by C. J. Ayers
After the front door was unbarred, Killian pulled out a flashlight and instructed Karyn to get behind him. “Where are we?” Karyn asked. “This is the house you were born in.” Killian responded, with very little emotion.
Karyn was stunned. How did Killian know where she had been born? She instantly felt betrayed and enraged all at once, odd feelings when combined with the strong sense of safety that she felt, and always felt, in his presence. Obviously, he knew more than she did about the situation and he was working to protect her. Killian always seemed to want to protect her from whatever dangers were ahead.
The flashlight was more for Karyn’s benefit as Killian’s vampire eyes allowed him to see effortless in the dark. Karyn didn’t expect the level of emotion which now flooded her senses. The flashlight cast off one singular beam of yellow light, which shined on a picture of Karyn’s parents. They held up a small toddler between the two of them, smiling proudly. It was the first baby-picture Karyn had ever seen of herself.
They heard a rustling sound coming from one of the rooms around the corner. Karyn’s face quickly turned from grief to terror, as a massive shape bounded around the corner and tackled Killian in one swift motion. Killian grunted as he punched at the figure, which seemed to punch back without any reservations. It was hard for Karyn to make out what was happening in the dark. She stumbled backwards and snatched a vase off of a nearby table. Karyn raised the vase in the air, ready to bring it down over the creature’s head.
When the flashlight rolled to a stop, Karyn was able to see clearly that the man wrestling Killian on the floor was Caleb.
Karyn had met Caleb only one time prior, but learned later that his role in the department was dealing in cases involving demonic possessions. She remembered that Caleb and Jack had some kind of grudge against one another, and they had almost gotten into a fight on the day that the werewolf had torn apart the hospital in which Karyn worked. It was the same day that she’d been introduced to Department 99, and the day she’d found out that she was a shadow-walker.
Killian and Caleb seemed to recognize each other in that moment as well. They stopped fighting, brushed themselves off, and stood up—eyeing one another suspiciously.
“What are you doing here, vampire?” Caleb asked.
“Stay away from him, Karyn,” Killian demanded. “Caleb is a bear shifter—if he loses control, I might not be able to protect you.” Karyn’s stomach jumped up into her throat.
“Why would I do anything to hurt her? What are you guys up to?” Caleb asked suspiciously.
Killian ignored his bait. “Shifters are losing control all over the city, Caleb…I want to know why you aren’t one of them.” Killian’s voice had an eerily calm quality to it.
“I don’t even know what you’re talking about, vamp.” Caleb responded. “They sent me out here because of an urgent call that came in a few minutes ago about this house being under some kind of demonic control. Caleb’s hand radio crackled, and a familiar voice came over the line.
“Did you get that demon wrangled yet, Caleb? The situation out here is getting pretty dire. Check in with base after you get an idea of what’s going on. Over.” The voice said.
Killian almost dropped to the floor. Karyn felt as though she was going to pass out. She recognized the voice too—it was Jack.
“I’m sorry about your friend,” Caleb offered in response. He could tell that Killian and Karyn recognized Jack’s voice, as it flowed over the hand-held radio. Tears welled up in Killian’s eyes. The thought that Jack was a traitor, was too much to bear.
Sensing Killian’s upset, Caleb started explaining. “It’s not what you think,” Caleb stated flatly. “This transmitter is picking up signals from the beyond. Jack keeps sending out messages…he doesn’t realize that he’s dead.”
Killian wanted to snatch the radio out of Caleb’s hand. “There’s some kind of demonic force at work here, obviously. Jack’s soul is trapped—probably due to the violent nature of his death. He’s sending out these messages from beyond the grave because he doesn’t realize that he’s dead. He thinks he’s still at work for Department 99.” Karyn cupped her hand up over her mouth and began to cry.
Jack’s voice crackled over the radio again. “I need eyes on two specters at location 55 on the grid.” There was a pause. “I need men down here at the station. I need a can of hot-sauce and twelve chicken wings.” Caleb shut the radio off.
