Unseen World

[JAKattack09]

This is a private roleplay for Unedited Sky and JAKattack09.
Please don't post without permission. Thanks!

 

[JAKattack09]

● ● ● | esther bradley



Two and a half hours. That's how long Esther had been away from home, and already she felt as if a great burden had been lifted from her shoulders. Her parents had apparently stifled her even more than she had originally thought. Here, Esther could do what she wanted, be what she wanted, look how she wanted. Here, there were no rules or expectations. She was free. And to think, all she had done was pack up her things, get in her car, and begin driving. Why hadn't she done this years ago? Hmm, but this part of town she had wandered into... Well, maybe she should have planned a little bit more before running away. Like, chosen a safe, familiar path, at least, rather than picking a random direction and charging forward.

Dressed in a pair of jeans, striped tee, green cargo jacket, and brown leather boots, Esther sat behind the wheel of her shiny black compact car. It was dark--morning was still a few hours away--and the street lights on either side of the road were either dim, flickering, or out completely. What she could see of her surroundings was limited, but she could make out some of the buildings. They were all run-down, like they hadn't been tended to in years, maybe decades, and sported boarded-up windows, missing shingles, or even crumbling walls. Esther couldn't remember when the transition from wealthy, busy city to desolate, forgotten slum had happened, and she was suddenly wishing she had paid better attention to where she was going. Where was she?

Then it happened. The shadowy form of a human jumped out into the middle of the road, and Esther, who had been observing her surroundings, looked forward just in time to react. Eyes widening instantly in surprise and horror, she shrieked and yanked the wheel to the right, forcing her car off of the road. She crashed right into a telephone pole, the entire front of her car scrunching up like an accordian. Although still conscious, the impact was enough to disorient her, and Esther felt as if her mind was being consumed by a dense fog.

Someone was approaching the car. He pressed his face against the car window, peering inside.

"Elliot, I thought the point was to get the car."

Elliot, a tall, lanky redhead, swore under his breath and swung around to the front of the car to inspect the damage.

"Would've been a nice one, too. Looks expensive."

"Yeah, Sandy, I know. Shut it." Elliot sighed and ran a hand through his hair, then turned to his companion, a short, plumper woman with white hair and tanned skin. "Whoever's riding it, she must be loaded. I'll loot the inside, just in case. There's gotta be something good."

Sandy rubbed her eyes, eternally weary, as she watched Elliot try to open the passenger-side front door. Locked. Not that this was a problem for Elliot; he phased right through the metal, settling into the seat as if the door had been wide open. The girl inside, who was, understandably, alarmed to begin with, became even more panicked when she realized that Elliot had gotten inside, despite her best efforts to keep him out. She began tugging furiously at her seatbelt, trying to break loose, as he rummaged through the glove compartment beside her as if she wasn't even there. Finally managing to get free, the girl unlocked her door and quite literally fell out, the shock of all that was happening and the injuries she had sustained preventing her from walking on the first try.

"A little help, Sandy," Elliot said. Sandy was already one step ahead. She reached out and tapped the girl on the forehead. Esther's eyes grew heavy, her limbs grew heavy, her brain grew heavy. She felt like she was sinking lower and lower into the ground, and eventually she gave up and let her body fall asleep, like it wanted to.

"Thanks."

Sandy shrugged. "Sure." She knelt down beside the strange blonde girl. What was a rich, human woman like her doing here? "What are we going to do with her?"

"Dunno. We could leave her here."

"Maybe we should take her to C.T.," Sandy suggested, yawning into her hand. "She might have more to give us. She probably has a bank account with lots of cash."

"Might as well," Elliot said, emerging from the car. "Found some cash in her purse, but nothing else. She's gotta have more." He picked up the stranger and carried her bridal-style to where his motorbike was. "Let's go."

 

[Unedited Sky]

Connie had maybe gotten an hour of sleep the night before, maybe less. But that was a common occurrence, as she had learned long ago, sleep was a luxury for her not a necessity. Though lately she felt that she was starting to need it a bit more. Everything was just starting to build up and for the first time in a while she could say that she was tired of it all. Mentally and physically exhausted.

