Don't Forget Me

by Sia Wales

  “Yeah, right, that’s easy for you to say…” Stella said dryly, putting one tentative foot in front of the other to finally resume her journey back to the car.

  “Don’t let them see you’re scared,” Vuk encouraged.

  Silence again, but then Stella jumped. “Vuk, there’s someone coming toward me from the other direction,” she whispered, scared.

  “Is it one of them?”

  “I can’t see him very clearly.”

  Vuk waited for several long seconds until, worried she’d dropped the phone, he asked her if she was still there.

  “Yes, but he’s heading right for me!”

  “Then why can’t you see his face?”

  “He’s wearing a hoodie.”

  “Stella, slow your breathing down, there’s nothing else you can do now… Walk towards him… Running away would be pointless, you’d never outrun them, they’re far too fast.”

  “Now I can see part of his face but I don’t think it’s one of them… Wait, he’s walking past me.” She couldn’t take her eyes off the figure walking past. Their arms brushed and she smelled his scent, as he glamoured her. It was Aaron, showing himself to stop Nathan in the act of jumping on her from the bushes at the side of the road. In doing so, however, he lost sight of Drake. After exchanging glances with Jason, he realized that he, too, had lost sight of the werewolf.

  “Stella, can you hear me? Stay on the line for as long as you can!” Vuk was driving at breakneck speed down the VT-9, then taking the Molly Stark Trail. He was not far from the Green Mountain National Forest.

  “Yeah, Vuk, I’m still here,” she said, stiff with tension, staring in front of her.

  “Thank God… Did you get a look at him?”

  “Yes, his pupils were dilated and his eyes were just hypnotic!”

  “Do you know him?” Vuk had realized that the man was a vampire.

  Stella thought hard, wanting to say yes but then said the opposite, still under the effects of the glamouring.

  “I think I’ve seen him before somewhere but he was wearing a hoodie and I couldn’t make him out properly.”

  “Never mind, Stella. As long as it wasn’t one of them. Now start running again, I’m nearly there!”

  “I need you so badly, Vuk, please hurry.”

  But at that very moment, Drake walked round a bend in the road and materialized in front of her, flinging his arms wide to block her way.

  “Well, hello Stella,” he greeted her beguilingly, his eyes narrowing to mere slits.

  “What do you want, Drake?” she asked, going on the offensive, fuelled by her fear.

  “Where’s Vuk?” he replied darkly, making Stella hesitate and take a step back.

  “Lie!” Vuk commanded through the headset.

  “He’s just behind me, he’ll be right here,” she wavered.

  “Really?” Drake knew she was lying.

  “Be more credible,” hissed Vuk, his voice serious.

  “Yeah, he’s going to catch up any minute now,” she said, shaken, paralyzed with fear. Her breathing accelerated.

  “You’re lying… I went to your house before but no one was waiting for you… I couldn’t help notice how your house is always empty.”

  “Lie again!” Vuk interrupted.

  “My father got back from a business trip today, he’ll be home by now.”

  “I’m sorry, Stella, but I still don’t believe you. Perhaps Vuk could feed you some better lines.” He smiled, taking a bold, weighty step toward her.

  “Get away from me! Don’t come any closer!” she cried, revealing how afraid she was.

  “Don’t be frightened, Stella, I just want a word with Vuk,” he said, amused. He pulled her toward him, digging his fingers deep into her sides. She gasped. Even from the other end of the phone line, Vuk could sense her emotions.

  “Stella, give Drake the phone. Don’t worry, I’m almost there.”

  She took out the earpiece and gave the phone to Drake, who had moved like lightning and was once again right in front of her.

  “Thank you, Stella, most cooperative. If you keep this up, you’ll have nothing to fear.” Putting the phone to his ear, he said, “Vuk! Long time no see, man,” his voice calm, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

  “Not long enough,” Vuk replied angrily.

  “I can’t believe you thought me stupid enough not to notice the earpiece,” Drake exclaimed in irritation, piercing Stella with his dark, shadowed eyes.

  “Of course not, I just wanted to stay close to her.”

  “You seem to hold her very dear, Vuk…”

  “I’m warning you, Drake, don’t you dare lay a finger on her.”

