Flesh and Blood
By StormDrake

Through the enveloping darkness of the night, the thin figure ran. Though the moonless sky was devoid of all but the dim light of the stars, the figure kept to the lightless shadows of the huge oak trees, breathing heavily but seemingly intent on completing its journey before the return of the sun. The stars offered barely enough illumination for the figure to avoid running into a tree in its haste. But the humanoid silhouette continued its harried pace towards destinations unknown. It seemed not to care about anything but its distant goal. Serpentine roots clothed in darkness caused the figure to trip, but it merely picked itself up and continued to run. The cries of animals echoed throughout the woods. But the figure ignored them. Wherever it was headed, the shadowed form was intent solely on its destination. It wasn't until the forest began to thin and the towering shape of a mountain appeared that the figure slowed. And upon leaving the forest suddenly and coming upon a pair of tall spruce trees at the base of a cliff, the figure stopped altogether, totally motionless. It seemed to be looking at the trees, perhaps thinking. But soon the shadow returned to life, stepping up to the spruce trees, and between them, to a hidden path in the cliff face. It moved slower now as it entered the path, and breathed lighter.

Its journey was almost over.

Aimee stood next to a fountain in the middle of the room. Though water had left the white marble too long ago to recount, the fountain still retained much of its elegance. It wasn't a tall fountain - the ceiling was only twelve feet above - but was impressive all the same. Eight feet in diameter, it was sculpted of snow-white marble, pure and without a chip or scratch. In its center was a life-sized statue of a woman, clothed in a flowing robe and bearing a set of scales. The woman had a pair of wings adorning her back, like an avian blood mutant of some sort, and a blindfold covering her eyes. She was wrought of the same white marble as the rest of the fountain, and once she might have stood amid a pool of clear water. Now she stood bone dry, the solitary gatekeeper of Haven, guardian of the entrance to Paradise. It glowed eerily in the light of a few lanterns set up around it to counteract the darkness of the night. But at least it glowed white, no longer enmeshed by centuries of mold and mildew.

Standing next to the fountain, Aimee was a stark contrast to the beauty of the statue. Aimee, whose body was covered with the smooth green scales of a serpent, whose tail replaced human legs, silently looked upon the marble figure. One arm and shoulder was human, the other covered by those same green scales. Her human face, with long red hair tied back into a bun, seemed insignificant in comparison to the visage of the statue. Her green skin, when compared to the pure white of the Lady of the Fountain, seemed somehow to be lacking. Aimee felt very small and insignificant compared to the elegant statue. It was so far above the naga-blooded woman in spiritual stature that it seemed no longer to be mere stone, but a holy relic, something divine. It brought peace to the naga woman's heart, but humbled her at the same time.

Aimee only wished the rest of the room looked as well as the fountain. She had spent the last three days scrubbing down the fountain with a brush she had brought with her and water carried from a stream on the far side of the mountain. When she had started her endeavor, the statue and fountain had been covered by seemingly a hundred years of mold, dirt, and grime. The white stone had been green and brown. Aimee had barely noticed it when she had first arrived here two weeks ago. Cleaning the statue and fountain had been hard work, more rigorous than she was used to, but finally Aimee was pleased. Her back hurt. Her arms and shoulders were sore. But, she reasoned, if they were going to be having any guests, she had to tidy things up as best as possible. And, she added smugly to herself, by the time she had this room totally spotless, she would be the strongest woman on the planet. If not the oldest.

The room itself was rectangular in shape, a hundred feet at its widest and sixty at its shortest. The floor, made of cool gray stone, was littered with puddles of rainwater, mud, dirt, weeds, branches, animal remains... Aimee sighed. It was going to take her a hundred years at least to clean it all up, even with Tara helping her. And there was still the rest of the building, more rooms and hallways then they could count.

"This is going to take forever," she muttered to herself.

"Nah, we'll have it all cleaned by dinner time."

Aimee turned towards the voice. "What are you talking about?" she asked sarcastically. "Dinner was two hours ago."

The chimaera girl shrugged. "Details."