“Sometimes, when they don’t know that they’re dead they just start saying things that don’t make any sense. He’s sending out Department 99 transmissions, because that’s what he did in life, but there’s no sense behind it.” Caleb spoke softly.
Killian was obviously devastated, yet Karyn was amazed at how well he kept his composure. “So, how do we help him?” Killian asked.
Caleb shrugged. “I’m guessing that if we can sever some of the demonic influence, it might be enough for his soul to move on. I don’t really know. It’s different for everyone.” Caleb responded. Killian nodded dryly.
Karyn looked over at another photo on the wall. She immediately recognized herself—and there was another child in the photo. It was Samantha, there was no mistaking that. Why was Samantha….?
Suddenly Karyn knew. Samantha was her sister. She noticed another photo where she and Samantha sat, holding hands on a park bench.
Karyn eyed Killian, enraged. Had he known the whole time? Had that been why Karyn had been able to see her ghost, and to jump into her psychic form? Killian raised his hands defensively—as if sensing Karyn’s rage.
“It wasn’t safe to tell you,” Killian stated, with a hint of remorse in his voice.
“Safe? SAFE? Don’t talk to me about safe. There are shifters losing control all over Kansas City, and I’ve been attacked virtually repeatedly this week. I thought I could trust you.” Karyn spat.
Her words cut. “You can trust me, Karyn. I was trying to protect you.” Killian responded—he was pleading
Maybe Karyn had been wrong about him. Maybe he was the same predator that he had been in the other world. Maybe he couldn’t be trusted at all.
Caleb pulled a meter out of his pocket and began reading levels and wandering about the house. He seemed to be trying to find the source of a signal. Karyn and Killian awkwardly followed suit, not really wanting to have to interact with one another.
The signal seemed to lead back into the kitchen, behind the stove. Wordlessly, Killian ripped the stove away from the wall. There was a thin, tattered book, laying on the floor, titled “The Trials of Emmett.” Karyn reached down to pick up the small book.
“Don’t touch it!” Caleb yelled quickly.
As if sensing her presence, the book began to smoke—and then slowly, flames emanated from its center. Karyn watched in amazement as the book burned itself up. The fire then collapsed into itself leaving no trace behind whatsoever.
“Good job, shadow-walker,” Caleb stated sarcastically. “Next time, maybe you can keep your girlfriend from burning up my evidence,” Caleb spat at Killian.
“She’s not my girlfriend,” Killian responded. For some reason, it hurt Karyn to hear Killian say that out loud. Maybe her instincts had been wrong about him. Maybe she really didn’t know him at all.
Just then, Killian’s radio went off. A dangerous shifter had lost control in a nearby library. He and Karyn looked at one another. Perhaps it was no accident that the demonic energies had been emanating from a book.
“Good luck guys,” Caleb stated, as Karyn and Killian rushed back towards their car.
When Karyn and Killian arrived at the library, the place was in total chaos. Karyn had never seen anything like it. People were huddled in the parking lot with various injuries. Inside the library, books flapped around flying across the library on their own accord, while a giant python-shifter slithered across tables and through the aisles, searching for prey.
Karyn had never seen a snake so large. Its width was about three times greater than her own, and its body was
at least twelve feet long. The snake slithered about, searching for victims. He crept up behind an obese man, who sat hunched down near one of the shelves, shaking in terror. The snake seemed to smell at the back of the man’s head—all without the man even knowing a gigantic snake was right behind him. Then, the snake hissed. The man tried to jump forward, but the snake snapped up and wrapped its entire body around the man in one quick motion.
Slowly, the snake started to writhe as it squeezed the poor man until both of his eyes popped out of their sockets. The man screamed and the snake opened its mouth, and slowly started to descend upon the human in its grip. Sluggishly, the snake began to swallow the man whole, advancing only inches at a time, until the man’s entire body was inside its belly. Karyn felt as though she was going to be sick. What a horrible death. She threw up in her mouth a little bit. The sight was utterly disgusting.