  “If that was the plan, I’d have done it already,” he replied and hung up.

  Now at the end of his tether, Vuk ran a red light and dodged crazily in and out of the cars in front of him.

  “And now what do you think we should do, Stella?” Drake asked mockingly, handing her the phone. He was wearing a black leather jacket with spikes, a green t-shirt perfectly matching the color of his hair, a pair of dark jeans and black boots.

  “I just want to finish my run… but that’s unlikely now, isn’t it…” she said glumly, putting the phone back in her pocket and letting her arm fall limply at her side. Drake looked at her attentively, clacking his tongue piercing between his lips.

  “I fear so,” he agreed, putting his arm around her. Caught by surprise, Stella jumped and grabbed his shoulder, her hand resting one of his tattoos: four half-moons placed together to form the letter “W”. She was unaware that it was the initial of his surname, “Wolf”.

  “So there’s no chance of me leaving the forest unless it’s with you?”

  “Smart girl. But just the fact that you’re still here talking to me is very revealing, Stella,” he said, somewhat awed at her cool.

  “Will you tell me who you’re working for, who sent you?” she asked, leveling her gaze at him. Drake smiled lazily.

  “Sorry, no can do, obligations of confidentiality and such, but I doubt it’d make much difference even if I did. I’m pretty sure you’ve never met my boss. All I know is that you’re a woman of importance to someone else entirely, and that’s why you’re indirectly involved in something bigger, far bigger than just you…” He looked at her appraisingly, thinking that she had guts, a real personality. His eyes shone as he felt desire for her rise up inside of him.

  “And I guess you can’t disclose that person’s name either, right?” Stella observed Drake too, noticing that one of his ears was pierced and he was wearing a small silver stud, almost hidden by his hair, tufts of which spilled over onto his face.

  “Excellent deduction, Stella. But stop trying to buy more time. Even if Vuk arrives, what can he do by himself against us three? That won’t end well, let me tell you. Is that what you want?” Drake’s hand ran up her back.

  “No, of course not,” Stella replied quickly.

  “Then come of your own free will or it’ll be a sad day for him,” he exclaimed, grabbing her by the hair and pulling out a tuft by the roots. His tongue piercing kept up its infernal “click-click” inside his mouth. He felt her hot breath close to him, and breathed in deeply, trying to absorb her scent.

  “Where are Ian and Nathan?” she asked, not seeing them nearby or among the trees of the forest.

  “There’s only one way to find that out…” he said cryptically, releasing her. His hunting instincts fired up, he wanted to have some fun with her. She saw his eyes burning with excitement. He was a lone rebel wolf, loose in the wild, as he had always been.

  “Are you suggesting I run away, Drake?” She stepped back but kept her gaze firmly locked with his.

  “Nah, I’m just letting the boys have their fun… The question is whether you want to play the game too,” he explained smoothly. What he wanted was to serve her up on a silver platter to the other two werewolves.

  Suddenly, Stella darted away, not getting very far before she crashed into Ian
, who tightly pressed her to him then released her almost at once, teasing her with another empty chance to escape. Aaron, watching the scene unfold, motioned to Jason to stay put for a moment.

  Stella started to run again. Glancing back, she saw Drake and Ian standing perfectly still where she’d left them, making no attempt to come after her and, turning her head back to see where she was going, she slammed right into Nathan, who, in thrall of the hunt, grabbed her wrist, spun her around and started to drag her back toward Drake.

  “Hello Stella… Looking for me were you? Surprised to see me again so soon?” Nathan taunted in a ferocious growl.

  “No, not at all…” Disgusted, she tried to break free from his vise-like grip.

  “Hey, I can’t get over how we keep getting thrown together, and in the most unexpected places… your home, your university cafeteria, this lonely road in the forest. Hmm, in fact this is rather an isolated choice for jogging, doncha know? So many bad types in the world today…” He pressed her struggling body against his, getting a kick from her anxious squirming as she tried to break free, her eyes darting desperately as she searched for an escape route. The perfect prey.

