by Wooden, E M
“I tell you what. I am meeting a few people out in the warehouse district tonight. I know it sounds sketchy, but they are sketchy people. And this matter…is one best left under the radar,” he said.
“This matter? John, so many things are going on here…I don’t know what to do. Is there nothing you can tell me? You already seem like you have some kind of idea,” I was pleading again.
“I promise you, William, tonight I will tell you everything I know. For me to only give you half information would not be fair and could be potentially bad,” he countered. I sighed. What was a few more hours? After all, I didn’t have a choice but to trust him, no matter how seedy it seemed.
“Ok, give me the address and time. I will see you there,” I said. He scribbled down the information on a piece of paper and handed it to me. I took it and turned to leave.
“We will figure this out, bro. I promise,” he said just as I was at the door.
“I hope so,” was the last thing I said to him. Once again, I had time to kill. It seemed like going insane and killing time were all I was doing lately.
Chapter 14
The day passed remarkably quick considering how anxious I had become. All I could think about were the answers that I was missing. More than once I had cut my hand just to see it heal again. There were so many mixed emotions. I was afraid, yet amazed; horrified, but intrigued. With everything that had been going on, being able to heal was not what I expected.
It was just after midnight and eerily quiet in the warehouse district. Some of the police tape still littered the area near the entrance. I had to weave in and out between abandoned buildings until I reached warehouse 17. It appeared just as the others, abandoned. Apparently, I was early. After waiting a couple of minutes, I placed my bike off to the side, out of the way and hopefully inconspicuous.
The door had seen some pretty extensive wear and rust. Near the latch, there were fresh scratches, evidence it had been used recently. I pulled the door open and looked inside. There was some dim lighting from light fixtures hanging low from the ceiling. So, there was power. My mind was a clutter of thoughts. I wanted to leave, but I wanted answers. I wondered why they would choose a place like this and why would John agree to it? I ventured farther in, cautiously surveying the area. It didn’t look like anyone had been there recently, but it was already passed the time of the meeting. When I had made it halfway across the massive open area of the building, my gut tightened and then I heard the door slam shut. I startled and turned around immediately. Six men stood staring at me.
“Who the hell are you?” One asked.
“It don’t matter who he is, they said he would be here and here he is.” Another answered. I tensed. A pistol was raised towards me. Time slowed. My heart raced, more danger. I heard the hammer lock back.
I heard the wind as it whistled passed; steel, not lead. The three low hanging lights shattered in quick succession. Darkness fell. A shot rang out. It missed. The men started shouting.
“What the fuck?”
“Get his ass!” A scream of sheer terror rang out. It was stopped short. My nerves calmed. One of the men closed in on me. I could feel him. A few more shots rang. More commotion was going on near where the scream sounded. There was someone, something else with us. The closest to me was within arm’s reach. I hit his throat on instinct, crushing his larynx. He collapsed instantly. I could hear his legs kicking as he was trying to breath uselessly.
My vision started to adjust. I could make out the shapes of the four remaining henchman. The other that was with us was a blur, darting in and out between the four. It was moving so fast I couldn’t make out what it was. I saw flashes of steel. One of the men’s throats spilled open. Three down. Of the three remaining, two focused on the phantom threat. The other raged towards me. My own blood rage set in. The red aura was more prominent than the first time I had encountered it. The thug swung wildly, allowing me to dodge easily. His next punch stopped well short of its mark as I caught his fist. He was as surprised as I was. The shock left just as fast as it came. He used his free hand to grab for a knife he had sheathed behind his back. He swung in a wide arc aiming for my throat. I let go of his fist, driving a block into the crease of his elbow, using my other hand to drive his knife up under his chin. I held him there for a moment before letting him slump to the ground.
I looked down at the two men I had stolen the life out of, marveling at the cold efficiency of the carnage I had unleashed. I heard one of the two remaining men fall to the ground causing me to look up. I had just enough time to see the phantom decapitate the last remaining thug with a calculated strike. Then the phantom was on me. Blades danced in front of my face. No matter how fast I moved the phantom landed several cuts. Each hand held what appeared to be eight inch daggers. The phantom's attack kept driving me farther and farther back. Eventually, I would be backed against the wall and then it would be game over. And that eventually was growing closer. Three more cuts landed. My mind processed the pain, but I didn’t truly feel them. My back touched the wall. I had nowhere else to go. In desperation, I sent a kick straight out, catching the phantom in the chest. With an audible grunt, the phantom went sailing backwards, letting loose the daggers that were so close to ending me. After tumbling and regaining its balance, the phantom sat poised ready to strike again. There was something tugging at the back of my mind. Something about the sound the phantom made when I connected. Thought gave way to reaction, the phantom was on me again. Every punch and swing seemed to go faster than the last. Faster than lightning, a smaller throwing knife was pulled out of a sheath at the phantom's thigh and set against me. The swing missed burying the knife in the wall. The thought of the grunt earlier crept back in momentarily. It actually sounded almost feminine. My distraction gave way to three solid blows, sending me reeling. I recovered quickly enough to block the next barrage. I was able to counter with another blow to the phantom's chest. The creature let out curses in a different language. There was something about the voice that seemed to tug at my mind again. The phantom was relentless, never tiring. Two more of its attacks landed. It was a female voice. I wasn’t sure how long I could fend off the onslaught. There was something I was missing. I shouldn’t be fighting at all. When realization set in, I stood wide eyed. The phantom didn’t miss the opportunity to strike. Another throwing knife had been unsheathed and was going for my throat. I could only whisper.
