Chapter 11a - Gen 2 - Tapestry

~ Jazz ~

Silently I creep down the stone steps .... curiosity has got the better of me and my intention is just to take a quick sneaky look at them, hoping that they won't even know that I've been there, before I sort out Maizie and find out exactly what is going on here.  I was seriously not impressed when Cosmic informed me about Maizie and Lime's antics, and furious that Maize has brought those two kids and Lime here.

The boy is singing, and he's actually pretty good at it, this makes it a little easier for me, the sound of his voice hiding my almost silent footsteps on the stone steps as I creep quietly down them.

I stand and study them for a moment, visually it is plainly obvious to me who is who, they both take after their Father's colour wise.  The girl is fast asleep and the boy is sat looking down at the floor while he's singing and hasn't noticed my presence in the room ... and I hope he doesn't ... I'm just about to turn and leave the room again when something distracts me, that keeps me standing there.

I start to listen carefully to all of the noises coming from inside of them.  One of the main advantaged that vampberry's have over mortals is that we can read their minds, hear their thoughts and even rummage around in their head to search out anything that we want.  There are no secrets that mortals can keep from us.  A mortal's mind is their greatest weakness and they don't even know it, through their eyes we have the ability to control their minds, we can alter and erase their memories, and compel them to do our bidding.

Firstly I can hear the girl's dreams, which are quite racy for a girl of her age, and I am so distracted by the noise that the babies are making that she has growing inside her, my mind starts reeling and I have to stop myself from laughing out loudly; as a flood of memories wash across my mind and take me back to school, especially our bedroom antics with Ruby.  Even though the girl has inherited all of Sunny's colouring, she must obviously take more after Ruby, if her dreams and being pregnant at such a young age are anything to go by.  So amused and distracted by this I never realize at first that there is just silence coming from the boy.

When I turned my attention to the boy, I realize I can not hear anything, I try to read what is going on in his head but I can't ... it is silent.  I can't even hear his heartbeat, which throws me for a minute, I had heard three heartbeats while I was sneaking down the steps so I just presumed one would be his.  Surprisingly the three heartbeats that I can hear are actually all coming from the girl, hers and the two babies - I don't hear his heartbeat at all.

It's not often I'm lost for words but I am at that moment.

I move my feet a little too heavily, my shoes make a noise on the concrete and the boy looks up at me quickly, his singing stops and his mouth drops open.  I shut the girl out of my head completely and just listen ... there is nothing but an eerie silence ... now that his singing has stopped, there is not a sound coming from him at all, still not even his heartbeat, which is really confusing me.

There is seriously something not right about that boy.

He is standing there backed up against the wall, staring at me with wide scared eyes.  I can see his fear, it is written all over his face and I can see it in his eyes but that is all that I am getting from him, what I can physically see with my own eyes.  I can not feel or even smell his fear .... I feel like I'm losing it!!

When mortals are scared, the fear pours out of them and we can smell it, like we can smell their blood, but not with this boy, it's like he's totally blocked off from me, like he's surrounded by some kind of invisible brick wall, a large bubble, that is stopping me from getting too him.  I'm amazed as I realize this boy is totally undetectable to me, the only way his pretense can be detected is by sight, he omits no sound or smell, he could wander around this place and I'd never know he was here unless I actually saw him.

Strangely my head starts hurts as I'm finding myself suddenly drawn to his eyes, at first what is actually happening doesn't register with me because this boy is mortal.  He keeps staring back at me with those colourless eyes of his Mothers, I wander for a moment if that has something to do with it, as a vampberry I've not yet encountered any colourless berry's on my travels. A colourless berry is genetically different to a coloured berry ... I wander?  No!!! that's just a stupid thought, I'm not sure why I even thought it, if there was anything different in a colourless berry's make up that affect our vampberry powers, the originals would know about it.  I wipe the thought straight out of my mind.

I try to access his mind through his eyes but I can not do that either.  All I'm hitting is a brick wall, a total blank, all I can see is darkness and all I can hear is silence.  Concentrating on his eyes I try to go through them to compel him ... I can't ... I try to throw everything I've got at him, my eyes are burning painfully as I throw everything that I have into it.  Suddenly, it all comes bouncing back at me and my mind goes blank and it knocks me stupid for a moment.

This is astonishing!!  I am one of the more powerful vampberrys having been turned by an original and I tried this once with Celeste, she is my original vampire.  While originals can compel vampberrys, we can't compel originals, but unlike mortals, I can feel originals in my head, mortals don't even know we've been in their heads.  Celeste has the ability to bounce it back at me ... exactly like he just did.

Hell!!!!  He just threw it back at me!!!!

I wander if he even know's what he's doing?

Maizie and Lime run noisily down the steps.

"MAIZIE what the FUDGE is going on here???!!!"  I shout at her

I feel so drawn to the boys eyes that I'm struggling to tear my gaze away from them, the connection between our eye contact is locked and I can't break it.  I try to concentrate on the sewage that is running through Limes head in an attempt to distract myself away from his eyes, but it doesn't work.  I'm quite amused that Lime hasn't worked out who I am yet ... but she will, I doubt it will take her too long!!  Physically I haven't really changed that much.

Why can't I move away from the boys eyes??

Suddenly it feels like I have an original messing with my head .... My mind is drawn strongly towards the cage door .... I'm NOT to open it .... !!  What the ....!!!  I don't know what the hell is going on here or even how he's doing this to me ... it's like HE is compelling ME!!  This is frightening, only an original vampire can compel a vampberrys mind ... this kid is human ... this shouldn't be possible!!!  He is dangerous!!!!  Trust Mango to have an unusual kid!!!

"Well Maizie I'm waiting!!"  I growl at her, still I can't take my eyes off that boy. She starts blabbering on about not expecting me back yet.  Obviously she knew I planned to be away for a week, she must have done this because she thought I wasn't going to be here to see it happening, this made me very angry and makes me wander what else she's been up to every time my back is turned..

"OBVIOUSLY!!!"  The boy shocks me again by doing something I couldn't, he easily breaks the eye connection between us by glancing across at Maizie for a split second before quickly looking back at me again, I spin round to face her, glad I've now got my back towards him so that I can pull myself and my thoughts together.

