Black Bear Fall: A BWWM Paranormal Romance (Black Bear Saga Book 2) (10 page)

S
he was
out of breath and running for her life. The people chasing her were not very far behind, she could hear them hollering and calling her name. She had taken a wrong turn coming out of the park and she was now running scared though an area of derelict factories. Bags of garbage lay stacked in piles, baking in the sun. No one was around, no one except the two men chasing her, hunting her for what they thought they deserved. She splashed though a puddle of grey water, her legs and feet soaked with the foul smelling water.

“Get nice and wet for us,” one of them shouted after her. They were getting closer, driven by lust mixed with rage and they didn’t seem to be slowing down. She looked ahead down the broken pavement of a once bustling area, two choices, go left or right.

Her feet skidded out from under her as she took a hard turn to the right. Her palms burned as they shredded across the ground. She glanced back, they were so close. If she didn’t get up they would be upon her in seconds. Her feet kicked out again as they slipped out behind her. A tobacco stained hand shot out to grab her and sliced through the air close to her neck. The two men were close now, she was barely out of arms reach. She could smell them clearly, stale beer and cheap tobacco. She turned the corner and increased her speed. It was a dead end. A dumpster lay on its side with sections of shredded car tires spilled out of it, black rubber snakes escaping from a sinking ship. The wall at the end of the alley was tall and topped with enough rusting razor wire to stop the most intrepid of urban explorers.

The two men slowed as soon as they saw the dead end. “It’s not your lucky day,” called one of them in a jeering tone as they slowed down. No point in wasting energy now. Their prey was trapped.

She ran to the end of the alley and leaned with her hands spread against the wall. Her chest burned from the exertion. She spat onto the ground and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

The two men had slowed down as they approached. The older one, the one who stunk of tobacco said, “You chose poorly,” and uttered a thick phlegmy laugh.

The other man was younger and he had a downward cast to his eyes, this wasn’t his first time, no jitters or shakes, only a sure footed strut as he closed in on his quarry. “This can all be over for you quickly if you don’t make a scene. You’re young you’ll brush this off quick enough” he said. His gold tooth glinted as he grinned at the girl.

“That’s the first thing I’m going to take,” the girl said watching the two men, her breathing now under control.

“What did this bitch say?” the tobacco stained man said.

“Didn’t anyone teach you to respect your elders?” the gold toothed man said and took a flick knife out of his pocket and waved the blade back and forth in front of him. “We were going to play nice, and now you have to go and act all crazy.”

The men stood looking at the girl not yet ready to approach her and get within striking distance. This dance was nothing new to them and they both knew that once they started everything would be over all to quickly. They liked to savour the moment, watch the fear grow in their preys eyes as they came to realise help was not coming.

“You didn't hear me. I said thats’ the first thing I’m going to take,” the girl said and nodded to the gold toothed man.

The two men looked at each other and laughed. Gold tooth never took his eyes off her, his blade swishing back and forth in front of him, always moving and ready to cause serious damage. “Looks like we have a crazy one here,” he said, “no matter to us, tonights still going to go down the same way for you. What are you jabbering about taking? We will be the only ones doing any taking tonight,” he said grinning at her and licking his lips.

“Have it your way,” the girl sounding completely relaxed, “that gold tooth is going to make a sweet necklace. The girl grinned at the two men.

They looked at her frozen to the spot, was she high or just stone cold crazy. Something was off about her smile, it seemed too wide for her face, too many sharp teeth packed into a small space. The gold toothed man looked to his companion and said, “Play time is over.” A woman speaking back to him or disrespecting him in any way was a woman not long for the world. His only thought now was he wanted to wipe that stupid grin off her face. He stepped forward the tip of the knife glinting as he moved it back and forward.

The girl threw her head back and roared. The skin on her face ripped open like wet paper and hung from her bloodied face. The noise of bones grinding and breaking echoed around the alley as her skull began to elongate and reconfigure into a new form. The gold tooth mans mouth hung open in horror, his mind scrambled for an answer. The bitch had drugged me somehow he thought as he jabbed forward with the knife. The girl swiped down with force and broke his arm. The knife went flying and spun off under a pile of rubber strips. The gold toothed man stumbled backwards and fell hard on the ground as pain shot out of his shattered arm.

