Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Madison: The Lost Tra'lapp ❯ Madison ( Chapter 1 )

 

 

Chapter: 1/?

 

 

 

Madison sighed as she dragged herself to her Volkswagen parked seemingly leagues away in the underground parking garage. Work had been brutal today, with deadlines sneaking up on her from every corner and whiney artistic geniuses complaining about fonts, covers, and their dogs' impotence. Being an editorial assistant sucked. She fished in her huge purse for her keys, no doubt buried under junk, junk and more junk. Ugh, mother told her not to have such a huge suitcase for a bag, but hey, a girl has needs. Her needs just happened to need be portable. Aha! Keys! Thank all holy things; she can get out of here!

 

The keys slipped from her hand and splashed merrily into a puddle formed by the freak rainstorm outside. She stared at the hand still in the key inserting position, then down into the pitch black puddle. Her hand, which had been previously lax, clenched into fist. Bet everything that puddle water is icy cold too!

 

“Oh, excuse me, miss!”

 

Madison raised weary eyes to a very nice sight. A man stood there, no more then twenty-five, blonde, blue-eyed and sunny. Madison instantly remembered that her auburn hair was a wet rats' nest, her suit was disheveled, and there was a run in her beige stockings. Ooo, how very attractive, no way could he resist her in this! Her long-time single status would most certainly be relieved by the sexy blonde. Yeah, right.

 

The man smiled brightly and asked “You are Madison Acreage, aren't you? I hope I don't have the wrong person!”

 

Madison bent and stuck a hand into freezing water to fish for her keys, replying “Yes, I'm Madison Acreage. Are you lost or something? The information booth is by Lot A-5, one floor down. You'll have to take the stairs because the elevator is broken. Again.”

 

The last part was snarled, since those same broken elevators had caused the run in her stocking. When was the last time somebody had inspected those stairs anyway? There really should be somebody looking into that.

 

“Oh, no, I'm not lost. Well, not anymore! I'm so glad I found you…Water Tra'lapp.”

 

Madison snapped up, fury blazing in her blue eyes. Had this very handsome but soon to be dead guy just called her a trollop? Oh hell no.

 

“I don't know who you think you are, but you have some nerve! Look at me! Even through my suit you can tell I'm a B-cup at best! Some men today have no-“

 

“Wait, Miss Acreage,” the blonde protested, waving long-fingered hands in a pacifying gesture, “I didn't say `trollop' I said `Tra'lapp. Don't you…well; don't you know what that is? I need your help. Only the interference of a Tra'lapp can help us against her.”

 

At this point Madison was firmly convinced that this guy needed the kind of help she seriously could not give. “Sir, have you considered sitting down with someone?”

 

He shook his head, golden locks flying every which way before settling back over very odd blue eyes. His eyes…it was almost like they glowed, a glittering clear blue that would make any contact company fiercely jealous. With a start she realized that this must be what her friends meant when they told her that she had luminiscent blue eyes. Of course, her hair wasn't nearly as silky as his. Damn expensive shampoos that she can't afford and he obviously could.

 

“Please, Miss Acreage, listen to me. I'm not insane, I need help! The Sea Hag is hunting down all of us half-human creatures, claming that we're disgraces to nature. I would have petitioned your father, but he has been captured for some time now, and-“

 

Madison lunged forward grabbing the blonde guy by his perfectly pressed-and remarkable dry- shoulders. “Do you know anything about my fathers' whereabouts? Have you seen him?” she asked urgently.

 

The blonde man only eyed her with clear dismay. “You…don't you know any of this? You've been of age for years now! There can't be two Madison Acreages' can there?”

 

“You said you know where he is!” Madison pressed. “You said he was-was captured or something? By whom, did you see? Can you give a description to the police?”

 

The rain suddenly began falling even harder, making it nearly impossible to see the office building meager yards away from the open parking garage. Madison started at the sudden pounding of the water, letting go of the blonde. It almost sounded like somebody banging against the roof of the concrete structure.

 

The crystalline blue eyes of the man suddenly darkened all cheerfulness and confusion gone. Madison felt a cold shudder go up her spine, a vague sense of Uh Oh making it self known to her senses.

 

“She's here.” The blonde said gravely, and Madison knew that some invisible timer had run out.

 

The puddle in which her keys had fallen rippled as though a stone had been thrown in the center. All the rapidly growing puddles rippled simultaneously. Once, twice, a third time, and then-

 

A woman rose from the depths.

 

She was old; very old. Age seem to surround her, coming off her in tangible waves. Her body was hunched, swathed in clam jewelry, belts, and even in her tightly braided hair. Her clothes seemed to be made of nets and random bolts of cloth. Her face was all leathery wrinkles, save for very clear blue eyes. They weren't the same blue as the blonde though; they were darker and closely resembled a sea in the midst of a storm like the one going on outside.

 

Madison felt the Uh Oh tingle turn into an Oh Shit shiver.