I must remember never to look him in the eye again!!!

~~~~~~~~~

I wait impatiently for Maizie to walk into the room, I am slowly beginning to lose patience with that woman, I seriously need to discuss disposing of her, with the originals, before she puts us into any more danger.  She is always causing problems, but now she is seriously becoming a major liability .... I can't believe she's done this!!!

I am not sure what is worse, collaborating with a mortal ... or that mortal being Lime Soda!!!  She is not even supposed to be associating with any mortal other than her son ... mortals are not supposed to know we exist ... Maizie is going around advertising the fact.

I know she would never have had a clue about the boy being the way he is, no vampberry or even original would imagine that coming  .... but Maizie must know how dangerous Lime is, that woman probably even has the brass neck to think she can take a vampberry on!!  Lime knowing that vampberrys exist, Lime knowing where this towns hide out is, Lime knowing what we are capable of .... I dread to think what Maizie might have told Lime .... this can only lead to trouble.  Berry forbid that Lime should ever becomes a vampberry herself because it wouldn't be just my friends that would be in grave danger, the whole world would be!!

The thought of Lime with the powers of a vampire is a very terrifying one!!!

With it she's personally put me into the very difficult situation that I now find myself in, because she's not only brought Lime into this place, she's brought those two kids in here too, Mango and Sunny's kids.  It should have been all so simple, wipe those two kids memories and dump them somewhere close to home so they could be found, they wouldn't have remembered a thing about vampberrys or their time in this place ... but that boy, he makes it impossible .... he blocked everything I threw at him, it's impossible to wipe his mind because I can't even get in there. Which means he can NEVER leave this place alive.

I've never really been comfortable having to fade any mortal, let alone teenagers, but sometimes it becomes a necessity to protect ourselves and keep our existence hidden.  Now she's brought these two kids in here and I really don't know how I'm going to avoid it, without breaking one of the major rules.  I don't usually break any rules, but for these two I feel I have to, which will make me just as bad as Maizie .... and how am I ever going to hide this from Celeste??!!   I'd never live with myself for destroying his parents, the bond that the nine of us have runs a lot deeper than just friendship.  The girl is okay, she can still have her memories wiped and live the rest of her life in ignorance, it's the boy .... If I seriously have to dispose of that boy, I'd never sleep for the rest of eternity, sometimes I wished I could lose all of my mortal emotions ... become ruthless like a lot of vampberry's do, but my mortal emotions just don't seem to want to leave me ... I still have a conscience and at times like this ... I really hate it!!

I could turn him, but I hate being a vampberry and I would never wish this life on anyone, really I may as well be faded for all the good existing does me.   Turning him would mean he would have to remove himself from his family, like I've had to, which in the end is in effect no different to fading him ... either way he will lose his life and they will lose their son.  I'm also scared, if I did turn him ... how powerful would he be?  As a mortal he already has 'abilities' that only the original vampires have ... what about if even the originals can't control him?!  He could become very powerful and very dangerous ... without getting to know the boy's character, I can't even take that risk!!

Then there is also the fact of what the originals might do if they find out about his existence and 'abilities' they have always been searching for something, a weapon, that they can use against all immortals, their aim is immortal domination ... wipe out all other immortals, of course they could never wipe out mortals because they are our food source, but they aim one day to control and rule them .... this boy if he has the abilities that I think he has, even in his mortal form with training he could be dangerous, as a vampberry very dangerous, and if he has these 'abilities' with other immortal forms, ghosts, werewolves etc .... he could just be the weapon that the originals have been looking for ... I look up at Cosmic ... he is going to have to test the boy out, it's highly unlikely but if that boy can see and communicate with Cosmic then I'm going to get very worried about just what he's capable of.

"Someone doesn't look happy!!"  Cosmic is laughing, I'm irritated because he won't be laughing when he hears what I have to tell him about that boy.

"Cos turn that xbox off, Lime is on her way and River is upstairs I can smell him!!"  While all vampberrys can see ghosts, mortals can't, I'll never forget the very first time that I saw one in my vampberry form, knowing and seeing them wandering around everywhere and finding out that we can communicate with them was pretty shocking, when as a mortal I was completely oblivious to their existence.  Trying to explain why the 'invisible man' is playing xbox is defenately the last thing I want to be doing when Lime and River get into the room.

When mortals are around him, like River, he never does anything to give away his presence to them, so they never know that he is even there.  "I'm warning you Cos, behave, we agreed remember!!"  I suspect today might be very different when he comes face to face with Lime and Maizie, I'm not expecting him to keep his composure.

"Yes boss!!" he laughs at me, dropping the controls onto the sofa as the door swings opens and Maizie walks through it.  Straight away she spots Cosmic sat on the sofa and she starts frowning and scowling at him.  Even though Cosmic spends a lot of time here, he has always been very careful to hide his presence away from Maizie, because of their connection in their moral life, but now he is just there blatantly smiling at her ... she looks very surprised and unhappy about seeing him here.

I laugh to myself after watching Lime scurry in behind Maizie and she actually tries to hide herself behind Maizie at first, I know she has already worked out who I am because I can read the rubbish running through that evil head of hers and even though she's not quite sure she believes it is actually me yet, she's hoping I haven't spotted her, like that's even possible, surely Maizie would have told her we read minds, she must know I'm rummaging through her head. Now Maizie has sat down Lime stands there uncomfortably exposed trying not to look at me.

"I didn't want to do this in front of those two kids .... they have already been through enough don't you think and I'm sure you've heard it Maizie .... that girl is pregnant!!"

"Yes I've heard the brats she's carrying!!"  she laughs  "Jazz what the hell is it with you and those kids?  Have you suddenly gone soft? You are still holding onto those mortal emotions aren't you!!"  she snaps sarcastically as she just sits on the couch now totally ignoring Cosmic.

She goes to turn on the TV and I knock the controls out of her hand ... is this woman for real, does she seriously not know what she's done or how much trouble she'd be in if the originals found out about this?! She knows how close I get to the originals because I'm married to one, most vampberrys are scared and wary of me because of Celeste, but not Maizie, she doesn't care how far she pushes it, how can she be so bare faced?!  I've seen Celeste dispose of vampberrys for far less than what she's done and Maizie knows it, she's seen it for herself,  just her association with Lime would have them disposing of her.  But I suppose really I shouldn't be surprised, Maizie has never had any respect for authority, she thinks she's a law unto herself and acts accordingly!!

She suddenly flies at me teeth showing, I knock her across the room before she even touches me, if she wants to fight then she's going to get one.  I go after her.  "Don't push me Maizie, you know you don't stand a chance against me!!"  I hiss at her  "Did you not learn your lesson last time?"  she hisses back at me for a moment then she suddenly backs down.

"So come on .... what is it?  Is it because they are kids?"

"It's not the fact of them being kids .... it's WHO'S kids you've got locked up in that cage!!   She looks at me then, a frown on her face, No she doesn't have a clue does she!!

"And what?!"  Maizie snaps at me "How the hell do you and Cosmic know each other anyway?!  I take it he's here to see you because it defenately wouldn't be me who he's come to visit!"  she turns to scowl at Cosmic, she knows a spirit wouldn't be sat so comfortably in this room if we didn't know them.  "I'm guessing you are here stalking the boy again and trying to plead his case, I saw you at the cemetery hanging around that family!!  Isn't it time you got over it!!!" 

"Cos has been my best mate for years, since we were kids  ... I am actually one of them!!"  I laugh at the confusion that has now spread across her face  "I'm part of 'that gang' that you're always telling me that you hate so much, like that green pet of yours who's trying to hide behind you, hoping I don't notice her!!"  Now she's pulling one of her 'yeah whatever!' faces at me, this woman seriously get's my back up! How the hell Mango ever put up with her I'll never know!!

