Awakening (2)

-Beginnings-

         The thunderous claps of flesh on hollow wood wrenched me awake, and my forehead slapped the iron bed frame with a metallic ring. I huffed a sigh of pain and squinted my eyes as they adjusted to the morning light that was streaming through a large window. It had sheer blue curtains that displaced the light strangely and gave it an ethereal hue. The room was simple, though relatively large. It had darkly stained pine wood flooring that squeaked despite even the greatest efforts at stealth, the one window, and a plain antique dresser with a mirror. Across from the hard iron bed that was plushly comforted in the same blue tones as the curtains, was a door that led to a full bathroom. The loud pounding coming from the door to the right side of the bed continued as did the racing of my heart. All signs pointed to one offender. I scowled and heaved myself out of bed with angry gusto, and tiredly shuffled to the door, stumping my left big toe on the ornate leg of the bed in the process. Spitting curses, I opened the door and there stood the handsome young ogre, mid-swing and grinning.

         “What the hell Thorben!” I yelled.

         He shrugged, unabashed, and threw his hands out wide in a gesture of surrender. “We were gonna be late.” I only glared. To fill the silence he added, “Nice lump ya got there.” And proceeded to poke it with his right index finger.

         I yowled in pain and punched him in the well muscled gut.

         He grunted under the force of my blow, then smiled. “Nice one. I should really learn to dodge. Are we even now beautiful?” I flushed with flattered embarrassment, and my anger was forgotten. I cleared my throat, and dismissed the compliment as I had done with the many others he had been playfully shoving my way lately. I, the most-times cool headed and discerning one, understood the problems that would occur if two orphans, who lived in the same household, were to get together, let alone what would happen when it ended. He, however, did not. The silence grew again, and he couldn’t stand it. “Its 7:04 ya know.” He said it as much to fill the awkward quiet he had created as he did to inform me. Being late to school would not bother him in the least, but silence always made him more than uncomfortable.

I suddenly noticed that his short ice-blond hair was flat against his head with moisture, and he was fully clothed. I simply slammed the door, and charged through my morning routines, only halting for a short time to frown at my stubbornly plump thighs and slight pooch of my lower tummy as I caught a glimpse in the foggy bathroom mirror. As hard as I was working, you’d think I would see results faster. I would just have to go for my daily 5 mile run after school.

Quickly I toweled my hair and body, slipped on my under things, yanked on some jeans, and the first t-shirt I could lay hands on. Because I didn’t have time to do more with my wet stringy hair, I twisted it into a hasty French braid that lay heavy and dark against my back. I leaned closely into the full-length mirror to rouge my lips, and darkly out-line my eyes. At least my skin was naturally smooth and clear if not tan. I stood back from the mirror to take in the full effect of my hasty preparations. I sniffed approval at the pleasant pull of my full breast on the black deep-v-necked shirt, grunted disappointment at the small pucker just above my hips, but ended with a grin at the recently baggy jeans. Not perfect, but who is, I thought to myself as I sinched up my customary brown work boots. Thorben, tall, blond, and lanky, came to mind. Well, maybe someone is. I grabbed my back-pack from its hook by the door and raced downstairs.

“Time?” I yelled at Thorben as he tossed me the keys and we charged out the front door.

“7:26.”

“Damn, I’m good.” He and I laughed at that.

I flew into the driver’s side of the big “blurple” truck, and a second later Thorben was in the passenger seat and plopping a small boy in-between us. Expertly, I whipped backwards out of the gravel drive way and tore off through the countryside toward school.

“Aunt Bertrade said to give you these.” Ian stated in a voice that teetered on the edge of pubescence, as he held out two granola bars in his hand and pointed to the steaming coffee thermoses in the cup holders. “She said you’d be hungry.”

“Thanks buddy.” Thorben said as he tousled Ian’s already disheveled dirty-blond hair. Ian grinned up at him with a look of hero worship in his big hazel eyes.

“Thorben, you can have my granola bar if you’d like, but if you touch my coffee you’ll be missing a hand soon enough.” I said while he crunched away happily on granola. He feigned several comical grabs for my treasured thermos. We, all three, were smiling as I slipped the vehicle into a conveniently empty front row parking spot at the small Mississippi school. Ian ran as fast as his gangly legs would carry him up the steps to his eighth grade class. Thorben and I followed quickly after, but with more dignity as befitted two newly-made seniors.

Just as we were about to part ways at our classroom doors I stopped Thorben. “Hey Thorben, listen. I’m sincerely sorry about this morning. I shouldn’t have gotten so frustrated so quickly.”

“Nah, don’t worry bout it Bindy. I shouldn’t have woke you like that. I know better than to test your quick temper.” He patted his large hand on my shoulder, and grinned down at me before slipping away into his classroom. I just shook my head in wondered at his exceedingly easy-going nature, and followed suit.

