“It doesn’t have to be this way,” Bree reasoned. “I’ll help you.”
“I said I don’t want your pity!” Elyssa shouted, turned around and stormed off.
Bree could hear Elyssa sobbing in the next room. Now that she understood Elyssa she felt lost. Everything Elyssa had told her was true. Losing the ability to have a child. Her mother and father ignoring her. Her two brothers not giving her attention. It was all part of the cause for this. Bree had also been right about Elyssa realizing too late that she couldn’t just kill Bree. But none of this helped Bree in the slightest. It only enforced what she now knew was true. Knowing all of this might have helped Bree if Elyssa had been what she’d assumed. Elyssa was not an evil woman to be outsmarted. Elyssa was a pained little girl trapped in an immortal body. She had the intelligence of a woman but not the emotional maturity to use it correctly. She lashed out without thought nor concern for consequence. The thing that scared Bree the most was the thing she desperately wished she hadn’t been right about. This was a temper tantrum. And it was being perpetrated by one of the most deadly women who ever lived.
Chapter 24
Elyssa pulled the gag on Bree’s mouth tight then walked around in front to inspect her work. As she looked down she realized Bree was in pretty bad shape. The woman looked dehydrated, pale from the lack of food and blood loss, but most of all, she looked exhausted.
“I’m really sorry Bree. I really think we could have been friends.” Elyssa looked down on her captive with sadness then, like flipping a switch, her mood shifted. “But I can’t have you spilling all your secrets to Kal. I called Kal…he sends his love. Tonight is the night!” she exclaimed with excitement. Then Elyssa turned and noticed Kal and Ra standing in the entryway of the church.
“That was fast,” Elyssa said with a grin then sped to the water cannon. She grabbed the handles, flipped the switch and turned it to face Bree before they even knew what was happening. The machine hummed loudly as it waited to be fired.
“El. Let’s just talk,” Ra said with his hands up.
“Get out!” she shouted.
“I just want to talk,” Ra reiterated.
“Ra. Get out or so help me.” She turned her attention to Kal. “If he doesn’t leave Bree will have a hole through her the size of a cantaloupe.”
“It’s fine Ra. Just wait outside,” Kal said. The look he gave Ra confused and angered Elyssa.
“Quit with the signals,” Elyssa ordered.
Without another word Ra turned and walked back out the doors.
“Now I want you over there,” Elyssa said and motioned to the pillar she had destroyed as a demonstration. “You see what it did to that column? Bree isn’t that tough.”
Kal held up his hands and walked over to where Elyssa had pointed. When Kal was in position Elyssa turned the cannon to face him.
“Before I kill you I gotta ask. What’s with the costume? We both know you don’t jog,” Elyssa said with a grin.
Kal had on grey sweat pants and a hoody to match, with the hood up.
“Trying to look inconspicuous,” Kal lied. In truth, the outfit was to hide the metal plates he had strapped to his chest, waist and legs. The plates even extended down his arms. Every piece of Kal that was concealed by the sweat suit was also covered in thick metal.
They had tried putting the metal under the suits he normally wore but the jagged edges were too obvious. He had assumed she was using some sort of projectile weapon, and although this was similar, he wasn’t sure how well metal plates would hold up to water traveling at a hundred feet per second.
Kal transformed and was nervous as the metal plates groaned. Luckily the machine pumping water to the canon was too loud and even Elyssa’s acute hearing didn’t pick up anything suspicious.
“Yes. Go ahead. Get comfortable Kal. It won’t make any difference.” Elyssa prepared to fire and Kal stared at her with purpose.
“Anything you want to say before you kill your little brother?” Kal asked angrily.
“Actually. Now that you mention it.” She shot a knowing glance at Bree then looked back at Kal. “What’s wrong with me?” she asked and her sadness caught Kal off-guard.
“What do you mean?” Kal asked sincerely.
“I mean. Why does nobody love me?” Elyssa asked, her sadness growing.
“I still don’t understand. I love you. Well…I did before you kidnapped my wife,” Kal replied and his anger returned.
