly, even ducking down into some restricted areas through shortcuts from the second floor. It was as deserted as it always was on weekends- even the little condo old Mr. Poppins had in the back, who'd been the shopkeep of a little book store before it had grown to become a library. So if no one was around... How had he gotten here? If it was still the weekends, he couldn't have been out long- unless it had been over a week. Or even months!


Jason checked his hair length just to be sure.


Not wanting any passerby to see him leave the closed library, he slipped out the back door. It hardly ever got used, situated at the end of a dusty series of maintenance rooms; the hinges still creaked with rust. Sticking his hands in his pocket, he sauntered down the thin alleyway, wishing for not the first time that he knew how to whistle.


Going the opposite way from the road he'd seen from the window, Jason eventually emerged into a smaller street; only a few car passed by. Looking from left to right, he saw an approaching pedestrian from his left and began to walk towards the figure.


He was holding a briefcase and walking quickly. He was probably in a hurry, which was good; less likely to worry about a lone boy. "Sir?"


The red-faced man gave a quick look to the boy. "Shouldn't you be in school, kid?"


"It's the weekends."


That seemed to take the man aback.


"Do you know how to get to, uh, Green Lake?" Jason continued, remembering the name from several signs on the way there.


"What are- where are your parents?" the man tried again.


"Green Lake," he responded.


The man looked flustered. "Well.. Well, it's at the end of Moore Lane. Go that way, take a right at Caldwell and follow the signs. I... I really need to go," he said, and hurried along once more.


"Thank you!" Jason called after the man, who waved a hand in acknowledgement. Suddenly, the adult gave a yelp as his briefcase fell open, scattering papers everywhere.


"Oops..." said Jason, hurrying the other way.


He knew where Caldwell Street was; he had lived in the library for more than enough time to be familiar with the neighborhood. Jason had no idea they'd headed south after leaving New York City, but they must have ended up nearly exactly tracing his own route backwards- unless he had ended up really far away somehow and this was a totally different lake. Which would be bad.


He supposed he could always just go his own way again... But after tasting life with others- supernaturals, no less- he'd rather not.


Jason cut into a small alleyway, knowing that it was a shortcut to the eastern part of Caldwell. The back paths were rather sleazy, but he knew he could handle himself; the main roads had their own hazards too, like Good Samaritans, police, and random concerned adults. Life was rough on the 13-year-olds... Or, rather, overly kind. Jason gave a grin at the thought.


Ducking into an almost tunnel-like passage, he was easily able to touch both walls with his elbows. In fact, he couldn't even straighten his elbows horizontally anymore like he could in the past; sign of his constant growth. Not that he'd really want to. The walls were gross. And... fungus-ey....


The alley led into a courtyard-like area that was considerably better maintained. There were three other exits in the middle of each wall, as well as several other doors leading into buildings; trees were planted all about the place in little square patches of dirt. Jason stood for a moment where he was, trying to jog his memory... Was Plymouth to the right or did was that the way to the highway?


Deciding on the former, the boy spared no time moving to that passageway. There were too many windows in the surrounding buildings for his comfort.


He was almost there when there was a movement. "Where you goin', kid?" a voice came, as two forms stepped from behind the trees bordering the exit; startled, Jason stumbled to a halt. Wearing grins, the two motley teenagers were armed with a bat and a pocketknife- muggers in training. The one with the knife was talking; "This here's private property. Give us what you've got, and we'll think about letting you through."


"The courtyard belongs to Plymouth Commons, actually," said Jason, backing up slightly. Could he outrun the two? Usually, he would be confident he could- especially given his knowledge of the area- but he still felt exhausted as he had when he woke up.


"Plymouth Commons can go **** itself," replied the other one, who Jason noticed was the more burly of the two. "When we're here, you do what we say!" Looking at his weapon, the boy suddenly felt like making a Batman pun, but felt it wouldn't be very well received.


