Jimmy saw the glimmer. He saw the blade. It looked like a foot long dagger of some kind with a golden hilt and handle. The gold color sparkled in his eyes. The blade looked like silver. It too sparkled. It too shined. Seeing it, his heart sank. Suddenly, he grew nervous. If it was what it looked like, he knew what Michael was going to use it for, and now knowing that, he had to catch his breath.
Michael lifted his free left hand up in front of him. He pulled the sleeve up on his suit coat and exposed his forearm. He turned his wrist over and brought the dagger down with a sweeping motion across his wrist. The blade slashed him. Deep red blood instantly flowed from the wound. It burned. It felt so right.
Rachel watched this and gagged a dry mouth.
Jimmy gasped.
Brandon’s eyes lit up.
“Now taste my life, my new friend.” Michael lifted his blood up towards Brandon. He brought his wrist towards his face. He exposed his blood to his mouth. “And become one of us for an eternity.” He smiled.
Brandon stared at the blood for only a few moments. The time seemed to stop. The hours came down to this one single moment. The blood looked like magic. It looked like life itself. He thought of nothing more than that, as he reached out with both hands and took Michael’s arm into his grasp, and brought his wrist to his mouth. He wrapped his lips over the wound and began to suck. The taste blew his mind. It tasted beyond wonderful. It tasted beyond magical. It tasted better than anything he had ever had before in his whole life.
Michael gasped, feeling his blood leave his body. He loved it when he made a new walker. He loved it when they would suck his life with every breath they made. It felt like the best thing in the whole world. He wished everyone could have it. It meant a new beginning. It meant a new nightwalker was about to be born.
Brandon became greedy sucking the blood. He could feel the heat of it go down his throat, flowing into his chest. He couldn’t resist the taste. He couldn’t resist the feeling. He swallowed it down.
Michael closed his eyes as he let his blood flow.
Jimmy closed his eyes. He couldn’t watch anymore of it. He felt more than just sickened, he felt downright awful for being forced to watch it.
Brandon swallowed, until the heat in his chest slowly became a burn. A sharp pain flew through his stomach and then flew through his chest, and it forced him to stop. He lifted his lips from the wrist. He closed his eyes, feeling the burning turn into a sharp and agonizing fire over his entire body. It burned. It scorched. It made him scream.
Michael opened his eyes. He looked to Joshua. “Take our new companion to the bathroom, so he can let his body adjust to its new existence.” He smiled.
Joshua nodded, came behind Brandon, and took him by the shoulders.
The touch made Brandon scream again. It felt like a thousand daggers piercing his flesh. It felt like a thousand wounds opening up his flesh with them. He bellowed. He yelped. His body began to shake.
Joshua practically carried him into the bathroom. He had to use most of his strength to get him there. Once there, he sat him down to the tiled floor.
Michael looked back to Jimmy. Behind Melinda, he could see
Joshua close the bathroom door, as screams bellowed from the small room behind her.
Jimmy bowed his eyes. He heard the screams. Even with everything that just happened, he still felt bad for his friend. He sounded like death. He sounded worse than that. The sounds made him look back to Michael with practically fire in his eyes. “Why are you doing this? What do you want with us?” His voice growled. It still lacked the wolf, and not having it, he, now more than ever, wished that Kalima was there with them again.
Michael smiled, listening to Brandon‘s screams. He loved the sounds. A new life was beginning. The pain of death always sounded like music to the ears. “Kalima has lost his right to live. He has lost his soul. He has betrayed the walkers. He has betrayed all of us.” He stared to Jimmy’s darkened eyes. The lack of yellow gave him more confidence than ever that the wolf was nowhere there behind them.
“Why?” Rachel came in, looking back to the two men closer to Jimmy. She understood nothing that she saw, nor heard. “What did he do?”
Michael shot his glare to hers. “You should know my dear. He loves you. He loves you more than he loves his own life.” Michael stepped away from Jimmy, walked up to her, and stopped on the other side of the bed from her. He could read her thoughts as plain as day. “Imagine that, a wolf willing to give his life for a human.” He raised the dagger towards her. He didn’t intend to use it on her, but only did so because he always spoke with his hands. It was only a habit.
