by Rian Harper
“How do you know? Your life isn’t spinning out of control. You aren’t being hunted down by a murderous shape-shifter.” I paused and my voice trailed off. “You aren’t being taunted by things you can’t have. How do you know it will be fine?” I asked in defeat of the newfound stress in my life.
“I’m so sorry, Nate.” Her eyes became empathetic. “Just let me know if there’s anything I can do to help make it easier.”
“Kiss me.” I said as I stared at her.
She didn’t say anything. She didn’t move. I reached my right arm over and touched her left hand with mine. I could not imagine what she was thinking, but I didn’t care. If she wasn’t going to make the move, I had to. I leaned in until the tips of our noses touched. I could feel her sweet breath on my lips. I closed my eyes and finished my advance. My lips tingled as they pressed up against hers, like we completed an electric circuit. It wasn’t painful, but surprisingly pleasant. We parted after a few seconds and both let out soft sighs.
That moment was the greatest of my life to that point. I felt a connection with another person that I had never thought was possible. It was like I was living in my dreams. My fantasy of being with Emma was coming to fruition. The stress that shrouded me disappeared for those brief seconds of the kiss. I wanted that release again. I wanted to get lost in her essence once more. I leaned back in for another electrifying kiss, but she backed away this time.
“We can’t do this.” She said as she turned her head away from me and scooted to the other side of the car.
My heart sank. I melted into disappointment as I racked my mind trying to figure out what I did wrong. I thought that she enjoyed our tumble into ecstasy. My ponderings were interrupted by Everett from the driver’s seat.
“What’s going on back there?”
“Nothing Everett.” Emma snapped. “Concentrate on driving, will you?”
“Fine. No need to be snippy. I was just asking.” He said defensively.
I started feeling sick. Whether it was riding in the back seat of the car for some time or the fact that I had been rebuffed by the most beautiful woman I had ever seen, I wasn’t too clear on. I felt the nausea set in right after we crossed into Pennsylvania. I didn’t realize earlier how long we’d been in the car. With all of the excitement, I kept forgetting to check to see what time it was. I surmised that it must have been late in the evening since we’d already passed through New York. I leaned over toward the middle of the backseat to see the clock on the dash. 6:43 p.m. When I leaned over toward the middle, Emma, sitting behind the driver’s seat shifted uneasily at my approach. I wondered why she went from sharing a remarkable kiss with me to squirming at my getting even remotely close. Maybe it wasn’t as magical for her as it was for me. I suddenly became highly self-conscious.
I pressed myself as much as I could up against the car door I was sitting next to; my knees tightly together, resting on the bottom panel just below the automatic window switch, my right elbow resting on the lip of door beside where the window rolls down into it. Twilight was setting in and the long ride in the night was about to begin; the long, uncomfortable, awkward ride in the night.
I woke up when I felt the car come to a stop. I looked around and saw that we were at a gas station. No other cars were in the parking lot, so I knew it had to be late. I felt something heavy on me, looked down, and saw Emma sprawled across the backseat with her head on my left leg. She was still asleep. Everett unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car to pump the gas. The urge to pee hit me, but I didn’t want to wake Emma up by getting out of the car. She looked so beautiful and serene. I stared at her until she opened her eyes and picked her head up.
“Where are we?” She asked groggily as she yawned and sat straight up, stretching her arms as much as the confined space of the back seat would allow.
“I’m not sure. I just woke up myself a few minutes ago. Everett is pumping gas. I am going inside to use the restroom, do you want anything to eat or drink?” I offered politely.
“I’m coming with you. I have to use the bathroom too.” She replied.
I unbuckled and open the door to get out. When I slid out of the car and came to my feet, I suddenly realized how hungry I was. I hadn’t eaten since the unfortunate breakfast incident back at Emma and Everett’s apartment. That was almost a whole day ago. I was uncomfortable too from being in the car so long. I put my hands together and stretched my arms as high I as could, arching my back so it would pop, and standing on my tip toes. I felt better after the stretch.
