WOW! Thank you all so much for the reviews. Made my day. :)
Sorry I haven't posted yet, but there are only 6 weeks left in my semester and this is the time where teachers try to cram everything that they should have already taught you but didn't. *sigh* So instead of writing this (which I'd so much rather be doing) I've been pouring over the Penal Code and writing an essay on the insanity defense. BLAH!
But now that's over and I'm back with a chapter. There are some personal thanks at the end for those who just want to get the hell on with the story, so on that note I'll shut up. :)
Chapter Eight: The Rescue
Lily was finally dreaming. She had gone to bed hours ago, but the sandman had been pressed for time and seemed to have forgotten her. She had finished her movie night with Jacen around midnight. It had been fun and a much needed escape from the events that had surrounded her the past few days. Now she was dreaming her and her brother were driving and listening to music, but somewhere in the sleepless corners of her mind she knew it was not real. She wanted to prolong the dream, to keep from waking, for she had no need for the reality of her life when it held nothing but loneliness.
// She glanced over to see her brothers smiling face. They were driving somewhere. He had said it was going to be a surprise. She could feel the excitement rising in her chest and felt her breaths becoming shorter as they drove on. She occupied herself by staring at the passing buildings as they flew by her window. Soon, buildings disappeared and were replaced with open fields of sunshine. She longed to stop the car and run amongst the fields, but then it would only take that much longer to get to where he brother was taking her.
"Close your eyes." He grinned, his white teeth gleaming. She stared at him a moment noticing just how soft his face really was. He had high cheekbones that gave him a younger appearance, and his light brown hair was getting long and scraggly, hanging inches below his eyes. He was of medium height, but built for his age with calloused hands that bore the marks of hard work. It was his eyes that had always managed to make her smile though. There was a magic that danced around the green orbs. Sometimes Lily felt that if she stared at them long enough she would be able to see their future.
She shut her eyes as he had told her to do and when she opened them they were at the beach, sun blazing down upon the illustrious sparkling water. She shrieked with joy and hugged her brother with all her might. His rich laugh escaped from deep inside him and she beamed up at him before running to the water.
"Have fun!" He yelled and took a seat upon the warm sand.
Lily ran straight into the ocean without fear or reserve. She loved the feel of the sand being pulled from beneath her feet as the waves rushed in and out. Feeling the urge to swim she charged the roaring waves and dived for deeper water. Surfacing for air she turned around to wave at her brother, but the beach was no longer sunny. A glowing moon had replaced the sun, dark clouds circled menacingly above her head, and in the place where her brother had sat seconds before was Selene and Michael.
For an instant Lily bulked at their appearance in her fantasy, but she was unexplainably overjoyed by their arrival. She launched her hand from the water and waved toward them. Selene moved her arm back and forth rapidly and appeared to be saying something to her. Again Lily waved shouting back that she was all right. Then she noticed the expression upon the immortals face. 'She's not waving.' Lily thought. 'She's yelling at me. Something's wrong.'
Suddenly, Lily felt something around her foot. It pulled her below the thrashing waves and held her beneath the surface. Struggling ferociously she fought with everything she had in her to rise to the top, but whatever it was had too much of a hold on her. She felt her lungs burning from the need to breathe, her muscles were becoming limp, and she found she was unable to move them. She closed her eyes beneath the waves and with one final burst opened them and kicked towards the surface with all her might. //
Her eyes opened to find a blonde hair man with an angry expression covering her nose and mouth with his hand. He had her pressed against her bed and was covering her entire face with the palm of his hand. Her eyes darted back and forth quickly, realizing she was at home and that she hadn't been drowning, but suffocating. Her hands flew to his wrist and fought to pry it loose. She kicked and bucked beneath his heavy hands, but things were already starting to go blurry.
As the image of the strange man's face began to fade she had the strangest sensation of being moved quickly through the air, and suddenly she had air! He had kept his hand on her mouth but had released her nose to breathe the sweet oxygen. In an instant her vision cleared and she realized she was face to face with Selene and staring down the end of a rather large gun barrel. Her eyes went very wide.
"Let her go Nathaniel." Her voice was cold and calculating, leaving no room for argument.
