Phoenix

by Danielle James

  “It’s not just that,” Kelly said, trying to hide the tremble in her voice. “I saw something in Europe. On a camping trip we took in Italy. We set up our tents by this lake, we had a fire and everything. We stayed up most of the night telling stories and roasting marshmallows. When we got up in the morning to go fishing, there were a lot of dead fish in the water. We assumed that it was because the water was polluted. Not all the fish were dead, just a lot of them. They were floating on top of the water, and some were on the shore. We packed up and left before whatever killed the fish could make us sick too. Now I wonder if it had anything to do with what Michael was saying.”

  Everyone sat perfectly still. The silence was thick in the air. The lack of words said more than anything. Fear, anger, sadness, all were present in the air. Phoenix knew what this would mean. They would have to investigate. They would have to split up and do some research. If these things really were happening all over the world, then they had to find a way to stop it. First on the agenda, they had to find Michael.

  “Do you hear that?” Nick asked out of the blue, breaking the heavy silence.

  “What?” asked Victor.

  “I hear it,” said Jared.

  Phoenix strained his ears to hear what they were talking about. He could hear everyone’s steady breathing. He could hear the rain pounding on the roof. He could hear the wind whipping around the house. In fact, the storm seemed to have lost some of its fury. But there was something else. It sounded like one of those Native American wind whips. Whoop, whoop, whoop. Off in the distance. It was getting louder. It became very loud. Louder. It was roaring in their ears and the pressure in the room changed, popping his ears. Phoenix realized what it was at the same time Jules did.

  “Get Kelly in the basement!” she shouted over the now howling wind.

  “What is it?” Kelly asked as Phoenix scooped her up in his arms and bolted to the basement stairs.

  “It’s a tornado,” he told her, tightening his grip on her, taking the steps three at a time.

  “My guitar!” She shouted.

  “Leave it!” he shouted, but she grabbed it anyway as he tore past her new equipment.

  They all hunkered down in the southwest corner of the basement. Kelly was squashed furthest in the corner, Jared and Andrew to her side. Phoenix never let go of her, shielding her with his own body. Jules and Nick were huddled over the both of them. Victor and Rachel were protecting Jared and Andrew. The twister was on top of them in only a matter of seconds. It was inflicting its fury on the house overhead. The sounds of the house smashing and tearing away was deafening.

  “Don’t let me go, don’t let it get me,” Kelly said in her normal voice. Phoenix doubted anyone but he could hear her over the monstrous noise surrounding them.

  “I got you, I won’t let go.” No way was he letting go.

  “God, protect my mom, my new family. Protect us all, protect Phoenix, please, just let it stop,” she continued. Phoenix turned his head so that he could see her face. Her eyes were wide with terror and her mouth was open in a scream that got lost in the twister’s rampage. He couldn’t hear her scream, but he could hear her talk. That’s about a seven on his weird-shit-o-meter.

  He didn’t have time to process the thought any further- the entire house was shaking. He heard the screaming of the wood beams supporting the house above them, then, with a horrendous crunch, they snapped. The first floor of the house fell into the basement, burying them.

  CHAPTER TEN

  It was quiet. Really quiet. And dark. Kelly couldn’t see two inches in front of her own face. She was disoriented for a moment, not knowing where she was, trying to figure out what happened. There was a crushing weight on top of her. She tried to move, but had little success. She was pinned. Everything seemed to move in slow motion. She could smell the distinct scent of a distant campfire and then soon realized why she couldn’t move. The weight on top of her and the scent were both coming from Phoenix. He was on top of her, and so was everyone else. Someone coughed. Someone else groaned.

  “Hey,” Kelly said. She tried to say it loudly, but her throat was so sore from screaming like a banshee that it came out little more than a coarse whisper. When her ears heard the sound she was making, it sounded like garble. Phoenix heard her though and he lifted his weight off of her.

