Larcen's car tore down the private street to Prince William's place, screechin' as he mashed down on the brakes. He ripped the keys outta the ignition and was runnin' up to the front before me and Katrina were even outta the car. We caught up to him as Larcen pounded on the door, and Chris answered it, lettin' us in.
William, the Ventrue prick that let this whole mess get started in the first place, was sittin' in a big chair at the head of the room. Kyle, Lady Meredith, Alexandria, and that tall chick were already there, and a bit after we came in, Eve and Monique followed. Trent crept into the room from one of the others, and hung by the stairs…wimp.
Me, I stood by Larcen, Katrina, and Monique, bein' there for my clan. Lady Meredith was sittin' on a small couch in front of us, as was Eve. The Prince just glared at everybody from his 'throne'. While he started rantin' 'bout how all of this shouldn't have happened in his domain and in his city, I noticed Teddie, that pathetic Caitiff, sneaking up to the door.
I shrugged, I mean hey, if he wants to spy on the Prince, and thinks that he ain't gonna get caught, what's it to me? Chris told Teddie to go shove off, 'cause he didn't belong there right then. I think he went away, but Chris caught him at the window a few minutes later, and kicked him clear 'cross the big yard. Damn, that hadda have hurt.
Everyone started talkin' at once, and William yelled for things to settle down. From what I got of it, Monique and her sister, Rosalynn, were far-off cousins of Eve's family. She'd heard about that, but it'd taken a while to find out, and she said that the Giovanni would come after Kyle for embracing one of their own.
Eve told the Prince that they'd get Kyle, kill Monique for bein' a Caitiff, then kill her for being there and not stoppin' it from goin' down. No way, man! That just wasn't fair, I mean, what'd Eve have to do with all this?
"Eve, you ain't gonna let your family kill you, are ya?" I shouted.
"There's nothin' I can do 'bout it."
"No! I ain't gonna let that happen!"
"Raven! It'll all work out, and if I let 'em take me, maybe they won't care so much 'bout Kyle and Monique."
There was more talk, but I didn't hear most of it. All I could think about was that the Giovanni were comin' and they were gonna get Eve good for somethin' that she didn't even do. Goddamn it, she was my best friend, saved my life more than once, and got me to this city where I could be safe; I owed it to her to help.
The Prince was yakin' for a long time, and when he finally clamed up, Larcen got a turn to say his bit. What he'd been sayin' earlier in the night was true, people who didn't deserve it were making Kindred, and now innocents were gonna haveta pay for it. He said that Monique, his Ghoul, who he cared 'bout, and who he wanted to Embrace someday was tricked by Toredor, and rescued by his best friend, Kyle.
Alexandria spoke up for Lady Allissa, who'd retreated to her own place with the other two cowards of her clan. She said that the Prince had said that it was ok for them to create others, and that's what the elder had been doin', how was she to know the Ghoul was a Giovanni? Kyle yelled back that though Lady Allissa didn't know it, he'd probably saved her life.
Things kept runnin' 'round in my head until I was havin' trouble standin' up without swayin'. Everything was fine until Lady Allissa and those other two Toredor came to Swarthmore. Monique wouldn't have been Embraced by Larcen for a long time, and by then, Eve probably woulda found out 'bout her family by then, so nothin' bad woulda happened. Man, I saw fuckin' red.
"Hey Prince William," I shouted, "you shouldn't be blamin' Larcen or Kyle or Eve, they didn't do nothin'. The ones who should get it are those screwed up Toredors!"
"To be fair, Marita did think that Monique was her daughter," he said, all calm and noble-like.
"That's 'cause she's messed up, and shoulda known better! Now she's gone and run back to New York where she thinks we can't get her, she knew that she was gonna get in trouble. You should do stuff now and tell all them stuck-up, art-lovin', culture-whores to get the hell out of your city!"
Prince William sat up all stiff and offended, "Oh really, is that what I should do?"