He laughed as he took a step backward and moved Lily closer to him. He was using her as a shield knowing Selene would not risk hitting the girl. "You know Selene; I always thought you were heartless. Turns out even you have a weakness."
Furious, she took another step forward and pushed the gun closer to Nathaniel's head. "I said let her go." Selene hissed and bared her fangs. Then spat out, "She has nothing to do with this and you know it."
"Wrong there my dear. She harbored a renegade and the abomination. That makes it her problem. Markus will deal with her." He squeezed Lily tightly around her waist.
Lily watched as Selene desperately tried to figure out what to do, but she had an idea. Frantically moving her eyes from left to right she tired to catch Selene's attention. // Look at me! // She demanded silently. As if reading her thoughts Selene's now light blue orbs looked directly into Lily's. Using her eyes she motioned to the left and then made them wide to see if she understood. Selene watched at first in confusion, and then recognition crossed her face. Ever so slightly the vampiress nodded her head.
Lily took a deep breath, and then with all her might she brought her heel up, scraped it all the way down the man's leg, and brought it crashing down upon his foot. He yelped lightly and his grip loosened just a touch. It was all Lily needed. With every ounce of her body weight she flung herself to the left, causing the vampire that had held her captive to lose his balance and let her fall to the floor.
Selene didn't wait a moment. In the instant that Lily fell to the ground she unloaded an entire round into the death dealer's chest. He went down hard, and Lily watched in terror as he turned a charcoal black and appeared to burn from the inside out. She saw his fangs exposed briefly as he screamed in silence and disintegrated into dust on her floor.
Just then her door burst open and a fully-grown man with blue skin and unusually shaped muscles jumped in snarling. He bared his fangs that dripped with salvia, while his pitch black eyes surveyed the seen. Two more fairly large men followed in behind him and stopped to look around. If there had been anyone else in the room they were sure as hell gone now.
Lily looked on in horror, or amazement (she couldn't tell which one at the moment). She'd never seen anything like the creation before her. He wasn't a wolf, but held certain characteristics of one. He had enormously large claws that extended from his hands, and an unusually curved chest with intense muscle shape. The bluish tint of his skin was unbelievable, but it was his ebony eyes that fascinated her the most.
"Are you alright?"
Lily looked up to see Selene towering above her. Her blue eyes had been replaced with the more human looking brown ones and she wore and expression of concern. Lily was too shocked to answer. She glanced back over at the monster that had just entered her house and saw that Michael had taken its place. // What the hell have I gotten myself into? // Then, looking up at Selene once more she realized something. "You came back for me."
Selene nodded and extended her hand to lift the girl from the floor. "I'm sorry. They followed us from your house. I didn't want..." She shook her head not quite sure what to say. "You have to come with us now." It sounded like a death sentence.
One of the men behind Michael handed him a jacket, which he put on and stepped forward. "Lily I am sorry but she's right. It's not safe for you here anymore."
Lily looked at both of them in astonishment. There was so much going on, but she understood the urgency in their voices. Gathering herself she took Selene's hand and stood. "Can you give me 15 minutes? I have to wrap some things up."
Selene cast a sideways glance at the girl. // She's got guts. // She noted with satisfaction. "Hurry."
Lilly nodded and ran to her bed, which from beneath she pulled a large duffle bag. She quickly opened the small dresser that stood to the side of the bed and piled clothes into the bag. Off her nightstand she took the one picture of her brother that she had kept in the entire house. It was of the two of them when they had first moved here. His strong arms held her in place atop his shoulders as they both laughed at the camera. She gently placed it on top and then turned around only to find Michael holding her jug of orange juice from the fridge.
"Don't forget this." He mumbled and then smiled sadly.
She grinned at him and after taking a final swig placed the jug in her bag. "Just one more thing. I'll be right back." Dashing up the stairs she ran outside and across the street to Jacen's house. It was very early in the morning and she could feel the sun waking from its slumber. // I have to make this quick. // She thought and knocked on the door.
Jacen opened the door and stared at her with sleepy eyes. "What's going on Lily?" There was concern in his voice.
She tried hard to keep the panic out of her voice. The last thing she wanted to do was worry him. "Hey Jace. Sorry to wake you, but I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to be gone for a little while. It's no big deal really, I just need to leave. I didn't want you to worry."
