by Fay Walsh
“I mean, I guess I can give her one,” the woman said.
Her hair changed from a dull brown to a vibrant red. Instead of a look of cowardice that was so usual to her mother, there was a look of cruel intent in her eyes.
“So, you want the explanation, don’t you sweetie?” the woman said.
“Yes. I want that, Emilia,” Nikki said.
She feared the worst, mostly because she knew deep down that there was something very wrong with this woman. Nikki kept staring at her, and the woman that pretended to be her mom smiled a wicked grin, before introducing herself.
“I'm Emilia,” she said.
The look of pure malice in the woman’s eyes scared Nikki. She could even make out a faint glow of red in them. She couldn't believe this, she didn’t want to believe this, but the evidence was right there before her eyes. This woman could never be her mom.
“But why did you go to the trouble of bringing me here, and hiding your identity? I don’t understand!”
“I hid my identity because I heard that you had a connection with shifters. I knew that I was onto something having you around. So, I pretended to be your mom. I killed your parents, assumed the role, and now, here we are, she said with a snap.
“No...” she said to herself.
“Yes, my dear. You’re an idiot, especially since you didn’t even bother to realize the truth, that you’re at the mercy of our words, and our actions,” she said.
“No, I'm not. You killed my mother. And if you did kill my dad… who the hell is that?” she asked, pointing to the man next to her.
“He’s not your father,” Emilia said.
“I only pretended to be. I was doing my job, killing animals, when Emilia approached me. I'm actually a poacher working with shifters in order to kill their enemies. She offered me a sum of money to pretend to be your father. I worked with her because I know I’d get something out of it. She told me that the bounty on him was a hundred grand. So, I'm getting paid to kill your little boyfriend here,” he said.
Nikki felt like crying. There was no way in hell this was the truth. But when she saw that her mother and father weren't who they were saying they were, she felt a sudden, nagging feeling of dread in her body the way that they looked at her, setting her on edge.
“No… fucking way,” she said to them.
“Yep, he’s actually not who you thought he was. Do you know who called you back to this town? He did. He wanted you to come back. I told him that we could kill these goddamn shifters without your help, but he insisted. He wanted to twist the knife,” Emilia said.
She looked at the man the one she argued with. It all made sense, especially since they hadn't gotten along at all.
“So you’re not my real dad. That explains why you acted so strange, why you demanded to work with you, why you were so belligerent towards me,” she said.
“I mean, if you listened a little bit better, you wouldn’t have had to deal with that,” he stated.
“You’re a… monster,” she said to him.
“Monster? I don’t think so. Just a man who is trying to deliver justice to all of the right places,” he told her.
“No… you’re a freak, you’re someone who doesn’t care about anyone but himself. So what… happened to my parents?” she asked.
She was scared to hear the truth. She had a bad feeling about this. However, the fact that Billy was there reassured her, and even though she feared the truth, she had to hear it. The man who had pretended to be her dad smiled at her, with a look of wicked desire.
“It's simple. I killed them both,” he said.
That was it. That was the impetus that forced Nikki to fight. The fact that this man killed her parents, and got away with it, made her want to fight in a rage that was unlike anything she ever felt before. She wanted to kill both of them, to make them pay for what they did.
“They’re not really my parents, so that means I don’t have to hold back,” she said.
“Yeah. You don’t,” Billy said.
She looked at Billy and noticed his somber face. She sighed, looking at both of her fake parents.
“That means… I don’t have to fight alone either. This is our fight,” she stated.
“Correct, Nikki. It is our fight. We will work together, and we will punish them for what they did. Not just to your parents, but to mine as well. A fight I have postponed for so long,” he said.
She nodded. “That’s indeed what I want. I want to fight these fakes, and make them pay for what they did,” she said.
Her body was wobbly, her gait a little unsteady, but when she got up, she felt a newfound feeling of energy surge through her body. It made her realize that she wasn’t alone, that she would make these bastards pay for what they did. She was shocked that they didn’t seem fazed at all, but Nikki had some fighting skills.
It wasn’t just that though. She knew how to kill.
She was always told that it would be used for self-defense and nothing more. And this was definitely a moment of self-defense. She eyed her fake father, and then, she gave a quick glance at Billy.
“I'll take my dad. You can deal with Emilia, as you have unfinished business,” she said.
“That man isn’t your father,” Billy said.
“I know, but I don't even know his real name,” she said.
“It’s Thomas,” the man said with a smirk.
“Well, then that’s it. Thomas. I'll take you down either way,” she told the man.
Billy looked at Nikki with concern, “Just… don’t hesitate to ask for help if you need it,” he said.
