Blood Type R

Her body shivered awake as she became uncomfortably aware that her quilt was missing. The cool air of night enveloped her as she yawned. A rough hand was placed over her open mouth, pushing her head into her pillow. Her body reacted instinctively and began to flail, her muffled cries coming to a halt as a male voice commanded her to stop. Her apparent assailant leaned in, her bed moving with his weight as he placed a knee on it. "Your siblings aren't alone. There are lycans with them right now. Try any funny s**t, and I let my men know what to do. You understand?" Cora could barely process any of that. Lycans, with my siblings? That's impossible. Her eyes darted around her bedroom, which was bleak with the moonlight that poured in from her window. She could feel her heart thud in her chest, a surge of adrenaline begging for her to do something. She tried to take in air, the smell of blood and leather overwhelming her. The stranger's eyes pressed for an answer, accentuated by the dim light that cast harsh shadows. She nodded, her jaw trembling and her body began to sweat. He let go, the smell of leather vanishing, and leaned in while wiping his hand on her bed. "Get up. Change your clothes quickly. We're going for a journey." Shaky breaths escaped her mouth before she spoke, "I-" "Lower your voice." "Who are you? What are you doing here? What do you mean lycans?" she whispered harshly. "I can explain it all later. Right now, you need to move." "No," she said without thought. In hindsight, she should have been less brash. But she had never had an intruder before, and the severity of the situation had not sunken in yet. "I have my siblings to take care of. I can't just leave my father with them. I don't even know you!" Her words were growing louder. "I don't even-" The stranger bent down and pulled something from the side of her desk. It was Ben's bear, fit with a red bow tie and missing left eye. She found herself rising to her feet at the sight. She had made that for Ben after their mother died, which was when she gave birth to him. Mostly all the children in the village had stuffed toys made from their mothers, to help them sleep at night after being told about the terrible, real monsters that lived in their world. Ben always slept with his bear, even though he was already nine. At that thought, something frigid and delirious trail her spine, the reality of the situation anchoring in her stomach. "Where is Ben?" she asked with a shaky voice. "Good, so you understand. He's not harmed...not yet. It's up to you." Her breathing increased in pace. She had to choose to go with the stranger if it meant saving Ben. Rather than responding, she just stared at the bear. It was such an obvious choice and yet an impossible decision. He threw a pair of pants that were on the floor at her. "Put the damned clothes on." She felt the fabric of her jeans once she caught them, glancing at him and then back down. Cora found it impossible to start dressing for her abduction. It was all too much to process in such a little amount of time. Besides, what of Ben? What happened to him? Was he even safe? Were they going to hurt him anyway? She couldn't leave without answers. Then a thought flashed through her mind, and she remembered that at the bottom of her nightstand was a knife coated in silver. It was a gift for her eighteenth birthday, which was a little over four years ago at this point, and still completely unused. She was surprised it took this long to remember it. She always imagined that if she needed it, that it would be the first thing she'd think of. Clearly, that's not how it worked when she had never actually stabbed anything before. She steeled herself, knowing she had to protect her family and her father. She had to at least try, especially when the blade was so close. One jab of the eight inches of silver blade, whether humans, lycan or vampire, would surely be enough to deter him while she ran to the front of the house to ring the bell. Every home had one, in case of an attack. Just as her head turned to dive for the blade, the stranger was on her, one of his hand's around her throat. His grip was so strong that she literally couldn't grasp for air. It was like grabbing a dog by its hackles, making her go limp as her eyes pleaded with the man. She grabbed his forearm with both hands and opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Then he pushed her to the bed and let go. She took in the most stringent breath of air in her entire life. As she struggled with shock and breathing, he pulled something from his pocket and put his knee on her stomach and began to wrap a strand of leather around her head while she lamely tried to fight him. He tucked it into her mouth, then he took rope from his pocket, turned her over and began to tie her hands while she was busy still trying to breathe properly. He had done it all in nearly half a minute, maybe less. This clearly was not his first time abducting a person. He picked up her jeans, a leather jacket on her chair, and a white shirt that was on her desk. It wasn't even her shirt, but her thirteen-year-old sister's, as she was repairing it for her. He found her boots lying by her dresser and picked those up too, able to carry it all in one arm. He grabbed for her hair, and she tried to swat at him with her bound hands. She didn't realize how nearly being choked to death would weaken someone so greatly. He won and began to pull her by her hair. "You can either walk, or I'll drag. You scream, and your whole house dies." She tried to push herself up onto her feet. He got the message, but he didn't let go of her hair. She began to cry as they walked through their hodge-podge of a home, spit dribbling out of her mouth from the gag. Her room was an add-on and away from the rest of the bedrooms in the home. It was a gift from her father, for taking up the responsibility of their mother when she died, rather than Cora focusing on finding a husband. They entered the kitchen, the wooden front door wide open and ready for their escape. She eyed the double-door wooden stove in the kitchen, which had the pot of water for morning tea ready to be boiled. In the corner was the bowl of sourdough and a basket of freshly picked apples next to it. There was something in the mundane details that made the abduction hurt the most. Her village of Kamas was supposed to protect the humans from paranormal creatures. The witches failed her. **** Cora stared at the speckled horse that she was riding, which reminded her of a Dalmatian, a dog she had only ever seen in books. Her father told her how they, along with so many other things, used to exist before the Human's Last War reset their world. She didn't know how much time had passed since she was taken from her home. All she knew was that the moon was starting to ease its way over the sky and touch the horizon. "You don't talk much," Roman said on the black horse next to her. She had learned his name sometime in the night when she called him a motherfucking asshole, and he corrected her. He had a personality she couldn't quite understand yet. Cora let out an incredulous puff of air and furrowed her brows. