The shot rang out, booming around the corner of the room.
The bullet hit her right where he wanted it to go.
Her chest smacked with its impact, and her heart stopped instantly. She died, staring into his deep blue eyes.
Finished, he breathed. The smell of gunpowder flew heavily in the room. Everything felt finished. No other sounds of life were with him.
He turned back to the front door. The freak would have heard the gunfire. He would more than likely be now coming back to the house. He had to get out of there. Rachel might be with him, and that meant that she would be in danger if they came in and he was forced to fire in her direction. No. He couldn’t bring himself to hurt her. He loved her too much for that to happen, so he had to get out of there. There would be another time to fight it. He would have all of the time in the world to finish the job.
He left the woman on the floor, passed the sofa, made his way to the front door, and paused some when he reached it. He took one more look back at all that he accomplished before he left. He loved everything. The scene looked perfect. Everything felt so right.
He left.
He walked out through the door, onto the porch, and headed to the stairs. He ran down them just as fast.
He headed straight for the trees. He ran with a purpose in his strides. He was clear of the house when he heard the freak coming down the road, heading for it behind him. He felt great. He felt satisfied. He didn’t need to see anything else.
35
“Get to town. Get Sasha out of here,” Jimmy ordered Rachel. He could tell that Gary’s scent was now moving away from him, and that could only mean that he was heading to the house. Knowing that, he knew that the others were in danger. They didn’t know that he was coming. If he could smell him, then he was moving upwind, and if this was true, then that meant that they couldn’t smell him before it was too late. He had to help them. He only hoped that he wasn’t already too late, but first, he had to get Rachel and the others out of there. He had to protect Sasha. They both had to get out of there and now.
Rachel had no intentions of leaving. “Let me help. He won’t hurt me.” She grabbed his arm with a firm right hand.
Jimmy spun around. “Just go!” Gary’s smell faded fast. It was gone in only seconds, and that told him that he must have already made it into the house. He might have even already gone inside it. He broke her grip and ran to the trees.
Rachel watched him disappear at the bend in the road. She then turned to Brandon, who was still standing on the other side of the car, looking dumbfounded as always. “Get her out of here. Take her to the clinic in town. Get her help.” She felt raced. If Gary was there, then Jimmy was in danger. She knew Gary well enough to know that he was determined to accomplish everything that he set out to do.
Brandon still had no idea what was going on. “Where are you going?” he needed to ask.
“Just go. I’ll find you later.” She said nothing else, and ran, headed off away from the car and headed to the trees at the bend of the road. She had to catch up to Jimmy. She had to be with him. She had to save him, if she could.
Brandon reached for the driver’s door right next to him, opened it up, and climbed in behind the wheel. Where in the hell am I going? He had no idea. He couldn’t even fathom the possibilities. He felt for the keys in the ignition, and found them there. At least I have the keys. Having something felt better than having nothing at all.
36
Jimmy ran as fast as he could run. When he figured that he was about halfway there, he heard a popping sound coming from just ahead of him, coming from where he knew the house was. He knew instantly, what it meant. That’s a gunshot. He’s already there. It’s already too late. He ran faster, trying hard to pick up his pace.
The popping happened several more times, but then it stopped.
Ahead of him, everything fell silent. He was too late, all right. He wasn’t able to help. He could only hope that they put up a fight.
He came to the house fast. He ran to the steps and jumped them without breaking his stride. He hit the porch still running, could see that the front door was open, and could see a pale, motionless arm lying just inside the door on the floor. His heart fell within his chest when he realized that the arm wasn’t moving. When he reached the doorway, and saw the arm beneath him, he stopped.
Blood was everywhere. The arm was Susanna’s, and she wasn’t moving.
He stepped in through the front door, looked around the room, and saw another person lying on their stomach just in front of the sofa. With his short brown hair, he knew that it had to be Markey. He too was covered in blood. He too wasn’t moving. “My God?” What the fuck did I do? How could I let this happen?
