BLOOD IN the SNOW - BOOK ONE

a classic werewolf story

BLOOD

IN THE

SNOW

SCOTT MATTHEW

BOOK 1 �" Eternities Soldiers

CHAPTER 1

CHANCE ENCOUNTER

In the darkness, she ran. Faster and harder than she ever had. The catacombs were a twisted mass of slimy brick and stale water which splashed all around her. They were close. She could hear the echos of their cries for her. She could feel their claws scraping slashing as they went. Instinct alone had kept her alive thus far, but she was far from free. They would kill her this time. She remembered being down here as a child but those memories were long faded now. As lost now as she was then. Tangled in vines and desperate but there was no time for those thoughts now. Now she relied purely on instinct. One wrong turn would be the end of her. She fought every decision. It had to be the right one. Howling echoed behind her and she stopped dead just for a moment. Only a short distance.

“God damn it!”

Again she was off into the void. Her sent kept them going, pushing after her, There was nothing she could do about it and there were many of them. “Jesus how many would he send!”

His narrow haunting voice permeated her thoughts. “Yes my thine. Come to me!”

She ran. Finally the shadows opened up and she fell into a long strait path. Her face smacked the mud under shallow water. She was up in an instant and could see dim, pale light. Moon light. If she just could touch it.

“Howwwwwwl!”

They were right behind her. She bolted down the corridor. Water snapping around her. They could hear her now for sure. This was her last chance. She ran with all she had. The corridor was blocked by a gate. She slammed in to it hard and cursed as she stretched out to grasp even one white beam but not. “Raaaaaaaaa!” She kicked at the lock again and again. Two more and it broke free. She pushed at the gate. It was heavy and rusted and there was a lot of snow built up in the ravine on the other side. She managed to push it open just enough to slide out and immediately push it back.

Freedom! At last Raven was free. She crawled out of the ravine and found herself surrounded in dense wood and brush. There were several inches of snow on the ground and it was sprinkling now. She was naked and cold. A cold she'd never felt. It was strange. All of this was strange. The snow, the way she sank into it like it was not there.

How the flakes disappeared on her pale skin.

The looked up into the gray sky. Without the moon light she was too weak to fight even one wolf and he would send lord knows how

many. She had to keep moving. Stay in the brush.

Running was keeping her warm and alert. She hadn't heard their calls in a while but that meant nothing. They would search all night. She looked back now and again just to see. There was no way for her to cover her tracks and the snowfall was light. She knew how bad an idea it was to escape but she just could not do what he asked. He probably would have killed her anyways for refusing. There was always evil in those piercing blue and white eyes. Eyes of ancient intelligence but he didn't see this coming.

Then suddenly there was a break in the clouds. The shards hit her in full stride and as she ran she began to meta morph into into a creature from the depths of a long kept nightmare. Her body expanded and was consumed in thick, light gray hair. Her head grew and her mouth extended out with knife sharp razors. Now the animal was lose. Contained for so long but no longer. She stopped suddenly and whipped around, still upright. Her eyes narrowed. She sniffed. Just as she turned back she was hit hard in the back and sent flying through some trees. She landed with a thud, knowing the snow cover would not help her. She waited until it was up on her and she rolled over and slashed the brown beasts neck in one stroke as she turned, jumping to her hind feet just in time to see two more angry wolves charging. She had blood on her hands now. They lived for this and would not stop. Their lust for blood was relentless.

Delores ran at them, down on fours to better match their speed. She came at them low in the snow and struck with a leap, landing atop the left wolf. She curled her arm around its neck. It twisted and writhed. The other wolf came to its aid. It slashed and

at her but only hit her captive, whom was beginning to succumb to continued choking but Delores had found her strength and spun the wolfs head around with a crack. She then threw the limp creature at the other. She let out a thunderous roar. The wolf pushed the corps aside and lunged at her. It's luck was no better.

Now she was alone in the falling snow. Blood on the trees, soaked into the snow around her. She kicked at the body and snarled. Then she stiffened and sniffed the air. More howling in the distance. Now there was blood in the air. They would just keep coming. She sprinted away.

“This is Max Dennings attorney at law. Please go ahead with your question.” He could hardly see the road in front of him but a lead was a lead. He was already close to forty-five min. late getting home. His wife Susan was texting him at regular intervals to make sure everything was alright, however all her nagging check ups were adding to his distraction from trying not to end up in a frozen ditch. He had decided to take a back road out of town and avoid extra traffic. As it was he'd passed maybe two or three cars, so he was still making alright time conditions not withstanding. She was just a little extra nervous, what with the baby and all. Oh man, more distractions. Too much to do, not enough Max.

He was really good at giving expensive advice and dragging out explanations that went in circles. But he always seemed to get a call just when he was trying to respond to Susan and that's when it happened. It came out of nowhere as he rounded a bend and came onto a wider area of road. A flash of something in the corner of his right eye. It came out fast, just too fast for him to stop or swerve or anything.

Slowly, Max opened his eyes. Even his eyelids hurt. He opened them fully and fould his his forehead rested against the wheel. He was looking at the deflated white airbag hanging between his knees and its contrast with the blood on it, dripping from somewhere on his face. With great effort he leaned back. The windshield was heavily cracked but still intact. He could see just a vague shape on the ground. One headlight was still on and the car was running, although the engine sputtered and his seat vibrated slightly. He could see a bit of smoke coming from the hood. Had he must have at lest hit the brakes but it was a hard hit. His foot was on the break. He hadn't been out more than a twenty seconds. He steeled himself and gripped the shifter and put it in park. Then another deep breath to turn the key. It was a simple yet argous task.

Even the slightest movement brought discomfort.

Everything was a struggle. First the swat belt clip refused to unhook, then the unlock button for the door wold not respond right away. Nothing wanted to work in this Michigan cold. He got the door pealed open just a crack. The cold aim immediately rushed in and under his long black over coat.

He was still wearing his expensive, shinny attorney shoes and was not at all pleased at the prospect of walking through ice and snow, but he needed to see what he hit and maybe get it out of the road if he could. If not, hopefully his bmw was not too badly damaged and would get him back into town.

No sense in calling Susan, it would take her forever to get dressed and the last thing he wanted was for her to drive out in this mess looking for her. No. The situation was under control. He just has to get out there and see what happened. He pulled gloves out of his pockets. No hat but he wasn't planning on being out in it very long. It was a deer or something. Maybe a bear. He could not remember.

He used the door for support as he stood. The wind whipped at his thick black hair. The snowfall was increasingly persistent. From the car, he couldn't see it much better than through the smashed window. It definitely did not look like a bear. He saw smoother skin, more like deer. He stepped slowly around the door. The left light was on. It flickered slightly now and again. He tried to stay out of the beam so as to get a good look without getting too close. Not that he really thought there was a chance it was still alive. He hadn't seen it move at all or heard a sound. Curiosity got the better of him and he get just about on top of the shape. He froze. Aghast. Non blinking. It was a person. A human lying naked in the road. “Jesus christ! No no no!” Max cupped his hands over his mouth, muffling curses. He looked around quickly, starting to panic. He started to take off his jacket but it was a bit too cold and too expensive. He glared back at the car. He knew there was a blanket covering the spare in the trunk.

It took him a moment to fetch the keys, then he was at the trunk. The blanket was old and smelled but it was better than nothing. He went back to the body. Still motionless. He crouched down. He could see it was a woman. Her hair was dark red and she was very pale. “Oh god no!” He shook the blanket out and leaned over her. The dark fabric ripped open before him and she swung at him with a hand not quite human. She dug into his chest and lifted him

up into the air and back from wence he came. His back impacted on the hood of the car with a violent clang instantly knocking the wind out of him. He slid down the side of the car and folded to the ground like a limp sack.

