15: Wrong Turn Pt. 2

“Derrick?! What the hell are you doing here are you trying to get yourself killed?” Immediately she realized the absurdity in her statement and sighed as she lowered her weapon. He smiled at her, eyed the door frame and nodded.

“Do you mind?”

“What? Oh, yeah come in.” Derrick stepped over the threshold, closed and locked the door behind him. “How did you even find me?” Motioning toward her arm, Victoria’s eyes moved to the glowing red bracelet that she’d made several attempts to remove and frowned. “You put a tracker on me?!” 

“Not exactly. It’s not electronic; it works off your body’s natural emotional reactions. You were panicked and called for me.” He replied dropping a small, black knapsack beside the door.

“The hell I did! So you’ve honed your stalker skills by offering me this fucking bracelet and some sob story of ‘repaying a debt’ just to keep tabs on me? I’ve tried removing this thing a few times and it only tightened until I bled!”

“Yeah, it does that. It required a blood connection before it could work. I figured at some point you would try and remove it so I had a witch bless it so that it had that type of reaction.”

“You son of a bitch! Do you have any idea how much this thing hurts? What kind of sick game are you playing?”

“I’m trying to keep you safe, Victoria! I’ve warned you about what’s out there. But there is so much more that you probably couldn’t even fathom right now and I needed to know you wouldn’t have to worry about them because of me; because of Sketch. He has reach in the underworld, Victoria, and will stop at nothing to get his revenge!”

Glancing toward the porch doors she thought about the voices that drove her back inside, the giggling she’d heard earlier and the glowing eyes in the woods. “Do you know what’s out there right now?”

“From what I can smell, a few Nymphs, but there’s something bigger and probably why the Nymphs are hanging around outside.”

“Bigger? Like what are we talking about? A Bigfoot? An Ogre? A Giant?” She feigned amusement and started toward her kitchen to pour herself another drink.

“No. Something more along the lines of a wolf.”

Victoria’s interest piqued as she pulled a glass from the cabinet and rinsed it beneath the spigot. “You mean a werewolf?” Derrick nodded and moved closer as she again thought about the events that led her to the cabin. “They wouldn’t happen to have glowing, yellow eyes and be able to move as fast as say a Jeep Grand Cherokee would they?”

“Wait you saw it?”

“I saw something; out in the woods as I was driving up. It looked at me but when I turned to look back it was gone. It seemed to be following me. I thought it was just some woodland creature and I was being paranoid! And then this energy came out of nowhere and, I know this is gonna sound crazy but I saw these will-o’-the-wisps and I followed them to the cabin.”

“A what?”

“A will-o’-the-wisp? ‘Foolish fire’? You know those ghostly lights seen by travelers at night in swampy areas. It looks like a flickering lamp and supposedly fades when approached. Many think they are illusions of pockets of gas and some think they are mind games used to draw travelers from safe paths.” Derrick continued staring at her with a look of disbelief until she sighed and turned her back to him. “Whatever,” she growled beneath her breath and dropped into one of the chairs at the table. “The only thing I know is that these bright lights circled my jeep and next I’m pulling into the front yard.”

“You know, Victoria, just because vampires and the like exist doesn’t mean every fairytale legend or folklore is true. What you saw were probably the Nymphs. They are protectors of sorts of all things nature.”

“And that explains why they came for me how?”

“The same reason I did; like I told you before, Victoria, you’re special. You have this energy that radiates to people like me and if I could feel it I’m sure they can too.”

“Wait what the hell are you talking about? Is this about that talisman that I told you I don’t know anything about?”

“It’s about your family, Victoria. You didn’t want to hear it before, but you are the descendent of something greater than you could ever imagine. That power is in you somewhere whether you know how to tap into it or not; I can feel it and so can the Nymphs.”

“Ok hold there for a moment, Nymphs, who or what are they and why are they playing outside my door?”

“Nymphs are divine female spirits who possess natural facets within the world; forests, meadows, rivers, springs. They’re not immortal, but can’t die of old age or illnesses. Their powers are derived from the earth and their sole purpose is protecting the sanctity and balance of nature.”

A powerfully sharp howl ripped Derrick’s attention toward the porch and he rushed forward with a growl of his own. “It’s here.” Victoria stood from her seat and grabbed her gun and an extra ammo clip. “No! You stay inside. I’ll deal with this.”

