The shear horror throughout town was very easily read. People were terrified, heart broken and felt alone. Watching their mayor be slain in front of everyone has left the people of this small town almost dead inside. That man helped bring this town to where it is now. He was an advocate in making Wallace the new "it" town without making it over exposed or unauthentic. He worked closely with funders, including Heath DeBordaux to ensure the town got what it needed. Without him, people felt depressed. They felt worried that they would be next on the list to be slaughtered and displayed for the world to see. The times have changed and Gustavo has only made his threats more legit. No one knows what to do, where to go but now leaving was not an option.
When Heath said that outsiders would catch wind of this, he was not kidding. They did and came in full force. Media coverage has been swarming the streets, harassing the town folk, looking for answers and clues. FBI and othe
initialed groups have been in heavy force throughout the town as well. Heath has been instrumental in helping the town get the security they requested and felt they needed which means armed forces have been present. The curfew has become extremely strict stating that no one is to leave their house after 4pm. The roads are to begin being cleared by 4:30pm only allowing commuters whom are going home from work or after school activities. Once the sun has set, Wallace becomes ghost town, leaving only armed vehicles and Black SUV's to watch over us.
The goal is to have the people live their normal lives during the day knowing they're safe however at night is when they should secure themselves behind locked doors. Heath tried to limit the attention on the town but there would be no letting this go until the outside world had answers. Answers in which we could not provide without fabricating a story somehow. But how could we find someone and pin the murders on them, knowing that the murderers are vampires? Until we find Gustavo and stop him, the town would be forced to live in fear and with many unanswered questions.
Though the town lock down was supposed to help people feel more secure it has caused other issues. For instance, currently in the school, the ventilation system has been clogged up or broke down. Though the temperatures have been getting slightly warmer here in Wallace, it still is too cold to go without heat, which is what has been happening for the past two days in school. The issue is getting it fixed. Due to our janitor and maintenance person being reported "missing" the school has no one to go into the ducts and fix it other then Uncle Chris. If he could, I'm sure he would. However due to the overwhelming demand to have things fixed elsewhere, he was unavailable.
The only other option is our outside maintenance crew whom haven't been answering our calls. They probably are terrified to enter the town.
Sitting in this school all day shivering hasn't been the most enjoyable thing to do, but knowing that in a few moments, I'd be going to cheer practice where I'd begin to sweat from a workout was promising enough. I found myself twirling the necklace that Heath got me in between my fingers while I stared at the clock. The platinum chain shimmered when light reflected on it but the charm it held was what was most striking. The specially designed cross was gorgeous and looked like no other cross i've ever seen. The design, used to sheets of platinum and overlapped them almost like a braid. That was the horizontal bar of the cross, where the main vertical piece was one solid piece of metal with a sharp point at the end. In the middle was one large diamond that sparkled every time it moved.
It was the night of the murder that he handed it to me. After watching the news coverage, I went into a state of shock, where I found myself in a panic. I ran to his room where I sat in a fetal position on his bed and cried to myself. These everyday murders have been hitting me harder and harder and without being blamed directly, I still took 100% of it. Heath knew why and still tried to make me feel other wise but how could anyone not blame me?
I rocked back and forth on his comforter until I felt my body go numb. Heath didn't come upstairs right away, instead he let me have my moment. He knocked at the door first and stood at the doorway for a few minutes before letting himself in. I didn't open my eyes to look at him until he crawled in bed with me and wrapped his massive body around mine. His
warm skin immediately heated me up and soothed me somehow. Using his thumb, he wiped the tears from my face and kissed the back of my head.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
"Peachy" I replied.
"I'm not going to sit here and try to say its not your fault because I know you'll shut me down anyway."
"Good"
"I do however, want you to stop bringing yourself to this point. I need for your to remain strong Rebecca. This fight is far from over and if you continue to weaken your spirits, then you'll become an easier target for ... them." He said. I looked into his eyes and stared for a moment.
"What do you expect me to do in order to feel better. To lift my spirits?" I asked.
"Live as if none of this is happening. We are here to protect you."
"But what if they get to me in the moment that you're not there to protect me?" I asked.
