Chapter 11 （Escaping）
In an act of pure desperation and stupidity, I quickly flung myself through the office window, just as the door started to open.
The glass shattered and flew everywhere at the impact.
A lot of the loose pieces sticking to me and my new clothing.
I could hear the shout of surprise coming from the owner inside the office, as I fell towards the pavement in the alley below.
As soon as my feet touched the ground, I bolted down the alley.
Considering that I had to run at human speed until I was sure that I was out of sight, I think I ran fairly fast and it was at a convincing pace.
Overall I think I did pretty well. At least, in getting away from the shop I just stole from without getting caught, that is.
I turned a few corners, making my way through the maze of back alleys before coming to a stop and catching my breath.
'I'm far enough away now.' Brushing the broken glass shards off of me and readjusting my backpack.
I emerged from the alleyway and re-joined the streets of Seattle in a calm manner, as to not draw attention to myself.
Having used my ability for as long as I did, I feel quite drained.
'I need to get something to eat and I have to do it quickly.
' Thinking about feeding made a slight burn in the back of my throat return.
'It doesn't help that there's so many people around now.
' Observing my surroundings, there seemed to be a lot more people out and about.
'Perhaps they were all heading to work?' I thought to myself bemused.
Pearl wandered the city streets, gradually making her way towards the city outskirts, towards her home.
Needing to breath semi-frequently, was prolonging the journey, as she had to consistently stop, to regain her composure, around the human scents.
It was becoming increasingly difficult for Pearl to appear relaxed as time went on.
Deciding to pick up the pace, Pearl started jogging down the street.
The quicker she got home, the quicker she could hunt.
Unfortunately, Pearls decision to pick up the pace out of seemingly nowhere, drew the attention of two police car occupants, who were sitting at an intersection across the street.
"What's that kid doing?" The male officer, in the passenger seat, asked his partner curiously.
"Hmm, not sure. Wanna get out and take a look?" The female driver responded to her partners query.
Agreeing to check it out, they called it in over their radio and pulled up alongside her, blipping the police sirens on their car as well as turning on the lights, to signal the still jogging Pearl to stop.
Pearl, seeing no other option, halted in her movements and turned to face the car. "Shit," she cursed under her breath.
The officers stepped out of the police car and approached Pearl. They kept a safe distance between them and her. Not wanting to spook the clearly nervous kid.
Pearl was tense and unmoving whilst staring at the officers.
Dealing with their blood was hard enough, but if they noticed the stolen items she had on her, she would be in a hell of a lot of trouble.
Pearl was focusing all of her attention and energy to maintain control around the cops, so she appeared rather rigid and uncomfortable.
In doing so, the police officers had the chance to observe the girl further.
Taking note of her small stature and her rather unkempt plus pale appearance, the female officer took a step forwards to engage.
"Hey there, my name is Sergeant Taylor with the Seattle City Police Department. What's going on today?" She asked kindly.
"...nothing," Pearl replied quietly. Shifting from one foot to the other, anxious to leave as soon as possible.
"Where are you headed, ma'am?" The male officer asked.
Pearl swallowed down some venom that had built up in her mouth and throat, before replying "I'm just heading home, sir."
"Officer Kyle Parker kid. Calling me sir makes me feel old. And I'm only 22. So don't go calling me old." The cop replied in a teasing tone. Hoping to make the kid more comfortable, as it was clear that she was on edge and nervous.
Pearl smiled softly at him, but remained silent. Trying to limit the amount of breaths of their scent she had to take in.
"What's your name, hun? It would be nice to know who we're speaking to." Sergeant Taylor asked.
Hesitating before responding "...It's Pearl, miss."
"Pearl is a nice name." Stated Officer Parker.
Whilst speaking he was thinking back to the missing person files they'd been asked to look over yesterday.
This girl had a strong resemblance to one of the cases.
And if he was remembering correctly, her first name was Pearl as well.
Kyle looked over towards Linda, his partner, and saw the same look on her face. 'She must see it to' he thought.
"Thank you." Pearl responded quietly. She had noticed the new look that had appeared in their eyes, one of recognition. Her cautiousness had gone up considerably and she had now become incredibly wary of the two police officers in front of her.
Linda Taylor, noticing Pearls discomfort decided to talk to her.
