Dark Creations: Dark Ending (Part 6) (10 page)

“Well then you’re screwed,” Yoshi smiled wryly. 

“Thanks! You think?” Gabriel said sarcastically.

“What
, you want me to lie to you?”

“What
happens if fifty members show up?” Gabriel asked.

“You’ll be just as screwed only maybe a bit faster,” Yoshi continued with his dry tone.  “What’s with all the questions?  It
looks like a half-dozen bikes at most, not fifty, by the way.”

“You think so?”

“Yes.  Besides, Terzini probably wants to kill you himself.”

“Great, something to look forward to,” Gabriel said under his breath.

“What other choice do we have?” Yoshi stated more than asked as hazy headlamps reached the crest of a small ridge that ran perpendicular to the river at the northern edge of the woods. 

“All right, Yoshi,” Gabriel nodded, but knew his friend did not see him.  “Go!”

Gabriel did not see Yoshi take off into the dark woods they’d just ridden through and he did not hear his footfalls either.  He seemed to disappear rather, like a wraith vanishing soundlessly into ghostly fog. 

Alone, Gabriel quickly slid his handguns to the back of his waistband.  As the first headlights came into view, he made a point of lifting his rifle high overhead then laying
it on the ground in front of him before he raised his hands in mock surrender. 

Six bikes in all purred to a stop in front of him.

“Gabriel James,” a voice called over the buzzing of engines.  “Interlock you fingers behind your head.” 

The distinct sound of metal clicking was a clear indication that weapons were trained on him.  But he was not afraid, not for himself at least.  He feared for Melissa, that her life would end before she ever truly lived it.  He did not want her to suffer and die.  The world was a better place with her in it, whether he w
as there with her or not. 

“Come toward us slowly,” the now-familiar voice commanded. 

All he needed to do was slide one foot in front of the other, give the illusion that he was unarmed, and that he was alone. 

The cold steel of his guns was the only comfort he felt, that and the fact that Yoshi waited in the wings, poised and hopefully ready to strike at any minute. 

His heart pounded so loudly, his eardrums pulsated with every beat.  He began moving toward them.  He squinted into the silvery beams of their headlights and tried to appear as though he were searching their faces when in reality, he was searching for Yoshi.  He did not see his friend. 

“Slowly,” the voice ordered again and Gabriel could finally make out the face that went with the voice.  Fair and innocent looking, the member before him had the face of a sixteen-year-old.  Angelic pale blonde hair nearly blended with the chalky fog and the headlight just behind him hal
oed him ethereally.  Gabriel found it absurd really, that someone who looked as if he’d been immortalized in a cathedral mural in Europe centuries earlier should be wielding a massive weapon.  The point that he was an emotionless mercenary was a detail that only served to further compound it.

“Stop where you are,” the blonde man said flatly, his voice devoid of fear.

As soon as those words were spoken, the sound of an automatic weapon discharging ripped through the night.  The blonde man’s head lurched forward unnaturally as blood splattered from a gaping wound there.  He fell to the ground in an expanding pool of blood.  Gabriel crouched and watched as two more members shuddered and jerked violently, bullets peppering their back before they collapsed to the ground.  Three of Terzini’s men remained and spun in the direction of the shots. 

Gabriel, seizing the fleeting opportunity, reached behind him and tore his guns from his waistband.  He did not hesitate, but began firing.  He aimed the guns and squeezed the triggers simultaneously.  The two men in his line of fire took bullets to their heads and fell.  The last man
whirled to face him and turned his gun on him.  But Gabriel managed to discharge his weapon first, hitting him between the eyes.  The man crashed to the ground still holding fast to his automatic weapon and bullets sprayed at Gabriel.  Gabriel dove to the ground until the firing ended and narrowly avoided being hit directly, though a bullet did graze his shoulder.  He felt its sting and winced and fingered the spot immediately.  His shirt was torn slightly and the area felt warm and moist, but it was a shallow wound, little more than a scrape. 

“Yoshi!” he whispered at first then realized he did not need to.  “Yoshi!  Are you all right?”

