Will. Time. Fate.

by Andrew Yake

  Benny was still on the ground writhing in pain. Alex looked over at Jane who was now standing beside him. “Well that was a hell of a thing.” Alex breathed a sigh of relief.

  “So, this,” Jane pointed at Zack and motioned around the room, “is what you were talking about regarding the whole ‘wolf’ thing?”

  Alex looked around the room. “Yep.”

  “What do we do with him?” Jane nodded toward Zack.”

  “Right now, nothing. We have bigger concerns.” Alex ran a hand through his hair and looked at Jane. “Well, we could always kill him now so we don’t have to worry about this again.” Alex bent down and reached for his blade that was on the ground.

  “Fine. Do what you think is best.” Jane turned toward Benny and started crossing the short distance to the vampire.

  Alex retrieved the blade and started to move toward Zack. He found himself unable to move as he stood over Zack’s body. The bloody blade dripped red fluid onto the ground as he stood motionless.

  “Well, get on with it and get over here.” Jane spokes over her shoulder.

  “I can’t move.” Alex spoke through gritted teeth as he strained to move.

  “Back. The. Hell. OFF!” Alex was thrown to the ground. He appeared to be dumbfounded, but unharmed. Jane turned to see Allison standing on the other side of the room. Her dark brown hair was disheveled and she was bleeding from her nose. Traces of blood stained her shirt on the left side of her neck and shoulder, but her skin was unharmed. Her face was a mask of concentration and fury as she regarded Alex. “He saved us all and you want to kill him?!” Allison spit out her words as if they were a venom.

  Jane put her hands up to calm Allison and show that she had no ill intent. “Look what he did. We cannot risk him turning on us.”

  “Screw you queen B!” Allison kept her eyes trained on Alex. “He stays!”

  “We have enough things to worry about right now. We still have to deal with Benny.” Jane motioned behind her where Benny still lay.

  “Touch him and you will have another thing to worry about.” Allison closed her eyes and the strain of what she was doing became evident. Jane and Alex were lifted from the ground and suspended in air.

  “Fine! Just put us down and stop this!” Jane yelled at Allison and looked over at Alex who was now flailing in the air like herself.

  “Give me your word.” Allison spoke evenly.

  “I promise.” Alex and Jane spoke in unison. Allison released them and they both dropped to the ground. Allison still looked as if she was concentrating, but not on anything in particular. There was sweat on her forehead and her hands stayed at her side. They were trembling slightly. The strain of wielding this much magic was taking its toll on her. Jane stood and slowly approached Allison. Alex dusted himself off and wiped the blood from his blade with one of the many rags left from Zack’s clothing before he slid the blade into its sheath.

  “Allison, you don’t look well.” Jane was almost to where Allison stood, trembling and sweating. “Hey, do you want to sit down?” Jane’s voice seemed to have a comforting tone to it. Allison turned her gaze on Jane and collapsed to the floor as she dropped her look of concentration.

  Allison started convulsing on the ground violently. Jane rushed to her side and instinctively turned her so that she would be on her side until the convulsions stopped. Allison’s skin felt cold and clammy from the mixture of sweat and blood. She was breathing normally now and simply unconscious.

  “Do you think she will be alright?” Jane spoke to Alex, but her eyes remained on Allison.

  “I’m fine. Thanks for asking.” Alex huffed as he hefted Benny’s body over his shoulder and started walking toward one of the heavy metal doors along the wall. He punched in a code at the door and the door unlatched and came open. This was not the same door that that the group had entered previously. This door led to an interrogation chamber. Alex went into the room and chained Benny to the floor with the same setup that was in Eli’s chamber. After chaining Benny’s limp body to the floor Alex left the room. He gathered up some clothing, pants and a tee-shirt. He took them to a different chamber that was similar to the one he had placed Benny in, with one major difference, this room had a bunk chained to the wall and a metal toilet in the corner. This room had luxuries. Then he returned to Zack and carried his naked body into that room and placed him on a bunk. Alex did not secure Zack with chains. Instead, he simply left the room and closed the door. After closing the metal door, he slid a metal panel to the side and looked in on Zack.

