The first thing she felt was pain. So much pain. It came from somewhere at the back of her head. She tried to open her eyes but her eyelids felt heavier than normal. Her mind wasn't coordinated yet so she couldn't tell where she was in.
Sleep, please come. Come now. If only I could sleep away this pain.
At least, she could think. That was something.
She waited and waited. Nothing happened. No sleep came. No sound was made.
Wait, who the heck had kidnapped her, anyway? Didn't they consider it rude not to at least check on their captive?
Jess didn't know how long it took, but after some time, she began to feel sensations. First, in her head. And the first feeling was more pain. This time, at the sides of her head. What the heck?
She tried moving. Only her fingers and toes twitched. Okay, progress there. Now, over to the eyes. One of her eyelids twitched, then opened. It was followed by the other. She blinked rapidly so her vision could adjust to the darkness around her.
Darkness. Oh, great. Nice way to make sure she couldn't feel her way around.
She shifted her body and finally sat up. Her fingers felt the surface she was sitting on. Cold. Hard. Damp. Concrete. Basement.
Jess had never been kidnapped before. She'd never even found herself locked up in a cold, hard place underground. So, this was new. Helplessness seeped into her mind, gnawing at her harshly. She felt for the wall, shifted again, and leaned against it.
Breathe in. Breathe out. Everything's gonna be fine. You'll find a way out of here. You're stronger than this. Ken would want you to remain strong. Don't show your weakness to your enemy. You're psychic, a different kind of person.
Whew! That was enough pep talk to boost her assurance. The next thing now was taking action. She wondered if she should make a fire that'd light her way.
No, no, no, no! Not that. Remember what happens when you make fire? She shivered as a memory flashed through her mind. Yeah, that. Try it and you may be toast.
Well, she didn't want to be toast, so she had find another way out.
Think, think, think... Come up with something. You're a genius. You don't have an IQ of 172 for nothing. Use your brain. And your powers.
She felt for her bag but got nothing. Really now? Was taking her bag part of the plan? That thing was expensive - it had cost her thirty-four grand to get it. They had better handle it carefully.
Hello? Next action? You should be doing something not thinking about some Vuitton trash.
Oh, yeah. Right.
"Hello?" she called out to the darkness. "Hello?! Who's here?" Silence. "You've got someone down here, remember?" No answer. "Fine. Don't forget you'd have to ask for ransom. I think that's what you kidnappers do." A brief pause. "Whatever. Anyway, you better not demand for more than a million bucks. That'd be extortion. I don't even know if my stepdad has that amount of money to spare."
When the heavy silence became unbearable, she released a loud groan. "Guy, you better get down here with pain killers. I've got a damn headache."
She rose to her feet and stretched. Bones and muscles cracked. She stretched some more. The pain in her head eased a little bit. When she bent down, it intensified.
"Damn! Crap!" She wasn't keeping her head down again.
It was too dark but she had to rely on her instincts to move around. Her foot struck something soft. She squatted and reached down. It was her handbag. At last, she sighed out.
She opened it and used her hands to check the contents. Three notebooks, phone, cash, sketchbook, bracelets, lipgloss, iPod, headphones, Bluetooth headset. Bag contents complete.
First things first. Call home. However, many rings later, she hadn't reached anybody yet. She wouldn't doubt it if Guy had taken her to the middle of nowhere.
She sucked in a breath. Middle of nowhere meant no WiFi. No internet. Well then, over to her topmost pastime. Music.
Before slipping on her headphones, she pressed her fingers to her temples and closed her eyes. She hummed a Latin song to herself. It took a few minutes before she felt the soft humming in her head. Then, the headache began to ease away until it became a dull throb.
Done with her brief energy healing, she took out her iPod and headphones. Instrumentals by Two Steps From Hell began to play into her ears.
The clock on her phone's screen read five forty-five when her iPod sang "low battery". She turned off her device. The music had helped dissolve the headache.
She didn't like being bored, and she didn't like being cooped up either. So, she stood up again and began to pace slowly. Her Bluetooth headset came on and she hit T Swift on her phone. She'd never get tired of this singer. Ever.
This time, Jess saw the darkness as a good tool. She began to move her body to the beats. In a few minutes, she felt herself loosen up.
In that moment, she forgot that she was in the clutches of whosoever was against her or her family. She wanted to dance. And she was doing it. Without anyone, but the darkness, watching. Without anyone criticising. Without any judgmental comment from the background.
She felt free. In captivity.
Time flew. The sound of metal grinding was loud enough to bring Jess back to the present. She quickly shut off her device and took it off.
Light rays fell in from a stairway before it was cut off as the door closed. Jess scrambled back, picked up her bag, and braced herself for whoever or whatever was coming.
