by Sia Wales
Stella heard the ripping sounds of plaster and steel cables crashing to the cement floor. He had wrenched them out of the wall; she understood that Vuk was shrugging the harness off. She could hear the tearing metallic screech of the collar and manacles as he dealt with them. Then she saw the door of the factory quake. She could hear its groans as he tried to force it open, first pulling then pushing. Enraged with fury, he threw his powerful werewolf’s body at it.
Terrified, she retreated to the pickup, staring at the last links of a chain now in shreds still clinging to the door handle. Only a few more attempts to batter the door down and Vuk would have broken out into the moon-filled sky to seize her.
Suddenly, hearing one of the factory’s upper windows shatter, she got the hell out of there, hitting the pickup running, diving in and sparking the engine and headlights. She knew Vuk would stop at nothing and instinctively glanced in the rearview mirror as she felt someone’s eyes on her and saw the flitting of a shadow. Stunned with disbelief, she panicked and spun back round, only to catch a fleeting glimpse of him.
Startled, she heard strange noises under the truck and realized he was probably ripping a hole to let the gas out and foil her escape. Jumping with fright, she felt a paralyzing clutch of fear but reacted in a nanosecond by pressing her foot hard on the accelerator and speeding off towards the state highway.
She saw him suddenly appear in her headlights a little further ahead and, swerving crazily, missed running him over by the breadth of a hair. Her eyes shifted to the rearview mirror and saw him motionless in the middle of the road staring after her.
Then she was hit by a strong smell of gasoline and her eyes shifted to the fuel gauge to see it verge on the red line of empty. Now she understood why he had let her leave so easily, why he had made no move at all to stop her that second time. He knew the loss of gas would force her to stop at the next gas station, or better yet in the middle of nowhere. The hunt was on.
She stopped at an all-night gas station and switched off the engine. Unlocking the doors, she gathered her courage and opened the car door, climbing slowly down, startled by the persistent beep of the car telling her she’d forgotten to switch the headlights off. She looked around cautiously, expecting to see Vuk come rushing out of the trees that lined the service area, but all she saw was a black paper sky broken only by the moon’s albescent glow. She exhaled deeply, relieved to find she was alone. Or so she thought.
After a last scope of the area, she turned back to the truck to look for something to plug the hole in the tank and found one of Vuk’s t-shirts. Peering between the wheels to see if Vuk was approaching from the street or the woods, she slid under the pickup and slithered to the tank, the shirt clasped in her fist. She saw the gaping hole and packed the tee-shirt into it tightly. Lying there a moment to check that the rag held and no gas was coming out, although she knew she was only buying time, that it was only a stopgap, she pulled herself out from under the truck, straightened up and took a few hesitant steps toward the gas pump.
She slid her credit card from the pocket of her jeans and into the pay machine, jammed the nozzle into the tank and squeezed the trigger. Drained, she leaned her arm on the side of the pickup, frantically urging the numbers on the display to click faster as gallons of gas gushed into the tank. A sudden noise made her jump. and she saw Vuk cross the road toward her and approach menacingly. My God, she thought, her terror resurfacing. But even if she moved as fast as she could, she’d never be able to get back into the car and flee. He’d easily reach her even before she pull the door closed. So she decided to confront him.
She opened the driver’s door and took a steel Zippo from the side pocket. She ignited it with her left hand while her right hand reached for the gas nozzle, making threatening gestures to intimate that she’d set him on fire if he came any closer. But he only paused by the next island of gas pumps in front of her before his rage erupted and he lunged toward her. But then the strong smell of fuel entered his nostrils and he recoiled instantly.
Stella continued to move toward him, holding the nozzle down to let the fuel drip to the ground to form a highly flammable boundary between them. Walking away from the pickup, stretching the hose to its full length, she directed a jet of gas between him and the vehicle, forcing him back into the trees.
“Vuk, I know you can hear me! Please go, it’s dangerous for you here, understand? Don’t make me do it!” she yelled, despairing at the mere thought of hurting him.
