"TONY?!" I yelled out at the top of my lungs but the woman covered my mouth with a panicked haste.
"Quiet, son! He'll hear you!" She hissed as she dragged me along down an alley. I could hear fighting a good distance away. I was covered in sweat and blood, but I knew my cuts would heal soon. She seemed to be searching for something, feeling around the brick walls with her fingertips. "Here!" There was a piece of a brick she was able to pry loose, behind it, lay a key. Her hand captured my wrist again and our flee continued down four more blocks.
"We can't leave Tony!" I argued, but for some odd reason, I couldn't stop following her.
"He made the decision himself!" She snapped finding the door she wanted. Inside was like a vacuum, I could no longer hear what was going on outside the walls. "Listen now, child. I don't have much time, so you need to pay attention!" She pulled out several vials from her bag and poured them into her bowl. She grabbed my hand, slicing my palm before holding it over the bowl to collect my blood. "Your father won't be able to find you after this, neither will your brother, if he manages to keep himself in one piece. You will not remember any of this as it is though."
"What are you doing?!" I pulled my hand away and stared into her eyes. I don't believe I've ever seen so much pain in those green gems of hers.
"This is the only way I can keep you safe but still allow you to have a life. Make the most of it! Should you ever break the spell..." Mom bit her lower to keep herself from crying. "DO NOT EVER go looking for them. Do you understand me?" She lit a match and began saying words in latin.
"But Tony-"
"Bestiae et in captionem, dea lunae accipere sacrificium!" Her eyes grew a white glaze, and in that moment it felt as if the fire in the bowl were in my veins. What did she do?!
"Mom!" The fire continued up to my head and I felt weak, everything was beginning to hurt a like new. My senses dulled and strong wave of vulnerability came over me. What's happening?!
"Forgive me, child." I heard someone say, their voice sounded familiar but I couldn't place a name to it. Light filled the room, so brightly that I was blinded. A sweet scent filled the air as it did, and I felt in awe. But the moment the light died, I was alone in the dark. But where exactly was I? A gun cocked to my right and I ducked instinctually.
"Let me see your hands!" The woman shouted from the shadows.
"Whoa! Whoa! Hey!" I raised my hands slowly. Damn my body hurts! Where's Tony?! Something doesn't feel right..Like a deer caught in the middle of the road, my brain failed to make sense of anything, but my motor skills haven't left completely.
"Were you bitten? Did they get to you?" The woman fired one question after the other. I definitely preferred the verbal bombardment rather than an attack with a little more lead.
"I...no...I don't think so? I-I need to find my brother."
"Your brother?"
"Yeah, I don't know what's going on, I think we got separated somehow.."
"Head to the door on your right and keep your hands where I can see them or I swear I'll blast you so full of silver-"
"Silver?"
"Walk!" The woman snapped and I obeyed, instantly shutting my cake hole. Once we exited the building I was pushed against a wall while my arms were yanked behind me. There was metal clicking and-
"Did you just cuff me?!"
"Rule number one, never trust a soul after an attack."
"A what?!" She pulled at my sleeve and searched me for I don't know what. "Lady! You know in some places this can be considered sexual harassment or attempted kidnapping or assault!"
"You're clean." She sighed before taking the handcuffs off me. I turned to finally see her in good light. Her blonde hair and gray eyes stood out brilliantly against her dark clothes. But there was nothing light about her. "You said you were looking for your brother, where was the last place you saw him?" I tried to remember, but for the life of me, I couldn't. I remember running, away from something, with someone..? Maybe him?
"I don't remember...I remember running away...and ending up in that room. I..."So many things were hazy. The only family I clearly remembered was my brother. I felt a bad vibe with the word 'father' and something unsettling with 'mother'. Why couldn't I even remember their names..?
"The mind might do that sometimes. The subconscious tries to protect you from a traumatic experience by making you forget. Judging by your wounds, you look like you've been through hell."
"Thanks." I scoffed with a glare, but she was telling the truth. Before I could ask anything else there was a blood curling scream and a howl that could only be defined as feral.
"Follow me and if you want to live do exactly as I say!" The woman hissed before running in the direction of a possible horror scene. We ran in silence for about four blocks when, without a moment's notice, I was yanked aside and slammed against a wall. I thought I was out of breath before, but the impact was the cherry on top for my lungs. "Take this. " She cocked a handgun and, in a few seconds, gave me the run down on where to aim to kill-
"Werewolves..?" That's it she's nuts! Another howl cut off the rest of my ignorant judgement. "Right...wolves.."
"Aim for the heart, stay away from the teeth." She reminded me.
