***
The vehicles pulled up in front of the address that they had tracked down for one Leila Lafayette. They had been shocked to discover on Google that she lived in Mission. The little information was the basics about her. She had taught high school science for two years before she left for some kind of medical reason; what, they hadn’t been able to discover. A check into her family history showed a very long line, dating back hundreds of years. Someone unknown had been into the family tree stuff, and worked it back for almost 1500 years, which in itself was amazing. At one time, the family had been quite wealthy, but along the way both the family and money had slowly eroded away. Leila was the last of her family’s line, her mother having died only a few years earlier, just before Leila had quit teaching. Now she was living isolated in the old family home, not communicating with the world. They had tried to call her by phone, but she didn’t have one.
“I’ll tell you one thing, Dexter Samhain was an amazing researcher,” Kaitlyn stated, staring out the window at the vine covered, old, and run down house. It was dark and foreboding and you could almost feel the vibe of something being off around the house, but nothing that they could put their finger on. “This place would make an amazing back drop for a murder mystery.” The writer within Kaitlyn was already spinning scenarios with which she could draw the readers in, until Eve smacked her shoulder, bringing her back to the here and now.
“Would you stop day dreaming about your stories and stay alert; sometimes, I swear Kaitlyn ...” Eve muttered, as she stepped out of the back of Roderic’s SUV, rubbing her sweaty palms against her thighs, taking in the group assembled in front of the house. She was glad that Kevan had insisted that they be here. Eve suspected that this would have been a snatch, grab and deal with the consequences later operation, if Kaitlyn and Kevan hadn’t argued that they needed this woman’s assistance, and that they needed to try to make her understand how serious a threat this was, and ask for her help. Marcus hadn’t agreed; he had tried to pull the general card with the others, but Eve told them that they weren’t going to do anything that would hurt this poor woman.
“Now remember that …” The scream that ripped through the air sent a chill down their spines, and adrenaline surged through their veins, as they raced towards the house. Kayne and Marcus surged ahead of everyone, as they shimmered through the door, followed by Roderic and Niall. Kaitlyn shouted after them, as the guys disappeared into the house, while they still had to go through the front door.
“That is so not fair,” she shouted. They had to take the old fashioned way. They burst in on the guys battling with a half dozen of what could only be described as half man, half some kind of weird animal out of a science fiction book. They looked around for some way to help, when Eve caught out of the corner of her eye saw someone disappearing around the corner.
“Hey!” Eve shouted. She took off, and rounded the corner, spotting a body struggling to get away from the thing that was dragging her towards the back of the house. “Let her go!” Eve screamed. She saw the thing dragging the body pause, and look back towards them. Kaitlyn was right behind her. Eve pushed her out of the way, as a black energy bolt slammed into the wall beside them, right where they had been standing only a second ago.
“Shit, that was close,” Eve whispered to Kaitlyn, who snuck a quick look around the corner.
“I don’t who the hell that was but I think that they are dragging who we came here to find towards the back door.” Kaitlyn threw at her sister. “If we don’t act quickly it’s going to be too late.”
Eve hung her head before she looked up at Kaitlyn, nodding her agreement. “Okay, how do you propose that we do that?” Eve wanted to know. “It’s shooting energy bolts at us!”
“No shit, Sherlock,” Kaitlyn stated, rolling her eyes.
“Hey, watch the language,” Eve hissed, making Kaitlyn smile. “So what is the plan?”
“I’ll go high, you stay low. You get her, and I’ll go after whatever the hell that is,” Kaitlyn informed Eve, and then she sprang to her feet, and took off after the struggling bodies.
“Hey! I didn’t agree to your plan!” Eve shouted after her.
Kaitlyn raced around the corner, bouncing to the right, avoiding another energy bolt thrown in their direction. Her back pressed against the wall, panting as the fear and excitement she was feeling surged together, making her feel more alive than she could ever recall. The shaking of more energy bolts slamming into the other wall had her hugging the floor.