Rachel bowed her eyes. She understood. For a walker it must have been a betrayal. He not only helped an enemy, but also loved one at that.
Jimmy watched the dagger raise and felt his rage burst through his skin. He tried to break free but was helpless to try to do it. Melinda had him securely. He wasn’t able to move even the slightest bit. “You leave her alone!” he screamed instead.
Michael spun back around towards him. “You just proved my point, my old friend.” He left Rachel and stepped back in front of Jimmy. “You violated all of us. We cannot let that continue. We have to stop it and we will.”
Jimmy watched the dagger come back up, now in front of his face. The sparkle of the light ran along its blade and sparkled in his eyes.
Michael saw the shine. “With the drug in you, this will be better for you my friend.” He looked from Jimmy’s eyes and back to the blade. “I promise you that we will make this completely painless. I promise it will be quick now that the wolf will not come out and fight me.”
Jimmy watched the blade and Michael’s eyes, looking back and forth between the two of them. He realized that he could do nothing to stop what he knew was going to happen next. With that thought, his mind turned to a simple question. “What are you going to do?” He stuck his stare onto Michael’s reddened eyes.
Michael smiled. “There is only one way to end your life. I have to remove your heart.” He looked back to the blade. “And thus, remove your soul.” His eyes went back to Jimmy.
Jimmy had the answer he wanted, and now, looking at the blade again, he could only wonder why he asked it in the first place. It just didn’t seem like something he really wanted to know.
Michael brought the dagger down from his face. He looked down to Jimmy’s chest. He could hear his heart calming some. Hearing it, he knew he now felt close to accepting his fate. That felt good to him. When one comes close to death, they should always just accept it. They should welcome it without another thought about it. He looked to Melinda.
“Hold him still my dear. If he struggles, it will hurt him more than it should.” He nodded.
Although he couldn’t see her do it, Jimmy did feel her nod.
Michael brought the dagger’s blade down towards the top of his jeans. With his left hand, he lifted his t-shirt up and with the blade’s sharp side up, tore it open, up and towards his face.
Jimmy could feel the coolness of the air strike his skin. He shrugged with the feeling.
Michael then flipped both flaps of the t-shirt up around his neck. With his flesh visible, he looked back up to his face. “I wish this didn’t have to end this way. You were special. You are the last of your kind. With you gone all of the first ones will be gone with you. That makes me sad.” A tear did form in his left eye; almost proving what he said felt real.
Jimmy just winced and said nothing back.
“Good bye my friend. See you in hell.” Michael smiled. His fangs sparkled.
Jimmy thought his breath smelled worse. It smelled almost like decay itself.
Michael brought the blade up, and over his right shoulder. He had to be quick. He had to have a good aim. Listening to his heart beat softly; he knew he would find the target with ease.
Jimmy had the glimmer of the blade flow over his face as it came up. The point of it he could plainly see. This is it. This is the end. My life is finished.<
br />
Michael took a deep breath. He readied his arm. He steadied his strength. A strong knocking sound came from the wall behind all of them, and it made him stop.
He looked to the dagger and back over his right shoulder. He looked to Joshua. “Now what?” he whispered. The knock sounded more like a thud. A second thudding knock quickly followed the first one. This was not the time for an interruption. This was not the time to have to stop. A third knocking—thudding—made him have to do just that, so he dropped his arm. The dagger came down to his side. He turned back towards Joshua standing closer to the door. “Would you mind seeing who that is, and kindly tell him or her, not now?” he said calmly. He expected nothing else.
Joshua nodded and turned to the door behind him. He reached for the knob just as smoothly. He turned it and opened the door.
A black blur swept over his face so fast, he barely saw it. A sharp agonizing pain rushed through both sides of his face and it made everything he saw feel worse. Everything that happened barely registered in his thoughts. In fact, he died before he knew anything at all.