Killian grabbed Karyn by the elbow and pulled her back out into the parking lot. “We’re going to need a plan for this one,” he said. “It’s a lot worse than I realized” Karyn nodded quickly, trying to rack her brain for solutions. Maybe they could lure the snake out into the parking lot? No—if it got into the sewers, they’d never be able to catch it. The attack had to take place in the library. What if the giant snake-shifter was a victim of more mind-control? What if they were targeting an innocent individual who was simply under the control of the demonic? Karyn blinked rapidly. It didn’t matter—they had to act quickly; innocent or not—the snake shifter was murdering people and had to be stopped.
“Jack would know what to do.” Killian stated flatly. His remark surprised her. Somehow, Karyn had almost forgotten that earlier in the day, Killian had lost his best friend in all the world. Suddenly she felt a bit guilty for being so hard on him in the boarded-up house in front of Caleb. Maybe Killian really had just been trying to protect her.
Karyn thought back to the photograph on the wall in the old house. She had a sister now. In a way, she’d had a sister all along. For the first time in her life, she had a family. For a moment, Karyn wondered if Samantha remembered anything about their parents. Had Samantha been placed in the foster care system for her protection too? There were so many unanswered questions.
“So what’s the plan?” Killian asked.
“Kill the snake.” Karyn spat back.
Killian rolled his eyes but said nothing. Clearly she was still upset with him.
“Let’s wing it,” Karyn spoke. The words surprised her, even as they came out of her mouth. She wasn’t really one to wing anything but what else could they do?
Killian pulled a small gun out of the back of his pants and handed it to Karyn then loaded up a small serum gun for himself. If he could get the needle into the snake, it would force the shifter to change back, and maybe it wouldn’t be necessary for them to kill whoever was underneath the giant snake body.
Karyn and Killian rushed the front of the library. The snake was in the middle of the room contracting around a tan woman who wore thick glasses. The more she screamed, the more the giant python seemed to squeeze.
“Hey you. Hey, big worm! Squiggly!” Killian yelled. The snake immediately dropped the woman and zeroed in on Killian, obviously infuriated.
“What kind of worm hangs out in the library?” Killian yelled, sporting a cheesy grin. “Oh, I get it you’re trying to be ironic. You’re a bookworm.” The snake hissed, obviously angry.
Suddenly, the giant snake lunged forward and struck at Killian. He jumped back behind a shelf, pulled an encyclopedia off the shelf and bopped the snake on the head. Karyn fired her gun at the snake’s tremendous body. Most of the shots missed, but one grazed the snake near his tail. The snake reeled and thrashed. Killian yanked out the serum gun and shot the snake directly in its huge black eye. Immediately, the giant serpent went limp.
Karyn watched in amazement as the massive snake reduced inward, shrinking into the familiar body of Stella, the Department 99, medical technician who had been so concerned about Samantha only hours before. Killian pulled out some heavy silver cuffs and snapped them down over her naked wrists. Stella’s eyes opened slowly. She seemed to be confused.
“Do you remember anything at all?” Karyn asked, stooping over the woman. Stella swallowed, her eyes adjusting to the light, “Dr. Forge—you can’t trust him.”
Killian’s eyes shot up. Together he and Karyn helped Stella into the back seat of their parked Sedan. There was no time to even call in a team to formulate a cover story for the library ordeal. They had to get back to Department 99 immediately.
When they arrived back at headquarters, they left Stella in the parked vehicle. The last thing they needed was for her to somehow turn back into a snake when they were trapped in the elevator, or something like that. Stella appeared saddened that she had been exploited for someone’s evil purposes. Karyn felt bad for her.
The first thing that Karyn noticed when they stepped into the lobby area, was that both security guards were now gone. Odd.
Karyn and Killian quickly jumped into the elevator and descended to Department 99’s medical level.
When the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened, the place was in shambles. Lights hung, ripped from the ceiling and sparks flew from the exposed wires. Karyn’s stomach turned over and her mind raced. Not again. She hoped that Samantha was okay.
Karyn and Killian began to move along the corridors, but it seemed that no one else was there. Had they evacuated the entire department in a hurry? Where had everyone gone?
