Pain is a Demon Magnet

[rhiannon_lee]

Tragedies left fingerprints on people and places. Death, pain, and sorrow all built up a psychic energy that outlasted any attempts at therapeutic intervention, any renovations made to physical structures. You could paint over smoke damage, tear up bloodied carpet, knock down an entire building and the atmosphere wouldn’t change. The ground itself pulsated with what came before. Such was definitely the case with the MGM Grand. No matter how many millions developers channeled into the hotel or what its new owners called it, the building remained the home of the worst disaster in Nevada history. Fire, smoke, and heights had pooled their resources to kill 85 people. The psychic juice was enough to bait the dead into spending quality time on the premises.

As Rhiannon sipped a drink in the lounge on the ground floor, she contemplated what she felt: A buzz in the top of her spine, a knowledge of otherness in the room, maybe a remnant of hell flexing its muscles, five years later.

And if the fuzzy police reports were to be believed, it was vampire central.

Just like them, she thought, to clamor over the echoes of tortured screams.

The outfit was a new purchase. Nothing in her duffel bag was up to the task. If you were going to hang out in a prime piece of Las Vegas real estate, you needed the right gear. She compromised on a tight pair of black trousers with a wide belt, a black top with lace overlay, a flared jacket, and heeled boots. An assortment of silver necklaces jangled when she stretched her neck.

Whistler thought he had whiplash?

You’re damn right, you’re paying the bill, she had grumbled upon finding the hospital costs covered.

Her elbow still felt like murder. Rhiannon hissed when she forgot and rested her weight on the bar.

[Thread: Open to Valerie]

Comments

[valerie_vause]

For some reason that one word made Valerie grin. As if Rhiannon had been caught alone, rather than simply being alone. Though she didn’t know the brunette very long, she wondered if she chose to be by herself or if it had just worked out that way tonight. She caught the bartenders eye and signaled for another drink as she fished out her own wallet to pull out a few bills with enough extra to leave him. At the very least she had made the right choice to visit tonight. With a chatty bartender she could get free inside information about the spooky going ons within the place. Leave him a nice enough tip and he’d be more inclined to talk for longer.

Valerie abandoned her chewed straw on a napkin, folded it up with one hand, and proceeded to sip through the new one that partially floated within a sea of pink. The suggestion made the blonde look over to Rhiannon, the first thought in her head was a what if. What if she had to leave to follow whatever was in here? Then again, she could always make sure the woman left safely, then come back again. Valerie took a much longer sip.

“You mean there’ll be no murder mystery tour around our chalk outlines? How will this place survive?” Valerie laughed just a little before shoulders lifted in a shrug. “Sure why not, safety in numbers, right?.” Then, as if the brunette’s words had caused suspicion, the blonde narrowed her eyes, gave Rhiannon a look and all but leaned closer to whisper, “Unless that’s what he wants us to think...”

The seriousness lasted barely a second before her own face gave her away. The smile twitched at the corner of her lips and she sat up straighter, “I think he’s harmless.” Then, as an afterthought more to herself, “I think this is my last drink.” They were strong, but ridiculously fruity and moreish. She felt a buzz already, and that was more than enough.

[rhiannon_lee]

“Maybe we just need to rewrite the tour guide’s script,” said Rhiannon. She pivoted on the cushion of her stool to face Valerie and held up her fingers in the vague shape of a marquee. “Come see the place where two innocent young women fought for their lives… and won. Then the chalk outline is the dead guy.”

The brunette picked up her glass, which contained a watery mixture of its original contents. She peeled the moist napkin off the bottom and set it aside and then tipped her head to capture another cube of ice, so melted that contained sharp edges. The coldness numbed her mouth. Rhiannon thought she might bite her cheek when she added, “I think it could still be interesting, don’t you?”

She raised her eyebrows. Nothing like a feminist sentiment between girls. “I mean,” Rhiannon stuck out her leg, “These aren’t really my fighting shoes, but I think I could work around it.”

