Unknown Touch (18 page)

With that, the drivers started up the vehicles and proceeded on the next leg of our journey. It was a couple of miles of rough riding to get back to the truck. I clung to Daniel for dear life, afraid I would get jostled off the back. I'm sure the passengers on the other ATV's felt the same way. At least if you were the driver, you were in control of where you were going, could see what was up ahead and attempt to ready your body for jolts. When the day began, I was actually enjoying this off-road travel. It was something different I was not used to doing in my life. I was excited to be able to sit behind Daniel, holding myself close to him, putting my safety in his hands. And now, I was so ready to get off that contraption, to be back at the resort, and sitting in front of that big, roaring fireplace.

It was midday. We obviously weren't going to worry about eating lunch until we got back to the resort. I doubted that anyone was even hungry. We had a sense of danger hanging in the air. A foreboding feeling. The temperature had started to drop. We were aware that rain, possibly sleet, had been forecast for the afternoon and evening. This was not an ideal setting for humans. The werewolves were much more adapted to handling adverse weather conditions.

I mentally asked Daniel,
Do you think they'll come after us?

Yes. But right at the moment, Stephen would be treating his injury. So we have some time. I don't expect him to be following us immediately.
Daniel replied.

I thought it would be important to pass this information along to the rest of the team. Since we were still traveling on the ATV's, it was hard to talk, so using my psychic skills, I entered their minds, and told them what Daniel had said. I figured they shouldn't be needlessly worrying about an assault that was not going to happen right now. Everyone needed to concentrate on getting back to the truck.

Finally, the deserted campground was within our sight. The men drove directly to the car trailer and everyone climbed off. Daniel pulled out the ramps on the trailer so the ATV's could quickly be loaded. I tried to stretch my legs out as they had gotten cramped up. My whole body was aching.

And then it started to lightly rain. It wasn't cold enough for snow. Snow might have been easier to deal with, though. Rain had a tendency to soak into your clothes, hair and shoes which made a person feel miserable. We saw a few ominous streaks of lightning shooting across the sky, which was strange for that time of the year. The recent warmer temperatures were responsible in creating such a peculiar visual display.

The men finished loading the ATV's on the car trailer. Daniel and Zac were properly securing them so they wouldn't roll off. Dominic was dealing with the trailer ramps, trying to shove them back in place. Eli had gotten into the truck already. Tessa was standing guard, watching the woods. I had to pee. I couldn't help it. But when it started to rain, the urge came upon me. I noticed a nice restroom facility about fifty feet away. Since we weren't quite ready to leave yet, I knew I had time to go. I signaled to Tessa what my intentions were by pointing at the restroom, and said, "I'll be back in two minutes."

Tessa was not aware how the restrooms were setup. If she had known, she would probably have come with me. It appeared from her location that there was a privacy wall erected directly in front of the doors leading into the men's and women's restrooms. She figured if anyone was approaching, she could catch them in the act. I entered on the women's side of the privacy wall. I was thrilled to locate a functioning light switch and plenty of toilet paper. After I finished and washed my hands in the sink, I noticed that this was one of those restrooms that had front and back doors. You could walk right through. In one door, out the other.

For no reason in particular, I decided to walk out the back door instead of the front door I had originally come through. I guess I thought, what difference does it make what door I go out? As I just started to come out from around the back of the building's privacy wall, an arm reached out and grabbed me. I had not made it around the side of the building, so Tessa did not have a chance to see me and to know I was in trouble. She was expecting me to walk out the front door, since she didn't even know about the back door. Violently, I was pushed up against the wall, staring into Stephen's raging eyes.

Situated a few feet back from us stood Cassius, watching to see how Stephen was going to handle this. Cassius. This one was pure evil. He had turned to the dark side. He was purposely encouraging and deviously swaying Stephen to fully come to the dark side with him. To be his comrade. I looked over at Stephen's shoulder where Zac had shot him and was amazed to see that it was no longer bleeding. It still needed a little more time to completely heal, but it wasn't slowing him down much, as when he was initially shot and limped off into the woods back at his cabin.

