One Love (Vampire Love Story #5)

by Night, H. T.

  One down.

  The other six had no idea what had just occurred. They scattered, looking around and taking random shots at the sky with their guns.

  Hearing gunshots had a different effect on me than it had in times before. I knew now that I could be hit by a bullet and killed. Before, I had a Superman, man-of-steel, mentality. I thought even if a bullet hit me, it couldn’t hurt me. This was a whole new ball game, one that I hadn’t anticipated until this moment. For the first time since I became a Mani, I hesitated. I actually pulled back and observed my surroundings for the safest route back into the men. It wasn’t a bad idea, just a tactic I hadn’t needed to think about until now. I guess being mortal was going to cause me to be a smarter fighter, and slower, while I thought about my decisions instead with the anxiety of a not-immortal new father.

  There was a guard with a smaller build near the front entrance of the prison. I flew toward him when his back was to me. I nailed him in the back of the head and he fell forward, dropping his automatic weapon. I quickly transitioned to my vampire form and grabbed his weapon and threw it deep into the brush. I turned into the guard, and he looked petrified. Good. It’s what this motherfucker deserved, keeping innocent people behind bars. God knew what atrocities this man had seen and caused. In the doorway, there was a metal rod in the shape of a spear. I summoned it with my hand and grabbed a hold of the metal rod. I flung the pole into the man’s chest, bashing him against the front door of the prison. I turned around and saw my friends had done similar moves to the guards they attacked and had killed three on their own.

  Five were now down, three were left. They were now firing their weapons at whatever they could. And again, it made me nervous. “Take care of these three!” I yelled to the others. I grabbed the keys from the guard who I’d killed and opened the front door. Our research had shown us that there would be two guards on each of the two floors.

  Now, this was where it got weird. I quickly went upstairs and was able to disarm and kill both guards. I knew Donya was in the last cell on the eastern side of the second floor. I knew I needed to remove the guards on the bottom floor first. It would just make my job easier. I hustled down to the bottom floor, still in my Mani form. I kicked open the bottom-floor door that led to the main hallway where they kept their prisoners. I was immediately attacked by a guard. Apparently, he didn’t have a weapon. I tossed him thirty feet in the air and he crashed into the back wall. He hit with his back of the head first. All I can say was that the sound and the sight of the man were equally horrifying when he hit.

  I looked down the hallway and there was one guard left. He had an automatic weapon in each hand. He must have had the other guard’s weapon. Now I was scared. One bullet could kill me. I transitioned into the eagle and flew across the hallway at an accelerated speed. The prison hallway was extremely narrow so I had to watch my wingspan.

  The guards shot at me and time slowed down in that way that it does for me in a death-defying fight, to where I could see the bullets flying toward me. I dodged the bullets in midair as if I was in a video game, watching them soar past me in a blur. I came up onto the guard and transitioned to my Mani form in an instant. I open-handed punched him in the face, sending him backwards. He dropped his weapons. I finished him off, and he was lucky that I showed him mercy because I was quick in my attack of his vital organs. He died instantly. I turned to look down the hallway. That took a good thirty seconds. Too long in my book. I hurried back upstairs to Donya.

  I ran to the easternmost cell block. I still had the guard’s keys on me. I looked inside the cell. The cell looked like something out of a nineteenth century Western film; just bars and a bunk inside.

  I looked in and I could see a woman nervously sitting up, looking at me. She wasn’t sure if I was one of the good guys.

  “Donya?” I asked.

  She nodded her head.

  “I’m here to rescue you.”

  I opened the cell with the key and approached her. She was unsure about trusting me. I could feel her uncertainty. I needed to assure her I was kind and not going to hurt her. “All I can tell you is to trust me. My name is Josiah and I know Atticai.”

  Then the warmest smile came over her face.

  “Can you walk?” I asked.

  She nodded her head.

