House of Ghouls

Chapter Six

  Every night, I walk outside to the garden in the cold fall weather to the stone wall of deceased citizens. I bring flowers to Claire's grave, light the candles, and bow down on my knees thinking about her as I wrap myself with my cloak to stay warm. A glass picture frame shape of a heart of Claire and I celebrating our one year anniversary placed next to the other citizen's photos and gifts. Dragon might've placed it there. It's getting colder at night going down to the thirty's of more leaves blowing all over the place with dead flower petals mixed in the air. Ezra placed two of our carved pumpkins on the grave for them. They are at the stage of rotting. Halloween just passed. We are at the first week of November. I heard about a thanksgiving gathering coming soon in a couple weeks on Aogiri Tree Reservation this month at the wide camping ground. A lot of us already beat from battle training every week days. Neither of us know if the Taker's are going to really push for the invasion in Detroit. Possibly a rumor or a threat. Who knows what might happen on December. Let's hope this doesn't happen. Right now, I still want to find the culprit.
 
  Five years ago, Claire and I sat down and talked about this 'friend' at the family restaurant in town. I explained to her that he shared a very deep story about his life growing up in the area. When he spoke deeper about his life, I sympathized this man. He didn't have anyone in his life. I just met this friend at the restaurant. He mentioned that his parents robbed him. I paid for our meal and gave my phone number to him if he needed someone to talk.
  "You gave that man your phone number?" Claire questioned with worry.
  "Yeah? He deeply shared his stories. I thought if need someone to talk. He might be struggling." I said.
  "What's his name? How old is he? Does he know that we are together?" Claire asked questions with suspicious expression.
  "His name is Pandy. He's same age as both of us. I did mentioned that I am happily taken by you, but I didn't give him your name to be on the safe side." I answered her.
  "But you gave that man your phone number without thinking about the precautions, Vi. I heard a rumor about the name of Pandy. I would keep an eye on his motives if I were you." Claire mentioned cautiously.
  "What rumors did you hear about Pandy? What do you mean?" I questioned with Claire's concern.
  "You don't know this person like few people do. He's shown some creepy vibes as 'the nice guy' in a fancy grey coat and kaki joggers. I'm not trying to micromanage or control who you hang out or talk to outside of our home. All I asked is you be careful who you invite in our circle. From my experience with 'friends,' people show their true colors easily. I learned sometimes you can't trust some people in your life who will manipulate you into their scam. A stranger with fake mask will make a career out of you. Just keep an eye on red flags. Call me immediately if you are in danger!" Claire advised with caution.
  Fall of 2017, I walked alone with my backpack and purse as I heard alarms that it was time to evacuate. I saw drones and helicopters all over the sky. I ran into the ally fast as I possibly could until I saw Pandy like he was all calm about it. I tried calling Claire and Dragon, but phone services were all cut off.
  "Why are you calm? We need to get the hell out of here, dude!" I alerted as I noticed something was off about this man. My eyes widened as Pandy removed his grey coat and pulled out his tranquility gun and knife. I tried to run as three Takers blocked the entire area with spell gas weapons pointed at me. I activated my kagune with my sharp feathers pointed at them as Pandy tased me on my upper back and pushed me on the ground.
  "Marry me!" He shouted as he beaten me on concrete ground. I didn't have a choice. They could have murdered me right there. After I answered, he took away my money and drugged into my pockets. All my belongings were taken away. They put me into a sleep. That's all I could remember before four years of imprisonment.
 
