So, it took me hours, but I found some actors/actresses that I would like to use for the five main characters. I think the one for Lucy was a perfect choice! Private Message me for the image if you can't get it on here. www DOT tiny pic DOT com/r/2ujtu8p/5 - Just add a period where the DOT is, and remove the spaces. (YES, I changed the color of their eyes. xD) Well, except for Jack's.
"What the fuck is going on?" I hardly ever swore. In fact, even at eighteen, I still substitute those lovely choice words with another word that seemed a little less offensive.
"I'll explain everything later. Right now you need to clean yourself up." The man, who I could hardly see in the pitch black jeep, popped open the glove compartment. He let a small plastic box fall into my lap. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought it was a lunch box. But, printed in bold letters, were the words "First-Aid", along with a red cross.
"What is this for?" The only injury I could recall getting was the increasingly painful throbbing I felt in my side after one of the men socked me with the gun. Speed demon beside me only made things worse. My side was overly sensitive to the jeep jerking up and down on hills at the moment.
"You're bleeding. Where we're going, you won't want an open wound. Believe me." I narrowed my eyes at that remark. But, sure enough, a small patch of blood stained the front of my teal Ed Hardy sweatshirt.
"Come on!" I lifted the hoodie and the white t-shirt I had on under it to expose the skin of my stomach. I had serious road rash. I pulled a plastic tab on the front of the First-Aid kit. It popped open, flashing all of the contents inside. To my relief, a flashlight was tucked under a pack of cohesive medical wrap. I clicked it on, examining the damage around my navel. It was dirty, and even a little grass-stained. I brushed a few pebbles away, wincing when my fingers grazed the raw skin.
I grabbed a bottle of peroxide, uncapped it, and poured a few drops into a cloth. As soon as the ruthless liquid came into contact with the torn skin it burned. I tucked the cloth in the front of my jeans, and then tipped the bottle of peroxide so the clear liquid would trickle to my stomach. The cloth soaked up any drop threatening to dampen the front of my jeans.
Once I believed the wound was clean enough, I placed a few gauze pads on the wound, using medical tape to keep it down.
"Good, but you'll need to get rid of the shirt." He had been quiet for so long, I jumped at the sound of his voice. After the words registered in my mind, I panicked. My first thought was that he was some psycho path who had been using this heroic act to get me alone, which he did, so that he could rape me and toss my body in a river. Why the hell else would he want me to take my shirt off?
"Listen, I know this sounds weird. But we've got to get rid of anything of yours that may have even the smallest drop of blood on it." I watched as one massive arm lifted from the steering wheel. I shied away, pressing myself as close to the door as possible. He reached behind his seat, pulling a cloth out of the back. When I refused to take it, he smiled. It was difficult to see his features in the pitch black of the jeep, but I recognized that smile. My breath hitched in my throat as I lifted my arm to click the dome light on.
The light was brighter than my eyes could bare. I shielded them with a hand until I was completely used to the brightness. My eyes wandered to the driver's seat to a man wearing that same heart-melting smile that I saw only hours before. But it wasn't Logan in the driver's seat.
"Who are you?" His smile never faltered.
"Jack Mercer. Nice to finally meet you, Lucy." I fumbled for words. Say something, anything. I felt like an idiot just gawking at him.
"Hi.." I was better off keeping my mouth shut. "Mercer... Are you related to someone named Logan by any chance?"
"He's my brother. You know, I bet I know someone who'll love meeting a witch. She could also help you take better care of that," He gestured to my stomach.
"I cleaned it up fine." How dare he challenge my nursing skills. I've bandaged plenty of wounds in the past. I'm more than experienced.
"Well enough to keep it from infection. In a room full of-" He cut himself short, tossing the t-shirt in my direction. "Just put that on, please. We'll get you better clothes when we get inside." Inside where was the question. I had a bad feeling about all of this. I wanted to run as far away as possible, but I knew that the things from the field weren't far behind. I wouldn't want to be caught alone when one of those came along. I made Jack pull over long enough for me to find a tree to hide behind and change. I walked back to the vehicle with my blood stained clothes in hand. He snagged them and tossed them in the ditch.
"What was that for?" When he turned back to face me, he shrugged innocently.
"What? Don't tell me you still wanted them. They were ruined." Grin and bare it, Luce. I paused to take a few deep breaths before responding.
"It would have washed out. You think that's the first time I've had a blood stain on my clothes?" I pulled myself into the passenger seat of the jeep, crossing my arms tightly over my chest. I was still fuming over losing my best two shirts when Jack pulled into a parking lot that sat in front of a warehouse. The windows were boarded over, but I could still see beams of light escaping through cracks.
