by Wilde, Rhea
“Yes?”
“Can I come in?” the voice asked me.
I looked down at myself to make sure that I was somewhat presentable and didn’t look like I just had a bad dream.
“Yes, come in.”
The door slowly opened and Sasha stepped into my room. I was still getting used to viewing her for what she really was and not the waitress I had known all this time.
“Are you okay?” she asked me.
“I-I’m fine,” I sighed deeply. “I-I’m okay.”
“Are you sure? You were making noise.”
“I-I was. What kind of noise?”
“It sounded like you were struggling. I thought I heard you scream.”
“Oh… I don’t know why that would be.”
“Is there something you want to tell me, Ariel? You know that it’s all right to talk to me.”
I looked down at the blanket covering the rest of my body. I wondered whether I should have even wasted Sasha’s time. Maybe there was something more to the nightmare I had. Or maybe it was just a bad dream that I needed to get over. Maybe it was just because my mind was still trying to comprehend everything that I was going through.
“I’m fine,” I reiterated. “I guess I’m just not used to the bed yet.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.”
“Breakfast is ready whenever you are. I’ll be waiting outside for you.”
“Thanks.”
Sasha closed the door and left me in my room.
It goes without saying that I didn’t get much sleep last night. I wasn’t used to living in the city but my apartment was more familiar to me than any of this. There wasn’t much here besides the bed and the belongings I had brought with me. There was a dresser with a mirror resting upon it and I thought about unpacking my things. But this would all be over sooner rather than later. At least, I had hoped it would. It was just a minor inconvenience but I didn’t plan on staying out here much longer than I needed to.
I made my way slowly through the cabin, the wood floor creaking underneath my bare feet. When I stepped outside of the cabin, I could appreciate the difference between here and the city I had been living in.
The sound of the wildlife among the trees replaced the ambient sound of horns honking and people having spats with one another. The sun was shining down and it felt like this was the first time in a long time that there wasn’t a cloud in its way. Even the air smelled fresher out here. The smog and exhaust from all of the buildings and cars driving around was nowhere to be found. The dirty gray tinge that seemed to paint every building in city was replaced by the green and brown of the pine trees reaching for the sky and the grass underneath my feet.
Sasha had something roasting over an open flame. Next to her was a table that she had pulled out from the cabin. When I took a seat, it felt like the last time I had gone camping. It was a long time ago. I didn’t have time to do anything that didn’t involve trying to make ends meet.
The smell coming from the fire filled my nostrils. The rumble in my stomach was a friendly reminder that my hunger was now my top priority.
“What is that?” I asked her. “It smells good.”
“Do you really want to know?” she said as she turned to me, raising one of her eyebrows.
“Um… I guess as long as it doesn’t kill me that it’s not important.”
“It’s deer. Have you ever had it before, Ariel?”
“Deer? No… I didn’t even think it was something that was available.”
“Not at any of the supermarkets you shop at. But don’t worry. It’s safe.”
She pulled the chunks of meat off of the spit and put them on a plate before offering me some. Steam came off of the freshly roasted deer meat in front of me, inviting me to take it in. For some reason, I didn’t even bother waiting. I just dived right in with my bare hands.
The meat was juicy and tender. It melted in my mouth. The flavor bounced off of my tongue. I tore into it with my teeth, ripping it apart so that I could eat it as quickly as possible. I didn’t know what had come over me and when Sasha took a seat in front of me and looked at me, only then did I realize how boorish I looked.
“Hungry?” she asked me.
“Yeah… Hungrier than I thought,” I said, half-embarrassed at my gluttonous display.
“There’s no need to be ashamed,” she said with a smirk. “There’s no one out here to see what you’re doing. You’re safe here, Ariel.”
“But for how long?”
I remembered everything she told me. I didn’t belong out here. I was in danger. There was an ominous threat lurking and I didn’t even know what it was. I just knew that I had a terrible presence hanging over me and it was there even when I tried to sleep and get away from it.
“Irvine is doing everything he can to try and figure this out,” she said, trying to reassure me. “The Agency hired Irvine for a reason. He’s the best. He’s never missed his target.”
“Never missed his target? So he’s killed every—”
“There’s a reason he goes by Irvine Gold. He’s considered the gold standard. He has a reputation not just with The Agency but within every werewolf community. They’re aware of his presence by now. Irvine being here should speed up the process. Whatever the Rucai are planning, they’re going to execute it. Most likely on the next moon.”
“But… does he really have to kill all of them? Can’t he just bargain with them? Can’t he negotiate some sort of peace?”
“That’s not really Irvine’s style. And I don’t think the Rucai are intent on making any deals with anybody. I told you, Ariel. There’s something going on here that's deeper than anybody has been able to figure out yet. Only the Rucai themselves know and that’s what Irvine and I are trying to learn.”