I got scared for a sec, but remembered that he was a Ventrue, what was he gonna do? Eve was in the next room calling her sire, trying to see what favors he could pull so that her clan would leave Kyle and Monique alone and just take her instead. This was all too much, and I didn't know what to do.
Everyone was talkin', yellin' or sayin' what they thought, and how they were glad that it hadn't been them. Damn it! I mean, this was no better than bein' in Philly. Maybe people just didn't up and kill everyone else every night, but I was sick to fuckin' death of all the sneakin' around to be devious behind the other's backs and make the Prince love ya best. No way, I couldn't handle all this shit on a daily basis.
"Well, than that's what I shall do," I heard Prince William say, and turned to pay 'tention. "I shall politely ask Lady Allissa to leave the city, and if she refuses, then we will begin to take action."
"Man, why are the Giovanni going after me? Lady Allissa was the one who started this whole mess, why don't they take her out?" Kyle shouted.
"The Giovanni can't touch her 'cause of her wealth as well as political and social status," Eve said, leaning on the door jam.
"What'd your sire say?" I asked, all shook up inside.
Eve's face got all serious. "He's gotta talk to some people, then he's gonna give me a call back."
This was really chewin' at me, and I could just feel my temper rising by the second. All of this was wrong, and as I started thinkin' 'bout it, I realized who was 'sponible for all the trouble.
"Goddamn Toredors!" I roared. Man, everyone in the room got quiet and looked at me, it was freaky, but then, I was way too worked up to care. "That stupid, obnoxious, tacky neonate started this!"
"Well, Raven, what do you suggest I do about that?" The Prince asked, in a tone of voice that was seriously suggestin' that I was pushin' it.
"I'll tell ya! Call a Wild Hunt!"
His eyes went wide. "A what?!?"
"You know, where you tell us to go and kill the people you don't like, and we don't stop until we get 'em! You know, a Wild Hunt."
"You mean a Blood Hunt?"
"Yeah! Call one of those!"
"Is that the opinion of those present?"
Most of the people there nodded or shouted somethin', but then all shut up. "So be it. I, William Blair of Ventrue, Prince of Swarthmore, hereby call down a Blood Hunt on Sasha of Toredor, and her childe, Marita of Toredor, hunt well, my subjects, hunt well."
I clenched my fists, as if I could already feel them beatin' the shit out of those simpering twits. Everyone was gonna get what was comin' to them. My fangs were throbbin' just thinkin' 'bout the hunt. The Prince went into a different room, sayin' that if anyone else had business with him, they should do it there. People started millin' 'round, but I went right over to Larcen and Katrina.
"Well, it looks like we're goin' huntin'," he said as Kyle helped Monique to stand up, 'cause she was still real tired from gettin' Embraced.
Was all this true? Did all this trouble come from makin' a Ghoul into one of us? I hadda sit down and think 'bout it. The front room was suddenly empty 'cept for me and it was real dark, so I just sat there, glarin' off at the far wall. Eve walked into the room and sat down in the chair William had been in before.
"Hey Eve, if these guys are your family, then how come they're gonna kill ya and everybody else?"
Eve looked up, and got this tone in her voice like she was 'splainin' things to a little kid. "Raven, you don't understand. My clan is really, no, wait, that's not what I mean…the Giovanni, we're, they're really twisted with what they do to wraiths, and they have codes, and…well, I failed. Now they've gotta clean up the mess that Kyle made, but if we're lucky they'll just take me."
"No! I won't let them kill you!"
"It's not the killing part that I'm afraid of, it's that they're gonna make me their servant after that. An eternity of slavery to those sick fuckers…the things I've seen done…" and Eve, who's always been tough no matter what was goin' on, broke down and started cryin'. I felt rotten for bringin' it up.
"G-gee Eve, I'm sorry. I-isn't there anything anyone can do? There's gotta be!"