Just as we got out of the jeep, a petite blonde flitted from the front door of the building.
"Jack, thank god!" Her voice sounded magical. She had platinum blonde hair, flowing flawlessly past her shoulders in thick, wavy tendrils. Her eyes were a fascinating emerald color. It looked as if they were glowing. Needless to say, she was beautiful. The girl caressed Jack's face and kissed him gingerly before turning her attention to me.
"Willow, this is Lucy. Lucy, Willow."
"Lucy? I've heard all about you. It's an honor to finally meet you!" She jumped forward and wrapped her arms around me. I winced when she jostled my side, and patted her shoulder before Jack pulled her away.
"I need you to take her up to the back room. She's got a wound on her stomach. It needs cleaned before she can stick around down stairs. Easy with her. She took quite a beating tonight." Jack kissed her once more before walking inside.
"I'm glad you finally came. We've been waiting for you." She looped her arm in mine and pulled me through the door. I could hear shouting, but there were only five people in the room with us. The noise came from an open door leading to a cellar downstairs.
"What's going on down there?" She led me away from the door, taking me to a room at the end of the hallway.
"Just boys being boys. You'll see soon enough." She opened a cabinet and pulled herbs and homemade creams out. "I made this myself. It took years to perfect." I sat on the sink and tucked my shirt under my arms, leaning back so she could see the damage done to the skin around my navel.
"It's not that bad, I don't see what the problem is." She rubbed a dime-sized amount of cream onto the wound. Surprisingly, I didn't feel any pain. I barely felt anything at all. It was already starting to feel better.
"It may seem stupid, but it's necessary. Some of the boys downstairs have problems controlling themselves. It could be dangerous to stand in a room full of werewolves and vampires with a fresh wound. Like swimming in shark infested water when you're bleeding." She pressed a square of gauze over the cream and taped it to my stomach. She placed her palm against my side where the man struck me. I cringed away from her hand. "Just relax." My skin tingled. At first it was a little uncomfortable, but as the tingling became more insistent the pain in my side faded, until I felt nothing at all. "All set."
I looked to my side, eyes widening as the bruise faded before my eyes. "Thank you. It's like none of it ever happened." The spot that had once been turning dark purple was now back to my pale ivory skin tone.
"You're welcome. Though the road rash may leave a faint scar behind..." She led me to the stairs where the yelling had come from. "Ready?" Without giving me time to answer, she grabbed my wrist and took me to the bottom of the steps.
There were so many people, all of which that their backs to us. Willow gestured for me to follow as she began pushing through the crowd of people. Once we got to an opening, we realized they were all gathered around a tall, muscular, shirtless man covered in tattoos. He had white tape wrapped around his hands, which hand blood smeared all over the knuckles. He was fighting people.
Another man walked into the ring of people. He was shirtless also, though he had no tattoos. He was perfectly built. The fluidity of his movement was nearly flawless. I tried to get a look at his face, but it was hidden under the visor of a ball cap. An older man walked into the circle and pulled the mystery man's hands behind his back. He spun the man around to show that he had him handcuffed.
"Wait, that doesn't seem fair. The other guy has at least fifty pounds on him." I couldn't see how this was—in any way—a good idea. An older woman, presumably in her forties, scoffed at my remark.
"Believe me, Frankie's doin' Russell a favor. The kid's fast." Another man, who was standing in front of the woman, voiced his opinion.
"We could have every guy in this room fight him all at once and he'd walk away untouched." I'll admit, I was definitely curious. Frankie, the man who'd handcuffed the guy in the baseball cap, walked around with a wad of money in his hands.
"Grant vs. Mercer, place your bets." Nearly every person he walked by handed him money. Everybody's bet was on—.
"Did he say Mercer?" I leaned toward Willow, speaking just loud enough for her to hear me over the crowd.
"Yeah. Jack's younger brother is one heck of a fighter. I don't understand why he does it. Violence is pointless." Willow wrinkled her nose and grimaced. "I'm going to navigate my way out of this cluster of people. Care to join me?"
"No, I think I'm going to stick around and watch this."
"Suit yourself." She waved goodbye and skipped away. Was it really Logan under that hat? Sure enough, the man shook his head and the hat fell to the floor. Logan's signature smile was brighter than I'd ever seen it, though I could see a hint of insidiousness in his eyes. He clearly had something up his sleeve.