Homecoming

by Heath Stallcup

  Damien stared after the lights for a moment and then nodded to her. “Let’s not waste any time.”

  The two darted towards the farmhouse, jumping the creek between themselves and the farm ahead. Fences were cleared with no effort and within moments both found themselves just outside the old house, yellow lights coming from the windows. Damien held a finger to his mouth and crept in silence along the rock wall then darted to the house. Rachel followed suit and ducked just below the same window he now squatted below.

  Damien slowly stood and peeked inside. He saw an older couple sitting at a table finishing their meal and with a quick look at the furnishings, deduced that they must live alone. No other plates were set, and the decorations inside the home were definitely that of older people.

  He slowly lowered himself again and nodded to her. “There are two older folks inside. That should tide you over for a while.” He stole a glance toward the outbuildings. “I’m going to take a look in the shed and the barn to see if they have a car.”

  “What for?”

  “Beats walking these rocky hills, don’t you think?” He shot her a wink and a quick kiss. “I’ll be back before you finish the second course.”

  She watched him dart off into the night then stole away toward the back of the house. As remote as the home was, she doubted that the owners would bother with locking doors or windows. As she approached the rear door, she took a quick peek inside to ensure the house was clear before she turned the knob. As expected, it was unlocked. She quietly opened the door and slipped inside.

  Rachel waited in the kitchen for just a moment and listened to the couple sitting at the table. They didn’t talk much, and when they did, they discussed simple things like their livestock and the coming winter. She smiled to herself when she thought, I’m about to remove all of your worries for you.

  She slipped from the kitchen and slid along the wall toward the dining room. She could hear the conversation much clearer now and rolled her eyes at the boring old couple. Old people were usually low in calcium and iron, but between the two of them, she hoped to quench the thirst until she could find somebody much younger and more vibrant.

  Rachel heard the clinking of dishes and realized that one of the two were leaving the dining room and headed back to the kitchen. She slipped back into the kitchen and hid behind the door. Soon it swung open, and a portly woman with gray hair stepped inside with a handful of dishes. Rachel slid down the wall and waited until the woman set the dishes down beside the sink. No sense in alerting the man in the other room that there was trouble.

  The moment the dishes were on the counter and out of the woman’s hands, Rachel leaped, her hands around the woman’s mouth and her fangs sunk deep into the woman’s thick neck. Rachel sucked greedily as the warm, thick blood flowed freely and pulled the woman to the floor so that she couldn’t upset anything near her and alert the other human.

  As the woman finally quit struggling and Rachel felt her heart start to quiver from blood loss, she looked up to see Damien leaning against the counter. He watched her with a devious grin. “You make that look so hot.” His whispered voice almost made her blush. “Want me to fetch the other one?”

  She nodded and he was out the door so quickly that she barely had time to realize that he had left. She heard a slight struggle in the other room before he reappeared with the man in his grasp. “Dinner is served, my darling.” Damien had one arm around the man’s neck and the man’s arm twisted behind his back.

  Rachel stood and wiped the woman’s blood off her face with the apron still tied to her middle. “She tastes of garlic and onions.”

  “W-What are ye?” the old man stammered.

  “Your reckoning.” Rachel flashed a fanged smile at him before she closed the distance and pulled Damien’s arm from around his neck. She pushed his head aside and bit so deeply that she nearly tore his throat out.

  Damien continued to hold the old man as Rachel fed, his feeble attempts to struggle weakening with each heartbeat. He looked at the top of her head and said nonchalantly, “They have a car, but it isn’t much of one. Still, it should get us where we need to go.”

  She lifted her head and offered him some of the old man. Damien shook his head. “I’m still full from last night. Besides, you need to keep your strength up.”

  Once the two were done, Damien fished the keys from the old man’s pocket and they pulled the antique Range Rover from the barn. It smelled of pipe tobacco and mildew, but it ran. For the roads they would be traveling, it was probably the best vehicle they could have stolen. He hoped that they wouldn’t need the spare can of fuel strapped to the rear bumper. The idea of losing any time and being stuck in the middle of nowhere when the sun came up did not appeal to him.