Jacen's eyes went wide at her proclamation. "Leave? Where the hell are you going? And why at this hour? Lily!"
Lily's eyes pleaded with him. "Jace, I know you feel like it's your duty to protect me, but please you have to let me go this time. It's really important and I don't have time to explain. Please, just trust me on this one. I'll come back. I promise."
He looked at her sadly. He felt angry. He wanted to yell and tell her to get back home, she wasn't going anywhere, but there was something about the urgency and excitement he heard in her voice. He hadn't seen her eager about anything since Christopher died, and he couldn't bring himself to hold her down. "Don't make promises you can't keep Lily. Wait a minute" He dashed back up the stairs of his house and came back down with a small handgun he had kept since his gang days. "Take this."
Lily took the weapon, looked it over and shoved it in her back pocket. "Thanks Jace." She smiled sadly at him and flew into his arms. "Thank you for sticking around all these years. I couldn't have done it without you. I'll miss you." Then she stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek before turning and running across the dark street to her house.
"Be careful Lily!" Jacen called from his porch. "Please come back to me." He whispered softly as she closed the door of her building behind her.
Lily raced down the stairs into her basement apartment. Selene, Michael, and his now six cohorts looked at her anxiously. She threw her duffle back over her shoulder and turned to Selene. "We can go now."
Selene nodded and placed a reassuring hand on Lily's shoulder. She looked at Michael who motioned to his men to head outside to the waiting car. They all climbed inside the old VW van and tired to get comfortable despite the tight fit. Selene sat in the back with Lily while one of the larger men with black curls drove. He wore an angry expression and Lily made a mental note to stay out of his way. The others didn't appear much friendlier, and, now that the excitement was wearing off, it occurred to her that she was headed off to an unknown destination with a group of very large, very intimidating men. // This goes against all my better judgments. Was I really that lonely? // She asked herself silently.
"Well kid," The man who sat directly in front of her grinned with immaculate white teeth. Light brown tendrils fell into his eyes, which to Lily made him appear to be ten years younger. She noticed briefly his twisted hands that sat quietly upon his lap. She was curious, but chose not to ask at the current moment. "Welcome to club lycan. I hope you enjoy your stay and if you need anything please don't hesitate to ask."
Lily laughed. It was a much welcome feeling.
The man grinned even wider at her and now extended one of his hands. "I'm Tyran."
She took his hand gratefully. "I'm Lily." She grinned wildly at him. // I like this one. // She thought with relief.
Selene watched the exchange with curious eyes. Tyran was easy enough to get along with, but how would the rest of the pack take to having first a vampire, now a human in their midst. // The lines of this war have definitely been blurred. // She thought to herself, but couldn't be sure if that was really such a bad thing.
--- Ok, well that's the end of that one. I'll try to post again soon, but you guys are catching up to me! I've got to write a few more chapters to stay on top of this. I could think of worse things...Anyways, some personal thanks to the great people who reviewed:
Tigerlily-2250 : Thank you so much for your comments. Sorry took me so long to update, but here you go!
Rayefire: Thanks again for your wonderful comments. Selene will always still be cold somewhere in there, but the girls got emotion, tons of it. I feel the need to mess with emotions. *Evil grins* And wear goggles when ogling pictures, wouldn't want to damage the eyes. ;)
Adalon Ithilriel: AH! You caught something my beta and I didn't. Well done. It is Flar (pronounced Flare), which I think is where I messed up. I obviously couldn't decide how I wanted to spell it. Thank you for pointing that out. When I have a bit more time, I will fix it. In the mean time, thanks again for your kind review.
Morrgaine : She's back! Glad to see you again. Your reviews are so nice, thank you. Glad you like that Selene is changing, I always worry about that. He cold/angst side is very appealing and it's hard to decide how you want her to be. And Lily...hum...must read on to find out. ]:)
jeaynie : HI! Thank you so much for reviewing. I'm thrilled that the story hooked you. Keep reading and I promise more will be reveled.
Nadia1: You are too kind! Thank you so much for the review. I doubt I can write as good as the movie, but I certainly try. There will be lots more Michael/Selene stuff to come. I'll keep posting, but only if you keep posting on your story cause you've got me addicted now! Thanks again!
