by Lewis, D. C.
Things just seemed so out of control. Kiera planned on talking with her mother about the sighting and then spending the night at home, waking up early in the morning and going back to the campsite to spend the day with her friends, trying to salvage something from their visit.
All the way home she kept worrying whether she did the right thing by leaving them. Even though it was probably too late at this point, she had the desire to turn around and go back to them even as she pulled through the gate of her mother's house and into the driveway.
For once, Kiera was glad to see her mother's car parked in front of the house. Bounding up the stairs to the front door, Kiera entered the house in search of Katrina. With her mind preoccupied with her friends, she didn't notice it at first but after each room she visited revealed no Katrina, Kiera realized that something was wrong.
There was a foul smell in the air, like sewage from a toilet that had backed up and overflowed. It was rank, and Kiera's senses were suddenly on high alert. Silently making her way to Katrina's bedroom, Kiera wasn't prepared for what she saw.
The normally orderly and spotless room was in shambles. Her mother's bed was shattered, resembling firewood more than a place to sleep. The walls were smeared with a greenish brown stain which radiated the foul smell that filled the house. The mirror over her mother's dresser was smashed into a thousand pieces, reflecting back an equal number of images of the chaotic bedroom. The clothes that were so neatly arranged in the closet had been ripped down and thrown throughout the room, soiled with the same substance that was on the walls. Kiera knew that she was in a dangerous situation, that the best thing for her to do was to turn back around and leave exactly the way she came in but she couldn’t. As much as she had rebelled against Katrina, she couldn’t just leave if there was a possibility her mother was hurt. She had to find her.
The room was a battlefield, an experiment in destruction, yet it wasn't the broken furniture, ruined clothing, or large claw marks gouging the wall. It wasn't the numerous Lycoan paw prints - obviously coming from more than one pair of feet - scattered throughout the room and stamped on articles of clothing like fingerprints, that sent the chills down Kiera's spine. It was the pool of blood that trailed out the back door of her mother's bedroom.
It looked like the entirety of someone's precious fluid had exited their body. Without having to bend down to smell it, she knew it was Katrina's. Half of the carpet in her mother's expansive room was dyed red, the blood slowly creeping towards other unstained areas of the floor, sucked in by the carpet like a man dying of thirst drinking at a desert oasis. How anything could live through that Kiera couldn't comprehend, and feared the worst for her mother.
Kiera knew that she also was in danger. And that if her mother couldn't defend against the attackers herself, since it was obvious by the paw prints that there was more than one, there was nothing she would be able to do. Kiera needed to get help but didn't know where to turn. She didn't know how to get into contact with any members of the pack still loyal to her mother. Not only did she not know phone numbers for these people, she didn't even know who they were. This was one time where she wished she had paid more attention to that aspect of her mother's life when selfish defiance kept her ignorant.
The only person she could turn to would be Officer Randolph but this would run the risk of exposing the Lycoan secret. At this point, Kiera didn't care. Worry for her mother outweighed any potential consequences. But would this endanger Officer Randolph's life? That was something she hadn't considered. Would whoever attacked her mother turn their rage on him? Kiera was unsure of the answer but it presently was a risk she was willing to take.
Turning around to exit her mother's room as silently as possible, Kiera decided the best course of action for her right now was to get out of the house as soon as she could. Tiptoeing through the wreckage, Kiera felt like she was going at a snail's pace, but move any faster and she would gamble stepping on something and alerting any listening ears to her whereabouts. Finding spots on the floor that were clear of debris proved to be a task in and of itself.
Making her way through the minefield caused her to be in the room longer than she wanted to but she felt the investment of time was the smart thing to do. Being so focused on watching where her feet landed, she was surprised when she ran nose-first into something. Thinking that she had misjudged her bearings, she initially thought she had run into a wall, a furry wall that was warm, and smelled strongly like the stuff smeared on the walls. It took only a nanosecond from the time of impact for Kiera's brain to process what the obstacle in her way was. Her fight-or-flight response kicked in and she chose the latter, knowing there was no way she could fight the Being in front of her.
