"Maya, I didn't think that I would see you ever again. Take a seat." Callahan gestured at a chair, his face perplexed by Maya's appearance. 'I thought she had been killed off or had run away, given she went silent for two months,' He mused, inspecting Maya in front of her. 'There's something about her, however, that I can't quite name; she's like a different person. Her eyes have changed as well.'
Maya's obsidian beads were now a murky gray; the surrounding air was professional as ever, with her gaze sharper than before. "It's an honor to meet you once more, Mr. Callahan. however I'll keep this short. I'm here for Brittany and Andrew." Her words sharp, her gaze never leaving Callahan's figure. "It's interesting that you brought up that matter, as Brittany has…run away with Andrew. She vanished after coming back from a kidnapping. I don't know what she was thinking. Stockholm syndrome, maybe?"
The air fell silent, Maya looking around his office before rising to her feet. "You wouldn't lead me to her room; maybe there's something I can pick up to help find her." Callahan was staggered by what Maya would find. "I've already hired investigators to look into this matter, and what they came up with was preposterous! But maybe you could find something!"
Maya followed Callahan to Brittany's room, well-tidied as her gaze swept the place before her eyes landed on the balcony. "Did she jump off?" Maya asked as she got closer to the balcony, Callahan's figure on the door frame. "That's what they came up with, and there are footprints that prove this, to think that she would jump off that high and that far! It's unbelievable!"
Her murky gray eyes flickered to where Brittany had landed, her gaze narrowing before making her way downstairs. The prints are now gone, but for Maya, she could see what Callahan and his investigators could not: traces of weaves. A wisp of red and black trailed from where Brittany had landed to over the hedge wall before another leap was made.
"What key changes did your daughter undergo? It could be valuable in finding her." Her interrogation caught Callahan off guard. "Her eyes turned red, but that happened way before all of this madness, about three months prior. She has a bloody scent to her, other than that I have nothing else." Maya let out a contemplative hum, her mind trying to piece something she didn't want to imagine.
'There's no way that she's been sucking his blood for this long, right? The black is equal to the red. Before Maya could ask her next question, Callahan broke into a series of fervent coughs, dry and raspy, and fell to the garden path. "Cough! Cough!" Maya made her way to his crumpled figure, rather than worry on her face. "Has Brittany at any point in time tasted Andrew's blood?" Her question was ignorant of Callahan's state.
*Cough-cough*
Maya called for a servant who hauled Callahan away. "It's best that you come at another time, miss." Maya made her way to her car parked outside, her mind recalling the events in Stillwater. The radio buzzed about people and their transformations, the headaches subsiding and more prominent changes occurring. She looked at her own reflection, her changes looking back at her. 'To think that I would be involved in a game like this!'
Her grip on the wheel tightened, a sigh escaping her lips. "I have to find them and kill both of them!" Her mind recalled the events of Lara and her infamous growth in terms of murder and danger to the masses. "There's no way that Lara would be capable of something like this way early on. It had to be Andrew in the shadows helping her. From her reaction, however, it would seem that she wanted to get far away from them, though."
She brought the car to life, driving away from the Voss residence before arriving at an empty mansion. Her eyes saw plumes of black strands all over the house, similar to the one that made up the eye that watched beneath in an eerie gaze.
With the gate surprisingly unlocked, her entrance went unhindered before she looked around. "It would seem that even though they were here, it's been some time." Her hand waved away dust that threatened to make her cough. Strands of black weaves pressed down on her figure, her figure slowing down as she made her way up the stairs.
Opening the door, she made her way to the source of the black strands, where she saw an empty and clean bathroom. Her gaze landed on the tub, which seemed like a well that birthed more and more strands that filled the entire house. "So he was here; for it to be this potent, he would have to fill this whole thing with his blood then." Her murmur broken by another source from downstairs. It wasn't long before she found the secret compartment where Brittany was being contained and the overwhelming strands of weaves emanating from the cube.
Her face grimaced, unable to get into the room and look any further, forcing her to make her way back upstairs. "Without a doubt, they were here! But similar to the authorities, I doubt that they're still in the city. Where could they have gone?" Racking her mind as she left the mansion, she got into her car and drove away. "Looks like the other lead is also gone. With Connor found dead and his niece flown out of the country, I doubt that there are any other strong leads."
She slumped in her seat; her face covered with her hands. 'As for Brittany's weave, it's too faint but it should be more than enough to find clues where they may have gone.' Revving up her car, she drove all over the city before she made her way to a checkpoint, this time far more militarized and secure.