"We will always be there. Always. And in the event that we are not..." He began to say. He reached back into his back pocket and pulled out the long jewelry box that I saw in his safe. "...You will have some form of protection always" He said as he dangled the platinum chain in front of me"
"Heath, thats beautiful, but ... how is that going to save me?" I asked.
"It's a cross ... the vampires won't be able to get near
your neck area or even to close to you with this on. Granted if you allow them to use their mind tricks then yeah you're screwed but ... you're smarter then that" he said as we both went into laughter. He leaned down and kissed me. I slowly kissed him back and felt it become more passionate then I wanted to at first. He pulled away and took a deep breath then smiled again.
"What is it about you Rebecca that drives me crazy?" He asked. I shrugged my shoulders and sat up so he could place the chain on me.
"Maybe its the red curls?" I asked just poking fun at myself.
"I can think of a few other things" he said as he kissed my shoulder. His lips moved their way up my neck, then to my lips. The passion took over again and it was down hill from there.
The school bell rang which made me jump out my seat. No one seemed to notice my being frightened by it so I quickly played it off and exited the room. The halls became crowded with people so I avoided my locker and headed straight towards the gym. I knew Devin would just meet me there so I didn't bother meeting him either. Watching everyone with their coats on still meant that they too were effected by the cold temperatures in the school but most of them were heading home so they'd be okay. I on the other hand couldn't wait to get into the gym and start this practice to avoid being cold.
Entering the girls locker room I immediately noticed a change in temperature. The lower down I went, the warmer it got. That could have a lot to do with the fact that the boiler room was located in between the two locker rooms. Once
inside, I quickly made my way to my locker and undressed. The other girls talked amongst themselves and never included me so this meant I was always the first one dressed and ready to report for practice. Once dressed, I took my chain off and hung it from the hook inside the locker. I didn't want it to break during practice so this was the safest place for it.
"So rumor has it that your boyfriend is going to go out for Mayor" A voice said from behind the locker door. I closed it and saw that Jessica, one of the cheerleaders was there, chewing her gum and awaiting my response.
"What?" I asked.
"Is it true?" she replied. This was the first time this girl and I have ever spoken and she was so close, I could literally analyze every part of her face. Jessica wasn't an ugly girl however she was very plain without the pounds of makeup she usually wore. Her strawberry blond hair was recently died to be dark brown so she looked very pale today and without the make up, the freckles on her cheeks were much more visible.
"I don't... no... its not true" I said before putting my hair up into a bun.
"Oh ... well yeah my dad works for town hall and there's word that he's placing heavy interest in doing so." She said as she bent over to begin tying her shoe.
"Okay? Why are you asking me about it if you already
have your mind made up on the situation?" I asked.
"Well because he's your boyfriend. I figured you would know, but I guess I was wrong." She said before walking past me and up the stairs.
I took a deep breath to calm myself. Hearing her speak of Heath, immediately I became irritated but I knew that over reacting would only make my situation worst. Heath telling me to live like nothing odd is happening replayed in my head three times before finally opening my eyes and venturing off to the gym. Once I made it up the stairs, the brisk cold of the school hit me and I suddenly wanted to be back down in the warm locker room again. Jessica was talking to Veronica and pointing to me as I walked by but right now this cold air was the only thing I could focus on. That is until Devin pranced over and asked me about Heath running for mayor.
"Seriously? You too?" I asked.
"Well I didn't want to believe it when I heard it but a lot of people are talking. You know how this town is!" He said.
"Well Heath hasn't said shit to me about it so, lets move on okay?" I said.
"Fine ... I just think he would be a great fit if he really was going for it." He added before getting into his stretching. I didn't respond, instead I sat next to him and began my warm up as well. I am not one to fall into the line of he said she said however what if they are right about Heath? Would he do this and not tell me? Would he put himself in a predicament that would tie him to this town for a lot longer then need be even after he has been pushing me to try out for Kingsdale again?
This would have to be something I bring up to him but when will that time be? When is the proper time to bring up a normal conversation in the midst of a vampire killing spree?
