by Matthew Fish
“I do regret that as well,” Daniel spoke as he let out a sigh. Part of the agreement he had reached with Corveath was that he would not kill any of the Perpetuals in The Company. However, he did wish that he could have done more to save the others that were in Piper’s position. His informant had told him the stories about the young Perpetuals and mortal girls—Pulwala’s part in the sex trafficking ring, amongst his other ill dealings in Las Vegas. He wanted to tell Piper that he would take care of it—that he could do something more about it. However, he knew that if he survived long enough to keep his son safe, that there would not be time for much more than that. After all, he was here on borrowed time. Finally, he decided that he would tell her the best thing he could and hope that it would suffice. “I have friends, in Chicago. I think that after we deal with what we have to—that they can help take down Pulwala. Right now we just have to worry about Corveath and those creatures.”
“I’m one of those creatures…” Piper whispered as a sad tone carried in her voice.
“I don’t mean you, you’re…you’re different,” Daniel quickly added. “I’m sorry. I just forget that they are like you.”
“It is alright, fiancé,” Piper said as she attempted a half-smile. “I was not even good at being one of them. That is all right though, isn’t it? I mean that is probably a good thing.”
“It definitely is,” Daniel said as he nodded. “When I started on this path, I thought I would be facing against those that threatened my son. I never imagined that I would…be…well. I guess that I would care for one of them.”
“Does that trouble you?” Piper asked as she averted her eyes to the floor, which had thick dark black stains against the tan floor mats. “Would you be better off if I were not with you?”
“No, not at all,” Daniel said as he reached over and squeezed Piper’s shoulder gently. “Like I said, I’d be done for without you. My mission to save my son and his friends would be...over. Who you are does not matter to me, or even what you are…when I look at you, I see someone who is no different from myself. “
“What is your son like?” Piper asked. Daniel’s answer did make her feel a great deal better about everything. She felt a strange warm feeling well up inside of her. The feeling was rather alien, but not all together uncomfortable or unwanted.
“He’s kind of a sarcastic little shit,” Daniel said with a laugh. “Nah, I say that jokingly—but he’s a good kid. At least, what I remember of him and I doubt that has changed. He’s kind hearted. A little awkward, but I am sure he has outgrown that. After all, I think he’s twenty-two now.”
“So he’s like Corveath and his people?” Piper asked.
“Apparently so,” Daniel said as he thought on it for a moment. “He’s a Perpetual. His mother was as well—the odds were so far against him being one as well that…well, I guess I never figured he would be one as well. That and he is a Conductor.”
“Corveath spoke of that, though I do not know what it means.”
“He has a power where he can use coins from the year of a Perpetuals birth to destroy them,” Daniel said as he remembered his old days of being a Conductor. “I used to be one as well.”
“So that is why he was to be hunted?” Piper asked as she nodded. She did not know much about the people that controlled the former world she was confined to live within.
“Yes, rumor has it that he was a big part of taking out the old Perpetual Council—which was like a group of important people that make rules for other Perpetuals and hire Conductors to enforce them. That and some other wild stuff that has been going around—I do not know much. I plan to hope to get the whole truth about what is going on when we get to Chicago.
“Corveath believes that he is going to start the new group, that Perpetual Council,” Piper spoke as she remembered being around through many meetings that Corveath had regarding the matter. “With the people he recruited, and with…my kind, all he felt he had to do was take out any threats and he would be able to easily gain that position.”
“Well, I’m here to make sure that doesn’t happen,” Daniel said as he left the small town of Escalante, Utah. About two miles from town he found a small motel, that had no fancy name nor garage. Just a small spread of white buildings with a main office. As far as motels go, it was very generic. Even the white lit sign just read ‘motel’ and nothing more. Daniel got a room key from an Indian man who was very short with him and more focused on the television. He rather missed the conversation he had received at the last place he stayed, and the rather large and greasy hamburger. However, there was a sense of anonymity that he did appreciate. He was worried a slight bit that he would have to explain the unusual state of his Buick with its many bullet holes and an entire missing back window. Honestly, he was a little surprised that he had not been pulled over, yet. He eyed a large black Ford Explorer in the parking lot. It looked a lot newer and much more reliable. He had a good knowledge of hotwiring cars—Daniel made a mental note of it and decided if it was still there in the morning to consider adding grand theft auto to the list of his more recent activities.
“I like this room a lot better,” Piper said as she rested against a plain red bed cover. The room was small; it had dull grey wallpaper and two framed prints of flowers on the walls. It had a small refrigerator in the corner near a black coffee maker. A large flat screen TV hung on the wall adjacent to the bed. The bathroom was white, and much cleaner.
“It doesn’t have a giant hole in it,” Daniel said with a short laugh.
“Hopefully it will not in the morning,” Piper spoke as she rested her head against the pillow and looked up to the popcorn ceiling. She watched as the fan spun around. For a moment, she felt somewhat out of place and out of sorts mentally. She remembered something about Corveath bursting in—memories from that other man, the one like her. She glanced over to the white painted door and let out a strange sigh of relief. She did not know if what she had witnessed through the other man’s visions that filled her were future, or past events.