  5

  Laura sat nervously at the small table on the far side of the pool. She could hear the ocean behind her through the thick stand of bushes and knew that they were close to the water, but there was something about being so far away from the crowds of the bar and nearby restaurant that made her want to get up and run. She eyed the short, unassuming brunette sitting across from her and couldn’t help but wonder where all of the apprehension was coming from.

  “Ah, this is better, don’t you think? Less noise, fewer people. The smells alone in there were enough to almost make me sick.”

  Laura gave her a blank stare and toyed with the glass of soda. “I know it was my idea to go someplace else, but why did you pick here? So far away?”

  The young woman stared at her as if she were nuts. “Could you not smell all of them? The body odor, the spices they cook with, the alcohol, the pheromones…all of it. It was disgusting.”

  “Has your nose always been that sensitive?” Laura didn’t know why she was so curious. None of the other ‘wolves’ she had met had ever complained of such things.

  The young woman paused and considered her question. “No, actually, it hasn’t. Just since I got out of that military place. Ever since then, it’s like all of my senses have been on hyper alert.”

  Laura nodded and silently feared it might be a side effect of what Matt had told her of the two being ‘Fated Mates’, but she definitely didn’t want to lead into her discussion with that little point. “Well, here we are now.” Laura took a sip of her soda. “What would you like to know?”

  “First off, who are you and why the hell are your people so interested in me?” The angered stare she shot at Laura would have caught the bushes on fire had it missed her.

  Laura placed her glass on the table and sat back in her chair. “My name is Laura Youngblood. As you’ve deduced, I’m not a wolf.”

  “No shit.”

  Laura sighed slightly and continued, “But I work for one. And he’s the reason I’m here.”

  “The big oaf,” the dark haired woman said.

  Laura lowered her eyes and took a deep breath. “Look…uh…”

  “Jennifer,” she stated with narrowed eyes, “Jennifer Simmons.”

  “Look, Jennifer, the man I work for sent me to try to find you…”

  “And bring me back?” Her voice lowered nearly to a growl.

  Laura threw her hands up in surrender. “Do you want me to talk or do you want to keep interrupting me?”

  Jennifer slowly sat back and watched her with a guarded gaze. “Continue.”

  “Thank you.” Laura cleared her throat and took another sip of her soda. “As I was saying, Matt, he’s the guy I work for. He sent me to try to find you. He wants me to try to explain…this…huge misunderstanding.”

  “Misunderstanding?” Jennifer had finished her piña colada and set her glass on the table. “Are you serious? Do you realize that he’s the guy who shot me in the fucking face?”

  Laura’s hands were back up, and she was looking around to ensure nobody was listening in. “Yes, he told me about that. But that was ten years ago and—”

  “That was just a few months ago for me.” Her voice was growling again and Laura suddenly felt very cornere
d.

  “Well maybe if you hadn’t killed and eaten his wife and daughter in the woods, he wouldn’t have hunted you down and shot you.” Laura wasn’t sure who was more shocked. Jennifer when she heard her words, or herself for saying them.

  “What did you say?”

  “I’m sorry.” Laura stood up and pushed her chair in. “This was a bad idea. I should go.”

  “No, wait.” Jennifer hopped down from her chair and followed her a few steps before stopping her. “Did you say that I killed…” she paused as she choked on her own words.

  Laura avoided her gaze but nodded. “Yes, but I wasn’t supposed to mention it. I’m sorry.” She tried to turn away again when Jennifer stepped in her way. “Please, I need to leave.”

  “No, wait.” Jennifer’s eyes betrayed her as they filled with tears. “Please. I don’t…” she choked again and held a hand to her mouth. “I didn’t know.”

  Laura stood still and watched as Jennifer got herself under control. “Um, Laura, right? Would you walk with me?” Her voice was so different now that Laura wasn’t sure it came from the same woman. She seemed to have struck more than a nerve with Jennifer and the hardened façade had cracked and was falling away. “Please?”

