by J. N. Baker
I freed one of my arms with little effort, grabbing the security guard’s hand as it barreled toward me. I squeezed his large fist in mine until I felt the bones crunch. He howled in pain but didn’t dare let me go. It appeared Dr. Hayes wasn’t the only one who feared the general’s wrath.
Dr. Hayes took a step back, stumbling over a waiting room chair.
“That’s right. Now, tell him to let me go.” I squeezed again. Another howl.
“You heard her. Let go!” he barked, taking three more steps away from me, his hand covering the pen in his coat pocket. As if that would protect him.
The security guard gladly released me, cradling his shattered hand as he backed away.
“Smart move. Let’s get out of here,” I said, turning my attention to the guys.
I pried my things from the receptionist’s trembling fingers and darted toward the exit. We had about five minutes until backup arrived, maybe less.
The evening air felt good on my face. It was refreshing. We ran to Josh’s car, his beat-up little Subaru a sight for sore eyes. A few new dents and scratches across the bumper told me he’d been in a little accident of his own during the earthquake. I didn’t ask him about it. He was fine and that was all that mattered.
Cody jumped into the back seat while Josh stood at the passenger side door, holding it open for me.
“Are you going to tell me what the hell that was all about?” he asked as I got into the car.
“Probably not.”
“What’s going on, Zoe?” Josh slammed my apartment door so hard, picture frames would have fallen from the walls if I’d had any. He was already pacing across my living room. “Threatening a doctor? Assaulting a security guard? What the hell has gotten into you?”
“Shit. Keep your voice down, dude,” Cody hissed.
I punched through the wall with my fist, drywall crumbling to the floor as I tore my hand out. It didn’t seem to help matters. Josh and Cody grew silent, staring at me with wide eyes.
“I need to get out of this hospital gown,” I muttered, wiping the dust from my knuckles. Before they could say anything else, I stormed out of the room, slamming my bedroom door shut behind me. I stripped off the gown and hopped into the shower, not bothering to wait for the water to heat up. I scrubbed the dried blood from my skin and hair until my flesh and scalp felt raw. I emerged ten minutes later in jeans and a tank top, still swimming in Cody’s oversized jacket.
“Zoe,” Josh whispered, his hand finding my shoulder. “What is going on? This isn’t like you.”
Since my transformation, I’d been kicked, punched, stabbed, burned, and shot, none of which hurt nearly as much as the wound Josh’s words had inflicted. “That’s because I’m not myself, not anymore,” I said under my breath. I didn’t get a chance to see if he’d heard me before someone pounded on my front door.
“Who is it?” I called as I crouched beside the coffee table, freeing the Bowie knife taped to its underbelly.
“FBI.”
Looked like the rumor was true—Baldric really did have his hands in everything.
“Go,” I mouthed to Josh and Cody, jabbing my thumb in the direction of the bedroom. If the general’s men found anyone with me, they’d automatically suspect them as well. They were probably already on his hit list after the little incident at the hospital.
Josh’s eyes were fixed on me as he moved into the hall, Cody shoving him forward. When I heard the bedroom door click shut, I stepped toward the front door, cracking it open a foot. Two men stood on my doorstep, both dressed in the cleanest suits I’d ever seen, complete with matching black sunglasses and crew-cut hair. They could’ve been twins. It was something straight out of a scene from Men in Black.
“Miss Marks?” twin number one asked. “Miss Zoe Marks?”
I recognized his deep voice instantly—the man from the hospital, the one talking to Dr. Hayes. My concealed hand flexed around the knifes hilt.
“I’m sorry, do I know you, gentlemen?” I took each of them in: height, weight, ability to die easily. The usual.
Twin number two glanced down at the folder in his hand and nodded. “That’s her.”
“Miss Marks,” twin number one flashed me his most professional smile, “I am Agent Willard from the FBI, and this is my partner, Agent Sanchez. We need you to come with us down to the station. We have a few questions for you.”
My hand rushed to my chest in mock horror. “Oh my. What does this pertain to?”
