Bite Shift

66

It wasn't a broad, two headed beast; it was Will, clutching Alex's upper arm, holding him up.

The amount of blood from a gash on Alex's forehead told me that, without Will's grip, Alex would have dropped to the ground. The smell of it hit my nose. It was older. The injury was older than a few hours and it was a lot of blood. There must be more hidden up in his hair.

Alex's head rolled back, his neck unable to support it, and he groaned. He was in bad shape. I hoped it wasn't as bad as it looked. Head wounds are like that. There is so much blood from a head wound that, sometimes, you really couldn't gauge how bad it was.

"I will tell you this once," Will said. The lightness of his voice was gone. "I am stronger and faster than you, whether you like to hear it or not. If you try to run or fight, I will snap his neck and have your throat ripped out before his body hits the ground. Do you believe me?"

"Yes." I whispered through gritted teeth.

"Good. We are going for a walk so get out of the trunk."

I pressed up onto my knees, grabbed the edge of the trunk, and swung each leg over to hit the ground. I was afraid to look away, afraid that if I didn't watch him, Will would kill Alex. But I needed to see where we were. I slowly broke my gaze away from the men and to the right.

My vision pulled back to take in the whole scene. A silver Honda sat quietly next to a large, dark barn.

"You gotta be fucking kidding me."

"What?" Will said, sounding angry.

"Nothing," I answered, matching his level of anger. "Just disappointed. Thought my end would be a little less cliché."

"That mouth of yours is going to get you in trouble, woman. Sorin and Rhys may tolerate it but I will not."

"Can't wait."

The hand not holding Alex moved in a blur. I heard the slap before I felt it. My right cheek burned with the strike. I put my hand to it and felt the heat of my skin reacting it.

Will pointed his finger at me. His face was contorted. The friend I knew was gone. What stood before me was walking, breathing rage and hatred. "Women like you make me sick. Start listening and stop talking. You might survive the night. Now, head for the barn."

I had no desire to be hit again but I didn't want to go into that barn either. I weighed my options. The look in his eyes told me that I should listen. I took the first step, using every ounce of strength I had to stop the shaking in my body, and walked to the barn door.

The closer I got, the bigger it became. I looked around me. A field spread out to each side. To the left the field appeared unending. Too the right, it ended in a dense forest, the forest from my vision. Clarity washed over me and I knew that the woman screaming in the barn would be me. My legs gave way and I steadied myself before I fell to the ground. I would not fall apart.

Behind me, I heard Will pulling Alex along, and knew he was basically being dragged. I wondered how long Alex had before he gave into the blood loss and there was no saving him. I wondered if anyone would find us out here and know what had happened to the doctor and nurse from a local hospital. Would we just be a headline for a few days? Would they think we had run off together?

No. I would rather the girls know I had been murdered than think I left them willingly.

The barn entrance was big. It had to be 8 feet tall and at least 15 feet wide. A large metal handle, the left side of the door, sat at shoulder height.