  “Follow me.” I ran down the hallway, holding tight onto Donya’s hand. Once, we got downstairs, something didn’t seem right. There was a different presence on the second floor. A presence I recognized. One of the two guards wasn’t dead. As a matter of fact, not only wasn’t he not dead, he was something completely different. He was a werewolf. He had done something that I thought only Tommy was able to do. The guard was no longer a man. Apparently, he could transition at will when there was no full moon, just like Tommy and Yomaida could.

  I looked down the hallway and I could see what appeared to be a black werewolf staring me down from across the hall. I didn’t have time to get Donya outside. I was going to have to fight him with Donya in the hallway. “Stay here in the stairwell!” I said to her. “Don’t leave this area.”

  I looked across the hallway at the lone black werewolf. I have had plenty of fights with werewolves and knew it would only be a matter of time until I disposed of this unfortunate creature. But I had never fought in such a narrow space. And this creature was gigantic. There must have only been four feet separating the two sides of bars. Another thing concerned me, too. This guard had transitioned on his own accord; which meant that I was dealing with a wolf as tough as Tommy. He was more than likely very seasoned and very skilled.

  So, once again… let the games begin.

  The black wolf ran at me and I decided to cut him off in the middle so he would be as far away from Donya as possible. That turned out to be a bad move because I was more eager to block him off than I was to attack. I left myself very vulnerable when we rammed into one another.

  As we collided, the wolf bit into my shoulder. It was a nice hearty bite. It had clearly punctured my body. I ricocheted off of the wolf, smashing into the side bars. There was no room to fight in this hallway. I felt very dizzy. The wolf jumped on top of me while I was disoriented. The room was spinning and this was not what I had counted on. He tried biting me several more times and I was able to bob and weave away from the beast.

  His body was huge and being that we were in such a small hallway, my body had nowhere to move in such a tiny space that separated the cells from one another. The big, fat, giant wolf was smothering me. I couldn’t breathe. I knew I had to transition. As we rolled through the concrete hallway, I hesitated transitioning while the wolf had all his weight on me. He kept clawing at me and lunging his ferocious mouth inches away from my body and neck. I began panicking. I needed to do something fast. I had no room. He was too damn large.

  I had to transition and that was all there was to it. So against my better judgment, I transitioned into the eagle.

  Or so I thought….

  Usually when I transition, my mass shrinks in size and my eyesight becomes amazing sharper, due to the fact my eyes are closer together as the eagle. Not this time. When I transitioned, the black wolf that was clawing above me, elevated higher. Which only meant one thing. My body mass was larger than his.

  Out of pure instinct, I threw the wolf off, completely off my body. Yes, that’s right… I threw him off me. Not with my talons, but with my arms and claws.

  I looked down at my body and to my surprise I had somehow, someway, transitioned into a werewolf myself. I looked down at my coat and it was black as the night. I hadn’t had time to worry about what just happened to me. I needed to save myself and most importantly get Donya the hell out of here.

  I scurried over to the other black werewolf. His eyes seemed as shocked as mine must have been. I spent the next ninety seconds beating the wolf with my new werewolf body. I didn’t know how to judge my strength, so, I was just going to say the other wolf had very little chance. His dismembered body disappeared.


  I turn around and now I had Donya and my three friends staring at my beastly body. I knew I’d better transition fast.

  I transitioned and stood there in my Mani form.

  “Holy fuck! How long have you known that you were a werewolf?” Yari asked.

  “About three minutes,” I answered.

  “Are you still a Mani?” Wyatt asked.

  “I hope so.” I closed my eyes and focused on being the eagle and in a millisecond, my eye level had dropped and I was standing there as the eagle. I quickly transitioned back to my vampire self. “I guess that answers that question.”

  “How is this possible?” Hector asked. “No offense, Josiah. What kind of freak show are you? You’re like the platypus of the paranormal world.”

  “All I can tell you is that the other guy was Carni, too. He bit me and we fought a bit and before I knew it, I was werewolf myself, fighting him off.” I looked over at Donya, who seemed not as freaked out as someone in her predicament should be. I was pretty sure she thought I was some kind of wizard. “I know we want to figure out what the hell just happened to me. But we need to get out of here.” I looked at Donya and reached out my hand to her. “Do you still trust me?”

