Crimson Rebirth

Part 3

 Genevieve, once her legs were in motion, didn't stop running. She tried to put as much distance as she could between her and the forest, her and the vampires. Her and her clan.

 God and Goddess, my clan.... Her heart twisted in agony, a reprieve from the physical pain her body was feeling, though it made the tightness in her chest even more unbearable. Broken and busted ribs in addition to heartache made it next to impossible for her to breathe, as she gripped a wall, in a town she didn't realize she had made it to.

 She glanced back, a hand wrapping around her ribcage. Fuck, it hurts! Her mind snarled, her fingers gently touching broken ribs. At least three...

 Forcing herself off the wall, she continued to walk, one hand pressed against the bricks of the houses that lined the street, feeling the rough-hewn stone press into her splinters and scrapes on her hands. Gene couldn't afford to worry about her clan, not when she was still on the run. The town offered some sense of safety, something she hadn't had in the past twenty four hours, but she knew she couldn't stay there long. Not when the den of vampires was just a forest away.

 Her feet carried her further into town, her pain-addled mind not giving her a name, but the scent of the ocean pulled her further, one of the port towns on the island, to be sure. She just couldn't name which one. The scent of the sea, mingling with the scent of pine and the late summer's night breeze, did much to soothe her.

 No! She yelled at herself. Don't fall asleep!

However, her body seemed to have other ideas, each step becoming more difficult than the last, her eyelids becoming heavier and heavier. Her legs started to drag, becoming more and more exhausted as the adrenaline and fear left her veins. And yet, despite knowing she wasn't safe, her body continued to push for rest, for time to heal.

 One leg gave out, and she stumbled against a wall, leaving a streak of crimson across the surface. Gene bit back a cry of pain, feeling the brick dig into a cut on her arm. She couldn't remember where she got it from, or even which vampire was responsible for it. The tiny crumbs of brick stuck to her wound, causing her to wince in pain.

 Gonna have to clean that eventually... She mentally grumbled, shoving herself off the wall again. Gotta keep moving.

She only made it a little farther, before both legs collapsed under her, her body angled in such a way that she nearly broke her face against a wall, and would have, if not for someone grabbing her arm.

 "Easy lass!" Came a voice from beside her, two hands moving to hold onto her own. "Easy!" 

 Gene could barely see the woman, minus a sun-kissed face and golden locks tugged into a messy bun.

 "Wh... Who are you?" Genevieve barely managed to say, the pain in her jaw making it difficult to speak.

  "Well someone who's savin' you before you make the wall collapse from how you're hugging it!" The woman replied. She heaved Gene's arm over her shoulder and noted, "And judging from your smell you've been out in the woods haven't you?"  

  "... Just....." Gene worked her jaw, trying to bear through the pain that laced the inside of her cheek. "Just came from there..."

 She winced from the woman moving her arm, dried blood streaking down it. Her ribcage, or what was viewable through the tears in her dress, was a mess of bruises, and the punctures at her neck still bled sluggishly. Her entire body screamed with pain and exhaustion, an ounce of fear hidden deep inside her heart, a piece that hadn't been banished when she fled the forest.

 "Long....... Long story." She said in the way of an explanation, trying to decide if the woman was friend or foe.  

  "OH I imagine," The woman regarded, looking over her gown. She sighed. "All right, come along. I have an itty bitty schooner I can take you to."

 She toddled Genevieve along to exactly what she promised, a single main mast schooner built for small sailing between islands and vast lakes. She settled her on the bridge, and there were, apparently, other rescues like Gene. Some new, some having stayed longer as her crew. There weren't many, just twenty hands.

 "Get yourself below," She told Gene, "And have a seat in the captain quarters. I'll join you in a bit once I get your name in the ledger, Miss, uh...?"  

  "Genevieve." Gene said, carefully untangling herself from the woman, her tongue investigating the wounds in her mouth, wincing when she found more than a few. "Genevieve Starglow."

 Her hand carefully inched along the skin behind her ear, finding a degree of relief in touching the birthmark there. A series of three flowers that were shaped like stars, her own name taken from what her clan's name was, and the clan's name taken from the flowers that grew around them. The birthmark had been passed down from generation to generation of the Clan Leader's family. It was her personal tie to her clan.

 Another wave of worry washed over her, but she shook her head, clearing it almost immediately. Now was NOT the time to worry.  

  The woman nodded. She told her, "Call me L. My real name is Lusitania, but I like L, keeps the mystery."

 She popped from the doorway that led to the captain's quarters and found the the first mate to write down Gene's name. When she returned she harped, "Well, what are ye standing for? On with you! You smell and you need a bath!"  

  Gene flinched at the woman's voice, for reasons she was NOT willing to delve into. "Yes Ma'am." She said automatically, doing her damnedest to scamper off to get cleaned up before the past overwhelmed her too much.