Chapter Six
The Day to Remember
Samantha finished the cocktail and chewed the grapes, squeezing it into her mouth. She was at her Mellissa’s bar drinking since twelve in the morning till now. Having a high tolerance for alcohol served to her advantage. She wasn’t that type of a heavy drinker, a couple of shots was all she needed to relax and forget her problems.
About two months ago, the man she was engaged with had turned out to be a cheater. She had loved him and thought of spending the rest of her life with him, but things didn’t work out according to her plan. The bastard had a family already with three grown-up kids in high school. And now she was being sued for liaison and the freaking pervert kept denying his involvement with the crime, claiming she was the one chasing him all along when he’d told her he already had a family of his own. What a liar!
But Samantha didn’t want to think about that right now. Her mom had just been hospitalized the other day due to kidney failure caused by too much drinking. She sighed and grabbed the bottle of whiskey, but Mellissa quickly grabbed it away from her and put it on the shelf.
“Girl, you’ve got to go home. It’s already quarter past ten.”
Samantha’s vision blurred out. “I’ve got plenty of time.”
“You’re drunk. I’ll call a taxi, okay?” Mellissa picked up the phone and talked to a taxi operator, demanding for a cab. Soon after, she dropped the phone back and returned to wiping the glasses and utensils as she put them back neatly to the shelves and drawers. She was Samantha’s best friend all the way from high school when she dropped at eighth grade to work here and make some cash to feed her baby girl, who was now not-so-baby-anymore.
“Who did you call? Samantha asked, her head was whirling around from intoxication.
“Your boyfriend. I told him to come and pick you up,” she said, trying to alert her in the hopes of putting senses back into her head.
And it worked! Samantha’s eyes grew wide open and stared at her with that funny look as if she’d seen a ghost.
“No way! You did not just do that. You did not call that bastard, right Mel?” She grabbed hold of an empty bottle of whiskey, threatening to smash it to Mellissa.
“Girl, chill out! I called a taxi not him, okay. Put that thing down,” she said, freaked out. She knew Samantha could go wild when she was drunk and she’d seen her break a girl’s nose before at a house party. It was pretty intense, and it scared the hell out of her.
Samantha breathed out. “You’re mad. You almost gave me a heartbreak.”
Mellissa pulled the drawer open and put the glasses into it. Just as when her lips parted to reply, her ears heard a screeching sound from the outside. Her eyebrows furrowed and her heart skipped a beat. She had a bad feeling it was one of those thieves again who broke into the shop the other day. But then again, it made her wonder why would that thief come in the broad daylight?
“Sam, can you hear that?” she whispered quietly.
She looked puzzled. “Ha?”
Mellissa made a hissing sound to shut her up. “Listen to that sound. Someone is trying to break into the shop again.”
“Ah,” she nodded as if she cared. “Don’t worry, no one would break into your shop. It’s pretty shitty, anyway. All they could find is garbage everywhere,” she said, utterly oblivious of how offensive her words sounded.
“Haaay! I should’ve never let you drink that much.” She turned around and grabbed a baseball bat from underneath the countertop. She came prepared. There was also a gun in the office room for self-defense, but she didn’t know how to use it better than a baseball bat. She used to be a varsity player back in high school so hitting the ball was an easy job to do, but this time she thought she would hit a different kind of ball, a much softer one.
She headed to where the sound was coming from, then she stopped, and listened again. After a short observation, she concluded it was coming from the outside. Slowly and painfully, she turned the doorknob, sweat dripping in her hands, her knees were trembling. As she was about to pull the door open, she jumped from where she was standing and cringed.
“I’m sorry, the spoon slipped from my hand. It wasn’t my fault,” Samantha said, grinning as though annoying her even further. Mellissa clenched her fists and rolled her eyes at her. With great caution, she pulled the door open and jumped out, holding the baseball bat and swinging it forward. She swung it repeatedly, hitting the air and wasting her energy. To her surprise, there wasn’t any thief. A young man was scavenging food in the garbage skip. He just looked at her with an innocent look in his eyes, which assured her he meant her no harm. She brought the bat down and stared at him, realizing that he was kind of cute, but quite skinny as well.
His bad smell insulted her nostrils. He smelled like a drainage. He was wearing a green hoody and it looked as though he had not taken a proper bath for quite some time. He stunk so bad that she pinched her nose and breathed through her mouth. She looked at him for a while and remembered that time when she dropped out of high school and lived on streets, homeless and broke. No one helped her and she promised that she would never turn a cold shoulder to those who were suffering. She wanted to help him, but she did not even know him. Not even his name.
