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The Mine |Finale|

I hope you guys like this it’s a full 1,500 words, I feel like I could have done better though, but tell me what you think. Have a glorious day!

She felt the flow of her magic, closed her eyes, and spoke in the ancient language of the fairies.

“Levitate,” she breathed as she felt the magic flow out of her. It had been so long since she had cast a spell, she doubted whether it would even work. But lo and behold when she opened her eyes the northerner was sitting on a chair floating half a meter above the hardwood floors. A different northerner barked a request and Sir Faus translated with a smug smile on his face.

“Fairy! Make the floating chair spin!”

Airwyn obliged, hardly even thinking about it anymore. She mentally checked out of the situation as she was forced to trick after trick to entertain the northerners. She wondered why this was the only thing Sir Faus used her magic for. She could make ore mine itself out of the ground, and if given enough time to prepare, she could make the desert sand turn into water. That was what her mom would have wanted her to do, she had always taught Airwyn that magic was a gift that shouldn’t be wasted. Sir Faus on the other hand, was using her magic to make chairs float and to change the color of the floor. Airwyn was ashamed, but if all went according to plan this would be the last time she had to be humiliated like this.

When the men had had their fill of entertainment they moved onto dinner. Luckily they were so tired that they barely ate of the rich greens slathered in butter, they didn’t even glance at the moist chocolate cake, and to Airwyn’s delight, they only ate sparingly of the chicken. When Sir Faus led her back to her tent the moon had already risen and all of the laborers had retreated into their tents. Airwyn held her head up high and looked up at the moon saying a silent prayer for luck.

When they got back to Airwyn’s tent Sir Faus rubbed his eyes. Airwyn smiled, she knew that when Sir Faus was tired he made mistakes. Airwyn felt some of her magic return to her and was grateful, she would need her strength in the coming hours. After Sir Faus locked her chains in the drawer, he left. Airwyn let out a sigh and silently thanked the moon that he had left early. She laid down and closed her eyes, she needed to wait until midnight before she makes her move. Right now she needed to save her strength and gather her magic. Only a few more hours to go, all she needed was to be patient.

A few hours past and Airwyn rose up off the floor. She looked out of the tent and noticed that the moon was directly above the camp. She grabbed the chicken and dashed silently as she could across the warm desert sand toward the entrance of the mine. She hoped that they had been watching the moon as diligently as she had, she hoped to be free within the hour and she did not want to wait any longer.

Luckily when she got into the cavern they were already there. Three figures stood waiting for her. Even though one was holding a torch, they were still cloaked in shadow.

“Did you guys think I wouldn’t come?” Airwyn asked stepping into the torchlight.

“It was more likely that you would bring Faus with you,” said a teen with long, black hair as he stared at her, he had told her that his name was Leo,” I guess you proved me wrong.”

“She could still betray us all later, he could be hiding outside the mine right now,” said a short boy with close-cropped blond hair while glancing warily at the cavern entrance, Airwyn thought that his name was Dominic,” Maybe they are waiting for us to confess.”

“Come on DomDom,” says Sali, a girl with curly brown hair that always seemed to be smiling,” She said she would help us, so she is going to help us. We need to trust her.”

“Thank, Sali,” Airwyn said pulling the chicken from behind her back, “I knew that you guys still had doubts, so I brought some food. As a sign of our friendship.”

Dominic’s stomach growled as he reached for the chicken. Leo grabbed his hand before he could get any though.

“How do we know that you didn’t poison it or anything!” Leo accused when Sali and Dominic sighed Leo retorted, “She’s practically Faus’s dog, he takes her everywhere.”

Airwyn’s blood started to boil and she forced a smile on her face, “Listen, Leo, I am no one's pet. Just like you, I want to be free, if you don’t want to eat the chicken fine, let’s just get on with the plan already.”

Airwyn and Leo stared at each other as Sali and Dominic watched awkwardly, eventually, Sali broke the silence.

“Can I eat the chicken?” she asked, licking her lips with anticipation.

Airwyn responded cheerily, “Sure, just save some for Dominic.”  

Sali and Dominic sat on the dirty cavern floor and began to devour what was left of the chicken with gusto. Airwyn’s sensitive ears picked up Leo’s rumbling stomach and she gestured to the chicken.

“Are you really going to let them eat it all,” she asked him, “There is no shame in being hungry you know.”

Leo muttered something in response and began to eat the chicken as well. When what was left of the chicken was all gone Leo got up and wiped his mouth with his tattered sleeve.

“Thanks,” he said, not meeting Airwyn’s eye, “I haven’t had a square meal like that in a while.”

Dominic burped and rose to his feet, wrapping Airwyn in a grateful hug, “Thank you.”

“Dito, Airy, thanks,” Sali smiled.

“Don’t mention it guys,” Airwyn said,” Now let’s see that key Leo.”

Leo reached into a pocket of his dirty encrusted pants. He pulled out a delicate looking, rusted old key. Leo explained how one of the managers had thrown it away because they said it was too old to use. Leo had fished it out of the trash when their back had been turned. Now he was going to use it to free Airwyn.

“Now remind me why we are freeing you, instead of just freeing us,” Leo asked Airwyn skeptically.

Airwyn sighed and began to explain herself again, “That key is about to crumble into dust, it would break if it had to open all your shackles. If you free me I can use my magic to open your locks. Simple.”

Sali and Dominic nodded. Leo looked uncertain, but he didn’t protest anymore.

“Alright,” Leo conceded,” Which one first?”

Airwyn pointed to the hole in her shirt, toward her chest shackle. Leo carefully inserted the key into the keyhole and whispered a prayer as he turned the key. It stuck for what seemed like forever then it turned sharply and a soft click was emitted from the lock.

Airwyn sank to the floor and clutched her chest. She hadn’t felt this much magic since her mom died. She raised her hand and reflected the torchlight across the room. She giggled and groaned, without the iron shackles off her wrist even the most basic magic was draining. She looked up and noticed that everyone’s eyes were on her.

“Are you okay?” Dominic whispered.

“I’m better than okay!” Airwyn laughed while rising to her feet, “I finally feel like myself again. Let’s continue.”

