With the Waning Moon [VAMPIRE KNIGHT]

A Little Dirt Never Hurt

-M.

What. The. Fuck. I came awake slowly, feeling disoriented. I lifted my head and blinked, looking around. Dirt. There was a lot of dirt. I looked down and saw that I was still wearing my dress, but my shoes were gone. That's right, I thought. I had kicked them off when I went running into the woods. Frowning, I looked up and saw my arms were chained to a wall above my head. I tried to remember what had happened and the image of Aido falling to the ground flashed behind my eyes and I tried not to cry. What had happened to him?

I shifted on the floor, trying to see if there was any give to the chains around my wrists. I was a pretty strong girl – stronger than your average human anyway – and I was pretty confident I could break them. I gave a tug and winced. "Ow," I muttered under my breath. Nothing. The chains didn't even strain. I tried again, harder. The metal bit into my skin and I stopped. "What the fuck?" I whispered.

"You're awake." The voice sent chills down my spine. "And just as beautiful as ever. But I see you're trying to escape and that won't do. It's impossible, actually."

I looked up to see Vane leaning against the wall, his hands tucked into his pockets. "What did you do to me?" I demanded, my voice hoarse.

"Just a little precaution." He shrugged one shoulder. "A little concoction I invented just for you. I didn't know how you would react to me when I came back for you, so I figured I had better err on the side of caution. A lot of girls had to go through a lot of nasty stuff to get the formula perfected."

"Formula?" I snarled. "What formula?"

"For the little injection I gave you. The one that renders you completely helpless and weak. Go ahead...try to change." Vane had a weird glimmer in his eye that really freaked me out. "You can't. Right now...you are as good as human, my girl."

I spat in his direction. "Fuck you."

His calm façade slipped just a bit and I could see the anger boiling beneath the surface. If I didn't tread carefully, I might just shoot myself in the foot. "Easy, killer," he said with a laugh. "I'll come back later," he said. "When you've had a chance to calm down a little. Maybe in a week or two you can meet your sisters."

"Sisters?" But he ignored me as he walked down a long, narrow hallway.

And then I was alone in a room full of dirt.

I had to find a way out of this. Out of this place. Away from that freak. What was he talking about? I couldn't change. I closed my eyes and rested my head back against the wall behind me and focused. I sat there for a long time, but nothing happened. I stayed the same girl I always was – minus the fur and paws. Whatever Vane had injected into me that night really had blocked my ability to change. I felt weak and wondered if this is how normal teenage girls felt.

Then I started thinking about the night I went into the woods. Perhaps it was still the same night. I couldn't tell what time it was because I had no windows to see out of. It was very dark and lit only with a few candles. I couldn't see all that well and that disturbed me. My amazing sight was gone too? Just how weak was I? I didn't really have anything I could use to escape and he knew it. I was completely at his mercy.

But I wasn't. It wouldn't be that easy to break me. I would fight until I had nothing left in me to fight with. And I still had an ace up my sleeve that, if I was lucky, he didn't know about. And if I was even luckier, the serum wasn't affecting.

I took a deep breath and focused all my energy on one person.

Aido. I don't know if you can hear me, but this is my only chance. I don't know if you're alive or if our connection is still there. Hell, even if you are alive and our connection is still there I don't know where I am. I don't know how far I've been taken and I don't know how far your mind can stretch. I don't know a lot of things. I paused and blew out a sigh. This is really fucked up, Aido. Vane took me somewhere – I'm underground I think. Maybe a basement? Maybe a hole in the ground. I don't have any clue. But I am weak. He's taken all of my strength from me and I am vulnerable. If I'm lucky, maybe the serum he injected me with will wear off and I can break these chains and rip his face off.

That thought pleased me. If I could bide my time, the serum had to wear off eventually. I hoped. If I got out of here I was going to kill him.

Please come find me, Hanabusa. I won't give up, but I have slim chances here. He talked about others – called them my sisters. I don't know what that means, but I'm afraid to find out. I think that means he is traveling with a group. Groups are harder to move than just two people, so with any lucky it will be slow going. I wish I could hear your voice.

I didn't know if he could hear me, but it gave me some comfort to talk to him. To imagine him sitting across from me, his lazy smile making my heart flip. I missed him and wished more than anything that he was there with me, helping me sort out this mess. But I had to go with the assumption that I was alone. No one was coming for me. I was going to have to get out of this myself.

I would bide my time. I would even play the part if that's what it took. If I could get him to think he had broken me, maybe he would slip up and give me my chance to escape. And then I would come back and find him and tear him apart once I had my strength. Whatever he was doing to these girls – it had something to do with this serum he had created – I was going to put a stop to it. He wouldn't hurt anyone else or destroy any more lives.

I shuffled and moved my arms, listening to the chains clink together. I couldn't break them in my current state. I looked down at my attire. And I was at a disadvantage being without shoes and in a dress, but I didn't care about any of that. Vane had lit a fire inside me and he was going to watch everything burn.

I would start paying attention to every little detail. Every nuance on every word Vane spoke. I looked at the dirt around me. It looked too fresh. I was not in a hole in the ground, that much I could ascertain. A basement then. I was in a basement with a dirt floor. But it was new. This dirt was still clean – as clean as dirt can be. It hadn't been walked over by boots, it hadn't had large items scraped across it. I thought it was safe to guess that this house that I was in was Vane's or he had created this basement. For the purpose of holding me hostage? What did he plan to do with me?

I was damn sure going to find out.