Old Secrets

Waking up to two wolves and a child with the zoomies was a little jarring but a nice change. I got out of bed so I could make breakfast for everyone. I put on some jeans, a Twiztid band tee, and some socks. I put my hair up in a messy bun with my favorite hair sticks. I walked through my home and did a headcount. It seems the vampires went back to their home. It is safe for them at the moment. So, it was Laddie, my pups, and me. Easy. Laddie and I had cereal while the pups devoured five pounds of Elk, each. We cleaned up and spent the day watching movies. Laddie absolutely loved Wolverine from the X-Men movies. Lunch had come and gone. I was getting ready to start another movie, and prep for dinner when there was a knock at my door. I told Laddie and the pups to stay upstairs since I was not expecting anyone until after the sun had gone down.

I looked through the peephole. It was four men dressed in all black carrying guns. "Laddie, take the pups and hide," I yelled as the men started to kick down my front door. I don't know where Laddie and the pups hid, hopefully, it will be good enough until his brothers get here. I ran to the kitchen, hiding behind the door as the front door finally caved in. The four men ran into the living room. I could hear one barking out orders, "Find the bitch. Tear the place apart if you have to." I could hear furniture being tossed around, glass shattering. I could hear footsteps getting closer to the kitchen door. It's one of those doors that swing both ways. I was hiding in the corner behind it, like an idiot. I didn't even grab a kitchen knife.

The door swung open forcibly. It hit me, so on instinct, I pushed it back. The door slammed the guy in the face. I came out from behind it, ran to the cutlery drawer, and pulled out a knife. By this time, the guy had recovered slightly, his eyes were still watering. He lifted his firearm and opened fire. Several shots rang out, destroying my cabinets and shattering the dishes. I didn't duck fast enough. A bullet lodged in my left shoulder. I screamed in pain as I ducked down. I didn't stay in one spot though. The guy moved around the kitchen to catch me.

I was somehow able to get behind him. I used the knife to slice the back of his knee. He crumpled to the floor. I crouched over him and slit his throat, took his gun, and searched his pockets. All I got was his wallet and a clip of 10 rounds. I put the clips in my back pocket and went over to the kitchen door. I swung it open enough to see into the living room. The guy who was barking orders was just standing there.

Swinging the door open quickly and shot a few rounds off. I was aiming for his legs. I didn't want to kill him, just incapacitated. He fell to the floor, three bullets struck his legs. I left the kitchen and headed where I heard the other two. One of them was in my garage looking through everything in there. "Hey, asshole," I caught his attention. He spun around with his finger on the trigger.

I was shot in the right side of my torso. With adrenaline running through me, I felt the searing heat and pain but I stayed on my feet. I fired upon him and shot him in the chest. He was dead before he hit the floor. I turned to head back into the house to find the last guy in the hallway, holding a scared Laddie hostage. "Drop the gun or the kid gets a bullet to the head."

I set the gun on the ground and raise my hands in surrender. I could feel my adrenaline starting to crash, my knees feeling weak. The guy lowers his gun and throws Laddie at me. The momentum caused us both to fall with Laddie landing on top of me. I quickly moved him behind me in case the guy was going to shoot. Laddie crawls away from me and the armed man. He walks closer to me, aiming his gun at me, "Old man Wilks has been hiding some things from his old employers. We came to collect."

I slowly sat up, keeping my hands in clear view of the guy, "He was an estranged uncle. I never met him. I just received an envelope with an address and a set of keys." The guy in the living room was laughing, he had sat up and was leaning against the couch, "Is that all he left you?" I didn't answer right away. I could see the sun going down and the sky turning purple, 'Just a little longer.' The guy standing over me pistol-whipped me, "He asked you a question!"

My vision was clouded with black dots. I felt dizzy, a little nauseous, and felt like I was going to faint. Laddie slowly kept crawling towards the broken-down front door. He could feel the breeze on his hands. While the men were paying attention to me, Laddie stood and ran out the door. His pounding feet were heard by the armed man standing in front of me. He went to chase Laddie, but I grabbed his pant leg and pulled him down. When he fell, his gun went off. It was pointed outside. I hope none of the bullets hit Laddie. The guy kicked my hand off of him and stood to run after Laddie.

I could hear the guy in the living room mutter to himself, "When you want something done right, you do it yourself." He used his arms to crawl to his fallen gun and picked it up. I know I'm getting close to passing out from the blood loss, but I'll be damned if I'm going to die on my back. I gathered what strength I had left and sat myself up so I could stand. I pulled myself to sit against the wall on the other side of the hall, away from the armed man. The guy that was chasing Laddie came back, out of breath. In between huffs, "He's fast. I couldn't find him."