In a move that would make a wide receiver proud, Kiera spun and gained passage past the large Lycoan standing in her way. Bolting for the front door that stood wide open, Kiera had a momentary feeling that she was going to make it. She could hear the Lycoan's claws scrape against the wood floors as it attempted to turn around and give chase, having been taken by surprise by Kiera's sudden move.
Time itself seemed to slow as she raced to the door, like the air suddenly had turned to Jell-O. Even as each step seemed to take an eternity, Kiera believed she would gain her freedom from the house. Shoving her hands into her pants pocket, she felt for her key fob and the button that automatically started the engine, a feature her prior car didn't possess and one that might save her life.
As each stride brought her closer to freedom, her confidence in her escape increased. Having unknowingly released the constraints on the physical abilities of her Lycoan nature, she moved with much greater speed and her would-be attacker still hadn't recovered enough from the surprise to give any meaningful chase. The impact of her feet hitting the floor resounded in her head and rattled her jaw. Kiera didn't believe she has ever run this fast before, but then there had never been the need for urgency there was right now. Closer and closer the door loomed. She could now see her new Rover, wishing that it also had an automatic door-opening feature to aid her in her flight from the house.
Coming closer to the threshold of the door, Kiera's heart leapt with glee as she felt the outside breeze blow through the door and into her face. It smelled like freedom. She could barely see the night sky. She felt as if the thousands of stars looking down were rooting for her, cheering her, it spurring her on even further. She did not want to disappoint them.
Something moved to block out the expansive sky, a large shape that filled the doorway and blocked Kiera's way. The speed at which Kiera was traveling was not easily slowed. Even with her heightened abilities she almost crashed into the Lycoan standing in the doorway, staring at Kiera, brown eyes laced with hatred. Kiera skidded to a complete stop. Her brain immediately formed a new plan and she had spun around and headed up the stairs to her bedroom before she had time to decide if it would actually work. Kiera hoped that if she could gain entry to her bedroom, she would be able to exit the house using her old escape route through the window and down the wall.
As she was going over the plan, it did strike her as funny that the two Lycoans hadn't caught her yet. Even being taken by surprise, they should have easily overcome any lead she managed to gain on them. It was a thought for another time. Right now escaping from the house was all she had time to think about. Knowing that trying to get to her car now would be an exercise in futility, Kiera wondered if she could make it to her boathouse at the end of the pier. Even though her WaveRunner was on the lift, she was pretty confident that she would be able to push it off safely into the water. If it was high tide, the drop would only be a couple of feet which shouldn't cause any damage to the hull. She prayed it wasn't low tide.
Leaping over the final few steps, Kiera was running towards her bedroom before her feet had firmly hit the floor. Unlike the numerous horror movies she has seen where the female victim was running from an attacker, she had no desire to turn around to see where her pursuers were, nor did she feel the need to go out
of her way to trip over something, to add suspense to the chase. Her focus was on much more important things She hated those stupid scenes.
Finally reaching the door, she turned the handle and burst into her room. Once inside she realized why her pursuers weren't giving chase. They were herding her. Herding her to her bedroom and the drama unfolding there. The first thing she saw was the nude and bloody form of her mother.
Thrown in a corner like an old shirt, Katrina lay facing her daughter, unconscious, not moving. Her face, an arena of pain, bruises, welts, and cuts, was unrecognizable. Her cheeks were so swollen that Kiera doubted Katrina could open her eyes if she were awake. The dark purple bruises looked like they were piled one on top of another. Her legs and arms were riddled with wounds, the majority looking like bites. In some places large portions of flesh and muscle had been removed completely. From the looks of the injuries to her legs, it looked like Katrina had effectively been hamstrung, thus losing her ability to stand. No breath seemed to pass her lips, no heartbeat was audibly detectable. Katrina looked dead.
