Chapter 2

Liam gets to know Jaz and they have unexpected and expected visitors.

      The only sound I could hear was of the wind rushing past my ears. All I knew was that I was running through a narrow tunnel, a black nothingness that encompassed everything there was to know. It didn't matter how long I ran, how long I continued, the tunnel never ended. I pressed forward, urged my legs to keep moving. There was something behind me. I couldn't understand but I  knew that if I stopped, the thing behind me would win. I couldn't let that happen. A peculiar inner instinct pushed me forward. I kept going, kept running, but nothing was different. I was surrounded by a complete blackness that saturated every pore of my being. The next step I took had me sliding backwards, and I could distinctly smell the coppery odor of fresh blood, felt its warm stickiness clinging to my feet. I was baffled, stunned at the suddenness of the blood. An eerie laughter echoed in all directions, piercing my ears like the sound of shattering glass. I searched for the source, but instead witnessed three immobile heaps in front of me, maybe bags of flour. The blood on the ground glistened as a moonbeam spilled upon it, and the true forms of the heaps morphed before me. Two of the heaps were lions, the other a young lioness, brutally mutilated. A lump swelled in my throat as I peered over the deceased, noted every mark of violence, every scratch, every bruise. The ground caved in where I was standing, everything fell apart. The bodies and I were swallowed into a black hole, the space that engulfed everything was cracked into a million puzzle pieces. Something grabbed the back of my neck, pierced my flesh, and I screamed.

    Cheshire purred like a motorboat on my chest. I rubbed her chin and looked up at the wall to see the clock. 10:35. A little later than usual, but not bad. My neck and back ached from sleeping on the floor, and it didn't help that my pillow was halfway under the couch. Jaz was still sound asleep. She was so quiet that if you didn't notice the covers rising and falling slowly you'd think she was dead.

      I pushed the blankets to the side and stood with as little motion as possible so that the floor wouldn't creak with the shifting of weight. Holding my breath, I soundlessly maneuvered around the couch, through the hallway, and into my room. After snatching my cell-phone which was on the nightstand next to the bed, I bounced onto the corner of the mattress and dialed the number of my best friend Claire.

    Her voice was like a fresh change of scenery to me. "Hello?"

    "Claire, hey. It's Liam."

    "Oh, hi, Liam. I was actually gonna call you later but you got to it first."

    I smiled. I always smiled when I was on the phone with her. Although she couldn't see me, I still grinned and couldn't help it. Claire had this relaxing, happy quality about her voice that I enjoyed. "Are you busy?"

    There was a pause. "Right now I'm at work, but I'll be done in about an hour.”
    “Why?"

    "Well, something happened last night, and it's really complicated. I need you to do me a favor. Please?"

     "Sure. I'd like to know what happened though."

    My knee was shaking. "I met this girl and she really needed my help, so I helped her and took her to my place, but she's beat up real bad and I need some assistance with her. She was chased by some guys with guns and hasn't woken up yet since she fell asleep last night. Could you maybe bring over some clothes for her please?"

    "Clothes? Like, what kind of clothes? Does she need a shirt or some socks-" She was interrupted as someone yelled something and silverware clanged. "I gotta go. I'll be over after I'm done here. Bye."

    “Bye." I replied dully as she hastily hung up. Damn people and their damn work.

    I set the phone on a pillow and went back to the living room to check on Jaz. To my surprise she was awake and staring at the floor as listlessly as a porcelain doll.

    "Are you OK?" I asked.

    "Food."
    
     "Excuse me?"

     She raised her voice. "Food. I'd like some food."

    "I'll get you some cereal but what do you say when you want something?"

     Jaz rolled her eyes. "I'm not a child."

    "And I'm not your dad! Now just say the magic word!"
    
    She hissed, "May I please have some food?"

     I answered cheerfully, "Sure! Isn't it easy when we're polite?" It really pissed me off when people couldn't be polite and say one little word. I ticked my 10th grade Geometry teacher off a lot when I bitched at him to use better manners. Chuckling to myself, I walked into the kitchen, started the coffee machine, and got a bowl from the cupboard.

    As I was just about to tilt the box of Lucky Charms more so the cereal could pour out, Jaz shouted, "Wait!" In the blink of an eye (I'm serious when I say in the blink of an eye) she'd snatched the box from my hand. "What is this? Are you sure it's not poisoned?"

    "I don't know. Do you think I'd try to kill you after saving your life, inviting you into my house, and letting you stay the night and who knows how much longer?" She lifted the bowl to her face and inspected the inside. I asked, "What are you doing?"

    "This isn't clean."

    "It just came out of the dishwasher."

    She shook her head. "It's still dirty."

    "And?"
    
    "It has to be clean." It was at that remark that she noticed the sink beside the cupboard and was drawn to it like a moth to light. She apparently forgot about my last word and began smothering the bowl with soap.

     I scoffed. "You're seriously cleaning it after it was just washed?"

