by J. R. Rain
This overgrown gorilla did know me. “Oh,” I said. “You know me. I feel honored.”
“Oh, I know you all right. I know that Tommy kicked your ass.”
“That he did, Sasquatch. But, I’ve ironed out a couple of flaws in my technique since then.”
“The lying flat on your ass technique wasn’t working for you?” All of Goliath’s Carni folk burst out laughing.
“Just to let you know, I was the one who beat Tommy to death. And if a bitch-ass like Tommy could handle a fluff like you, then this should make for a short fight.”
“I guess that doesn’t say much for your bartender friend, does it?”
Goliath didn’t like that comment. He broke his stance and came at me. I leaped forward with a roundhouse kick. I missed because Goliath moved out of the way. Goliath was agile. I was shocked. When my kick missed, I fell to the ground.
Goliath jumped on top of me. This guy was the strongest opponent I had ever felt. He picked me up right up off the ground by my neck. He held me up in the air with my legs dangling. I gasped for air; he walked me by my neck to an old eucalyptus tree that was near the flowerbed. With one slick motion, he threw me like a Frisbee against the tree. I hit the tree head first about six feet up, and then dropped to the ground.
I heard screams of excitement from the crowd. They were laughing at my expense. Damn, I hated to hear laughing and cheering at my expense. I was filled with anger, I turned around and opened my mouth, and I felt my incisors protrude out to razor sharp blades. I had never felt that sensation before. It felt like I was flexing my teeth.
“He’s vampiring up!” a man yelled from the crowd.
“Let’ him!” Goliath bellowed. “That will give us reason to rip him to shreds.”
I lunged at Goliath. I grabbed both of his ears with my hands and head-butted him right in his nose. Blood sprayed everywhere. Some got on my tongue. Wow, it tasted delicious and I felt an erection in my pants. Just the smell seemed to quench my every desire. Werewolves bled?
Goliath rolled backward and landed on his feet. “You taste good,” I said.
I grabbed my groin. “Now I’m ready to play.”
Goliath dove at me. I jumped ten feet in the air and hit the peak of my height. It felt as if I floated in midair for a second. I came down hard and fell to my feet.
“What the hell was that?” someone yelled.
“He just flew, that motherfucker just flew,” another hollered out.
When I landed, I collapsed on the ground. I had no idea what had just happened. My body just defied gravity. I almost couldn’t tell because I had been flying all night as an eagle. I had most definitely floated. No one told me that could happen in human form. I didn’t have the time to analyze what had happened. There was a 450-pound man ready to take my head off. Goliath jumped on top of me. It felt like I was on the bottom of a ten-person dog pile. He was hitting the back of my head with elbows, mixed martial arts style. I felt a sea of elbows hitting my neck, head, and shoulder blades.
I heard the strangest crushing and tearing sound come from the back of my head, he had cracked the back of my head open. I was disoriented. There was a large boulder to the left of me. As I continued to get the crap beat out of me, I stared at the large boulder. I felt helpless. Goliath was heavy and strong. I wished that boulder would just fly up and knock the fat motherfucker off me. I stared at the boulder as if I felt my will breaking. I continued to stare at that rock. In my mind, I was pleading for help. I zeroed in on the boulder. I then zeroed in on the crowd that was cheering for my demise. Something miraculous was about to happen. The boulder lifted off the ground and into the air, and then it shot 40 feet through the air and crashed into the crowd, knocking Carni over like bowling pins. I don’t know how I did it.
“He’s using magic,” a bearded man yelled.
Goliath grabbed me by both arms and stood me straight up. My head was killing me.
“Why the hell would you do that?” he yelled at me.
“Do what?” I yelled back at him.
“Use your bullshit Mani magic. Now we have every right to kill you.” Goliath held me tight in his grasp. I struggled, but it was no use. He had me in the worst bear hug known to man. I looked over his shoulder and tried to resist his squeeze. I could see the chain that he originally had at the beginning of the fight about fifteen feet behind him, he must have dropped it.