• Inner catacombs �" Lords Chamber

Thousands of years ago a savage white beast of unknown origin crept from the shadows and bit a man who was to become a king and in becoming so, not only united two nations, but gave protected rise to the most powerful and deadly blood line the world would ever see and a power it would never be ready for or fully understand. The young prince at first struggled to control his desires but the lust for warm blood and the squeezing of young flesh was all to much and he killed and killed again. He lusted and killed. Drinking beyond his fill the unquenchable thirst for blood. The taste seemed never to leave him. These thoughts, these animal feelings would peak during the time of the full moon. These were the times lost to him, when he would have no memory. Later he would lock himself in hidden cages, never able to maintain control. The need for blood was impossible to bare. In Europe there were many w****s and it was easy for him to keep himself under control most of the time.

King Vasser ruled in southern England for seventy-five years, Unchallenged. Then the winds changed and his army of mortals was defeated but Vasser himself escaped. For hundreds of years he lurked in the shadows. In his travels across Europe he met others like himself. Night prowlers with deep violet eyes and a taste for human blood. He could smell one a mile. They all had a story but most remember being attacked by something large and white. Something that came from nowhere like a great angry ghost. Vasser became obsessed with finding the creature. Possibly the one that dammed him into this state. Human, mixed with something else. Something evil and uncontrollable. Some of the people he found knew of his rule and shared his distaste for new “modern English ways”. Vasser watched the people grow weak and complacent. Increasingly more dependent on the petty hand outs of above. It was sickening. He loved sucking the English dry.

Over the hundreds of years Vasser again became king. This time he commanded a legion of deadly shadow warriors. They carved their path through history and it was believed that King Vasser could rule both sides. The dark and again the light. At that time, ones who had been bitten but chose not to ally with Vasser took to another with his own aspersions of rule. His name was Beloise II. He was also very strong and it was said he had learned to control his rage in the time of the full moon, something Vasser still struggled with at that time. As time went on Beloises' calls for blood revolution echoed louder in the dark tunnels of lower England. “I think it is time we dine on richer flesh!” And his crowds, drunk in spirits and high on human soles cheered. Vasser listened to them. He felt their fire. That same fire was coursing through his veins. He knew what Beloise wanted. Full out attack on the English fleet. Surprise them at night. They would never have a chance in his mind but Beloise was still a child, therefore he could not foresee any negative consequence to his brazen action but there were. He and all who followed him would be hunted for the rest of eternity. One price of changing history. Some who have been bitten believe they are immortal. Others believe they still have a soul. More power but more uncertainty.

In the late 1800s Beloise and his son Beloise III led their army into the heart of English defenses. They drank the blood of many Englishmen those nights. They went from base to base sparing nothing, no person

nor animal but a few lucky souls escaped the carnage and made their reports. At first they were not believed but the evidence at forts and camps was sufficient to back up the mens claims. They were not branded as insane or charged with desertion for their claims of infiltration by large, aggressive wolf like creatures.

As Lord Vasser feared, the English quickly replenished its ranks and increased patrols. It was Beloise' aggression which drove him over the edge. One night as the full moon drifted out from amungst the clouds he stumbled out of the woods and to the guarded entrance to an English fort. He began to lose control before their eyes. The guards readied their swords and yelled up at the men in the towers but it was too late. The beast was already upon them and the men in the towers were fast from their posts.

Beloise made it through the gate but was put down by arrows dipped in poison and set aflame. He died in the courtyard surrounded by English swords. They saw the beast and they saw the man. It was the first recorded witnessing of a metamorphosis. The first werewolf. “If they only knew.” Beloise wanted war for the sake of blood but there was more than enough to spill and now they were forever the hunted. Forced deeper into the shadows and depths. The blood of animals is not at all the same as that of a human. The difference is that between the sun and moon. Vasser could not give the house of Beloise want it wanted.

There came the time King Vasser feared most. The angry and blood crazed had been galvanized by the sacrifice of their leader and looked to Beloise III to carry the cry and he did it most vicious fashion. They raided villages and farms. Killing everything breathing. Vasser cold stand it no longer and he made arrangements to leave Europe and resettle in America. Far from the Beloise clans murderous rampage. They were such fools. They would bring the full wrath of England upon them. They would be hunted like wild game. Killed and/or experimented on. It was the latter mostly which compelled Vasser to leave. He knew they wold be after the secret. Surely once more learned of the facts. Any circus would pay top dollar for a man who can become a beast. He felt sorry for his brothers and sisters but he was more sorry for the humans. They were being baited and even more would die. So Vasser left with no plans to return. He traveled by charter boat with three-hundred. More than enough to start anew. For a long time they did just that. Created a circus act and it worked as well as he'd hoped but then as his numbers grew it became not enough and the need for blood began to increase umungst them. Vasser felt it too. The ravenous urge to spill blood. Before long he found it impossible to control his own people. Then kidnappings began. He forced himself to look the other way. It was lose lose. How many would turn against him really? Half. Maybe half could take him down. Maybe. They would wait for the next moon. Take him into an open area where many humans would be and there the dissidence would begin. They would let him change for all to see then they would all metamorph and everything would be drenched in red. That was what Vasser saw in his nightmares. A day when humans discover they are not really at the top of anything. The best of them can be smelt miles away. No one sneaks up on a ghost.

That was what Vasser felt he was in danger of becoming. An echo of what potential there was for his species. As strange and unpredictable as warewolves were, there is an inescapable power derived from the drinking of human blood but a man can lose himself to it and then he is no longer a man at all he is a beast and as a beast he must be hunted down. When he closed his eyes he could hear the howls of the chase party now deep in the ancient woods of Membock. Many of the trees they ran through and humans hunted game in were planted by himself and his people. He knew these lands better then the men who walked them today. He knew it's secrets. What the shadows can hide when they want.

Remaining hidden is the reason the clan had survived this long. Now one was threatening

to destroy decades of neutrality with humans. She was foolish beyond her years. It was all his fault anyways. Believing the way she looked at him was real. Sometimes he believed it was in his heart he knew one day is precious would betray him. Others he killed but her, it was not as easy but she had given him more than enough reason. He saw

the delusion of trust between them fading.

Vasser closed his eyes. Her death would bring him no joy. He promised himself this would be the last time. He held his head in the palm of his left hand and breathed deep echoing breaths. His brow tightened as he tried to find her. He reached out with his mind into that gray world just between this one and the next. He felt for the rapid beating of her heart. Opened his senses for the sweet saltiness of her sweat. It never should have come to this. Now the clan was weak. Divided by rumors of unrest. There were always rumors. No one brave enough. Not yet. But somehow she eluded him. He could sense the men, even the ones she'd killed. “At it already are we Delores? More mess which must be cleaned up. Where are you? You have gone too far this time. The trees whipped past his minds eye. I will find you myself you know. You cannot hide from me forever.”

“My Lord.”

Vasser kept his head rested in its angled position. He opened an eye narrowly and looked down at his chief viceroy, hooded in his long, dark cape. Any news was better than nothing. “Well Nero, what is it? Do they have her?”

The viceroy stood his ground his ground in the center of the ancient stone temple but his knees began to tremble slightly. He took an extra moment before responding and it was too much for the Lord.

Vasser swung his head abruptly forward.

“Well god damn you, do you have her!” His scream reverberated for a good long while and the wind from his breath found its way to the fringes of the viceroys cowl and through his thin pale face and down his spine.

“Well-well no my Lord. Something has happened. Something-unexpected. Delores was struck-by a car. The men were going to take her but they say the man was contoius and it looked like she had attacked him. They said there was a lot of blood in the snow. Hard to tell.”

Vasser let out a frustrating groan and sank back into his rigid stone chair. One thing he had agreed with Beloise on, about the only thing, was the kings of England were just a little too comfortable. That comforting decadence of royalty was a weakness he too smelt. “Did the men see her attack him? He could just have been injured from the collision.”

“Anything is possible my Lord. I think we should be ready to deal with any possible outcome.”

“Even war?”

“The men did obey your order. They could have killed him. He may still bleed to death out there. But they said there was a house right there. Another reason they chose

to return. If she was hurt badly enough, might it be better to just let nature take its course?”