The school was completely emptied out and preparing for lockdown by the time our practice was over. The coach was saying her goodbyes to us while we walked out the building and everyone was making their way to their cars. Curfew was almost upon us which meant we had no time to sit around and talk amongst ourselves. Devin and I walked towards his car since he drove to school today while he talked about the series of events that have happened recently. I nodded my head a bit while we walked but I was mainly checking my phone for the missed calls and text messages. I had a few messages from Chris stating that he would be home in the morning because he took a job in the town over from us. Since all life shut down after 4 here in Wallace, work has been minimal for him so he now needs to reach out to other sources.
The other messages were from Heath stating that Max will be at my house waiting for me to arrive. He had some things to tend to and would not be there until later. This only irritated me because he explained it as "things" without explaining it at all. It made me curious as to if he was really doing things still without telling me.
"So are you going to be okay tonight? You can always come over my place if you'd like, that way you're not alone." Devin said as we pulled out of the parking lot.
"I'm fine. I think Heath is coming over in a few. I wont be alone" I said with a smile on my face.
"You sure? Its getting real crazy around here."
"I'm quite positive. Don't worry Devin, as long as we don't leave our houses or invite any strangers in, we should all
be alright" I explained.
"Who lets strangers in their houses anymore?" He said while laughing.
"Well you never know how ... persuasive some strangers could be" I said. He nodded his head not realizing how true my statement was. I looked down at my phone and saw that Heath sent me a message.
__________________________________________________________________
Make sure you go straight home! Keep your necklace on.
From: Heath
__________________________________________________________________
He was so demanding at times. I looked up and saw that we were turning down my street. I reached for my necklace and suddenly felt like a large lump punched me in the stomach. I felt my cheeks go flush with red and I knew what I had forgot. The necklace, the very expensive necklace, my protection from the blood sucking vampires sat in my gym locker back at the school.
"DEVIN TURN AROUND!" I demanded. He slammed on his breaks and looked at me like I was crazy.
"Girl why?!" He asked.
"I left my necklace!" I said.
"Cant you get it tomorrow?" He asked.
"No! Tomorrow is Saturday! It's too expensive to sit there and it has ... sentimental value. Please Devin!" I begged.
"But Rebecca, its 4pm, the sun is setting and the school is probably locked up already!" He said. I started to feel my hands shake suddenly and I never realized that I was genuinely scared of the vampire attacks. I wasn't sure if it was because of how many deaths have occurred recently, or just for the mere fact that this has gone nationwide. Other vampires, other things that go bump in the night will come here and they will find me.
"Wait... I think they said that the doors to the boiler rooms would be unlocked." Devin said as we sat on the side of the road.
"Okay?" I asked.
"Well we can enter through there. We just have to sneak in, because the armed guards are out." He said. I smiled and gave him a big kiss on the cheek.
"Thank you!!!" I said as he pulled off and turned around.
We made it to the school in about five minutes however noticed quickly that the guards were making their way through
the streets. Devin and I parked a block away and waited for the three armored trucks to pass by before making our exit.
"Lets make this quick Rebecca! The sun is almost down and if they catch us, it will be hell to pay!" Devin whispered as we jogged toward the back of the school.
We made our way to the double doors that lead to the boiler rooms. Devin, jiggled the handles a bit before opening them just to be sure what he said earlier was correct. He was.
We quietly entered and closed the doors behind us. Right then, my phone pinged and we both jumped.
"Rebecca what the fuck! That scared the shit out of me!" He said. I laughed and responded. "I hope not literally" He cut a smile back at me and looked around.
"Who is it?" He asked. I looked at my phone and saw that Max sent me a message asking me where I was. I didn't bother answering but looked up at Devin and lied.
"Oh, just my uncle. Come on" Inside, there were a set of stairs that led down to the boiler systems. As we made our way down, the temperature began to rise and we could tell that it was probably unsafe to continue operating the school with this down here. The pressure build up leading down to the boiler room was enough to even cause us to cringe.
"Oh my god this is bad!" Devin said.
"Yeah, if the pressure builds up, it could blow." I said as we tip toed through the next set of double doors. The humidity was so high in the room that it almost made it hard to breath. Not only that, a stench was permitting through the air and we both had to cover our noses.
