Twenty
1143 Words
“You,” he growled. His face began to twist and his mouth elongated.
“Oh, no, asshole. We aren’t playing your games today.” I grabbed his shoulders and shook him. Hard.
He let out a snarl that sounded as if it had come from an actual wolf. His eyes yellowed and bore into mine.
This was my chance. I pushed as much energy as I could muster at him. He struggled against it and shook his head.
“Not today, b***h,” he said. He fought to get footing underneath me.
I couldn’t wait to strike until I had him under control. He’d overpower me before then.
I lunged straight for his neck and bit down, piercing his skin.
He howled and pushed me off him. I flew backward and landed on my ass a few feet away. I jumped to my feet and readied for his attack.
“I thought I got rid of you before? Are you stupid or do you just like getting your ass kicked?”
He got down on all fours as fur sprouted from his limbs. He morphed into a large, snarling and snapping wolf. He was easily double the size of a normal wolf. His eyes glowed yellow in the dark and his hackles were up. The grey wolf crouched as if it would spring on me any time.
I was not about to lose a second time. I jumped on his back and wrapped my arms around his neck and squeezed his middle with my thighs. I bit him again. He yelped and bucked like a bull trying to shake its rider, trying to get me off him. I dug my nails into his skin and kept my grip.
After a few wild seconds, he stumbled and listed sideways. I continued drinking. He collapsed under my weight and fell still.
I wasn’t satisfied that he was unconscious so I stayed seated on him while I dialed Gemba’s phone.
“Yes,” he said.
“Ready for you. We’re under the bridge we discussed before I left. Please hurry. I don’t know how long he’ll be out.”
“Be right there.”
Gemba was true to his word and arrived just a few moments later. The SUV went off the road and down the grass hill. It stopped just a few feet from where I sat on Tucker.
Gemba and Robert carried him, still in wolf-form, to the SUV like they did with Mack. They tossed him in unceremoniously and slammed the hatch shut.
“Get his belongings, would you?” Gemba asked me. When he shifted to wolf, he left his clothes behind. There was also a backpack left behind. I wasn’t sure which of the three it belonged to, but I should collect it anyway.
I grabbed the clothes and the backpack and tossed them in the backseat with Robert.
Gemba patted me on the back. I ducked away from his touch, like always. He never seemed to get the hint that I didn’t enjoy the personal contact.
“Great work, Alice,” he said with a wide smile. “He’s a major player in the trafficking business. You’ve made a huge step in cleaning the city up. Congratulations.”
“Uh, thanks,” I said. His praise felt just a little too enthusiastic given the situation.
I got in the front seat and we drove off, back toward the prison. As we drove, I watched the city go by out the window. I couldn’t help but think of the young woman who had narrowly escaped with her life tonight. I hoped that she made it back to her roommate safely.
“I’d say that you’ve earned a night off, Alice. This was strong work,” Gemba looked over at me as he drove.
I pulled my hair back into a ponytail. It was a tangled mess after that tussle. When I was satisfied, I answered Gemba. “No. I appreciate it, but I still have work to do. Taking a night off won’t get me there any faster.”
He didn’t respond. I turned my head so that I could look out the passenger window once more. We stopped at a light beside a bar. The patio was full of people and TV screens hung from the rafters of the patio. One of the televisions streamed the local news. A reporter stood in front of a bank. I didn’t care much about the news report, it was who was in the background that caught my attention.
Vance. My dead husband walked behind the news reporter. He was off screen before I could get a good look at him, but I was sure it was him. But it couldn’t be. Could it? I shook my head. The news story must have been previously recorded because the sun shone bright for the shot.
No. I had to be imagining it. He was dead. There was an obituary. And, besides, Gemba confirmed what I knew all along. He was a witness. They wouldn’t have let him live.
“You look troubled. Are you alright?”
“I-I.”
What was I supposed to say? I just saw my dead husband on TV? No. That was insane.
“I’m fine. Just thinking about our next move,” I lied.
The demon planted the idea in my head. That had to be it. I wanted Vance to be alive so I imagined him. That was the only rational explanation.
I’d call it on its lies when I brought the newspaper.
Tucker hadn’t shown any signs of movement in the back.
“Hey, Robert?”
“Hm?” he said.
“Is Tucker alright back there? Our other prisoner woke up halfway back to the prison last time.”
“He’s breathing, ma’am. I think you took a lot of blood.”
“I did. I couldn’t risk what happened last time happening again.”
“Good point,” Robert said.
We arrived at the loading area of the prison again and the guards came out and carried the wolf inside. I watched them carry him off and felt pride swell in my chest. I’d gotten better at judging situations and didn’t give him the chance to hurt me this time. As much as I liked playing with my food, I needed to remember that there was a time and a place.
I scooped his clothes and the backpack up into my arms and followed the guards inside. By the time I made it inside, they’d already secured him in a cell.
“Ah, when will he shift back?” I asked.
Gemba shook his head. “No clue.”
“He’s going to need something to wear when he shifts back. Nobody wants to see that.” I scrunched up my face.
Gemba let out a small laugh. “Well, go ahead and toss a set in his cell. He’ll figure it out when he comes to.”
“When he comes to, I have so many questions for him.”
“Well, I need to question this one alone first, if you don’t mind.”
“Why alone?”
Gemba looked like he ate something sour, his lips twisted and he leveled his gaze at me. “Because I need to. No explanation is necessary.”
“Alright. Sorry. I didn’t mean to offend.”
“You’ll get your turn when I’m finished.”
- Writer
