Selene pressed her face against the window of her apartment. Wiping a part of the glass clear with the cuff of her leather jacket; she stared outside and listened to the loud rumbling of the storm outside, sounding like an angry beast stirring to life, and thought of everything that had happened so far. Michael, the betrayal, and the war that was still being fought between the Lycans and the Vampire's, and how for so many empty years she had fought it in it, consumed by revenge, determined to wipe out every last Lycan off the face of the earth for murdering her family.
How blind she had been?how easily swayed?looking back though she could never have known that her saviour victor, the one who had given her the immortal strength she needed to seek out justice for her family, had in fact been the monster who had been responsible for killing them.
Selene had only been spared because she reminded Victor of his only daughter, the one he had also been responsible for putting to death for daring to love a Lycan?and somewhere in his twisted heart he regretted what he had done?so instead of killing her with her family, he had made her a vampire, taking the frightened young girl she had been into his care, and treating her like the daughter he had lost so long ago.
Victor was dead now? dead by her own hand, and Michael changed forever; neither vampire nor Lycan, but a mutation of the two. The hunter was now the hunted, because she had killed victor she was now an enemy of her fellow vampires, and so they had been forced to run. Her whole world had changed completely, and there would be no going back?ever Behind her she could hear the sound of Michael's soft breathing, turning round she looked at him for a moment, and her dark eyes softened.
"What's the matter?" he asked walking over to her, and standing close beside her, until there faces where mere inches apart.
"I don't know how long we may have to keep running" she said staring at the ground, we're running out of places to hide, and no matter where we go they'll follow us?soon Marcus will be awake?and when he finds out about Victor?"
"We'll figure something out?we always do?" For a moment he looked at her, his soft brown eyes seeming to look right into her soul
"You don't regret meeting me do you' he asked brushing a strand of hair back off her face"
"No, of course not" she said thinking back to the first time she had seen him in the underground station, she had been running along the platform, her guns blasting outwards, then she had stopped, he had been standing by the train, and for a few moments their eyes had met, everything had seemed to happen in slow motion as he looked up at her and smiled before disappearing into the train.
From that moment something had drawn her to him, something she couldn't explain.
"It's just if they find us"
"They won't?now come on he said" we'd better get some rest, It'll be daylight soon" he said pulling the thick black curtains across the window "we can't go anywhere till nightfall"
"But you can go" she said
"No Selene" he said "We either leave together, or not at all. Wrapping his arms around her, he buried his face in her soft dark hair, and gently whispered in her ear "Now come on try and get some rest. You've hardly slept all week"
"I can't'" she said letting him pull her towards the bed
Then slowly he eased her down beside him
"Yes you can, if anything happens I'll wake you" he said
Slowly Selene felt her eyelids closing, Michael's sleeping face, the last thing she saw?
*
"Wake up? Selene?wake up" urged Michael shaking her awake.
"What?what happened??" she asked rubbing her eyes. Outside it was dark, running over to the curtains Michael pulled them back ever so slightly, and stared outside. He seemed to be looking at something?."
"What are you looking at" she said walking over to the window,
"Something's out there"?he said...
"What?where?I can't see anything"
"Over there by the bushes" he said" "I saw it before when I woke up?at first I thought I was imagining things?but now I'm certain"
"What do you think it is" asked Selene
"I don't know" said Michael "But let's not wait to find out"
Grabbing her hand, he pulled her out of the door, and towards the truck that they had abandoned before, in their rush to get Selene out of the daylight, and into the safety of darkness. Opening the truck door, Michael waited for Selene to climb into the passenger seat, before running over to the driver's side, and hurling himself into the empty driver's seat. Shoving the keys in the ignition, he pulled back the handbrake, stepped on the gas, and smashed though the wooden doorframe behind him, and out into the cold night air.
Turning the car round he sped on down the long gravel path that they had travelled down to get here, and headed north?not sure where to go. Trying to keep as much distance between them and whatever that thing he had seen had been as possible. In the rear-view mirror, Selene could make out the outline of something?she squinted trying to make out what it was, but they where to far away for her to get a proper look?.then suddenly the truck stopped?Michael stared at the empty petrol gauge, and cursed.
"We're going to have to make a run for it"
In front of them stood a huge tunnel, the only way out, "Quick over there?" he said
Grabbing her hand again, he pulled her along behind him, Selene turned round, pulling one of her guns free from its holster, firing blindly behind her. Something rushed towards her, knocking her off her feet?opening her eyes, she pulled herself up, her head hurt, rubbing her forehead absently she turned round, and found herself looking up right into the face of Marcus, he was awake, he must have found out about Victor....