"Does your wife know you're hanging around with the spirit world!?"  she laughs and says sarcastically because she thinks she's finally got one up on me  "She's not going to be pleased when she finds this out!!"

"Don't you worry yourself, Celeste knows Cos has been wandering around this place for years, even longer than you have, and she's perfectly fine about it!!"

"Yeah!!  Whatever Jazz!!!  Like I'm going to believe that ... this is the first time I've seen him here!"  she scoffs at me sarcastically  "... and you aren't one of them!!  If you had been, I would have known!!"   I start laughing as she walks off towards Lime, I guess she is planning on questioning her but I don't give her the chance to.

"Me, Cosmic, Alpine, Mango, Sunny, Lilly, Caramel, Ice, Ruby and your green pet, whatever she's calling herself these days.   There were ten of us ........ so now you might guess why I'm so very angry!!!  She spins round to face me and I laugh at the shocked look on her face and she quickly looks between me and Cosmic.

 "He's telling the truth Maizie ... Jazz is one of us!"  Cosmic says  "Jazz is one of your 'friends'  casualties like me!!"

"In fact, this is actually quite nice - all ten of us back together again in one form or another, thanks to you Maizie, maybe we should have a school re-union - what do you say Cos!!"  I start laughing with Cosmic while Maizie just stands there obviously shocked. "But I'm not sure your pet is going to be thanking you very much, I think this might just turn out to be more of a linch party than a re-union!!"

"So why have you never said ... why have they never mentioned you ... all this time when I've been slagging them off ... why have you never let on?!"  she really doesn't look happy about us still laughing at her

"Unfortunately I've had to keep my distance from them because as far as they are all concerned me and Cosmic are both faded ... them thinking that and not knowing I'm actually a vampberry has kept them all safe."  I go right up in her face  "The less you knew about me the better!! And quite frankly I couldn't trust you to keep your big mouth shut!! ... and I was right wasn't I!!!!"  

"Oh I get it .... Cosmic has been telling tales!!  He told you what was going on here didn't he!!"  she said angrily pointed towards Cosmic "I saw you at the graveyard, you watched us take the kids!"  she snapped at him  "Isn't it about time you passed over?!  Why are you even still here anyway ... still can't let that freak go!!??"   she snaps angrily at Cos, I'm getting pretty amused by the confusion going through Limes head every time she hears Cosmic's name, she can only hear half of the conversation, she can't hear or see Cosmic ... if only she knew!!

"Seeing as me and my mate here have got eternity - why not?!"  Cosmic snapped at Maizie  "We watch over them ALL to try and help keep them safe from HER .... Your 'friend' there doesn't realize, if I'd just been that little bit quicker to react Lilly would never have gone down those stairs, but I made sure I took most of the fall for her .... she would have faded otherwise ..... Alpine was hard, by the time I'd moved Caramel and their kid out of the way of her car, I didn't have time to help Alpine, but I tried to take the hit for him ... again my reactions were not quite quick enough ... Thankfully Mango managed to get him through it ... I only wish I could read minds like you vampberry's then she would never have gotten close enough to touch either of them!!!!  That woman doesn't care about the destruction she's causing .... I'm going nowhere while Lime still walks this earth!!"

"Obviously Cosmic would tip me off to your antics ..."  I lean towards her angrily  "... because they are our friends children that you have locked up down there ..... why Maizie, why have you got yourself involved in that woman's pathetic evil reign of terror??!!"  I didn't give her time to answer my question as I pushed her aside exposes Lime cowering behind her, who was just planning to make a run for it. I'd half expected her to have tried before now as I know she's thought about it a few times, but she has also been thinking that Maizie is going to protect her.  "You know Maizie your pet needs putting in a cage, she's about to do a runner ... not that she'll get very far!!!"  I smirks as I'm seeing Lime standing there suddenly appearing very scared and vulnerable.

"Well! Well! Well!"   my laughter starts to echo around the room  "If it isn't Lime Soda in the flesh!!  There is a face I never expected to see again!!!"  Lime starts to back away from me when I hiss at her making sure she gets a good look at my fangs, her eyes are wide open and I can smell the fear pouring out her.  I move quickly and have taken the gun out of her hand smashing it into a million pieces before she can even work out what is going on.  "Why so scared Lime? ... its unlike you to show your fear!!"  I start laughing again because she was pretty stupid to think that gun was going to protect her from me!!  Maybe I should just have let her take a shot so she could watch the bullet go straight through me and bounce off the wall without it hurting me.  River is getting closer to this room, and guns and mortals don't mix so I destroyed it just in case.

"Jazz!! ... you faded ... I faded ...."  she starts stammering

"Technically I suppose you did  fade me Lime, look at me I'm now a vampberry, my heart no longer beats,  which by the way I will NEVER forgive you for, I had a life before you stuck the knife in!!"  I took a hold of her arm quite roughly and dragged her across the room  "You should have checked for a pulse before you ran off leaving me bleeding to death in the gutter for a vampire to find.!!"  I pushed her roughly down onto a nearby chair.

"Now what to do with you, that is the question!!  Seeing as we've now got you here, I think it's time you got a little payback for everything you've done!!  .... and I'll tell you now, you are NEVER leaving this place ... this is your end station!!"  I start laughing in her face, then stop suddenly, just looking at her face makes me sick.  "None of us deserved what you've done to us!!  Me, Alpine, Ice, Cosmic, Lilly and their baby ... even Prelude !! .... Now this ..... you failed with your pathetic attempts to get them, so now you're starting on their innocent kids!!!

She leans back trying to put space between herself and me, but I just close the gap again.

"What I don't understand is how did you get mixed up with Maizie .... Why did she help you escape prison?!  Why is she helping you to keep these kids hostage here?   Why would she even want to help you of all people!?"  I glance over at Maizie

"Oh I think I might know!!"  Cosmic starts laughing  "Mango!"  Maizie cuts her eyes at him.

"Please tell me you haven't turned her!!"  I suddenly panic at my earlier thought as I start to check Limes arms and neck looking for bite marks, Maizie she would really be that stupid!!  Maizie snaps that she hasn't touched her "Good and don't even think about it either because I won't think twice about disposing of you both ... IMMEDIATELY!!"  I snapped quite nastily, the thought of Lime as a vampire is really frightening me.

"So why your other guests Maizie??"  she just stares at me saying nothing and pulling her stupid faces that really wind me up.  "What do YOU want with Mango and Sunny's kids?"  

Still she just stares at me and doesn't speak.  Sod this I'm not in the mood for games, I fly at her and I slam Maizie into the wall and pin her there, I've half a mind to just finish her now and be done with it but she's going to help me clean up this mess first.

River has walked into the room and has watched me fly at Maizie and sees me holding her up the wall.  I look at him and he's stood there rolling his eyes, I can hear what he's thinking, he really doesn't think very much of Maizie, his own Mother, and he doesn't care about what I'm doing or how much I hurt her, he's actually thinking that she's probably done something AGAIN to deserves it.   I laugh at his thoughts, knowing Maizie can also hear what he's thinking.  He notices me looking at him  "Just grabbing a book and I'll get out of your way!!!"  he says as he runs across the room to the book case then back out of the room without saying another word.  A song starts in his head, he's very very clever that boy, he sings in his head so that he isn't thinking while he is around us, it's not often I actually get to hear any of his thoughts only song lyrics.

Maizie still hasn't said anything so I shake her violently  "We didn't plan to snatch the kids, okay, it was Lilly we wanted, but she wasn't there at the funeral!!"  she snapped at me.  "Manderine needed a hostage to get away, so she just grabbed the kids, it should be HER sitting down there now not them!!!"  I let her go and she fell into a heap on the floor, but she quickly picked herself up.  I can't believe what I'm hearing ... this was all about snatching Lilly.

"Okay, I get why Lime would be doing this, she's evil and twisted and thinks she has to finish what she pathetically started all those years ago at school  ... but you Maizie .... what has Lilly ever done to you??  Or is Cosmic right ... is this because of Mango??"

