Chapter 7: The Were-Boa
Amanda's POV
Skin, teeth, and claws of a lizard.
Looks human.
Eyes a dark yellow in color.
"Amanda?"
His feral hiss echoing throughout the night.
That creature. I've seen that kind of creature before.
"AMANDA!"
Startled by the voice, I look up to see Randy staring at me, his brows furrowed in worry as his arms remain crossed against his chest.
"What is it Randy?" I ask as I try to wipe the sleep from my eyes. The rain continues to pour down outside as the house remains dark thanks to a blown fuse in the circuit box.
"I've been trying to get your attention for the past ten minutes, but you've been frozen like a statue this whole entire time." he tells me as he leans against the bedpost in his sleepwear, black t-shirt and another pair of basketball shorts.
"Sorry . . . it's just that I think I've seen that weird lizard creature we saw by the edge of the pool once before, now that I think about it." I tell him as I look down at my body, covered in the nightgown I wore the night before.
"You've seen it before?" he asks me as he raises an eyebrow, just as the lights finally come back on in the room.
"Yeah, but it was such a long time ago. Like, back when I was a little girl. I was staying at my grandma's house one summer and I looked out the bedroom window one night to see a creature similar to the one we saw near the pool perched on a nearby tree branch." I tell him as I blow out the dwindling candle.
"What did the creature do?" Randy asks me as he shoots me a wary look.
"It disappeared into the bushes, chasing after my grandma's tabby cat. When the morning came, all grandma found were a whole lot of cat bones, a few lizard-like footprints, and some blood smeared against a tree. Poor Miko." I say as I shake my head, remembering how much grandma loved that cat.
"Could your grandma have an idea on what that creature may be?" Randy asks me as he begins to get himself settled under the bed sheets.
"Maybe; when I asked her about it a few years later, she told me it could have possibly been a were-Komodo or some type of were-lizard. " I tell him as I cross my arms.
"A were-what? I thought werewolves were the only type of supernatural were-beast in the whole world!" says Randy as he plants his head on his pillow.
"They are probably the most famous kind of were-beasts in the world, but they are not the only ones." I tell him as I sneak a look at him. "I thought you knew that."
"Like I told you before: I ditched a lot of my Clan's teen meetings. Those boring meetings usually talked about the different supernatural species that live on this world and they were usually led by the most boring teachers. I could never sit around for long, so I just ditched those crappy meetings and hanged with a few of my vampire buddies instead." he tells me with a shrug.
"I'm amazed how you even got through high school with that kind of hooky mentality." I tell him as I look him in the eye.
"Impressed?" he asks me as I slide myself under the covers next to him.
"Maybe" I mutter as I snap my fingers, turning the lights off in an instant.
"But going back to the whole were-lizard thing; what kind of were-lizard do you think it could be?" he asks me as he pulls me into his chest.
"I don't know. The only thing I know for sure when it comes to were-lizards are that they are usually poisonous." I tell him with a shrug.
"Well; that's good to know." he tells me with a heavy sigh. "Hopefully that were-lizard won't be that much of a problem for our vacation."
"I hope so too Randy," I say as I close my eyes, listening to the rain drops as they continue to pound the roofs and the windows. "I hope so too."
The next morning
"GUYS! ARE YOU TWO AWAKE?"
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT MONICA?!"
I weakly open my eyes to see the window showing the blue sky without a cloud in sight and Randy scowling at the door as my sister continues to bang her fists against the door.
"What's going on?" I ask sleepily as I lift my head slowly from Randy's black clad chest. Randy doesn't have time to answer as the locked door opens by itself and Monica pokes her head into the room.
"I think she'll explain it to you." mutters Randy as he plops his head back onto his pillow.
"You might as well lift your head back up Randy, because someone wants to talk to you both." said Monica as she walked into the room dressed in a gray t-shirt and shorts with her blue laptop in hand, a small camera hooked on its top.
"Who's calling on Skype?" I ask as I sit up in bed.
"Grandma Chu-Hua" Monica tells me as she looks down at the screen. I look over at Randy to see him staring at me with a quizzical expression on his face.
"Is your sister there?" asks a woman in a faint Chinese accent, the voice obviously coming from the laptop.