She heard footsteps as someone walked down the steps. Their movement was slow and calculated. It pulled on Jess' nerves. Her heart pounded in agonising anticipation. Thoughts ran through her mind, and none had a calming effect on her racing heart.
When the footsteps stopped, she held her breath and waited.
"You wonder why you're here, don't you?"
The voice was smooth, deep. Masculine.
She released her breath and swallowed. "Yes."
"You should. In fact, I wonder myself why you're here."
Was he serious? "Where... Where's Guy?" Don't stutter, Jessie. He'd think you're afraid.
"Guy?"
"My driver. Ex-driver," she corrected. "The man who brought me here."
There was brief silence. "Oh. The tool. He's resting."
She heard footsteps again. He was approaching her. How he managed to do that in the dark was beyond her. She could barely see her own fingernails - and she'd painted them bright pink this morning.
"What... What're you doing? Stay back."
He paused. "Are you afraid?"
Crap! Nice going, Jessica Patricia. "No. I'm not. Just that, it's dark and you might bump into me. I'm not sure if you're naked or clothed or just bare-chested or whatever. Do you have night vision? Because I don't know how the hell you can tell where I'm standing. Really. It's creepy." As she was rambling, she'd quietly moved to the left. Maybe, he'd lose her. It was too dark for him to know that she'd moved.
He let out a loud sigh. "Shut up and let's get this over with."
That tone, those words - he sounded like... like a rapist. To her.
"Stay away from me!" she screamed. This time, she didn't care who or what he was. If he made any step closer towards her, she'd turn him to toast. It wouldn't be the first time.
"Calm. Down."
He sounded angry, irritated and exasperated. Hmph, they hadn't even stayed up to five minutes alone in this basement.
"I won't calm down," she yelled back. "You're a creep. You kidnapped me. You used my dr- ex-driver as your aide. I'm far away from home in the middle of nowhere. My family doesn't know where I am. And you want me to calm down? Who the fuck are you? Take one more step and get your ass fried, bugger."
She was heaving by the time she finished. Fear and anger were boiling inside her, causing a tumult in her system. She could feel her skin heat up. The hairs on her head stood. Static crackled at her fingertips. At the same time, the air around her chilled.
This feeling was different and she knew it. It didn't feel the same way it did during that incident with Mason.
Just then, light burst into the room as someone opened the door.
"Sensei, there's a problem with the power," a young voice said. It sounded almost familiar to Jess' ears, but she didn't care. She was trying to reel in the energy about to surge out of her body as more fear clogged her mind.
"I'll be up, Henry," the man replied. "Tell the others to remain calm."
There was a moment of hesitation from the boy. "Yes, sensei." Then, the door was slowly shut.
"That kid," he muttered to himself. "How did he track me down to this place?" Then, he focused on the matter at hand. Jessica. He could feel her fear even in the darkness. It rolled off her in huge waves.
"Jessica?" he called out to her.
A harsh breath was the response.
"Jessica? You don't have to panic."
She was still breathing hard. She clutched her handbag tighter to her chest. Hot air filled her nostrils. Cold air surrounded her. Her eyes burned, and they turned amber.
Do not panic. Do not panic. But it was too late. The panic had already settled in her system. Now, she understood why her dad had warned her about letting intense emotions take over her mind while she was using psionics. It made her unstable.
Upstairs...
"What the hell is going on here?"
"Where the heck is sensei?"
"He's in the basement. He said we shouldn't panic. He'll be here soon."
"How soon? Here's a mess."
Glass exploded in the background.
"Arrgh!"
"Call an ambulance!"
"How can you be so calm, Henry?"
"I'm not calm, Sam. I'm being cool headed."
Phone dialling. "You have reached emergency service. How can we help you?"
"There's an emergency. Chi's Inn. Power problems. Potential fire outbreak. Just... get an ambulance! Okay? Someone's been injured."
"Nice try, Akio."
"There was no other w--"
More explosions.
"What the heck is the cause of this thing?"
"Sensei!"
"Sensei will not be your hero. Save yourselves."
"Shush, Sam. Do you feel that?"
"What now, Henry? Of course, I feel the chaos and disaster around me. Care to make it a little more obvious?"
"No. No. Not that. Vibrations. In the ground."
A shout from a distant room. "Everybody, get out! There's an earthquake. The angry gods of Japan have come to visit us."
Cracks appeared in the walls. Light bulbs exploded in the air. Metal and porcelain artifacts crashed to the ground.
"There is no need to panic. Everyone, sit. Let your chi flow. You are beyond this chaos."
"Now isn't the time for judo pep talk, Sensei Takuma."
"Be still and let the voice of--"
"Let's get the hell out of here."
"A little help here, please. Kira has to walk."
In the basement...
It felt like a whirlwind was building up in the room. It surrounded her with her standing in the centre. Although, it wasn't a whirlwind or typhoon; it was an invisible barrier of intense energy, a result of her emotions. She was breathing hard and the invisible blanket was extending its boundaries.
