The Night Walkers

by Elaine McGregor-Dawson

  "Please!" Kit begged, "Don't hurt her!"

  "I was going to, but there is something very dark about this girl that I simply couldn't resist." He grinned again, it was a scary shark grin and from that, Kit knew they would be enemies for life.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Kit couldn't help but stare at Claudius with unmoving expression of hatred. This was the guy she had spent the last few nights chasing after. This man was the beast; he had taken Debra, taken all these girls and turned their eyes to black. After that, there was barely ever another chance the get them back again.

  She watched Claudius with large suspicion in her blue eyes. Now in fact, as she watched Claudius's evil black eyes, she was thinking about melting him with her gaze.

  "What's that looking for?" He asked with a mysterious expression.

  "That is your own special look, congratulations you have officially made into my personal hate list!" She scoffed. It was such a terrible thing to be in Kit's position, where her best friend was at the arms of some beast just waiting for her to be killed. There was very little she could do, but even if it involved having herself being swapped over for Debra to get out.

  "I have a proposition." Kit finally said after minutes of thinking. Claudius looked amused, for he changed position and was now leaning against the wall.

  "Okay, shoot!" He grinned at Kit, smiling crazily at her.

  She stared at the ground, enable to meet his eyes properly. "What if I trade myself for Debra?" The question must have caught Claudius off guard. Kit was probably what he really wanted, so he must have taken Debra to make kit want to swap the two girls over. It was like that day when Miss Marla had asked them to fight and Kit and Debra had said no. She wasn't going to fight Debra ever.

  He continued tapping his fingers across the stone walls," What's the catch?"

  "The catch is that you return Debra safely to the Academy and I take her original place." Kit stared at his eyes, finally able to meet them.

  "Oh, I accept!" Laughed Claudius as he turned around and gestured for his two servants. Which looked just like humans, only they must be under compulsion?

  "Then where is Debra?" Kit took a step forward, but Levi came sprinting out of the darkness and grabbed her by the shoulders.

  "Kit! Please don't do this." He begged and focused his eyes on hers. "Please don't go!"

  Kit sighed and clamped her hand around his wrist, "I'll be fine Levi; you just need to trust me." As soon as the words escaped her mouth she knew they were a lie.

  "How do I know that Kit? How do I know when I'll see you again...If I see you again?" He whispered in her ear.

  Kit leaned over towards him and pulled him into a hug. Levi kissed her forehead and it was so delicate, so meaningful that it brought tears to her eyes at the fact that she may never see him again.

  "I can't leave you." He begged more and more. "I can't."

  "Levi, someone has to take Debra back. Kit pushed him back a little, "You need to go now! Please Levi, understand." She brushed her fingers across his hand before turning back to Claudius, who stood there looking very bored.

  "Well, what a little show that was. Now pets." He said, turning to the compelled servants of his, "Fetch me that annoying blond-haired girl I taught a lesson too." He smiled at the two servants and then something happened to his eyes. The went from dilated to wide and wild. The servants cut back on their trance and nodded as they walked into a little door that was disguised as a cave wall.

  "Well then," He laughed, "Weren't you about to escape?"

  Kit shook her head at him," I am a keeper of my word," Kit told him, rubbing the side of her palm against her black armour.

  "Interesting," Claudius chimed. Kit was starting to the madness that was inside of him begun to take over. He was a strange man; very clearly, he was also rude and mean and atrocious.

  The men came out of the room carrying an unconscious Debra in their hands. Her body was looking very limp and her head kept on falling backwards. Debra had big purple and blue bruises going up and down her arms and legs. They had obviously been beating her up because she didn't look in top shape.

  "What have you done to her?" Kit asked shakily, trying very hardly to keep her tone of voice, that way she wouldn't seem weak to Claudius.

  "I have taught that girl a lesson as I have already said many times." He shrugged and walked towards Debra; he then picked her off and threw her without any effort, towards Levi. Levi caught her...just.

  "Get out of here Levi; take her back to the Academy!" Kit yelled, but Levi did not budge, he just stood there, staring blankly at Kit with a sad expression.

  He opened his mouth as if to say something but closed it again.

  "Go!" Kit yelled and saw his face change, he had gotten the message and so he ran through the entry way.

  Kit hoped so much he would tell the Academy, yet it seemed Kit already had too much on her mind right now. She turned around to face Claudius. He stood with his arms crossed over his chest, watching Kit with the same expression.

  She took a step back as her instinct, but that was all Claudius needed for his little trust in Kit to disappear. "Servants!" He commanded, "Bring me that girl right there," He pointed to Kit with a smug look.

  The two men ran with lightning speed towards Kit and she had just enough time to react as she started to run. It wasn't enough for Claudius though.

  "Witches, go after the girl!" He instantly exploded into bursts of laughter as he watched the mass of people running after one girl.

  They were all gaining on Kit now; her expression was becoming vivid as she grew more and more tired from running. Almost every day after and before school she had spent running laps of the outside oval. She had learned to be fast and to never get tired and Kit was a very fast runner.

  Why was she running though? She had told Claudius she wouldn't run, so why would she have? He had sent Debra back, although she didn't look good at all.

