A Werewolf's Saga Books 4, 5, & 6 (A Werewolf's Saga Boxed Sets Book 2)

by Michael Lampman

  36

  Thank God we finally made it. Joseph sat back after hearing that they were on 157th street. He only hoped that he wasn’t already too late. After all, it took a long time to get there. Too long for him to like all that much.

  “Well this is it. Now what?” Danny shut off the engine after parking along the side of the street. Seeing the row of houses on both sides of the street, he didn’t know what to do. He didn’t even know which house it was that they were supposed to go to. He still wished that he knew more about what was going on. Now that they were there, he hoped that now was the time to get to all of those answers.

  “We wait for them to come back.” Joseph looked outside through the window and saw nothing. Inside the house he felt no one there.

  Danny instantly became confused. “How do you know that? We haven’t even tried the door.” He looked across the street, saw that most of the houses looked dark, and then looked back to his grandfather.

  Joseph shook his head. “Trust me Danny. They’re not home, but they will be soon.” He looked to his left through the window and there he saw a bright golden colored hue of someone walking towards them from down the street. A deep tannish colored hue was with him. Seeing them, he knew instantly who they were. “And here they come now.” He smiled. Seeing him again made his heart erupt with pride. It has been far too long to see you again my friend. He almost couldn’t contain his excitement. He only hoped that he would feel the same way. He just couldn’t be sure that he would understand everything that he had to do.

  Danny’s confusion doubled in its strength. He looked at his grandfather, saw the direction that he was looking, and turned back to the street.

  Off some distance, he could barely see two men walking on the sidewalk and coming towards them. It was hard to tell. The lighting over the street made it hard to see anything at all.

  The two men walked to the center of the row of houses and stopped just in front of the one with the bright red door. They then walked up the steps, went to the red door, and disappeared inside the house.

  Watching them go inside, Danny turned back to his grandfather and sighed. “How did you know that they were there?” He couldn’t believe it. His grandfather was good at telling when people were nearby, just by hearing them, but this was different. He couldn’t have possibly have heard the two men walking down the sidewalk. Hell, he couldn’t even hear them coming himself.

  “I must go inside alone Danny.” Joseph shrugged, reached for the door handle and opened the door.

  Danny couldn’t believe what he just heard. “I’m going with you.” He even reached out over him and grabbed his left arm with his right.

  Joseph shook his head. “I’ll be fine Danny. I’ve been to this house before. I know it like the back of my hand.” He tried to step out but couldn’t. He needed to get Danny to let go of him first.

  Again Danny shook his head. “No. It’s not safe to go in there alone. I don’t know these people. I can’t let you do this.” He felt that he had to be firm. He had no other choice.

  Again Joseph shook his head. “I’ll be fine Danny. Trust me. I need to do this alone. I need you to stay here in the car.”

  Danny sighed heavily and deep. He then let go of his grandfather’s arm. “If I hear anything, I’m coming in to get you.” He huffed out with a huge breath of air, trying to get his confusion to go out with it. Unfortunately, it didn’t work.

  “I need you to stay in the car no matter what you hear. These people know me but they don’t know you. Trust me Danny. I will be fine.” He stressed his voice. He didn’t know how to explain any of this anymore than this.

  Again Danny huffed. Again he didn’t want to do this, but yet again, he knew that he didn’t have the choice. Like it or not, he straightened himself back behind the wheel. He placed both hands to the steering wheel and held it firmly.

  Joseph listened and nodded. He then stood out from the car.

  He closed the door, left the car, and headed across the street.

  He reached the sidewalk and that’s when he heard the screams. They stopped him in his tracks. Something bad happened. He recognized Jimmy’s voice. He recognized the sounds of pain. Realizing this, he knew what he had to do.

  Quickly he ran up the sidewalk, reached for the railing that he knew was there, grabbed it, and climbed the steps.

  He opened the door and walked inside the home.

  37

  Jimmy went inside first with Robert following closely behind him. They both didn’t expect to find the house dark. They absolutely didn’t expect the smells that hit them in the face as soon as they opened the door. There was the smell of death heavily on the air. There was the smell of decay there as well. Not seeing anyone, Jimmy flipped on the switch for the light of the foyer by the door. When he saw the stairs smashed and broken in front of him, his heart immediately skipped hard inside his chest.

