I look over the beast as she huffs and puffs. The beast has light tan fur and is taller than me by nearly two feet easy. I stare up at the snarling she-beast. The golden eyes look at me with contempt and disdain. Saliva drips from the she-beast’s mouth.
She extends the claws in her hands. Oh dear, those claws are definitely looking sharp, all right. The she-beast charges right at me with claws spread out from her body.
I steady the angelic katana which appeared in my hands moments ago. Before I can even prepare myself, I am using the blade to ward off an uppercut strike.
Her claws clash with the blade and I stumble backwards as I try to keep my balance. What did I get myself into?
She strikes with another uppercut from the opposite side. Once again, I use the blade to thwart the attack. But what was unexpected was the result. I am sent high into the air dropping my blade in the process. I crash into steel shelves on the far wall knocking many potion ingredients onto the ground.
“Uh,” I moan as my head feels as though a jackhammer was used upon it. Then, I see a bright flash as the she-beast comes down upon my rather limp body.
That’s when I hear what sounds like a bug getting zapped. I look up to see a fuzzy tan thing reeling in pain. I assume this is the she-beast since I cannot see very well. I do hear the beast roar in pain as several more zaps are taken by her before she decides to turn tail and run away.
Chris, I think, then, runs over to my side. I can hear him alright as he tries to ascertain my well being. But everything is still blurry and hazy that I am unable to respond.
I feel two sets of arms lifting me to my feet. One is talking to me on my right, Chris. The other, I assume is Devon. Slowly, the three of us make our way to the back of the General Store.
We continue on for several feet before I faintly hear Devon, I think, telling Chris to turn into his office off to the left. I am partially drug into the office by my hubby. Then, with Devon’s help they sit me down upon the couch just inside the doorway. The pain overtakes me and I pass out.
Chapter Ten: The Future?
11:30 AM, 2 Years Later…
I LAY there for what seems to be an eternity. I awaken in what looks like a king sized four post bed. I am covered with a light tan and blue comforter in square patterns intersecting one or another. There is a long dresser across the room from the bed. The dresser is made of oak, painted white, and adorned with brass ornate leaf-like handles. There are, also, six drawers with two mirrors hanging on the wall just above the dresser itself. The mirrors are trimmed in the same colored oak as the dresser.
The door on the far right side of the room opens and Christopher, with a scar on his right cheek walks in. He has a sandy blonde goatee as well. Well, that’s new. I moan in pain.
He moves a little faster over to me as he carries a tray of food. The plate is covered and the cup has a lid upon it with a straw through the lid. He sets the tray in my lap as I position myself, struggling to sit up.
What the hell?
I see sadness in his eyes. I look at him with great concern.
“It’s okay, Des,” he says as he helps me sit up. “You couldn’t have foreseen it.”
“What are you talking about, Chris?” I ask not knowing what’s going on.
“I’m talking about you becoming paralyzed.”
Paralyzed? I sat there stunned. This cannot be happening. It can’t be real.
Oh, my dear, but it can be. I hear in my head. Instantly, I recognize the voice.
Szin, you condescending jerk. What are you up to now?
Surrender yourself to me, my dear. It is your destiny, Ms. Phoenix. And, then, I hear him cackle.
Tears run down my eyes.
“Des, what’s wrong?” he asks with love and understanding.
I look at him blankly knowing this seems too real for it to be true. I begin to sob. And, then, I hear them. Two tiny voices begin to wail.
“Are those…” a little ray of joy lights up my face.
“Yes, I’ll go get the girls.” Chris says before leaving the room.
The girls? Twins? Every dream has had twin girls in it. One blonde, one raven headed.
A few minutes later, he walks in the room carrying one girl in each arm. Twins like I thought. One with golden locks and the other with jet black locks. Both reach their arms out there for me.
I take the girls from Christopher and he sits down next to me. Their names came to me instantly.