"What the fuck is that smell?" He asked as we continued on.
"I don't know but it's bad! Lets hurry." I said. We quickly made it to the door that lead to another set of stairs and exited the boiler room. The chill of the hallway surrounded us immediately and cooled our steaming hot skin which felt like a relief almost.
"Ok come on" I said grabbing Devin by the hand and began navigating the dark empty hallways. We entered the gym quickly and ran over to the Girls Locker room. The baseball team left all their batting equipment out so we had to move around all that to get there, but we made it quietly.
"Oh it stinks down here worst then the guys locker room! Ew!" Devin said as he pinched his nose.
"Yeah, some girls are down right disgusting when it comes to hygiene." I said as I opened my locker up. There inside, was the chain, sitting real nice and pretty. Looking at it was like a weight was lifted suddenly and I could do nothing but smile.
"Girl thats pretty. I need me a rich boyfriend!" Devin said as he helped me put it on.
"It's not all its cracked up to be. Trust me, it gets annoying fast." I said. He started to say something but a loud boom and a shutter of the building stopped us. We looked at each other and waited a minute.
"What was that?" He asked.
"It sounded like it came from the boiler room." I said. A noise kicked in suddenly and we looked up at the ventilation system. Hot hair began to blow through suddenly followed by that horrific smell.
"Oh my god, lets go. The police are going to swarm this place!" Devin said.
"Yeah but we cant go through the boiler room to get out! It might be too dangerous there." I replied.
"Right but we can cut across to the other side where the exit doors are on the side of the building. The cops will only come from the front and back. They wont see us coming from the side." He explained as he pulled me by my hand.
"Okay" I agreed. We made our way up to the gym and pushed through the double doors. Once in the hallway, we immediately came to a stop for what we saw shocked us. Debris, dirt and smoke filtered through the halls.
"Oh jesus. Is it on fire?" He asked me but I didn't answer.
I looked up at the vent closest to the ceiling and noticed that the metal grate was blown out and across the hall on the floor. Hanging from the square opening, was a paper like material that had become very familiar to me recently. I got closer to it just to make sure what I was seeing was accurate. As I took another step, a crunch beneath my foot caught my attention. I bent down and picked up the piece and got the closer look I needed. The gray, papery textured material had a
slimy substance that was warm to the touch on the inside. It was a piece of cocoon.
"Um Rebecca." I heard Devin say.
"We have to get out of here ... now" I said back.
"Yes, but um ... we're not alone..." Devin said. A chill immediately ran up my spine for I knew who was with us. The cocoon was what had been blocking the heating system this entire time, until it was ready to hatch and unleash the
newborn vampire that laid dormant inside. The newborn vampire who now stood in this very hallway with us. I looked up and saw him standing in the smoke.
"Oh my god, what is wrong with him?" Devin asked. I looked the vampire dead in his face and analyzed him. Eyes glowing red, ugly face on, teeth exposed. There was no hiding Devin from this. He saw very well what this was and now he too was going to be involved.
"Is this a joke? Is this a prank? Who has time to do elaborate make up like this and scare people?" Devin said and began to take a step towards him.
"Devin no!" I said and grabbed his arm. He looked back at me and then saw the pure fear in my face.
"This is not a joke. Devin Run!" I said as I turned him around in hopes he'd run out the exit doors by the gym, but all hope was lost when yet another Vampire was there to greet us.
Instinct took over and I pulled him towards me and ran back into the gym. "This way!" I shouted. Both sets of double doors blasted open behind us as the two newborns chased us into the gym then leaped onto the rafters in the ceiling. Swinging
between the metal beams, they followed before one of them leaped down on us. Quickly, I tripped Devin, causing him to stumble to the ground, grabbed a metal bat that was part of the left over equipment and swung it as hard as I could. The metal impacted the vampires skull so hard that his blood splattered on me and he landed to the ground twitching.
"Holy shit Rebecca." Devin said. The strength required to do something like that was not strength I usually have and even I was shocked. The second Vampire quickly made his way to us then leaped down on the ground right behind Devin.
