I just shook my head and turned to walk away but before I could get my feet to move I was face to face with a larger lighter skinned man. This one didn’t look as ragged as the other. He wore a button down white shirt over the top of loose black dress pants and his shoes shined, no homeless man could afford shoes that nice.
His eyes were dark and sunken in, he looked like he was in desperate need of sleep or maybe on drugs I couldn’t be sure. He had an unmistakable five o’clock shadow that grew over a finely chiseled face, the kind I hoped I’d never have. My eyes trailed from his face down to his hand and that’s when I noticed the knife. It was large and sparkled even in the dim glow of the night lit street. I looked around quickly, hoping for someone anyone that could help me out of the mess I had gotten myself into. There was no one. I was alone with only my fear to guide me.
Suddenly, I regretted my better judgment to not stay home from work today. “If you don’t have any change, how about your wallet then,” the man from behind me spoke.
“I don’t want any trouble,” I said immediately damming my shaky voice.
“Neither do we,” the man with the knife said with a smug look on his face. The next thing I knew I was being pulled into the alley by my hair. The man with the knife walking in front of us was scanning the street for any sign of a witness. It’s funny the things your mind thinks of when your life is in danger. For instance my mind’s loud and angry grumble about the state of my hair and how I should cut it when I had more important things to think about like surviving. My back was slammed into a wall so hard I lost my breath for a moment and the small man moved leaving room for his hulking counterpart to take control.
“Wallet. Now!” he barked, waving the massive blade in my face. I nodded my head and managed to free my hand enough to reach into my pocket. As I fished around my stomach dropped. I didn’t have it.
I left it at home when I was at work, it kept me from spending the money I never really had to spend. I dammed myself for not bringing it tonight. I dammed myself for not staying home.
“I… I don’t have it,” my voice was almost pleading. For the first time in my life I wanted to cry. I didn’t know if I was going to make it out of that alley alive. I felt a sharp pain on the side of my head as something struck me, hard. It was the smaller man. He was standing face to face with me now, our eyes met and somehow I knew that I wasn’t going to survive. My mind stopped and I began to run on auto pilot.
You know those scenes in the movies when someone is in trouble and they instinctively know what to do? They fight off the bad guy, save the damsel in distress without even so much as a thought to how.
This was not one of those scenes. I froze. Of all the things I could have done and my mind chose to freeze. I sluggishly and halfheartedly threw a punch at the smaller man’s head and to my surprise I managed to knock him back. He hit the wall on the other side of us and looked over at his beast of a partner.
The large man charged me. I tried the same move again. Nothing. I connected but he didn’t budge. I suddenly became aware of the sharp pain in my hand as I realized I hurt just about as much as if I had punched a boulder. He grabbed my neck and plunged the knife into my stomach. The searing pain was enough to make me forget where I was let alone what continent I was on. I felt the blade cut through me. I felt the heat as what I could only imagine was blood escaped my body.
It’s funny the things your mind thinks of when it has better things it could be doing, like surviving. I remember feeling the blade again. It pierced through me sending a bolt of white hot fire through me and the only thing I could muster to think as I felt a wave of warmth running down my side was, I need that.
I wished I would pass out, I hoped I would die. At least then the pain would stop. As I said before, I never was so lucky. I heard a growl from the other end of the alley and before I had time to register what I was seeing, a beast came charging at us. It was large and ran on two legs. Its massive frame was somehow supported by its proportionally smaller legs and I got a better look as it swung at the man that held the handle of the knife that jutted out of my gut.
I fell to the ground as he flew to the side. Another jolt of pain went through me as the blade moved from the sudden shock. I heard a scream and a tear as the monster turned on the smaller man in front of me. I closed my eyes, I didn’t want to see him die but I couldn’t help hearing the sickening gurgle that escaped his throat as he left this world.
The beast walked toward me as I pulled the knife out of my stomach slowly and painfully. I threw it to the ground and locked eyes with the massive creature. I wasn’t afraid. I couldn’t explain why but its eyes were kind. I almost sensed that it was worried for me. Its face inched closer as I winced, waiting for it to kill me to but it just sniffed. A whimper escaped its throat.
“Pl... please,” I begged in barely more than a whisper “I- I don’t….I don’t want to d- di-die.” I stuttered in fear and in pain. I knew it was pointless. I was going to die here, this monster was going to kill me and there was nothing I could do about it. To my surprise it just took another sniff of the air, threw its head back and howled. It sounded like it was sad or maybe in pain, I couldn’t really tell. I heard sirens from a distance. Thank you God someone had called the police. They would come, they would kill this beast and everything would be okay.