As he held me, I focused my attention on the chain. I imagined the chain flying in the air. I strained my eyes. Nothing happened. How did I make the boulder move? I looked at the chain, and then quickly looked at Goliath. The chain whipped off the dirt, flew up in a whipping motion, and wrapped around Goliath’s neck. It wrapped tight. Real fucking tight.
A woman yelled. “Get him! He keeps using magic.”
Goliath ripped the chain off his neck.
“No one fucking touches him, he’s mine,” Goliath gasped. Goliath threw the chain fifty feet in the air like a boomerang.
“So it’s going to be like that, you bloodsucking turd.”
I had no idea how I was making things move with my mind or how I floated in midair. This was definitely not in the vampire handbook that Lena had explained to me.
“Look,” I called out. “I’m not trying to use magic. I have no idea how I’m doing what I’m doing.”
“Shut up, you pale Mani,” Goliath screamed. “You’re finished.”
Goliath charged me. I jumped up and again I floated up 10 feet in the air. But, this time, I went faster and my body was jerkier. I landed 20 feet away from him.
“What the hell are you?” Goliath seemed angry and confused. “You’re only supposed to fly when you transition. What kind of bullshit is this?”
“Look, I don’t know what’s going on.”
“You have broken every rule in the book. I don’t care if you don’t know what the hell you’re doing. You’re going to die tonight.” Goliath rushed me again. This time I stood my ground. I high-kicked him the same way I had Brian, but with a much different result. Goliath caught my foot. I fell backwards, but did not hit the ground; instead, I spun around in the air. Goliath had my foot and he was strong enough to hold me in midair by my freaking foot. He spun me around like a lasso. I whizzed through the air and had the sensation of flying as an eagle. Without warning, that is exactly what happened, I transitioned into the eagle. Goliath let go of me in shock.
“What the fuck is that thing?” he called out.
At first, I hadn’t realized I had transitioned, but as I flapped my arms it had been my long wing. I was about two hundred feet in the air. I circled the werewolf party and squawked as loud as I could. I had broken every rule tonight, but had no idea how I was doing it. I couldn’t be criticized or judged for that. The Triat had to know I didn’t do any of that on purpose.
I needed to get out of here and that I did. I flew out of the ranch. I went straight into the sky as high as I could like a rocket. The wind got colder and colder the higher I went. The air felt incredible; I felt incredible. I had never felt so alive. I had never felt so much excitement. The euphoria was exhilarating—too exhilarating.
I stopped thinking about Josiah the eagle and I began reflecting on Josiah the man. That was another huge mistake. Somehow, I had transitioned back into my Mani form. How did I know this? I looked down and saw my human legs. I was a mile high without wings. I was a mile high and had no idea how to fly in my Mani form. I soon hit the apex of my ascendance and stood still in midair. For that brief moment, as I switched from ascending to the certain fall that awaited me, I had an amazing moment of clarity. I felt as if everything in the world made sense. That must be the feeling one gets right before he dies. It didn’t last long because I fell. And fall, I did.
My emotions went from euphoria to absolute terror. I was thousands of feet above earth. And now I was dropping at a speed that I couldn’t even fathom. The night was completely dark and I felt as if I was falling into a black hole. But I knew better. I was falling to
the earth—an earth that would crush and destroy me on contact. What the hell was I to do?
I need to fly! I was going to make contact with the ground soon. The fear was indescribable. I couldn’t think clearly. I knew I needed to transition. Was this a faith issue? Was this a test by the Triat? Was I falling to the earth because I was allowing fear to beat me? The wind was choking me. I decided to look up and get a giant gasp of air, as if I was going underwater. I gulped as much air as I could and then I looked down. I concentrated on becoming the eagle. Nothing was happening! Why wasn’t I transitioning? I remained calm. I looked up and took in another gulp of air. I spread my arms out and began flapping them, praying they would turn into wings.
I looked down. It was no longer a black hole. I could see a sea of lights below me. I was getting closer to the earth. Dear God! This can’t be the way this ends! I straightened my legs as if I was doing a jackknife into a pool. I raised my arms straight up. Then something miraculous happened. I felt my body slowing down, as if I was a racecar driver that had taken my foot off the pedal.
