Chapter 21

The beast grabbed Jen by the neck and threw her against some boxes. She hit them hard and fell to the floor, hitting her nose. She couldn't see anything at all, and all of her other senses were numb with panic.

She wasn't really living that night. She was reliving another night, many years ago; many years before she became a Time Force officer, many years before she even became a woman.

Her mother and she had been in their stable, watching over a mare that was about to give birth to her first colt. Jen had been eight years old, and her mother was teaching her how to help the mare, that seemed to be in a lot of pain. Her father wasn't with them, he had gone to town looking for the vet; instead the chief stable hand was there.

The door was open, because it was summer and it was very hot inside the stable. All three of them had been distracted with the mare, and didn't see it walking inside. It was another horse that noticed it first; a fully grown male wolf, with drool oozing out of his huge snout, showing all of his teeth as he growled, warning them, telling them to get away, to get out.

Her mother had screamed and had wrapped her arms around her. "Go, Jenny, hide upstairs in the straw loft and stay there until I call you back, okay?" she had told her. Jen had nodded and done as she was told.

The man, his name was William, had grabbed a stick and was menacing the wolf with it. The animal howled, and his calls were answered. "Christine, you and Jenny need to get out of here, now," he had said. "There are more of them on the way."

"Where's the gun, Will?" Her mother asked. Jen couldn't see her, but she could hear them talking.

"It's in the henhouse; these monsters have been trying to eat some of the chickens."

"Then I have to go and get it, and bring it here, it's the only way."

"No, Chris, it's too dangerous, I'll go."

"No, stay here and protect Jennifer, I'll be back in a few minutes."

"You stay with her, there's more of them on the way, and the colt is about to be born, you can take better care of the mare than me."

"Yeah, but--"

"Listen, Chris, lock yourself in with the mare, and I'll be right back."

Jen heard the wolf howl again and she didn't hear the mare's cubicle lock snap. "Mommy?" she called. There was no answer. She heard shooting, from outside the stable.

Then Will's voice, calling her mother. "Chris!! Run!! It's the whole pack! Take Jen and run!" But there was no answer. Jen didn't hear her mother call her down, or trying to get to her. She stayed there, crouched behind some straw, praying for her mommy and calling for her daddy.

"Jenny? Jenny?" she heard Will call her. "Chris?" and that was followed by a surprised yell, and growling. Growling and roaring, and some gurgling noises that had stayed in her nightmares forever.

She stayed there, for what seemed like hours. She hadn't opened her eyes, or peeked down, until she heard her father's jeep coming, and heard him walk towards the stable. She didn't hear her father say anything, but she heard the shooting and the cursing.

"Monsters!! Beasts!! Demons!!" he had yelled. "Bastards!! Damn you all to hell!!!" he had kept on cursing and shooting, and Jen heard it all, until she couldn't take it anymore and she yelled.

"Jenny!!" Her father called and he climbed the stairs and hugged her tightly. "My baby. My baby Jenny, are you okay?"

"Is Mommy okay?"

"Yes, honey, she's better than any of us now," he said sadly.

"What happened to the mare and the colt?"

"The wolves killed them."

"And what about Will and Mommy?"

"Aw, Jenny," her father had said, and he had started to cry. She had only been eight years old; she hugged her daddy as tight as her arms could and cried on his chest. Her mother's body lay downstairs, next to the remains of the mare and the colt. It was an image that haunted her for years. It haunted her so much, she started to tell everybody her mother had died of a disease, and she had started to believe it.

***********

Jen tasted blood. It came from her own body.

Reliving that traumatic night of her childhood had distracted her from the reality, and the beast had been attacking her whenever it could find her in the dark. She felt its paws around her arms and it threw her across the room again. She landed next to something warm.

"Alex?" she asked. She touched it, it was warm and it moved up and down. It had to be a chest.

"Jen?" he asked her. She made a happy sound, not really loud or strong because she was in too much pain. She looked for his face, running her hand up his chest, and she could feel all the cuts on it.

"Baby, what happened to you?"

"There's a monster, a beast, look out," he warned her.

"I know," she told him. "And I can't fight him. He's too strong for me, I'm sorry Alex, I can't win this fight. I just can't."

"You can," he told her with certainty.

