Starfall

by Michael Griffo

  “My father says your pregnancy is coming along fine,” Gwen mentions innocently.

  “Your father talks to you about my pregnancy?” Nadine asks without a trace of innocence in her voice. It’s all accusation.

  “Oh no . . . no, no, no! He would never do that,” Gwen stutters. “I just asked him over dinner one night because, you know, I’m concerned, and I know that your due date is really, really soon, and he hasn’t mentioned your name so I wanted to make sure that you’re okay. You and your . . .”

  “We’re fine,” Nadine says curtly. “There’s nothing for you or your father for that matter to be concerned with. Women have been having children for centuries without the benefit of modern medical intervention, and they and their children turned out fine.”

  How Gwen cannot recognize that this is the perfect time to say “gotcha, Nadine, good luck” and get the hell away from her amazes me. But instead, Gwen continues the conversation and antagonizes Nadine with her subsequent comment.

  “But that’s just the thing, Nadine,” Gwen says, placing her hand on top of Nadine’s knee. “You aren’t a woman; you’re still just a girl.”

  Oh, Gwen, you are so wrong about that! Nadine may not be an adult in the eyes of the courts, but she has killed any trace of the little girl who used to live inside of her. And the way Nadine is staring at Gwen’s hand, if Gwen doesn’t remove it from her knee immediately, Nadine may add Gwen to the list of people she has killed.

  Before I can intervene and shout Gwen’s name to challenge her to a sprint as a way to separate her from the Four W, Miss Ro unwittingly does it for me.

  “Gwenevere Schültzenhoggen! Are you taking lessons in how to ruin your life?”

  Not only does Miss Ro get Gwen’s attention, but she gets the attention of everyone in the gym.

  “Leave the unwed Miss Jaffe alone so she can witness the life she’s letting pass her by,” she barks. “And get back on the track!”

  Like angry claws, two streams of charcoal black energy emerge from Nadine’s body and begin the long trip toward Miss Ro. They move slowly; they’re in no rush because their prey has no idea she’s being stalked.

  “And Gwen,” Miss Ro adds. “You may want to choose your friends more wisely.”

  I have never heard Miss Ro or really any teacher at Two W speak so harshly to or about a student before. Did no one get the memo about being sensitive and politically correct to the student body? Especially when that body is housing another body? Or two! But the way that Nadine’s been flaunting her pregnancy this year, it was bound to backfire at some point. I just never thought the insults would cross over from the student population to the teaching staff. As shocked as I am by Miss Ro’s outburst, my classmates seem thrilled that an adult has finally given voice to their feelings.

  “Serves her right for acting like getting knocked up should win her a blue ribbon,” Deeanne whispers to one of the girls on the squad. How quickly she forgets that Miss Ro just chewed her out a few minutes ago. Nadine’s memory can’t be erased that easily.

  Looking over into the bleachers I see Nadine’s lips moving quickly and in direct contrast to her black energy that is languidly undulating in the air between her and Miss Ro. Her back straight, her hands clasped in her lap, Nadine is motionless except for the frantic movements of her lips. At first glance she looks like an obedient schoolgirl reciting a memorized poem, but since no sound is coming out of her, she looks downright eerie. Whatever she’s saying, whatever spell her lips are forming, she has no intention of sharing the words or their intent. The only thing I know is that Miss Ro is in danger.

  But more than two minutes later when the class bell rings, Nadine still hasn’t taken any action against Miss Ro. I hold back from the crowd and follow Nadine into the locker room so I can investigate further. The room is empty; most of the girls have done a quick-change and have left or are taking showers at the end of the hall. Seizing the opportunity, I take a seat on the bench next to danger herself. Her black energy is for some reason no longer following Miss Ro but is floating around Nadine’s body, either showing off or patiently waiting to strike. I think I’ll strike first.

  “What are you doing here, Nadine?” I ask. “Break a sweat chanting in the stands?”

  Smirking, but silent, Nadine shifts her weight on the bench, and her sneakers let out a loud squeak.

