SWNOVELS Chapter 45: Goodbye Carl!
Kane and Johnny were sitting in the penthouse of the hotel they owned, waiting for the time to come going over the details of tonight. They had to wait till midnight at the earliest before they could make a move, that was when Carl had his laundry duty. The protection around him was pulled yesterday and he was now truly on his own in there. He was to be released Sunday morning, but unfortunately for him, he would never make it to then. With their cover story in place there was nothing left to do but wait. Johnny had been texting back and forth with Lacey since they landed at the airport. Around 6:30 the texts stopped, and he didn’t get another one. They figure girls night was in full swing and Lacey was too busy having fun to miss him. It provided a sense of relief for Johnny, he could now better focus his attention on the task at hand. Kane wasn’t concerned that he didn’t receive a message from Dax, she was busy with her mission, and he would get in touch with her later, when all was quiet. He knew she wouldn’t sleep, he wouldn’t sleep either, his skin was cold without her touch. Around 11:00pm Johnny got a phone call from a very excited Lacey, telling him about all the fun she had and that it might not be so bad when he has to go away on business.
“Well I am glad you had a good time sweetheart, I hope Dax didn’t spoil you too much” Johnny was sitting back in his seat listening to Lacey.
“Well I will have to ask him later….or I can ask him now then” he held the phone away from his ear “They were having a debate earlier, seeing how Damon is man enough to wear pink nail polish they were wondering which of us would be man enough as well” Kane laughed
“Damon is quite secure with himself, if I’m not mistaken this is not the first time he let someone paint his nails. I have not been put in that position, but I can not say I wouldn’t allow it” Kane responded. You would let her put bows in your hair! Ky howled at him. So would you! The laughter died down and Ky just huffed at him. That shut him up!
“He said he might,” Johnny laughed into the phone. “We’ll see sweetheart. How do you know it won’t be a boy?”
“Fine, if it’s a girl you can paint my nails” Kane arched his eyebrow at him
“Good night sweetheart, I will see you tomorrow, love you!” Johnny hung up the phone. “Next girls day we are apparently getting our nails painted, it’s good practice for when we have a little girl” Kane just nodded his head and smiled, before he could say anything Johnny answered.
“The thought of having a little girl terrifies me, she will meet boys like us, with that being said it better be a boy first” Kane just laughed.
“As long as they are healthy it should not matter which one comes first” Johnny just looked at him.
“I suppose, no one would be foolish enough to harm one hair on her head, with big bad Uncle Kane to deal with” Johnny laughed. “Another bit of news as well, Damon has apparently found his mate, Linda or Lilly something like that, she owns a little beauty shop in town” that was interesting news. Looks like Damon got his second chance.
“Lydia?” Johnny nodded his confirmation “She’s from the Hillcrest Pack, I met her, nice girl”
“She also said Damon and Carter were acting weird around Dax, watching over her” Johnny said,
’That is their assignment” Kane replied,
“She said they were acting more brotherly than anything else” Kane let that sink in.
“As long as she stays protected, let them assume the roles of her older brothers” Kane responded.
“It’s not just them, Kenneth, Marco and myself as well. There is something about her. The more you learn, the more drawn you are to her. She’s what we didn’t realize was missing” Johnny held his breath after saying what he said. Kane’s jaw was set, he could see it twitch as he processed what Johnny said to him. The conversation he and Damon had in the kitchen replayed in his mind.
“So you all view her as-“
“Family, I can only speak for myself, but I probably have a stronger connection to her then to the family I have now” Kenneth said walking into the penthouse. “After putting my brother in law through a wall for his incompetence my sister might no longer view me as her family” he added after he received a questioning look from Kane.
“Rompere una scrivania dopo che gli hai sbattuto la testa due volte potrebbe non aiutare il tuo caso. (Breaking a desk after you smack his head off it twice might not help your case)” Marco said behind him,
“I said I would replace the desk” Kenneth glared at him “What is stopping me from doing the same to you?”
