Faster when you fall, Prolouge Forevers Dawn The bell over the door jingled, and Cat glanced over to see a wet figure enter the bar. On first glance, it appeared to be just another college student hopping to get out of the rain. The dark, wet hair was tousled by the wind, and a thin hand came up to rake it back. Cat knew the small boyish person in the old worn army coat was really Selena, her friend and co-owner of the 'Forever's Dawn' bar. Selena looked up and gave Cat a wicked smile. "What now?" "Guess what I just heard." She said, walking around and behind the bar. It was still early in the evening, so there weren't many people in the bar. "I'm not going to play games with you, Selena. And if there's another performance of Hamlet, you can forget it. I'm not going to..." She stopped mid-sentence. She could tell by the gleam in Selena's cat-like eyes that this wasn't about a play. "Can you go with me to Night Island?" "Go to Florida? Now? But the bar......" "James can handle the bar. He won't miss us." "But why now? I thought you said it was dull." "Oh, it is. Usually." "What's different about it this time?" "Lestat's there." Cat looked at her. "I'll let you think about it," Selena said, sprinting up the back stairs to the apartment she kept above the 'Forever's Dawn'. Cat stood there for a moment, then turned towards the back room. "James!" A moment later, James stuck his head through the doorway. "Yo, Cat. Whadda ya want?" "I'm going upstairs. Watch the bar." "'kay, no prob." With a heavy sigh, she headed upstairs. *** Selena heard the tinkling of her beaded curtain as Cat came up the stairs into her apartment. "Really, Selena. This thing is so Seventies." "I happen to have rather liked the Seventies." "You liked the Seventies because everyone was stoned out of their minds." "Your point?" Cat sighed again. "This place is a pit." She said, surveying the mess of objects that covered every flat surface, and most of the floor. "Where you this messy when you were alive?" "I like to think I'm still pretty lively," she said with a quick smile, "but no, actually. I was a terrible neat freak. I was a house servent, Y'know." "Really. How interesting." She filed the little fact away in her mind. "You're serious about going to Night Island." "I'm packing, aren't I? The way I figure it, if we leave at sunset tomorrow, then we should only have to stop once on the way there. Maybe once more in Florida, itself. So, you game?" "Huh?" "It's an expression I learned from James. Are you going to come? We could use a vacation." "Why not? After all, what good is immortality, if you don't have a little fun?" "My thought, exactly." *** The next evening, they set out. They hunted early, and by dawn, they were out of New York. Selena pulled over at a cheap motel to get a room. The sun that she could not even see was already beginning to take it's toll on Cat. "The Davy Crocket Motor Lodge?" She asked incredulously. "Hey, do *you* want to dig a hole in the ground?" "I guess not." She watched from the car as Selena got them a room. Then she came back out and got back into the car. "Room 42." They drove around back and parked in front of the room. "There aren't any curtains on the windows! How are we going to make this place secure?" "Will you relax already?" "We're facing certain doom, and you want me to relax. Excuse me if I seem a bit skeptical." She hissed. "Shush. I've done this before." Cat was going to ask her when, but decided against it. There was a lot about her friend that she didn't know. "Now do you want the bathroom, or the closet?" "Hun?" " Yuo really do have a hard time following, don't you? Bathroom or closet? They're the two secure places in the room. And we're lucky, the doors go all the way to the floor. We won't have to stuff towels under them." "Uh, bathroom, I guess. It has a lock on the door?" "Yes. I'll take the closet. You get going. I've got a little time left. I'll go make sure that no one troubles us." She was gone in a flash. Cat sighed and made her way to the bathroom. At least it was clean. She looked around for a moment, and then realized that there was no way she would ever be able to get herself situated. There simply wasn't enough room! There was a bathtub, but she couldn't see anyway to curl her tall frame up comfortably. Selena, on the other hand, would have no problem. There was almost a foot difference in their height. Just then, she heard Selena enter the room. Her body was growing sluggish with the rising sun. "Selena!" "Cat! Why haven't you gone to sleep yet? Oh." She said, glancing in the bathroom. " well, get in the closet then. You aren't a fledgling anymore, for goodness sakes. There isn't a lock, but I've made sure no one will disturb our rest." She half dragged her friend across the room. "Go on. I'll close the door behind you." Cat sank into the darkness gratefully. Then the death-like sleep claimed her. Selena went into the bathroom. There was more than enough room for her here. She closed the door, and locked it. She decided to stretch out in the tub. It wasn't bad, especially with one of the pillows from the bed under her