by Joyner, GP
“There’s someone here that intends to do you harm.”
“Fuck,” she whispered. Closing her eyes, she opened her sense up all the way so she could sense who the threat was. “Gotcha.”
Opening her eyes, she looked up at Javier. “Look, I would love to stick and around, but I have to go. I’ve stayed here too long and have become complacent. Now he has tracked me down. I have to leave, and if I were you, I wouldn’t acknowledge you know me at all.”
Betty turned to leave. He touched her arm and whispered, “Did you…? How did…? When?” Flustered for words, he grabbed the back of his neck.
“I can’t explain it. I have to go.” Betty took off at a clipped pace, walking quickly toward her apartment. There were a few things she needed to get: her 'go bag' and cash.
Javier was right on her tail. He stalked after her even when she was inside of her apartment, which seemed too small for the two of them to occupy that space. It resembled more of a hole in the wall.
“What is this? This isn’t an apartment.”
She turned to face him with her bag in hand. Taking a text book that looked more like an industrial-size dictionary from the pile on the nightstand, she opened it and retrieved three stacks of money and tossed it in the bed. She replaced the book in its proper place.
“Slow down. What is going on here?”
She shook her head and placed a finger over her mouth. How he envied that finger at that moment before he shut out the thought since he wasn’t sure what her abilities were.
Betty signaled for him to follow her as they moved to the back of the apartment, where the bathroom was located. She stood on top of the tub and opened the window. The frown on his face told her that he was puzzled. The window was big enough for a lithe person to get in and out, but he was nowhere near lithe. If she had an escape in place, Javier knew she was in more trouble than she let on.
Javier drew Betty in at the waist to hold her, whispering in her ear, “I need a pen and paper. I want to give you something.”
Betty gestured to the small notebook and pen on the counter, and he tore the piece of paper out and wrote on it before folding it to give it to her along with his car keys.
“I can’t take your car.”
“Yes, you can, and you will just to put my heart at ease. I may not have gotten to get to know you like I wanted, but at least I get the knowledge that I was able to help you in other ways.”
“Why are you doing this?” she asked him, confused.
“You are like me in many ways, yet I sense you are different on a molecular level. The opportunities to help someone like me are far and few between. Besides, the fact that I am seriously crushing on you at this point may have something to do with it. But I have a feeling that you already knew that.”
“You know, I am going to have to wipe your memory.”
“You can wipe my memory, but you can’t erase what’s already settled in my heart.”
Tilting her head, she seemed to ponder what it meant.
“We don’t have much time. Do what you need to do. The car is parked on the side of the street of the apartment complex.”
For once, she was grateful for the companionship even for a little while. Granting one of his fantasies, she stood face to face with him and gestured for her to bend lower to her. To his surprise, Betty pressed a chase kiss to his lips. Opening up for him just a little, she felt his tongue as it caressed and soothed some of the tension. The feeling she wanted more began to build as her vertebrae began warm. A change was beginning, and she had to pull back.
“If you are ever in trouble, use the number. Take care of yourself, Betty Steele.”
“Thank you.”
Reaching inside herself, she pulled on her ability and touched his mind, removing traces of the last two days from his memory but leaving the classroom ones intact. Javier stood there like a zombie as the memories began to dissolve into nothingness. She had all of ten minutes to get out the window or it all would be useless.
Tossing her bag out the window and then climbing down herself, she opened her senses and scanned her direct area. The only ill will she felt came from the form at the front door. Casting the net wider, she didn’t find anything or anybody else. She hightailed it through the college campus to the back of the school. She wished she could have run track while in attendance at the college, but she knew it would have been a dead giveaway, as she had loved to run when she was in school. Finishing her trek across the campus and taking the newly install ramp up, over, and down to the student apartment complex, she located Javier’s vehicle on Crocker Road, just where he had said it would be parked.
Turning the key in the ignition, she put the car in gear and sped out of dodge.
When Javier came out of his trance, he looked around to try to piece things together. He couldn’t remember how the hell he had gotten there let alone what his purpose was for being in the rinky-dink apartment. He heard the knocking at the door and went to answer.
He paused, as he wasn’t too sure about the people on the other side of the door. Finally giving in to curiosity, as he was part feline, he opened the door.
“Can I help you?”
A man in the standard charcoal grey pinstripe suit stood on the other side. He gave Javier a once-over and felt he was adequate to answer any question he may have.
“Yes, I am looking for Betty Steele.”
Why the hell am I in Betty Steele’s house? Please tell me I wasn’t having one of the drunken spells. “Well, she’s not here. Is there something I help you with?”
The unknown gentleman stepped toward him menacingly, and Javier crossed his arms to let him know that he was going to stand his ground.
“Don’t be a fool. Let me pass. I want to—no, I demand to speak to my daughter.”
Playing as he if held all the answers, he said, “You must be the elusive Mr. Steele.” His kind hated this man. He was cruel; he constantly experimented on his family and others that he knew of, searching to make the right combination of animal and human DNA.