“Nessun altro può aggiustare la merda che rompi, (No one else can fix the shit you break,)” Marco replied with a smile. Johnny cracked up laughing, even Kane smiled.
“You have picked up some bad habits amico, while we were in Howler’s Bay” Kenneth retorted,
“That would be Damon’s influence” Johnny laughed,
“It is time, Carl is moving into position soon,” Kenneth said, bringing his attention back to Kane.
“Good, I’m tired of waiting, and Ky is driving me crazy” Fuck you! I can hear your thoughts too! Ky huffed in his head. Kane rose to his feet and crossed the room, the others following behind.
“Run it for me one more time” he spoke as they stepped onto the private elevator.
“Marco and I will stay behind monitoring the chatter and the feed, Porter will drive you to the prison. You will be invisible and will enter through an unlocked side entrance gate close to the laundry. Carl will be there with two guards outside the door but shift change will take effect at that time and they will be replaced by two of ours. You are then free to let the beast out. Best case we can blame other inmates, worst case there have been claims of wild animals in the area. There have been a few savage attacks recently. A couple of guards were mauled a few days ago. They think it’s a bear. You will then exit through the same gate. Porter will meet you at a clearing by the lake with a fresh set of clothes.” Kenneth covered all the details.
“Meglio essere un grosso fottuto orso (Better be a big fucking bear)” they all turned to look at Marco. Kane raised an eyebrow at him. What did he say? Something about a big fucking bear! He’s right! Yes he is!
“Scusa sir!” Marco averted his eyes but not before he saw the half smile tug at his lips.
“Bad habits indeed” Johnny had to stifle his laughter.
“You’re not wrong Marco, it better be a big fucking bear. I promised Ky full control” Kane said, azure blue flashing in his eyes before they turned back to grey.
The elevator dinged and the doors opened, they walked through the foyer of the hotel and out onto the sidewalk. The driver of a black town car stood waiting for them, he opened the door and Johnny and Kane climbed inside. Kenneth and Marco headed back inside the hotel towards the security room.
“How long?” Kane barked,
“Once we get out of the city 45 minutes Alpha” The driver replied, a low growl sounded in the car, that was too long of a wait. We could run there faster! Ky huffed, he too has grown impatient with all this waiting. Carl’s end was in sight, but it was still taking too long. He does not deserve one more minute of breath!
“I understand you’re tired and cranky, but can we try not to kill anybody until we get there?” Johnny said. He heard the driver swallow hard and glance in the rear view mirror.
“I’m tired of waiting Johnny, this has taken long enough” Kane growled back,
“At least wait till we get out of the city first, before you let him out” Johnny warned. Another growled response, told Johnny Ky was already on the surface, the glowing azure eyes that stared back at him confirmed it. The backseat suddenly felt smaller and Johnny became a little uncomfortable. He instructed the driver to pull over and then to get in the passenger seat, he would drive instead. He called Kenneth.
“Change of plans, Ky crashed the party early, I need the fastest route to the prison, before he rips the car apart”
“Marco is sending an alternate route to the navigation map now” the sound of the backseat ripping caught his attention.
Something was wrong, very wrong, he glanced in the rear view mirror. Ky was tense, his skin pale and his breathing was hard and ragged. His hands gripped into the seat and he could see where he already shredded it.
“Oh fuck me!” Johnny disconnected the call, and called Damon.
“What?” Came his groggy voice,
“What is going on?” Johnny barked,
“What are you talking about? Nothing” Damon said back,
“Where’s Dax?” He barked again,
“Fuck! In bed probably” Damon barked back,
“GO CHECK!” Johnny yelled, he heard Damon grumble but he heard rustling on the other end of the phone. He spoke to someone, before he came back on the line.
