by Tara Brown
She grabbed a huge hoodie and a raincoat. They smelled funny but she knew they would help mask her scent for the trackers Daniel no doubt had searching for her.
"Do you have anyone you can call?"
Ari turned smiling, "No phone."
The woman held up her cell, "You can try them on mine if you know the number."
"Why are you helping me?"
"You look good, you look healthy and young and pretty. You wont last a day on these streets kid."
She nodded taking the cell, "Thanks."
She sent a text instantly to Aimee, 'its Ari, Daniel is the mole. He knew me when I got there. I'm alone on the streets in NY. I can meet you at the place you told me you threw up after you drank rum for the first time. I will wait for you. Trust no one except Luke and Aleks. Do not text me back here, shelter woman's phone.'
She deleted the message as it sent. She then sent a second message, 'tell Lorri, pretty sure she doesn’t know'
She deleted the text messages and phoned Lydia's house. The phone rang several times before Ben picked up, "Yeah."
"Ben?"
"Yeah."
"My name is Ari, I'm a friend of Lydia's is she there?"
"Nope."
"Don’t tell anyone except your brother I called." She hung up the phone and deleted the call before she passed it back to the woman, "Thanks."
The woman smiled, "Did you find anyone?"
Ari shook her head, "No but I think I have a friend I can go talk to."
She took a step closer to Ari, "Dress bulky, try to look chubby. Head down, hair hidden. Speak to no one and don’t smile."
Ari nodded trying not to smile, "Okay, thanks."
She looked around noticing the homeless men noticing her in her shorts. She slipped some jogging pants over top of them and the hoodie over her t-shirt. She pulled the raincoat over the hoodie and pulled the hood of the sweatshirt up. She tucked all her hair back and looked at the lady who nodded, "Take this get some food somewhere else. When you leave here run for at least three blocks. Most of them can't run that far." She slipped Ari twenty dollars.
Ari took the money, "Thank you so much."
The lady smiled, her wrinkled old face suddenly cleared showing beauty beneath the aging. Ari blinked but it was gone. The woman's smile warmed her heart.
"I just wont be able to bear it if they get you. It happened once before. Horrible. Anyway try to find somewhere to stay and remember even though you might not know your dad there are laws that he has to protect you. He is responsible for you." She turned away from Ari and walked into the crowd. Ari frowned at her shaking her head. The shelter lady had spent too much time with runaways, that was clear. If she knew who Ari's father was she would take it back. Ari looked around the room shuddering at the faces of the people watching her. The shelter lady started to greet people and make noise. The wolves in the room turned their attention from Ari for a split second and she took her chance to get away.
She walked very quickly. As she made it through the door her legs burst into a run. She didn’t look behind her as she sprinted she just drove her body forward.
She heard calling out behind her but she ignored it and sprinted for four blocks instead of three just to be certain.
When she was far enough away she stopped running slumped over to make her body seem bigger than it was and walked with a slight limp.
She wasn’t starving but she was scared enough that she wouldn’t be eating anything she stopped at a convenience store. The owner looked at her like she was the most disgusting thing she'd ever seen. She watched every move she made. She grabbed a snickers and a bottle of water. She pulled out the twenty dollars, the girl at the till looked her over several times before giving her the change.
Ari ate the bar quickly as she walked toward the Empire State building. She smiled remembering the story of Aimee and her first week at Roses training. She drank for the first time since she'd turned. The alcohol didn’t really hit her until all at once it did and threw up all over the front steps of the empire state building.
Ari finished her water and placed the bottle in a garbage bin with her candy wrapper. She looked around ensuring she wasn’t being followed.
The dark wet night reminded her of Gotham City. She didn’t feel like Batman though, she felt like one of the girls he would save, helpless and weak and she would fall in love with him and let him sweep her away into the night with one of his gadgets. Her version was more like a large green-eyed wolf would show up and kill everything leaving a bloody trail and together they would walk away. Next to him she felt like she should probably be wearing an earthy brown mini dress with wings and a bow and arrow.