“You know how I am Billy. I don’t just ask anyone for help,’ she said to him.
“I know. You’re stubborn, which is why I want you to be safe,” he said.
She grasped the knife that she carried on her, the one that she was only supposed to use in moments of self-defense. She had to make sure that every hit would count. She had to fight with all of her might. And she would. They had killed her parents, and they would pay for it.
“Don’t worry, I've got this,” she said.
She held the knife, looking at Thomas, the fake, and he soon changed as well. He looked bigger, gruffer, and Nikki wondered how his fighting style would be.
She wouldn’t get hung up on that. She would fight.
He moved towards her, and she held her arms up, blocking the first few attacks. With a surge of energy, she started to cry out, grasping the knife tightly in her hands. She first managed to get him down, and he let out a cry of pain. As she had him down, she moved her fists forward, raining punches down on him.
But, they weren’t enough. He laughed at her, as he pushed her down.
“You’re fucking pathetic,” he stated to her.
She scrambled back up and soon he started to throw punches. It made contact with her gut, which caused her to let out a garbled sound of agony as she felt the air leave her lungs. He hit her again, this time with that same force, and she could feel her ribs bruising in response.
Nikki pulled out the knife, stabbing him in the leg. He cried out in pain, but that didn’t make him stagger. The knife was still stuck in his leg, so Nikki needed to move around, and she needed to do so fast.
Even with his wounded leg, he was still fast. He was big and he looked just like her dad, and Nikki almost felt bad. She didn’t want to kill him, and it was so strange because he had the same face, eyes, and even hair as her own flesh and blood.
She could feel her resolve waver for a bit, and she didn’t like this. That caused the blow from his hands to hit her head, causing her to swing back to reality. She looked at him, and she nodded.
This man was a fake.
She didn’t manage to move fast enough and he punched her once again, sending her flying into the walls in the corner. She cried out in pain, with a sudden surge of agony hit her body. How many ribs had she broken at this point? Was she going to die with the next hit? She looked at Thomas, who was now grabbing the knife. He pul
led it out of his body with almost no effort, and he grinned.
“Funny how this all works,” he said to her.
She tried to move, but she could feel at least three broken bones that were making it almost impossible for her to move. She reached for her jeans, wondering if she brought it with her.
She prayed that she did. She knew that with this, she could win, but otherwise, she wouldn't be able to.
She closed her eyes, as Thomas was ready to attack her. She needed to make this attack mean something, and she needed to do this quickly.
With ease, she pulled out the gun. She did keep it on herself for moments such as this. She knew that from far away, this wouldn’t hit the mark, but from up close, this could mean the lethal blow.
It was a tiny little handgun, but when she brought it out, brandishing it, she cocked it right in front of Thomas’s face. She held it there with trembling hands, and without even looking, she pulled the trigger.
She heard the sound of the gunshot and felt blood splatter on her. She opened her eyes and with the shock and the adrenaline settling in. She couldn't believe that she had done that.
She knew that keeping that gun on her would be enough, but she didn’t expect that she would have to use it. She looked at her dead fake father, and while she did feel a little bit of regret in her body, she knew that this was what she had to do.
The bastard had been hell-bent on killing her, on making sure that there wasn’t anything left of her, and while she did realize she killed someone, she knew that she didn’t have a choice.
She pocketed the gun, looking at Billy, and she simply smiled. She would get up when she needed to, but for now, she was in far too much fucking pain to move. The bastard did a number on her, and she was definitely not in a place to get out of this.
She could only sit there, watching the fight, and from there, hoping to God that Billy would win.
Chapter 21
Billy looked at Emilia, seeing that familiar and hateful face. She smiled at him, and her look made his body shudder almost involuntarily.
“It’s been a while, Billy. I remember that face. Oh, how I wish I killed you back then. I thought I did leave you for dead, but I guess not,” she said.
“You’re going to regret what you did,” he said.
“Oh really? Well, it was hard to keep that front going. Pretending to be your sickly mom was so boring. All I would do is sit in the room and read, or drink, and plan my next action. I wish that I could’ve come out, but it would’ve ruined the surprise. The one time I did, she noticed something was wrong, so I didn’t do it again,” she said.
He looked at Emilia, feeling disgusted by her words.
“I can’t believe that you did this to them. How long ago was it? When did you kill them?” he asked.
”Wouldn’t you like to know,” she snarled.
“You better answer me, dammit,” he stated.