I heard Emma and Everett talk for a minute when she got out on her side of the car. She came around the back of the SUV with some cash in her hand and walked straight past me toward the front of the convenience store. I followed her into the store, quizzing her on our whereabouts. She said that we were somewhere in Virginia, almost to North Carolina.
Bells clanked against the metal door frame as we opened it and walked in, alerting whomever was working so late at night that someone had entered the store. I stopped in the entrance and scanned the store for the restroom. I saw it, where most restrooms are located in convenience stores, in a far back corner past a row of refrigerating units. I made a beeline through the isles to the hallway. I didn’t see Emma, so I ascertained that she had already made it to the Ladies’ Room. I opened the door, expecting some atrocious, backwoods outhouse of a bathroom, but was surprised to see it was rather clean. After washing my hands, I started my search through the aisles of junk food for something decent to eat.
After a few minutes of browsing, I settled on a sports drink, a bear claw, and a chocolate bar for later. I walked up to the register, with Emma carrying her items right behind me.
“I’ll get yours too.” I offered to her.
“Thanks.” She smirked and placed what she had in her arms on the counter with my things.
I looked up at the clerk and said, “All of this is together.”
The clerk was a tall, lean, young man with jet black wavy hair that came down just above his eyes. His eyes were a vivid green, almost the color of grass that just sprouted in the spring. I had never seen green eyes that were so striking. They were the type of green eyes I had always wanted instead of the gray, rainy-day eyes I had been cursed with.
I waited for the clerk to start scanning the items on the counter, but he just stood there and stared at me.
“Is everything okay?” I inquired to the young man.
He said nothing. He took in a big breath through his nose, as if he smelled something. Stranger than that was what happened next when a low rumbling that started within his chest crawled upward through his throat and finally escaped through his now bared teeth.
“Did he just growl at us?” I whispered to Emma without moving a muscle.
“Yeah, he did.” She said, remaining where she was as well.
I stood there, terrified as I watched the man in front of me start to morph into a beast. It happened within seconds. All I could notice about the process was the sudden explosion of black fur and the sound of clothes ripping because of the sudden change in his body from human to feline.
Before I could really process what was happening, Emma had me by the arm, hurriedly leading me out of the store. When the door closed behind us, Emma turned around, and with an arc of electricity streaming from each of her fingertips, welded the two doors together, hoping to slow the cat’s pursuit.
Unfortunately, the cat barreled through the glass like it was air, shattering it with a loud crash. The commotion finally caught Everett’s attention. He had finished pumping the gas, and was waiting in the car by the pump.
“Nate, run!” Emma yelled at me as she stood face-to-face with the cat. I wanted to escape the danger that was in front of me, but I couldn’t leave Emma there alone. I wasn’t sure as to what I could do to help her. I didn’t have an extraordinary gift like she did to help combat the extraordinary foe that stood in front of us, waiting to pounce. Still, I didn’t dare move and leave her to the mercy
of the beast.
“Nate, move!” She yelled at me again.
“No! I’m not going to leave you here with that thing.” I replied vehemently.
As I said that, Everett came up behind me and with his burly might grabbed me by both arms and tossed me to the side on the pavement like I was a ragdoll. My side burned as I skid across the parking lot. I looked up at my friends and saw them in a standoff with a gigantic black cat. Both Emma and Everett’s hands were aglow with the kilovolts of electricity coursing through them. They were both ready to send a jolt of agony in the direction of the crouched cat. I watched as the cat lunged forward and swatted Emma with one of its huge paws. The blow sent her flying back toward the gas pumps. She landed on the hood of the car with a loud thud.
“Emma!” I yelled in her direction. She didn’t move.
As I got up to rush to her side, I saw Everett send what looked like balls of electricity toward the cat. The beast catapulted from its position, dodging the softball-sized lightning orbs and landed on the hood of the car over Emma.
