The Spark_What does death feel like?

by R. Mason

  “I think it’s about story time, don’t you?” It was the same line every month. She always said the same thing, to see if it helped with the recognition. From the twitch of Amethyst’s large ears, Faye liked to think it did something good, “Yeah, I think so.”

  She knelt, and put her hands in the dirt. It was dry and scratchy, but always the same. At least it wasn’t covered in snow like one full moon last year. She didn’t have to freeze her fingers off to help Amethyst this time.

  “Tell me if you understand me, at all, in any way. Maybe so I don’t feel like I’m talking to a wall?” As usual, Amethyst continued to growl quietly, still in her tracks, “Remember when we were over in the field by the school. I think it was about four years ago, and it was just coming into spring. We always looked for the first snowdrops of the year.”

  She didn’t bother looking around for any other danger, using all her concentration to make her voice heard. It was weak and broken, and tears were slipping down Faye’s face already. If there was anything Faye could do to help save the town, it was this. All those times when she confessed the darkest part of herself, and the lightest, to deaf ears were amounting to this moment.

  “We were just outside the wood, sat across from each other, making daisy chains,” Faye sniffled, and watched as Amethyst’s paws stopped in the dirt, “You were telling me about this guy in class that you had a crush on. I wasn’t listening to what you were saying. The sun was making you glow, and I just- I couldn’t focus,” She stopped to take in a breath, trying not to let her emotions overcome her and start sobbing, “Then you spotted it,” Faye smiled slightly, “A little bundle of snowdrops, the first we’d seen that year. You stopped whatever you were saying about the guy, and you picked one of them,” Amethyst tilted her head, and Faye had no idea if she would remember this or not, whether this time was different to the others, “You smiled at me, and put it behind my ear. I could smell your cheap Barbie perfume that you were obsessed with wearing back then. I liked it more than I’d ever admit.”

  All Faye could think was that this was it, this was going to be the end of whatever fragile relationship they had. All those years of lying to herself, of lying to Amethyst, would be over.

  She wasn’t sure if she wanted Amethyst to remember this or not. It was taking so much strength to say it, that Faye was sure she would never be able to again.

  “You looked at me,” Faye said, her heart beating out of her chest, her nerves overwhelming her, “With your stupid face, and your stupid smile. That was the first time-” Faye couldn’t help the sob that escaped her- “That was when I realised I loved you. Not as a friend, or as a sister. It wasn’t friendly or familial,” Faye smiled, “I’m in love with you. God, it’s so stupid and all consuming. You do anything, and it just makes me love you even more. Except when you lie to me. Then it’s different and- I won’t go into that so I don’t yell at a wolf,” Faye was getting off track. She shook her head, and finished the story, “Ever since that day, ever since you put that snowdrop behind my ear, I’ve known I’m in love with you.”

  Amethyst blinked, and stopped moving.

  Being on her hands and knees, facing a giant wolf, telling it that she was in love with it, felt so ridiculous to Faye. She never liked angsty teen movies, where someone was in love with a mythical creature and didn’t know what to do about it. She certainly never thought she’d be in one.

  But, she was. Faye was in love with a mythical creature. Her best friend since they were little kids, her life, her everything, was in front of her, trying to regain herself and save everyone. She wondered if in the future, there would be a myth about this.

  The girl who saved the world, and the loved-up idiot that helped make it happen.

  “That’s the story,” Faye continued, trying to see if Amethyst was getting any of this, if she understood, “That’s what I tell you every full moon. I’ve confessed it so many times, told you endlessly that I’m in love with you, but you never remember it. I don’t even know if you will now, or if this is working. I love you, so much,” Her lip quivered, “Please come back to me.”

  Amethyst’s eyes cleared. She ducked her huge head, and nudged Faye’s hand with her nose. Faye turned her palm up, and stroked it over Amethyst’s head. This happened too, every month. It was a display that she understood.

  Everything was the same.

  That meant it was working.

  “Amethyst?” Faye tried. Usually, she wouldn’t get a response. Amethyst would simply spot something in the trees, and run after it, eventually returning in the early hours of the morning, covered in leaves and mud. Sometimes she would even knock Faye over, one last moment of animalistic impulses before she became more herself.