Vasser ran his sharp nails through his long, graying hair. This is what she would do. She would endanger the entire clan. “If she has involved a human than he must be killed. Killed before he becomes a problem. But you said your men can not be sure what they saw. He pounded his fists down onto the flat arm rests, There were small indentations in the rock in the area of his clenched hands. Vasser noticed one and picked at it. “I've been here too long but there is more at stake now than ever. Or sweet Delores. You decided to ruin all the perfect things planned for you. What a fool. Stupid really. Did you touch a man? Did you shame us completely. You selfish b***h.”

“What is your wish my Lord?”

“Send your best scout back to where the accident occurred. By now the authorities are being alerted. It's too late to take him but

see to finding Delores. Dead or alive. I prefer, dead.”

The viceroy nodded slightly. “Yes my Lord. I will see too it. We will find her.” The man turned and started to leave but was halted by the Lords calling of his name.

“Nero. Don't come back into this room until you have her in chains. Do you understand.”

The words chilled Neros already hardened soul. This woman would damn us all. He sensed even the Lord was nervous. Nervous about what she might be capable of. She felt betrayed and in a way she was but that was the way it was done. “My Lord.”

“And tell the brutes who saw them to come to me. I want to hear their stories myself. Now be gone.”

The man was gone in a wisp. Vasser tried to focus again but he could connect with her. He was more frustrated than ever. Soon the chambers would know one of the Masters pets had gotten loose and worse interacted with a human. Now he would wait. As he always did.

CHAPTER 2

SHADOWS IN the NIGHT

Something shimmered in the darkness. Max felt as though he were floating. He was cold. So very cold. There was silence, then a voice. A voice in the dark asking him if he was okay. One of the few things he knew in that moment was he was surely not okay. He was unaware of the passage of time. He felt light as a feather and there was light all around him.

Max opened his eyes and sat abruptly

but was stopped by the firm hands of an old-looking man with haunting blue eyes. His shirt was off and he was sweating profusely. There was a strange glow around everything. The room looked foggy. The old man was there and gone. He was very confused and agitated. He tried to fight the man away but quickly succumb to the pains of aftermath. He felt as though life were draining from his body. He yelled at the man. His head felt like it was burning up. He felt weak. Disorientated. He could see the man but his vision was blurred. He heard a voice in his head. It rippled through him in slow motion.

“If I don't stop this bleeding, you'll die before the ambulance finds you. Now just, lye back down. Slowly. There you go son. There. It's alright. You just-wait here.”

Outside, the snow continued to fall. It'd already covered a lot of the blood on the ground. The BMW's soft beams glistened in the ice. Delores still lye where she was. Snow slowly piling around her. Even in her weakened state the connection was strong. She could hear his past thoughts. All of his memories, his dreams pushing to the front of her minds eye. A flood of emotions. More the she'd ever felt. She saw so much but she was barely awake. She knew she needed to get off of the road. Out of the spotlight for sure. It was a hard hit.

After a short time Delores was able to

crawl into the bush. Just as she was clear there came the sirens and lights of night rescue. When the party arrived they found Max seated in the drivers seat, resting comfortably with the seat back.

“Sure is a lot of blood out here for him to be out here all alone and not dead.” One of the emts' commented.

“Sure is.” Said one of the cops. “Look at it all over the car and it looks like something smashed it up pretty good. I don't know. I've seen deer strikes but nothing like this and-and where's the deer? This much blood, I mean-you would think it'd be right here.

There was a sudden rustle in the bushes in front of them, on the other side of the car. The emts had already gotten Max on a stretcher but both cops reacted to the sound. They looked at each other quickly as they went for their guns. They closed their distance. One walked slowly behind the other. He spoke in a whisper. “Maybe we should knock on the door behind us and see if anyone heard or saw anything.”

The other officer whispered back over his left shoulder. He pulled his gun the rest of the way out and pointed it at the trees. “That's great. You do that. I'll stand here and freeze my a*s off until you get back. Someone has to make sure we don't get eaten. They'd never find us.”

“Will you stop.”

“They never find your body Dell. Not even a bone.”

“Issues. You got em'. Believe it.”

Brad walked up the wood steps to the door of the log house. The deck was long and there was a swing at one. He started to knock on the side of the screen but the inner door swung back and and a harry old man covered in thick bear fur stepped to the screen. He gave Brad a mild start. He cleared his throat and straitened. “Excuse me sir, sorry to bother you. It's just the gentlemen seems to have had an accident and I was just-” The man was looking past him. Over his shoulder at the lights and goings on in the road. The falling snow made everything look like a fading dream. “-was just wondering if maybe you saw or heard something.”

The shorter man seemed to ponder his words carefully, then he looked right at Brad. “People should be more careful around here. Bad things happen in the shadow of the night. Now if there's nothing else, I am very busy.”

The door was closed even before Brad could open his mouth. He mouthed the mans words. “Shadow Of the night.” What the hell did that even mean. He went back down and met Del as he was walking back from the tree line.

“Well what did they have to say?”

“Not much. Just some scatter brain old man. Sounds drunk or something.”

“Super. Well let's head over to his house and see if the wife is home. Let's see what's keeping Tom. I want this car off the road. He's probably lost.”

***

Max felt the snow and heard the crunch of brush beneath his feet but he felt nether cold nor pain despite being naked. He was in the woods. The snow fall was light. The moon was full. Shadows dances around as it dipped in and out of fast moving clouds. He touched his forehead. No blood. He looked at his chest and was shocked to see three jagged,diagonal lines. The wound looked bad but even as he looked his skin began to close in upon its self. The cuts turned to smooth scars then vanished all together. “What the hell!”

“Hell is what some wish for and others never escape.”

Max turned quickly. He saw a woman with dark red hair in a long braid across her right breast. She wore a dark colored dress which seemed to have a mind of its own. She stood a dozen feet away between two large trees. Across her middle rested the hilt of a well intentioned blade. There was something-hypnotic about her eyes. Even from the distance he felt some sort of pull. Something he'd never felt before. He went toward her. She'd fled even in the short time it took him to get there. He saw just a glimpse of her as she slipped effortlessly through the trees. He began to run, with no concern for his feet. Soon he was on a leave covered path and he could see her up ahead. “Hey! Hey!” She ignored him. He ran on.

Suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his right shoulder. He whipped around in mid stride and she was right there. She stopped him in his tracks. He saw her clearly now. The pale smoothness of her skin. Her eyes like the sparkling of the sun off water. There was a remarkable beauty about her but in the same moment he saw something else in her something that scared him half crazy. But he had no time to react as she lifted him a foot or two and pushed him backward into the air. Max felt like he flew forever. He hit the ground hard but felt nothing. She was upon him before he could even sit. She straddled him and produced her long blade. She hoisted it up and lowered its point to the exact center of his forehead. Max was petrified and unblinking. “Plu-plu-please. J-just tell me what you want. Is it money I-I can get money its-”

“Shut up human!” She kept the blade right on him and bent forward to face him better. “I made a mistake. Now we will both pay a price. There is no escape. Nothing you can do. You cant stop it. They will come for you too, just like they will for me but I am much stronger than they realize. Some know. But you are weak. You know nothing.

That's why you walk around this place naked. Like a sad dog.”

Max did not take too kindly to that. In a swift stroke he punched the blade away with the side of a fist and kicked her off of him with both feet together. She propelled off the trail and through a couple lesser trees. He stood. He could not see her.

“Your enemy is all around you.”

At once she was behind him. He was in the air and into the woods in a burst of wind. He crashed down atop an large log. She had him by the neck now and threw him through the air once more. Max hit the dirt and slid to a halt. He looked up. She was fast approaching. He jumped up and charged her.

Closer and closer they came.

“There he is. He's coming around now.”

Max opened his eyes slowly. As he blinked his vision cleared and he found himself in a relaxed, seated position. He was covered to the waist with light sheets and had several tubes attached to him various places. His shirt was off and there was a wide bandage wrap around his abdomen and left shoulder. He was stiff, weak and the fine light of the hospital room was already giving him a headache. To either side of him was a woman nurse. Both wore masks and were dressed in light colors. Max gathered his surroundings. He tried to think, remember how he got here but his mind was blank. “What-what the hell is going on.”

