Page 96A final dose

The morning. The dawn of a new night, the dusk of yet another day. For most this is a time of ending, for me this is the time I get up. Outside, the light of day has already gone. I can't see it directly, the curtains who protect me during the day are still closed, but I know it. It is almost as if I can feel the sun, shining on me through the earth, where it is, where it will go, how long it will take.

Time is mine as long as earth is in the way.

I felt a lot clearer than I did last night, I was going to get my stuff and disappear. I took the little netbook with me, as well as all the books I'd bought. Though this had been payed for a year, if the police had an idea I was here, I wasn't going to jinx it. However, I wanted to keep the identity that Seriph had made for me. As far as I knew(and knowing Seriph), it had never been put on that new name.

If I left here, there would be no paper-trail, nothing to hold me back. But where would I go? I'd learned a lot about myself, some things I liked, others I didn't. I knew that I wanted to make something of myself, give myself a better goal. Learning the dark trade was a start, but I'm not sure I wanted to keep that up.

A smile played on my lips as an evil thought tempted me. I could always become a hit-man. At least my blood lust would take care of itself then. But no, I was never (probably) going in that direction.

I showered and got dressed, taking it fairly easy and keeping it simple. I wore the cleanest things I had, put the rest in my backpack for as much as it fitted. It was Monday night, not ideal, but there should be one or two stores open late enough for me. Before I packed everything though I checked how much money was in the account.

There was a sincere danger of me falling of my chair laughing.

Over a million floryns... Pocket money she called it.

And to make it even crazier, the account also contained information about the other account linked to it that would supply me with a nigh endless amount of income. It was all registered in Anne's name, which should keep me good for at least ten years. Though it might be wise to invest into makeup to look older at times.

Seriph had kept her word. I was silly for ever doubting her.

So into town.

I still didn't go to the really expensive stores. It didn't feel that comfortable yet. Even though I had the money, I didn't care much for it. I bought a cheap shoulder-bag as well in one of them, one that would fit my books (and did). After a little over an hour, I had new shoes, new clothes, stolen a pair of scissors and a bag over my shoulder containing the rest I owned. I kind of felt like a homeless person, having all that I owned with me. Well, all but two things.

Three, really. But bank accounts were very hard to drag along.

I used the scissors I stole to remove the tags on all the new clothing, and changed into them in a dark corner away from the world. It wasn't that exciting, just pants and shirt. I was still wearing dark and, in my opinion, the pants especially weren't as nice as before, but it would do. Dark blue pants, a slightly lighter shirt with some odd pattern on my chest which vaguely resembled text with no real meaning.

Tempted as I was to go to Anka and Grace again to tell of what I'd thought of, I needed to drink something first. It wasn't very easy, I wasn't exactly in a state to go in to clubs with all of this. While I looked presentable, as such, it'd just get me troubled looks and curious bag-searches. While my tiny backpack was no problem for that, it basically looked like a handbag to most guys, the shoulder-bag, filled with clothes and books, would draw attention.

Fortunately, a girl was kind enough to offer herself to me, almost literally. Almost scary.

She was walking around, stumbling a little and looking drunk. It was close to the street with all the stores and it was practically right after I'd changed.

She smiled at me brightly... Or dimly if you prefer. "Hey, do you have a light?"

It was a sorry excuse to talk to someone when not holding something requiring said light. Funny though.

"I've got something even better."

She came closer. "Oh great! Do you have uppers in there?"

She bend over to look into my bag, almost literally offering her neck to me. I suppose all the rest of the signs had all been there for her, a girl with a full shoulder-bag, walking out of a dark alley...

I took her offering and bit her. Holding her up while she froze in place. The blood wasn't as bad as I expected, besides alcohol, she hadn't had the chance to imbibe of anything else this evening. Her memories were way too unorganized and muddled to really see beyond the past few hours. But it was blood, it gave me life. I still savoured the moment my teeth pierced her skin up to the moment I withdrew them, using a drop of my blood to heal her.

Feeling mildly naughty, I did try and drain just enough to make her feel high without falling over immediately.

"Wow, thanks... That feels... Bizarre... Eh... did I already pay you?"

I smiled. "Yes, you did. Have fun girl." With a wink I left, heading away from the inner city, towards Anka and Grace.

It wasn't too bad of a walk, I was still feeling cheerful and a little wild. I wasn't a hundred percent sure how I was going to tackle each bit of my plan, but that would come in time. First I was going to tell Anka and Grace what was on my mind. The houses in their neighborhood looked quite interesting now I payed more attention to them. Though they were still fairly standard suburban houses, they had some originality to them. Gardens with some style, windows that were far from the same. Rarely the same colors. It was a quiet night, even wind-wise. I could smell the hint of incense when I neared Anka's house. I rang their bell.

The door was swiftly answered, by the both of them.

"Amy, welcome back." They looked at me. "So, are you planning a sleepover or something?"

"Something." I smiled. "I'm leaving Mareana and want to go back to Armedius."

She finally dares to name her city.