Chapter 2 XAVIERA

XAVIERA

Fire roared through the night's sky, warming the cold night. The house before me was clothed in thick black smoke and spitting flames. Heart wrenching screams could be heard from the house, filling it and overflowing through every outlet of the burning house. I made to move, but my legs wouldn't obey. I was stuck. Stuck in a way I couldn't decipher. Glued to the ground, I fought to move. Sweat trickled down my face, the screams sent slithers of cold down my spine.

I was shaking like a leaf under the merciless assault of the wind. "Run! Run! Run!" The voices began to chant "Save yourself!" I was no coward, and I've never backed down on a fight, but I felt my body take up that command.

Run! Escape!

I tried, but my legs just wouldn't budge.

While I struggled to flee as commanded, a figure emerged from the fire. It was in the form of a man, but his body was covered in an unending black smoke that wrapped around him in large circles, twirling continuously. His eyes blazed in uniformity to the flames that burned the house and its occupants. In his right hand, he held a limp body by the neckline of its clothes, dragging the body along as he moved.

He advanced until he was just a few metres away from me. He dropped the body, snorting out gases. I struggled to make out any significant features, but all I got were shadows. The body moved slightly, raising his head slowly, my heart dropped to my stomach as I recognised the person that was held captive.

God no!

"Xaviera" He groaned, blood spluttering from his mouth. The smoky shadow raised his sword.

No no no!

"Please don't!"

Slurrp! In a powerful cut, he decapitated the head from his body. Blood gushed from the neck splattering about. Suddenly, I felt my limbs loose, and my first thought was to lurch at the murderous creature before me, but before I could, I felt four hands, two on each side of my arms, clamp around me in restraint, pressing me to the earth.

The Smoky being kicked the head forward so it rolled to where I stood. The head turned to me, life still in it, then the eyes blinked rapidly. "Run Xaviera. Run!" It whispered eerily, I felt my heart drop. Slowly the lips curled into a sinister smirk.

Jesus!

"Run!"

A deafening shrill erupted from behind me, jutting me up suddenly, my eyes tore open as reality came crashing. It was a dream! It was a fucking dre-nightmare!

Thank God!

A horrible nightmare, gratefully not reality. I was covered in sweat, and my heart raced erratically. I rested against the headboard of my bed, struggling to calm my racing pulse.

I turned on my beside lamp, trying to make sense of what I had just seen as several thoughts clouded my already hazy mind. It wasn't the first time I dreamt about burning houses and gut wrenching screams, but this was the first time anything emerged from the smoke. It was the first time he was slain before my eyes-the first time his head was actually severed. Although, this time it was quite different. In reality, I had seen the sword take a swipe at him, I had seen him fall. Yes, he did die.

I saw him being murdered, then I watched those monsters drag his body away after he had breathed his last. But his head was intact. The digital clock beside my bed began to blink, 6:30am the blinking lights indicated. I threw the sheets off my feet, wriggling them to confirm they still had life in them, they wriggled just fine.

Letting out a sigh of relief, I swung both legs, the floor creaked slightly underneath me. Struggling to push away the memories of that accursed night, I made for the kitchen.

It had been a good five years since he had died, and I still had fragments of the memory of it, mostly about what happened before. They always came in my dreams, but this was the first time anything came out of that house alive.

The house was quiet, Anna didn't return home last night. I was grateful she wasn't home to witness another of my early morning fits. She'd seen enough of it since I moved in with her.

I was halfway to the cabinet when I slipped, and fell hard on my ass. The impact knocked the air out of my lungs, I gasped for breath.

"Fuck!" The room swirled, and noisy tweets drummed in my head. Luckily, my tailbone wasn't affected, or I might have been howling on the floor.

When was the last time I fell this hard?

Right! After the attack. One minute I was a Delta wolf, fast approaching the beta rank, and the next I was in another pack, now an Omega. Talk about epic falls.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Lunch rush at Moondrops was hell, and my feet were a testament to that fact. The last of our afternoon lunch rush customers had just exited the restaurant, a group of noisy teenagers with the most clamourous laughter

I sighed at the peace their absence brought, three to four customers sat scattered around the restaurant. I grabbed several trays, neatly stacking them on the trolley. My break was in five minutes, but before that, I had to deliver these glasswares to Milligan.

I pushed the stocked trolley, traipsing to Milligan and his stack of dirty kitchen wares. He released a resigned sigh at the sight of the trolley.

"Tell me this is the last of them"

"It is the last of them," I muttered with a smile.

"There is a God!" He exclaimed. I chuckled at this. It was basically his first rush hour shift. He had never washed so many plates during one shift.

Moondrops seemed to buzz during afternoon rush hours and the evenings . The food was exquisite, the designs were comely, it simply beckoned on you, and they did come, with tall orders.

"My shift is almost over. I'll just take out the trash" I informed him, then turned to the trash can that was filled to the brim.

"I will be here till dusk. Took two shifts" Milligan said "Extra cash and all. Now I regret it"

I laughed at this. "You'd forget it once you feel the weight of your paycheck" I lifted the bag out of the can, then wrapped it. The weight pulled at my shoulders. "Woah! This shit is quite heavy"

"Need help?" He said over his shoulders.

"Nah. I'm good. Thank you" I lifted the heavy bag, taking it outside. The afternoon weather was calm and a bit dull.

The moment I dropped the trash into the dump, a swooshing sound swept past me, causing a cold to slither down my spine. I felt the hairs on my body rise, a prickling sensation shot up to the back of my neck. The air around me chilled suddenly. Rieka rose to this, growling within.

What's going on?

Something drew my attention, a scent I couldn't really fathom. I turned from the dump, searching for the source of my discomfort. Slowly my gaze lifted as though summoned, resting upon a figure that stood a good metres away from me. It stood still, watching me. It was dark, so I couldn't tell who it was was. However, it seemed to be calling me. The prickling sensation around my neck heightened, pulling at my senses.

"Hello?" I called

Nothing. Not even a budge. It just stood there, watching.

"Do you need something?" I called again, this time, walking towards it. The closer I got, the distorted it became, my vision began to blur as I tried to focus on what it was I was really seeing.

"Xaviera!" Someone screamed my name. I jumped as though pulled out of a trance. I turned to the direction my name was called. Adeline stood at the backdoor of the restaurant, staring at me weirdly. "Where are you going?" her left brow curved in question.

I turned to the direction I was headed a few seconds ago. The figure was no longer there.

"I thought I saw someone," I muttered.

Someone was definitely there.

"What?" She asked.

"Nothing" I said, returning to the point where she stood.

"You good?" She asked, I nodded, brushing off the feeling. My mind must be playing tricks on me. Stress. That must be it. I barely slept these days.

"Okay, change out of your work clothes, Leesa is waiting for us" I nodded, as she turned, going back in. I threw one more glance at that corner, and there it was, like it never left.

The figure.