Leo gently grabbed her wrist and slowly inserted the key. After a few moments of tense silence, the shackle gave a soft click and fell away, clattering to the floor. By now Airwyn was practically floating, for the first time in a long time she was tasting freedom on her tongue.

Leo grabbed her other wrist and looked her in the eyes, “You better keep up your end of the deal, Airwyn.”

Airwyn nodded her head just as Leo inserted the key into the last shackle. The same process as the first two locks. A turn, a bit of sticking, then a soft click. This time though when the shackle clattered to the floor Airwyn felt her magic come back to her. She laughed and looked over the people standing with her under the torchlight.

“Alright, guys,” Airwyn smiled, “Time for freedom.”

Airwyn snapped her fingers, and the shackles on the laborer's wrist burst open and clattered noisily onto the jagged stone floor. They walked out of the mine together and Airwyn looked out over camp that she had spent part of her life in. The moon was bright and full and Airwyn wanted nothing more than to fly out of the hot, featureless desert, but she knew that she couldn’t. Her wings had been trapped beneath iron for months, and they would need some time to heal. For now, however, walking free under the moonlight would be enough.    

The Rocks

I think I like this fantasy/horror writing thing. Look forward to more of these type of stories in the future, anyway. Enjoy!

There was a disturbance in the water. Usually, I knew everything that was in the frigid depths. The fish that went around and around until their deaths. The plants that waved endlessly in the currents, and the rocks that stood unmoving slowly being eroded by the waves. That day was different, something big was moving through the water and it was coming right for us. I smiled, showing each and every one of my razor-sharp teeth it had been so long since I had tasted flesh, I could barely contain myself.

I barely even thought of the route I was taking, I retraced the route by memory, all my attention was focused on moving my tail as fast as possible. The closer I got to the cave, the more my stomach rumbled. I had swum out pretty far, so by the time I got back to the cave evening light was already filtering through the water. When I swam into the entrance of the underwater cave Katla was already curled up her seaweed blanket covering her tail. I saw that her eyes were open, she was staring up at the cave ceiling spacing out.

“Hey,” I said to her, still smiling from ear to ear, “Guess what’s coming.”

Katla sighed, releasing an air bubble into the dark blue water, “Let me guess, another boat?”

I giggled, Katla was always so crabby when she was tired, “Very close, not a boat, a ship. It’s going to be here tomorrow, just think we haven’t had any real food all month.”

Katla yawn and rolled over onto her side, “If it’s coming tomorrow, then tell me tomorrow. Right now I don’t care.”

I groaned and swam over to our food box. It was empty, as usual, I could feel my stomach eating itself as I thought about all the food that was coming the next day. Katla might have been satisfied eating fish, but something about their scaley, slick skin made me gag. I smiled wistfully, I could almost taste their hearty, bloody flesh on my tongue. I told myself that in the morning I should practice my singing, but I knew that I wouldn’t.

I went over to my sleeping spot and stared up at the cave ceiling. I tossed and turned, trying and failing not to think about all the meat I would eat the next day. I knew that if I didn’t sleep I couldn’t sing, and if I couldn’t sing I would probably starve. I swam sleepily over to Katla’s sleeping place and cuddled up to her. Feeling the tepid warmth of her skin had always made me feel safe, and I was finally able to fall asleep.

The next morning I woke up to the feeling of vibrations through the water. The ship was coming and it was close. Katla was still sleeping, I tell by the steady back and forth motion of the gills on her neck. I knew that it would be better if she woke up on her own so I quietly left the cave. I peeked my head out of the water and saw the clouds gathering in the predawn sky, by now I could hear the ship gliding through the dark choppy water. I knew that I had about three hours before us, and I intended to use every second.

I went over to my usual practice spot and hoisted myself not very gracefully up onto the seat of the rock. When the sun was at its peak it was almost torturing to expose my entire body to the air, but during the morning and at night especially it was tolerable. I coughed as my body switched from breathing with gills to my feeble and underused lungs. I had heard from Katla that other sirens in the tropics stayed above the water almost all day, and I never believed her. Just sitting on the rock on a cloudy day dried out my skin and scales so much that I could barely stand it. I closed my eyes and tried to focus, took a deep breath and began to sing. My voice rose and fell and I could feel the water move with it. I opened my arms and mist swirled around me. My head started to ache as I tried to maintain it. Newly formed waves crashed against the rock as I warbled my heart out to empty sea. After twenty minutes of my voice being in perfect harmony with the oceans I slumped, chest heaving, against the slick rock.

“I must be out of practice,” I laughed to myself, “Alright I can’t rest forever, I have to get back to practicing.”

After a few hours of practicing I could see the ship approaching. Its scratched wooden hull sliced through the icy waves as its sails flapped softly in the feeble breeze. I could see the men on boards ragged clothes and drained slouching. Perfect I thought to myself, they are much easier when they haven’t slept.

“Having fun?” Katla asked, trying to pull herself onto the rock.

I pulled her up next to me and smiled,” Lunch is here, of course, I am excited.”

“Then let’s start the show, shall we.”

I looked at her strangely,” Shouldn't we wait until they are closer?”

Katla laughed and patted my head, “You still have so much to learn, Eva.”

She started singing, her voice dipping low, calling the sea to her command. The waves crashed violently, rocking the ship that was steadily approaching. I didn’t want to miss the action so I started singing as well. I called the mist to my side and released it onto the surface of the water, making sure that no sailor could see us. After ten minutes the ship was finally upon, and our final song could begin. With each note, our appearance changed. Slimy stringy hair became lush and voluminous. Pointed, yellow teeth became small and vibrantly white. Scales appeared so shimmery that they glowed. With our song, we commanded their minds to think of nothing but us. Well not the real us, the us they saw, the us they believed, the us they wanted. As they jumped from the deck of the ship I could see the lust in their eyes, though it was nothing compared to my own hunger. I could smell them in the water and I willed them to come closer so that I could finally feast.