Stephen saw me look at his shoulder and roughly said, "Yeah, good thing I heal fast, isn't it? And lucky for me, my buddy, Cassius, wasn't too far away at the time one of you shot me. He heard the gun go off, then my howl for help and came to my aid. We effortlessly tracked you back here to the campground. As we were planning on what action to take next, here you come walking in our direction to use the restroom. All alone. Three seconds more and we would have been in there with you. Fortunately for us, but plain stupidity on your part, you walk out the back door, right into our hands."

I tried to sweet talk my way out of this, "Stephen, we don't want to hurt you. The only reason you were shot is because you made an attempt to attack Daniel. We want to help you turn your life around." This was difficult to have a conversation with Cassius looming so closely over us.

"The Liaison. You are humans. You are outsiders and strangers and have no business getting involved. I can't believe Daniel contacted that doctor, Eli, and asked for help. You're a psychic, aren't you? I know I sensed that. You want to mess with my mind," Stephen spat the words out.

Even as he said that, I was eerily feeling a bit more of a mental breakthrough with Stephen. I don't think he was aware of it. It dawned on me that not only was I up close and personal, and we were talking directly to each other, but I now had that physical contact with him that I so desperately needed in order to gain full access to his mind. That didn't necessarily mean I could do so instantly. I wasn't feeling that ability kick in for me, although there was progress. He still had a psychic block against everyone but perhaps Cassius. It was ironic that this one thing he was trying to prevent, which was my using thought manipulation on him, just backfired, without him having a clue. Although he should have realized the closer he got to me, the physical contact in capturing me, the more he jeopardized his ability to keep up that mental barrier.

Unless, of course, Stephen and Cassius had planned on killing me. Then I'd be out of the picture. A thorn in his side, their sides, removed.

He had me pushed up against the wall, holding me there with his brutally powerful arms. I knew I was going to be bruised from this abuse. The rain was coming down harder now. I was getting drenched and feeling the effects from having been out in the cold too long. But the weather didn't bother the werewolves at all.

I returned to his last question. "Yes, I am psychic. I was brought into this group very recently. Stephen, I can help you if you'll let me."

This time, Cassius stepped up to me and spoke for the first time, "What makes you think he needs help? I see nothing wrong with his way of living."

I knew the situation was getting dangerous. I should have already alerted Daniel or any of The Liaison to my predicament. I was so caught up in my own confrontation with Stephen, trying to learn more, still trying to de-fuse his volatile behavior. And on top of it, a rogue werewolf that none of us knew about, had entered the picture. I was assuming Daniel or Zac would try to kill Cassius. He was too much of a threat. He was bad and I could no longer help him.

I decided I better connect mentally with Daniel while I had the chance. It had to be fast or else Stephen or Cassius would catch on to what I was doing. And one of them would likely kill me on the spot, probably Cassius, unless Stephen wanted to show his allegiance to Cassius by killing me himself. I wasn't convinced that Stephen had completely turned evil. He was bordering on it, but the emotions and senses I absorbed from him told me we might be able to save him. If it came right down to it, I don't think he could kill me, even though he sure was acting the bad boy part in front of Cassius. Since no one had arrived yet in my defense, they assumed they had the upper hand. Perhaps they thought I was so shocked and terrified, I couldn't focus to make a mental connection to call for help. In reality, I was creating that link at that exact moment.

Daniel, help me! Stephen and Cassius are holding me at the back of the building,
I sent out the mental communication. Short, simple, to the point.

Daniel responded,
I'm coming.

Cassius looked at Stephen and prompted, "What are you waiting for? She needs to die. She's a bigger threat to you than our own kind. The longer she stays around, the more of a nuisance she becomes."

Stephen was torn between his options. Kill me or not. Here was his chance, as I stood in front of him. Helpless. No one around to save me. At least not yet. In a mere second, he could slash my throat and escape the scene of the crime. But he hesitated. I was picking up his emotions, flashes in my head. He was a terribly tormented being. And to have Cassius in on the action, putting peer pressure on him, made the situation worse. To Stephen, killing me would be a way of bonding the friendship between Cassius and himself. It was a way of proving himself, of showing his loyalty.