    Jaz nodded. The hot water was turned as much as it could to the point that a fast trail of steam rose to the ceiling. I watched her turn the bowl under the water and scrub it like she were in a trance for a good seven minutes until she finally dried it with fifty paper-towels. She grinned as if she just won the lottery and I scowled to show my irritation. I slid a chair from under the table and patted it for her to sit in, then took a seat myself. She sat and peered into the box of Lucky Charms. Satisfied, she poured the cereal into her perfectly clean bowl. I handed her the milk and took a sip of my coffee.

    "Do I drink this?"

    "You can, but it's more for your cereal. I'll get you a cu-" I stopped myself. If I got her a cup would she clean it like the bowl? God, I didn't want to waste anymore precious minutes cleansing the world of germs. Clearing my throat I continued, "You put the milk in the cereal and when you're done eating the cereal you drink the remaining milk from the bowl. Oh, I forgot to get you a spoon!" D****t. Please let this be fine. I got a spoon from the silverware drawer and gave it to her.

    "Thanks." Jaz's tone was more subtle now. She didn't complain. Actually, she was a lot calmer. I could see it in her slumped posture and her half-closed eyes. "Aren't you gonna eat, Lex?"

    "I might later. Anyway, I wanna talk with you."

    "Talk with me?"

    "Yeah." I said. "We should get to know each other."
    
    Her lips quivered and she answered slowly, "No."

     "No? Why not?"

    "I don't feel like it yet."
    
    "Maybe just a little bit, then?" I took another sip of my coffee. "Here, I'll start. I'm twenty-four and as of the moment, I'm unemployed."

    The smallest sign of a smile crept into her cheeks as a rosy blush. "You're young."

     "How about you? Wanna tell me your age?"

    Jaz shook her head. "I'm grateful that you found me when you did. If your intrusion hadn't caused so much bewilderment, I'd most likely be back in prison right now counting the minutes to my death."

     I hid an embarrassed grin behind the mug as I gulped the last drops of coffee. "Don't mention it."

     In that instant the buzzer to my apartment sounded. Claire must've arrived, although she was a lot earlier than I had expected. "Just a minute!" I yelled. I said to Jaz, "My friend's here. I'm gonna let her in."

    She wasn't at the table anymore. "Jaz?" I breathed.

    Her voice was shaken with panic. "What was that? Are they here? Are they here? Lex, don't let them in! They’ve caught onto us. We have to get away from here." She was crouched beneath the table with the spoon still in her hand.

    My tone was soft. "It's OK. It's just my friend. You don't need to get all worked up."

    As I turned away she seized the rim of my pant leg and spluttered, "Don't let them in." I gingerly took her hand into mine and squeezed.

    "Everything's fine. If anything happens, I'm here for you."

    She curled both hands around the spoon and uttered, "You better not be lying."  I smiled then went to the door, unlocked it, and pulled inward.

    I apologized briefly before realizing exactly who I was apologizing to. "Sorry for the wait."
     I attempted to slam the door shut, but the person in front of me repelled my strength and smacked me with the door instead. I was knocked to my knees as my body was smashed against the wall. When I regained my composure it was too late. They had already slipped inside.

    "Godammit." I cursed under my breath while racing into the kitchen. I almost tripped over my own feet but came to an abrupt halt beside the sink and surveyed the walls, the floor, everywhere that was closely visible. No one was anywhere.

     I inhaled as deeply as I could through the nose but didn't detect any foreign scent. "Jaz," I began, "Did you see anything come in here?"

     She trembled and made a frightened squeal. I said, "What're you scared of? I saw what you did to those guys last night, you can easily take care of whatever the hell just invaded my apartment."

    "It's not that simple." She looked upward at me so our eyes were diagonal. "I used up most of my energy last night. While I was imprisoned, my energy was sucked dry. It took all I had to store enough to open the dimensional portal to this world, and then the remaining drops were used on those weak guards."

    "You could've mentioned that earlier, but oh well. I'm not as frail as most people. You're makin' it sound like I'm no match for our little intruder, like you don't have any confidence in me." I jokingly sniffled as if my feelings were hurt. "Thanks for the support."

     "Over there!" She pointed directly behind me. I had just enough time to duck as the thing lunged at me from 10 feet in the air. It crashed into the dirty dishes heaped beside the sink and I winced at the sound of my ceramic tableware breaking. The thing crawled from beneath a bowl and into full view. It was no larger than a cat and resembled what I could only say was a dragon. It had no front legs but sported a pair of leathery wings and muscled hind legs. The scales were a lustrous viridian green and its eyes were like golden cat's eyes.

    I cooed, "Here kitty, kitty, kitty." The dragon-whatever-the-hell-it-was twisted its mouth and hissed. I advanced toward it while disregarding the series of snaps and growls it aimed at me. My hands shot out like a striking cobra and snatched the animal around the neck.

    Jaz came beside me and I looked at her quizzically. "The hell is this?"

    "It's a wyvern, a small dragon."