One man, he appeared to be very strong, reached our rock and started to climb towards us. I could see his eyes shining as he got closer and closer, reaching for what our songs had promised him. Katla looked at me and I could tell from her gaze that this one was all mine, she never had liked them muscular. I bent over and looked the man in the eyes, he smiled from ear to ear. I opened my mouth and bent low to his neck, sinking my teeth in as rich, red blood gushed into my mouth. I tried to savor the taste, but I always ended up drinking it as fast as I could. The man looked shocked as I pulled away, the illusions my song had created flickering away one by one. In his dying moments, he could see me for who I truly was, and he was horrified. He tried to call out to his shipmates, but it was too late, our songs had already pierced their hearts, and they were slaves to their desires. I always loved the look that they had right before they died, a look of total shock, mixed with fury, with a little bit or surrender. It was priceless. I tossed the body behind me so that I could focus on the task at hand.

Another man was approaching, this one was Katla’s. I raised my voice as she stopped singing, and kept the illusion alive while she feasted. I stared at her out of the corner of my eye as she bent low to look at the sailor who had come to her. She opened her mouth wide and used her strong teeth to bite through the sailor’s skull and take a bite of his brain. I turned my head to stare at her as she gnawed at the pink squishy interior. I loved the look on her face as she tasted her first bite of flesh, one of pure ecstasy. When the sailor died she tossed his body overtop mine and stared hungrily as the rest of them as they hoisted themselves onto the rock, and climbed to toward the faces their minds had created. The last faces they would ever see.

Thanks for reading, have a stellar day!

The Hallway’s Creature

I got this prompt from http://www.creativewritingprompts.com/ it was number 139 and it really inspired me to branch out and try to write a story like this.

I hope you like it.

The hallway was silent but the girl could hear her heart beating fast. Even though she couldn’t see anything she knew what creature waited for her in the darkness. She reached out and her cold clammy hand felt a turn in the wall. She quickly jumped around the corner, only to find that it was just more darkness and suspense that awaited her. 

She continued walking for a few more minutes without any change. It felt as if she were floating in the void. Nothing changing, everything equally black, with nothing but the sound of her own footsteps to remind her that she was going anywhere. She sighed as she turned yet another corner to find that it was nothing but an empty wall. She had reached another dead end and she didn’t feel like turning back. Nevertheless, she swallowed her fear and turned back walking slowly and carefully, watching out for any tricks. It didn’t take long at all for her to reach another turn this time it was a right turn. She didn’t worry too much about it though by now she was used to the shifting hallways.

She turned the corner slowly but after a few steps, she started to speed up. It may have been just her imagination playing tricks with her fear but she didn’t want to take any chance. But after a few quick steps, the noise started to grow louder and louder still. Slop, Slop, Slop. Something gelatinous and wet slinked toward her slowly. It didn’t have to move fast, it knew that even if it took days it would eventually find its target. Slop, Slop, Slop. The noise grew louder as the girl ran faster when she had reached her full sprint it was almost deafening. SLOP, SLOP, SLOP. The girl felt her lungs heave as she tried to run faster. Though no matter how hard she ran she knew that the creature would find her. As she ran, she started to doubt the purpose of running altogether. Perhaps she should just stop running and embrace her destiny. She slowed for a second and then looked back at the creature. She could see its shapeless form filing up the hallway with pure girth. Squeaking into corners and cracks like a cat sitting in a jar. However to the girl it had a sort of shrinking quality as well. SLOP, SLOP, SLOP. It came closer as the girl slowed her pace. It made her, the halls, and even itself appear small. The girl knew that it would swallow her without a second thought. Without an ounce of pleasure her satisfaction. No matter how much the creature consumed it would always be hungry, ravenous, insatiable. It would always seek out more to fruitlessly try to curb its infinite appetite. SLOP, SLOP, SLOP. The creature got closer and the girl could smell its foul bile. The thick, gelatinous liquid covered the creature's body like a second skin giving it it’s pungent odor of rotting corpses that had been marinating in saltwater. The girl was repulsed by its odor and covered her nose as she started running faster and faster her hand grazing the wall trying desperately to find the one thing that would save her. Until.

There! The girl found it a turn. The very turn she had been wary of going around just a few minutes beforehand. Wait, she needed to make sure this was the right type of turn before she but all her hopes on it.SLOP, SLOP, SLOP. The creature came closer and the girl quickly as she possibly could felt the surrounding walls and found that the hallway went on after the turn, at least for a while. She squatted down and ducked into the corridor that branched out from the hallway. She knew that if she started running down the new hall that the creature would hear her footsteps and give chase. So she used the technique that she had perfected in her previous encounter with the creature.SLOP, SLOP, SLOP. The girl crouched down and fought to calm her urge to run away.SLOP, SLOP, SLOP. She took some deep breaths and tried to calm her raging heart. SLOP, SLOP. The creature had reached the corridor where she was hiding and it had stopped. She held her nose and tried not to gag because she knew if the creature heard her she was dead. It stopped at the corridor and lingered for a few seconds before continuing down the hallway. Slop, slop, slop. The creatures sound receded and the girl let out her breath. 

Quietly she stood up and started to walk back down the hall the creature had chased her through. Even though she was scared and being hopeless and giving up was easy she knew that she couldn’t quit. Even though her heart was pounding and her legs were begging her to rest she was going to keep moving. Because no matter what she was going to escape the hallways that were trapping her. She had entered through a window and so there must be another window. No matter how terrified she was the girl was not going to give up.

I hope you liked this story. Please tell me your thoughts about it. Have an amazing day!

Rika smirked as she looked at the screens. Destruction, death, and chaos ruled throughout the subway system. It wasn’t exactly what she would have wanted, but it would do. As she was checking in on the rapidly unfolding situation, there was a tentative knock on the door which she ignored. Not having their knock answered, one of her sidekicks burst into the room. 

“You have to do something, people are dying down there!” the originator of the knock pleaded to her. A girl named Silky if Rika’s memory was to be trusted, and it was.

“I fail to understand why any of this should make a difference to me,” Rika replied almost lazily, never taking her eyes off of the monitors.

Silky clenched her fist, “.....I swear you have about as much compassion as a rock. I don’t even know why I bother anymore, you’re nothing like I thought you’d be. It’s like you don’t even care about all the innocent lives out there!”

With that, she stormed out of the room. Leaving Rika with her monitors and a creeping feeling branching out in her mind. Everything had gone as plan. Thanks to her deception techniques, her opposition was destroying the city subway network. Effectively bombing their own reputation and ruining millions of citizen’s daily commutes. All because Rika’s spies had suggested that she might have somehow hacked the underground security.

