Ties to the Blood Moon 2nd Edition Page 13

  “Gen! what are you doing?” Joseph’s voice sounded panicked. “Come on, we’ve got to get out of here before it blows up.”

  “How’s it going to blow up if there isn’t any fuel?” The fire extinguisher ran out fast, and Joseph came from behind and tried to throw me over his shoulder, but I refused to play the part of the damsel in distress. “I’m coming.”

  Joseph grabbed my hand and together we climbed to safety.

  I stood on the ground with my hand cupped over my eyes. The sun was bright and burning hot. I quickly broke out in a sweat.

  “What were you doing in there, other than trying to get yourself killed?” Joseph asked incredulously, while helping Joshua bandage the gash on James’ forehead.

  “I don’t know. I wasn’t thinking.” I didn’t look at him. I was too busy staring across the desert, worrying about the fast approaching vehicle I spotted off in the distance. “Um … you guys … we’ve got company coming.” I pointed in the direction of the tiny spot shooting up sand behind it on the horizon.

  Joseph and Joshua Jumped to their feet and stared in the direction I was pointing.

  “Shit,” Joshua shouted, and scrambled to lift James. “Get everybody behind the plane.” He promptly headed to the side facing away from the vehicle and laid James in the soft sand next to the plane. It also happened to be the side the sun was hitting, which made the sand hot to the touch.

  The temperature was climbing quickly and all I could think about was the possibility of having to travel for miles on foot. I pushed up on my sleeves, but it actually made it worse by allowing the sun to beam directly onto my skin.

  I walked back to help with Luna. She was already awake and slowly pushing herself up onto her knees. “My head,” she murmured, pressing her hand on the side of her head. Joseph helped her to her feet. “What’s going on?” she asked, appearing confused.

  I took her arm from Joseph and put it around my neck while I helped her to the side of the plane. She sat down and I knelt between her and James. Joshua and Joseph moved around to the front of the plane.

  “What happened, Gen?”

  It was obvious she was still dazed, especially since she was leaned against a partially buried plane with a broken wing. “As you can see, we crashed.” I patted my hand on the plane. “But we all lived to tell about,” I smiled, trying to make Luna smile.

  Luna leaned forward, trying to see around me. I turned toward James, and found his eyes were open.

  “Hey,” I smiled. “How are you feeling?” I asked, quietly putting my hand on his shoulder.

  Before he could answer, Joseph called out from the front of the plane. “You guys be quiet. They’re close.”

  When I looked back at James, he was unwrapping his head.

  “Stop. You have a nasty cut on your head.” I was trying to keep my voice down, but I guess it still wasn’t enough, because Joshua scolded me.

  “I’m fine. Why are we hiding?” he asked, but then his eyes got big, I’m guessing because he saw my eyes open wide. “What?” He rubbed his hand across his forehead, then brought it down. There was nothing on his hand.

  I furrowed my brow. “I saw your forehead. It was all gashed and bleeding.” The wound had closed completely, and all that remained was a puffy red line. “What are you?”

  “Oh, that.” He smiled. “Let’s just say we’re fast healers. So are you.” James’ tone was light and the way he talked was like everybody should know that.

  Luna pursed her lips. “Shh. I can’t hear what they’re saying,” she whispered, her eyebrows scrunched.

  Joshua stepped around the plane, and an old man with bushy, silver hair and a shaggy beard, wearing dirty blue jeans overalls, moved from behind him.

  “Hey you guys. He saw our plane going down, and he came to check for survivors.” Joshua had this relieved smile on his face.

  Joseph came around from the other direction and was elated when he saw James had awakened. “Hey, Bro.” I couldn’t help but grin, too, when I saw the huge smile stretch across Joseph’s face as he reached for James’ hand to help him to his feet.

  “Let’s go,” Joshua called out. “He’s giving us a ride to a truck stop a few miles north of here.” He seemed relieved, but I sure didn’t have a good feeling about the whole thing.

