this chapter gets really supernatural... so, about the dead body...

Chapter 14 – Spicing Things Up

"Thomas!" yelled Meredith.

Gail looked thoroughly at the motionless body on the ground. It was the very same man she had seen on the big family photograph in the hallway. Tall chubby man dressed in an expensive navy blue tuxedo which was now dirty and ripped at places. The blue eyes were misted and there were bloody scratches on the round face and torso.

The parents rushed out of the house to see the situation outside. "What happened here?" asked Mrs Stewart.

"Thomas is dead," stated Priscilla dryly observing the lifeless adult man. Out of blue she was snatched by an eagle. "Crap." She tried to fight alas it was useless as the big bird was flying away. Her wolf started howling and snarling. The garden became a complete havoc of yelling, screaming and crying.

"This is a bad dream," sighed Holly whispering, the blood was leaving her face.

Gail looked frantically around. She was a tracker after all and the man was already dead, she could not help him. She ran to the house and took Holly's car keys. She would never believe how a paranoid idea would be useful right now. Priscilla was always mindful about safety and made her trainee carry at least the bulletproof vest wherever she was going. The young constable opened the boot of the jeep and searched for the protection. She dressed the vest and checked her gun. Locking the car, she rushed back to the house, taking a flashlight from the hook in the hall.

"Call 9-1-1, I am going after Priscilla," the police worker called as she ran to the back of the garden.

"Gail, no! It's dangerous," protested Holly.

"I am a tracker, it's my job to find missing people, not to mention my master and friend."

"Gail –"

The blonde woman kissed away more objections. "I will be fine, I'm taking Mira and we'll bring her back, I promise." She called the wolf and opened the back gate of the garden. "Mira, track!"

The animal sniffed up and headed to the left, Gail hot on its heels. She watched the cub stop several times sniffing the air and rushing forward along many hedges of other family houses.

They ran at the open space until they entered a forest and the officer noticed the wolf sniffing the ground now, she came closer and saw blood traces. The animal howled and ran again.

The adrenaline was reaching every nerve and ending of the police woman's body. She could not deny her fear but she knew she was the only one who could do something at that moment. She was a trained officer. It was her duty. She repeated those words to herself as a mantra. The plus side was that she was not alone and maybe a canine was a better weapon than any other human who would talk and distract her. She kept searching between the pines and spruces, praying for everything that was running in her head which right that time was a grand mess. Alive. Safe. Not dead. No danger. Just an accident. Shoot the bird and go home.

In the middle of the woods there was a hut. Gail slowed her pace and sneaked around. There were no voices heard nor any hustle. She opened the door peeking in. The shack was obviously used. The fireplace was burning and it looked like someone lived there. The blond officer noticed some things being thrown on the wooden floor, but it was quiet there. She left the cottage and looked around for more traces. "Mira!" she called, but the wolf was gone. "Dammit."

Gail searched the ground for some evidence. She was getting scared more and more by every passing minute. Not of the forest, she got used to them from her early age, but being alone, looking for a giant animal tearing apart someone she considered close to her. She would not want to go through anything similar like Jerry's death again. She swore to herself to find her friend whatever it takes. The Pecks were not losers, and neither was she. The young woman could do things well on her own.

There was a puddle of some yellow liquid on a moss. Gail felt her own stomach doing flip‑flops when she recognised the partly digested used to be birthday cake. Gross, but at least some trace, she thought and looked for more and blood. She noticed it and followed the path.

The police worker had no idea for how long she was browsing the woods. It could be minutes as well as an hour. Finally she heard female voices.

"You freaking dog, you stole everything from me!"

There was a gaging sound and the constable began to be really worried of her trainer's health. By the amount of traces she had found so far, Priscilla must have been dehydrated, plus the fact that she had lost a lot of blood already. The blonde came as close as possible and hid behind a tree.

"You stole my love, you stole my wolf spirit, you made me an office rat!" said a woman that Gail saw before but could not remember where, not even the name.

"What the bloody hell are you talking about?" asked a very weak voice.

"You stole my girlfriend. I wanted to punish you so I sent wolves after you and you stole the wolf spirit too! At least I thought you would be feared but nothing changed! And then I lost my career because you pressed charges on me!"

That sounded like a confession of attacking someone. Gail pulled out her voice recorder from her vest pocket.

"Are you kidding me?" asked the older police worker.

"You have always underestimated my shaman skills and I had to teach you a lesson." Slowly it started clicking in the blond head. A shaman. A voodoo shaman. Holly's ex-girlfriend.

"You were the person behind," Priscilla sighed in amazement. "I thought it was an illusion at first and everyone called me crazy, but there really was a human figure on the horizon."

"Yes, it was me," confirmed the other woman proudly. "I connected to the ancient spirit world and sent the wolves to finish you off. But you just had to survive and become one of them," she punched the older officer's face hard. "You freak! That was my intention, I was supposed to become the wolf person!" Another punch followed. "I wanted to destroy you completely because of what you have done to me, to my love. I had a deep talk to your girlfriend, she was complaining all the time so I made suggestions to her. It tuned out better that I had expected and you lost her. You lost the person you loved the most. Seeing you all devastated was such a satisfaction for me," she smiled evilly. "Until I came to visit Holly only to see you all whiny and you just must have your way with her."