Lime suddenly started cackling like a witch  "He broke her heart ... The Nerd ... he chose the freak over her and she wants to see the colourless freak suffer as much as I do!!"  Lime is laughing  "She wants to dance and spit on the freaks grave just like I do!!"

"I swear if she calls Lilly a freak one more time!!!!"  Cosmic suddenly gets angry and starts moving towards Lime

"Just leave it Cosmic!!"  I was scared he'd get like this, he looks at me and suddenly stops still but I can see how angry he is getting.  When I'm sure he's not going to go for her I turn my attention back to Lime who is now frowning at me in the weirdest way.

"Cosmic? - WHY do you two keep mentioning him!!"  she snaps,  "Now I do know that idiot faded along with his freak brat!! ... I've already danced on their graves!!"  she starts laughing again.  I can see Cosmic getting really angry again

"Oh Lime, the fun we could have with you!!  What do you recon Cos, maybe I should just let you torment her until you drive her insane, that could be one of our options for payback!!"  Cosmic is not laughing and I'm really not surprised especially after what she just said, I can see it's not going to be long before he blows and there isn't going to be a thing I can do to stop him, I'm just going to have to stand here and watch him do it.  "You see Lime, you might have faded Cosmic, but that doesn't mean it was the end for him, actually he's stood right here next to me, ... it's just a shame you mortals can't see him!!"

"You are fudging insane!!  Don't think that scares me because it doesn't!!!  I know you Jazz, remember ..... always the joker in the pack!!!!"  Lime scoffs at me and starts laughing, that evil horrible laugh that I hoped I would never have to hear again.

"Oh I'm not joking and you are going to wished I was insane!!"  she's still laughing at me, and she can see I'm getting angry but she still has to carry on pushing it  "Go on Cos, show her!!"  I step away from Lime, and watch her eyes following me as I back away, she's still laughing, not knowing that Cosmic is now stood right  in front of her with a face like thunder.

"Tell her this one's for Ice's face."  Cosmic says so I repeat it just before Cosmic slaps her face pretty hard  "I don't usually hit women but I'm making an exception in her case!!"  he mumbles then just stands looking down at Lime who is holding her face her eyes and mouth wide open in shock, she can't quite believe what just happened.

"Tell her this one's for Alpine" which I repeat just before he slaps the other side of her face even harder.  Lime is now sitting there holding both sides of her face looking pretty scared, her eyes darting around like she's trying to see where these slaps are coming from, I think she's getting the messsage, she is now actually looking around for Cosmic.

"This is for my mate Jazz"  I sniger as I repeat it.  Cosmic kicked the chair legs from underneath her quite forcefully and Manderine goes crashing to the floor quite heavily, she's petrified and tries to crawl away on her hands and knees but Cosmic grabs her and hoists her up and just holds her there hanging in the air.  She now looks terrified as she tries to struggle, looking down at the space between her feet and the floor, swiping her arms around like she's trying to find what is holding her there..

"That's enough Cos, I think she get's it!!"

"Oh I'm not quite finished just yet!!"  he snaps  "Tell her this ones for Lilly"  he says as he throws her with force and I watch Lime smash into the wall and she crashes onto the stone floor with quite a thud. She lets out a horrible scream, that must have hurt her!!

"and this is for our baby"  he punches her hard in the stomach then his hand goes round her throat and he starts to strangle her, she's choking and her arms are flailing around as she's trying to struggle while she's gasping for air.  He holds down her hands and leans right over her.

"Our baby never got a life because of you bitch!!!"  Not that Lime can hear what he's saying and I didn't bother to repeat it to worried over how far he is going to take this.

I can see he's completely lost it.  Damn!!

I fly across the room  "ENOUGH COS, STOP!! We agreed remember  ... COS STOP!!!!"  I didn't think he was going to stop until he has faded her  "COS STOP!!" I can see she's fading her eyes are popping out of her head and her lips are nearly colourless, I can hear her lungs struggling for their last breath and her heart rate has slowed right down, she's hardly moving now.  "COS STOP NOW!!! YOU ARE FADING HER!!!!" as much as I would love to see that woman take her last breath, I want to see her really suffering before that happens.

He suddenly throws her aside and he slumps down onto the floor for a moment, he's obviously really wound up and upset. I thought he might have gone too far as Lime lies there motionless for a moment before she suddenly starts coughing and gasping for breath as she riles around on the floor ... I know she's going to be okay when her heart rate starts increasing again as her lungs take in all the air they need.

"Maizie I'm really surprised that you would even want to help THAT WOMAN - it's HER fault that Lilly and Mango are together ... because she faded me ... you lost him because of HER!!  Do you forget she could quite easily have faded you and Mango the day she faded me and my baby ... or are you just as blind and stupid like Prelude is??"   

Cosmic is now in Maizie's face and I'm worrying that he's going to lose it with her too.  While vampberrys are powerful, we are not the most powerful immortal, ghosts hold all the cards in that area, while he can touch our solid form, we can't touch his ethereal form, we can't control a ghost in any way, I only have words to stop him.

"If you think removing Lilly from the picture is going to get you Mango back, you're a fool!! It was inevitable you would have lost him eventually."  he starts to calm down and now I can see he's getting upset "He never loved you, he used you as a distraction to take his mind off me and Lilly, he's always loved that woman even before I did .... and if I have to be honest, she used me in the same way, she always loved him too,  I just got in the way of that ... I would have lost her eventually, I was already losing her I saw how she reacted every time he touched you, the same why he reacted every time I touched her and I had to hear how much she loved him over and over while she talked in her sleep. That's why I CHOSE to fade, I could have jumped and let Prelude take it, but I pushed him instead, I wasn't strong enough to walk away ... fading was the only way I was ever going to do it."  

I watched him drift off through the wall into another room while Maizie just stood there looking at me.  "This was never about me getting Mango back ....... "  she mumbled suddenly

I went over to Lime and picked her up off the floor by her arm and sat her on a chair, she didn't protest or struggle she just looked at me through scared eyes and I can smell the fear pouring out of her again  "Well I hope you enjoyed your tiny bit of freedom between cages, but unlike your prison cell, you will definately NEVER be getting out of my cage!!"

"What are you going to do to her?"

"I haven't decided yet .... One things for certain, if I get my way she will never get the chance to hurt any of us ever again!!!"

" ... and the kids?"

"I'm getting them out of here alive and unharmed!"  I saw her frown before she starts to smirk at me because I think she knows she's about to watch me start breaking rules  "DON'T ... I'm NEVER going to forgive you for this Maizie, because I can't escape my mortal emotions I've got to put my own neck on the line because of what you've done!!  You've reduced me to having to be as reckless as you are!!!"  she just stands there wide eyed staring at me in surprise  "You know that Mango's boy's mind is closed off from us, he can't be read or compelled and I haven't told you the best part, at one point he even managed somehow to get into my head and compel me ... I think even you are not stupid enough not to realize just what we have here!!!"

"That's impossible!!!!"

"Yeah that's what I thought, but he did it, I even felt him in my head like an original, I tried to compel him and I couldn't break eye contact with him, I had to wait for him to do it .... Maizie NEVER look that boy in the eyes ... he's dangerous around vampberrys!!  I just hope he doesn't even realize what he's doing or capable of!!"

"FUDGE!!  So what are you going to do?"

"I don't know ... the girl can have her memory wiped and be dumped close to home .... but the boy ... WE need to figure out a way to get him out of here without fading or turning him before the originals find out about him, they'll either fade him instantly or take him and I dread to think what they might turn him into, he might even turn out to be that undefeatable weapon that they have been searching for ..... and you ARE going to help me seeing as YOU caused this mess by bringing him here!!"

"Now you can get your pet put in that cage with those kids .... while we work out how we are going to do this and clean up your mess!!"

"What's your Wife going to say when she finds out what you're up to?!"

"You want to HOPE for the boy's and both of our sakes that Celeste NEVER finds out!!!"  I know as well as I think she does  ".... or it's curtains for all three of us!!"