As she arrived at the entrance she slipped inside the entryway and became invisible to world. Just another hunched over bum inside a door well.
"I'm telling you she's here. I can smell her." She looked up to Lucas's voice but didn’t see anyone.
"Where does the trail end?"
"Over here where you barfed just like you said it would."
Ari looked up and smiled at Aimee standing in the street in a short black raincoat, black jeans and black knee high boots. Lucas stood beside her looking double her size. He looked at Ari and smirked.
Ari smiled at him, "No one followed you?"
Aimee started to giggle, "Wow that's really good. I wouldn’t have known."
Ari laughed, "I smell absolutely disgusting. I don’t know how you found me."
Lucas shrugged, "It seems I can find you better than I can find anyone. Your smell can't be masked against my nose."
She felt her face flush, "Did you tell Lorri?"
Aimee nodded, "She was pissed. I don’t think she even believes it all. She is so angry right now. She has a bit of a temper on a good day."
Ari nodded, "Yeah I've been through Roses training twice. She actually tried to eat me once."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah but you saved me Aimee. You winked me to the rooftop garden to cry and have a hissy fit. You said it was where you went for yours."
Aimee laughed again, "This is freaking me out."
Ari felt the reality hit her, "I have ruined your life three times Aimee."
Aimee frowned, "How?"
"I keep changing the influence I have in it. So you meet me and start dating Shane. Then I change and so does your boyfriend and suddenly you're dating Aleks. Then I change again and you're single."
"Did you do it on purpose?"
Ari trembled slightly, "No I, you're my best friend, I would never."
Aimee smiled and stepped forward, "Then stop worrying about it. Look at it this way I've gotten to test the water with both guys. Which one was I happier with?"
Ari shrugged laughing, "Both. Honestly you seemed in love with both. I think you need to ask yourself which life do you want. With Shane you were always worried about him being human and wanting human things. Even when you were living together you were worried. With Aleks."
An English accent interrupted, "Aw well isn’t this touching. Old friends catching up."
Ari growled, "Hey Dad."
He raised his hands defensively, "Hey kid I didn’t know either."
Aimee took a step toward him, "Dorian what do you want?"
He flashed one of his truly evil smiles, "To help of course."
Lucas walked stepping in between Ari and Dorian.
Aimee tilted her head, "I have a very hard time believing you want to help us. I have long suspected your relationship with Daniel. Seemed a bit chummy to me."
Dorian took a menacing step toward her, "Not now Aimee." His words rolled from his throat.
She laughed, "Touchy. Just out of curiosity if Ari touches you can she knock you out?"
He grinned at Ari, "I'm her dad why would she want to hurt me?"
Ari grinned back, "You're the best dad ever, that’s why."
He laughed, "Look Ari, I naturally like you. I can't fight it. I've never made one of you before." He pointed to the sky, "
The one rule he made for us if we made one of you, we were responsible for it."
Ari laughed, "You have to help me?"
He nodded.
"Don’t you have freewill?"
"Not with this."
Aimee looked back at Ari knowing Lucas had his eyes on Dorian, "Ari don’t believe him. He lies."
Ari nodded, "I know." She took a step toward her father pushing past Lucas. "But I know he's telling the truth now."
Aimee frowned, "How."
Ari pointed to the sky, "He told me."
Aimee frowned, "Snap out of it, he's got you under his spell."
Ari laughed, "No honestly I think God sent someone to help me. She told me exactly what Dorian just said."
Lucas grabbed her arm spinning her around, "It's also just as possible Dorian told the lady to say that."
Ari thought for a second and shook her head, "She was an angel. A good one."
Dorian folded his arms, "We can stand here and bicker or we can go back to Lydia's where the guards will keep all who wish us harm out."
Ari frowned, "How did Andy trick the guards?"
Dorian laughed, "She thought she was doing it for the good of the group. She believed you to be a danger, the Bane of our existence."
Ari nodded feeling sick, even the guards agreed with Andy.