'Despite it being faint, it's hers. Or maybe it's another person with a similar weave to hers. Regardless, it's the only lead I've got. Waiting for the cops to make any progress would take way too long,' She mused as she fished for her documents and shortly after leaving Stillwater.
. . .
"Could we make a stop? I have to use the bathroom and Mother Nature isn't quite polite. There's a gas station coming up." Brittany urged as she let out a sigh, Lara next to her still silent, her gaze had grown sharper around the two. Andrew complied as he brought the car in for some gas and handing the two money. Brittany took the cash before making her way inside the conditioned store. A groan of relief left her lips as Lara looked around, her eyes darting as if checking for someone looking at her that wasn't there.
"I've got what I need; just pay up front and we can leave." Lara spoke, a thin sweat trickling down her forehead that the man at the counter, picked up. "Are you okay, lady? You seem rather tense." Brittany let the goods in her hand fall on the counter, her face tired. "Just get over with this; we have to get going on our trip! As for her, it's been a drive, and she hasn't had a proper shower in a while." The owner looked at Brittany, a frown forming on his face before his attention went back to Lara. "Is this true?"
Lara gave a nod, a small smile on her face. "I'm sweaty, that's all. But thank you for asking." Her hands placed on the register showed what she wanted to buy. The man cleared the two, his eyes darting between the two in apprehension. "That should do it. 100 bucks!" Brittany, rather than producing the bills, aimed her gun at the owner. "I particularly don't like how you're looking at us, not to mention I don't have any money on me, so I'm sure that you could place this on the house, right?"
Her eyes were at ease as if she had seen this through, while Lara's tense nature exploded. "Brittany, we have the money, there's no need to do all of this!" The owner had his hands raised, the muzzle of Brittany's gun glimmering at him. "Yeah, but I don't feel like paying." Her eyes momentarily drifted to Lara as if to explain, a window the owner took reaching for his shotgun beneath the register.
*Bang*
Brittany pulled the trigger, instantly bringing the man to drop dead while blood painted the dilapidated walls. "Now look at what you've done; had I not taken my eyes off this man, he would have cleared us with no issue. But no, you had to be a drama queen and throw me your bullshit!" Lara's chest was heaving, her state clashing with Brittany's, who was calm as she reached for her supplies and, as if in mockery, tossed the man his payment.
"I've changed my mind; here's your money." Her playful smile formed as she prepared to leave. Outside, where Andrew was done refilling, another car pulled up, not a regular one but a ranger patrol car. Two officers in beige uniforms got out of the car, one refilling the car and the other stepping into the store. "Looks like you're on your way traveling! With how crazy it's getting, it has something to do with the crazy shit, right?" The officer flashed an ear to ear smile, toothpick dangling from his lips as he looked at Andrew.
The latter, however, didn't return the conversation; his hands returned the nozzle to the pump. "Not in the mood to talk, are we, huh?" The officer chuckled as he turned to face his own car.
*Bang*
A shot from the store elicited the officer's attention; his eyes now resting on the lady who emerged from the store, her hands full with goods. "You! Stop right there!" He ordered, reaching for his gun only for him to drop dead from Andrew's scalpel. "Did you have to cause a scene?" Andrew's inquiry lacked enthusiasm as she made his way over to the car of the officers. "You know me! As of late, I've been thinking, with you around, there's no need for me to be retrained because you'll get rid of any inconvenience for me! As you should have given, you're my boyfriend.
Her hands let what she bought fall into the car seats. Andrew was letting gas run wild all over the gas station floor from the pumps. "Lara, we have to go now!" Brittany shouted to Lara, who was now emerging from the store. Her eyes carried a solemn edge infused with shock at what she saw, lacking the pure horror she had the first time she claimed Jimmy's life. She wordlessly made her way to the car as the killer couple sat in the driver's seat.
*BAM*
After getting out of range, a massive explosion went off behind them. One that startled Lara and attracted woes out of Brittany. "I thought we were trying to be as untraceable as possible, so what the hell was that?!" Lara, for the first time in some while, exploded, her rage shot at the two. "I expected more from you. Brittany's far more childish, and I've accepted that!" Brittany merely chuckled as she reached into her bag of chips, while Andrew kept his eyes locked on the road.
"I wouldn't have been forced to do that if not been for Brittany. We can't leave any survivors; the cops, however, were a factor I had to get rid of, regardless." Lara had her lips parted, stupefied by what she had heard before the reality dawned on her. 'I- What was I expecting from these two?' The thought ran through her mind. "Next time when we meet people, can you try to reduce the bloodshed, at this point the cops won't be having a hard time tracing us!" Andrew gave a light nod while Brittany focused on her chips, as if deaf to what Lara had said.