THE EVENT

by Jamie Heppner

Donovan did his best to undress in a casual manner and lay down on the bed. He kept his eyes on Sylvia the whole time unable to trust her. When he was lying down and had his hands folded back behind his head he stared at her again and thought about just commanding her anyway.

  "Ok. So now, it's up to you. You said something about making this worth my while?"

  Sylvia lifted both of her arms up over her head making her breasts lift up and appear even larger in the black dress. "Your wish is my command."

  Then she began to dance.

  Sylvia couldn't remember her life before waking up here. She wasn't even sure she could dance very well. It was her hopes that she would be at least able to enrapture this young boy before her. She did much better than that.

  It seems before the world had turned upside down, she had been a dancer, a very good dancer. For a moment, she was lost in the simple pleasures of swinging herself around the room. The dress was restrictive so she twisted around, taking it off into the dance. The effect on Donovan was instant. He wouldn't take his eyes off her. His mouth hung slightly open as he watched her move and twist around the room. She would come close to him now and then, and his fingers would twitch with the desire to grab her. Then she would slide away again out of his reach. Donovan's body was reacting as well.

  "Now's my chance," Sylvia thought as she once again moved closer to Donovan. He moved to get up and let her lay down, but she placed a hand on his chest."No, you stay there."

  Donovan didn't even give her a snide remark; he just lay back down and watched her move as she climbed up on top of him, giving herself to him like he had dreamed of so many times.

  Sylvia kept her dance going but this time the tempo shifted. She knew how to please a man as well and she did what her instincts told her. Donovan was in her control for a change. Sylvia leaned forward so her bare breasts were so close to Donovan's face she could feel his hot breath on them. Without breaking the momentum, she carefully reached her hands to the end of the bed where she had hid it. Her fingers grasped around the hilt and she let out a low moan. Not from desire but from the freedom she could taste.

  Donovan had never had a woman like this, every time he had taken Sylvia before it had always been all him. She was still beautiful and warm but this was totally new. It was all he could do to keep breathing. She was a stripper. She must have been. Donovan tried to think more on it but every time he formed a thought she forced it from his mind as easy as blowing away a trail of smoke from a candle. Then she leaned forward. All he could see were her breasts, those beautiful, round, full breasts. They were so close he could pull one of her nipples into his teeth and roll it around. As Donovan leaned forward, his desire to do exactly what he wanted. Sylvia pulled back and stopped moving. Her hands were high over her head lifting her breasts up once again in that very appealing shape. Donovan smiled at her. Sylvia smiled back and plunged the knife into his chest.

  The blinding flash of pain was so intense Donovan could barely stand it. He froze Sylvia where she was, locking her inside herself as he had so many other times.

  Forcing himself to work through the pain, he commanded her to move off him. Her smile was still in her eyes even if it was no longer on her face. Donovan looked down at himself and saw the hilt of a small blade jutting out from his chest. The pain of it was incredible. She had struck too high though. After all the experiments he had done on Nightwalkers, he knew that. The heart was lower. The blood was still pumping out very fast though. Having his heart rate up so high definitely wasn't going to help him now. Donovan pulled the blade free and staggered over to Sylvia. Her gaze fixed on him. They didn't appear to be as happy as they were a minute ago. Doing his best to imitate the smile she had given him Donovan plunged the knife down into her shoulder. Leaving it lodged there, he opened the door to his room and staggered out.

  "Don't die before I get back. I'm not finished with you yet."

  #####

  Sylvia could do nothing. She could however, feel the blood running down the front of her chest. She couldn't move no matter how hard she struggled, but she could still feel the pain. It didn't lesson at all with Donovan locking her up inside her own mind. See watched him stagger out, her eyes trailing him. She would have wept if he had released her. Between the pain of the blade stuck inside her and her own failure she would have been a total wreck. As it was, only a few single tears ran down her face to mix with the blood.

  Blinding pain caused Donovan to stagger as he worked his way towards the room he kept his moonstone. It was so hard to concentrate he released all the other Nightwalkers he was controlling, at least for now. The only one he held was Sylvia.

  "How could I have been so stupid?" He thought repeatedly as he wound his way to what he needed. Donovan knew he could heal himself. He also knew the pain and loss of blood would most likely cause him to black out. He had to get it right the first time.

  "I can't believe that bitch did this to me. I am going to make her regret that. When I am done she will wish she had never even thought of it."

  Lights began to flash in front of Donovan's eyes as he placed his hand on the moonstone in the center of the room. His free hand covered in blood from holding the wound closed as best as he could. Donovan moved it a fraction and the pain intensified. He closed his eyes to concentrate and pulled the power from the stone to begin the healing. The skin under his hand began to knit itself together again. Donovan gasped with the effect and his eyes fluttered and rolled back into his head. His body collapsed to the floor as if someone had turned off a switch.