*          *          *

“Hey. You’re late,” Whispered my sometimes-friend Tammy when I slipped into the desk beside her.

I shrugged and replied, “What’s new?”

“Definitely not that.”  She paused as if weighing her next question. “You coming to Ethan’s party tonight?” The silly, squinty eyed gossip was probing, not so subtly, for information.

“Ahh, I don’t know. I haven’t decided. Auntie Bertrade has been cracking down on me lately.” It was a lie, but I didn’t want her to know that it was little Ian who disapproved of me going to parties not my adoptive mother figure. The boy had better sense than someone almost five years his senior. “Where is it supposed to be anyway?” I knew the answer, but I wanted to throw off her hastily made assumptions.

She snorted with impatience and said, “At his parent’s downtown apartment like always.” 

Ethan McCormick was wealthy and quite attractive in a dark smoky sort of way. His parent’s were also neglectfully absent most of the time. It made for the perfect combination of reckless insecurity and money that provided most of the upper classmen with easy access to booze and a place away from disapproving eyes to drink it. I shrugged again in response to Tammy’s prying and began taking half hearted notes on amino acids, lipids, and whatever else Mr. Green found important. Little did I know that my day was about to get somewhat less monotonous.

*          *          *

         The second period bell rang, and the class erupted in a chorus of slamming books and zipping bags. I was among the first to escape Mrs. Darnell’s Civics and Government class, and as I was entering the hallway my best friend Tala fell into step beside me. Why in the world do all of these tall beautiful people keep getting attached to me, I wondered to myself. Tala was taller than average with perfect wavy red-brown hair that ended just below her shoulder. Her petit figure somehow managed to make me feel like a giant despite the fact that she towered six inches above my head. Maybe I’m less of a giant and more of a troll.

         “How are you today?” said Tala sweetly, and interrupting my resigned thoughts. It wasn’t self pity, just logical contemplation. Pity was not an emotion that often crossed my heart or mind. I was more prone to methodical calculations and righteous passions.

         “Pretty good so far. Mrs. Darnell only gave the class a take home quiz, and Mr. Green didn’t assign any homework. You?”

         She smiled that smile that I had seen break countless hearts over the five years that we had been friends. “Well, Tom finally worked up the courage to ask me out.”

         Despite her picky nature, my friend had finally found a boy that attracted her. I didn’t much care for him, but she seemed to be happy. My smile was genuine though when I replied “That’s fantastic! Where and when are you guys going to hang out?”

         “Tonight at Ethan’s party. He’s going to pick me up at 7:30. Are you going?” That again.

         “Cool. I still haven’t decided. It’d probably upset Ian, but what else is a girl supposed to do on a Friday night?” Unlike most people our age, she didn’t scoff the fact that I valued a thirteen year old’s opinion so much. She just nodded and smiled, not indicating disappointment or excitement. She was simply neutral. This was why we got along so well. She was of a rare breed that could let me think about a situation and decide an answer for myself without inputting her emotions or feelings.

         “Just do whatever feels right,” she stated with a perfect smile. “You always know what to do in the end even if you think about it too much in the beginning.” With that we entered our classroom and sat quietly content in each other’s company.

*          *          *

         I was walking down the empty hallway to my locker after finishing my lunch relatively early, and was engaged in counting the faded blue linoleum tiles when I heard a bit of mumbling, an angry roar, and a crash come from around the corner to my right. Hoisting my heavy pack up on my shoulders I hurried around to see the action. My eyes popped open wide at the scene before me.

         “Thorben! What in the world?!” I yelled as I vaguely acknowledged the fact that my fellow orphan elicited such emotional responses from me with unparalleled regularity. Thorben had yanked Ethan McCormick up to eye-level and slammed him up against the lockers by the scruff of his polo. All six foot three of him was shaking with barely contained rage. Poor Ethan looked terrified. “Stop it! Put him down.” Thorben’s shaking abruptly ceased, and the emotion in his eyes went from boiling hot to ice cold. As if compelled by some outside force, he mechanically chunked Ethan to the ground with a smacking thud. Without a glance, Thorben turned and walked off, not even stopping to pick up his back-pack.

         My brow furrowed in confusion as I lent my hand to Ethan and pulled him up from the ground. This display of anger was so unlike Thorben it had shaken even me, “Ethan, what on earth did you do to make him so angry? I’m glad I happened to walk around the corner. He was ready to throttle you.”

         “Ha! Throttle me? I just wish he would have tried something. He would have gotten his ass kicked.” I rolled my eyes at his blustering, and arched an eyebrow as if to say, that wasn’t even my question. He gulped and said “I don’t know why he suddenly blew up on me. We were just talking about something of...mutual interest, and he lost it.” I saw his eyes shift from side to side, then down to my breast, and back up to my eyes again before he asked the inevitable. “So are you coming to my party tonight or what?”