Aimee had to smile. Of all the people she had ever met, Tara had to be the most outgoing and optimistic of them all. And more than anyone else Aimee had ever known, the girl had no reason to feel so happy. Aimee had been cursed with the body of a serpent by an encounter with a family of nagas three years ago. But Tara, on the other hand, had been transformed by a chimaera less than a month earlier. She had two heads, one goat-like, one lion-like. One arm ended in a cloven hoof, the other in a lion's paw. Her body from waist to mid-thigh was covered in serpent's scales, and from her rear grew a five-foot serpent. As far as Aimee was concerned, Tara should have killed herself long ago, or at least have been the most depressed person on the planet. Instead, she somehow managed to find good in anything and everything. Aimee had to admit that sometimes Tara's sunny disposition brightened her day. At the very least, it made life that much more bearable. "What have you been up to today?"

"Well, I've been exploring a little bit," spoke her goat head. "You know, trying to figure out exactly what this place is, how old it is, that sort of thing. I'll tell you, it's a lot bigger than we thought. There are some dark areas, though, in the back of the building, that I couldn't check out without light. It's so weird that someone would build rooms without windows or skylights. How else could someone see in there? Lanterns, I guess… anyway, I also brought in some dry sticks and logs to burn the dragon. It's starting to smell really bad in there. I say we have to burn it sometime soon. I have some plans for that room anyway."

"Plans?" Aimee raised an eyebrow.

"It's a secret," said Tara's lion head, while the goat head merely smiled. Aimee had to constantly remind herself that Tara, despite her having two heads, had only one personality. "But I promise it isn't anything too bad... Oh, and I also spent some time with Daniel. There's a room not too far back that I've started setting up as his room. There is so much stuff in here, it's going to take ages for us to clean it all out."

"I know what you mean. Take a look at this room. There's more debris in here than in most of the other rooms. It's going to take an eternity to clean this all up."

"Well, I'll help you a bit tomorrow, okay? Right now Daniel is sleeping in his room, and I'm thinking he has the right idea. Paradise is great and all, but it would be nicer if it had been clean when we arrived. I'm tired."

"Well, this place is so old, and it's been abandoned for who knows how long. We have hundreds of years worth of neglect to clean up."

Tara opened her goat's mouth to respond, but her serpent's tail suddenly hissed violently. Surprised, Tara turned to see what it was hissing about. There, standing in the doorway, was a single figure, glaring into the room at them. The sun had long ago set below the horizon, and flame only cast so much light in the room, so there wasn't enough glow to tell anything about the figure. It merely stood there on the edge of visibility, looking at them.

Tara was the first to break the ice. "Hello there," she said, her lion's head speaking cautiously. "Welcome to Paradise. All blood mutants are welcome here. Come on in."

The figure just stood there for several moments, seeming to be hesitant about coming any closer. At last, however, it began to make its way slowly towards the fountain and the pair of blood mutants. As it finally drew close, Aimee was able to make out more details. The figure was thin, and wrapped in all sorts of clothing. It seemed to be wearing a long-sleeved tee shirt and a second short-sleeve shirt over that, both varying shades of dark blue. Black leather gloves covered its hands, and dark jeans covered its legs. It wore black boots, and its head was covered with a cloth cap and scarf. There wasn't a part of the figure's body that wasn't covered with clothing. And with the season being late Spring, it must have been uncomfortably warm for the figure. When the figure had come within ten feet of the other two, it stopped.

Aimee hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "What's your name? You have no need to hide your body from us; as you can see, we're blood mutants as well. We have no need to hide our physical curses here in Haven."

"You don't understand," came a voice from the figure. It was a distinctly female voice, and seemed to be tinted by tears. "You just don't understand."

"My name is Tara," said the chimaera girl, trying to change the topic. "And this is Aimee. You are...?"

The new girl paused, as if she didn't want to reveal such vital information to people she didn't know. At last, however, she seemed to gain some courage. "My name is Lisa. I... I heard that there was a place... somewhere where blood mutants were welcome, where they wouldn't be hunted. Is... is this that place? Is this Paradise?"

"Yes, it is," said Aimee, feeling compassion for this girl. She was obviously self-conscious and paranoid. Aimee couldn't help but wonder what horrors this Lisa had fled. "This is Haven, a place where all are welcome, regardless of mutation. You're encouraged to stay here as long as you'd like."

"Thank you..." The girl reached up to take off her scarf, then pulled her hands away as if she didn't really want to. But finally she seemed to force herself to pull away her scarf from her face, revealing a face that was perfectly human. A few strands of straight black hair peeked out from underneath her cap. Her eyes were a rich shade of brown, her face thin and smooth. "Thank you for giving me a place to stay," she said, seeming to gain a little strength from the removal of her mask. "I... I won't be any trouble. I have to stay away from everybody, but if you need anything, just ask me. I'm willing to work for my keep."

