Dethroned- XRay Dog

Battle- Steve Jablonsky

Paul moved first. He rolled me over the king sized mattress, large chunks of wood splintering all over the room as I snatched my underwear from the floor and yanked them on.

"Move!" he ordered, pushing me out of the room. I sprinted halfway down the hallway, the bathtub shoving its way through the wall and blocking my path so quickly that I fell into it, my legs getting scratched up by the broken edges from Paul's incident a few nights earlier.

"Haley!" he screamed as the left side of the house caved in, the entire cabin shifting lopsided. The house was literally sinking into the ground.

I threw my arms out for Paul as the bathtub slid down the hall, taking me with it-further and further away from him. A woman with short, spiky red hair and pointy features danced above me, twirling in the air as she sprung into the kitchen. The angels were back. I turned back to Paul, his face mortified as the bathtub continued to slide down and down and down, taking me closer to the ground with it.

For the first time in my life, I witnessed something truly spectacular. Paul practically exploded out of his skin, his clothes flittering to the sinking floor in tatters, my large, silver protector standing in his place. He snarled, sliding down the wood on all fours like some kind of superhero until three unimaginably beautiful demons tackled him from the side, all of them tumbling into his parents' old room.

I caught hold of the doorframe to the kitchen, my body ripping free of the porcelain tub, my legs dangling freely as I clung to the banister, watching the ceramic death wagon shatter into millions of pieces only seconds later. I heaved myself upwards, crawling onto the wall of the kitchen, which now felt like a floor thanks to our lovely visitors. The walls were creaking, thick, sparking wires hanging dangerously free from the ceiling. For a moment, it reminded me of the garage.

Paul crashed into me, whirling me around and pinning me against the wall just as the fridge snapped free of the wall, sliding effortlessly across the kitchen and crashing against the wall in the exact same place where I'd been standing.

"Oh God, how we are truly sorry."

I turned, the wind whipping my hair around my face as Paul stood in front of me, snarling like he had in the forest. Jackson stood at the top of the hill in the backyard, the lightening flickering across his pale skin. This time I was not afraid.

"Keep running Haley," he called to me, stuffing his hands in his jean pockets. "As long as your blood is still pumping, I can still find you."

Paul snarled again.

"The water," I murmured to him, his ear flickering in subtle response. "If we can get to the water he won't be able to catch our scent."

Paul whined. I know he didn't like the idea of splitting up, but there was no way in Hell the both of us would live if we stuck together at this point. We didn't have enough time to truly decide anyways. Jackson's angels were pouring out of the trees now, all of their eyes set on Paul with a hatred I couldn't even begin to comprehend.

He pushed me to the side with his hind legs, giving me a quick head start, although I knew it wouldn't last long. As I looked over my shoulder, Paul began ripping cords from the walls, fire sparking viciously around the kitchen, the vampires all hissing, recoiling away from the yellow curtains of flame.

I ran as fast as my feet could take me. The second I was outside, I knew exactly where I was going, following the current of the flood water, the dirt and slop and rain splattering my bare legs as I fled through the trees with nothing but Paul Lahote's light blue button down T-shirt on. Classy.

After some time, the water became thicker, heavier, so deep that I was crawling on all fours, unable to stand up straight although my life desperately depended on it. I didn't have to be a genius to know that the rain would be carrying my scent everywhere. Safety was beneath the surface, but there still wasn't enough water to ensure my life after today. I crawled as quickly as I could, relief washing over me as a howl split through the air, Paul's silver body slinking next to the canyon along with me as I ran.

He dove into the river behind me, nudging me upwards and wedging himself underneath me.

Oh my God. I was riding a werewolf.

He bounded through the trees faster than I ever could, hackles and screeches rising in the air behind us. We didn't have a whole lot of time on our hands. I clung to Paul's fur as the trees started to bleed together, blending and blurring like we were traveling faster than time until we finally exploded through a hoard of bushes, nothing but the sound of a thousand waves crashing against the jagged rocks hundreds of feet below us.

"WHOA, NO, NO, NO, NO," I cried, desperately trying to scramble off of his back. "I CAN'T GO DOWN THOSE, I CAN'T DO IT."

Paul didn't listen. He nipped at my ankles, forcing me back onto his shoulders, and finally, he leapt.