  The picture of Debra that Kit had in her mind was shocking! What had Claudius done to her?

  Since Debra's eyes were closed, she had no way of seeing whether her eyes were black or not and as Levi might be carrying her she could wake and turn on him in a heartbeat.

  "We are gaining on her!" A witch croaked. The two guards were even closer than all the witches; they were right on her heels; if they were smart enough to grab her she would be in the position of losing.

  Kit still and on her bow and arrow, so she put lots of trust in herself as she turned around, steadied a bow, aimed it over the heart of one of the servants and fired with a full force that knocked him back and sent blood splattering the wall.

  Kit gagged at the sight of the blood on the wall and continued running. The second guy was gaining on her still and she only had two more arrows that she needed to save to maybe hurt Claudius.

  'Go away!" She screamed effortlessly, knowing it would never work.

  "No!" The witches screamed in unison. Just great! Kit thought.

  It was no use though, if she continued she would lose anyway, she didn't have enough energy left for another rattle or running even more, so she stopped right in the middle of the cave. Her abrupt stop brought two witches crashing into the wall, hitting their heads hard on the cave.

  The servant instantly grabbed hold of her and chucked her through the doors, but she kept on squirming, so he carried her over his shoulder. The witches cackled, and the moon was almost full, if Levi didn't get here in time, everything would be over.

  "Claudius." The guy said," I have brought for you the girl. Sadly, my brother died." The servant didn't show any emotions which was a bad sign that he was under some serious compulsion.

  His brother! Kit finally made sense of the word. They were innocent humans...why had she killed that guy; he wasn't even doing anything on purpose.

  "Ah yes, she has been a naughty girl. Who thinks I should teach her the exact same thing as I taught her very friend?" Claudius smiled a wicked smile and listened to the loud clapping of a
ll the witches.

  "Good!" He turned towards Kit, walking over to her, "You will come with me now or I will kill your parents." Claudius looked her in the eyes. Those eyes of his were black, but they turned so big and round that she had no other choice but to nod.

  Wait..."My parents?" Kit forced her voice to sound calm, yet she was thinking something along the lines of 'Yay!'

  "Did I say parents, how horrible of me that was going to be a surprise."

  "Are you saying that you have my parents?" They had come towards a massive set of wooden doors that must creak very loudly.

  "No comment." Was all he said in return? Did this mean that her parents were alive? She thought they were dead or didn't care about her anymore.

  She wasn't sure what to believe though. Was he lying? Was he telling the truth? Was he trying to pull her into a trap? She wasn't sure and could never be sure. This was a very horrible thought though, to think he was lying about something like this.

  They arrived into a room, Claudius had an iron grip fastened on her. The room was dull and grey, nothing but stone and cage bars so she wouldn't be able to get out.

  Claudius threw her into the cell and closed the door, locking it with a golden key. He stood there for a few seconds and watched her as she pushed at the bars, they were steel though and far too sturdy for her to be able to break down.

  Claudius shook his head at her, "What a pity Kit Stone." He said before leaving the room and her alone together.

  For ages she gazed at the key, which was sitting on the ground below the door. What an idiot! She thought, if Levi came, she was sure to be rescued, yet at the same time it could all be a setup.

  Maybe that was the reason why Claudius had taken Debar first; he had probably wanted Kit to come after her, resulting in Kit deciding to swap Debra and her around.

  Kit had known the whole time that that would have been a possibility; she spent countless nights just thinking about what it was like living in a world where nothing seemed to go right.

  She was annoyed at life now; she only wanted to see one face...Levi. Kit missed his dark hair; she missed the way it tumbled in front of his vision. She loved the sparkle in his eyes and his laugh. He was the best thing in the world right now. He was the only one who would do anything for her, even if it involved risking his own life.

  As Kit thought about it, maybe she was the exact same after all. She would trade her entire life for anyone else to be able to live because she thought they would deserve it better than her.

  But she was failing right now without Levi; he was the only one who helped her to finish things. He made her laugh like no one else; he made her feel slightly human. Above all, he made her feel like she existed.

  Kit started to grow sick of wondering whether Claudius would kill her or not, so she decided to stay and think and as she did, everything become far more daunting.

  If there was ever a word to describe Kit Stone, it would be 'Dauntless.'

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Kit was looking around the room anxiously. She had done everything she possibly could to get out. She had thrown stones at the metal, she had tried to force open the bars, yet it never budged.

  So, she sat there on the ground, her entire body completely drained of energy. She had screamed until she lost her voice, she had stared at the wall, hoping it would break under the piercing stare of her blazing, empowering eyes.

  Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Claudius opened the creaking door, watching her with his amused black eyes. “Miss Stone, I believe you’ve made a large racket. My witches are getting fed up with it.” He leaned against the wooden door, inspecting her closely.

  “What?” She demanded, crossing her arms over her chest. Claudius shrugged, still having that evil smirk on her face.

  “Oh, nothing.” He looked away and paced around the room. This guy was really starting to annoy Kit; what she really wanted to do was beat his head into the cage bars!

  “Then why am I here then?” She shook her head at him, indulging his black eyes with pure hatred.