"That is none of your bloody business."

"Holly is my business and she is my one and only. Whatever stands between us I will destroy. Magic is powerful. No other person is supposed to be with her but me. Well the last one needed to be… shot to the grave," she laughed. "With you I have a special plan though. You already lost your love, and you lost your career. Oh the Stewarts must be so disappointed, muahahahaha."

"What do you know about that?"

"Who do you think freed the wolves from cages and sent them to kill your suspect?"

"You? How? Why?"

"I told you, my plan is to completely destroy you. You were doing too well, it had to be stopped."

"You are mad, Erica."

"Maybe, but I am reaching my happiness step by step. Once you are gone, Holly will be mine."

"Why did you kill Thomas then? He was a good man."

"He was a soldier in this game. I became his mistress to get closer to you. I knew you would be the one investigating his dead since he was part of the family and it would be just a matter of time, before I get you in my claws. I did not assume it would be so fast."

"And you still believe Holly would get back to you after all this?"

"She wouldn't know. I will be the best friend standing by her side, I will be the shoulder to cry on and eventually she will give to me."

Gail's blood boiled as anger rose up, she clenched her gun tight. Another vomiting sound was heard and the officer knew she must do something soon.

"You are sick."

"No, you are. Did I give you too much of morphine? You should be high so I could rip you to pieces while you are still alive. Cut you piece by piece enjoying my victory. So let's have fun and finish you off once and for all." Erica pulled out a dagger form her waist belt.

"Don't move!" yelled Gail coming out of her hideout pointing the weapon ahead.

"Saving a damsel in distress, Officer? Don't worry, you are next on my to-do list," she howled and the blonde heard paws behind her. There was a wolf pack surrounding them and it was tightening the circle which made her to come closer to the two women. She was punched hard, seeing the stars around but did not lose consciousness as she fell on the ground, her gun about six feet away from her.

"Let's make a pattern of murders and let this blondie be killed by wolves as well. And then," the shaman spoke to the older police worker again, playing with the dagger in her hands as an evil grin appeared on her face, "you will commit suicide. Actually once you are dead your wolf spirit will come to me."

"I may look like a shit, but I won't let you murder any more people. Especially not Gail and I myself have no intention to die today."

"Attack!" yelled the madwoman.

The blond constable quickly hid her head in her arms, curling in a ball, preparing herself for the impact as she heard the wolves running towards them. What the hell was she thinking? An eagle dropping a dead body and then snatching someone, was suspicious enough. She should have known there were some supernatural powers involved. Had not she watched enough of horror films? Well, they were fiction but this situation felt very real. Uncomfortably real.

Priscilla growled and the pack stopped immediately on the spot. The three humans looked around surprised. The wild animals stood like frozen, paying their attention to the oldest of the women. The said person chuckled although not amused. "You bloody voodoo git." Gail looked at her trainer, frowned. She did not consider swearing to a shaman was a bright idea. Nevertheless the brunette continued, "The hierarchy of any wolf pack is based on dominance."

"So? Attack my children!" commanded the shaman again. None of the wild creatures moved. Some of them only looked at her but did absolutely nothing.

"If you lack the dominance, they will never listen to you," explained Priscilla who managed to kneel up. "I was right since the beginning. You were always scared of me and now I know why. I was more dominant than you. When Holly came into the picture, you tried to surpass me all the way you could, but you always failed.
"Love is the most powerful force and you shall earn to be loved not compel. Friendship is one of its many branches. My love for Holly made me listen to my instinct and stay close because I never trusted you. My love for Gail gave me the courage to stand up now and face you –a voodoo witch. After my accident, I am scared of evil forces, therefore I prefer not to believe in them. But Love… is more powerful than fear," she straightened up in her kneeling position, her voice stayed strong even though she had to intake breaths more often than normally. "I have my friends, my wolf, which I am responsible for, and there is a family whom I owe so much. You should have killed me right away, because you stand no chance now. Especially after you admitted you had killed Thomas and Lesley." Gail watched as her colleague's eyes turned almost amber colour.

"You will be just two more dead bodies killed by wolves. An accident," opposed the Indian looking woman. "And Holly will be mine."

"You bloody idiot," the older officer chuckled again. "Obviously you never understood love. And the wolves will never listen to you when I am present anyway."

"I am their master, they must listen to me," a panic was heard in Erica's tone despite her trying to stand strong. "ATTACK!"

The wavy haired woman pointed to a wolf on left and her blond partner looked at it properly and hoped for the best. "My wolf is the most dominant of them, she is the alpha and I am her master," she stood up heavily, shaking.

Gail was freaking out. Images were playing in her mind and she was sure some of them would come true soon. Fortunately she was sane enough to stop the voice recorder.

"You would not murder anyone," said the madwoman nervously. "You don't have it in you."