         I sighed. “I was on the fence earlier today, and as of right now I’m leaning toward no,” his lips pursed in disappointment, “but I’ll come on one condition.”

         He brightened yet again,“Alright. What is it?”

         “Tell me what you and Thorben were really talking about.” I knew that if the topic had so upset Thorben, there was no way he would give me the details. At least not anytime soon. So that left me to weasel it out of arrogant Ethan.

         I watched as he fidgeted for a minute, then grin in an annoyingly charming manner. “How do I know you won’t just ditch me after I tell you?”

         “You’d just have to trust me.”

         He chewed on the inside of his cheek and stared at my breasts awhile again before saying, “How ‘bout this? I’ll just tell you when I pick you up for the party, that way I can be sure to get that date with that beautiful girl.” He said all this with that grin on his face that indicated how clever he thought he was.

         “Interesting.” I rapidly ran through the pros and cons in my mind. He was an arrogant fool, but then I considered the pleasing way that his toned arms strained on his sleeves, and the faint outline of an athletic abdomen underneath his blue polo. I made up my mind. “I’ll be there tonight. Pick me up at seven.” I said with a purely business air. He grinned at that, but I cut off his reply when I abruptly turned, scooped up Thorben’s back-pack, and walked away.

*          *          *

         That afternoon I pulled the “blurple” truck back into the gravel drive of the two story turn-of-the-century farm house. It had a typically large wrap-around porch, large elegantly shuttered windows, and thick ridged columns. Though the white paint was chipping, and it had fallen into slight disrepair, it was beautiful. As if to add to the nostalgic beauty of the property there was an old faded red barn that Auntie Bertrade used as a workshop for her stained glass creations located further out in the swaying grass of the field. All of this was placed on a five acre cleared lot that was encircled by a thick forest of trees.

         Uncharacteristically dour, Thorben took Ian inside to get an after school snack while I pulled out all of my school things to study on the wooden porch swing. I put some ear buds in my ears and cranked up the volume. A short while later I heard the faint slam of a screen on its wooden frame. I looked up from my Calculus homework, and smiled as I saw the plate of steaming cookies and pitcher of cool lemonade that Auntie Bertrade was bringing out to me.

         “Hey gal, what’s gotten into the giant today?” Auntie Bertrade asked as she set the snacks on a small porch table within our reach, and set the swing rocking when she sat down beside me.

         “I’m not exactly sure. I know he had a bit of an argument with a boy at school today, but he would have gotten over that hours ago. He never holds onto bad feelings for so long.”

         She hummed as she always did while thinking. “Oh well. Who knows. Them young men is a mystery ain’t they?” She didn’t look convinced even by her own statement.

         I huffed and shook my head. “You could say that again.” I folded my Calculus book closed and set it aside before continuing. “Auntie, I told my friend Ethan that he could come by here at seven to pick me up and take me out to a movie with Tala and her friend Tom. Tala also asked if I could stay with her tonight after the movie. Do you think that will be okay?”

         That set the petit old woman humming again. “I guess so. Be careful though. Double datin’ can be tricky.” Auntie finished with a youthful giggle, and a wink.

         “We’re all just friends, Auntie.” I laughed. I cringed at the slight southern twang that somehow found its way into my words. Despite being from the neutral Midwest, Thorben and Auntie Bertrade’s southern accent had somehow written itself on my blank slate.

         “Alright then.” She said unconvinced. “Just be back in time to finish all your Saturday chores tomorrow.” Inwardly I grimaced at the hard, weekly farm work waiting for me tomorrow. I nodded and thanked her. She placed her gnarled hands on her knees to stand up, but suddenly stopped. Auntie’s strange grey gaze caught my own hazel one and stared long and hard. Her eyes were full of unfathomable knowing and understanding that compelled a looker to search deeper and deeper into her eyes so that they might pick apart their own soul to better understand themselves. I felt myself being captured, but jerked away just in time. She nodded as if finding whatever she seemed to be searching for.

         “What is it Auntie?”

         She patted my knee assuringly. “Nothing, gal. I’ve got something for you.” She stood and her long khaki skirt billowed around her as she shuffled inside. I heard some bumping and scraping on the other side of the wall where I knew her hidden wall safe was located. The screen door slammed behind Auntie again as she came outside holding a black velvet jewelry case. On her face was not the kind wrinkled smile that I had expected, but instead her face was a mask of measured calm. Behind those captivating grey eyes I could see sorrow and hope mingled. I didn’t ask what was wrong, because I knew she wouldn’t tell me.

         The velvet scratched pleasingly on my palms as I opened the case. I gasped in awe.

         “Young’un that’s a valuable family heirloom. It’s been passed down for generations and generations. So long people stopped remembering where it came from, and only started knowin’ it was important. You can take better care of it now than I. It was always meant to be yours anyhow.”