The tobacco stained man looked to his fallen friend and the mass of pulsating blood and fur and contorted limbs before him. He turned and ran, not looking back, not caring if his friend was going to die.

The gold toothed man tried to get up and his legs felt like jelly. He back peddled away from what was once the girl, he couldn’t take his eyes off what was unfolding in front of him. The girl fell down on all fours and roared. Her spine cracking sounding like popcorn popping right against your ear. Her clothes ripped and fell away with chunks of skin attached. All traces of the girl was gone as her limbs elongated and claws ripped through steaming flesh.

The gold tooth man gibbered and groaned as he tried to get away from the creature. The alleyway was drenched with blood and chunks of flesh lay around the paws of the creature. “What are you?” the gold toothed man shouted.

The creature before him shook its self and a wide arc of blood and flecks of flesh splattered the wall surrounding it. A black bear, its fur matted and clumped on its hide stood where the girl was only seconds ago. “What did you do to her?” the man screamed. He couldn’t seem to move away his limbs not obeying his commands.

The bear charged at him. The man screamed a high pitched wail. The bear kicked him on his back and pinned him down. The bear roared in his face, spittle flying. The man tried to push the bear away and his arm felt weak and feeble. The bear placed his paw over the mans face. The sharp claws dug into the man tearing his scalp and ripping open his cheek. The man screamed as utter fear and panic consumed him. The bear hooked a claw into the mans open mouth and ripped his lower jaw off and threw it across the alley. The mans screams ended in wet bubbling gurgles as the bear bent down and ripped open his throat and ended him.

The bear looked down the alley and sniffed the air. Stale tobacco flooded its snout. The bear ran down the alley way its huge paws kicking up sprays of water as it ran through puddles of dirty water. It turned the corner and the other man was up ahead. He hadn’t got very far and was getting slower. The bear increased its speed.

The mans lungs were burning, tears streamed down his cheeks and his head felt like it was on fire. What kind of demon did he see back there, his fevered brain thought as he tried to get away as fast as possible. He heard the sound of something splashing through a puddle behind him and he glanced back. A black bear was barrelling towards him, its tongue lolling out of its blood stained mouth.

The mans stomach felt like it dropped twenty floors in an elevator as his legs gave him a burst of speed. The bear swiped at him and knocked his legs out from under him. The man fell hard, his jaws clacking shut on his tongue as he hit the pavement. Blood filled his mouth as he crawled on his stomach trying to get away.

The bear slammed a paw into the mans back and he screamed in pain as the claws dug into his back. His back arched painfully as he tried feebly to push the bear off him. The bear looked at the squirming man pinned to the ground. The bear opened its jaws wide and snapped down on the back of the mans neck. The bones crunched as the bear gave the mans body a shake. The life was already leaving the mans body as the bear turned him over to feast on his entrails.

Twenty minutes later the girl walked out of the alley with the over turned dumpster. She was wearing the gold toothed mans jacket zipped up and had taken his pants and shoes. As she walked away from the torn apart body she tossed something up in the air that glinted and then caught it. She smiled and put the gold tooth into her pocket. She pulled the drawstring tight on the pants and headed in the direction of home.

Graces head snapped back and hit the back of the chair. Her whole body felt like it was burning up and she could feel a sensation like a thousand insects crawling over her. She could taste the metallic twinge of blood in her mouth. Everything was a blur around her and she turned and retched. I can still taste the raw flesh she thought as her guts churned. Her stomach dry heaved a couple more times and she wiped her mouth. She could still smell the dampness of the alleyway, the stink of tobacco and fear. “Help me,” she said her voice coming out broken and frail.

“I told you it was her,” a voice said sounding like it was floating up from the bottom of a lake.

Another voice said, “We can increase the dosage the next time.”