A wail of pain and anguish escaped Kiera's lips as she rushed to her mother's side. Falling down on the floor next to her, Kiera could barely see for the tears welling up in her eyes. She had always thought of her mother as invincible, unconquerable. It added to the pain to see that same person lying in front of her, broken. Gently scooping up Katrina's head to lay it in her lap, Kiera wasn't prepared for the rag doll movement of Katrina's neck. Bending down close to whisper in Katrina's ear, Kiera simply said one word.
"Mama."
That came out more like a question than a statement. Her young mind racing, not knowing what to do next., wishing she could call somebody to help. But who?
As she tried to figure out what she needed to do next, Kiera sat down beside her mother, softly stroking Katrina's tangled hair, Kiera's tears fell unhindered on her mother's broken face, washing away blood with each watery impact, each creating a tiny spot of clean. Having forgotten everything else that had happened that evening, including her escape plan, Kiera was violently snapped back to reality when she heard a sinister chuckle.
Being so focused on the crumbled form of her mother lying on the floor, Kiera hadn't paid attention to the rest of the room. It was mostly untouched. Not even a blood trail marred the carpet, a testament to just how much blood Katrina had lost. Looking up from her sitting position to her bed, she saw the familiar form of Larissa Sinistari sitting on her bed, wrapped up in Kiera's Power Ranger Comforter, rummaging through what appeared to be the contents of Kiera's nightstand drawers that had been unceremoniously dumped onto the bed.
The combination of seeing her mother's current condition, being pursued in her own home, and now having Larissa so nonchalantly violate her sanctuary and rifle through her personal items, caused Kiera to go into a rage, and made her vision go red. She half expected to see the tears on her cheeks evaporate into steam. There was the source of all the chaos that had infiltrated her life over the past couple of weeks, sitting on her bed as if she owned it.
Forgetting that she was cradling Katrina's head in her lap, Kiera jumped to her feet, a loud thud alerting her to her oversight. Katrina showed no sign that she felt it. Murder on her mind, Kiera had full intentions of tearing Larissa apart piece by piece. Her Lycoan side, fully aware, howled at its confinement, wanting to take part in the retribution, wanting to taste the blood of its enemy. The rage of her primal side was welcome, Kiera didn't try to suppress it as she would have under normal circumstances. It seemed appropriate.
Striding over to confront her enemy, Kiera found herself flying through the air and landing with a resounding crash as Larissa casually backhanded her across the room without even having to rise from her seated position. The blow was so quick and unexpected that Kiera had no time to defend herself. Stars danced in her vision and the distinct taste of blood filled her mouth. The murderous rage she had just recently felt had been replaced by a temporary confusion that evolved into fear.
"Now then," Larissa began, "I have questions and you will provide answers or you will suffer the same fate as that worthless lump of flesh over there," she said, nodding her head in Katrina's direction. Though it was obvious to whom she was referring.
As her befuddled mind and vision cleared, Kiera looked up into the icy turquoise eyes of Larissa. The contempt Kiera had experienced from them in her first encounter with this woman was intensified, as if Larissa were being forced to deal with a lesser life form.
"Do you understand?" Larissa asked, not waiting for a response. "First off, who have you had following you all this time? Is it someone from the pack?"
Kiera had no idea about what or whom Larissa was talking. As far as she knew, the only person or thing that had been following her had been Larissa herself. If there was anyone else, she was completely unaware. Her confusion must have been obvious as Larissa dropped it and moved on.
"It makes no difference anyway, I was just curious. The answer is inconsequential. Moving right along," Larissa said flippantly and Kiera got the feeling that the real question she wanted to ask was getting ready to come. Fixing Kiera with one of those cold stares, Larissa got to the meat of the question. "Where is it?" she asked as she continued to sift through the spilled contents on the bed. "Where do you keep it?"
