Amphora Ch. 04

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So last we left off, I was being held hostage by a dark apocalyptic cult led by my hot yet insane occult professor. Now I'm being rescued by Luken, the man of my dreams... or really the man from my dreams who I'm sure is stalking me. But never have I been so relieved to have a stalker than right now.

Luken drags me by the hand towards an exit only he seems to know. Dogs barking and angry shouts follow us as we race towards the closing iron gates. The pain in my arm is numbed by adrenaline as I try to keep up with Luken who is like The Flash. Two guards try to block our way but Luken pulls out a gun and like a super spy shoots them both in the chest. I watch the guards go down like toy soldiers while we make it through the gate.

"This way," Luken pulls me towards the side to a pile of tree leafy branches. He lets go of me and quickly pulls the branches away to reveal a motorcycle, a black ninja motorcycle.

"Seriously," I gasp. "Who are you?"

"Later," Luken pulls me onto the motorcycle without even asking me. I don't really trust motorcycles. I feel too exposed to the elements. I wince every time I see a motorcycle on the highway thinking those guys are going to wipe out with their bodies in pieces on the road.

We don't even have helmets ripping off the grounds into Philadelphia's traffic. I wrap my arms around Luken's waist, my eyes closed tight I don't see where we're going. I'm too afraid of falling off. My muscles tighten at every leaning turn.

I don't know how long we've been driving but I start to smell concrete and gasoline.

"You can let go now," Luken says. "Seriously I'm having a little trouble breathing."

I open my eyes, a small percentage of me hoping this was all a nightmare and my roommate Elena was in the kitchen cooking breakfast and chatting with her other stripper friends. Unfortunately I did not smell the sweet syrupy scent of her famous apple cinnamon waffles. Instead we were on Broad Street where there's a long stretch of abandoned railway.

"Tessa," Luken places his hand on mine. His touch gives me an electric shock, something reassuring in it made me release my death grip on his stomach.

"Sorry, I hate motorcycles," I explain. Luken nods, his dark eyes are kind. I thought they were black but as I climb off the metal beast I get a closer look at them and see that they're indigo.

"You're the guy from my dream..."

"You've been dreaming about me?" Luken cocks an eyebrow. His caramel skin is a perfect contrast to mine and looks so smooth, it felt smooth actually from the touch of his hand. He has a gypsy look about him that speaks trouble.

I can't help but flush. Women are supposed to be better than that, right? Guys are always thinking with their second heads but here I am getting tremors from his simple smirk and arched brow.

I shake my head, my body starts to shake. The adrenaline recedes leaving a terrible nausea that I can't hold back anymore. I run to the graffiti painted wall, bend over and let out whatever was left in my stomach from the night before. My arm throbs with pain.

My dark blood starts to seep through my jacket. I can feel the monsters within me like a swarm of hornets in my veins. I was seconds away from just letting it all out when I feel Luken's reassuring touch on my arm.

"Stay still," Luken speaks softly like a man trying to soothe a wolf with it's leg caught in a bear trap. He takes out what I think is gauze but it has weird writing on it. Sanskrit I think. I remember one of Elena's stripper coworkers, Cherry, having a tattoo of Sanskrit just above her vagina that she always kept bare.

He starts muttering some language I don't understand, gingerly removing my make shift bandage and wrapping my arm in white cloth with red glowing markings. The hornets in my blood settle. I can feel the monsters that I haven't felt for years with alcohol, sex, self medication and prescription drugs numbing them, start to quiet down.

The pain is still there but at least the monsters have shut the hell up so I can process all this craziness. I feel another lump in my throat and bend over away from Luken.

"Take a deep breath," Luken's hand rubs my back. The heat of his palm spreads fire up and down my spine. He even holds my hair back for me as I dry heave on the ground.

"I just didn't want to ruin your shoes," I cough. "It's bad manners to throw up on the guy who saves you from a death cult." I rise up slowly. The dank smell of concrete and metal doesn't help. I definitely look terrible yet Luken doesn't look disgusted at all.

"You've been through a lot," Luken smiles. I like his smile. He has one of those genuine nice guy smiles that not many hot guys have. Usually their smiles have ulterior motives but not Luken's.

"So now will you tell me who you are?" I ask. "Some other death cult that wants to destroy the world?"

Luken grows serious. His brow furrows as I lean back against the wall.

"No," Luken says. "The people I work for aren't like the Styx Brotherhood."