  “Do I have a choice?” she asked.

  “Actually, at this point. No, not really. If you want to be free, you need to hold onto me for dear life because you’re going for a ride.”

  The five of us flung open the door. My three friends transitioned into their respective birds and took off to the east. I had to remain in my Mani body, so I could hold Donya as I flew home.

  “Where’s the helicopter?” she asked. “Or whatever.”

  “Donya, hold on tight. You’re about to be Lois Lane.”

  “Who?” she asked.

  “Oh yeah, we have a lot to catch you up on.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  We flew across the night sky at an accelerated speed. Donya held onto me tightly and she was petrified and clung to me like she was worried about being dropped. It was a little nerve-wracking for her because I could fly faster if I had my arms extended. Don’t ask me why. I thought it was just a gimmick that superheroes used. It actually worked. We pushed our way east and, unlike airplane pilots who liked to take the northern route, so they spent as little time as they can flying over ocean, I didn’t mind. I was safer than any airline out there, any day. In about three hours of flying at insane speeds, we flew over Hawaii’s main island.

  “I am very cold,” Donya said, shivering. “Can we land and I can get some shelter for a little while? Maybe a coat?”

  “Of course,” I said. I looked down at the earth for a spot that we could land. I wanted to be out of the eyesight of people. I was also looking for a place we could possibly get some coffee, and maybe I could buy a coat off of someone’s back.

  As I scouted the ground below me, I heard a voice in my head. It was Tommy. “Josiah? Can you hear me?” Tommy spouted.

  “Is everything okay,” I said back to Tommy in my head.

  “Lena’s water just broke. The doctor will be here in five minutes.”

  “Are the nurses with her?” I asked.

  “Yeah… all six of them. Seriously, you have six nurses? What’s the matter? Was five not enough and seven too many?”

  “I wanted to make sure she was well taken care of.”

  “I would normally be turned on by the fact that there are so many nurses walking around, but none of them are younger than fifty.”

  “I thought you like the classics?” I said, referring to Tommy’s love for older women.

  “Maybe, I’m just really into Yomaida.”

  “How’s Lena?” I asked, cutting Tommy off. This wasn’t exactly an ideal moment for Tommy and I to have a heart to heart, especially in our minds. Telepathy should not be used frivolously. I had a feeling it was taking a lot of our power to use it.

  “She’s doing all right. The nurses are having her breathe.”

  “Breathing is good. Make sure everyone takes good care of her.”

  “Of course, buddy? Hey, do you have the girl?”

  “You mean the lady? Yes, I have the lady. She’s cold, so I am going to land in Hawaii and try to get her some coffee.”

  “Be safe, brother.”

  “I will.”

  And Tommy was gone out of my head.

  I aimed my flight downward. It was in the morning. So, I wasn’t too worried about being seen, but I still did not want to be sloppy about it.

  “You ready to land, Donya?”

  “Yes, I am so cold.”

  I landed in a giant parking lot, right out in the open. I could see a Denny’s up the ways. Thank God for all-night American cuisine.

  I let Donya go as we hit the ground. She immediately hunched over into a ball. She was very cold. I wrapped my trench coat around her. I would have done it before we left, but I didn’t think about it. Once we were in the air, it was impossible to take it off in the air and there was nowhere to land.

  “I don’t think my trench coat will be enough,” I said, as I warmed up Donya’s body with my arms and hands. She was very thin and very fragile. This was the first time I got a good look at her. She was stunningly beautiful. Even for a woman her age. I stood her to her feet and wrapped my arms around her and gave her giant bear hug to keep her warm. She was dirty, but even though I had just rescued her from a prison camp, she smelled feminine. She didn’t smell great, but she did smell like a woman.

  “Who are you?” Donya asked, as this stranger in front of her hugged her for warmth.

