A/N: OMG, Chapter 7 is here! As promised, I've been posting this on the Helix website ( h t t p : / / committed.to/helix). Remember the little
'bonuses' I was talking about? Yup...this chapter. Go to the homepage, click on Cowpie, click on the NC-17 bonus version of chapter 7 and there
ya go. It makes no difference to the plot, so it is optional to read or not. There is review form on there as well so it is not linked to this fine establishment.
Please do not review for the bonus version here. Also, do not view if under 17 ;c)
AND and you may notice the strong Origin elements here!
Enjoy!!
(Volume: 1 Chapter:7)
Chapter 7: rebirth
Again, Laura was looking irritable, her hair wild, her eyes slightly bloodshot. She treated her mother badly; she broke dishes when asked to
carry them and threw her needlework down in frustration and stomped out when Sarah criticized a part.
She became more aggressive with him, too—in her treatment of him, but more noticeably during the night. She bit him, several times, for
which he ended up scolding her, like she'd been a bad dog. He wasn't sure if she realized she was getting rough around the edges. Then,
one morning, she didn't come to breakfast. Julian and Sarah sat at the table, eating their breakfast in silence—they usually had a conversation
when Laura was there. Odd how the presence of a mute girl inspired speech in others. Or perhaps it was just the worry.
…
Night time. He was lying down, his arms behind his head, staring at the rafters. He'd become quite used to the girl's soft curves pressing against
his side, and he missed them. It's only for a week, he thought. The light of the full moon was shining through the round window, illuminating a spot
on his stomach.
Scuffling. Yips and whines under the window. He scrambled up and peered out—there were wolves, again. And Laura. She was looking up at him, her
eyes shining in the dark. She was naked. She made a beckoning gesture at him, grinning. Or baring her teeth, he wasn't sure.
Julian clenched the window frame. Walk into a wolf pack? Was she crazy? Yes, yes she was crazy. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up just
thinking about it. She had nice boobs though. He leaned his head out a bit more.
Laura ruffled a wolf on its head affectionately, to show him it didn't mind. The wolf nudged her leg with its nose in return, and made a whimpering
sound. They sounded hungry.
Julian opened his mouth to comment, but Laura pressed her finger to her lips, smiling mysteriously. Then she did something that surprised him—her
lips moved. They formed the words "come here", although no sound came out.
He swallowed, then pushed away from the window and climbed down the ladder. Crazy, crazy, crazy, he admonished himself, pushing the barn door
open and moving towards her tentatively. Her smile grew. She didn't look dead now, surrounded by vicious hunting wolves.
The canines growled at him, their fur bristling. Julian swallowed.
"GRrrrRRREOWFF!" Laura growled, so impressively that the wolves shut up immediately, glancing at her in fear. She pushed them out of her way roughly
until she was standing in front of Julian. She kissed him harshly, pressing up against him so he could feel everything. His eyes widened, but she turned
away, grinning. A wolf sniffed him tentatively and then backed off; he realized she'd effectively marked him with her scent. She might as well just have
peed on him. He felt vaguely stupid, but was distracted by his tingling front, where she'd touched him.
Laura started running down the field; the wolves followed her, whining. They were obviously in tune with her; they knew what was happening. Julian did
not; he ended up trailing behind. He realized that she was the pack leader.
She led them down the field and into the woods, leaping over logs and around trees like they weren't there. Julian was hard pressed to keep up with the pack,
even though he was in very good shape himself.
Laura finally slowed, at the edge of a clearing, sniffing the air. Her hands were tensing; she raised them in front of her face…and claws, long, thin, sharp bone
claws slid out from between her knuckles, covered in mucus and blood and flesh. She bared her teeth. She looked like something from a horror movie about
werewolves—except she was beautiful. Julian gripped the tree beside him and absent-mindedly broke a branch off, with a loud snap that made several wolves
snarl at him in warning.
She never turned. Her eyes were fixed on a deer, grazing calmly in the abundant clover by the moonlight. He swallowed—no way. There was no way she could
catch a deer, just no way… Her hands flew in motions, directing the wolves around her; then, suddenly, Laura was off like the wind, her hunting pack after her,
strangely going in just the directions she had pointed. He leaned against the tree. He'd never seen anything like it.
Laura reached the deer first. It had bolted upon hearing the oncoming pack—too late. She sprung, flinging herself headlong through the air, and wrapped her arms
around the deer's neck, tackling it to the ground. She bit its ear, yanking its head back, and in a swift motion her claws sliced through its throat. The wolves
never got to touch it alive.