Jason looked between the two and sighed. "Look, I don't have any money. My pockets are empty:" he pulled out his pants pockets to elaborate. He only had his journal with him, and heck if he was giving it to these freaks. "Just let me through and mug the next rich kid who comes by."


The first one, mockingly, pretended to consider. "Nah," he said, twirling his knife. "This here's new, and I haven't even gotten chance to test it out yet." An even wider grin split his face as he leveled his weapon in Jason's direction.


Running would have been smart at that moment; he was lucky the assailants hadn't thought to advance from two directions. However, a strange feeling of invulnerability overtook the boy, and he felt inexplicably confident he could continue through without harm. "Well- well first off, point that away from me." Jason spoke sternly. "I'm not getting stabbed today."


The teenagers faltered; they didn't move, but the leader did lower his knife. Jason was hit by a sudden sense of deja vu.


He nodded. "Good- now stop your stupid mugging act and get out of my way."


It almost seemed to work for a moment, but then the teenagers seemed to snap out of a daze and back to attention. "**** that, kid," said the one with the knife; "Come on, Sol, let's go get 'im!"


"Wait wait!" said Jason, urgently. Still feeling confident, he changed his tone and asked, "You wouldn't hurt a kid, would you?" at the teen's hesitation, he pressed onwards- "Why don't you just let me through, hm? Save all of us the time and trouble?"


The teens hesitated some more.


"I said, step aside." An or-else tone came to Jason's voice.


The two attackers parted, giving the boy passage through.


"Thank you;" smoothing out his shirt, Jason continued onwards into the exitway. As he strolled down through the alley, he muttered, "That was weird."


He got to the end of the alley before the two teens came to their senses. "Get 'im!" came a distant shout.


With a yelp, Jason started running
 
*Miyako had spent most the day catching up to the group, it was lucky they had stopped at the rest stop to use the showers and eat it gave their scent time to build up so she could continue to track them, she decides that it would actually be quicker to move in her wolf form, so after hiding her motorcycle in the brushes, she walks deeper into the woods and drops her bag that contains her spare clothes and a few weapons. Her shift is painful and takes what seems to her to be forever, this is the price a lycan that isn't an alpha must pay. When she finishes she stands nearly twice the size of a normal grey wolf, her fur almost pitch black, she reaches her head down and bites down on the straps of her bag, as she runs there is a fluid grace about her as if she was a ballet dancer, gliding through the trees, she covers almost 30 miles within 12 minutes, eventually she comes to the edge of the trees around the the prison in the distance she can see the van parked but there is no sign of anyone. Slowly she shifts back to her human form watching the walls the prison and the gates for signs of activity as she opens the bag and pulls out her black ninja gi and her weapons, then puts on a blue tooth and calls Christian*


Christian: Yes? What is it?


Miyako: They went at a prison upstate, I think they went inside what do you wish me to do?


Christian: Become her shadow watch out for her at all cost, she must not be harmed.


Miyako: Yes Christian, your will be done.


*She hangs up and starts to move to the prison, using exploited blind spots to make it inside.*


(Figured she would be about 20 or 30 minutes behind them if she went at top speed)
 
Rhys did not want to be having his conversation. He felt like he might puke and he stumbled a bit. He looked at Devin and then to the shovel in his hands. It felt surreal burying Kira. She was such a good person and nice to him. Why did she have to die? It felt unfair to have a friend he barely knew tore away so soon. But they had to bury Kira and then find Jason.


'If he's still alive...'


Rhys pushed that thought away. No it would not do him any good to think like that. He had to remain positive on the Jason front. They couldn't lose him too.


"Maybe away from the house? So the spot won't get stepped on a lot."
 
When they finally arrived at the prison, a sort of relief washed over the creature called Hood. They were finally here; finally at the destination they'd been fighting toward. The trip from the gas station on had been difficult for him. Before, when he had a Host, he knew of feelings and the effect on others, but never had to deal with them directly. Now, his form was constantly wracked with new emotions; the most common being rage and now sorrow over the death of Kira. It was all just so... bothersome.