The man made an approach towards her but the wall of energy threw him off. His back hit the opposite wall.
"Oomph!"
His own anger was building up. He could feel the powers he had suppressed for years, coming to the surface. He clenched his fists tightly. Tingles shot up his arm, starting from his fingertips. His eyes darkened; his irises became thin white rings.
He opened his palms and released two globes of fire. They hit Jess' energy barrier and withered. An angry growl from his throat resounded in the basement.
As he tried to stand up, he heard her muttering the words, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry" over and over again. Puzzled, he decided to step closer. But he didn't make it five steps forward. A blast of blinding white light shot from her direction towards him.
It flung him back, causing him to hit the wall a second time. Before unconsciousness enveloped him, the last thought that occurred to him was: 'He never told me this was part of the deal.' Then, he blacked out.
Jess sucked in a breath when she couldn't hear anything from his side. She hoped she hadn't killed him. The blast, like other times, had been accidental.
When everything in her body felt normal - breathing, heart rate, mental coordination - she stalked carefully towards his form. Her foot kicked his body first. No sound or squirming. She leaned down and placed a hand on the base of his neck. A sigh of relief escaped her lips when she felt palpitations. Though, they were weak. At least, she didn't kill him.
She ran through the darkness, not caring if she stumbled against anything, and reached the staircase. With slow, careful steps, she climbed up the stairs. Finally, she reached the door. Her hands felt for the handle or lock, but got nothing.
She rested her head against the metal door and heaved a sigh. She was mentally drained. Trying to open the door with her mind would weaken her more. But there was no other choice she had.
Placing her palms flat against the surface, she closed her eyes and imagined the hinges unscrewing and the door opening. It took seconds for the satisfying grinding and crunching to be heard.
Free at last, she stepped into the bright light. And chaos.
Everywhere was a mess. She'd done all this? I discover myself everyday, she thought to herself as she stepped over a broken Oriental urn.
There were pieces of porcelain, glass, china and other stuff scattered here and there. Nobody was around. It looked like they'd all run out. Just then, she heard sirens approaching. Two boys walked into the building. They must have been in front waiting for the sirens.
Jess quickly sought for an escape route as the boys came in further. She heard them talking.
"Have you seen Sensei Sasuke?"
"No. But I'll go check on him. I last saw him in the basement."
She gulped, praying in her heart to God that the man was still alive. Even though she hadn't left any evidence that she was the one that did it, she wouldn't want to bear the guilt of adding an additional soul to her list of accidental murders. Even if that soul had meant her harm.
There was a hidden room in the back with a large window. She ignored the jagged edges of the broken panes and pushed her body through. Finally, she was out.
She couldn't go to the front to check for the Ferrari. And she needed a ride home. Again, she took out her phone and dialled numbers. Unlike before, they went through, but only Zoe picked.
"Where have you been?" her mom's sharp voice cut through her ear.
"Long story. I need a ride home."
"What happened to Guy?" Something crashed in the background. "Heather, handle things with care."
"It's Cody," Phyllis' muffled voice came.
"Whatever. Yes, Jess, what were you saying?"
"Send Fletcher to pick me up from..." She looked around but there was nothing to identify the street she was in. "You know what? I'll take a taxi."
Zoe sucked in a breath. Jess knew her suggestion was a bad idea. "We don't use taxis, Jessica."
"Yes, but I'm taking one now. For the first time in my life. Something to write in my diary." She muttered the last part to herself. "So, see you in... an hour?" She cut the call immediately.
Now... to find a cab. Jess realised it wasn't that hard. All she had to do was wait at a stand and wave her arm when a cab was approaching. The first one that stopped picked her up. She mentioned her address and they were off.
On the way, a ping came from her bag. She opened it and checked her phone. A text message from an unknown sender.
You got away this time, but you won't get away next time. The darkness creeps closer and closer.
She wanted to text back the person the words "fuck off", but there was no sender's number. So, she deleted the message, put her phone back in her bag, and quietly sang Bang Bang to herself.
*****
"Where have you been?"
"Out."
Chelsea raised her brows at her son's clipped tone. "Had a fight?"
"No. My nightmare was just served to me." He sped to his room and banged the door. The sound echoed in the second floor hallway.
The worried vampire stared at the staircase for a long time. She tried reaching her son through telepathy, but his bars had been raised. It was times like these he wished she could read his mind.
Meanwhile, Eric was in the private gym connected to his bedroom, punching the bag of steel hanging from the ceiling. With each brutal punch he gave the metal cylinder, he released an angry growl.
Yet, he wasn't pacified. He needed to punch more things. Destroy more stuff. The punching bag made of solidified concrete was the next to receive his beatings. As usual - whenever he was in a bad mood - it exploded into pieces of stone and dust when it couldn't take any more pressure.