“No you didn’t. You never stuck up for me when dad belittled me. You never told mom to stop treating me like a child,” Elyssa elaborated.
“What? That’s what this is about?” Kal asked with confusion. Elyssa didn’t answer so he continued. “No one stood up to dad except for Ra. And as for mom, she treated us all like kids. There’s nothing wrong with you.”
“You left. Out of all of them, I thought you actually cared about me, but you just left,” Elyssa said and Kal could hear her sadness turning into despair.
“I did love you. I still do,” Kal argued.
“LIAR!” Elyssa shouted and pulled the trigger on both handles.
The stream of water hit Kal in the chest as he turned to try and avoid it. Had it hit him squarely the effect might have been deadly but the angle and the metal plates on his chest protected him. Kal was spun and thrown backward at the same time. He flew into the wall and continued until he finally slid to a stop a few feet on the other side of the hole his body had made. The wall of the building shook and pieces of wood and plaster fell to the ground.
Elyssa looked at Kal’s limp body with regret and sorrow then her mood flipped once again.
“That was awesome!” Elyssa shouted. She turned the cannon on Bree and sneered. “Your turn.”
Out of the corner of her eye Elyssa saw Kal charging at her. She spun the cannon back in his direction and pulled the triggers but her aim was off. It caught Kal’s arm and he was spun once again, landing against the wall, right beside the hole. Elyssa didn’t release the triggers while she continued to spin the cannon. Water tore through the wall creating a horrible sound as the building was being ripped apart by the powerful stream. When it reached Kal it was above his head and Elyssa tried to angle it down but the up and down motion wasn’t as fluid as the side to side so Kal was able to roll out of the way. The stream tore down the wall and through the floor.
Kal zig zagged to avoid the beam of water Elyssa was trying to hit him with while he made his way to the cannon and as he was about to reach it the torn up floor couldn’t take his weight any longer. Kal tumbled through the floor and landed in the basement. Above him he heard the floor complaining. The water cannon was about to follow him down.
Elyssa lept from the cannon, sliced through Bree’s ropes then tossed her weak body over her shoulder and took off out the back door. As she reached the door the floor under the cannon gave way and toppled down, crushing Kal as it fell.
Elyssa looked at Bree and smiled.
“He’s tougher than I thought,” Elyssa said with pride then took off running with Bree tucked over her shoulder.
Ra noticed them running away from the building and took off after them. Elyssa had a large lead but he was faster and she was carrying Bree. It wouldn’t take long for him to catch up.
Elyssa looked over her shoulder and noticed Ra chasing her so she turned down an alley. When she got to the intersection she turned around several times then realized what street she was on. She picked up speed and went straight three more blocks. Ra was closing in on her but she was not about to give up.
When she reached another intersection she took it left then continued until she hit an alley and turned right. Ra was right on her heels but she wouldn’t stop, not now. Elyssa lept over a car parked in the way then slid to keep herself from careening off the steep drop off. Ra went sailing over her as she lay on the ground, inches from the edge. Elyssa picked herself and Bree off the ground then took off down the street.
After Ra skipped a few times across the
water he landed with a splash. Ra picked himself up and trudged his way to shore. He had landed in a shallow pond. He was knee deep in mud, waist deep in water. There was no way he was catching Elyssa now. After he made it to the shore she would be long gone.
Kal came to a stop at the edge of the road where Ra had failed to stop and looked down at his brother with exasperation.
“Which way did she go?” Kal asked.
“Doesn’t matter. She’s gone,” Ra replied dejectedly as he stepped onto the shore. He looked up at his brother with regret. “I didn’t see which way she went and now I can’t even smell Bree.” He pinched his nose then blew the muddy water from it.
Kal searched both directions and saw no sign of Bree nor Elyssa. He shouted in frustration then ran at the car that was blocking the alley and slammed into it.
Chapter 25
Elyssa tossed a blueberry muffin and a bottle of water at Bree’s feet. They were in another abandoned building. This one looked like an apartment of some kind but it was in horrible shape. The floor boards were cracked, some of them missing. The windows were broken and there were sticks and piles of leaves everywhere.