  Laura found herself nodding even though she really wanted to turn and run to her hotel room. The two women stepped slowly toward the beach, the soft sand sinking under them as they strolled toward the breaking waves. “Okay, so tell me more. Please?”

  Laura looked to her to make sure she was serious. Jennifer had both arms wrapped around herself as if she could steady herself without help. Laura stepped a little closer so that she wouldn’t need to raise her voice. “Matt had taken his family camping in the woods. It just happened to be a full moon. They were all attacked, and he was the only survivor. Afterwards, he shifted. The military had a decision to make. Either kill him to try to find out why he shifted, or use him to hunt down…your kind. They chose the latter.

  “Eventually he tracked you down. It was in his haste and anger that he shot you. But it wasn’t his decision to put you on ice for all that time.” Laura watched for Jennifer’s reaction and was surprised to see a tear run down her face. “In time, his anger died, and he fought to get you released. The brass said no.”

  Jennifer stopped and stared at the sun slowly setting on the ocean. It seemed a long time before her voice spoke up again. “How old was she?”

  “Who?”

  “His daughter?”

  Laura shrugged slightly. “I’m not exactly sure. I think she was around nine or ten.”

  Jennifer’s shoulders began shaking as she sobbed, and she slowly collapsed to the white sandy beach. Laura sat down beside her and wrapped a reassuring arm around her shoulder. “You really didn’t know, did you?”

  Jennifer shook her head. “On the full moon, the wolf takes control. I don’t even have memories of what it does.” She turned her face to Laura’s shoulder and cried harder. “I’ve always tried to be so careful. Going deep into the woods on the full moon.”

  Laura nodded and stroked her hair. “I know,” she soothed. “And so does Matt. Now.”

  “How? How could he know? How could he…” she trailed off.

  “He’s a wolf too, now, remember? He’s met a lot of other wolves since then, and he’s learned a lot.” Laura pulled the young girl closer and rubbed her arm. “The night you ‘escaped’ the base? He really wasn’t trying to hurt you. He wanted to explain things to you.”

  Jennifer suddenly sat up. “Oh, my God! I nearly killed him when…” She turned her worried face to Laura. “Is he? I mean, did he…”

  “You saw him when he came here looking for you, didn’t you? He’s okay. It took him a while to recover, but he’s fine. I think his pride is hurt though. Getting his ass handed to him by a timber wolf will do that.”

  Jennifer shook her head slowly. “Everywhere I go, all I do is hurt people.”

  “That’s not true. You’re here and you haven’t hurt anybody.” Laura glanced around them at the few people on the darkening beach. “Not yet anyway.”

  “No, but I’m about to.”

  Laura paused and gave her a puzzled look. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “It’s too late to stop it,” Jennifer said as she slowly began to stand.

  “Too late to stop what?”

  Jennifer pointed behind her. “Them.”

  Laura turned and saw four burly men approaching her. All four wore ski masks in the tropical heat. One was carrying a large bag while the others had other items in their hands, difficult to make out in the dwindling light.

  “Oh crap…a trap.” Laura began to backpedal in the soft sand, trying to make her way back to pool area.

  “They’re my father’s men,” Jennifer said as she followed her. “They won’t be stopped. They’re wolves.”

  *****

  Mark watched Dr. Peters working in his laboratory for some time. The man seemed to be nervously going through every nook and cranny until he had worked himself into a frenzy. Mark slowly approached and stepped up onto the platform that was the base for the lab. “Problem, Doctor?”

  Evan spun so quickly that Mark hardly saw him. His eyes were nearly wild with panic for just a moment before he immediately composed himself. “What? Uh, no. Not…well, maybe.”

  “You’re not setting my mind at ease, Doc.” Tufo stepped inside the lab, careful not to touch anything. “What’s the problem?”

  Evan paused for just a moment, notebooks in each hand. He seemed to be trying to figure out where to start. Finally he collapsed into his roll-away chair and set the notebooks on the workbench. “Maybe nothing.” He turned and faced Tufo. “Maybe everything.”