  “Kelly,” Jules was saying, “Kelly are you okay?” She sounded so far away. Her face was only inches from Kelly’s but still it seemed as if she were speaking from the other side of a tunnel. Kelly stared blankly at her face, watching her lips move. The motions didn’t quite match up with the sounds. Kelly could also hear the others talking and moving but it sounded muddy, like she was trying to listen from under water.

  “She’s in shock,” Phoenix said. Kelly turned to study his lips while he spoke. He had really great lips. She was willing to bet they were every bit as soft and kissable as they looked. “Give her some space, let her come out of it on her own,” he continued. Everyone moved back. Kelly soon realized that they had all been standing around her in a loose circle, waiting for her to confirm that she was alright. She opened her mouth to speak but no sound came out.

  The sounds around her started to become clear. It was slow at first, but then she could clearly hear everyone and understand what they were saying. She realized it wasn’t as quiet as she had thought it was. Her ears just needed time to catch up.

  “We gotta move these, get them out of the way,” Victor was saying from somewhere she couldn’t see.

  “Here, take that side, I will help you,” Jared said. Kelly heard things being moved around. She shook her head and finally got her bearings. She realized that she had just lived through a tornado and from the looks of the house, it was a big one. She had never experienced one so close before. Sure there had been warnings and even some confirmed twisters pretty close, but never right on top of her. Extreme weather wasn’t something that occurred often in Nevada.

  Kelly looked at her surroundings. There was nothing but mess everywhere. Beams from the ceiling laid on the floor of the basement. Boxes that were once in storage were toppled over, their contents spilling out. Papers and picture frames littered the basement. Daylight was filtering through a hole in the ceiling. Her new family was working together to move as much out of the way as possible. The couch from the living room was on top of her amp. My guitar! she thought.

  “You’re guitar is fine,” Phoenix said, taking her chin and forcing her to look at him. “How are you?”

  “Um, fine, I think.” She made a quick assessment. She didn’t feel any pain, other than the growing pain in the back of her head. “Head hurts a little.”

  Phoenix ran his fingers over her scalp gently, looking for cuts or bumps. “Does it hurt here?” he asked, gently rubbing the back of her neck and skull. She nodded. “I think it’s just an adrenaline headache,” he concluded. He helped her to her feet and announced that she was fine.

  Jules grabbed her hand and pulled her up over the mess and out of the hole in the ceiling. Kelly looked around in amazement. The trees that had lined the yard so perfectly only that morning were broken and laying down all over in a haphazard mess. The wind had deposited an entire fir tree through the middle of the house. It was a total loss. The house was gone. The other trees were mangled and broken. All of their things were scattered in the yard and among the trees. It looked like a bomb went off.

  “Phoenix, the Blood Center!” Jules cried.

  “I’m on it,” he said, leaping into the sky and rocketing out of sight.

  “What’s the Blood Center?” Kelly asked.

  “It’s where we get our nutrition,” Nick told her. “It’s how we keep from biting humans. We pay people for their blood.”

  “Ewe.”

  “Better than the alternative,” Jules said. Kelly had to agree. She loved her mother no matter what, but she still didn’t think she could stomach watching her bite someone to take their blood. They all stared picking up the pieces of what was left o
f their things. Kelly was able to salvage her guitar and her concert tickets, but that was about it. Her other things were lost. Rachel stared at their demolished home with tears in her eyes.

  “It’s only stuff,” Kelly told her, putting one arm around her shoulders. “We can replace stuff. We can’t replace each other. At least we are all ok.”

  “You are right, child. It’s just a bit overwhelming, is all. We worked so hard on this house. Now, it’s nothing. Junk. Nothing to save.” Kelly watched as Victor put his arms around her and held her close. She slunk back out of the way. Jules and Nick were hugging too. Andrew put his hands on Kelly’s shoulders and she held one of his hands.

  “I bet I can make you feel better,” Jared offered.

  “Oh yeah, how’s that?” she asked. Jared didn’t answer, instead, started taking off his clothes. “I appreciate the offer, but you’re really not my type. And I doubt that I am your type.” she said sarcastically.