As such, he sat in silence for most of the trip as the others, mainly Caroline, spoke. Her flurried words about her father and the things they'd done gave the creature a sense of what he assumed was hope; for Caroline anyway. The question, however, that kept him so occupied with his thoughts was WHY he felt such emotions for the group now? What in his transformation had triggered this? Was he simply becoming more humanoid simply be being with the others?


Questions that he held no answer for pounded his head fiercely, causing a throbbing, dull pain to begin humming in his head. He started asking himself WHY he was so protective of the others when Caroline's excited exclamation cut through the van.


Giving a smile and turning back toward them, Hood spoke again, voice a bit rasped from unuse, but only staying that way for a moment. "Yes, we are. Now, we must be careful how this is handled. I will go in alone, under the guise of someone new representing your father, Caroline. Then, if everything goes as planned I will find a way to extract the both of us with little to no attention being drawn."


He nodded once, plainly, as if such a quickly gathered plan would work perfectly. However, this was how he was used to planning and he wasn't about to change this late into things. "I will try to do my best at making this extraction a hasty one," he said, looking around carefully out each of the windows. "Though I cannot be certain, I am sure one of Christian's people is trailing us. I doubt they would use this chance to make an attack or something of the sort... but they are unpredictable when it comes to public places, as seen by the diner incident."


Closing his eyes, his human form's attire began to shift, swirling and churning into that of an expensive looking suit and shining black shoes. A tie wove down from his neck, shifting into place and he stretched, opening the van's door. With one movement of his hand, he slipped a pair of just-formed black sunglasses over his eyes and turned back toward the others, making sure they had nothing left to say before he began his rescue mission.
 
May gladly accepted Sheena taking her hand, feeling she needed the comfort right now. Usually May was the one offering comfort, not accepting it, and this felt nice, being comforted. It felt.....human. May was no longer sure she was a human. For thirteen years of her life, May had been completely human, sure her life wasn't average, but she had believed herself a human, she knew nothing expect human. Then she went to stay with Calius. Suddenly, she wasn't human, Devin wasn't human, things such as werewolfs, shifters, even mermen, they existed now. She had been so overwhelmed, but she guessed that was how Jason felt now.


Jason...Jason! They said he had disappeared! She hoped they found him soon. She was about to ask Sheena about it, when she heard her words. "And I think we both kind of get by now she doesn’t know shit about anything." May nodded numbly, "Yeah....she doesn't." Thinking back to Caroline's questioning about May 'selling' herself, her disgust at the two girls' affection towards each other, two topics May wasn't comfortable with talking about just yet.


When Sheena leaves, giving her a kiss before going, May is left with a smile on her face. A year ago, heck, even a month ago, she would have never thought kissing another girl would make her smile, and here she was, smiling like an idiot because Sheena had just kissed her.


Stepping into the shower, May strips before letting the warm water run over her, shifting back into her own form, her long brown wisps of hair falling down her bare back as she closes her dark brown eyes. It's nice to have a shower. She revels in the warmth and comfort of the shower before she reluctantly begins to shampoo and condition her hair, stepping out of the shower fifteen minutes later once she has dried her body, changed back into her clothes and switched back into her black-haired, grey-eyed form.


Once they are back in the car, and Sheena takes May's hand and begins to speak to Caroline, May remains silent, not speaking as she keeps her eyes out the window. Kira. Kira is dead. Not that the girls had ever been that close, but still. Kira, Kira was a part of their group they had formed, she remembered first meeting Kira, as a cat funnily enough, the same way Sheena had first met May. She remembered when she and Kira had been taken together, Kira telling her to go and leave her, but May refused. She had been willing to take a beating for Kira. She took a slap for her, but that was nothing in her eyes. She had helped her escape. Kira had tried to protect her from Devin.


She had shared a bad experience with Kira, one they suffered through together, and that made them close in May's eyes. Now she was dead.


**


May had been awake almost the whole journey - once falling asleep on Sheena's shoulder as Sheena had done to her. She was glad she had Sheena, she couldn't remember the last time she had actually wanted to rest on someone else's shoulder, let alone been allowed to.