  “Because it’s more torturous.” He said creepily, cracking his wrists.

  Kit shrunk back to the edge of the cell, “Please let me go!” She couldn’t take it anymore. All she wanted was a normal life, one she would have a blast with and one she would know she was safe living in.

  “Why would I let you go?” He leaned forwards, so close to her that she could almost touch him. Kit could almost grab his throat and choke him to death. Instead she chucked a rock at his head, picking the biggest one up. It flew and hit him on the forehead, he didn’t stagger or even cringe; he just stood there unharmed at all, no mark even on his head.

  Kit gasped, getting as far to the corner as possible. “How did that leave no mark?” She demanded. Kit wasn’t the type of person to get easily scared; however, in a situation like this, she was scared stiff.

  “I have developed some rather difficult power. The witches, you see, have casted a spell on me. It’s a very good and strong spell.” Claudius stares at her stone figure. “Well…” He trails off and ends up averting his eyes to the wall while he waits for Kit to figure out why he was invincible.

  After a few minutes of think, Kit finally came up with a logical answer. “Is it because of the eclipse that’s going to be happening tonight?” She looked up, hoping it wasn’t the answer.

  Claudius started to clap, “Clever girl, you have finally figured it out.” He shook his head. “Such a shame I may have to kill you.” It was honestly not the worst thing Claudius could do to Kit. After all, in Kit’s case, if Claudius had tortured her, it would be way worse than death.

  “Then if you’re going to kill me, do it quickly or tell me you’re…killing plan.” She shrunk back in revulsion at the word “Kill.”

  “Okay, so it all began with the moon. I found the witches through my twisted brain then told them all I was their god; of course, my werewolf-side and my completion helped them to believe me better. Anyway, your Academy comes in about now; see I needed some supernatural being to take powers from. Now I am at my fullest power because I am harvesting the moon energy, taking power from your comrades and turning them into my slave.” He looked at Kit as if to say, “Do you get the picture,” or “Your better dead than alive to see what I have in store.”

  “Why?” Was all she asked, and the question seemed have caught Claudius off guard, for he spun around and stared at her, his eyes glinting with the sharp moon in the tiny metal caged window.

  “What do you mean why?”

  Kit laughed, “It’s obvious Claudius. I mean, what person in their right mind would do that, what are you planning on succeeding?” Kit stood up from where she sat on the ground, crushed up as far to the cave wall as possible.

  “Well I like the power I guess.” He shrugged. “Nothing else really.”

  Kit took a minute to process the words before she replied. “So, you’re saying that even though you’re taking away heaps of lives just to make yours better, you still want to keep going.” The entire idea was grotesque and ridiculous, except for Claudius’s answer…which was way worse.

  “Of course!” He started to laugh, “Why else would I?” He now had out a shining blade in his hand; Kit was watching him as he desirably turned it around and around, watching with his intent eyes that at a certain angle it caught the very glint of the moon.

  Kit was lost for words; she went to open her mouth to say something, only to close it when she found nothing.

  “Good.” Claudius paced around. “I think you have served your time here in jail…now time for hell.” He smirked and then clicked his fingers twice. A few seconds later, two witches came through, their mouths looking like they had been glued to smile.

  The bowed before Claudius, it made Kit sick to her stomach.

  “I have a very bad feeling about this girl. I also believe she knows something, but she isn’t telling us. So, go on! Get it out of her by torture.” He turned around to face Kit, making a p
assing gesture to the witches to take her away.

  The two witches opened the cell door and Kit screamed, her scream literally hurt her own ears. They both took either side of her arms and forced her off the ground. All her weapons had of course been taken.

  “Let go of me!” She thrashed against their iron grip, but it was no use.

  She kicked at them, trying to push their legs out from underneath them. It was all she needed to escape. But they still fort on, dragging her unwillingly towards the “Torture Room.”

  Kit just wouldn’t let them take her there; the witches looked to Claudius for help. He sighed and rolled his eyes, removing his stance from which he leaned against the wall.

  “Allow me.” He said and hit her on the side of the heap with the back of his shining blade. The last thing Kit saw was his grin, that large, wolfish grin. And then there was her blood, spreading all over the ground as her mind tried fighting against it, but it was no use, everything just turned black.

  * * * * * *

  By the time Kit awoke, everything was blurry. It was dark, and she could feel moisture in her right arm. As she tried to make her vision right again, she realized it was her own blood, spreading like a sea over her clothes.

  “Finally!” Came Claudius’s voice from the near corner. “You have been out for quite a while; I was beginning to think I had killed you.”

  “Oh!” Kit made a woozy act of being sad by that, “I was begging to have died.” It was the truth though. There would probably never be hope left for Kit; no one would ever be finding her again.

  “Don’t give your hopes up yet Kit Stone, I can promise you that will come soon. But for now, I think you are hiding something from me.” He tried to tempt her with his eyes, his completion beating like a heart all around her.

  Kit looked away though and leaned against the cave wall. She was sick and dizzy, her own blood had caused her a fright, and now her heart was beating a million times faster. “I’m not hiding anything.” The compulsion broke as she looked away, tearing her gaze from Claudius.