Stella and Cora woke up in a different room, still feeling lightheaded. Their hands both chained up on the wall. The room is not well lit and the only light to be seen are those from the neon pink lamps at the corners.
Cora tries to tug herself off the chains. It is obviously no use. Her eyes hurt from striking color of the lights. "D-Damn it! They tricked us!" she frustratingly yelled out. A part of her knew that at some point in their reckless journey, they will end up in something like this. They both accepted this fate already. But she was not expecting it to be this soon. They have not even had any progress yet.
She looks at her sister guiltily. "I'm so sorry, Stella. I really shouldn't have dragged you into this."
"Last time I checked, we're both into this. Don't be such a jerk," Stella masks her fear with a chuckle.
As the door creaked open, a familiar face came in. It is Rick. He carefully enters the room then shuts the door behind him.
"You fuckin' bastard!" Cora yelled at him.
"Shhhh… Keep your voice down." He gestures. "I'm really sorry. I just want to help. I didn't know Calico has other plans for you," he whispers as he pulls a key from his jacket. He was about to let them loose when footsteps approached the window. He immediately hides the key back in his jacket then stood still beside them.
Calico, accompanied by a male and a female vampire, came in. Their eyes now in brightest crimson.
The two vampires took a seat by the sofa, opposite the wall where the sisters were chained at. Their stares look ravenous, flashing their fangs behind their naughty smiles. The female whispers something to the male as they watch Calico approach the sisters.
"Rick. Not here to let go of your friends, are we?" Calico asked as she struts across the room, now wearing an all white evening gown. Its cloth almost see through. Her eyes not parting from Cora.
"You see, I really promised that I won't hurt you. Won't even taste you. But that rule doesn't apply to my friends." She cups Cora's face. Her long nails stroking the edge of her lips. "And I swear, we really really just want to have a good time."
"Get away from her!" Stella yelled at the vampire.
She turns to the older sister. "Hmm… Feisty. I like it!" She smiles. She is almost jumpy like an overly excited child. "I didn't lie when I said that I'll help you. But virgin Oblivian blood is so irresistible." She brushes the hair off Cora's neck, exposing the reddish part of her skin. "Willa's right. Seems like you've been marked. Let's find out who owns you. Shall we?" She said as she leans down, parting her lips to take a bite.
"Owns me?" The question echoes in her head.
"Cora! Look at me!" Stella said.
Cora turned to her sister, eyes wide and confused. She held her breath as she feels the vampire's lips touch her skin. "Just get over it!" she thought to herself.
"We won't die tonight. You hear me? We won't."
"And she's right." Rick flicks his lighter open then lit the curtain on fire. The fire immediately spreads across the room and made the vampires rush out of the door.
He immediately unlocks the chains then drags the sisters to another door to the left. He tugs the cover of the air vent then instructed the sisters to slide through. He follows them until they reached the other side of the vent which lead to a small cupboard downstairs. Stella kicks the vent's door open and they trampled on the dusty mops.
Willa opens the door then leads them straight to the front door.
"Take another step and you'll never have me again!" Calico yelled out as she walks downstairs. Her eyes blazing in rage.
Willa froze by the threat of her master. She let goes of the grip on her boyfriend's hand.
"Willa… We can escape from all of this," Rick helplessly said.
Tears began to pool at the corner of her eyes. "I can't leave, Rick. You know that. She'll always have me." She then looks at Cora. "There's no way out of it."
"What about me?" Rick asked.
"You'll always have my heart," She smiles as she turns away, heading back to her master.
Rick could not accept it. This is unfair. This is not how their love is supposed to go. But if Willa have to face the consequences then he would rather have it too.
He turns the knobs then opens the front door. "Go."
"What about you?!" Stella asked.
"I can't just leave Willa. We both need to face the consequence." His voice almost tear-stained. Almost shivering. It is as if he is saying goodbye. "Run as far away as here. Go straight to Rosewood District. I hope you find Toto soon." He forcefully pushes them out of the door then locks it.
The sisters ran as fast as they could to nowhere. They did not care if they are attracting too much attention. They just need to get as far away as possible.
"Slow down, Cora!" Stella stops to catch her breath.
Cora walks back towards her sister to check on her. She then looks around only to realize that they already ended up in a different district. "Where are we?" She asks as she looks up to at least five floored buildings that surrounds them. This is way too different from Calico's neighborhood. No more picket fences and welcoming homes.
"At least we're far away from Calico now." Her sister forces to chuckle but couldn't help but frown after remembering Rick's terrified face before they left.
Cora knew what her sister is thinking. She carries the heavier guilt since she is the one who gave him the chance to help. She could have at least asked for something safer. And it doesn't matter if it's related to their personal troubles or not. She is the reason why Rick and even Willa got caught up in this situation in the first place. She looks down, forming a fist.
Stella knows how her sister could easily feel guilty over things, even the simple ones. She lightly pats her shoulder. "They're gonna be just fine." she lied. She then holds her sister's hand, releasing the closed fist. "We better get going."
They tried to squeeze into the growing crowd of vampires and humans. They kept their heads down, trying not to make an eye contact on anyone. As they were about to cross the street, someone forcefully grabbed Stella from behind.
"Cora! Help!" Stella yelled out as she struggles to get off from the grasp of two vampires in gray suits.
"Stella!" Cora fights off her way back to her sister but she couldn't get through. The busy crowd dragged her across the street as she watches her sister being pushed into a black modified limousine and be driven away.
She tries to go back but the traffic light begins to change and vehicles start roaring between the streets. She is helpless. She could not even see where the limousine is now, or at least where it went. She clenches her fists, trying to hold back the tears.
"Stella--" she said under her breath. Her chest feels like tightening, almost feeling dizzy.
She walks straight towards a wall by the sidewalk, holding onto it for a while as she processes everything that has happened. She just got Rick and Willa in trouble. And now, her sister was just abducted. The guilt in her is pilling up. She looks around and for a moment, paranoia takes over her. As if all eyes are on her.
"Pull yourself together!!!!" She yelled at herself. She needs to stay strong now. Stronger than she is supposed to earlier. She is alone now. No father to look after her and no sister to guide her. She is on her own and she has to survive to save her family.
She tries to recall everything that she has to do to focus on her goal. She recalls what Rick instructed them to do. Go straight to Rosewood District. She does not know what she will be facing once she follow that track. But if Rick instructs them to go there, then it must mean something. There is no room to doubt at all. It is the only new lead she got so far.
She looks up and sees the LED map from afar. She then learned that she is currently in Carmine District, five districts away from Rosewood.
She grabs her coat's pocket only to realize that her phone's screen was cracked and do not work properly anymore. It probably got damaged while they were trying to escape earlier. She digs deeper in her pocket and her fingers touched a piece of paper. She then remembers that Stella gave her the rough sketch of the dagger mark.
She straightens her coat's collar then takes a step forward. "You can do this," she confidently tells herself.