    "What the hell is it doing in my apartment?"

    "Those who intend to recapture me sent it."

    "How sweet of them to send a get-well gift." The wyvern cried as it squirmed fruitlessly in my hold. I was surprised as someone rapped on the door. It had better be Claire this time. "Jaz, can you please answer the door?"

    While she stepped to the door I hurriedly shoved the dragon into the towel closet and went to accompany Jaz. She was waiting beside the doorway. My spirits rose when I saw Claire walking inside while carrying a bag of clothes. She was still dressed in her waitress uniform of a vest and slacks and white dress shirt. She had her wavy blond hair pinned into a bun. Most likely she got some clothes together in that bag when she got home and came here directly after without changing from her work attire. "Hey, Liam."

    "Hey, Claire! Come in, come in. Sit down on the couch." The living room had a glass coffee-table in the center with a couch on one side and two recliners on the other. I sat in one of the chairs and Claire took to the couch. Jaz watched us from where she stood with great interest. "Jaz, you can sit in the chair if you want." I suggested, gesturing to the blue recliner beside me.

    She averted her alluring lilac eyes to the floor, sauntered to the chair, and draped herself across the seat so that her feet barely touched the floor and rested her chin on crossed arms, her long ebony hair sweeping along the chair's side.

    "Is that the girl you mentioned?" Claire asked.

    "Yeah. Her name's Jaz."

    "She's pretty." She remarked and said to Jaz, "Hey, Jaz, I'm Claire, a friend of Liam's." The other woman grinned.

    "She wasn't this quiet earlier." I whispered to Claire.

    Claire stretched her arms over her head and yawned. "So, you gonna tell me how you met?"

    Great. Ask the one thing I was hoping you'd refrain from. How was I gonna tell my best friend that I saved a convicted criminal from being thrown back into jail. Oh, and she's a demon.

    "Demoness." Jaz corrected.

    Yeah, demoness, demon, whatever. I looked at Jaz and raised a brow. "Did you say something?"

    "No."
    "Oh."  Now, how am I gonna explain everything to Claire again? Oh, I'll just let it come and flow. "Anyway, last night I was on my way home when I smelled something odd in a nearby alley. I went and checked it out and found Jaz being surrounded by a group of men with guns. Being the gentleman that I am, I hit one of the guys and in the confusion, took Jaz into my arms and ran like hell, but she insisted I put her down, so I did. The gunmen then caught up but Jaz and I attacked head-on and knocked them all out. Afterward, I took her to my place and here we are." OK, so I mixed in a little lie here and there. It wouldn't hurt anything. That was a lot better than telling Claire the whole truth. I just didn't wanna deal with the mess we would've been in had I not tweaked the story.

    Claire's eyes were bulging with amazement. "Why were gunmen after you, Jaz?"

    Oh, God, I'm screwed! "Why were they after me?" Jaz repeated. "I don’t know. They suddenly attacked me, took all I had at the time, and ruined my clothes. If not for this wonderful gentleman right here I don’t know what would have happened to me."

    "That's terrible! It's a good thing Liam was at the right place at the right time. He’s always getting into awkward situations. Where do you live?"
    
    It took some time before Jaz answered, "I'm not from around here." She sneezed as soon as she finished speaking and wiped her face on an arm. Her eyes looked different somehow, perhaps more glossy and a tad bit bloodshot.

    “Bless you.” I said customarily.

     Claire was very sympathetic about the 'incident'. "Oh, I see. What are you planning to do now?"

     I intervened, "She was gonna stay at a hotel but since she lost her wallet. I told her she could stay with me until she feels comfortable enough to move on her own."

     "What about the police?"

    I mentally slapped my metaphysical self in the face. Claire was a kind person, but sometimes she just didn't know when to put the brakes on a conversation. I learned to overcome this situation without saying a word, by letting my face crinkle to show my annoyance in full while my eyes begged for her to change the subject like a puppy whining for attention.

     Claire's lips formed an 'O' as she understood my charade. "I got some extra clothes for you, Jaz. I'm sorry that they might not fit all that good. I hope you don't mind."

    Jaz walked to the bag and peered inside. "Thank you."

    "You're welcome. Why don't you go and try them on quick? If they really don't fit, I could give Liam some money for you to go to the mall."

    When she said that, I instantly became depressed. I hate being dependent on others. If I had a steady job I’d be so much happier. "You can go in the bathroom to try the clothes on." I told Jaz. "It's by the kitchen, the door right next to where we put that thing earlier."

    She swung the bag over her shoulder and left. As soon as she shut the bathroom door, Claire scrambled next to me and started speaking in a fast and shaky whisper. "Liam, I need to tell you something. I got the call in the middle of the night and I couldn't believe it was real, but it happened and I have to let you know."

     "What is it?"

    "Remember Brian, the boy we know that was going to college, that played ping-pong with us last Saturday?

    “Yeah. What about him?”

    “He's…” her voice shook. “He’s dead."

Author's Note

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