Mr. Steele pushed his way past Javier and into the apartment, flanked by two other plainclothes fellows. He called Betty’s name several times with no response. He scowled as one of them moved to the bathroom. The tiny apartment was starting to feel a little too cramped. Javier took a step towards the front door when he was accosted by one of the plainclothes.
“Get your hands off of me,” Javier warned.
“Mr. Romero, I advise you to be forthcoming about what you know about my daughter.”
“First off, Mr. Steele, let’s get something straight. There’s not much you can do to me that I haven’t seen you do to my family, friends, or those you experimented on when I was in your care before. Your threats don’t scare me.”
Mr. Steele smirked at Javier’s gullibility. He may have been a part of the earlier experimentations in the earlier stages. He had since improved his cross mixes, thanks in part to Betty’s DNA, which he was hell bent on obtaining one way or another.When he nodded in Drew’s direction, Drew moved fast and injected Javier at the base of his spine.
“You see, Mr. Ramos, Betty has something I want, and I need to obtain as much information as possible. What my assistant injected you with is a special cocktail that will put your inner beast to sleep but still maintain the memories from both you of to be extracted. You are going to feel a little woozy right about now.”
Joshua, the other man holding him, let Javier go as he hit the freshly polished wooden floor, feeling lethargic, dry mouthed, weak, and ready to throw up as a bunch of images flashed through his mind. All of them were of Betty in class and nothing else as he ran through images spewing out the information like an ATM. The last image of her sitting on the grass was all that remained when he began to dry heave from information overload.
“Thank you for that tidbit of information and what she looks like now. No doubt she will change her appearance, but at least we have a general idea of what she looks and sounds like. About
that cocktail, it will wear off in about an hour or two, just in time for your soccer practice—if you can tolerate it and survive.”
Mr. Steele gestured towards the door as to say they were leaving. As a second thought, Mr. Steele turned to face Javier, stepped, and let his foot fly, catching Javier in the ribs and hearing a sickening crunch. He was satisfied that it provided a good warning about defiling him.
* * *
After driving for an hour and making it to Ione, she found a hotel. Driving an addition three hours, as much as time would allow, she landed in Wilbur Springs. And she pulled into the first hotel that she laid her eyes on.
Checking in and playing with cash, she grabbed a room at the back of the establishment. She struggled into the room and headed straight to the shower and ran the water as hot as possible. Peeling out of her clothes, she let her intra-vertebral DNA out. The tiger tried to object, but she scratched the temperamental beast behind the ears to settle her.
After the bath, she went to her bag and pulled out the piece of paper, checking to see what he had written. 916-533-7935. It’s a secure line. Only our kind has this number. Use it at will. Please be careful. I still think we should go out once your issues have been resolved. happy face included.
Betty had trained herself to greater distances of communications from the time that she ran away by periodically checking on those she had befriend on this lonely journey. Lying on her side, she closed her eyes and concentrated, allowing the mustang’s speed to come forth as she ran like the wind to reach Javier. She called on the wolf sense as she crept along the way to her place, checking to see if Javier was there. Her wolf nudged him, but he didn’t move. He was barely breathing. She had to go back. Recalling them faster than she really should have made her slightly queasy. Her tiger began to pace in a nervous fit.
If she went back, she risked getting caught. Betty stopped, pulled out the piece of paper, and made the call. Four rings later, a heavily accented Spanish woman answered the phone.
“Hello.”
Betty cleared her throat and spoke. “Javier needs help. Please go to him. The address is…”
There was a knock at the door. She waited a few seconds and listened. Snapping the phone shut and turning it off, she crawled off the bed and under it, making herself invisible as much as possible. Blocking her trail from anyone like her and opening up another line, she allowed the snake within her to slither around to the door. Not my father.
Tears formed in her eyes; she was tired of this game. She really wanted her mother, but knowing that she had given up her life to save hers was still heart breaking. The memory came to mind of how her mother had tried to protect her from her father.
* * *
Darius Steele came barging in to the room while Miriam Steele was talking to her daughter about her track meet. It had been such a good day. That gleam in his eyes meant he was up to something.
“Darius,” Miriam warned.
“Yes, honey.”
“What are you up to?”
“Nothing much.” He took a capped syringe out of his pocket.
“Darius, no.”
“Look, Miriam, we agreed to this, and it has come time to insert her into the program.”
“We are not doing any such thing. We agreed that she would be looked after, and if we had more children, we would consider this option, but not without explaining it to her.”
“Fuck that. The time is now.”
“Darius, I am warning you. Leave her alone.”
“Bullshit, you agreed that when she reached a certain age that she could and we would use her DNA.”
“Darius, we have been through this. This is our only daughter. That agreement was only if we had more children like her, and we don’t.”He held up the syringe. “None of the others have had an adverse reaction to the injection,” he argued. Then again, none of them will have as many types of DNA introduced to their system at once as well, he thought.
