Here's Day 6 of my NaNoWriMo novel. Again I'm disabling comments on
these entries. Don't get me wrong, I love feedback and comments, in this
case though they would only serve to distract me and cause me to second
guess myself. Finally, this novel is of course Copyright © 2012 Steven
Lake & Engen Books. Word Count today: 1681
“I know, I know.” said Ryan. “I’m only pulling you chain, hell I’d join you in a glass if I could. Seems a shame for you to have it all to yourself.”
“I don’t mind, really.” Said Frank as he finished a third shot. “But speaking of alcohol, since I have had a couple of drinks we’re gonna have to wait to start tracking those two. I don’t even want to know where my car keys are right now.”
“That’s ok Frank, it’s too near dawn to start now anyway, we can wait until tonight. Besides, they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. With your silver ammo, that kitty is healing super slow.” Replied Ryan.
“Well since that’s settled,” said Frank as he reached for the whiskey bottle. “I think I’ll have one more before I call it a night. Or a day. Or whatever we’re calling this flipped life you lead now partner.”
“You do that. I’ll see you back here at sunset.” Chuckled Ryan as he headed for the office door.
When Ryan got back to the office that night, he found Frank busily checking over his equipment. The conference table held enough weapons to supply a small nation.
“Jesus Frank! We’re going on a hunt, not overthrowing a government.” said Ryan
“Correction, we’re hunting a woman who can bench press cars and a man-cat who can bite me in half. I’m not taking any chances.” Said Frank as he checked the breech on his shotgun.
Satisfied, he double checked the safety, secured the gun in a holster on his back and started readying his handguns. “the Boy Scouts had it right, be prepared.” he said.
“That didn’t work out well for that troop in Cleavland.” said Ryan.
“Yeah well who in their right mind goes camping during a full moon?” asked Frank.
“Alright.” He said as he picked up two extra ammunition clips, “Let’s hunt down the bad guys.”
“Nothing up here either Frank, just leaves and more leaves, of and some branches.” Ryan said into his headset microphone.
“Smart ass.” Frank replied
Ryan was searching thought his third tree for any sign of blood or other indications of Kenna’s escape route. He’d started outside the window the panther crashed through and worked his way outward from the house. Frank sat in his car a couple of blocks away nursing a coffee and waiting for Ryan to give the signal. It was a long shot but it was the best theory they had on figuring out which way she ran.
“Ok Ryan, try the next tree over.” Said Frank
“Just starting my climb now. You know it’s funny, I used to be afraid of heights and I couldn’t climb a fence, let alone a tree. But now it all seems so simple, I wonder how I could have been so foolish.”
“Not foolish” Frank replied “Human, with all the moral fears the rest of us have. Now you’re damn near indestructible, no more of our human frailties.”
Ryan heard a strange tone in Frank’s voice, almost a sadness mixed with a hint of anger. Before he could think more about it, Ryan put his hand on something slick.
“Frank I think we just hit pay dirt.” exclaimed Ryan. “I’ve got blood up here, the moisture kept it slick.”
“Excellent! I knew there had to be a trail. Do you see anything else around?” asked Frank
“Yeah, some broken branches that make a hole outwards. I see my next target tree about a hundred feet from here.”
“That’s a heck of a jump, Ryan.” Said Frank
“It used to be, now though...”
Frank heard the almost static like sound of wind blowing through Ryan’s mic and realized that he was now mid leap between the trees.”
“Wow! What a rush.” Cried Ryan. “Frank you gotta try this!”
“Thanks partner, I’ll pass. I like keeping my feet planted on the ground. If it’s not too much trouble while you’re up there having fun, could you see if you can spot the trail we’re supposed to be following?” laughed Frank.
“Yeah, sure Frank, I’m moving North on Humber avenue now, you can start moving up to follow. The tree tops are pretty beat up, it’s not hard to see where she went. Then again it couldn’t have been easy lugging that cat over her shoulder, even for a Vampire it had to be rough.”