“Hey,” she called out.
He looked at her with that look that begged for help. “Yes?”
She got it. He needed help, but before then she had to know him well – only if he’d be honest enough to tell the truths. “What’s your name and where did you come from?” Her tone sounded very demanding that made him take a step back.
“I’m Vincent and I’m from Chicago.”
Her eyes slightly widened. “You’ve come all the way from Chicago?”
He nodded.
She noticed he was kind of reserved with limited words, but she still found him cute with those eyes that looked so innocent.
“How did you get here and why are you alone? Don’t you have any family member?”
“I’m an outcast. My family never wanted me so they put me in an orphanage where I grew up.”
A pinch of sympathy stabbed her heart. Tears welled up in her eyes, completely swept by his story. When she looked ahead at the road, she saw two police officers patrolling. She knew that having him stay outside would cause a commotion because homeless people and beggars were no longer allowed to roam the streets.
“Come and get something to eat,” she said.
A sense of relief had overshadowed him. Thank goodness, I can finally have a proper meal after almost two months of starvation. He quickly jumped to the deck and entered the kitchen. He stood still and let his eyes wander around. Out of his expectation, he saw Samantha staring at him, squinting her eyes, which made her look hundred times prettier. He blushed and an unexplainable feeling of delight caused his heart to beat faster.
Mellissa brought out some cans of steamed sausages and beans. “That’s all that I’ve got. They’re expired, but they’re still okay, I guess. I still eat them sometimes. It’d be such a waste if I throw them away.”
Vincent forced a tight-lipped smile, unsure of how to thank Mellissa. He brought his gaze back to Samantha and grinned.
“Here’s the can opener, help yourself.” She returned to the bar area, picked up the tea cloth and started wiping the rest of the washed glasses. Her eyes kept glancing at him sporadically, intrigued at his mysterious personality.
“I recognize that guy,” Samantha said out of the blue.
“He said he’s homeless, but I think he’s lying. With that face, he could easily get a modeling contract.”
“I’ve seen him somewhere…” She paused and took a moment to remember where she’d seen him. She was tapping her fingers and her eyes were closed tight. It was at the tip of her tongue, but she just… she just couldn’t spell it out. It frustrated her. She sighed and looked at Mellissa hopelessly. “I forgot. But really, I’ve seen him somewhere.”
“I’m sure you have.”
“No, really. I’ve seen him at my sister’s police headquarters,” she said. And then the memory surfaced back to her remembrance. “Oh, that’s right, he was the guy who’d been tied up on a stool.”
Mellissa’s face turned sour. “What?”
“He was brought in to my sister’s police headquarter for misbehaving and they tied him up on a stool because apparently, he tried to bite them.”
She let an absurd laugh. “That’s the most nonsense thing I’ve ever heard today. What is he, a dog? It’s not because he’s homeless and broke doesn’t mean he’s mad. Look at that face, isn’t he a cutie?”
“Not really,” she said, though deep inside her she was as equally intrigued at Vincent. He had that innocent swag that turned her on. And he looked faithful enough to stay in a monogamous relationship, something she’d been longing for.
A knock on the door grabbed their attention. It was so loud that it caused the entire shop to tremble. In shared annoyance, they looked at each other with furrowed eyebrows, wondering who the heck it was that wanted to knock the shop down.
“Who is it?” Mellissa yelled.
“Taxi.”
Samantha quickly grabbed hold of her stuff and stood up. “Alright, girl, thanks for keeping me out of trouble. I’ll see yah tomorrow.” She air-kissed her and headed to the back door, walking passed Vincent. She didn’t dare to turn her eyes on him – not even a quick glance.
As she swung the door open, Vincent’s nose twitched. He smelled something weird, something… dangerous. He turned his gaze toward the door and his heart sunk down to the ground. A dark shadow.
“Take extra care, girl. Pay the bill tomorrow,” Mellissa said, waving her goodbye.
Vincent’s appetite had disappeared, replaced by anxiety. The taxi driver was a dark shadow, but he looked so much like a real human. Hadn’t he sensed his aura, he would’ve never figured out that he was an enemy.
Samantha was in trouble.
