Chapter 6: Shot through the Heart
Thunder crashed outside the window of Jake's room, Buford having been nice enough to give him a room for less than the other travelers that passed through the town. The Rattlesnake was truthfully a little thankful for the sudden flashflood that had over taken the town right before everyone was meant to go fix the pipes; he didn't exactly expect a good reaction from two certain people that he had fought with the day before. Jacob sighed as he laid back onto the hard bed that was in the middle of the room, his body ached for the one thing he refused himself every single year around this same time, his hand unconsciously reaching for his saddle bag.
"What are you doing?"
"Whoa!" Jake jumped almost three feet off the bed when Priscilla spoke, her quiet form snickering slightly as his eyes narrowed in mock hatred of her in that one moment, a small growl escaping his form before he sighed and relaxed once again, the previous thoughts in his mind fading away slowly as he turned toward the darker haired and younger female, a small look of annoyance in his hellfire eyes as he glared at the girl. "Hey Priss." The female just nodded as she jumped up onto the bed next to Jacob, obviously not waiting for an invitation to do so as she stared out the window, her mind still wandering about what the outlaw had told her the night before and said male could tell exactly what her mind was on.
"If ya wanted me to continue, all ya had ta do was say so." The elder spoke softly, his eyes moving to the Gatling gun that was sitting smugly on the small table next to the bed, the soft lighting from the candle next to it making the room seem a bit darker than what it actually was.
"Then could you?" The female asked, her soft golden-brown eyes meeting Jakes in a second before he nodded his head.
"My memory 'a what happened next ain't entirely there kid, just lettin' ya know." The outlaw warned.
"Why?"
"You'll know in a sec," Jake whispered, his eyes darkening as he looked at the reflection of the water on the window, his eyes turning to a darker red, the golden orbs almost completely gone when he looked back at Priscilla. "The hawk hybrid was my first best friend, Jay Digger."
…
"Jay?" I asked, the other males eyes widening just slightly as we saw each other for the first time in years. He was exactly like I remembered, except for the hawk like qualities and the fact that he was older. His blond hair was still long, and pulled back into a low tail that had a few small feathers in back of his ear. His form still muscular like it had always been, and his amber eyes were just slightly darker than what I remembered, but that was most likely because of the hawk blood that ran through his system. He was dressed similarly to Billy and I, his jeans and work shirt dusty with sand, but unlike us, he seemed to have an aura around him that made him look darker than what he already was.
"Jake?" His voice was deeper, but then again I kind of expected that too. "Jake what the fuck are you doing here?" His tone wasn't what I had expected, angry and almost pissed off. Nothing like when we were younger.
"Billy!" Sasha shouted out in alarm making her older sister snarl at the other men that were holding her sisters and family, her eyes glaring daggers at Jay.
"What da hell do ya think yur doing?" I was nothing less than shocked by the sudden change in Billy's voice, the lighter than average tone was gone and transformed into something I was nothing less than terrified of. This was dark, powerful and a force to be reckoned with and Jay knew it. My old friend snickered as he walked forward, my little sister still in his arms as he started speaking.
"We have a notice from Sig Harrison, company owner and the person in charge of the funds of this compound, to shut his lab down and exterminate all evidence of it ever being here." He paused within a few feet of me, his eyes narrowed like that of the birds that hunted the desert, an unknown growl leaving my own chest for a reason I didn't know. "That includes the people that ran it." My eyes widened in understanding, the guns that were suddenly pointed at my family's heads, as well as at us. Mr. McCarty attempting to shout something out to Billy and I as the guns were suddenly loaded and ready to fire, the men behind our family's pulling the triggers.
"NO!" My shout echoed along with the sudden gunshots, dust covering the ground where my family should have been, but instead they sat in back of me, still bound and gagged, Billy's sisters trying to untie the rope holding them together. The men were on the ground, the barrels to their guns busted open and Billy standing over them, her eyes trained back at Hawk who was also on the ground, my sister no longer in his arms but in Billy's. Her eyes were like nothing I had ever seen from her, the amber clouding over the emeralds like flames to a dry forest and the iris slit down to the size of a needle, her fangs dripping with her own venom and a hiss coming from her chest. Jay and I then saw the daggers that were imbedded within each of the guns of his men, all crested with a Fleur-de-lis made out of snakes. Billy's symbol.
"Billy!" William shouted, his daughters finally haven finally gotten the gag off, his tone commanding, "Now!"
"Back up Jake," Billy said shouting, handing my younger sister to Cilia before she crouched, her eyes on the men that were slowly standing up from their fall, an evil smirk playing on her lips as they finally stood at their full heights. The ground shook when she suddenly screamed out in pain, sand flying into the air hiding her form from us and the other gunmen as well, my father signaling me to run but I couldn't move, something was keeping me in my place, and as the dust settled I discovered exactly what it was.
