by H. T. Night
“It makes sense, “I said. “So, some of these teenagers might be keeping Maya hostage?”
“I would bet on it,” Sasha said, confidently. “They are going to stay hidden till tonight and more than likely meet up with whoever originally took Maya at the flatlands.”
“So I have to sit around all day and not know what to do?” I knew I was going to lose my mind waiting around all day.
“I know it's going to be hard, but from everything I know there is no way they would harm her in any way. They want you on board with them happy, not looking for revenge. I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't treating her like a queen.”
“I swear to God if anyone of those guys lays a hand on her in any way, I'll kill the whole lot of them.”
“Trust me Tommy. They know that. They are just using her as bait.”
Chapter Twenty-three
This was the longest day of my life. I felt so guilty not calling Maya's parents and telling them that Maya might be in some kind of danger. I even debated getting Josiah involved. I knew he could kick as much ass as I can. And that was what I needed was another ass-kicking machine. But there was no way I could put a sixteen year old in that kind of jeopardy. I knew he would jump at the chance, especially for his sister, but I couldn't do it.
Sasha wanted to come. She said she would take off into the woods once she became a werewolf. I told her to stay, but she insisted on coming because she knew exactly where to go.
We got in my Mustang and headed to Arrowhead Mountains. It was nearing dark, and as we got closer to the Flatlands my adrenalin was off the map. I had no idea how I was going to control myself. All I knew was I needed to make sure Maya was okay.
I pulled into a rocky parking lot. “This piece of shit area is Flatlands?” I asked.
“It's not exactly Central Park, but it's a pretty popular area up here.”
There was no one in the parking lot. Not one body, not one car. “Do you think you made a mistake?”
“I'm sure I haven't,” Sasha said. “There is still a little bit of light and the Mani can't transition yet.” Sasha looked at me. “Tommy, I'm going to need to go. I'm going to turn at any moment.” She opened the door, and left my Mustang.
“Sasha!” I yelled out.
She turned around, “Yeah,”
“Thank You. Be safe.”
“You too,” I watched as she went into the woods. The sun had set and the moon was in full view. I had to admit; whenever the full moon came out I got an extra boost of energy like I had just downed six red bulls.
I looked on as I saw Sasha turn into a werewolf. She took off running into the woods. I felt my face and my beard was as long as ever. I decided to get back in my car and wait. About ten minutes went by and then all hell broke loose. Four vehicles whizzed into the parking lot. A couple of black ravens and red hawks landed in the middle of the ground. I looked on and watched as the two raven transitioned into two Mani men. One of them was seven feet tall and looked like the guy from the desert that killed that enormous werewolf. The other was about my size. The red hawk transitioned into a beautiful red-headed woman. She was the same person who was finishing off Carni after they were injured from the other night.
She walked over and got into one of the cars and sat next to a blonde woman. That had to be Maya! I jumped out of my car at the sight of her. I stood in front of my Mustang all by myself and on the other side of this gravel yard they called Flatlands were four cars filled with God knows what and Maya. One by one the car doors opened and people got out. I wasn't sure if they were all Mani, but that question was soon answered for me.
Monty, the main vampire from the other night made his way to the middle of the group. I wasn't sure who was in charge. I scanned the group and then I saw Patrick. Two Mani men had him by his arms. Thank God he’s alive!
I noticed that Maya was still in the car with a red-headed woman. Our eyes made contact. She appeared shaken up and worried.
“Let her go,” I yelled. Someone laughed from the back. He made his way to the front and the asshole had green-hair. He had obviously died it to look menacing, but he looked more like Kermit the frog than some intimidating vampire.
“Who are you?” I yelled out
“Me?” the green-haired man said, “Monty, I thought you said this strapping young man would make a great addition to our brotherhood?”
Monty made room for the green-hair man to have center stage. “Trust me, he will,” Monty said.
“How can I ask anyone to join my Brotherhood when he doesn't even know who I am?”
