Fate's Path

Chaos. The sky was a red orange color, the sun no longer visible as it dropped into the horizon. My mind was on a select few people. Lucinda. Julian. Rose, Julian’s little sister. She was always so kind and innocent, too young to die. I saw her in my memory but shook the image away. No time to dwell. “Chris, go find Lucinda! Connor, find Rose! I’m going to find Julian. Protect anyone you can on the way!” There was blood everywhere, followed by fearful screams and cries. A wolf bounded towards us. When it was close enough, I ducked down low, grabbing its leg, and to halt it. I heard the bone snap, felt it against my hands as the wolf landed with a loud yelp on its back and I kicked it away. I started to run towards the doors, I didn’t check to make sure my brother and Connor were okay. I didn’t feel any pain, so at least Chris was safe, and Connor can take care of himself.

A girl ran by me, screaming, tears running down her cheeks. I shook my head and ran faster, finally reaching the door and pulling them open. Inside was so much worse. There were already students dead, leaning against the walls, blood trickling from the bites on their necks. I’m assuming most of the wolves are outside, but not all because I saw many students completely shredded. Their esophagus was hanging out of their slit-open necks and I saw students with skin torn off their stomachs. Intestines spewed out of every single abrasion on their torso, and blood soon followed. It seemed as though their insides had been taken out and strewn everywhere as they had been ripped apart while they were still somewhat alive. Their limp jaws hung open in horror and surprise.

I ran past several students screaming, reaching the infirmary in no time at all. There was a loud screech and I threw open the door so hard it came off its hinges and slammed across the room. Julian wasn’t there. At least, his human form wasn’t. A large wolf was snarling, he bit a vampyr’s head off, and the vampyr burst into flames. Julian turned his snarling gaze to me, and I saw that he was still injured. His eyes softened and he limped over to me, bumping his snout against my hand. “Julian.” I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I had been holding. I looked up, seeing a terrified nurse, shaking in the corner. “Come on, let’s go!” I beckoned for her to follow and she did. Julian was behind me, trying his hardest to help me get through the crowd.

A vampyr ran at me, red eyes glowing, and fangs gleaming in the fluorescent lights. I wrinkled my nose at the way it looked apart from the eyes and fangs, I was used to the eyes and fangs. The other details, however, were horrifying, even to me. I mean, that wrinkled silk red jacket with a black suit overcoat, what are they? Stereotypical vampyrs? The vampyr had high, hollowed-out cheekbones, and pale -almost gray- skin. Its eyes had large, purple, bruise-like circles underneath them. It looked like it was suffering from many nights of sleep deprivation… wait. They don’t sleep at night.

I grabbed it by the hair, and effortlessly tossed it into the garden, the glass of the window it soared through shattered. I looked back at Julian as he decapitated another vampyr. I nodded, keeping a serious expression. Then I noticed the nurse wasn’t standing behind Julian anymore. I didn’t really have time to question it, so I turned the other way and continued on. I made sure to go at a slow enough pace so that Julian could keep up, and taking out vampyrs without any effort. We were almost to the main doors when a thought crossed my mind. This was too easy. Julian suddenly knocked me down right before a stake embedded itself into the wall behind where I had been standing. Julian whimpered, his leg had slammed into the ground when he rushed to save me.

“Thanks, J.” I groaned as I helped him back up. Instinct took over and I reached my hand towards the stake in the wall. My eyes narrowed at the vampyr that had thrown it, I gestured towards it. The stake obeyed my command, coming out of the wall and re embedding itself in the vampyr’s chest. The vampyr screeched as its flesh burned off its bones.

Then it was gone and the path to the doors was clear. “Come on Julian,” I said as he yelped, slipping and falling on his injured arm again. “Careful! Come on. You just have to make it a little further.” I finally got him up, and we pushed through the doors and into the growing chaos of outside. He whimpered at every step, making me flinch. “Would you stop whimpering? It’s like nails on a chalkboard.” His whimpering ceased and I looked around us.