When Caroline shared her stories with them, May found herself smiling a little, still confused at the concept of actually enjoying being around your dad, for she had never had that feeling, but still finding it sweet all the same.


May took the top Sheena gave her and closed her eyes, the t-shirt in her hand as May thought back to the most recent magazine she flicked through and just people she saw on the street, finally picking a person who had a handbag big enough to hold the top as, there in the car, she begun to shift. Her height grew a little bit, and her face aged slightly to make her look about 19. Her hair turned lighter and lighter until it was a blonde colour and it shortened to an elegant bob, her clothes shifted to a summery dress and a white handbag appeared on her shoulder. She opened her greeny/blue eyes and stuffs the t-shirt into the bag. She catches Sheena's glance and nods in response, showing her they are on the same page. She just hopes they are wrong.


"We should probably stay here and let Hood handle this Caroline." She speaks to the younger girl, not wanting her to rush off and get hurt. Plus...jail wasn't exactly May's favourite place.


Devin watched Rhys respond, noticing how uncomfortable and....green he looked. Oh right. "Don't worry, I'll sort it out." Devin responded as he walked a bit away from the house, into the woodland area, he was used to dealing with corspes, so this didn't bother him as much as it probably was bothering Rhys.


Devin dug a hole, returned to get Kira's body, buried her and then went back to Rhys once the deed was done. Looking at Logan as he ran to Devin's feet and sat beside him, whining lightly and nuzzling against him. Devin dropped down and ruffled the dog's head, "Guess I'll look after you from now on boy." He couldn't just leave the dog on his own.


Devin stood back up, looking at Rhys, "Ready to find Jason?" Devin knew they'd be able to find Jason - as long as he hadn't teleported to Japan or something - since he could track his scent.
 
Sitting in the car? Really? That was hardly what Sheena had wanted or expected, and she found herself slightly disappointed. She had rode all this way with them, all this time in the car, and now she didn’t get to be part of the rescue mission? Now she didn’t get to be in on the action…she couldn’t even get out of the car? She was supposed to sit back and WAIT?


But when she thought about it, she realized that maybe Hood was right. After all, he was the adult, he probably knew more about how to handle things like this with as little going wrong as possible. He probably had the most physical power….and anyway, Caroline had said herself that she wasn’t allowed to see him, they would never pass a little girl through a prison without all kinds of checks and balances, especially if she had been specifically banned from visiting her father. Sheena too didn’t look any older than her age, and could not shift in the manner that May could to look old enough to come through. And then there was the matter of her shifting…what if Christian /was/ following them, what if he controlled her once she had shifted, made her attack people who weren’t actually threatening them?


Once that thought popped into her head Sheena thought maybe it really was better to stay at the car.


“Go ahead, we’re good…just figure out a way to let us know you need us,” she said to Hood, and watched him as he started to walk away.


But Caroline was very disappointed. She watched Hood leaving with her eyes bright with wistfulness, then turned to look back at the girls. “He’ll bring my dad out soon, right? He’s not going to leave him in there, right?”


“Yeah,” Sheena shrugged, “Yeah, he’ll take him out, Caro…he just has to do it a certain way, right?”


She looked at May for support. She didn’t know how it was in adult prison, but she remembered juvie, and it had been more than close enough. Her juvie had had bars…her juvie had been one of the places that had caused her the greatest humiliation, the greatest pain, and as she thinks back to her first day, to the jeering other girls, to the strip search that had mortified her to the point of tears, she shivers, now wondering why the hell she had wanted to go in after all. This place would be WORSE.


**


As Hood entered the prison in his new, clean-cut appearance, he is asked for his identification and purpose of visitation. As this is cleared, he is then asked to step through the metal detector, first taking out any metal items such as keys or cell phones, and also asked to remove all banned items, particularly anything that can be used as a weapon, before the prisoner will be escorted to the private room generally used for either meetings with lawyers or police officers, or occasionally for conjugal visits. When he is pronounced able to move on, a guard is called to bring Prisoner 38294, Lewis Danson, into the room, and Hood is lead to meet him.