  “Sounds like your sneakers are having a tough time handling all that extra weight,” I say. “You really have packed on the pounds. Must be one giganto baby you have tucked away in there.”

  Beaming with pride, Nadine caresses her engorged stomach. She’s so preoccupied with showing off her treasure, she has no idea that I know her treasure comes in two parts. “You’d be surprised by how much I have tucked away in here, Dominy.”

  Hmm, not really. But before I slip and mention that I know she’s carrying twins, this is a good time to steer the conversation in a new direction. Watching Miss Ro through her office window, sitting at her desk riffling through some paperwork, I’ve found the perfect distraction.

  “This pregnancy must be siphoning some of your power,” I say, staring at Miss Ro. “Looks like you’re losing your touch.”

  “Really?” Nadine replies, turning to look over at Miss Ro. “My pregnancy is hardly taking power away from me. In fact it’s helping me to become stronger than you or anyone could ever imagine.”

  “Even Luba?”

  As cunning as I can sometimes be, I can also be just as stupid. And this time my stupidity makes Nadine react more horrifically than ever before.

  My comment, meant to give me the upper hand, seems to have given me away. From her intense reaction, Nadine is obviously suspicious of my comment. She knows that I know that she is keeping a secret from Luba. Does Nadine know that I’ve uncovered the truth that she’s carrying twins and is planning to murder her grandmother so she and her children can become Orion’s triumvirate and she can be promoted to the apex of their triangle of evil? Not sure. But from my uttering two little words, Nadine is certain that I know she’s hiding something, and that bit of knowledge has forced Nadine to go into panic mode.

  The black light that has been prancing around Nadine’s body without purpose or direction has suddenly found it: me. With laser-beam accuracy the light zeroes in on my mouth, and before I can fight against it, I feel a burning sensation, like electrically charged fingers working frantically to pull my lips apart.

  I clamp my mouth shut, but the burning only becomes more intense, and it feels as if my flesh is turning to liquid and splattering to the ground. Reaching up, I grab on to the light, but the temperature is scalding, and I feel my skin on my palms and fingertips sizzle. I have a flashback to when I was in Weeping Water River trying to yank open the wolf’s mouth to let out my golden light. Now it’s just the opposite. I want to keep my mouth shut. I’m not as lucky this time. Involuntarily, my mouth opens to let out a scream that is automatically silenced when Nadine’s blackness rushes into my mouth.

  My eyes are pools of tears, frightened and angry and desperate, so I can barely see Nadine in front of me. But I can see enough to witness her smiling at me. Despite any qualms I might have had about her, despite the fact that she might have been led toward evil with a gentle push by her grandmother, she has chosen to live her life there, regardless of the consequences to her soul and any poor fool who gets in her way. Like me.

  Struggling against Nadine’s attack I glance over and see Miss Ro through her window still focused on her paperwork. She has no idea what’s happening outside her door. Good. I’ve got to keep it that way. The girl understands the need not to cause a disturbance that might attract Miss Ro’s attention; the wolf doesn’t.

  Against my own will I feel it starting in the pit of my stomach, a violent reaction, the only real reaction to the beating my body’s taking. Unfortunately, I don’t think it will be a reaction that can remain unnoticed.

  I feel the red cloud churning inside of me. I don’t know if it’s rising on
its own power or if Nadine is tearing it from me, but the result is the same: The wolf is being awakened and dragged from its sleep.

  “Nooooo!!!!!”

  My screams have no voice, thanks to the red cloud filling up my throat. Puffs of it are starting to trickle out of my mouth and swirl around the black light, as if trying to grab hold of it, rip it off of my flesh, separate the good from the evil. But it doesn’t matter because now the lines have blurred. Good has meshed with evil; girl has combined with wolf.

  The heat from Nadine’s light is matched only by the fire coursing through my veins. The pain gripping my flesh disappears when my limbs start to invert and break. This can’t be happening! I’m transforming right here in the locker room, in plain sight of Miss Ro, with Gwen and some of the other girls showering down the hall, with Nadine laughing at me! The horror of it is that I know it’s not completely Nadine’s fault; she’s awakened the beast within me, but I’ve allowed Nadine’s fury to latch onto my emotions, and in doing so I’ve allowed the wolf to break free. Watching the red fur encase my arms, I know there’s no turning back. For any of us.