"Selene" yelled Michael, his voice raw with emotion "Quickly get out of here"
"Not without you" she said
"I'll be right behind you" he said "Hurry"
Selene rushed towards the tunnel, behind her she could hear Michael crying out in pain, her fists clenching tight, her dark eyes transforming to an intense blue she went to run back to help, but before she could take so much as a step back to him, an intense white light had enveloped her, and she knew no more?
The campfire crackled and popped, the smoke slowly drifting up to the sky, Xena and Gabrielle's silhouettes stretched out across the soft grass, Xena was sat on a log beside the fire, the light from the flickering flames dancing across her tanned features, she was staring at some point in the distance, and looked lost in her thoughts.
"You okay Xena?" asked Gabrielle her bright green eyes filling up with concern, gently she leaned over, and placed a hand on her friend's shoulder.
"Yeah?just thinking" sighed Xena, her eyes still fixed ahead of her.
"Care to talk about it" asked Gabrielle
"Just looking back at the past, even now I can't help wondering if I could have done things differently. Gabrielle when I think of all the times I hurt you, it tears me up inside"
"Xena, that's all over, and if you remember I hurt you aswell, we were both in terrible pain, you where grieving the loss of your son, and I was grieving my daughter, we where both too wrapped up in our pain, to think clearly?.but when Solan sent us to illusia we forgave each other, and we became closer because of that?.don't you see Xena, we belong together?we're both travelling down the same road?Wherever you go, I go"
"But I could have killed you" said Xena "I don't know if I can forgive myself for that?you'd be better off without me?she said" unable to look at Gabrielle, in case she saw the fear in her eyes, and pursued the subject further. Her arms folded tightly across her chest she walked off into the darkness of the forest
"Xena?" called Gabrielle "Come back we have to talk about this"
What's to talk about?" said Xena "you know I never thought I'd hear myself say this" she said turning to look at Gabrielle, her sky blue eyes, flooding over with the pain that was burning inside of her "But Najara was right?all I seem to be able to do is cause you pain?it's better for you if you leave" she said her voice cracking with barely contained emotions as she disappeared into the row of trees ahead.
Gabrielle stared into the flames, and sighed?half wondering if she should go and follow Xena, and try and pull her out of whatever psychological torment she had buried herself in. she sat there for a few minutes, quietly pondering the situation, then finally her concern for Xena took over, and she decided to follow her. Slowly she made her way through the trees, careful to step over the branches that lay strewn across the muddy soil, directly head of her she heard a loud thud, and her heart sank into her stomach.
"Xena" she called out to the darkness. No response
"Xena are you okay" still no response
"Xena answer me dammit" she said pushing her way through the rest of the undergrowth, her eyes searching the forest frantically for any sign of the warrior princess.
Rushing onwards she could feel her heart racing, the panic becoming an irrational fear.
"Xena" she called out "Xena where are you"
"Right here" said Xena appearing behind her, and making the already nervous bard jump out of her skin with freight.
"Where were you?" she said "I heard a noise?I thought something had happened to you?or that you had done something remarkably stupid"
"No, not me" said Xena
"Then was the noise I heard"
"I'll show you" said Xena.
Clasping her hand Xena led her to a small clearing, beside a bush lay the sprawled out figure of what appeared to be a young woman, she was lying face down in the dirt, and wasn't moving"
"Is she dead?" asked Gabrielle
"No?but from the looks of those clothes" she said pointing to the unconscious girl's leather coat "She's not from around here"
"I wonder who she is" said Gabrielle as she made her way over to her, and ever so gently picked her up, and turned her over, brushing the damp hair from her face. Pausing for a moment, to look at the young girl's face?whoever she was she was incredibly beautiful, delicately she touched the side of her face, then flinched as though stung as she felt the deathly coldness of the young girl's skin against her hand
"She's freezing" said Gabrielle "Xena, Are you sure she's okay?no one can feel this cold, and still be alive"
Xena looked at the young woman a little more closely
"She's still breathing" she said and then placing her fingers gently against her wrist she felt around for a pulse "And she's got a strong, steady heartbeat.
"We have to get her warm" said Gabrielle signalling for Xena to help her pick the unconscious girl up, with hardly any effort at all Xena reached over and scooped her up into her arms.
"Let's get back to the campfire" she said Walking back the way they had come" Before it dies out?then perhaps when she wakes up she'll be able to tell us who she is?and where she came from"