Chapter 2

A Chapter by RedMistress

As soon as the door was closed behind the 2 men, a small figure crawled from a group of dumpsters. It advanced quickly toward a building almost a block away, sticking to the shadows as much as possible. It made its entrance through a broken window and looked around the room for a second before heading to one of the darkest corners. As it did a stray ray of moonlight revealed it to be a black cat with big gold eyes.

- What happened? Asked a raspy female voice from the shadows.

The animal stared for a brief moment, as if contemplating the question then suddenly burst into flames. The fire started out small, the size of the cat, gradually growing in height and width, fading away only to reveal a young girl. Her eyes still glowing gold, she took a step closer to the corner with a concerned expression written all over her face.

- It’s dead. There is a hunter here and someone else that helped him kill it. But right now I’m more concerned in how you’re holding up B, she told the other woman.

- I’m not sure, Riza. I could lie to you and tell you that I’m fine, but truth is I’m starting to feel a little bit cold and dizzy.

- Let me see.

Carefully Riza removed the layers of armor and clothing of the other woman and stared at the bleeding wound.

- How does it look?
- Nasty, if you really want to know and we don’t have any supplies to patch you up. That thing destroyed everything.

There was a moment of silence in which they both considered their options. Finally Riza decided that her friend’s life was more valuable than whatever mission they had.

- I’m going to go ask them for help, she stated already starting to stand.

The other woman caught her by the arm and stopped her before she could move out of reach. The effort she made in speaking was becoming apparent.

- No! We don’t know where their allegiances lie. They could just as well have orders to kill us, she said weakly.

- Then you will die either way, so what are you complaining about? Riza asked sarcastically.

- I’d rather die in peace than tortured to death.

Riza rolled her eyes and quickly walked away. She was staring at the door, that the two men had gone through, in under a minute and rang the doorbell without hesitation. It only occurred to her that she didn’t know what to say only when she heard footsteps approaching from inside. The door was yanked open and one of the men stared down at her.

-          I’m not interested, he said after giving her the once-over.
-          In what? She asked confused.
-          In whatever it is that you’re offering.
-          I’m not offering anything. I just came here to ask for your help.
-          Look I’ve told you people countless times, just because I helped out a few of your friends doesn’t mean I run a welfare institute, the man said, obviously exasperated then slammed the door in her face.

Riza stared at it stunned and unable to utter a word. When she finally recovered, she muttered a few choice words under her breath and rang the doorbell again and again until the door opened.

- Now look here little girl… the man started.

Riza’s eyes took on a different color this time playing with a bright red that usually showed when she was angry. She slammed her hand on the door that was barely ajar and forced it completely open.

- No, you look! My friend was injured while trying to take down that monster thing that you killed earlier and she’s bleeding to death. Since you are the only form of civilization around this area, I need you to help me. Now I know that it is most likely the last thing that you want to do, but let me tell you, if she dies you will quickly follow by my hand, clear?

He looked at her, probably weighing the truth in her words, but when he opened his mouth to answer he was quickly cut off.

- Who dares yell at you at this hour Damian? The second man came into her view.

Riza nearly swallowed her tongue. Up close he looked even better. As she watched the men fighting before, from her hiding spot behind the dumpsters, she couldn’t distinguish so much of their features, but even so this one had intrigued her. He was well build, obviously making sure he packed enough muscle to take down an army of werewolves barehanded, he was tall, standing a few inches over 6 ft. and his face held a strange attractiveness, with a strong jaw, high cheekbones and the most amazing blue eyes. She wouldn’t normally go for someone so bulky, but for some odd reason, known only by Mother Nature, she had the strongest urge to climb the man and never come back down. An image of her friend flashed in her mind and Riza shook her head trying to come back down to earth. Apparently while she had been rendered speechless by the new arrival, he was just as tongue-tied at the moment.

- So? She asked, forcing her gaze to go back to the man that had answered the door.

He was frowning, but not at her. He had obviously noticed the reaction of his friend and was giving him suspicious looks. He finally turned his head back around and looked down at Riza once more.