~~~~~~~~~~

Just a quick note - Generation One was a huge guessing game (with Lilly's white room chapters and her coma) and so would this generation have been if I'd written it how I originally intended to.  I decided to flip it, and show you both sides of the story, (hense the a,b,c chapters that will be coming up) so basically YOU will get to see what is going on way before Tapestry who is always completely in the dark.

Chapter 11 - Gen 2 - Tapestry

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The male vampberry is still rooted to the spot, staring silently, not taking his eyes off me once.

He doesn't bat an eyelid, there is not the slightest reaction from him when Honey starts moving, or when she lets out a really loud terrified scream.  He acts like he hasn't even noticed, his gaze is firmly fixed on me, he's looking me straight in the eye and stands there like a statue, the only movement I can see are the muscles in his face which keep moving as his expression keeps changing.

I thought for a moment I noticed his eye's glow a lot brighter and the cracks on his face seem to be growing larger, it only seemed to last for a short time before his face went back to normal, now I'm not even sure if I'd actually seen this happen  ... I could quite easily have just imagined it.

I start to wander if he has a problem with my eyes, as he's constantly staring into them ... my colourless eyes. I wander if he originates from this town .... maybe he's never seen a colourless berry before ... a lot of people from colour coded towns haven't and react badly to colourless berrys ... my eyes have always been my downfall and I'm now thinking that my eye colour, or should I say lack of it, might be getting me into even more trouble than I'm in already.

Honey had been woken up by the vampberry's loud shouting and she has now joined me, we have both nervously backed ourselves as far away from him as we can possibly get and our backs are now up against the cold wall behind us, there is nowhere else for us to go, we are just standing there holding onto each other terrified.

I am willing him NOT to open the cage door.

Maizie is stood there not saying anything either, the uncomfortable silence is horrible.

"Well Maizie I'm waiting!!"  he growls at her quite nastily, but he doesn't turn to face her, his gaze is still very firmly fix on me.

"Jazz!!  What are you doing here?"  the astonishment on her face says she obviously wasn't expecting to see him here "I didn't expect you back for another week yet!!"  Maizie seems suddenly very nervous of the male vampberry, like he has some sort of authority over her, but then I don't blame her for being scared staring at the evil look on his face ..... I'm terrified.

"OBVIOUSLY!!"  he roars at her as he turns suddenly in a flash to face her  "So  ... you thought you'd play games while my back is turned ... you are fast becoming too much of a Liability Maizie!!"  he yells at her quite fiercely and she tries to back away from him but he holds onto her so she can't move anywhere.  "You know the rules, strictly no mortals, I can smell them upstairs ... this place stinks!!"

"Sorry!!"  is all that she says to him as she hangs her head and looks down at the floor. Now that he is no longer staring at me I can relax a little and start to watch Manderine who, as usual, appears pretty shifty, she's squinting at the male vampberry through narrowed eyes at first then a few expressions flash over her face before she settles on constantly frowning at him.  I notice she starts to take the occasional sneaky step backwards like she is trying to sneak away slowly without the male vampberry noticing ... but he does.

