Bono malum superate.
My soft, slender fingers grazed across the engraved words, the phrase repeating in my thoughts.
Bono malum superate.
The cold metal it decorated sent an unpleasant aura throughout my body. My hand fell from the metal slide to the handgrip, the texture changing. A smooth, fragile metal to a rubber covering. The object felt foreign in my hands, as my index finger wrapped around the trigger. The pistol and its beauty brought curiosity, but I could never see myself firing a bullet from it.
"Overcome evil with good," a honey toned voice announced as their champagne eyes assessed the weapon. The umber-brown filled with a glossy gloom as the phrase echoed between us. It looked like a plastic doll was before me, eyes in a daze, distant. Her complexion clear, her oval face: toned and sharp. Yet, the white smile that could brighten any room was replaced with narrow, straight lips.
"Are we evil or good?" I questioned, my voice still delicate and innocent. The arching brows above the hazel eyes moved up her forehead, creases formed in her skin.
"No one knows, but hopefully time will tell," she responded, forcing a smile as she placed her hand on my shoulder. "Are you ready for today, Blaire?" she questioned, her voice reflecting pain and worry. I didn't know the answer. I don't think anyone could be ready for what was about to happen, but I knew the response that she was searching for.
"Yes, I am ready," I started, trying to make her believe the words that I didn't even believe myself. "Taryn, were you scared your first time?" I queried, praying she felt the way I do now.
Taryn stood silent, trying to remember the feeling. "I was terrified. No matter how much I trained, nothing could have prepared me for what I saw that night," she paused, her face beginning to droop and her eyes becoming watery. "I wish you didn't have to do this," Taryn whimpered, her voice breaking. Her response was almost as unnerving as the silence that lingered between us. An unavoidable nothingness. Quiet but deafening. Nothing but the isolated rhythm of our hearts was present.
"Girls, we are leaving in five," a rough, guttural voiced man reported, breaking the jarring silence. As if glass shattered on its own, startling my sister and I. In sync we gave our father a firm nod, followed by a dismal glance at each other.
As I 'suited up', my hands trembled from the mixture of fear and nervousness that boiled inside me. Fumbling with the holster, my shaking fingers struggled to attach it to my belt. Clasping the holster in place, I reached for the unmistakable pistol on the counter. I glanced at the engraving once more before placing it in the holder on my hip. With the weapon at my side, I stared up at the hooked wall covered in layers of daggers, knives, and throwing stars. All hanging with innocence. I collected a couple of each, pulling them off of their rightful hooks to place them in varying hiding spots on my person.
"Blaire before we go, I want you to wear my jacket," she suggested holding out a dark, leather jacket. The one thing she wore on every mission, her signature look. I admired the jacket for years, wanting one of my own. Wanting to be like her. Overly thrilled to be offered the jacket, I didn't stop to think about how out of character it seemed of Taryn. I extended my arms out for the jacket with uncharted levels of ambition, joy. My sister observed as I put the jacket on, her face expressing both love and hints of sorrow. The nerves in my body calmed as the jacket enclosed on my torso. My fingers caressing the smooth, slick fabric. All the fear I once dwelt in disappeared.
"Thank you!" I exclaimed.
|--|
My fingers danced up and down the jacket as I sat alone in the back of the Jeep. Nothing could divide my attention from it. My father noticed this as he drove the winding road, every so often, I could see him glance at me through the rearview mirror. His eyes had seen distress, tragedy, and destruction. It changed him in ways I couldn't understand. The flow of time had chiseled away at his wizened face, now creased and slightly faded. His hair was mummified, still graying and thinning. I try to imagine what my father would be like in his innocence, it never looks like him.
Taryn sat in the passenger seat, her fingers clasped together as her thumbs winded around each other. Round and round and round. Like a dog chasing its tail in countless circles. Like the moon rotating around Earth.
The Jeep veered off of the road, onto the shoulder, coming to a stop under the cover of a lengthy branch that sprouted from a broad tree. The engine calmed as we stepped out of the vehicle, all walking to the trunk.
"Here are your earpieces. Blaire, you will enter through the back. Taryn the basement door. You will clear the main level. Understand?" my father clarified, explaining the plan for my sister and I. His dark blue eyes darted back and forth from my sister and me as if he was trying to memorize every detail of our faces. I couldn't tell if he was looking for confirmation from us, or if he truly was memorizing our faces. Like he was never going to see us again. His eyes landed on me, I nodded my head, paying attention to how tense he was, in his face and throughout his whole body.
Discussing the plan in further depth, I felt a little more comfortable. Knowing more of what might happen, I was prepared. Taryn turned away from the two of us and pulled back the slide of her pistol. Preparing for what was about to come, she checked the round in the chamber. She placed a few extra daggers and clip point knives on her belt and anywhere else she could manage to fit one. Lifting her auburn brown-wavy hair to reveal another knife slot between her shoulder blades, she slid the knife into its place. If I didn't know any better, I would think she was a professional. She had been doing this line of work longer than I have, way longer. She was the best in her class during training and never missed a shot.
"Are you guys ready?" my father questioned as he did a final check of our equipment. My sister and I both nodded before the three of us began heading towards the building. "I love you," he continued looking at us.