“It seems you were involved in an auto accident last night.”
“Yes. Is that a crime?”
“Of course not,” Agent Willard said.
“Then what seems to be the problem here, gentlemen?”
“A paramedic at the scene listed you as,” he took Agent Sanchez’s folder and flipped through it, “‘an absolute miracle.’ Apparently, you escaped a fatal accident unscathed.” He furrowed his brow at me.
I flashed him a tight smile. “I’m sure I’m not the first person to survive a bad car accident, agent. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I was in the process of calling my family to tell them I’m all right. You gentlemen have a good day.”
A polished black dress shoe blocked the door as I tried to shut it. Agent Willard shoved his shoulder into the door, sending it crashing into the wall with a loud crack.
Agent Sanchez barreled toward me. I jumped back, easily dodging his punches.
Human.
I dropped to one knee and slashed at his gut with the knife, kicking his feet out from under him. He groaned, face down on the entryway floor.
“Bitch,” Agent Willard spat, his fangs extended. He grabbed a fistful of hair and pulled me to my feet. I plowed my elbow into his rib cage and he huffed, releasing me. Before he could catch his breath, I sandwiched his head between my hands and snapped his neck. I’d make sure it was the last time he called someone a bitch.
As I tossed his limp body aside to find my sword, a shot rang out and something pierced my shoulder. I spun on my heels to see Agent Sanchez back on his feet, one hand on his bleeding stomach, the other holding the pistol. He aimed it at my head, ready to fire a second round.
Footsteps barreled down the hallway behind him, the ghastly sound of breaking bones filling my ears. An ominous growl erupted. Agent Sanchez turned just in time for the wolf to launch itself onto his chest, tackling him to the ground. It sank its jagged teeth into his flesh, ripping out his throat.
The wolf peered up at me, intense yellow eyes fixed on my face. I didn’t move, didn’t breathe. The wolf dropped its head with a whine. It sprawled out on its side, ribs cracking back into place. Fur melted into flesh as a human body emerged. A naked human body. Cody’s naked human body.
Cody wiped the blood from his lips with the back of his hand, standing to his feet.
I gaped at him, trying to keep my eyes from wandering south of the border. I failed.
“Zoe, I can explain,” he said, his face turning five shades of red. He took a tentative step toward me.
I was so preoccupied with the shock that I hadn’t noticed the shouting and banging coming from my bedroom.
“W-where’s Josh?”
“I locked him in your closet.”
There was a loud crash from somewhere in my bedroom. Josh stumbled out of the hallway, my sword gripped firmly in his hand. His jaw dropped.
“I was looking for that,” I mumbled, snatching the sword from Josh’s now trembling fingers. I walked back over to Agent Willard, who was starting to stir. Fucking vampires. I swung the sword over my head and brought it down.
“What the fuck?” I turned just in time to see Josh double over, emptying the entire contents of his stomach onto my living room floor.
I held my breath, waiting for him to say something, anything. I could only imagine what he was seeing. Two dead bodies sprawled across the floor and Cody standing buck-naked no more than two feet away from me. Cody must have read my mind because he dove for the sofa, snatching up a throw pillow and holding
it strategically in front of his hips. As if it were possible, he blushed further, scratching at the back of his head nervously.
Josh looked like he was going to be sick again. I couldn’t blame him. It took practice getting used to seeing the things I saw on a daily basis. A lot of practice.
“You two need to get out of here, like, yesterday,” Cody said. “I’ll take care of this.”
My fingers tightened around the sword’s blood-splattered hilt as Cody took another step toward me. I opened my mouth to speak but stopped short. It was neither the time nor the place to try figuring out what had just happened. When the agents didn’t return, they’d send backup. Shit. Cody was right. We needed to go.
I reached under the sofa, pulling out a leather scabbard and shoulder belt before sheathing my blade. I tossed both the sword and Bowie knife into the open guitar case on the sofa and slammed it shut, swinging it over my shoulder.
“Find Mr. Whiskers,” I told Josh, pointing to the cat carrier in the corner of the room.
“I’ll get the cat.”