The room is small, almost uncomfortably so, divided by a table that could seat four, but held only two chairs. There is a one-way mirror in which guards will be able to observe the prisoner, but not hear his words. When Lewis is lead into the room and allowed to sit in one of the chairs, he is dressed in his orange prison jumpsuit, his hands cuffed. He is a man of average height and slim build, in his early to mid forties, with graying brown hair and stubble on his cheeks. He looks very weary and almost haggard as he watches Hood, speaking first.


“Hello, I guess you know I’m Lewis Danson…I wasn’t aware that I had a change in legal representation?”
 
Rhys was happy that Devin took care of burying the body. Devin was a good person, Rhys could see that. He wondered what happened to make Sheena and May and all the others dislike him so, but he didn't want to bring any of that up. He knew some of his past with May, but Rhys thought that maybe it was best to let that go. The merman scoffed at himself. Letting go of the past? Like he was able to do that. Still he was able to reach a happy end on that front. He had gotten his powers back. He was no longer human. Though was he fully a merman now? That was still a bit questionable.


Maybe Rhys thought that they should let it go due to his own selfish reasoning. If Devin got over May maybe....


"Yes Rhys. Maybe Devin will turn gay or bi suddenly and date the freaky fish boy," Rhys muttered to himself. He saw Devin come back and he hoped Devin didn't hear him say that. Probably not but he pinked a little.


"Let's get going. I am sure Jason is confused right now and probably lost as well."
 
With all of the matters of ID and purpose taken care of, the creature was lead into a small room with two chairs and he stood patiently until the guard lead the other male into the room, the cuffs on his hands clinking lightly as he walked. Hood watched him curiously, but kept his face stoney and professional, taking a seat a moment after Lewis had.


When the male spoke, Hood nodded and gave a thin smile toward the other. "Pleasure to meet you Mr. Danson. My name is Gordon Bachmann. And, I apologize for this being a surprise visit. The person that was handling your case had something family related come up rather quickly... and here I am."


He cleared his throat a little, the business-man look going over his face again as the smile faded. "Now, I know you have probably gone over all of this before and it IS in your file, but I must ask you to retell your account of what took place to bring you here."


Expecting a strange look from the other at his words, he shook his head. "Call it a re-evaluation of sorts. We would just like to make sure everything in the file is correct and not subject to any sort of confusion. Something of the sort could do nothing but help you," he lied, but never changed his facial expression. In fact, there was nothing in his eyes or on his face that could place his lie. Reaching in his pocket, Hood removed a small recording device and clicked a button on it, giving a somber nod toward the other. "Please go ahead, Mr. Danson."
 
Lewis took a deep breath, licking his lips nervously, and his eyes darted towards the door, then dropped to the tabletop as he steepled his hands, a bit awkwardly because of the handcuffs. When he looks up at Hood, his expression is slightly ashamed, but more so earnest, almost pleading, and his eyes, on the brief moments when they meet Hood's, are intent with his desire for him to sympathize.


"I guess...the truth? It's...you have to understand, it's so easy to get confused about the truth, and what has /become/ the truth for me..." he starts out, licking his lips again, then clears his throat awkwardly. "You see, it's been...what, five years now? Nearly six...it's hard to remember the details sometimes, and...well...I guess I wasn't in the right frame of mind to be too clear on it. Grief, and pain, and...well, love...they can make a man do things that might seem wrong, and maybe they are wrong, by law...but you have to understand, it seemed like the right thing. It still does. Because you have to believe me, I love her. I love her like my own child...she is my own child. Caroline...Madeline...no, CAROLINE...she's my little girl, no matter what DNA or anyone else tries to say. She's my own daughter."


He took in another deep breath, and his hands are shaking slightly as he tries again, his words coming faster now, almost stumbling over each other.