“Eat,” she ordered.
Bree picked up the muffin and threw it at Elyssa. It smacked into Elyssa’s chest then fell to the floor.
“The baby needs REAL food. Not this processed shit you keep feeding me!” Bree shouted. She felt weak, she probably needed the food but it was just a matter of time until she was dead. She needed Elyssa out there, buying food, where Kal could hopefully find her.
“You ungrateful little bitch!” Elyssa said, picked up the muffin and tossed it back at Bree. “You eat what I tell you to eat!” Elyssa then turned and stormed into what looked like it used to be the kitchen. Now it was just another empty, garbage filled room.
Bree clenched her fists and stared angrily at Elyssa then was shocked as something stabbed into her hand.
“Ow!” Bree shouted then pulled her hand up and stared at it in awe. Long black nails, very similar to Kal’s, had replaced her painted ones. How in the world had that happened? She had stabbed her own hand and now it was bleeding.
“What are you complaining about now?” Elyssa asked as she walked back toward Bree.
Bree quickly put her hand on the floor then picked it up again. Her blood stained the boards of the floor and smeared on her hand. Her claws were gone now and she hoped Elyssa hadn’t seen them.
“This place is lovely. I can’t even put my hand down without cutting it open. You’re a really good kidnapper,” Bree taunted. She covered her anxiety as best she could but was worried Elyssa would figure out her lie.
Elyssa huffed then laughed while she turned back to the kitchen.
“It’s just a little blood,” Elyssa said. Bree could hear the revulsion in her voice. Was this why Bree’s blood smelled so terrible to Elyssa. She was turning into a gargoyle like Kal. How was this possible? Was it the pregnancy? A better question was. How much like Kal was she? His rock hard skin would come in handy if she could figure out how to transform. She didn’t even know how she had made the claws come out. This deserved some investigation. Yet another reason to get rid of Elyssa, even if it was only for a little while.
“I’m starving. I’m weak and the baby is probably doing worse. I need real food El. Please,” Bree begged.
“Fine!” Elyssa shouted. “What do you consider REAL food?” Elyssa emphasized the word real in a way that Bree would have normally responded to but trading barbs with Elyssa wasn’t going to get rid of her.
“Lunch meat. Bread. Maybe some vegetables?” Bree asked, trying to emphasize her pathetic weakness. To her surprise, Elyssa was in a caring mood.
“Just a sandwich? How about I go grab something from the Mexican restaurant down the street? What do you want?” Elyssa asked compassionately.
“Burritos, tacos, nachos. I don’t care. As long as it’s not ninety percent sugar, salt or preservatives. Thank you, El,” Bree said and smiled kindly at Elyssa.
“Fine, one of everything,” Elyssa said and headed for the door. Bree could see her trying to cover her empathy. Elyssa was embarrassed because she actually did care about Bree and the baby, when she wasn’t trying to kill them.
Before she left she remembered that Bree was free. She quickly returned and tied Bree to what looked like it used to be a pass through to the kitchen.
“You didn’t think I’d just let you go did you?” Elyssa asked with distain.
“Actually I’m too weak to think about escaping,” Bree lied. To her surprise the empathy was back in Elyssa’s face. She pushed it away once more then headed out.
After she was sure Elyssa was gone Bree tried to concentrate on her claws again. She squeezed her eyes tight and clenched her fists but nothing happened.
“Ok. That’s disappointing,” she said to herself.
Next she kicked off both of her boots. She still had on the man’s boots from the house in North Dakota. She used her right foot to pull down the sock on the left foot. When her foot was bare she concentrated on it.
“Maybe if I can see it,” she reasoned. Still nothing happened.
“Damn it!” she shouted and threw her head back. It slammed into the solid wood behind her and she felt something strange in her mouth. It felt like her teeth had moved. She opened her mouth then closed it slowly. Something sharp stabbed her lip. Then she got frustrated and just sat there. After a few minutes she looked down at her stomach that was a little rounder than when this abduction had started and smirked.