I started running toward the car when I finally saw Emma move. She reached up and grabbed the cat by its throat with both hands and electrocuted him until smoke started rising from his body.
“Emma, no!” Everett shouted toward her. “The gas!”
As soon as he got the words out, a fire sparked on the ground from Emma’s arcs hitting the gasoline-soaked pavement below the car. I knew it was dangerous, but I kept running toward the fire, toward her. I heard Everett from behind me.
“Stop Nate!” I paid him no attention. I had to get to her before the car exploded.
I was nearly there, only twenty feet or so away when I heard the boom of the explosion and a wave of heat come over me. The shockwave sent me flying into mid-air, eventually rendering me to the ground where I lay just minutes before. I was still conscious after the blast, and fortunately so. My clothes were on fire, so I rolled around the pavement to put it out.
I looked up and saw the SUV lying on its passenger side, engulfed in flames. Halfway in between the car and myself, Emma was lying on the ground, smoldering from the blaze. The cat was a few yards to her left and lifeless. I did not ascertain where Everett was at that moment. All I could think of was getting to Emma. I shot up from the ground as if without injury and rushed by her side. There was a small fire burning on her jeans, which I quickly extinguished with my hands. Her limbs were contorted in unnatural ways. Her face and arms were almost completely blackened with smudges from the blast. I saw the four slashes about an inch apart from each other across her stomach where the cat swiped her. Blood oozed from the wounds.
“Emma.” I sobbed as I put my hand behind her head and slid her into my lap. She didn’t move. She wasn’t breathing. I’d lost my angel. The only person I had ever loved.
Chapter 8
Mid-Air
“Nate!” I heard Everett’s voice coming from in front of me where I sat on the ground with his sister in my arms.
“Nate!” He said again as he approached us and crouched down to eyelevel. He put his massive hand on my shoulder and shook me.
“Nate!” His voice sounded different this time, like he was shouting in my ear.
I opened my eyes. Everett was in the front seat of the car, driving. I looked down to see Emma’s head on my leg. She was still sleeping; perfect and peaceful. It was just a dream. I let out a heavy sigh of relief in knowing that what I just lived through was only in my unconscious mind. I looked at my hands, which were trembling from the traumatic dream. I wiped away tears that I felt running down my cheek.
“Hey, pal. You were having a pretty intense dream back there. I thought I’d better wake you when I heard you start to cry. Are you all right?” Everett asked me from the front seat.
“Yeah. I’m fine.” I replied shakily. “Where are we?”
“We just passed into South Carolina. Should only be a few more hours to Athens.”
That was good news to hear. I was tired of being in the car and I was starving.
I thought about my dream and started wondering how easy it would actually be for Cade and his shifters to find us, especially while we were constantly traveling.
“Everett, can I ask you something?”
“Sure. What’s up?”
“Can Cade find us while we’re traveling?”
He let out a soft laugh. “It’s highly unlikely that he could.”
I paused for a minute before I started my story. “I had a dream that we stopped at a gas station, and one of his shifter buddies was posing as the clerk. He attacked Emma and she ended up dying. I just don’t want that to become a reality.”
My voiced cracked as I spoke. I was still harboring some emotions about the dream.
“You don’t have anything to worry about, Nate. What could he possibly do to us on a highway in South Carolina? How could he even know where we are?” He said with more conviction than I was harboring.
I started to feel a little carsick. It wasn’t the bumpiness of riding in the back that bothered me, as was with most people. It was the fact that I couldn’t see out of the windshield as well as I would have liked. I always had that problem riding in cars. I grabbed the back of the passenger’s seat with both hands and scooted up closer to the front, taking care not to wake Emma, who was still resting on my leg. She stirred at my movement, but remained asleep. I could see better now with my head in between the two front seats.
“So tell me about this Jasmine girl we are going to see.” I said, trying to small-talk.