         I opened the long case to fine a necklace that had a fine, but strong black linked chain. Hanging from it was a pendant of unbelievable beauty and craftsmanship. It was a two inch long key that harkened back to ancient days. Its base color was the same matte black of the chain, but etched into it were deep grooves of color that seemed to be calligraphy of some sort. The shapes ranged in color from sterling white to bloody red to deep green. Others were burning orange and still more humming gold. Grandest of all though was the deep blue sapphire that sat smoldering in the head of the key. It seemed to suck up all the other colors and spit them back out, amplified tenfold.

         “Auntie, this must be priceless. Thank you so much I…” I searched for the words. “I’ll go ahead and put it back into the safe so that I…”

         “No!” Her eyes had turned feverish as she cut me off. “Young’un you gotta wear it at all times. It’s safe to wash in so you don’t have to take it off even for that. It’s...” She searched my eyes as if looking for confirmation before continuing. “It’s very important that you al’lays wear it Adelinda.”

         I was taken aback by her intensity. “Oh..okay.” I nodded to Auntie and said, “You can count on me.”

         “Good. I’ll help you put it on then you can go get ready for your non-date.” She smiled faintly, but truly.

*          *          *

         Hours later, I heard a rumble outside in the front yard and sighed. Ethan had arrived. I hadn’t changed clothes into anything more formal from my school attire, though I did dry and straighten my waist length ebon hair after my post-workout shower. A little more eye make-up had also been added to intensify the almond shape of my eyes and their mixtures of grays and greens. There was a knock on the front door as I was grabbing my charcoal zip up hoodie from the coat tree in the living room. Ian glanced up from his TV show in the corner. Oddly enough he had his tennis shoes on and a thick sweater. As always, his white, brown, and gold shark tooth choker poked out from underneath his shirt. Thorben had given it to him on his eleventh birthday, and he cherished it with all his little heart.

         “Planning on exploring in the woods later buddy?” I asked him.

         He nodded and replied “Something like that.”

         “Sounds fun. Have a good time. Love you little dude.” He smiled at that, and made a heart with his hands as he made his way toward the back door. I shook my head, placed a carefully calculated smile on my lips and a cool look in my eyes. “Hey Ethan.” I said when I opened the door.

         “Hey babe.” Babe? He really just called me that? “You ready to go?”

         “Yes I am, and don’t call me babe. I’m a woman not a child.”

         “Umm..okay then.” He looked confused.

         As we walk toward his tall black SUV I noticed a dark shadow flicker in the rear window. “Did you bring someone with you?”

         Unfortunately, the lusty teenager managed to turn that simple question into something it was not. I saw his chest swell with excitement. “No? It’s just us ba..Bindy.” It must have just been a trick of the light.

         Unexpectedly, Ethan went to the passenger side of his SUV, and opened the door for me like a true gentleman. He even offered his hand in assistance. Ethan walked around front of the vehicle, his chin-length dark hair bobbing all the way. The door clicked open on his side and I heard the lightest thump at the rear compartment of the vehicle. I glanced back, saw nothing, and told myself to stop being paranoid.

         During the thirty minute drive into town, Ethan made meaningless small talk that ranged from how my day went to what kinds of music I listened to. I dutifully answered all of his questions, and even asked some of my own to encourage the obnoxiously vague chitchat. Eventually I broached the subject I most wanted to talk about.

I pulled my booted foot up onto the seat and wrapped my arms around it as I stated, “I’ll jump straight to the point. I’d like to know what you and Thorben were talking about earlier today.”

I heard him groan a little. “Okay. We were talking about you. He doesn’t like me liking you. He just told me to back off and I told him I wouldn’t. Thorben obviously didn’t like my answer.”

I nodded and waited for him to begin the small talk again. As he babbled on I contemplated his answer. This would have certainly frustrated Thorben, but not to the extent that he would want to cause bodily harm to a person. He was a gentle giant. The situation didn’t seem complete enough, but it did seem to be close enough to the truth for me to squeeze the full out of Thorben in a week or so. All in all, I expected this party would be worth the vague answer.

As he pulled into the carport portion of the posh apartment he was rambling on about a particularly tedious bit of Calculus. I nodded and offered my future assistance in the subject as we climbed up the steps that lead to a door with lights flashing underneath and music shaking it in its wooden frame. At the top of the steps Ethan stopped and the hungry glow of lust entered his eyes. His body began to shift forward, and his long lean arms reached out to embrace me. Quickly, I side stepped him and entered into the room beyond the door, as if I hadn’t noticed.

         The bottom floor of the apartment was already full of high school students. Some were still sober, but most were not. There was a rousing game of beer pong going on in the dining room of the kitchen off to my left, and all the furniture in the living room had been pushed to the back wall to make room for the convulsing sea of mostly tipsy dancers. The only lighting came from the kitchen, and the strobe lights lining the walls of the “dance floor”. Just to my right was a massive flat screen television and the best sound system I had ever seen. Some meaningless rap song blasted from its speakers so loudly it shook my ribcage.

