Disclaimer: Fang belongs to James Patterson and Seth belongs to Stephenie Meyer
Finally, the action returns!
Seraphina's Song continued
My heart was racing so fast I could feel each beat against my chest rocking me back and forth. We had made it to Seattle earlier in the day and set apart gathering all our supplies and, now that everything was in place, we stood in a circle waiting for any last words of encouragement.
At least, I'm sure that's what Tyler, Lily, and Shane were waiting for, but Seth and I knew better. My father wouldn't treat this mission any differently. If he did it would put nerves far past the edge. We couldn't afford that tonight. I took a deep breathe and held it, glancing up at the sparkling sky as my father began.
"Does everyone know their assignments?" He waited a moment for everyone to nod their heads.
"Just remember we all have our mikes and earpieces, keep your eyes open, and be ready for anything," he commanded. There was a long stretch of silence and I didn't see the point of standing there any longer waiting for a meteor to fall out of the sky and hit us on the head.
"Come on," I ordered Shane. He nodded, taking my hand and just like the other night I was suddenly forty stories high over-looking the railroad tracks fifty blocks away.
"Be careful," Shane called out as I walked over and jumped onto the ledge. I sent him an award winning smile over my shoulder, "When have I ever been otherwise?" and before he could respond I stepped off allowing myself to free fall two stories before flaring out my wings and landing softly in the alley across the street.
I took off running until I was standing outside Angel's club. I gave the required password and was soon enveloped by darkness. I didn't worry though, I knew every twist and turn this place had. I quickly found myself amid a mass of bodies talking, dancing, and singing as the music blared. This would be the hard part.
I steeled myself against the growing panic and went in search of the owner himself. He was behind the 'bar' tonight serving drinks. Angel wasn't a very handsome fellow nor was he bad too look at. His mother was from Cuba and his father from Madrid so his Spanish heritage shown through his dark eyes and thick accent.
"Hola, chicka. Haven't see you around lately," Angel greeted me warmly. I gave him a genuine smile knowing I might not see him after tonight.
"Sorry about that. Something came up. Look, Angel, I'm gonna need my baby back," I told him apologetically.
"Awww…why you have to do that to me? Pop in and then 'Sayonara,' huh?" He was laughing by the end so I knew I was forgiven. Angel tossed me a key still attached to the necklace he just took from around his neck.
"Keep it," he ordered, walking backwards, "maybe you can come back and return it sometime," he suggested and before I knew it he was lost in the crowd of kids. I looked down at the silver cross in my hand, taken aback for a moment by the wave of emotion that hit me.
"Sera, get moving," Seth ordered. I snapped back to reality and weaved my way through the crowd until I was behind the stage and at the back exit. There were two halls after that and I took the one that led to the garage.
There she is! My baby. My blue Aprilia RST1000 Futura. I mumbled a little apology for leaving her here for so long before starting her up and pulling on my helmet. I had on my boots and leather pants just in cast. My shirt was plain old cotton I'm sure, but I had put on my leather jacket and gloves, too. Wouldn't want to crash and turn into spaghetti.
I grabbed my bag from off the floor and keyed the garage door to open, listening to my baby purr before tearing out of there. I was definitely burning rubber as I took off down the street. It was one thing to be flying up high where nothing can touch you but a completely different one to have obstacles to avoid and limits to break. I came so close to the ground as I turned the corners I almost took my face off. Criss-crossing in and out of traffic so fast I could have crashed at any moment. I loved every second of it.
"I can see the train," Shane warned, from his spot on top of the building.
"Got it," I answered, my time of fun over with for now. Quickly cut down the backstreets, skidding to a stop between two of the docks' abandoned warehouses.
"Sera, you ready?" my father asked.
"Just arrived," I exclaimed as I flew up and landed on top of one the roofs, "Alright, everybody in place?" I questioned, taking a stance at the edge, watching the train going sixty miles an hour come closer and closer. Everyone gave the affirmative, so I got to work stopping the six box car hunk of metal.
It's not as easy as it looks either. I had to account for the force it would take to push the train from the front without sending a solid wall of air at it. I had to lock the brakes, keep the wheels from jumping the track. It was a lot of work. Not that I'm complaining, I'd just thought I'd let you know.
