by Lee Taylor
“Your friend murdered them.” Christian's eyes were pinched together, his face contorted with what looked like rage. Slowly, his eyes widened with acknowledgement. Cradling Tessa, I coughed, uncomfortable with the tension. Well that and the amount of smoke I had inhaled.
“What have you done to your friend? I said that you were all the same, didn't I? But you would not listen, you’re all murderers.” Christian's tone was icy cold, and his words stung. My dark passenger growled and longed to shred him, but was following my will. A low thrumming snarl escaped my lips.
“I have not done this to her, and that psycho Leon, he wasn't my friend. I was moments away from getting pummelled by him before you and your guys turned up.” I was as curt as ever, and he appeared to ignore every word. I swallowed back volumes of rage. If I could have I would have spat brimstone at him.
“I have no reason or intention to believe you.” He pulled his weapon into view and cocked it for emphasis. He held it rigid in his good hand. He was still covered from head to toe in cuts and bruises, and he looked like he was having the same kind of day I was. The pistol he held was the same silver one that he had drawn so dramatically at the bar earlier. I kept on pacing forward, undeterred until I was a few feet away. He could see Tessa breathing and frowned down at her.
“I bet the poor girl had no idea what she was getting into,” Christian said, rotating his bad arm in its socket where it had been sling-bound before.
I noticed as I approached, that in addition to the bandages he had on his face, he had acquired a new one. This one was on his throat. My eyes widened as I briefly considered what had happened.
“Look, Chris, I do not want to fight you. I am here to offer a trade.” Tessa coughed and moaned again as I held her in my arms. My heart skipped a beat, and I looked down at her, brushing a darkened stray strand of hair from her pale statuesque features. She was even more beautiful when she was sleeping. I wish I could say the same for myself, the drooling snoring oaf that I am. Agent Christian’s eyes flickered to Tessa as he saw me brush away the straggling hair.
“Wouldn’t you rather have me go quietly with you than have us duke it out here? Because if that’s the case neither of us win. The way I see it, the fact that you are here by yourself means that you are clutching at straws, and have probably been bested for getting an entire squad wiped out, am I right?” I said, and his hand began to squeeze the trigger on the pistol. He contemplated what I had just said to him. Anger flared in his oaky eyes. It looked for a moment that he was going to put me down, and my gut was telling me to run, but if I did that Tessa could get worse, and I couldn’t risk it.
As the moment ticked by it seemed to stretch on for forever, until with a grunt he slowly took his finger from the trigger guard and holstered his weapon. He was clearly agitated what can I say? I guess I had a knack for getting under people’s skin.
“First of all, you repugnant sin against nature, there was two fire teams that I am supposed to believe you had no part of dispatching. What about your friend there? I suppose you want her to come with you?”
I was relieved that the snotty prick was in a reasonable mood. I had no idea what else to do, and I had no way to know where the nearest hospital was. I never saw one, and I figured if he is government sanctioned then he should have some pretty good facilities, in which case they can care for Tessa. I would have bled on her again, as grim as that sounded, but I have kind of learned that was a no-no. If I already bound us together by doing it once, what would happen if I tried it again? And worse still, if I succeeded and she did recover, she would probably force feed me my nuts on a plate... God I missed Tessa and her charming disposition.
“No I was planning on ditching her body in a hedge and letting nature take its course... Of course I want her to come with us, and I want you to promise that she will receive the best medical care that your group can provide... In fact, better. I want space-age stuff to sort her all out. That’s my terms and conditions; make sure she is fighting fit and then release her, and you can biopsy me all you want. I can take it.” I winked and smiled at agent Christian; he did not seem to appreciate the gesture. I was terrified, and without another clear course of action I didn’t know what else to do... I am sure I have mentioned this before, but I really am an idiot.
“How about I just tranq you?” Christian said, unclasping his side arm again, pulling it back into view. One word came to mind that I was thinking of ... Let me give you a clue it sounds like “pit”.