"You have to understand, my wife had just died, Mr. Bachmann...and I loved Caroline, my wife Caroline, with all my heart and soul. She was my world. She was beautiful and smart and spirited, and she...it just wasn't fair. She was gone, and it wasn't fair, and that little girl...Caroline...I saw her that day, with her parents in the park. It was a Saturday and I knew, I could just SEE that it wasn't right. That they weren't what they should be to her. Here she was, trying to get their attention, trying to get them to play, and her father was just texting, and nodding, not really paying attention at all. And her mother, she was just, "Yes, dear, now go and play..." Don't you see, they didn't appreciate at all what they had. They didn't realize...they didn't love her, they didn't take care of her like I would. They didn't realize that I needed her more."


He took in another gulping breath, closing his eyes, and raised his cuffed hands to his face for several moments before lowering them, his voice dropping slightly.


"So I watched her...she was so beautiful, you have to understand, it was more than just physical, she had a beautiful SOUL, anyone should have been able to see it, and they didn't. She was my Caroline all over again, maybe even reincarnated...who's to say that someone's death, their soul isn't reborn into a child, made pure all over again? So...I knew I had to take her back, my Caroline."


His eyes snapping up to Hood's, he said quickly, "It wasn't like that, like people tried to say, I never laid a finger on her. She was my own child, I would NEVER hurt her. I loved Caroline more than anything in this world, I gave up my world to try to keep her safe...to keep her with me. She's not my blood, but she's mine...and Caroline feels the same way. Just ask her. Ask her, she'll tell you I never hurt her...she'll tell you that she loves me too."
 
Devin, being Devin, didn't hear a word of being bi or gay and dating fish boys, lost in his own thoughts about May and Sheena and Jason, even Kira.


Sure Kira had never liked him much, but he had helped her, when Zach had died, he had wolfed out and protected the girl. And before she died, before she was murdered, she had told the demon not to hurt him and Rhys, she, in her last moments, had tried to protect them.


He only wished he was faster. If he was faster he could have saved her.


When Rhys spoke of finding Jason, Devin nodded. "Sure." He moved past him into the house, still topless and annoyingly having to stay that way for now, since he didn't have a spare top on him. He went over to couch Jason was on before he teleported. "This may look weird, but trust me on this one." Devin muttered before he leant over and sniffed the couch. He picked up Jason's scent rather quickly and stood back up, grinning at Rhys, "Sometimes being like a dog comes in handy." He pointed to the door, "That-a-way!" As they left the house, he started off in Jason's direction, telling Rhys to just follow him.
 
"Don't worry," Rhys said as he followed Devin back into the house. "I mean I am part fish...again. So no judging." But when Devin sniff the couch Rhys smiled a little. It looked so funny to him. But he kept his mouth shut. He didn't want to say anything to offend Devin after all. He moved a little while he waited.


"I am sure it does," Rhys said, smiling wider. Well if anything at least he had justified alone time with his crush. But his mind was also focusing on Jason and locating him. He swore he would not die as well. They could not lose him as well. The lost of Kira was hard enough and Rhys hadn't fully accepted it deep down.


"Lead the way."
 
Devin nodded, glad Rhys wasn't freaked out by him sniffing the sofa. They began heading out onto the streets, a few girls staring at Devin because of his current-toplessness. His muscles on display. He followed Jason's scent heading down a few streets as it got stronger and stronger. He frowned suddenly, looking at Rhys, "I think Jason's in trouble...." He could smell fear wafting from Jason's direction.


Now he was worried. They couldn't lose Jason too. He heard a yell in the distance, having passed through streets now and heading into alleyways and back streets. He sped up slightly, then finally he spotted Jason running at top speed in their direction, two thugs chasing behind him. On closer inspection he noted one had a small knife and the other a bat. "Frickin' hell." He muttered lightly, slowing down as he waited for Jason to run past them so he could scare the two hooligans away.