“Oh, she’s a friend of ours. We’ve known her for years. She will give us a place to stay until we decide what our next move will be in finding out more about you and your connection to the family.” He replied as he yawned.
“You look tired, Everett. Want me to drive?” I offered.
“No thanks, bro. I’ll be fine.” He looked back at me and smiled his crooked smile. I smiled back and then looked ahead, watching the road.
I hadn’t noticed another car on the road since I had been awake. I looked at the clock on the dash-3:56 a.m. At such a time in the morning, I wouldn’t imagine there would be many cars on the road anyway. I tried to establish on what kind of road we were from the limited visibility of our surroundings provided by the narrow reach of the car’s headlights. All I could make out was some sort of two-lane highway with forest on either side of the road. There wasn’t the slightest evidence of any civilization anywhere close.
I stared ahead, watching the pavement as if I were the one who was driving. After a slight curve in the road to the left, I saw something standing in between the lanes. The car was approaching it quickly, and the thing standing there was not moving.
“Everett, slow down. There’s something in the road.” I narrowed my eyes to try and identify what it was. He didn’t answer and the car didn’t slow.
“Everett!” I reached up and put my hand on his shoulder.
“Yeah!” He took in a sharp, quick breath as I noticed his eyes open. He had nodded off. Whatever it was that was in the middle of the road was still there, unmoving.
“Watch out!” I yelled loudly at Everett while I pointed toward the object in the road that was only a few feet away. It was a deer; a confused, suicidal deer that apparently had no plans for self-preservation. We were going to hit it.
Everett immediately slammed on the brakes and I instinctively lay over Emma’s body, which was still sprawled over the backseat, with her head rested on my leg. She awoke at all of the commotion.
“What’s happening?” Her words were panicked.
“Just hold on.” I whispered in her ear.
With my head down, bracing for impact, I couldn’t see what was happening, but I could feel the motions of the car. The collision of the vehicle and the deer that I was expecting did not happen as quickly as I thought it would. The car jerked to the left and the sensation of falling nestled in the pit of my stomach. The same feeling I get when I dream that I’m falling into a never-e
nding abyss. Shortly after the falling sensation manifested, the car came to a halt with a crash that thrashed Emma and I about the backseat. All I heard next was the incessant noise coming from the car horn.
“Are you okay?” I asked Emma as we unfolded ourselves from each other.
“A few bumps, but nothing terrible.” She placed her hand on the back of her head to assess for any bleeding in the area. “Everett!” She exclaimed when she looked up to the front seat where he lay unconscious, with his head on the car horn and his arms hanging down.
Emma lunged herself in between the front seats in order to get to Everett. When she did, the car shifted to one side. I opened the back passenger’s-side door and looked down. We were not on the ground. The car was sitting wedged between a huge oak tree and the slanting embankment coming off the rural highway we swerved from.
“Emma, stop moving. We’re not on the ground.”
“What do you mean we’re not on the ground?” She asked.
“The car is stuck. We’re about ten feet off the ground. Just be careful. Can you tell if Everett is breathing?” As the words left my mouth, I heard him moan as he regained consciousness. He picked his head up slightly, just enough to end the continuous honking from the horn.
“Ev! Are you okay?” Emma asked as she finished crawling over the center console in between the front seats. The sound of metal twisting indicated another shift in the car’s position at her movement.
“Emma, wait.” I said calmly as I shifted my torso so that it partially hung outside the now-opened car door beside me. I was trying to balance the weight distribution of the car. It only made a slight difference. The car creaked with movement, but not much.
“Everett, talk to me. Are you all right?” She ignored me.
I heard Everett reply, “My arm hurts.”
“It’s okay, we’ll get you out. Don’t worry.” She said reassuringly. “Nate, he’s bleeding a lot. There’s a branch stuck in his shoulder. We need to get him out of the car fast.” Her tone was laced with worry. “Where’s your phone, Nate? Call 911.”