“Are you crazy? Did you hear that thing? It’s…”

“Dangerous and you don’t need to go traipsing off into the woods after it.”

“Oh, so what I just sit here like a damsel in distress while the big bad vampire comes to my rescue? What do I look like? Glass? I’m not going to break!”

“You very well could! By show of hands out of the two people in this room, how many have faced a werewolf before and survived?” Derrick snapped lifting his hand in the air midway above his head. “Anyone else? Didn’t think so. These things are powerful, fast and in that state have no concern for human life. They kill indiscriminately and won’t leave a trace of your corpse when done. Stay back, Victoria, that’s the last time I’ll say it.”

Charging out the door, Derrick tore through the garden and down the path leading into the thick grove of Ash trees lining the back of the property. Victoria watched until he disappeared and shut the door behind him with a growl. Peeking out the curtains toward the garden every now and again, tirelessly she fought to keep from running out behind him. Another vicious snarl so thunderous the cabin shook ripped through the trees and Victoria’s mind was made.

Taking a breath, she pulled open the door and ran forward through the garden. Weapon at the ready by her side she peered through the underbrush looking for signs of where Derrick had gone. A trail of footsteps in the muck led her toward the beach and she quickly followed the path he’d made in the sand. Victoria heard hissing near the waterfall and turned her weapon toward it. There she found Derrick in the grip of a large beast being manhandled by one clawed fist.

“Put him down!” she yelled still in cop mode. “Release him or I’ll shoot!” Aiming at its head, Victoria shut one eye and squeezed the trigger three times. Two of her bullets hit their intended target striking the beast dead aim in the noggin while the third skirted off a nearby palm tree before landing in the dirt. 

Unfazed, the monster turned, dropping Derrick to the ground as it did and blazed a path straight toward her. “Victoria, run!” Derrick cried out as he got to his feet and came after the creature. Tackling it to the ground just at her feet, she watched the two wrestle and waited again to take aim.

Once the beast pulled over Derrick preparing to pound both its fists into his chest like a crazed gorilla, Victoria fired, emptying her chamber into the monster’s skull. The back of its cranium split and a copious amount of blood poured onto the ground beside Derrick. 

He pushed the wolf’s corpse off of himself and reached for Victoria’s outstretched hand and she pulled him to his feet. “You have a difficult time following orders don’t you?”

“You’re welcome,” she sighed and kicked the body onto its back. Slowly the face of the man emerged through the thick, black hair covering its body and she gasped. “Is he dead?”

“Well, I don’t know. You emptied an entire cartridge of ammo into his head, what do you think?”

“I thought werewolves needed silver bullets to be hurt. The first two shots didn’t even seem to faze him.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Derrick moved toward the body, leaned down and with little effort ripped the man’s head from his body and tossed it to the ground. “There that oughta do it.” He smiled in satisfaction as Victoria stared at him in horror. “What? You wanted to be sure right?”

“We have to call the local authorities.”

“And tell them what exactly? A crazed werewolf just attacked us but it’s ok, my vampire friend ripped off his head so he’s dead now?”

“Ok so what do you suggest then?”

“We burn it! A nice, big bonfire right here on the beach. Hell, I’ll grab some rum from your cabin and we can make a party of it!”

“You’re sick, Derrick, you know that? You need serious help.” She turned and started for her cabin to look for firewood and materials to start a fire.

“Oh come on, Victoria, I was only teasing!” he shouted in humor to her retreating back.

Finding her way to the trail again, Victoria suddenly stopped in her tracks at the sight of a hand lying on the ground in her garden. “Derrick! I think you should see this!” Rushing to her side, he stepped into the backyard first and knelt beside the prone body of a frail woman covered in flowers and other tree garb. “Who is she?”

“She was a Nymph. And from the design on her forehead I’d say she was pretty high on the totem pole, look here,” Victoria moved closer and directed her eyes toward the intricate design drawn into the woman’s skin. “The Elders are tattooed with these types of prints once they’ve reached a certain age. She was a leader in her tribe, her friends are going to come looking for her.”

“You can say that again,” Victoria whispered as several pairs of eyes emerged through the shrubs beside her cabin. All eight eyes appeared focused on them and the body of their kin that lay at their feet.

“Victoria, don’t make any sudden movements.”

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