“Eve…” The blade stopped just as the tip pricked my skin. The phantom dropped the blade and stumbled back a few steps.
“William…how?” That’s all Eve could manage to say.
When I was finally able to get a good look at her, she was clad all in black. My blood rage, combined with the darkness and her speed had made her seem only a blur. Now, it was obvious it was her. She wore leather pants with a matching halter top. At each thigh were sheaths for her daggers as well as slots for throwing knives. She wore a hood to cover her head and face. We stood staring at each other in the darkness.
Shouting at the opposite end of the warehouse brought us back to reality, if you could call it that. Whoever was there hadn’t made it inside yet.
“Where is your bike?” she asked emphatically.
“Just around the corner from the entrance,” I replied quizzically. She grabbed my wrist and made for the entrance. When we rounded the corner she hopped on.
“Keys, now! And get on,” she commanded. I did as she bid me, too astounded to argue. She fired the bike to life and we sped off, weaving in and out of the buildings as I had done to get here, except she did it much faster. I held on tight and reflected on the night’s events. I had come to get answers and left with only more questions.
Chapter 15
My mind was racing. I tried to put all the pieces together, but there were just so many that were still missing. Eve whipped the bike in and out of traffic, going faster than I usually ever dared. We were heading deeper into the city. My cloth that was the remnants of my shirt was flapping in the wind
. Eve had made short work of it in our death dance. We made a sharp turn down a small alleyway and came to an abrupt halt halfway down. She stopped in front of a large building that looked as uninhabited as the warehouses had. There was a large green storage room door right in front of us. She hopped off the bike and undid the lock securing the door. Flinging it open, she turned over her shoulder briefly.
“Put the bike in here, make sure to secure the door when you are done,” she commanded. “Then come up the stairs.” And like that she had gone through a door in the back of the small storage area. I did as she said making sure to secure the door behind me.
The stairs were narrow and seemingly unending. I estimated I had climbed three floors by the time I had reached a single door. I turned the handle and slowly pushed it open. Eve was by a cabinet searching for something. The room was sparsely populated with a cot looking bed and plain blankets. There was a small refrigerator and a few shelves that were full of odds and ends. I shut the door and stood there watching her. She busied herself with her tasking not daring to turn around. She grabbed some gauze and placed it on the small counter in front of her. Next, she found some peroxide. When it dawned on me what she was doing I called softly to her.
“Eve.” I started to remove the tattered remains of the shirt I had been wearing. She didn’t turn around and kept worrying at the supplies.
“Eve, please,” I said pleading. When she finally turned around I was bare of chest. The last of the cuts were closing up. It is amazing what you can accept when you have to be the strong one. It didn’t seem like only a day that I had learned about my healing ability and now I was already used to it, like I had always known about it. She let out a soft gasp as she stared at me.
“I am fine,” I said with arms open, showing my newly knitted flesh. We stood for a little while longer not saying anything. She was searching for answers just like I was. Though given what just happened, I believe I had more questions than she did. My patience wore off probably too soon.
“Eve, what…” I stopped short when I saw her falter. She grabbed the counter in time not to fall.
“William, I have to go.” She saw me begin to protest, but cut me off. “I will be back soon. Please stay, get some rest. Then, I promise you I will tell you everything I know. And I hope you will do the same.” In a flash, she was next to me kissing me softly on the lips and then she was out the door. So there I remained, shirtless, alone, and still full of questions. Resigning myself to the situation, I lay down on the cot and stared at the ceiling looking at all the puzzle pieces.
I suppose it was foolish to think that all of my friends wouldn’t know each other or even hang out. But still it took me at a bit of a surprise, more so because we have never all hung out together and I was kind of the lowest common denominator. The Colosseum wasn’t just some ordinary club in the city. There was definitely a lot more going on there than what meets the eye. I had been attacked twice after leaving there. I shouldn’t be alive. I should have been torn to shreds, twice. I have the ability to heal and some insane instinctual reflexes. The phantom…Eve, was a precision killer. She made short work of those men in the warehouse. Hell, she probably saved my ass. I really don’t know if I could have handled them. Hell, I don’t even know why they were going after me. John…I wanted answers and he said to meet him there. I was set up. No, he would never do that; but if not him, then who? They said I would be there, they knew. John was the only one that knew I would be there. My head began to swim as it processed all of the information. It had been a couple of hours by the time Eve had returned. By then, I was sitting up on the cot. I still had more questions, but some answers solidified. Just like my ability to heal, I accepted the answers like I had known them my whole life. I was slightly uneasy about it. When she walked through the door, she looked much less weary than she had earlier, like she had found the fountain of youth.