Damn, she thought to herself, she wished she could draw power like Kevan could, but she wasn’t going to let that stop her. A scream forced her into action, as she pushed off the floor, breathed deep, and then raced around another corner, bursting into the back foyer. Heart pounding, blood racing, suddenly she felt a surge of power unlike anything she had ever felt before, and with it, a knowing of how to avoid the barrage that was coming her way. At the back door, she could see the struggle happening between the woman, and the thing attempting to drag her out the door. Another scream tore through the air, terror visible. She did not want to go with this thing.
“Let me go!” Leila screamed, as she beat on the arm that was wrapped around her. She was desperate to get away from it, she needed her medication they were the only thing that was going to snap her out of her delusion. Only this one was different from any that she had ever had before. This one felt so real. She kept a repeated her mantra in her head, it’s not real, it’s not real, but the monster continued to drag her towards the back door.
Leila twisted and searched for anything to use as a weapon, spotting the kitchen scrap pot left by the boot rack. She flailed about, just getting her fingers wrapped about the handle. Picking it up, she twisted, and swung as hard as she could. The pot collided with what she thought was its head, the aftershock zinging back up her arm. Her delusions didn’t usually feel so real, but it worked. The arm dropped her to the floor, and she scrambled to get away.
Kaitlyn raced into the room screaming her head off, hoping to scare off whatever it was into dropping the body. It took one look at Kaitlyn and took off, bursting through the back door and sending wood flying in all directions. Kaitlyn dodged the shrapnel of splinters as she jumped through the door hot on its heels, trying to get it before it disappeared.
Leila stared after the screaming lady, before she pulled herself to her feet. She slid along the wall, moved into the kitchen, and stumbled to the sink. Gripping onto the counter stopped her from slipping back to the floor, but did nothing to stop her body from quivering in fear. Grabbing the bottle from the counter, she tried to open the child proof lid, but her hands didn’t want to function normally. She struggled with the lid, finally getting it off, and shook out a couple pills into her hand. She reached out to grab one of the glasses sitting in the dish stand beside the sink, her attempt to fill it with enough water to take her pills failed with a crash, the glass in the sink shattering into shards.
Eve walked up behind Leila, making her jump again as she reached around, taking another glass. She passed the glass under the tap, and then pressed the glass into shaking hands before she stepped back. Reaching over, she picked up the bottle that sat uncapped on the counter, took a quick glance at the label on the bottle, then back to the woman who was tossing back the pills.
“Are you okay?” Eve questioned. Leila jerked at the sound of Eve’s voice; turning, she stared at Eve, disbelief on her face as she reached out her hand toward her.
Eve took the shaking hand into hers. “I’m real,” she reassured her.
“Real,” Leila whispered. “You’re real!”
Kaitlyn raced back into the kitchen, bending over, trying to get her breath after chasing the thing. “It got away,” she panted. “Damn it was fast. Oh, by the way, I don’t do running!” She looked to the woman standing at the counter, who was staring back with a look that said that she didn’t know if this was real
, or a nightmare. “Is she okay?” Kaitlyn questioned her sister.
Eve looked up from the woman as the guys flew through the door, checking to ensure that they were alright.
“They all disappeared,” Marcus stated. The women stared at the warriors, covered in indefinable gore. Leila wondered where the hell they had come from, as she didn’t recall seeing them before they had come into the kitchen.
“We need to get out of here right away; if reinforcements are called, we will be outnumbered. Let’s get moving.” He looked to the women watching him with an expression that could only be described as utter horror. “Is she ready?”
“Not yet,” Eve told him. “We haven’t even introduced ourselves yet.”
“Well, make it quick. I don’t like us in the open here. Get what she needs, and we’ll get moving.”
“Marcus, I don’t think that it’s going to be quite that simple,” Eve told him.
“Who are you?” Leila questioned, stopping all conversation. “What are you doing in my house?”
“Are you Leila Lafayette?” Eve questioned, focusing her attention onto her.
