SUNNYVALE

(43) YOU DID NOT EXPECT THAT ONE, RIGHT?

Becky was walking through the night on her own - and that was her first mistake. 

Her second was to not run away when she saw Alanna Kennedy staggering her way to her, visibly not in her normal state. Assuming that it was drugs, Becky stares at her approaching, raising her eyebrows. 

That's when she sees it, but it is too late already: the knife in Alanna's hand, the blood in her iris and clothes, the atmosphere suddenly going very cold. 

"Kennedy, what the fuck?" Becky asks, starting to take a few steps backwards. 

"Oh, dear" a calm voice says behind Becky. When the blonde turns around, her eyes go wide: she had seen this woman before, who now says: "Too bad it is your turn now."

"M-my turn?" Becky asks, before understanding what this was all about - the shadows she couldn't see. Looking everywhere around her, the same words than Lynn pronounced when she died resonate in the empty street: "Where is it ? Where are they? No, I-"

Suddenly, her throat seems to narrow itself down, as her feet leave the ground. She dies within seconds, strangled by a force she indeed couldn't see - the shadows, who now had taken the form of the ghosts from Sunnyvale, of the people who had died and now served the Queen of Shadows herself. 

Dr Naeher, who walks around Becky unanimated body, has a cruel laugh, as she turns to face someone in the darkness.

"You've made some progress: killed her in three seconds fifty. Impressive."

Alanna Kennedy, who was possessed until now, suddenly regains consciousness: she then sees the scene with Becky's dead body, Dr Naeher hands full of her blood, as weird sucking noises came from Becky's body, that was moving. Of course she couldn't see it, but shadows were sucking the blood out of the body. 

Her eyes going wide, the Australian gasps in horror.

"W-what is going on, w-w-what did you d-d-do?" she asks, looking at the doctor in disbelief, realising just know that she took part in this cold blood murder.

Dr Naeher advances toward the standing Australian, whose body was shaking.

"Oh, this is unfortunate: you weren't supposed to wake up. Guess we'll have to dispose of you too."

As the blonde starts running away, the shadows remain still. Dr Naeher turns toward the person hidden in the dark at the edge of the street, rolling her eyes. 

After a few seconds, she says:

"Take care of her, will you?"

"Of course" a familiar voice responds.

When the hidden person extends her arms and moves her hands, a hundredth shadows come from the dark where she is currently standing, all floating right at Alanna, who falls on the ground when they attack her. Her body is lifted from the ground, strangled, before heavily falling on the ground. 

Laughing hysterically, Dr Naeher turns around and smirks, as the sucking noises start again, this time the shadows sucking the blood and life out of Alanna's dead body. 

"Nice job, my dear: you're ready for the next step."

The person then comes out of the dark spot, revealing her true identity to us, narrators and readers, leaving us all in awe.

"Stop calling me 'dear'" the girl orders, her eyes still red from the attack. 

The shadows immediately come back by her side, floating all around her, before she raises her hands and lets them come back to their original owner: Satan's heir herself - or one of Satan's heirs.

Dr Naeher nods, smirking again. 

"You're right, my Lord" the doctor respectfully says, getting on her knees in front of the woman, who has an evil smile on her lips. 

Kelley O'Hara smiles, content.

***

Christen came across from Mapi in a utter coincidence in the middle of the street - or so she thought. 

When she spots the blonde, her heart does somersault, as she immediately stops walking. Seeing the other girl's reaction, Mapi has a smirk on her face and stops a few steps away from Christen.

Knowing very well that the dark-haired wouldn't talk first, the blonde asks:

"Hola cariño, ¿necesitas que te rescate de las malvadas manos del doctor loco otra vez?" (English: Hi beautiful, do you need me to rescue you from the evil hands of the crazy doctor again?).

"No soy una damisela en apuros, gracias" (English: I am no damsel in distress, thank you) Christen lets out, rolling her eyes.

This makes Marìa smirk even more.

"Someone's in a mood today" she comments, walking next to Christen when she steps away. 

"One of my best friend is in a coma, and another one might as well be dead so, I have every reason to be" Christen coldly answers, deciding that today wasn't the day to mess with her.

Which Mapi gets quite easily. 

The blonde still gets in Christen's way, grabbing the dark-haired's shoulders, frowning - while Christen's body reacts to her touch, which is quite disturbing to the other girl. Mapi, too, is feeling something, but she is very well hiding it. 

"Calma, belleza" (English: Calm down, beauty) Mapi says in a seductive tone, her eyes softening when she realises Christen actually is more than exhausted. After a few seconds, she continues in English this time: "I know what it is to have to wait in order to find out if someone you love died - it's unjust and very hard. I am here if you need me."

"I'm... fine" Christen lies.

"You sure as hell don't look like you are, princesca, but I don't want to get in your way if you're not ready to talk about it just yet."

Nodding her head, Christen gets away from Mapi's hands still put on her shoulders, before briefly turning around while walking away, and then coming back in front of the blonde, who didn't move a bit. 

A new light was in Christen's eyes - and it was a dark light, as she asks:

"Why do you even care about me like that, uh? I mean, we barely know each other, and you're basically a drug lord already, and you hate Kelley, who is one of my best friend... And I've been awful to you, so why? Why would you care?"

Mapi shrugs, quite amused.

"Destino, mi dulce, es sólo el destino" (English: Fate, sweetie, it's just fate) she then declares, which annoys Christen even more.

"I don't believe in fate, so just... leave me alone."

With that said, she walks away.

Mapi, still with a smirk on her face, walks the other way, before grabbing her phone: she had put a GPS chip on the back of Kelley O'Hara's neck during their fight a few days ago, and she really needed to finish what she started.

She had to save Christen.