head. She yawned and hoped the money she had paid would ensure that no one came into the room. If anyone bothered them, it would mean their deaths, and Selena didn't want to have to dispose of more bodies than was necessary. It wasted time. Selena rose early, so it didn't surprise her that when she awoke, there was no sound coming from the closet. She set about making the room look used. She rumpled the bed cloths, and other various things. Then she got out a pair of sharp scissors. Her hair had grown long again during the night, so she cut it back so it came just below her chin. She got it wet and combed it so it would be straight instead of the tight auburn curls that was it's natural state. She cleaned up and put all the cut hair in a plastic bag. She would dispose of it later. "I don't know anyone else who spends so much time on their appearance, Selena. Aren't you being just a little vain?" "No." She said sternly. She grabbed a duffel bag off of one of the beds and went into the bathroom. She came out again resplendent in a soft cotton peasant's blouse , black leather pants, and boots. She had put on eye make-up, accentuating her already enormous eyes, and dark red lipstick coated her small mouth. Cat knew the whole rock-star glitz routine was to hide the fact that beneath all the make-up, Selena looked like a little girl. The few times she had seen her plain-faced, with her hair down to it's waist length rivulets of deep red, she had looked more like some ethereal spirit than the cold-blooded monster she really was. And Selena hated that. She wanted people to look on her and fear her, to know deep in their hearts that she was some unearthly terror. What she didn't understand was that no matter how she looked, she could inspire that fear with a contortion of her face. That angle's countenance could turn to that of a devil with a thought. But that hardly ever happened. Selena was fairly good at controlling her rage. Still, Cat treaded lightly near her when she was in a foul mood. "Your turn." Cat took her own bag, and changed into a silk shirt, the same ice blue as her eyes, and a pair of jeans. She quickly ran a comb through her own chestnut hair. When she came out, Selena was taping her foot impatiently. "Are you done? I want to get going. It's taken longer than I thought just to get this far. I called ahead and let everyone know we would be later than we thought." "Than *you* thought. I knew we'd never get there in three nights. Do we have time to hunt?" "Yes, but not here. We'll wait until we reach a larger city. The bodies won't attract so much attention that way." It always bothered Cat a little that Selena was so cold and calculating about these things, when everything else she did was haphazard and spur of the moment. Like this trip. Cat still wasn't sure why they were going. Lestat was there, true, but he and Selena fought more often than not. A clash of egos as it were. Cat got along with him fine, though he could be a bit annoying at times. But so could Selena, so she was used to it. There must be another reason. Louis would be there too, of course, and she knew Selena liked to sit and talk with him at times. Cat found him boring. Sometimes she truly wondered what all the fuss was about. He was beautiful, to be sure, but terribly dull. So she didn't know why they were going to Night Island. She never knew why Selena did anything, buy at least she was good company. Selena could see that Cat was lost in some thought. She tugged her hand. "Come on!" Cat sighed. Yes, deep down, Selena was still a child. And she wondered, not for the first time, where her friend had come from. "I want to drive this time." "That's fine. I just want to go!" She was getting annoyed at Cat's dawdling. She gathered up their bags, and went to the car. "Go check us out," she called over her shoulder. Cat took the room keys and went to the main lobby. A young man was sitting behind the desk, looking board. "I need to check out. Room 42." "Oh, um, sure." He stammered. Cat smiled a little to herself. She supposed he wasn't used to having 6' 2" vampires looking at him. She was suddenly aware of how hungry she was. She shook her head and looked away. "So you're with that other girl?" "Oh, yes." Selena would be outraged at being called a 'girl'. "Is she some kinda rock star or something? She didn't look all that familiar but..." "Something like that. Are you done?" "Um, yeah, all done." _Forget all this. You never saw us._ She didn't like mind tricks, normally, but she and Selena weren't exactly what you would call inconspicuous. The boy was lucky she was in a hurry. Cat left and went back to the car. "We ready?" "Yes. I even moved the seat back for you." A flash of a devilish smile You're too kind." She climbed in and maneuvered the car back onto the highway. She had to admit, Selena had taste. A black Jaguar convertible,(that always made Cat snicker. A vampire with a convertible.) It had leather seats, a CD player, and every other amenity imaginable. It handled like a dream. Selena was nestled in the passenger seat, looking even smaller than she really was, if it was