  #####

  Sylvia tried everything to move. To stop the bleeding, to remove the knife, she strained and pushed inside her mind, but nothing worked. Donovan still lived. If he had died, she would know by being able to move again. A new wave of fear and dread washed over her. Movement out of the corner of her eye made her try to spin her head unsuccessfully. Someone was there. Sylvia began to panic at the thought of it being Donovan, him coming back to finish what he had started. The blood was already slowing around the wound. She could feel its flow down her chest lessoning.

  The shape she couldn't make out moved farther in the room. It was a wolf, a very large one. Sylvia once again tried to move out of the way, to hide or call out in warning. Her body denied her. Only her eyes showed any sign of what was happening in front of her.

  The wolf stepped very lightly into the room. His nose raised high as he sniffed the air all around him. He seemed to be looking for something or looking to stay away from something. Its eyes glanced over at Sylvia and they held a look of shock for a moment. It quickly faded and was replaced with sadness. Without warning, the wolf turned and padded out of the room. Sylvia couldn't stand the pain anymore and lost consciousness. Her last thought was how cold the room had gotten.

  #####

  Donovan woke to darkness and hunger. He had to rub his eyes repeatedly until he saw that night had covered him. Suddenly remembering what had happened and why he was there Donovan grabbed the moonstone and rushed back to his room. With mental commands, he moved the Nightwalkers away. Inside his mind, he reached out for Sylvia. She was still there, barely. Her life was faded so much she would be gone any minute.

  Donovan released his command of her but she didn't move. He could feel it. Bursting into the room, he barely even stopped to look at her. Dried blood was all down the front of her perfect chest. The knife was still sticking out of her shoulder, exactly where he had placed it. Her eyes were open but she was unconscious. Donovan pulled the knife out of her shoulder and threw it hard at the wall. His strength already augmented from the power inside the stone it stuck into the concrete up to the hilt.

  One arm holding the stone he placed his other over the wound and began the healing process he had practiced so many times while augmenting his army. The wound healed slowly, but it did heal. "You can't die yet. I'm not ready for that. I have more plans for you whether you like it or not."

  Donovan whispered as he worked. Sylvia offered no response. J
ust the slow and weak breathing showed she still lived at all.

  The wound closed, Donovan remembered that he still stood there naked. He found his cloths where he had threw them and put them back on. As an afterthought, he moved Sylvia to lie down in a more comfortable position. Some of the color was returning to her face. Just a touch, but it was a good sign. Donovan moved the moonstone and placed it carefully on his desk. The power inside was only barely diminished. His attack would happen at the next nightfall.

  Donovan sat down and stared at the woman lying on the bed. She looked a mess, a picture from one of those old zombie movies, the beautiful woman laying in a death pose. Her hair all matted and her neck and chest covered in blood.

  Donovan was torn. He wanted to hurt her. Hurt her more then he already had. Yet she trapped him, he liked her. There was something about her that he couldn't stop thinking about. Not just the sex either. Although that had been particularly special right up until she had stabbed him in the chest.

  Donovan looked down at the scar that had formed on his chest. The healing had taken care of the wound, but when he had passed out, he hadn't finished healing the scar. Donovan's hand lifted to wipe the scar off but he paused. His eyes once again flickered over Sylvia's body. "No, I will leave it there for now. Perhaps it will be a good reminder for her to never try something like that again."Donovan sat there the rest of the night, never once taking his gaze off the woman who had almost killed him and trying to decipher the feelings that now flooded his mind.

  Chapter 22

  The two scouts came back in the middle of the night. They went straight to Bonetwister and shifted back to human. They talked for a minute before Bonetwister nodded and walked up to the house. The scouts right behind him. The General was sitting outside looking up at the stars and the thin belt of dust where the moon had once sat.

  "I think we should wake Dawn. She needs to hear what they have to say as well."

  The General continued staring up into the night sky for a moment before nodding and without a whisper he moved into the cabin. Moments later Dawn came out rubbing her eyes. "You have news?"

  Bonetwister nodded and stepped aside so the two scouts could tell their story. "We have heard of the encounter you had with the Nightwalkers before."

  The General stiffened but kept silent.

  "Yes, they had armor on. What of it?"

  "Well, it looks like your brother has enhanced his designs. We were able to penetrate far into the ruined mall. We don't know why, but the Nightwalkers weren't interested in us. When we started to infiltrate they seemed to all be on guard of some sort. They didn't see us, but when we got closer, they all seemed to stop caring. They would wander around aimlessly. Bump into things. We were very confused at first but took the opportunity afforded us. We found a room deep inside the mall. Inside it were many of the Nightwalkers. Each one of them armored as you had described to us. We didn't want to get too close but we could tell that it wasn't metal they were wearing. It was more like plastic piping. It was everywhere on them. It overlapped at the joints and covered their heads and necks. It will be very hard for us to find a weak spot to get into. Our teeth and claws will be mostly useless against them. Your brother has built an army aimed at fighting wolves."

  The General stepped forward his eyes bright.

  "Well if you can't fight them with teeth and claws you will have to find another way to beat them. I have been thinking about the last encounter we had with the Nightwalkers. We used swords against them for the most part. It didn't work at all. It would better against plastic but the sheer numbers would be against us. I think it's time to think like the old days. When a group of peasants knew they would be fighting against armored knights they didn't run to the smithy for blades, they went to the woods and made clubs. We should be doing the same thing. I think it's time to teach the werewolves how to not be werewolves."