         “You thirsty?” Ethan had to put his lips right next to my ear and yell just to be heard.

         I only nodded. Just as he walked off into the kitchen to grab us some drinks, and I spotted Tala and Tom sitting together on the couch laughing. Tom’s eyes were hazy, and specks of beer froth dotted his stubbled chin from his most recent swig.

         “Hey Tala, are you quite as drunk as your friend here?” I asked jokingly. She just stood up and hugged me, not the least bit off balance. She was a light weight so she must be waiting until later to drink. I however was not, and as soon as Ethan walked up with my red cup I took a sip.

         In the span of time that I took to drink my first few cups, Ethan and Tom had consumed many more than a few. After finishing that final cup I grabbed Ethan’s hand and made a let’s dance gesture. He nodded eagerly and trailed behind me to the crowd of bodies. Tala and Tom ended up in the center of the swaying mass with Ethan and me. Somehow Ethan had found another beer and was downing it. He crushed the cup into a jagged red mess and swaggered up behind me and placed his warm hands on my hips. This was different from the attempted kiss earlier. Somehow that felt wrong but this didn’t. It could have been the atmosphere or it could have been the alcohol, but I found myself folding backward into curve of Ethan’s chest as we rocked to the beat. My arms rose up high above my head and I rolled my hips against his legs in time with the flow of the music. Slowly, sensually, my arms came down behind Ethan’s head. I wrapped my fingers in his long smooth hair, and tipped my head back into the curve of his neck. My eyes closed as I breathed in raggedly. We were so close I could feel the heart beat in his chest quicken with anticipation. He pulled on the right sleeve of my shirt to reveal my bare shoulder, and, all the while swaying to the music, kissed my shoulder. Slowly but steadily, he brushed his lips along my bare shoulder up my neck. He stopped, and planted a slow kiss at the crease below my upturned chin and neck. His lips lifted away, and I felt a warm hand turn my head around toward his. Gently he kissed my lips. I turned around, heady with alcohol, with a want for more. Amid the swaying mass of teenagers I unbuttoned his red and black flannel shirt and pressed against his warmly muscled chest, all the while kissing him with zeal. No one seemed to notice.

He pulled me into the mostly empty hallway near the back of the house, and placed a hand on either side of my head. He looked me in the eye for one second before leaning forward and placing a series of undulating kisses on my lips. My arms folded around his neck as I urged him for more. I felt his hand come off the wall, slide down my waist to end at my thighs. He pulled our waists abruptly together. I felt those warm, untrembling hands slip under my shirt and gently rub my back. Slowly he began to search for my bra strap…

         “I’m thirsty.” I stated before he could succeed, and felt all the shame of the tease that I was. “Can you get me some water please?”

         His voice was husky with barely contained lust, “Whatever. I’ll be back with your damn water, and then we’ll finish this.” His murky brown eyes were pierced with frustration. Ethan was apparently an angry AND lecherous drunk. Interesting.

         I walked out of the hall to look at all the partiers. Tala and Tom walked by me on their way toward the carport door. Tala giggled as she yelled into my ear “We’ll be back later. Tom says he know this really cool place that’s a couple of blocks toward Davis Street. It’s a little alley that has a neat wall mural. I think a walk might clear his head enough for a little more dancing anyway.” Her breath was still clean of alcohol.

         I nodded and smiled at her. My thoughts were certainly hazy, but clear enough to say “Be careful Tala.” She just grinned and left hand in hand with strawberry haired Tom.

         Minutes later, I saw Ethan stepping out of the kitchen, my water in hand. He stopped just at the line where the tile turned to carpet, and pulled out his phone. Ethan just stood there for a bit staring at his phone, and then I saw his thumbs twiddling back a reply. My lips pursed in frustration when I saw Ethan slip his phone in his pocket, set down my water, and walk out the carport door. After awhile of contemplation, I decided to follow.

         As I stepped up over the threshold out into the mildly chilly night my stomach became uneasy and the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. Something felt different. Shaking my head, I told myself I was just being paranoid again. Though I put an effort into staying relatively calm, my pace was jittery as I walked-jogged down the empty downtown street. The tall buildings that lined both sides of the street peered down at me hungrily. I had walked 2 blocks from the apartment in the direction Tala had indicated when my pace quickened again as I realized that I should have found my friend by now. I slipped my small black cell phone from my pocket and pushed 2 on the speed dial. Ring, ring, ring. No answer. It went to her voice mail.