“Get over it, Kermie, I said. “I'm not exactly keen to your world! It's nothing personal. Why don’t you let Maya go, she has nothing to do with this.”
“We plan on letting her go in due time, but first you and I need to have a little chat.” This guy was really feminine. It was really throwing me off. “When you say that this isn’t personal, that’s where you’re wrong. This whole meeting is personal. We have your girl and your friend. If we didn't make this personal, then we didn't do our job.”
I looked at this guy and he was trying to get a rise out of me and if he persisted, he just might.
If I wanted Maya back safe I knew I needed to play ball with this guy. “What do want to chat about?” I asked.
“You can say you’re our number one draft pick. We’re here to make sure you sign with us. You can also say we’re the Notre Dame of the paranormal world.”
“You have an interesting way of trying to persuade me, by kidnapping my girlfriend and taking my friend,” I said.
“We do have a case of the dramatics don't we?” he turned around and laughed. The others saw him laughing and joined in.
“So tell me exactly what do you want?” I asked, looking over at Maya as I asked my question. In my mind, this wasn’t about him or me. This was only about keeping Maya safe.
“We want you to join our Brotherhood!” The green-haired man said.
I looked at everyone. “Is everyone here part of the Brotherhood?”
“I'm not.” The super tall guy said. “I heard that you were some kind of stud and I came to see for myself.”
“Nice,” I said. “Now, that you see me, what do you think?”
“I'm not impressed.”
“Sorry, I don't meet your approval, but then again, you’re built like a beanstalk, so what do you know?”
This obviously pissed off the walking bean pole. He said, “Everyone that is not a Mani, you need to leave now!” They all looked at each other and didn’t move.
Then the green-hair one said, “You heard him! All Tandra leave.”
“It's good to know your group respects their elders,” the tall guy said. He was clearly disgusted that no one listened to him.
“You know kids these days, Atticai. They have no respect.”
“Well, they better learn some, or I'm going to start making my presence known with your people, Timo. Your better get your crew together and get them on the right page.”
Timo, the green-haired guy, looked worried. He obviously feared Atticai something fierce. He yelled, “You heard him! All humans leave! Except the girl, she stays.”
“She better be staying or we have nothing to talk about,” I said.
About three car loads of people took off out of the parking lot. There were only six Mani left standing, seven if you counted Patrick: Atticai, Timo, Monty, the two Mani holding Patrick, and the red-headed girl that was in the car with Maya.
“Okay,” I said. “Let Maya out of the car. I want to make sure she's alright.”
Timo snapped his fingers and the car door opened. The red-headed woman walked out with Maya.
“Let her go, and then we'll talk,” I said.
Timo continued to speak, this was obviously his deal and Atticai was just observing. He was apparently above Timo in whatever vampire pyramid there was going on with these people.
Timo smiled with a devious stare. “We will let you two love birds get reunited whe
n you agree to join us.”
“So if I do this, you will let her and Patrick go?”
“Patrick?” Timo laughed. “No, Patrick is going to die. We thought that he could be your first task in the Brotherhood. You know, help kill our dead weight.”
“That isn't going to happen, Greenie. There is no way I'm laying a finger on Patrick.”
“Don't tell me that this is going to be the deal breaker?” Timo said, all giddy and clearly mocking me.
“Say what you want, but that's the only way I’ll do it,” I said.
“You're not going to let this half pint dictate the terms,” Atticai said to Timo, insulted.
“Half pint?” I yelled at Atticai. “Everyone is a half pint to your freakish ass.”
“You better watch your mouth,” Then Atticai walked towards me. I was ready to fight his stringy ass at a moments notice. Timo yelled at Atticai, “Please calm down. This isn't about you.”
“You’re damn right this isn’t about me, because if it was, this bearded idiot would be dead.” Atticai pointed his finger directly at me.
I had obviously pissed him off. I glance over at Maya and she looked petrified. “Maya are you okay?” I yelled over to her.