  Dawn nodded her agreement and the General moved off to the side and began speaking to a small group of werewolves. They shifted to wolf form and bounded into the woods. Moments later, they came back with gigantic tree branches in their mouths. The General picked one up and broke off the smaller end.

  "This can be as good a weapon as any. With the slower moving Nightwalkers, you don't need to get close. In fact its best if you stay as far away as you can."

  The General swung his crude club in the air. It whistled with the speed his wolf enhanced body created. An ear-shattering crack sounded as he brought it down on top of the crude bench outside. The wooden bench collapsed under the blow.

  "If you can do that to a Nightwalker I don't think they will be getting up again."

  Nods of approval broke out among the wolves and one by one, they went off into the woods to collect clubs for themselves.

  "They outnumber us. We will need more than clubs to get to my brother. You can bet he has something else up his sleeve as well." Dawn sent to the General alone. "Do you have any other plans that might be helpful?"

  "Perhaps you might want to ask me as well. I have been spending a lot of time on this problem lately" The Oracle walked out of the cabin and placed a hand on the General's shoulder. "I would have asked you not to smash my bench but I already knew you were going to do it."

  "Sorry hon. It was a good example though. What did you see? Is there another way to help win this?"

  The Oracle moved to sit down on the bench only to remember it was smashed. Her head tilted up to her husband and a look of displeasure crossed her face.

  "It is still shady, the future around your brother is not certain at all. Somehow, he masks his decisions whether he means to or not. I can only catch glimpses. When I try to focus on them, they break apart like passing a hand through smoke. I can tell you this. He is counting on numbers and darkness. All his plans have a common thread even if they don't stay for long. They involve over running the werewolves and using the darkness."

  The General had been listening close while scratching at his beard. "Ok, that makes it a little easier then. We attack in daylight and find a way to reduce the numbers as much as possible."

  "So how can we do that when they are hiding in a hole filled with darkness? And how do we do that now so we can attack in the morning?" Dawn looked over her shoulder at the setting of the sun behind her. "If we wait any longer we will lose the element of surprise. My brother would not start his attack without sending out at least a few scouts. He will know we are not there."

  "Here is what we will do then." The General huddled closer to Dawn and outlined what he planned to make the best of the time given. Dawn nodded at the plan and her confidence grew with a smile breaking across her face.

  #####

  Day broke and Sylvia hadn't woken yet. Luckily, her breathing had become stronger during the night. Donovan left her locked so she couldn't move and left the room. He had to make sure of his plans while the sun was out. He moved his army out tonight no matter what. He wouldn't be delayed another day, not by anyone. Donovan ranged out with his senses and felt where all his army had wandered. They were all close."Ahh the light will keep them until tonight. There is no point in trying to control them." Donovan carried with him the moonstone and one again placed it in the light. He had wanted to keep it close through the night in case he had needed it.

  "You just soak up the sunlight today. You and I have a lot of work to do tonight."

  Donovan went back inside the depths of the mall to go over his army one last time. Tonight they would take out his enemy and then his sister.

  #####

  Sylvia woke to darkness. The pain in her shoulder was gone. She blinked her eyes; the room was still so bright. Even with the one candle spitting away, she could only just barely stand the room. She tried to roll over to move away from the light but she couldn't move. "Great, I’m still alive and so is he. This isn't going to be a good day."

  #####

  Donovan plunged down into the depths of the mall, his new home. This area used to be an underground parking lot, but most of t
he passageways had collapsed. It didn't matter, it was dark and the Nightwalkers liked the dark the most.

  Donovan lit a torch and stepped into the room that contained the majority of his army. Standing before him were over one hundred Nightwalkers. Their skin had gone pale from the lack of sunlight so the additions he had made to their defence blended in rather well. Here and there, some of the Nightwalkers bled out from where his first attempts hadn't worked so well. It didn't matter to Donovan at all. As long as they could do what he wanted, he didn't care. A little more blood wouldn't be noticed in the end.

  Donovan smiled at the discomfort that the torch he was carrying made. He would push it closer to a Nightwalkers face to make them flinch and pull away from the fire. Donovan laughed inside; it was just another way to make sure they knew who was in charge.

  Torch held high over his head Donovan moved off to the side of the ruined parking garage. Two Nightwalkers stood alone inside a cage. Donovan grinned wickedly at the two Nightwalkers he had kept separate for this special occasion. His secret weapon would come in very handy soon. Everything was ready despite Sylvia's efforts last night. At the thought of Sylvia Donovan's mind went back to confusion. What was he going to do with her? Donovan still couldn't decide between wanting to break her in two, and forgetting the whole attack. He really couldn't blame her after all. He hadn't been that kind to her.

  He shook his head. "No!" he yelled out into the darkness. "No, I can't let myself think like that. She tried to kill me. She isn't broken and if I let her out of my sight, she will try it again. I'm not done with her yet."