         “Tala, I can’t find you and I’m starting to worry. Please call me back.” I repeated this process once more with the same result. A spark of fear ignited in my heart. I began to run. My long jet hair kept falling into my eyes, so I pulled it up in a ponytail and secured the tangled mass with my ever present hair band. My priceless necklace thumped against my chest in time with the clunk of my boots against the concrete. I was glad that I had begun exercising in the past months, otherwise, my current pace would have been impossible. The spark in my heart roared into a blaze. Sweat clung to my forehead though it was chilly outside, and I had a burning itch between my shoulder blades. The broken stoplight behind me flickered with a bloody hue.

I stopped to catch my breath near an almost unnoticeable alleyway. I could hear low mumbling and laughing creeping from its depths. I heard another, even lower, sound. Someone was softly moaning. My leg and stomach muscles tensed in readiness as I moved closer to the wall. I felt reality changing. I padded quietly to the corner of a dark alley. Somehow I knew this was what I was searching for. The mumbling, laughter, and moaning grew louder as I drew closer. I peered around the corner and a gust of air that reeked of alcohol and salty blood slammed into me. Every nerve in my body was electric with energy. My heart began to race. I  saw the outline of 2 tall figures looming threateningly over another, smaller, figure. I knew the smaller figure. Time stopped.

         A black anger seized hold of me. I straightened and boldly, but silently, stalked down the alley. I heard their familiar voices making foul and inappropriate comments about what they were going to do to the girl that was broken before them. The one on the left was even in the process of unbuttoning his rumpled jeans. I saw their drunken slobbering faces lusting for what was to come. My whole body was vibrating in time with the deep thudding of my heart. The girl’s shirt and blue jeans were ripped and stained with blood from cuts all over her body. It was hard to find a spot on her body that wasn’t purple or red. But through the thick curtain of brown hair I could see the battered face of my best friend; her eyes imploring me to turn from here; not daring to scream out at me to run in case her tormentor’s rage and lust be turned against me. The tall figure on my right pulled his leg back and slammed it into her in the stomach. I heard a distinct crack, a gurgled scream, and a wet cough. Blood splattered on Tala’s full lips. I lost my mind.

My vision blurred as the itching on my back flared into a sharp pain. My skin rippled and twisted. A sound like a knife ripping through thick fabric erupted, and echoed through the night. The sweat and blood beaded on my skin only amplified the small bolts of energy and blue cracks of miniature lightening arched from pore to pore. A feral sound ripped from my throat as I couched to spring forward. My back burst open. Light flashed. God, the power was magnificent.

I felt myself rush effortlessly forward. Everything in my vision was in stark relief despite the darkness that engulfed me. Before the drunken man who had kicked Tala had turned all the way around, I was crashing into his muscled side and smashing his head into the alley wall with a bloody pop. Somewhere in me there was a faint familiarity about the strawberry haired blood stain. The scream I heard this time was distinctly male. I spun and grabbed the other fool’s leather jacket as he tried to flee. I yanked him back into the wall on top of the bloody heap that was his friend as if he were made of Styrofoam. Slowly, dangerously, I crouched over him, bent down and grabbed him by the scruff his long thick brown hair so that he had to look me in the eye as he cowered and mumbled drunkenly for mercy. In his eyes I saw pure uncontrollable terror. I felt myself begin to thirst for his fear…I longed for it. As my own bright sapphire eyes reflected in his muddy brown ones I saw that he had reason to be afraid. I was terrifying. My long hair had escaped its band and was whipping uncontrolled in the brisk wind. Every inch of my body was sheathed in shiny blue-black scales like that of a reptile. From my back sprung elegant, silvery metal wings. Sharp fangs arched down from my mouth and dripped with venom. My left hand was poised to strike with its blackened razor sharp nails. Most horrifying of all, though, were my eyes. Large slit pupils shone in deep pools of burning blue that pierced through to the very soul of my prey with an animalistic hunger. My captive humanity watched from somewhere behind those eyes as my sharply clawed hand flashed out faster than thought, gripped my victim’s meaty throat, and ripped out its contents. I screamed at myself to stop. I reveled in the kill.

The small, terrified voice that came from behind me sounded as if it were yelling to my sensitive ears, “Who...who are you?” It said.

I turned to Tala, and with the sight of her face my humanity was able to temporarily escape its bonds. “Tala, Tala!” Rasped the gravely woman’s voice that came from my throat, though it was not my own.

“Bindy? Uhn…” Her voice stopped. More coughs tore themselves from her body. Clots of blood appeared on the dirty concrete in front of her.

“No,” I grunted defiantly and hurriedly picked her up in my arms as if she were no heavier than a sack of flower. She screamed in pain as I moved her. I murmured comfort, but could provide no relief. What was I to do? I cradled Tala effortlessly in my left arm as I flipped open my phone with my right. A blank screen, my phone was dead. With a contemptuous flick of my wrist the small black device shattered into hundreds of pieces on the concrete below.