  “Dominy!!”

  Miss Ro’s scream slashes through my eardrums. It’s pure terror; it’s the sound that is let loose when someone comes face-to-face with unimaginable fear.

  “Run!!”

  I know that my voice is muffled; I know that it’s more growl than scream, but she must have heard me—she must have heard me tell her to run! If she heard me, why is she just standing there? Why is she looking at me and not moving? Why isn’t she running for her life?!

  Nadine bends over and whispers in my ear, “Because her life is over.”

  When I transform completely, Nadine lifts her arms, one in front of her and one to her right, and I hear the doors leading to the gym and to the showers slam shut. There’s no way out now.

  “Dominy!!”

  Miss Ro’s horrified voice burrows into my brain.

  “What . . . the hell . . . is happening?!”

  Even if I still had Dominy’s voice, I couldn’t respond to Miss Ro’s cries, because I don’t have an explanation. Is Nadine now just as powerful as Vera, thanks to the twins growing inside of her? She must be. How else did she force me to transform in the middle of the day? If this is what she can do while the twins are still in her womb, what will she be capable of after they’re born? I can’t speculate on that now; I have to do everything I can to make sure I protect Miss Ro and that those doors remain closed so Gwen and the others don’t have to see what she’s already witnessed. But I’m not sure I am strong enough.

  “Dear God . . . Dominy!” Miss Ro screams. “What’s happened to you?!”

  Her voice is shaking like a leaf twirling from a branch to its death. Desperately trying to stay afloat, knowing that its life may be prolonged a while longer by a random gust of wind, but inevitably it will fall to the earth and die. I know this is the thought going through Miss Ro’s mind not because I can see into her soul, but because I want her dead.

  Her smell is so pungent that it fills my nostrils until I think my head may burst. My tongue lifts and sways across my fangs as I watch her thick legs shake and her muscular arm reach out to hold on to the locker to steady her body so it doesn’t topple over, so it doesn’t collapse onto the floor as an offering to me. Too late. Nadine has already served up my meal, and I’m too hungry to fight it.

  “No!!”

  I don’t know whose voice that is—Miss Ro’s, maybe Gwen’s coming from behind the shower room door, or mine—but it temporarily breaks the spell. Like a caged animal, I run in circles, banging into the lockers, frantically looking for a way out. The only choice I have is to break down the door and run through the gym, hoping no one gets in my way. I leap into the air, and my front paws crash into the door, but it doesn’t budge. My strength is no match for Nadine’s spell. Or for her ingenuity.

  I hear a scream and then a crash and turn around to see Miss Ro’s body, wrapped tightly in Nadine’s black light, being dragged toward me. If I won’t go to my dinner, Nadine will bring my dinner to me.

  “If you think that you and some fallen star can destroy me, Dominy Robineau,” Nadine roars, “think again!”

  Ripping her hand through the air as a command to her energy, Nadine hurls Miss Ro’s body into me. Fighting every primitive urge racing through me, pushing the hunger and thirst from my claws and my fangs, I howl furiously and then scurry away, running blindly until I crash into a bank of lockers. The impact is so powerful that the lockers are wrenched from the floor, towels and gloves and sneakers from the top of the lockers raining down on me as the entire bank teeters precariously from side to side before settling down. Slowly Nadine walks toward me, her eyes wide and mad, and when she gets a foot from me, she crouches down until she is nose to snout.

  “My babies and I will be the death of you, Dominy,” she says. “But first someone else needs to die.”

  Without looking at Miss Ro, Nadine extends her arm and once again her light drags Miss Ro across the locker room floor toward us. Backing up I hear my claws click against the floor, and I try to camouflage the ugly sound with a growl, but I only succeed in making something ugly sound even uglier. And then the screams return. Miss Ro’s voice, Gwen’s, the voices of some other girls, of unknown men coming from the other side of the gym door. The screams are all around me, inside my brain, living on my fur, penetrating my flesh, pouring out of me.