Rachel saw the black, clawed, human looking hand come through the open doorway so quickly that it made her gasp. She saw it strike Joshua at the side of his face. She watched blood spew at her, and barely saw something come at her chest. Seeing that Joshua now missed his entire lower jaw told her what that something was. With it all, she screamed.
Michael gasped. He watched Joshua fall to his knees. Blood flew everywhere. It covered the wall to his left. It instantly spilled to the carpet around his feet. Within a second, all of the thoughts he had in his head from his friend vanished. He could feel his friend’s life end so fast.
A large, massive black wolf stepped through the now open doorway, and ducked into the room. It looked so massive and tall that it had to bend at the knees in order to get through the door. Once inside it snarled. It growled. It sounded almost like a thousand elephants calling inside the small room.
With the man on the floor and with the wolf stepping inside, Rachel flung herself to the side of the bed. She felt beyond terrified; she almost felt petrified to her very core.
Jimmy watched all of this from behind Michael. He could see the wolf’s head come up to the ceiling just above him. Seeing it, his heart froze. It’s the same black wolf I saw at the clinic. It’s the same one that I lost that night in the trees. Seeing it again, knowing he was now helpless to fight it, he felt his legs grow wary and his mind explode with all of the terror he now felt. Behind him, Melinda hissed, sounding more like a snake than a woman ever did.
She let go of Jimmy, and pushed him to her right. She had to get him out of the way. She had to come to Michael’s side. She knew her duty. She knew her place to defend her master.
Michael froze in place. He felt helpless to move. He never expected there was another wolf in the area. Seeing it, it made him confused to his very core, and locked him in place.
The wolf charged. It came forward with such strength that it truly felt almost impossible to comprehend at once. It reached out a clawed hand and grabbed Michael by the throat. It lifted him up, and squeezed.
Jimmy fell to the bed, bounced off it some and almost spilled to the floor behind it at the wall to the bathroom. He did everything he could not to hit the wall. On the bed, he watched Michael get lifted off his feet. He watched as the wolf’s snout came down and bit strongly onto the left side of his neck. He watched the blood spurt out almost like watching a water hose that had just sprung a leak.
Michael felt the bite. He felt its teeth plunge into his flesh. He felt those teeth pierce the vertebrae of his neck. He even heard his own neck crack as the jaws came in. His life faded from there. He felt nothing after that.
Melinda came forward fast, but it wasn’t fast enough. Just as she reached the wolf’s arm, it pushed at her with such strength that she slammed hard to the wall at her left. She hit it as the sheetrock of the wall came off and around her in chunks. The blow caused her head to swim. The pounding caused her mind to fade.
With the woman down, the wolf tossed the man to its left.
Michael’s now lifeless body hit the nightstand in between the two beds. The sound of wood shattering echoed around the room.
Jimmy couldn’t believe how weak the nightwalkers actually were. He couldn’t believe how defenseless they were to a beast as he was. Seeing it, his mouth dropped open and his mind rushed with everything all at once.
With the man no longer in its hands, the wolf turned to the woman. It turned to the wall. With her still dazed, it reached for her and pounced at her fast.
Melinda couldn’t fight the beast’s strength. Without room to maneuver, she couldn’t use the one weapon she had against the wolf— speed. Without it, their only weapon became useless. In the confines of this small motel room, she seemed absolutely helpless to fight it.
The wolf picked her up. She hissed, screaming a high-pitched screech throughout the room. The sound bounced off the walls. It echoed all around her, as the wolf bit down at the right side of her neck.
Jimmy watched the blood spray. He heard the screams. He looked to Rachel. “Rachel!” He waved his right arm towards her. They had to get out of there. He had to do something. Calling for her was the only thing he had left, so he yelled with everything he had.
Rachel pulled herself to the top of the bed. She climbed over it and found the floor between them. She had to step over what was left of the man on the floor, but she did manage to get to where Jimmy was.
Once by his side, together, they stood at the far wall.
“Now what?” she asked, almost mindlessly. She had too many things running through her mind to comprehend everything all at once.