  This time, though, she looked up.

  “Oh,” Faye said helplessly, “Hi.”

  As soon as she said it, there was a growl from behind her. Maybe she wasn’t looking at Faye after all.

  With a mighty growl, Amethyst knocked Faye over with a giant paw and leapt over her. Her stance would have been playful for a dog, but the black, snarling wolf in front of her said that this was not a game.

  It wasn’t a game at all.

  All Faye could do was scramble back, watching as the girl she loved, as a wolf, of all things, ripped Kamini apart.

  It all happened so quickly that Faye could barely keep up. Amethyst went for the throat, and Kamini leapt out of the way, then Kamini went for Amethyst’s stomach, and she yelped. There were snarls, growls, flesh ripping and bones snapping. Faye couldn’t tell who was winning.

  That was, until another wolf leapt into the fray.

  Faye couldn’t tell who it was. She hadn’t seen any other wolves before, never mind enough to be able to identify them by their fur.

  The new wolf was smaller, and grey. It, thank God, joined Amethyst’s side, growling before going for Kamini.

  It was two against one now, and Kamini had no hope.

  She was taken down, on her back, panting, blood seeping out of her wounds and into the ground. The grey wolf was injured too, the blood obvious on their fur. Faye couldn’t tell if Amethyst was injured. Auburn hid blood.

  Faye stood up, sure they’d won.

  That was when the ground started pulsing.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  DYLAN

  When he woke up, Dylan’s head felt like it had been put through a washing machine. He did three things. First, he brought a hand to his neck, still feeling a slight, sharp pain there. Second, he realised he was outside. In the woods to be exact. Third, he looked over to see Harper sobbing into his knees on the other side of a small clearing.

  The full moon was high in the sky, and Dylan wondered why the boy wasn’t turning.

  “Harper?” He called out, but his voice was weak. Harper heard him anyway. His head snapped up, and he ran over to where Dylan was leant against a tree.

  “Dylan!” He yelled, kneeling in front of him, “Oh, my God, are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m-” Dylan’s memories suddenly came rushing back, and he looked at Harper with wide eyes- “You- you drugged me!” He stumbled to his feet and scanned the area again. He tried to ignore the dead body, bile rising in his throat, “Where’s Amethyst? And Kamini? What happened?!”

  Before Harper could answer, someone was strolling into the clearing, whistling.

  “Oh, shi-” Leon noticed them with wide eyes, then ran over and pushed Harper away from Dylan, standing protectively in front of him- “You stay away from him, you hear me? Don’t make me hurt you.”

  “Like you don’t want to anyway.”

  “Trust me,” Leon growled, “I want to. You have no idea how much I wanted to tell them about you.”

  “Then, why didn’t you?” Harper asked, and there was something in his eyes Dylan didn’t recognise. This wasn’t the Harper that helped him patch himself up when Dylan fell over, this was the Harper that drugged him and brought him here, “I’ll tell you why. Because you’re a self-serving prick.”
<
br />   “Better than someone who’d sacrifice everyone for one person.”

  “And you’re protecting that one person from me,” Harper scoffed, “You’re a bigger idiot than I thought.”

  Leon seemed to realise this, but Dylan’s head was still reeling.

  “Sacrifice everyone-” He repeated incredulously- “Are you talking about me? Harper, what did you do?”

  “I did it for you, Dylan,” Harper smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes, “Only for you.” He reached out, and Leon didn’t stop him. Dylan did, though. He stepped back and stared at his friend with wide eyes.

  “No,” Dylan shook his head, “No, this isn’t- this isn’t happening.”

  “What?” Harper blinked, his eyes manic.

  “You didn’t- you weren’t willing to sacrifice everyone in this town for me, were you?” He could tell by the look on Harper’s face that he couldn’t deny it, “Oh, my God. Amethyst and Faye were right.”

  “Did they try and turn you against me?” Harper took a step forward, menacing, “You can’t trust them, Dyl.”

  “No,” Dylan shook his head, swallowing down tears, “I can’t trust you.”

