After the disastrous Christmas Eve dinner and blocking Colt’s number, I didn’t expect to see or hear from the angels again. So it surprised me quite a bit when the following day someone left a wrapped package at my door with the tag: Merry Christmas ~ Tommy written on it. It was a book, one I didn’t have but actually looked interesting, but the fact that he’d given me a gift bothered me. Our business was supposed to be concluded. I hesitated for a long time, then carefully placed the book in a box so I could mail it back to him the next day, when the post office would be open. It wasn’t appropriate for me to accept a gift from him for no reason. Especially not after I’d ruined their Christmas Eve dinner like that.
I spent the rest of Christmas day alone in my apartment, messaging the few people I was hoping I was friends with to wish them Merry Christmas; eating slightly-burnt chili; and caving to watch a Christmas movie which made me stop halfway through as I saw all the happy people in the movie together with their people. Sure, it was just a movie, but it was like these kinds of movies were designed to make people like me feel even more alone.
Instead, I switched to an old comedy movie, and from there an action flick until I finally decided it was late enough I should sleep.
Just before bed, I checked my phone and tried not to feel hurt that no one had responded to my messages. Of course, that was normal. They were busy with their celebrations and families and I was just…a forgotten acquaintance. It was fine. It was fine. It was okay. It was no big deal.
The following day, I walked the few blocks to the post office – not wanting to bother getting the car out just for that short a drive. I knew the address we’d went to last night from the taxi receipt but not Tommy’s last name, so I hoped just addressing it to him at that address would be enough. After that, I went around the corner to a little bistro and ordered some food. I scrolled through local news while I ate, intrigued to see that a new bookshop had opened nearby. That could be worth checking out. I generally hated shopping, but books were an exception.
I could have gone back to get my car, but I was already about halfway between my place and the bookshop, so I decided to just walk the rest of the way. It was a brisk walk, but not unbearable, and I got to the bookshop in decent time.
Once inside the shop, though, time seemed to fade away. I got lost in browsing the shelves, reading snippets of books, and flipping through interesting titles. I even found the one Tommy had given me but I’d returned, and since it did seem interesting, I added it to my growing stack of books.
When I finally got up to the register – which I only felt forced to do because I realized several hours had passed and they would be closing soon – the attendant raised one eyebrow as I struggled to place the stack of books on the counter without dropping them all.
“I hope you brought a car,” he remarked as he began scanning the books. “I don’t even think you can see over this stack if you carry them.”
Oh. Shoot. I forgot about that. “I, uh, walked.” I frowned a bit. “Do you happen to have a box I can carry them in?”
“I can do you one better.” The attendant pointed towards a sign on the counter. “We do in-town deliveries. Mostly when people order online or over the phone, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work here. You can just leave them here and we’ll drop them off tomorrow. Usually we deliver same day, but it’s too late today for that. Take a couple home with you if you want,” he added. “We’ll get the rest to you safe and sound.”
A bookstore that delivered the same day? Oh this was almost too enticing. I was probably going to start blowing my entire paycheck on this place on a regular basis.
I kept one of the books, leaving the rest with him with my address and a promise from the attendant that they’d be delivered in the morning, and headed outside into the dusk to walk back to my place, feeling happy about the day’s events.
I got decidedly less happy when I got two blocks away and realized someone was following me. I couldn’t tell who, but my shifter side gave me an enhanced sense of smell and hearing, so I could pick up on the subtle sounds of someone trailing after me. Why someone would do that, I don’t know. Sure, technically, I actually made a fair amount of money at my job – not a ridiculous amount, but enough to be reasonably well off, I guess – but I didn’t dress to my income level so generally on the street I didn’t look like a good target. Not that muggers might care about that, and I had to assume it was just a mugger, right? Because there was no reason anyone would target me personally. People barely even knew I existed.
Technically speaking, because I was a large cat shifter, I wasn’t actually that good of a target for muggers anyway. Realistically…I probably was. I’d never actually been in a fight before and had no inclination to break that streak now. Feeling increasingly uneasy, I wondered if I should call a cab for the rest of the blocks before deciding I could just hurry. There was a bar nearby, I could slip in there for a bit and that should throw them off, right?