The woman to his left nodded at the other and she left the room. “It's alright Mr. …..... Everything is fine. You were in an accident. It's okay if you can't remember. It's to be expected. In a few days your head will clear.” Just then, a male dr. stepped in next to her. He thanked her and she was gone.

“Well now Mr. …...., you've had a busy couple days but you have no concussion, no broken bones and there is no sign of clotting. Your wounds have healed amazingly well, so as soon as you feel up to it I'm sure-”

“My wive. Where is she?”

“She was here. She's been to see you several times. We kept you sedated while potential infection was monitored. The methods of the man who saved your life were crude but effective but it was just a precautionary measure. In a week or two you should be good as new. Is there anything you can remember about that night? Anything at all? The front of your car was damaged and the windshield was smashed up as well but there was no sign of an animal.

Something was there. Deep in the recesses of Max's oatmeal mind. He thought hard. “I was coming back from a meeting. It had gone late but I got the deal done. I always do. I remember the weather was s**t. I couldn't see. I was taking the short cut.”

“That's good. Keep going.”

Max took a long breath. “I remember-something came out of the woods. Fast. I saw it but-” The memory faded. Max ground his knuckles into his forehead. That made his headache worse. “I'm sorry doc. I just cant remember. Can I get a couple aspirin? The hang over is really killing me.”

“Of course.” The Dr. turned to leave but Max stopped him.

“What about the woman!”

The Dr. spun around. “Pardon?”

“The woman. I-I had a flash of her just now. She was lying in the snow. There was blood. I could see light reflecting in it. She was so pale. Oh god! What did I-”

Max looked as though he were on the verge of panic. The Dr. stepped closer. “Mr............ I can assure you no one was with you. Your savior made no mention of anyone. You stopped just about in front of his house, so I'm sure he would have seen anything-or anyone you may have hit and judging by the condition of your car I'd find it hard to believe you hit a person and they were able to walk away. You're lucky to be alive yourself with all the blood you lost. But as I said, your prognosis is full recovery. Give it some time. Your mind will unscramble its self in time. Would you like me to call your wife? She has your cell.”

Max took an uneasy breath. He rested his head in the pillow and looked out the window to his right. “Yes. I need to get out of here.”

“Very well. Get some rest. I'll get your asprins.”

“Thanks Dr.” Max heard the door close. He closed his eyes.

“I'll say one thing, the guys a nut job.”

“What makes you say that?”

“He says he hit a woman out there. Says he saw her blood in the snow.”

“Bull s**t.”

“That's what I said. S**t, she'd have been in pieces as fast as he came around that corner.”

Max's eyes flashed open. In the haze of the sun he could see the dr. talking to the nurse in the medicine room. Almost as though he were standing with them. Then the vision changed and he saw the pale dark haired woman. Frozen. Lying in the snow. Flakes melting in streaks of blood escaping her. He felt as though he knew her although her face was not familiar.

“Mr.............?”

Max turned over quickly. “That was fast doc.”

The man smiled. “Well the best stuff's on top.” He held up a small plastic cup with two pills in it and a bottle of water, then he set them on the swivel table to Max's left. “Your phone is hooked up so you can all out. You know how to work the t.v. We are still waiting on the text results on your blood but it shouldn't be much longer. I'll make a call since you seem to be feeling better.”

“Blood test? What for? I was sober.”

“Well we test anyone who's admitted. I'm sure the delay is nothing out of the ordinary. I'll take care of. Call your wife.” With that the dr. was away.”

“Yeah that bottle was on the third shelf.” Max said aloud, but his comment went unheard. He took the pills with some water and tried to watch some t.v. But his head continued to throb and soon he'd turned if off and eventually fell into snoring slumber.

Catacombs

“My patience is at an end. Nero has dozens of his drones running around chasing their own tails. I can't trust a one of them. I can feel it. They all want me dead so they can drink my blood. I want her dead. Do you understand. Not alive, not begging, dead. The human. Can you get a track on him?”

The hooded, dark robed figure below Vassar gave an exaggerated knod.

Vassar stood from his ornately carved chair. “Show me your face.”

The figure stood strait and folded back the hood. He was an attractive man with dark hair, fair skin and hazel eyes.

“You look human.”

“Looks can be deceiving Lord. You fear this woman may try to hide on the outside. We all know how dangerous that would be and you're right, the viceroy can only do so much. Plus he doesn't have my-looks. I will find her sir and I have decided what I want in exchange.”

“I know what you want son.” Vassar stepped down and came before the much younger man. He rested an ancient hand on his shoulder. “What you do now you do for the good of all of us. It takes a special person to kill his own. You know that.”

“With all respect Lord, this woman means nothing to me. I do not identify with her.”

“Well you see my good man, she means everything to me. That is why she must die. Correct my mistake and your deepest desire shall be my bidding.” He eyed the man narrowly. “You have my word. But I must warn you, Delores is no fool. She will smell you a mile away. She's more powerful than she knows. Know that.”

“She is alone in a world she doesn't understand. Without resources it will only be a matter of time before my team and I find her. I may even return her to you alive, assuming she cooperates. You never know.”

DAY 5

The clock alarm carried on for far too many seconds before Max was able to kill it.

It took some effort to reach back and forth. His body felt stiff and muscles seemed unwilling to untense. He frowned curiously at the table light, which was still on. “That never happens. I must have -” Max turned to see his wife was still in bed and yelled in horror at her mangled and clotted body. “Jesus! Noooo!”

“No!” Max flew up in bed. Darkness was around him and he cried again and gripped the bed tightly. There came the sound of quick walking and then light opening bedroom door. He could see his wife. Seeing her come to him caused his heart to ease its erratic rythem. She was at his side and switched on the table light. He looked at her and gave a sheepish smile.

“Another nightmare?”

“What do you mean another?”

“You've already scaired me half to death once tonight. Don't you remember?”

Max looked down for a moment. He ran a hand through his damp, matted hair. He'd been sweating. “No I-I really don't. I'm sorry. I'm just stressed. The accident. I'll get better.”

She kissed him on the forehead. “I know. It's alright. Looks like it was a bad one huh?”

“The worst. It was so real. Like I was there you know. F**k. My back hurts.”

“Well you've been turning back and forth a lot babe. Try and relax and get some rest.”

He smiled. “Thanks.”

“I love you.”

10:05 a.m.

It felt good just to be out of the hospital and to breath the cool, fresh air of an Oct. morning. Max stood on the covered porch in his blush blue bath robe, sipping steaming black coffee from a wide cup. It was quiet accept for a few birds. A light fog rolled across the dirt road at the end of the drive.

“Dear love. Borrowed the car for a few hours. I'll be back. Thank's for last night. I feel a lot better. Xoxo - Max.

One thing that had returned to him in the night was the route he'd taken on his ill fated drive. He was still trying to sort it out and wanted to see the spot again for himself.

He knew what he'd seen. A woman was there. He was sure as the day about it, even as impossible as it sounded. A naked woman lying in the snow? They said he was found alone. Max was unable to accept that. After a bit of back and forth, he found the house in the background of his vision. An old, rickedy wood structure with a long covered porch. There was a good inch of snow on the ground. He passed slowly. All the windows were covered. The house looked abandoned. There was no vehicle. Ahead he parked off to the side and got out. He was wearing a long black coat with matching leather gloves

and a tight, dark wool cap just covering his ears. His hands still felt cold and he tucked them into his pockets. He stepped into the road. The smooth bottoms of his crimson colored suade shoes shifted uneasily in the dry powder. He stopped at the spot he was most sure about but there was nothing. No sign of anything. He looked around but could see little through the brush and trees. It was pointless to go wandering despite his desire to do so. She was here but what could have happened to her? If she'd been attacked then surely the person who rescued him would have seen her body and there would be blood but the ground was clear as cotton.