Instantly, the scream of steel against steel could be heard along with the shower of sparks flying from the wheels. It felt like it took an hour for the train to shudder and groan as it came to a complete stop but according to the watch around my wrist, it only took twenty seconds. I grinned in anticipation of what was to come next. The end of this was so close I could taste it.
And then something happened that I wasn't prepared for.
It was like a weird transformation came over me in the minutes that passed as I watched, crouched like a gargoyle from Notre Dame on top of the roof, as Erasers piled out of the first three train cars. The horrors of the last sixteen years kept coming at me left and right. The grief on my fathers face when he thought I wasn't looking. The nightmares, the running. Everything was just building and building this fire inside me and tonight no longer felt like a night to set us all free, but a night for revenge.
Dark thoughts swirled through my head and I went deeper and deeper into instincts that made me less of a clumsy human and more of a predator. I was the night itself, a dark angel. My song for freedom twisted into chains wrapping tighter and tighter around my heart. The final clang resounding throughout my entire being as I found the monster who started this all.
Zachary.
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
"Everyone, go now!" My father yelled as he dropped from the sky right into the middle of the estranged wolf hybrids. I launched myself off the roof and quickly joined him. Seth and Shane coming from opposite sides with their game faces on and then my entire world became one punch after the next.
Breathe….Punch….Breathe….Twist….Breathe….Duck….Breathe….Kick….Breathe.
I didn't register any pain as I kept dropping Eraser after Eraser. And I was soon too caught up in the next connection of flesh against flesh, hearing the howls of pain and frustration. They couldn't touch me. I was invincible. I laughed and it came out as more of a snarl when two Erasers tackled me to the ground. I easily threw them off before flipping back up and taking them out with lighting kicks to their faces.
And then nothing. Silence.
I looked around and noticed that there were no more Erasers ready to attack. Standing at least. The red haze of hate I had been seeing was slowly dissipating and fear started taking its place. An evil chuckle started up along with the clapping of two very massive hands. I swiveled around to see Zachary standing among the carnage, an unusual figure behind him. He had this sadistic grin on his face and I took a step back, nearly tripping over one of the bodies. I didn't even know if it was unconscious or dead. What did I do?
I didn't see Seth, Shane, or my father anywhere and I prayed they weren't lying under one of the bodies. Or worse, captured.
"Very good!" Zachary enthused, making his way toward me, "So, we know what you're capable of when angry. It's interesting. I'm so very glad I had my little experiment back there project that specific emotion towards you. I always wondered how you would react. But I guess it's no surprise really," he commented studying me like I was a bug under a microscope, his voice like the sound of gravel grinding together.
I was frozen in place, too terrified to move, my voice the only thing able to work at this point, "What do you mean, projected that emotion?" I was proud of myself, my voice didn't even waver one bit. Points for me.
Zachary scoffed, "You think you could produce such an intense emotion without a catalyst? No, this was all my doing," he seemed very proud of the fact that he just lost his entire army of bodyguards.
"Oh, and that paralyzing fear you're feeling at the moment?" He smiled, knowing full well I was petrified, implying it was his doing as well.
"Too bad you need some freak experiment to make me scared of you," I taunted him. I mentally jumped up and down. So what if I'm scared to death? I could still taunt the enemy. Whoo hoo!
Zachary's smirk disappeared and I finally got to see a touch of malice mar his features. It helped to solidify him as truly evil instead of just some experiment gone bad. He took three large strides towards me, a gleam in his eye I could only define as bloodlust. I didn't even see the hit coming. I just knew everything went black.
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx
Air. It was the first thing I noticed, the feeling of being surrounded by a lot of air. I felt the wind blow across my face and noticed the smell of salt. We must have still been on the docks. Or, at least, still on Eliot Bay. And then everything rushed back all at once and I tried to jerk up into a fighting stance but my hands were tied above my head. I was lying on something metal and very cold. The stars above me and the water below. I must've been a couple of stories high because I could see the cities lights from the buildings miles away.
Okay, Sera, it's alright. You're not afraid of heights and you're not dead. And… that's about as far as my optimism got me.