Jimmy heard her, but his mind felt the same way. He had no idea what to do next. To make matters worse, they now had no other way out of the room. What in the hell did I do? I should have gone to her.
The wolf dropped the woman to its feet. It turned to Jimmy and
Rachel, and snarled, letting out a boastful growl.
Jimmy could almost hear joy in its voice. It enjoyed its victory.
The sound echoed throughout the room.
The wolf stepped over the now dead woman and took one-step closer towards the wall and them. It seemed to be taking its time. It didn’t rush them. It just stood there.
Jimmy could see it thinking. It looked like it was debating its next move. He didn’t know why it was doing it.
Rachel easily noticed the same thing. “What’s it waiting for? It has us cornered.”
Jimmy shook his head. He brought Rachel into his right arms, and brought her down with him to his knees. He needed to shield her. He needed to protect her. He did everything he could do, and had left, to keep her safe.
The wolf squinted its bright yellow eyes. It snarled its nose.
Its heart, Jimmy could feel, begin to pound. He knew what it meant. It’s getting ready to strike us. It’s relishing in its joy. It’s intending to take its time. He watched it as it took one solid step towards them.
It was now only three feet, if not less than that, away from them.
It bent at the legs, and lifted its hands. It took another step, when suddenly, a loud banging sound flared out, just after its pawed hind foot came back down to the floor. It sounded like the largest firecracker he’d ever heard before going off outside the room. A thudding sound followed the crash. The wolf yelped a mournful sound following both. It turned back to the door.
Jimmy couldn’t see what drew its attention, but he did see a small splatter of what looked like blood up on its right shoulder blade on its back. In fact, it looked like blood now oozed from that very same spot smattered through its fur. With it all, he gasped as another loud bang shattered through the room. A second thud came next, and the wolf yelped again, following it.
This time it flinched. It stepped back. It growled. It roared.
It sounded to Jimmy like it an obvious cry of pain.
It turned. It ran. It came
at them fast.
Jimmy grabbed Rachel with both arms, flung himself on top of her, and buried her to the floor at the foot of the bed. He could feel the beast’s fear. He could feel its instinct to run come next. He could feel its need to run from whatever it saw. He didn’t see anything but the pale gray carpet of the floor by the bed, as he came down on top of Rachel. What he did hear was a loud, thunderous blast of what sounded like wood shattering all around them. All he felt after the sound was more than likely pieces of that same broken wood hitting his back. Wood, and what looked like sheetrock and plaster, spread all around the gray of the carpet around his face. He heard nothing after that. When it finished, he sat up.
He still couldn’t see the door to the room with the side of the bed in his way, so he turned to the wall, just to the right of the doorway of the bathroom, and saw a huge hole where the wall once was only moments before it. Seeing it, and seeing the wolf gone, he breathed. It explained the sound of shattering wood. It explained the debris covering them. The wolf ran, just as he felt it would do, and obviously went through the wall.
Realizing it, he looked back to the floor, and to Rachel. “Are you all right?” He reached down and tapped the back of her now somewhat chalk colored black hair. She also had pieces of sheetrock and wood all over her back. He took the time to brush some of it off her.
Rachel brought her hands under her face. She pushed herself up so that she could see his face. “Fine.” She grimaced. She felt winded. With the dust of the plaster, it made it difficult to breathe, so she coughed to clear her throat.
He nodded, and sat up to his knees. He looked to the front door, and could see Sasha drop her arms, standing at the doorway into the room. He then watched her fall to her knees. The white t-shirt she wore looked covered with what looked like blood. Seeing her, he rushed to his feet. “Sasha!”
He left the side of the bed, ran out through the door, and ran to her side on the sidewalk. Once there, he knelt down beside her. Just in front of her knees, a black colored revolver, clasped within both of her hands, fell with her. “Sasha?” He took both of her hands into his. He looked down at her shirt. The blood looked concentrated around her left side, down near her hip.
A Werewolf's Saga Books 1, 2, & 3 (A Werewolf's Saga Boxed Sets) Page 74