Bane: Chapter Three

Bane1

Chapter Three2

The thunderstorm lasted well into the night, and Hailee, ever vigilant mother he had always known, kept Hunter and his newest assignment at her home. Lux slept on the living room couch, her blanket tangled around her knees. He made himself content on the love seat with only his leather trench to cover him. Sleeping in the same house as Wulf, vampires, and children was not an intelligent idea.3

Six-thirty drifted over the horizon, the sun chasing away the remainder of the storm as the room turned pink. Quietly, he slipped into his coat and rowed Lux, ushering her into her shoes and out the door. After checking over the Beast, he stuffed the helmet into her hands and swung a leg over his seat. Lux slipped on behind him, loosely wrapping her arms around his waist. She shivered, and he started the Beast, revving the engine before peeling out into the drive. The woman’s arms tightened as they leapt into action, her hands grabbing onto his shirt and belt while her legs squeezed his hips.4

A small smirk briefly appeared in the dawn as he sped down the country roads.5

By seven-fifteen they were home, and Hunter had found the credit card Hailee had given him for situations requiring he buy things in accordance to the job. Lux was his job now. Rather than attempt getting her personal affects from the coven, he would have to buy what she needed. Plus, racking a significant amount of charge on the piece of plastic would bring him a slight satisfaction.6

“What are we doing?” the quiet, sleep-riddled voice asked. He glanced up in time to see Lux stifle a yawn with the back of her hand and shiver.7

“Getting the means to get you the things you need. There’s a bathroom upstairs if you need a shower, but make it quick,” replied Hunter as he tucked the card into his pocket. Sliding to the kitchen, he opened the fridge and snagged a Chinese box, checking the contents were the mushuu pork he wanted.8

Lux padded in behind him in her keds, awkwardly standing in the door. Even as he turned, he knew she would be looking to him expectantly, her arms folded so she could warm herself a little more effectively. For the most part he ignored her. She was going to be living here; he was not going to be taking care of her. She was a big enough girl to take care of herself in that aspect. If not, she was going to learn very quickly.9

“Where are you going?” she squeaked.10

“Basement.” He haulted, turning to her after stuffing the first bite of breakfast into his mouth. “Rules. Never go in the basement for any reason, including a tornado. Find a closet. Don’t touch my guns or my Chinese. And stay out of my bedroom. If I think of more, I’ll tell you.”11

Lux stared after him in the yellowing kitchen. The door swung shut, and slowly, she turned her head to look up the stairs. Twilight enveloped what she could see of the second story. It didn’t appear any doors had been cracked or windows placed in the hall. Casting about for a light switch and finding none, she hesitantly took to the stairs.12

As she had assumed, all of the second-story doors were closed, allowing only the smallest slivers of light to creep from beneath each one. Five doors lined the hall, including the one she hadn’t seen setting off to the left side of the steps. Her hand swept over the wall, still finding no light to turn on.13

Peeking in the first door, she saw the expanse of what she could only assume was Hunter’s room. A large, antique four poster bed was centered on the far wall with a rumpled black mess of sheets and blankets with pillows askew at the top of mattress. To one side of the bed was plain dark-stained night stand with a lamp and the glowing numbers of an alarm. She could also see the gleam of a gun resting at the back. On the opposing wall of the bed was the large antique dresser, possibly armoire. It was hard to tell with the light kept at bay by the dark curtains covering most of the large windows opening the room to the rest of the neighborhood.14

Quietly, she closed the door and turned to the rest of the doors. Two were closets, one was the bathroom that was a crisp, almost blinding white and devoid of any towels. The last room was another bedroom with a bed frame, two night stands, and a dresser-vanity combination. The windows were bare, allowing the summer morning light to flood the room and show the layer of dust blanketing even the hardwood floor.15

Lux flipped the light switch to see if the bulb worked in the ceiling fan. Nothing happened.16

“Of course... if you don’t use it, don’t fix it... or clean it, or decorate it,” she mumbled to herself. 17

She left the door open to flood the hall with what light she could. It was then that she noticed the heavy blackout curtain over the window at the end of the hall. Once it was removed and tossed in the bottom of one empty hall closets, she went in search of towels... which Hunter appeared not to own.18

The entire second floor was devoid of the necessities as well as the first. Hand towels and wash clothes for the kitchen were strangely sparse as well. When she thought to look in the washer and dryer, she found the appliances non-existent anywhere in the searchable parts of the house. Blue-rimmed brown eyes looked at the basement door for a long moment.19

“It’s probably against the rules to knock...”20

With a heavy sigh, the young woman trotted back up the stairs and slipped into Hunter’s room. Tiptoeing to his closet, she quickly scanned for towels, found none and moved to the next door. The master bath was twice the size as the other bathroom. The counter was laden with what she could assume where medical supplies. Needle-point scissors, thick black thread, gauze, antiseptic, and empty needles littered the side closest to the bathtub and toilet. A glass shower stood closest to the door, open on two sides and adjoining the end of the tub with two doors. There was a slight lip on the bath though it was mostly set in the raised floor.21

There, between the toilet at the end of the burgundy-stained cream counter and the farthest wall, was a small closet. With a small burst of energy, Lux bounded over, pulling the door open. Three black towels rested on one shelf. An impressive stockpile of Irish soap, Head and Shoulders shampoo-conditioner, condoms, and razor blades littered the rest of the shelves.22

Lux yanked two of the towels from their perch with a “finally!” and then a shriek. Clattering to her feet was another hand gun. She leapt back, nearly lost her balance and fell into the tub, but regained her composure with a hand over her mouth. “No no no no no no,” came the mantra. Dropping the towels on the closed toilet, she picked the weapon up with two fingers, brushed it off and stuffed it back beside the last towel. A bar of soap and a bottle of shampoo was tossed in her pile before she darted out of his bathroom and -WHAM!23

“What are you doing in here? I thought I told you my room is off limits?” His voice sounded annoyed as he held onto her. Had he not grabbed her, she would have undoubtedly bounced off the solid wall that was his chest and landed on the hardwood floor.24

“Uh, I, uh, n-needed these. C-c-c-couldn’t-”25

Hunter turned her about, ushering her into the hall. “Make your shower quick. We need to get to the store before everyone else does.”26

She was unable to help the flinch as the door slammed behind her, and she scuttled into the bathroom. Quickly showering, Lux spent some time tucked in one of the large towels as she rummaged through all of the empty drawers and the cabinet under the sink for anything she could have used to further groom herself. Finger combing her hair and lightly picking at the flakiness of the skin to either side of her nose was about all she could do. Slipping back into her clothes, the feelings of her new situation finally caught up to her.27

Tears fell freely, dotting the cream linoleum before the small puddles began to form. Her body shook from the sobs. Sinking to the floor, Lux drew her knees to her chin and hugged them. The sorrow and fear formed a vise in her chest. She was really hiding from the people who had kept her safe for years, and they were really going to come for her, not to make amends.28

Downstairs, Hunter glanced to the ceiling, his trained ears picking out the faint sniffles and sobs over the television set. He turned back to the screen, focusing his attention on the highlights of some baseball game that had happened the day before. This woman in his house was going to throw him off.