possible. Another thing that lead Cat to believe she had been barely more than a child when she had been made. That, or she was rather old. Or both. Cat herself had only a handful of mortal years before her making, thirty, if she remembered correctly. That had been almost two hundred years ago. She barely remembered any of it, except being called a giantess. That was long ago, so she didn't think on it. Instead, she looked at Selena again. She was singing along with her walkman. She could have told her to shut up, but it was one of the less raucous songs on the tape, so she listened to the clear voice sing. I've nothing much to offer there's nothing much to take I'm an absolute beginner Absolutely sane. As long as we're together the rest can go to hell I absolutely love you But we're absolute beginners With eyes completely open But nervous all the same If our love song could fly over mountains could laugh at the ocean just like the films If there's no reason to feel all the hard time to lay down the hard lines it's absolutely true Nothing much could happen Nothing we can't shake We're absolute beginners with nothing much at stake As long as you're still smiling There's nothing more I need I absolutely love you But if my love is your love We're certain to succeed If our love song could fly over mountains could sail over heartaches justlike the films If there's no reason to feel all the hard times to lay down the hard lines it's absolutely true She had to admit, it was a pretty song. Selena was silent again, and Cat drove on. A little while later, she tapped her on the shoulder. Selena took of her head-phones. She noticed the glazed look in Cat's eyes. "We can hunt here. It's big enough." Cat looked gratefull. They broke up. Selena always liked to hunt alone, which didn't bother Cat one bit. They met back at the car an hour later. *** The rest of their trip passed rather uneventfully, except for one incident with a cop. Selena had been speeding excessively, and they had been pulled over. Cat had pleaded with her. "Just take the ticket, please?" "No. Why should I?" Cat had watched as Selena got out of the car, and whispered something to him, put her arms around his neck, then his whole body went ridged. When she was finished, she put him back in his car. "You shouldn't have done that." "Why? It will only look like he ate one to many donuts. A heart attack, nothing more." "It's the principal of the thing. You didn't *need* to kill him. "No, I *wanted* to." Cat hated to watch Selena kill. *** They pulled into the dock at a little past sunset. The fairy would bee there soon to take the masses to the Night Island. In the densely packed crowed, Cat and Selena were just two pale faces. They worked their way silently through the halls lined with shops selling everything imaginable, from food to diamonds. Even after all this time, Selena still wondered at their ability to slip unnoticed amongst so many mortals. Didn't anyone realize what they were, two preternatural killers in the midst of the lambs? No. The only looks they received were ones of appreciation. Appreciation of their inhuman beauty. It bothered her. Soon they were at the unmarked elevator that they had been assured would be left unlocked for them. "So, we came all this way, just so you could see Lestat?" Cat asked, once the door was closed, and the elevator had begun it's droning journey to the villa above. "No, that is part of the reason, and an attractive one, to be sure, but that's not the whole reason." "Then what?" Selena was getting weird on her again. She did that some times. Selena shook her head. "I cannot tell you, I do not know. It's only that I can fell something's about to happen. What that might be...." The elevator came to a halt, and the doors opened. They stepped out into an nondescript hallway. "Shall we knock?" Cat asked with a smile. "They know we're here, but why not?" Cat rapt twice on the door, which was promptly opened. "Selena, Cat! Good to see the both of you again. You needn't have knocked. We already knew you were coming." Lestat grinned at them from the other side of doorway. "It was polite," Selena said, stepping into the room, Cat followed. "Well, there's no need to stand on ceremony here. How've you been, Selena?" "Just fine thank you. Now, I think we need to introduce Cat to some of the others. She only knows you and Louis." "Of course." *** Cat was entranced to meet the other members of the little coven that had been established at the Night Island. All these years, she had only known Selena and a select few others of their kind. Selena tended to shy away from such contacts with other vampires, though Cat didn't know the precise reason. There was a secrecy hidden behind her eyes that vanished if you looked straight into them. It could be only be caught out of the corner of your eye. Cat tried to analyze it, but could only mange to tell that there was some lingering sadness that all the years of Selena's life had not been able to wash away. This was at no times more evident than when she was in the presence of the vampire named Marius. He was a tall man, with