  It's midnight, I get up off the ground to take a walk. I decide to fly out and disappear to the cities on higher buildings to watch the horizon as I listen to the sirens and traffic moving through stop lights on highways. Ezra and I were born and raised in cities as we became used to hearing drive by shootings far away from home, more sirens, transits, beat music playing in vehicles, and drunk people shouting from the distance near downtown bars. My brother and I were homeless kids snuck out of foster homes to go down the ditch vandalize fences, break empty glass bottles, shoplifted packaged meat from five different markets at night, and pick pocket at bus stops to support us. I would stand on top of a higher building in downtown of Minneapolis as I would watch the stars or entire view of all of the lights glowing at night. I startled by the sound of footsteps as I activated my kagune and watched my back.
  "Whoever you are! Show yourself!" I shouted as I heard slow footsteps with hands up.
  "It's okay Viola. It's me." Dragon said as he removed his hood.
  "How did you get up here?" I asked as I slowed my breathing and put away my kagune.
  "I followed your tracks. I'm worried for you. You've been up for hours. What's going on with you?" Dragon asked. I turned my back on him and kept starring at the view of the city.
  "Mourning for Claire. I need to cope my mind." I answered as I starred at the metro transit.
  "Do you still want to catch the fucker all by yourself?" Dragon asked.
  "Halloween always been her favorite Holiday. Every Halloween, we would take an elevator to high towers at a nice restaurant in Omaha together five years ago. We used to cosplay as our favorite characters from Teen Titans. I was her Raven. She was my Starfire. Four years was nothing but hell in my life. I don't deserve to be with anyone if I don't know who I am. I might hurt someone without knowing my subconscious mind. Why did you follow me here? What do you want from me?" I questioned with tears in my eyes.
  "I want to help. You can't keep on disappearing. Right now, stop running away and talk to me please, Vi!" Dragon spoke up.
  "Do you really want to fucking know? Imagine a predator brutally tearing parts of your spirit away and beating you like a rage doll. Imagine someone playing with your mental and emotional state. Imagine someone violating your insides. Imagine being force fed to eat a person. Imagine someone robbing your freedom. Imagine being compared to other women and treated like an object. Imagine having to fight back by punching and spitting in the face of a psycho path. Imagine locked up imprisoned in the Hakujin's household. If you were a woman, then you would know how it feels to be scared for your life. I spent four fucking years forced to marry a sick twisted bastard. I met that prick at a family restaurant. I thought he was a friend before the civil war happened. I was only friends with him for two weeks five years ago. I lost memory of the events during the evacuation. Pandy beat the shit out of me on concrete, screamed in my face to marry him, and took away all my emergency funds. Pandy called the motherfuckers knocked me out to sleep and threw me in a container full of other women who are half ghouls. Wrists zip tied, muzzled, ankle tasers, cold, hungry, tired, and confused as hell. I remember the smell of dead bodies rotting in dumpster bins outside of the facility. I was locked in the hospital for being chosen as a wife of a leader of the Takers. I cried for Claire for months until Pandy shut me up or else I would be dead. I was raped in my sleep, seven weeks pregnant, and his doctors aborted it. He fucked my bleeding vagina few times after the procedure. Claire was right. I should have followed my own gut five years ago. I should have listened to my girlfriend. Now she's gone. Claire, I'm so sorry. You were right, I was fucking wrong. CLAIRE!! I'M SO SORRY!!" I cried so hard as slowly walked to the edge of a 792 feet tall building. I peaked down at the sidewalk next to the parked vehicles. Do I want to meet Claire in another universe? What is the point of living if I am already fucked up? Why does it feel like I'm just disposable or replaceable? Who is going to care?
  "STOP!" Dragon shouted as he pulled my body.
  "Let me go!" I stubbornly shouted with tears in my eyes.
  "What the fuck is wrong with you?! I will not let you go down that path! If you think ending your life is going to solve problems, you are wrong! That means you are letting the Takers win! Killing yourself is not going to bring Claire back! You can't go back to the past and fix it! I am truly sorry you had to go through all of the pain! It's not your fault! Neither of us didn't asked to be tortured! Neither of us didn't ask to go through this nightmare of pain! Stop blaming yourself! All you could do is learn from it and keep moving forward! It's part of growing as a person! Stop beating yourself up and look who is in front of you right now! As I said, you are not alone. You are not the only one who miss Claire. I miss her too. I will find the culprit with you. I will go to war with you in Detroit if Takers decide to push for invasion. I will not let anyone harm you again. If I see the fucker, I will murder the shit out of him." Dragon vocally spoke as he lose his arms and caress my hands. I cried on his shoulder and hugged him tight.
  "I need to tell you something." Dragon said as he removed his cloak.
  Dragon and I walked together in a hidden spot of the top building. He removed his shirt as his upper back started to develop into a dark aqua blue dragon wing spreading nice and wide.
  "Your also half human and half ghoul. They are so beautiful." I touched his wing gently.
  "I kept my kagune hidden from everyone for years before I left my ex wife. I never told her about my wings because I couldn't trust her. She had a foul mouth to air at the public. I was only ten years old when I first found out my kagune developed. I kept it away from my family. I was anxious to ask my family why I was born with a kagune. It's possible that each side of my family might had ghouls in their generation. You're the only person I trust in my life." Dragon said as he turned to face me.
  I held both of his hands. He hugged me and cried on my shoulder. The sad expression in his eyes says a lot more about him. I could tell he's went through so much in his life. We've known each other for years before I was abducted by Takers. Here I am. Standing with him on top of this building in the middle of this beautiful cold night.
  "I know you are still mourning for Claire. You are still healing from four years of torture. If I didn't tell you the truth, it would be too late if we ended up in a crisis. I am catching feelings for you. When I found you in the woods, you hide in my truck scared and hungry. I thanked god everyday you made it alive. I'm in love with you." Dragon said as I looked into his eyes.
  I put my hand on his chest. I feel more deeply for Dragon. I could feel the lightness in my body as the urges start to kick. I picked up his shirt and cloak off the ground and wrapped his cloak around his shoulders. Temperature dropped down a bit at night as he decide to put his warm clothing back on.
  After our deep conversation, Dragon and I raced each other by flying building to building. We flew to the bridge on the interstate 35W where it collapsed fifteen years ago as we walked holding hands and watched the river flow. It took construction workers years to repair the bridge. We walked to the park by the river. I sat on the swing of the playground as him and I swing raced on which of our feet is higher in the air. We both jumped of the swings and raced to the sand near the water. He took my hand and held me in his arms. The moon in the dark sky glows onto our faces reflecting on the surface of the river as the stray cat roams around the park behind the fences to the houses.
  Dragon and I arrived home quietly through our window of the house to avoid noises of our footsteps. I set my cloak on top of the desk and took off my shoes. Him and I starred at each other in the eyes with our relaxed expressions. I slowly remove my black jeggings, my tank top, and tossed them on the floor. He also removed the rest of his clothes and tossed them with mine. His arms wrapped around my body as I caress his body then he unclipped my bra off.
  "I love you." I kissed him as his lips touched mine.
  "I love you, too." He kissed mine as our tongues connected.
  Dragon threw my bra with the rest of our clothes. We merged to the bed as I moved on top of him and he rolled my body on the bed on top of me. I helped him remove his boxers. He removed my black panties. He sucked on my breasts as he groped on them and slight moans escaped out of my mouth. We faced each other. I spread my legs and wrapped around his waist. He slowly slides his inside of me as we moaned loudly thrusting in and out. My mouth opened as I moaned more and more as we sucked on the side of our necks leaving hickeys on each other. We tried to keep our volume low by making out and sucking on each other's necks. I felt like I was ready to climax as he thrusted faster.
  "I'm getting closer.." He whispered in my ear as we held our hands tight. I climaxed before he came inside me.
  We both laid back to catch our breaths. I grabbed the comforter and snuggled with him and fell asleep.