The smell of death flowed heavily throughout the air. Everything smelled stale. Everything smelled of a sweet iron taste. The smell of gunpowder overwhelmed everything else.
From the sofa, he looked behind it, seeing the top of someone’s head, lying on the floor just near the doorway to the dining room, and with her long black hair, he knew who it was. Oh God, Marie?
He left the front of the sofa and walked around it to see her, and instantly noticed that she too wasn’t moving. Blood covered ever part of her once and beautiful form. Her black hair was matted and it covered her soft face. Seeing it all, tears came out of his eyes like a flood. He couldn’t believe what he saw. He couldn’t believe what he felt. He bowed his eyes to the floor and could see a glint of something shining back to him, near his shoes. Seeing it, it looked like silver. It almost winked to his tearing eyes. He bent down and saw that it was a shell casing, and seeing its silver color told him that the shots were fatal. He looked back up to Marie, and sobbed. “I’m sorry.” He cried. He couldn’t control himself.
Behind him, Rachel’s smell joined him in the room with the sounds of her feet hitting the porch coming next.
He turned from Marie, moved to the back of the sofa, and rested his hands to its firm back. He felt himself go weak. He felt his legs stiffen. He needed the support.
Rachel looked down to the floor and found the woman that she knew to be Susanna lying lifeless at her feet. She knelt down to her and felt for her throat. Blood was the only thing that greeted her touch. She didn’t feel a pulse.
She stood back up and moved to the man at the front of the sofa next, bent down to him and again felt for any signs of life, but felt nothing. She stood and looked to Jimmy.
Behind him, she could see another person lying on the floor behind where he stood, and knew that it had to be Marie. Seeing her still, she could only figure that she too was dead.
With it all, she sighed. “I’m sorry Jimmy.” She walked to the front of the sofa, across from him. “Jimmy?” She could only imagine what he must be feeling right at that moment. They were his only connection to what he was. They were his friends. She didn’t know what else to say. She didn’t know what else to do, so she didn’t want to try to do anything.
He didn’t answer her. He couldn’t. Inside, his thoughts began to slip away, and anger replaced it. The rage for everything that happened gripped him tightly like a vise. He felt like he was losing his control. He felt like he was losing himself. Only one thing was now there. I have to stop him. I have to end this. I have to find him. I have to finish this.
Rachel moved to the back of the sofa and stood by his side. “Jimmy?” She reached for his right arm and took it into the palm of her hand, and caressed his bicep. “Jimmy?”
He looked up as his tears stopped. Only the streaks on his cheek showed that they were even there. His eyes looked heavily glazed over, with only a pale yellow color replacing his deep brown stare.
She looked at them and let go of his arm.
“I have to find him.” His eyes went back down to the back of the sofa, as his hands griped it so tightly that they nearly turned white. “I have to finish him. I have to finish this.” The sound of his voice grew low, and began to growl. It went deep. He could hear the wolf. He could fe
el him there. He could feel the eyes at the back of his mind begin to move. He took a deep breath, and with it, he started to calm down some. The eyes vanished with it. He felt himself breathe. He felt better, but only a little. Now wasn’t the time to change. He couldn’t. He had to stay calm.
Rachel nodded. She understood his rage.
Jimmy pushed at the back of the sofa and stood back up straight.
“What are you going to do now?”
He left her and stopped just before the doorjamb. “I’m going to kill him. I’m going to tear him apart.” He turned only his head to her. He took another deep breath as Kalima faded to the back of his thoughts. With it, he could feel himself calm even more. He could feel his heart slow its pace. He turned his whole body back around to her.
She could see his brown eyes had returned, and the sight of them made her blush again.
“First.” He looked to Markey on the floor. “I have to bury them.” He looked from Markey down to Susanna lying just to his right. “They deserve that much.”
She watched him turn back to the door and leave the house to the porch. He stopped there, and turned back to her. She looked around the room. “I’ll help you.” She smiled.