A wolf came out of nowhere, tackling Julian and sending them tumbling. I heard the painful yelps of him and ran towards them, knocking the wolf off, and flinched at the snapping of bones when it hit a tree. Julian didn’t get up and I was worried that he was dead, but I saw the steady rising and falling of his chest. “Piper!” I heard a familiar voice call. Kiera dropped beside me a moment later.

“Hey, Kiera. Can you heal him? It’ll make this whole having to look after him thing a lot easier.” She nodded so I stood up, finding them all scattered and fighting. “I’m gonna join the others, and keep wolves and vampyrs away from you.” I saw Hex struggling with a wolf. Acting on instinct, I ran to her kicking the wolf hard enough that the bones cracked under my foot and blood splattered from where he broken bones punctured the skin. I helped Hex to her feet.

“Thank you, Piper.”

“No problem. You are a part of my team, and a new member of the family. We protect our own. No matter our personal feelings.” I did a half shrug and she smirked.

“I do believe you just admitted you don’t like me.” She pretended to be offended. Her eyes suddenly flicked past me and Hex yanked me forward, sending a kick to a vampyr. The vampyr flew through the air, impaling itself on a sharp branch and bursting into flames.

“I would say thank you, but I don’t feel like it.”

“That’s respectable. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go protect my best friend.” Before she got the chance to leave, I caught her arm.

“I’ll help Jamie. You should use your magic. Get to the roof, and keep track of everything, save lives.” Hex’s cheek twitched and she groaned before yanking her arm away and sighing.

“Fine. But if she dies, I’ll make you suffer for all eternity.” She growled before her feet lifted from the ground and she floated into the air. I didn’t have time to watch her as a vampyr wrapped its arms around my chest. I grunted, digging my nails into its forearm and leaning forward, throwing the vampyr and grabbing a pointy stick and staking the vampyr. Then I searched. “Piper! On your right!” Hex yelled and I swiveled to the right, staking the vampyr in one swift movement. I found Jamie several feet away, successfully fighting off three vampyrs.

“Piper!” I turned and let out a sigh of relief when I saw three friends running towards me. Eric. Leo. Marcus.

“Guys, where are the others?” I asked when they stopped in front of me.

“Connor and your brother are trying to help as many students get to the safety of Responsum’s home.” Marcus said.

“Okay. Logan?” They all shifted uncomfortably and worry cut me deep. “Where is Logan?”

“W-well, he was m-mad and he k-kinda went after M-Max and M-Maxine.” Eric responded, stuttering and looking down to the ground.

“What?!” I yelled, looking up to Hex. “Locate them!” Hex nodded, before turning and pointing to the other side of the school. I bolted. I didn’t even know exactly where I was going, just that I needed to save him. He still has people to protect. Getting himself killed doesn’t make the world safer for Jakie and Sienna. I didn’t want to leave the rest of my friends to save one, but each life matters. I saw Marcus running behind me, shortly followed by about half my friends. “You guys-”

“Not now, Piper. We have to succeed. Destroy Max. It shouldn’t be too hard now that I found out Maxine isn’t with him. Responsum told us to tell you.” Marcus said, making the tension between my shoulders release a bit, only to return when I saw Logan. He was on the ground, his wolf form sparking with energy, electricity trying to keep him alive.

“Logan!” I dropped beside him, but one small touch and I yanked my hand back. “Ow! Fudge!” I reached my hand towards him again, and the electricity traveled up to lightly shock my hand. “Okay, I can help him. I can do this. But first...” I pulled my hand back and stood. I couldn’t see his form, but I saw his bright shining eyes in the dark. Full of mischief. He’s toying with me. A surge of anger rushed through me. I simply wanted to attack him, to hell with being careful. I was about to when I felt a shock hit my hand and make me fall to my knee.

“Don’t.” Chris stepped beside me. “You want to rush into it.. Attack him and most likely die. I know who he is. Max Le Rogue. Or maybe he would prefer Maxwell Timeb. Ancient one. Piper, he’s powerful. But he also has a shitty past. I know, this is strange coming from me but I feel back for the kid. He grew up in the shadow of his siblings, no one knew him. No one but you.”

My head snapped up, “Me?”

Chris kneeled down beside me and whispered in my ear. “Way back when, he was in love with you.”