“I'm okay,” she answered back.
“Have they hurt you?”
“No, not at all.”
“Hurt her?” Timo said shocked. “She got the spa treatment today.”
“She better have. If I ever find out that any of you pigs layed a finger on her I’ll never let you live it down!”
“I know, I know,” Timo said, bored and antsy. “You'll kick all our asses. Blah, blah, blah. Do we really need to play this melodramatic bullshit? Look, you in, or are you out?”
“No one is going to hurt Patrick.” I repeated myself..
“Damn, you really fell for Patrick didn’t you? Are you sure he isn't the one you're in love with?”Atticai laughed.
“He's my friend,” I said.
“Hell, we all have friends.” Atticai said.
“Maybe. I choose mine more carefully.”
“Okay, that is really sweet,” Timo said, returning to the conversation, “But the deal that’s on the table isn't Patrick. The only reason we kept him alive was for you to show loyalty to us by killing him.”
“Well, then you underestimated my loyalty to my friends.” I said.
“Are you for real, dude?” Timo looked like he was about to lose his mind.
Then I heard some commotion coming from down the street. I turned around and saw a giant white truck come flying up the gravel. The guy in the truck was dragging an animal behind his truck bed by a chain. What the fuck is going on? I looked closely and that’s when I saw it wasn't just any animal, it was a black werewolf. It was Sasha. She was all beaten down and mangled from being dragged on the road.
“What the fuck?” I yelled. “What the hell are you guys doing?”
“Don't tell me you love werewolves too?” Timo pleaded, then looked at the remaining vampires and said, “This guy really isn't cut out to be a Mani.”
“Let the werewolf go!” I said.
Timo have had enough. “You know what I'm tired of this. You're going to need to show some loyalty here.” He looked at the driver who was also a Mani and said, “Moses, let the wolf go. I want to see what kind of fighter this guy is.”
“You want me to fight an injured werewolf?” I said, flabbergasted
“It's not ideal, but I'm in the mood to kill a werewolf and this seems like the most fun.”
I looked at everyone and all the Mani seemed highly entertained by the prospect of a human and werewolf tussle,
“You're crazy,” I said. “It's not even a fair fight.”
“Then you will win,” Timo said. “You will show some loyalty to us, or I’m going kill you right now.” Timo controlled himself and then said, “You need to despise the very sight of these primitive creatures.”
I looked over at poor Sasha and then I looked at Maya. She was shaking her head for me not to do it. Then I looked at Patrick, and he mouthed to me, “Don't let her die, Tommy.”
“All right,” I said. “Let her go. I'll kill her.”
“Please don't!” Maya, yelled.
“I have to! I'm sorry!” I took off my shirt, “Everyone back up,” I said. Moses took off the chain that was wrapped around Sasha's neck. The second the chain came off, Sasha try to run to the woods. Whatever survival mechanism that was in a werewolf's DNA was on overload right now because she knew she was in danger and did not want to stick around and fight for sport. She was in luck. Neither did I.
I ran after Sasha and jumped on top of her back before she got to the woods. We rolled on the rocks and I landed on top of her pinning her wolf head back so she wouldn’t take chomp on my face. I held her neck back tightly with both of my hands so she couldn’t lunge forward and bite my neck either.
“Kill the beast!” Timo yelled out laughing.
Sasha took a swipe at my neck with her claws. That was definitely not the place I wanted her to get me so I flipped her over and kicked her off me and she flew five feet in the air.
“Yes, that's what I'm talking about,” Timo yelled. “Hey, Beard boy, you’re going to need this!” He threw me a silver stake from where he was standing. I caught the cold steel spike and dropped it on the ground.
Sasha and I were now squared off. I figured the best spot for her to bite me was my lower back. I had a lot of muscle back there and I would still be able to be flexible after she injured me by taking some of my flesh in her mouth. I jumped into her and turned my back, I practically giving her my backside as an offering. She bit down into my lower back and from that moment I blacked out.