“You think I won’t? You think you know me, but you’re making a big mistake. It’s inevitable now,” Stella sighed, her lips twisting bitterly into a tight smile.
“Your life or mine? I choose both… or neither,” she said, her voice a thread, her eyes filled with bittersweet sadness as she loosened her grip on the Zippo.
Suddenly, she heard the loud rumble of two motorbikes speeding toward them, causing her to tighten her grip again.
It was Jason and Aaron. Seeing her, they slammed on the brakes and screeched into the gas station, leaping from their bikes to let them slide along the ground toward Vuk, trying to protect her. They looked incredulously at the Zippo and the line of fuel on the ground. Impressed, they exchanged a quick glance of astonishment. Aaron turned to the girl:
“I heard you talking from the road. You’re wasting your breath trying to talk him out of it. He’s beyond hearing you now. He’s driven purely by his instincts, nothing else touches him.”
“I’ve seen you guys before, I know you… I recognize your bikes from when I exited the university parking lot,” she said in confusion, seeing them exchange another swift glance. They were standing in front of her. They were both wearing jeans, bikers jackets, their heads and faces shielded by their helmets and tinted visors.
Jason started to walk toward her.
“Stella, I realize you’re scared and that yesterday was a bad day for you, but now you’re safe with us.”.
“Stay where you are! How do you know my name?” she asked anxiously, backing away warily and pointing the gas nozzle and the Zippo at them.
“Stella. We don’t want to hurt you, the opposite in fact, it’s the wolf you have to watch out for,” Jason said fervently, trying to calm her down as he pointed at Vuk.
“What’s your name?” she asked, suddenly tense.
“J.” he replied, tilting his head slightly.
“Just J.?” she asked, puzzled.
“For the moment, yes.” He turned abruptly toward Vuk, who had pushed Aaron’s motorcycle aside and never ceased grunting irritably, maddened by the smell of gas that filled the air.
“Do you think he’s pissed at our arrival?” Jason asked Aaron, a cheeky smile on his face.
“Maybe a touch…” Aaron replied, as Stella kept staring at J.
“You’re a pretty strange and mysterious guy, “Mr. Just J.” I remember you. Your face and voice might still escape me but I haven’t forgotten that I mistook you for a guy with the same initial… And now you are wearing that helmet. Show me your face.” He began to undo the strap of his helmet hesitantly but suddenly stopped.
“I can’t,” he confessed.
“But I can,” Aaron said, starting to remove his helmet but Vuk started to move threateningly toward Stella.
“Vuk, no!” cried Stella in alarm and, without thinking, pumped the gas twice sending a jet of fuel through the flame of the Zippo creating a ball of fire that blazed through the gap between J. and Aaron, who leaped out of the way. Flames forced Vuk to make a hasty retreat.Jason came closer to Stella.
“Now do you believe me, Stella? It’s him, not us, you have to fear,” Jason insisted.
“I’m warning you, J., not one more step.” Cautiously she stepped back and brought the gas nozzle close to the lighter, the gas on the ground slowly spreading.
“Stella, let me come to you,” Jason exclaimed impatiently.
“Do everyone a favor and don’t bother,” Stella said, pressing the gas again to dispatch another blazing spurt of fi
re, in warning to Vuk, who she’d noticed creeping up on her again.
“You’d be doing yourself the favor, actually,” said Jason as he slowly moved in on Stella, leaving her momentarily stunned and speechless.
Aaron interjected in alarm.
“Stella, there’s always an alternative. The decision you have taken now is certainly not the best one
“It may not be the best but at least it’s mine,” she retorted, letting the lighter fall from her fingers to the ground now dark and wet with a spreading pool of petrol, igniting it into a fireball, the flames spreading like lightning ready to turn into a raging inferno.
“Get away, Stella! Get out of here!” cried Jason protectively, leaping to scoop her into his arms.
Sudden Fire
Stella couldn’t believe her eyes as she saw Vuk try to attack the flames. She realized that he would not escape back into the woods, unless someone forced him to do so.