"DEVIN WATCH OUT!" I threw the bat at the newborn like it was a spear but he caught it. Using the animalistic strength, he crushed the bat in his hands then let out a ferocious hiss at us. The intimidating noise only lasted for a few seconds before Devin kicked him right below the belt, causing him to topple over in pain. Devin got up and ran over to me and grabbed two bats. Using them he made the shape of a cross and pressed his back against mine. The other vampire, crushed head and hanging eye, began to get up now and both of them were on either side of us.
"Im dreaming right. This has to be a nightmare." Devin said.
"I'm sorry. This is more real then you think" I said.
"You say this like you knew about vampires already or something" he said but I couldn't respond. I felt him turn to look at me over his shoulders.
"I'm sorry" was all I could say. The two vampires now circled us and we both knew they were going kill us. IT was
just them waiting for the right moment. A right moment that I wasn't going to allow to come. If I died here today, I'd be okay with that but Devin didn't deserve this. He had to survive. I had to take a risk. With all my force, I took the new bat I held and stabbed it directly into the chest of the closest vampire. He screamed as the black blood gushed out and he fell to his knees. I spun around and pushed Devin out of the way and yelled for him to run. The vampire lunged at me and wrapped his hands around my neck. His flesh immediately began to burn as they were too close to the cross I wore but he did not let go. Instead he roared into my face as his flesh sizzled onto
my shirt. Devin came up and began hitting him with both bats but none of them seemed to phase him.
"Devin run!" I begged but he continued hitting the vampire in an attempt to rescue me.
It wasn't until the roar came from the exit door that the vampire even slightly loosened his grip on me. The roar was so loud that it shook the very walls around us. I looked over and there in the door way was Max. Taking his shirt off he began walking towards us. I knew he was about to phase into the wolf. The Vampire quickly threw me down on the ground and charged him but Max was fast. He leaped into the air and transformed faster then I have ever seen any of the wolves do. Even Heath.
The fight began and Devin stared in horror. The large wolf tackled the vampire into the wooden bleachers then onto the floor. The sounds his body made with impact sent a chill up my spine but at this point, I should be used to it. It was a noise from behind me that made me see the other vampire was still alive and making his way to us. I rolled over to him then kicked him in the face. As I was going in for another, he grabbed my ankle and went to bite me but I grabbed the same
bat from before, yanked it out then plunged it back into his heart. Smashing it from the inside. This time, my more accurate hit, was effective and soon after he bled out, he turned to dust. Feeling good about myself, I cracked a smile until I realized I was covered in vampire blood. It was the sounds of flesh being ripped apart behind me that brought me back to the fight and saw that Max was shredding the vampire to pieces.
I stared at him as his bright yellow eyes shifted to me and he began to growl. He slowly began walking towards me and Devin began to panic. I didn't move from the spot I stood in and waited for him to get closer. I knew it was coming and
as he finally roared in my face, I still didn't move. The sounds of his bones cracking and popping meant he was beginning to phase back into human but even those sounds couldn't muffle the sounds of the police sirens.
"We have to go." I said.
"What... the ... fuck... were you... thinking Rebecca!?" Max said through a growl. I didn't answer him but instead I turned to Devin who was now ghost white. I stuck my hand out to him to offer my assistance in him standing but he quickly recoiled away from me.
"Don't touch me" He said.
"Devin, its okay. You're going to be okay" I said.
"I was just attacked by two mythological creatures that I thought never existed. I only prayed that if they did, they'd look like super models and sparkle in the sun. I watched you turn into a red headed Xena, warrior princess and I just watched a man transform into a giant dog and rip another man
to shreds. And you tell me I'm okay? You say this because you knew about it this entire time and said nothing to me about it?" He said now as tears streamed down his face.
"Do you turn into a giant dog too? Do fangs shoot out of your teeth? Do you fucking sparkle?" He asked still in hysterics.
"No Devin, It's not like that" I said reaching out to him again.
"Don't! Don't touch me." he said.
"Devin..." Max began to say but Devin jumped at the sound of his voice. The police sirens got louder and we knew they were here.