Pushing Betty behind himself, Darius became upset with Miriam and backhanded her. Betty was frozen with fear as her father yanked at her arm and plunged the needle into her shoulder and pushed the plunger down. At first, she didn’t feel anything, so she wasn’t too worried about it. Betty knelt to touch her mother’s still form. Suddenly, her body felt like it was on fire. She cried out in excruciating pain. Her eyesight went blurry then sharpened with an uncanny focus. It was surreal; everything seemed sharper and much clearer. Her muscles twitched again, and she cried out a second time, this time cradling her head. It felt enormous—all of this knowledge was being forced into her tiny cranial cavity—why had she known the words to say about her head—.and man did it hurt. Breaking into a cold sweat, she felt like there was this beast prowling around inside herself, itching to get out. She wanted to hit something to prove she was the bomb. Several pairs of hands picked her up, and she watched helplessly as another transformation took place and her body began to convulse… Her mother never moved again.
Betty lay prone beneath the bed, sleeping soundly as those closest to her watched over her. Her eyes finally fluttered open. Her wolf nudged her hand as her tiger lay in front of her for warmth.
“Okay, guys. I’m fine. Sorry for the mental breakdown. There’s a first time for everything.”
The sweet sound of her mother’s voice cut in. “Betty, you know you have to go back. He needs you.”
“If I go back, then Daddy will get me.”
“No, he won’t. You need to stop running. How long are you going to run from him? He always manages to track you down. Maybe you need to stand up to him.”
“Yeah, well, look where that got you,” Betty argued as she crossed her arms.
“They will protect you.”
“I know they will. They are a part of me.”
“I’m not talking about them. I am talking about his people. Besides, you have to go back to save him.”
“Damn it, Mother.”
“Don’t take that tone with me, missy.”
“Sorry, Mom.”
“I maybe brain dead and have no idea the reason why your father wants to keep me on life support, but I’m mostly all spirit.”
“How am I supposed to help Javier?”
“Your blood.”
“Are you crazy?”
“Look who’s talking.”
“You are right about one thing, Mom, since I am arguing with a dead person.”
“Smart ass.”
“Okay, okay, Mom, I’m going back.”
“Good girl. I’ll be around if you need me.”
“I’ll always need you.”
A single tear slid down her face, and she swiped at it. Blowing out a deep breath, she rolled from beneath the bed, looked at all her creatures, and made the announcement. “I guess we are going back.”
Digging in the bag for clean clothes, she turned her phone back on. It was warmer outside than she anticipated. She dropped the room’s key off in the overnight box and headed back to Sacramento.
After driving for hours, she drove straight to Motel 6 on Mack Road and Power Inn. Parking the car to the back of the facilities, turned on her phone and redialed the number. This time, a male voice answered. It sent shivers down her spine.
“Betty, is that you?” Javier asked.
“Damn, you sound good over the phone.”
“I am so glad that you are alive.”
“Hell, I’m happy to hear your voice as well. Was it my father or his mob squad that did the damage?”
“I am sorry you had to deal with this, and I see why you were attempting to run away. I’m not going to keep you. I know you have some driving to do, and I need to go back into stasis.”
“Before you go, I just wanted to let you know I am back in town, and come high or hell water, I’m standing my ground.”
“Where are you going to stay? You know you can’t stay at the place any longer.”
“Yeah, I know. I’ll look for another place in a couple of hours.”
; “No, you won’t. You’ll stay with us. Stop frowning.”
“How did you know I was frowning?” Betty asked.
“You tend to do that frequently. I noticed over the brief conversations we had the last two days.”
“Oh.” I’ve never had a person pay that much attention to what I did before. “Where am I coming to?” she asked with a sigh.
Providing her instructions, she started up her vehicle to head to her destination. Contemplating the last couple days, realizing that it was nice to feel needed, a feeling that was almost foreign. She remembered when her mother had requested her help in the kitchen to prepare dinner for the house. Of course, that was before he father had taken a flying leap off the freeway with a kite. They would often crack jokes and laugh while baking. She remember one time when her mother had been making a peach cobbler and she had picked up one of the containers of what she had thought was sugar, and it had ended up being salt. After sharing the meal together, they were ready for dessert. As she had cut a slice of cobbler for the each of them, they had smiled at one another and then simultaneously filled their mouth with the scrumptious dessert but quickly realized that it wasn’t so scrumptious at all. A lesson in futility, they had laughed about it and dumped the cobbler and settled on a bowl of ice cream instead. That night, her mother had curled up with her in bed.
She ended up pulling in to a driveway that was overrun with trees and bushes, which opened up into a humungous circular driveway able to park at least twenty cars. Finding a parking spot wasn’t a problem. Parking the vehicle and stepping out, before she had a chance to shut the door, there was large grey wolf baring its teeth at her with the self-assured threat. Betty’s wolf came to the forefront, eyes glittering, with the normal self-assuredness, but if the wolf thought he was going to intimidate her, it had another thing coming.
“Carl, back down,” Javier instructed. A familiar voice soothed all of her inner creatures and the wolf. Although, she wasn’t sure if the wolf was quite pacified. Carl snorted and growled, still not trusting the newcomer.
“Don’t make me call Dad,” Javier threatened. The wolf whimpered and trotted off. “Sorry about that.”
