Palindrome

Hidden Among the Shadows - A Supernatural Inspired RP

Penny sighed from her hotel room. It had been three weeks since she was released from the hospital and she had done nothing except research what should be myths. She didn't know what kind of lore about all these creatures were true. Was Wikipedia right? Were the fairytales she read as a kid right? What was correct? She hadn't called Christian at all in the last three weeks. She didn't want to feel like a burden and he was probably really busy reaping other souls.

Penny tapped her nails on the desk, next to her laptop. What was next? Penny looked at the slightly crumpled piece of paper that sat on the table next to her laptop. It had probably the neatest handwriting ever on it and it contained names and numbers of 'hunters'. Despite not contacting him for the last three weeks, Penny knew that he was the culprit for this information. Perhaps tomorrow she'll call one of those numbers and start gathering the proper resources for vampire hunting. Penny looked out her window into the dark city. It was well past midnight, but sleep eluded her. In fact, she probably hasn't slept a full eight hours in the last week and a half. After Christian left her room, she took a week and a half to recuperate and get her life together. She sold her small house, rented a car and is basically living out of this hotel room now. Penny was still hesitant to live by herself in a neighborhood that could harbor enemies with ill intent. She knew that she would have to get over it at some point. Christian was right. Her post-trauma reactions would not help in a fight. Maybe that was part of the reason why she hasn't killed those vampires yet.

Her skin itched again and she clenched her fists to stop herself from scratching. Don't do it Penny. Don't think. It's not real. She had gotten a therapist last week, but she didn't know where to start or what to say. 'Hey, I got attacked by vampires and almost died? And then this cute reaper came and was gonna take my soul, except he didn't. And now he said he would kind of help me hunt them down, but also not really.'

Penny laughed. Yeah that would go over well. She'd be put in a mental institution immediately. She stood up from her computer desk and went to lay down on her bed after turning out the lamp. To say she wasn't lonely would be a lie. To say she didn't miss Christian a little bit would also be a lie. He was the only one that knew what she went through. She had no one else to confide in, but embarassingly enough, she was nervous and scared to talk to him. It was best she didn't.

Penny's eyes felt heavy and she shut them a few times, only to wake up to the feeling of being watched. It happened at this time exactly every night for the last week. She swears she could see little beady eyes staring at her from the corner of her room, but everytime she turned on the lamp, they were gone. She figured she might still be a little shaken up from her kidnapping, but after doing some research, she figured it could be like goblins or something. Since her incident, she's been able to see things that aren't normal. She's occasionally seen a couple other vampires, but she kept a wide berth. There were a few times she thought she ran into a couple of demons, but they looked normal enough. It was their aura and eyes that sometimes looked off. However, none of them targeted her outright, so she kept a low profile.

Penny turned her lamp back on and sat up. She was going to do another sweep of her hotel room and hope that something didn't jump out at her from under the bed. Besides a pocket knife, she didn't have anything to help defend her against the supernatural. Would a pocket knife work? Probabaly not.

Hidden Among the Shadows - A Supernatural Inspired RP

Penny almost choked on her water at Christian's words. Did she want to forget? The idea sounded nice. She could go about her day without the fear of being kidnapped again. She wouldn't have nightmares anymore. She'd be... free, in a sense. But did she really wanna live that way again? Her eyes had been opened to a whole new world hidden within her own. It was terrifying, but as she thought about the other people out there who live in ignorance and without a clue in the world to what's underneath their noses, she realized that she didn't want to live like that. If she got kidnapped again, or saw something she shouldn't have, how would that affect her life then? Would all the memories and horrors come rushing back? Penny didn't want to go back to being the way she was before this happened. Timid, scared, shy... she didn't know how to stand up for herself. It was amazing what a near death experience could do to ones personality.

Her skin itched.

"A part of me wants to say yes." Penny paused and traced the rim of the cup Christian handed her. "But I don't want to forget. What happened was... terrifying, but it has made me stronger." She looked up at him and smiled. "I don't want to go back to living without knowing. I feel like I'd wander around aimlessly, missing something but not knowing what. I also," Penny paused. She didn't know Christian very well, but she couldn't deny the connection she felt with him. Maybe it was because he was there in her darkest, most scariest moment and not only did he help her, but he comforted her. "I also don't want to forget you." Penny stood up and placed her cup of water on her nightstand.