If she were mortal, she woulda sighed. "My sire's gotta a whole lotta boons to call in, and I've got some stuff up my sleeve in case that falls through."
"Can't ya just stop bein' a Giovanni? If you want, you can be a Brujah like me. I betcha Larcen won't mind!"
Eve kinda grinned. "That's not the way it works, kid. I was Embraced a Giovanni, and I'm one forever, or at least until my clan comes for me."
"Oh." Then it got all quiet.
"Damn it, why hasn't he called back?" Eve muttered and went into another room.
Teddie, that puny little Caitiff, had managed to get into the house, and came and sat down next to me. Man, I was really holdin' back from beatin' on him, but I knew that if I waited, I could get a shot at the art-bitches who were responsible for all this shit.
"So, Raven, what do you know about Chris Fullery?" he said, and I could tell that all he wanted was to stir up things and go plottin' and stuff.
"Nothin'."
"Hey, what's your problem?"
"In case ya haven't noticed pal, there's a lot of crap goin' down, K?" I shouted, 'cause I really wasn't in the mood to deal with the creep.
He leaned back in the chair. "So? That Giovanni's going take the flak for it, not you or your clan. Why're you worrying about it?"
That did it; tore everythin' right in two. I jumped up and was yellin' at him full force when Lady Meredith, that little Tremere, came in and stood between us.
"You clanless fucker! That's all your kind cares about, isn't it? You just wanna cause trouble then bolt. Well, you know what? Eve's been the best friend I've ever had, even before I got Embraced, and she's saved my life a whole bunch of times and lived to talk 'bout it! So you can take your fucked-up attitude and shove it up your shaved ass!"
"Raven! Teddie! Stop this!"
I hadda shut up then, 'cause I might not be too bright, but I know enough not to get a Tremere pissed off at ya. The little Caitiff muttered somethin' and scattered off, I guess to run and comfort Kyle. Man, I didn't see why Larcen didn't kill him right then and there. Yeah, he saved Monnique's life, but she was dyin' 'cause he pulled Lady Allissa off her. Also, he was gettin' off scott-free while my best friend was gonna be killed then haveta have her ghost enslaved.
Aw, it pissed me off, well, even more than I'd been before. Larcen and Katrina came over to where I was sittin' and kneeled down to talk to me.
"Hey kid, you ok?" My insides tightened up 'cause I didn't wanna cry in front of someone as important as Larcen or as brave as Katrina.
"I'm fine."
Larcen put his hand on my shoulder. "Look here, ain't nothin's gonna happen to Eve, k? We're gonna peel rubber up to New York, find those mincing bitches and mash the tar outta them."
"Yeah, but what 'bout the Giovanni?"
Katrina put her hand on my other shoulder. "Raven, don't worry 'bout the Giovanni. Even if they do come, they ain't gonna be commin' for you."
"B-but, Eve…"
"Look here," Larcen said, "Eve's her own person, she can take care of herself. You gotta remember what's important here. The Brujah of this city've been dissed, and we're gonna stand together and show 'em what you get if you dis us. Now we're fightin' for the family." Katrina nodded.
"I thought that Eve was part of your 'family'."
Larcen stood up slowly. "You just settle down, k? We're gonna have some fun tonight," then he walked and Katrina followed.
I sat there for a good long bit. No one was really botherin' with me and that was ok, 'cause I wouldn't've had nothin' to say anyway. It was just like everythin'd gone back to normal and all the bad stuff was over, well, it wasn't. A whole lotta shit still hadda go down, that was for sure, and just 'cause all these people weren't involved in it didn't mean that they could go bein' all devious again and stuff. All of the sudden, Eve was standin' next to me, and her eyes were all sorts of red.
"What'd your sire say this time?"
"Everythin's fine for now," she said, all business-like.
"What 'bout after 'now'?"
"Shut up Raven! I don't know!" There was blood in the corner of one of her eyes, and her yellin' made me back away.