"Yeah, she's here. Along with her boyfriend." says Monica as she stares at the screen. Randy sends Monica a sharp look as he sits up in bed. I just look on with an eyebrow raised.
"Pass me the laptop sis." I tell her as I hold my hand out.
"Be nice grandma. Amanda's boyfriend is a bit nervous about meeting you for the first time so cut him some slack." says Monica as she looks sharply at the screen, Randy shooting hjer a narrow eyed look the entire time. She hands the laptop over to me and quickly runs out the room, closing the door behind her.
Are you ready? I ask Randy telepathically as I shoot him a wary look.
Ready as I'll ever be. I have to get this over with sooner or later anyway. He tells me with a small, but nervous smirk. I nod my head in agreement and let out a small sigh. Turning the laptop around so that the screen faced us, I notice that Randy goes slightly wide eyed at the tan elderly Chinese woman dressed in a traditional Chinese top displayed on screen. The woman has her gray hair in a ponytail as her wise brown eyes stare at us in curiosity. Her button nose slightly twitches as her lips go up in a small smirk, crossing her arms as she leans back on her gray couch.
"So this is the vampire boyfriend your mother and sister have been telling me about huh?" asks the woman as she lets out a small chuckle.
"Hi Nana Chu-Hua." I say with a small smirk as I scratch my wrist. "How are you doing?"
"I'm good, I'm good my little Mei-Lien." says Grandma as her smirk turns into a full blown smile.
"Mei-Lien?" asks Randy bluntly as he turns to me with a curious look on his face.
"Mei-Lien is my Chinese name for Amanda. It means beautiful lotus. My name means chrysanthemum, if you were wondering." answers grandma as she looks at Randy.
"And Monica's Chinese name is Mei-Xing, which means beautiful star." I add as I cross my arms at him.
"Do you understand Dúshé?" asks grandma as she raised one of her gray eyebrows at him.
"I do understand Chu-Hua, except for the part where you called me a douche." he tells her, making me and grandma burst into the laughter.
"What did I say?" asks Randy as he looks at the both of us in shock.
"She didn't call you a douche Randy. She called you a dúshé." I tell him as I enunciate the word. "Dúshé means viper in Chinese." I continue as I break out in giggles once again.
". . . I'm an idiot!" mutters Randy as he slaps his forehead in embarrassment and falls back into the bed.
"You are not an idiot my Dĭngjí è shí zhĕ." I say as I help him sit back up.
"What did you just call me?" asks Randy as he shoots me an incredulous look, sitting back up ramrod straight.
"Dĭngjí è shí zhĕ; it means Apex Predator in Chinese." I tell him as I shoot him a knowing look.
"Amanda; how about we stop using Chinese in the conversation for your boyfriend's benefit?" asks grandma as she shoots Randy a slightly worried look.
"Please do." says Randy as he lets out a tired sigh. "I still am not used to hearing you speak Chinese."
"Fine," I say in defeat. "So . . . why have you called so early in the morning Nana Chu-Hua?"
"One: it's almost 10:30 in the morning. Two: We're going to have to put off a face to face visit for now Mei Lien. Me and your grandfather are leaving for the airport today. We're flying out to Hong Kong today to help settle a little family situation." she tells me with a small wink.
"Does it have to do with cousin Lu Wen and her gambling addiction or is it grand aunt Zhang and her problems with the fairies again?" I ask as I raise an eyebrow.
"Both!" she tells me bluntly with a nod of her head. Randy shoots me a curious look, but I shoot him an 'I don't want to talk about it' look.
"Where's is Grandpa Liam anyway?" I ask out of curiosity.
"Out at the store; we'll be leaving in less than an hour." she tells me with a shrug.
"Before you sign off grandma, I need to ask you something. Has there been any talk around the supernatural community about a were-lizard like creature of some kind running around the area?" I ask; the memory from last night fresh in my mind.
"Your sister asked me the exact same question. Aren't you two twin-like?" she tells me with a sad smile. "I'm going to tell you two what I told her and Wade. A few months ago, there had been a few ogres and shapeshifters near the Mandeville area who were attacked by a lizard like creature before it suddenly disappeared from sight, until last night when you guys saw it near the pool."