Sorry I haven't posted yet, but there are only 6 weeks left in my semester and this is the time where teachers try to cram everything that they should have already taught you but didn't. *sigh* So instead of writing this (which I'd so much rather be doing) I've been pouring over the Penal Code and writing an essay on the insanity defense. BLAH!
But now that's over and I'm back with a chapter. There are some personal thanks at the end for those who just want to get the hell on with the story, so on that note I'll shut up. :)
Chapter Eight: The Rescue
Lily was finally dreaming. She had gone to bed hours ago, but the sandman had been pressed for time and seemed to have forgotten her. She had finished her movie night with Jacen around midnight. It had been fun and a much needed escape from the events that had surrounded her the past few days. Now she was dreaming her and her brother were driving and listening to music, but somewhere in the sleepless corners of her mind she knew it was not real. She wanted to prolong the dream, to keep from waking, for she had no need for the reality of her life when it held nothing but loneliness.
// She glanced over to see her brothers smiling face. They were driving somewhere. He had said it was going to be a surprise. She could feel the excitement rising in her chest and felt her breaths becoming shorter as they drove on. She occupied herself by staring at the passing buildings as they flew by her window. Soon, buildings disappeared and were replaced with open fields of sunshine. She longed to stop the car and run amongst the fields, but then it would only take that much longer to get to where he brother was taking her.
"Close your eyes." He grinned, his white teeth gleaming. She stared at him a moment noticing just how soft his face really was. He had high cheekbones that gave him a younger appearance, and his light brown hair was getting long and scraggly, hanging inches below his eyes. He was of medium height, but built for his age with calloused hands that bore the marks of hard work. It was his eyes that had always managed to make her smile though. There was a magic that danced around the green orbs. Sometimes Lily felt that if she stared at them long enough she would be able to see their future.
She shut her eyes as he had told her to do and when she opened them they were at the beach, sun blazing down upon the illustrious sparkling water. She shrieked with joy and hugged her brother with all her might. His rich laugh escaped from deep inside him and she beamed up at him before running to the water.
"Have fun!" He yelled and took a seat upon the warm sand.
Lily ran straight into the ocean without fear or reserve. She loved the feel of the sand being pulled from beneath her feet as the waves rushed in and out. Feeling the urge to swim she charged the roaring waves and dived for deeper water. Surfacing for air she turned around to wave at her brother, but the beach was no longer sunny. A glowing moon had replaced the sun, dark clouds circled menacingly above her head, and in the place where her brother had sat seconds before was Selene and Michael.
For an instant Lily bulked at their appearance in her fantasy, but she was unexplainably overjoyed by their arrival. She launched her hand from the water and waved toward them. Selene moved her arm back and forth rapidly and appeared to be saying something to her. Again Lily waved shouting back that she was all right. Then she noticed the expression upon the immortals face. 'She's not waving.' Lily thought. 'She's yelling at me. Something's wrong.'
Suddenly, Lily felt something around her foot. It pulled her below the thrashing waves and held her beneath the surface. Struggling ferociously she fought with everything she had in her to rise to the top, but whatever it was had too much of a hold on her. She felt her lungs burning from the need to breathe, her muscles were becoming limp, and she found she was unable to move them. She closed her eyes beneath the waves and with one final burst opened them and kicked towards the surface with all her might. //
Her eyes opened to find a blonde hair man with an angry expression covering her nose and mouth with his hand. He had her pressed against her bed and was covering her entire face with the palm of his hand. Her eyes darted back and forth quickly, realizing she was at home and that she hadn't been drowning, but suffocating. Her hands flew to his wrist and fought to pry it loose. She kicked and bucked beneath his heavy hands, but things were already starting to go blurry.
As the image of the strange man's face began to fade she had the strangest sensation of being moved quickly through the air, and suddenly she had air! He had kept his hand on her mouth but had released her nose to breathe the sweet oxygen. In an instant her vision cleared and she realized she was face to face with Selene and staring down the end of a rather large gun barrel. Her eyes went very wide.
"Let her go Nathaniel." Her voice was cold and calculating, leaving no room for argument.