"K, geez, sorry, I was just askin'," I said, rubbin' the back of my neck and lookin' hard at the floor, and startin' to walk into the other room.
"Hey, wait. Look, I didn't mean to yell or anythin', it's just, well, I'm kinda under a lot of stress tonight and all."
"Naw, it's ok, I shouldn't've said nothin'. I just…"
No one got to say much else 'cause then Prince William came back in, and pretty soon everyone else was there too. He said more stuff 'bout how we had to respect leadership in our 'times of great personal tragedy' and all, and remember not to be too rowdy during the Blood Hunt. To tell the truth, I wasn't even really listenin'. Finally, he let us go, and not too soon, 'cause it was gettin' pretty late and all.
Alexandria told Larcen that she'd take Monique back and make sure she told her what she needed to know. Everyone kinda bolted for their havens, 'cause I guess they realized this Hunt was just for the Brujah and those involved. Good, that means we get to do all the fightin'. Me, Kyle, Eve, and Katrina were gonna all be in Larcen's car, so I ran out ahead with him. "Aw man, this is gonna be great! Wow, a Wild Hunt!"
Suddenly he hauled off and grabbed me by my shirt. "Raven, you just keep your fuckin' mouth shut or you're gonna get us all killed! I don't know where you came from before you met Eve, but here we're Camerilla and we call it a 'Blood Hunt', k, that all clear?"
"Y-yeah."
He let go of me just as the rest came out. Man, I wasn't sure what that had been 'bout, but I'll be damned if I'm gonna do it again. Katrina rode shotgun, so me, Kyle, and Eve hadda all pile in the back. It was a bit cramped, but you know, whatdda ya expect from a Brujah's car? Then, Larcen gunned the motor, shoved a Metallica tape in the player, and we roared off.
We'd been on the road 'bout ten minutes when he decided to call Monique and see how she was doin'. Me, I just looked out the window. The night's really pretty sometimes, but out here in the 'burbs wasn't nearly as cool as midnight in the city.
"You're where?!?"
"Yo, Larcen, what's wrong?" Katrina asked as the car swerved.
"She's with Alexandria, in a car, and doesn't know where they're goin', but she thinks they're headin' into Philly. Yeah, lemme talk with her!"
He was holdin' that cell-phone up to his head like it was attached to him or somethin', and I was just hopin' that whatever was goin' on wasn't gonna get us in a car accident or nothin'.
"What the fuck do you think you're doin'? Oh, I see. Well yeah, but…no. If you'd just…hey! Damnit, listen to me, if you hurt her in any way, I'll…huh? What the…?" Larcen slammed the thing shut. "Fuck! She threw the phone out the window!"
"Ok, just calm down, what's goin' on?" See, Eve's always bein' smart when thing's is goin' wrong, she knows what to do and how to take care of it all.
Larcen gripped the wheel real hard and cut a sharp turn. "Alexandria says that she's got Monique, and she's kidnapping her," he said through his clenched teeth.
"Why would she…"
"It none'a anyone's business why!" he shouted. "I'm gettin' my boys out on the street, they'll find her!"
Then he pulled over on the highway and started making calls. Kyle also called out a few of his gang members, but we were losin' time, 'cause the sun would be up any second.
"Um, I know it's a crisis and all, but what're we gonna do at dawn?" I asked, 'cause damnit, someone hadda.
"Don't worry, the tint on my windows is double the maximum, plus I've got some reflector blankets under the seats back there. I've spent a few days in this car, it's safe."
I'm awful glad he said that, 'cause just then I saw the sun comin' over the horizon, and felt that sudden sleepiness that always comes at dawn. We had just enough time to scramble under the 'flector blankets before it crested the sky, and I lost consciousness.