"Do you have any idea on what it is?" asks Randy as he stretches out his arms.
"It's a were-boa. Half human, half boa. The were-boa race is known to be very peaceful, but this were-boa is definitely not peaceful. I still have no clue why it has reappeared now after all this time." answers grandma as she crossed her arms.
"Maybe it was living nearby and when we came here, we must have disturbed it. Or it could have been the tropical storm." I suggest as I shrug my shoulders.
"It could have been." agreed grandma. "Look, I have a flight to catch, so I best be going. Take care of yourselves and be careful. The were-boa is not poisonous, but it is very strong and its bite is very painful."
"Thanks for the advice grandma." I say with a small yawn. "We'll keep that in mind."
"Good. I'll see you later my little Mei Lien, and let me just say this; I'm quite impressed. Your dúshè here is quite the catch." she tells me with a mischievous smirk.
"GRANDMA!" I whine as I lean back onto the bed. Randy shoots me a small smirk the entire time as I sit back up to, seeing a bemused smirk on grandma's face.
"I'm sorry if I embarrassed you Mei Lien. Bye now!" she tells us with a smile. She clicks a key on her keyboard; thus ending our conversation. I close the laptop and place it by the bedside dresser before lying back down in the bed once again.
"Well, I think I made a good impression with your grandma." says Randy with a smirk as he lies back down beside me.
"I think the highlight of the whole conversation was when you thought my grandma called you a douche." I say with a chuckle as I turn so that I was lying on my side.
"Yeah . . . not my best moment." he tells me as he wraps an arm around my waist. "What's the Chinese phrase for Apex Predator again?"
"Dĭngjí è shí zhĕ" I tell him as his head leans over to mine.
"I never realized how cute you look when you speak Chinese." he tells me as he pecks my lips.
"Why thank you, but I think I have an idea on what you're planning and I'm going to have to decline for now since I have not brushed my teeth yet." I say as I quickly roll away and jump out of the bed, instantly making a beeline for the bathroom, listening to Randy's rather husky chuckling the entire way.
"I'm going to go to the kitchen; see what's left for breakfast." his voice calling from behind the door as I brush my teeth.
"Alright!" I yell to him through a mouth filled with toothpaste. I take a quick shower, brush my hair, and change into a blue maxi dress before leaving the room. After descending the staircase and say good morning to everyone, who crowd around the living room watching an encore of the last Raw before vacation started, I walk into the kitchen to see Randy eating a bowl of Cheerios while leaning against the counter.
"Is cereal the only thing on the breakfast menu?" I ask as I walk over to the fridge.
"There are frozen pancakes and waffles in the freezer." says Randy through a mouth full of cereal as he points to the freezer. I look in the large machine and instantly grab a box of waffles, closing the freezer door before walking over to the toaster.
"Isn't today just a great day?" calls Lita as she skipped into the kitchen.
"You are only saying that because you won first pick of where to go today." says Randy as he walks over to the sink.
"You actually could have won it Randy, if you weren't so gullible and fell for the old 'spider on my leg' trick." said Lita as she grabbed a water bottle from the fridge.
"Which was executed perfectly by me!" calls Edge as he walks into the kitchen. "So when do we leave?"
"Around noon" I say as I take my blazing hot waffles out of the toaster and quickly drop them on a plate. "It'll take us a while to get there; about an hour and a half or so."
"Fine by us. The longer you wait, the tastier the liquor will be." says Adam in a pirate like accent as he wraps an arm around Amy's shoulders.
"Is liquor the only damn thing you can think of right now?" asks Randy as he crosses his arms.
"Maybe; I thought you would be excited too dude. Back in our Rated RKO days, you were actually the guy that was always eager to hit the bars for a drink, but now you just mellowed out and you're not as excited anymore." says Adam as he crosses his arms.
"Well, that's what happens when you're a dad." says Randy as he hands me the maple syrup.
"Fatherhood actually suits you well, in my opinion." says Lita as she shrugs her shoulders.
"Why thank you Amy!" calls Randy as he outstretches his arms. "I greatly appreciate it."