“Who are you? How did you get into my house?” she looked around, seeing the damages. “Did you do this?”
“Leila?” She looked up at Eve. “Leila, my name is Eve Cameron. Do you remember what just happened here?”
“We don’t have time for this!” Marcus growled at her, but Eve shot him a look that told him to be quiet. Marcus stormed out of the room. He hated taking orders, and he really hated taking orders from a woman; he gave orders, he didn’t take them.
Eve ignored Marcus’ pout, and Kaitlyn shook her head, rolling her eyes. Eve once again concentrated on the woman standing in front of them, staring in disbelief that what was happening, was real.
“Leila?” Eve pushed her. “Do you remember the attack, or that someone was trying to kidnap you?”
“I think you mean something, don’t you?” Kaitlyn supplied, and then clamped her mouth when Eve shot her a look that said, shut up.
“No,” Leila told them, shaking her head. “That was a delusion.” She muttered it more to herself, than to anyone in particular.
“A delusion?” Eve and Kaitlyn exchanged looks.
“Leila, Leila?” Eve kept repeating until she got her attention. “Leila, honey, that wasn’t a delusion; I wish it was, but it was real.”
“No, it isn’t real, it is something my mind made up, monsters don’t exist,” Leila insisted. “I’m going crazy,” she cried. “Just like my mother, and her father.” Her eyes glazed over, as her entire body started to shake.
“Oh, damnit!” Eve shouted as she grabbed her, trying to stop her as she sank towards the floor. “She’s going into shock,” she told them, snapping into doctor mode. “We need to get her lying down.” Marcus walked back into the kitchen.
“What’s the problem?” he demanded.
“She’s going into shock,” Eve stated.
“Then do something about it!” he ordered.
“Really? I never would have thought of that.” She looked to Kayne and Roderic standing off to the side of the room.
“What do you need?” Roderic questioned.
“She needs to be on her back; her feet elevated, and get a blanket for warmth. The body is pulling blood away from the body core to feed the brain; we need to ensure that doesn’t happen. Shock can be a killer if not taken care of.”
They all watched Leila sipping a cup of sweet tea that Kaitlyn had made. Finally, she felt like she was getting back on a more even keel. She looked up at the strangers who were crowded into her living room.
“Look, I really appreciate all of your help, but I’m still waiting for an answer about who you are, and what the hell you’re doing in my house?” Eve sat down beside Leila, taking her hand.
“Leila, we’re here to help you,” Eve told her.
“Help me?” Leila demanded. “What the hell could you help me with?” She shouted at them as she jumped to her feet, looking at them all staring at her.
Eve drew her attention back to herself.
“Leila, Leila.” She looked at Eve. “Why are you taking Haldol? That is pretty heavy duty medication.”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but schizophrenia is pretty heavy duty.” Leila collapsed on the couch, resting her head in her hands. “What are you doing here?” she asked again.
“We’re here to help,” Eve explained. “I’m a doctor.”
“Well, bully for you,” Leila threw at her. “Let me guess, you have the next big cure for schizophrenia? Well, come on, I’m listening.”
Eve watched her, reading far too much pain in such pretty eyes. Leila was dealing with a lot; the diagnosis of schizophrenia was major, and it put a lot of strain on a person.
“I don’t have a cure for schizophrenia,” she admitted to Leila.
“Then there is nothing that you can do for me, and I really want you to leave.” She got to her feet, walking towards the front door. “Now!”
“This is getting us nowhere,” Marcus griped. “I’ll handle it.”
“No you won’t!” Kaitlyn ordered him. “Eve will handle this,” she told him, doing the side-step dance, preventing Marcus from moving towards Leila.
“I hope you’re prepared to deal with the consequences for getting in my way,” he warned Kaitlyn.
“Oh! Would you stop acting like a complete ass!” she spat at him. “Let Eve do her thing.”
Eve ignored the discussion happening between Marcus and Kaitlyn, and looked at a stunned Leila. “Why do you believe that you are schizophrenic?” Eve asked her.
