by Emily Walker
“Don’t the soup can tops, I don’t know, cut them?”
“Oh, yes, these are anti-birdhouses. I haven’t sold one yet, but I’m optimistic.”
“No thank you.” What the hell was that, he thought. He’d make sure to tell Chloe to stay the hell away from Mrs. Nesbit. He’d seen her at the post office mailing gifts to her grandkids, but apparently she hated birds.
Moving along, he saw a lot of strange creations from Woodland Creek’s crafters. It was the first time he’d been to the festival.
“Brent darling,” Chloe’s mom called out to him. He needed to be careful not to get caught.
“You need to get out of here, Mrs. Hamil,” he said, looking around anxiously.
“Oh, I know, but he had to bring that thing here. Some of these people I just want to punch in the jugular.”
“Honey, you don’t punch people in the jugular, that’s not even logical.” Chloe’s dad walked up and stood next to what Brent could only describe as American tits. They were painted silver, but he’d painted the rest red, white, and blue.
“He’s the one I want to punch the most,” Mrs. Hamil said, elbowing Brent. “Where’s Chloe? I know she doesn’t want to have anything to do with her father’s boobs, but I figure you two would be together today.”
“About that,” he said, getting ready to tell them why they had to get out of there when he saw him. Ash was walking slowly toward the festival down the middle of the street. His shotgun was raised and aimed into the crowd. Some people at the edges had seen him and were starting to run. His face was covered with a black ski mask, but Brent knew it was him. “Get down and stay down. Whatever you do don’t shift, and don’t let him shoot you.” He took off.
Brent didn’t think he’d seen him as he ducked around the back of the nearest building. He needed to sneak up behind him so he could take him by surprise. The only thing he knew to do was tackle him. Taking a deep breath, he broke into a run as Ash fired the first shot into the crowd. He heard a scream and knew someone had gone down. He heard the click of the gun as Ash pulled it back, ready to take another shot, and he launched.
Too late he realized he’d already been spotted and the gun was pointing right at him. Before he could react, Ash fired and time slowed down. He saw the bullet coming at him and his chest started to vibrate where the ugly pendant lay. The air in front of him became wavy and the bullet struck something right in front of his body that he couldn’t see.
It stayed there, spinning in an invisible force field and then it turned around and went right back through Ash. Time sped back up and Ash yelled. Blood exploded from his right shoulder and sprayed Brent in the face. The pendant had really been protection, he thought right as the butt of the shotgun connected with his face. His nose made a sickening crunch and he went down hard on his knees. Ash ran away.
He ran toward the woods and disappeared into the trees. Brent jumped up as he felt the blood pour out of his nose as he ran toward the Hamils. They were behind the tits.
“He shot her!” Mr. Hamil yelled at Brent.
“Mrs. Hamil.” Brent panicked, looking around on the ground frantically.
“No, Mrs. Silver American Princess.”
“Was that you screaming, Mr. Hamil?”
Rob Hamil looked at his feet as his wife walked up and slapped him on the back. “That was him. You saved everyone, Brent, good job.”
Brent was thankful the only casualty was a naked statue, but he had to go get Chloe.
“Listen, I don’t have a lot of time, but Chloe was captured and she made me come here to make sure you were safe before I came and rescued her. They are torturing her with black magic and we have to go and figure out a way to get her out of there.”
“What?” Mrs. Hamil grabbed her chest and Mr. Hamil had already started running toward the car.
“Ride with me, it will be faster.”
“She’s in trouble, we’ll shift,” Rob said as he ran behind him to his truck. He went behind it as did Debra and out flew a nuthatch and a mountain lion.
“Holy shit,” Brent said as he saw Mr. Hamil’s other form. “I thought you were a bird.”
The mountain lion roared at him and he took a step back. “They’re at Layla’s place near campus. We’ll be right behind you.” The two of them took off and Brent jumped in the truck with his grandmother.
“Thank God you gave me this protection pendant. I would have been a goner.”
“Oh, that hideous thing. I got that at a yard sale and just wanted to get rid of it. Look who came into their powers,” she said, patting his cheek.
“You are freaking kidding me,” Brent said as he took the crystal off and threw it on the floor. Stepping on the gas, he headed to Layla’s house.
Chloe couldn’t take much more. Her veins and insides had to be turning to liquid magma. She was so hot she thought she literally felt her skin melt off. Her vision kept blacking out from the pain and she didn’t know if she could hold it together much longer. She could vaguely make out Zazie moaning from her experience with the bugs and Sarmia laughing, but mostly what she could hear was the fire roaring inside of her, roasting her from the inside.
A loud crash sounded through the cabin and she tried to get her eyes to focus long enough to see what it was. A mountain lion was attacking Sarmia. It jumped and she shot, getting it in the leg. The burning stopped, but the pain didn’t. Her arms and legs were free finally from the work she’d done while she’d been in the chair, but she couldn’t move.