Cautiously, I unfurled the wings I had never used before. I beat them fiercely. Nothing. I tried jumping and flapping with all my might. Though this time my jump sent me several feet in the air, the wings could not keep me aloft. I growled in frustration as I paced back and forth. I looked down at Tala. My heart skipped a beat, but I turned and ran as quickly and smoothly as I could to the end of the alley. The hospital was 3 miles away from the alley. So I ran. I was inhumanly fast, but that was because I was obviously not human. I covered 3 miles of dark alley ways and hidden passages in a hand full of minutes. I hoped beyond all hope that it was fast enough.

I arrived breathless, but not exhausted in a dark rose garden at the back of the hospital. A small fountain whispered unknown secrets behind me as I stared at the fluorescently lit hospital doors. Now what? I had decided to bundle Tala up in my now ruined jacket, and slide her in front of the automatic doors and then make a run for it until I’d figured out what was wrong with me when I heard someone shuffling up behind me.

“Bindy. Follow me and bring the girl.” The voice was just a whisper, but I knew it.

“Bertrade…” rasped the inhuman hiss that escaped my throat. The shuffling I heard just behind me was, in fact my adoptive mother getting out of her car. She was standing on the side road behind the hospital a ways away. My new hearing had tricked me. Gently, so as not to disturb my charge, I glided to the familiar boat-like Cadillac that was parked in a space near the garden. I placed Tala on the red leather seat in the back and tried to climb in myself but I couldn’t fit.

“Stupid useless wings.” I spat in a guttural hiss.

“Just follow on foot. You don’t have time to change back. We aren’t going far.” Suddenly it occurred to me that Auntie should find this a bit more odd than she seemed to. Auntie Bertrade’s face was grave as she drove off. I hadn’t had time to force words from my feral throat to argue so I sprinted after them in the shadows; purely a creature of night. Keeping up was child’s play.

As I followed Bertrade’s Cadillac I discovered this new body’s true instinctual abilities. For reasons of secrecy, I couldn’t simply run alongside the speeding car, so instead I vaulted over chain link fences, scaled shear buildings, and jumped seemingly impossible gaps all while flitting effortlessly from shadow to shadow. Eventually I was able to surpass the Cadillac as we entered the sparsely populated countryside. While Bertrade had to navigate wide sloping turns through the wooded country side I silently glided through the tree tops.

         Finally, I came upon the familiar faded red barn that Bertrade was clearly headed for. Stock still, I waited in a large tree and watched Bertrade carefully drive her car down a long narrow path. A deep growl vibrated in my chest in protest of her slow progress. My enslaved humanity battled with me, the animal.

         When Bertrade opened her door I was already at the back of the car picking up an incoherent and babbling Tala. She spoke of a key, and its brothers and sister. Nonsensical gibberish from a dying girl. “Take her inside. Place her on the table in the loft. I’ve got work to do.”



-Awakening-

         In helplessly miserable frustration I had stalked toward the tallest tree on the outskirts of Bertrade’s small clearing as she worked laboriously to save Tala’s life. The great oak’s lowest branch hung six feet above my head. I leaped upward five feet, gouged my clawed hands into the tree trunk, and using my momentum I pulled sharply with my arms simultaneously ramming my feet into the tree. I soared up toward the branch and grabbed a hold as it drew within reach. The branch made a cracking sound as I pulled myself onto it. Quickly, I bounded to higher and more stable branch. I continued like this until I reached the tallest branch that would hold my weight.

Silent. Unmoving except for the swaying of the tree top in the wind. My sapphire animal eyes stared wide eyed and motionless into the dark moonless night I listened to the shuffling of papers, scooting of glass vases, and the scraping of pestle on mortar while Bertrade worked inside the converted barn. All the while a war raged inside of me with no clear winner. My humanity moaned at the loss of innocence as the scene of my carnal rage played in my head over and over while the animal I had become yearned for more bloodshed. Animal fire seared survival and revenge on my heart while guilt and loss chilled my veins.

         Suddenly, the shuffling, scooting, and scraping stopped. Just as suddenly I momentarily shoved aside myself, the animal, to stare coldly at Bertrade who had come outside to inform me of Tala’s condition. I knew though, I could no longer hear the faint pounding noise emanating from inside the barn. I was only waiting in the hope that my newly acquired hearing was wrong. I growled at the somber look on her face and venom dripped from my bared fangs.

         “She’s dead,” stated the old woman.

         I felt my forehead crease as I attempted to decipher her abrupt and harsh words. Slowly, like the pressure building in my chest, her words began to make sense. The piercing tempest of grief filled my vibrating diaphragm as sapphire sparks of lightning licked from each pore of my body. Only a whisper hissed from aching throat. “No.” Fire and electricity eradicated cold guilt from my body and left only burning and revenge.

