Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Unleashed part 2 I opened my closet and looked for my old Ctarl armor. I hadn’t worn it since the first day I met Justin. First, I put on the tights and the shirt with chest armor. Then I put on the belt and the boots. Next, my shoulder armor and sash and the bell collar. Then I quickly braided my hair and tied my solid gold ring to the end. And finally, my tiara. Then I added one unconventional ornament. I opened the drawer on the night-table and pulled out the star necklace Justin gave me. I put it around my neck and tucked it underneath my bell. I never thought I would become such a sentimental fool, but that was before I even began to imagine what love could do to me. I quietly peeked into Kida’s room to make sure she was OK. She was still slumbering peacefully. “Thank God.” I silently crept over, knelt down beside her, and said my goodbye. I gently brushed her hair back and kissed her little cheek. Then I looked up at Ozz who was sleeping soundly on the shelf above her. “Keep her safe,” I whispered. I leapt out the bedroom window and landed squarely on the grass below. “Let the hunt begin,” I said to myself. My ears twitched and I sniffed the air to try and pick up any trace of Ravage. Just then, I heard a loud crash come from deep in the forest. “Oh, this is gonna be easy.” I took off at full speed into the woods and towards the noise. As I snapped twigs and brushed past leaves, I thought to myself, “I’m gonna stick to this guy like glue, but I’ll stay out of sight. He said he promised Justin that he wouldn’t kill. But how much is the promise of a demon worth? If he steps over the line, I will intervene. And if necessary..... I will use force.” As I thought this, I stopped and pulled out the necklace. I held it tight as if it were the last memory of Justin that I had. “Justin.... my purram, I pray you’ll forgive me.” I kissed the star pendant, tucked it away, and continued the hunt. I hadn’t gone far when I heard a rustle behind me. I stopped and looked back. There was no-one there. But there was a familiar scent in the air. “Come on out, Felix. I know you’re there.” Slowly, he emerged from behind a tree. “What are you doing out here, Aisha?” he asked. “This isn’t your business, Felix,” I said. “You should go back.” “It might not be,” he said. “But what'll I tell Justin if you turn up hurt or missing? That I didn't think it was necessary to follow you?” “I appreciate your concern Felix, but I can take care of myself. Now go home.” “Ever heard of David and Goliath?” I didn’t have time for this. I had to get back to tracking Ravage. “What does that have to do with anything?” I said. “There are many kinds of courage, Aisha,” he said. “And the one that made me get out to see what you’re doing skulking around in the shadows forbids me to go back. You have my concern and my answer.” Felix was a sweet kid, but this just wasn’t his fight. “You have my concern as well, Felix. This doesn’t involve you. And for your safety, I don’t want it to.” “Fine, I’ll go. But I want you to know that I’ve only ever cared for you, Aisha. You will know that before the end.” I nodded and whispered, “Go then,” and he turned back towards the house. I knew how Felix felt about me and I was touched by his consideration, but I couldn’t let him get mixed up in this. As soon as he was out of sight, I took off once again in search of Ravage. As I ran deeper into the woods, I came to an old oak that had been completely uprooted. “Looks like I’m on the right track.” I sniffed the air. “He can’t be far.” I looked around and noticed a trail of clawmarks on several of the trees. “That way.” I followed the trail for a few minutes until I came to the last mark. “These marks are still fresh. He must be around here somewhere. That idiot,” I thought. “He’s leading me right to him.” Actually, I was the idiot. At the time I couldn’t even recognize a trap. Before I could hear him, Ravage came down, knocked me from behind, and into a tree with a deafening “wham!”. “I told you not to follow me,” he snarled. I got up and started to brush myself off. “Well I always was the stubborn one,” “Go home before I’m forced to REALLY hurt you.” “It’ll take a lot more than that to hurt me.” “I know.” Ravage unsheathed his talons and I got ready to defend myself. But then, instead of attacking me, Ravage pressed one of his razor sharp nails to his throat. “Get back to the house,” he said, “or I will do it.” Then he started to cut himself. Not deeply. But just enough to let me know he was serious. I saw a thin stream of blood start to trickle down his neck. “Stop!” I screamed. The sadistic were-wolf paused and I softly stammered, “I’ll...... I’ll go.” He withdrew his talons. “Ii kone,” he said as he licked the blood from his claws. I reluctantly turned around and started to walk away. I just kept walking straight, deeper into the night, until I heard his feet shuffle and turn around. I then quietly got on all fours and began to stalk him more stealthily this time. I was going to have to be extra careful now. He openly threatened Justin’s safety. If I had to tie him up and hold him down till this was all over, then so be it. I got close, about ten feet away, when suddenly he stopped. I quickly and without a sound ducked behind a tree. He crouched down and started running his claws through the dirt. This was my chance. I slipped out from cover and prepared to pounce on him. But again, he was playing me. He picked a branch off the ground and hurled it back at me. I jumped over the projectile and lunged at him head on. He went on his back and in a reverse somersault motion, countering my attack and kicking me into the tree behind him. Didn’t stop me, though. I rebounded off the tree, onto his back, and tried to give him the sleeper. If I could force Ravage into submission, Justin would come back. But he reached behind, grabbed my shoulders, and flung me to the side. Again, using them to my advantage, I grasped the trunk of the tree I was flying towards, and using it like a vertical pole, came back around and kicked Ravage in the chest. He staggered back for a sec and I got back on my feet. Then in a rage, he charged at me claws unsheathed. I jumped up into the tree, just missing his talons. But then, in one slash, he cut the tree down. I jumped to the next tree before it hit the ground. Ravage then broke off a large branch from the fallen tree and sent it flying towards me. I jumped out of the way simply by leaping over to the next tree. He let out a menacing growl. Now I was really starting to aggravate him. Just then I had another idea. If this kept up, if he just kept attacking in a blind rage, I could simply wear him down. The cycle went on for about a minute. I kept jumping from tree to tree. He kept tossing at me anything he could get his claws on. But with each toss, I didn’t see him get any weaker. Just more pissed off. He finally let out a frustrated scream and then.... I’m not sure what happened next, but things got really weird. All the trees started to shake, and then as if Ravage was an atomic bomb, the trees uprooted and blew away from him. I jumped down from my perch just in time, but that’s exactly what Ravage was waiting for. “LEAVE... ME... ALONE!!!!” he screamed. Then he thrust his arm forward, open palmed, at a downward angle. A crack in the earth formed at his feet and quickly traveled towards mine. In a second, the ground exploded beneath me and I was sent flying backwards. I must’ve gone about twelve feet. I fell back to earth and rolled one or two times, then looked back at the wolf-man in disbelief. He glared at me with his yellow eyes, then he jumped into the air..... and didn’t come back down. “He can fly too?” I quickly got to my feet and watched him like a dark comet in the midnight sky. “Oh no. He’s headed towards the city.”

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