“Daddy!” she screamed, falling to the floor on her side from her chair. Her face hit the floor and she bit her cheek hard, tasting the blood in her mouth. The gun had slid away from Sarmia, because as she shot him Rob had slid into her and taken her down. Chloe crawled toward the gun, almost able to reach it. She didn’t know how badly her father was hurt, but if she could get to the gun she would kill her.
A bird flew in and started working at Zazie’s knots while she crawled toward the gun. Zazie was unconscious, but she knew her mother would shift out of it and wake her once she felt like it was safe.
Looking back toward her dad, she tried to see the wound. There wasn’t a ton of blood, so she hoped it didn’t hit a major artery. Her body still hurt so badly from the fire that she wasn’t moving fast at all. Her fingertips were almost touching the gun.
Sarmia was bleeding, but she was coming for her. If she didn’t get to the gun before her then she would be in trouble. Her mother must have sensed that and flew at Sarmia, pecking at her face as she swatted at her. She got one of her eyes and flew quickly above her as the dark wizard screamed and clutched her face.
Chloe’s fingers wrapped around the pistol and she pulled it to her, slowly sitting up. The pain was starting to dull and she fought through it so she could point it at Sarmia and make sure she didn’t try anything.
“Get on the wall, you bitch,” she said through gritted teeth. Sarmia did it with a look of hate, and the little nuthatch fussed over the mountain lion’s leg. She knew they weren’t shifting back because they were waiting for Ash.
She couldn’t believe Brent would send them into such a hostile situation, but she was happy to see them after the fire storm she’d just survived. If they were there, maybe Brent had stopped Ash before anyone was hurt. She was amused to think what the people in the apartment complex must have thought when a mountain lion ran through and crashed in a door. If they had cameras they’d be trying to figure out what happened. Someone needed to call the police.
Ash was the next person to show up. He threw the door open and walked inside. He was covered in blood and spotted the mountain lion with a small bird perched on its head first. Raising his hands, he moved forward to attack them.
“Dirty shifters,” he screamed and Chloe fired. She shot him in the chest and he fell back, shocked. He’d been disoriented and hadn’t noticed that she was not only free but holding the gun. Ash fell back and landed on the floor, the blood running from the wound.
Chloe sa
t the gun down on the cabinet and started to shake violently.
“I’m sorry, my love, I failed you. I failed us both,” Ash said as his eyes closed, and Chloe wondered who the hell he was talking to.
“Noooooooo.” A painful wail came from somewhere back in the house and a girl rushed into the room with a long sharp knife over her head. Chloe didn’t have time to figure out what was happening and neither did her parents as she went to stab Chloe in the chest. Chloe moved quickly enough that she stabbed through her arm and into the wall. Her arm exploded with pain, the knife holding her to the wall and the girl held it there, looking into her eyes.
It was Layla.
“You killed him, Chloe! Why?”
“Layla, you’re supposed to be dead! What the hell are you doing here?” Chloe was stunned. There was a knife in her arm, so she was probably also in shock.
“I was pretending to be dead, Chloe. He was going to expose shifters. I could go away with him. I could move from here and everyone would think I was dead. It would be easier than knowing I was still on drugs and with a man who wanted to expose my kind.” Layla was crying as she pressed the knife into the wall through her arm. “Now you’ve killed him, you’ve killed my one true love, my ticket out of here, and I’m going to kill you.”
She pulled the knife from the wall out of her arm and went to stab Chloe again. The pain was intense and the blood was warm as it ran down her arm.
“Wait,” Chloe said, watching her parents as they shifted back to their human selves and moved as quietly as possible toward her. “I saw your body.”
“No, you saw a body manipulated by magic to look like me. She was just a dumb blonde hooker from another town. No one would miss her. I shot her through the heart. He couldn’t do it. He never wanted to kill anyone until I convinced him a couple had to die for our cause. Then he did his dark magic thing and made her look like me.” She smiled maniacally and raised the knife again. That’s why Layla’s body wasn’t at the funeral home, the girl they’d seen was the hooker she’d killed.
“We’re best friends, Layla.” Chloe made a last ditch effort to stop her from doing what she was planning.
“We haven’t been friends for a long time, Chloe,” Layla said and as she pulled back to stab the knife into her chest. Rob grabbed the hand and forced the knife away while Debra grabbed her other arm and pulled her over to the wall.
“Layla, I’m very disappointed in you,” she said.
Sirens were approaching. They were on their way and there would be some explaining to do. Brent rushed in and toward Chloe, going to hug her. He thought better of it at the last minute and didn’t. “Are you okay?” he asked.
“Yes, we’re okay.” She hugged him lightly with the arm that was hanging limply at her side. “Layla got a little stabby.” She pointed at the girl as her mother held her against the wall. Her mama didn’t mess around when it came to her only daughter.
“Layla?”
“Yeah, apparently she and Ash were lovers,” she started.