But for her there was no time for rest, no time for weakness. She had to be ready for everything, and for the most part she was ready for anything.

So when Elliot and Sandy two members of her team that she had sent on a simply vehicle recovery mission returned to her at sunrise with no car but instead a young dirty blonde girl, it didn't surprise her at all. Nope not one bit. It infuriated her.

"What the hell is this?" She asked her tone, and stance neutral, but C.T wasn't much for foul language, so it was obvious that she wasn't happy at all.

"Well we ran into a bit of a snag in our plan, the car got wrecked, but it was a nice car, so we figured the driver was loaded, so we brought her." Elliot explained managing to somehow look sheepish as he rubbed the back of his neck. Connie's coffee brown eyes darkened a bit.

"Why would you ever think that was an acceptable plan?" Connie asked stepped a bit closer to Elliot awaiting his answer, Elliot reading that he wasn't in the best position at the moment took a step back.

"C'mon boss, it was just a little ambition, yea? I don't see why your so upset."

"Elliot....." Sandy warned she knew that he was starting to talk himself into a hole and didn't want too see the outcome of of her boss' anger.

"You're out of line, bringing a human here when you know just what kind of position we are in. Now get out of my face while I clean your mess." Connie hissed and with that she was alone with the blonde, who was still out cold. No doubt a result of Sandy's magic, good thing about Sandy's spells though was that one this weak was simple enough to fix, Connie would be able to rouse the girl rather easily.

She would do that later however, while the girl slept she would need time too think. Too figure out just how she was going to clean this up. She couldn't just let the girl go, not now, with her car wrecked and her having been most likely robbed by Sandy and Elliot, if the civilized world got wind of what had happened, her people would be hunting them down before the day was done.

Connie decided she think over a plan while she showered and prepared herself for the day.

.....

Well she hadn't had a headache in a while, but lo and behold, as she let the warm water of the shower cascade over her, she could feel a throbbing in her head that was making it impossible to think of a plan that a more cool headed version of herself would deem acceptable. It all came down to finding out who the girl was, where she had come from, and deciding whether or not she could let her go without having to take her life. It was that simple.

With a sigh and a short nod, Connie turned off the water and stepped out of the shower.

......

Connie was standing over the girl now, watching her as she stirred slightly in her forced state of unconsciousness. Connie had dressed herself rather casually, blue jeans, black undershirt, leather jacket, by far her usual attire, it was fairly common to see her donning this jacket, it's dragon insignia recognizable by all who looked to her for leadership.

But now she had wasted enough time, no more time for thinking, it was time for her to take action, starting with waking the girl, which would be simple enough.

Reaching down and taking a hold of the girls shoulder, Connie shook the girl. "Wake up." She commanded.  

[JAKattack09]

● ● ● | esther bradley



It had been a restless, dreamless sleep. She stirred into consciousness when she was shaken, although it took her a few seconds, and slowly opened her eyes. Where was she? What had happened? She curled up into a ball as her whole head began to throb, making it ever so difficult to concentrate. Squeezing her eyes shut, she made a mental inventory of all of her aches and pains; the way that they were enveloping her entire body, it was difficult to differentiate between them and pinpoint their locations of origin. And then it all came back to her in flashes. The shadow in the road. Her car. The guy and girl. Remembering caused the panic to settle into her bones again, and she jolted upright, eyes exploding wide open.

Her car was gone--actually, everything was gone because she wasn't outside anymore--and the figure standing over her was neither of the people who had robbed her. Instead, she was being watched by a pale girl with black hair and a less-than-welcoming expression. Esther began to shake, suddenly attacked by an intense fear for her life, and she wanted to cry. No, she wanted to sob. But she put up a front, set her mouth into a hard line, and did her best not to appear as terrified as she felt. To appear tough, intimidating. She used her legs to scoot herself quickly backward until her back met with the wall.

"Wh-Who the ******** a-are you and where have y-you taken me?" Esther barked, clutching onto her jacket. Her attempts to appear threatening were thwarted by her mind and body's natural inclination to be small, to hide away and take up as little space as possible. When she tried to open up her posture, it slowly shrunk back to its original state.