"DON'T YOU MOVE ANOTHER INCH!!"  the vampberry growls really loudly pointing at Manderine, but he doesn't look in her direction because he's still glaring at Maizie.  Manderine just stands there now looking very troubled and I don't notice her taking any more steps backwards.

"It's bad enough that we have to smell that mortal kid of yours around the place all the time!!  Now this, you bring in three more!!"  he leans towards her so there faces are now only inches apart  "Maizie how stupid are you really?!"  

The vampberry turns round to glance at me and Honey again for a moment, his glaze always seems to be focused on me more than Honey and I don't understand why, he's making me feel really uncomfortable and I'm too scared to even blink while I stare back at him, my mind is racing all the time wandering what he is going to do to us.  He suddenly flys at Maizie they both move in a blur across the room as he pins her up against the wall.

"You know we can NEVER let these mortals leave here alive now don't you!!!!"  he roars at her he seems to be extremely angry with Maizie.

Oh Fudge!!!  We are seriously done for!!

Me and Honey look at each other in terror, she starts to hold onto me really tightly and I watch the tears silently starting to roll down her face, which I try to wipe away while I'm biting my lip really hard to try and stop myself from crying with her.

"You KNOW the lengths we go to to keep our existence and whereabouts a secret ... and you go and do this!!"  he steps back a few paces pulling Maizie with him and he's suddenly back in her face, they hiss at each other for a moment, I'm half expecting it to kick off any minute.  "I'm sick of cleaning your mess up Maizie!!" she just looks back down at the floor again saying nothing and trying not to meet his gaze  "These kids ..... you've put me personally in a VERY VERY difficult situation!!!!"  she looks up at him quickly

"How? It's not like this is the first time we've ever had any stray mortal kids in here  ... they have never cause you any problem in the past , so why should these?"  he's turned towards us and doesn't answer Maizies question. "Why are you back early anyway? ... Where is your original ... has she had enough of you already?"  she says sarcastically

He goes at her quite hard smashing her into the wall again. This time dust starts flying and small pieces of the wall fall to the floor, he walks back towards the cage and Maizie just stands there like she never even felt a thing.  That is scarey!!!

"No!!  She not happy I've had to come back early!!  I'm back early because of YOU and THIS!!"  he roars as he points towards me and Honey "Also THAT!!"  he points at Manderine without looking at her, as he spins round to face Maizie again,   "THAT!! The VERY bad company that you have started keeping lately!!" he points at Manderine again.

"And what?" she snaps at him looking a little confused as she glances quickly over towards Manderine.

"GET UPSTAIRS .... and bring your green mortal PET with you!!!!" 

They both stand glaring at each other for a moment before either of them move.

The male vampberry turns and takes another quick troubled glance at me before he flies up the steps so fast that he vanishes in a blur, I'm amazed at how quickly they move.  Me and Honey just stand there watching as Maizie and Manderine follow him slowly up the steps.  Once they see that the male vampberry is out of sight they start to talk to each quietly.

Me and Honey don't move a muscle or start to relax until we hear the metal door close shut behind them and we are left completely alone again.

"Oh boy we are so in trouble!!"  I say to Honey but I can't bring myself to look at her face.  I put my arms around her and she collapses into my arms and starts to cry really hard again.

My mind is racing, I never even thought about there being other vampberrys here, I don't know why I thought that Maizie and Manderine would be alone in this place and that she would be the only vampberry. That male vampberry, he really scares me, Maizie seems to be quite scared of him too which doesn't even give us a chance, she's a vampberry and we aren't.  I wander what he wants with Manderine?

I hope there aren't any more vampberry's to come, but I'm not confident because of something Jazz said, I would bank on us being in some kind of hidden vampberry den, we are never getting out of here alive!!

We sit back down on the bench together, we are both very quiet.  I really don't know what to say to Honey to make her feel any better, I don't think there is anything I can say, she heard Jazz's words as well as I did 'You know we can Never let these mortals leave here alive now don't you'  so what are we suppose to do now sit here and talk about our impending fading ... and how they might do it ... I know I can't and I don't want to upset Honey any more than she already is. I'm scared if I think and talk about it too much I'm going to lose it and that is probably when they will get me ... so we both just sit in silence saying nothing for a while.

Honey ran off to the toilet and I could hear her throwing up for ages.  When she came back she is smiling at me, I'm wandering if she'd actually heard what the male vampire had said ... how can she be smiling at a time like this?!  "You know it must be daytime!"  she says casually as she sits down.

"How do you work that out?"  I asked her really not thinking.  She's being sick again ... morning sickness, which apparently she only gets until dinnertime.  Maybe she's right but I don't really care what time of the day or night it is at the moment, its not going to make our life any better is it!!   She starts to yawn again and moans about how tired she is all the time, she says she feels different as she starts rubbing her stomach and smirking at me, she's convinced she is pregnant.  I laugh to myself thinking about how stupid we've been ... especially now ... that baby is never going to have a life!!

I told her to get some more sleep while I keep watch.

I'm starting to get really tired myself, I haven't had any sleep at all since I woke up on the cold floor, but I doubt I will be able to get any sleep even if I tried.  I'm now scared that any minute they will be coming back to finish us off, and I personally would rather be awake to see it coming. I'm wandering just how much time we have left and start thinking about all the things I'll never do again the people I will never see again .... Oh Berry!!

We hadn't been alone down here for very long when all of my nerves start jumping when I hear the metal door at the top of the stone steps open and close, my heart is racing and I hold my breath thinking this is it .... here they come.

The sound of someone singing suddenly fills my ears, I look towards Honey who is already soundly asleep, I don't understand how she can even sleep after what she heard the male vampberry say.  The person who is singing has a male voice ... singing is the very last thing I expected to hear in this place.

The singing with the sound of his shoes on the concrete get louder as he makes his way slowly down the stone steps.  Suddenly a man jumps into view, he's jumping down the last few steps like a child would, like something I would do, he stops singing and laughs at himself.  He looks like a fairly young man and he's carrying a book in his hand, he doesn't notice us at first as he starts making his way to the chair sat in the middle of the room.

The man stops suddenly when he spots us, he looks as shocked to see us as I am to see him.  He is human, I'm almost certain he isn't a vampberry, even though I can only see half of his face which is hidden by his long hair, the one eye that I can see is not shining.  His mouth drops open as he just stares at me, I can see he has no fangs only normal teeth. I wander why a human would be wandering around with the vampires, he was happily singing so he obviously isn't in any distress over being in this place, and he definately wasn't trying to hide his existence from them with the noise he was making.  He puts his hand over his mouth for a moment and I can see some sort of emotion in his eyes as his face takes on a pained expression.