Yoshi emerged from the shadows and fog and looked at the macabre scene.  Bodies of members were splayed about the thicket.  “Holy shit!  That actually worked!” Yoshi marveled as he looked all around him.  “Damn!” he scratched his head as he shook it slowly. 

“Yeah,
damn
is right,” Gabriel said.  “Now all we have to do is come up with a plan to free Melissa, kill Terzini and end this once and for all.”

He waited for a comment, an “Oh is that all?” from Yoshi or a solid vote of confidence, but got nothing. 
For once, Yoshi did not have a sage or snappy comeback.  Gabriel grew concerned and was about to say as much when his friend spoke.

“Don’t worry.  We’ll get her and end this.”

Gabriel did not know whether he believed his friend or not, whether there had been conviction in his words.  Regardless, he would force himself to have enough faith for both of them if he had to.  He would live to witness Terzini fall, and he would see Melissa again.

Chapter 8

The engine of Jack’s beloved Mustang rumbled to a stop in front of Kyle’s aunt’s house and Amber began to reconsider her position.  How had she allowed this to happen? How had she ended up in Armor, and with Kyle and his sisters, no less?  She silently asked herself.  She’d never intended to bring along a passenger, much less Kyle, a boy she felt strongly connected to, and his sisters.  She was in danger.  No doubt existed about that.  She’d been in danger the moment she’d set foot off Jack’s farm and left the protective unit there.  And now Kyle and his sisters were, as well.  True, the twins would be left with Kyle’s aunt, but he would not be.  He would accompany her on her mission to find Arnold Gathers, a fact that still sent her mind whirling.  Unbelievably, she’d allowed herself to be convinced.  She’d agreed to all of it.  How she’d been so easily persuaded remained a mystery to her, though she had a strong suspicion that the stirring in her belly every time she glanced at Kyle had a lot to do with it.  That fluttering in her belly, along with Kyle’s piercing hazel eyes had worked together to sway her.  Even now, in the darkness of the car, she felt her cheeks burn as she remembered how he’d looked at her, how those eyes, a kaleidoscope of earth tones, had pleaded with her as they’d stared straight to the heart of her.  He’d told her he cared about her, too, not in those words exactly, but had said she mattered to him.  Having someone care for her was as utterly alien as caring for someone herself.  Everything she was feeling and experiencing was strange and new, and confusing. 

“I guess I should go ring the bell,” Kyle interrupted the whirlwind of feelings spiraling inside her.  She was returned to the present and the gravity of the situation slammed into her.  She glanced at the digital clock on the dashboard.  The hour was late. 

“It’s a quarter after eleven, Kyle.  Your Aunt Christina is going to be alarmed by the doorbell ringing at this hour at the very least.  She might not even answer,” Amber hated playing the role of devil’s advocate.  But she needed to be realistic.  She had sacrificed precious minutes off her intended course to enact Kyle’s plan and now the very real possibility existed that it would blow up in their faces. 

“She’ll answer,” Kyle said and sounded as if he were trying to convince himself more than her. 

“How can you be sure?  And if she does, are you sure she’ll watch them,” she thumbed over her shoulder to Jackie and Hailey sleeping in the back seat and asked a question that should have been asked before they’d left.  She felt bad about grilling him as she was, but too many what-ifs existed for comfort, too many potential problems were present.

“Of course she will,” Kyle said and did not seem offended.  Rather, he seemed confident.  “She’s my mother’s sister and one of the nicest women I know, and tough, too,” he smiled ruefully.

Amber did not understand family ties, for she had none.  But bonds did exist between human beings born to one another; that much she knew.  She had heard about them, though she’d never seen them in action.  She’d heard reports of mothers reacting with animal ferocity and nearly killing men twice their size to protect their children against members when they’d stormed houses.  She’d been affected by hearing of that impenetrable bond then, had admired it, and secretly wished she’d been born to humans, that she had a family.  Her throat clenched unexpectedly and she swallowed against the strange squeezing. 