“Well if you do that, you had better hope that it knocks me out, and if it doesn’t then I am going to take great pleasure in sitting back whilst my dark passenger rips off one of your appendages and beats you open like a piñata and feeds on the goodies inside.” I wasn’t joking. My dark passenger was elated with the idea; so much so that I thought it was going to fight for control again. I clenched my left hand that was underneath Tessa’s head, squeezing my fingers together in frustration until they popped. If Christian went to take the shot then I was out of options... A nervous bead of sweat began to trickle down my brow, and my breathing became more laboured as my heart rate inclined. I had to fight back the urge to change. I began to tremor lightly at first.
“I guess I am going to have to make a call then,” Christian said, once again sheathing his pistol. He continued to reach into his trouser pocket and pulled out a shiny phone and began to dial. I tried not to show the huge sigh of relief, also trying not to slump forward. Man all I wanted to do was sleep for a week. While I assessed my position, Agent Christian was busy on the phone, getting my attention as he snapped it shut.
“Okay a medi-vac is on its way, and a chopper will be here to pick us up in the next few minutes. Also the local authorities have been allowed jurisdiction of this area, and will arrive in the next hour to distinguish any remains of the fire.” “Well then, Mr. Edwards, as we have a few minutes to talk unofficially, care to tell me what you know about Leon?” I couldn’t help but smile with his question. I had to fight back the wave of relief that covered me; finally, it looked like Tessa was going to get the help she needed. It hadn’t fully sunk in that in a few hours’ time... maybe less, I was going to be like the frog in my school biology class...
Whose stupid idea was this again? Oh yeah, mine.
I looked at Christian for a moment, and I held a scowl on my face. Truth was I didn’t know anything about Leon, or even if that was his real name. Christian must have thought that I was holding back information. As if I knew how.
“Well other than he is apparently bad news, you know he is even so low to buy drinks for minors!” I said, shaking my head playfully in a mocking shocked expression. Apparently joking about psychopaths was not one of Agent Christian’s favourite things to do. He simply stood there and looked at me. His cold, calculating eyes narrowed, and I could see a vein throb on his forehead. It was an awkward silence, and I had to break it.
“But seriously, all I know is that he is bad news.”
Christian looked at Tessa and squinted speculatively. I really didn’t want to know what he was thinking. He stood, almost statuesque. Squinting at me like the site and smell of me was repulsive to him.
“Okay then, my turn. What happened to your neck? I don’t recall seeing any bandages on there earlier last night.” Christian grunted, and for a moment his expression seemed less hostile and more sombre. I saw Christian’s eyes begin to cloud with emotion, and with a sneer he began to reach for his holstered pistol... Apparently Christian wasn’t the sharing type.
My eyes widened as I saw Christian thumb his pistol grip. A moment before drawing it and probably emptying the chamber into me, his phone rang and he froze in place. I didn’t want to make eye-contact with him in case it set him off. He glared at me, mumbling into his handset.
Okay, mental note... Christian gets touchy talking about his love bites... A sudden voice in my head almost made me drop Tessa.
Ursine, are you sure you know what you are doing? Lycaon asked... Why the hell
did I keep freaking forgetting about that douches link to me? I let out a deep sigh and eyed Tessa affectionately while I thought of something to reply with.
Are you kidding? I rarely know what I am doing any more. I am just going with my gut, and it tells me that this is the best course of action to take. Once I know Tessa is alright then I am going to get out of there. It was true. It did seem like the only option that wouldn’t leave me or Tessa out in the open for the cultists or whatever that hag Kaitlyn planned on sending.
And if you cannot “get out”? Lycaon asked sounding reproachful.
Well, then I would probably need you and the others to break me out. I was growing restless, and I was pretty sure Agent Christian was asking me a question, but hey what can I say I can’t multi task. I was occupied with Tessa.
I took another moment to gather myself, and the whole while listening out to see if Lycaon replied. Honestly I wasn’t sure, there was a growl, but I wasn’t sure if it was from my dark passenger.