Sasha and I ate our breakfast in the peace and serenity of the forest. It wasn’t just being out in the open that made me feel more comfortable than I had been in the city. The woods seemed to be projecting some kind of aura that instilled a calmness within me that I hadn't felt just moments ago laying in my bed.
“Where is he? Is Irvine still here?”
“He left earlier this morning while you were still asleep. He’s doing some reconnaissance and scouting the possibilities of where they might strike next.”
“Can he really figure that out? I mean… there are so many people in the city. Can you guys actually pinpoint who’s going to be next?”
“We got lucky when we found you. Vaughn happened to stroll right in and made this a lot easier. But I’m beginning to suspect it wasn’t just random chance.”
“What do you mean?”
Sasha looked at me and didn’t say anything. She looked like she was holding something back. She had a secret and from the look on her face, I could tell that it was something that I didn’t want to hear. But again my better judgment disappeared. I wouldn’t let her walk away without giving me an answer. And she knew that, too.
“Your connection with Vaughn,” she started. “That’s not something that can be broken so easily. But Vaughn also has a connection to the rest of his clan. That means that you have a connection to all of them as well. They’ve already seen you even though you haven’t seen them. They know who you are and what you’re thinking. They can invade your mind when you least expect it.”
I swallowed nervously. I had flashbacks to the nightmares I was having, the latest one still fresh in my memory. The vivid images that seemed so real even though I didn’t want them to be.
“Sasha, I… I had a dream last night. I was in a room. A small room that was tucked away in the corner of some building. But not any ordinary building. It was like a castle or something.”
Sasha looked up from her food, listening intently to the details.
“There was a man watching me. He was sitting in a chair and just… sitting there. He watched people, these things, just grab me and put me on this contraption. This platform that had shackles and chains at each end and…”
“Then it’s true,” she said.
“What’s true? What are you talking about, Sasha?”
She looked around and she sighed, pausing for a moment.
“What’s true, Sasha?” I repeated. “Tell me.”
She looked at me and sighed again.
“Irvine had a theory,” she told me. “I didn’t want to believe it because it seemed out of the question. But if what you’re telling me is true, if the details of your dream are accurate, then he’s right.”
“Right about what?”
“That man you saw was the chief. He’s the leader of the clan. The Rucai are all connected. What one wolf sees, the chief sees along with everyone else. I thought the murders were the Rucai being violent for no reason. I thought they were just running rampant for the sake of filling their bestial lust. But now I see that it was more than that. They’re looking for an alpha.”
“An alpha? What is that?”
“Werewolves only mate to reproduce with other werewolves. Werewolves and humans don’t have the same biology to produce offspring. Otherwise it’s just sex for the sake of pleasure with the human paying the price in the end because our immune system can’t handle it.
“They must be looking for someone to convert. Someone to become a werewolf so that they can increase the numbers in their pack through breeding. Their chief must have seen you through Vaughn’s eyes. And the fact that you’re still alive means you’re the one they’ve chosen for more than just their selfish desire. You’re the one they’ve chosen to be their alpha.”
“What?” I said as I shook my head in disbelief. “I don’t understand. What does that mean?”
“There’s no need for them to increase their numbers. A larger clan means there are more mouths to feed. It means they use greater resources and take up more space. It doesn’t make any sense.
“But you’ve been chosen to be the queen of their clan. They’re going to try and convert you. Their chief wants you to be the one to help lead them.”
“Me? Why me?”
“I don’t know, Ariel. But it’s the only way this all fits together.”
Sasha leaned back in her seat like a light bulb had just turned on in her head. I started shaking my head profusely, still not wanting to believe what she was telling me.
“Y-you can’t let them do this,” I said to her. “I-I don’t want—”
“Ariel, please relax. Irvine and I will do everything we can to protect you. They can only convert you during the next full moon. We have until then to prepare for anything that might happen.”
Sasha stood up from the table to call Irvine. I half-listened to the conversation as she explained all of the details, still trying to understand everything she had told me. It all sounded so unbelievable. Why would they choose me when there were thousands of other women? What made me so special? It all seemed so surreal. The way Sasha described it made it seem like I was a target but not to be killed. If my dreams were accurate, the fate they had in store for me seemed much worse.
Sasha got off of the phone with Irvine and I still didn’t understand everything she had told me. It was all confusing and unimaginable. She took a seat next to me and wrapped an arm around me.
“Don’t worry, Ariel. If this is the case, we won’t let it happen to you. They won’t get away with this. This is all going to come to an end very soon.”
Sasha’s attempt at comforting me didn’t help. The clock was already ticking. Now I knew exactly what the ominous doom waiting for me was. And from the sound of things, I was at the center of an inevitably violent struggle. Now there was no way I would be able to put my mind at ease.