He laughed as he took a step backward and moved Lily closer to him. He was using her as a shield knowing Selene would not risk hitting the girl. "You know Selene; I always thought you were heartless. Turns out even you have a weakness."
Furious, she took another step forward and pushed the gun closer to Nathaniel's head. "I said let her go." Selene hissed and bared her fangs. Then spat out, "She has nothing to do with this and you know it."
"Wrong there my dear. She harbored a renegade and the abomination. That makes it her problem. Markus will deal with her." He squeezed Lily tightly around her waist.
Lily watched as Selene desperately tried to figure out what to do, but she had an idea. Frantically moving her eyes from left to right she tired to catch Selene's attention. // Look at me! // She demanded silently. As if reading her thoughts Selene's now light blue orbs looked directly into Lily's. Using her eyes she motioned to the left and then made them wide to see if she understood. Selene watched at first in confusion, and then recognition crossed her face. Ever so slightly the vampiress nodded her head.
Lily took a deep breath, and then with all her might she brought her heel up, scraped it all the way down the man's leg, and brought it crashing down upon his foot. He yelped lightly and his grip loosened just a touch. It was all Lily needed. With every ounce of her body weight she flung herself to the left, causing the vampire that had held her captive to lose his balance and let her fall to the floor.
Selene didn't wait a moment. In the instant that Lily fell to the ground she unloaded an entire round into the death dealer's chest. He went down hard, and Lily watched in terror as he turned a charcoal black and appeared to burn from the inside out. She saw his fangs exposed briefly as he screamed in silence and disintegrated into dust on her floor.
Just then her door burst open and a fully-grown man with blue skin and unusually shaped muscles jumped in snarling. He bared his fangs that dripped with salvia, while his pitch black eyes surveyed the seen. Two more fairly large men followed in behind him and stopped to look around. If there had been anyone else in the room they were sure as hell gone now.
Lily looked on in horror, or amazement (she couldn't tell which one at the moment). She'd never seen anything like the creation before her. He wasn't a wolf, but held certain characteristics of one. He had enormously large claws that extended from his hands, and an unusually curved chest with intense muscle shape. The bluish tint of his skin was unbelievable, but it was his ebony eyes that fascinated her the most.
"Are you alright?"
Lily looked up to see Selene towering above her. Her blue eyes had been replaced with the more human looking brown ones and she wore and expression of concern. Lily was too shocked to answer. She glanced back over at the monster that had just entered her house and saw that Michael had taken its place. // What the hell have I gotten myself into? // Then, looking up at Selene once more she realized something. "You came back for me."
Selene nodded and extended her hand to lift the girl from the floor. "I'm sorry. They followed us from your house. I didn't want..." She shook her head not quite sure what to say. "You have to come with us now." It sounded like a death sentence.
One of the men behind Michael handed him a jacket, which he put on and stepped forward. "Lily I am sorry but she's right. It's not safe for you here anymore."
Lily looked at both of them in astonishment. There was so much going on, but she understood the urgency in their voices. Gathering herself she took Selene's hand and stood. "Can you give me 15 minutes? I have to wrap some things up."
Selene cast a sideways glance at the girl. // She's got guts. // She noted with satisfaction. "Hurry."
Lilly nodded and ran to her bed, which from beneath she pulled a large duffle bag. She quickly opened the small dresser that stood to the side of the bed and piled clothes into the bag. Off her nightstand she took the one picture of her brother that she had kept in the entire house. It was of the two of them when they had first moved here. His strong arms held her in place atop his shoulders as they both laughed at the camera. She gently placed it on top and then turned around only to find Michael holding her jug of orange juice from the fridge.
"Don't forget this." He mumbled and then smiled sadly.
She grinned at him and after taking a final swig placed the jug in her bag. "Just one more thing. I'll be right back." Dashing up the stairs she ran outside and across the street to Jacen's house. It was very early in the morning and she could feel the sun waking from its slumber. // I have to make this quick. // She thought and knocked on the door.
Jacen opened the door and stared at her with sleepy eyes. "What's going on Lily?" There was concern in his voice.
She tried hard to keep the panic out of her voice. The last thing she wanted to do was worry him. "Hey Jace. Sorry to wake you, but I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to be gone for a little while. It's no big deal really, I just need to leave. I didn't want you to worry."