I look at the baby girl with the golden locks and pretty blue eyes. Avalon Jade is her name. And, then, I turn towards the baby girl with dark raven locks and beautiful chocolate colored eyes. Raven Opal is her name. Both my girls are so beautiful. But I know in the end that I cannot protect them from Szin’s grasp without the use of my legs.
I sob as I look at my babies… my babies… my babies…
Chapter Eleven: Devon the Werewolf
12:02 PM. The Present
“MY BABIES,” I mutter as I toss and turn under the watchful gaze of Chris.
“Um, what babies?” Chris asks as I awaked from my slumber.
“Huh?” I say groggily as the fog in my head tries to lift. “Where am I?”
“We’re in Devon’s office, baby.”
Damn! I rub my eyes as I sit up. Then, suddenly, I jolt awake to the sound of two growling beasts. What the hell?
“Oh, the noise,” Chris says nonchalantly as I try to get my bearings. “How could you sleep through that?”
“Um, was out cold over here,” I said with one brow raised as he walked over to me. He sat on the couch next to me.
“Bad dream?” he calmly asked as he put his arm around my shoulder. I nodded my head. “What was it about?”
“Well, we had our own home…”
“Not bad.”
“I was paralyzed and in bed…”
“Not so good,” he says.
“You helped me and took care of me…”
“Of course.”
“And we had two baby girls…”
“Oh, those were what you muttered about?”
“Uh, huh.”
“Not too bad in my book.”
“And Szin was the cause, I think,…”
“What?” exclaimed Chris. “How do you know?”
“He told me that he wants me to surrender to him… that it’s my destiny.”
“No you can’t!”
“Of, course not, Chris,” I tell him as I put my head on his shoulder. “I will never join Szin.”
Then, we jump just as the wall, the couch sits against, shakes violently. The growling is rather loud. At that time, we prepare ourselves for anything. I am limping and grabbing my left side as I try to stay ready.
We can see a large amount of blood fly in the stockroom through the office doorway. And, suddenly, the growling stops. I relax and Chris manages to catch me as I fall from my ready stance.
“Trying to make sure that I catch you,” Chris asks with one brow raised.
“Ha, ha,” I sardonically say to him. “Funny. Now help me to the doorway. I want to see what happened.”
We make it over to the doorway in a couple of minutes. I stick my head out the door and look both directions. Looks like a scene from a bad horror flick. Blood is everywhere. Furthermore, there are clumps of fur in various pools of blood.
To the right on the floor was the she-beast dead. A larger werewolf, most likely Devon, was on its knees huffing and puffing real hard. It was missing fur and had multiple open wounds that were still bleeding. But I did notice one thing, the wounds were slowly healing.
I looked strangely at the werewolf trying to catch his breath, “Devon?”
The werewolf nodded as he put one arm out for support. Devon’s breathing got a little more rapid and irregular as he coughed up some more blood. The wounds continue to close and it astonishes me to say the least.
Then, he begins to morph back into his human form. Devon shakes off the remainder of the fur which still remains. He spits some
blood on top of the dead she-beast. Devon shivers. He points over to us.
“Blanket, please,” he says through gritted teeth as he winces in pain. “Ugh!”
Chris rushes back into the office and brings the blood covered Devon a blanket to wrap his nude body in. I blush as little as he is helped to his feet by my hubby. He sees my reaction and looks at me with furrowed brow. I hang back at the entrance to Devon’s office as Chris and Devon begin heading my direction.
I, then, head back into the office limping over to the desk across the room from the doorway. As soon as I reach the desk to lean upon it, Devon and Chris enter the room. Chris helps Devon to the couch in the office. Sweat drips from the pores of Devon’s skin and hair.
“Water,” he says in a cracked, weak voice as he points to the small fridge on the other side of the desk.
“Got it,” I tell him as I as make my way around while using the desk for support. I slowly bend down to get a bottle of water out of the fridge for Devon. That’s when I feel as though he is checking out my butt.
“Hey, man,” Chris says as I stand back up.
