by Justin Sloan
“Thank you,” he said.
“For what?”
“Sharing.” He picked up the fork with a bite of pie on it and held it out for her.
She snatched the fork away and took the bite, and said, “Whatever.” But she couldn’t keep the smile down. Something about sharing that with him made the memory more real, like her dad had never left her and never really would.
After the pie, they found a restaurant with an outside fire pit, and the two sat in each other’s arms with a couple of drinks offsetting the heat from the fire.
“My family….” He started, but lost himself in the fire.
“Tell me.”
“I haven’t really spoken to anyone about them,” he said. “Anyone, that is, except Mauro.”
She nodded, waiting. He could tell her when he was ready.
With a heavy sigh, he held her tight and then said, “We never forget our loved ones. They make us who we are.”
A pitter-patter started as rain hissed on the fire. They paid for their drinks and then ran for the car, but Katherine put a hand on the door to stop him from opening it.
The rain was coming down harder now, and she turned him and said, “Come on.”
“What, come on where?”
“Let’s take a walk.” She pulled him away from the car and he followed.
“To be clear, you do understand that it’s raining, right?”
She laughed and pulled him closer so she could wrap her arm around his. “That’s what makes it so nice.”
Before long, their clothes were soaked through. They stood at the edge of a small pond, the type with a Japanese stone bridge going over it, and pulled him in for a kiss.
“I’m soaked,” he said with a laugh. “Should we…?”
“Find a place to sleep?” she asked. “Yeah, let’s.” And as they started walking, she whispered into his ear, “Just one room should be fine.”
He looked at her with doubt, but she nodded, and took his arm in hers again. He was right—they were soaked. But she didn’t care.
She wasn’t sure if it was because she’d lost everyone else, or maybe the fact that they’d been in such danger together and were riding the elation of escape. She hoped it was simply the way he looked at her and spoke with her, like she mattered, like she was the most important woman alive. The warmth of his lips against hers and the tingle his touch sent through her certainly contributed to the decision.
“One room, please,” Triston said to the half-awake man behind the counter.
They checked in and Katherine went to the restroom to prepare for the night. She leaned against the door, listening to the sound of the television, then made up her mind. Whatever her motivation, she’d enjoyed kissing him. Plus, she could be dead tomorrow for all she knew. Live life to its fullest.
He looked up at her with surprise when she walked out into the room. She turned off the television, then spun, eyes focused, ready to devour him. She tossed him back onto the bed, pinning his arms down as she kissed him.
Her necklace dangled down, distracting her in a way that wasn’t welcome. She removed the necklace and then her shirt, but noticed his eyes on her scar. Not the fresh one that was forming from the bullet wound, but the one from when she was a child, the bite that had transformed her.
Why’d he have to look there? She pulled back, instantly insecure.
“I’m sorry,” he said, but she could tell he was dying to ask.
“I don’t remember much,” she said. “I was thirteen. My parents said it was a dog, we know now that it wasn’t. That family was gone… and then I met Danny.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”
She picked up the necklace again. “He gave me this. Said I was part of their family, their pack, and that they’d take care of me.”
Triston scooted over and held her in his arms as he said, “It’s going to be okay.”
She nuzzled against him, and found her eyelids growing heavy. He lowered her to the bed, and in her half-asleep state she was barely aware of him tucking her in.
A sound like a small thud woke her. Triston was lying beside her, asleep. She sat up, eyes searching the darkness. Over by the windows, she thought she saw a shadow. Maybe.
When she pulled the curtain aside, she nearly shouted—on the other side of the window was a man she thought dead. Danny.
He stood with his hand against the glass, and for a moment she wondered if she was seeing a ghost. Then he nodded to the side, and she snapped out of it. Of course he wasn’t a ghost, but she needed to know how he’d survived. She walked carefully to the door, slipped on her still damp jeans and put on her jacket, then snuck outside.
Each step toward him felt less believable. Her breath came in little spurts, like the flutter of a bird’s wings, and her fingers tingled. When he turned to look her over, she nearly froze.
“Is it really you?” she whispered. “I—I thought you were dead.”
She reached, a hand brushing his shoulder. He was alive, and actually there.
His eyes roamed across her face, and then she realized it was probably the silver. Time stretched on, and Katherine felt this would be her death, standing and waiting. And she would wait as long as it took.
“The mourning period didn’t last long,” Danny finally said. “Who is he?”
“Where were you?” she asked, avoiding the question.
“Does it matter? You abandoned me, and now….” He looked back at the open window, the form of Triston on the bed.
“It wasn’t like that,” she said, reaching out for him again.
Taking a step back, he said, “Maybe I shoulda never come back.”
He turned to leave, but stopped mid-spin, then moved back for her with a look of concern. She saw them then—four soldiers, just like the ones from the mountains.
The first one moved for Danny, but Katherine was ready and stepped forward, jabbing the palm of her hand into the soldier’s nose. Two more were on them as Danny swept out the first’s legs. One of the men caught Katherine with a punch across the face that left the fresh silver throbbing, while another tackled Danny and had restraints around his wrists.
