White Rose

Consumers and Communities

The grandfather clock chimed, both its hour hands pointing to twelve. The chime penetrated right through Resenta Fewprace's ears, almost destroying her eardrums. She groaned, covering her ears in pain. No matter how many times she had tried to convince her friend Enetra to get rid of the accursed clock, her friend's impertinance would not budge. Resenta was a very short woman but she made up for it with her unraving beauty. She was practically from the cover page of a beauty magazine. The ironic part was that Resenta applied makeup a quarter and a half lesser than the average woman. Her light blond hair was let down and her skin was a flawless work of god. When she smiled, two rows of pearl white teeth caught the eye of every man within a mile of her sight.
Well, they were yet to find out that looks can kill. Resenta's beauty did not reflect her heart, which was not as pure as anyone would assume it was. She sat at a long table, despising the feel of the chair under her backside, the sight of the chandelier on the ceiling and the smell of rotten eggs that hung in the air. Seriously, didn't anyone even care about her hypersensitivity to the senses? Hadn't she informed Enetra of her arrival beforehand?
The door flung open. It wasn't Enetra, as Resenta had suspected. Rather, it was another one of Resenta's comrades, Bloody Trass. True to his name, Bloody was covered in blood. He was tall, bulky and the biggest member of their team. Resenta could have fainted as she took in the smell of the blood. Bloody did not smile or greet her. Rather, he grimaced with disgust and sat at the opposite end of the room. Resenta was not in good terms with the insufferable thug, mainly due to the fued between him and her husband, Deckton Fewprace. Resenta hated to admit it to herself, but she missed her husband already. At least he was slightly sensitive to her hypersensitive condition. He was unable to join them that day because he had been subjected to injuries, having wrestled a Community member the other day. The Communities were rising in power. Even Resenta, who was a passionate hater of Comms was forced to face the fact.
Lately, their strategies were beginning to vary. It had been entirely due to Enetra's stealth and cunning that she had managed to evade them until today.
The remaining members of the group came together. That was a first, thought Resenta. Consumers were usually the most lonely of people. Deckton and Resenta had even been frowned upon for marrying. Their wedding had been the loneliest affair in the world, with not even a priest to attend it.
Colson Red, the group's hot tempered rowdy had no shirt on. Resenta held her breath as he walked past her, for his body smelled of onions and sour milk. Maurice Mackrine wore a pair of spectacles. He had very, very large front teeth and sprayed when he spoke. He was scrawny and carried a load of books with him. Flasher Smith had blue hair and looked like an Asian. His pale blue eyes had a flash of mischief. In a flash, he had stuck out a leg to trip up Maurice. Resenta had no idea what his problem was. She herself was a mean, vindictive type but she had her limits. Never had she pulled such a trick for her mere amusement. Flasher however, had no reservations for his mischief. The man's gesture sent Maurice flying across the room and hurling the books up into the air.
One of the books fell flat onto Adaline Rensfort's head. Resenta winced. The book was one about The History of The Tree and was a thick and heavy one, judging by the loud thump that it made as it landed on her comrade's forehead. Adaline howled, jumped on the table and lunged at Maurice with outstretched arms and sharp claws. Her claws grew and twisted into black, needles. Her mouth bared, revealing a nice, admirably terrifying row of sharp dracula teeth that dripped with blood. Adaline must have just had a blood drive on the way here. The blood smeared on her teeth was fresh, droplets of it falling onto Maurice's coat as she sat on him, preparing for the kill.
She would have sunk them into his neck if Flasher, Colson and Bloody hadn't intervened in time. Having herself pulled away from her meal, a demented Adaline struggled against the men's grip. She kicked and screeched with all her might, twisting here and there to get her teeth into one of their arms. The men were careful with her, knowing the danger that she posed when she was in dracula-must-kill-must-drink state. They had witnessed the horrific way that she tortured her victims only too well. And as much as they did not have love for Mackrine, they knew that Enetra would be terribly upset at all the blood on the ground. She was a little fussy when it came to cleanliness.
Adaline tired out soon and tried her luck one last time. Throwing back her head, she let out the loudest screech yet. The sound travelled through Resenta's ears and muted her for a couple of seconds.
That was the last straw for her. Resenta got to her feet and roared at the lot of them.
"Shut up!!!"
The room grew silent. Resenta wasn't done. She glared at Adaline with wide eyes and a murderous look.