“Oh, I knew that.”
“You did?”
“Yes, but he didn’t kill her?”
“No, they killed a hooker and pretended it was Layla with magic.”
“I told you that body looked wrong.” Zazie woke up and sat up, looking around. She moved her hands up and down her arms, no doubt looking for the invisible bugs. She and Chloe looked at each other, sharing the knowledge of what they’d been through. Neither one of them would tell anyone. There was no reason to put that pain on those they loved.
EMTs rushed in and tended to Chloe’s arm, which needed attention, and Rob’s leg, which they said was a flesh wound that just needed bandaged up. Brent held Chloe’s hand while they loaded her onto the stretcher and the police began to start their questioning. He kissed her softly.
“I’m so sorry, Chloe. I’m so sorry they hurt you.”
She smiled weakly at him. “It’s not your fault, you did well today.”
“We’ll need to ask her some questions,” the chief started to say.
“You will ask her questions once they fix her arm, TJ,” Debra said, climbing into the ambulance with her daughter. “Her arm has been stabbed completely through to the wall. You can question all these people. Zazie, get in here, you’re going to be checked out too.”
Zazie didn’t argue. Debra could be quite firm when she wanted to be. Chloe had a feeling her mom somehow knew they’d been through a lot more than just kidnapping that day, and she was grateful that she had such a great mother
The last thing she saw before she passed out from pain once again was Layla and a very injured Sarmia being led out in handcuffs.
One month later...
Chloe and Brent walked hand and hand through the woods behind his dad’s house. They’d avoided a walk through the woods behind her parents’ old house since the incident, but talked of going back for closure someday soon.
She was starting to be able to use her arm again despite the pain she still had and she was suffering from nightmares when she closed her eyes. Brent slept over at her place most nights, so she felt safe in his arms.
“Did you think finally taking our relationship from friends to lovers would change your life so much?” she joked.
“No, but I’m so glad it did.”
“Really?”
“I mean, I could have done without the dark wizard trying to kill us, that crazy bitch torturing you and Z, my father getting mad at me for getting Z out, getting almost shot, and watching your father become a mountain lion. But other than that, yes I’m glad.”
She hit him in the arm playfully, and he pulled her to him and looked at her seriously. “I love you and I’m glad that you’re a nuthatch and I’m a wizard.”
“That is the first time you’ve said the W word out loud,” she said. “How’s it feel?”
“Strange, honestly. I’m still so bad at magic. Like, watch this.” He stood still and thought really hard. “Wind and stuff blow around my feet, make the leaves dance like a creek.” Nothing happened for a minute and then some of the leaves lifted off the ground about an inch and fell back down.
“I honestly think it might be your rhyming. How’s Z?” she asked.
“She’s good, called last night and said she really thinks she has a lead on where Samuel might be. She talked to someone from the old Sarmia cult and they were really helpful.”
“You think she’ll find him?” Chloe bent down to tie up her boot.
“I kind of hope she doesn’t. From what you told me he sounds kind of evil.”
“Yeah, but he’s still her kid. She wouldn’t be Z if she weren’t out looking for him, trying to have an adventure.”
“You want to go up to the Observatory tonight?” he asked, knowing she always wanted to.
“Of course I do. I can map some stars for class.”
“Sounds like a blast.” He rolled his eyes.
“I mean, I guess we could make out a little too.” She laughed as his eyes lit up.
“That’s what I’m talking about.”
“You’ll get better at magic, you have Regina, and I believe in you,” she said, kissing the tip of his nose. He pulled her into him again and kissed her deeply, squeezing her against him and not breaking away until they were both breathless.
“There will be more of that for you to enjoy later,” he said. “At the Observatory.”
They walked back up to the house together and got into their separate cars.
She went to see her parents and have some of her dad’s new soup. He was better now too and talking to the neighbors about his heroic skills that saved the day so much that her mother wanted to move.
Brent was going to his grandmother’s for a little one on one magic lesson and they’d meet back up later.
As far as she was concerned, everything was perfect in Woodland Creek, and they were all stronger because of the evil they’d had to face and defeat.
The End
Thank you so much fo
r taking the time to read my novella from Woodland Creek!
All reviews are appreciated.
If you would like to read more from the Woodland Creek series, please click on the link below:
Woodland Creek Website
Emily Walker
Emily Walker loves creating worlds and stumbling around in them. She is constantly losing her chap-stick, and has an obsession with the color pink. Currently a resident of the mountains and loving the view she writes mostly paranormal fiction, and horror. Her small family consists of her red bearded other half, a rat terrier named Rebel, and a cat called Mr. Creepy.
You can find all of her work on
http://www.authoremilywalker.com
Read more by Emily Walker
Why Yellow Jackets Can’t find the Hole
His Boss Lady
The Kingdom
Julie’s Ascent
Visit her on Amazon!
http://www.amazon.com/Emily-Walker/e/B0088EDLDS/