  Nadine drops her arm and Miss Ro stops moving, her body resting at my restless claws. Petrified, Miss Ro looks into my eyes, desperately trying to connect with the girl she knows is living underneath this animal’s hide.

  “Dominy,” she says, her voice barely audible. “Help me.”

  Even buried deep within the wolf I am attached to memory, and I see Rayna’s shriveled face staring at me in Nadine’s cabin, asking me to help her, begging me to take her life. No! No, I will not kill again!

  “Stop this!!!”

  The locker room is bombarded with my roar, but Nadine hears my plea.

  “As you wish.”

  Silence engulfs the room, followed by the horrible squeaking of Nadine’s sneakers as she takes two steps backwards to the edge of the lockers. Her smile never leaves her face as she flicks her wrist and the entire bank of lockers is ripped from its foundation and begins to fall.

  “Noooo!!!!”

  Entangled by the black energy, Miss Ro can’t move. She locks eyes with me, but doesn’t say a word, not that she needs to. I can tell from her solemn expression that she has given up even before everything goes black when the lockers crash down on top of us.

  “Move!”

  I know the voice is coming from deep inside of me, but I can’t obey its command.

  “Move . . . now!!!”

  Again it comes, from the same place, with the same fiery intent, the same need to get me to move my body out from underneath the lockers that have taken the voice and breath and spirit from Miss Ro, the lockers that are threatening to push me closer and closer toward my own death.

  Should I just allow that to happen? I’ve thought so many times about how peaceful it would be to die, to join my father and Jess and be with them forever. It would mean letting Luba and Nadine win, but I would be able to leave the wolf behind and once again be whole and complete and only Dominy. Now that the opportunity has arisen unexpectedly and as a result of my own carelessness, maybe I should latch onto it.

  Then I see the light.

  From out of the blackness I see two strands of silver and gold light that I instinctively know belong to Vera and Jess. Neither of them can tell me what to do; they can’t force me to decide either way, but what they can do is remind me that I am not alone and that if I give in, if I truly allow Nadine to rise victorious from this, there will be repercussions. Without me on earth my brother will be left alone, for all intents and purposes the last family member standing, and Luba will not have me to help her defeat Nadine. The old witch could probably do it on her own,
but without me to offer balance, she will definitely choose the path of destruction over peace. No, I’m needed. My life here is necessary. Ironic that it took my impending death to make me see the truth.

  Planting my paws firmly on the ground, I push up and hear the metal of the lockers scrape loudly against the floor. Arching my back I lift the lockers higher and raise my head to steal a glance at Miss Ro. She isn’t moving. She asked for my help, and I failed her.

  In one furious, connected move, I lower my body, then rise up with even more power so the lockers fly back into a standing position. Scurrying backward I’m able to get to safety before the lockers crash back down onto the floor and Miss Ro’s dead body. There’s nothing else for me to do except escape.

  On the other side of the gym door, I hear an axe slamming into the wood to break through into the locker room. On the other side of the shower door, Gwen and a few girls are screaming to be let in. The only way out for me is up. And the only way out for Nadine is down.

  As I take a running leap to break through the frosted window near the ceiling, I see Nadine drop to the floor and position her legs underneath a locker. Just as I crash through the thick pane of glass, I hear the rush of voices flood the room and feel the cold winter air ripple against my face and through my hair. Now out of Nadine’s line of vision and her grasp, I transform back. Even though I’m outside naked in January in the middle of the day on school grounds, I feel safe. But my safety is quickly destroyed by Nadine’s screams.

  “It was Dominy! She attacked us!”

  Without wasting time to see if I have any witnesses, I crawl through an open window leading into the girls’ shower. Like the one in the locker room, it’s frosted, so I can’t see if there’s anyone on the other side, but I don’t have a choice, I have to act quickly and take the chance that I’ll be seen. Luckily, there’s no one left in the showers, so I wet myself, throw a towel around me, and walk into the locker room as if I had been showering the whole time. I’m not sure who’s more surprised to see me—Nadine, Gwen, or Dumbleavy.