hair of a beautiful white-blond, like the hair of a little boy. He was a Roman, Cat knew, and he had suffered a great tragedy in his life recently. Cat had always been good at analyzing people, finding out what made them tick, and she found that this man was almost as intriguing as her companion. What fascinated her the most was the way he and Selena seemed to skate around each other, ever avoiding one another. It was so strange, in fact that she had asked Lestat about it. "Do they know one another?" She had asked casually one evening. Selena had just entered the room, and, as if on some prearranged schedule, Marius had left. Selena looked around the room for a moment, then departed the same way she had come, leaving Cat and Lestat alone. "Hm?" Lestat continued to study his fingernails with the upmost fascination. Cat slapped his arm in frustration. "Could you stop being vain for just a moment, and take a look around you?" He shot her an annoyed look. "What ever do you mean, Cat dear?" "Well, for one thing, your dearest Louis hasn't left his room in a week, and I won't even begin to speak of the atrocious fights Daniel and Armand have been having lately." "Seem's the usual to me. I know your new here Cat, so you'll just have to trust me when I say, this is the 'norm' for us. Louis will get board with his books eventually, and come out of his room, and I think that Armand-" He made a disgusted face " and Daniel fight just so they can make up." "All right then, Mister know-it-all, care to tell me why Selena and Marius avoid each other like the plague?" "They do?" Lestat asked, feigning interest, "I really hadn't noticed." Cat let out an exasperated sigh. "Come now Lestat, you mean to tell me you haven't noticed that they're never in the same room together?" Lestat glanced around at his surroundings. "Neither of them are here at the moment, so who's to say they're not together someplace else?" He gave her a wicked grin. "Oh, will you stop!" "Never." He countered, his grin getting wider. He stood abruptly. "I'm board, want to go out?" "I give up. Why not." It was later that all hell broke lose. Looking back, she should have just held her tongue and enjoyed her vacation. But, as the saying went, curiosity killed the Cat. It had been near dawn, and Cat had been lounging in Selena's room, chattering idly. She told her about the evening she had passed with Lestat, which had turned out to be quite enjoyable. "So, what did you do?" She asked her friend, who was busying herself at the dressing table, arranging things out of what seemed to be nervous habit. There was a tenseness that hung in the air, and crackled like electricity from a live wire. "Nothing much. Just hung around, mostly." "I noticed Marius was gone too. Did you two do something together?" She asked innocently, twirling a strand of her dark hair around her finger. At that, Selena's face darkened in some unknown emotion, so that it seemed horrible in Cat's eyes. Just as quickly though, it resumed it's normal, tranquil appearance. "None of your business, Dear. " She said coolly. "So you had a good time?" "Oh, no. You're not pulling that. Not this time. I won't let you keep me in the dark, Selena. Not anymore!" Her words had risen to a yell, in vent of all her pent up frustrations. What was meant to be a relaxing break from the norm was fast disintegrating into a nightmare. "You want to know what I was doing? You really want to know?" Selena asked, easily matching Cat's volume. It was certain that the whole house could hear them now. Selena's face had contorted in the same horrible way as before, and the anger she felt seemed to radiate from her. "I've been looking for Dorean, that's what I've been doing, and I've found him. There, are you happy? Have you finally satisfied your curiosity?" "You've what? He's here?" Cat was astonished, and new waves of anger threatened to overwhelm her. "You weren't even going to tell me were you? I didn't even know if he was still alive, and you weren't going to tell me!" Her voice hurt her own ears now. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. She stepped towards Selena, towering over her, and took ahold of her shoulders. "You weren't. I can see it in your eyes." Her tone dropped dangerously. "Where is he? You tell me, now!" Selena could have easily shaken her off, but she remained still in Cat's grasp. "He's in Pencicola." she all but whispered. She was totally defeted. "Now you know. And now you'll leave me, just like I knew you would. This is why I didn't tell you!" She was all but pleading. Cat released her, and Selena fell to the ground, sobbing silently. She turned her face up to look at Cat, two horrid red trails marring her cold, pale cheeks. "Don't go." there was no will behind the words. Lying there on the floor, she looked like a monstrous china doll that someone had dashed upon the floor. She turned around and walked away. *** That ends the prolog. I hope you enjoyed it. It's all a bit cloak and dagger at the moment, but things will get much clearer in "Faster When you Fall." Note: The song in the story is 'Absolute Beginners' by David Bowie