I shot Cody a venomous glare. “The hell you will.”
“Zoe,” he started, “I could never hurt your cat, you have to know that, dude. I’ll clean this up and come back and find him and bring him to you. Trust me.”
“Trust,” I scoffed. “Right.”
I grabbed a plastic bag from under the kitchen counter and headed for my bedroom. I sorted through the piles I’d left on my floor before Alec’s and my whatever-the-hell-it-was, shoving various articles of clothing into the bag. When I could fit nothing else, I tied it shut, tossing it onto my unmade bed.
“You’re bleeding,” Josh said, standing in the doorframe.
“Don’t worry,” I mumbled, getting down on my hands and knees and dragging a box out from under my bed. “It’s already healing.”
I opened the box and cuffed up my pant leg, strapping the throwing knives to my ankle. When I stood, Josh was staring at me, who knew for how long. He was still in shock. He should have been grateful he didn’t break out of the closet sooner.
I moved to my dresser, yanking open the top-right drawer and emptying the contents onto the floor. Once upon a time, I might have been embarrassed at the thought of a man seeing my underwear strewn about my room, but that was a very long time ago. Besides, it was only Josh. He’d seen his fair share of my underwear over the years.
I reached into the drawer and retrieved the hunting knife taped to the back. The Damascus blade shimmered in the dim light of my bedroom as I pulled it halfway out of the leather sheath. I snapped it back into place and lifted the back of Cody’s jacket, tucking it into my jeans.
Josh followed me as I moved into my bathroom and opened the medicine cabinet on the wall.
“What? More blades hidden in here too?”
I swung the cabinet door shut before chucking the mouthwash at him.
“Oh.” He fiddled with the bottle, unable to meet my eyes. “Thanks.”
I left Josh in the bathroom, making my way back into the bedroom. There was one last thing I needed to grab—something I couldn’t leave behind.
Under the corner of the mattress, there, hidden from the rest of the world was the one photo I kept, framed in a cheap, black Dollar Store “Family” frame. Josh, Cody, and a girl I no longer recognized smiled up at me—not a care in the world. I smashed the frame into the corner of my nightstand, shattering the glass. Josh stepped back into my bedroom, his eyes locked on me. I pulled the photograph free and tucked it into the pocket of Cody’s jacket.
Snatching the bag from my bed, I headed out of my room for the last time.
When I reached the living room, Cody and the bodies were gone.
I pulled my phone out of my purse to call William. “Fuck!” The powerless device reminded me that I had once again forgotten to charge it. I snapped it in half and chucked it across the room. It was probably bugged at the hospital anyway.
“Josh,” I called as I heard his footsteps behind me. “I need to use your phone.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled it out, handing it to me.
“Let’s go.”
I dialed as we ran down the stairs and toward Josh’s car. “They found me,” I said when William picked up.
“How?”
“I don’t know. They had my phone while I was in the hospital. They probably put a tracker on it.”
“And you failed to think of that as you left the hospital? That is an amateur mistake, Zoe.”
“Look, I was a little distracted. You can yell at me later, okay? Right now, we’ve got bigger problems.”
“Go to the usual place. I will be in touch.”
I tossed the phone back to Josh, snatching the keys out of his hand. “I’m driving.”
After a short drive filled with unbearable silence, Josh and I walked side-by-side across the beach. It was a clear night, the rain finally letting up. Light from the stars danced across the surface of the water in a joyful celebration, as if the world itself wasn’t about to end. A gentle ocean breeze brushed through my hair and I closed my eyes, listening to the soothing hum of waves crashing one after another. I reminded myself that some things would always remain the same. But as I glanced at Josh walking beside me, I knew that some things wouldn’t.
As we neared the water’s edge, I could see from the corner of my eye Josh staring at me. I bit my lip, picking up the pace. I wasn’t ready for the conversation that lay ahead of us and I sure as shit wasn’t ready for the silence that was growing between us. When we ran out of beach, we plopped down in the sand where the dry met the wet, kicking off our shoes. I buried my toes in the cool grains, wishing it was my head.