He breathed. There was nothing else left to say.
37
Jimmy found a shovel in the barn, and went back to the house. He knew how to find it. His memories were becoming stronger. He was getting used to the feelings that he had. He was getting relaxed with everything that he saw. He now remembered that he bought this place almost fifty years ago. He and Marie wanted a place to go in case they needed to escape the city, and with her help, it made the place perfect. It felt right to both of them. They made it their home together. He could remember them coming there every summer. They would come there in winter, just the two of them and stay there alone. There, they had their romance. There, they shared their love. They used the place more and more every year. It gave them all the chance to be close to nature. It felt like the perfect place to let them be what they were. Now, that place was her last place on earth, and in a way, he knew that she would have preferred it that way.
He took the shovel and made his way back to the porch where Rachel waited for him near the stairs. “You should go.” He walked to the steps and stopped just in front of her, but kept his eyes down. He couldn’t bring himself to look at her. He knew that she would fight him for what he wanted her to do next. He knew it, but also knew that he would melt again if he looked at her eyes. He had to spare himself the power that she had over him.
He climbed the steps and joined her on the porch. He tried to pass her, but she took him by his right arm and held him firmly. “I’m not going to leave you. I can’t.” She smiled.
He turned his eyes to hers. “This is not your fight Rachel.” He bowed his eyes again. He winced as well. “I’m not sure if I can protect you.” He blinked.
She let go of her grip, and bowed her head as well. “You need me,” she offered.
He let out such a long exhale that it almost blew him over. She was also right. He did need her, that was true, but he also knew that he couldn’t let her continue to put herself ahead of him. He wouldn’t let her keep needing him.
“Jimmy?” She could feel his hesitation. She could feel his pain. She guessed that it was for his friends. She would never believe the truth as to why he said what he did. “I’m here for you. I’ll always be here to help you.”
Apparently, not looking at her eyes wasn’t enough to keep him from melting for her; even the sounds of her voice did it without them. “That’s what I’m afraid of.” He shook his head. He left her on the porch and walked through the doorway and back into the living room.
She let him leave her, and could do nothing more but gasp from the pain of his words. In fact, she felt like crying. What could she do to prove her love for him? What did she have to do to convince him of how much she cared for him? She didn’t know. She didn’t know what to think, let alone do.
He walked through the doorway and looked to the sofa, and behind it, his face locked. Someone stood over by the archway, and seeing him, he gasped. He froze. His heart pounded. His mind went sailing into a thousand different directions all at once.
Samuel stood there over Marie behind the sofa, looking down at her, and had his hands clenched in front of him. He couldn’t believe it was her. His beautiful Marie wasn’t moving. He didn’t know what to do or what to think.
“Samuel?” Jimmy swallowed a fast drying mouth, as his throat stuck in place.
Rachel heard him from the porch, stepped to the doorway, and there, she stopped and looked into the room.
“You did this.” Samuel leaned down to Marie and brushed her blood-splattered hair from her face. He wanted to see her again, and wanted to see what she was. Feeling the cool blood mingled in with her hair only added to the rage that flared through his heart and mind, body and soul.
Jimmy shook his head, and dropped the shovel to his feet. It clanged on the hardwood floor, echoing around the room with a thud. “I didn’t.” He took a step forward as his mind went blank. He still tried his best to explain. “I didn’t mean to do anything.” He felt afraid. He felt guilty. He felt awkward. He felt everything all at once.
“Why did you come back?” Samuel stood up from Marie as tears now strolled down his face, and wet his chin.
“I didn’t know that I was supposed to stay away.” Jimmy held his breaths. He could smell Samuel’s rage. He saw his anger. He understood it.
Samuel laughed. It sounded full of sarcasm. When he finished, he bowed his eyes to the floor, concentrating on Markey just in front of the sofa. Seeing his lifeless body, he turned his eyes to Susanna at the front door.