Only, when I turned to go to the bar, I discovered that the people behind me weren’t alone and that I was wrong about them personally targeting me.
Naga. Or lizardfolk. Not sure which, but one of them. Both, maybe? More of them than me, that was for sure.
One of the, a buff guy who looked like he was probably a bodybuilder and honestly was kind of intimidating to a quiet introvert like me just by standing there, took a step forward, loosely swinging a baseball bat in his hands. Oh. Great.
“Elton said he saw a shifter join the enclave for dinner the other night – this the one?” He jerked his head at another of the naga/lizardfolk.
“Yep,” a younger naga/lizardfolk nodded eagerly. “I saw him, he came with the model guy and the guy Dan bit.”
“Is that so?” The massively built naga/lizardfolk swung his head back towards me, his eyes blinking almost like a snake’s. “Whatcha doin’ at the enclave, shifter? You must be a pretty good friend of theirs to come for holiday dinner.”
You have got to be kidding me! What was wrong with supernaturals in this town? Maybe I should have just stayed in smaller towns without supernaturals.
“I did go,” I admitted, because it seemed pointless to disagree, “but we’re not friends. They were trying to be nice, but it didn’t really go well.”
The super buff dude’s eyes narrowed a bit. “See, I don’t think I believe that. They never get shifters over – too much bad blood there – so you’re either close to them or a business partner, and coming over for holiday dinner? That says you’re close.”
I felt an immense amount of frustration bubble up inside me for being stupid enough to accept that invitation in the first place. The night had been miserable, and now these naga/lizardfolk were harassing me because of it?
“We’re not.” I insisted quietly. “It’s a bit of a misunderstanding.”
That was apparently the wrong thing to say because the young one and the buff one now both looked insulted.
“You’re saying Elton was wrong about you being there, or I’m wrong?” The massive dude glared at me, his anger feeling cold and dangerous. “Surely you’re not saying I’m wrong, shifter?”
Okaaaay. This situation was clearly getting out of hand. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the naga/lizardfolk behind me start to move in closer. I felt panic start to fill me as I wondered what they planned to do. Beat me up? That didn’t sound like much fun. Kill me? I mean…yeah, sometimes I just wanted to go to sleep and never wake up, but this was not the way I wanted to die.
My fight-or-flight instincts were starting to kick in, and since the fight side seemed pointless – there were, what, five of them and one of me, plus I was pretty sure I couldn’t win against even one of them in a fight – the flight side was tingling, on edge and ready to go. All I needed was the right moment.
And then I got it, unexpectedly. Someone came out of the bar and knocked the door into one of the naga/lizardfolk, making her lose her balance and making a couple of the others swing around to look at the intruder. In the brief disorganization that followed, I bolted right past the two naga/lizardfolk behind me, barely outside of their grip, and ran.
It was dark and I needed speed, so for the first time in years, I reached for my shifted form and a moment later I was on four paws and really took off.
I heard them yelling obscenities and stuff behind me and the sound of a car starting, but the thing is, in shifted form I happen to be the fastest land mammal out there and I can go from 0 to 60 in about 3 seconds, so I was already far down the street from them. I was a sprinter, though, and that was where I was concerned – I was going to have to not only outrun the car, but lose it. And then figure out how to make sure the naga/lizardfolk never bothered me again. First, though, just deal with escaping. I had longer stamina than a real cheetah, thanks to being a shifter, but I still couldn't run forever, so I needed to be smart about this.
I took a branch off the road I was on, into a residential area where they’d be forced to go slower thanks to speedbumps. I, on the other hand, pushed myself to keep running as fast as I could, a streak of yellow spots flashing through yards and on into the darkness before I came across the river. I slowed down so I could turn and followed it upstream, knowing that their car wouldn’t be able to follow the river easily and on foot, they didn’t stand a chance of catching me. Naga/lizardfolk were nowhere near as fast as a cheetah.