“Mr. Edwards, I am talking to you.” Christian’s sharp tone was like a slap to the face.
“Huh? What? Sorry, I uhh wasn’t listening.”
“I asked how you met your mate. That is the correct terminology, right?” My eyes widened at the question, and my jaw almost slapped Tessa. Now that was one question I was not expecting. Well at least now I knew that Tessa was comatose, because if she was just sleeping she would probably use me as a punching bag and Christian, well she would probably use him as the boxing gloves. I am so not going to explain to you how that would work...
“She’s not my mate! Wow... Do you have any idea what she would to you if she heard you?” I grunted and shifted my weight uneasily; I really wasn’t comfortable with talking about my feelings with the whole matter... I found myself telling Christian how we crossed paths... Well how she found me and decked both myself and Lycaon, but I wasn’t going to tell him that.
“I was out training in the woods, and she stumbled across me, there is no romance.” I sighed and my lips curled a little as I recalled the odd scene... God Tessa was beautiful with her silky, ebony hair, her fragile pale complexion, and her dazzling, emerald eyes. Maybe it was the binding, surely it had to be. Regardless I would have to ask Lycaon if my feelings were part of it. I had a feeling that asking such a question would feel like the whole “sex” conversation I had with my mom. Well you know what she had with me when she approached me. Opening onto the subject, I tried my best to ignore her, and I even tried to do coursework to get out of it. When that failed, I attempted to blank her by playing XBL. She just spoke louder and louder until my friends online heard her, and it even made them uncomfortable. Don’t get me wrong I love my mom, but some conversations are better left unsaid. She even took me into the drug store and walked me up to the counter to buy some “prophylactics” that’s condoms to you and me. I explained I already knew about sex, blushing and squirming the whole while. I had already been sexually active, but still she insisted. I would do anything to talk to my mom now. I gritted my teeth and looked back up at Agent Christian. He was busy talking into his phone, apparently someone was arguing with him, and he kept spying on me out of the corner of his eye with suspicion, like he thought that I was planning on running... Yeah that’s a brilliant plan; walk out, reveal myself, then run away as an apparent wind-up. Truth was I didn’t know what kind of trouble I was getting into, in fact the only person who knew a little about the Helsing institute was Tessa, but she wasn’t available for a chat right now. I waited nervously for Christian to finish his call, heck just because I was more nervous than a nun at a swinger’s party didn’t mean that I had to be rude... My dark passenger grizzled at the daunting possibilities that lay in front of us, yet still it remained relatively tame, compared to how riled up it could make me feel. There wasn’t even a drop of turbulence in my proverbial pond.
***
Just as Agent Christian had said a few minutes later the thwacking sound of the helicopters blades slicing through the air was growing predominantly louder as it approached a relatively clear area to land. Two armed soldiers pulled back the heavy looking door and hopped out of the copter, followed by another two with a bright orange board that I assumed they intended to lay Tessa on. I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of some strange men handling her, and neither was my dark passenger. Hell I was positively territorial, sneering as they approached. The armed soldier’s neatly took steps toward Christian, handing him a white document. He perused its contents, and looked up towards me; there was something in his eyes that put me on edge almost like a look of knowing what crap I was letting myself in for... I was so going to need Lycaon to rush in, acting like my knight in shining armour.
“Mr. Edwards, we are here to escort you and your partner to our barracks, where your partners medical needs will be tended to as agreed.” The man who spoke to me was wearing what looked like a wet suit perfectly moulded to his body; it had three, dull matt-grey chevrons stitched onto his chest indicating his rank. He was about average height, maybe a few notches less than six feet, with a clean shaved head same as the other skinnier model of the man standing next to him. They looked like chimps, both Caucasian. The elder of the two, (the one addressing me) had a long silver scar reaching from his jaw up past his ear to his brow, leaving a silvery line fading into his wrinkles. I really liked the way that the asshole paused for a moment just for emphasis... Honestly, why I wasn’t running away screaming rape I don’t know. My guess, I was obviously dropped by my parents as a child.