"If you're not going to help me, then I suppose I'm going to have to find someone who can." The prospect of looking for danger scared her, but she was going to get her revenge and she was going to live while trying. Penny brushed past Christian and opened the door to her room. She knew he didn't need to leave through the door, but she used it as a sign. Something to say, 'If you're not going to help, leave'.

"Thank you, Christian. I would hate to get you into even more trouble. I'm indebted to you, even if you don't want me to be. Anything you need, say it and I will do my best to help you." Penny's lower lip trembled and she pursed her lips to stop it. She didn't want him to leave. She wanted him to stay and agree to help her. "I think I better get some sleep. Traveling from the hospital to here has made me tired." That's not what she wanted to say. Stay. She knew as soon a she closed her eyes, she would have nightmares and his offer of forgetting sounded appealing again, but she shook her head. No, she didn't want to forget. She would deal with it as she dealt with her childhood abuse.

Hidden Among the Shadows - A Supernatural Inspired RP

Penny clencched her fists and mimicked Christian's action, standing up as well. "You're the only one I know that can help me with that. I can't sleep at night. Everytime I go anywhere, I feel like someone is always watching me, waiting to attack." Penny felt her breathing pick up and her lungs ached slightly. "Every other person I come into contact with seems to have a weird aura and I don't know if I'm imagining it, or if they're dangerous."

Penny took a few steps closer to him, but kept a respectable distance. "I want to live and I promise I will do everything I can to keep that promise, but is it really living if I'm just surviving? I'm tired of being scared all the time! Today was my first time in the real world since the attack and it terrified me!" Penny felt lightheaded and spots danced in her vision. She was discharged from the hospital, but the doctors did warn her that she may still experience bouts of lightheadedness from the blood loss. She took a few steps back and sat back down on the bed. She gulped down air and tried to slow her breathing.

"Please, Christian. I'm not asking you to break any more rules. I'm not asking you to follow me or be my partner. I'm just asking for information on how to get revenge." Penny felt her eyes water and she lowered her head to hide it. She wanted to stop being a cry-baby, but Penny knew that it was ingrained in her very being. She was an emotional person and it wasn't going to go away any time soon.

Hidden Among the Shadows - A Supernatural Inspired RP

"Oh! Um," Penny looked down to find the blood spot and quickly crossed her arms, covering it up. "Sorry. It's... itchy." Penny didn't tell him that she also sometimes felt like she could feel the saliva from the vampires run through her blood. It made her veins itch and she felt dirty. Still, she wouldn't trade it for her death. This was one of the consequences of asking Christian to help her. She only hoped she didn't get him into too much trouble.

"Thank you, for meeting me. I realize that you are probably busy." Penny paused in her wording and finally looked away from her crossed arms to meet Christian's eyes. They pierced through her very being, almost as if he could see down to her soul. She was pretty sure he actually could. She took a deep breath. "Image my surprise when I woke up in the hospital almost two days after the attack. The last I remember is collapsing outside the house, but even then everything is fuzzy." She turned away from him and moved to sit on the bed. She left space next to her in case he wanted to sit down as well, but she knew that he probably wouldn't.

"I know it was you who took me there. I didn't want to get you in trouble. I don't know what reaper politics and job rules are, but you seemed like... you were risking a lot to help me." Penny's fingers trembled and she wanted to itch her arms and neck, but she refrained. "I owe you a debt, Christian. Whatever it is you want me to do, I'll do it."

These last couple of days, Penny obsessed over one recurring thought that just wouldn't leave her alone. Revenge. She wanted to track down those vampires and maybe others and make them pay for what they did to her. Possibly save a couple other people in the process as well. The hatred that boiled in her veins scared her. Not even her mom had been able to put this feeling inside her and Penny didn't know how to handle it. She took a deep breath and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "But also... I want revenge."

Hidden Among the Shadows - A Supernatural Inspired RP

Penny exited her cab and walked through the entrance of the Hyatt Place Hotel. She carried no luggage and no clothes with her, so she just walked in with what she was wearing. Lukcily, the police had gone back to her house to get her an outfit to change into once she was discharged, but that's all she had. She refused to go back there. At least... not without somebody who could keep an eye out for her.

She walked to the receptionist and smiled. "Hello. I have a room booked. My name is Penny Lowe."

The receptionist smiled and Penny found something off about it. She blinked and the feeling went away. Penny placed a hand to her head. She was going crazy. She was seeing vampires and monsters in everybody she ran into. Was this PTSD? She didn't know. "Hi Penny. Here's your room key. You'll be in room 306. Have a wonderful stay."