When they reached Samantha’s recovery room, Killian slowly pushed the door open. A body lay in the middle of the room covered completely by a sheet. Karyn felt as though time was standing still. Had she found her sister only to lose her later that same day? Killian crept forward towards the body, and gently peeled the sheet back. Dr. Forge lay on the stretcher in a state of repose. Suddenly Forge’s eyes shot open and he lunged forward, grabbing at Killian’s neck. Karyn drew her gun and fired. One of the bullets hit Dr. Forge in the side. He seemed unaffected by the sting of the bullet. The blood dripping from the wound was black.
“Killian, get back!” Karyn screamed. She emptied another round into Dr. Forge who continued to advance. Obviously, he too was under the influence of the demonic. As Forge advanced on Killian, Karyn grabbed the stretcher and slammed it as hard as she could into Forge’s back. She heard a loud crunching sound as a few of his bones fractured. Killian leapt out of the way, grabbed the gun from Karyn, and emptied a bullet directly into Dr. Forge’s forehead.
The sound of the gun discharging echoed throughout the recovery chamber. Black blood splattered onto the floor and wall behind Dr. Forge, and finally his body stopped moving.
Instinctively, Karyn wrapped her arms around Killian’s middle and clung to him. He responded, wrapping his strong arms around her for an all too brief moment when the Department 99 alarm sounded overhead. Karyn could hear the distant clop of footsteps, as agents flooded into the room.
Someone pulled her off of Killian, and Karyn screamed in protest. Her beautiful blue eyes met with Killian’s grey eyes and for a moment, she knew that she loved him more than she had ever loved anyone. HE was her family. In that moment, she would have given anything to be with Killian, to remain with him.
She was taken to a small holding cell, where Killian’s boss, Max asked her a few questions. “You guys did a good job,” Max smiled, patting Karyn on the shoulder. He dismissed her for some rest.
Hours later, Karyn found herself seated atop Killian’s small metal bed. He hadn’t returned from questioning yet and rather than go back to the small room they had assigned her, she preferred to wait in his room for his return. It made her feel closer to him.
Killian walked through the open door and his eyes seemed to light up as he noticed her. He perched next to her, breathing rapidly.
“Today was one for the history books.” he stated dryly. Karyn reached across the bedspread and covered his hand with her own.
“Do you
think you’re going to stay here?” Kilian asked. “Department 99 is always short on agents with medical knowledge. We need you.” He paused, and looked directly into her eyes, his voice was barely above a whisper when he said, “I need you.” His hand slid gently over top of hers.
Karyn’s heart jumped up into her throat as he spoke, and her pulse quickened. Her body ached for more—more of his touch, more of his attention, just more of him in general. Killian made her feel something that she’d never felt before. He made her feel seen and understood. He made her feel protected.
“How about you take me on a date?” Karyn asked playfully. She was hoping that Killian would agree. She knew nothing about vampires, and she certainly didn’t know their dating habits. Hell, a few days ago she didn’t even know they actually existed.
Killian’s eyes lit up. “A date?”
“Yeah. We could spend some time together and get to know each other.” She suggested. “Anyway, it’s better than sitting here in Department 99, just waiting for that stupid alarm to go off again.”
“When?… I mean, when do you want to go?” from the look on his face, Karyn suspected that he was pleasantly surprised by her suggestion.
“Can you give me five minutes to get ready?” Karyn asked.
He laughed, “Your wish is my command.” Killian bowed. Karyn jumped up from the bed and sauntered out of the room.
When she got back to her own little room, she had no idea what to wear. The department had brought her clothes and a few of her personal things from her apartment and had them placed in her room. She had never been much of a shopper and her wardrobe consisted primarily of practical pieces. Tonight, she wanted him to see her and to be taken aback. She definitely didn’t want to wear her work clothes. Karyn quickly pulled her hair down and tousled it around a bit. Then, she pulled out some blood-red lipstick and some old eye shadow from her purse. While she was no Victoria Secret model, she knew she was attractive to the opposite sex. She wasn’t oblivious to the reactions of men around her, especially when she dolled herself up a bit, and she hoped that Killian would react the same way.