Jacen's eyes went wide at her proclamation. "Leave? Where the hell are you going? And why at this hour? Lily!"
Lily's eyes pleaded with him. "Jace, I know you feel like it's your duty to protect me, but please you have to let me go this time. It's really important and I don't have time to explain. Please, just trust me on this one. I'll come back. I promise."
He looked at her sadly. He felt angry. He wanted to yell and tell her to get back home, she wasn't going anywhere, but there was something about the urgency and excitement he heard in her voice. He hadn't seen her eager about anything since Christopher died, and he couldn't bring himself to hold her down. "Don't make promises you can't keep Lily. Wait a minute" He dashed back up the stairs of his house and came back down with a small handgun he had kept since his gang days. "Take this."
Lily took the weapon, looked it over and shoved it in her back pocket. "Thanks Jace." She smiled sadly at him and flew into his arms. "Thank you for sticking around all these years. I couldn't have done it without you. I'll miss you." Then she stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek before turning and running across the dark street to her house.
"Be careful Lily!" Jacen called from his porch. "Please come back to me." He whispered softly as she closed the door of her building behind her.
Lily raced down the stairs into her basement apartment. Selene, Michael, and his now six cohorts looked at her anxiously. She threw her duffle back over her shoulder and turned to Selene. "We can go now."
Selene nodded and placed a reassuring hand on Lily's shoulder. She looked at Michael who motioned to his men to head outside to the waiting car. They all climbed inside the old VW van and tired to get comfortable despite the tight fit. Selene sat in the back with Lily while one of the larger men with black curls drove. He wore an angry expression and Lily made a mental note to stay out of his way. The others didn't appear much friendlier, and, now that the excitement was wearing off, it occurred to her that she was headed off to an unknown destination with a group of very large, very intimidating men. // This goes against all my better judgments. Was I really that lonely? // She asked herself silently.
"Well kid," The man who sat directly in front of her grinned with immaculate white teeth. Light brown tendrils fell into his eyes, which to Lily made him appear to be ten years younger. She noticed briefly his twisted hands that sat quietly upon his lap. She was curious, but chose not to ask at the current moment. "Welcome to club lycan. I hope you enjoy your stay and if you need anything please don't hesitate to ask."
Lily laughed. It was a much welcome feeling.
The man grinned even wider at her and now extended one of his hands. "I'm Tyran."
She took his hand gratefully. "I'm Lily." She grinned wildly at him. // I like this one. // She thought with relief.
Selene watched the exchange with curious eyes. Tyran was easy enough to get along with, but how would the rest of the pack take to having first a vampire, now a human in their midst. // The lines of this war have definitely been blurred. // She thought to herself, but couldn't be sure if that was really such a bad thing.
--- Ok, well that's the end of that one. I'll try to post again soon, but you guys are catching up to me! I've got to write a few more chapters to stay on top of this. I could think of worse things...Anyways, some personal thanks to the great people who reviewed:
Tigerlily-2250 : Thank you so much for your comments. Sorry took me so long to update, but here you go!
Rayefire: Thanks again for your wonderful comments. Selene will always still be cold somewhere in there, but the girls got emotion, tons of it. I feel the need to mess with emotions. *Evil grins* And wear goggles when ogling pictures, wouldn't want to damage the eyes. ;)
Adalon Ithilriel: AH! You caught something my beta and I didn't. Well done. It is Flar (pronounced Flare), which I think is where I messed up. I obviously couldn't decide how I wanted to spell it. Thank you for pointing that out. When I have a bit more time, I will fix it. In the mean time, thanks again for your kind review.
Morrgaine : She's back! Glad to see you again. Your reviews are so nice, thank you. Glad you like that Selene is changing, I always worry about that. He cold/angst side is very appealing and it's hard to decide how you want her to be. And Lily...hum...must read on to find out. ]:)
jeaynie : HI! Thank you so much for reviewing. I'm thrilled that the story hooked you. Keep reading and I promise more will be reveled.
Nadia1: You are too kind! Thank you so much for the review. I doubt I can write as good as the movie, but I certainly try. There will be lots more Michael/Selene stuff to come. I'll keep posting, but only if you keep posting on your story cause you've got me addicted now! Thanks again!