He turned his attention to the house. It was one of a few spaced out on the road. Old farm houses with older land no longer suitable for crop growing. He might have passed it a time or two but couldn't remember. It didn't look especially familiar aside from being the place he-crashed. Just then his cell rang. It startled him. He pulled it out. It was the Sherrifs Dept. Figured. He slid the receive bar to accept. “Hello. This is Max ------ speaking.”

“Yes Mr. -------. This is Sheriff Tyler Kates. I was going to give you a call at the hospital but obviously you are feeling better.

That's good to know. I wanted you to know your blood test came back negative for all substances known to man, so you weren't poisoned or anything.”

“Well that's good to know. Is there something I can help you with Sheriff I'm rather in the middle of something if you don't mind.”

“No no I understand. Busy business man like you can't stay out of the action for long. I just had a couple questions if that's alright.”

Max stepped out of the middle of the road. “Sure go ahead.”

“First, I was curious how all the damage to your car occurred. The only blood we found was yours but I find it hard to believe you hit yourself and there weren't any animals lying around that they could see. Judging by these photos I'd say you took something out pretty good.”

Max quickly contemplated his options. He decided it best not to divulge his memory. There was a chance he could find out from the Dr. but lying bought him time. Time to figure out what was going on. The condition of his car was something of a mystery even to him.

“I understand Mr........ I'm sure your memory will return. I was curious also about the lacerations across your chest. My forensics guy wasn't able to match them to the damage to your car. He says the cuts are too smooth to have been caused by metal. I was wondering if you had any idea how yo got those.”

Max was staring at the old house. He half heard the mans question. Something was beginning to stir in his minds eye. Something in the shadows. Day became night and he could see several pairs of deep red and green eyes. They were watching him as he lye on the ground. They are waiting to see if he is alive or dead. They know something. Some deep secret which lurks just out of Max's reach. They want to charge but for some reason do not.

The pale, beautiful woman rises to her knees. She cranes her neck far back and it cracks and pops. She lets out a long breath and raises her shoulders as she looks ahead. She turns sharply. The eyes are gone but she can feel them. Hear their lust for blood. She is alone and exposed, weakened even by some strange device. There is someone on the ground not far from her. He looks like he's seen better days. They will come for him too. They have every advantage. Why do they not attack?”

Max continued to mouth the question even flash subsided and his view was again of the rickety house. A light snow had begun to fall. Why did they not attack?

“Mr...... Are you still with me?”

“Yes-yes Sheriff. Still here. It's just I'm right in the middle of something and I don't think I can be much help right now anyways. I just can't remember.”

“Alright Mr.......Look, if you think of anything or need to talk to someone-”

“Thank you Sheriff. I'll think it over. Bye.” Max slid the phone into his pocket. He'd never expected to find the girl out here. What he really wanted to do was knock on that door. He knew it was the house. What a stroke of dumb luck. Twenty feet in either direction and he freezes to death.

The graying wood creaked beneath his every step. And he was extra cautions as the porch looked as though it may go at any moment, although probably is was sturdier than it looked. Maybe he would get really lucky and fall though. Break a bone, then he would be set for life. Maybe even represent the owner in court. That might be grasping. The glass window was dull and there were webs on the inside. The curtains were thick and drab. There was not a speck of color on the wood. Not on the door either. The screen door was just rust and the screen its self was half connected and folded. The main door had a peep hole and a small knock.

Max hesitated and was not sure why. He felt uneasy about the whole thing really. Believing he'd perhaps killed someone was not an easy thing for him to accept being there was no evidence to support his dream there was the added pressure of keeping it hidden. He didn't like keeping things from his wife. She believed he hit a bear and that gave him a concussion and he must have staggered out to check on it and it attacked but by some miracle survived. Yeah. Miracle his chapped a*s. He reached for the knock but the door cracked open just as he did. Just enough to allow the long barrels of a shot gun to rise up out of the darkness and rest no more than two inches from his right eye. He looked dead long into the ominous shafts.

CHAPTER 3

UNSEEN DANGERS

“Come on now man. You don't really want to do that.”

“No? Are you a cop?” A creaky voice chattered back from the shadow.

“No. I'm an attorney and if you pull that trigger you're going to have nothing but a big f****n mess on your hands.”

Quickly the shaft retreated. The door shut hard, clicked and reopened. It was hard not look past the crooked old man to the uncontroled shabbyness of his livingroom space. There were no lights but several candles scattered about. The man tried to stand strait, trying to get a better look at the stranger. “Oh! It's you. Wouldn't have expected to see you so soon.”

“Yeah why is that?”

The man said nothing but motioned for Max to come forward. He offered for Max to sit on one end of the long brown couch and said he would return with coffee and it just was black. Not the coffee drinker Max gave a sheepish nod, happy more than anything the crazy codger didn't have a trick finger, or haddn't had a stroke just then. But the old man returned very quickly with two slightly steamy, curve handled cups. Max took one and the old man sat in a patchwork looking recliner not far from the edge of the couch. For a while he just sat there. He seemed to be lost in some thought. Every so often his neck would twitch. Then he leaned in toward Max. “She got you good didn't she.” The man reached out as if to touch him but Max sat back.

“What are you talking about? She who?” “He knows about the woman? Well at lest I know I'm not crazy. But where did she go? How could she just have gotten up if I hit her?” “Are you saying you saw someone out there with me that night? Out there in the snow?”

“What I'm saying is you are very lucky to be alive. Maybe I should have left you out there but I didn't.”

“And sir I am forever in your debt for that I'm sure we can work out some sort of comisitory reward or something. What I really need from you now is to tell me what you saw. What do you mean she got me good. Are you trying to say a woman gave me these scratches? I mean come on.”

“Well how else do you account for them. You certainly did not hit yourself with your car. Perhaps it was a stray bear who happened upon you just as you were getting out of your car. But why then are you still alive. My eyes as as old as this place and the minds play tricks now.”

“You saw her. Tell me old man!”

“I did see.”

“She was naked and had dark hair.”

“Yes.”

Max closed his eyes hard and took a moment of deep thought. Something did not add up. His head ache had returned and he'd started to feel tired. Something was wrong in his mind. The woman was out of place. It must be a gap in his memory how she just seems to all of a sudden be there. He spoke in almost a whisper as he opened his eyes. “I know I didn't hit her. I hit-something. I-she wasn't there. You saw here after I blacked out. What happened? What direction did she go?”

The old man rocked slowly. He took a slow pull on the cup. “I was surprised they didn't take you. I've seen them before, walking in groups with their red, devil eyes. They were watching you. Watching the two of you. Probably my porch light, which does work for all your thinking it does not, startled them and that gave her time to run off. I don't have any idea where she run off too. She certainly never came in here. I'm too old now for fratranising but I still can fire a gun up your a*s. Not one of those b******s gets in here. They left and a drug your limp a*s up in here and the rest is rest. You seem to have recovered fully. The docs must be mystified.” The man let out a quirky bellow.

“You know something, they did ask my something about my chest. Something about the pattern not lining up or something. And they were surprised by how well I was doing. Almost feaked out like. I feel alright, so what? Get a head ache now and then but that's been the worst of it. So you don't have any idea where she might have gone? Not a clue. If she was naked, why would she be out here in the middle of a blizzard? It doesn't make any sense. Was she running from someone? From something? What are these devil eyed things you talk about? You said you've seen them before? Where? Can you come out and show me?”

“No, but when you leave, which should be soon, it's not to show disrespect it is just mind wanders quickly and I tire. I need to rest and think, You can go into the brush on the other side of the road. Go in there and you may find a piece of what you seek but let me be absolutely clear with you. Do not come to my door again. If you do I will give it to you both barrels. Got it?”

Max swished the now half full liquid around and gave the man a hard look before setting it down and rising. He thanked the man and insisted he not get up. Max was ready to leave anyway. There was a dank dampness to the place that was already saturating his pores and altering his body chemistry. He could feel it. Quickly he was back on the porch and greeted with a blast of stiff cold air. He hadn't been inside long enough to remove his gloves or hat. “Check the brush he says. Never come back he says. Yes sir! Crazy wack old man.

