2.1 - A Warning

By the time she'd finally thought to get a look at herself in the mirror it was dark out.  And while she could have looked at herself in the light of her room's lamp she'd rather have the perfect lighting for her first gussying up.  Which meant first thing in the morning, with the natural light streaming in her window, she went to her mirror to admire herself.

Her mother had been right, despite all of Erika's doubts.  The scar had faded and was no longer an angry red.  But it was still there, which meant that she was still imperfect.  But the shadows her hair cast upon her face helped.  It could nearly be overlooked unless one looked closely at her.

Still, Erika was satisfied with the way she looked.  She wouldn't bother covering up the rest of her scar with make-up.  Let others see the mark and let it warn them not to mess with her.  In that sense, it might be a blessing to give a hard edge to her otherwise feminine looks.  Especially in the field she was planning on going into.  She couldn't show any weakness.

But she didn't need to worry about any of that yet.  She wasn't starting her work today.  Instead, today was a day of celebration.  First, her graduation and then Collin's birthday and hopefully her engagement to him.  She was more excited about the latter than the former, but she would be happy to lord over her classmates in the end.  All of her hard work had paid off and she would be valedictorian at graduation.

"I'm going on ahead!" she called to her mother, throwing on her gown and rushing out of the apartment.  She couldn't be late today.

"Don't be in such a rush.  I'm almost there," Danisha called back to her daughter.  She should have been ready sooner, but she'd been slowing down quite a bit recently.  It was harder and harder to do simple things anymore.  Things like getting out of bed and getting dressed.  Getting old was horrible.  And it probably didn't help that her focus on work hadn't been kind to her body.  She certainly wasn't pulling any more late nights anymore.

She'd given up driving by now too.  Her response time just wasn't what it used to be anymore.  And there really wasn't any reason for her to be driving around in a sports car now that she was in charge of the police forensics lab.  That last stakeout with Officer Fangman where Erika had gotten hurt showed that she wasn't in top condition anymore.  She should have gotten there sooner and the sight of seeing her daughter hurt and bleeding... her heart simply couldn't take those things anymore.

But at least sitting in the back of a taxi together meant that she could spend the time talking to her daughter.  "So, when are you going to tell me about this mystery job you've landed?" Danisha prompted her daughter.

"When I'm not embarrassingly the bottom rung of the group," Erika responded.  Well, that wasn't too unreasonable.  Erika was quite proud so admitting to being something like a dishwasher or lab rat would be beneath her.

When they finally got there, Danisha gave up trying to hold Erika back, which she was grateful for.  "I'll meet you out here after graduation is over," she assured her mother before hurrying inside while Danisha was still slowly making her way up the steps.  She did these stairs every day for work and they were getting harder every day too.  Once again she found herself cursing her advanced age.

The graduation ceremony got off without a hitch.  Erika tried not to feel self-conscious as she went up to do her speech.  She reminded herself that she was so much better than everyone else here so even if someone tried to make fun of her because of her scar all she needed to do was put them in their place.

At the end of the ceremony the principal announced the result of the popularity votes.  Students had voted on who they thought best fit each of the categories that the student council had come up with.  Things like 'most likely to end world hunger' and 'most likely to get married ten times'.  Erika was surprised when she was called, but pleased with the result.  Her title was 'most likely to rule the world'.  It was a flattering title, but she had no interest in ruling the world.  The world as a whole was much too large for any one person to have full control of.  There's no way for the entire world to be perfect.  But this city would be more than sufficient for her.  "I'll be sure to live up to my classmates predictions," she assured, smirking as she left the auditorium at the end of the ceremony.

It took a little while for her mother to get out of the auditorium with all of the other people exiting the building, but soon Erika spotted her and made her way over to her.  She didn't even have a chance to speak, though, as her mother pulled her into a hug.

"I'm so proud of you," Danisha murmured, squeezing her daughter tightly.  Erika had been hugged more times in the last few days than she could remember.  Hopefully this was just about over with, though.  Still, she couldn't complain about the attention feeling nice.  She was more than willing to admit that she liked being the center of attention.

"What?  For graduating?  It was easy," Erika assured, pulling back before they got any weird stares from her classmates or their families.

"Well, that.  And being valedictorian.  Your brother was quite upset when he didn't get that title," Danisha commented with a smile.  Not that he'd admit it, but she had known her son enough to see his disappointment when it was someone else's name called.

"Well, if he hadn't ditched school with Belisama so much towards the end he might have gotten it," Erika scoffed.  Danisha had to admit her daughter was right and chuckled a bit.

"I suppose she wasn't a very good influence on him.  But they're happy together," Danisha mused.

"Oh, that reminds me.  I got you something.  It's a combination birthday and graduation present," Danisha announced, fishing the present out and presenting it to Erika.  "You've been so secretive about what your new job is that I wasn't quite sure what to get you and have it be useful... but I figure no matter where you're working a tablet has to provide its benefits," she explained.  Erika could see her mother looking at her expectantly, waiting for her to announce her career, but she wasn't going to slip up that easily.