"Devin, you have every right to be scared, but right now, we have to get you somewhere safe." Max said.
"I'm not going anywhere with you... either of you" He said now looking at me. "I'm going the fuck home." He added before getting up and speed walking towards the exit. Max quickly took the pants off the vampires bottom torso before stomping on the head to make the body parts turn to dust, then put them on. I ran after Devin and Max was close behind.
"Devin wait!" I pleaded but once we were outside, we all went silent. The flashing lights could be seen from the front of the building so we had to hurry and run across the field to where we parked. Before we got far, Max grabbed me by my waste and Devin by his then ran in his super human speed to where the cars were. When he put us down, Devin slapped him and got into his car.
"Devin wait please."
"Don't call me... ever" He said before peeling off down the street. He knew most of the attention would be on the school so he was safe to do that. As he drove off, I stood there in silence and shivered while holding back my tears.
"Get in the car" Max said in a deep growl. He opened the car door and waited for me to get in.
"Where are we going?" I asked
"We're going to see Heath. Maybe he can knock some fucking sense into your head" He said as we pulled off.
"Excuse me?" I asked but Max didn't respond, instead he stared at the road we drove down, eyes still glowing yellow.
*
As we pulled into the driveway, I felt a sense of regret for ever getting Devin involved. Hearing him tell me to never speak to him again truly upset me. I got out of the car only expecting the worst from Heath but Max's behavior was something new to me.
"What is your problem Max?" I asked.
"Just shut up and get inside" He said.
"Who the hell do you think your talking to!?" I asked
in a screaming tone. My voice echoed through the house as we entered and suddenly Heaths voice could be heard from the formal living room.
"Hey whats going on here?" He asked. "What the hell happened to you?" He added. I looked him up and down and saw that he was holding a glass of wine in his hand. He was also dressed up nicely and his hair was pulled back. He smelled like a god on earth and suddenly I felt uneasy.
"What happened to me?! What happened to you being too busy for me? Didn't you have 'Things' you had to take care of?" I asked while making air quotes.
"I do have things that I'm taking care of. You smell of vampire blood. Is that blood all over you?" He asked as his eyes turned yellow.
"Yes its the blood of a new born vampire that she decided to almost feed Devin to at the school!" Max said to Heath but staring directly at me. His voice still had a growl to it and I knew things were going to get ugly.
"GET OUT OF MY FACE!" I said.
"Devin saw a vampire?!" Heath asked sounding very angry.
"He also saw me transform into a wolf because I had to SAVE THE BOTH OF THEM!"
"I WAS DOING FINE BY MYSELF!"
"YOU WERE DOING FINE BY ALMOST KILLING YOURSELF! What the fuck did you think you
were doing fighting TWO new born vampires!? Then on top of that, you exposed ALL OF US to a HUMAN! YOU'RE FUCKING IRRESPONSIBLE, SELFISH, CHILDISH AND CLUMSY! How are we as a pack supposed to continue protecting you IF YOU KEEP TRYING TO GET YOURSELF KILLED!?" He was so close in my face while screaming that I felt his saliva on my skin. I turned to Heath and waited for him to say something to him. Say anything but instead he looked me dead in the eye and said nothing.
"Heath, you're not going to say something?" I asked.
"Yeah Heath, what do you have to say?" Max asked. Heath didn't break his stare with me. Instead he took a deep
breath then looked down at his glass.
"He's right"
"HE'S WHAT!?" I asked.
"You were careless, reckless and the thought process of trying to fight off two vampires was completely irrational. You have been hellbent on suicide for weeks now and you don't see that. You have put this pack at risk Rebecca." He said. The lump in my throat swelled up and I could feel my tears build as he spoke to me. "I agree with every word."
"I can't believe what I am hearing right now..." I said as my voice cracked.
"Heath is everything okay?" A females voice said from the formal living room. Heath turned to face the woman and immediately I felt completely embarrassed. Standing before us, was Xiang Shao, the Jewelry owner from Japan.