"What  the ....  what .... what are you doing here?"  he asks finally and it kind of makes me laugh, what exactly is he expecting me to say to him?  He walks towards the bars and I do the same, I doubt somehow that I have anything to fear from him, he looks pretty harmless.

"Oh you know just chillin before they come to fade us!!" I snap sarcastically at him

"Tapestry that isn't even funny!!"  he snaps back with a destressed look on his face.   He knows my name, who the hell is he?  he puts one hand on the bars and just stands there looking at me again.  I am beginning to think I now know what the animals must feel like in the zoo, I'm sick of people keep standing there peering at us through these bars, like we are only here for their amusement.  "Seriously Tapestry, how did you even end up in this place?"

" We are not here by choice, we've been kidnapped by two crazy women."  he frowns at me "Say, why are you just wandering around, you are not one of them, do the vampberrys even know you're here?" I ask him curious to know why he's human and allowed to wander around quite freely while we are locked up in this cage, Manderine too for that matter I notice the male vampberry was not quick to lock her up either.

"Yeah, for my sins, I kind of work for them, you know run their errands and do stuff for them out there that they can't do themselves, my Mother unfortunately is one of them."  he looks down and starts kicking the bars  "I'm .... River by the way."

"Well River, I don't suppose there is any chance of some food because we are starving down here and these vampberrys don't seem to think that we need feeding!!"

"Yeah, I'll sort something out for you as soon as I can, but there is a huge fight going on up there that's why I came down here to get out of the way."  he started to rub his neck nervously  "They get pretty violent as you can imagine and I never get involved in their fights, its not safe for me!!"  he sat down then on the floor cross legged, puts the book down carefully beside him and looks up at me and smiles, I'm beginning to think he's a little strange.

"Is Maize your Mother by any chance?"  I suddenly remembered something that Jazz had said about it being bad enough them having to smell her mortal kid around the place, I bet he was talking about River.  He nodded and looked down, he definately didn't look too happy about it, I laughed  "Yeah it was Maizie who brought us here with the help of my crazy Aunt who has escaped from prison."  He looks up quickly and I can see the shock and confusion on his face but he didn't ask me any questions about it.  "So if your Mother is a vampberry why aren't you one?  Is there a cure?"

"No!! there is no cure."  he laughs at me for a moment  "She's not always been a vampberry, Berry know's how she became one she won't tell me!!"  he pulls a face  "I would rather fade than ever become one of them, they are disgusting creatures!!"  He seems to be quite comfortable sitting there talking to me quite freely, "You know Tapestry you need to be very careful with what you are thinking about when they are around, the vampberry's they read your thoughts!!"  he also seems really friendly and obviously doesn't like the whole vampire thing, so I though I'd try and see if I can get anything out of him, maybe he might even be able to help us get out of here.  I join him on the floor and sit down opposite him. 

"Are we still in Sugar Valley?"  I ask him and he looks at me for a moment and frowns  "Maizie sedated us before they brought us here so we don't have a clue where we are or even what time or day it is."  I told him

"Yeah you're still in Sugar Valley, can't you see I'm a mixed berry like my Mother."  My mind starts racing trying to think of places in this town where they might be able to hide a vampberry den, but I seriously can't think of any.  How can they be wandering around Sugar Valley and nobody knows that they exist?  I bet Manderine knows exactly where we are, I bet Maizie didn't sedate her to bring her here!!

"No, I didn't even know she was, I'm colourblind, everyone is grey to me."  he starts smiling at me again then laughs to himself  "So where are we exactly in Sugar Valley?" 

"Tapestry please don't ask me, I really can't tell you, its more than my life is worth!!"  he mumbles looking down at the floor like he can't look at me.  We are quiet for a moment then he looks up  "So is that your girlfriend .... what's her name?"  I frown at him, he knows my name so why doesn't he know Honey's.

"Yeah, that's Honey, she's my girlfriend."  I quickly glance over my shoulder at her to see she is still asleep and smile at River  "How do you know my name and not know hers?"

"Oh .. I've ... seen you around, you know like at the hospital with your Dad a few times .... I work there."  he starts fidgeting uncomfortably. That still doesn't explain how he knows my name, most people know my Dad, but not my name, so I ask him.  "You triplets are quite famous at the hospital, you especially, they still have your baby pictures in maternity, the miracle baby that was never expected to make it, your Mom being a coma and you being so tiny ... I think everyone who works in the hospital gets to hear that story!"  he starts to really laugh  "Especially the part about your Dad running around the hospital in just boxer shorts and a dressing gowned because he was in such a tizzy when he found out your Mother was pregnant and in a coma, he ran out the house without getting dressed."  I started laughing with him, I hadn't heard that part of the story myself but could just imagine Dad doing it.

Now he's confusing me, he works at the hospital and for the vampires?  So I asked him if he knows and works with my Dad, I'm hoping he might be able to help us get out of here somehow. "No, I don't know him, I know who he is obviously, who doesn't, he's head of Neurology, I just work in the pathology lab, it's not often our paths cross, I've never actually spoken to him."  he starts fidgeting again and picks up the book randomly like he's trying to change the subject  "I guess you are bored in there, do you want to borrow my book?" I laugh as he pushes it through the bars towards me, I take it off him for Honey, I can't read it but maybe she will.  I look at him and start laughing because something he's just said amuses me, he frowns at me.

"Do you have a thing about blood or something .. you work in the blood department at the hospital and for the blood suckers!!" he rolls his eyes and tells me that he actually hates blood, he's stayed in the path lab at work because of the vampberry's, he gets the blood that they need from the hospital which stops them from going out on the streets and draining people.  He says that they would have to go out hunting to feed and would be fading innocent people all the time, so he steals blood bags from the hospital, he's not comfortable doing it but its better than the vampberry's fading half the town.

River suddenly scrambles to his feet quickly as we both hear the metal door opening at the top of the steps and he starts to look nervously at me.  I hold my breath again ... knowing the vampberrys are coming.

I see Maizie coming first, closely followed by the male vamperry.   He looks very angry and is dragging Manderine by the arm down the steps ... she looks like a rag doll in his hands ... he's going a little too fast for her and she's struggling to keep herself on her feet, but he is just dragging her along like she's weightless.    When he reaches the bottom of the steps he throws Manderine quite forcefully onto the floor and she lands in a heap in front of the cage door.  She just curls herself up into a ball and lies there like she's hurt and scared. It looks like she's just had a good kicking and I can hear her snivelling.

River stands there looking down at Manderine and glances briefly in the male vampberry's direction, quite crossly, which surprizes me, how can he not be scared of them?!  River looks pretty disturbed at the sight of Manderine lying on the floor, he watches her for a moment then starts to crouch down over her like he wants to and is trying to help her.

