Miraculous: Tales of the Unknown (19 page)

Lucy, we have to get out
of here!

I shook my head.
No. He has to be punished. I want to hurt
him.

A bullet grazed past my
head and I circled around to see where it had come from.
Uniformed policemen were standing guard by the
main doorway and a few were starting to walk the perimeter of the
room. The only other exit out was the door that led to the school
and soon, they’d have it blocked too.

Come on!
Chad yelled in my head.
We have to go.

Stubbornly I shook my head
no again.

He’s gone, Lucy, you have
to let it go. I’ll explain everything later… I promise.

It was only then that I
noticed he was right. Talon was gone… and so was Blake’s body. The
only proof that she had been there in the first place was the smear
of blood that led out of the gym and into the hallway. I took off
after it, knowing that Chad would be right behind me. We ran
through the halls and toward the back of the school. There was a
forest just behind the massive structure, thick with trees and
boulders; plenty of places to hide.

Shots were still being
fired at us. The sounds of screams were slowly starting to fade
away, but the heavy footsteps of the police pounded on the floor
behind us. Another shot sounded and this time I heard it ping as it
ricocheted off of the lockers. Moments later and I heard the
whimper and thud behind me. My heart stood still.

Just go, Lucy. Get to
safety. Leave me.

His voice sounded weak,
but his words didn’t make sense to my heart. Leave him? Why would I
leave him? That was before I saw the gash in his side where blood
was already starting to gush out of. I shook my head and kneeled
beside him, wishing that I was in my human form so that I could
reach out and comfort him. In this new body, everything seemed
awkward and disconnected. I just couldn’t seem to get as close to
him as I would have liked.

No. I won’t leave
you.

He looked at me then…
really looked at me, and there was something in his eyes that I
recognized. They showed the same blood red that I remembered from
that night. Inside I frowned. Outside the muscles on my face didn’t
move the way I wanted them to… but I whimpered and cradled my head
on his.

It was you.

My memory of that night
had been skewed since it happened, but it was crystal clear now.
Talon took my hand and led me from the party and out onto a hill
that overlooked the house. There were trees around us, but from
where we stood, the moon had loomed before us, proud and majestic
in its simplicity. It was there that he had kissed me. It was there
that he had begun to transform.

I backed away from him in
horror, but then another wolf had jumped at him, seemingly coming
from nowhere. His eyes had blazed red and hungry and when they had
sunk into my throat, I had known that I was going to die. That was
when I fainted. That was the part I hadn’t remembered until
now.

After that, when I finally
came around, I had reached for him, afraid of what had happened.
Questions loomed in my mind about what I had seen, but as soon as
he put his arms around me, his features hidden in the shadow of the
moon, I knew that my life was going to change. I had thought it was
Talon… but remembering now, looking into the reddened eyes of my
beloved, I knew that I had been wrong.

I’m so sorry Lucy. I
didn’t want this for you.
Find Talon. Give
me some time and I will heal. I will meet you outside as soon as I
can get away from everyone.

I didn’t question him. He
had obviously been dealing with this affliction longer than I had
and he knew what he was doing. I kissed him gently on the forehead
and raised my head toward the ceiling, searching for the moon just
beyond the walls.  I let out a revenge filled howl and
sprinted to the exit. I broke through the steel doors into the dark
humid night.  I could smell everything-the sweet blood from
the injured humans inside, the sweat from the police officers
trying desperately to hunt us down. I could smell the iron of
Blake’s blood mixed with dirt from the gravel he dragged her on. I
had to think fast.

Chad where are you? We
need to find her before he bleeds her dry.

I waited for a second with
no response. I began to feel a dread pour over me. Maybe I was
alone now. It was time to find Talon and destroy him.

Lucy I’m here.

I looked behind me only to
see the love of my life healed and ready to hunt.

Let’s find Blake, and rip
Talon to shreds.

Sounds like a
date.

We both lowered our heads
and began to track Talon and Blake. Our noses lead us to the
opening of the woods behind the school. We could still hear the
madness and confusion of the students and police inside. We knew
they would be coming for us and that our only hope was to stay
together, find Blake, get her to safety and then flee. We were on
our own now-just Chad and I.

A blood curdling scream
ripped through the trees and a long deadly sounding howl shortly
after filled our ears with terror. We tore through the trees at top
speed, searching for any smell to track or sound to
follow.

Lucy this way!