  “I think it’s time for some answers.” Alex turned his attention to Jane.

  “What about Allison?”

  “Leave her for now. If she is anything like you, she will be fine.”

  Jane rose to her feet and looked around the room. It was trashed. She let out a light whistle as she looked at the carnage, blood and body parts were in every direction except for where the books were. Actually, Jane considered to herself, the blood and guts are everywhere except for where Allison was. It’s like she was protecting the books. Jane considered the boundary of blood that seemed to encircle the area where Allison had been standing. The line from clean to bloody was clear as if something had stopped anything from passing beyond it. The only boundary that Jane saw was Allison. Jane felt a shiver as she realized that she too must have been able to do things like this. She found herself wishing that she could feel the feeling of power that she couldn’t even remember having. She wanted to focus on the humming sensation that she could feel radiating from Allison, but she knew that now was not the time. Alex had suggested it was time to talk to Benny and that is what she intended on doing. She turned toward Alex and followed Alex to Benny’s chamber.

  ******

  The first moments of consciousness hum through my ears along with the abrasive sound of my alarm clock. I reach over and lightly press the button that turns off the alarm. I hear voices from the TV going in the living room. No doubt my mother has fallen asleep again in front of the TV. I stretch out on my twin size bed that barely seems able to hold my tall frame. It was all a bad dream. I know that is the only explanation for the events that I have been through. It was all a bad dream.

  I sit up in my bed and silently listen to the ambient city life sounds of yelling and traffic outside my window. I consider what I have to do today. I know that I have school and that I have to go to work afterwards, but I have a strong desire to check in on Hailey first. The image of her dying in my arms is still vivid in my mind. The image of her covered in blood in the darkness of a tunnel while I am being hunted down for questioning in her brutal murder is disturbing and I want to wash it away with the reality of her smell and touch. I desire only to forget about the nightmare that I have just experienced.

  I spring out of bed and open a dresser drawer to grab a crisply folded white tee-shirt. It feels just like my dream. I cannot help taking a moment to smell the clean fabric as it slides over my face just as I had in my dream. I grab a fresh pair of pressed jeans from the drawer below and pull them on. I open the top drawer to grab a pair of socks. I choose the black cotton ones. I close the drawer and return to my bed. I make my bed quickly and expertly, but the ruffles of sleep on the sheets will not become straight and taught as I am used to. This upsets me more than it should. I remake my bed a second time, but get the same result. I look at my sheets and see that there are small rips all over them. I do not understand how it happened. I put my top cover over the sheet after I make it lay flat. I stretch the fabric so that it will lay flat and I see a stain begin to form in the center of the bed. I touch it with my hand and feel the dampness under my fingers. The stain is growing. I pull my hand away and feel the slickness between my fingers. I look at my hand and see fresh blood. I begin to panic. I quickly put on my socks, but my feet tear a hole in the toes of my socks. I am extremely upset by the condition of my socks and my bed and decide to quickly put on my boots and leave the room.

  I rush to my closet and quickly grab my jac
ket and backpack. I turn to regard my bedroom one more time before opening my bedroom door. Everything is in its place. Everything is in order, neat, clean, pristine. The blood stain is gone from my bed. I am unsure what disturbs me more about this. I feel the edges of my sanity being toyed with and just want to leave, find Hailey, and get back to a sense of normalcy. I run a hand through my short slightly longer than crew cut hair and breath out slowly.

  I open the door to my room and exit. The smell is what hits me first. The smell of two-day old Chinese food sitting out. The stench of my mother’s stale cigarette smoke from the uncleaned make-shift ashtray. The smell of my mother’s unwashed body in the other room. The smell of old food and garbage. There is something else that I smell among the midst of the odors that invade my nostrils. I smell a person that I do not know. I smell that this person is a predator from the pheromones of someone who has killed and probably intends to kill again.