Looking back at the monitors, Rika witnessed the battle, though it would really be better described as a massacre. Anyone who got in their way was crushed in the most ruthless way possible. Having abanded their morals long ago, their only goal was to stop Rika, no matter how many “innocent people” got in their way.  Normally, this wouldn’t have bothered her. No matter what her carefully curated public perception was, Rika didn’t have a special connection to the innocent. She had become a hero because of one particular moment, one particular motive, and one special person. None of which she had ever shared with anyone. 

Still, as she watched the monitors for a brief moment Rika saw the situation as Silky saw it. People being crushed underfoot, broken bones and spilled blood. And Rika just watching it with a smirk on her face. 

“What Silky said was a bit concerning,” Rika said to herself, a habit that she had adopted to organize her many, many complex thoughts, “If I really am disappointing her so, I can’t have her defecting. The opposition would my enemies throw her a parade if she went to them.”

Once her mind got rolling, it was unstoppable. Suddenly everything she would have to gain from going down into the subway was evident. Rika going down to the subway was so evident to her then, she wondered why she had ever been content to sit in her chair. In a blur of movement, Rika collected the equipment that she would need. To an outside person, it would have seemed random. This knife and not that knife, a half-empty clip instead of a full one, but Rika was choosing everything in service to her larger purpose. Though she was going down to the subway, Rika had no intention to win the fight.  Having her enemies destroy the underground was her plan after all. No, Rika was going to be overwhelmed by their numbers, her knives will break after slashing through endless flesh and bone, and eventually, she will have to flee. Taking civilians and her own injured sidekick in a desperate retreat. 

“But I will have tried,” Rika declared to herself, the image of her battle playing out in her mind, “When they see me fleeing they will see themselves in me.”

When Rika strapped the last brittle knife to her belt, attached her body armor a bit loosely, tied her boot laces irregularly, she smirked.

“My approval ratings will go up at least 5%.”

Thinking of the battle Rika pressed the button on her intercom. Hearing the panic on the other line as everyone tried to determine who would pick up, Rika stifled a giggle. Normally Rika would have never used the intercom, but she liked to keep her people on their toes. Once someone did pick up, however, Rika kept her message brief.

“Tell Silky I need her in the City Room,” Rika said, and then for effect, “Now!”

Less than a minute later Silky burst into the room once again, this time not bothering to knock. Her eyes were red and she was sniffling a bit, though she was trying desperately not to. 

“Aww,” Rika thought to herself as she turned around, “She’s been crying, how cute.”

Wiping the last remnants of tears out of her eyes Silky spoke, “You wanted me?”

Rika stepped forward. Looming over Silky and smiling. In an almost motherly gesture, Rika handed her sidekick a handkerchief.”

“Dry your tears Silky,” Rika said pointing to the violence that was still unfolding on the monitors, “We’re going to save them.”

Silky brightened up almost immediantly. Drying her tears with Rika’s handkerchief and putting on a hopeful smile.

“All of them?”

“All of them,” Rika lied.

Person A: “I fail to understand why any of this should make a difference to me.”

Person B: “…..I swear you have about as much compassion as a rock.”

Up the Road

A werewolf takes her newly turned almost girlfriend on a road trip to their new home. Unfortunately, the road is paved with old enemies.

~5.7k Words

Even my superhuman abilities couldn’t keep me awake forever. I had been driving for 18 hours straight and to be honest the lines on the road were starting to blur. Analise was asleep in the passenger seat beside me but even if she had been awake I wouldn’t have asked her to drive. She had been through a lot in a short amount of time, I didn’t want to give her any extra responsibilities. 

A light flashed to life on the dashboard, we were almost out of gas. I blessed the truck’s terrible gas mileage as I pulled into the nearest exit. We were trying to get there as fast as possible so I was trying to avoid unnecessary stops. Getting gas would be a way to break up the interstate monopoly though, and I could get some coffee while I was there. 

While I was carefully monitoring how much gas went into the hulking dull blue beast of a truck Analise started to wake up. She had been sleeping since we left Arkansas, twelve whole hours. I was worried that she wouldn’t wake up. Though I supposed that being in the truck had lulled her into a deeper sleep than usual. When I wasn’t driving I normally fell asleep on road trips as well. 

“Sorry I slept for so long,” Analise yawned, “I was trying to decipher our future through my dreams. So we’re in Maryland?” she asked sleepily. Analise had grown up in the south, but being quite introverted she had never picked up too much of an accent. Still, her voice spoke of hurricanes and pecan pie. I could have listened to that voice for hours. 

She was right, going through D.C. would have been faster but there were some people there that I needed to avoid. “Did your dreams tell you that?”

With a small smile she pointed at the 7-11 behind all of the gas pumps. On the windows ,along with deals on slushies, the Maryland Powerball was proudly advertised. I laughed and quickly pulled out the gas pump. Fifty dollars worth of fuel should have been enough for most of our trip, Analise had done something to the tank to make it use less fuel. 

I quickly paid, in cash, for the gas and then started counting out the money I was willing to spend on coffee. Before we left I had managed to get a couple thousand dollars together, and we were only half a day away from our destination, but I still wanted to budget. I never knew when we would need money. As I counted out the money I watched as Analise completed her divination. She had taped a light pink crystal to the head rest, I supposed that had to do with the spell. Analise took the crystal off of the head rest and taped it onto her pencil, then she started writing. I supposed that she was writing down her dreams, or her interpretations of that they meant. Even though Analise undeniably had some sort of power I wasn’t that well versed with spells. If I kept staring I would just be in her way, I turned to go into the shop. 

“Hey,” Analise asked shyly, looking up at me from her notebook with those deep brown eyes that I loved to get lost in, “If you’re going in can you get me some pizza, or a drink, or some candy or something?”

I nodded and counted out twenty more dollars, determined to get her everything that she had asked for. When she had moved just the year before she had taken a plane the few short hours to her new town, so I wasn’t sure that she was too used to long road trips. 

It was amazing what stayed the same no matter where you were. A 7-11 is the same no matter if it's Arkansas, or Maryland, or even Maine. The smell of the place made me smile, it was so familiar, so comforting. Donuts and slushie syrup and cheap beer. As I made my way through the short aisles I could almost imagine my dad behind me, trying to hurry me because his girlfriend was waiting in the car. At the thought of a girlfriend I blushed in the candy aisle. Analise I hadn’t talked about our relationship much before we left, I wondered if she was still interested in me. After all I was pretty much responsible for ruining her life. 