  Something told me we shouldn’t trust him. He was just too nice and insistent. The whole thing was also just a little too convenient and gave me the willies. I mean, who drives around in the desert picking up strangers? For all he knew we were a group of teenage killers waiting to rob and decapitate our next victim. Or worse, maybe he was the psycho about to kill us.

  I tugged on the back of Joseph’s sweat-soaked shirt, and motioned for him to follow me. When we were out of earshot I stopped walking and turned to face him wrapping my arms around myself. “I don’t trust him,” I said with trepidation.

  “Come on, Gen. Look at him and look at us. What’s he gonna do?” Joseph tried to make light of the situation.

  “I’m telling you. There’s something more to it. I don’t know exactly what, but I just know there is. Please, let’s just tell him no thanks.”

  “You kids a comin’?” The old man had snuck up on us and had this really creepy smile that sent chills down my spine.

  I looked at Joseph, then at him. My heart suddenly fluttered when Joseph leaned in close.

  “It’ll be all right, I promise,” he whispered in my ear. I felt his hot breath on my neck, which stirred feelings inside of me that I’d only felt with William. He put his arm on the small of my back, sending a spark of electricity through me. Something inside me awakened as we walked close together. He held my hand and gave me a gentle nudge, and helped me to climb into the back of the pickup truck.

  Joshua rode up front and the rest of us rode in the back. The wind from the moving truck was a welcomed comfort even though the hot desert sun beat down on us.

  I shifted my gaze from the sun to the cab of the truck and then back to the sun.

  Joseph must have been watching me, because he soon got curious enough to try to see what it was that held my attention. “What are you looking at?”

  “Um … correct me if I’m wrong. But if the truck stop is north and it’s ten-thirty in the morning, shouldn’t the sun be on the right side of the truck?” I asked, becoming more uneasy by the minute.

  Chapter 25

  I don’t know why I was worried. Luna and I were with three big strong guys who also just happened to be a special breed of giant werewolf. So if that man had any intentions of hurting us, he’d be sorry as hell he offered us a ride.

  We pulled onto the highway, and drove several miles, before turning off again. I saw an old house ahead in the far distance. Joseph didn’t see it because his face was buried in his arms, propped up on his knees. Luna was facing me, so unless she had eyes in the back of her head, she couldn’t see it either. And James was asleep. I swear that guy could sleep through a hurricane.

  When I tapped Joseph on the shoulder it startled him. He jerked and quickly raised his head, opening his eyes. I pointed at the house. “That doesn’t look anything like a truck stop to me. I’m just saying.” I threw my hands out, palm up, and shrugged.

  I tried to down play it, like I wasn’t worried, but I’m sure Joseph saw right through me. He shook James awake and whispered something to him that I couldn’t hear. James didn’t say anything, he just simply nodded at Joseph.

  We turned onto the path that led to the house. It was an old one story shack. Most of the paint had worn off the clapboards, and half of the railing was broken or missing on the front porch.

  He and Joshua opened their doors, and stepped out. A three-legged dog came hopping from around back, barking and excited to see his master.

  “You youngens get on out and stretch yer legs and get some water. I’ll only be a few minutes,” the old man said, and dropped open the tailgate. “There’s some fresh rain water in that barrel over there.” He pointed in the direction of a fe
w large barrels sitting beside the house.

  “Do you have a phone we can use?” I asked earnestly.

  “Nope, ‘fraid not. I ain’t never had no one to call, so I couldn’t see payin’ for one.” He turned and started to walk in the direction of the back of his house. He walked like maybe one leg was a good two inches shorter than the other. “Sorry,” he called out without bothering to turn around.

  As soon as the old man disappeared around the house, Joshua spoke up. “He’s just a harmless bootlegger. He said he saw our plane go down on his way back from one of his ‘customer’s’ houses.” He did air quotes for the word customer’s.

  “I hear what you’re saying, Josh, but I just have a bad feeling about this ‘harmless’ guy.” I did air quotes for harmless, but I was really just mocking Joshua.

  He looked at me severely. “My name is Joshua, not Josh.”