[valerie_vause]

“That has a nice ring to it.” Valerie said, clearly amused by the notion of it all as she twirled the straw in her glass. It bobbed to and fro once her fingers released it. Briefly she pictured it all in her mind, camera’s flashing, people asking questions, the police attempting to keep people from walking across the chalk that had lined where the body had been. Novelty and nothing more. Reality didn’t quite turn out the same way as it did in movies.

The blonde tilted her head as Rhiannon spoke, “I do.” Valerie admitted, then let her gaze wander down the woman’s leg to find the heeled boots in question. “Ooh, pretty.” She said, lifting her gaze to nod towards the brunette. “With a heel like that you could do a lot of damage, they might be fighting shoes after all.” Maybe she shouldn’t really say things like that but it was the way her mind was wired. If you didn’t get creative with what you’ve got you could end up dead. All took was being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Valerie caught the straw between her lips and took a long sip. Used the time to ponder what Rhiannon had said, and decided to just go for it. “Do you feel like exploring the place a little before leaving?” The tone held hints of mischief and she quirked an eyebrow. “The bartender gave us two locations, maybe we’ll get lucky and spot something ourselves.”

[rhiannon_lee]

“Mmm, men's bathroom or stairwell.” Rhiannon held up her palms and balanced them like a scale. “Choices, choices.”

She was aware of the danger involved in inviting a civilian to tour a known vampire hot spot but truth be told, she didn’t anticipate much happening, except receiving a clearer vibe from the scene of the crime. It might be enough to kick her slayer dreams into gear and let her know if this place needed to be dealt with in a more permanent way. She curled her fingers into her palms, flashing fingernails coated in a dark red color that jarred alongside fair skin. “I’m saying men’s bathroom,” she decided. “We could always claim we’re too drunk to know the difference, and who knows? Maybe we’ll see someone’s penis. I could go for that.”

The drink was finished in a quick manner. Rhiannon patted her pockets to confirm that her lighter, cigarettes, and car key had been stowed in their proper places. With slim fingers, she eased her wallet into her hip pocket. “Ready when you are. You can finish that if you want, since it cost a month’s rent.”

[valerie_vause]

Choices indeed. Valerie had weighed the risks of wandering around with the brunette and had come to the conclusion that she could better protect what she could see, rather than waltzing off to investigate all on her lonesome while leaving Rhiannon to be potentially picked off by a vampire. Then again, perhaps that put the woman in danger. The blonde gave herself a mental shake and focused on what had been said.

The mens bathroom had spiked her attention too, even if the idea of melted skin repulsed her. Pretending to be pickled felt like a valid excuse if they were caught, and so she agreed with a cheerful, “Then we have a penis.” Only to blink, and spit out as she blushed,“Plan! Then we have a plan.” Of all the things she wanted to see tonight, one of those didn’t make her list, and evidently the prospect had flustered her just enough to make her tongue tied.

“Mmh.” Valerie hummed, the glass had already been lifted so that she could clamp her teeth lightly around the straw. Several swallows later and the glass was empty, literally, because she’d kept the straw to play with again. There was no need to leave any money for the bartender, she’d paid with a tip when she got the second drink. So it was with a slight grin that she said, “Shall we?” Then walked slowly through the lounge.

The tingle at the base of her neck happened again, stronger as she passed a table that had around four people at it. The blonde turned slightly to watch them as she walked but only for a few seconds. Anything longer would have been entirely too obvious and suspicious.

[rhiannon_lee]

Rhiannon raised her arms to squeeze past a line of people making a beeline for their abandoned barstools. “I have to get out before you can get in,” she muttered and was relieved to emerge from the crowd into the less populated seating area. She felt herself drawn to the same table as Valerie had been (six chairs, four people) but traversed the room, skirting between the clusters of upholstered chairs. The lavatories nestled in the farthest wall of the lounge with an anterior room to buffer any noise from flushing toilets. The area was poorly illuminated to lend privacy to those patrons using the facilities. Left hand men’s. Right hand women’s.

She waggled her left hand at Valerie – “Oops.” – and pushed on the door.