Penny nodded and took the room key. She felt the same warm prickle on the back of her neck and she turned to the lobby of the hotel. People sat and chatted and others milled about the open space, but Penny had eyes for only one person. The figure that was slightly blurry in the street outside the hospital was now completely clear. Christian stood in the middle of the room, but Penny frowned when she saw people walk past and through him, as if he were a ghost. Penny scratched at her arms again and nodded. It made sense. He was a reaper, right? He was probably invisible tot he naked eye. Penny continued to scratch at her arms. Why were they so itchy while healing? It made her irritable. A voice inside told her that if she kept it up, she would scrape through the bandages and cause her wounds to bleed, but she couldn't care.

She approached Christian before pausing. If others couldn't see him, then why could she? She looked up at him, making eye contact and her eyes widened. He had noticed her. She cleared her throat and motioned him to follow her as she walked tot he elevator and made her way to the third floor. It was a fast elevator ride and Penny exited to find her room just on the right. Using her keycard, she unlocked the door and walked in, leaving the door open for Christian, though she didn't think he needed it. Could he go through them?

The door swung shut and Penny took a few steps into the room before turning to face him.

"Um, hi." Penny internally winced. Yeah, that was bad. She felt tingles and a crawling sensation under her bandages again and itched at them. They stung and Penny dropped her hands before she did any more damage.

Hidden Among the Shadows - A Supernatural Inspired RP

"Alright Penny, you are free to go. Don't forget about your checkup in three months. We just want to make sure everything is okay." The hospital receptionist down by the front doors of the hospital gave Penny a small smile and Penny nodded.

"Thank you. Um, for the insurance bill, can I just pay in full with cash? I... don't have a mailing address." Truth was, Penny did have a mailing address, but she didn't dare go back to her house. Not after the vampires that lived next door to her did what they did. Everytime she closed her eyes, she felt fangs sink into her neck and arms. She felt the pain of her blood being drained out of her... Penny wanted to forget. She wished she had amnesia like she told the detectives. Most of all... she wished Christian was here. She wanted to thank him. Not only thank him, but apologize as well. He broke rules for her and she owed him a great debt.

The receptionist frowned, but nodded. "Yes, I can take cash. It's only three-thousand dollars. Your insurance paid the rest." Penny took money out of the ATM earlier that morning, so she handed the receptionist the money and waved.

"Thank you. Have a nice day."

Penny walked through the doors of the hospital with slight trepidation. The sun was warm on her face and the breeze was slightly chilly. She inhaled and exhaled deeply. She was alive. She was alive and feeling the warmth and the cold. She was looking at everything with her own two eyes. She watched as people walked past her and drove cars down the road. She wondered what was going through their minds right now. Were they glad to be alive as she was? Maybe. Maybe not.

She took a few steps down the sidewalk and raised her hand to hail a cab. It pulled up to the curb and Penny was about to open the door when she felt a warm prickle on the back of her neck. She turned around to see if anyone was watching her. but despite a few pedestrians waiting for a bus, there was no one. Penny furrowed her eyebrows and went to open the door again, but the feeling didn't go away. Warning bells rang in her head and her hands started shaking. Was this another vampire? A different monster? A different being watching her? Or was she just paranoid?

Penny closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Are you getting in or not, lady?!" The taxi driver yelled through the window.

"Yes, sorry." Penny opened the door and put one foot in the cab before stopping once again. Maybe... He had ignored her since she woke up in the hospital, but could that feeling of being watched... could it be Christian? She looked again across the street from the hospital doors and squinted. Maybe, if she focused... there was a figure. Blurry, but there nonetheless. It looked like Christian, but she didn't know for sure. She shook her head and sat down in the cab. "Hyatt Place Hotel please."

"Yes ma'am."

Penny looked out the window at the blurry figure. It disappeared after driving past a pole, but Penny closed her eyes. "Christian. If that's you, I really need to talk to you. I'll be at Hyatt Place Hotel. Please. Just, let me say thank you in person."

"Did you say something miss?"

Penny cleared her throat and itched at the healing bite marks on her arms that were covered. "No."

Hidden Among the Shadows - A Supernatural Inspired RP

"Bite marks... lacerations... bloodloss... pecuiliar case."

An unfamiliar voice spoke from a distance. Where... what..?