  “Just watch,” Andrew said, smiling.

  Jared’s short body began to blur, the outline of his body changing. In half a second, a beautiful horse stood in front of her. It was stark white with gleaming silver eyes. Kelly had nothing to say. She didn’t think she could’ve talked at that moment even if she could think of something to say. The horse jerked its head to the side and started neighing. Victor lifted Kelly into the air and up onto Jared’s back. “Up you go, try to hold on,” he said. And just like that, she was riding bareback through the yard.

  They galloped gently across the bridge over the small stream surrounding the property. Kelly held on with her legs, just like Andrew told her to. She had two fistfuls of mane, trying not to pull. If she did, Jared never complained. He was right. It did make her feel better. Before long, they were on the road. Kelly wondered where he might be taking her. Jared made sure not to go too fast, not to jump or anything that would make her lose her balance. She held onto his mane anyway, leaning in toward his ears whispering thank you’s. They came up on the neighboring house after only a few minutes, although the houses were at least half a mile apart. It also looked to be in shambles. Kelly leaned close to Jared’s head again and asked if they should stop to see if anyone needs help. His massive head nodded once and he changed directions, toward the house.

  They found a woman there with her small child. She was shouting for someone else.

  “Can we help you, Ma’am?” Kelly asked as Jared slowed to a stop.

  “My son is trapped in there!” she wailed. “He’s only five!”

  “Ok, calm down, where is he, do you think?” She pointed at a pile of rubble. It looked like it may have been stairs at one time. Kelly carefully treaded through the debris to where the woman pointed. She could hear a small voice crying.

  “Hello, are you there?” She asked in the gentlest voice she could manage. No answer. Kelly lifted a large piece of wood, probably part of a dresser, and threw it to the side, but there was one of those big structural beams blocking the path.

  “Hey! Your horse is leaving!” The woman shouted.

  “It’s ok, he’ll be back,” she told her without looking back. She was busy trying to move as much stuff out of the way as she could without causing it to collapse. She silently hoped that Jared had gone to change into something that would be useful in getting the child out. The beam was blocking the way under the staircase where the child was hidden. He was a small boy, sitting with his knees bent under his chin. There was barely enough space for his small body. He turned and looked at Kelly with the biggest blue eyes she had ever seen. His little round face was dirty and his eyes were wide with fear, but he appeared to be unharmed. Kelly reached out for him, but couldn’t reach him.

  “I couldn’t get in there with him fast enough,” the woman was saying, “I shoved him in there, and then it hit. I was thrown against the wall with my baby.” She was lucky to have been able to hold on to the baby. Thank God for miracles.

  Something wet was washing over Kelly’s arm. She looked to see a huge St. Bernard sitting beside her. At first she was startled and jerked away, but then she saw it had silver eyes. Kelly nodded and the dog put himself under the beam trapping the young boy. He lifted his body, raising the beam just enough so that she could reach in. The boy shied away from her, but she took the boy’s hands and pulled him through the small opening made by the large dog anyway. As soon as he was free, Jared jerked back away from the beam, letting it fall. They scrambled back as the remaining stairs collapsed where the boy had been sitting.

  “Thank you, thank you, oh, thank you! You must be an angel, dear child.” the woman gushed, taking the boy in her free arm.

  “Just glad I could help. Is there anything else I can do for you?”

  “No, surely my husband will be here soon, do you live nearby?”

  “Not anymore, I don’t think,” Kelly answered her and she wondered where they would live now. Their conversation was interrupted by the large dog at her side tugging on her shirt. Kelly said goodbye to the woman and her son, explaining that they had better get going.

  They walked side by side back to the remains of the mansion. It felt good to help someone and not being the one needing help. Jared remained a dog for the duration of the trip, stopping periodically to sniff at something that caught his attention. “I never had a dog,” Kelly teased, reaching down to scratch behind his ears. His answer came in the form of a snarl. “Testy, testy,” she said, waving her hand dismissively. “I just thought you should know.” When they got back, everyone was gathered in the yard, waiting for Phoenix to return. Jared and Kelly had barely crossed the small bridge when Phoenix fell from the sky, landing nimbly on his feet. Kelly couldn’t hide the catch in her breath as she watched him land gracefully. He really was something.