  I rush to the living room to my mother’s rescue. My mother is sitting up on the couch. She has beastly looking thing sitting next to her. It is dressed in jeans and a white tee-shirt just like I am, but is clearly not human. It has sharp teeth and a powerful build. She is talking with it and treating it as a loved one. She looks over to me only momentarily and then disregards my presence. Her eyes are yellow and do not look like what I know her eyes should look like. They remind me of my nightmare. They remind me of the detective. My mother shifts her position on the couch and her feet move some of the many beer bottles littering the couch and the table in front of the couch. Her clothes are stained and she is still in her grimy work jeans and button up blue work shirt that is completely unbuttoned revealing the wife beater tank top that she is wearing. This too is also stained and grimy. Her appearance is in stark contrast to the beast and my own appearance. The beast raises one of his mighty arms. It looks as if he is about to strike at my mother. I rush at him.

  He swats me away without even trying. I trip and fall into the wall from the impact of his hand across my face. I feel scratch marks on my face. My mother looks up from under her long dark hair. I see anger in her eyes as if I have done something wrong. “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!” Her tone is one of anger.

  “I’m sorry! I thought it was going to hurt you.” I watch in horror as the thing puts its arm around my mother. It uses its other clawed hand to gently brush a few strands of long unkempt black hair from my mother’s face. I feel myself going insane. I scramble to my feet, unsure of what to do next. The thing looks terrifying, but it actually has not done anything aggressive yet. It released my mother after using its powerful looking mouth to plant a kiss on my mother’s head. The beast stands. It is over seven feet tall and unnaturally strong looking. My mother pats it on the back lovingly and then she sits back.

  It addresses me in a strange gravelly voice. “We have much in common, but I am not weak. And, I am loved.”

  “What are you?” I manage to say as my mind screams to every fiber of my being to run.

  “Fear.” Its reply is soft and chills me to the core.

  “Why are you here?” My voice is small.

  “I have always been here.” Its golden yellow and red rimmed eyes seem to pierce my soul. I feel my legs become weak.

  “I don’t know you.” I speak again, but I am not sure I believe that. The longer it is in my vision and the more I can smell it, the more familiar it seems.

  “Yes, you do.” It takes a step forward and backhands me with its right paw. I feel the pain in my face. This strike was not meant to take my head off. It was meant to sting and put me in my place. I raise my hand to my cheek and feel how my skin is warm and slightly raised.

  “Why did you do that?” I say to it.

  “You are weak. I hate you for being weak.” It turns its back to me and strokes my mother’s hair lovingly once more.

  “I am not weak.” I protest.

  “You are the reason he left.” It speaks to me from gritted teeth, but continues to regard my mother while running its massive hand through her hair. “Your weakness is a disease. Your father knew that you would make him weak also. So, he left.” My mother nods her head in agreement.

  “NO!” I shout. “YOU LIE!” I feel the anger and rage burn inside me. I toss my backpack to the ground. I decide that I will show this thing how weak I am not. I no longer fear it.

  It turns and regards me. It laughs a terrible laugh that is unnatural for it. “Yes.” It begins to speak. I lunge for it. I use the messy coffee table as a jumping point. I step onto the mess that is on the table with my right foot and push off. I strike it in the massive jaw with my left hand while grabbing and holding onto it with my right hand behind its massive head. It is not fazed by my attack and seems pleased by it. “Yes, give into me. Allow the anger to fuel you.”

  The longer and more viciously I strike him the more I seem to be pulled into his harry body. I scream. He laughs. “WHAT ARE YOU!” I demand as I continue to hit him about the face and neck.

  “We are one.” It replies as it regards my face.

  I stop fighting him and let go. It opens its jaws in a way that makes it seem to have a very toothy smile. I step back and regard the creature further. It is dressed as I am. My mother stands and I see her smile. I see her reach up to run her fingers through the fur of the beast’s head. “I love my boy.” I feel her fingers in my hair, but I see her hand on his head. My brain fights against what I know is the truth.