“What the fuck Johnny?” Damon asked as he moved up the stairs only to stop mid flight. He pulled the phone away from his ear to get a better listen. He moved closer to the sound. He could hear Johnny yelling his name through the phone. He caught a faint whiff of something metallic, coppery the closer he moved to it the stronger it became. Fuck! He knew the smell and took off running down the steps, he headed towards the kitchen. Dax was there on the floor crouched in the corner frozen in place. He called her name, but she didn’t even register that he was in the room. Blood oozed from her hand that held the plate shard and she had a nasty cut across her cheek. Looked like when she tried to cover her ears, she cut her face in the process.
“Fuck Johnny, I found her” Damon was panicked, he didn’t know what to do “What do I do?”
“I don’t know, but think of something quick, I have a deranged hellhound in the backseat going through it as well” a loud growl erupted and it took everything Johnny had in him to keep the car on the road.
Damon grabbed her and ran to the medical ward, to find her doctor, he barked at one of the nurses to get him now. The doctor came running, he went to sedate her, but Damon stopped him.
“Give her something to calm down, not put her under” Sedating her in this state would just make it worse, it would trap her in her head with her nightmare. The doctor injected her with a mild sedative, then Damon told him to leave the room until he called him back.
“Ok feisty pants, let’s get this out of your hand before you do more damage to yourself or me” he held the arm that had the plate shard in it and pried it from her hand. The cut was deep and would surely need stitches. He grabbed a bunch of gauze pads and pressed them to her palm.
“Damon hurry the fuck up!” He could hear Johnny yelling at him
“I am going as fast as I can, have you ever seen her go through one of these?” Damon asked back “Cause I am open to suggestions” he could hear the loud growls coming from the other end of the phone.
“Your man’s hellhound is pissed, Carl is gonna be ripped to shreds” Damon spoke to her. “We just need to get him to shut up in your head now.”
“What does Kane usually do?” Damon asked into the phone, another ear piercing growl ripped through the car.
“Holy Fuck! I don’t know, he talks to her, but Kane’s not present right now” Johnny yelled back.
“Fucking great! A deranged hellhound going through a psychotic break. Kane calms her, she calms Kane. Kane is Ky, Ky is Kane. Johnny put your phone on speaker.” He placed the phone beside her and put it on speaker. “He needs to growl, I don’t know what’s gonna happen, but you might want to get the fuck out of the vehicle” Damon yelled moving towards the door, he wasn’t sure what was going to happen but he didn’t want to be close when it did.
“Fuck!” Johnny pulled over to the side of the road, hiding the car under a bridge. Putting his phone on speaker he dropped it onto the driver’s seat, both he and Porter exited the vehicle, in time for another growl to pierce the silence. Louder than before the car shook, the windows shattered as if a shock wave hit them, but it was another sound that caused them to cover their ears. Her scream laced in pain echoed through the night, bringing both Johnny and Porter to their knees. The glass in the hospital room shattered around Damon, as he covered his ears, pain and fear rippled out of her. He was thrown back into a wall as it hit him like a tidal wave. Then all fell quiet, both in the room and on the other end of the phone. Damon lifted his head from the floor and looked at her, she stood in the middle of the room, her breath coming hard and ragged, he was across the room and caught her before she collapsed. He yelled for the doctor, getting her to the bed. The doctor placed an oxygen mask over her face, and started checking her vitals. Damon could hear Johnny on the other end of the phone
“DAMON!....DAMON!....DAMON!” Johnny was yelling his name
“YEAH!” Damon yelled back,
“Are you good?” Johnny asked,
“I have a slight ringing in my ears, that girl has a set of pipes on her” Damon responded shaking his head.
“What the fuck was that?” Johnny questioned,
“I don’t know” Damon shook his head,
“How is she?” Johnny asked, trying to shake the ringing from his own ears.
“She is being looked at by the doctor now, she never said a word, just collapsed when it was all over, I will let you know. How are you boys doing?” Damon replied, watching the doctor examine her.
“We need a new car, and I need a new phone, hopefully Marco has a spare” Johnny replied motioning for Porter to call it in. The kid stood there staring wide eyed until Johnny growled at him. His hands fumbled in his pockets until he could pull his phone out.