“Run, Stella, run! Get in the truck and get the hell out of here!” Jason cried.
“No, I can’t leave him… I won’t let him die in the fire,” she said resolutely, fisting Jason’s jacket and trying to shake off his grip.
“We’ll take care of him, Stella, you have to think of saving yourself, now get out of here fast!” Jason repeated.
Aaron continued, “The flames are soaring, Stella, the gas tanks will explode soon and blow everything sky high! You must go.” In the meantime Jason released her.
“Soon… So there’s still a chance,” she murmured, her eyes brightening suddenly as they fell on the high-pressure self-service car wash machine and she realized exactly what to do.
“Got a dollar or a quarter by any chance?” Stella asked Aaron.
Aaron threw a puzzled look to Jason as he handed her a quarter.
“Sure, but what are you going to do with it?”
“I’ll show you…” Stella ran over to the car wash, keeping as safe a distance as possible between her and the flames that were being fanned by the breeze that sallied through the station. She rammed the quarter into the machine and pressed start to activate the high-pressure water gun, targeting both the wall of fire and Vuk, the force of the jet hurling him back into the trees, where he landed on his back, far from the fire’s tongues.
“Your girl has some moxie, Jason,” Aaron observed, impressed.
“I wish she was still my girl…” Jason replied bitterly, watching Vuk wrestle with the powerful jet of water before it forced him to the ground in a sodden, bedraggled heap. He saw him get up again and lunge aggressively toward Stella, who again trained the jet of water on him, hitting him at the highest point of his arching leap, but still not stopping him.
Jason was there in a flash to defend her, and he punched Vuk in the ribcage before hurling him to the edge of the forest. He flipped open his visor and threateningly pierced the wolf with his dilated, coal-black eyes, but again Vuk tried to attack Stella, giving Jason no option but to unleash his own bloodthirsty instincts and grab the wolf’s neck with his hands, slamming his head hard against a tree trunk.
“Nooo!” cried Stella, realizing that Jason would kill Vuk if she didn’t do something.
Stella’s cry made Jason hesitate, giving Vuk the opening he needed. Lunging at the vampire, he tossed him against a post then loped off to conceal himself in the dark depths of the forest.
Stella let the water gun fall from her hands and looked around at the devastation, saw the flames licking the gas pumps but instead of sprinting for the pickup, she raced across to where J. was lying at the foot of the pole. She crouched slowly down beside him, gently lowering the visor of his helmet to honor his wish that she didn’t see his face.
“Thank you, whoever you are. I had to save him,” she smiled.
“I know… Now please go … That’s the best way to thank me…” he said sweetly. “Hurry, the whole place’s going to blow any second now.”
“Not without you.” She grasped his jacket to help him up, soaked and dripping from the ground.
“Don’t worry, we’ll be right behind you…” He watched her run to the pickup, swerving to avoid the flames that were already encroaching on the driver’s side to get in through the passenger door. Jason quickly joined Aaron and met Stella’s eyes one last time. She started the engine and waited hesitantly.
“Jason, don’t look at her, let her go. You’ll only keep her here with us otherwise!” Aaron cried in alarm, thumping Jason’s shoulder to make him avert his gaze.
A bewildered Stella reversed the truck, accelerated sharply toward the road, but stopped as her ears were assailed by the sound of a terrifying explosion, instantly followed by a second roaring boom. The powerful shock wave swept her in its violent embrace, shattering the back windows of the pickup as it lifted it into the air.
When the car bounced back down again to land with a violent shudder on all four tires, Stella, who in her crazy rush to escape had forgotten to latch the seatbelt, was caught in the brunt of the shockwave and thrown against the steering wheel, cutting her head open. She started to bleed and fell limply back against the seat. Then a surge of panic pushed her to bash her hand against the buckled door to force it open. When it finally sprang open, she slid out and sank to the ground where.
Her foggy vision revealed a surreal scene of profound silence, punctuated only by the hiss, crackle and spit of the angry flames that were spreading inexorably toward the still intact gas pumps.