"Penny Lowe. Born August seventh. Called 911 thirty-two hours ago claiming she was being chased. We sent an ambulance and a cop car, but she wasn't at the residence. In fact, it was empty besides a pile of blood surrounding a chair in the basement. Next thing we know, she's somehow on a gurney in the emergency room. You didn't see anyone enter with her?" A stern, husky voice permeated the air. Penny furrowed her eyebrows. She was in a hospital? Why?

"No, Detective Miller. We even checked security cameras. There was no one. It's like... she just appeared."

"Interesting. I'm going to go get a cup of coffee. Call for me if she wakes up. I need to ask her a few questions."

"I don't think..." The lady's voice trailed off and Penny heard footsteps leave the room. Penny licked her lips. They were chapped. Thinking hard, she tried to recall what happened. She had apparently been unconscious for... thirty-two hours? That was a long time. There was... pain. A lot of it. Pain she's never felt before and bite marks. Vampires? Reaper... Penny inhaled sharply and snapped her eyes open, only to close them again tightly. That's right. She was kidnapped and attacked by vampires. Did she dream it all? Penny opened her eyes again, slowly and took in her surroundings.

A window was on her left, past the numerous hanging bags and IV's. Penny's left arm felt itchy and she brought it up after a few moments of trying to get it to work. It was wrapped up and there were IV's tucked into the bandages. Not a single piece of skin showed through. She looked at her other arm and felt her neck. Her entire body had been covered in gauze, yet she could still see some patches of blood where her wounds refused to stop bleeding. Penny stared at the white ceiling and felt like she wanted to cry. How did she get here? She thought for sure she was a goner. Vampire dinner.

A kind smile and kind eyes flashed in her mind and she sat up. That's right. Someone helped her. A Reaper... Christian? Did he get her here?

"Christi-" Penny's throat was dry. She coughed hard into the air in front of her and a nurse came rushing in a few seconds later.

"Miss Lowe! Oh my goodness, here!" She put a glass of water to Penny's lips and Penny gratefully took a few sips. She wanted to whine when it was taken away, but she refrained.

"Christian. Where-?"

"Miss Lowe, you should not be sitting up! You lost almost all of your blood! It's a miracle you even survived!"

Penny gritted her teeth when the nurse interrupted her. "Where is Christian?"

The nurse stopped tampering with the machines and frowned. "I'm sorry dear, but I don't know who that is. Was he with you?"

Penny stared at her. She knew for a fact she didn't hallucinate him. Did he leave? Did he not save her?

"I'm going to get a detective for you. He's the one studying your case. Hang tight." She left the room only to come back a few moments later with a tall man. He was caucasian and had salt and pepper coloring in his hair and tidy facial hair. He looked stern, but had a kind glint to his eyes.

"Hello Miss Lowe. My name is Detective Miller. Can you tell me what happened?"

Penny stared, no sure what to say. Did she tell them about the vampires? No. They'd put her in a mental asylum. Best to play dumb for now. She shook her head. "I'm sorry, detective, but I don't seem to remember anything."

He raised his eyebrows but nodded nonetheless. "Very well. It's understandable, you went through a traumatic event. You had puncture marks all over your body. They looked like bite marks as well as a few scratches. But the most alarming was the fact that you had almost no blood left in your body. How you managed to survive is a mystery."

Penny gave a tight smile. "A miracle indeed, detective."

He was silent for a few monets before frowning. "Now, tell me about Christian. You muttered his name while you were unconscious and just now, your lovely nurse told me you were asking for him. Is he the one that hurt you? Did he save you?"

Penny remained silent. She had a bad feeling from this detective. Maybe she was still on edge from the vampires, but despite the kind twinkle in his eye, she knew it was a facade. "No, sir. Like I said, I don't remember anything. I just remember his name. I don't know what his role was."

"I see. Well, Miss Lowe, I will leave you to rest. If you remember anything, please don't hesitate to reach out." He placed his business card on the table next to her before giving a nod and leaving. The nurse tampered with a few more things before leaving after him. Penny sighed. Her body still ached, but it wasn't as painful as when she escaped. She looked around, hoping Christian would pop up out of nowhere, but there was nothing.

"Christian?" She murmured quietly, hoping for an answer, but she got nothing.

Hidden Among the Shadows - A Supernatural Inspired RP

Penny heard Christian's voice in her head, or was it in the room? Penny's vision was dark, her eyes almost unseeing. Her body hurt. She felt her muscles strain with every breath and movement and she thought that maybe she was asking too much of Christian. Could she do this? Penny willed her arms and legs to move- and they did! Slowly. Everymovement felt as if her skin was melting off and she felt cold. Was this really what it felt like to be drained of almost all your blood? Slowly, she struggled to push herself into a standing position, but eventually was able to.

