Page 9 of Under Dark Skies

“Any of you got a light?” A tall man in a dark jacket asked, but didn’t give the men any time to respond. With light speed, their fangs were exposed, glistening under the moonlight like pristine ivory, then sunk fast into Don’s exposed neck. His friend screamed, along with the girls, who began running back toward Layla in a hysterical panic.

They were Lycans, and were definitely coming for her. The big one threw Don into the street like a rag doll.

“Layla! LAYLA!”

She didn’t realize that she had stopped moving. She was staring at the large creature, who only seemed to get bigger as he crept forward. All over her other friends were legging it in the direction she came, when Amy grabbed her and yanked her out of her daze.

“Move your ass, woman!”

Despite their heels, the women ran as fast as humanly possible. Adrenaline and fear powered Layla’s legs. At that point she couldn’t feel any pain, the only goal was to get away, to survive. They turned down a small street and saw the door of a convenience store lying ajar. Amy ripped it open and forced Layla in.

“Get in! Get the fuck in!”

They had made it inside, and had no clue where the rest of their friends had gone. Amy locked the door while the owner bellowed behind them.

“THERE ARE WOLVES THERE! CALL THE FUCKING POLICE—“

Layla grabbed Amy’s arm. “No! Don’t do that!”

Amy turned to her friend. Her eyes swam with confusion, concern, and even growing resentment. There was no time to explain, but the last thing she needed were the police involved in human and lycan matters. She knew very little right now, but that was what she knew for sure.

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Nothing, just get back—“

As they made their way toward the back of the store, the glass shattered. Amy and the store owner screamed, making their way deeper into the back. Layla saw the face of the large man grinning through the destroyed glass. He had put his hand through it like it had been smoke.

He kicked the doorway in with ease, then stepped inside. Layla tried to run, but her heels had finally caught up with her. She tripped just as Amy was about to close the door to the freezer where the owner and her were locking themselves in. She screamed her name, but her breaths were muted by the metal door.

The lycan stepped inside. There wasn’t much light, but the moon filtered through the broken door and threw a pattern upon the ground, much like church glass. Layla crawled backwards fast. She couldn’t take her eyes off their nightmare specimen.

She had seen shifters before, of course. But there was nothing like watching this giant, treacherous creature slowly tower over her, its teeth bared, gleaming under the dim light of the moon. She was frozen in fear on that floor. All she could do was breathe heavily and clutch her fingers against the cool linoleum floor.

This was it. Her final resting place.

“You’re looking tasty.” The creature spoke, a low growl that made the floor she laid on hum. It would have almost been pleasant if she knew her life was going to end. He got on all fours, arched his back, then slowly climbed on top of her. He smelled wretched, and drool fell from his gnarling, gaping mouth.

“This is going to be so good.” The creature opened its mouth wide, gaping with a hot red intensity, and Layla closed her eyes. She believed death was imminent, but suddenly, a loud bang brought her back into the present. The lycan was no longer on top of her. She scurried to stand and ran back to where Amy and the owner of the store were hiding.

“LET ME IN! AMY! IT'S ME! LET ME IN!”

She turned back to see that the creature was lying limp on the opposite side of the store, on top of wracks of chocolate bars that had been knocked down during the attack. On top of him was another creature. She could see light grey fur on its hands, curled in a defensive mode, then slow morph back to the hand of a man.

The man turned, and she caught his features in the moonlight. It was Rafe.

“You’re not safe anymore Layla. Come.” He showed her his outstretched hand. “Your friends will be fine. I almost got rid of the other one.”

Layla felt like she had no other choice. His face was half in darkness, half in light. Perhaps those were the two worlds he resided in.

He ran toward him and grabbed his hand. He lifted her onto his back and behind blasting through the dim of the night.

Ten

Rafe

Rafe ran through the streets in the shape of a man. It would more than likely frighten Layla too much to see what he looked like in full wolf form. She also may not have been able to distinguish him from the others if he tried to take her away. He wasn’t as fast this way, but it worked out better.

Layla clung onto his neck as he moved through the streets. Every now and then he would jump, but only a certain amount, again, not to frighten Layla. She clutched his neck quite tightly, and had yet to say a word since she had taken his hand.

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