  “Brandon? Sasha?” He moved to the stairs. The railing was on the floor beside it. The hole in the center of it went down into the basement, and from there, he took a deep breath.

  No other smells came from the hole.

  “Brandon, Sasha?” He looked up to the second floor and saw nothing. He again smelled the air, but nothing was there. Realizing this, fearing everything, he now began to panic. Something happened to his friends. He now knew it. He just didn’t know what.

  Robert left Jimmy in the foyer and moved to the archway of the living room. Everything still looked neat, but he did notice something on the floor just to the left of the sofa. It looked like blood, and it was spread out in a good three foot sized circle. Seeing it, he turned back to Jimmy. “There is blood here Jimmy.” He looked back, moved into the living room, and stopped at the side of the sofa. He looked down to the pool of blood.

  Jimmy heard him, left the stairs, and moved into the living room. From there, he noticed something in the dining room, just behind the living room.

  On top of the dining room table, he saw someone lying in the center of the table. Seeing her red hair against her pale white skin, he knew instantly who she was. “Sasha?”

  He pushed his way past Robert, walked to the archway into the dining room, and stopped beneath it. Seeing her now, completely lying there, he lost all of his breaths. He couldn’t believe what he saw.

  She was lying on her back. She wasn’t moving. Her chest had what looked like a flap of skin hanging off her side and exposing her ribs. He didn’t see any blood. It looked like she had been splayed open almost resembling a deer that had just been skinned.

  Seeing her ribs, he immediately began to tear up. “Sasha?” He sobbed. He broke down. He lost control.

  Robert heard him and looked. He moved to his left side and there he saw her lying on top of the table. He could see her chest torn open. It also looked like her ribs were pulled apart exposing her heart and lungs. Seeing all of this, he too began to tear up. “My God?” He couldn’t believe what they did to her. She looked mutilated. She looked battered. They sent the message well.

  After a few seconds, maybe more like three, Jimmy rushed to the table. He went straight to her head, took her within his arms, and held her tightly to his chest. “Sasha? Sasha can you hear me baby girl? Can you…” He sobbed. Not being able to see her eyes, he brushed her ruby red hair from her face.

  She had her eyes closed. Her face looked calm. She looked overly serene.

  “Sasha, please God—Sasha!” he screamed, trying to get her to open her eyes. He tried to do everything he could to wake her up.

  She didn’t move.

  Realizing what he now knew, Jimmy bowed his head onto hers. He held her closer and cradled her head. He cried down onto her face.

  Robert watched him and likewise bowed his head to her. He didn’t know what to think about any of this. He didn’t know what to say. He just bowed his head. He gave her the respect that she deserved.

  Jimmy cried for several moments. He didn’t stop. He wouldn’t. He couldn’t. He didn’t try.

>   Robert looked up, past Sasha and looked at the wall towards his left, seeing someone hanging on the wall. It didn’t take him long to notice that it was Brandon.

  He turned and even noticed how splayed out he was. He looked crucified. He even saw the nails through his hands that were holding him to the wall.

  Seeing him, knowing that he too wasn’t moving, he turned back to Jimmy. “It’s Brandon.”

  Jimmy did look up and looked back to Robert. When he did, he saw his best friend nailed to the wall on his left. He saw him and continued to cry. He continued to break down. “No!” he screamed. He boomed. He roared.

  “Meet me where the darkness rises by the fire at the end times.” A voice came behind Robert.

  He turned.

  An old man was now standing just to the right of the sofa. He had long gray hair. He wore sunglasses over his eyes. He carried a cane in his right hand.

  Seeing him, feeling him, Robert instantly knew who he was. “Kenar?” He had to blink several time to see him clearly. He almost couldn’t believe it. He thought that he was dead, and knew how hard it was to find another body again.

  Jimmy heard him within his sobs, instantly looked up, and back behind him. Seeing the old man, he blinked.