Aimee smiled. "Don't worry, we understand completely. You can have as much space as you want."

Lisa returned the smile, but seemed almost bitter. "No, you don't understand. But thank you anyway."

Lisa was extremely antisocial and almost paranoid, but Aimee understood that not all blood mutants were going to be as outgoing as Tara was. She didn't know much about the new girl, but she didn't seem anything out of the ordinary. Of course, she still had no idea how Lisa had been blooded, as she never talked about it, and refused to remove any clothes other than her scarf and cap. But Aimee respected the girl's personal space and needs, and wasn't about to force her to reveal anything she didn't want. She had probably led a very difficult life, to this point. Hopefully, working together, they make it better.

The first day she was there, Lisa helped with cleaning up the entrance room. She chose a corner far away from where Aimee and Tara worked, but set out to clean the floor and remove as much garbage and debris as she could. She seemed to take a liking to Daniel, actually speaking to him, but refused to let him come any closer than ten feet or so. She wouldn't let anyone come closer.

She refused to eat with the others, instead taking her food and going to another room to eat alone. She also slept alone, and each day was seen wearing the same shirts and pants. She would leave to bathe in the stream every day, but always went alone. When Aimee warned her once about monsters, she just smiled sadly, and continued on. She would always return a while later, wearing the same clothes.

After a week, Aimee began to grow curious. As much a right as Lisa had to keep to herself, Aimee still wanted to know that the girl's secret was. Neither she nor Tara had seen more than the girl's head, but so far there had been no sign that the girl was even a blood mutant. Aimee was having a great deal of trouble trying to decide whether to confront the girl or wait for Lisa to come to her. Was Lisa really as dangerous as she seemed to feel? If so, was it safe to allow her to stay with them?

One night, Aimee was having trouble sleeping, so she decided to take a walk - or, a serpent's equivalent of one. As she passed Lisa's room, she heard a muffled sobbing. So Aimee turned and peered into the room. "Are you okay?" she whispered. They were far enough away from the rooms of the others that there was no need to keep quiet, but Aimee did so unconsciously.

"Don't come in here," came the reply, amid sobs. There was pain in her voice.

"Lisa, what's wrong?" Aimee slithered in, despite the other girl's pleas. When she was close enough, she could make out the figure of the girl in the light of the waxing moon, huddled against the wall below the window. Her right sleeve was rolled up, revealing a human-looking arm. In her left hand was a knife, and it was pressed against the girl's wrist. Blood on her forearm and on the steel blade reflected the pale moon's light, appearing dark black.

"Oh my God!" cried Aimee, drawing closer. She reached for the knife and the girl's arm.

"No!!!" cried Lisa, jumping to her feet and darting across the room. She made it about six feet before collapsing. "Don't touch me!!!"

Aimee drew as close as she could, but didn't touch the girl. "What's wrong, Lisa? Tell me! Whatever it is, it can't be worth killing yourself!"

"You don't know what you're talking about," cried the girl, barely able to get the words out between sobs. "If you were like me, you would have killed yourself the day you had been blooded. This is the best thing I can do. No more hiding. No more hiding... no more..."

"Lisa, please tell me what is wrong. I want to help you, but I don't know how."

"You can't help me..."

"Then I am going to take that knife from you by force."

"No!!!" This threat brought renewed energy to the girl. "You... you can't touch me."

"Lisa, if you do not explain all of this to me right now, I will take that knife away from you and bring you out of here myself." Aimee was bluffing; she hoped Lisa couldn't see her own tears streaking her face. "This isn't fair. You have to tell me what is wrong. This is a safe place for all blood mutants, but not if you keep dangerous secrets from the rest of us. Now tell me, or else..."

"I'm a basilisk blood mutant."

Aimee gasped. Suddenly she understood. "So you..."

"If I touch any living creature, it will turn to stone," she finished weakly. "Any living thing, with the exception of plants. If you touch me, or my blood, you'll be killed. Turned to stone. I can't touch anyone. Contact with my skin or hair is enough."

Aimee felt bad. "I... I'm sorry. I didn't know. You... you should have told us..."