“I didn’t want you to see that,” I said after a full ten minutes had passed. “I never wanted you to see that side of me.”
For a while, he didn’t say anything. Each time I thought he might, I’d hold my breath, waiting. But, nothing. Perhaps we were past words.
Josh reached into his back pocket and pulled out an eight-ounce flask—our flask. I tossed him a questioning look.
“You know I never visit without this. I grabbed it when we parked.” He shrugged.
Josh unscrewed the cap and took a long swig from the silver container before passing it to me. I pressed the flask to my lips and let the alcohol slide down my throat. I savored the burn and the sense of familiarity. This was tradition for us—sharing a flask of whiskey on the beach. It was how we celebrated our friendship each time he came up. But this was nothing like those times—there was nothing to celebrate here. I took another pull from the flask.
“Are you in some type of trouble with the law or something?” Josh finally asked. Are you some type of psychopathic murderer? At least, that’s what I heard.
“Yes and no. It’s a lot more complicated than that.”
“Then uncomplicate it,” he said, taking the flask back from me and throwing back another shot.
“Look, Josh, I can’t talk about it. It’s my problem and I’ve got it under control. Everything’s fine.”
Fine? Had that word just come out of my mouth? Was I really spewing lie after lie to the man who’d grown up with me, the man who’d taken care of me during the lowest point of my human life? He deserved better, and that wasn’t something I could be. Not anymore. I pulled the flask from his hand and washed away more of my worries with whiskey.
Josh lay back in the sand, folding his arms under his head. “I know you’re lying to me, Zo.”
“I’m not—”
“No, it’s fine. I’ll play along, pretend that nothing’s wrong. Hell, if you want, I can even pretend like I didn’t see what happened in your apartment thirty minutes ago. But that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.”
“I told you, it doesn’t concern you.”
“Really?” He turned his head, ice-blue eyes burning through me until I swore he could see straight into my blackened soul. “After all the years we’ve known each other, after everything we’ve been through togethe
r, haven’t I earned your trust?”
And with that one question, he’d knocked the air clean out of me.
“It’s not that. Of course I trust you, Josh. It just the less you know, the safer you’ll be.” There, that was a little closer to the truth.
“Oh, so we’re going with the whole ‘ignorance is bliss’ bullshit?” he spit. “You just killed two men!”
“Technically, I only killed one of them,” I muttered, taking another swig from the flask.
“You fucking decapitated him!”
“I’m just trying to protect you—”
“I don’t need your protection!” he shouted, cutting me off. He took a deep breath, lowering his voice. “I just need you to talk to me.”
I could feel the nonexistent tears building at the corners of my eyes. God, I missed crying. “I’m not myself anymore,” I breathed as if that should explain everything.
“What the hell does that even mean?”
“Dammit, Josh. I’m not human anymore!” I shouted, standing faster than he could follow. The shock was written all over his face as I towered over him. I usually tried to keep my movements as “normal” as possible. I didn’t need to draw extra attention to myself. But I guess we were beyond that. If he wanted to see the real me, then fine—I’d fucking show him. William could punish me for it later.
Josh rose slowly, fear in his eyes. I wasn’t sure if it was fear of me or for me. To be honest, I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. He reached out a cautious hand and I withdrew.
“I’m not human,” I said again, more calmly. “I haven’t been for years.” I took a deep breath and let Cody’s oversized jacket slip off my shoulders, falling to the sand, standing before Josh in my thin tank top. I poked and prodded at my eyes, removing the colored contacts and flicking them into the breeze. No more hiding.
I couldn’t read the expression on his face as his eyes raced up and down my body. “Your eyes,” he finally said, so soft, even I had trouble hearing it. He took a step closer to me, his face mere inches from mine, and I breathed him in. God, he smelled good, like sandalwood and amber with just a hint of mint. He smelled like home. He brushed the hair out of my face with gentle fingers and I lost myself in his eyes. His hand slid to my neck, tracing the black markings over my collarbone and down my shoulder. My breath hitched in my chest.