 

The old woman glided forward, literally glided. The water seemed to be letting her slide across it to stop only a foot away from the stiff blonde. One of the wrinkles split open, and Madison was surprised when a surprisingly young voice said “Hello, Demetrius. I hope you did not hope to hide from me when you're surrounded by my element. I just love the rain, don't you?”

 

The blonde, now identified as Demetrius, narrowed his eyes and said firmly “You will never have the Deeps. We will fight you to the end, Hag!”

 

The wrinkles arranged themselves into what seemed like a smirk-grin?-sneer? - And glided closer toward Madison. She stiffened at the sudden attention. The dark blue of the Hags' eye flicked over her then turned back to Demetrius with contempt before splashing water on him with a sudden flick of her emaciated hand. Demetrius didn't even flinch.

 

“You expect to do this with only this untried fledgling of a girl to help you and your pathetic little cause, Demetrius? Bah!”

 

Madison Joi Acreage didn't know what the hell was happening but she was no fool, and the Oh Shit shiver had turned into Time to Run Like a Bitch impulse.

 

Madison whirled, snatching her keys from the puddle and unlocking her car with a few quick gestures. She snatched the wrist of Demetrius in one fluid motion. The Hag wheeled back in surprise, and Demetrius could only mange a yelp as he was shoved unceremoniously through the driver's side door into the passenger seat. Madison dove into the car and slammed the keys into the ignition.

 

The Hag seemed confused for a few seconds before responding quicker then Madison had expected to throw herself on the door with an inhuman screech. Her skeletal hands scratched ineffectively against the window as the Volkswagen chugged to life. Demetrius righted himself in the passenger seat as Madison put the car in drive and floored the accelerator.

 

The parking garage quickly faded away in Madison's rear view mirror as the black VW Bug sped down the exit and turned the corner, plunging headlong into the rain soaked night.

 

The Hag watched with dry lips drawn back from rotten teeth as the back lights disappeared. Well, well, it would seem the little idiot really did find himself somebody capable of some burst of intelligence. Nevertheless, that would not help him. The Hag wanted Demetrius dead, and she always got what she wanted.

 

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Madison weighed her options. On one hand, hot guy in her car, no doubt distressed. This could lead to something good. On the other hand, crazed evil magical woman exploded from water chasing this hot guy on her car, and maybe chasing her too. That could lead to something bad.

 

Demetrius cast his eyes down to his feet, then up to meet her eyes. “I'm sorry, Miss Acreage. It's my fault. The Hag is after me, and now that she's found me… The last place that could help is the last place I want to be. Please, there's still a chance before it comes to that! You have to help me!”

 

“Look,” Madison snapped, daring to flick her eyes off the rainy roads to pin him with an icy glare, “I just want to go home! I don't want anything to do with you, or that old lady, or anybody else who comes out of acid-rain puddles in a parking garage! My day was crappy, my night is crappier, and I want a hot shower and sleep!”

 

She focused on the road once again as Demetrius gasped.

 

Madison didn't even glance up from navigating the rain-choked roads as she snarled “Oh, don't even try that pitiful thing with me! I've got lots of whiny cousins; I know a fake sniffle when I hear it.”

 

Demetrius gasped more urgently, waving his hands to get her attention.

 

“Yeah, better this time. Again, and with more feeling!” Madison glanced over, squealed, and nearly rammed her VW into a tree.

 

Demetrius has a tail! Starting from his waist underneath his polo shirt there were glittering silver scaled tail flowing down over the seat and curling against the floor. The ends had fins, almost translucent and criss-crossed with veins and capillaries. Madison brought the VW to a screeching halt, taking up at least two lanes of the deserted road, and stared in astonishment. He had…a tail. A big, fishy tail. It was shiny, covered in scales…and attached to him.

 

“Demetrius!” she gasped “You…oh my God, how can this be? As if the old lady wasn't enough but…oh my God, you have a tail!” A though occurred to her, and she blurted “What other strange appendages do you have?”

 

Demetrius gasped again, snapping his fingers and making his tail flap urgently. He pointed urgently to his throat, then to his tail, and then back to his throat with a few more gasped.

 

Madison blinked, following his gestures. He was obviously trying to tell her something. She finally rolled her eyes and huffed “Why don't you just say it?”

 

Demetrius gave her an exasperated look and jabbed a finger-webbed, she noticed- at his tail.

 

His scaly tail.

 

His scaly…fishy tail.

 

“Oh, shit! You need water, don't you?

 

At his frantic nod, she immediately leapt out of the car and opened up his side door, pulling him out. She dragged him to the side of the road, immediately getting drenched in the rain, and dunked his head in a nearby puddle. Thankfully it was deep enough, and he stopped flopping around so much as water flowed over his head. She let him take a few deep breaths, before dragging him back to the car.

 

“I can't let you stay in a puddle all night,” she said, struggling to pull him back to the car, “we have to get you out of sight, understand? God, how much do you weigh?”

 

She shoved him back in the car, and ran around to the drivers' side, whipping out her cell phone and putting her pedal to the metal as she took off to the only safe and nearby place she could think of.

 

As she sped off into the night, next to the puddle she had dunked Demetrius in was a glittering silver scale.

 

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