"You... Another sound from you and I'll rip you up and feed you to KillerKrain"she whispered, her voice raspy. KillerKrain was the two feet mutt that the Fewpraces owned. They had the animal caged in an underground tavern, with ten guards to watch over it. Just this morning, Resenta had been to a friend's house to search for a new guard to replace the one that KillerKrain had eaten...
Adaline stopped struggling and grew limp in the men's arms. Someone clapped their hands. All of them turned to look at the door. Enetra was back from her secret business and shut the door behind her. She looked as stunning and looming as she had looked that day in front of the school. Except, now she was rather amused by the drama.
"Why don't we begin our meeting already, since we have all arrived and ah... gotten down into our good moods"she said, calm as usual. Flasher grinned, releasing Adaline. "That is quite a spiffing idea my dear, Miss Locks. Just for that wonderful suggestion, I'll wave away the subject of your poor sense of punctuality for now"he said, equally smoothly. Enetra smiled back, despite the obvious heat of the exchange.
"I had some pretty useful things to take care of. Unlike my fellow comrades, who were in quite a... an... engagement that seemed to be of no use to the matter at hand" she said, taking off her coat and hanging it up on the hook behind the door.
"Ah... I see. And may I have the honour of acknowledging this useful business of yours?"he asked, raising an eyebrow. Enetra grinned.
"Nice try, Flasher. You should try harder than that sonny" she said, taking her seat next to Resenta, who had her head in her hands, suffering a headache. Flasher sighed.
"Fine. Let's begin the meeting. Have a seat everyone. Adaline, please stay away from Maurice for the time being. Take that seat next to Colson.... Colson leave Resenta alone... you know how sensitive she is to your body odor... Enetra, next to me please. You're the co-leader after all... Bloody, you stay away from Resenta too... blood's too overwheming you know... right, that's great. Everyone settled down, oh... someone help Maurice with his books please... Nevermind, I'll do it... oh, sorry Maurice old buddy, stuck my leg out accidentally... no, no how could you think such a thing... of course I didn't do it on purpose... that's preposterous"
A couple of minutes later, the Consumers had all calmed down and were prepared to listen to Enetra's report. She had been the busiest Consumer lately and had the most to tell.
"As you all know, I have been stalking the Renes girl for precisely a fortnight from today and I have much to tell. The white rose hasn't bloomed yet. That much I have gathered from our personal spy"
The rest of them smirked, knowing perfectly who the spy was.
"But it should be ready for the Restoration in another couple of months. The girl on the other hand has shown no symptoms of power manifestion until now. Though it would not be too long until she gains a small form of her powers, especially since she's been in close contact with one of the Magical"Enetra said.
"What Magical would be stupid enough to take such a risk? Why stay in contact with the bloody sponge?"Bloody Trass asked, his voice booming. Farther down the table, Resenta groaned again.
"The stupid Magical is Fiona Lakes. I wouldn't categorize that one as stupid, Bloody. She's a smart one. There's something strange about her. She might strike us as dangerous sometime or other since she seems to be inseparable from Miss Renes. I've instructed our spy to keep a close lookout at Lakes. As long as she's with Renes, the girl gathers fuel to blossom the rose earlier than we would what it to" Enetra explained.
"That might be the Lakes girl's plan. She might be trying to transfer her power to Renes"Maurice suggested, adjusting his glasses. Enetra shook her head.
"But the girl isn't losing her powers! The Lakes girl's powerful magical aura remains as strong as ever!"Enetra protested. Colson frowned.
"But thats impossible.... Her powers can only remain unintact if... if..."
Maurice finished his sentence for him.
"If the Lakes girl was a Seer"
The room turned silent. It was broken by Adaline. "Resenta, how is Deckton by the way? Dead already?"she asked, rather haughtily. She still hadn't forgiven Resenta for the rant. Resenta's mouth twisted into a sneer.
"You were obviously hoping for his death weren't you? Well, let's just say that its likewise between us. We want you dead as well..."she spat at the vampire. The two of them snarled at eachother. Flasher turned to Enetra.
"Did you face any trouble? Community trouble, I mean"he asked. Enetra nodded.
"They have grown as vicious as we are, lately. After all, they've got a new leader. Wensly's a nuisance"she said, looking as if she'd just swallowed a lemon. Flasher looked disconcerted.
"We can take care of him. What happened to Hilt?"he asked.
"He's retired... or so sources told me"Enetra said, mysteriously. Colson and Bloody exchanged looks.
"Retired you say... shall we pay a visit to old Hilty's house? You know... deliver a hello or a... howdido..." Colson said, grinning maliciously.