  I am back in the nightmare. I see the darkened room and hear the fighting. I see the beast, but it is larger and without clothing. I see it shredding and dismembering people. I look down and see the blood on my hands. I know that I am the one responsible. I call out to the beast, but it does not respond to me as I try, in vain, to calm the bloodlust and fury that fuels it. The force of the beast is frightening and an awesome display of power.

  It turns to me. “All of this is yours for the asking.” It drops the heads of two people at my feet and breathes heavily on my face. I feel droplets of saliva fall onto my face from its mouth. “Give into wrath. Give into me.”

  I awake with a start. I look at my surroundings in a panic. My heart is racing. I am naked and feel cold. My body is unharmed. I see that I am in a small room with a metal toilet and not much else. I sit up abruptly and realize that I have been laying on a bunk that is chained to the wall.

  “Hello?” I speak to no one. I am alone. There is a heavy metal door in the room. I look on the bunk next to me and see that there are clothes, some green fatigue pants and a black tee-shirt. I put them on and get up from the bunk. I cross the room to the door and pound on it. “HELLO?” I hear no response and decide to return to the bunk. I sit down and put my head in the palms of my hands. I start to sob softly with the realization of my new reality. I am a monster.

  I hear a sound of someone outside my door. I wipe the tears away. I see a metal slot open and I see the eyes of Allison peering in at me. I feel ashamed of myself and I am unsure if I even want to be saved from my imprisonment now. I see the slot close and I hear the lock to the door click. The door opens and Allison motions for me to come out.

  22

  Politics

  Before I follow Alex to interrogate Benny, I put a throw-pillow from a nearby armchair under Allison’s head. I have made her as comfortable as I can for the moment. I stand and follow Alex into the room where Benny is chained to the floor.

  I enter the room that is reminiscent of the room I had seen where the other fang is. How many times have I helped put one of these freaks into a room like this? I consider what type of life I must have had before. If not for the task at hand right now, I would be asking Alex to tell me more about that life. As it is, there are other questions that need to be answered.

  “Rise and shine.” Alex kicks Benny in the side to rouse him.

  “Ouch,” Benny groans from the discomfort of having a boot shoved into his side. I cannot help feeling a little happy about his discomfort.

  “Wake up.” I say to Benny.
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  “Awe, what the hell is this horse pucky?” Benny starts to raise his head while still grabbing at his side. I have a hard time believing that Alex kicked him that hard and, judging from what I just witnessed during the fight, Benny should be able to simply shrug off this kind of discomfort.

  “Hey, blood sucker. What are you up to?” Alex steps back and crouches down so that he is sitting on his heels and is closer to eyelevel with Benny as he sits up.

  “Yeah, and why are you looking for me?” I say as I cross my arms.

  Benny gives a weak chuckle. He is still suffering the effects of whatever happened to him during the fight. I saw how he screamed in pain and was brought to the ground, but I still have no idea what exactly happened. Whatever it was, I am glad it happened. Right now, I would love to know what happened so that I could make it happen again at a moment’s notice. That kind of torture could be very effective in gaining information from this fang. It would also bring some smug satisfaction to me. I don’t know why I like the thought of hurting him so much, but I feel it in the back of my head.

  “Right, I see. Y’all are gonna make me spill those, oh so valuable, beans. Well, got news fer ya. I is just here to retrieve what y’all stole.”

  “What are you babbling about?” I say impatiently.

  Benny glances between Alex and me. “Like ya don’t know.”

  “I am already tired of this.” I turn to Alex. “Can we hurt him yet?”

  Alex shrugs his shoulders and reaches over with his metal hand and simply touches Benny exposed neck. Benny shrieks in pain. “WHAT THE HELL!”

  Alex takes his hand away. “Let’s try this again. Talk.” I am enjoying this. I am amused.

  “FINE!” Benny shows his teeth and then spits at Alex. “I is here ta retrieve da head honcho. Ya know, the big cheese.”