The creature sniffed my wound and looked back up at me. My mind blanked and all I could hear was, You are dying. It wasn’t my thought. It was a woman’s voice, a caring voice. I shook my head. I didn’t have time to make sense of it. She was right. I was going to die.
“I can save you,” I heard the voice again. I was confused but nothing tonight made much sense so what was the difference
“I-I-I... D-d-don’t-” was all I could muster. Before I could finish the thought another searing pain swept through me and I heard a crunch as I felt my shoulder rip from my body. I screamed and tried to pull away but it was pointless, I didn’t have the strength.
The creature howled and ran down the alley leaving me there alone as the sirens grew closer with each second. Blood pooled around me and I felt reality slip from my eyes as I heard the ambulance stop and the doors open loudly.
I shot awake quickly as a scream escaped my chest. My pulse raced, my breath was deep and it took a moment before I could register where I was. The room was lit by the sunlight that beamed in from the large double windows to the right of me and the sound of a T.V quietly played in the background. I sat up on the bed and rubbed my hands over my eyes. Cordillia looked over at me from the other bed and to my surprise she was calm.
“Had another dream about the attack?” she asked. I had forgotten that this wasn’t the first time I woke up screaming. Ever since that night, the nightmares became a normal occurrence. I nodded and took a moment before shaking myself awake. I leaned over the side of the bed and quietly grabbed my bag from the floor. I shuffled around until I found my wallet, pulled out a twenty and handed it to Cordillia.
“I need some time alone.” I tried my best to muster a smile for her. “Why don’t you go have some fun?” Her eyes lit up as she took the bill from my fingers and jumped up from the bed.
“You don’t have to ask me twice.” She smirked as she turned off the TV. I laid back down as she began to make her way out of the room. “You know,” She stopped as she gripped the doors metal handle and turned to me. “They’re just dreams, Ethan.” I nodded. “But I guess now I know how you feel.” She met my eyes and nodded her head lightly before waving goodbye, pulling the door open and leaving my with my thoughts as it clicked shut behind her.
Chapter Nine
I had forgotten the voice that had spoken so sweetly in my mind that night or perhaps it was never there. I couldn’t really know for sure. The only thing I could be sure of was that I wanted so desperately to understand why. Why did it seem that everything that night lined up to make me what I am now? Why couldn’t I just leave Cordillia in California where they belonged?
That monster had taken everything from me and just like it I had taken everything from Cordillia. The hate in me grew and I cursed myself for doing this to her. I had taken her chance to go to school, her chance for a normal life. Now as it stood, I could never be sure she was safe. How could she protect herself from something like me? I thought about the man from the diner and I didn’t have a chance to stop myself as I felt the sharp pain of my fist going through the bathroom door.
How could she protect herself from something like him? I had to figure this out. I had to find a way to keep her safe. It was the only way I would ever feel right again. I pulled my hand from the hole that I had created, splinters and fragments from the door fell to the floor at my feet. My knuckles were bruised and there were signs of a break but I couldn’t pull my eyes away as I watched the bruises turn from black to purple, brown to yellow and within a few moments they were healed. I would never get used to this, of that I was sure.
Taking a quick shower, I hoped to wash away the madness from my mind. I chuckled as I realized that any normal person would have gone crazy by now but with everything considered, I was feeling okay. It was funny that I was handling being a werewolf on the run like someone would handle getting fired from their job. It sucks but you get on with your life. You play the hand you’re dealt with nothing more than the hope that it comes out even.
Stepping out of the bathroom, I donned a large blue towel and took a look through my bag. I had another pair of jeans but only one T shirt left, it would have to do until I had time to stop in town and pick up more. I thought about my finances and realized that Robert was right. If I was going to make this work and keep us fed, I needed to control the beast. If nothing else, I couldn’t afford to keep exploding out of my clothes.
Slipping on a fresh pair of jeans, I resigned myself to the same black shirt I drove in with. If I had time, I would get something else before we left to see Robert. I owed the man a lot. It was the least I could do to show up looking decent. I looked over at the bed that was seductively inviting me to sleep but that thought turned sour as I remembered the dream that woke me so violently. I pulled myself away and left the room before it had a chance to try and change my mind.
I nearly ran down the large staircase and moved toward the center of the room to join my sister. The flirty desk clerk had left and I relaxed. A small dark haired man sat behind the glass wall reading a magazine and for once it felt nice not to be noticed.
Looking around the room quickly, I walked toward her and noticed immediately that, well there wasn’t all that much to notice. A few waitresses sat scattered around the room looking bored to death. The bar was at best half full and the only tables that had any patrons were a single black jack game and a three man game of poker. The slot machines were pretty full, all six of them with my sister manning the biggest in the room.