"So what? So you could kick me out to save yourselves? I wouldn't blame you. I'm a danger to everyone around me. If you so much as brushed me accidentally while working, you would be dead. I'm... I'm a danger to everyone here. I can't be anywhere there are other people. I can't be with anyone. I... I hoped that I could stay here for a while, but I finally realized I was deluding myself. There is no safe place for me. I have to kill myself, to save others from myself."

"No you don't," said Aimee, hoping she could resolve this situation quickly. She had no idea how she would do that, however. "You can stay here. Now that we know, we can give you the room you need. You don't have to kill yourself. If there's anything I've learned, it's that, as bad as you think things are, there is always someone worse off than you. When I was blooded, my friend was blooded as well. As soon as she saw scales appear on her body, she... she killed herself. I tried to do the same. I… I thought I was weak. I thought I was pretty bad off, until I met Tara. She has suffered a worse physical change than either you or I. And yet she still retains a positive attitude. I mean, things could be worse for you. You still appear human..."

"I didn't change at all physically," said Lisa, calming down somewhat but still with a slight hysterical edge to her voice. "I am as human now as I was before the basilisk attacked our camp."

"That's good..."

"No, it's not!" she flared. "If I looked like a monster, at least then people would keep away from me. As it is now, no one knows from looking at me how dangerous I really am. No one knows to avoid me..."

There was more there than Lisa seemed willing to talk about, but Aimee didn't press the matter. "But we will. I mean… Lisa, listen to me. This is Haven, a place where all are welcome, despite their handicaps or disabilities. Hopefully you will not be the last person to come here. Possibly you will meet others like you, or people who are worse off than you."

"Ha. I'd like to see that."

"Then stick around for a while. I'll find you some bandages, and tell you how to cover up that cut. But don't give up just yet. It could always be worse." Aimee smiled internally; she was beginning to sound just like Tara. The chimaera girl was turning out to be a good influence on all of them.

Lisa seemed to consider. "Maybe... but I'm still dangerous..."

Aimee smiled externally. "So am I, if you get me riled up. Some time I'll have to tell you a story about a Hunter I met once."

"You mean Ryan?"

Aimee's mouth fell. "You know him?"

"Of course. He's the one who told me to come here. He said there was a place where blood mutants were safe. He didn't give me much of a choice about coming here, but he seemed to be telling the truth. It was weird. I thought Hunters killed blood mutants. At the time, I was hoping he would kill me. But the idea of a safe place sounded good at the time. So I decided to give it a shot..."

"Wow. So Ryan did keep his word. I guess I should never have doubted him."

"Hunters may be a lot of things, but they are honest to the letter."

"True."

Lisa rose as best she could. "I'm not sure I really want to stay here. I still think it would be safer if I just killed myself. But... but if you really want me to, I'll give things here a try. It's the least I can do to repay you for letting me stay here for a while. But there's just one thing." She paused, then looked up into Aimee's eyes and smiled. "Could you maybe get those bandages now? Now that the excitement wearing down, this cut is starting to hurt."

The next day, Lisa explained the nature of her blood mutation to Tara and Daniel. Daniel had a little trouble understanding, not being completely sure what a basilisk was, but Tara explained it to him, and Daniel was nice about it. Tara as well was completely sympathetic. "At least you can sit down without worrying about your tail being uncomfortable."

Lisa smiled at that one.

Three days afterwards, Lisa went out for her bath, and came back wearing only the short-sleeved tee shirt. Her arms were a little pale from lack of sun, but were perfectly human. Lisa seemed to be self-conscious about exposing so much bare skin, but by the end of the evening was commenting on how refreshing it felt. The three of them - Daniel was asleep in his room - sat around the statue, chatting.

"Look!" exclaimed Lisa, pointing to the entranceway.

There, at the doorway, was a new figure. It seemed to be a male, but his body was completely covered with fur. He did not wear clothing, but his brownish-red fur covered everything. His hands and feet ended with paws, and the fur halfway up to his elbows and knees was darker, almost black. His head was distinctly that of a fox, and he had a fox's tail. He seemed to be scared, unsure of himself. But seeing friendly faces looking back at him, he seemed to loosen up slightly. He took a step forward, and tried to speak. "Uh... is this Haven?" he asked hesitantly.

Lisa was the first one to speak, beating even Tara this time. "Yes, this is Haven. This is Paradise, where all are welcome. Come on in."