I chose a bag of Starbursts for the candy requirement of Analise’s request. She mentioned once in passing that she preferred candy you could chew, so the fruity candy seemed pretty safe. That plus my medium mocha, a large lemonade, and two slices of rubbery pizza costed fifteen dollars. Less than I thought, which was nice.

“Sorry I was gone so long,” I said when I slid back into the driver’s seat. In reality I had no idea whether or not I was gone for a long time. But not being around her felt wrong somehow. 

She laughed and took her food from my hand, I wondered if I had gotten what she wanted, “It’s fine. Actually I could smell you all the way from here, it was pretty nice to know that you were still close by.”

If I had tried to open my mouth nothing would have come out, just incomprehensible sounds of happiness. So instead of talking I just started up the truck and drove back onto the highway. 

A comfortable silence fell over the cab of the blue truck. Analise wasn’t too much of a talker even when she wasn’t eating, which I was just fine with me even if I loved hearing her voice. My coffee tasted exactly how I expected it to. With my heightened senses I could taste every over roasted coffee bean and low quality chocolate. They gave the entire cup an unmistakable burnt dark chocolate taste. I drank it all down greedily, we still had almost a day’s driving ahead after all. 

Once Analise finished her pizza and stopped sipping on her still half full cup of lemonade I expected her to doze off again. A playlist of her favorite songs I had prepared drifted through the truck’s speaker system. I had to fight to keep the music from lulling me to sleep before the coffee kicked in, but it seemed like Analise was wide awake. Just staring out of the tinted window. Passing signs were unreadable going 70 miles per hour, but Analise’s eyes still lingered on every one of them. She was thinking, I wondered what her dreams had told her about the future. 

“How much longer till we get there?” her voice sounded weary. 

I had memorized our route and several possible routes so I had an answer for her instantly, “Still about 20 hours left.”

Analise didn’t answer, just nodded. I winced. It seemed like all up and down the eastern seaboard I had enemies, so we were having to take a detour across Pennsylvania to avoid the major cities. If I wasn’t so scared Analise could have just flown to Maine and  she wouldn’t have been so tired, if I was smart I would have gotten a faster car, if I had never moved to town she wouldn’t have been in this mess in the first place. I took another sip of my coffee,the bitterness didn’t seem like a harsh enough punishment. 

Another two hours on the road another state sign passed. We were in Pennsylvania, farther away from the big east coast pack but still within striking range. I tried to stop it but I instinctively relaxed. The smell of hostile wolves grew less prominent and I couldn’t help but sigh in relief. The most dangerous part of our journey was over, it all going up from there. 

I got a surge of energy when we entered the Keystone State. Maybe it was the caffeine or maybe it was the relief. Either way I was confident that I would be able to get us to Maine without any more stops. With my renewed energy I tried to stop seeing the roads as the same. From Arkansas to where we were the scenery had changed greatly. Shallow forests had replaced empty scrubland, cars were now four wheel drive, and it seemed like we were only the truck on the road. We had really left the south behind, I wondered how the north would be. Dad and I had spent the first few years of my life in the pacific northwest, that was where he met Clair after all. But I had never had to survive this far up the east coast, I wondered if deer tasted different the farther up you went. 

“It's getting late,” Analise said weakly. And she was right, the pink clouds of sunset were being replaced by the deep blue sky of night. Even though the stars weren’t out yet you could feel the time changing by the second. Maybe the coming darkness was responsible for some of my energy. Still I wondered why Analise said that, she was never one for pleasantries or small talk.

I wondered if any normal person could have heard her, she was almost whispering, “Can we stop for the night?”

Even though we were going at highway speeds I risked a glance at her. She could hardly keep her eyes open, yet she hadn’t slept a little. Her breathing was shallow, I wondered if she was sick. Gas station food didn’t have a stellar reputation after all. Yet she didn’t look green, just tired. I took a hand off of the leather covered steering wheel and reached it over to her, running it through her kinky black hair. Analise sighed, almost whimpered. 

“Alright,” I said softly, “Don’t worry I’ll find us a motel.”

Once both my hands were back on the steering wheel I booked it to the next exit. Even if Analise’s senses and strength were heightened I shouldn’t have expected her to go almost two days without sleeping in a bed. 

I tried not to spend too much time searching for somewhere to sleep, but in the end I was kind of choosy. If we stayed at a traditional motel then our scent would be open to the world. My enemies could gather in the parking lot and attack us at any time of the night. Instead of a drive-in motel I chose a small hotel for us to stay at. It would be more money, but it would protect us at least. 

Once I was parked I went out to get our suitcases from the truck bed while Analise got herself out. Her suitcase was big and light green, by the weight of it I think she had packed her entire wardrobe and all of her favorite books and plushies. Me, I had packed pretty light, quickly having to move wasn’t a new thing for me so I knew the procedure. 

I held onto the suitcases while Analise had her still half full cup of lemonode and the rest of her candy. The light of the hotel and the rest of the fast food places around the town drowned out the stars. Analise had once told me that she hated how the night sky looked in towns. She had grown up in the suburbs so she had never even seen how beautiful it could be at night until she went camping when she was ten years old. The simple dark blue and few bright stars didn’t do the night justice in her opinion, so when I told her that we were moving to the middle of nowhere Maine that was a positive in her opinion. Being able to see the true night sky was exciting, but for meI didn’t care as long as I could feel the moon on my skin.

“Can we have one room with two beds,” I asked the receptionist once we got into the carpeted lobby.

I wondered how we must have looked to him. Two black teenaged girls all alone with no supervision, I wonder if he could tell that we were hundreds of miles from home. 

“Actually we have a deal tonight for a suite room with a king-sized bed for just twenty dollars extra if you are interested.” he said in a cheerful customer service tone.

Analise nodded her head behind me but I shook mine. We had only been on two awkward dates, I didn’t know if she would even want to sleep in the same bed with me for an entire night. I decided to save the twenty dollars and take the double twin bed room. The receptionist nodded and handed Analise our room key card since my hands were full with the suitcases.