Before he knew it, the car engine coughed to life and off they went. The vehicle sped up out of the property and merged in with the traffic. The taxi driver must have sensed he was a lycan. Vincent stood up and wiped his mouth clean with his forearm.
“Thanks for your hospitality!” He pushed his chair back and headed to the door.
Mellissa was astounded at his manners. “But you haven’t finished your food yet.”
“It was really good. See yah!” He rushed out and vanished like a bubble.
She blushed. “What a cutie. I hope he comes back.”
***
Her nose kept twitching, taking her out of her dream. An awful smell woke her up and as her eyes split open, her vision blurred out and a volt of pain struck her on the head. She didn’t know whether it was from intoxication or from the repulsive smell. Shaking her head, she pushed herself up and sat on her bed, massaging her head to alleviate the pain. But the bad smell still lingered in the air.
Her head swayed to the left and to her surprise, a black silhouette sat next to her. Her eyes grew wide open as her jaw dropped to the ground. She pulled the duvet sheet and covered herself, shaking her head again – but this time much rigorous to gain her full consciousness.
Samantha jumped out of bed. “Who the f*** are you?”
“Please, calm down, I’m not the bad guy. He’s left and I’m just here to make sure you’re safe,” he said, explaining himself while trembling.
“What the hell are you talking about?! How am I safe if you’re here, trying to rape me?!” she yelled at the top of her voice. She grabbed the lamp and threw it at him in full force.
“I’m not trying to rape you. If I intend to commit such thing, I would’ve done so while you’re asleep. Please, calm down and listen up.”
“Don’t tell me what to do! Get out of my house. Now!”
He sighed and shook his head in desperation. “You’re in trouble and we have to get out this house now. They’re coming and they’ll kill both of us.”
Samantha chuckled in disbelief. “You’re a psycho! Yes, they’re coming and they’ll shoot you dead before you even get to prison.” She picked up the telephone and dialed 911, her hands were trembling. She kept her eyes on him just in case he tried to stop her. The phone kept ringing, but no one was picking it up. The sweat of despair was trickling down her forehead as her nerves rattled in great fear. “Pick it up! Anna, where are you?” she mumbled, losing all her hope.
She turned her eyes on him again; he stood still, doing nothing. He wasn’t looking at her or anything. His gaze was fixed out the window as if he was waiting for someone to come. Perhaps his mates would help to abduct her and sell her as a sex slave in a foreign country like the movie she’d watched the other day. It freaked her out.
“They’re here.” The tone of his voice scared her. His innocent look had vanished, replaced by an agitated expression on his face. Only then she had come to realize he was telling the truth. The fear in his eyes was her proof.
She dropped the phone down and clenched the lamp’s body tight. She took a deep breath and prepared herself for what was to take place. Tears began trickling down her cheeks without her knowing. “What did I put myself into?”
Out of nowhere, she heard a loud bang in the living room. The entrance door was broken open and a legion of footsteps marched toward their direction. Her knees were crossed and trembling. She felt as though she was going to piss her pants. Her lips kept quivering.
“Duck!” As soon as the last word escaped out of his lips, silver bullets pierced through the walls tirelessly.
Samantha closed her eyes and covered her ears as pieces of broken glass fell on her. She screamed at the top of her voice, uncertain of what to do. With her eyes closed, she didn’t see how her room turned into a ruin. The window glass was shattered, the picture frames and paintings were torn out, and worse of all, her collection of awards and trophies had turned into powder as the bullets annihilated almost everything in the room, making sure they were killed.
The door was pushed open and a familiar voice called out her name.
“Mellissa?” Quickly, she stood up and saw her friend beaten up. Mellissa’s face was bruised and wounded, her lips were popped and her left eye had a black bruise around it. Samantha felt as though she was going to pass out. “What have they done to you?” She walked toward them, tears trickling down her eyes.
The two police officers Mellissa saw earlier this morning and the taxi driver who dropped Samantha off stood side by side Mellissa. They were the ones who beat her up, suspecting she was an ally of lycans.
“Stay back!”
Mellissa recognized the voice. “Vincent?” She turned her head to him and a look of indignation had registered across her face. “You’re not a human like them, right?” she said, crying. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
“I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to–”
“Get him,” one of the two police officers ordered the one who seemed to be the leader.
Vincent stood up and his eyes turned black. His fangs protruded and the veins on his body began to surface. His face elongated slightly, but not to the extent that he shape-shifted into a full werewolf.