"It's wonderful!  Thank you," Erika replied enthusiastically.  "I'm sure it will help me," she assured her mother, although she didn't say exactly how.  Danisha wanted to pry, but Erika was confident that no matter what question her mother asked she would dodge it skillfully.

She was so caught up in her attempts to anticipate her mother's questions that she didn't notice who it was who walked up next to her.  At least, she didn't notice until he cleared his throat.  And then she rather wished she could have continued to not notice him.

"Hey, Erika.  That was a great speech in there.  I was really impressed," he commented with a hesitant smile.  It was Garland.  The younger brother of her brother's wife, Belisama.  And more importantly, Morrigan's son.

"You...!" Erika exclaimed, fixing her eyes on him.  Danisha glanced between the two of them, a little confused.  She didn't recognize him from the warehouse that night.  She'd been too emotionally charged to focus on much of anything but her daughter and the shooter.

"Are you two friends?  How about I give you some space," Danisha offered, stepping aside to let them talk.

"Valedictorian, huh?  That's impressive.  I guess all of your absences at the end didn't really hurt your grade at all," Garland mused, his smile growing in confidence at first.

"You...  you bastard!" Erika hissed, nearly shaking with rage.  "What the hell are you doing here?" she demanded.  Garland had for some stupid reason not expected that reaction and his smile faded.

Oh how Erika wanted to punch him right now.  She wanted to beat him into the ground until he was a bloody pulp.  But she couldn't do that.  Why?  First, because there were people around watching, including her mother.  That would be too much of a scene.  And she didn't want to attract that sort of attention.  Secondly, because she knew what he was.  A vampire.  And as a mere human, she didn't have the physical strength to hurt.  At least, not like that.

"Wh-what do you mean?  I was just..." Garland started to explain, but Erika didn't allow him to get any further with whatever bile he was about to spew.

"You were just what?  Playing nice?  Trying to see whether or not I saw you that night in the warehouse?" she watched him pale further (she hadn't thought that was possible) and knew she'd hit the nail on the head.  "Too bad for you, huh?" she snapped.

"I-it's not like that.  I was just with my mom.  I had no idea..." Garland stuttered but Erika cut him off again.

"You had no idea of what?  That I was in danger?  That they were planning on killing me?  Or that they'd get caught?  I don't know how long I was unconscious for, but you had to have been there for at least a while with me out cold and tied up in that chair.  You could have done something.  So don't you dare try to play the victim here," she growled low, making sure no one else could overhear their private conversation.  Oh how she wished she could out this guy to her mother.  But she'd done her research.  He had been arrested at the scene of the crime, but had been released as a minor.  Sure, he'd agreed to testify against his mother and help put her behind bars, but that didn't erase the stain of his former decisions.  He was just another blight on her perfect city.  A disgusting, vile stain.

"C-come on now, don't be so mad.  I did what I could.  I couldn't have directly stood up against my mother, you don't know what she's like," Garland tried to explain, but it just sounded like whining to Erika's ears.  She couldn't be bothered to listen to his pathetic explanations, and it was just making her sick the longer he kept flailing.

"You listen to me, Garland Hemlock, and you listen well," Erika commanded, finally putting an end to his pathetic sniveling.  "You're still alive right now thanks to the fact that I think you're beneath me.  But just looking at you makes me sick.  Crawl into the shadows and stay there.  If I ever see you again I'll make you suffer.  I'll drag you down into the pit of hell your mother cast me into and make you pay for every instant of pain I felt.  And it won't be just you.  You're getting married soon, aren't you?  Such a pathetic wife to suit a pathetic man.  And soon you'll have sniveling disgusting little brats.  And I'll make each one of them pay just for carrying your blood.  For carrying your mother's blood.  Disappear, little man.  Or I'll kill you and everything you love.  And I'll do it slowly.  And I'll take great pleasure in your suffering," she hissed, her eyes narrowing.  And she could see in the fear in his eyes that he believed her every word.  He certainly didn't have to believe her, but she was being brutally honest and he seemed to sense her sincerity.  Even if physically she wasn't his match there were all sorts of creative ways to inflict pain and suffering.

She didn't think she could carry out her threat this very moment.  But soon.  Oh, very soon if she had her way.  And soon every other writhing pest that blotted this city would feel the exact same fear that Garland just showed her.  They'd feel that fear up into the moment she erased their very existence.  Her cleansing would come at a cost.  But it wouldn't be her that would pay.  And the end result would be oh so worth it.  So deliciously worth it...


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I figured this was a good tone to start Erika's generation off on.  I was going to have this be a continuation of her birthday in the last chapter and have that be the first chapter of this generation, but it would have been too long and I felt that this scene should have a chapter dedicated to it.  So, is anyone scared of Erika's generation yet?