  Stella suddenly jabbed her elbow into Nathan’s stomach, forcing him to release his grip. But Ian sprang on her in a flash, pushing her to the ground and pinning her arms above her head to immobilize her. The weight of his body forced her legs open, and Stella flailed about, trying to free herself. She opened her mouth to scream, but Ian grabbed the wound on her back, and threatened her, forcing her to stay silent. Stella protested weakly, a whimper of pain forcing itself out of her.

  Meanwhile, Aaron, exasperated at having to keep Jason in check, shoved his friend against a tree trunk to physically hold him back. They couldn’t risk showing themselves until the time was right. Drake was coming closer to the girl, suddenly annoyed at how Ian was touching her.

  “Ian, get off her! Help her to her feet,” Drake ordered, walking over to them. His tone was sharp, his gaze biting. He sneered at Stella, poking his tongue out at her, his piercing glistening with saliva. “Don’t provoke people you don’t know, Stella. You’re lucky I’m here to stop him,” he continued, his face serious. She tried to scoot herself away from Ian, who grinned wickedly at her. Drake came closer to her, took her by the hand, and helped her to her feet. He pulled her to him and moved her away toward his motorbike; he wanted to keep her away from Ian, she was his prey.

  “Right, enough of this messing around. Let’s go, Stella” Drake tried to calm her with his voice, but she continued to resist him.

  “Get your filthy hands off of me, you bastard!” she cried, trying to pull out of his crushing grip, not realizing that he was trying to protect her from Ian who, annoyed at Drake, was ready to leap if she managed to escape from the other wolf. Drake looked at Stella, his eyes narrowed hand glimmering with danger. He grabbed her hair in exactly the same way Vuk sometimes did, even if their intentions was entirely different.

  “Calm down, Stella, you’ll make life much easier for yourself if you just accept the way things are. Do you really think you can get away on your own?” Drake asked impatiently, gripping her arm even more tightly. He was nervous, he could sense Ian breathing down their necks. She turned and tried to hit him in the face with her fist, but he blocked her effortlessly. Losing control of himself, he tried to kiss her violently.Suddenly, Jason broke cover and in a flash locked his arms around the werewolf and dragged him across the road deep into the bushes.

  “A fatal error on your part, Drake, to think she’s on her own,” said Jason, pushing Drake to the ground and ramming his forearm across his neck. Then he lifted him to his feet and landed a series of staccato punches, forcing Drake further into the trees and further from the road. Aaron had positioned himself in front of Stella, seeing Ian and Nathan hovering close.

  “Go, Stella, run! Don’t just stand there. Run!” He turned slightly to look at her, his face shadowed, his eyes the darkest slate gray, his fangs two scary white points. Stella needed no further prompting and sprinted off down the road toward the safety of her car.

  “If we don’t take her someone else will…” Nathan said, pulling his knife from his pants pocket.

  “Oh come on, are you serious? You really think I’m scared of a little blade?” Aaron mocked.

  While Aaron was stuck with Nathan, Ian had taken off after Stella and was tracking her through the woods parallel to the road.

  “Get rid of your knife, you fool. You’ll regret it if you try something with me.”

  “Yeah, that’s what you think.” Nathan lunged at Aaron, slashing at his chest but managing only to scratch him, a mere surface cut that healed itself instantly.

  “Impressive…” Aaron commented sarcastically as he deftly snatched the knife out of the werewolf’s hand and flipped it over to grasp the blade. Then he slapped the werewolf with the handle several times across the face until he drew blood and then kicked him to the ground. He ran off to catch up with Stella, who had just spotted Ian emerging from the trees at the side of the road.

  “No you don’t!” Ian shouted in glee as he pounced on her, bringing them both tumbling to the ground. He had overshot the jump a bit though, so she had time to get back up and start running again. Ian was on her in no time. Gripping her arm tightly, spinning her round to face him, he pushed her hard against a thick tree trunk.

  “I’m done with running after you today, bitch,” he gasped, his patience snapping. He put his lips on her earlobe, sucking it deeply, as he ground her body into the tree. His tongue moved down her face, as his hands moved over the forms of her body. Then he smiled at her, and pushed her away from him, shoving her little by little back toward Drake, who Jason had knocked to the ground again in the meantime.

