Jacey's hand squeezed down hard on Jasmine's. Jasmine had to bite back her cry, instead allowing her mother to drag her down the hall. Their footsteps slapped heavily on the carpeted floor, their heavy breathing mingling with the loud confusion surrounding Jasmine's head. She kept looking back, to see what exactly her mother was running from but all she saw was an empty hallway.
"Mommy, what's going on?!" she exclaimed. Jacey's face was terrifying. She looked afraid, and she never ceased her muttering. That was what scared Jasmine more than anything else. It didn't sound soft, like her usual prayers were. This was deep, guttural and choppy. She kept breaking off and starting over again, looking more and more frustrated. Jasmine wasn't sure if she was really praying anymore.
"Mommy!" Jasmine tried pulling her hand from Jacey's but her mother wasn't having it. Jacey's grip tightened and she tugged on her hand, pulling her closer to her.
"Don't distract me!" Jacey shouted. "Stop the talking and hurry up!"
"Why are we running?!" If there was one thing Jasmine hated, it was being out of the loop. She completely ignored her mother's command and wrenched her hand from hers with one good pull. She stopped running, panting hard. Jacey whirled on her, eyes wide and breathing heavily, but when she made another grab for her, Jasmine stepped out of the way.
"What's wrong with you?" Jasmine demanded. "Why are we running?"
"Look, Jasmine." Jacey reached for her, holding her by the shoulders. The look in her eyes made Jasmine's heart race. It was filled with such urgency. "I'll explain everything on the way. You have to trust me right now, okay? We aren't safe here."
"On the way where? Why aren't we safe?"
"Jasmine, please! The spell won't last long so we have to get as far as we can!"
Jasmine opened her mouth, to ask what the hell she was talking about, but a loud crash from behind stifled her words. Jasmine jumped at the sound, looking behind her. Standing at the very end of the hallway was Rich and his two friends. They had busted her door down and now, they stood with their noses in the air, head darting all over the place. Rich slowly lowered to his hands and feet and sniffed the ground. They were searching for something, Jasmine could tell.
Suddenly, Rich's head snapped up. His golden eyes burned bright from the distance, latched on to her. Simultaneously, so did Wendy's and Mason's. Their eyes glowered brightly at her.
Then they began running.
Jasmine was no fool. She knew they were coming for her. Rich began running on all fours, growling and snarling. Wendy and Mason were grinning like mad fools, running on the walls, coming back down, baring their teeth.
She was pulled out of her frightened frozen state by Jacey. Her mother was muttering again, and this time, Jasmine had a sneaking suspicion is one of those spells she mentioned.
"Hurry!" Jacey shouted. Jasmine wasn't about to argue. She set off running too. Fear gathered in her heart, pumping her legs until they grew numb. Still, she didn't look back once, not even when she heard them collide in something behind her. She just kept on going.
Jacey pulled her down another hallway, then into the closest door she could find. It was a maintenance room, filled with mops, brooms and utility supplies. She locked the door behind her, then grabbed a chair and shoved it beneath the handle.
"Mommy, what's going on?"
"I'll explain everything later, Jasmine." Jacey grabbed Jasmine's face, looking deep into her eyes. "Calm down."
Better said than done. Jasmine was hyperventilating. Tears ran down her face without restraint and her mother wiped them away. She tried taking deep breaths, but it was hard seeing that there were three supernaturals coming after her and her mother was being too cryptic for her liking. First she was attacked by three lycans, now this. What was happening here?
"Jasmine, calm. Down." Jacey gripped her shoulders, shook her lightly. "I know this is a lot to process right now, but you have to keep it together. It's going to get a lot worse before it gets better."
That didn't make her feel any calmer at all.
"I managed to slow them down a bit but my powers are not what they used to be so I don't know how long that will last. I can't slow down all the supernaturals out there so here's what I want you to do. I have to take care of those three. You," she shoved her car keys into Jasmine's hand, "take my keys and get to my car as fast as you can. It's parked right outside your building."
"Wait, what? What about you?"