Another question to which Kiera had no answer. "Keep what?" she wondered. Feeling as if silence wasn't going to be an acceptable answer this time, Kiera's mind raced to come up with a suitable answer.
"I don't know what you are talking about," she stammered.
In a flash, Larissa moved from the bed and lands a blow on the uninjured side of Kiera's face, causing her head to snap around violently. She could hear the bones in her neck crack and pop and it felt as if her skull had been dislodged from her spine. Towering over her like a tornado poised on the edge of complete destruction, Larissa raised her hand in preparation to slam Kiera's face in the opposite direction.
"Where is it!" she screamed at the helpless teenager.
"I don't know what you are talking about," Kiera managed to blurt out in between sobs, her red and stinging cheeks saturated in the tears streaming from her eyes. Blood from the wound in her mouth had dribbled down her chin as she spoke, staining her lower lip and the front of her shirt a sickly red.
Larissa stood studying the pathetic creature in front of her, her hand still raised, ready to deliver another world-rearranging blow if she deemed it necessary.
"Perhaps you don't," Larissa said, lowering her hand. "You are even more useless than I imagined," she confessed, punctuated by a swift kick to Kiera's side. Kiera was ready for such an attack and scooted her body out the way, being grazed ever so slightly. This prevented her from having any ribs broken, but she was still immediately starting to bruise there. "Looks like you can learn after all," Larissa cackled as she strutted back to the bed and returned to her seated position.
During the encounter a moan had escaped from Katrina's lips but whether it was in reaction to the violent treatment of her daughter or some involuntary act, Kiera didn't know. The only thing she knew for certain was that she was terrified - not only for herself but for her mother as well. She didn't believe she would be lucky enough to escape Larissa's wrath twice.
"I bet you have a lot of questions as well," Larissa said nonchalantly. "Where I have been, how I managed to get into town without anyone knowing. Should I waste my time explaining how I was able to accomplish this to such an insignificant thing as you?" she mused, her smile looking more evil than inviting.
Try as she might, Kiera couldn't figure out why Larissa had such contempt for her. Such powerful hatred for someone with whom she has never had any real contact with, it seemed irrational but she was sure that Larissa had her reasons. Right now Larissa seemed content with just telling Kiera how worthless and useless she was. As long as it kept any blows from raining down on her or her defenseless mother, Kiera could tolerate any amount of verbal abuse. Words didn't hurt, Larissa's fists did.
It also provided her with time to think. Trying to shake the cobwebs still clinging to her mind, Kiera desperately tried to think of a way out of this predicament. No solution presented itself. For the second time since it happened, Kiera longed for the voice, that had spoken to her those many nights ago, to make an appearance again. To lead her, guide her, help her out of this mess. But it was silent. Having taken for granted its company, she couldn't even feel its presence now.
"Why don't I enlighten you since these are your last moments as heir, and probably, on the Earth entirely," Larissa said, excited by the opportunity to gloat about her masterplan . "You see, after the failed attempt to dispatch you, I knew your mother would be looking for revenge. Even the neutral members of the pack would side with her because I attacked you. I knew I had to bide my time, that I had to be close enough to take advantage of an opportunity if it presented itself. That night after I left you ravaged and bloodied, I ran immediately back to my van and had one of my cohorts drive out of town, making sure as many people saw her as possible. I gave her strict instructions to find a homeless person and give them the keys on the condition they drive it to The Point. Then I went underground, into the sewers, the one place where even a Lycoans sense of smell would be neutralized and unable to detect me and the pack members loyal to me.
"Do you have any idea how bad it smells down there?" she asked, the anger in her voice rising. "I had to spend over a week in that filth, scavenging for food, smelling its toxic fumes, unable to bathe, to wash my hair! The smell has infused every strand!"
Describing her ordeal had sent Larissa into a towering fury, spittle forming in the corners of her mouth as she spoke, making her look like some sort of rabid dog.