“Gosh, so rude. Well, it was probably back when you were about six. I blurred your memories back then. Back then I acted healthy in order to keep up the facade, but that’s a lot of work. When you came back, I didn’t need to do that. I had to pretend I was a sickly woman, which frankly was much harder than you’d think. It was a nightmare trying to keep up that facade, but I guess I had everyone fooled for a long time. Too bad that shitty poacher was a terrible actor. His piss-poor choices were enough to get her suspicious, and frankly, I'm glad that he’s dead,” she stated.
“You little bitch,” Billy said.
“Call me what you want, but it won't bring yours, or her parents back,” she said with a smile on her face.
The cold smile was enough to make Billy want to just start the fight, but he wanted more answers.
“What is your end-goal? What do you want? I thought you had died long ago,” he said.
“You silly fool. I can regenerate. I've been around for a while. I faked my death to fool the shifter community, and I have to say, it did work pretty darn well,” she said.
“You’re a mess,” he said.
He felt the anger boil in his blood, and soon, he started to shift. He looked at her, and she smiled.
“You can’t beat me, Bill. I killed your parents. I know the limits of bear shifters. And frankly, I'll kill you too,” she said.
She started to change herself, turning into some lion-like creature. But, it wasn't a full shift, and when Billy saw it, his hairs immediately stood on end.
“You’re a half breed,” he said.
“Correct. I also have the power of magical beings, which puts me at an advantage,” she said.
“But that means you’re still human, right?” he snapped.
Before she could respond, he lunged at her, and soon, he started to swipe at the woman. It wasn’t doing any damage though, and instead, she kept laughing.
“God, you’re so pathetic. Thinking that you can take on a shifter like me. I wish I had the foolishness that you do,” she said.
He wasn’t going to give up. Not now, not ever. He continued to move his hands, struggling to land a single hit on her. He couldn't believe this, he just couldn’t, and as he tried to hit her, she simply laughed.
It was like she had a shield up. Emilia moved her hands forward, swiping her own claws, and soon, he was pushed back. He looked at Nikki who was laid on the floor, witnessing the carnage.
He wished he could get her help. He knew that even with this half-bred form, he could get the gun from Nikki and kill this woman. But, he wasn’t sure if Nikki was in a position to help him. He looked at her, and as if understanding she looked down at the gun in her hands.
He tried to swipe at Emilia again, but the shield wasn’t allowing him to penetrate his attacks. He knew that he had to do something. He moved back, concentrating on his thoughts.
He contacted Nikki, and after a brief second, she gasped.
“W-what are you doing?” she asked.
Don’t speak out loud. Nikki. I want you to give me the gun when I move towards you. Her shield is working, and I think we need to use that to break it.
He looked at her, to see if she had heard him. Nikki nodded in agreement, and he began to move backwards. Nikki seemed to get it, but Billy knew that this attack could turn the tides of the battle, so it had to be executed correctly.
Meanwhile, Emilia was laughing. Billy had another question, and he wanted to know the truth.
“How did you know Thomas? How did you come about deciding that you wanted to kill her parents?” he asked.
“Simple. Thomas has been an underling of mine for a while. He hates shifters that aren’t following me, and he’s been bent on killing them for money. I told him that he could have the goddamn money if he worked with me, and that was enough to get him to comply,” she said with a smile.
“You’re a monster.”
“I know dear. And as for Nikki's parents, well, I found out that she had a connection to shifters, and while she didn’t even know you yet, I could feel this in my body. So, I did what was right and killed them,” she said.
Billy felt as if he was going to be sick as he heard those words.
“So you just killed them because you wanted to,’ he stated.
“Correct. I had no other reason than to step in and take their place, to pretend that they were alive so that we could get closer to you, and to eventually have her turn on you and kill you,” Emilia said.
“But that didn’t work.”
“That stupid poacher was too rough with her. He should've been nicer. If he was just a little bit nicer, this plan would’ve worked. But that stupid ass didn’t realize what his actions would bring forth,” she muttered.
“Yeah well, that ass was the one who saved us,” he stated.
“Whatever you say, worm,” she stated.
Emilia started to launch beams of energy. Billy hid behind one of the bales of hay and as he did that, he felt something in his body.
He didn’t know what this feeling was. It felt like a mixture of hesitation, and g
rief. He moved towards Nikki, and he looked at her.
“Can you walk at all?” he asked.
“No. not yet. I'm really trying, but every time I do, it hurts,” he said.
“I'm going to… I'm going to try to see if I can get closer,” he said.
“Alright. I'll try as well,” she replied.
He needed her help. He was going to ask her to shoot, but he feared that might be a bit too much. Maybe if he lured her over there, everything would work.