Katherine yelped as the other soldier slammed into her, knocking her into the side of the hotel. She brought her elbow down on the back of his head and then her knee into his face in time to see Danny blocking strikes from two at once.
A kick took Danny in the ribs and he fell. Before the next strike could hit, Katherine was on the back of one of the attackers, holding him in a choke-hold. The soldier stumbled back and again slammed her into the hotel, but she wouldn’t loosen her grip. Three were on Danny, kicking him, and then one pulled out a baton. Katherine cringed and kicked her soldier in the side of the knee—he fell with a pop, and then she brought an elbow across his temple that knocked him to the ground.
The window opened and Triston was there, looking wild with his blonde hair across his face. Wasting no time, he leaped and instantly joined the fight with a back-kick to one of the soldiers who had turned in response.
No more playing around, apparently, because that’s when the first gun was drawn. But it was the closest soldier to Danny, so he leaped up and knocked it aside—the shot rang in the night, but it was the soldier behind Katherine who fell, grunting and holding his leg.
Danny wrestled the pistol away as Triston pulled Katherine back from the chaos. The soldiers were on Danny and the pistol was knocked aside and into the bushes.
“No!” Katherine yelled, pulling from Triston and yanking the silver from her face. A warm sensation told her the sharp teeth were returning, and in a second her vision went into hunter mode—she could see the forms of the soldiers moving in slow motion, feel the beating of their hearts. Part of her warned about losing control, while the rest said she didn’t give a damn if she did.
The soldiers had Danny. He stood in the defensive, ready, but with a look at Triston and Katherine, he seemed to go limp, no longer caring if they took him.
This was no longer a young woman fighting soldiers, this was Katherine the weapon, dodging blows and tearing flesh with her claws. The soldiers turned, retreating into the darkness.
For a moment it felt like victory, until she saw the look in Danny’s eyes.
“I don’t belong here,” he said, then turned and followed the soldiers, limping as he ran.
“Danny!” she called out, staring after him in shock.
More forms appeared in the shadows—soldiers, grabbing hold of Danny, dragging him away. And he didn’t even resist.
With a ka-BOOM the car she and Triston had come in exploded, and then a hail of gunfire rained down on them. A bullet grazed Katherine’s shoulder as she dove to push Triston out of the way.
She wouldn’t give up on Danny, not like this. With a snarl she was up and leaping through the night, her consciousness borderline, her ability to control her actions slowly slipping. The scent of blood was strong, but then it was all around her.
A soldier appeared from behind a tree, k-bar blade swinging to stab her in the chest. She threw herself out if its path, then clawed his gut before slamming his face into the cement.
Sniff—sniff. Nothing, the scent was vanishing.
Another soldier came out of the darkness, rifle aimed, and he let off a few shots. Katherine fell to the ground and lifted up the other soldier as a shield, then rolled out of the way to the brick cover of a diner. She quickly leapt up onto the window sill, and found handholds to pull herself up to the roof.
No sign of Danny and the rest of the soldiers anywhere. An “oomph” sounded below, then another gunshot, and when she went to the edge to look down, Katherine saw that Triston had taken out the soldier.
She dropped down to him as the sound of police sirens filled the night.
“We can’t stay here,” Triston said. “They could be back with more.”
Danny was gone, vanished in the darkness. But, at least for now, he was alive.
They rushed back to the hotel, careful to make sure no one saw them entering, and found some of Triston’s dry clothes. That’d have to do. Katherine slid off her shirt, only now becoming aware of the splattered blood on it and her hands.
She stood there in her bra, looking at the blood, realizing that tonight could have been her last, just as it could have been Triston’s. He could have died… and for her. Screw caution, she thought, and turned to Triston. He was in the process of putting on a new shirt. She walked over and stopped him, then pulled the shirt back off.
He looked at her with large, questioning eyes, but she took his hand and guided him to the bathroom, where she turned on the shower. The blood had splattered across him too, and the fighting had caused his stomach wound to open up slightly.
“Let’s get you washed off first,” she said, and then undid his belt.
His breathing came out heavy as he allowed her to slip off his pants, and then he had her lips pressed against his as he undid her bra and worked her tight jeans off.
The water of the shower warmed her, but not as much as his body when pressed against hers. Ignoring their wounds, the two let the night’s terror wash away to be replaced by passion and excitement. It was almost perfect, except for the gnawing worry about Danny. She tried to push him from her mind, especially when Triston’s hand cupped her breast and she felt him shudder against her… but it was no use.
Either Danny was on the run and didn’t want to be followed, or the soldiers had him. If it was the latter, he was gone. Either way, he was out of her life, by his own volition. There was nothing she could do by focusing on it and contemplating the worst possible scenarios.
So she pushed it all from her mind and accepted the ecstasy of the moment.
Chapter 14: Broken Dreams
Danny had been compliant, until he heard the gunfire. He’d thought that leaving them behind would mean Kat would be safe—he couldn’t give a damn about her new boyfriend. All he’d ever wanted was to protect her, but when the explosion sounded, a fear gripped his heart.
