Rebecca Grainger sat in the middle of the bedroom and tried to imagine what it would look like with a fresh lick of paint and some new furniture. For now, it was bare. Save for some garish floral wallpaper, which would be the first thing to go, and a bay window whose trim had seen better days. “This is going to take some work,” she murmured.
“What was that?” her boyfriend Terry asked, tucking his smartphone into his pocket.
“Welcome back to the land of the living,” Rebecca teased. “I said, we have some work ahead of us to make this room respectable.”
“It’s only a guest bedroom. I’m sure our friends will love that wallpaper. At least they don’t have to sleep in a room with a creepy laundry chute in the wall.”
“I don’t see you complaining when you dump your filthy drawers down there,” Rebecca said, nudging him playfully.
“True that. It’s better than going down into the basement.”
Rebecca reached up and tousled his curly brown hair. “My brave man. How would I ever live without you?”
“It’s perfectly normal to be scared of dark basements. The sooner we can renovate down there, the better.”
Pushing herself up off the floor, Rebecca stretched and padded over to the window. She looked down towards the bay and sighed contentedly. “I love this neighborhood. I still can’t believe that my parents bought this house for us.”
“I can’t believe they bought the place right next to their own,” Terry said, instantly regretting it.
Rebecca turned, her pale skin flushed almost as red as her hair. “I love that they are so close. Just because you had a shitty childhood and no relationship with your parents doesn’t mean that I should abandon mine and move across the country.”
“Baby, I’m sorry. I was poking fun. I love your parents and am so grateful that they bought us this place. We certainly couldn’t afford it on our combined salaries.”
Shoulders slumped, Rebecca walked over to her boyfriend and helped him to his feet, pulling him in for a hug. “I’m sorry I snapped. You know, I don’t believe we have properly christened this room yet.”
“I think you might be correct, lady,” Terry growled as he nuzzled Rebecca’s neck, raising a giggle.
She responded to his kisses, digging her nails into his back and pushing herself in tighter, loving the feel of his strong arms wrapped around her. Rebecca reached around and squeezed his ass, sliding her tongue into his mouth and kissing him hard.
DING DONG!!
The doorbell sounded impossibly loud in the empty room, but she ignored it as she began to pull Terry’s T-shirt up over his head.
DING DONG!!
DING DONG!!
“They’ll go away,” Terry said.
DING DONG!!
Rebecca pulled free of his grip with a snarl and went to the window that looked down onto their front step. There she saw her mother standing with a casserole dish in her hand, preparing to ring the bell one more time. Rebecca rapped on the window and waved down to her mom to get her attention. “Okay, we may need to set some ground rules with that woman.”
Fixing his shirt, which was halfway over his head, Terry slid down the wall with a moan.
“Don’t you fret, my love, we’ll pick up where we left off a little later.” Rebecca skipped out of the room and turned back to blow her boyfriend a kiss. “You may want to cool down a little before you come downstairs. I don’t need my mom seeing your assets on full display.”
Putting on a happy face, Rebecca opened the front door. “Hey, Mom, this is a pleasant surprise.”
Selina Grainger handed over the casserole dish and stepped inside, her eyes darting to every visible corner of the house. “I do hope I’m not interrupting.”
“Not at all. We were trying to figure out what to do in, I mean, with the spare bedroom.”
“You could leave it as-is for now and not do anything until you’re ready to turn it into a nursery,” Selina said with a wink.
Ignoring the comment, which she had already heard countless times, Rebecca said, “Where’s Dad?”
“He’ll be over in a moment. He’s taking a phone call.”
They walked through to the kitchen, where Rebecca placed the casserole dish on the counter. “What’s for dinner?”
“Baked ziti. Pop it in the oven on low until your dad gets here.”
Terry walked into the kitchen and placed a kiss on Selina’s cheek. “To what do we owe the pleasure, Selina?”
Palms raised, she replied, “I know you kids are probably sick of the sight of myself and Craig, but we understand how tiring it can be to set up a new home. The least we can do is make you some dinner. Craig will bring a bottle of wine as soon as he gets off the damn phone.”