“Make that two” Damon looked at his shattered screen “How is he?”
As if on cue the back passenger door came off its hinges when Kane pushed it open and stepped out. He stood to his full height, still feeling a little of the effects of what he just went through. His breathing was hard as his chest heaved up and down, he gripped the top of the car to steady himself. Kane shook his head, causing shards of glass to fall from his hair. Cautiously Johnny approached him, not entirely sure if Kane or Ky was in control.
“I am fine” he spoke, his voice a low growl, he wiped his hand across his forehead and was a little surprised when he saw blood on his hands.
“What did you expect? You shattered the windows” Johnny said to him after he pulled a shard of glass from his forehead.
“He is fine Damon, call me when you have any news” Johnny added causing Kane to snap his head in Johnny’s direction.
“What’s wrong?” Kane asked, his eyes glowing.
“Damon doesn’t know, the doctor is looking at her right now,” Johnny replied. A deep growl penetrated the night, he stripped his clothes and shifted into his wolf and took off running in the direction of the prison. Johnny directed Porter to wait for the second vehicle and meet them there, then followed his Alpha into the night.
“What are you doing?” Johnny asked through the mind link
“He dies tonight! I will get him out of her life, then I will get him out of her head permanently.” Kane replied back.
Ky giving him more strength he ran with twice the speed as he would normally have. Johnny was finding it hard to keep up and had to call on his own wolf Diego for a boost.
Reaching the prison in record time, they had to wait for Porter to show up with their clothes, and the all clear from Kenneth before they could proceed with the evening’s events. Kane paced back and forth, Ky’s constant bitching in his head was driving him insane. He’s right there, why are we waiting? For the right time! The right time is now! No, it’s not! Stop stalling, let’s end this! Patience Ky, he will be yours soon enough! I want him now! Then you risk exposing us all! Then we will destroy whoever comes for us! Control your bloodlust! Control yours, you want him as much as I do! I promise, when the time is right he is all yours! He better be! Think of her, she will calm you down! Pulling a memory from his mind the sound of their mate laughing played on a loop in his head, and both felt a sense of peace wash over them. Porter showed up with their clothes and they shifted back into human form and quickly dressed. Porter handed Johnny a new phone when he walked out from behind a tree, they stayed in the cover of the tree line, until they got word from Kenneth to proceed. Even with their detour they showed up before they should have.
“She will be out for a bit” the doctor informed Damon, “Whatever that was, has taken a toll on her both mentally and physically.”
“The deep laceration to her left hand has been sutured as well as the one to her face. I did notice more swelling around that cheek, when she wakes up I ordered an x-ray of the area. I have also ordered a positron emission tomography scan” The doctor was speaking as he was writing in her chart.
“A what?” Damon looked at him as if he grew two heads.
“A scan that will map how the brain and it’s tissues are working” He explained,
“And what is it supposed to accomplish?” Damon asked.
“It will rule out disease and injury, but I will be bringing a psychiatrist in to point out potential psychological issues” The doctor explained,
“And when are you planning this?” Damon asked, running his hands through his hair.
“As soon as possible” The doctor looked at him,
“And it’s necessary?” Damon asked, how the fuck was he going to explain this.
“I believe it is,” the doctor responded, still writing in her chart.
“FUCK!” Damon growled out. “What does this test involve? And you better explain it in terms I can understand, I am the one that has to pass this on” the doctor nodded and proceeded to outline the scan for him in the clearest terms possible.
“And how long will it take?” Damon asked,
“An hour for the tracer to be absorbed and then 30 minutes to 2 hours for the scan itself” The doctor answered. Again running his hands through his hair,
“FUCK! Alright do what you gotta do” One job Damon, one fucking job! He scolded himself. Keep feisty pants out of trouble! He had linked Lydia to sit with Dax while he talked to the doctor, mostly because he couldn’t get a hold of Lacey through the link and Carter was on his way. He called Johnny and filled him in on what was happening, he could hear Kane’s displeasure as Johnny was filling him in. Yup good job Damon, fucked this one up! Right now he would be lucky if all Kane did when he got back was beat the shit out of him. Carter ran into the medical ward and Damon couldn’t help but wonder if he had the same look of failure on his face that Carter did.