“I just don’t know how I’m going to tell her about her sister, about my mom,” Kyle continued and she heard his voice falter.  “It’s after eleven, like you said, and she’s probably going to freak out about that, you know, when she sees it’s me.  Then what?  I clobber her with news that I can’t even wrap my mind around yet?”

For reasons she could not explain, Amber wanted to reach her arms out and draw Kyle close to her.  She wanted to hold him tightly and tell him everything was going to be okay, even though she knew the future was uncertain, at best. 

“You can’t tell her too much,” Amber said gently and battled the pressing urge to hug him.  “She will think you’re crazy if you tell her about the Hunters and what you’ve lived through.”

Kyle sighed sadly.

“I really don’t think you should tell her about your parents,” Amber added and acted on impulse by touching Kyle’s shoulder.
  The feel of firm muscle beneath her fingertips as he tensed at her touch set her cells afire, storming and simmering excitedly as an electrifying sensation swept up her arm.  She lowered her hand and swore she saw a look of disappointment pass through his features briefly. 

“I don’t know what to do,” he said and dropped his gaze, but watched her through his lashes.

Her stomach quivered involuntarily and she breathed deeply to calm it.  “I won’t tell you what to do,” she said softly.  “But we have to hurry.  We have to keep moving.”

“You’re right,” he said and nodded.  He then twisted away from her and opened the passenger side door. 

She climbed out, as well, and opened the back door to scoop Jackie into her arms.  The sleeping child roused slightly as Amber hefted her up near her shoulder before falling back asleep.  Kyle did the same and they both walked to his Aunt Christina’s doorstep. 

The house was small and surrounded by similar looking structures. 
Fortunately, their late-night visit did not draw any attention as lights did not immediately shine in driveways and the sound of dogs barking did not disturb the quiet.  A small breeze shuffled leaves on treetops but did not evoke even the slightest swish of air, which felt laden with moisture and stagnant.  Rain was coming.  Amber could feel it.

“We need to hurry,” she said to Kyle and he reached out and rang his aunt’s doorbell. 

They waited several moments before Amber heard shuffling beyond the door and the porch light came on.  A pajama-clad woman with her hair tied in a topknot answered, her face puffy and her expression bleary.

“What the hell?
” she started before her eyes focused on Kyle then widened immediately.  “Kyle!” she exclaimed.  “What’s going on?  Are you and the girls all right?  What are you doing here?”

“Aunt Christina,” Kyle breathed and Amber heard the emotion there, heard the pain at the sight and sound of his Aunt who looked so similar to his mother, she would have sworn they were twins.  “I need your help.”

“What’s wrong, Kyle?  You’re scaring me,” his aunt said worriedly.

“I need you to take the girls.  Something terrible has happened
and they need to stay here,” Kyle said in a trembling voice.

His aunt advanced a step, her face etched with concern.  “What’s happening?  Talk to me, Kyle.”

“There’s something we have to take care of, something the girls need to be kept away from,” Kyle said cryptically.  But his aunt looked skeptical.  She eyed Amber suspiciously, examining both of them from head to toe.

“
Where’s your mother, and who the hell is she?” Kyle’s aunt nodded to Amber.  “And why are you dressed like that?” she added and referred to the uniforms they wore.  Amber had forgotten about them and guessed they looked strange.

“Aunt Christina, I need you,” Kyle implored.  “Please, we need your help.  I need you to trust me.  Do you trust me?”

“Of course!” his aunt’s hand went to her heart as she answered and she looked wounded that he’d even asked.  “I’ve known you since before you were born.  You’re the most responsible kid I’ve ever known.”

“Then I need you to just trust me and not ask what’s going on.  There is so much I need to tell you but can’t, not now.  There’s not enough time.”  He locked eyes with his aunt and Amber wondered how the woman had lasted as long as she had under the
spell of his searching stare, how her knees hadn’t buckled.  She guessed the woman possessed superior strength as she appeared to still need convincing.  If he had looked at Amber as he looked at his Aunt Christina, she would have given him whatever he asked for.