  “Sor-ry. I had no idea you were so touchy about your name.” I spun on my heel and stomped off toward the rain barrel.

  I scooped out a small handful of water and tasted it. It was surprisingly cool for such a hot day. When I picked up the ladle hanging on the side of the barrel, it was all grimy and nasty looking. I wasn’t about to stick that thing to my face without cleaning it first. I took it with me and went looking for a water hose. When I stepped around the back of the house, I saw wires going from the house to a telephone pole. I didn’t see the old man anywhere so I knocked on the back door.

  While I was standing outside the door, I heard the old man’s voice coming from somewhere inside the house. I couldn’t hear what he was saying, but his conversation seemed one-sided. There was a couple of crates under the kitchen window, and even though I knew I shouldn’t, something compelled me to see who he was talking to. My whole body shook like crazy at the idea of him catching me peeking in his window.

  After quietly situating the crate, I stepped up on it, and slowly stood. When I peeked in, he was standing in front of a cabinet with his back to the window, and I saw a curly black phone cord stretched up from inside a drawer to a receiver pressed against his ear. My elbow hit a can on the window ledge, sending it crashing to the ground. My stomach tensed with fear and I quickly ducked. When I heard his footsteps clomping across the wooden floor, I bolted and didn’t slow down until I’d made it around to the front where Luna and the boys were drinking.

  As soon as I saw them dipping their hands in the barrel, it hit me and I promptly looked down at my empty hands. Oh my God, the ladle. I was in such a hurry, I’d left the ladle laying on the back steps.

  I was about to sneak back and get it when the old man came out the front door and yelled for us. While we walked, I tried to think of a good excuse in case he asked who was around back, but he didn’t.

  “Load up. I got one more stop, then I’ll drop you kids at Beaver’s. That’s the name of the truck stop I told you about.”

  While riding, all I could think about was how the old man had lied. Finally, I couldn’t hold it in anymore and I told Joseph what I’d done.

  “Are you trying to get yourself shot?” he scoffed. “Moonshine runners don’t play.”

  “Chill out. He didn’t see me,” I huffed, but knew he was right. “What I want to know is why he lied about having a phone.” I had my chin propped on one knee, using my finger to draw objects in the small sand piles scattered across the bed of the truck.

  I raised my head and looked around when we turned off the highway, again. I furrowed my brow. “Where are we going now?”

  “Joshua said the old man had one more stop on the way to the truck stop, so I’m guessing this is it.” Joshua pointed to a much nicer house than the one we’d just been to. It was a large two story white house with a manicured lawn, and beautiful flower beds. It had a long circular drive with a massive fountain right in the middle. It looked out of place to me.

  We drove around to the back, and passed a carport to our right with several ATVs and a golf cart parked underneath. A tall man wearing jeans, a bolo tie, and a cowboy hat came out as soon as we stopped.

  “Howdy folks. I’m Walter. Welcome,” he smiled broadly, and tipped his hat. “Howdy, J.D.”

  I assumed he was referring to the old man, since none of us were named J.D. and the old man answered to it.

  “You kids look a bit on the parched side. Come on in and cool off in the air conditioning.” He stood at the back door, holding the screen open.

  We just sort of looked at each other, and Luna shrugged her shoulders. They happily jumped out, but I remained hesitant. The whole thing seemed a little too … easy.

  My stomach was in knots, and I tried to tell them we were making a mistake, but Joseph called me paranoid, so I reluctantly followed them inside.

  Once we were all inside, he led us to the den where a football game played on a giant TV. He had us sit down, and I hated to admit it, but the cool air felt awesome. A couple minutes later he left and came back with a tray full of icy cold sodas and a bowl with chips and salsa. I was so thirsty, I couldn’t open mine fast enough.

  We all settled deeper into the large sectional, laughing and having a good time, until all of a sudden Luna’s smile disappeared.

  “Uh, guys … where did Walter go?” Luna uttered, and slipped her hand inside mine.

  The room grew eerily silent, and then we all heard it at the same time. J.D.’s truck started up and drove away.