"Yeah... we heard that he has kids. Don't we just love kids, Red?"Bloody said, smacking his lips.
"Nothing rash. Besides, we have more important things to attend to"Enetra said, sternly. Flasher stood up, indicating that the meeting was not too far from its end.
"Right, everyone. Its time we got ourselves busy. Enetra, keep stalking the girl and report back if you witness anything unusual. Colson, Bloody, Resenta and Deckton, if he is well, will hunt for Communities. Capture and kill them, please. Maurice and I will finish up the Restoration" he declared. The Consumers nodded.
Adaline glared at Flasher and lifted her chin arrogantly.
"What about me?"she asked. The corner of Flasher's lips twitched.
"Oh, I saved the best for you my dear. Do be a darling and get rid of the Lakes girl for me. Oh, And don't forget to drain her powers before you drink her up. I heard she's an O-. Your favourite type of blood, isn't it?"
*
Herbert Wensly's fist almost broke the table in half. "Why did you not round her up? You were in a close range and you had all the advantages. That was a perfectly isolated area!"he hollered. The Communities were having not much of a meeting that day. Especially since only five had attended it. Four of them regretted their attendance very much.
Marcus Zynch, the Community's youngest member, also happened to be the boldest. This was entirely because he was the only one who managed to get a whole sentence through his boss's flow of words.
"My apologies, Mr Wensly. We had more pressuring matters to take care of at precisely that moment"he said. His elder sister, Lennice Zynch, popped in as well. She had dark hair like her brother and dark eyes. Only hers was hidden behind a pair of black framed spectacles.
"A small boy was about to be run down by a truck. It would have been a miserable affair for boy and mother if we had set it aside and focused on Enetra Locks"she explained, braver now that her brother had spoken up. Brother and sister were the newest members of the Community. Wensly had never regretted his dicision to recruit them, as they constantly proved their worth. His rant ultimately subsided.
"The Consumers know that we are protecting the girl and the tree. They would not rest until they capture us" Marcus stated, after a while.
"What has led you to that? Did they threaten you?"Wensly questioned. Another of the Community members answered this.
"The threat was not verbal but it was much more effective and dangerous. Last week, Trass and Red found the Enchanted Ward and tried to invade it and set it on fire, burning the occupants in it"
This was from a very pretty woman. She had lovely auburn hair and twinkly blue eyes. Sara Lakes also happened to be the aunt of Fiona. She worked at the Ward, running around day and night, attending to patients. She was wearing the soft pink and blue robes of a Ward Nurse. There were dark shadows under her eyes, resulting from the long sleepless nights, tending to sick Magicals. Lately, the number of patients in the ward had increased in number and consisted of Magicals from all around the world, from Africans to Asians to Europeans.
Unlike the other common Wards, the Enchanted Ward was the only one in the world that can help the patients that were suffering from the new disease that was spreading amongst the Magicals.
"The Enchanted Ward? Was anyone hurt? Wensly asked, concerned.
Sara shook her head. "Fortunately, Ray, Daniel and I managed to fend them off by ourselves. Though, several Drain Out patients were rather shaken up... they're shaken up by lots of things these days, now that I mention it..." she said, her voice drifting away. Wensly nodded approvingly.
"Speaking of which, where is Raymond?"he asked, frowning.
The last member of the group, Daniel Rigshot, spoke up. He looked nervous about the question.
"He... er... he was too tired. So, he took a break"he said.
Wensly scowled. "Where is here?"he repeated.
"Ah... well... he went to the beach"
"The beach!!!"Wensly exclaimed, wondering if he had misheard Daniel.
"Yup. He... um... he took my son and wife with him. Said they needed a break or something... you know, fresh air and stuff" Daniel said, his eyebrows twitching like they always did when he was nervous. Wensly looked like he was about to explode.
"There is no break for any of you until we capture every single one of those Consumers and find their hideout! We have to do all we can to stop them from creating the Restoration and using the rose for their own needs! Do you understand?"he demanded, furiously. The four of them stared at their feet, looking anywhere but at their boss.
Wensly snapped back into attention. "Its time that we got to the girl before the Consumers get her. Sara, find your sister Margaret and meet us at headquarters in half an hour. Daniel, go fetch your wife, son and that silly brother of ours from the beach. Lennice, get Professor Rigshot and Professor Hesselton from Cruscurt Alley. We need their assistance in this. Marcus and I will kidnap the Renes girl and meet everyone at half past five" he instructed, before walking out the door with Marcus at his heels.