  “It’s completely gone,” Phoenix was saying as they made their approach. The look on his face was stern, very serious. Bad news, apparently. “There’s nothing left. The whole city is in shambles. Power’s out everywhere. Looks like it’s going to be a long hard week for a lot of people.”

  “So how’s the blood thingy?” Kelly asked as they approached. Jared changed back to human and got dressed.

  “Gone,” Jules said somberly.

  “So, what will you guys eat, I mean, do you have another place? Is there somewhere else to get blood?” No one answered. Everyone was looking at her. It made her shiver.

  “We will just have to find a human donor,” Nick told Kelly, eyes narrow and smiling in a way that made his mouth full of teeth seem particularly menacing. Kelly felt her stomach curl into a tight ball. It actually scared her. She shuddered involuntarily. Then, they all burst out in laughter. But no one actually said they weren’t looking for a donor. It was unnerving to say the least.

  The storm did a lot of damage. There was hardly a house standing within ten miles of the track of the tornado. It carved out a path nearly three quarters of a mile wide of complete obliteration. The city of Boston was completely black. Phone service was out, including cell phone service. Phoenix saw the cell tower lying on the ground as he flew overhead. He and his family gathered what few belongings they could salvage and set out to find another place to stay temporarily. Victor’s SUV met its demise by the trunk of a tree. However, Nick’s Mustang and Rachel’s Porsche were unharmed. They managed to clear a path through the mangled yard from the garage to the main highway, moving trees and debris into haphazard piles.

  Kelly thought Nick’s car was the coolest thing since sliced bread. Miraculously, she convinced Nick to let her drive it. Phoenix thought that it wasn’t such a good idea, but Jules agreed with Nick, and so it was. He didn’t mention to anyone that the only reason he didn’t want Kelly to drive was because he wanted the opportunity to fly with her again. He kept his mouth shut and watched as Victor and Rachel piled into the back, Jules and Kelly in the front. Andrew and Jared drove the Porsche, which also had minimal damage, leaving Nick and Phoenix to fly. He didn’t mind flying with Nick, he kept pretty quiet and sat still. It was also agr
eed on because they could go ahead of the others and clear any roadblocks in their way.

  While the two of them were scanning the damage from the air, they were also looking for any hotel that had power. Phoenix was only slightly concerned about his vampire family’s diet. Without the Blood Center, they would have to find alternate nutrition. While in some parts of the country, willing donors were a dime a dozen, in the Boston area, they were scarce. The human population had grown increasingly comfortable with supernaturals, but the east coast was slow to catch up. He also knew he couldn’t donate for them. His blood was not human and he had never had a vamp drink from him. He didn’t know what kind of side effects it may cause and was unwilling to try it out.

  “It’s going to be all right, you know,” Nick said as they made a wide arc to the west.

  “What is?”

  “I can feel the tension rolling off of you in waves. I don’t know where we will stay, but I’m willing to bet that the electricity isn’t out all over the country.”

  “That’s not what I was worried about,” Phoenix said.

  “I know that too. She will be fine. She’s strong, just like her mother.”

  “Who?” he asked, but Phoenix knew exactly who he was talking about.

  “Kelly. Do you forget that I feel everything you guys feel?”

  “I’m sure I don’t know what you are talking about.” Phoenix didn’t even consider that Nick had an affinity for emotions.

  “Oh, come on, you can’t pretend you don’t know. You can’t be that obtuse. It’s as obvious as the fire on your wings.” Nick shifted in Phoenix’s grasp and for just a second he considered dropping the vampire just because he knew shit that Phoenix didn’t want anyone to know just then.

  “What is? Nick, did you hit your head? Are you felling ok?”