“You’re picking on mommy aren’t you?” She laughed. “You think this is really funny.” Then she thought about it. “No. You probably have no idea what you’re doing. It is you isn’t it?”
Elyssa came walking back in and looked at Bree strangely.
“Are you talking to that thing or are you losing it?” Elyssa asked. She set the bags of food in front of Bree then moved to untie her wrists. “Why take your shoes and socks off? I thought you humans got cold easily?”
Bree looked up at her captor and smiled.
“Yes, I was talking to the baby. I was also inspecting my feet for damage. My feet are killing me and these boots are about three sizes too big.” Then Bree got a whiff of the food in the bags and was speechless. She crossed her legs under her and began pulling out all the wonderful smelling food as quickly as she could.
“You really are hungry. Maybe I should have gotten more,” Elyssa said.
“You look…less hungry…” Bree said, forgetting about the food.
“I had a little snack,” Elyssa said with a grin and wiped the corner of her mouth. “Don’t worry I didn’t kill him.”
Again Bree was speechless but this time it was for a different reason. This poor woman in front of her was so broken. For a brief moment the little girl inside, the one who cared about Bree and what she thought, was peeking through. Bree desperately wanted to help that little girl but she knew the moment she tried the angry woman would come back out. Instead Bree tried a different tactic.
She picked up one of the burritos and held it out to Elyssa.
“You want one?” Bree asked.
For a moment the little girl stayed. Elyssa stuck out her hand and almost grabbed the burrito but something inside her wouldn’t let the little girl get attached to Bree.
“The food is for you. Eat it or don’t. I don’t really care,” Elyssa said and stood up.
“Me and the baby,” Bree said, trying to pull the little girl out again but it failed.
“Whatever,” was all Elyssa said then she walked into another room while Bree ate.
Chapter 26
Kal snuck around the back of the abandoned apartments. They were set to be demolished next week but, according to one of Ra’s vampire contacts, Elyssa and Bree were somewhere inside. Ra had decided to follow another lead and they split up. They were running out of time. Elyssa would eventually quit trying to kill Kal and just kill Bree to hurt him.
The lead Ra was
chasing sounded just as promising as this one. Ra was checking the last of Elyssa’s properties. One of them had recently gotten electricity back so he felt this was the better choice. The one Kal was following was based on a vampire seeing Elyssa buying Mexican food. Ra thought it was ridiculous. He didn’t understand why Elyssa would feed Bree if she planned on killing her but Kal had seen something in that church. Something Ra couldn’t grasp. Elyssa was in pain. Maybe keeping Bree alive was because she couldn’t bring herself to kill her yet or maybe it was something else. Either way, Kal felt certain that Elyssa would buy food for Bree, up until the moment she killed her. His sister wasn’t evil. She was sick.
Kal didn’t see any movement inside and there were no lights. He opened the back door and cringed while it creaked open. He heard nothing so he proceeded inside. It was after midnight so the sounds of the small city they lived in had died down. The only sound he could hear was the rotten wood floor complaining as he walked across it.
The first room was empty, except for piles of garbage. The next one, more of the same. Then Kal opened another door and walked into the living room. The second he stepped inside Elyssa lit a candle on the far side of the room. Kal could make out Bree, Elyssa had her by the throat. Elyssa’s claws were out and digging into his wife’s neck. Elyssa switched hands and lit another candle, then two more.
“Glad you could join us Kal. I knew you’d find me eventually. Truthfully. I’m tired of this stupid game,” Elyssa said.
“What do you plan to do?” Kal asked.
“Where’s your brother?” Elyssa asked as her gaze searched behind Kal.
“He’s at one of your buildings. He noticed the electricity had been turned on a few days ago,” Kal stated.
Elyssa laughed.
“I knew that would be a good distraction,” Elyssa said.
“Didn’t help you get away,” Kal said.
“I never planned on getting away. You just don’t get it do you?” Elyssa asked.
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