Daniel opened up a small wooden slatted pantry and found a upright washer and dryer. He let out a short, contented laugh as he threw his leather jacket on a hanger and headed to the bathroom. He pulled off all of his clothing and wrapped a towel around his waist. He tossed his dirty, slightly off-smelling clothing into the washer.
“Will you do mine as well…?” Piper asked as she approached Daniel fully naked and carrying a small pile of clothing beneath her arm.
“Right,” Daniel said as he cleared his throat and took Piper’s clothing. He was still a little uncomfortable with how comfortable Piper was with her naked form. “I’m going to shower,” he added as he walked into the bathroom and thought to himself that it would need to be a cold one.
“I’m going to rest a bit,” Piper said as she climbed into bed. “If that’s alright…?”
“Of course, Piper,” Daniel said as he nodded. “Remember…”
“It’s a hard habit to break,” Piper admitted.
Daniel lingered in the shower for a bit, allowing the cool water to rush against the injuries that the bear-like creature had inflicted upon his chest. The wounds seemed shallow. He wondered what the outcome would have been if he had taken a harder hit. After showering, he found a few bandages and wrapped up his arms from the many cuts caused by the splintered wood. He knew that they would heal up overnight—still, as Piper had said moments earlier, it was a hard habit to break. When he was a Conductor, he would often have to hide all kinds of injuries from Mark. It was not as easy as sleeping it off back then. Daniel exited the bathroom, a towel covering up his waist, and attended to the clothing. He placed the items into the dryer and then climbed into bed beside Piper.
“Hello, fiancé,” Piper said with a smile as she roused from a short nap. “You smell better…”
“That was the plan,” Daniel said as he laughed. “It’s not easy staying so well put together, like you, when you’re throwing an axe at a helicopter and fighting a piss
ed of smoke bear.”
“That was quite an exciting morning, looking back at it,” Piper spoke as he wrapped her arms around Daniel. “Terrifying, but, we came out alright, didn’t we?”
“We did, thanks to you,” Daniel said as he allowed her warm, smooth body to slide up against his.
“You did all the hard work,” Piper whispered as she pressed her lips against Daniel’s, she reached for his head and pulled it against hers as their lips embraced.
Daniel pulled himself back and let out a short sigh. “You don’t…”
“What if…I thought about it, and I realized that it was what I wanted?” Piper spoke, cutting off Daniel’s objections. “What if I want to be with someone, because I feel something for them—because I choose it?”
“I just don’t want…to take advantage of you because of your past,” Daniel said softly as he closed his eyes and attempted to try to explain. “It just…”
“What if, I lost you tomorrow—and I regretted not taking the chance to give a bit of myself to someone I wanted to have it?” Piper asked as she drew Daniel closer to her. “What if I want to have you, for myself?”
Daniel ran out of excuses as Piper pulled away the damp towel from beneath the bed and tossed it onto the floor. She brought her lips to his and they began to kiss passionately. Her skin was warm and soft against Daniel’s body. Daniel allowed his hand to rest against her cheek; he ran his fingertips down to her breasts and began to fondle her soft pink, hard nipple with his forefingers. She let out a short gasp as he squeezed gently. She let out heavy breaths as she pulled at him in an attempt to get him atop of her. Daniel felt himself pressed against her; he could fell the wetness of her from the tip of his cock. They kissed more and more passionately, until Piper could no longer take it, she arched her waist up and grinded against Daniel until he was buried deep within her.
“God…” Daniel muttered as he felt her muscles tighten against him. He slowly pushed himself further and further inside of Piper. With each push, she smiled and tightened her grip upon his waist, urging him on with each plunge of his length inside of her. In the darkened hotel room, lit only from the dim light of the parking lot, filtered through white curtains, the two allowed time to stop. Neither was concerned with being hunted, nor were they worried for what the next day might bring. In this moment, they were content to just be with each other. With each soft and gentle push and retreat into Piper’s wet, warm flesh, like the ebb and flow of ocean upon sand, Daniel felt himself growing more and more frenzied as Piper encouraged him to quicken his pace as she raised her waist up to meet with each thrust. They continued this dance until Daniel could no longer hold himself back. He gave one final, deep push as he felt himself pulse and fill her up as she tightened against him, holding him firmly in place as he came fiercely.
As Daniel withdrew and held Piper tightly against him, she smiled at him once more with her large green eyes searching for signs of contentment in his face. She drew him close and kissed him once more. Without a word, the two lay in the near-darkness. They continued to kiss, and eventually they just held onto each other as though the very world itself threatened to steal them away if either were to let go.
“Daniel…” Piper whispered, finally breaking the silence. “What if I’m just a ghost?”
“Then we’re both just ghosts,” Daniel said as he reached over and placed Piper’s head against his chest. “If we’re both ghosts, then that’s just what we are. We’ll make our own way in this world and it’ll just have to deal with us being what we are.”
“And…that’s alright, isn’t it?” Piper whispered as she buried her face into Daniel’s chest.
“Wouldn’t have it any other way,” Daniel spoke as he could feel fresh tears against his skin. It stung at his wounds. “Are you upset?”