As I slowed down, I could see shapes as well as lights below me. I knew I was getting closer and closer to the ground. With all that I had, and every bit of will, I stretched my arms out as hard as I could. I had nothing to lose; if it didn’t work, I was going to die anyway.
Then it happened. I could feel my body taking control of my speed. I had control. I freaking had control! I was no longer falling. I had somehow changed direction again. I was now going up again. I needed to reel this in.
I couldn’t let myself rise out of control again. I wasn’t going to let it happen. I had some bearing of control this time. It was like trying to ride an out-of-control horse. The problem was, I was the horse. I concentrated, breathed and did all that I could to recall the feelings I had had as the eagle, to try to control my flying. I had seen Superman and Greatest American Hero. They made flying look easy. I needed to relax. And relax I did.
The more relaxed I was, the easier it was to control my body. I was now flying, I was finally in absolute control. I was flying! Not as an eagle, but as me, Josiah Reign. I felt power underneath my feet. My energy was allowing me fly. It was the most amazing feeling I had ever experienced. This was more exhilarating than flying as an eagle. I could see my own arms, my own legs. It felt similar to swimming, but a lot more freeing.
As the eagle, I had felt light and delicate. At times, I got the sense of power when I struck a person or an object. But flying as a Mani felt like the dreams I used to have when I was mortal. I felt powerful and alive. And yes, I felt like Superman. I tilted my arms and leveled out my body so that I was flying parallel to the earth, Superman-style. I allowed myself to drop and then I would ascend. Flying felt like having ten orgasms back to back. It was the biggest rush I have ever had. It was more exciting than all my experiences combined. I felt like the most powerful man in the world. That was the problem. I was no longer a man, I was a vampire—and now I could fly. In my Mani body. I was jubilant.
Chapter Five
I flew around for the next two hours in my Mani form, arms and legs flapping in the wind. I noticed that I was less anxious about flying when I was lower to the ground, but I was risking being seen by the public. So, I was going to have to find a happy medium with all this flying business. I needed to fly low enough to feel comfortable and high enough to not be seen by the naked eye.
The sun would be coming out soon. I decided once again to go find Lena. I knew I had left her and everyone else stranded a mile down from the ranch. I doubted she was still there. I checked there anyway just to be sure. I scoped up and down from the sky and saw no one within two miles of the ranch. I decided to fly over to her trailer community. Hopefully, she had gone back home. I got to the trailer park in minutes. I spotted her mobile home from the air and noticed a car parked in the driveway. Her parents must have come home.
I decided to land in the park across the street. It seemed like it was the best spot because of the large amount of soft grass. I circled the park as I had done earlier in the night. It was different this time because I wasn’t circling the park as an eagle, but as a man. I was getting better at landing as ‘the eagle.’ This was a completely different ball game, trying to land with legs. As an eagle, I could pull back and delicately hit the earth, my wings lifting me at the last moment of touchdown. I had no idea at what speed I should hit the ground flying as a Mani. I didn’t want to crush my legs on impact.
There was a barn at the far east end of the park. It was some sort of petting zoo for kids in the area. As I circled the barn, I could see some bales of hay to the left of the barn. I decided to aim my landing in that direction. Hay on top of grass was double the protection.
I continued to circle around the barn, each time making the circle smaller and smaller. Each time I circled, I inched my way closer and closer to the earth. I was about twenty feet from the ground. I needed to land and I was becoming apprehensive. I dipped my legs down a tad, as if I was jumping off a roof of a house. That was not a good idea. I pulled back my motion as I got closer and closer to the ground. Right next to the barn was a scarecrow and I used it as my focal point. I pulled up hard, but I knew my speed was still too fast. I hit the bales of hay much harder than I intended to. I instinctively curled my body up in a ball to protect my vital areas. All that did was make me roll instantly when I hit the ground. And roll I did. I rolled out of control and crashed directly into the barn. I had hoped the barn would stop my momentum. No such luck. My body broke through the wooden walls as if I was a tank. I wrapped my hands around my head on contact to prevent further injury.