I banged my head back against whatever I was lying on in frustration. I couldn't believe I got captured! I wanted to scream for being so stupid. Oh well, not like I'm going to lay here and moan about it. I set to work trying to pull my hands free of the chains, wriggling them back and forth until my wrists started to bleed. But they didn't budge and that's when I did scream in frustration.
"Oh don't fret, little bird," Zachary spoke up all of a sudden as he climbed up onto the platform. I tensed as he stood over me with that smug smirk of his back on his face, "Daddy will be here in no time to save you," he said.
"What?!" I gasped. No…my father wouldn't dare do that to me. He knew I couldn't lose him too.
"Well, once I got you all nice and chained up, I sent a message out to your little computer nerd. I'll let you go if Fang gives himself up. You see, he's the brains behind your little gang and, frankly, I don't think you'd be able to function if he leaves," Zachary explained excitedly.
I gritted my teeth to keep the panic from showing, "He wouldn't. He won't let you win," I spat at him.
Zachary just kept smiling, "We'll see." I kept glaring at him. Wishing, for once, that I could have heat vision or something. That way I could burn that awful smirk right off his face.
"But in the mean time, I've been going over what you said back at the train and I've decided to prove you wrong," he told me as if just realizing he cracked a ten minute math problem.
The next thing I knew I was out of the chains and yanked upright. All the blood rushed out of my head and I blacked out for a moment as I felt Zachary shove me two one side of the platform. I barely stopped myself from going over the edge once my vision cleared and I watched the water below shimmer with the lights from the city. I was finally able to see that I was at the highest point of some metal tower jutting from the water. No idea what it was used for but at the moment I could have cared less.
I turned to stare at the monster who killed my mother and created all of those experiments over the years with narrow eyes. What was he doing? I could fly away easily. I could knock him off this thing with a surge of air. I didn't trust this at all. He looked way too confident.
"What are doing?" I asked suspiciously.
Zachary's smile slowly elongated into a vicious wolf grin as he chuckled, "Oh, little bird, now that the serum I gave you has made you groundless, not too mention nulled your powers, I am going to fight you," he answered simply.
"Guess I was just too powerful for you to fight without being drugged," I seethed, mostly out of terror. I had already tried to shove him off the side and into the bay without so much as a stumble and it made my blood run cold. I wasn't too worried about my wings. If what Zachary said was true than the serum would wear off. I could always jump into the bay as a last resort but it was a long way down and I didn't know if I would survive hitting the water at a wrong angle.
Zachary didn't grant my taunt with any of his own. He just lunged, claws extended, and the fight began.
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx
The platform was too small. I couldn't dodge far enough to get out of reach of Zachary's long arms. It resulted in multiple gashes in four's along my arms, back, face, legs…everywhere. There weren't fatal, but after the constant fighting it began to wear me down.
Zachary landed another teeth rattling crack across my jaw and I crashed against metal, the strength to move knocked out of me with the last of the air in my lungs escaping in a whoosh. Everything hurt. Everything hurt so much I didn't care if Zachary won or not. I just wanted to rest. I just wanted to sleep. The fight had been going on for two hours.
But Zachary wasn't finished. Not that I hadn't done any damage. He was limping and blood covered his face but he was still a lot stronger than me at the moment. I just concentrated on breathing in and out as he grabbed the back of my neck and dragged me into a half standing position in front of him.
I was like a rag doll to him. The only thing I could manage was a small amount of strength to get my feet back under me. I opened my eyes in time to focus on the figure that just landed with a metallic clang against the platform the wind blowing black hair out of enraged eyes.
I wanted to cry as my father stayed, frozen, crouched on one side of the platform while Zachary held me on the other but it would have taken to much strength to cry and so I just stared unbelievingly as my father slowly stood up to face the one creature he had been searching for my entire life.
"I'm here now. Let her go," my father ordered in a barely controlled voice of fury.
Zachary didn't even hesitate before throwing me towards my father only to yank me back by my arm and throwing me off the side. I tumbled through the air bracing myself just in time to crash into the freezing water.
Mwhahahahaha….my laptop lives! And I completed this chapter in like two hours! Whoo hoo!!!!! Hope I didn't scare you guys too much. Well, first time at college tomorrow so expect a little more of a delay with the next part. Love all who review!