  Joseph watched him turn. He felt his pain. He felt the turmoil raging around within his thoughts. “I’m so sorry Jimmy.” He took a step forward and stopped just behind the sofa.

  Jimmy heard what Robert called him. “Kenar?” He knew him by another name. “Kenny?” He took a deep breath, trying hard to keep the wolf inside him. A fight that he felt that he was beginning to lose. His pain was too much. “Kenny, you bastard!”

  Without another thought, he left Sasha, passed Robert, and went full sprint at the old man.

  He grabbed him just as fast.

  “Jimmy?” Joseph lost his breaths. The cane in his hand fell to his feet. “Jimmy, I’m sorry.” He tried to talk but couldn’t. Everything happened too fast.

  Jimmy grabbed him by the shoulders, and lifted him straight off his feet. He held him tightly in his hands. “You did this. You led me to Ross. You led me to this nightmare. Why? Why did you do that to me? I thought we were friends. I trusted you.”

  Joseph even lost the sunglasses off his face. “I only tried to help a friend Jimmy. I only wanted to help him.” He looked past Jimmy, saw Robert’s deep golden hue and saw a hint of tan laid out on the dining room table behind him. Seeing it, seeing her, he looked back to Jimmy. “I can help you Jimmy. I can help her.”

  Jimmy heard this and blinked. He took a breath and calmed. “How?” He even bowed his head.

  Joseph looked at Robert and past him to the table. “Her life-force is still there. I know how to help her.” He looked back to his eyes. “Let me help her.”

  Jimmy released him. He instantly relaxed and he didn’t know why. He just did. “Do what you have to do.”

  Joseph nodded. He reached and took Jimmy’s right arm and pulled him to the dining room table. He brought him to the right side of Sasha. “Give me your arm Jimmy. Hold it over her.” He felt for the folded knife in the left pocket of his jeans, found it, and brought it out. He unfolded it and exposed the blade. “Rochie, come here.”

  Robert watched all of this and didn’t know what to say. When he called him to the table, he just left, turned to it, and to Kenar.

  “I need you to pull her chest together as soon as the blood hits her heart. Do it before it beats again.” Joseph handled the blade over Jimmy’s arm.

  Robert nodded, and moved to the other side of the table. When he was close enough, he did what he asked him to, used both hands, took Sasha’s ribs into them, and got ready. He knew what he was going to do, and if he wasn’t seeing this, he wouldn’t have believed it. He knows. He knows who Jimmy really is. “Ready.” He was.

  Joseph followed Jimmy’s arm up to his face. He looked him directly in the eyes. “This may hurt.” He smiled.

  “Do what you have to.” Jimmy blinked.

  Joseph swiped the blade across his wrist. The blood flowed. He held it over Sasha’s heart and watched as it was soaked with Jimmy’s blood.

  Instantly her heart began to beat. Instantly her lungs began to move.

  Seeing this, Jimmy held his breaths.

  “Close her chest.”

  Robert nodded and pushed her ribs back together again.

  Within a second, her ghastly gash began to close. The wound began to heal.

  Jimmy saw it and instantly his eyes watered over again.

  Within another second, her chest began to heave. The wound was now gone.

  She even opened her eyes.

  Robert nodded seeing it. “You knew.” He looked up to Kenar. “You knew who he really is.”

  Joseph nodded. “I have from the very beginning.”

  Jimmy heard them but didn’t care. All he did care about was seeing Sasha blinking her eyes. He thought of nothing else.

  “Jimmy?” She even began to cry.

  “Hey baby girl.” He smiled.

  She now smiled too. “Collins used to call me that.” Her voice was soft; almost sounding like it was nothing but a slight breeze.

  Jimmy nodded. “I know.” He reached out and took her head back into his arms. As he did so, he noticed the wound on his arm had already closed.

  Robert watched him and looked back to Kenar. “Did you know about Devish too? Did you know about all of this?”

  Joseph shook his head. “No I didn’t, at least not until the last night before I died. The dark black wolf showed me it just before he bit me.”

  Jimmy hugged Sasha tightly.