It was on the third floor with windows facing the main parking lot. That would be good, I thought, we can have advanced warning if someone is coming. Then I laughed to myself. We were states away from their territory and I was still worried, they might have even forgotten about me. It had been more than a year after all. I just needed to relax and get some sleep, another day of driving was ahead of me after all.

“Do you mind if I take a shower first?” Analise asked me once we got settled in the room.

“Oh yeah don't worry. I’ll check for bedbugs in the meantime.”

The thought of bed bugs made Analise’s eyes widen but I waved off her fear. I was only being cautious, and there was only some much the bugs could do to us, after all.

Instead of lifting up the mattresses I got down on my knees and started sniffing the crisp white sheets. They were relatively clean, thankfully. No used condoms and only a few spare crumbs were stuck under folds in the sheets. That was good, I’m not sure I could have let Analise sleep on a dirty bed.

I brushed the crumbs off of her bed and straightened up the sheets. Her’s the one farthest away from the window, I’m sure she was tired of sleeping next to windows after a day in the car. Though giving myself the window bed also quieted my fears that we would get sneak attacked, even though I tried to stop myself from getting scared in the first place. I didn’t bother smelling my bed or brushing off crumbs, if I got sick then so be it. 

Analise exited along with a cloud of steam from the bathroom, she was wrapped in a towel but I made sure to close my eyes. 

“You can go in now,” she said while I heard her unzipping her suitcase and rooting around for some pajamas.

It was a short cold shower for me, though I made sure to shake myself dry afterwards. The feeling of cold water spraying out of my hair and skin was amazing. I had basically been turned my entire life, so some of my more wolfish traits had entered my everyday life. It was the little things, shaking, running, looking at the moon, that really made me feel alive. 

I came out dry but naked, I hadn’t thought to grab a towel. The lamp beside Analise’s bed was off and she was curled up under the sheets, her breathing regular and deep. But her heart rate was still fast, she was trying to fall asleep not actually sleeping. Still I tried to be quiet as I could as I snuck over to my suitcase and put on my pajamas. 

“No one’s going to hurt us, nothing’s going to happen.” I whispered to myself firmly as I padded softly to bed, “Just go to sleep.”

And I tried, I really did try my best. The bed was comfortable, the sheets were soft, and the window let in buckets full of soft moonlight. But I had just drinken a bunch of coffee and since I was a werewolf sleeping during the night had never come naturally to me. The moon enchanted me awake, its many craters and silvery glow so mysterious and beautiful. I tried to turn away from the window and close my eyes, but just knowing that the moon was up was enough to get my mind racing.

While I was trying to fall asleep my mind wandered. I wondered where Clair was, I hadn’t seen her in person in a year and hadn’t spoken to her in three months. She would know what to do in this situation, she wouldn’t just grasp at straws. Dad was so stupid to give her up. Tears welled up in my eyes as I thought of that fateful day when she left. Dad hadn’t just fucked his own life up, his actions had broken me for so long. And he wondered why I was avoiding him.

“Are you sleeping?” Analise whispered into the dark room.

I hadn’t been paying too much attention to her breathing or heart rate, I had thought she would be asleep. 

Once I heard her I sat up in bed and looked over. She was still curled up under the sheets facing the door. 

“Yeah I’m up, what do you need?” I asked quickly. 

I heard a head shake, “Nevermind, I don’t want to bother you.”

At this point I got out of bed and walked over to her. I didn’t want her to think that she was bothering me, I didn’t even know how she could have bother me. It was my fault that she was there, I didn’t want her to hesitate to ask me anything. 

“It's okay,” I whispered once I was closer to her.

She turned around and I could see that she had been crying. Analise sat up in bed and I kneeled down next to her. She sniffled, it sounded loud in the dark room. 

“I had trouble sleeping when Mom and me first moved. Even though my bed frame had come in the moving truck too, everything was different. Whether it was the sounds or the smells, everything was weird. It took me like a month to get a full night’s sleep.”

I nodded, she had seemed tired when I first met her. It was the first time she have moved away from her hometown, it made sense. 

“And it’s so cold here,” it seemed like her voice was getting smaller and smaller, “I didn’t know how cold it could be inside.”

She paused and I stroked her hair, she was so far from everything that she had ever known. 

“Can you sleep with me?” I’m glad it was dark in the room and Analise hadn’t yet gotten her night vision yet. That phrase had so much meaning so I waited until she started speaking again, “Just for tonight, it's so cold and I don’t think I can sleep without warming up a bit. I’m sorry if it's weird or if you don’t like me anymore, but…”

I didn’t let her finish before I crawled into bed with her and started cuddling up to her. It was awkward for the first few seconds, but once I wrapped my arms around her waist and leaned my head into her shoulder she and I both relaxed. 

“Wait…” I just registered what she had been saying, “What do you mean that I don’t like you anymore?”

Instead of answering she went quiet for a minute then told me a story. I was fine with that, maybe it was a sensitive question. And besides I always loved learning about what her life was like before we met, before everything went to hell. 

“When I was in 7th grade I had a boyfriend and I think we were pretty serious, as far as middle school relationships go.” she said and I could tell, even in the dark with her facing away from me, I could tell that there was a sad smile on her face, “We had been in the same classes together since 6th grade, but we started dating in April of our 7th grade year. Summer came and we stayed together, my friends even commented on how great our relationship was when we all went to the beach together. When school started again we kept dating, but in November, right before thanksgiving, my grandma died. I was really sad about it about it and I didn’t talk for like a week straight. My friends supported me, even though they were bad at it, but he didn’t. He kept trying to keep going on dates and acted like nothing happened and when I couldn’t he broke up with me. He wrote me a letter saying that he had cut me out of his life for his mental health. Me being sad about my grandma was bringing him down.”

I was starting to understand but Analise kept going, “When everything happened and I yelled at you when we were in the movies I thought that we would be over. And I know that you’re just staying with me because of guilt or something…” Analise’s voice broke and she sobbed quietly. 

This was too much, Analise might have been tired but I needed her to know what I knew. I turned on the lamp beside the bed and turned Analise’s shoulder so that she was facing me. Tears were streaming down her face and pooling on the tip of her nose, she must have been crying for longer than I thought. 