"I just hope I don't mellow out as much as you have when I'm a dad. I want to be there for my kids, but I don't want to be one of those dads that just embarrasses their kids too much like it's their life long goal." says Adam with a thoughtful look at the ceiling. When he turns his attention back to us, he looks spooked when he sees our shocked expressions. "What?"
"Nothing!" we say in unison as we look away. I quickly finish up my three waffles and clean the dishes in the sink before following the others out to the living room.
"Did Monica tell you guys about what our grandma said about the were-boa?" I ask as I lean against the wall.
"Yep; still can't believe that there are were-beasts besides werewolves out there in the world." says Cody as he crosses his arms.
"Well, at least it's not poisonous." says Kelly as she looks out the window at the pool. "I wonder where it has gone off to now."
"We can't track it now. Yesterday's storm probably washed out the bloody scent." says Wade with a glum look on his face.
"For now, all we can do is wait and see what were-boa's next move may be. All in all, I think we all can agree that we should not let it interfere with this vacation." says Monica as she crossed her arms, gaining everyone's agreement in the process.
"Amanda, Monica, where in the world is this rum factory you talked about?" asks Ted as he raises an eyebrow at us.
"It's about a two hour drive from where we are at now. It lies in a valley surrounded by sugarcane fields." I tell them with a shrug.
"Did you just say sugarcane?" asks Kofi and Alicia in unison as their ears perked up.
"Yes, and no, you can't take any of the sugarcane. It's the factory's property." I tell them with a sharp look.
"Awww!" they whine in unison as they slump back into their chairs.
"I should also mention one thing about the factory that some of you may not like, especially if you have sensitive smell." I say as I look around the group.
"The place really smells doesn't it?" asks Randy as he shakes his head.
"I don't have sensitive smell and I can easily smell it from three miles away." I bluntly tell him as I shoot him a look.
"And I just happen to forget my nose plugs at home." says a sarcastic Kaitlyn as she walks over to the stairs.
"It's almost noon. We should get moving before the place gets too crowded." says Monica as she runs over to the stairs.
"We should. Let's meet in the garage in fifteen minutes. If you are not there by the end of 15 minutes, you're going to be left behind." I say as I point at the clock.
"Time to grab my shoes!" calls Lita as she and Adam run over to the stairs. I follow after them at a slower pace and walk into my room to grab my sandals and the car keys, which I soon discover are not where I left them on the dresser.
"Now where the hell did those keys go?" I ask as I begin to look behind the dresser. I check under the dresser, under the bed, and in every corner of the bathroom, but I still can't find those keys.
"Looking for something?"
I look away from the closet to see Randy standing at the doorway with the keys in his hand, throwing it up in the air like he had no care in the world.
"You had them the entire time?" I ask as I put my sunglasses on top of my head.
"I had my sunglasses in my pocket when we left the airport and they were gone from my pocket when we came up to this room. So . . . I decided to go back and check inside the car to see if I could find it." he tells me as he throws me the keys.
"And did you find them?" I ask curiously as I flip the keys in the air.
"Hell yes I did. Good thing too. The sun down here is definitely a lot brighter that it is up in the States." he tells me as he takes his sunglasses out of his pocket.
"So vampires are sensitive to sunlight." I say with a small smirk as I grab my purse.
"Only our eyes are sensitive . . . at times." he tells me with a sharp look.
"We wouldn't want those ice blue eyes of yours to get damaged now would we? Aren't you going to change by the way?" I ask as I gestured to his body, still clad in his sleepwear. He smirks at me, before disappearing from my sight. I feel a few gushes of wind touch my skin and before I knew it, Randy was in front of me dressed in a blue shirt, a pair of jeans, and some sandals.
"I'm changed." he tells me with a smile as I walk right past him to the door. "Even brushed my teeth too."
"You vampires and your vampire speed." I mumble in annoyance as I walk down the stairs, Randy following at my heels, to the garage to see everyone except Barbie was not there in the room.
"Where's Barbie?" asks Randy as we walk over to our SUV.
"Right here! I wanted to get my camera!" calls Barbie as she runs into the room and over to Ted.
"I don't know how many pics you'll be able to take at the factory Kelly. Factories are known to be very finicky when it comes to pictures." says Monica as she enters her SUV.