It was cool dusk when I woke up, and only Larcen was already awake. His eyes were hard, angry, like a lotta punks I saw in the city, 'cept with him, I knew it was a death stare, and I was damn glad he wasn't lookin' at me like that. He started the car. Katrina stirred just about the same time as Kyle and Eve. For a bit no one said anything, but then Kyle spoke up.
"Did the guys call in?"
Silence. "Yeah, Spike left me a voice-mail that they found her and got her, and now she's back at my place."
"Well, now what?"
"Now we visit the Big Apple."
For a good hour, there wasn't nothin' else said. Eve just kinda sat there, and I wanted to do somethin' to cheer her up, but in her situation, what could I have said? Katrina had initially been messin' with the radio, but Larcen, stony silent, ripped the dial out.
"Huh, well, this isn't a very entertaining road-trip. We need a sing-a-long. C'mon, everyone join in…A hundred bottles of vitae on the wall, a hundred bottles of vitae, pass one around, now we're Blood Bound, ninety-nine bottles of vitae on the wall."
"Just shut the fuck up, Kyle."
"Hey Larcen, I'm just tryin' to lighten the mood with some of my famous levity."
"Aw man, both of you shut up!" Things were hard 'nough as it was.
"Stay outta this, Raven."
"Leeme alone, Katrina."
"If you all don't shut up, I'm gonna drive this car right into the Hudson River when we get there!"
Too late. "Larcen, pull over!"
"What the hell? No."
"Just stop the fuckin' car!"
Everyone mashed forward as he put the breaks through the floor. Sometimes Celerity is pretty damn useful, 'cause the second he did, I was out the door pukin' up blood on the side of the highway. Man, must've been someone I fed from. Whoa. In a bit I was ok, and got back into the car.
"Kid, you all right?"
"Yeah Eve, I'm fine."
"Well what the hell was that?" Kyle asked as Larcen started up the car again.
"Nothin'." Ya know, sometimes that little Caitiff got too irritatin' to put up with. First he goes causin' all this trouble, and then he tries to get all in my business?
"Whatdda ya mean 'nothin'?"
"Just what I said, so leave off!"
"Yeah, so the kid gets carsick, so what? Leave her alone, Kyle." That's another good thing 'bout Eve; she'll stick up for ya when you need it.
That punk raised an eyebrow and started laughin'. "Carsick? You're an undead body, how can you get carsick? That's just about the stupidest thing I've heard in nearly eighty years!"
"Fuck you, Caitiff!"
"Up yours, Sabbat!"
Man, I started shakin' so hard. My sire was an anarch Brujah who'd Embraced me in Sabbat-controlled Philly after some punks jumped me and nearly beat me to death. As a result, he and I got went after by the packs of the city. I believe they killed him, I was lucky 'nough to get away. No one knew about that but Eve, now why did Kyle think that I was one of those ravin' monsters?
"Look, we've been seein' how you act, and when you asked the Prince for a 'Wild Hunt', we all knew," he said.
"B-but I ain't Sabbat!"
"Whatever."
"I ain't!"
"Raven's telling the truth, I was there when she was Embraced, so get off it," Eve said, all calm and quiet-like, but I could tell she was real pissed.
"Hey, why's everyone pickin' on me all the sudden? First I got Limp Willie up my ass, then the fuckin' Giovanni wanna kill me for no reason, now I got you yellin' at me! I don't even know why I got up tonight!"
Before I could blink, Eve slapped that little Caitiff across the face like he was just a kid or somethin'. Katrina whirled 'round, but Larcen shrugged and kept drivin'. Man, this was all my fault, I mean, Eve'd been stickin' up for me, now she was all angry, as if she didn't got enough to worry 'bout.
"What the hell did you expect? Look, it was stupid to stop Lady Allissa from Embracing Monique! What did you honestly think would happen?"
"Hey, I…"
"No, just shut the fuck up! I got you outta the fire for it, and what they're gonna do to me is worlds worse than what they were gonna do to you. So just stop your bitchin', 'cause I'm the one that's gotta pay for you this time! Who's it gonna be next turn 'round, huh? Larcen? Katrina? Raven?"