  Joshua and James jumped up at the same time. “Come on you guys, let’s get out of here,” they said in unison.

  Joseph was already up, stepping toward me when Walter stepped around the doorway leading to the kitchen, and he had a shotgun pointed at Joshua and James. They both stopped instantly.

  Luna squeezed my hand, but didn’t say a word. Joseph slowly eased in front of us, then I heard two distinct clicks from somewhere behind. My heart hammered against my chest. Adrenaline mixed with panic rushed through me. I slowly turned my upper body. Two men we hadn’t seen before stood behind us with their guns aimed at the group.

  Before I knew what happened, the deafening sound of a shotgun blast filled the room, causing my ears to ring. Joseph fell to the floor. I looked on in horror as a red stain slowly spread across his shirt. Luna screamed and dropped to her knees beside him.

  “You! Get over here, before I shoot these two boys,” Walter said in a low evil tone, pointing at me.

  I hesitated, and he pulled back the hammer on his shotgun. “All right, all right. Just don’t hurt them.”

  I had taken only two or three steps when Joshua and James did some kind of jump, pounce thingy off the wall, and leaped clear across the room, transforming into Adlet wolves in mid-air, landing on the two gunmen. A fight ensued, and my eyes were fixed on them when Luna screamed for me to watch out.

  Chapter 26

  Evidently, Walter didn’t know about us, because he looped his arm around my throat and started firing aimlessly around the room. “What the hell are you?” he screamed in between shots.

  I heard Luna grunt, then slump over on top of Joseph. Fear rushed through me. My whole body began to shake and I when I grabbed at his arm, my fingernails had changed to long sharp claws. I felt like my insides were on fire and my organs seemed to be moving around in my body. The smell of blood heightened my senses even more.

  Everything went blank momentarily and then it was like a surge of electricity ran through me. I felt my strength increase. My sight was suddenly much better. I spotted a tiny drop of blood across the large room fall from Joshua’s fang, and I went wild. I dropped to all fours, and a ferocious growl unlike anything I’d ever heard before came from deep inside my chest. When I peered into Walter’s eyes, they displayed utter terror. He threw up his hands in surrender, but it was too late. The hunger for blood mixed with the infusion of immense power had completely taken over.

  I leaped, taking him to the floor. When I looked down at what should have been my hands, they were covered in snow-white fur. I pushed the shock out of my mind. I couldn’t think about
that then. All I cared about was stopping him before he hurt anyone else. I lowered my face next to his, letting out one, final, ear-piercing cry, before tearing into his throat. He immediately stopped fighting and I picked him up with my long fangs and slung his lifeless body across the room.

  It was unlike any feeling I had ever known before. I couldn’t control it, nor did I want to. It was like raw power mixed with dominance and adrenaline. I felt so free.

  I reared up, my head touched the ceiling, and I growled with such a monstrous fury it echoed as loud as thunder throughout the house. Before I had time to think, my animal instinct took over. I crouched low and leaped across the room, colliding with Joshua. He snarled and I latched onto him. He bared his teeth and bit down; fur mixed with blood, flying about the room. I was just about to bite down and crush his throat when James flew at me, knocking me off of Joshua. Our tangled bodies rolled across the room. I sank my teeth into the back of his neck and started to bite down.

  Luna screamed something in a language I’d never heard, but I somehow understood and stopped, falling to the floor.

  She rushed to my side. “Genevieve. It’s okay to stop now.” When she pulled me up, I was totally spent, and collapsed in her arms.

  ***

  I woke up screaming Joseph’s name, and bolted upright on the couch. I quickly held out my hands turning them over, looking at both sides. Tears filled my eyes after I frantically scanned the room. Small puddles of blood and pieces of flesh lined the floor and blood spatters dotted the walls. Luna had a bloody cloth in her hand.

  “What in the hell just happened to me?” Luna, Joshua, and James stood beside the couch, but I didn’t see Joseph.

  “You turned,” Luna said softly. “How do you feel?” She wiped at my neck with the cloth.