"No, I can't," she repeated, and sent him all the memories she held from the night of the wolves. "She couldn't win, and I can't win either."

"You are not her," he said. "You are stronger, you are more powerful and you have defeated much more than this beast. You have been in a lot more fights than your mother, and I trust you. I know you can win this."

"I'm sorry to let you down Alex. I love you," she said with a broken voice.

"Are you lying down on the floor?" he asked.

"Yes."

"What for?"

"I'm just waiting."

"Waiting for what?"

"For death to get me," she said, and she heard the beast's steps next to her. It picked her up and Jen closed her eyes, waiting for the final blow, for the final crash, but it didn't come.

Instead there was a flash of light, the beast growled in pain and let her fall to the floor, right next to Alex again.

"Jennifer," he told her.

"Yes?"

"Aim," he said simply. She smiled, more mentally than physically; that was the first thing he had ever taught her, to aim.

She used to shoot too fast and she missed all the shots because she didn't give herself time to aim. The first time they had ever practiced together he had looked at her in the eye and said, 'Aim first.'

"Aim for what?"

"For the lights."

Jen closed her eyes and followed mentally all the high voltage cables of the city. It wasn't easy, because the fight sounds, and the constant energy balls and explosions kept distracting her.

"Nadira?!!" she heard her hero call. It was very ironic that the one mutant she had wanted to kill for such a long time had ended up saving her life. "Nadira?!"

Jen got to the energy plant and released the hold she had on it. The warehouse was suddenly filled with light, and she could see the beast that had been hitting her. Nothing out of this world in the matter of beasts, but it had scared her in the dark. She looked around and saw Alex lying on the floor. She put both hands against her mouth when she finally got sight of his status. He was covered in red gashes and blood, his face showing bruises and cuts.

"Alex," she whispered sadly. She touched his face softly and he whimpered.

"Time Ranger, look out!!" Ransik yelled. She turned around and saw the monster coming at her, ready to grab her neck for the final blow.

"Not this time!" she yelled, and rolled to the side. "Maybe before, I was willing to let you win, the darkness and panic had me controlled - but Alex is right," she told the beast as she got up slowly, the beast staring at her with its little watery black eyes gleaming with anger. It didn't seem to like it when its prey ran. "I am not my mother, and you are not a wolf." The beast took deep breaths, preparing to charge against her.

"And you won't have the pleasure of killing me!! I won't let you have it!!" she yelled. The beast ran to her, as if to prove her wrong, but Jen was readier than she seemed. "Time for, Time Force!!" she called, and the pink Time Force ranger armor covered her.

For the first time she really felt the good morphing brought. It felt as if she had grown a new skin. She felt completely healed and clear. When the beast got to her, she was waiting for it, and kicked it in the chest, sending him to the floor. "Your time is up!" She summoned her V weapon, and aimed. "It's time for you to pay for what you've done!" she pulled the trigger and the blast hit the beast right between the eyes.

It fell on its back, completely lifeless. Jen breathed hard. It was the first time she had killed. It had been a murderous beast, but she hadn't been trained to kill, and it felt bad. She demorphed and walked towards Alex, kneeling next to him.

"Well done," he whispered. She smiled and caressed his hair.

"I'll call for reinforcements, you are going to be okay, baby," she assured him. Alex closed his eyes and his face fell to the side. His blood loss was considerable. Jen raised her morpher. "This is Captain Jennifer Scotts, I'm at the warehouse district, inside the large one at the top of the hill, I can't give a better direction," she called.

"What do you need, officer?" she heard a woman ask.

"Paramedics, I have a man down."

"And three to go," said a voice behind her. She turned around and saw Lucas, Katie and Trip standing on the door. Trip was holding a first aid kit in his hand. Jen smiled.

"You're always right on time, with the right thing," she said.

"That the reason we like to call ourselves a team," Katie commented. "We'll take care of Alex. You have other things to do."

Jen nodded and stood up from where she was kneeling. She looked around; Ransik was nowhere to be seen, not him, nor Nadira. "Ransik?" she called him, walking in the direction she had heard his voice when he had warned her. "Ransik?" she called again. She kept walking and made a wonderful discovery.

A hidden door that led somewhere underground. It seemed Ransik had moved the right box.

To be continued.