“I’m not just here doing this because of guilt Analise,” And I wasn’t. I had been an irresponsible idiot for accidentally turning her, but I was doing more than taking responsibility, “I want to be here, I want you to live a happy life. Not just because I feel guilty. And I’ve been kind of distant because I thought that you were going through a lot, not because I don’t like you still.”

“Thanks,” her mouth barely moved, and she kept crying.

I brung her into a hug and brought us both down on the bed. Analise kept crying into my chest, I wondered if she believed anything that I said. I hugged her tighter, feeling her tears stain my gray pajama shirt. The lamp was still on, leaving us in the light while the rest of the room was cloaked in darkness. A sob ripped through the room, Analise’s tears ran harder. I just hugged her.

“Did you---?” Analise started, stuttering and sobbing, “Are you… I’m sorry, I just…”

I stroked her back, silently telling her that it was okay. And I was about to verbally tell her too, when I heard something. The doorknob was turning, slowly and quietly. Quieter than any human could have done. I resisted the urge to growl, whoever was at the door needed to think that we were both sleeping. Analise’s and I’s physical well being trumped emotional security as I hopped out of bed and lifted a finger to my lips. She hadn’t yet adjusted to her super senses so Analise didn’t hear the door opening, but she stopped crying all the same. I smiled at the trust she had in me and then turned all my attention to the door.

Luckily the walls of the hotel were pretty thick, so they could only vaguely hear our heart rates through the door. Though those thick walls were probably the reason I couldn’t smell our attackers before they were so close, that and the mellow scent of tears that had spread throughout the room. We had the upper hand, they didn’t know we were still awake. By we I mean I, I would never ask Analise to fight for me. Not making any sound I crept behind the door and motioned for Analise to turn off the lamp. In the darkness I waited.

Their smell assaulted me when the door finally creaked open. Dirty river water, purebred dogs, and brandy. It was them, the Maryland pack. Internally I cursed, how were they here? We were seventy miles away from their pack boundary? I allowed them to creep farther into the room while I thought quickly about how they must have done it. In a car with thick walls they must have followed us up the highway, staying downwind the entire time. For a second I thought them insane, Dad and I had crossed them a year and half ago and they were still this obsessed with me. Then I remembered our time with the pack. They looked after their dogs and they looked after their own, and we had damaged a lot of dogs. I still remembered the smell of labrador blood on dirty snow, those nightmares still haunted me. 

A short barking laugh not too dismisimar to my dad’s, “Crying already, don’t worry we’re not going to hurt you much.”

I wished that Analise hadn’t cried, but her tears were hiding my scent at least. By their footsteps I counted two people, maybe I would be able to hold them off while Analise got to the truck. It didn’t matter what I could do though, it mattered what I needed to do. I lunged, extending my fingernails into sharp claws I lunged for the man’s throat.

If it had been a human I could have severed their artery right there, but werewolves can dodge even in human form. I caught his arm when he raised it to block my attack. By that I could tell that he was a low level enforcer, both of them were, probably recently turned. I had been turned when I was just 8 months old. Mastery of my wolf, my senses, and my abilities had come naturally. I tore my claws through his forearm, blood tinged the air as I ribbed through muscle. I could win.

The second enforcer, it was a lady, came behind me and reached for my throat. I could hear Analise’s panicked breathing in bed, short and fast, she probably couldn’t even tell what was happening in the dark. I could tell by the sound in the air that there were no claws coming at me, I laughed audibly into the gloom. They had probably only been werewolves for a few months, she couldn’t even summon claws on command. I didn’t let her hand reach me before ripping my claws out of the man’s arm and bringing my foot around and connecting a kick with her shoulder.

“Turn on the lights!” I yelled into the void, my kick had blown the lady away and I wanted to be able see everything that was happening.

A few seconds of Analise noisily grasping for the switch before everything was illuminated. I was able to see the woman charging at me with light blinded eyes and a snarl before rolling out of the way. Right into the legs of the man. Quicker than I would have thought he would have been able to, the man grabbed my throat and ripped me into the air. With me seemingly taken care of the woman stalked towards Analise, still cowering in fear on the bed. Her eyes were wide and she was frozen with fear, I’m sure she would have peed herself if she hadn’t already gone to the bathroom. I tried to crane my neck to see how fast the woman was going, if I had any time, but the man’s grip on my neck was strong. Too strong. He was using too much force, if I was a human he would have broken my neck twice over. Since I wasn’t, all he was doing was cracking the bones in his fingers. 

There was no time to be careful, I could see the sharp teeth that he had gotten out. Glinting in the lamplight, white and long. I got out my own teeth, shorter perhaps, but I was holding the advantage in experience. He had brought me closer to his face, probably going to spew out some curse or insult. But that was his mistake. I stretched my neck further than humanly possible and took a bite out of his nose. By that point I had bitten into a lot of fur and wolf blood always tasted odd. More like pence than pennies. I ripped cartilage and muscle out of his face and in his agony he let go of me and dropped to his knees. There was no time for mercy, I brought my foot down on his still bleeding head and heard a crack.

With a growl I launched myself at the woman, who was towering over Analise in her bed. She was probably saying something but my rage was too loud to hear. If I had been able to calm myself down then everything would have been different. I saw it before I heard it, a gun. A single shot, an infuriating smile. I was on the floor, smelling my own blood leak out of the wound in my shoulder. Dimly, my mind wondered how no one had heard what was going on. The woman’s foot was on my back, pressing me against the carpet. Though I don’t think I would have been able to get up even if she hadn’t been on me. I had been in enough fights to know that whenever I lost enough blood I passed out, and even though I was trying, I wasn’t fighting the blackness hard enough. 

“Don’t worry, puppy,” the woman said sickeningly sweet to Analise, who’s panicked breathing along with whimpering I could still hear, “We won’t hurt you, you’ll just be coming with us. If you do good you’ll get food, if you don’t…”

Her words had ignited something in me, I flexed muscles I didn’t know I had and growled deeper than I ever had. Before I even knew it I was a wolf and it wasn’t even the full moon. The last time I had measured my wolf was 7.5 feet long and my fur had darkened to a brown almost black with sunnier brown patches. When the moon was out I loved to run and swim and hunt and catch any fish I could find. But there was no time for play that night. 