“Damon she’s awake” Lydia poked her head out of the room. Taking a deep breath, he walked into the room, Lydia had helped the nurses change her into a hospital gown while Damon was on the phone with Johnny.
“Hey, feisty pants. Liked the medical ward so much you needed to find an excuse to get back here?” Her eyes were still blurry and she was still feeling groggy but she tracked the sound of his voice around the room. She went to take the oxygen mask off, but Damon stopped her.
“Not a chance! That stays on” she went to sit up, but a wave of dizziness hit her and she settled back down until it passed. Then she tried again, Carter and Damon were there to help her. She looked at Damon and a flash of sadness crossed her eyes.
“I know!” He said sitting on the bed beside her. “Doctor is gonna come in and take you for an x-ray of your face, I told him about the slap, and then we’re gonna go make your brain glow, that’ll be fun too.” He explained to her what the scan was and what they might see.
Johnny’s phone alerted him to a message, and he gave Kane a nod, silently they moved along the tree line until they got to the side gate. It was unlocked like Kenneth said it would be, they moved forward only stopping for a second when they saw the camera. Kenneth said Marco hacked the feed and by playing it back on a loop they would become invisible. Making it to the door, Kane paused and looked at Johnny,
“Don’t even say it” Johnny’s voice was firm
“Hodie aliquis moritur! (Someone dies today!)” Kane said “Tibi gratias ago tibi frater meus (Thank you my brother)”
“Quod suus quid facerent fratribus! (That’s what brother’s do!)” Indeed that is what brothers do. They moved into the building and down the corridor towards the laundry room, again stopping just before they turned the corner. Johnny messaged Kenneth to make sure their people were in place. Last thing they needed was to get this far and have human guards try and stop them. Carl was dying tonight regardless of who got caught in the crossfire.
“Mea vita tua est! (My life is yours!)” A voice came from around the corner. When Kane rounded the corner both guards bowed and stepped away from the door to the laundry room moving quickly to opposite ends of the hallway, making sure no one was coming. Kane rolled his shoulders and stretched his neck.
“Second thoughts?” Johnny asked, a grin spreading across his face.
“Not one” Kane opened the door.
A man in his late 40′s with slightly greying brown greasy hair and brown eyes sat there in a chair looking at them, confused as to who they were and what they were doing there.
“Can I help you boys?” He asked, looking between Kane and Johnny.
“I was expecting something….bigger!” Johnny said, quite disappointed by the appearance of Carl. “He’s quite a pathetic looking thing, maybe that’s why he needed to beat her? To make himself bigger.”
“I don’t know what your friend is going on about, I never beat anyone” Carl responded getting up from his chair.
“No, then you won’t mind us asking what you did that landed you here?” Kane asked, very intrigued by the handle of a mop,
“I was wrongfully accused of assault,” he proclaimed, looking from Kane to Johnny. Liar! He hurt mate, now he dies! Ky growled in his head.
“So you never beat a child?” Kane asked, snapping the mop handle, Carl’s head snapped in his direction. That got his attention, I smell fear!
“Never, she was a God damn liar, I took her in and this is the thanks I get” He swallowed hard as he watched Kane nervously.
“You never broke her bones, made her bleed, gave her scars?” Johnny hissed, they could smell his lies dripping off of him like cheap cologne. The more he told the faster his heart beat and the harder he breathed. Carl glanced over at Johnny.
“No, never. I gave her a home and she turned on me” He continued to lie. Liar, liar, time to make him bleed!
“Never told her she was worthless, useless and deserved to die?” Johnny hissed, again. Kane watched Carl carefully, his breath would hitch with everything Johnny was saying to him. He did all those things and he knew he was lying about them.