“Look, man, I’m married, too,” Devon says weakly.
“Here,” I say tossing him the bottle of water.
“Thanks,” Devon says through a cracked voice as he caught the water bottle.
Devon cracks upon the bottle and starts drinking the water. Relief can be seen on his face. He is still exhausted.
The teenage boy who showed us to the back comes into the office. Devon turns and looks up at Paul. He had heard a commotion and checks up on Devon after hearing the commotion.
“Yes, Paul?”
“Mr. Harrison, is there anything I can do for you?” the young boy asks Devon.
“Call my wife and have her bring a change of clothes.”
“Um,” Paul says as he begins to stammer. That’s when Kelly walks into the room carrying a duffle bag with her. She tries to step around all the blood.
“I don’t think that’s going to be necessary, Dev,” she says sweetly as she walks into the office. She, then, turns to Paul. “You can go now, Paul. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome, Mrs. Harrison.” Paul tells Kelly as he turns and leaves Devon’s office to go back to his duties on the floor of the General Store.
“Ah, baby,” Devon says as she walks in. “It’s good to see you. Glad you brought me some clothes.”
“I heard your thoughts as soon as you changed into your were-beast form, Dev.”
“I never thought about that. Sorry, baby.”
“It’s okay, Dev. The kids were a little freaked out though. I’m hoping that they’re so young that they will not remember what went on.”
“Who’s watching them, Kel?”
“The nanny is watching them, Dev.” Kelly says handing him the duffle bag. “I wouldn’t be here otherwise.”
“Why don’t you take Destiny and go get some lunch while Chris helps me get changed?” Devon asks his wife.
“Sure thing, Dev,” she tells her husband. Kelly, then, turns towards me. “You ready, Destiny?”
“Yes, I could use some down time,” I reply to Kelly.
“Alright,” she says. “Let me help you.”
With Kelly’s help, I walk out of the office so that Devon can change. We continue on through the stockroom, trying not to step in the fur laden blood. I wave of nausea hit my stomach.
“What happened?” she asks nonchalantly.
“We met with Devon as was the plan to try and draw out some of the other pack located here in Jasper Springs,” I begin to relay. “And to our surprise, we did just that. They sent a small woman who stalked us from the catwalk.”
I, then, point up to the ceiling.
“Then, she probably came in from the skylight.” Kelly surmised as we headed to the front.
“Can we make a pit stop to the restroom?” I ask her. “I’d like to make myself somewhat presentable.”
“Not a problem. Not a problem.” She says. “But first, let’s go get some supplies to help you pretty up.”
“I greatly appreciate that.”
“It’s one of the perks of being the owner’s daughter-in-law.”
“Thank God.”
Chapter Twelve: The Bloodlust Monster
Wednesday, March 20, 2013 3:45 AM
I AWAKEN from a very bad dream to the sounds of a blood curdling scream out in the back of the hotel. I jump out of bed and land on the barely carpeted surface of the hotel room. I feel a twinge in my ankle. Great. I landed too hard. Next time I will just have to be careful.
I limp towards the window of the room Chris and I share together. He never hears or feels me get up with the way he sleeps. I lift the blind to see a load of blood splatter against the widow. I jumped a little backwards. Now I am a little on edge. Why couldn’t I just be left alone to sleep through the night?
Without warning, my body begins to glow. Not now.
Powers that I have never used before begin to activate as if on automatic pilot. The room gets really bright and, then, in a flash I am standing on the other side of room’s window out in the forest that is behind the hotel. At my feet lays a bloody head ripped from its body.
I see the head and I, instantly, feel nauseous. Oh, my God. What the hell --?
That’s when I hear the roaring coming from not that far away. Please, no. Oh, please, no!
The monster turns and heads my direction. He closes on me rather rapidly. Damn he’s fast! So big and so fast! Whoa!