“Copy that, I’m on my way in your direction now.” Said Frank as he put his car in gear. A quick left took him onto Maple and further down the road he spotted Ryan leaping to another tree. He almost seemed to float across the distance like an astronaut in zero gee, from the ground it looked like gravity had lost it’s hold on Ryan.
“Ryan, you would not believe how eerie that looks from down here.” said Frank, unable to hide the amazement from his voice.
“I’ll bet, you should see it from up here now that I’m getting the hang of it. She covered a lot of ground, this trail goes on for a while.” said Ryan
“Well stay with it, I’m not too far back, we’ll find her and take care of her and her cat soon enough.”
“Frank I’m making a left turn onto Long Pond Road, it looks like she stayed in the trees even after going this distance.”
“Well they stay pretty thick and regular in this end of town, it’s almost as if the houses were built in a forest, it’s a wonder that there aren’t more attacks out here given the cover and feeling of being out in the wild instead of in a city.” said Frank
“I know” said Ryan “It’s a far cry from our offices downtown, or even from your place in the hills, at least there you’re in suburbia instead of out in these old estate areas. Hang on, I’m going left again, Frank I’m heading back the way we came but I’m on Ferryland Street, two streets over from where we started.”
“She doubled back?” asked Frank “Keep with it Ryan, I’m turning around. Let me know if you make another left back to the house.”
“I was just about to tell you that I am actually. I’m back at the house by the window now, her trial came right back here. I’m looking around, trying to see if there’s any hint of where she might have gone from here but I’m not seeing anything yet.” said Ryan
Frank pulled up next to the house and punched the steering wheel in frustration “Dammit! Where the hell did she go? Why come back to the house? She knew that the police would have searched it again and that we’d start looking for her from here. What’s her game?”
The passenger side door opened and Ryan dropped into the seat. “I think I know. Look across the street, my car’s gone.”
“She came back and stole your car. Resourceful little bitch isn’t she?” said Frank “I don’t suppose there’s any trail that we can track now.”
“Not that I could see.” said Ryan “There’s no tire tracks on the pavement, it doesn’t look like she sped away. If I were to guess, that circuit she did took just enough time for the police to finish up and cart me away to the morgue and for you to be satisfied and leave as well. Then she just walked over to my car, put the panther in and leisurely drove away.”
Frank punched the steering wheel again. “So we’re back to square one again, great! That’s just great!”
“Well we can check with the police and see if she dumped the car after, there can’t be that many Austin Minis in this city. It’s just a matter of time before it turns up.” Reasoned Ryan “Wherever it turns up will give us a new place to start our search and fresh clues as to where she might be hiding.”
“And in that time her cat heals and they have time to plan and start again, whatever her long term plans are anyway.” said Frank
V
Power, that’s what it’s all about. It is the beginning and the end of the circle. Those in power have strength, those with strength lead and those who lead are in turn given power. Power is the prize for those with the will to seize it. The most powerful can win the fight and claim more power. Power can also be built over time, quietly, covertly. Learning secrets and lies to spin a web of information that gives power through fear. It knew their fear now, it tasted their terror and it fed. Feeding helped it’s power build, helped it grow, helped it shake of an eternity of lethargy. Slowly it would feed, it had time. What is a century or two when one is ageless? Let them start to feel it’s presence and growing power. Let them fear the power and in turn feed the power they feared. Let the circle continue just a little longer...
Kenna looked with concern at the figure in the bed at the back of the room. Though he’d healed a good bit over a week, Evan had taken a lot of damage and still had a lot of healing to do. His face was still a bruised mess though his jaw was whole again. He still had a broken arm and a couple of cracked ribs, he’d never let on when he was awake how hurt he was, but in his sleep he moaned in pain.
“That nasty human, spoiling my fun and hurting my friend, we’ll show him. Yes we will.” Kenna said as she looked into the flames in the fireplace. “Just as soon as you’re well again Evan we’ll make him pay. Him and his partner. After all I did for Ryan, sharing my power, making him like me. I go to all that trouble and still he sides with the human, well they better make the most of the time they have left.”