"It doesn't matter. We need to deal with her, then search the place for what Thomas stole from us." The guy in the living room had pulled himself to sit against the wall in the foyer. I wasn't going to say anything. Even if I knew what they were looking for, I wouldn't tell them. I stayed silent, bracing myself to stand. All the while I'm wondering where my pups were. Are they locked in somewhere? Are they injured, or shot? Did these assholes kill my wolves?

And that's when I heard what I have been hoping to hear. The sound of four roaring motorcycle engines. The men heard them too. They turned to the door and watched as four motorcycles sped by. When I heard the motors fade away, I knew I was alone. I was going to use the last of my energy to take these two down. I used the wall and pushed myself to stand since the guys were facing away from me. I pulled one of my hair sticks out of my bun, aimed for the guy on the floor, and threw it. I got lucky. The hair stick had embedded in the guy's neck. He was coughing and starting to choke on his own blood.

The last guy turned and aimed at me. He didn't notice that he had emptied his clip. The gun gave a resounding click. He went to reload but wasn't fast enough. I knelt and grabbed the gun I used from the floor and fired. He collapsed with a bullet in his head. I dropped the gun and turned to go find my pups. I am not sure I wanted to know what condition they were in, but they were the only family I had.

I made my way upstairs to the den. The guy must have started with the bedrooms because the den looked to be in one piece. I passed by each bedroom, a little torn up but nothing that can't be fixed or replaced. When I reached my bedroom, I could see it was thrashed. Still no sign of Sirius or Regulus. I moved through the room and into the bathroom. I found them.

I could see they were barely breathing. Both of them had been shot. Sirius was in front of the door, trying to block anyone from entering. Regulus was laying near the cabinet under the sink. That must have been where Laddie hid. I'm surprised Laddie wasn't shot at this point. I don't know where Laddie is or if he is injured. He must have gotten away. That's all that matters. I move into the bathroom to lay on the floor in between my wolves. They were conscious enough to scoot closer to me. Sirius put his head on my torso, while Regulus laid his head on my right shoulder. I pet them both with my good arm, "You two did good." I couldn't hold the tears back anymore.

What was Lost

And that is how they found me. A bleeding, crying mess on the bathroom floor holding what's left of my family. I didn't bother moving when David stepped into the room. He sat on the edge of the bathtub, "What a mess you got yourself in." I didn't respond to that, instead, I asked, "Did you find Laddie?" David seemed irritated that he was being kind of ignored, "Yeah, we found him. A little scratched up from running through the trees. But he's okay." I felt so tired and cold, "Good. Now, get out. I rescind my invitation." I closed my eyes and gave in to the darkness.

I must have pissed David off because the next thing I know is I'm being lifted from the floor and carried to my bed. I could barely hear what was going on, David was telling Paul and Marko to deal with my wolves. I didn't hear any growling or barking, so they must not be fighting the vampires. "You do not get to come into our lives, just to die on us." I could hear the anger in his voice, and maybe a little hurt. I hurt him, unbelievable. They're the ones that drove by my house, leaving me to fight for my life when just one of them could have dealt with all four men. I'm the one who has been shot. I'm the one bleeding to death, and yet, his feelings were hurt.

I wanted to push him away from me. I wanted to be left alone. To die in peace. Not lay here and listen to him talk down to me. I didn't have the strength to move a single muscle, let alone move away from him. So when David propped me up into a semi-sitting position I didn't fight it. "You went through a lot of trouble to make sure we weren't killed. Then you helped us rid of the immediate threat. The least we can do is make sure you don't die." David stood to take off his coat and worn, leather duster. "Why did you drive past the house?" My voice was scratchy and weak.

David sat on the edge of the bed, "We drove past to pick up a running, scared, crying child. Trying to get a hysterical child to explain what was going on took time. By then you had made it up here." I just lay there, not saying anything. I could feel my body growing weaker, my eyes wanting to close again. Maybe this time for good. Nope. I felt my jaw being pried open and something sweet, tangy with a hint of copper flowed past my lips and down my throat. I had to swallow if I wanted to breathe. A few swallows was all it took.

I don't know how long I slept, but when I woke up I was alone in my bed. I pat myself down, trying to see how injured I am. I found no injuries, no bullet holes, not even a bruise. "How long was I out?" I asked out loud. "Four days," Paul stood in my doorway. "You...Um, were almost dead when David turned you." Paul pulled away from the door and came closer. "So, now I'm half-vampire?" I looked down at myself trying to see if I felt any different. Paul held out his hand for me to take, "Come on. There's some people who want to see you."