"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. You're the one they're after. Once you get in the car, go to my most recent GPS location. Get there as fast as you can. Don't slow down for anything, don't stop for anything. Get there, speak to the woman in the house. Okay? You should be safe."
"Mommy, I can't leave you."
"You don't have a choice." Jacey leaned up and kissed her on the forehead. "Stop freaking out, okay? Once I open this door, start running and don't look back. I'll meet you there."
Not able to say anything else with tears burning her throat, Jasmine nodded. She clutched the keys to her chest like it was her life line. Jacey nodded and stepped away. In that moment, Jasmine saw another woman in her. She was a protector. She looked like a woman about to give her life to save someone else's. Jasmine didn't like the comparison she was seeing but it was too late. Jacey had pulled the chair from beneath the door.
Jasmine took a deep breath and watched as her mother gripped the handle. Jacey counted to three then, suddenly, she swung the door open. Jasmine shot it outside.
Jacey was right on her heels but she didn't last long. Right outside, Rich, Wendy and Mason crawled around, sniffing everything they could see. Once the door opened, their heads snapped up and their eyes latched onto Jasmine. She managed to catch a glimpse of Rich's face when he spotted her but she was gone before she could see anything else.
She kept on running. No one was running behind her. Soon, all she heard were her footsteps and her heavy breathing. Even when she looked behind her, there was nothing.
Out of nowhere, she heard a woman's scream. Jasmine halted in her tracks, whirled on her heels. That ... That couldn't be her mother, could it? Was she hurt? A chill ran through her. The keys dug into her hand the harder she squeezed, listening to the silence that resulted. Should she keep running? What if something happened to her mother?
The scream sounded again, but this time it came with words. Jasmine didn't know what language that was, but what she did deduce was that her mother was fine. She had to keep running.
Jasmine turned to keep going. She didn't get very far when she ran into someone. She froze. The person was breathing on her neck but she refused to lift her head. She could see his shoes, his pyjama pants and the bottom of his bare chest. She started shaking.
A hand clamped around her throat. Her feet no longer touched the ground. Jasmine's hands clawed at the one enclosed around her throat, but it was too strong. It belonged to a lycan man with evil dark gold eyes and very long hair. He squeezed even harder and Jasmine could have sworn she saw stars.
Trying anything, struggling to breathe, Jasmine stabbed the keys into his hand. It did nothing but anger the lycan man even more and he flung her to the side. His claws were out and it ripped against her skin.
Her head rapped nastily agaisnt the wall but, despite the black dots in her vision, she didn't plan on staying to down for long. Jasmine shot to her feet, ignoring the trail of blood running down her neck and bolted. The lycan man grabbed her by the hair and pulled her back. Jasmine swung her hand behind her, stabbing him with the key again. What did nothing but irritate him before dug a deep burning gash into his face that had him crying out in pain.
She froze. The edges of the gash burned brightly and the man was hollering. It was bringing more and more people out of their rooms. More and more supernaturals. Jasmine didn't see any of them. She stared down at the screaming man, watched the gash grow larger.
His eyes snapped up to her and he made a lunge for her. Jasmine ducked out of the way. The man's gash continued to spread but he kept coming after her. It brought her back into reality and she shot it the rest of the way out the building.
By the time she made it to her mother's car, she was sobbing so hard, she could hardly put the key into the ignition. A body landed on the hood of the car, a vampire, and Jasmine screamed. She reversed as fast as she could and almost ran over the vampire's body trying to get out of the way. She rammed her foot onto the gas pedal.
Her head was swimming. Not only with pain, but with questions upon questions. Why were they attacking? Where was she going? How did she do that with the key? It was too much for her to handle.
Jasmine took a deep breath. The vampire was far behind now. She reached up and fixed her mirror, trying to calm herself down. As soon as she did, she saw five vampires and a lycan chasing her car. Whatever fear that had melted away was back with a vengeance.
"Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods." Jasmine barely heard the GPS telling her to turn left. She whipped the car to the side, ignoring the honks of disgruntled drivers. The smell of burning tyres filled the car, but it was nothing compared to the smell of sweat and fear. She kept looking behind her, but the vampires weren't stopping. They were snapping at the air, their collective screeches blaring from the distance. More had joined them and they were steadily gaining speed.