Aimee put a hand out. They all touched her instantly appearing in the front entryway of Lydia's dripping water all over the front hall.
Ari sighed smelling the house again. It seemed like ages since she had been home. She knew it then and there this would always be her home, if Lydia would let her stay.
Lydia burst into the room, "Ari, oh you made it." She hugged Ari and started pulling the stinky shelter clothes off."
"Annabelle this is Ari, she's apart of the family. She'll take the empty room across from Lucas and she'll need a hot bath right away."
Annabelle smiled her ghostly mocha smile flashing her perfect white teeth, "Yes, now Miss Ari you needs to come with Annabelle. I can't smell ya but I can see the look on young Mister Lucas's face." She nattered on as Ari looked at them all staring at her as if she'd sprouted another head.
Ari turned and walked up the stairs after Annabelle.
The hot bath reminded her of the first one she'd ever taken in Lydia's house. She felt mixed about being there, a glimmer of hope covered by a mass of confusion and fear.
Chapter Thirty- Hellfire Hath No Fury…
Aimee
The chair wrapped around her tired body as she sat in it. Lucas came around he corner growling, "That's my chair Aimee."
Aimee stuck her tongue out, "I got here first hound lay on the floor like a good dog."
He flipped the back of the huge comfortable fluffy chair sending her tumbling out onto the floor. He put the chair back and flopped into it eating the sandwich he'd apparently been eating the entire time.
Aimee glared at him feeling the spark in her fingers.
He stopped mid bite and flashed his wolf canines at her, "Lay on the floor like a good dead girl."
She leapt at him but strength and size won out. Unless she was willing to use her hands she couldn’t defeat him. He laughed at her still holding his sandwich while holding her back.
She pulled herself from his grip and sat on the couch across from him. It wasn’t nearly as comfy as the chair.
"Spoiled little bratty pup."
He bit his sandwich and grinned at her.
She laughed at his face, "I hate you."
"No you don’t. You love me."
Dorian walked into the room and leaned against the wall crossing his arms, "I'm heading to the institute. I just got the weirdest text from Lorri."
"See ya." Aimee waved.
He smirked, "Aimee is there a reason you're still pissed at me? You asked me to help you, I did." His stare roamed her body, "I think you should be more grateful."
She growled, "You made me murder an innocent in the woods and lied to me. You were mean to me constantly, I'll give you grateful." She got up off the couch.
He laughed, "Aimee if I didn’t show you exactly what you were capable of how many people would you have hurt? Good people not like that girl. You saved lives ending hers." He vanished before she could say anything else.
She thought about what he'd said and slumped back on the couch.
"That was awkward, even in my comfy chair."
She laughed at Lucas, "He's such a head game and you're an ass."
"My ass is very relaxed, thanks for asking. This chair is doing wonders for it."
She looked at him, "Why is everything always such a mess for us?"
He shrugged, "cause you're dead and I'm not human. Nothing in a human world where the rules are made for humans is ever going to be easy. Jesus look at me and Ari. I know her somehow even though I don’t. Every time I'm in wolf form I think about biting her neck, like nibbling it. Anyway." His face began to glow with embarrassment. Aimee laughed and then stopped thinking about it all for a moment.
"Lydia is going to ask her leave. Will you go with her?"
He shrugged, "I don’t know if I know her well enough to live with her but it's like my wolf side does. I think I have to follow her. It's weird. Not as weird as your love life but no one's is that weird."
She sneered at him and picked up her cell realizing the sound had been off. Lorri had been blowing it up, seventeen messages. The last one was a cry for help to all roses.
Aimee was off the couch running, "LORRI NEEDS US! EVERYONE NOW KITCHEN!"
Lucas shoved his sandwich down his throat leaping at Aimee as Ari ran down the stairs pulling clothes on. Aimee watched as Lucas smirked at the amount of flesh Ari had exposed.
