by V L Friends
I sat there hiding for nearly two hours in the early morning but, sure enough, around 6 a.m., I heard someone sneaking into the church.
I waited until I was sure it was him. He began to remove some floorboards from the floor. Although it was dark, I knew it was him.
I had said to myself. Give him a chance. Maybe I would be wrong this time but nope. “You are a liar,” I said, turning on my flashlight, which was pointed at him.
He seemed surprised to see me.
“Anaya, what the hell are you doing here?!” He said, getting up.
“I should ask you the same thing,” I said.
“You know,” he said, going back to his work.
“Leland, the proposal was that we forget revenge and leave this city. Let Javier and his men be. He agreed he would not go after you to try and finish the job,” I said.
“You know I can’t do that,” he said.
“Why? And don’t give me that crap about your having a reputation. I know you don’t give a damn about your reputation! What can I do to convince you to let this go? Please tell me!” I pleaded.
“This does not concern you! I told you to stay out of this!” he said dismissively.
“Well, then you give me no choice. If you don’t abandon this quest for revenge, I am leaving you!”
“Oh really?” he said with amusement sparkling in his eyes. “You really think you can run from me? I am a tracker, Anaya, I will find you easily,” he said.
“Don’t be so sure of yourself. I managed to hide from an angel for more than a year. You know what? Never mind! Fine! Suit yourself! I am out of here!”
As I was walking away he grabbed me from behind.
“Hold on. You really do know how to throw a tantrum, don’t you?” He would not let go of me, even when I tried to get free.
“What?! Have you changed your mind yet?” I asked.
“Nope, I just thought maybe I could get a goodbye kiss.” He grabbed my face in his hands and kissed me hard on the mouth. I slapped him but it seemed to make him even more amused.
Just before I slammed the door of the church I yelled out, “Oh by the way... you won’t find any of your weapons! Not a single one in any location! Yep… They’re all gone!”
With that bit of news in the air, I knew that I had only seconds to make my getaway.
I could hear the fury in his voice as he yelled my name from inside the church.
“Anaya!!”
As I was planning my escape, I texted Javier.
“Sorry, I tried, he is delayed but unsure if he will stop.”
I decided on a camping trip in the highland cliffs above Salvador City. It was likely that he would catch up, but I only had to get as far away as I could so he would not force me into showing him where I hid his weapons.
Despite my rushed escape, it was exciting getting back to nature again. The hike took me most all day so I was exhausted by the time I was at camp pitching my tent and gathering wood for a fire.
“I hope you brought an extra sleeping bag,” said a voice.
I looked up to see Leland leaning casually against a tree, arms folded and smiling.
“No,” I answered, trying to hold my composure, as my fear of what he was up to in order to get me back was now beginning to tremble up from inside.
Damn! He found me!
“Okay, you win. I give up,” he said casually.
“Hmm.” I was acting indifferent but I was truly annoyed with him and afraid. He didn’t seem like the type to just let me get away with what I had done.
“Well, I guess we are sharing a sleeping bag. My lucky day,” he winked.
I just glared at him as I continued putting a fire together.
“Please allow me,” he said, stepping in and taking the wood from me.
“Fine, I will finish putting up the tent,” I said.
“So I want to hear more about your childhood. Tell me, have you always been so good with wild animals?” Leland asked.
“No!” I said.
“No?” His forehead wrinkled slightly with his question.
“I don’t want to talk to you,” I said as I busied my hands with my back to him.
“Are you angry at me?” He seemed amused, which irritated me all the more.
“Very observant of you. Now if you will excuse me, I saw a small lake and am going fishing.”
“Wait a second… it is me who should be angry with you. Why are you mad at me?”
“Because you are a liar!” I said, walking away.
It was dark by the time I made it back to camp with two fish to cook. Leland was sitting quietly by the fire.
“Anaya, you have to know that I did not want to lie to you. I admire you. I find that after today, in fact, I like you more and more. You came for me. I think that means you care about me too. Am I right?”
“I guess so,” I said, setting up the fish to cook.
“You and I make a good team. That is why I want to take you with me to my home in Africa. It will just be a few days out of the way and I promised to get you to your uncle.”
“Why?” I asked.
“I have some good friends I want you to meet and I want to show you around my home there.”
“I don’t know,” I said.
“You must be cold; come sit here with me,” he said, pulling on a blanket for me to wrap in.
“Okay, but don’t get any ideas,” I said, remembering his forced kiss earlier.
“Don’t flatter yourself. I do not want to sleep with you, okay?”
“Good.”
“So, we are good… as friends?” I said, holding out my hand.
He grabbed my hand and pulled me down next to him.
“Friends,” he agreed, wrapping the blanket around my shoulders.
“Besides, you are just a human girl. You would never be able to handle me.”
“I can’t handle you now!” I said with a smirk. “My mother was human and my father was a walker, so I know it is possible,” I said.
“Is that an invitation?” he said with a smirk.