It wasn't just fear fueling her now. She made it this far, halfway to the destination; she wasn't about to get caught now. She had to do it for her own safety and for her mother. Jasmine wiped the drying tears from her face. She took another turn, manoeuvring the car so skillfully, she escaped three potential collisions. The next turn she took took her into a bad neighbourhood. Hoodlum lycans and vampires joined the pack that was already on her tail.
She kept going, until the GPS told her she had arrived. The car came to a sreeching halt that almost sent her through the windshield. Jasmine jumped out the car, not stopping to look back at the crowd that just turned the corner. She ran past the rickety gate, past the messy, unkempt yard and right up to the door.
"Hello?!" she exclaimed, banging on the door. "Is anyone there?! Help me please!"
The crowd was gaining on her now. Jasmine frantically slammed her hand against the door. "Help me! Please! Someone!"
"Stop all that banging at my door! Who's that?" The screen door opened, revealing a small woman in a headdress and a dress. The woman peered up at Jasmine with annoyance in her eyes. "What do you want?"
"I'm being chased!" Jasmine panted. "My mother! She said I would be safe here."
The woman's eyes narrowed. Calmly, she stepped outside the house and looked at the crowd mere seconds from jumping her fence. "Quite a ruckus you've caused, haven't you? Fine then. Come inside."
Nothing would make Jasmine happier, although what protection this little house would be against so many supernaturals was beyond her. Still she slipped into the tiny living room. The woman closed the door and turned a single lock. Jasmine gaped at her. "That's not going to keep the away," she gasped.
"Oh, I know," said the woman with a casual wave of her hand. "Now sit down and stop the crying. You want some tea?"
The woman shuffled past her and into the adjoining kitchen. The half wall allowed Jasmine to see her approach a cupboard. "They're going to bust in here. That won't hold them back. I thought you could protect me."
"That's what I'm doing, dearie. Now stop doubting me and sit down before I send you back out there." The woman took out a jar and placed it on the table. She went to fill the kettle and settled it on the waiting fire. Turning back to Jasmine, she said, "Didn't I tell you to sit down?"
Jasmine sank into the plastic covered couch without a word.
"Do you want sugar in your tea? Nevermind, you don't need it. You're too worked up as it is. Anyway, I suppose you'e wondering who I am. My name's Ophelia. You'll call me Madame Ophelia. I don't tolerate disrespect to elders." Ophelia picked up the screaming kettle and poured the steaming water into a mug. Jasmine wondered how it boiled so fast.
Ophelia shook some leaves into the mug and mixed them around. Then she returned to Jasmine with the hot mug. "Here you go, dearie. Drink it all up. Every single bit of it. You need it. It'll calm you down some."
Jasmine didn't hesitate to take the cup from her. Ophelia didn't look like someone you could say no to. She was little, but her eyes were so wise, she seemed almost otherworldly. Her headdress didn't cover the bun at the nape of her neck. Around her wrists were so many bangles, she couldn't move without causing a ruckus. Rings covered her fingers.
"Don't know how to say thank you?" Ophelia snapped. "I know your mother raised you better than that."
"T-thank you, Madame Ophelia."
"Good child. Now, drink up. Let's wait unitl your mother gets here."
Jasmine managed to take three sips before she asked her first question. "Why aren't they bursting in here?"
Ophelia didn't look at her. She picked up a folded newspaper and a pencil. She entered the answer to one of the questions on her crossword puzzles before she said, "You sure you want to hear it?"
"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't."
"Mind your manners, dearie. I don't have to keep you here."
"Sorry," Jasmine mumbled.
Ophelia grunted. "There's a spell around this property. No supernatural can get past it."
"Spell? Like ... like witchcraft?"
"Exactly like that, dearie. I'm a witch."
"That can't be possible."
"It is indeed possible, dearie. I'm a witch. Your mother is a witch. And you, Jasmine, is more than just as witch."