I turn and, quickly, jump out of the way as the huge beast. The monster, with patches of green fur, looks at me with those beady gold eyes. He slashes as me with his claws and I continue to jump away from him. A shaft of light begins to form in my right hand, as I back away from the snarling monster.
My nightie blows in the breeze that seems to be coming only from the forest behind the hotel. I feel the chill on my bare skin as the wind whips around me. The monster, then, lunges at me. I move backwards as the katana becomes solid in my hand. As I move backwards, however, the monster manages to slash a strip off of my nightie. He barely missed taking a chunk out of my skin. Sheesh, this is ridiculous.
I do the best that I can to dodge the attacks of this burly, hairy beast. As soon as the katana solidifies in my hand, I go on the offensive. I lunge at the beast with the katana. He swipes with his claws to defend my attacks. He’s strong. Very strong.
Each time my attack is repelled, I fall backwards. I regroup and jump into the air. His eyes are upon me as I begin to come down at him rather rapidly. But, sadly, I leave myself wide open. He swings his large fist, on an upwards backswing, as I come down upon him with a downward strike of my katana.
The backside of his fist hits me square in the jaw. I hear my jaw break from the force he uses. It sends me flying into the hotel wall near my room’s window. As I spin, I drop my katana as I fly towards the wall. When I hit the wall, I hear my jaw shatter like glass. Damn!
The beast, knowing he has me beat, slowly makes his way over to me. My vision is fuzzy as I look at the beast. The monster, to me, looks as though he is walking on unlevel ground. Then, the beast drops to the ground in utter pain grabbing its head. Then, it lets out a large roar into the air.
I try to stand up. I promptly, then, fall right on my butt. I have a bad case of dizziness and cannot stand up on my own two feet. Not more then five minutes later, Brandon arrives out back to help bring me back into the hotel.
I hardly remember being brought into the hotel. I am so groggy. The pain is just unbearable. My jaw is swelling by the moment. I hold my jaw still sinceI cannot move my jaw without is intensely hurting.
“You okay?” my brother asks.
I shake my head no. I, then, look over at Michelle, who is wearing Disney Princess pajamas. I contact her telepathically.
- Michelle. –
- Yes, Destiny? –
- I need you to talk for me, please. –
- What happened?-
- The beast sha
ttered my jaw. –
- Oh, my, Destiny… - a shocked look comes across Michelle’s face.
“Michelle?” Brandon asks as he sees the expression on her face. She puts up one hand as she tries to get her thoughts straight.
“Please, Brandon, I am trying to concentrate.”
- Go ahead, Michelle. Tell him what happened. –
- Okay, Destiny. –
-Um, where are Chris and Sandy. –
- Still asleep, dead to the world. –
- How…oh, never mind. –
- Something wrong? –
- No… Nothing you need to worry about, Miki. –
- Oh, okay. –
“So…” Brandon says anxiously. “What happened out there?”
“Brandon, please,” Michelle says heatedly. “My mind has been taxed a bit. Destiny has gone through some traumatic experiences.”
“Oh?”
“The beast that we’re looking for was out there tonight.”
“WHAT?!?” Brandon asks. He looks over at me as I rub my jaw.
“Calm down, Brandon,” Michelle says as she twirls her unruly curls. “He knows that I know his identity. He is unadulterated evil. There is no good left in him.”
“But what happened to Destiny?”
“Her jaw was shattered by the beast.”
“How?”
I look at Michelle and send her the info to answer Brandon’s question right away.
“Destiny, the best that she can remember, tells me that as she was trying to subdue the beast, she was hit by a backhanded fist of the beast. She, then, slammed into the wall of the hotel face first, shattering her jaw in the process.”
“What’s next?”
- Michelle we need to awaken Chris and Sandy. Then, we need to contact our superiors. We need backup. Badly. -
“Huh? Destiny? Oh, okay,” Michelle says aloud before turning to look up at Brandon. “Sorry, Brandon, Destiny was giving me some instructions. I have something I need to do right quick. Well, help Destiny with.”
Cry of the Wolf Page 3