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was your entertainment," she replied bitterly and continued to stare at her horse. Her eyes were still puffy from crying, her sinuses beginning to relinquish the swelling. She felt drained. I suppose I should get used to that feeling. Don't really know why I'd ever be happy about this. She was happy he at least took the gag out, the taste of leather still in her mouth. Once they were outside of the witching border, he took her off her horse and made her change in the desert. He didn't have to force her much. Riding in a nightgown with no undergarments was one of the worst experiences she had ever had, aside from being abducted. The only thing she didn't like was that she was wearing her thirteen-year-old sister's shirt, which was too small for Cora's breasts, exposing her flat stomach. It wasn't exactly the look she was going for. Then again, the entire situation wasn't one that she was aiming for, either. "Well, you could at least have some manners. I did give you your own horse, and took the gag out, and rebound your wrists in the front," Roman cautioned. She rolled her eyes. "And how is that supposed to give me manners, exactly?" "I mean, I didn't have to. Could have just dragged you or made you walk. You wouldn't have ridden with me, that's for sure. Can't stand the smell of humans up close." She groaned to herself, a chill rushing over her. She had suspected he may be a lycan, after threatening that others were in her home. Especially after they passed the guards that were shredded to pieces. "So, you're a lycan, then," she said with dread, terrified of the possible ramifications. "You're an observational one," he said sarcastically. She groaned even louder. "Will you stop cracking jokes, and s**t!" she cried, shifting in her saddle, wanting to kick the horse in anger. A rotten chill rushed through her blood, guilt calming her heart. She was not one to hurt others to make herself better. The thought of hurting an innocent animal grounded her, if only for a moment. "Like you're one to give orders," he mumbled. Audacious asshole. She badly wanted to punch him and began to imagine many ways that she could maim him. The macabre thoughts felt like a slick temptation in her veins, thoughts that she knew that she should not have. She didn't care. Her anger helped keep her panic at bay. She looked ahead at the road that needed to be fixed forty years ago as they trotted alongside to save the hooves from the pavement. The mountains of Utah started to take shape as the glittering sky gave way to a blue before a sunrise. She hoped that he brought water, as it would be a hot day. Abandoned cars, some with missing tires and smashed in windows, littered the highway as minor inconveniences that the horses easily navigated. Other remnants like bent over street signs, clothes covered in dirt, and small trinkets of another era were scattered like war skeletons, nature slowly working to reclaim them. The Anthropocene was in the process of becoming a fossil, humanity fading to legends. She raised her bound hands to push her dark brown hair from her hazel eyes. She took in a deep breath through her nostrils, the crisp morning air refreshing. The sun would change that in a few hours, and she had never been this far from home during the late-summer heat. Her half-Native American heritage gifted her with tanned skin to protect herself from the sun, although the leather jacket would do the same. Her father's parents were Greek immigrants, which apparently made her quite the mutt and would have mattered once. Although none of that meant anything to their world, as most of the humans had died off by now. No one cared about skin, hair or eye color anymore. History haunted their world like a ghost in an old home that no one lived in any longer. "My back itches," she said, feeling restless on the horse. She wanted to get off. She needed to walk or run. "Well...if only you could scratch it," Roman replied. The sound of him chuckling at his own joke made her sharply look his way, and she saw him tuck a loose strange of blonde hair behind his ear. She glared at the lycan, her eyes lingering on him longer more than usual now that it was confirmed he wasn't human. His clothes were different than hers and looked freshly made. She for some reason always imagined them running naked through the wilderness. She truly had no idea what to expect of a lycan, which was an evolved werewolf that gained prominence nearly a few hundred years prior. That was back when humans still had the pendulum swinging in their favor. And like all pendulums, it must eventually return to the other side. "Scratch it for me, or I am throwing myself off of this horse." Cora's tone was sharp. She wanted him to take her off of the horse, so she could run. Perhaps not for her life, but she needed to do more than trot along on this horse. She truly wanted to steer her horse back to the safety of her home, but she knew she wouldn't get far. He had given her an older one named Jack. She knew Jack was in no shape to outrun Jenny, the horse that Roman was on. They were getting too close to the mountains for her comfort. Back home, every minor was warned not to travel through these mountains, as you would likely never return. And they were getting closer to them. She was running out of time. She wanted to act out like a child. The closer that they got, the more permanent this situation became. He laughed. "Like that'll help. I definitely won't scratch it if you throw yourself off your f*****g horse." She scowled. They were riding casually by this point, as they were outside the witching border. If anyone was brazened enough to come after them, they would be no better off than a dog walking through a land of hungry hyenas. The reality of being abducted was starting to sink in. It was such a ludicrous scenario that she expected to wake up any moment. But she didn't, and the sun was already beginning to rise. She doubted that anyone would come for her. Whenever a human went missing beyond the witching border, they were considered beyond the aid of the village. Why save one life if it cost two? If one wandered outside their border, it was like walking into a lion's den, where it was suicide to follow. Once the villagers discovered why she was gone, as Roman left quite the bloody trail after killing the guards, they would no doubt start a funeral procession rather than a search party. Hours must have passed since she was home, safe in her bed. Now she was here, shock numbing her mind. None of it felt real. I wonder when...or s**t, I guess even if, I will sleep in my bed again. Roman told Cora that she had been taken because she was blood type R, but he never said what that meant. She didn't want to ask either, but it never left her mind. Was she going to be eaten? Did it taste better than other blood types? Were they going to turn her into a lycan? Her upper lip snarled with worry at the thought of being turned into a lycan. This was why the villagers never ventured beyond the border. They were no longer at the top of the food chain. Humans were prey again.