“Never tried to cut off the tips of her beautiful ears to make her normal?” Kane growled.
“I never touched that child” more lies, Kane swung the mop handle fast and connected with the side of Carl’s face. He stumbled and slipped to the ground but got back on his feet quickly. Blood dripped from the gash that was now present on his cheek.
“Maybe he’s tougher than he looks. Let the games begin” Johnny said with a grin. Kane tilted his head to the side and swung the handle again connecting with the other side of his face. Ky howled with excitement in his head at the sight of Carl’s blood.
“Even him out, have to keep him symmetrical” Kane said, throwing the mop handle to Johnny. He swung twice landing both hits across Carl’s back leaving a giant X ripped into his shirt, Carl fell to the ground but pushed himself back up.
“Seemed fitting,” Johnny said looking at Kane.
“I’ll p-pay you. Whatever you want?” Carl stuttered moving away from them.
“You’ll pay alright, but we don’t want your money, we want your life” Kane replied, Johnny smacked the handle off the back of his head making him fall forward into Kane’s fist. The sound of bone crunching echoed through the room. He cried out in pain as he fell to the ground holding his nose as blood gushed from it. Johnny kicked him in the ribs, hearing them crunch under his foot, Kane kicked the other side of his ribs, Carl fell to his stomach gasping in pain. Pulling himself back to his feet, Carl tried to stumble away from them, but Johnny pushed him back towards Kane, who hit him again. Kane and Johnny took turns beating Carl, took turns making him scream out in pain, making him bleed. Everything they did they did twice.
“St-stop p-pl-please” he wheezed between gulps of air.
“How many times did she tell you to stop? How many times did she beg you?” Every question was followed by another fist. “How many times did you ignore her cries?” Johnny knew he was done there and walked back into the hall of the prison to wait until it was over. Kane’s anger had boiled over with the last words that pathetic little man had spoken, and he would now just be in the way.
Damon had sent Carter to take Lydia to get something to eat, while he waited with Dax in the medical ward for the doctor to return for her.
“This is not your fault” She said to him through the mask.
“I’m not sure Kane will see it that way. I had one job” Damon replied as he stared straight ahead.
“How could anybody know?” She asked,
“I was supposed to stay with you and keep you out of trouble, look around feisty pants, heap of trouble” Damon looked at her and she saw remorse.
“What more could he possibly say to you that you haven’t already said to yourself?” Dax asked.
“Lots, I am not the most reliable, loyal yes, but I fucked up. Blew my chance, I’d be lucky if he let me live.” He looked down at his hands. Dax looked at him, and her heart broke. She knew it wasn’t his fault, and Kane had to know that as well. Her incidents were completely unpredictable. But instead of telling him this, she took a different approach. Taking the oxygen mask off, so he could hear her completely.
“You’re right! It’s all your fault. How could you not know a slap across the face would set off a chain reaction in my fucked up brain? How did you not prepare a plan for when a plate smashing to the ground would cause the nightmare that calls it home to wake up and attack me.” She said, shaking her head. “And now because of your unreliable nature, they have to make my brain glow, a test which I probably should have done years ago before I met any of you. Shame on you Damon, shame on you” she added.
“Glad you find this amusing” he looked at her and grinned putting the mask back on.
“Amusing no, but showing you how stupid you’re being right now I take great pride in” she said and rested her head on his shoulder “Damon….if”
“I know! I love you too. You’re a pain in my ass, and are probably gonna get me killed, but I assume that is one of the many jobs a little sister has.” He kissed her head and rested his head on hers. “You need to face him, you know that right?”
“I can’t” she felt the sting in her eyes.
“Yes you can, you’re still standing, he hasn’t won yet. If Kane kills him before you can face him then he wins, he beats you, he dies knowing he made you weak. But if your voice is the last thing he hears before he dies, then he dies knowing he couldn’t break you, that you are way stronger than he could have imagined. He lost and that little sister is a fate worse than death” Damon pulled out his phone he was about to make the call when she put her hand over his and shook her head.