 

[Unedited Sky]

Connie watched the girl carefully, once she regained consciousness. It was almost cute the way she reacted, the stereotypical teenaged thing. Curling up tightly, trying to grasp for those final vestiges of sleep before finally getting up, and while C.T knew that this might not entirely be the case, the motions were the same.

However C.T knew in just a few moments that the girl was going to grasp the cold facts of reality and her cutely scrunched up face was going to twist into that ugly grimace of fear that Connie had seen on so many people.

'ahhh right on time' The girls eyes widened with the realization of her surroundings and she shot up much as Connie had expected, and she could see that the girl was terrified the moment she spotted C.T standing there watching over her. It was in her eyes, the girl was young, naive, green to the horrors of the world. Connie cursed under her breath, the girl shouldn't be here, C.T shouldn't have to contemplate killing her.

Later. Elliot and her were going to have another talk.


"Wh-Who the ******** a-are you and where have y-you taken me?"

C.T raised a brow at that, she hadn't been expecting anything to come from the girls mouth besides squeaks and pleas for her life. The girl had guts, C.T could respect that, she could respect that a lot. But from whatever reserve of courage that outburst had come from within the girls body, it much have reached empty, because the girl was literally shrinking in on herself. Connie shook her head with a sigh.

"If it makes you feel any better. I haven't decided on killing you yet, so you still have a chance. It all depends on how these next couple of minutes play out, so I expect you too cooperate with me. Understand?" C.T spoke, her sultry voice carrying an intimidating edge.

"Now to answer your first question. My name is C.T. As to where I have taken you. Well nowhere. You were brought here in complete disregard to my orders, but to clarify as to where you are. Well you are in my room." C.T said with a shrug, before stepping closer to the girl and taking a knee so that she could be face to face with the girl.

"Now I am going to ask you a few questions, I expect you too answer each of them, honestly." C.T prepped, a hint of warning in her voice. Any lies would put the girl that much closer to an untimely demise, so honesty was the best approach.

"Firstly, I want your name, First and Last."  

[JAKattack09]

● ● ● | esther bradley



As C.T. sunk to her level, Esther pressed herself further against the wall, but there was nowhere to escape to. Her eyes searched the room briefly, looking for something she could use to fight her way to freedom. Nothing, nothing, nothing. Of course, why would a captor keep their captive somewhere where there were weapons readily available? Under virtually no circumstance did that make sense. Eventually Esther had no choice but to meet C.T.'s gaze again, a sneer on her face, and this time she didn't dare look away.

First question: name. Esther was naive, not stupid. She knew who her father was and what he meant to C.T. and her kind. Out of all of the government officials who forced Supernaturals into the slums, Jacob Bradley was perhaps the most well-known--and certainly the most responsible. The surname "Bradley" by itself was often more than enough to spark a sickening, fierce admiration in some, an intense discomfort in others, and a raging fury in the rest. Esther was going to go ahead and assume C.T. would prove to be a member of the latter population, and, admittedly, with good reason. So should Esther fake it? Give a false name? Pretend to not be the daughter of the man who ruined C.T.'s quality of life? What little courage Esther had left fed her self-confidence, convinced her that the bravado she used to intimidate the suckers at home would be enough to get her through this. But secretly, she knew better. She had never faced anyone or anything like C.T. before.

"Esther," she spat, but her voice wavered so much and her body shook so uncontrollably that... Well, she already didn't believe herself, and she hadn't even gotten to the lying part yet. It was decided in that moment that honesty was the best policy here; again, Esther was naive, not stupid, and she trusted C.T. to follow through with her threat if she spotted a lie. The snarl melted, a sort of resignation taking over, and Esther furiously resisted the temptation to close her eyes or avert her gaze in preparation for whatever was to come. "Bradley. My name is Esther Bradley."

 

[Unedited Sky]

"Esther,"

The venom in the girls voice was unmistakable. She was still trying to put up a futile resistance that while C.T had admired just a few moments earlier it was only starting to raise an issue. She had seen the girl look around the room briefly, and that added with her clear showings of defiance, C.T could only assume that the girl would try something.