What had he done? This was all his fault, and the burning rage within was too much to control. He spun on his captors, breaking their grips on him and slamming two of their heads together.
“Gregor just wants a word,” the third said, but Danny felt his blood boiling—wait, no, it wasn’t his blood. Or, it wasn’t just his blood—the mixture of iodine and whatever the hell else they’d pumped into him was surging, and he knew he could call on his claws and fangs, so he did.
The soldier cursed, backing up. He drew a pistol, but Danny simply laughed.
“Silver bullets?” Danny asked, his voice horse with grief and the effort of growing his fangs. “I doubt it—Gregor wouldn’t have set up his soldiers to kill their own kind.”
“Listen, we were sent to simply follow, and take you back.”
“And her? What about Katherine?”
A moment of doubt flashed across the soldier’s face. It was all Danny needed to know the answer. So they were silver bullets, most likely. They’d been sent to take her out of the picture. Maybe bring back her body for testing. Anything for the greater good, right?
He didn’t even realize he was attacking until the man’s throat was torn out and blood dripped from Danny’s claws.
A woman shrieked, and Danny spun to see she was elderly, with her husband. The rage inside was overwhelming, pushing for the attack. The scent of fresh, warm blood pulled at his instincts, calling for more.
But he growled, fighting it, and ran away from them. He kept running until he was past the residential area and up into the woods, and only stopped when he’d reached a clearing that overlooked the city.
Down below, police cars and a fire truck had shown up at the scene of a blazing car. It was serene, the darkness of this border city contrasted with those flashing lights.
And above, the moon was bright, and large. The full moon was coming—had he lost track so easily? It would come the next night, he guessed, and what then? He was out here, all by himself. If he blacked out, even if he locked himself away, who knows what he would do. Could he even put himself in such bonds? If so, he had no idea how he would escape the next day when he’d returned to normal.
Perhaps there was a cliff nearby, somewhere from which he could simply toss himself and be done with it all. Finally find out if all dogs really did go to heaven.
“You hurt my men,” a gravelly voice said.
Danny didn’t have to look up to know it was Gregor. “Men, or monsters?”
“That’s a question,” Gregor said, squatting next to him. “But not the right one. Soon, it will be monsters and slaves, nothing more. Which side will you be on?”
“His army’s everywhere, isn’t it?” Danny asked. “This dream of his….”
“It’s become a reality.”
“And you’d sit by and let it happen?” Danny finally turned to the man, and saw that he had his claws at the ready. “I’m not going to attack you. What’d be the point?”
“What’s the point of any of this, really,” Gregor said, relaxing and taking a seat. “I’ll tell you the answer to that one. Making the world a better place.”
“You can’t really believe that.”
“How can I not?” Gregor said. “Look around you someday, won’t you? Have you seen what’s happened right here on our own soil, let alone around the globe. The world is falling to pieces, because it has no order.”
“And you can give it that order?”
“Not me. But Aldrick can.” Gregor stared at Danny for a long moment, then asked, “You believed in him once. What happened?”
Danny sighed and hung his head, eyes closed. It was Kat, her beautiful smile on a night when her fangs were out, her eyes yellow in the moonlight. All he could picture was that smile, and those lips, and how all he’d ever wanted was to feel those lips against his, but he’d been too cowardly to say so.
“She got u
nder all our skin,” Gregor said. “Just… in different ways.”
“Did you kill her?”
“That wasn’t our intention. Her companion though, a man by the name of Triston. He keeps the company of a certain man named Mauro, one that’s in our best interest to see dead. He’s too close, been following our movements, researching our ways.”
“So you attacked, hoping to draw out this Mauro character?”
“Precisely.” Gregor looked away, a pained look on his face. “But she got in the way. It wasn’t intentional, but she….”
Danny wanted to leap up and tear the man to pieces, but instead he simply closed his eyes and fought back the tears that threatened to come bubbling up. The rage within churned, twisting his gut and telling him to unleash his wrath upon the world. But he refused.
“I’m done here,” he said, standing. “Done with you, with all of this.”
“With life?” Gregor stood too. Danny’s silence was enough, so Gregor said, “I can’t let that happen.”
With a wave of his hand, the hill was covered in soldiers. The surged on Danny, but he didn’t bother fighting back. There were too many of them, and he was too broken to care.
Chapter 15: A Full Moon
Katherine sat beside Triston, her head on his shoulder. He placed his hand on her knee and kissed her on the cheek. They’d joined the confused crowd and acted like everyone else, scared, but in the end no bodies had been found so the police didn’t make a fuss. Triston had been the one to suggest the train, since their car was gone and the town didn’t have rentals.
“We’ll get through this,” Triston said.
She nodded, but stared out the window at the sky. “It’s coming, tonight. The full moon.”
“It’s not something we have to worry about anymore.”
“You don’t know that.”
She reached for her necklace, thumb caressing the smooth stone. Seeing Danny again after thinking him dead had been too much. He’d shown up out of nowhere, then vanished just as quickly. Part of her wanted to run after him, be like they were before, but he’d seemed changed. The look in his eyes when he’d seen Triston—what had that been about? They’d always been close, but not like that.