  Harper gaped, silent for once, and Dylan still couldn’t believe what was happening. He still wasn’t completely sure what was happening.

  “Screw this,” Leon grumbled, then grabbed Harper by the lapels of his jacket and headbutted him so hard he passed out. Crumpled on the floor, Harper looked like his old self again. If Dylan stared at him long enough, maybe he would become that guy again. Though he had a feeling he was long gone, “Don’t you hear that?” Leon frowned, listening.

  “No,” Dylan blinked, and a tear rolled down his cheek. Embarrassed, he wiped it away and sniffed to hide the fact that he was crying, “What is it?”

  “Wolves fighting,” Leon was still frowning, “And it doesn’t sound like it’s going well. I’m going to help.”

  “Wait,” Dylan grabbed the other boy’s arm before he could run off, “You’re going to help our side, right?”

  “Of course,” Leon raised his eyebrows, “I switched sides, remember?” He went to run off again, but groaned and turned to Dylan one last time, “Your friend will be fine, and I’m sorry he’s such a douche.”

  “Yeah, me too.”

  “Volkov is just outside the forest, by the van,” Leon pointed in the opposite direction, “Go look after him,” He noticed Dylan’s expression, which must have been extremely frightened, and smiled slightly, “Everything’s going to be okay.”

  “Wait!” Dylan nearly followed him, “You can’t just leave me here, I want to help!”

  Dylan wasn’t sure what to think about the fact that Leon was just nice to him, but he didn’t have time to because the boy was already running off. He couldn’t follow, too slow to keep up with a wolf. He wanted to help, so badly, but all he could do now was follow Leon’s instruction.

  He set off walking out of the forest, not sparing Harper’s unconscious body a glance. Some time passed, and he didn’t hear a thing. Maybe it was over, maybe everyone was dead, and the plan had gone horribly wrong. Maybe Amethyst and Faye’s back up plan had worked, and they had won.

  Dylan tilted his head back and stared at the stars.

  That was when the ground started pulsing.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  FAYE

  Amethyst and the other wolf looked at the ground, telling Faye that it wasn’t just her imagination that everything around them was shaking. Kamini wasn’t moving, now back to her human self, gashes still bleeding all over her. She wasn’t quite dead, but she was glowing.

  What Faye didn’t think she would feel was sadness. This was a life. A woman, who had a life, friends, family, was dying. She was a terrible person. She had done awful things. But she was still a woman. A person.

  Hopefully the world would be a better place without her.

  Fate’s attention was drawn away by Amethyst shaking, and turning back to herself. It looked like it pained her, and she didn’t spare anyone a glance, simply crawling towards Kamini’s body, who looked so close to death that Faye was sure she only had a minute left.

  She walked over, so she could watch as Amethyst picked Kamini’s upper body up and cradled her in her arms.

  “Kamini,” She said gently, in a voice that almost didn’t sound like her, “Kami, can you hear me?”

  Kamini’s glazed over eyes cleared somewhat, and she stared at Amethyst in shock.

  “I- I’m so sorry, Yita.”

  “I know.”

  Her hand slowly raised, and both Faye and the grey wolf stepped forwards, ready to stop her, but Amethyst didn’t look scared. Her touch was gentle on Amethyst’s cheek.

  “Little one,” Kamini’s voice was sweet, “Am I here? Have I joined you?”

  “Nearly,” Amethyst breathed, “Deep breaths, you’re so close.”

  “I-”

  “Sh,” Amethyst’s voice was so quiet Faye had to strain to hear it, “We’ll be together soon, Kami.”

  “I miss you.”

  Amethyst stroked Kamini’s cheek, and the sight made Faye want to throw up. Why was she treating a murderer so sweetly?

  “It’s okay. It’ll all be okay.”

  She leant in, and kissed Kamini’s forehead, who closed her eyes as one last breath escaped her. Faye knew, without checking for a pulse, that she was dead.

  “Amethyst?” She said after a few silent moments. All the girl did was shake her head, gently lay Kamini’s body back down, and stand up. She trembled, grabbed her hair, facing away from Faye. Before she could walk over and check if Amethyst was okay, she was already a wolf. Staring at Kamini’s body, completely still, Amethyst wasn’t savage, but considering.