She stood up and grinned at Julian, the first acknowledgement she'd given of his presence since the barnyard. Her mouth was very red, covered in blood…blood
was dripping down her front too. Julian didn't know if he was repulsed or turned on. He finally picked the latter, very much so…he felt dizzy from a corresponding
blood rush. So much blood in this equation. She tilted her head at him, approaching.
He opened his mouth to protest, but she shoved her fingers against his lips, looking fierce. He was not to talk. She ran her thumb over the shapes. He could see
her teeth behind her lips, very white. How was it that Laura's breath was always fresh and her teeth so white? She kissed him again and pushed him into the tree
behind, and he realized she wasn't going to take no for an answer tonight. She grinned at him, he heard a sound…her claws, those long, white things were at his
waist. She drew them up, and they sliced through his belt. He felt the points graze him very lightly, cutting through his pants, drawing tiny lines along his skin.
He shuddered involuntarily, it was such an intense feeling, and her claws were warm. Alive.
…
"Hrrump." Laura was tugging on his wrist—he opened his eyes and propped himself up on his elbows. It was bright daylight—early morning. His back hurt like hell.
Why was he in a meadow? Oh, yeah. He rubbed his face; she smiled at him. She seemed to be done with her strange, primal mood.
He glanced around himself and found his boxers—inside his pants—and, arching his back, pulled them on, struggling with the belt buckle until he realized it wasn't
there. Oh, right. He sat up slowly, rubbing his back. He'd been had it broken, once, in a civil unrest on earth, years ago. When he was 17 or so. No, that was
hundreds of years from now…he decided not to think about that.
Laura was waiting by the trees for him.
"Where are your—" she took his wrist and led him along the tree line. He ran his eyes over her body again—now that it was daylight, he could see what was his.
His?
Julian's eyes widened, his heart jolted, he stood still. No. He wouldn't be the first to fall, absolutely not—he was going back, he was going back to Sofia…the girl he
loved, still was in love with…and he would not allow himself to pursue this train of thought. Laura tugged on his wrist, her eyebrows drawn together, snapping him
back to the moment.
" Sorry." He followed her again, keeping his eyes on the ground. Eventually they began travelling uphill; it was so gradual that he didn't notice until they were almost
at the top. Laura bent over—he couldn't help noticing that—and disappeared into a rock wall. Wait—no—it was a well concealed cave mouth. He followed her in, gritting
his teeth at the pain in his back.
He raised his eyebrows. Laura obviously had spent some time in this cave; there were furs on the floor, and ashes from fires; tools and utensils on a small shelf made
from bricks sandwiching boards…and writing—she'd said she couldn't— and paintings on the walls, in what looked like blood. He touched one, his forehead wrinkling.
"Mmm-MMM!" Laura grabbed his wrist, pulling his fingers away, her eyes furious.
" Sorry." He seemed to be saying that a lot this morning. She tilted her head. the anger fading, and she smiled slightly, a dimple on each side. Then Laura pulled on the
sack cloth outfit, which had been lying on the bed.
She crouched again, disappearing through the cave mouth. He followed.
…
" Laura!" Sarah greeted her daughter, smiling. Julian followed her daughter in; her expression wavered slightly. She knew—she just knew something had happened.
Well, good…it was the first step. She put down the plate she'd been holding and went into the sleeping room, followed by Laura. She'd cleaned her dress and
dried it in the meantime.
…
"I've been thinking…it is about time for a trip to town," Sarah said, several mornings later. Both Julian and Laura looked up. Town. It meant different things to them.
To Julian, it meant safety in numbers, plentiful food sources—fun; to Laura, it meant pain and fear and loss—and evil.
In times before, Sarah had mostly completed these trips alone, saddling their one Quarter Horse and attaching Laura's pinto pony with a lead line to a loop under the
saddle's cantle. The pony was outfitted with a wooden frame and canvas called a pack saddle that could support enormous loads, and her own horse sported saddle
bags, although smaller. Sarah did not like to make trips often. Once or twice, however, she'd taken Laura along, with a native girl staying behind to watch the farm in
exchange for goods.
" Laura, would thou like to undertake this task?"
The girl stared at her mother, her eyes wide. Julian shrugged. " I wouldn't mind," he said.
Sarah had thought this idea through carefully before presenting it. It was time for Laura to learn to interact with people on her own…Julian was a good intermediary,
he would make her seem more…normal. He was easy on the eyes, and having an attractive male companion always made a woman more respectable. She was also
slightly hoping that it would occur to them to visit a meeting of the Friends, there, and perhaps say vows—make it official—but she didn't want to suggest it.
" Good," Sarah said. "Tomorrow, early, would be a good time for thy departure. I will have the horses at the ready."