Billy had her hands wrapped around one of the men's throats, the scales that were once just on her wrist spread up her forearm, blade-like projections running along the outer part of her arms, the ends coated in a small bit of blood that was obviously from the man that laid dead at her feet. Her shirt was torn so that only her breasts were securely covered and her jeans were shredded revealing the skin underneath, scales collecting around her back and hips where a long, whip-like tail was wrapped around the torso of another man, squeezing the air out of his lungs so fast I even flinched. Along her neck and cheeks were markings matching a few of the rattlesnake's that we owned, the scales stretching from the sides of her eyes to the top and bottom of her ears with a diamond covering only her right eye. Her canine teeth were larger than before, and exactly like the fangs of a rattlesnake, green-blue venom dripping from them before she bit into the throat of another man, sending him to the ground – screaming in pain – in less than a second. Her eyes dancing with the colors of emerald green and the golden-orange amber around an iris slit exactly like a pissed off Mojave rattlesnake.
"Dawn," my voice shook as I whispered her name, though no one else seemed to notice it as Billy looked toward Jay. Her eyes narrowing even further as she stuck out a forked tongue, tasting the air like a snake before she then smiled; her long tail ending without a rattle as she moved it back and forth.
"Bitch!" Billy chuckled at the term her fangs glistening in the light of the now setting sun.
"Bastard hawk," Her words hit their mark, Jay pulling out a revolver from a holster at his belt and aiming it at the female. Billy attempted to take a step forward but one of the other men grabbed her by the neck, immediately pulling her back into a fight with the remaining men as Jay faced my family and Billy's.
"Who should I start with?" his voice was cold as Billy's form tried to fight back to us, but with so many men against just her, she didn't stand much of a chance, and the hybrid knew it.
BANG
BANG
In two sudden gunshots Billy's sisters hit the ground, dead.
"SASHA! KYRA!" Billy's and Mr. McCarty's shouts echoed over everyone else's. Pain evident in their voices as the two little ones died quickly from shots to the head, Billy's fighting suddenly becoming desperate as she fought to get to her father's side.
BANG
My father dropped.
BANG
Mr. McCarty fell.
BANG
Morgan and Cilia were hit with the same bullet.
I couldn't stop the tears that clouded my vision when I saw my half-sister fall to the ground, Cilia's arms still wrapped around her when they finally hit the sand. My arms shaking with rage and pain as Jay finally turned to me, his cold eyes meeting mine as I looked up at him from my spot on the ground – never having known how I had fell. "Jay why?" I asked, only to be shushed by the sound of Billy's shouting and Jay himself.
"My name isn't Jay anymore kid," he paused to look back at Dawn as he prepared to fire at me, "It's Hawk now."
"DUSK!" Billy's shout echoed through my ears, something about it suddenly made me loose whatever fear I had, instead being replaced by complete and total anger. Before my old friend could even realize what the hell was happening I tackled him to the ground, his revolver flying off in the direction of where Billy and I had came from. My fists hit Hawks face faster than what I had ever done while training with Dawn, his entire form still in shock that I had even been able to move from my previous spot as I saw Billy running in the direction of her home, many of the remaining males following her leaving only me and Hawk behind. Jay kicked me off of him once he regained whatever thoughts he had been stripped of when I suddenly acted, though my hand wrapped around his shirt pulling him with me as we tussled in the dirt and sand.
"BASTARD!" the anger that coursed through my voice surprised even me, though it did nothing to deter me from punching Jay in the cheek, my hand stinging from the force of the blow, though the hawk hybrid didn't seem even a bit fazed by it. I dodged a kick to the thigh and delivered my own to his shin, hearing the crack of bone, my lips curving into a smile, knowing that he would fall, but he didn't. Hawk staggered back a few paces, gripping his injured leg with a grimace on his face as another snap sounded from his leg. My eyes widened when I realized that he had set the bone back into place, his form showing his pain, but it didn't stop him from taking a step forward, his arm swinging out faster than what I was prepared for, and cutting down my left eye with sharp – almost talon like – claws. The pain was like nothing I had ever felt before, and I had felt everything from broken bones to snake bites, but this was different. The talons were sharper than knives that cut through my skin easier than a snake fang through a mouse hide, I could feel the blood that ran down my cheek and neck as I pulled away and hear the laughter of the hawk hybrid as I placed a hand over the wound. It stretched from my hairline to more than halfway down my cheek, angled just slightly so that is scraped the middle of my eye, yet still knick the corner of my cheekbone.