         The old woman’s grey eyes were alight with a lust for what was to come. “Give it up Adelinda! She is dead!” I heard crazed laughter. “Call to them for you are the Key!”

         Those last few words were blurred as Humanity lost and Beast ruled over all. My Humanity watched the unfolding events from the sapphire prison that dangled from my Beast’s neck. My throat blistered and flecks of blood collected on my fanged lips as a horrifying noise wrenched from inside my chest. The sound produced as the tempest escaped its constricting bonds was like a lions roaring amidst rolling thunder. Trees were blown asunder in the roar’s path, and the forest came alive with life. Wild predators of every size and shape all over the country side and world awoke from slumber and abandoned meals to join the call.

A young Asian man dropped to the grassy ground of a walking park outside his office building in China, lost in convulsions as he dreamt a blue-black scaled dragon with wings of sharp silver racing through the blackest night sky. In Ireland a mere girl went limp at the dinner table as she dreamt the same. Another young man in Zimbabwe seized on the dirt floor of his family’s small cottage with the same image in his mind. An image of each of my brothers and sisters and what animal they would become flooded my mind as I, the dragon in their dreams, jetted through the sky.

The shuffle of random yet vaguely familiar faces and situations settled suddenly on two I knew very well. Tala’s back arched in her convulsions and she violently wrenched herself off of Bertrade’s work table to land with a smack on her hands and knees. Thorben’s shredded and bloodied finger’s crunched into wood of the front door’s frame, and he ripped it from the supports surrounding it with a roar. Bright purple lightning engulfed my friend and sister like an angry cage. Maroon and black fur ripped across her contorting body. Thorben kneeled on the front porch, his slumped shoulders jerking up and down with his labored breathing. Brilliant white lightening sprang from his illuminated form as he screamed. Padded claws raked into the wooden floor of the old barn in the last throws of my wolf sister’s transformation. A large white paw shattered a porch swing with an agonized swipe, and my bear brother’s pure white shoulder rammed through a fading column. Strangely I felt several human consciousnesses touching mine as I streaked through the night.

Through a blue haze I could see what I thought was Tala. Unnaturally purple-black fur covered what seemed to be a large timber wolf. Just above a snarling mouth filed with razor sharp teeth were the royal purple eyes that searched the darkness expectantly. Beside her an even larger polar bear galloped toward and then past the barn with purpose. Its strong muscled shoulders coursed athletically with each stride as its whitish grey irises locked on a distant sky. That night six different calls chorused throughout the entire world. The skillful howl of a wolf, the strength filled growl of a polar bear, the keen screech of an owl, the fierce scream of a tiger, the noble roar of a lion, and one that harmonized them all. The call that awoke the five great predators. It was the call of a Dragon.





-Meeting-

         I lay face up, half of me feeling warmth and the brush of a dry breeze and the other felt cool dampness and scratchy grit. There was something wetting my feet with repeated  regularity, and muffled murmuring all around. I scrunched my eyebrows together and slowly began to open my eyes as light flooded in. I saw several brightly outlined figures standing all around me in a circle. Slowly, their murmuring came into focus.

         “She’s waking up. Jenny, go get me your towel.”

         “Alright, mom.” Muttered a girl.

         “Quickly now.”  Ordered an older man’s voice. “I’m sure she’ll want to cover up.”

         Faintly, a small child asked, “Mommy, will the lady want some of my strawberries?”

         “Amy, honey, stay over there and keep on play with your sand toys. Don’t come over here.” Said the first voice. The soft motherly one.

         Once my eyes were mostly adjusted to the light, I sat up and became keenly aware that I was, in fact, stark naked. I screamed in modest horror, and attempted to cover myself in a flurry of wet sand. Abruptly though, I became less concerned with my nakedness, and more concerned with the pain in my limbs, throat, and head. It hurt.

         “Jay! Turn around, you’re making her uncomfortable!” said a petit middle aged woman to a tall sun burnt man of around the same age.

         “Sorry! It was purely a professional examination. I am a doctor you know!” Said the skinny hook nosed man.

“Honey, are you okay? Have you been hurt?” said the kind eyed lady.

I just shook my head. Why couldn’t I remember the last few days? And how had I gotten to the ocean? A small girl of about 14 in a bikini top and daisy-dukes ran up holding a big beach towel that was covered in orange, yellow, and red flowers. She handed it to me and I gratefully accepted it.

Now that I was covered by the towel I found the courage to ask, “Where…am I?” in a halting whisper.

The lady’s pretty face scrunched up in concern. “Dear, you’re on a beach in San Francisco, California. Are you sure you’re okay?” she looked over her shoulder at the man behind her. “Jay, we may need to take her to the hospital.”

“Oh, no ma’am. I’m fine. I don’t need a hospital.” I said as I stood up. My legs didn’t just feel sore. They also felt different, stronger. “I’ll…just be on my way.”