  “Who the hell are you?” Drake asked cautiously, peering at Jason as he got up, his body sore and bruised.

  “Not important, all you need to know is that you picked the wrong girl,” Jason said angrily. “Don’t even try to get within a mile of her again, or you’ll pay the consequences,” he threatened, his voice thunderous.

  “What’s she to you?” Drake asked, tilting his head slightly, narrowing his eyes in irritation as he walked toward Jason, his piercing glittering between his lips.

  “None of your damn business.”

  “You clearly have no idea who you’re dealing with,” the werewolf said aggressively.

  “And you do?” retorted Jason, pushing his face into Drake’s threateningly.

  “I’ve been soft with you so far… Screw the talk!” said Drake, shoving Jason violently against a tree.

  “It’ll take more than that to get rid of me!” shouted Jason, leaping toward him to grab him ferociously by the throat.

  Salvation in Death

  All of a sudden, Drake’s face disappeared and was replaced by Stella’s, hers streaked by a trickle of blood, but then Jason realized that the blood was actually his own dripping into his eye and that she was merely a shimmering mirage. He felt the blood continue its journey down his face to his lips, his jaw and placidly on down his neck before her returned with a thud to what was happening in the real world.

  “Tell me why you want the girl,” Jason demanded, his hands throttling Drake until he almost passed out. Then jerking him to his feet, he flung him to the ground some yards away but started to close in on him again as his rage turned to a maddened fury. Suddenly, he sensed someone creeping up behind him and, without even having time to turn round and confront them, felt the shooting pain of someone slicing a knife into his side. He turned in agony to see Nathan standing there, a smug, cocky grin on his face.

  Jason’s face twisted into a terrifying grimace, as his wound healed only partially. Nathan danced back and whipped out another knife, the silver blade of his false courage glinting evilly as he lunged at Jason, thrusting both knives wildly at his adversary. Nathan was a werewolf, and Jason knew it would be a mean feat to overpower him.

  “Drop the blades, Nathan!” Jason th
reatened his movements faster than lightning as he dodged the slashing knives Nathan was aiming alternately straight at his heart. Then Jason saw an opening and grabbed the wrist of the hand holding the most dangerous knife, the lethal silver one. He twisted Nathan’s wrist sharply to force him to drop the weapon. Then, blocking Nathan’s other hand, he yielded to his darkest side and sank his razor-sharp teeth into the wolf’s jugular vein, ripping it open in a single, incensed bite before spinning round instantly and advancing menacingly toward the bleeding figure of Drake sprawled on the ground, still stunned from Jason’s latest attack.

  “Don’t expect me to beg for my life. You’ll get no pleas for forgiveness or pity from me. Death doesn’t scare me, so just get it over and done with, if that’s your intention,” said Vuk’s brother, his muscles strained, his breathing jagged, his werewolf eyes staring starkly at Jason.

  Jason lifted him off the ground. “Hah, the first sensible words to come out of that scummy mouth of yours yet… But don’t clam up on me now. Do go on, why the girl? Speak or die!” he threatened, his body tensing as Drake remained silent.

  “Ah, so you’ve decided to leave this life then? Well, I can surely grant you that one wish,” Jason said with icy contempt, his eyes turning coal black, his terrible fangs bared as, driven by his most ferocious instincts, he bent his head to Drake’s throat.

  “Nooo… Jason, God no, stop, please!” cried Vuk, who had just got there, panting and winded after his race down the road, his eyes swiveling to the lifeless figure of Nathan lying on the ground in a shiny pool of dark red blood.

  “So you know who I am now… Go away, don’t meddle,” Jason warned him, managing to rein in the rage that was starting to possess him, his lips parting as he reached Drake’s neck.

  “He’s my brother, I have to.”

  “Your brother? Jason glared at both of them for a moment and then said, “Well, make yourself useful, man, get him to tell the truth and just maybe I’ll consider sparing him… Now, why does he want Stella?”

  “Tell him Drake, tell him…” Vuk urged him.

  But quicker than a flash of lightning Jason had already scaled the trunk of the towering tree next to them, Drake grasped tightly to his side and was threatening to dash him from the highest branch to the forest floor far below if he refused to answer.