I was told later that this is what happened.
Sasha bit down into my back and I dove off of her. She saw she had injured me and took off into the woods. She was able to get away. I was lying on the rocky ground and within seconds, hair protruded out of my body from every part of me. My body grew bigger in mass to the point I ripped into my pants like some kind of Hulk.
I turned to the Mani and howled at them at the top of my lungs. The red-headed girl and Atticai transitioned into their bird form and flew away wanting no part of me. It was apparently not what they had signed up for.
There were five Mani men left with Patrick and Maya. Maya ran to my car with Patrick. They locked the doors so I couldn't get in. I hope I wouldn't have harmed them, but I was a crazed dog wanting revenge. I don’t think I could have figured out the good guys from the bad guys.
The five Mani men surrounded me and began to transition, periodically spearing me with their raven beaks like swords.
I swiped Monty out of midair when he became a raven and he fell to the ground. I dove on top of him and bit through his neck and killed him instantly. He vanished into thin air.
Two other Mani saw what I had done and transitioned and flew off afraid. Apparently Patrick wasn't the only Mani that didn't have the stomach for fighting.
All that was left was Timo and Moses. Both deserved to die on this night.
They decided that transitioning into ravens wasn't the way to go. Timo ran over and grabbed the silver stake that he had thrown to me earlier. I flung my body at Moses. He apparently round-housed me and caught me in the head. I rolled across the gravel and then he jumped on my back.
I rolled and reversed him, so apparently my MMA instincts were in effect even when I'm a werewolf. I bit down into his collarbone. I bit down strong, crushing his bone.
Timo came barreling from behind me and tried to stab the silver stake into my back. At the exact moment he slammed the stake forward, I jumped off of Moses below me and Timo speared Moses right into his neck with the silver stake. It went completely through his neck and Moses also disappeared.
All that was left was Timo. Timo and a werewolf named Kyro. It was a mismatch even if I was in my human form. But it had been a hell of an unfair fight now that I was a werewolf.
Timo still had the
stake in his hand and we circled each other, and periodically he would lunge at me with the stake.
One of the times he lunged too far, and his arm was too vulnerable. I bit into it and snapped it like a twig. He cried out in pain, and then I jumped on top of him, and well… I wasn't told exactly how I killed him. But I was told it was pretty gruesome.
When I had finished all of them off, I ran into the woods.
Chapter Twenty-four
I woke up the next morning and I was in the middle of the bushes somewhere on the mountain. I looked down and I was in my human form. I was drenched from head to toe, and I needed to pee real badly. I did my business and then walked out from the bushes. I was on the main highway on the mountain and across the street I could see my Mustang. Inside it, were Maya and Patrick were sleeping. Maya was asleep on Patrick's shoulder. Patrick was resting with his head leaning back in the driver’s seat.
I walked across the highway and went to the driver side and tapped the window. Patrick woke up and gently placed Maya’s head to the other side of the car and then he opened the door and got out. The sun had just come out and I could tell he was in immense pain for the heat.
“Transition, Patrick, you’re frying your skin.”
“I will. Just give me a second,” he said.
“All right.”
“Kyro, thank you.”
“Don't worry…”
“No dammit! Let me thank you. I'm going to go away, and I want to thank you for everything. You saved my life. A few times.”
“Why are you leaving?”
“I need to get away from here. I need to start over. I stayed with Maya all night and made sure she was safe. I owed both of you that.”
“Don't go, Patrick.”
“I have to. This is no place for a vampire who wishes he wasn't one. If it’s not the Brotherhood, it will be some other Mani wanting me dead. The Mani are strong in these parts and I need to go to a place where I can just live and not be who I am.”
I looked at Patrick and I knew he was right. He wasn’t a fighter. You can’t make someone stand up and fight for himself. He was better off finding a new life. I reached out my arms and hugged him. “I want to thank you, Patrick.”