  “I’m a friend.”

  “You said you know Atticai?”

  “Yes, I know Atticai. We’re a little bit bonded by life.” I continued to hug her and she started warming up.

  “Hey, let’s go get some coffee and let’s see if they sell any sweatshirts at the front counter.”

  Donya and I walked up a ways and made our way to the Denny’s restaurant. This was definitely a Hawaiian Denny’s. I have never seen so much pineapple decorations. I looked behind the front counter and saw a bunch of sweatshirts with charity names on them. I bought three extra-large sweatshirts and wrapped Donya up in them.

  “May I use the restroom?” Donya asked me for permission as I put the last sweatshirt on top of her.

  “Of course you can. You don’t need to ask me.”

  “I have been a prisoner for many years. I have forgotten what I need to ask to do.” Donya was quiet.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “Why did it take Atticai so long to find me? Also, why isn’t he here?”

  “I know this is going to be hard to understand, but Atticai still doesn’t know you’re alive. I recently found out about you and planned your escape without him knowing. We were afraid he might jeopardize our mission if he knew. He’s kind of a hothead and we needed to get you out of there without creating an international incident.”

  Donya stared at me and now she seemed extremely confused. “It’s been a terribly long time since I’ve seen him. A hothead. Yes, that describes him. One of the last things he shared with me was who he really was. I can only assume you are the same?”

  “Because I can fly?”

  “Yes, but you can also shift change?”

  “Shift change?”

  “Turn into other entities.”

  “You know about the underworld in its entirety?” I asked.

  “Atticai wanted me to be able to protect myself, but he refused to turn me into what he was.”

  “A vampire.”

  “Yeah, a vampire. Before Atticai, I thought it was fiction or a myth. I was wrong.”

  “He mentioned shift changing to you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Shift changers are a myth,” I said. “There has been no proof of them. They have come out of the minds of creative writers in the past ten years.”

  “You’re real?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why couldn’t they be real?”

  “Did Atticai
say they were?”

  “He wasn’t sure and he said it was a possible option.”

  “Let’s get something to drink.”

  “Can I ask you a favor?”

  “Of course.”

  Donya looked at me and I could see the pain and misery in her eyes. For a brief moment I got a glimpse of her fear and panic. “Can you wait for me next to the restroom? I’m a little scared.”

  “Hell, I’ll go inside if you want me to.”

  “You won’t have to do that.”

  Donya went into the restroom and in about four minutes, she came back out. “Oh my God, there was hot water for hand-washing!”

  My mouth dropped open at her deprivation. “Let’s sit at the counter,” I said. “Let’s get some hot liquid in you. Do you want coffee or hot tea?”

  “I’ll have coffee. It’s been years since I had coffee. Or sugar.”

  We walked over and sat in a couple of stools in front of the counter at the front of the kitchen. The waitress walked over to us and asked, “Would you like something to drink?” The waitress was very Hawaiian and very pregnant.

  “We’ll have two coffees,” I answered her. “We’re not going to be needing menus. We’ll be leaving shortly.”

  Donya licked her lips, looking at an apple pie in the pie case. “Oh hell, of course, you’ve got to be starving. What am I thinking? Oh, miss? And a big piece of apple pie for the lady, please. Warmed. A la mode. Vanilla. Thanks!”

  Donya grinned. “I’ll eat it really fast. I haven’t had apple pie and ice cream since the 1960s. Bless you.”

  “You’re welcome,” I said. Lena was weighing heavily on my mind and I wanted to get back ASAP. But Donya was clearly starved for decades.

  I looked over at Donya. She was very thin and extremely tiny. She was barely five feet tall and probably weighed 85 pounds. I couldn’t imagine what she had been through over the past forty-plus years. To be honest, I didn’t want to know. If she chose to share her information, then I’d discuss it with her. Otherwise, my job was to try to bring some joy back in her life. I’d leave that to whatever therapy she wanted to go to after this ordeal.