THE AWAKENING [Part One]

by Michael Timmins

  She needed to stop thinking about these things. She had no answer for them and frankly, they scared the shit out of her. She watched as an ambulance sped down the road, its lights flashing and siren wailing. She wondered if it carried her target tonight, and wondered again if she was doing the right thing. She arrived where she had parked her car, several blocks away from where she saved the woman. She almost giggled when she thought about how either of them would explain what happened tonight. "I was saved by some sort of she-cat," or "I was attacked by a ferocious tiger that walked and talked." Neither one would be believed, nor the chances of them telling the same person who might put it together. That seemed pretty remote.

  Still, it wouldn't hurt to be more careful. She should try to be quicker and not directly confront anyone. Attack from behind so they never really see what strikes them. It became obvious to her she would continue this, and any further debate or self-doubt would avail her nothing. She drove home. Her mom might be worried about where she was, and she didn’t want to worry her mom. Her parents and she had always been close, but now there was a distance that hadn’t been there before. She knew she was causing it, not her parents, but she didn’t feel she had any choice. There were things she was going to have to do, meant to do, and it would not involve them. Could not involve them, for it would probably be dangerous. She needed to detach herself from this life, for at any moment, her new life might intrude. Kat knew at that moment, she would have to leave, and she might never be back. It would hurt less if she distanced herself now. She hoped in time her parents would understand.

  Kat had been out the past five nights, hunting for criminals. She had stopped one robbery and had taken a bullet meant for some kid who must have slighted the other in school, on the court, or something. The robbery was at an electronics store and there had been three of them. Her thoughts strayed to the memory of that night.

  Rain poured down upon the rooftop Kat found herself on, flattening her hair against her body. Now she understood why cats didn’t care for baths. It was damn uncomfortable. It was dark, and the clouds bursting with water did a fine job of blotting out the moon and stars. She waited in the dark for two hours, patient and poised. When the glass shattered a block over, Kat was on the move. She ran and leaped to a nearby building and easily landed upon the rooftop, not even slowing down. She jumped to one more building snagging the fire escape and tucking her feet beneath her as she landed so she could turn her momentum into lift. She flew up two stories to grasp at the roof’s edge. Nimbly she pulled herself up and crossed to the far side of the roof where she heard the glass shatter. She looked down and saw a van parked and running, glass lay shattered upon the sidewalk in front of the building she was on. She looked to her left at the street sign, Fifth and Western.

  She backed up a step. She had decided there was no point in stopping these crimes from happening if there wasn’t someone to help clean up the mess. She purchased a very expensive form of blue-tooth which ran off a bracelet phone. She dialed 911 and quickly told the dispatch what was happening and where. They thanked her, said a cruiser was being dispatched, and if she could remain on the line so they could make sure she was safe. She said no, and hung up. She moved back to the ledge and saw two men loading a large flat panel TV into the van. There was a voice from up front and Kat assumed there must be a driver. She waited as the two went back inside. She took two steps back and then burst forward with blinding speed and launched herself off the rooftop, landing silently just past the van in the street. Kat had to act quickly, if the guy in the van saw her he would most assuredly speed off. She spun and dropped low and slammed her claws into the van’s tires. There was an audible pop and whoosh of air being released. Kat rolled quickly behind the van.

  “What the…?” The man in the van said, and she could hear the van door open. She looked briefly into the building where the other two men were, but they were nowhere in sight. Keeping low, Kat raced around the van opposite where the guy was and around the front to come up on his back as he examined the tire. Even though she had been near silent in her approach, she sensed he knew someone was there — he stopped moving.

  Kat watched him for a moment to see what he would do. He stood, pretending casualness. When he reached full height he quickly spun around. At least it would have been quick if he had been dealing with someone else. He didn’t even make it a quarter around when Kat palmed his head and slammed it into the side of the van. She had learned to temper herself, for her strength was frightening. She slammed him hard, but not hard enough to cause any permanent damage, but enough to watch him slump to the ground, unconscious. Voices came closer from inside the building. Kat glanced to see the two men exiting through the broken window with another TV. They reached the van and began shoving the TV in the back.

  “Hey, Kyle, I don’t think nobody is gonna catch us here. Why don’t ya come out and give us a hand. It will go a lot quicker if there’s three of us doing the lifting.”

  The guy yelling paused. “Hey, Kyle… Fuckin prick won’t even answer, lazy ass.”

  “He’s probably asleep, a lot a good that will do us if someone does happen down here,” the other guy said. “Just forget about him. We just won’t give him an even split.”

  “Whatever,” the guy closest to her said. “Hey! Why is this van look like it’s leaning over?”