Without any more words Priscilla waved her hands ahead and the pack went wild. This impact the blonde did not expected as one of the wolves jumped on her, but continued the leap to the shaman in front of them digging its teeth deep in her skin and blood poured out.

Gail's colleague felt down on the ground motionless. "Pris!" she yelped and tried to shake her. She checked the pulse which was weak but still noticeable. There was only one way to get out of the mess. She caught Miracle before the wolf could join the pack in shredding a human and dragged it away by the collar. She looked down at her friend, they needed to get out of the forest the fastest way possible. Gail found her weapon and picked up her trainer heavily under her arm only to realise that the older woman might be half the weight she looked like, or maybe it was the enormous amount of adrenaline and the need to get safe soon. Very surprised but still in action, the younger officer picked her partner over her own shoulder and commanded the police wolf to lead them out.

Half way out of the forest, she was met by uniforms of Montreal police.

"Gail, Priscilla!" shouted a male voice.

Coming closer, the blonde recognised the man. "Percy, it is bad."

"Calm down," he soothed her. "Ambulance is on the road waiting. Holly is there too."

"Erica is in the forest, most likely dead by now. She did it, she did it all."

"Gail, calm down."

"No, you need to stop them. The wolves were only protecting us. They do not deserve to be killed."

"Wolves?"

"Yes, Erica is dead and Priscilla is dying too, she was drugged."

"Alright, take her to the road, I'll be right back." The detective ran deep into the forest with some other police workers and medics behind him.

A gunshot echoed through the night. Gail stopped to look behind her, freezing on the place. She was staring into the black depth. Percy ran back to her and took over the unconscious body, picking it up into his arms. "Wolves are gone. Now let's get you two out of here."

Seeing Holly pacing on the road, the younger woman sped up and jumped around her girlfriend's neck hugging her tightly. "We are alive," she sighed.

"My God, Gail," whispered the doctor as a wave of relief washed over her.

"Priscilla was poisoned with morphine. And she is dehydrated. And unconscious. Also she was bleeding but I don't know how deeply, black shirts are not practical when someone is bleeding," said the blonde as her trail of thoughts was going.

Percy laid the woman in his arms on a stretcher and entered the ambulance car. He looked at Gail and smiled, "She will be fine. Our doctors know her well. You take care of her pet," he pointed to the scared animal next to the ambulance trying to get in.

The constable nodded and took the canine in her arms. "Oh Percy," she stopped the ambulance door from closing and pulled the voice recorder from her vest pocket. "Just in case we don't see each other, here is the whole Erica's confession about her murders."

"You are one hell of a cop, Peck," he smiled and hid the device carefully. The ambulance left followed by police cars and forensics.

Holly took her girlfriend's head in her palms looking at the pale face. She traced her thumb gently over the dark spot and the other woman flinched. "What happened?"

"Your ex had a pretty strong right hook."

"Yeah, I know."

"You do?"

"When I came home with a black-eye, Priscilla swept the floor with her," she offered a smile. "Let's get you home."

When they arrived, Gail was wrapped in a family hug. However strong she was trying to be, she broke down and tears were rolling down her cheeks. She was back, safe. Priscilla was in good hands and the culprit was dead. The people she knew only for a few hours, were around her like she had already belonged to the family. It was such a relief.

She was sweaty and dirty. The shower helped regain at least some of the lost strength back. The blonde came down and looked at the garden, this time there was no corpse. The family sat in the lounge room all quiet in their thoughts. She sat next to her girl and intertwined their fingers together. There was not much to say, just share the tragic moment of losing a family member.

"What is life without Dad?" asked a child's voice. They all looked around to see the little boy with a gun in his hands.

"Tom, where did you get that?" Meredith jumped on her feet first and the rest of adults did the same.

"I speaked to kids without dad at school. They are not happy. I don't want to be not happy."

"Thomas, give me the gun," implied the mother.

He pointed the weapon up. "Daddy have this in his table. I hide it in my plushie," he said proudly moving his hands up and down in joy, but obviously the weapon had more weight than he had expected. "It's heavy. More heavy than the one you buyed me." He stopped shaking it and it aimed for Mr Stewart now.

"Tom, this is not a toy."

"But I want to play games!"

"We can play PlayStation games," offered Gail coming one step closer. "Just give us that gun you have and we can play."

The boy shook his head and pulled the trigger. At the last minute the officer jumped in front of the elder man and sharp pain ran through her body.

"Gail!" shouted Holly kneeling down.

"That hurts like hell," the younger woman spat out some blood. "Oops." She could hear a child crying somewhere but what happened to the old man? "Is your dad alright?"

The pathologist looked up at her father who stood behind her fallen girlfriend, frozen on the spot. "Yes, yes, he is. Dad, DAD! Call the ambulance!"

"Here is some gauze," said Mrs Stewart kneeling beside her daughter. "Just keep the pressure."

"And the boy?" It was the last question the constable was able to ask before she lost consciousness.

I am not sure how grammatically correct could be a five years old child, I guess not much, but I have no experience ^^

Sorry, DuchDreams, no weirdly mutated apple tree, just an insane bird :D

thank you all guys for reading!