Eve hid her face in her hands and cried. I felt so bad, my friend was in trouble and there wasn't nothin' that I could do to help. I mean, if someone does all they can to keep you outta a mess, you're gonna want to give them a hand when they need it. I tapped her on the shoulder.
"Hey, you know what, Eve? When we get to New York, you don't even gotta worry, I'll take care of Sasha and Marita for ya."
She sat up all sudden. "No! Do whatever you want to Sasha, but Marita is mine, do you hear? I'm gonna be the one to make her pay!"
"No way man! That ain't fair! We should all get a crack at both of them!" Kyle yelled.
"Be quiet, all of you." Whoa, I'd never heard Larcen talk so low and angry-like. "It's Eve's right to exact her vengence on Marita, none of us can claim that we've been wronged worse by that Torea-whore than her. Let her have her kill. Is that clear?"
After that, it was quiet for a real long time. I just watched the world go by outside the car windows, and soon we were crossin' the bridge that went to New York, in fact, I could see the Statue of Liberty, and it was all lit up and stuff. Still, we hadda be careful, 'cause New York was a Sabbat town, and a whole mess of those guys can really spoil an evening.
"Hey Larcen, how're we gonna find them?" Katrina asked.
"We're gonna go to Club Xerces. They're Toreador, they'll be there."
About ten minutes into drivin' through the city, we pulled up at some park. Larcen told us that it'd make sense if we all fed now, then we wouldn't be strapped for blood later. It was a good plan, so I ran off into the dark forest and ended up findin' a jogger. Bad luck, man, I'm hungry. He probably wouldn't even remember what knocked him out, and when I got back to the car, everyone was there waitin'.
We decided to walk over to this club, 'cause Larcen said that it was only like a block away, then we could bring them back to the park and do everythin' there, then just get in the car and drive away. Perfect then, yeah. Katrina led the way to Club Xerces 'cause she'd been there before, me, I wanted to buy a scam watch offa some street bum, but Larcen wouldn't let me.
At the club, the bouncer asked for ID, and I was gonna panic, but then Katrina dug into her pocket and pulled out a worn card with some kinda symbol on it. The guy nodded and let us pass. Man, it was bangin' in there! All kinds of street music just pumpin' from every speaker like crazy, and the people dancin' and shakin' and twitchin' like there was somethin' wrong with 'em…my kind of place!
Larcen pointed to the bar, where Sasha and Marita were just loungin' and drinkin' blood. Huh, guess they thought they'd gotten away with everythin' and nothin' bad was ever gonna happen. No way, not when Raven Galver gets into it. Followin' Larcen and Katrina, me and Kyle cut left and right, and Eve backed up the two down the center. When those two looked up, they were surrounded.
Sasha opened her big ol' mouth, probably to say somethin' stupid and snobby, but just the flick of Katrina's switchblade cut her off. Larcen nodded towards the exit, and all they could do was do what he said. I was so excited I nearly ran out ahead of them, but Katrina caught me by the sleeve and said wait. They'd get theirs, she told me, but if we didn't do things right we could all end up in deep shit.
Out in the back alley, we backed them up to a dead end. Sasha, that smug bitch, just stood there with her hands on her hips.
"Well, Brujah, what do you want?" Larcen stepped forward.
"We are here to enforce the word of our Prince, Lord William Blair of Ventrue, who has called a Blood Hunt on your head, and that of your childer, Marita. The crimes you've committed, as well as your violations of the Traditions, were unpardonable and without peer. There is no recourse, death comes now. Die knowing that you brought it upon yourself, and may Caine have mercy on your souls."
Wow, sometimes I wish I could talk as slick as Larcen. His bit about the Prince wiped that sneer off Sasha's face, and both of 'em were speechless. Kyle slipped on some brass knuckles, and Eve threw off her jacket; aw yeah, here we go.