(Sorry for rushing that walk to find Jason, just couldn't think of anything they would talk about on their way there, plus I wanted them to get to Jason quickly so that Devin could confront the thugs :D )
 
As Lewis began, Hood sat and listened intently, hands crossed on the table. His face showed no emotion, eyes betrayed nothing as he simply sat and took in the other's words. However, the more the man talked, going on and on about how this girl, who's name was not even Caroline at all, was deserving to be his own. WAS his own.


There was no sympathy in the mind of the creature as the other's story continued, only a churning and bubbling rage. Keeping his composure, however, 'Mr. Bachmann' simply nodded when he was supposed to, eventually standing as the other male continued on about how her parents did not appreciate or deserve the girl, how he'd 'needed' her.


Opening his mouth to say something once Lewis had put his head in his hands, he stopped himself and let the other finish. All was well until the end; until the man before him uttered the final words of his tale. 'She loves me too'. Hood went very still, then, and something inside him snapped.


The shadow cast by the many bulbs above him began to shift under his feet and expand, finally reaching the walls and beginning to churn up them, blackness heading toward the one-way mirror the guard was no-doubt looking through. He was sure that both Lewis and the guard (or guards) outside had a look of shocked horror on their faces, but he could not tell. His vision had gone red.


"Loves you?!" the creature finally roared, voice splitting through the growing darkness. His 'human' skin had melted away, slowly shifting and changing into the black silhouette that made up his true self. "All that you've told her was lies!" The layered voices that came from the blank face were those of pure hatred, dripping with venom as they addressed the other.


Before he could say another word, the door burst open and an armed guard pushed through, pointing his shaking gun at the both of them. Not even moving from his spot or looking at the guard, Hood shot a thick, black tendril backwards, catching the hefty male and flinging him back as if he was made of paper. "DO NOT INTERFERE!" the thing snarled, white eyes flickering at the edges with scratchy lines.


Reaching out, the thing's hand shifted into huge claws, the right one closing over Lewis' head. It did not cut, but gripped the other tightly and began to drag him. "It is time you make amends with your 'daughter'. If you care for her so... you must tell HER the truth."


Turning to face the wall, Hood slashed at it roughly, large talons shredding through it easily. Quickly, he made his way toward the nearest exit, pushing past or knocking through any that stood in his way.
 
Lewis took a few moments to notice the darkness spreading over the room, thinking it at first to be only his subjective view. But when the room was nearly black and the temperature appeared to be rapidly rising, Lewis began to feel genuine alarm. For as the stillness in the face of the man sitting across from him slowly twisted into rage, he knew instantly that those “special” people he had told “Caroline” about, those people who had “powers…” this man sitting across from him appeared to be one of them.


And he looked very, very angry.


When the man speaks at last, it is more than his voice, the way it echoes and booms and seems to reverberate around the room that tells Lewis that he is not even human…that he is more than human, more than any natural being he has ever encountered. And when his skin melts, when even armed guards seem unable to thwart him…when tentacles sprout, and claws wrap themselves around his head, Lewis very nearly empties his bladder.


This must be hell…this cannot be real…he cannot be experiencing this and still be alive…


As the creature continues to haul him, it is his words as much as the way he is literally destroying everything in his path to escape with Lewis that leaves Lewis nearly paralyzed with terror. Tell her the truth…this creature expected him to tell Caroline the truth. How could he possibly tell Caroline the truth?


As they tear through the last wall, out into the prison’s parking lot, Caroline, who has been watching the front doors anxiously since Hood disappeared through them, gasps out loud, her eyes bulging as Hood now breaks through them, in a vastly different form than when she had last seen him. Her words so loud and shrill they are barely comprehensible, she shrieks back to May and Sheena, “LOOK, LOOK! SOMETHING HAS MY DAD! SOMETHING HAS MY DAD, IT’S GOING TO HURT HIM!!!”


Before either can stop her, Caroline is already throwing open her car door and tearing off heedlessly to head Hood and her father off, her eyes blazing, hands in fists as she screams, “STOP IT! DAD, DAD! YOU LET MY DAD GO, DON’T HURT HIM!”