"I love you too," I said before wrapping my arms around him, afraid this might be the last time I see him. Taryn joined in on the embrace wrapping her arms around both of us. We always said 'I love you' because it could also turn into our 'goodbye'. You never know how these types of missions will end. But as my dad always says, "It's the price we have to pay to save mankind."
The three of us entered the forested area, approaching the house from the west side. The trees gave us more coverage and more time before being discovered. We all kept silent as we trekked with caution through the trees. My steps were soft, careful not to snap a twig or make any loud noticeable sounds, my father and Taryn doing the same.
The old house became visible through the trees. The outside was depleted, the once vibrant brown was now washed out and peeling. Shingles of the roof were missing and the foundation of the house was beginning to collapse on itself. The house was dark and eerie, not a single light burning in it. It seemed vacant as if it hadn't been touched in years.
My father separated from us heading towards the main door at the front, while my sister and I aimed for the back of the house. My sister and I held our pistols to our chests in preparation. Taryn stopped at the basement stairwell, leaving me to continue around the house to my designated position.
"At position two," I stated as I reached the back door. Later followed by the confirmation of my father and sister.
"Pursue," my father declared, giving us the sign of entry. I turned the door handle with caution, like a teenager if they were sneaking out of the house. The handle stopped halfway, locked from opening or bolted shut. I tried once more, it didn't budge. Panicking, I rounded the house to the basement stairwell where my sister entered from. Her door was wide open. The lock on the door was damaged, she had kicked it open. I entered through the doorway into the dark, empty room. Not a single piece of furniture was placed in the area, not a single thing hung on the wall. The basement reeked of mold and rotting wood.
I scanned the basement for life, nothing. "The basement is clear," I affirmed before ascending up the creaking stairs. Each step making a harsh, high-pitched sound as I put my weight on it. The floor above was as vacant as the one below. A single chair standing by itself in the potential living room. Out of the corner of my eye, a shadow ascended the stairs to the highest floor. Quick to follow, I climbed the flight up. My pistol still held up to my chest, ready to fire if needed. Reaching the next floor, my sister stood in the middle of the open room. Her eyes glared at me with an unknown amount of harshness and regret.
"Top floor, clear," she stated as our eye contact broke. Both of us glancing around in confusion. The whole house falling under a jarring silence. The situation seemed off, my gut was telling me something was wrong. Before I could speak a word, the shot of a pistol echoed throughout the building, shaking its walls. The shot acted as a potential 'go', as shadows that were once hidden stepped forward into the light of the moon. My forearms extended out as I aimed at the snarling threat, my hands trembling. My finger wrapped around the trigger, but I could not pull. The shadow that was once on two legs, lowered itself onto all fours. Shaking, I stepped backward. I glanced over at my sister whose gun was pointed at a similar beast. Her hands were not shaking, yet the trigger never pulled.
The four-legged creature stalked forward, his shoulders lower than the rest of his body. Knowing I wasn't going to be able to fire the gun, I reached for the blade at my hip. The beast, noticed my movement, launched forward, crashing into my chest. Blowing me backward on to the wood flooring, my head whipped into the hard surface. The rabid animal hovered over me as his lips curled back, exposing his menacing canines.
"Taryn," I yelled out as I stared into the eyes of immortality. Nothing, but the sound of combat around me. The beast held me down, nothing more. No advance to kill me. I took this movement to collect a deep breath and concentrate on my movements, especially defense. I brought my legs to my chest with caution, trying not to expose my strategy. Forcefully, I kicked the underbelly of the monster, causing him to stumble backward. Not by a lot, but enough to give me time to rise to my feet. My hand wrapped around the handle of the blade at my hip, pulling it from its slot. The beast regained his footing and was quick to react. I held the blade out, my arm stiff.
A piercing scream broke through the room, my head turned to my sister. Her body laid on the ground, limp as a shadow hovered over her. The teeth of the wolf sinking into her calf, as it dragged her to the side of the room. I wanted to run, scream, cry. Before I could gain movement of my body, I went crashing into the wall as the beast launched into me. My head collided with the wall behind me.
Everything disappeared into complete black. Into nothing. I slipped away from the horror of my reality.
|--|
"Blaire!" a faint voice exclaimed as my body shook in violence. The voice called my name again and again until my eyes fluttered open. I took a couple of hard blinks, trying to get my eyes to focus. My father knelt next to me, his hands on my shoulder as he brought me back to consciousness. My body flew upwards, my eyes scanning the room for Taryn.
"Taryn, where is she?" I panicked, jumping to my feet as I ran around the room, my eyes began to water. "Where is she?" I continued to ask, my voice breaking more and more. I fell to the floor in a disheveled heap as grief poured out in a flood of uncontrollable tears.
"I couldn't help her, I was too weak," I cried out, burying my face in my hands. A great tremor fell over my body, tears rushed down my face, my throat tightened. My breaths became short and unstable as gut-wrenching sobs tore through my chest. My lips trembled as I mumbled incoherent phrases into my palms. I fell into complete hopelessness.
"This is my fault."
"They are evil. Werewolves are evil."
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The first chapter, yay!
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