The stunning and beautiful Shape Shifter who he went out to a very public event with, was standing just a few feet away from me, holding a glass of wine. She wore a very low cut buttoned shirt, white, which exposed her breast. The gray pencil skirt was slim fitting to her figure and the black red bottom shoes she wore just topped off the "perfectness" of the outfit. Her jet black hair was pulled back into a tight, low pony which reached at least to her mid back. My hands shook from the shear horror I felt.
"Xiang, this is Rebecca. Rebecca this is..."
"I know very well who she is" I said now crossing my arms. "This is the business you had to take care of? Wine and
dine your little side piece? Or no, am I just the side piece?" I asked.
"Rebecca..." He warned me.
"Don't you fucking dare speak to me like I'm out of line. This is what you consider business?" I asked.
"Rebecca, this is not what you think. I told you before..."
"Oh wait! I know! I know whats going on here!" I said waving my hands in the air. "The rumors of you going for Mayor of this pathetic town are true aren't they?" I asked. Heath looked at me but didn't answer.
"Of course they are... of course you have yet ANOTHER secret. Yup. Makes perfect sense. You take over mayor of the town, while your little Asian Barbie becomes new CEO of Wallace Silver Mining. Just like you told me before right?" I said. Max looked over to me then back at Heath.
"What is she talking about Heath?" Max asked.
"Oh that's right! Max doesn't know! He doesn't know that, you have no intentions of making him your replacement in the event you leave the company! Instead you have miss Xiang Shao over here waiting to fill your shoes! Oh and why is that? Because Max is too ... irrational? Is that how you put it?"
"Rebecca you are completely out of line!" Heath responded.
"Is this true?" Max asked. Heath looked at him but
didn't answer. "WELL!? IS IT!?" Max demanded.
"Yes.. It is." Heath finally admitted.
"I'm going to go grab my things." Xiang said suddenly as she placed her wine glass down.
"Oh no sweet heart, you're not going anywhere! You are just as much a part of this as I am, so sit your perky ass down" I said. She looked at me, then chuckled as if I didn't matter. She grabbed her bag and attempted to make her way out the door but Max slammed his fist into the wall, blocking her exit. Her eyes suddenly shined a bright blue, similar to the way the wolves do when angry.
"Stand down Beta" She said.
"Move out of her way." Heath said now grabbing Max's arm. Max, obviously upset, suddenly reacted by punching Heath in the face. It was like everything went in slow motion suddenly but all I wanted to do was hit rewind.
"Oh my god, no!" I began to say but Heath was up and back at Max before I could react. He grabbed Max by his throat then slammed him down into the marble floors, causing them to crack.
"Stop!" I begged but Heath sent a swift kick to Max's rib. The sound I heard then was without a doubt the sound of break and pain was all I could feel for him. Max rolled over and spit out blood onto the floor.
"Max, are you okay?" I asked.
"Get AWAY!" He said. I backed up and watched as he
struggled to get up. "I'm done with this. All of this. Fuck you and your company Heath and fuck you Rebecca." He said before spitting out some more blood and walking out. I stood in shock for a few minutes before I looked at Heath. His eye brow was bleeding badly and I took a step towards him.
"No!" He said with his hands out. "You've done enough damage. Please just go upstairs and wait for me." He said before exiting the room. Xiang and I stood there quietly for a moment before she finally broke the silence.
"You can call me Jade by the way. It's a lot easier to say then Asian Barbie" I looked at her but she pumped off down the hallway after Heath before I could apologize. I felt helpless. Alone. I felt the tears begin to pour from my eyes and everything went blurry. I quickly sat down on the bottom of the staircase and put my head between my legs.
"Well, that was interesting" Sebastian said suddenly standing in the shadows.
"Go away." I said.
"Fine ... I just wanted to make sure you were okay." He said. I looked up to see him, to see how he looked but by then he had already disappeared.
"No .. No I'm not okay." I said truthfully as my phone pinged in my pocket. I pulled it out and saw that I received a picture message from Devin. I quickly opened it hoping it was something saying he forgave me but instead I received the most horrifying picture ever. There, laying in his bed, was Devin sleeping, peacefully. However, laying directly behind him, was Gustavo. Eyes glowing red, staring straight into the camera.