“We love having you here, Mom, although a bit of notice would be good. Terry was about to decide what to eat when you showed up.” She winked at her boyfriend, who was suddenly very interested in a piece of junk mail, his cheeks blazing red.
“I promise to call ahead next time, cross my heart,” Selina said, making the sign of an X across her chest.
They sat at the dining room table and lapsed into comfortable conversation, the smell of the pasta filling the house. A few minutes later, the front door opened, and Craig stepped inside brandishing a bottle of wine and shouting ‘knock knock’ as he walked through to the dining room.
“Everything okay, dear?” Selina asked, a look of concern on her face.
“Not to alarm anyone, but we need to talk,” Craig said.
“We can talk over dinner, Dad. I’m famished.” Rebecca stood to go into the kitchen, but Craig caught hold of her wrist and held her in place. “What are you doing, Dad?”
“Please sit down, Becky. This is serious.”
Selina stood and steered Rebecca back into her seat while staring down Craig. “What happened?”
“There’s been an incident at the facility.”
In the blink of an eye, Selina turned from doting mother into a fierce animal protecting its young. She pulled off the rubber band wrapped around her wrist and used it to tie back her hair. “Tell me more,” she said, reaching down and retrieving a small pistol from an ankle holster.
“Is that a gun? What the hell is going on here?” Rebecca asked, a look of confusion on her face.
“Relax, dear,” Selina said in a tone that said her words were more of an order than a suggestion.
“It’s Raven,” Craig said through gritted teeth.
“What about her?” Selina asked.
“She’s out, and she has some company.”
“Who the fuck is Raven?” Rebecca yelled.
Standing and checking to ensure that her weapon was loaded, Selina placed a hand on Rebecca’s shoulder and said, “Your real mother. We need to get you somewhere safe.”
“Thorn has men on the way. We stay put until they arrive.”
Terry looked at each of the other people in the room and then glanced into the kitchen, where tendrils of smoke drifted out of the oven. “The baked ziti is burning,” he said.
***
Raven stepped out of the elevator and into the lobby area, signaling the rest of the group to follow her. A chilly wind blew in through the open doors of the loading dock. It was the first time that outside air had touched her skin in twenty-five years, so she took a moment to savor it, throwing back her head and stretching out her arms. The wind washed over her, raising gooseflesh and blowing away the stink of years in captivity.
The moment passed quickly. It would serve them no good to stand around and wait for guards to arrive, which they almost certainly would soon. The alarm continued to sound, making her friends nervous. She turned and quieted them with soothing words that no human would have understood, words designed to soothe the most savage of beasts.
Raven strode over to the loading dock, tearing away the bottom part of her dress to make it easier to move. Catching sight of the cargo vans in the lot, she closed her eyes and began to speak quietly as she moved her thumbs back and forth across her fingers. She smiled as the sound of an engine coming to life reached her ears. Turning to face the group, she said, “Time to go, sweet ones.”
The creatures edged forward and climbed into the back of the van, which was now back by the loading dock, engine idling and back doors wide open. Raven stopped the Aswang before it could climb into the vehicle, whispering in its ear. The creature took a step back and shuddered slightly as it took on the form of Rankin before jumping off the dock and into the driver’s seat.
Turning to survey the lobby one more time, Raven tilted her head and stared at the elevator doors beside the one she had just used. She could smell Thorn and knew that the elevator led directly to him. The urge to find him and make him pay was strong, but she was weak. Using her powers after such a long time held in check was draining, but she promised herself that she would return and finish this piece of business as soon as her body and mind were strong enough to do so. With that, she jumped into the back of the van and leaned back to rest as the vehicle began to move.
Rebecca adds in interesting variable to the equation. I look forward to seeing what role she plays.
At this point in the story, I'm not sure whose side to be on, Thorne's or Raven's, though I'm tending toward Raven.
Ohh intrigue! Will Raven go try to find Rebecca straight away? What exactly is she? Many questions...