“I’ll be right here with you, I’m not leaving your side again.” He gave her hand a very gentle squeeze and dialed the number.
Johnny’s phone rang as he stood in the dimly lit corridor outside the prison’s laundry room, watching Kane beat the man on the floor. Carl held his hands up to block the blows, but that resulted in getting his wrist snapped. He screamed out in pain, Johnny waited till the man was quiet before he answered the phone.
“Hello!” He listened intently, arching his eyebrow as the person on the other end spoke.
“Absolutely” a smile spread across his lips.
“It’s for you” Kane held out his blood covered hand and Johnny placed the phone in it. They both stared at the pathetic little man cowering on the floor of the laundry room gasping for each breath he tried to take. Kane had barely broken a sweat beating him. Carl had blood dripping from his mouth and nose, two deep gashes, one on each cheek and his right eye was swollen shut. Kane stretched his neck letting it crack and pop before he brought the phone to his ear.
“Yes!” He said calmly into the phone.
“What’s wrong?” Keeping his demeanour and his voice steady, his eyes darted back to the man on the floor.
“Are you sure?” He looked over his shoulder at Johnny as a smile spread across his face as well. He hit the button to put it on speaker and held it out so the man could hear.
“It’s for you,” his voice was cold as ice. It was quiet, the minutes passed by, before her voice broke the silence.
“Hello Carl!”
Recognition crossed his bloody face as he heard the voice on the other end.
“Baby gir….“
“That is not my name”
“Of course not, it’s….” a loud growl sounded around the room, cutting off what he was about to say, causing Carl’s one good eye to widen and his fear to spike.
“You don’t get to say my name”
“How are you sweetheart? It’s so nice to hear from you. You got my message I see.” He tried to be calm, but he could not stop the quiver in his voice as he spoke to her.
“Did you get mine?”
“Message? What message?” His bravado was faltering now
“Don’t worry you will, they’ll make sure it’s loud and clear”
Carl’s eyes darted between Kane and Johnny. Kane could feel a warmth burning inside him, it started small, but was growing fast, spreading like wildfire.
“Are you afraid Carl?”
“N-No!” He wasn’t as convincing as he would have liked to be as both Johnny and Kane released low menacing laughs.
“I think you are, you sound afraid”
“No I’m not!” Carl gulped, his breath shaky as he spoke those words to her.
“Don’t lie Carl! They can smell your fear”
Carl looked at both Kane and Johnny, their wicked grins instilling more fear in him.
“You’re a liar Carl! You said I would never deserve a family, but I do and I found one. They really don’t like it when someone fucks with one of their own”
Carl again looked back and forth between Johnny and Kane as they stood there shaking their heads, they could see him shaking as he tried to keep up his brave front, but with his fear betraying him, his facade was falling.
“That man standing in the room right now, he’s mine. He’s going to do to you, what you did to me”
“You told him?” He said it more as a statement then a question, his fear doubling as he started to back away.
“I wonder if you remember Carl, it’s ok if you don’t. I share a very special connection with him, and he won’t have a problem reminding you”
Kane almost seemed to double in size as Ky pushed forward. The flames in his soul burning brighter and hotter with his hatred for this man engulfed his eyes as they faded from grey to azure blue, his canines elongated and a low rumble rippled through the room. Carl paled when he saw him and started whimpering as realization set in at what was about to happen.
“What sort of devil are you?” He stammered,
“The devil will look like a kitten compared to the beast you’re about to meet. I always wished you’d die in that prison Carl. I guess wishes do come true. He’s all yours Ky. Goodbye Carl!”
He was about to scream out to her, but Ky smacked him across the face, silencing him. He didn’t get to talk now.
Ky looked over his shoulder at Johnny, who’s eyes widened when he saw the flames in Ky’s eyes, but he never said a word, he took the phone from him and held it to his ear.