I watched as she stared intently at the large red machine, her eyes fixed into place as she bit her lip and groaned with each loss. She pulled the arm down and I heard the machine chime as it rolled a set of common pictures into place. Cherries, pineapples and if you were lucky a row of big blue stars but as it came to a grinding halt, she huffed and pulled another coin from her pocket, sliding it into the machine and starting the process once again.
My senses were assaulted with groans and cheers from the people that surrounded me, throwing their money away at hopes for a better life and in a way I wished them well. The smell of old food and cigarettes wafted by me and somewhere behind it, I recognized the smell of excitement in the air. A waitress walked past me with a tray balanced carefully on her shoulder, a hint of perfume trailed lightly behind her as I watched her place a fresh drink in front of a distracted young man.
It was strange how everything came at me all at once and yet somehow I could separate one sense from the other with almost no effort at all. It would take some time before I became used to it but somehow it was nice not to miss even the slightest of details as I went about my day.
I heard her swear under her breath again and a chuckle passed my lips. It was so strange to hear such harsh words coming from her but it felt nice to finally know who she was at her core. I could hear the servers around me making small talk with the patrons at the bar, a dealer laughed at a rather bad joke from a man who smelt of whiskey. Having enough of my silent intrusion, I strolled over to where Cordillia sat pulling the arm and cursing when she didn’t win.
“Any luck?” I grinned as I leaned against the bright red machine. She just grunted at me as the pictures rolled into place. “So that’s a no then?”
“Dammit!” She cut me off as she slid another coin in. I was beginning to wonder when she would give up and stop putting herself through this but as it turns out patience really does pay off. The machine began to chime and flash, I had to step back a few feet for fear of losing an ear drum to the deafening victory bells.
Cordillia jumped and squealed excitedly as a small man in a gray suit walked over to her and handed her a white feather tied to a red ribbon. “Congratulations.” He smiled at her before moving to the side and allowing me to walk past him. I looked over at the machine, I wanted to see what the commotion was all about but Cordillia jumped at me before I got a good look.
“I won, Ethan!” She squealed as she hugged me. The machine finally stopped chiming and I was honestly relived. I was pretty sure that I would have smashed the large read screaming box if I had to take another moment of that and that wasn’t exactly conductive to staying hidden. I squeezed her back and smiled as she pulled back to look at me.
“How much did you win, kiddo?” She rolled her eyes and gave me her best I’m not a kid look but it didn’t last long. She looked over the machine again and grabbed a piece of paper from the slot near the bottom.
“Three-hundred,” she read off the ticket to me. “Isn’t that great?” She grinned. I turned to the small man and smirked.
“All that commotion for three-hundred dollars?” I asked. He shrugged lightly and nodded his head.
“That’s the jackpot for this machine.” I nodded and turned back to my sister. I could tell by the way she was shaking and smiling that she was having a hard time holding in her excitement.
“Alright you, let’s go claim it before you explode.” I laughed. I followed as closely behind her as I could as she nearly ran to the front desk and thrust her ticket at the man behind it with a smile. He took it from her and offered his congratulations before counting out her winnings with an apathetic tone.
To say she had her money spent before we even left the casino would have been an understatement. She had mentally bought a puppy, a bike, some clothes or maybe a few new pairs of shoes. She mentioned dinner for us and Robert, gas money, saving it for a rainy day and even suggested we go to an amusement park for fun. I listened as she rattled things off all the way to the truck and a few more as she climbed inside. I sparked the old girl up and began to pull out of the parking lot as Cordy was suggesting we find a mall and go shopping. I drove down the street lined with stores and chuckled as she suggested going for a movie and ice cream.
I laughed as I pulled into the parking lot of a small clothing store and she seriously asked if she could buy a small Ford for sale on the side of the road. I was beginning to think the excitement was going to her head as she spent her winnings several times over before we even left the store with our new clothes, my treat and I couldn’t take it anymore as I changed my shirt in the car and was beginning to wonder if she had even stopped to breathe since we left.
“Cordy… sweetheart,” I chirped with a laugh trying to get her attention. “You do realize you would need a couple of grand to buy all that right?” She smiled at me and took a deep breath.
“You’re right.” She sighed as we pulled out of the parking lot and headed back down the narrow dusty road toward Robert’s house. The sun began to set over the tops of the trees that surrounded the little town and the sky was beginning to turn a wonderful shade of purple and dark blue as Cordillia tr
aced waves in the air while I drove. I was happy for her. She deserved to win, to have something to take her mind off of all that had happened in the last few days. I just hoped that her spirits would continue to soar as we traveled on.
Wolves among men Page 9