Inside, the room was clean and sleek. A black marble countertop ran the length of one wall. Across from it, a row of porcelain urinals with chrome trimmings and a single stall. Rhiannon felt a current of cool air grace her shoulders as the door sucked shut behind them. She opened her mouth to say something off color about roasted weenies to Valerie, but stopped when she heard it.

A little snick.

A scuffing shoe.

Silence.

[valerie_vause]

The purely intentional accident and the oops to accompany it humoured Valerie. She followed the brunette and sneaked into the men’s room, the place itself much cooler than the lounge. Were warm people more inclined to drink? The blonde wasn’t sure. What she was sure of though, was that the only stall in the bathroom just locked. Green eyes slid a look toward the brunette and she frowned. If a guy was using it for the intended purpose, he wouldn’t be able to reach the door from where he sat. So either they’d just missed someone, which felt unlikely as there was no noise of a zipper or even a belt buckle being undone, or someone was in there for an entirely different reason. The small hairs at the back of her neck stood on end and she pointed towards the cubicle.

Someone’s in there. She mouthed silently.

They might not even be alone. Nobody was that silent without a reason.

There were no hushed breaths, so she struck sex off the list. Nobodies bowels appeared to be moving either. That still left the possibility for a vampire feeding.

One hand lifted to say hold on as she walked towards the sinks. Deliberately letting her boots echo with each loud step. Heavy, like a man’s. Valerie turned on a tap, flicked her fingers through the water to make it sound as though someone was perhaps cleaning their hands then strode back. Pale fingers grabbed the door handle, and she pulled it wide open, then let it go to shut naturally. The idea had been to make whomever, or whatever, think that they had left.

When the door finally slammed shut she shared a look with Rhiannon and tilted her head to listen.

[rhiannon_lee]

Rhiannon almost protested the departure of Valerie, fearing that the blonde would barge into the stall door and come face to face with a demon or blistery ghost. The boogeyman didn’t have to be physically dangerous to scar you for life. She sucked in a quiet breath in preparation to give the verbal advice to wait, but when she saw the blonde at the sink, she understood. Okay, whew. The girl was smart.

As they stood side by side, the silence became as heavy as a blanket settling over them. Rhiannon eased to a crouch and looked for feet under the wall. There was a single pair of men’s shoes and nothing else reflected on the smooth expanse of floor, not that a reflection meant much. Vampires didn’t have them and toilets made good foot stools. She narrowed her eyes to analyze the stance of the feet because there were only so many positions one could assume in a—

There came a sob. A tremulous word. ‘Please...’

“Fuck.” Rhiannon’s fingers fumbled with the hem of her pants. She yanked it up to her calf to expose a small Velcro strap with a carved piece of wood inserted there, its point down. “Valerie, go!”

[valerie_vause]

Two things happened when that plea was heard that changed everything instantly. Valerie’s own hands went to her pants leg to pull it up over her boot. Fingers grabbed the top of the stake she had tucked away there as the brunette urged her to leave. That was when the blonde stood up, her gaze went from her own weapon to the very similar one in the woman’s hand and she blinked. “Why would you…?” Cogs inside Valerie’s head turned over at a remarkable speed. Either Rhiannon knew about vampires, plausible since the area seemed to be crawling with them, or she was…

”No… No!”

There was no time for questions. The blonde moved quickly, free hand wrapped around the handle of the stall and pulled. The lock inside the door broke, pieces clattered to the floor as she yanked the thing open to reveal the back of a tall man with dark hair. Behind the figure, or rather in front of, crouched upon the toilet was another man attempting to curl into a ball out of fear. Valerie didn’t think as instinct took over, if Rhiannon had a stake and with the way she’d told her to leave, she would know how to use it. The blonde reached in and grabbed the front of the vampire’s jacket as he turned to see what was going on and threw him towards the sinks.

“Come on, get up!” She ushered fiercely, all but lifting the man up by his tie to push him out of the cubicle. Steady fingers caught his chin and she turned his head from side to side. No visible bite marks, no scent of blood. “Get out of here.” Valerie commanded, then locked the door behind him to stop anyone else stumbling on the events unfolding.