“I’m sorry Samuel.”
“Sorry?” His voice turned to a growl. His chest started to rise under his neck. “You don’t have any idea of how sorry you will be.” He looked up from Susanna and saw Rachel standing there at the doorway, and took a deep breath. The breeze behind her, coming through the doorway, made her scent smell sweet. She smelled normal. She smelled human. He looked from her to Jimmy. “You did this. You couldn’t leave and stay away. You had to do it. You couldn’t just be what you are. You had to fight it. You never listened to me. You never should have done this. You knew that this would happen if you did.”
“I didn’t do anything.” Jimmy saw the look in his eyes, and the rage that he felt from him multiply by a hundred percent. He saw him look to Rachel, and felt the anger ooze out from him when he saw her standing behind him. He knew the feeling. He felt the hunger. He felt the need to avenge. “Samuel?” He stepped forward one more step. “Let me help you.” He held his hands up in front of him as he moved. He wanted Samuel to feel what he said. He wanted him to understand what he tried to tell him. He hoped his raised hands would help him convey what he truly meant.
Samuel laughed again, but this time it went to a strong bellow that vibrated throughout the room. It echoed around the walls like thunder. It began high-pitched but as it moved through the air, it became low and unforgiving. A gurgling sound followed the highness as a growling fierceness formed within it.
“Samuel?” Jimmy gasped. He could smell the mustiness from Samuel flow throughout the room. He was going to change. He was changing.
“You will pay for this.” Samuel’s voice became slurred. “You will die—for—th—is.”
Jimmy watched Samuel’s face begin to bubble beneath his skin. He watched as his eyes turned bright yellow, and watched as his pale white skin started to darken to an ashen black. His yellow teeth snarled as his fangs exposed and lengthened behind his lips. His ears pointed up as they reached up towards the ceiling above him. His shirt bulged just before it began to tear from his frame. His chest protruded from the ribs. His entire body began to flow with a black fur. He could hear his moans. He could hear the growls and the snarls. He could hear the tearing of cloth. He watched the black wolf form right in front of his eyes.
Rachel breathed, w
atching as the wolf became right in front of Jimmy. It grew taller as its head approached the high ceiling above them, and her mind flashed with horror from all of it.
Jimmy turned from the wolf and looked back to her. “Get the hell out of here!”
The wolf roared.
The sound flashed deep and seemed to swallow the room around him. He could almost feel it’s hot breath smack his face. He turned back to it, and realized that he had to do something. He just didn’t know what that was, but he did know that he had to protect Rachel. He rushed it without thought. He had to give her the time to escape.
Rachel watched his charge. She watched as the wolf swung its right arm and watched as it impacted the side of Jimmy’s right shoulder with a reverberating thud that followed the swing. She watched as he left his feet and flew through the air to his left, and impacted the stairs at the far wall. With it, she screamed from the sight.
Her sound caused the wolf to turn its attention to her instantly. It roared. It stepped to the sofa.
She could feel it’s hot breath reach her face. It felt so warm. It felt so moist. She paused, concentrating on where Jimmy landed, and leaned in towards the stairs without thinking. She wanted to rush to him. She wanted to reach him. His impact looked so violent. It had to hurt him. She had to rush to his side.
The wolf took the back of the sofa, and with only its left hand, it picked it up from the floor, and tossed it to Rachel’s right. The sound of it smacking the wall, thundered throughout the room. The sound of wood shattering and the breaking of glass followed it.
The sound was enough for her to turn and take her eyes off Jimmy.
The wolf stepped forward.
Jimmy picked himself up from the wall of the stairs as his entire body raked with pain. He felt wounded. He felt weak. Right then, he knew that he was no match for the strength of the wolf. He now knew that he had to change if he was going to fight it. He just didn’t know how.
A Werewolf's Saga Books 1, 2, & 3 (A Werewolf's Saga Boxed Sets) Page 50