Max was far from dressed for random trudgings in the snow weeds but that was what he was doing. With some work he was able to cut through the brush and get a short ways from the road. He picked his way through, moving in the direction of the car. Suddenly he stopped.

Looking down he gasped at the sight of several long clawed prints on the ground, deep enough to contrast with the snow. Too big to be a bear or dog and somewhat elongated, alien looking even. There were more as he looked. They stopped right at the brush line and trailed off in several directions into the woods. He looked outward but there was nothing. He looked at the prints again. He pulled out his phone and after biting one of his gloves off was able to snap a couple pics. No one would ever believe him otherwise. This served only to deepen his confusion. He knew the old man knew more than he was telling. What are these creatures?

“When they come for you!”

The voice was shrill and it hit him hard like a strong push to the back. Max nearly fell over. He re balanced and looked frantically around. His head began to throb and he cursed allowed. He began fumbling around in pockets for the bottle of asprin but it was for not as it was in the car. “Damn-it.”

“They will come for you!”

The hollow whisper of a womans voice found him again and he screamed and squeezed the sides of his head with his fists. “What the f**k do you want!”

DAY 4

Max was jostled from some perfect dream by an insistent poking into his back and then came the relentless and

annoying alarm clock. So many times he'd awakened before it went off but to not hear it at all caught him a bit but surprise. “Got it. Got it. Knives up.”

“Sorry. Well at lest you slept through the night. That was a relief. Do you really have to go in today?”

Max turned over and looked at his pretty wife. “It was kind of fun just being here not doing anything but sooner or later daddy has to go and pay some bills so you can continue looking so sexy just laying there

in that little next to nothing you got on. They made love.

Max was lead partner in a group of low risk firms. He had a personal secretary and people who did most of his work for him now and made way less money. His offices were on the third floor and were spacious and modernly finished.

“Mr …...... It's very good to see you back so soon and looking so well. We heard your accident was pretty bad.”

Max gave Gale, is sec a quick, reassuring grin and nod. “Good as new Mrs. G. I wouldn't say is was pretty bad I would say it could have been better. But so could a lot of things if you really think about it. Know what I mean?”

“N-not really Mr.......I-I um -”

“Well what the matter Gail cat got your tongue? Spit it out?”

In a hurried almost scaired motion Gail thrust a pile of 3 by 5 cards at him. “Messages.”

Max looked down a the stack. He could see her smooth pale hand was trembling. Instead of taking the papers he took her wrist in his hand and pressed it firmly but not hurtfully. Even so she flinched but allowed him to remain hold. “Your pulse is raceing. Why are you so nervous Gale?”

“I-I'm not nervous Mr......it's-just a genuine surprise to see you back.” She tried to smile but somehow it was not convincing.”

Max continued to feel her skin. It felt almost familiar, like a scent which long escaped him.

He started to feel light headed and it was Gales pulling from his grip which straitened him from his day dream. “I'm sorry Gale I-bumped my head the other day and I might seem a little off but really I'm okay.” He held out his hand to which she abruptly thrust the papers into. “Great. Now I get to explain this a hundred times. Where is everyone? Where are Peter and Lance?”

“They had early appointments. I'm sure they will be in later to check on you.”

“Right. Good.” He began shufeling manicly through the papers. “How is my office?”

“Your office Mr. …...... It's just the way you left it. No ones been in there.”

“Doors are unlocked?”

“Yes sir.”

“Perfect. See I'm not disturbed and see if you can wrangle me a hot cup of black coffee. I have a taste.” Max went on to the inlay carved wooden double doors just to the right of Gales curved desk. She eyed him curiously as he opened and quickly shut the doors.

“What side of whos bed did u get up on? Coffee? That's a first.”

Alone in his circular, rear windowed office overlooking downtown, Max watched as the mass of humanity awoke and went about its day. The turning of wheels, blaring of horns. He seemed to hear all of it, feel it even and it was not an all too comfortable sensation. He turned suddenly as if to see someone but he was alone. He glared at the door. He wondered

what Gale was doing. Hopefully

in search of his java, which to her credit had no idea he'd be wanting any. Funny. Maybe the old man was on to something.

Then there was a knock and Gale popped in with wide mouthed ceramic cup. It had a thick handle and looked large enough to fill two of him. She raised it up and pointed. Seeing Max too surprised to respond she pulled a tissue from the box on his desk and made a space in the clutter of files and papers and set the cup atop it. She then turned, too quickly really and exited.”

“Thank you, Gale.” Max said aloud to himself. “Why is she acting so weird. I know I was gone for a couple days but come on. Lets not come unglued.”

“F**k I wish he'd wouldn't have come back. Then I wouldn't have to listen to him. He makes it so hot. I had to go in there and smell him.”

It was the voice again. It was in his head but at the same time sounded like it came from somewhere beyond him. Just out of his view. Someone standing behind him he could almost see. He could hear the words but they came and went and there meaning was not clear. He struggled to recall them. “What does it mean!”

“It means she wants to f**k you Maxie. I think you should. It's not like it's not set up. The whole thing can happen right here on that nice bear skin rug you've been wasting on the wall all these years. I think it's time to put it to good use don't you?”

Now Max knew something was wrong. This was a different voice from the others which came to him in feminin whispers. This tone was stronger and unsetteningly clearer. He stepped to the wide desk seeking its support. He looked all around. There was no place for anyone to be. There was no closet, just a small bathroom with no shower. The space was dark but there was no one. “Who-who are you? I can hear you. Don't f**k with me and play dump. Who the hell are you and how are you in my head? I'm about to have a pounding head ache I know it.”

“I am everything you wish you did but never do. I am the devil but there is no need to fear. I am you. You are part of her. I tell you now the Gale women is yours for the taking. You would be fool not to take her. She has not been touched in years and is-more than ready. You can make her so happy she will be your slave. We like that. Don't we?”

He was sick. That was it. Something in the meds they gave him had muddled his mind and it was telling him to do insane things. He began to loosen his collar. Although he'd given up ties years ago, he still liked to keep it tight but just now it was a bit too much.

Max took a deep breath and managed to get the some java in him. The cup really was too big and there was no way he would take it all. Maybe in the whole day. Maybe. Maybe he was just stressed from the crash.

He wasn't really hearing voices. That only happens...

“When you go crazy? So that's what you think is happening. Good. Go on thinkin that. In the mean time, go out there and get that fine piece of unused a*s in here and show the old man how it's done.”

Max stiffened. A sharp chill dropped down along his spine. “You son-of-a-b***h. You-did something to me. Something you didn't tell the docs about. DidMaxn't you. Didn't you!” The room was quiet. “Answer me damn it!”

“I can tell you nothing until you do as I say. Do it and I will give you revelation.”

Max glared up at the door. His muscles tensed and he was perspiring more now in spite removal of his light orange sports jacket of further loosening of his shirt. I-don't think I can. She's not my wife. Damn you.”

“You cannot deny yourself Max. I know you can feel the fire burning within. You felt her precious pulse when you had her in your grip. You know how much she wants you. Do it. Don't make me make you. We wouldn't want it to get-messy.”

“Messy?”

“Do it!”

Of its own vulision Max's left arm reached down to the desk and his hand gripped a gold plated letter opener. Max watched in helpless shock as his

fist gripped the end tightly and his arm turned upward bringing the dull blade toward his neck. Max was able to block his gogue arm with the other but his hand began to jyrate and thrust forward. He had to push hard to keep his arm at bay. He pushed hard but the force was too great and it pushed him back almost to the window before he yelled out. “Alright alright! Stop it! Stop!” At once the pressure on his arm was released and it fell limp sending the opener to the floor before he had the reflex to catch it. His arm felt cold and useless. It took a moment of working out before he felt normal but something was far from normal.

Just then Gales voice came over the desk phone. “Just a reminder Mr............ you have the Culvers in thirty min.”

“That's not enough time. Have her reschedule.”

Max swallowed hard. He wanted to sit and think but he felt as though there were a gun pressed to his head. He felt trapped and wanted to scream. He gathered himself. Closing his eyes briefly, praying quietly this was all a dream, or a nightmare. “Please please please. Thank-you Gale.”