Everything seemed to go well and I was running at less than full speed, more like loping along, when suddenly I ran into what apparently was an invisible wall. I was still running 35-40 miles per hour when I hit it, so getting forcibly stopped like that not only knocked the breath out of me, it stunned me enough I laid there for a while, dazed and unable to put my brain back together to figure out what just happened.
Those moments were all the naga/lizardfolk needed. They must have been following along closer than I realized, because suddenly they were there and before I could even manage to try to pull my paws under me, the buff guy was on top of me, his fangs sinking into my shoulder.
I let out a yowl that was quickly muffled by the hands of another naga/lizardfolk tightening around my jaw, forcing it closed. I started blinking as the world began spinning even worse than it had been. My shoulder felt like it was on fire, the naga poison spreading with every beat of my heart, and my vision began to go blurry. Every breath that came felt ragged and I couldn’t even move my legs anymore.
Was this how I was going to die? Surrounded by angry – yet now exulting in their victory – naga/lizardfolk who were standing around me, laughing at my pain, jeering at my feeble attempts to find my feet again even though I knew I wasn’t going to be able to run anymore?
At least I wasn’t alone. Strange though it might seem to be glad that my killers were there with me, I’d always been afraid I would die somewhere, all alone, and no one would even notice. These people weren’t friendly and I still couldn’t guarantee anyone would notice I was gone, but at least in this moment, I wasn’t alone. Pathetic thought, but still one I was glad for.
One of the naga/lizardfolk grabbed at my hind leg, wrenching it at she began dragging me towards their car. What awaited me there, I wondered? Torture? Quick death? The poison already was making it impossible to even move. I couldn’t imagine that I’d survive long enough to be tortured.
My heart sank a little as I saw them open the trunk. Well…nevermind about not being alone, then. That would be where I died. In a small, dark, enclosed area. All alone.
If I’d been able to in shifted form, I probably would have let out a single tear at the thought, but as it was, I was dragged like a sack towards the car, unable to do anything but feel pain and the impending total isolation while I died.
Before we got to the car, however, something happened. A streak of white light shot from behind us, hitting the naga/lizardfolk dragging me and making her release me all at once. Then another burst of white light, and suddenly the naga/lizardfolk were turned around, facing the new threat.
I couldn’t see from where I was laying and I couldn’t move my head, so I closed my eyes as the sound of fighting rose around me and just lay there, one leg twisted terribly and another one sending burning fire throughout my body. Each breath was even harder to make and I could hear a strange sound with every breath that did come out.
I wondered who was winning the fight, but did it matter? I was going to die either way. The naga poison in my system was already doing its job, and each new burst of pain, each breath I took, made it clear that death wasn’t that far away. If the naga/lizardfolk won, well, they might stomp on my neck and put me out of my misery in joy, right? I mean, maybe not, but I could always hope, right? And I had no idea who their opponents were, so I wasn’t sure if anything would change if they won instead. Maybe they’d kill me, too. It was impossible to tell.
The only upside, I thought as I lay there, the sounds of fighting receding slightly, was that at least I wouldn’t be alone anymore. Oblivion would finally take me.
Then I felt hands on my face. “Call the ambulance, he’s been bitten!” A vaguely familiar voice called. “I don’t recognize him – do you know if Zayne has a cheetah shifter?”
“Cheetah? Eh, no, but he doesn’t exactly keep us up to date on his roster.” That voice sounded familiar, too, but I was too tired and in too much pain to figure out who it was.
“Shifter….” The first voice murmured. Then, suddenly, with more urgency. “Cooper? Cooper?”
I tried to open my eyes, but I wasn’t sure if I just didn’t manage it or if I did but they just weren’t working anymore. Either way, it didn’t seem to matter. I saw nothing, and death was summoning me with increased insistence.
I didn’t know who these voices belonged to, but at least I could die with someone there with me, right? At least I wasn’t alone.
And that was all I ever could have wanted for my death.
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