"Leave her River, she doesn't need a doctor."  the male vampberry snaps at him. "She is not worth your sympathy so don't waste even a second of your time worrying over her!!"

River straightens himself up and steps backwards away from her, but I can see he isn't happy, while he's staring over at Maizie who is exchanging some kind of unpleasant look with him.

"What are you doing down here River?"  Maizie snaps at him.

"I'm trying to work out what the hell you're playing at ... HOW COULD YOU!!??"  he shouts at her quite angrily "and don't give me any of your pathetic excuses ... because I KNOW!!!"

The male vampberry stops to watch River and Maizie, he suddenly seems amused.

River starts looking angrily at Maizie who suddenly gets a shocked look on her face.  The vampbery smirks as he looks at River then he suddenly glances over at me with an expression of surprize on his face, then he looks back to River and starts to laugh quite loudly.  I don't know why but I imagine River is saying something in his head that both of the vampberrys can hear, while it has shocked Maizie it has amused Jazz.  "It seems you have got a lot more explaining to do Maizie"  he starts roaring with laughter.  I really would love to know what's going on between them.  I would love to read minds like the vampberrys can.

I see something bright moving in the corner of my eye.  I look towards the movement and see Cosmic, he suddenly floats into my view, I rub my eyes thinking I'm imagining it for a moment.  At first I'm really surprised to see him here, but I suppose I shouldn't be because one thing I have learnt about that ghost over the years, he does usually tend to appear especially when there is trouble.  I wander how he's found us.

I watch him float in front of Maizie, he waves and smiles at her then stands next to Jazz throwing his arm around him like they are the best of mates.  This makes me laugh because I think he's messing about for my benefit, I've seen him do this loads of times at home, especially with Prelude, messing around with different members of my family who don't have a clue that he is even there, he does it trying to get a laugh out of me, he finds it amusing when I start laughing especially around my Dad who grills me for a reason for my laughter. I presume just like at home nobody here can see him only me.

I'm so relieved to see a friendly face, who I hope is going to help us get out of here,  that I forget myself for a moment, I completely forget where I am and blurt out his name without even thinking "Cosmic!!" 

The male vampberry's head spins round at speed to look at me with a shocked look on his face at first, then he frowns and quickly glances towards Cosmic  "Cos, please tell me that boy can actually see you?!"  I'm quite shocked knowing that the vampberry can also see the ghost, I thought I was the only one.

"Yes he can, he's been seeing me since he was a child, we play a lot of xbox together."  Jazz suddenly starts to roar with laughter and Maizie mumbles something quite nastily under her breath that I didn't quite catch.  "We've only started to talk to each other recently, I wasn't sure he could hear me, but he does!!"  Cosmic replies.  

"Amazing!!" the vampberry says as he starts frowning at me again  "I thought I'd lost it earlier, I can't read him at all he's totally silent and he blocked all the mind control I threw at him, mortals's shouldn't be able to do that!! ... and he can see and hear Cosmic ....  Maizie can hear that boys thoughts?"  he looks at me again, this time he smiles at me which kind of took me by surprise.

"No I can't read him at all"  I look at Maizie and she seems a little irritated as she's staring over at River who is just scowling at her "He isn't normal like his Mother!!"  Maizie snaps which makes Jazz spin round to glare at her, Cosmic turned to scowl at her too  "They are both freaks!!"

"Shut your face Maizie, or do you want a dose of what Lime just had!!"  Cosmic snaps at Maize quite nastily and she surprises me by scowling at him, then she told him it was time he passed over and got lost. So I'm guessing that all vampberrys can see the ghost too, this is getting all too wierd for my head to take.

"Maizie put your green pet in the cage with your other guests, while I decide how I'm going to deal with this mess before any of the originals find out what's going on here!!"  he snaps at Maizie and the human man catches his attention again.  "River make yourself useful, make the kids something to eat!"  I watch River scurry off without saying a word, but I saw him look down and smile at me as he went up the steps.

I'm just happy that the vampberry is allowing him to feed us, food has never really been my favourite subject but I could really do with some right now and Honey really needs to eat. I find it a little strange that he would smile at me and even think about feeding us if all he intends to do is fade us.

Maizie grabs Manderine by the arm pulling her up off the floor and onto her feet.  She gives her an apologetic look as she opens the cage door and pushes Manderine in with us quite forcefully, she stumbles and falls onto her hands and knees in front of me and Honey as the door clanks shut behind her, she looks up at us for a moment with scared eyes.

I openly laugh at her quite loudly which she didn't seem very amused at, I couldn't help it, thinking about what she'd done to my Mother and and to me and Honey ... it's kind of nice to see her being the one that is suffering for a change.

"I'm going to get you for this!!!"  she starts screaming, I'm not sure if it's aimed at me or at the vampberrys. Jazz starts laughing quite loudly.  

"Change the record Lime, you've not done a very good job of it so far have you!!"  he scoffed.  "All nine of us are still here in one form or another"  he starts laughing "Be warned Cosmic will be watching you - harm one hair on either of those kids heads and I will let him finish you just like he wants to!!"  this really seems to have amused him.  

Me and Honey exchange a confused look, I guess she would be confused not seeing Cosmic and I bet she remembers the name from the grave in the cemetery,  that is probably why she's frowning, but me I'm confused because I don't understand why the vampberry just warned Manderine not to hurt us.

Maizie and Cosmic start going up the stone steps and I can see they are arguing with each other.  I want to call after him, I can't believe he would just leave me and Honey here like this.   I look at Jazz who hasn't left yet, he stands for a while just studying me with that troubled expression on his face again before he turns and follows everyone else upstairs.

I hear that metal door slam again and the room becomes eerily silent again.  Manderine has crawled into the far corner of the cage, I pull Honey to the opposite corner of the cage away from her along with our bench and we both sit down facing Manderine.

Manderine is covered in bruises and you can see that she has been crying, her makeup has run all down her face.  Occasionally her eyes dart around nervously and she appears to be really scared suddenly, I haven't known her for very long but she's definately acting out of character, she no longer looks like the evil witch, she's cowering on the floor like the terrified victim.  I wander what they have subjected her to, how did she get all those bruises and who gave them to her?  Jazz and Cosmic seem to know her too, but why does everyone keep calling her Lime?

I get the feeling there is a lot more going on here than I could even imagine.

Manderine sees me watching her and just stares back at me silently a blank expression on her face as the tears start to roll down her face.

I really don't know what to say to her, not really trusting myself to hold my tongue or my temper especially if she starts to wind me up again.

This is going to be very uncomfortable.



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