Lucy jolted awake with a gasp, a phantom memory of intense pain still burning in her leg. She'd fallen from the window, then...nothing. She looked around groggily. She was in what seemed to be a cheap hotel room, lying on a bed. The paper was slightly peeling off the walls, and the carpet looked stained in a couple of places. How had she wound up here? Had she been found? She groped behind her back blindly, feeling for...the knife was gone! Shit shit shit shit shit! A wave of adrenaline hit her body, pushing the last of her remaining grogginess away. Who had found her? The cops? A rival family? A relative of the mark? As her mind raced, an unnatural throbbing began in her right leg, like a second heart was beating far more forcefully than her own, pulsing against the inside of her leg. Pulling the covers aside, she saw her leg wrapped in bloodied bandages along its entire length. Afraid of what she would see underneath, Lucy began to unwind the bandages, her heart now beating as loudly as the pulsing in her leg and...in time? She had just started to pull on a loose length when her hand was gripped by someone who had snuck into the room quietly.
"Are you trying to undo all of my work here? You lost a lot of blood, and I have no intention of letting you start bleeding yourself out again!" The voice belonged to...Belle Donalds! Lucy sighed. It was ok. She was in the Casa del Sol, a small cheap motel run by the family with a few rooms constantly reserved should someone need a place to stay or lie low. Belle was the legal owner and was also a trained nurse, making her a valuable asset to the Family. She was safe, if about 60 miles from where she last remembered. "Sorry Belle, lot of things about last night are pretty hazy...was wondering what was going on under there." Lucy sheepishly mumbled. "What's going on is that you fell off a balcony into a trashbag full of nails and broken glass! I have no idea what possessed you to do that, or to then drive here from Santa Fe! Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Belle ranted.
Lucy felt an icy shard form in the pit of her stomach. She'd driven? What? How? Her right leg sat ominously still as Belle rewound the bandages, muttering under her breath. It had to be to do with that...thing that attacked her. What the fuck was going on? Belle headed back for the door. "Don't you fuckin dare touch those bandages again Miss Aldrich, or I swear I will break your arms as many times as it takes." As she went to close the door, she added "We'll have a look a bit later, but I need to go make sure breakfast service is running smoothly. I'll get a tray sent up." The door closed, and Lucy was left in a silent room with her fears. Her right leg spasmed suddenly, kicking up the covers, before slamming down onto the mattress. As the icy fear grew, Lucy became aware of a subtle murmuring, in an unknown language. Throwing her head under the pillow and pulling it down did nothing to drown the noise out. What the fuck was wrong with her?