'Engaging her in a friendly manner should hopefully put her at ease.
At least until we can confirm who she is', she thought.
"We stopped you, because you looked distressed.
Is everything okay? Anything we can help with? " She asked carefully.
'Crap' Pearl internally cursed. "Everything's fine, I'm just late in getting home and didn't want to get yelled at, so I had to speed up.
I'm okay though. So... umm... not trying to be rude.
.. or anything, but could I leave now, please?
" Pearl asked cautiously. She needed to get away from them, quickly.
Before they realised that she was wearing stolen clothes and that she had more in her bag.
Which she also stole. 'There's no telling if the shop owner has noticed the missing items yet and whether or not they've already reported it.
I did break through their office window after all. ' Pearl thought.
"We'll get you on your way as soon as we check who you are. Do you happen to have an ID on you Pearl?" Taylor asked.
"No. I don't ma'am." Pearl responded, face downcast.
"That's ok. I'll just need your full name so we can look you up in our system.
And since we are the ones holding you up, we'd be happy to give you a lift back to your house.
I'm sure we can talk to your parents for you and explain the situation.
" Taylor spoke softly to Pearl, but she said so firmly, leaving no room for arguments.
Kyle was nodding his head to his partners words, reassuringly.
Pearl stuttered, as she tried to deny their offer and come up with an excuse.
"No thanks, no... err... I don't wanna..
. cause you any... any trouble. Plus... my mum probably wouldn't be very happy if I turned up back home in the back of a police cruiser.
" Bloodlust forgotten, Pearl desperately tried to come up with an excuse that would satisfy the cops, allowing her to leave freely.
The last thing she wants right now is to be stuck in a car with two humans.
The sound of their hearts was already getting to her, and they were just standing a few feet in front of her.
The close quarters of a car was absolutely out of the question.
"It's no trouble at all, now, what's your last name, so that we can look you up in the system.
If you don't want a ride back home, that's fine.
But we should still call your parents to let them know that you're with us, so they can come and pick you up.
Seattle isn't exactly the safest place to be alone at the moment, kid.
Especially early in the morning and late at night. " Kyle stated.
Pearl started trembling, realising that she had no choice in the matter and couldn't come up with an answer to Offices Parker's question.
Sergeant Taylor took a step closer to Pearl and crouched down slightly in order to make eye contact. "What is your full name Pearl?" Now very much suspecting that she was indeed a missing person, with how she was acting and avoiding their questions.
Pearl deciding she had no other option responded meekly, "Pearl Clearwater."
Sergeant Taylor heard the response and turned to Officer Parker. "Could you run Pearl Clearwater through the system, please?"
Pearl noticing that Officer Parker had turned around in order to return to the police car and that Sergeant Taylor's back was currently facing her, she activated her invisibility along with her own sense deprivation to mask any noise she makes and took off, running away from them very quickly.
When Pearl looked down, she expected to see her clothes and bag fully visible but thankfully, in her desperation to disappear, her new belongings followed suit with her body.
Allowing her to be completely invisible to the naked eye once again.
With that realisation she took off towards the forest outskirts using her vampire speed.
Desperate to put the clothes back in her cave and go hunting.
As the burn in her throat was becoming unbearable.
Meanwhile, back with Sergeant Taylor and Officer Parker
"Wait where'd she go?" Taylor asked confused. Having turned around and not seeing Pearl.
"How am I supposed to know, you were watching her Linda." Kyle responded in a somewhat sarcastic tone.
"Asshole." She muttered. "Come on, let's find her."
"You got it boss." Parker responded in a cheery voice that had a teasing undertone.
They in fact did not find her. And continued arguing about whose fault it was for loosing her, for the remainder of their shift.
They were however, able to look up the name Pearl Clearwater in their system.
The results they received, only confirmed their previous suspicions.
Which made their argument slightly more intense, for a short period of time, after finding it out.
Pearl Clearwater
- Age 16
- Lightly tanned skin
- Blue eyes
- Brown hair
- Fairly short in height
Ran away from home in the middle of the night over 2 months ago, taking her motorcycle with her, alongside a few personal belongings. Last reported being spotted exiting the small town of Forks Washington and seen heading towards the city of Seattle late at night.
Reported missing by Billy Black and Charlie Swan.