Aimee winked as Brandon, Ari, Lucas, Ben and Aleks all put a hand on her. She'd never winked so many people before. She felt the strain of it as she visualized exactly what the txt had said.
Suddenly it was dark, they were in a small warehouse with rooms. Aimee looked at Ari whose face crumpled.
"I've been here before. They held me here making me push everyone I loved."
Aimee felt her stomach sink.
They stood in the corner of back room. The floors were concrete and the ceiling was open with vents and other things. It seemed very desolate and industrial.
Aleks put his hand on her shoulder whispering, "I'll slip down this hall. I'll have my cloak up. You guys stay together."
Aimee felt nervous about him separating but she knew nothing could kill him, not even her. She nodded and walked the other way.
Brandon, Ben and Lucas phased into two wolves and a panther. They crept low to the ground looking around the corners.
Aimee walked behind them ready to wink and attack. Ari stayed beside Aimee watching their backs. Her training was obvious but the way she worked with them as they cleared the hallways and doorways was remarkable. She fit into the team perfectly as if she'd trained with them.
"Lorri said she's hiding in a room with computers. This place is crazy quiet." Aimee whispered.
They walked till they reached an unlocked door. Aimee opened the door to a dark room as Brandon slinked into the darkness. He was back within seconds. Aimee knew that meant nothing was in the room. They cleared the rooms that way until they reached a door toward the end of one of the halls.
Ari looked up at Aimee and shook her head, "This door hurts my stomach. It's the cell. Be careful."
Aimee nodded, "I'll go in. I can wink out."
She turned the knob and poked her head into the doorway. There was nothing inside but a shower, toilet and a cot. No one was held prisoner. Aimee closed the door again and pointed forward.
They slipped down the hall to the very last door before the corner and what she assumed was the entryway into the building. Aimee nodded at everyone slipping the door open. She felt the pain in her side instantly. She closed the door again looking down at the huge hole in her side, as dark black liquid seeped from the wound and through her black t-shirt.
"Wh
at the fuck was that?" Aleks appeared out of nowhere.
Aimee felt queasy, "Not sure. I think it’s a bullet." She winced as he reached his fingers inside and fished a slug out of her side. The black goo oozed from her faster as he pulled it out.
Ari winced, "Are you okay?"
Aimee nodded, "It'll heal in like three minutes. It just stings, a lot."
Aleks looked at the door, "They know we're here apparently. They must have Lorri."
"She's gonna be pissed."
"Yeah. Ready?"
Aimee looked at him and smiled, "Yup."
As Aleks tore open the door the wolves and panther dashed into the room keeping low. Aimee vanished instantly reappearing in behind a huge man with a big knife. She touched him before he realized she was there.
Ari dove in touching one of the huge men attacking Lucas. He vanished changing the people in the room suddenly. Ari laughed realizing suddenly there were more.
Aimee looked around the huge room as the fight turned against them. For every person Ari pushed the dynamics of the dark ones changed.
Looking angry and pissed off Aimee watched as she picked up a knife off the ground and stabbing it into the stomach of a man grabbing at her. Aleks ripped a creature to pieces. Lucas and Ben worked in tandem moving as if they were in the wild, hunting together. Brandon dragged two men down at once using his claws to cut them open, biting their heads and crushing their skulls.
Aimee cringed turning away. Lorri wasn’t in the room, it was the surveillance room. There were TV monitors everywhere and cords. The concrete walls and floor became stained in the blood that sprayed everywhere.
Ari pushed a man taking several of the bodies out of the room and erasing varying cuts on the wolves and Aleks.
Aimee burst into laughter, partly from the shock of it all but mostly from the freak show Ari had turned out to be.
"You are a menace. No wonder Andy was trying to get rid of you."
Ari laughed weakly, "How crazy was that? I touched one and like eight appeared out of nowhere. I thought they were like us. I thought they would just disappear."
Aleks laughed, "Most of them were human, Daniel has modified them. He's lost his mind completely. Don't worry about it Ari you've healed us completely though. Guess you have your advantages and disadvantages."