This possibility was causing C.T to contemplate stomping down on the throat of the defiant spirit within the girl, to let her know, just who was in charge and what would happen to her if she drew on C.T's patience any longer, but C.T was a fan of the strikes system, this girl was on her second, she had another chance. After that, C.T would check her.

This series of thoughts flowed through C.T's mind in seconds, all before Ester had finished delivering her name "Bradley. My name is Esther Bradley."

C.T's eyes widened for just a moment before narrowing, the milked coffee tones of her iris' darkening, into a pure black as her body tensed up just a bit, she was clearly in fight mode now. "Bradley...." C.T mumbled darkly.

The surname was familiar, it was shared with a blind politician who could be single-handedly fingered as the one responsible for the harsh treatment of supernaturals. He was responsible for enacting laws that forced Connie and her people out of the general population and forced them to the streets and the slums of the ghetto, there was nothing they could do about it, without risk of imprisonment or worse.

But C.T was getting ahead of herself. It was just a name, and there wasn't a guarantee that this girl had any relation too Jacob Bradley.

"Ok Esther Bradley. What were you doing out in this area?"  

[JAKattack09]

● ● ● | esther bradley



When C.T.'s eyes grew and darkened in angry recognition, Esther braced herself. She was relieved and mildly surprised when nothing happened--she wasn't hit, didn't have her heart torn out, wasn't thrown across the room, nothing. Just another question: what was she doing out here?

"It was a mistake," she said. There was no point in lying. "I didn't have a plan when I left home--I just wanted to get as far away as possible. And I ended up here by accident." Now that her identity was out, likely the only piece of information she held that could be of real value to C.T., and nothing had happened, Esther was feeling just a smidge bolder. That smidge was enough to encourage her to lean forward ever so slightly, so that her face was a little under a foot away from C.T.'s. She didn't break eye contact, even as her resolve began to crumble, even as her anger became so watered down by her fear that her words sounded much more like pleading than the smooth reasoning she had planned for. "So keep the car... it's worthless now, anyway... and anything in it. But let me go. I won't tell anyone this happened or try to... I dunno, get revenge or something stupid like that. It's not worth it if I have to go back. With or without a car, I plan on being miles away from here by noon."

Maybe it was stupid for a practically grown woman to be so adamant about running away from home. But those who knew her family understood. Esther's parents were very controlling and monitored every little thing she did. If they were unhappy with what she was doing, they would either fight with her about it or make arrangements behind her back to "straighten her out."

 

[Unedited Sky]

Ah. so little miss Bradley had ran away from her home?

While that was an easy fit for an answer to C.T's question it only served to raise more questions. The girl was obviously well off, if Elliot and Sandy were telling her the truth, than Esther had been driving around in a fairly expensive car. So she was born into money, if she was living a life of luxury, it just didn't make sense for her too run away.

The girl had admitted she made a mistake, but even still she seemed adamant on being released, but not so she could return to her family. The girl wanted to continue running. It was all so strange to C.T that she actually gave in and broke eye contact with Esther as the girl moved closer, invading C.T's space, an action that would have gotten her killed in any other situation had just gone unpunished. C.T was letting this girl get away with murder in comparison to the way she treated her own people, if anyone saw her now they would swear that she was going soft.

C.T shook her head for a moment, clearing and regathering her thoughts before reasserting eye contact with Esther, there was a glare upon Connie's brow a look of anger in her eye, but her emotions didn't play into her voice, as she poke calmly, purely calculated.

"What is it that you are running from?"  

[JAKattack09]

● ● ● | esther bradley



What was she running from? Why was that important? Momentarily forgetting where she was and who she was talking to, Esther scowled and said brusquely, "Why the hell should you care? Do you always pry this damn much when--" Finally she remembered her situation, and immediately she withdrew against the wall again and looked away. What was she running from? She knew the answer. But, surprisingly, even as she had thought about her departure for weeks, she had never said it outloud. Not to herself, not to the person she was escaping, not to anyone. Now that she was being forced to, memories were bubbling to the surface that she had tried to suppress.