“You think that since you are sitting shirtless on a bed you are going to get lucky,” she said with a slight smirk. I wasn’t amused.
“I have been thinking a lot and I want some answers. And I think I have some answers. I am going to need you to be completely honest with me,” I said. Her demeanor changed. It was like I could see her physically remove the barrier she always had up. She gave me a longing look.
“What are you?” she eventually asked.
“What am I?” I responded. I am sure my look was incredulous. “What are…”
“William, you shouldn’t be here!” she exclaimed. I thought I saw tears at the corners of her eyes. I think I could count on one hand how many times I had seen her cry. Seeing a stone weep could break the strongest of men.
“What do you mean?” I asked, knowing full well what she was about to say.
“I saw you. I saw you in the alleyway after you left. I…followed you. You were a mess. There was no way you could have survived the…” She trailed off.
“Werewolf,” I filled in for her. She paused weighing me.
“I didn’t get there in time. He was clawing at you. I chased him off, but when I got back you were gone. I thought one of the others might have taken you. But your bike was gone too. So I checked your place. You were lying in bed. You were cold. You were dying, William. I stayed with you for a while. Even John came, but he said it was folly to stay. We had to get rid of everything that might have linked you to the attack. If they knew you made it back to your apartment, they would have come back for you. I stayed William, but you didn’t wake up. I wanted revenge. I kissed you goodbye and that was it. You shouldn’t be alive…” I stood up and walked over to her. I knew she had gone back to the warehouse. Her sheaths were full again. She retrieved her throwing knives and daggers. I pulled one of the daggers and slowly drew it across my hand. The cut was deep. I flinched slightly at the pain. In a few moments the wound closed, as I knew it would.
“I don’t know what I am.” My voice was broken. For the first time. fear crept into my soul. I placed the dagger back in its sheath and sat back down.
“And what about you?” I asked. “You ran off a werewolf. You show up at a warehouse and decimate four men with cold precision. You nearly cut me to shreds.” She looked away after that.
“And then when we get back here you have to leave. When you get back you look like nothing even happened. Hell, you look like you could go out and slay another hundred bad guys. I know you went back to the warehouse. How you got passed the mass of guys that showed up when we left, I have no idea, and I shudder to think of what you had to do to get your knives back.” I paused for a second to gather my thoughts, what I was going to say next was not going to be easy.
“I don’t know what is going on. I don’t know why I seem to be okay with everything. I knew it was a werewolf that attacked me in the alleyway. I have no idea how I was able to live through that, but I accept it. And you…” She stared at my eyes intently. “You are a vampire.” She turned away from me. After a few moments she turned back around.
“William, you always were too smart for your own good,” she said. She walked passed me to a small chest and opened it. She withdrew a piece of clothing and tossed it to me. I unfurled it with a slight smile.
“I love this hoodie. When did you take this,” I asked. She smiled; a beautiful sight.
“A while ago, I am surprised you didn’t know it was gone,” she replied. I put the hoodie on and stood. I assumed we were leaving. I was right.
“Let’s go for a walk. I suppose I have a lot to tell you…” she trailed off as she walked back out the door. I guessed that I was about to find out just how deep the rabbit hole went.
Chapter 16
After she opened the storage door, I halfway expected her to tell me to get on the bike. Instead, she just waited for me to get out. It took me a minute and her nodding for me to follow before I realized what she was doing. She shut the door behind us, making sure it was secure. She started walking down the alleyway opposite the direction we came in. We walked in silence for about ten minutes b
efore she stopped in front of a fire escape. She jumped up, grabbed the ladder and brought it down.
“After you,” she said. I gave her a puzzled look, but knew better than to question her. So, we made our slow progression up the fire escape silently. When we reached the top there was what looked like a square room with a door right in front of us. I stepped out of the way so she could proceed. She pushed me back a little more and took off in a sprint. She vaulted off of the door and on top of the wall. I stared. The wall was probably ten feet high.
“Come on,” she beckoned. “It’s ok, I’ll help you.” I stepped back to the ledge of the building and made a run for it. I vaulted just as she did, but didn’t come anywhere close to the height that she did. Fortunately, she anticipated my miss and reached down to grab my hand. She eased me up, almost like I was weightless. As we sit atop the wall she spread out her arm towards the inside of the walled area. I gaped again. It was beautiful. It was a garden in the sky. There was a central fountain with four benches at each of the points on a compass rose. Spread out from the fountains were various flowers and trees. I was speechless. She hopped down like it was nothing. I was still in awe. When she made it over to one of the benches she motioned for me.
“Are you going to sit up there all night or are you going to come join me?” she teased. As graceful as I could I hopped off the wall, needing to tuck and roll to compensate for the height. I stood up and brushed myself off. She had a slight smile to her face. She was remarkable in the moonlight. After I admired her, I went over and sat down. She leaned against me, resting her head on my shoulder. It was heaven. I let it linger there for a few moments. Then reason got the best of me.
“Eve,” I started. She shushed me.
“The answers will come, William. Let us just enjoy this for a few more minutes,” she said. And I could only agree. The minutes passed fast before she spoke.