  She sat up some to do it. She couldn’t believe that he was there. After what happened with Devish, she wasn’t sure if she was even still alive. The fact that he was there, holding her, meant that it was all just a dream. It didn’t happen. It couldn’t have, but then again, Brandon must still be fine too. “Where’s Brandon?” she had to ask that thought.

  Jimmy let her leave his arms. He looked to his left, saw Brandon and then looked back to Kenny. “Will it work on him too?” He hoped that it would.

  Joseph nodded. “They bled him dry. You just have to feed him.” He smiled.

  Jimmy nodded. Thinking about Sasha, he turned her head to his. “Lay back down. He’ll be fine but I don’t want you to see him like this.” He gave her another full smile. “I have to help him first.”

  She didn’t like the sound in his voice. “It really happened didn’t it?” Again her eyes watered over again. The memories of everything that he did to them came rushing back into her thoughts. She remembered the bite to her neck. She remembered him throwing her onto the table. She remembered the pain she felt as he sliced through her chest with one of his claws. She remembered her mind then going blank. She couldn’t handle anything more of them, so she did what Jimmy told her to do and she lay back down. He was right. She didn’t want to see him. She didn’t want the memory of his death. She loved him too much for that.

  Jimmy watched her and then turned. He moved to Kenny and looked at Robert. “Can you help me bring him down?” He whispered.

  Robert nodded, left his side of the table, and moved to the wall. He then helped Jimmy remove the nails from Brandon’s hands. When he was free from the wall, he then helped him lay him down on the floor beside the table.

  Jimmy looked back to Kenny when he was ready. “Can I have the knife?”

  Joseph nodded and handed it to him.

  Jimmy took it and used it again on his wrist.

  He dripped the blood into Brandon’s mouth until the wound on his neck healed. He then waited.

  Within seconds Brandon opened his eyes. “What in the hell happened?” He felt like he had been asleep for days. As soon as he realized what happened, his mind switched gears just as fast. “Where’s Sasha?”

  Jimmy gave him a smile. He stood up. “She’s right here buddy.” He held out his arm to the top of the table.

  Brandon didn’t need to see anything else.
He stood up, saw her on the table, and rushed to her side.

  Sasha could barely move, but when she saw him, she did.

  They hugged each other tightly. They kissed each other just as strong.

  Jimmy watched them embrace.

  Robert was now dumbfounded. He didn’t believe what he just saw, but then again, this was Kalima. He was what he was. “Now I know why Devish needs you. You are simply incredible.”

  Jimmy smiled. Satisfied, happy again, he turned back to Kenny. “How did you know that I could do that?” He wiped his eyes with both hands. He breathed. He felt complete again.

  Joseph took a huge and hefty breath of his own before he could begin. “I have always known about whom you really were Jimmy. I’ve always known about Kalima.” He smiled. “And I see that he does too.” He pointed to the wall behind the table.

  Both Jimmy and Robert looked.

  Written on it, in what could only be blood, were several words. It simply read, Meet me where the darkness rises by the fire at the end times.

  Robert read it and didn’t understand. “What does that mean?”

  Jimmy nodded. “What darkness? What fire?” He looked back to Kenny.

  Joseph smiled. “He knows.”

  “Who? Devish?” Jimmy blinked.

  Robert shook his head.

  Joseph continued to smile. “Kalima does. He knows what it means.”

  Jimmy bowed his head.

  Joseph turned from the table and made his way back into the living room. He walked to the sofa and sat down on it with a heavy heart. It was now time to do what he was supposed to do. It was time to say what he needed to say.

  Robert followed him into the living room. “How much do you know about what’s really going on here Kenar? How do you know about any of this?”

  Jimmy watched them, saw Sasha and Brandon still embracing, smiled seeing them, and left them there. He followed Robert into the living room and joined Kenny at the sofa. “Aren’t you supposed to be dead?” he asked, feeling a thousand times better. Inside he couldn’t doubt what he just did. Somehow, in some ways, he understood it. It felt natural. He didn’t know why he felt this way, but now, seeing the two of them alive again, he didn’t care. Seeing them this way was the only thing that mattered.