-          Fine, where is this friend of yours?
-          Not far from here. Could you help me bring her here? That place is gross and I doubt she can walk anymore; she had addressed the question mostly to the new arrival that didn’t disappoint in stepping up to lend a hand.
-          Sure, just point the way.
-          I’ll stay here and bring out the first aid kit. When you get back, bring her into the kitchen, we’ll need a flat surface to examine her.

With those words, she and Mr. Good-Looking left.

- Name’s Adrian, he said suddenly half way there.
- Rizarra, but you can call me Riza she smiled at him.

They walked in silence after that, and Riza was thankful for it. She wasn’t really in a talkative mood right now she just wanted her friend to get better. Only then could she take the opportunity to explore the attraction that she had toward the man that was walking beside her.

When they entered the building Riza noticed, gratefully, that her friend hadn’t moved but she looked even paler then when she’d left. She quickly walked over

-          Hey, I brought help, she said softly gesturing towards Adrian.
-          Hi. I’m Adrian and I will be your taxi for the evening, the man smiled at the wounded woman.
-          This is Bianca, Riza told him.
-          I can speak for myself, thank you! The woman said, starting to gather herself up to stand.
-          No, no, I’ll carry you. You look awful; Adrian quickly approached her and picked her up carefully.
-          Well isn’t he the charmer, Bianca mumbled.
-          I’m sure you look lovely in your better days, he replied giving her another bright smile.

Riza chuckled and started walking back the way they had come. Once again no one spoke, and from time to time Riza peeked in at Bianca to see how she was holding up. The other woman held her head on Adrian’s shoulder and had her eyes closed, but she was breathing slowly, so she was still alive in spite of her paleness indicating the opposite.

When they reached the house, Riza opened the door for Adrian and followed him in to what she believed was the kitchen. Indeed, Damian was waiting for them, surgical gloves covering his hands and an open first aid kit at the edge of the table. When he saw them he gestured for Adrian to place Bianca in front of him on the table.

The bruises covering the woman’s face, arms and occasionally an uncovered spot on the leg, where her pants had been torn, were nothing to the gaping hole in her side that Damian uncovered, just as Riza had done before. If the man was surprised at anything, he didn’t show it and kept it to himself, but he was frowning as he was working and Riza hoped that it was due to concentration. She would hate for Bianca to be right, and the man plotting on how to kill them in the most horrible ways he could think of.

- Relax, Adrian whispered near her. He knows what he’s doing. Even though he doesn’t show it, he likes helping people. She’s in good hands and she’s going to be fine, he assured.

It’s not like she had much of a choice, but as she watched Damian work on her friend with an efficiency that spoke volumes, Riza relaxed, just one tiny bit. He carefully removed the vest that covered Bianca’s upper body then the t-shirt she was wearing underneath. He took a clean cloth, dipped it into warm water and carefully rinsed around the wound several times to make sure it was clean.

Riza watched him work carefully, with precise movements until a large hand was placed on her shoulder waking her from what felt like a trance.

-          How are you feeling? He asked her gently leaning over, giving her a concerned look.
-          I’m good she smiled weakly at him.
-          No injuries at all? He raised an eyebrow as with the answer was already implied.

- Just scrapes and bruises, nothing serious, she looked back at Bianca, nothing like her.
- Come on, he tugged her shoulder gently. Let me have a look. There is nothing you can do for her by standing here and it’s going to take a while.

The first instinct was to resist him, but now that the adrenaline was subsiding, she felt the slight tremors, her knees started feeling like goo and the wounds that seemed so minor before, started aching like crazy and seemed to have multiplied exponentially. Adrian guided her to the living room and sat her down on the couch. It was only then that Riza realized how torn and tattered her clothes were. Her magic only allowed her a small amount of clothing to follow into her cat form so she always went with an all-black outfit. Now her sleeves and pants were full of cuts, making a strong contrast to her golden skin and revealing all sorts of bruises and even open wounds. Riza stared at them for a long moment, feeling the pain they caused but all from a weird distance as her vision gradually got blurry.

- Pass out, she mumbled before everything went dark.

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© 2015 RedMistress

Author's Note

NOT edited and I know I suck at punctuation (English is not my first language - it's my third to be exact) so try to disregard it.

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Reviews

MelissaAndres

I really like your description of the black cat and how it catches fire, only to turn into a little girl. You did very well with that part. I almost felt as if I was there watching.