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<br/>​</div><div style="text-align: left">Carmen woke with a start, the nightmares of needles inserting into her and the unbearable pain that followed after, consumed her dreams, turning them into nightmares. Beads of sweat rolled down her forehead and with a slightly shaky hand she wiped the salty liquid away with the back of her hand. She sat up in bed and ran her right hand through her long straight hair and slowly slid her eyelids to close over light brown eyes. With a sigh after opening her eyelids to reveal unfocused light brown eyes, she got up from her bed and proceeded to shed her clothes while on her way to the master bathroom.<br/>
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Once she flipped the switch with a slender finger the light came on instantly and she squinted her eyes and almost hissed from the bright light. Making a mental note to dim the light she then bent over slightly to turn on the water to a warm hot temperature. The shower at first started off cold then it gradually got warmer then stopped at the temperature she set it to. Once she was satisfied with the temperature she stepped into the tub and used a hand to slid the shower curtains around the length of the tub.<br/>
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A sigh was heard from her as she leaned her head underneath the running water and let it wet her long hair. Eyes closed as she tried to calm her nerves from the nightmare she had, she had no idea after all this time that the nightmare decided to come back. Groaning, she then picked up her shampoo and poured some in her hands after leaning back from the running water. Once she lather the shampoo up a bit before massaging it into her scalp and hair. Once she got her hair nice and foamy like she put her head under the water to rinse the foam off. Carmen did this two more times before putting in some leave in conditioner, then she decided it was time to freshen up her body.<br/>
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It was quite a bit before Carmen decided she was clean enough to get out of the shower, flipping the switch down to turn off the shower she then moved the shower curtain to the side and stepped out. Her bathroom and herself smelled of almonds and cherry blossoms, after drying off she wrapped the towel around her person and moved to get her blow dryer. Once she plugged that up she used the comb of the blow dryer to detangle her hair. After minutes of blow drying she turned the dryer off and left the bathroom to go put on her clothes. Leaving the light on knowing she would return to the bathroom again, she went into her closet to see what she would wear for today.<br/>
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After some rummaging she decided to settle on a short gray halter top with black skinny jeans and a light black jacket to go over it. Once she put on her clothes she sat on the bed with a bounce and moved to put her classic ankle length heel boots on. After lacing them up she moved off the bed, then paused, she forgot to carry her guns on her. Slowly, she shed her jacket and put on the holster that allowed her to carry two guns. After moving to her night stand she opened the drawer to reveal her dual pistols. Once she tucked them into the holsters, she put on her jacket, hiding the two weapons away and from sight.<br/>
<br/>
A hand reached onto the bed to grab her jacket and place it back on, humming a song, she went into the bathroom to put on some lip gloss and earrings. When she was done she left the bathroom again, this time flipping the switch off. After grabbing her wallet, keys, and phone, she moved out of the master bedroom and down the stairs. Looking at her phone for a bit to text her friend Sophia and let her know she was coming by to pick up her check, she then stuffed her phone in her pocket and headed out the door of the townhouse.<br/>
<br/>
Carmen inhaled the air and then looked up at the sky, it was overcast by darkness, something that she wouldn’t have dreamt would happen to humanity. But then again she wasn’t human anymore, her eyes turned cold when that thought crossed her mind but shaking her head she continued down the steps in front of the building and headed off in the direction of the Cafe.<br/>
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A soft tune played and Carmen pulled her cell phone from her jacket pocket and opened the text, the little tune stopped and she proceeded to read the text while still walking.<br/>
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<i>“Aniz will be there to give you your check.”</i> The text read.<br/>
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Humming in thought, Carmen texted Sophia back with fast moving thumbs.<br/>
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<i>“Okay, tell him I’ll be there in ten minutes.” </i>Using her thumb she pressed the send button.<br/>
<br/>
Before she could place her phone back in her pocket, that same tune sounded out and she opened the new message.<br/>
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<i>“Okay :) I’ll let him know.” </i>With a nod she stuffed her phone into her pocket and continued walking to the train station.<br/>
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<br/>
~~~<br/>
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Finally, she made it to the cafe, once she was there she was greeted by a little kid who hugged her legs then ran off, his Mother gave her an apologetic look before chasing after her little boy. Carmen arched an eyebrow at this then continued on into the cafe., it was a nice cafe, with tables for groups on one side and on the other side for individuals. It always smelled lovely in here, it didn’t smell of blood like most vampire cafes, but it smelled of genuine coffee and bakery aromatics.<br/>
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Carmen gave a smile when she saw Amy busting her but off to get the orders out to the rather busy place. Then she spotted Carmen and gave her a wave before continuing to fulfill the customers demands. Carmen waved back then headed to the back of the cafe into the employee only domain. Once she was there she passed a few rooms then stopped infront of a black door. Raising her hand up to knock she heard a deep voice telling her to come in. With a smile still on her face, she opened the door and walked into the room to see Aniz standing there, check in hand.<br/>
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“Hello Carmen, I see you are doing good this evening? Or are you?” Aniz said in his deep voice of worry, he always knew when something troubled people and the same can be said about Carmen. With a slight falter in her smile, her lips turned into a line and she sighed softly, grabbing the check and stuffing it into her pocket, she nodded her head. “Yes there is something wrong, I had that nightmare again.” Carmen said in a quiet voice.<br/>
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Aniz looked at her then crossed a arm under his chest and used the other hand to stroke his white beard in thought. “You thinking something bad is going to happen?” Aniz asked.<br/>
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“I am not sure, but I don’t really want to talk about it Sir.” Carmen said softly, she had the utmost respect for this man, and she was forever loyal to him and in debt to him for saving her life. Aniz gave her a look but did not press further, slowly, he stepped forward, his tall six-three form towering over her and he wrapped arms around her and gave her a warm hug. To Carmen, he was like a Father to her, she couldn’t help but return the hug back to him. After a couple seconds they let go and with a playful wave he sent her away to do whatever on her day off.<br/>
<br/>
A warm smile formed on her lips for him being understanding and she turned on her heel to leave the employee area and the cafe after getting some blood coffee. If there was one thing she hated about being a halfling, it was that in whatever she ate, sure enough she could taste the food, it must be fused or with blood before she could fully enjoy the food or drink. After getting her creme brulee coffee with one third cup of blood in it, she left the shop. Deciding to go to the mall to shop for a few outfits. With that in mind, she was off walking the streets of a dangerous place for humans.<br/>
<br/>
My how humanity fell fast to the bottom of the food chain.<br/>
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