"No! Give me my brother! Stop! I didn't- STOP!" Someone cried out in front of us, Blondie didn't hesitate to run to their aide. Several large wolves surrounded someone and the stench of blood made my stomach turn. The lady fired several shots and all hell broke loose. Some of the beasts fled instantly, yelping with their tails tucked. The rest turned and snarled, their muzzles dripping with crimson. She fired again, and there were shots coming from other directions, but my mind shut off at the sight of brown eyes and a scar on the left eyebrow. My knees gave out and I tasted bile as I crawled over to his mangled body. He gurgled, his throat was torn open, as was the rest of him. I dry-heaved away from him, the shock was taking me down with a fury. I pulled off my sweater and tried to stop bleeding wherever I could, but no matter how hard I tried, life was seeping out of his every wound. No! NO! NO!
"Tony! Stay with me! Please! You can't!" I pulled him close to me as his eyes glazed over. "Don't you fucking do this to me!"
"He's gone! We have to go!" Someone tried pulling me away and my fist swung blindly.
"Tony please! Don't you fucking leave me like this!" My eyes burned and I could feel the salt from my tears cleansing the cuts on my face. His body was completely limp, but I refused to believe this was it. He couldn't really be dead. Life wasn't as cruel as to take away the only family I had. Especially not like this. Torn apart by these....damned mutts. Someone dragged me away, helping me back to my feet which followed as I remained absent-minded. I was boxed in by other people, making our way to a car, and then strolling into some type of building. The others disappeared down a hall way, but I remained seated at the bar in the kitchen.
"I'm sorry about your brother." The woman who found me leaned against the door frame. "I know it's a lot to take in, but better you get informed than be left in the dark. Besides, after an encounter like this you'll be able to See very soon."
"See?"
"Nightwalkers, for what they really are. Usually they are able to hide themselves in the Veil. They appear to be normal humans to anyone who's unaware of their existence. But once you know that there are really things out there that go bump in the night, you can't exactly un-see it. Witches, vampires, ghouls-"
"Werewolves." I finished with my blood on fire. It was then that a disease was hatched in my very core, one that sucked the compassion from my veins like a parasite. It was hate. "And you? How do you know so much about them?" I narrowed my eyes at her, as if trying to detect anything inhumane in her.
"I'm a hunter, as are the rest of those who live here. We work to keep our town as safe and orderly as possible. There are several hunters throughout the world, but there aren't nearly enough as we'd like. We don't have the power nor the resources to keep every Nightwalker out of town, but the moment one screws up...to the gallows they go."
"Teach me."
"Easy there kid, let's not get ahead of ourselves."
"Don't treat me like a stupid five year old!"
"They're actually much brighter than you think-" She thought out loud.
"They killed my brother."
"Revenge isn't the answer."
"Either you teach me or I'll go out on my own and hunt them anyways. If I die, that'll be on your conscience."
"No it won't. Listen kid, I'm telling you to leave well enough alone. You can stay here while you heal and regain your memories, but after that you go back to your life." Her words sounded rehearsed, it was like watching a kid try to act in front of a professional.
"First rule of trying to convince someone, you gotta believe yourself first." I walked out of the kitchen fuming. The image was still there in my eyes and the air reeked of blood.
"You learn quickly, almost as if you've trained before. You're body's healed nicely too." Andrea nodded approvingly. "Again!" I ran the drills for what seemed like the hundredth time, but I dared not complain. Evelyn's ears were everywhere, and the moment I complain, it was over. It took weeks to convince her to let me stay and train to be a hunter. I wanted her to train me, but she refused. Thomas told me the only ones she had trained herself were him and Andrea, who then trained Damien, Elizabeth, and Bishop. I still found it baffling that Evelyn was willing to take in Damien but it took some convincing to let me in. Sure he's a mechanical genius, but he's just a kid!
Several months had gone by and I never did regain my memories. Nothing came to me. Not how I was separated from him, nor who my parents were, the only thing I could remember was some of the time we'd spent together. Tony was there for all my games, my performances, he gave me tips on how to talk to girls but I always screwed it up. He protected me. And I wasn't there to help him. Ever. I felt it deep down. This guilt. Whenever anything happened to me, it was Tony's fault. Whenever he tried to do something for us, he was the one who was punished, even if it was my idea. I knew he had sheltered me, that's the only way I had a decently normal life. His path was chosen for him, he didn't want the same for me.
~~~~~~~~~
Sorry I haven't updated in so long! I've failed you yet again! But here's a bit of Luke's story for ya. Hope you enjoyed it!