“Stop it. I know what you’re doing. You walkers enjoy playing with people,” I said.
“Well, I am more than just a walker. Let’s just say you human women are not compatible with me.”
“Okay. Whatever,” I said. I had no idea what he meant but decided not to question, as I was wanting to move on from this subject.
“Did you… that is, were you able to have children with Cecilia?”
“I am afraid not.”
“Hmmm, I have heard walkers can have children under the right circumstances but most don’t want them. Did you ever want them?”
“Not exactly,” he said. “What about you and this Sebastian? He is a walker. I know a thing or two about him. Talk about two beings who are incompatible! Have you thought about how that would work? You may have to make a sacrifice and become a walker,” he said.
“It is impossible for me to become a walker; he tried. Anyway, whoever says I want to be with him?” I said.
“Really? He tried to make you a walker? What happened?” Leland’s face was serious.
“I rejected it and nearly died. Can we talk about something else?” I said.
“You want him and you can’t admit it,” he said boldly.
“What are you talking about? I am not even sure I am ready for that kind of love.”
“Who is talking about love? I was talking about desire.”
“Oh! Oh, you’re talking about sex.” Sometimes I could be so dense. Real smooth, Anaya. “I get it. Well, Leland, you and I don’t see sex and romantic love the same way. I believe that there is one person I am to have that kind of relationship with and that is the one I first marry.”
“Hmm, sounds good in theory, but you are naive to think that desire is not also there.”
“I am aware that there is strong human desire, I can tell, but I don’t let it overtake me.”
“Anaya?” he spoke softly.
“W
hat?” I said.
“As your friend, I think it is only fair that I should warn you. Walkers are masters at seduction and manipulation. I know you are strong, but you will need a better strategy if you want to avoid falling into their traps. When a walker seduces a human they almost always fall to desire.”
“Yeah, I am beginning to get that,” I said. In that moment I was suddenly very aware of his arm around my shoulder and his hand stroking my face and hair. His lips had moved from my temple down my face. He was kissing my jaw and near my ear, making his way to my neck. I felt tingles everywhere. I was also suddenly aware that I was leaning in to him with my hand on his chest. Wow, I was becoming painfully aware of my boundary issues. I had become too comfortable. This could be a problem. I thought I was more immune than this to walker seductions!
“Crap!” I yelled out, pushing myself away from him.
He smiled at me and chuckled with a twinkle in his eye.
After eating, I was so exhausted I fell asleep next to Leland as he wrapped his arms around me “to keep me warm,” as he put it. I made him swear not to try seducing me again. He said he only did it to prove a point. I was too tired to care.
I woke up from a nightmare experience in a cold sweat. In this dream Leland was sitting on the ground holding my limp form in his arms. The woods around us were all red. He had teeth that were of a large animal and he had huge fangs. He had his large teeth on my throat as if he could not resist biting into me but was trying. Then he spoke as to me, as I lay there limp and unconscious, with this voice that sounded more like a demon. “You will be mine, very soon, my love,” he said. The sight of his salivating fangs over my body and the sound of his voice was enough to startle me awake. While I sat up trying to catch my breath, there was Leland a few feet away, sitting there against a tree, studying me intensely. He said nothing but just sat there watching me.
I had this feeling that everything was about to change. I was frightened. He was not who or what I thought he was. His eyes even seemed darker than I remembered. Where was my friend Leland?
All he did was sit there with this blank look, staring at me. I felt a shiver run down my spine.
“Have you thought about Africa?” Leland finally broke the weird silence.
“I… I…” I didn’t know what to say.
******
It was unusual for Leland to be spending this much time with a human. Normally he would have devoured her already. His animal instincts were getting difficult to control. Last night while she was sleeping it took every bit of self-control for him not to sink his teeth into her flesh. He must have still needed some healing from the bullet wounds because he craved her blood. He suddenly felt annoyed by her humanness. Oh, how he hated humans. He never understood God’s insistence on them being chosen to hold his mighty power and to lead even the angels. They were weak and puny. He admitted there was something different about this one though.
He caught her communicating with the wild animals yesterday while she was hiking up here. He couldn’t remember when he saw that gifting manifested in a human before and even now as he sat looking at her, a baby wild fox had come from the forest and was curled up in her lap sleeping.
He had become so fascinated by this human that he decided to send out his spy crows to find out information. They had reported back of her roles she played in the revival that was breaking out throughout America now. She had powers to raise people from the dead. She was known to be friends with angels. The list seemed to go on and on. That morning, given this new information about this human, he could only sit staring at her like a star-struck child, as his mind was forming a secret plan.
He did not feel love that everyone else did but rather the need to possess. This human could mean something to him. He could have a companion if only he could find a way past this compatibility issue. He had never been able to have a relationship with a human without killing them. He would tear them to shreds during those passionate moments that he would lose control and begin to shape shift. That is why he was taking her to Africa to get the help from the shaman there. His magic and theirs combined could help him solve this.