We started to take off to
the right, Chad having some sort of clue that we were on the right
track. Then we suddenly stopped. Blake’s lifeless looking body was
laying there among the leaves and dirt. I ran to her and knelt down
by her side. She was still breathing to my surprise. “Blake!” I
yelled. “Blake are you okay?” She opened her eyes
slowly.

Lucy it’s a trap! We need
to leave now!

Chad we can’t leave Blake
here. She’s hurt we need to get her to safety!

A low growl was emanating
from behind us. We both froze, knowing it was him. We looked at
each other and nodded-both aware of what was to come. Chad turned
around, teeth barred and razor sharp claws poised to kill. Talon
leaped toward him and knocked him to the ground. Fur and dirt flew
everywhere around us. Growls and snarls filled the air around
us.

Lucy you have to get Blake
out of here! I can hold him off! GO now!

I never heard that tone of
voice come out of Chad, he was serious and full of rage. I
hesitated, not wanting to leave him behind because I knew with us
both fighting we could finish Talon for good. But I knew I had to
save Blake. I scooped her up in my unfamiliar arms and ran at full
speed to the school. I peered through the trees to make sure it was
clear, and I snuck around to lay her body next to the front door of
the school and let out the loudest, most brutal howl I could
conjure. Someone had to find her here.

Chad I’m coming for you.
Blake is safe.

I rushed off back through
the trees-breaking branches and kicking up rocks. I saw them in the
distance wrestling back and forth, throwing each other around like
ragdolls. I saw Chad’s limp body hit a tree and slide down the
sapped drenched bark. 

“
NO!” I shouted. “If you
hurt him Talon, I swear you will be ripped apart in a thousand
pieces.”

“
Oh Lucy don’t be so
dramatic. I changed him-he is my puppy to play with.” He snarled at
me with his teeth dripping saliva on the warm earth.

Chad you need to get up!
If you jump on his back and pull his head back then I can attack
him from the front and rip out his throat. We can defeat him Chad
please get up.

“
We could be together you
know, we can get rid of this poor thing. You and I all alone with
only the moon to rule us.” He uttered in his raspy low
voice.

Lucy keep him occupied, I
can get up quietly and hopefully have enough strength to hold him
back while you attack. I don’t have much left in me. Are you
ready?

Yes I’m ready.

“
Where would we go? We
would have to find a new town where no one knows us. We are going
to be hunted down like…wolves.” I said convincingly. I walked a
little closer to him, trying to lure him in. Just as I got close
enough to smell his blood soaked mouth, Chad jumped on his back. As
he tried desperately to reach Chad’s torn body to throw him off, I
lunged toward him. My rage and anger and lust for blood controlled
me. I attached my sharp fangs to his warm throbbing throat and
pulled out a chunk to expose the flesh underneath. I became an
uncontrollable monster, a fiend for the rich blood that ran through
his veins. It was like drinking a cold glass of water on a hot
humid day. It quenched my yearning for sustenance. He was still
fighting, clawing and kicking, struggling with any ounce of energy
he could muster. Chad let go and fell to the ground, completely
exhausted and injured from their earlier fight. Just like I
promised, I ripped him apart. Only when I was done he was Talon
again, a lonely human boy strung out amongst the shrubs. Confusion
ran through me as I try to make sense of that happened. I was sure
what I had done was protect everyone- I killed a monster that
wanted to feed on everyone I loved, including Chad. I knew we had
to clean up this mess, before we could leave this place and find
somewhere to start over.

Chad are you okay? What
can I do to help you?

I am fine. I just need
time to heal. You need to get rid of his body-let the werewolf take
over. You have to eat him Lucy. If others in his pack find him like
this, they will never stop seeking revenge. We will never be able
to rest.

I shook my head in
disbelief. As if it wasn’t enough that I had actually become this
beast, I was forced to realize it in the most gruesome way. I had
to. Like Chad said, we would never be able to rest. Piece by piece
I consumed him until all that was left was a few drops of his
blood.

We need to get out of
here. We are already lucky enough that no one has found us. I’m
sure they are all completely shocked that Blake was returned safe.
Let’s hope they keep their focus on her.

Lucy I’m sorry I didn’t
tell you. I didn’t want any of this for you.

I know. It’s all behind us
now. We can live together, forever. Just you and I like it has
always been.

I picked up and he flung
his arm around my still hairy blood soaked neck. We walked away
into the woods. We had to begin our new journey together.  We
both looked up at this bright, round, powerful thing hung in the
sky and howled a lonely, lamented song. As soon as the moon was
gone we would be Chad and Lucy again-soul mates changed by one
fateful night.