  “Dunno. Maybe Kyle has been putting on a little weight, or maybe the TV’s are weighing it down too much.” The second guy was already on his way back in when Kat struck. She slammed the van door hard against the one still standing there and heard him grunt. She didn’t bother to check to see if he was still conscious and ran straight for the other one who was just turning after hearing his partner make a noise. She was so quick, she ran past him as he turned, keeping just beyond his peripheral. He barely had time to register what had happened to his friend when Kat brought the back of her arm against the base of his skull, knocking him forward. He hit, he didn’t get back up. She checked him, he was unconscious. The one by the van was out as well, bleeding slightly from where the van door had cracked him on his head. She took a moment to remove some shattered glass fragments embedded in the pads of her feet. She could hear a car coming, fast, and assumed it was probably the cops. She saw the car round the corner. Before it could bring its spotlight to bear on the scene, she was gone.

  The six o’clock news reported it as a funny story, as if it had been a series of accidents rendering all the criminals’ unconscious. After all, in real life there weren’t any superheroes. No ordinary citizen would take on three crooks, knock them out and then leave and not take credit for it. So, it must have been a fluke. She smiled to herself, because she accomplished what she wanted. Helping others, and avoided being seen. It had been easier than she thought. At least she thought that until two nights later as she watched a couple of kids stalk another boy and his girl down the street. She wasn’t sure why she had become suspicious of the two kids, but she was glad she had. They tailed the boy, who was out with his girl, coming back from the movies. The two kids followed them for three blocks. All the while Kat followed them across the rooftops. When the couple turned down an alleyway and the other two quickened their pace, she knew she had been right to follow. She moved quickly above the alley so she could get a good look down. The two boys entered the alley about fifteen feet from the couple. Kat watched as one of the boys pulled out a gun. She didn’t think, she just acted and dropped from the roof.

  “Hey, Creston.” She heard the one with the gun call out as the wind rushed past her as she dropped. She hit the ground as the gun went off and felt her shoulder burn and she was thrown back. She didn’t wait to see what would happen next. She launched herself at the attacker and bowled into him. The gun went flying and they both landed hard. Kat kept her grip and crouched on top of him. She brought her feline face within inches of his.

  “I will spare your life this time, whelp, which is more than you were willing to do for others. Next time, you better be as
charitable, for I will not be. I will be watching.” She leaped upwards and grabbed a pipe running up the side of the building and quickly went hand over hand to flip over the top. It all happened in a matter of seconds, but when the boy got to his feet, his friend, the intended victim and the girlfriend were gone. She watched him glance upwards once and allowed the light to catch her eyes so that he could see them shine and know she was indeed, watching. As soon as he saw her, he ran. She rolled over on her back and cursed herself, for letting people get a good look at her. Though it was unlikely the two assailants would come forward and make a report about what they had seen, the boy and his girlfriend must have gotten a decent look at her and would probably report it. Well, it was over now.

  Her shoulder was on fire from where the bullet entered her. She got on hands and knees and willed her body to repair itself. Within seconds, the bullet clunked to the rooftop and the burning pain was gone. She was always a fast healer, but she learned it was nothing compared to how quickly she healed when in this form. Not only that, but if she concentrated on healing, she could do it that much quicker, as if she had almost total control over her pluripotent cells. Which was just a hypothesis, but one that seemed to be proving true. After all, that was how she changed so quickly, she controlled her body to make a rapid change. She created an image of what she wanted her body to do, and it did it. Same with how she healed herself. It was a constant learning experience.

  The more time she spent in this form, the more amazed with her abilities she was. She was pretty sure she could come back from almost any injury, given enough time, even those that should be fatal, though she was in no hurry to test that theory. She returned to her rooftop she had started on and grabbed her duffle bag she kept her clothes in. She preferred to be unencumbered by clothes when she was out like this, and with her fur, it wasn’t as if she was really naked. She dropped down into an alleyway and quickly changed back to human form and got clothed. Thirty minutes later she was back home, asleep. This crime-fighting shit was tiring.

  Knock. Knock. Knock.

  Tired and exhausted, Kat’s eyelids flickered at the sound. She awoke and sat on the edge of her bed.

  “Come in.”

  Her mom stepped into the room and crossed over to her.

  “What time did you get in last night?”

  “Late.”

  “I watched the news this morning. Apparently, a giant cat woman or something saved a young boy last night. He couldn’t make a very good description because it was dark and it happened so fast.” Her mom paused and sat at the foot of the bed. “Is that what you have been doing? Going out at night and trying to save people?”

  Kat looked at her mom. She couldn’t read her on this, couldn’t tell what she was thinking. She knew better than to lie though, it would sound hollow. What other giant cat woman was there?

  “Yeah, I needed to do something, mom. I couldn’t just have these abilities and not use them.” Kat explained.

  Her mom smiled at her.

  “What?” her mom said when she saw Kat’s confused expression. “Did you think I was going to be upset?

  “Kinda.”

  “Honey, this is what we have trained you for. This is what you are made to do. I couldn’t be happier. I wanted you to find your own way, your own path, and you did. You are a very powerful person now. I would be a fool if I didn’t want you to be out there doing good.”

  This wasn’t what she was expecting, though now that she gave it some thought, she realized she should have. Ever since she had been sixteen, they had been training her to be a fighter, a weapon even. Not only training to defend herself, but to be the aggressor as well. She could see the pride in her mom’s eyes and thought herself foolish for thinking her mother would be angry. She gave her mom a hug, but remembered her earlier vow to distance herself and pulled away after a short time. Her mother had a confused look for a moment as she searched Kat’s face for some clue as to what she was thinking. She seemed to find whatever she was looking for there, she pursed her lips thoughtfully.

