B.O.E.- Chapter 17: Raven

Raven climbed up the steps from the subway and glanced at the clock on her own cellphone. The ride was only an hour so she wasn’t late as she followed a few riders around the corner. She kept her face placid but inside, her stomach was in knots.

Why was Conner following me? Had Isaac sent him? This definitely isn’t helping him with the trust thing, she thought angrily.

She briskly walked to the next corner and waited for the light to change.

With a quick glance around, she eyed the others around her, noting how they all had the same somber expression. Most of them were staring down at their phones, paying no attention to the world around them as they moved through their day. She briefly wondered how they would react if they knew what she did.

The light changed and they all began to walk across the street.

She’d never been able to block the world with her phone but she also didn’t know a whole other world of vampires and inhuman soulless monsters were at war. She’d never have believed she’d be dragged into the middle of it either. Yet, here she was.

With a deep breath, Raven ducked into an alley, breaking away from the clueless public. She moved passed a few buildings before using a wall to grab onto a fence. She pulled herself over it and ducked down to peek around a picket porch.

The neighborhood was quiet and orderly, the lawns were all mowed and the town homes were massive. No one would suspect anyone with a sordid past to live here in this walled off utopia.

The sun set cast a long shadow beside every home and she used it to make her way to one near the end of the block. She eyed the large double doors at the top of a few pristine white steps, a chill running down her spine. The sun continued its descent as the wind began to pick up, almost as if pushing her to get this over with.

With a steadying deep breath, she climbed the stairs and knocked on the door.

The door on the right opened and she was greeted by the barrel of a gun.

“Calmly, place your bag and your cell phone in the box to your right,” a voice ordered.

Raven slowly removed her bag and placed both items on the box just inside the door. She stepped over the threshold when beckoned but didn’t move forward.

“Take off your shoes,”

Raven slipped out of her running shoes, wishing she could put them to use.

“You know where to go,” the woman who’d spoken said behind her when she was done.

Raven already had her eyes on the door to her left. Focusing her face muscles, she pushed herself onward and lead the way to the room as the woman with the gun followed carefully.

She entered the large dimly lit room and refused to look at the man leaning on the desk across from her.

“You were almost going to be late,” he said, his voice sliding over her like oil.

Raven didn’t reply or let her face betray anything but she could smell the whiskey he was already drinking.

He gulped a big swing. “Strip.”

Raven unzipped her thin jacket and tossed it aside. Next, just to get it over with, she undid the buttons on her jeans and stepped out of them to also toss them onto the polished floor. She reached for the hem of her shirt next. As she pulled it over her head, she could practically feel his eyes raking over her body.

“Those are new,” he pointed out, his eyes on her side.

Raven didn’t respond as she dropped her shirt next to her pants. She didn't let herself shiver as the damn AC sent an icy breeze over her exposed skin. She pulled on the inner fires of her hatred to warm her as she stared at the insult to humanity as he sipped his drink.

His eyes traveled back up to meet her eyes with a smirk. “You know what I want,” he chuckled.

Raven fought the urge to take the gun away from the woman still standing behind her to shoot at his hideous smirk. She took a deep breath before letting her legs buckle, her knees hitting the hard, cold floor. She set her hands on her lap and kept her eyes on her knees, trying to ignore him as he let out a breathy groan.

“Beautiful,” Kurt muttered. “Now, we may begin.”

Raven felt herself tense just before a needle dug into her neck from behind.

The world began to spin without her and she clung on to the feeling, welcoming the blackness. She just wished it would last the next three days.

Raven ran into the living room, her necklace bobbing around her neck, and hid behind the sofa as she heard Anise counting in the next room. She was only three so she couldn’t count properly and Raven pressed her hands over her mouth to keep from laughing. Just then her father stormed into the room from the kitchen and her mother moved up to him.

“Honey, calm down,” she hissed, her eyes glancing toward where they heard Anise count.

“They found us, Grace,” he muttered, his voice a growl. “They want to take you away from us. From me.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” her mother promised, trying to meet his eye. “I chose you and I do not regret a moment.”

Her father’s hands fisted. “That won’t stop them.”

“Then we leave. We find a new place to make our home,” she held his head and forced him to turn to her. “John, we’ve created two miracles. I will not let anything happen to my family.”

He dragged in a deep breath. “I could call in a few favors to help us get started. We’ll leave before the month is out.”

Her mother smiled widely and planted a kiss on his lips. “I’ll make the girls’ favorite to tell them the news.”

She moved back into the kitchen as her father sighed.

“Ready or here I come!” Anise shouted, her voice trembling as she ran into the room. “Hi, daddy. Have you saw Raven?”

“She’s behind the sofa, babe,” her father answered and Raven gasped, her heart hammering in her chest as she moved out of her hiding spot. She met his eyes as Anise rushed to her. Then her father winked at her and went to his study.

“Found you!” Anise giggled, throwing her arms around her middle.

Raven forced herself to smile down at her sister as the sunlight from the window glimmered on her identical necklace. Then she tickled her, “Okay, now you hide.”

She watched Anise run away from her before staring after their dad. How did he know she was there?