It came in snippets at first, which then ran together to create a movie Esther had seen a thousand times. The sound of her father's voice speaking into the telephone at the bottom of the stairs. "Yes, Elizabeth Hemley, at 578 North Ward Street." he says, matter-of-fact. Just another one to turn in. "Be quick about it. Alright, let me knows when it's done. Goodbye." As soon as he enters the kitchen, Esther dashes down the staircase and barely manages to snag her car keys before she flies out the door. She drives for what feels like the longest ten minutes of her life, even though she is going considerably faster than is legal and is running stop signs and red lights left and right. A mantra is repeated over and over in her head: Please still be there. Please don't let me be too late. It proves to have been constructed in vain, because instead of Elizabeth's smiling face, it is two large, military-grade trucks that greet her when she pulls up to the Hemley household. Esther has arrived just in time to watch the only person she has ever trusted, ever felt safe with, ever genuinely and whole-heartedly needed be dragged away by a half-dozen men in green uniforms.

This all happened very quickly in Esther's mind. In fact, in real-time, she had been silent for only a few heavy seconds, maybe five or six at the most. Any reservations Esther might have had initially about sharing her reasons were now gone. Many girls held negative feelings for their fathers, but as Esther met C.T.'s gaze again, there was no mistaking the look in her eyes. It was similar to C.T.'s own--angry, firm--except it was much darker, perhaps even a little bit twisted. This was not just any father-daughter dispute. It was far greater than that. "My father," she answered finally, voice, for the first time since the accident, completely steady. "I hate him. And if I go back home, I will kill him." Of all the empty threats and bluffs Esther had made in her lifetime, this was not one.

 

[Unedited Sky]

C.T was ready to strike Esther now, the girls outburst had been enough to push her to that edge, one swift chop to the girls throat and she would know better than too speak so freely as if the odds weren't stacked against her. But once again, Esther regained her senses quickly and was again C.T stayed her hand. Showing more and more weakness. This little game was getting tired and C.T was wondering just how much more she was going to let this girl get away with before she finally put her foot down.

Silently C.T waited, counting the seconds before either Esther spoke up for herself or C.T would restate her question, eventually the girl spoke, and what she said brought a smirk too C.T's face. "Humans....." C.T said with a shake of her head and a sigh. "Tell me child. Do you really think you have what it takes, too end someone's life? Especially the life of your own flesh and blood. Or is that just anger speaking? There are some things in life you just can't take back." Maybe C.T wasn't the best person to lecture the virtue of her message. She had taken many lives, for little too no reason in her past. As a slave, her masters would point and she would execute, no questions asked, she never had to think about it, she just did it. She didn't truly understand the mental distress that being branded a murderer could have, because she has been nothing but a killer for longer than she can remember.

"I'm going to make an educated guess here, and assume that Jacob Bradley is your father right?" C.T asked, though it was more of a rhetorical question more than anything else. She had seen the anger in Esther's eyes, it was the same anger that was reflected in the eyes of many of her own people. Only one Bradley could be the focus of so much hate. "If that is the case, I can't let you go just yet."  

[JAKattack09]

● ● ● | esther bradley



Child. C.T. couldn't have been that much older, maybe by a year or so, and yet she was referring to Esther as a child. The lecture that followed only served to further annoy Esther... and make her feel a hint of shame. Her own flesh and blood. Her bloodthirst certainly wasn't something to be proud of. And perhaps it truly was the anger talking, at least on some level. But that anger was justified. As C.T. had said, some things couldn't be taken back, and what Esther's father had done was irreparable.

Esther didn't speak, knowing C.T. didn't expect her to answer, until the dark-haired woman said that Esther couldn't leave yet. The panic began to set in again and Esther's eyes grew wide. "W-What? Why?" she asked, body beginning to tremble a little again. "I-I told you, I w-won't talk about this to anyone. It'll be like it never happened. Just please, let me go!"