Meanwhile, the inert figure of Aaron lay in the middle of the road. Opening his eyes and tilting his head, he prized off Jason’s motorbike that had fallen on him, pinning his hip to the tarmac. Then he saw the prone, motionless body of a bleeding Stella lying next to the pickup. He quickly jumped to his feet and dodged the flames to reach her.
“Who is it? No! Get away from me,” Stella stuttered as she saw a shadowy figure approach her.
“It’s ok, Stella, it’s me, …” Aaron slowed his run to a walk and opened his arms wide to reassure her.
“Nooo… Don’t come nearer, get away!” She repeated in a total panic, unable to make out who it was.
“Stella, it’s me… Aaron,” he repeated, trying to soothe her as he removed his helmet and bent over her, his expression devastated as he saw her bleeding face. His features, partly illuminated by the flames and partly obscured by the surrounding darkness, were even more dramatic than when she had first seen him that day at Warren Towers.
“Aaron… Oh thank God, what happened?” she asked. She slowly sat up against the truck, her pounding head slumping to the side.
“Some genius had the bright idea of blowing up the gas station,” he whispered in her ear, his sweetly smiling mouth brushing her cheek, working its way down to her chin.
“Ohmigod, no…” Stella exhaled in a rush. Then it all came flooding back to her. “Jeez, some bright idea that was…” she added wryly and raised her head to reveal lips glistening red with blood.
“Hey, don’t beat yourself up, it was a great show…Come on, let’s get you out of here,” he added softly, putting his arms around her to help her to her feet before heading for the cover of the woods. Suddenly, another destructive blast rocked the gas station, reducing the entire structure to a flame-streaked cloud of dust, a world gone mad. The shock wave smashed them against the pickup.
Jason, who had been knocked out and was lying on the ground, regained consciousness and turned to his side to take off his helmet, his eyes widening in disbelief as he saw Stella lying unconscious on the street next to the truck. Forcing himself to his feet, he stumbled over to her and cradled her bleeding body in his arms. Stella felt the velvety touch of his hands caress her face and hair and started to come to.
“It’s me, Stella, I’m here for you, my darling,” he whispered, his lips close to hers as he held her tightly. She started to recover, her eyes still closed. Then he took her in his arms, bringing her to the pickup. Placing her gently on the driver’s seat, he leaned in protectively.
“Oh, J., it’s y
ou…” she murmured, her body shooting with pain, a faint sigh escaping her lips as she felt his hands cup her waist and her neck.
“I wish I’d been smarter, whisked you away before things got out of hand… I’ll never forgive myself for not sparing you all this,” he said, torturing himself with guilt, caressing her bleeding lip.
Stella’s eyes flickered open into narrow slits, her lids still terribly heavy, and she stared into the luminous darkness of the night, the scene before her a blur of confusion.
“Why are you doing this?” she asked faintly.
“For you, only you!” he exclaimed, his body filling with burning love.
She reached out with blood-stained fingers to gently touch his face. She felt her eyelids inexplicably weighed down, she couldn’t believe how weak she felt. She was trying to seek solace from the persistent hum in her ears, the tight band of pain that seemed to be crushing her head..
“No, Stella, don’t… Stop, no closer,” he implored, his breath growing ragged, struggling desperately against his craving to taste her blood. He felt his desire unfurl into ecstatic anticipation and completely shatter his reason. His lip curled up instinctively from the untamable bloodlust that that was pushing him closer to the abyss of insanity, tormenting him, leaving him to sway perilously over the edge.
Jason, now almost out of control, was about to bite her hand and kiss her lips, but Aaron’s commanding voice slicing through the air halted him.
“Control yourself J., don’t give in… Lock it down, force yourself, come on, I know you can beat it!” he cried in alarm as he lifted his head from the tarmac. He got back on his feet and ran to him. He threw his arms around his friend, dragging him off Stella into the middle of the road. Overwhelmed by the sheer effort of it all, Stella closed her eyes and felt herself go limp in the driver’s seat.