  The ground pulsed again, breaking Faye from her train of thought. She looked away from Kamini’s body, and closed her eyes.

  “What’s happening?” Faye asked aloud, but the only people that could have answered were a dead woman, and two wolves.

  There was a shake, and Faye fell. Well, she would have done, but Amethyst was by her side in a second, meaning she fell on a wall of wolf rather than the floor. She curled her fingers in Amethyst’s fur for balance, and stared at where Kamini’s body was glowing brighter by the second. This had to be it. This was how she was going to kill the entire town, but something had gone wrong. Faye would’ve asked Amethyst about it if she could reply.

  She went to get closer to the body, but Amethyst put her head in front of Faye’s torso, stopping her in her tracks.

  “I need to see,” She said, hoping Amethyst could hear her, “Maybe we can do something.”

  Amethyst shook her head, and stayed in front of her, protective as ever. And stubborn as ever.

  The other wolf shook itself out, then turned back to its human self, resting on its hands and knees, butt naked on the floor.

  “Ugh,” Leon, Faye realised, groaned, holding a wound in his side, “We need Volkov.”

  “What?” Faye tried to step forward again, then remembered the wolf in front of her. She rolled her eyes and pushed Amethyst, “Leon isn’t going to hurt me. Not this time,” She said sternly, and Amethyst let her pass, her puppy eyes strong.

  Having finally escaped, Faye helped Leon up and politely ignored his modesty. The berry juice on her face was crusty and uncomfortable, and she scratched at it while taking off her jacket. She offered it to Leon, who took it hesitantly.

  “Are you sure you want that near-?” He gestured at his crotch and Faye carefully didn’t look down. Her gay ass did not need to see that business.

  “I think there’s more important things happening,” She said, and as if the punctuate her point, the ground lurched dangerously. Faye stumbled slightly, and there was Amethyst, holding her up. It would have been cute if she wasn’t so in the way when Faye wanted to flail.

  “We need Volkov,” Leon put the hoodie on, and thankfully it hung halfway down his thighs like it did on Faye. He looked ridiculous, stood in a forest in what was p
retty much a hoodie dress.

  “What can he do?” Faye held onto Amethyst’s fur as the ground lurched again, “Is this a magical problem?”

  “Considering the glowing body, I would’ve thought that you’d guessed that already.”

  “I already hate you,” Faye said, “Don’t make it worse.”

  “You gave me your jacket. I thought that was a chivalrous peace offering.”

  “It was an ‘I don’t want to see your dick’ offering, actually,” Faye stepped closer to him, knowing she wasn’t exactly threatening to a werewolf, but wanting to be scary anyway, “You kidnapped me. That isn’t something I forgive.”

  “I also saved your little girlfriend’s life,” Leon spat, and Amethyst growled warningly, “Who has brilliant control over her powers, by the way.”

  “We get by,” Faye sensed the sarcasm in his voice, and immediately stood behind Amethyst when there was rustling in the trees in front of them.

  Leon turned, claws appearing at his fingertips as they watched two figures walk out.

  “Dylan,” Faye sighed in relief. He had one of a beaten up looking man’s arms over his shoulder, and Leon rushed to take the other, “Who’s this? Volkov?”

  “Clever girl,” Leon smirked, “Can you undo this?”

  “I can contain it,” Volkov removed his arms from the two boys, and dropped to his knees beside Kamini. The ground moved again, then had a constant rhythm, like a heartbeat, “But there will be collateral.”

  “Collateral?” Dylan asked, his arms crossed. Faye looked behind him, but Harper wasn’t there. Maybe she and Amethyst were right about him.

  “I will die,” Volkov sighed, “And so will anyone too close.”

  “How close is too close?” Faye looked at Kamini’s glowing body with wide eyes. It felt so cruel to ask that, but she couldn’t help Volkov. She was in way over her head. All Faye could do now was try and get away before they were all killed instead of just one of them. Dylan and Leon were both doing the same, but Volkov just looked resigned. Faye couldn’t tell if any of this was getting through to Amethyst.