“Do it.”

“Um”. He thought he may be sick. “Can we reschedule that. Please Gale. I don't care what time-just-lets not do that right now.” Max dropped his head and sighed. “What the f**k am I doing?” he whispered.

“Sure Mr.......What about tomorrow same time. You have the lunch thing with the Mayor at noon. Is everything alright? Like more coffee.”

“No no I-yes. Yes I would, actually. You can come in-whenever.” Max slapped his hand on the desk. “Was that good enough?”

“No. Just do it. She wants you Max. I can smell it. So can you if you let yourself. See how tight that shirt is. Her nylons are even tighter. Go ahead. Give her a nice compliment. Tell her how nice she looks. How sexy. Hahahaha!”

“Gale listen.”

“Oh I know Max. Don't worry about it.”

For a while Max sat motionless at his desk. Work was in front of him but his mind was miles away. He felt an enormous power. A pride for what he'd done, while at the the same time the utter sickness of the act lingered in the air. He could smell the sex.

“You see. What'd I tell you. She was all about that. She loved every second of it and you did too. No harm done. You can still go home and make love to your sexy, underutilized wife. She's alright but personally I'm more interested in Gale. She has such a yearning. Such desire. If only.”

Max jumped up. “ I have to get out of here.

He wondered in the park, collar turned up to the chill in the air, hands in his pockets. His head felt like it was about to exploded. The voices were not under his control. He knew one of them was the old man. Somehow, somehow he'd gotten Max to do the unthinkable. It happened so fast.

He pushed Gale from his mind and focused his thoughts on the woman he saw in the snow. Where would she go? Where did she come from? He looked at the busy street beyond the fence. Everyone in such hurry to go this way and that. Max was amazed people were able to do it. Then something caught his eye. A woman wrapped in a thin blue blanket emerged from the ally across the street. He could see her through the traffic as she staggered onto the sidewalk. She was barefoot and looked cold. Her presence was already garnering attention from passers by. She looked confused and seemed to look past the people trying to talk to her. She tried to cross the street but a man stood between her and the road. He put his hand up. The next thing Max saw was the man elevated several feet backward into the air. He landed back first on the hood of a car approaching the intersection in the second lane. The driver slammed on the breakes and swerved right and clipped another car and the two became connected and crashed over the curb taking out two signal poles.

There was a loud explosion, smoke and yelling. Max made it over the fence fast enough but in the haze it was hard to see anything. He made it across the lanes to the corner. He ran past the wrecked cars and down the street to the ally. He looked around frantically but she was gone. He ran quickly down the ally but nothing. He could hear sirens in the distance. He went back to the street and started walking. He walked one way for a while than another.

Eventually he reached a dead end street surrounded by bare trees. Max took a long deep breath. He shook his head. Maybe it was all in his head. Can stress make you hear voices? He turned to go and came face to face with the woman of his dreams.

CHAPTER 4

THE STUFF OF NIGHTMARES

The Catacombs �" Lords Chamber

“My lord your hunters courier has delivered a message. Would you like me yo read it?”

“Go ahead.”

“Yes. It says he believes the woman has entered the population and is attempting to hide among the humans. It will not be long. Patience my lord.” The man rested his hand at his side and slinked back from the bottom of the stone steps.

Vasser leaned forward as if to stand but instead slammed his palms against the arms of his gray, polished throne. It was old now and bits of stone rattled about in the echos. He gritted his teeth. He eyed the hooded man narowly. “Do you know your scouts left her in the open with a human. She touched him. I know it. Now the situation is more complicated.”

“My men stayed back because there were humans.”

Varren stood sharply. The vibration of his cape finding its way down and into the viseroys cowel. “We have always stayed back because of humans! It's the only way we have survived!”

“Yes-my lord.”

“Now the hunt is for two. Even if she didn't draw his blood. Now we must be sure. Send this exact message to the hunter. Kill the woman. If the humans blood was spilled, bring him to me. Otherwise kill him. He can never learn our secret. That is all.

“If it pleases my lord, if Delores has taken the humans blood then she may seek him out. Before the moon. Perhaps with your powers you can sense them together.”

Varren closed his fists tightly. He sat. “You are quite right old friend. Quite right. Deliver the message. Leave me to meditate.”

**

The woman collapsed in into him, the old blanket slipping through his hands as she went. He knelt over her, resting her head in his right hand. Her dark, mysterious eyes flickering under pail lids. He was cold, so she must be freezing. She could not stay out here and there was no chance of taking her home. He was already in trouble with the misses. Rescent distractions had caused him to be distant with....... and he hated lying but strange dreams and voices in his head, not to mention what had occurred in his office were just not topics for dinner conversation. Somehow he would have to get things back to normal. Something told him this woman had answers but she was is no condition now.

He picked her up and walked her into the woods some and set her down behind a large tree. He covered her as best he could. “Listen, I have to go get the car. Just star here. I'll be right back.” Her head remained tilted loosely to one side. He could see her breath. “Damn it.”

Max jumped up. He made his way to the road and ran.

He returned shortly and to his shock she was up and trying to stagger from the woods but she collapsed again in his arms. She was really cold. He got her into the back seat. He covered her as best he could with his coat and was quickly off. He looked all around as he turned right, seeing if anyone was around but there was no one in sight at the moment. “Damn that was close.” He took a long breath. Where was he going? Nowhere really. He just drove. Drove and thought. This must be the woman he hit. She's the one he saw in his mind and he knew it was her voice too with some vague warning. Whatever was going on she had answers and there were very few people Max knew he could trust, other than his wife but god he couldn't call her now. At a light Max fished for his cell. Three missed calls. One from the office and two from home. …....was starting to suspect something was not on the up and up, apart from his restlessness in bed. What was it that was different. Max knew something was wrong. Something was making him able to hear other peoples thoughts and the old man could do more than just talk.

When he was with her, Max felt an incredible power. A surge of life energy like never before. He tried not to think about it but there were so many distracting thoughts running through his mind. He tried just to focus on driving. Finally Max decided to get a hotel room for the woman. It would buy him a couple days and give her a chance to heal. He paid cash and walked her in the back entrance and quickly into the room.

He drew the woman a warm bath and set her slowly in it with his coat still around her. She began to spasam and kick. “Hey hey it's okay it's just water. It's just warm water. You're so damn cold.” Max lowered her more and eventually she calmed. “There you go. Better.” The water steamed all around, enveloping them. It was quiet. “Who in the bloody hell are you lady and why did you run out into my car?”

There was a long silence, then Delores managed to speak. Her voice was harsh and little more than a loud whisper as it cut the fog. “I was running for my life.”

Max was so surprised he almost fell back in his crouched position next to the tub. He swatted at the air. “Your life! What were you doing out in the middle of the woods in the middle of the night?”

“He sent them to find me. At first they may have just brought me back but now I have shamed him and he will want me dead. I don't care. I would rather be dead than return to that awful place.”

“What place? Where are you from and if I might ask what is your name?”

“I am Delores. I come from a place your people know nothing about but there are more of us than you think. I've seen you, in my mind.”

“Yes I know. I saw you too. What was that? Why was it so clear, like I was there?”

Delores released a long sigh and seemed to fall asleep. Max watched her for a while then managed to lift her from the tub and replace the coat with dry towels before securing her tightly in the king. She began to snore lightly. She was completely exhausted. Max looked at his watch. Now it was close to 6. He would have to go home. On the night stand there was a pen an paper. Max wrote her a hasty letter telling her to stay put and he would be back very soon with food and supplies. He left the bathroom light on, slipped the key in his pocket and closed the door behind him.

DAY 3

9:00 a.m.

Max called …...to tell her He would be late. He didn't say how late. She started to reply but he just hung up. Her voice was accompanied by a grinding wringing in his ears which subsided only when he broke the connection. Already he had a splitting headache.