“Caroline-“ Lewis starts weakly, then, his eyes shifting back to Hood with a frightened gulp, he amends this to, “sweetheart…Ca-M-Maddie…”


But Caroline does not notice this change in what she has just been called. She seems to have every intention of rushing the creature and attacking it with her bare hands alone.


Back in the car, Sheena shouted to May, “That’s Hood, Hood has him, keep my shirt!” before jumping out of the car and after Caroline, not bothering to look to see if May is following her. Easily catching up to Caroline, she grabs her around the waist and keeps her from attacking Hood, locking her arms around her even as she yells at both Caroline and Hood at once.


“Shit, Hood, what the hell are you doing, how are we supposed to NOT have cops on our ass with you breaking down the whole building?! Get him to the car already, why are you holding him like THAT, you’ll hurt him! Caroline, STOP, you can’t attack Hood, that’s HOOD!”


Caroline struggles uselessly against the other girl’s hold, all the more infuriated by it. “That’s my DAD, he’s hurting my DAD! Daddy! DADDY!”


It’s then that it dawns on Sheena that Hood looks more than simply vaguely threatening, as he usually might in his amorphous shape…that he looks downright enraged. And from the way he’s holding Lewis, the way he tore down half the building to get outside…it looks like it might be Lewis who is the subject of his rage.


Oh, shit…


“What happened?” she blurted out to Hood, still holding Caroline back. “What’s going on?”
 
May's eyes widen as Hood breaks down the wall, noting in her mind that his form could come in handy if she ever got in a sticky situation. Then Caroline is screaming at the top of her voice and sprinting over to the form that is Hood, dragging her Father.


May follows Sheena immediently, also wondering what the heck Hood is doing. But one look at the way the man stutters, the way he calls Caroline by the name of Maddie. It dawns on her. The only reason for Hood's rage, the man's stutter and name switch. The story he told Caroline, the one she told them, it wasn't true. He must have simply kidnapped her and told her that he was her real dad, just as May suspected.


She steps forward calmly as Sheena restrains Caroline, still in the blonde form, speaking in a tone that matches her calm emotion. "Calm down Caroline. I think your dad has something to tell you" She glares at the man, knowing Hood would need a reason to freak out like this. She looked over to the alarm that had begun to go off, "Maybe we should take this somewhere else Hood, I know you're in the mode and all, but it will be tedious to take out all these guards." She nodded to the van, "I'll drive."
 
Jason had this totally under control.


"Get the **** back here you little ****er!"


Mostly under control.


His feet pounded on the asphalt, still headed somewhat towards the lake.


"No kid talks to us like that and gets away with it!"


Well.. Fairly under control. There was a corner coming up....


"**** this- dude, still got your gun?"


Crap- not under control!


Jason slid around a corner, one hand touching the brick edge as he raced by. What had he done? Geez, these guys had anger issues- he'd just diplomatically talked his way past, is all.


He frowned, mulling over the event even as he ran. They'd been persuaded far too easily to let him go by; he needed to figure that out... And also why he'd been in the library-


"There he is!"


Right, priorities! How to lose them? He could dive under a dumpster, press himself against an alley wall, just outlast them- breathing hard from the random exhaustion, he could tell that wasn't going to happen-maybe he could reach Green Lake and just jump in. It might deter them. Maybe. Jason was an okay swimmer.


Another quick corner took him into a larger street, this one more populated. There were two teenagers going the opposite direction just a ways ahead, one of them shirtless- oh, that was Devin. And Rhys. Devin was the shirtless one, not Rhys. Jason though he ought to clarify that. Not that it really mattered which boy was wearing what.


"Oh, hey, guys," he said, slowing down a little. He looked behind him, where the two thugs spoke for themselves, and spent half of a second with his hands on his knees before straightening up. "Good to, uh, see you. You wouldn't mind doig something about these guys, would you?" Jason gestured behind. "Oh, and Rhys! Uh, good to see you alive! Heh..."


Jason was feeling extremely off-kilter. Sort of rambley. Bit of a headache.


(Go ahead and control the thugs if you want to. ^^')
 
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