“Not yet darling! He’s waiting for you to hang up, he doesn’t want you to hear what is about to happen”
“Of course darling! It’s what families do” Johnny hung up the phone and placed it back in his pocket.
“I’ll close the door, you boys need your privacy” Johnny grinned closing the laundry room door and leaned against the opposite wall.
“This shouldn’t take long, a few minutes” Johnny said to the two guards that were standing at opposite ends of the hall.
Ear piercing screams filled the near empty hallway, the sounds of bones breaking, and flesh ripping could be heard on the other side of the door, as the scent of blood filled the night air. Then all was silent. The door opened and Ky stood there, drenched in Carl’s blood, a wicked look on his face.
“Feel better big guy?” Johnny asked, with a grin.
“....Bet...ter….” Ky replied.
“Good, let’s get you cleaned up, you’re not getting in the car like that” Johnny said laughing. Ky’s lip curled up in a half smile and he moved down the hallway. Johnny looked in the laundry room, it was a grotesque scene, pieces of Carl were everywhere, and blood dripped from every machine, but it was the sight in the middle of the room that caught Johnny’s eye.
“Really, did you have to stake his head?” Johnny asked, Ky stopped walking and turned around a wicked smile spread across his face.
“Me….ss….age de...liv….ered!” Turning back around he walked further down the hall, his laughter echoing off the walls.
“He scares the fuck outta me” Johnny mumbled as he shook his head looking back in the room one more time.
They headed to the clearing where Kane cleaned off in the lake. He changed into clean clothes, his would need to be burned and they headed back to the hotel. He wanted to be on the first flight out of there. Marco managed to get him and Johnny a red eye, they would be back in Howler’s Bay before the sun came up. Having another shower to make sure he didn’t miss any blood the first time around, they headed off to the airport.
“Thank you Kenneth! Consider Hillcrest under your charge” Kane said shaking his hand. “You might want to tone down the wardrobe though.”
“Thank you!” He bowed.
“We’ll see you boys on Tuesday, for our next big adventure. Hopefully Marco does better with English this time around” Johnny said as they parted ways and boarded the plane.
Sitting in the row ahead of Kane, Johnny tried to stretch out.
“Maybe we should get a plane” He said “Private planes are less crowded and cramped”
“Do you want me to knock you out, you can sleep the whole way back” Kane offered from the seat behind him.
“Would make it easier to come and go as we pleased” Johnny persisted “It could be a tax write off, business purposes.” A man sat next to Kane and tried to hog all the leg room, he put in his earphones and ignored the death look Kane was giving him to move his leg. Johnny arched an eyebrow as he looked back at him.
“And you don’t have to sit with strangers in your lap” Johnny added, an elderly lady sat next to Johnny and he gave her a big smile.
“Well hello darling, allow me to help you with your bag” Johnny offered,
“Well aren’t you a nice young man, your parents must be proud?” she said and smiled back. Kane smacked his knee off Johnny’s seat for the eighth time, he cursed under his breath.
“Look into it when we get back” He grumbled, shoving the man’s leg over onto his own side. He could hear Johnny laughing in the seat ahead of him
“Don’t get him fired up” Johnny warned through the link “I don’t want to deal with him in this tin can at 30000 feet”
“He is fine. He held nothing back. I on the other hand might break this man’s leg off” Kane replied.
“It’s only for a few hours, do you want me to knock you out? Then you can sleep the whole way back” Johnny laughed.
Kane grumbled something and did his best to settle into his seat. Why do people have this need to take up as much room as possible in a small space?
“When did she tell you?” Johnny asked.
“Tell me what?” Kane returned.
“Don’t play dumb, I saw the flames!” Johnny said.
“After they removed the breathing tube,” He answered.
“It’s in fate’s hands now,” Johnny said.
“Yes it is,” Kane agreed.
He was prepared to die, if she never said it. Now the risk of them both dying was imminent and with the approaching Blue Moon fate better make its move soon before their time runs out.