Page 40 of Poison

CHAPTERFOURTEEN

Itrip as my feet catch on something, my body sliding across the shiny surface of the floor. I try to grab anything to slow my momentum, but I can’t get a hold of anything. My spine slams into something hard, and I cry out covering my head as a shadow descends on me. Something crashes to the floor and people gasp, making me open my eyes, finding myself under a pile of clothes. The women who work in the shop stare at me with their mouths open as I push myself to my feet.

“I’m so sorry about that,” I apologise, stepping out of the mass of clothing surrounding me.

My head whips left and right, trying to find my friend, but he’s nowhere to be seen. I run to the front of the shop, and the sight that meets my eyes has my heart plummeting. Kevin’s defending himself the best he can, without trying to hurt anyone in the process, but I can see he’s having a hard time doing it. The group of men surround him on all sides as the shoot arrows and weird glowing things at him. The humans surrounding them clearly don’t know anything is going on as they continue about their day. While not realising there’s a nearly forty-foot snake trying not to hurt any of them.

I’m powerless to do anything as I watch them throwing chains over him. His yells of rage have tears building in the corners of my eyes as his eyes connect with mine.

“Get out of here,”he demands, flicking his huge tail and lifting the hunter off the floor with enough force to launch him across the shopping centre. He hits the wall with a thud, before slowly sliding down it and crumpling to the floor in a heap.

“No, I’m not leaving you!” I snarl back. The heavy feeling in my chest has my breathing becoming heavier. “Fight them!” I beg him.

“Pop, please,” he fires back as he tries to pull a weapon out of one of their hands. “I can’t concentrate with you here and I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

A brilliant white light flashes in the area, completely blocking them. I have to cover my eyes it’s that bright, making my eye lids flutter trying to bring my vision back. When I hear the most painful roar, the anguish in it has me dropping to my knees. My chest becomes even heavier and it feels like my soul is being torn in two.

“Kevin?!”

My scream rips through the air as the roar dies off and left in its wake… is silence. My eyes adjust, I can see him lying on the floor, his form unmoving with two of the hunters standing over his head, huge swords above theirs.

No. No. No. I search around trying to find something that will spark an idea on how I can help. But nothing comes to mind. Tears pool in the edges of my eyes as the pain in my chest becomes ever more painful. My eyes nearly bug out of my head as the swords above the hunters’ heads start to pulsate with a bright white and blue light. They lift their arms higher, and a tear escapes as my helplessness adds to the torrent of emotions. The first one starts his arc with his weapon for the killing blow.

“KEVIN!”

The sound of my voice is foreign even to my ears as it echoes through the concrete walls, sounding like there are several voices screaming the words. Pain rips through my chest, and I have to throw my head back. I scream with everything I have, and it’s like every molecule in my body is being shattered into a thousand pieces.

A roar fills the air, followed by screams as darkness swims at the edges of my vision. I try my best to shake it off, my concentration coming back enough to know. I’m on my hands and knees on the ground, panting as tears drip from my cheeks onto the floor. The terror-filled yells have my head lifting slowly, it’s painful but I manage it. The hunters are looking around frantically as humans are running from the opposite direction of the centre. Their faces horrified as they push and shove one another.

Thunder rumbles overhead and a ferocious gale tears through the food court, up-turning tables and chairs; signs that were outside shops are now sliding across the floor. I watch in shock as people run like hellfire is on their arses. Kevin’s unconscious form is in the centre as the hunters try to keep themselves on their feet and not get dragged along with the stampede.

With everything I have, I manage to push myself to my feet, and the act of putting one foot in front of the other has me biting into my lip from the pain. I have to cover my eyes to stop the debris that’s flying in all directions as I push forward towards my friend.

“Hey!” one of the hunters shouts at me as I place my hand on my friend’s scaled head. “Get away from it, you stupid girl.”

My head whips up to meet his eyes, his own widening as they do. I thought I was calm, but seeing his face amongst the masses standing there… the flood gates open and I scream, the sound growing in volume. The hunter has to covers his ears, and a shock wave booms across the food court taking the hunter off his feet, throwing him backwards.

A roar that sounds like a jet engine has me looking over my shoulder, the sight that greets me has my heart thundering in my chest. A massive tornado is tearing the building apart as people try to get out of its way.Oh shit!What do I do?

“Pop?” The croak of the voice has my full attention. I look away from the now mangled body of the hunter. Guilt rakes me from hurting someone but the relief I feel hearing his voice is astronomical.

“Kevin?” I cry as tears stream down my face, the relief is too much to bear as I sob against his massive head, my head resting on his scales as I fall apart.

“Pop, I need you to calm down,” he says with a croak, his voice sounding like he’s swallowed a bed of razor blades.

“Oh my god, you had me so worried,” I sob as the overwhelming emotions feel like they’re swallowing me whole. “Can you move?”

I’ve never been more excited to see the red glow of his eyes, but now looking into one of them. I can say I never want to be without him ever.

“I’m okay, but, Pop, I need you to calm down,” he says again.

The screams of people running for their lives as the sound of the tornado gets closer has my anxiety taking centre stage, and I look around to try and find somewhere safe for us. If I can get him to move just a little. I pray to every god in both the supernatural and human world to keep us safe. I see the lifeless body of the hunter and another sob escapes as the guilt wrestles with the panic.

“I don’t know what happened,” I stutter. “He’s dead.”

That has Kevin’s full attention as he tries to lift his massive head to look in the direction I am. I hear the thud of it landing on the floor, and I look at him in concern when I hear his growl as he lifts his head once more. I stand to my full height, looking up at him as he sways side to side. The sound of the tornado is like white noise now, in the furthest recesses of my brain as the concern for my friend overrides everything.

“Daddy,” I hear a whimper coming from somewhere in my vicinity.

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