They are so going to sodomize me...I flinched and ground my teeth together, forcing myself to bite my tongue at the grim possibilities that could unfold for me. My dark passenger let out a low cracking rumble; I guess it wasn’t too keen on the idea of getting put into captivity either.
“Please place her on the board willingly, and come with us for debriefing.” The soldiers looked uncomfortable talking to me, shifting their weight slightly as they rustled with the full face helmets that they were straddling on leather thongs hanging from his hip. It could have been from the way I was panting, but I hadn’t noticed that my hands were shaking too. The anticipation was killing me, and every moment that ticked by put me further out of control. I was waiting to see if one of the soldiers made a wrong move, like cocking their weapons and taking aim at my face, but fortunately for me their fingers were securely clutching their pistol grips of their rifles, opposed to fingering their trigger guards, showing that they didn’t appear to be so eager to “squeeze off a shot.” Their body armour that they were wearing like I said resembled a wet suit, but made them look a lot broader than what they probably were I could see a gap in the armour around the neck of the younger of the two; his blue eyes watching me nervously opposed to the predator like stance of the sergeant. Christian seemed to smugly stand back from the pair, like they were his attack dogs trained to pounce in an instant... The irony unfortunately was lost on me, especially with all the Lycanthropy I had been witnessing.
I lulled over it for a moment, avoiding eye contact as I did so, and I found myself gazing endearingly at Tessa again, waiting for her to answer... or more likely for her to kick my ass for making yet another stupid choice... Ugh, I shouldn’t be allowed to make decisions... I should be like one of those toddlers with a leash on with the illusion of freedom, but in actual fact my butt was always going to be close to an adult with “life experience”. I chewed on my lip for a second. The nearest grunt changed his stance, his neutral posture becoming more defensive.
“Hang on; I thought that I was going with her there?” I asked as the medics rumbled up behind their armed escorts and froze, laying the board flat on the floor. They unfastened its buckles that were strapped across its face, exchanging some conversation that I wasn’t privy to in a foreign language that I didn’t recognize. One of the soldiers lifted his rifle, aiming it at my chest and spoke in a low husky tone.
“Mr. Edwards, first, please put the girl on the board so the medics can check her over.”
“Ursine, do I have to remind you of who asked who for help?” Christian said, clutching at his pistol grip. I grimaced and sighed in defeat, of course, he was right. But that didn’t help get my ass-backward hormones into check.
Slowly, I paced over to the board, placing Tessa loosely on it. She just sagged there so I neatly folded her arms onto her chest, the light contact made my fingertips tingle.
‘Thank you for your cooperation in the matter, now if you wouldn’t mind Mr. Edwards, I must request that you step to the side over there and lay on your front.” The soldier with three gold chevrons on his moulded chest used his rifle to point a few feet away from Tessa and the medics.
As soon as I stepped aside and lay on the ground, the medics rushed over to Tessa, checking her pulse, flashing a light in her eyes. I was asked to look ahead. I ignored them and watched as the medics finished their initial checks and strapped her securely to the board and transported her over to the helicopter.
“Okay, Mr. Edwards, please relax, the cuffs are going to pinch slightly.” The sergeant nodded to his colleague. His voice was thick and oaky like he had smoked forty cigarettes a day since he was twelve. He was now in his late thirties at my guess.
The corporal done as requested and brought over a large set of manacles, laying the lump of metal on my back. I didn’t fight, not even when they began pulling one of my arms back into place. He bent it at an unnatural angle. It felt like he faltered for a second as the silent soldier placed his solid moulded boot in between my shoulder blades. After a second there was a clicking and chiming noise of metal on metal, and before I had a chance to say “what the hell!?” there was a sharp pinch on my arm like the soldier had just plied a lump of skin from the back of my wrist. I don’t want to sound like a baby, but it friggin stung like a mother. I swallowed back a yelp. The sensation didn’t last long; in fact, it didn’t belong. I couldn’t feel anything in my arm at all.