 

[Unedited Sky]

C.T could see that she had crushed the girls hope and calmness of mind the moment she denied her exit. She wouldn't like in saying that seeing her reaction didn't bring C.T a fair bit of sadness. But she had too do it. She wasn't at liberty too take chances especially when the daughter of her peoples biggest enemy was being held within their walls. The risk was just too large for C.T to take without putting a lot more thought into it.

There was also the factor of this girl being related to Bradley, that in itself could be a valuable asset too them. Even if they were feuding at the moment, if this went public Bradley would have to stop his campaign long enough too try and rescue his daughter, he couldn't ignore this or it would make him look bad in the eyes of the public. Esther could be the key they needed too putting a stop to Jacob's campaign before it became too late.

"I'm sorry, like I said before, you shouldn't even be here. But there are two very pressing reasons for why I cannot just let you go." C.T said honestly, crossing her arms across her chest.

"While I would like to believe that you are being perfectly honest with me, I can't just take your word as golden. If you turn out to be lying, it won't be just me that suffers. The people who live with me here, are like family to me, and I won't take any chances on their safety."

C.T said, and that for the most part was true, she trusted Esther too keep her word yes, and part of her knew that Esther would have no way of leading the authorities to her gangs hideout, as the girl was unconscious when she was brought here, but call her paranoid, but C.T just wanted to be safe.

"The second reason is the fact that you are the daughter of Jacob Bradley, and you may be just the leverage we need to slow your fathers tyrannical campaign" C.T winced at her wording, she was basically referring to Esther as a mere tool, she was basically treating the girl now as her handlers had treated her in the past. Only keeping her around as long as she had some use too her.  

[JAKattack09]

● ● ● | esther bradley



It was one thing that C.T. wanted to hold Esther hostage, but it was another completely that she wanted to hold Esther hostage to get at her father. Whether or not Jacob Bradley cared enough about his daughter to bargain for her, the fact that he would be in the public eye during any and all negotiations would make him bound and determined to get her back. Because who would follow a man who wasn't willing to make sacrifices to rescue his own daughter? He would hate it, though. Jacob Bradley prided himself in his work. Whatever C.T. asked him to do and for how ever long she made him do it, he would hate that Esther had once more interfered with his career, marred his image. He would get her back to save face, and he would keep her under lock and key so she could never threaten his success again. Once C.T. alerted him to her location, it was all over.

Esther buried her face in her hands and shook her head. This couldn't be happening. She had been so close! "If you hand me over to him... even if you just tell him I'm here... that's it," she whispered into her palms. Her hands lowered, revealing her eyes, although much of her face was still covered by her loose, dirty blonde waves. "And what do you think you'll really accomplish? Even if you stall him--you and your kind may have the advantage where ability is concerned, but my father is supported by numbers that make up for the loss and more. It's going to turn out worse for you. I can already feel it. You'll be more feared and hated than you were before."

 

[Unedited Sky]

C.T shook her head instantly at Esther's statement. "I don't plan on handing you over too him. The out come of this will never end in his favor, believe me on that end." C.T said easily.

She could see that Esther was naive her motives, and in reality that was a plus, if the civilized world didn't know the workings of the underworld, than things were possibly looking up for them. The shroud of secrecy was the only ally her people really had, and it seemed that it had not betrayed them yet.

It had not betrayed, but she was about too break that trust, she was going to let Esther in on their little game, she was going to break the cold of inner silence that her people had sworn against humans. All because she felt sorry that this girl had ended up involved.

She really was going soft.

"All we need is time, and you might be what we need in order to buy us that time. Your father isn't one of the most honest men around, we have dirt on him Esther, extortion, blackmail, there is blood on his hands Esther. C.T whispered, her eyes going dark again.

"He's done so much evil, more than you can ever imagine, and I will make him pay...." C.T had started shaking unconsciously her hands tightening into fist."He will pay." She spoke again. The look in her eyes, showing that this was more personal to her than she had let on before.

"I don't care for the consequences, if it comes to that, I will take the blame. It's doesn't matter anymore, if we don't find a way to stop this now, it's going to get a lot worse anyway."