Once she was up on her two feet, she felt as if she were going to fall over again. She still couldn't see anything well and her head spun like a top. She groaned and put a hand on the side of her head to try and steady herself. "C-Christian?" Penny tried to focus on her surroundings and found that with her little range of vision, she was able to see an opening in the wall that most likely led to a door. There was a figure, frozen in place staring at her across the room, but Penny shook her head. No. She had to make it out. Five minutes. Four now? Maybe three? She didn't know.

Placing her hands on the walls, she followed them through the hole in the wall and up to the door. Penny placed her hands on the locks and rested her forehead on the wood. Despite everything she had been through as a kid and teenager with her mom, this was probably the worst pain she'd ever felt and that admission scared her. She took a few breaths, but she still felt as if she couldn't breathe. Just... a few seconds. A little break. She fumbled for the lock and a she did, wondered where she would go. She couldn't go to her house. They kidnapped her off the porch, so that's where they would look first. Unlocking the door, she stumbled out into the cold night breeze. She was already shivering, so the breeze didn't make it any easier to move. It stole whatever remaining breath she had right out of her lungs and she coughed.

Did she...? Penny stumbled off the porch steps and fell to her knees, disoriented. The world spun and she couldn't make it stop. She felt her pocket and sighed in relief. She did. She had her cell phone. She would be able to call the police. Penny took her phone out, ignoring the burning of her arms, and dialled 911. While ringing, she was able to push herself up once more. Maybe it was adrenaline, or maybe it was the prospect of actually getting out alive, but she felt less pain and more determination. She could do this.

"911, what's your emergeny?"

"3672," She coughed. Her mouth felt dry. "Willowbrook Street."

"Hello? Ma'am?"

"Help me. Please. They're going to get me." Penny made it around the corner fromt he house lot before she collapsed. Her vision went completely dark and she felt tears leak from her eyes. "Please." She knew, that no matter how hard she tried, her body would not listen anymore.

I'm sorry, Mister Reaper. This is as far as I could make it. Maybe I'm really weak, after all.

Hidden Among the Shadows - A Supernatural Inspired RP

Penny wanted to laugh and cry and scream. "Pain doesn't scare me. But death?" She sighed and moved to her body, placing a hand on it. Her hands still shook and it pained her to see her body mutilated. "I've experienced a lot of pain before. It hurt so bad, I wanted to give up. To die." Penny's mom used many tactics to keep her defiance at bay. Any instrument of domestic torture, you name it. Penny had been on the receiving end. "But then I decided that I would live. I was tired of wanting to give up. I was going to outlive the person who harmed me and become better than they ever could." She stared up at Christan defiantly.

"I don't know how I'll get out of here in that state, but the pain does not scare me. I will live and I will pull through. Clearly there's a lot that I don't know about..." She gestured to him and the vampires, "but what I do know is that I can fight. I want to fight."

Penny couldn't remember the last time she had talked so much. A near death experience really put her personality and goals into a new perspective. Penny didn't want to be the timid, shy girl she was before this happened. She wanted to prove everyone that thought she wouldn't make it in life, wrong. Christian didn't seem like a bad guy. He just wanted to do his job of... reaping, whatever that entailed. Penny liked him. He seemed to genuinely care about her feelings. She just hoped she could appeal to his.

Hidden Among the Shadows - A Supernatural Inspired RP

Despite the feeling of peace that lingered in the back of her mind, Penny got angry. She wasn't one to usually lose her patience, especially since she strived to be nothing like her mom, but this one time, she felt like it was appropriate to be mad. "Not meant to bring me back? Listen, mister reaper, how would you be bringing me back when my body isn't even dead in the first place?" Penny felt panic and anger mix together and she felt her hands shaking. She saw a twitch in her almost dead body. "Don't try to BS me and say that I'm dead! I'm not dead yet!" There was still that undeniable connection she felt to her body. She assumed that if she still felt it, she couldn't be completely dead. Out of body experience, sure. But dead? No.

Penny sighed, her anger dissipating. "If you don't help... I really will die. I'm not ready to die, Christian. Please." The five stages of grief popped up in her mind and she pushed them away, trying to hide her embarassment at how she reacted. Anger and pleading... those were two stages right? This was all so strange for her, but at the same time, not at all. She never really believed in an after life, therefore, despite being thrust into something weird, she took it quite well.