“What did you see?” a voice said to her through the fog of confusion. Her head lolled to the side as she tried to focus on anything around her, everything was awash in pulsing colours, the world a water colour painting. “What did you see?” the voice said louder and the blurred world around Grace seemed to shimmer and shift as the sound waves moved outwards from the man.

Grace tried to talk and her mouth felt like it was stuffed with dirty rags, her tongue didn’t want to move as her head rolled over on her shoulder. I’m made of glass her fevered brain thought, if I move I’m going to shatter into a million pieces.

Someone slapped her hard against the face and her head slammed back into the chair, a sound like a stick of dynamite exploded in her head and she moaned. The world around her began to clear and solidify. Coloured smears began to coalesce into the figures of three men watching her intently. Images of the alleyway, the men, the bear and the carnage faded away as the world came back into focus and she remembered where she was.

“Water,” she said through dry cracked lips.

The doctor approached and held her head back and poured some water from a bottle into her mouth. She swallowed and images of crimson blood spraying into her open mouth filled her mind. Grace coughed and spluttered and the doctor stopped. She looked at the three men watching her as the pain slowly left her body.

“What did you do to me?” she asked, her voice sounded broken and scratchy.

Tulimak looked at her with a smile, obviously pleased with what he had witnessed. “You just had your first very weak dose of bile. If you are who we think you are, you will be able to handle a lot stronger dose. If not,” and he shrugged his shoulders, “so be it.”

“What did you see?” the Doctor asked. Slattery was standing across the room in the far corner taking notes again. Anne’s face was turned to Grace and her eyes were closed and her eyes were twitching behind her dark blue and almost bruised looking eyelids.

“I don’t know,” Grace said and she wasn't lying. Everything was out of sequence in her mind, images, tastes, sounds all mixed up together. If she tried to picture what had happened it would slide out of grasp and she would be left with only a faint after image of the events. “I could smell burning. I was at a zoo I think. People screaming. Animals running wild. I don’t know please, I cant see what happened,” she said as her voice began to shake and before she knew it she was crying, her whole body shaking. If she wasn’t strapped to the chair she would have slid off it onto the ground and curled up into a ball. I don’t know what’s happening she thought to herself as her chest heaved painfully as she cried.

“She’s of no use to use now,” the doctor said, “her brain needs to process what just happened. Piece it back together like a jigsaw.”

“How long before we can dose her again,” Tulimak said sounding impatient.

“Twenty four hours and she should be strong enough for a double strength dose. Let her rest until then,” the doctor said.

“She has twelve, and then we try again,” Tulimak said.

“She needs at least twenty four hours,” the doctor said and Tulimak turned to him, no trace of a smile on his face.

“She’s lucky I’m benevolent enough to give her twelve. You’re slipping Doctor. You always let yourself get too involved with these specimens. Remember what happened last time?” Tulimak said.

“Twelve hours it is. Can I move them to the room next door with the cots. The more proper rest she gets the better she can withstand the effects of the bile,” the doctor said.

“Slattery, prepare the room next door. Make it comfortable for our guests. Doctors orders,” he said looking at the doctor with a scowl.

Tulimak kneeled down in front of Grace and held her head by the chin, his fingers dug painfully into her flesh and he said, “I’ll be seeing you soon. Save your strength. You get to go on another joyride first thing tomorrow morning.”

Grace stared into his eyes and all she saw was hatred and anger towards her and she felt a chill run through her body. He held her gaze and gave one more powerful squeeze of her face before getting up and walking out of the room, Slattery and the doctor following him.

She felt a wave of relief when they left the room, being close to Tulimak made her feel like she was standing beside a rabid animal, at any moment he was about to turn around and snap and bite at her. He had made Grace feel like a tiny scared animal, his beast nature seemed to bubble directly under the surface of his humanity. He felt unpredictable, dangerous and she had tensed any time he got close to her. He looked like a human, but she could barely feel any kind of real humanity coming from him. Being in his presence felt different to Grace than when she was around members of the black bear clan.