Finally I stopped and laid there flat on my back. I looked up and saw a brown horse looking down at me. It stared at me with a bewildered look as if to say, ‘Who the hell are you?’
I got to my feet as quickly as I could. My body ached all over. I had put my body through the wringer tonight. Although I was in immense pain, my adrenaline was still off the charts. I felt like I had just downed ten Red Bulls.
I wiped off the dirt and hay, cracked my neck, and walked out of the barn. The cold morning air hit my face. The sun would be up shortly. I walked across the grassy field and headed to Lena’s trailer park.
I felt like a superhero as I exited the park and went across the street. Cars passed me and for the first time, I had the feeling of immortality. Ultimately, I felt that nothing could hurt me. It felt insanely great. It was the high of highs. The surge of power at beginning to realize my own potential as a Mani.
I wasn’t even sure if Lena was home. Lena’s parents were home and that changed everything. I went to the side of the house and tapped the window to her bedroom. After just one tap, the lights in her room came on. Lena pulled back the curtain and I saw her face. She looked concerned and very beautiful.
She opened the window just enough to be heard, “Josiah,” she whispered, “Are you okay?”
“I’m more than okay,” I said, louder than I planned to.
“Shhhh, you’ll wake up creepazoid.” She opened the window more.
“Screw him. Let’s get out of here!” I whispered back.
Lena looked behind me. “Where’s your car?”
“I’m not going to need that anymore.”
Lena looked at me puzzled.
“Get some clothes together,” I said, “Let’s get out of here.”
Lena had a spark in her eye. “Really?”
“Of course, really. You don’t need to live here anymore. I have plenty of room, you can stay with me.”
Lena’s face looked like a child’s on Christmas morning. “Hold on!” She left for a moment and came back. She already had a suitcase packed with clothes in her arms and handed it to me through the window.
All of a sudden, I heard a deep voice, “Who the hell are you talking to, little woman?” Lena quickly jumped out the window and fell into my arms. We swiftly hid behind the trailer. We could hear Lena’s stepdad in her room. He was walking around. “That li
ttle whore snuck out again!” he said in a loud voice. He turned off the light.
I looked at Lena and I couldn’t help but have the biggest smile on my face.
She could see the excitement in my eyes. “What the hell happened tonight? Did you fight?”
“Yes.” I must have had a lot of scrapes and bruises.
“Did you win?”
“Yes and no,” I said.
“Well, you’re alive. That’s the only thing that matters.” Lena looked at the back of my head. “Josiah your head is cracked open. Do you feel alright?”
Goliath apparently had done a number to the back of my head. “Let’s get out of here. We need to take care of that.”
“Okay,” I said. “Put your arms around my neck.”
“Why?” Lena looked at me curiously.
“Just do it,” I said. Lena wrapped her arms around my neck. “Hold on tight,” I raised my arms as if I was a superhero preparing to fly.
“What the heck are you doing?” Lena gasped. I raised my arms again this time with some oomph. I had a small problem. Nothing was happening. Lena looked at me as if I had lost my mind.
“Uh...Josiah. What are you doing?”
“Hold on,” I said. “Watch!” I raised my arms again, this time I made a fist as if that would help. Again, nothing happened.
“What are you trying to do?” Lena asked laughing.
“I’m trying to fly,” I stammered.
“Well,” Lena said sweetly. “You’ll need to transition to do that.” Then we heard someone open the front door. “Transition, Josiah!” Lena immediately transitioned into a red hawk.
Dammit! I wanted to show her I could fly! Why couldn’t I fly?
Lena flew away, leaving her suitcase behind. I could hear Lena’s stepdad getting closer. I transitioned to ‘the eagle.’ I grabbed the suitcase in my beak and flew out of the area like a speeding bullet. Yeah, now I was the super hero.
Chapter Six
We both landed in my front yard and the sun was peeking up over the horizon. It was a beautiful thing to see. It would be something I couldn’t enjoy anymore. That was sad to me. That the sun was a deep fryer for vampires who had the stupidity to stand outside in it.