“Again, this is your business, how?” Leila’s natural stubbornness kicked in.
“Look, I just want to help,” Eve reiterated to her. “So please indulge me.”
“Fine, if it means getting you out of my home, then I will tell you. I believe that I am schizophrenic because my mother had it, my grandfather had it, and so did my great- grandmother. I would say that the odds are pretty good that I have it. It’s what explains all my symptoms. There you go are you happy?” she demanded. “Now get out of my house.”
“Tell me about what it was that lead to this diagnosis?”
“You know, you are really pushing your luck, lady.” Leila was getting down right pissed. “I don’t know you, I certainly don’t trust you, and you’re asking some really personal questions.”
“All I want to do is help you,” Eve tried to make her understand. “Please just tell me, okay?”
“What lead to this diagnosis? I’d say hearing voices in my head and seeing things that don’t exist are pretty big indicators that something is definitely wrong with me.” Her voice echoed resignation to her fate, but her eyes pleaded for another chance. Eve stood in the middle of the room, trying to think of a way to explain this all to her. She could tell already that Leila wasn’t going to open her arms and embrace the truth; they were going to have a fight on their hands, but she knew that Leila wasn’t sick.
“What if I told you that you’re not sick? That everything that you have seen and heard is real. What would you say to that?”
“I would say that I’m not the only one who needs drugs,” she tossed out with a snort of disbelief.
“Why couldn’t it be true?” Eve wanted to know, trying to reason with her. “Science doesn’t know everything.”
“Lady, sometimes I don’t see men who look like monsters. I see demons, and vampires, or some shit, crazy thing. They aren’t real, they’re fairy tales,” Leila told Eve. “If that’s not crazy, I don’t know what is!”
Marcus was tired of waiting, getting antsy, and pussy footing around her disbelief wasn’t getting them anywhere. Moving towards Eve and the disbelieving Leila ran him into Kaitlyn, but he wasn’t waiting for one more minute. So he picked Kaitlyn up, and plucked her out of the way.
“Well, eve
n fairy tales are based on facts,” he told her. “Now, this is done. We are out of time.”
Eve glared at Marcus, getting mad at his unwillingness to let her do what she had to do in order to convince Leila that she wasn’t sick. “Marcus …” she tried to argue.
“No,” he cut her off. “We do not have time for this. Those things could be back at any time, and we need to get back to Caleb’s. We have already wasted enough time doing things your way,” Marcus informed them. “I’m sorry Leila, but we need to get going.”
“Fine, then leave,” she told them. “It’s not like I asked you to be here, anyway.”
“You don’t seem to understand. You’re coming with us,” he told her.
“Like hell I am. I’m not going anywhere,” she told him. Marcus looked to Kayne and Roderic. They both nodded, getting up, and headed towards the front door, ushering Kaitlyn and Eve ahead of them.
“Ladies, we need to get going,” Roderic informed them.
“But, we can’t. What about Leila?” Eve argued, but he wasn’t listening to them. “Roderic stop, we can’t leave her like this. What if they come after her again?” He still wasn’t listening; he just continued to push them gently towards the vehicles.
“What is wrong with you?” Kaitlyn demanded. “We have to help her,” she pointed out.
“Get in the car,” Roderic ordered them.
“I will not leave that woman …” Eve told him, attempting to get around him, to head back into the house. Roderic picked her up and put her into the back seat. Eve struggled to get out, but he had locked the door, trapping her inside, before he raised an eyebrow at Kaitlyn, who was standing with Kayne, trapped.
“You have two choices. Get in under your own power, or else we will physically put you in, your choice,” Kayne muttered.
“We have to help her,” Kaitlyn argued to no avail. Roderic unlocked the door so Kaitlyn could slide in beside Eve, who was fuming mad at their complete disregard for this woman’s needs. Roderic climbed into the front seat, started the SUV and drove away from the house.
“Of all the …” Eve muttered. “So help me, if something happens to her that we could have prevented, I will never forgive you.”