All I saw was Larcen move in, then somethin' wacked me in the back of the head. I turned, and all these punks were there, frontin' and wavin' guns around. Kyle was already scuffin' with one, and they just lit into all of us.
"Damn it, Sabbat!" Katrina yelled out, but then doubled over 'cause some guy nailed her in the gut.
Holy cheese, but did these guys fight good. After a while, it was all we could do just to keep 'em back for a sec or two, but then we started comin' with the upper hand, and there were only a few left. Larcen had gotten cut pretty bad across the face, but Eve'd taken some shots, and was lyin' on the ground. I looked over, and saw Marita comin' up behind her with a stake. I did all I could do; roared like a fuckin' storm and movin' as fast as my blood would let me, emptied a whole clip into that bitch's chest.
For a second, she stopped, then fell. Kyle, who had Sasha impaled on his claws, ripped off her head and threw it and the body onto Marita. At that moment, the last Sabbat punk hit the ground, and we could all catch our breath, that is, if we'd been breathin'. Slowly, Eve stood up and looked around; somethin' was wrong man, really wrong.
"You bitch! You psycho fuckin' punk!"
"Wha?" Hey, what the hell was goin' on?
"I even after I told you not to, you just hadda go and do things the way you want! You little fucked-up maniac! Marita was mine! How could you do that? You took away my right to her death!"
"But she had a..." I looked over at Marita's body, then over at the Sabbat that Larcen had dropped. Damnit, that creep musta picked up the stake after Marita fell and tried to jam it into my Brujah buddy. Eve never even saw it.
"Shut up! You ignorant asshole!" Now she was cryin' a bit, but fast as anythin', pulled a gun outta her pocket, pointin' the thing at me.
"Hey! I ain't ignorant!" I could've understood if she was upset, but now it was gettin' personal.
Eve rolled her eyes. "Oh please! You're so fuckin' stupid I'm surprised you can even find your way back to your haven at dawn! Kindred like me are created to serve a purpose; we're intelligent, talented and valuable, assets to our clan. You, on the other hand, were Embraced by an idiot sire who felt sorry for you, and you know what, you should have been destroyed. If not for my help you wouldn't even have survived this long. You're just poor, stupid trash from the city, and it would've been better if your crack-whore mother had smothered you after birth!"
"No! That ain't true!"
"If you even so much as come near me, I'll make you very sorry. I never want to see your sorry-ass face again, and if you don't get the hell out of Swarthmore, I'll chase you the fuck out until dawn!"
"Hey...!"
I remember clearly the feelin' of my foot right foot leavin' the ground, but then everythin' just seemed to stop, and it wasn't until I felt the kick-in that I knew what happened. It was only one step...
"Y-you shot me..." Holy fuckin' shit, but that was the worst pain I can remember. The bullet'd hit mark right between my eyes, and thick blood was oozin' down my face. God, that agony, plus what she'd done. Eve Giovanni, the first vampire I'd ever met, the one who'd saved my life so many times, my only friend in the world, had shot me point-blank.
Everythin' was spinnin' and I fell to my knees while the pain just kept hittin' me. I guess Larcen, Katrina, and Kyle were still there, but damned if they did anythin' but stand there not movin'. Nothin' was real, nothin' could change, and God, the way it hurt, I wanted to beg Kyle to tear open my head with his claws. As much as I could, I stood.
Eve was still standin' there, just frozen, with the gun still out and pointed, as if it were no more than a second after she shot me. In her eyes, I could kinda see it sink in what she'd done, but I didn't wait for nothin'. I ran.
Fallin' all over the place, bashin' into walls, just runnin' through the back-streets and alleys of New York City, fuckin' blind with pain. I remember that I heard Larcen and Katrina callin' for me later, but I just kept on goin', kept on runnin', didn't look back. Raven was gone, Raven was outta there, and Raven would never forget.