“For once in my life,” Piper said as she wiped away tears and smiled. “No…I’m happy.”
Chapter 4
“Shit…” Daniel muttered as he looked into the rear view mirror of the black Ford Explorer and saw a police cruiser with its red and blue lights flashing. The sound of the loud siren pierced the air as it swiftly approached. They had left early that morning and were well past halfway through Colorado. Daniel though he had taken every precaution by sticking to the smaller, lesser travel roads. Apparently, he had been mistaken.
“Is it Corveath?” Piper asked as she placed her hands upon her seat and turned around to see the vehicle chasing them.
“No, you were right…we shouldn’t have stolen the SUV,” Daniel admitted as he let out a heavy sigh and began to pull the car over to the side of the road. “I have connections…hopefully I still do anyway. I think I can talk us out of this.”
“And if you can’t?” Piper asked as she watched as a second police car pulled up and blocked the way in front of them.
“Then I disarm them, and we run,” Daniel spoke as a man exited the car and began to approach the driver’s side window. He had a gun drawn. Daniel rolled down his window and placed his hands up on the steering wheel so that they were in clear view for the officer.
“Sir,” the officer commanded as he gestured for backup. “I’m going to need you to exit the vehicle.”
“Before we go with all that,” Daniel spoke as he nodded to the officer. “Have you ever heard of a Conductor? Or by chance could you place a call to a Captain William Dickson with a special division of the Chicago Police Department?”
“You can call whoever you like when you get back to the station,” the officer spoke as he raised his gun to Daniel. “Now get the fuck out of the car and place your hands behind your back.”
“Right…” Daniel said as he watched as another officer approached the passenger side and opened up the door. “Just do as they say, Piper.”
“I’m actually a detective,” Daniel added as he climbed out of the SUV.
“Do you have any identification proving that?” The officer asked as he kept his gun aimed towards Daniel.
“No,” Daniel admitted as he cocked is head to the side. “It’s been a lousy few days. Can’t we sort this out some way without us having to go through the trouble of going back to your station?”
“Afraid not,” The officer spoke as a large growl rumbled through the air.
“We have some kind of creature coming towards us,” the other officer that was attending to Piper announced as he turned his attention away from the girl to a strange, large black wolf that was charging at full speed towards the group.
“You should run,” Daniel spoke, as he met eyes with the officer. “This is not something that you can handle…this is not something that any of us can really handle.”
“I’ll call for backup,” the officer spoke as he reached for his radio. Just as he was about to press the button on the side, the Wolf jumped over the SUV and pinned him to the ground.
Daniel reached his hand out as the familiar axe appeared moments later. He brought the axe down upon the wolf’s neck as he attempted to aid the officer. Once again, it was like striking into something that had very little substance. Wisps of black smoke quickly filled the small wound that Daniel had inflicted as the head of the creature flailed about, knocking Daniel into the door of the black Ford Explorer. The other officer quickly slid over the hood and began to fire several shots into the creature’s body. Each shot passed through harmlessly and struck into a small pool of rainwater alongside the ditch.
“What the fuck?” The office said as he continued to fire off more rounds.
“Please leave,” Piper said as she placed a hand upon the officer’s shoulder.
A large spray of blood erupted as the wolf tore into the fallen officer, its obsidian teeth tearing away at the flesh and bone. The second officer rushed over and began to fire shots into the wolf’s head. It let out an annoyed growl and pounced, ripping off the officer’s arm clean off in one single bite. The officer let out a scream of agony as the wolf quickly returned and bit the man into two pieces. The wolf then turned is glowin
g blue eyes to Daniel. Daniel readied his axe as he called out to Piper. “Toss me that last collar!”
“Right…!” Piper said as she dug into her pocket and pulled out one of the silver collars. She tossed it onto the ground next to Daniel. Who looked over to Piper and let out a sigh.
“A little warning first, next time?”
“Sorry,” Piper said sheepishly.
Daniel nervously eyed the black wolf as it approached, every now and then darting his eyes towards the silver collar on the road. The wolf let out a short growl as it pounced upon Daniel. Daniel ducked and grabbed the collar. The wolf was atop of him as he reached up into the smoky blackness of the mass of the body and clasped the collar. The large weight above him turned into a lighter one as a nude woman appeared from the smoke. She appeared older, probably in her late thirties. She had long brown hair. She stumbled for a moment as she reached for her neck. Blood was pouring from a wound.
“Shit,” Daniel muttered as he remembered that he struck the wolf in the neck in an attempt to free the officer that was nothing more than a unrecognizable smear of blood, guts and bone.
The woman stumbled forward and pointed to Piper who nervously backed away. She attempted to speak, however blood bubbled upon her lips as a thick stream of red poured out of her open mouth. Daniel picked up the axe from the ground and placed a well-aimed blow to the woman’s chest, knocking her down to the ground, lifeless. He looked down to the naked form as it began to transform into a thick black, swirling mass of shifting dark air. The mass hung around for a few moments before striking Piper. It fell her to her knees and forced her mouth open. The thick black smoke disappeared into her mouth as she began to gag upon the force of the smoke.