Time to let the wolf out. Or maybe the vampire.
"Argh!"
His cry of exasperation reverberated through the walls. Being a supernatural hybrid was one of the most difficult things in life. It had to be.
The wolf won out. He opened the window and jumped out. He shifted the moment his feet landed on the rough grass. His clothes tore off his body as it stretched and changed.
The brown wolf sprinted off into the sparse foliage. It ran around the small wilderness for as long as it could before letting the human take over.
Eric sat on the stumpy roots of a moringa tree. It was almost his favourite spot here. The slight roughness of its bark and the shady leaves gave him a sense of comfort. He leaned his bare back against that bark and closed his eyes.
For a few minutes, he pretended the world didn't exist. He pretended there wasn't a bizarre punishment hanging over his head. He pretended--
Oh, shut up. You don't have to think. Bask in the moment.
He shut his wolf off immediately. It was rare for its thoughts to get into his head.
For a werewolf, the human and wolf sides were considered as one individual. It was just like a person having two different personalities. The animal didn't have a voice but it could think. Sometimes, it transferred its thoughts to the human mind, making it seem like it was the human thinking. It was a weird and complex thing, but that was how it worked.
Eric's case was, of course, very different. He had three personalities merged inside of him. Most of the time, all three sides were synchronised. Sometimes, like a few minutes ago, one side could have a different feeling or reaction from the other two. It was worse if all three opposed one another.
After moments of internal and external serenity, he reopened his eyes and gazed up at the waxing gibbous moon. Tomorrow night it was going to be full.
It was mysterious how supernatural creatures could detect the exact timing of the moon's fullness. Scientifically, the moon stayed full for only a while before its brightness waned gradually. To human eyes, it stayed full for three nights. However, vampires and werewolves knew it was shorter than that. That was why the occasional restlessness and compulsory transformation came once a month.
Well, except for Blue Moons.
He heaved a sigh and shoved himself up. Tomorrow would worry for itself. He had other things to worry about.
"Why are you naked?" Connor asked the moment his son stepped into the living room.
"Quick shift, no pants." He sped to his room, wore shorts and came back down.
"That's why you have expansible pants." He slowly put down the sheaf of papers he was scanning through, on his lap, and looked up at the teenager. "Or do you forget?"
Eric shrugged. "You shouldn't worry. After all, weres started worrying over clothing at the turn of the twentieth century."
"Yeah. Change," he grumbled. He divided the sheaf into two and handed his son one half. "You've been neglecting your duties."
Eric gladly accepted the papers. Work - to keep his mind off things. However, Connor still noticed.
"Talk."
The one-word command had Eric tensing up. He dropped the papers and leaned back. With his gaze fixed on empty space, he told him what happened in Stefan's house.
"The plan is to weaken you," Connor commented.
A deep frown marred his brow. "Weaken? How?"
The older Talgan shrugged. "It's simple. Falling in love. They think it'd make you weak."
Eric considered it for a moment, then narrowed his eyes at him. "That makes you a weakling then, since you're in love with Mom."
He rolled his eyes. "Your mother is my mate. She was given to me by Fate. That's different."
The boy simply nodded in understanding. "Hybrids don't have mates. I hate humans." A loud sigh. "This won't work," he concluded.
Instead of replying, Connor rose to his feet and stretched. He gathered up the papers and turned to the wide staircase to the first floor.
"I have to get this over with."
Connor's shoulders dropped a little, as he understood what his son's words meant - he needed help. "Talk to your mom about this. She's an expert in the field."
Eric rolled his eyes behind him. "She won't be willing. You know how she is with my interaction with humans. She might be wanting me to go out more but..."
"She wants you away from them, as well," he finished. "I get it. But when it comes to this... dating stuff, I think she'll be of very much assistance."
Eric groaned but said nothing more. Instead, he went to one of the big, empty underground rooms in the house which Chelsea called her "private lair". She was working on a canvas, wearing a short, drab dress.
He quickly went straight to the point, when he got her attention, telling her about the dating issue. She pondered for a moment, before agreeing that he did it.
"I have a few suggestions," she began. She dropped her paintbrush and faced him squarely. "There are some of my customers from high-class families. I think we can make an arrangement."
"What high-class families?" he slowly asked.
"Well... there's the Roberts, the Steels and the Snowdens."
Eric suppressed a reaction. "I pick the Steels. I know their daughter."
"Good." She shrugged casually. "I'll see what I can do about it. Who's the daughter, by the way?"
"Amanda Fiorella."
Chelsea pursed her lips in thought. "Fine. We'll discuss this tomorrow."
After kissing her goodnight, he left for his room. On his way, he realised there was one big hurdle to cross if he wanted this to work.
Wooing a girl.