"That's true! It'll be easier to take a photo of Edge and Lita having a drinking contest than getting photos of the factory's insides." says Kelly as she enters the backseat of the blue SUV, just as I got the garage doors open.
"That's actually not a bad idea." says Edge as he shoots Lita a mischievous look.
"Don't even think about it!" me and Randy say bluntly as we enter the black SUV.
"Fine! We'll do it when we get back here." said Edge in defeat as I started up the car and pulled out the garage. I drive past the telepathically opened gate and down the paved road, then onto the dirt road uphill.
"I never realized how bumpy dirt roads were." mumbles Lita as I stop the car at the end of the dirt road.
"That's the Jamaican countryside for ya." I say as I turn onto the paved road. We drive along the mountainous road until we see some police activity and an ambulance near the road that led into another valley.
"What's going on here?" mumbles Randy as we take in the scene before us.
"Someone's been attacked in their house down in that valley." I say as I l take a quick look through the minds of all who was involved.
"Was it a home invader?" asks Adam as he sits up in his seat.
"No, they're saying it was some kind of animal, definitely reptilian, but the victim says that whatever attacked him also seemed human in a way. Police don't believe him. They think he's deranged thanks to the attack. Too many hit to the head, they're thinking. But to me, it seems to me that that were-boa has come out to play once again." I tell them as we drive right by the scene.
"What do you think Amanda?" asks Lita as she looks out her window at the scene disappearing in the distance.
"Give me a second." I say as I go deeper into the mind of the victim, an old man who was only sitting on his porch when he was attacked earlier this morning. He was just enjoying his breakfast when he saw it, the golden yellow eyes peeking out from a nearby bush. The creature slowly crawled out and the man instantly thought he was going to die, thought he was staring death in the face. He slowly made his way to his door, keeping his eyes on the creature as it continues to crawl toward him. But then, it leapt, landing right on the door, the golden stare menacing as the creature let out a feral hiss. And then, it leapt again, this time right on the man.
"Amanda!"
I come back to my senses and turn to Randy, Edge, and Lita, all of them with expectant looks on their faces.
"I'm impressed you somehow have the ability to drive and look through minds at the same time, but do you mind filling us in on what you just saw?" asks Adam as I turn the car onto a wider road. So I did, telling the three every small detail of the old man's memory before I stopped.
"That is so creepy." mutters Lita as she continues to look back out the window.
"You have no idea. The thing is though, my grandma said that all the victims from the attacks months ago were either shapeshifters or ogres. The old man is the first human to be attacked." I say as I begin to pick up speed.
"Why did it suddenly change species?" asks Lita as she scratches her hair.
"Who knows, but we have to stop that were-boa. It may come after us next or some of the other humans and supernaturals around this area!" says Adam as he outstretches his arm.
"I hate to say it, but Adam does have a point." says Randy with a heavy sigh. "Should we turn back?"
"NO!" says Adam and Lita in unison, startling the vampire.
"Why?" asks Randy in complete surprise.
"Who knows where that were-boa could be now? And besides, the best clues we have is at that old man's place and it's crawling with police! It'll take a few more hours before they all leave and when they leave we'll barely have a trail to look for." explains Adam as he crosses his arms.
"Adam actually makes a good point . . . again. It'll be too suspicious if 14 tourists go around snooping while police are still around." I say as we finally get off the mountain and onto some flat land. "We'll just wait it out for now and hope the police are gone when we come back."
"If you say so." says Randy, the hint of disappointment evident in his tone.
"Another example of how a dad tries to ruin others' fun." whispers Lita with a small snicker.
"I heard that Amy." Randy says bluntly as he turns to her.
"You were supposed to." says Lita as she sticks her tongue out.
"You and Adam really act like kids you know that?" I ask as I sneak a look at them through the mirror. "And you two are older than us!"
"So?" they ask in unison, making me roll my eyes.
"Now I know what babysitters feel like." I mumble under my breath, even though I know everyone else heard me.
"You and me both." says Randy in agreement as he puts his sunglasses on. Adam and Lita scowl at us, but I don't really care, considering there are bigger problems to deal with.
One big were-boa problem, to be exact.
Please review! By the way, all Chinese words and meanings came from the internet.