  “Again, Doc, you’re not setting my mind at ease.” Tufo stepped closer and leaned against the counter. “Why don’t you start at the beginning?”

  Evan inhaled deeply and let it out slowly. “Remember before we left for Nevada? Thorn was here and he was…helping me?”

  “Yes. What of it?”

  Evan picked up a notebook and held it out to Tufo. “We went through my preliminary drawings. My diagrams. My technical drawings.”

  Mark shook his head in confusion. “Okay. And?”

  Evan slumped in his chair and ran a hand though his hair. “You’re not following me.” He picked up a notebook again, turning through the pages. “Designs, tons of designs…all weapons. Lots of weapons. In each notebook.”

  “Okay, Doc, I gotcha. So your notebooks should probably be classified or something. But I still don’t—”

  “One is missing!” Evan stood and began pacing. “And not just any one, but a very important one.”

  Tufo pushed off the counter and crossed his arms, his eyes narrowing. “Go on.”

  “When we were discussing how to deal with the Sicarii, there was one weapon that Mr. Thorn was very interested in. I talked him out of it. At least, I think I did.” Evan began babbling, “I mean, we didn’t go with that weapon, so in essence, I suppose I did talk him out of it. But he seemed so dead set on using it and I—”

  “Doc!” Tufo snapped his fingers to get his attention. “Focus here.”

  “Oh yeah, sorry.” Evan strode back toward Mark and placed a notebook down in front of him. “From front to back, these are filled with designs. But there was one design that Mr. Thorn was really interested in. It targeted a natural enzyme that all natural born supernatural creatures carried.”

  “I’m not following you, Doc.” Tufo tried to connect the dots, but Doc just wasn’t making any sense.

  Evan paused and took a deep cleansing breath. “There is an enzyme that occurs naturally in all natural born vampires. Are you following me?” Tufo nodded. “This same enzyme is also present in natural born wolves. Still with me?”

  Tufo gave him a confused look and shook his head. “This doesn’t make sense. They’re two completely different vectors. Two different viruses.”

  “Ah yes, but the enzyme is what prevents the bod
y from fighting it like an infection!” Evan stood and pulled another notebook from his shelf. “I finally figured that out when I was going over some Elven bloodwork. Even Elves have the same enzyme, and I couldn’t figure out why. It’s because the greater and lesser Elves are actually a lot more closely related, but the lesser Elves have the enzyme. The greaters don’t, and it’s because the enzyme acts like a catalyst because the lesser Elves also have a virus that…”

  “Whoa, Doc, back up the truck. You lost me.”

  “Okay. Where at?”

  “Right after you grabbed that notebook. You started babbling and…” Mark shrugged.

  Evan sighed and closed the notebook. “The point is, the weapon is really, really bad news. And now the notebook is gone.”

  “And you think maybe Thorn took it?” Mark studied his reaction as the vampire slumped back into his chair.

  Evan threw his hands up in surrender. “I have no idea. I suppose it’s possible but…I just can’t bring myself to accuse him of it.”

  Mark paused a moment and rubbed at the trimmed whiskers on his chin. Since he started keeping them trimmed, they really itched. “Is there any chance that notebook just got misplaced between the move to Nevada and the move back?”

  “Anything is possible.”

  “Then just redesign your weapon. I’m sure you could make it more powerful and even better than it was originally.” Mark patted his shoulder.

  Evan turned red rimmed eyes to the XO. “You still don’t get it, do you? This isn’t about just losing a set of plans. I can remake those. This is about the possibility of somebody else having the blueprints to a Doomsday weapon.”

  Mark’s eyes flew wide. “Doomsday weapon?”

  “Well, for supernatural creatures, yes. If somebody built this weapon and deployed it, they could systematically wipe out every vampire, werewolf, lesser elf, troll…there may even be species I haven’t tested yet.”

  Mark practically fell against the workbench. “If you had told me this seven months ago, I’d have said, ‘deploy it’. But some of those people are our allies now.”