He led me down the hall and into the den. I could see David made himself comfortable in the recliner, Marko was on the couch, Dwayne was on the loveseat holding Laddie. The other two in the room shocked me. Sirius and Regulus were laying on the floor in front of the couch with tails wagging. They saw me and jumped up and ran to me. I hugged them both, "I thought they died." Marko moved over so Paul could sit, "They did. We brought them back. They're Hellhounds now." I look over my pups, it seems nothing has changed about them. They're still my pups, my wolves.

"So? What's on the agenda for tonight?" I asked the vampires in the room. "We were going to go to the boardwalk and get something to eat," Paul said from beside me. They seemed anxious to head out. I was going to agree but looked down and saw I had been wearing the same thing for the past four nights. "I need a shower first. I probably reek," I start to walk back to my bedroom when I see Paul following me. I turn to face him and cross my arms, "What do you think you're doing?" He seemed a little nervous, "I was going to help pick out an outfit." Paul was rubbing the back of his neck like he was caught doing something he wasn't supposed to. "Uh-huh. Is that before or after you help me out of this one?" I raise an eyebrow in suspicion. He stutters a little, "Well, I mean. If you insist." I rolled my eyes and kept walking to my bedroom.

Paul followed a little behind me. Closing the door as he came in. I went into my bathroom and closed the door as he rummaged through my clothes. He wasn't kidding. He really picked out an outfit for me. I guess to blend in a little better with them. As I was showering I heard Paul shout over the running water, "Damn babe. Ooh, I want to see you in this." I was thinking to myself, 'What would someone like Paul pick out for me?'

I get out of the shower, wrap a towel around myself, and use another towel to dry my hair as much as possible. Entering my bedroom, Paul has set some clothes out on my bed and sat down. "Was this just an excuse to see me naked?" I crossed my arms, trying to not let my towel fall. He shrugs his shoulders but doesn't deny it. "Well, let's see what you picked out."

I roll my eyes. If my outfit was any skimpier, I would be in a bikini. Paul had picked out a zip-up crop top sweatshirt, high-waisted punk shorts, lace-up boots with a small heel, and a beanie. The entire outfit is black. Most of my clothes are black, so it goes without saying. "Not bad. This was your second choice wasn't it?" I turn to face him. "How did you know?" He asked innocently. "I can see the plaid, school-girl skirt sticking out. Like you were in a rush to put it back." I slip the shorts on under the towel. I drop the towel to put on the top, only paying partial attention to the groan I hear. I walked over to my dresser for a pair of socks, then put on my boots. Ran my fingers through my hair and put on the beanie, "Come on. I'm sure the others are getting impatient."

When we all walked downstairs, I saw the guys had cleaned up. Even my front door was fixed. I wasn't really paying attention to the looks the four vampires kept giving me. The pups and Laddie rode with me in my Blazer after I checked to make sure it wasn't tampered with. The last thing anyone needed was my Blazer to explode or not being able to stop due to cut brake lines. The guys made it to the Boardwalk first with how fast they were going. I cruised a little ways behind them, not really wanting to speed.

The boardwalk was crowded as always. Laddie ran ahead of me to join the guys. Sirius and Regulus stayed with me. All of us hung around their bikes and just watched people walk by. They were more likely looking for their meal, I was just there. Laddie asked me if I wanted to get some cotton candy. "Sure bud, let's go." I took Laddie's hand and we walked away from the guys. Sirius stayed with them, but Regulus came with us.

Laddie got a big spool of blue cotton candy. I got a smaller pink one. The three of us walk back towards the bikes. We passed by a group of Surf Nazis, one of the assholes slapped my ass. I turned to see the guy standing up straight like he had to bend down to smack my ass. I rolled my eyes and kept walking with Laddie and Regulus. "Hey, sweetheart. Why don't you ditch the kid and hang with some real men, not those punks." The guy had an ugly green mohawk. I look over my shoulder, "I was heading towards the real men, you're the punks. Laddie, Regulus, and I walked a little faster, away from the Surf Nazis.

We made it back to the bikes where the guys were waiting. They must have heard or at least seen what happened. "You alright?" David asked. "Yeah, one of them got handsy, but we kept walking." I finished my cotton candy already. There was a bit of small talk before I got lost in thought. Marko noticed, "Penny for your thoughts?" I scrunch my eyebrows, I was really curious about this, I don't know why. "If you stuck a bald guy's head into the bowl washer at a bowling alley, would it get polished or just crush his skull?"

They were all silent for a moment before laughing hysterically. "I think you'll fit in just fine."