"Jake!" Jay and I turned at Billy's voice, her form was surrounded by the dead bodies of the other gunmen, some of the others retreating from the property with wounds that stretched across their bodies, Dawns eyes reflecting the anger of her family's death. "Run!" In a flash she tackled Hawk to the ground, the snarls that came from the two of them like the thunder that crashed overhead, the sudden clouds that had appeared overhead in an instant. I ran, like Billly told me to, into the rattlesnake pins. The snakes around me seemed to know something was up, they heard the growls and hisses that came from my best of friends, as well as the calls that were coming from the hawk. I stopped next to one of the larger cages, catching my breath from the fight that had just happened between myself and Jay, a tear falling down my cheek and the gash on my left eye as I thought of my father, dead. My little sister. A growl escaped my chest again, I didn't know where all of this was coming from, but I spared a glance out the window to see Billy running toward the building, a downed hawk attempting to stand behind her. She entered the building with the soft slam of the metal door, her breathing not as harsh as my own despite the number of people she had been fighting.
"Are ya alright?" Her voice was still gentle toward me despite her new appearance; I nodded my head once not looking her way until she hugged me. Only then did I notice the tears that were coming down her face, her blazing eyes closed as the salty liquid escaped from them, only then remembering that her sisters were dead along with the father that saved her from dying. Yet, when she pulled away she still looked at me with protective eyes that bore into my soul. "Ya have ta get out'a here Jake," her tone sounded almost desperate as she placed both her hands on my shoulders, "He's after ya, he only wants meh alive."
"I won't let dat happen." I replied sharply, one of my hands resting on her hip, keeping her from pushing me away and the other found its way to her neck, "Ih won't let 'im take ya!" My words were more so like I was promising myself, but her eyes softened to the point where the scales around her entire body had faded back into skin again, leaving only the shredded clothes that were almost mending themselves in places.
"Jake," she paused, hearing something land on the roof of the building, "He'll kill ya."
"Ih don't care,"
That was the last thing I said before I kissed her, not one of those kisses that the guy suddenly just pecks a girls cheek and backs off before he can get slapped. No. This I had wanted to do for quite some time. My lips met hers almost roughly; my hand on her neck pulling her closer while the one on her hip kept her steady as she swayed back. My mind registering it wasn't because she was trying to pull away but because she was surprised and it didn't take her long to respond back. The hands that were previously on my shoulders were wrapped around my neck, her head tilted so that I could softly nibble on her bottom lip, and her body leaning back ever so slightly so that we were almost molded together as one.
Though she eventually pulled back softly, her eyes closed as she leaned against my chest, "I can't let ya get killed Jake-" she cut herself off in a moment's notice, her eyes widening as she seemed to remember something. "Jake, I need ya to make a distraction so ih can git to da house." I nodded my head, not even bothering to ask what she was going in there for, probably a gun or something. "Be careful."
"Ih will." I promised her, giving her a soft kiss on the cheek before I let her go, her form once again changing back into the half rattlesnake look as she left the building, crashing through the window in the process. I exited through the opposite door not even a moment later, my feet hitting the ground in thuds as I ran over the sand. Behind me I knew hawk was following, the wing beats told me he had changed into a form similar to Billy's, and a single glance was all I needed to know that it was exactly what I was thinking. Jay's shirt was gone revealing huge wings that had sprouted from his shoulder blades, the feathers matching his golden hair exactly. Markings around the rest of his body showed exactly what kind of bird he was, and it was enough to get me to run faster. I was tackled just as I reached the property line separating the McCarty land from the Ranger's. Jay and I trading blows like before, my form able to avoid the punches and kicks to the head, and get a few hits on him just the same. I landed a hard kick to his chin, sending him back a few feet, his wings keeping him upright from the attack, though in an instant he had me once again on the ground, his now much larger form keeping me pinned as he landed blows to my chest. I could hear a rib break as a scream of pain left me before I could stop it, Jay looking down at me like a predator that just found its prey.
Yet a second later, his weight on my torso was gone, I turned my head to see him in the dirt, Billy beating him into the ground, long fangs dripping with venom as she bit into his arm. His scream of pain was like music to my ears as he launched Billy into the air, the female skidding back a few feet in my direction before she charged him again, her fist landing in his face before he could even get to a fully upright position. Hawk skidded back a good ten feet and managed to fling Billy into the side of the barn, the horses inside making a racket in the process, then Jay turned back to me, his revolver that I thought I had gotten rid of back in his hand as he aimed back at me.
"Jay," My voice was a whisper as I looked between him and Billy, my eyes finally seeing the object that was in the females' hands, the last syringe that held the cure to the disease that she had gotten over. But Billy's eyes shone with a determination I had never seen before, the emerald green that I adored looking back at me, the amber along the sides dancing like the sand during a dust storm. "Billy," I saw the tear that suddenly went down her cheek, it seemed so out of place, I didn't know why she was crying all of a sudden.
I didn't know that I had failed to hear the gunshot and the bullet that ripped through my chest.
…
Priscilla could only stare at Jake and what he was saying, the outlaw not even able to look the little girl in the face as she asked her one single question. "Ya were shot?"
"Yeah Priss." Jake responded, a hand unconsciously moving to the marking in the rattlesnakes' eye, his own eyes closing as he looked away from the young girl, his sentence a whisper. "Right through the heart."