  “I was going to tell you this later, but I see you have already readied yourself to leave. I believe you no longer can wait.” Her mother was very serious suddenly and Kat listened intently, surprised her mother knew of her wanting to leave.

  “Also on the news, mentioned almost as an aside to the giant cat woman story, was the story of a giant wolf in downtown Chicago. I believe this is quite possibly another Lycan. I believe the wolf was counted among the allies, but much of the Lycan history is clouded.”

  Kat was very excited. To hear another like her was around was amazing. She decided right then and there she would be going to Chicago, and she would be leaving today.

  “Well, there is only one way to find out,” she told her mom, got up, and headed to her closet.

  “I will call and book a flight for you, Kat,” her mother stated.

  Kat turned and looked into her mother’s eyes. Her mother never looked old to her, but today she appeared older than ever, old and tired. She realized her mother was worried about her, but was too proud to tell her. She moved across the room and gave her mother a huge hug. To hell with her earlier promise. There was no reason to detach herself from this life, it was still hers, after all.

  Officer Ben Charles stood in the corner of the room and watched as they wheeled out the crash cart and called the time of death. Ben wasn’t a doctor, but he was pretty sure the wounds the man suffered were not fatal. The man even seemed to be recovering a little bit when Ben had returned to ask him some questions about his assault. It was at that moment the man went into cardiac arrest. The doctor tried as best as he could to revive him, but in the end, his efforts were for naught. Somehow, Ben had known this would get complicated. From the moment he walked down that alley and found the man with the message carved into his chest, he knew this wouldn’t be an open and shut case. He needed to order an autopsy for the body. Nobody had been by to visit him or call, so it was safe to assume there wouldn’t be any complaints if they did one. He stared for a long time at the lifeless body on the bed. There were several questions that would now never get answered. Ben didn’t like unanswered questions. Sometimes he wondered why he was a cop. Too many unanswered questions. Those questions are what drove him though. He needed to find out the answers, or what was the point? Ben could do nothing now, except wait for the coroner’s preliminary report on the autopsy. Till then, the questions would have to go unanswered.

  Chapter 4

  In a small white room, outside of Arlington, Virginia, Shae sat on her bunk and wondered again what she did to deserve this. The room was sterile as sterile could be, white walls and white tiled floor. The steel-gray barred bed frame was the only color deviation, if you could even call it that, in the room. White walls, white sheets, white toilet and sink. Her white hospital gown, unadorned, had been her only clothes for the past year and a half. Her red hair was stringy and faded from lack of sunlight and proper care, and her pale completion became paler the more she stayed here. Even her freckles, the most noticeable feature of her face, were faded. A year and a half of no sunlight will do that, she thought. At least, she believed it was a year and a half. She had no real way of telling how long, but she tried to find out whenever the doctors came to her. She honestly thought she might be going insane.

  She knew they thought that when they first brought her into the hospital, after she had tried to take her own life, but she wasn’t. This room was making her insane now, though. She thought her life was bad when she tried to commit suicide, but she knew now it was a delusion. Where she was now was a lot worse than where she had been.

  She remembered the day her parents left her. She was only eight and they took her to the neighbor’s house, Ms. Cooper, and asked if she would watch Shae for a few hours while they went and ran some errands. It wasn’t the first time they had left her there, so Ms. Cooper thought nothing of it, at the time. 8 P.M. came and Ms. Cooper got worried and tried her mom’s cell, only to be notifie
d it was no longer in service. Ms. Cooper waited till the next morning to call the police. They came and took Shae to Child Services to wait for her parents to show up. They never did.

  It was another year before a “suitable” home was found for her in upper New York. Unfortunately, this suitable home was anything but.

  It wasn’t bad at first, but it was obvious the father didn’t want a girl and resented the fact Shae was there. Even at ten years of age, she could pick up on that. She wasn’t sure if her being there is what led to the divorce, but she was sure it played a part, since her foster father wanted nothing to do with her. He didn’t fight for any rights and she stayed with her foster mother.

  Anne was a wonderful foster mother. She was caring and fun to be with. It was the best time she could remember that year. It was just her and her foster mom. It was the arrival of George that changed everything. He was nice and sweet to her the entire time he was dating Anne. Never did he give any indication of the monster he would become when he finally moved in with them.

  George was a big guy, six-foot two and at least two-eighty. Anne was barely five feet tall, though a bit thick, she was no match for George when the beatings started. Shae remembered hiding in her room those nights when he beat Anne. She tried to stop him once, ran out into the living room, yelling at him to stop. He backhanded her so hard, she landed several feet away. She barely remained conscious as he loomed over her and told her to mind her own fucking business or she would get worse the next time. She crawled back to her room, the inside of her mouth bleeding from where her cheek busted open from the impact with her teeth. She listened to the blows rain down on Anne from George.