Samantha’s eyes widened in disbelief. She swallowed and stood still, aiming for the window to make an escape. There was no way she could save Mellissa. She was no match against these monsters and she prayed that she would forgive her.
The other police officer took his cap off and marched toward Vincent, his fangs were protruding with those wicked eyes that thirsted for blood. The taxi driver who’d tasted Vincent’s fists followed behind, cautious not to underestimate this young wolf’s ability as he’d once done earlier.
Vincent should have left when he had the time to escape – if not because of Samantha. Having studied the dark shadows usual move, he stepped back and let them attack first so that he could have the time to study their movement and plan his attacks based on their weak points. It was the first thing Lucas had taught him.
The police officer pulled two long sharp knives and started swinging them around.
“I’d like to taste a lycan’s blood at least for once.” He licked his lips and grinned.
Vincent took another step back. One or two more steps would cause him to be cornered against the wall.
“He’s half-human,” the taxi driver cut in.
“A hybrid.”
“They were right, dark shadows are the most annoying and talkative creatures there is. I should’ve known better…” he said, provoking them to attack.
“Get ready to die!”
While they were fighting, Mellissa took the chance to distract the leader by pushing him back to the ground. Though she had little strength left, she kicked him with all her might, knowing she would be killed anyway.
“Samantha, go!”
Samantha panicked and dared to help Mellissa. “I can’t leave you here alone. They’ll kill you.”
“Just go!”
“But–”
“I’ll be fine, I promise. Just make sure you’ll look after my baby girl, okay? She’s everything to me…” A drop of tear trickled down her cheek.
Burdened with guilt, Samantha couldn’t help but weep bitterly. “I’ll look after her, I promise.” At the last word, she rushed to the window and climbed out of it. The broken glass that was left on the window panes scratched her on all parts of her body, but mainly on her hands and legs. Before jumping down, she looked back and saw Mellissa weeping. Her rear vision witnessed Vincent twisted the police officer’s head, detaching it from the body. The blood oozed out like a fountain as the head rolled down on the floor. Her stomach flipped over, making her want to throw up.
“Go!” Mellissa yelled as she struggled to free herself from the leader’s grip on her ankle.
To her command, Samantha jumped down seven feet from the ground. An agonizing scream escaped out of her lips – she must have sprained her right foot because it hurt so bad she wanted to punch the tree next to her. She bit her lips and limped away in pain. She climbed up to the fence and forced herself to run with her other foot.
A couple of meters away from the house, he heard an agonizing cry. It belonged to Mellissa – she was sure of it. She stopped for a moment and looked back to the house only to see the leader sniffing the air, trying to find her. Their eyes met. Her heart stopped at his impious gaze. She couldn’t move, not even a finger. That dark shadow was using hypnotism to paralyze her. She tried to disengage her eyes from him, but the attraction was way too strong for her to resist.
“Let me go, you bastard!” she said in her head.
She felt weak. Her energy was being drained and if he didn’t let her go, she would pass out. Her vision was starting to blur out as her eyes felt heavy. But, she regained her strength and finally managed to look away. She grasped for air and when she looked up, she saw Vincent smashing the lamp on the dark shadow.
He looked at her and yelled, “Run!”
Determined, she ran limping in pain. She waved for a taxi, but no one stopped to her aid. All the taxis she’d waved at had passengers in them and those private vehicles did not even bother to roll their window screen down to help her. But she wouldn’t just give up, not when her best friend sacrificed her life for hers. She had to keep her promise to look after Mellissa’s daughter. And she would do just about anything to keep it.
Samantha was about to turn right to Kensington St. when he heard Vincent’s voice calling. She stopped and waited for him. But not for too long.
“Keep running,” he yelled.
So, she did.
The dark shadow was chasing them with a gun in his hand. He fired at Vincent a couple of times and missed. The bullet shot through random cars, causing havoc on the street. The vehicles that were shot spun around and crashed into the other vehicles parked neatly on the road. The dark shadow stopped and aimed at Vincent on the head. As he pulled the trigger, a car lost control and spun in his direction, knocking him down. However, he still managed to fire and shoot him.
Vincent felt a flash of pain struck on his right triceps. He touched his arm and a blue liquid mixed in with his blood.
“What is this?” he said, fighting the dizziness that was pulling him to collapse. He shook his head and continued running, but after a couple of steps he had finally lost it and dropped down.