Cassius was getting irritated. Restless. Tired of playing this waiting game. He knew the longer Stephen wavered, the chances increased tenfold of being discovered by the humans. My friends would start to wonder what was taking me so long and come looking for me. Cassius was a cold-blooded killer. Another person's life meant absolutely nothing to him. He seemed perplexed as to why Stephen wasn't taking advantage of this prime opportunity to rid themselves of me. He decided to take matters into his own hands and pushed Stephen aside, which allowed him to have full access to me.

Cassius's eyes were blazing with pent up rage. He spat out, "We don't have time for this anymore. Say goodbye, sweetie."

His hands flew up to seize my throat, and just at that moment, Daniel made a spectacular entrance. Finally! I had started to wonder what was taking him so long. He must have alerted the rest of the team to my predicament and they went into combat mode, coming to my rescue. Daniel, with his super speed, had reached me first. The sight of him charging around the corner of the building distracted Cassius long enough for Daniel to shove him backwards, away from me.

Daniel had his knife drawn, ready for the fight to ensue. I expected Cassius and Daniel to transform into their animal bodies, but neither changed. I imagined with the surprise attack, it didn't allow enough time to go through a complete transformation, without inadvertently giving the enemy a chance to strike during that change. And Daniel was up against two werewolves at once, not very good odds. I expected Zac or one of the others to arrive any second, so they could aid Daniel in the fight. Since we did have guns, and the wolves did not, I chalked that up as an extra point in our favor.

"You will not be laying your filthy paws on her again," Daniel was trying to delay until the others arrived. He directed his speaking to Cassius. "And you are not welcome in this territory. You have stirred things up enough around here and that chaos will end today."

Cassius was not one to back down. Stephen appeared to hang back a bit, as his emotions were conflicted in what to do. With Daniel and Cassius circling one another, Stephen acted as if he would step in if needed, otherwise would let the two fight it out, especially since he was still recovering from being shot in the shoulder earlier.

"Try to stop me," Cassius taunted. "I follow my own rules. I go wherever I want and do what I choose."

Cassius's next move was smooth, quick. He dropped to the ground, swung out his right leg, which caught Daniel's legs, knocking him off his feet. Daniel hit the ground, landing on his back. Cassius was on top of him in a blink of an eye. The knife Daniel wielded made contact with Cassius's arm, slicing a deep, bleeding wound. He had aimed for Cassius's neck, but during the struggle, it didn't make it to that destination, which should have been the lethal blow.

I noticed a partial transforming of Cassius's hands. His fingers lengthened, his nails had grown an inch longer into sharp, dagger-like claws. Some ragged, black fur had sprouted on the top of his hands. He took a swipe at Daniel and the claws connected with his chest. There were four distinct rips through his shirt, which instantly revealed the damage done to him as blood soaked into the material. I gasped and held my breath, fearful of what might happen next.

Just then, I noticed Zac creep around the corner of the restroom. He squatted into a controlled position, giving himself the best shot at Cassius. The gun rang out with all its glory as he fired at his target. Cassius had no idea what hit him. Zac, with all of his military training, years of practice, disciplined behavior, and precision with his skills, delivered the deadly shot to Cassius's head, as if it was nothing. Cassius fell to the ground, dead. He would not recover from that injury.

Stephen stood off to the side, looking at the scene in shock. The one being that had encouraged Stephen to release his emotions, to be wild, untamed, aggressive, was now lying on the ground, lifeless. Gone from Stephen's life. Taken away from him in a heartbeat. Cassius had been overbearing, domineering, but he had given Stephen that rush of adrenaline, an excitement in taking risks. Power.

Dom and Tessa had arrived behind Zac and had seen the shooting take place. Everyone was staring at Stephen, waiting for his next move. He knew he was outnumbered. I merged with Daniel's mind and told him,
He held back when Cassius told him to kill me. He easily could have taken my life, and he didn't. He's really confused.