Chapter 18
Despite the extreme circumstances, Sasha encouraged me to remain calm and to try and live as normally as possible. That meant that we were both heading into work tonight. It seemed impossible given the circumstances but she was right. I fully intended on living as normal a life as I could after this was all over. Sasha, on the other hand, had to maintain the facade that nothing was wrong by pretending to be a waitress just trying to make a living.
She took me to work that night and we were greeted with an angry boss. He paced back and forth behind the bar. He was fuming. I walked up to May and asked her what was wrong.
“It’s Summer,” she said to me. “She hasn’t shown up for work tonight. She’s usually punctual. Frank’s been trying to get a hold of her but she’s not answering her phone.”
My heart sank. I knew what happened and so did Sasha but the news hadn’t spread yet. I didn’t know how I was going to tell them. How could I explain what happened to Summer? It broke my heart when I saw it happen. I wasn’t sure I could go through the pain of having to tell them and deal with it again.
I turned to Sasha and the worry on my face must have told her everything she needed to know. She pulled me to the side and whispered into my ear.
“You don’t need to say anything,” she said to me.
“But—”
“Nobody knows what happened to Summer. They’re going to know you were there if you say anything. You weren’t supposed to be there. The police are going to get involved. You don’t need them questioning you with everything going on.”
“So what? How do you expect me to keep it to myself? Are we just going to let them live with the ignorance that Summer just got drunk or went on vacation and decided not to show up to work tonight? They deserve to know the truth.”
“Do they, Ariel? You didn’t know what happened to all of those other people until it was reported on the news. You were kept in the dark and you were just fine.”
“But Summer was our friend.”
“I know, Ariel. And that’s why this is so difficult. You can’t say anything. If you do, they’ll start questioning them, too. You don’t want them to get involved, do you?”
I looked over at May and she was staring at Sasha and me inquisitively. I sighed and knew that there was nothing else I could do or say. If Frank wanted to know what happened to his favorite waitress, he was just going to have to wait until the police discovered her remains in the old apartment building.
“Please, Ariel. You can’t say a word.”
“Okay,” I said, resigned to keeping a secret that I didn’t want to.
Sasha made her way to the back as May walked up to me. Sasha looked at me for a second to reiterate her point but she didn’t need to do anything more.
“What was that all about?” May asked me.
“Sasha’s just trying to calm me down, I guess. You know me. I worry too much.”
“You and Sasha are close now, all of a sudden. I don’t think I ever remembered you speaking to her for more than a few seconds.”
“Oh, yeah. She, um, she gave me a ride home last night. She saw me walking on the street when she pulled out of her parking spot.”
“That was nice of her.”
“Yeah. She even stopped by my apartment to drive me to work.”
I suddenly remembered my apartment. The door had been kicked off of the hinges and my landlord was probably wondering what the hell happened. Knowing this city, the place had probably been emptied out by this point. I sighed thinking about everything but an influx of customers ended any further brooding.
The night was going as well as it could have been. There were customers everywhere, so it at least gave me something to do besides sit at the bar and think about the latest events. Every now and then Sasha would pull me to the side and ask me how I was doing. She assured me that there were too many people in the bar and that they wouldn’t try anything out here. It still didn’t stop me from being on edge and feeling tense.
“Where’s the other waitress?” one of the patrons asked me as I placed his drink down in front of him.
“Which other one?”
“You know. The hot blonde one. The
one with the nice body. The one with the big—”
“She’s not working tonight.”
“Oh, that’s too bad, girl. Do you know when she’ll be back in?”
“I-I…. I don’t know.”
I hesitated for a second. The truth was on the tip of my tongue and I had to bite it to prevent it from spilling out.
“Well, I guess you’ll have to do for tonight,” the man said as he eyeballed me up and down. “You know, you’re not too bad yourself. Who says a man can’t take a break from a blonde every now and then?”
He and the rest of his friends started to laugh among themselves. I didn’t care what they thought of me. I was still thinking about Summer.
I walked up to the bar to fill a next drink order when there was a breaking news report.
“Police have discovered the body of an unidentified woman in an abandoned apartment building on 8th street. Police officials responded to complaints about a number dogs barking in a lot near the old building earlier this morning.”
I turned away from the television screen, hoping that they wouldn’t show the images of Summer’s mutilated body. But the report continued without any further details about the victim.
“With a string of related murders seemingly continued, police urge residents to avoid traveling alone at night to prevent any abductions without any witnesses. In other news…”
I noticed something strange as I listened to the news report. I looked for Sasha, who was busy tending to a group of customers in the corner. I quickly made my way to her and tugged her on the arm.
“I have to ask you something,” I whispered to her.
“I’ll be right back, gentlemen. Don’t go anywhere now.”
I pulled her into the corner and explained to her that Summer’s death was reported on the news.
“They don’t know it’s her,” I said.
“Good. They don’t need to know, Ariel. When she stops showing up for work entirely, they’ll just assume she went running off because she found some better opportunity.”