At the store Max filled a basket with things he had no idea if the woman would like and he got her things he knew she could use. Then he was off to the hotel. He went up the stairs and down the hall and opened the door. She was still asleep. Turned on her stomach, her head buried between the pillows but he could see she was alright. He set the bags down and sat on the edge of the bed. “Delores. I'm back. Of course, you didn't know I left but I brought you some things and it would be helpful if we could talk, if you are feeling up to it.”

Delores rolled over slowly, her matted hair covering part of her face. He tried to move it but she grabbed his wrist quickly and held it.

“It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. I need you to fill in some blanks for me. Where are you from and why am I having these-these strange visions? Why am I seeing and hearing you and other people? How are you in my mind like this?”

“Oh-oh you poor man. I was too weak-but now-now I feel it.”

“You feel it. Feel what.”

Delores lifted an arm from the covers and touched her palm to his red polo covered chest. “I feel it. I'm sorry Max. I am so sorry. It was a mistake. You-must have scared me. I thought you were one of them. But your wound has all but healed now hasn't it.” She looked right at him. “Will you show me.”

“What?”

“I want to see the scar. Please.”

This just kept getting weirder and weirder. Max was game for anything. He untucked

the front of his shirt and lifted it. It was almost as though nothing had happened. Even was Max was a bit surprised. “Wow. It really has cleared up. Yeah the doc. Were looking at me a little strange. I think they thought I should have been dead after whatever attacked me. Honestly, I'm not sure what happened. I've been desperate to find you, to make sure you were okay. I never expected to find you just wandering the street but there you were.”

“Yes. There I was. Like I was looking for something, or someone.” She dropped her hand. She removed the hair from her face. She was lovely, with the darkest eyes. “There is something you must know Max.

You must know now while there is still time. It was me Max. I attacked you. When you were kneeling over me I turned over and scratched you, rather deeply as I am remembering and you flew back into your car.

You saw it. You looked into its eyes I know!”

The womans eyes burrowed daggers into Max and he stood sharply. “You don't tell me what I saw. What I saw was a naked woman lying in the middle of the road bleeding, then I saw-well I'm not sure still what it was but it certainly wasn't you.”

“But it was Max. It is the truth and everything that has happened to you since proves this, the dreams of us, the voices. How many voices can you hear other than mine?”

“I don't know. There was one other. An old codger lives in the house there where I found you. He seemed to know more than he was telling and he's in my mind about something. He saw you. He knows you ran off.

“Damn.”

“Anyways he's just an old f**k. Maybe he spit in my coffee, who knows. But there's no way in hell you did that to me. Not in a million.”

“Well I did Max. I'm sorry. I'm a f*****g ware wolf. A bite or even a scratch from one of us during a change is a virtual guarantee of transference but there is a lot most of us don't understand. So much is lost to time, like me.” She looked away and to the covered window. “I can hear them. Your people. Humans. Everyone wants to be so busy. You run around each other like rats. If you only knew what lurked in the shadows. Real evil Max. That's what I'm talking about and you have it in you now. There's no escaping it.” She dug her eyes back into him now. You must prepare Max. How many days is it until the next full moon?”

Max gasped. He just couldn't believe what she was saying. She must still be a little out of it. “You know what, maybe I'll get you some water and an asprin to help clear your head. We've both been through a lot here and it's-”

“Max how many days!”

“Jesus. Off the top of my damn head I have no idea. Let me ask Surie.” Max forced his thin device out and tapped the display and an icon. “When is the next full moon?”

“Your next chance to bark at the moon is in two days.”

“See. Hear that. Plenty of time. Why dont you just get some rest. Try and eat something if you want. In a couple days when you feel better, you know, you can go, or

I can take you someplace. Bus stop. Airport. Whatever. I get it, you dont want to tell me your whole life story, or maybe even what you were doing in the woods but I can't play this cryptic fantasy with you. I'm an attorney and a busy one at that. Trying to figure you out has put

me behind and that's alright, I wanted to-find you and see you were alright. At lest whatever got me didn't get to you. You seem not too worse for ware.”

“You will change and your will hunt and your will kill.”

“Oh come on.”

“People you love Alex! The people closest to you. I'm trying to tell you. You have to prepare. I know you feel it. Something inside you that wasn't there before. Strangely familiar. Like seeing a friend after a long long time. I feel it. I feel the burning in my soul. The desire. The rage. Some can control it more than others but we survive by living below the shadows. They have kept us hidden for a long time. By now Lord Varren has dispatched a hunter. He will be one of the best, with a high level of control. Powerful, intelligent and willing to die. He will hunt me forever Max and I'm afraid you as well, once you have changed. If you hide yourself away someplace far way, you might be safe but you must go now. The hunter could be anywhere. You would never see him until its too late.”

“Hunted. I don't like that word. Are telling me this person will kill you on sight? On whos authority? This Lord V? Delores that is not how the world works. Sweetheart all you need is a good attorney! Someone who can protect you. Let this hunter character try and hurt you and we'll have him in chains before he can yell insane! Which is what most of this sounds like from where I'm standing. You seem pretty comfortable in your position there as well.”

Delores looked at him again. Not with the stern eyes of

an out of place woman but with those of one with needs, even in the most unsuitable of situations. She sat up a bit. “Max would you come here. He

sat next to her and she looked at him. She touched his finely shaven cheek.

“Delores.”

“Shhhh. Enough talk.” She kissed him hard and long. Within moments he could not resist and her strength over took him.

“In two days, lock yourself away or find a cave in the woods. Get lost. Do something. No matter what you do, you can't stop it. Please believe me.” Delores kissed his forehead lightly as they lay facing eachother in the dim light.

“You really think I'm going to change? Into what exactly?”

“An evil, hungry, angry monster and it's not going to much care what is in its way. I know. I know because I'm part of it. Have been for a long time. Longer than you've been alive. One of the perks, if it is, is extended life. Now you will life to see all the people you know and love die. That's if they don't

shoot you dead. The sooner you believe me the better off you'll be.”

“That was your warning. In the dream. Something about them coming for me. No ones coming for me Delores but I can't stay. It isn't any safer for me here than you. I wish I could do more but at some point I have to get off the crazy train and live my life you know? What about you? Where do you need to go to feel safe.?”

“Somewhere far from here Max but I fear the hunter may find me where ever I go. I'm no sure which of us is in the worse spot. I have experience but am out of place here. You belong in this world on the outside but inside things are changing and in two days this conversation isn't going to matter. You will change. The beast will have his way with you.”

“You can someone as beautiful as you ever think they could turn into some wolf creature? I can't see it. What were you running from out there? Was it this Lord? Where is he? Out there somewhere? Still? Waiting for you to be drug in kicking.” Max kicked out of the cacoon and sat. Delores moaned and rolled over. “I won't let him hurt you again Delores.”

“What then are you going to do?”

“You will decide where it is you want to disappear to and I will do everything in my power to make it happen. Whatever it takes to get this bounty off your back, or whatever is going on. That's the best I can do. I can't get any more involved in whatever is going on with-these people of yours and wherever they are.”

“Of course I understand but you're forgetting one little thing.”

“What is that?”

Delores turned back over, exposing the evocative curves of her chest. “You are one of us.

This life you had that you want to go back to-it's just not real anymore. You have to accept it, or people will pay the price. I'm sorry.”

“If you're right. If I have changed somehow then these hunters might be after me as well? But how would they find me if they live underground? I'm know! I have friends.”

“They are waiting for the moon. For you to change. The hunter will hear the echos of the cries of those who see it in the night and they will. Someone will. Your wife surely. Oh Max. “

“What does any of this have to do with my wife. Are they coming after her too now? Who are you people!”

“To be honest Max they just might. To use her against you, they just might but they can't no for sure weather or not you do have the change, so they wait and they listen. They are-all around. You can't hear them yet but soon. Soon you will know. Soon you will feed.”

“You make it sound like such a bad thing. If it is then why can't you stop it?”

“How do you fight your nature Max. You cannot. Once they see you they will never stop. That's why you have to remain hidden! This is the worst time for you, when there is no control. The hunter knows this. He will use you and everyone you know against you but they won't want to make a large scene. He will come for you at night. In the shadows. We are hunters Max. It's what we're best at.