The woman wasn’t expecting a shifter, and to be honest neither was I, she lost balance and almost fell over before regaining her balance. I was slow because of the unexpected shifting, she got a shot in and it whizzed through my fur. The wound in my shoulder was still there, but as a wolf I was better able to accept pain. With an enraged growl I leaped at her, and she knocked over the lamp as she went down with all 160 pounds of me on top of her. Strange shadows were cast along the room and I could barely see Analise’s face. 

“Plea-!” the woman started the shout, but I didn’t let her finish. I knew that she and the man were only following orders. As minor enforcers their position was always in flux. Enough mistakes and they were demoted lower than where they started at. Both of them were ambitious newbies, probably were this close to promotion. Really I didn’t have any malice toward the pair. But their situation didn’t let me excuse what they had done. They had scared Analise, they had harmed her. I had no mercy for them.

My teeth ravaged her collar, neck, and shoulders. Skin got stuck in my teeth but I kept biting and scraping and snarling. Eventually she stopped blinking and she stopped trying to scratch me through my fur. I stepped off of her awkwardly, suddenly aware that Analise was still in the room. I turned to face her, blood still soaking into and staining my fur. Her heart rate didn’t slow, I must have been terrifying to her. The first wolf she sees and I was covered in blood and had just maimed someone.

“Laurie?” she choked out.

I nodded my wolf head and sat down on my hind legs, trying to look cute and nonthreatening. Analise crawled out of bed slowly, her legs jelly as she approached me. I’m sure she couldn’t ignore the two bodies in the room like I could. When she managed to take the four steps toward me Analise fell to her knees and hugged me, actually hugged me. She buried her face in a part of my fur that wasn't bloody and let out all of the tears that she still had in her. As a wolf I couldn’t hug her back, tell her that everything would be okay, kiss her forehead. The heartbeats of the pair had slowed down to dangerous levels, they would either die soon or be unconscious for a while. There was no risk to detransforming. Yet I couldn’t do it. A process that was so easy when the sun was rising after a full moon was impossible that night. I tried to go to that place in my mind that I did when I normally detransformed, a place in my mind filled with everything that made me human, but it didn’t work.

Analise picked up on my distress, maybe she was finally learning to hear my heartbeat, “Can you transform back.”

She was looking at me in the eyes. They hadn’t changed, they were still a light brown, somehow looking at me finally calmed her down.

I shook my head and whined softly. Even though Analise hadn’t studied wolf language she understood what I meant.

“Don’t worry,” she whispered, “I’ll stay with you until morning.”

Again I whined, but this time in a more reassured way. Though I wasn’t exactly reassured. I had never transformed like this before, what if I couldn’t transform back? What if I had to stay a wolf until the next full moon? 

“It’ll be okay, don’t worry too much.” This time I looked into her dark, dark brown eyes and actually started to relax, “It’ll be okay.”

For the entire night, while the bodies in the room grew colder and their heartbeats grew feeble Analise held me. Blood soaked in and crusted into my fur, a few tears fell from my wolf eyes but I found that I didn’t sink into despair. Just because Analise was there, I didn’t let myself worry.

Thanks for reading guys! I’m really bad at writing romance so I hope that the two girl’s feelings toward each other stood out clearly. If you have any tips leave a comment I guess. I hope you have an amazing weekend. :)

Suits and Shades// Chap. 17

A snippet of the next unreleased chapter of my GTA fanfiction. Hardened Los Santos Detective Andre Jackson tries to apologize to Amanda De Santa for lying. Things get heated rather quickly... ;)

Pairing: Amanda De Santa x oc

Warnings: Fluff, explicit

Read on ao3

“Amanda!” I came up from behind and veered in front of her. “Listen, I know you’re upset, but you can’t go running off by yourself. It’s too dangerous.”

“You’re a liar!” She pushed me—well, tried to—it felt more like a heavy-handed tap. Cute. I didn’t budge. “I thought you were different, ‘the nice guy’, but you and Michael, you’re both the fucking same…”

Her voice faded to the back of my mind as I watched her lips move, the tip of her tongue swayed with every word. Her perfect, red rouged mouth was remarkably alluring. I haven’t felt her lips against mine in days and I was starving for the taste. 

The blood in my veins went hot and molten, threatening my control. Amanda wasn’t mine to have. If only she wasn’t so damn sexy…I knew where this was heading—straight down a road of getting fucked over. 

I wasn’t interested in a short-term affair. I wanted more. I needed more. I deserved more. 

How could I compare to a dude like Michael? Her first love? I wasn’t rich. I didn’t have millions to throw around, a mansion in Rockford Hills with a private pool, luxury cars or yachts, but maybe…maybe I could make her want me. 

The chances of being with her were slim. Real slim. Against my better judgement, I took the chance anyway. 

Passion overriding caution, I gripped a fistful of her silky hair and pulled her to me, my mouth slanted over hers. She let out a feeble sound of protest and went completely still, her resistance beginning to dissolve. Her heart raced, nipples hardening into tight points against my chest. Gradually, she softened in surrender, melting into the kiss, clinging to my shoulders as if her knees were going to give out. 

"Andre..." she moaned against my lips. I shivered. 

All the fight left her. She kissed me back, her tongue thrust aggressively into my mouth, demanding and greedy. It was always a fight for dominance between us, and that fight always ended in her favor. She was a strong woman who had to be in control. I admired that. 

But she wasn’t gonna win today.

With a growl, I dragged my lips away. My mouth opened on her neck, devouring the softness. I cupped her hip, and her shapely, flexible leg rose in response, curling around my waist. Her long-limbed figure molded to mine perfectly. Through her sheer, skin-tight leggings, I could feel her heat, her core trembling against my throbbing shaft. Wait—was Amanda wearing panties? 

I slid my hand into her pants, and fondled the soft, exposed curves of her ass. Hot damn, she really was going commando. 

I think I’m in love.

We were stranded in the middle of nowhere, in the dusty, poverty-stricken, piece of shit town known as Sandy Shores. Tracey was missing, I had a bullet wound in my chest, thugs were probably lurking in the shadows watching us make out…

Now really wasn’t the time for this. 

“Your husband and I ain’t the same,” I nipped lightly at her earlobe, making her shudder. “You know me, baby. I’m nothing like him.”