He knew that humans often bonded with one another through physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual tying. If he could accomplish this, he could possess her. All he needed was to get her to trust him first.
The idea of taking this beautiful creation that God made and stealing it was very gratifying. This was the perfect revenge for what God did to him by casting him out of heaven.
He was part demon but a very ancient one, and an unusual one at that. He was so powerful he had mastered how to use human bodies and to possess them to the point of dominance. This body has been a walker for about seventy-five years and, because of Leland’s dark powers, could now shape shift and was able to wield the dark magic of a mage and vampire. Even with all of his powers, he often grew bored.
He even admitted he was growing bored with the usual ways of manipulating and torturing humans he had been doing for more than 400 years. Humans were weak and too predictable. This one gave him a challenge and she was strong. He had no doubt that she could withstand his magic. It might take time to get her to totally trust him, but he had all the time in the world and he was patient. This was the challenge he had been waiting for.
Leland was confused. If she was such a valuable asset, where were her angels? He had not seen a single one.
He was disturbed about her staring at him. Something was wrong. It was obvious she had a nightmare. Ever since she woke up from her nightmare she was looking at him with suspicion.
Grabbing his two swords, the only weapons he had left, he got up to find a place to think and sharpen them. A place to think on his next move.
Leland could feel someone had been following them. He stood on top of a plateau on the Sao Francisco Craton mountain ridge looking out over the mountains below. He raised his head to sniff the air but all he could smell was the burnt wood from the campfire Anaya had been tending to. He was not sure how much longer he could keep up this charade with this human. Leland was a character he had created to draw people to himself. It seemed to be working until now. He saw her looking over at him with questions in her eyes. He could see her getting up and coming over to him now.
“Leland, I have something I want to say to you; can I talk to you?” the girl said as she walked towards him.
“Mm, hmm,” he said, still looking around.
“These several days of travel with you have been… well, a lot of fun… and I… well… I consider you a friend… and I am really glad for this opportunity to get to know you. I don’t want there to be any bad feelings between us.”
He was now looking at her square in her blue eyes. It was moments like these that he found himself really intrigued by this girl and he wanted to keep her for his very own. Just then he felt something shift… like a sudden cold chill.
“I am afraid I am just going to have to pass on this meet-up with your friends in Africa. I know it’s important to you but I just have a bad feeling about this, Leland. It’s not that I don’t trust you. It’s just, well, I really need to get to Caleb. Do you understand that this is—”
He held up his hand to gesture her to be quiet.
“Anaya, I need you to go behind those trees and hide. Don’t come out for any reason. No matter what you see. Until I call you. Do you understand?”
Anaya looked at him and froze so he yelled, “Go! Now!”
******
Before I could even take cover, I saw him, whatever or whomever I did not know. He charged straight at Leland with such fierceness and speed and with sword drawn. No one, not even Leland, saw him coming. Leland had been hiding two swords in his long overcoat and managed to draw them before the other guy had made the first blow. Leland was a quick, tough fighter and it surprised me how fast he could move, given his size. I had never seen such a fight. The attacker was leaping through the air with such speed and agility that the fight was over in seconds. The attac
ker leapt behind Leland and with one motion drove his sword into his back. Leland fell to his knees and that’s when I got a clear view of the face of the attacker.
“Julian! No! Don’t!”
I ran to Leland, as he was on his knees. His eyes were full of fear and confusion. Then he did something strange; he cracked a smile while looking straight at me. This was not a smile I had ever seen on him and it did not even seem to be the same person.
His hand came out to touch my face. “Mine!” Leland whispered.
I felt a shudder as if the words went straight into me.
“What are you doing?!” I screamed at Julian.
Someone grabbed me from behind and pulled me back. As I fought them to let go, Julian swung his sword for the last time and Leland’s head was removed from his body. I heard such a blood-curdling scream that horrified me. It took me a second or two to realize that it was coming from me.
I broke free and ran to the decapitated form and dropped to my knees.
“What have you done?!” I was wailing and could feel the grief from my very core. “Julian! What have you done?! He was my friend!”
Julian threw away his sword and ran to me and grabbed my face in his hands to look him in the eyes.
“Anaya, look at me! Listen… just listen to me! You did not know him! He was not your friend, Anaya. He was an evil being. You don’t know the plans he had for you!”
I could not believe it. “No, no, no!” My words seemed to drift off in mumbling as I seemed to be slowly going into shock. “That can’t be! That just can’t be.”
“He is one of the most dangerous beings that walks the earth. I am so grateful I could get here on time before he…” I could feel Julian squeezing me tight and I could feel his tears on my face as he embraced me.
“Burn the body!” Julian suddenly shot up, calling out to someone who was with him. “And get rid of all evidence that anyone was here! We need to get out of here fast.”
Then I recognized the other person’s voice. “I will have my men take care of it. What should we do with the motorcycle we found in the city?” It was Sebastian.
“Get rid of it. We need to cover all our tracks. His minions will be looking for him,” Julian said.