"Who are you then?"

Luken reaches into his pocket and pulls out a silver coin. It's the same coin I saw him flipping outside the restaurant. It was an Ancient Greek coin with the image of a sun on one side and an image of a bull's head on the other.

"I'm with the Order of the Mithras," he says with absolute seriousness. My day just keeps getting better. "And the wrappings I just used are inscribed with a spell that contains evil but they won't hold for long."

"You're telling me you're the good guys?"

"Essentially," Luken nods.

"Good, can you take me home?"

"The Styx Brotherhood will expect you to go back to your apartment," Luken turns grim. I narrow my eyes when it suddenly dawns on me where I've seen him before. Not just in my dreams or across the street but somewhere dirty yet hot...

"I'll need to snake your drain ma'am!" I blurt.

His face shadows with confusion but then Luken flushes and becomes awkward.

"That's where I've seen you! That porno about the lady who called a plumber but couldn't pay with money so she pays with her—"

"Alright alright," Luken hushes me as if someone else will hear.

"Wow that was going to bug me for a week," I admit truthfully.

"Okay does that mean you'll trust me?"

"Fuck no!" I straighten up a little too fast and feel dizzy. "Don't get me wrong I'm happy to meet a celebrity but I've had the worst 18 hours of my life since..." I pause. My mother's crime bubbling up worse than the monsters in my dark blood.

"Since your mother poisoned those people," Luken finishes my thought. His handsome face softens.

"I want to go home," I swear. "My family and friends are worried sick!"

"You're in danger," Luken insists. "You'll be putting them in danger. I need to take you to a safe house."

"You do that but we need to stop by my apartment first," I wasn't taking no for an answer. I try to walk past him but Luken catches my arm. I can feel his warm ease my tremors and the throbbing headache I was getting.

"I told you," he says. "These bandages will only contain the evil for so long. We need to go to the Order where someone more skilled than me can contain this evil."

I wrench my arm out of his grip, "I've been drugged, kidnapped, held hostage, and I'm going through withdrawal faster than usual. I'm not going anywhere until we tell my family and friends that I'm okay, damn it! Besides if my step-brother hasn't called the police by now he will and you don't want the Styx AND the cops looking for us do you?"

Luken stares me down but I will plant myself in the garbage littered dirt before I let someone else I barely know drag me to another place.

"Have it your way," Luken begrudgingly climbs onto the ninja motorcycle. "But we won't stay for long."

He holds out his hand but I flinch back.

"Can't we take the subway or something?" I ask.

"You're going through withdrawal. I doubt you would make it without me having to carry you," a smile plays across his lips.

I take a deep shaky breath. I climb onto the metal beast, grabbing Luken tight as it roars to life.

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We make it to my apartment despite the midday traffic. Sure enough Sam is there pacing while talking on the phone, yelling at cops for their lack of concern. Elena is cleaning which is what she does when she's worried. She cries out a little smashing at something in the sink, "Damn, Spiders! That's the fifth one I've seen today! They're getting bigger too!"

She's wearing her long rubber gloves cleaning the sink when she turns to see me and Luken.

"Tessa!" she runs to me as Sam hangs up without another curse to the cops. She wraps her arms around me, having me in a vise like grip. Sam looks relieved then angry then when it's finally his turn to hug me all I feel is his relief again. The hug goes on a little too long though.

"Sam, I'm okay," I speak softly. But Sam suddenly notices my injury.

"The hell you are," he fumes. I see his black eyes go blacker still when he catches sight of Luken. "Who the hell are you?"

"Sam!" Elena admonishes my step-brother turning one of her famous warm smiles towards my rescuer. It's a smile she can't help but use in life and at the strip club but I still feel a cold worm of jealousy gnawing at my spine at the sight. "Forgive him, he's been worried all night."

"He's family, I understand," Luken shrugs. His coolness only feeds Sam's jealous ire.

"Well thank you for bringing her home," Sam pulls me to his side away from Luken who plays it cool but in his eyes I see an irritated flicker. "Goodbye."

"Wait I know you from somewhere...," Elena inspects him further with her large chocolate eyes. Damn even in casual wear Elena is hot. Her cleavage is on full display for Luken to see. Her face brightens with the answer, "You're that porn star guy! I've seen quite a few of your work!"

I swear I saw Sam's eyes turn green with envy. He turns to me and it hurts me to see the sting of betrayal in his dark eyes when really I have nothing to feel guilty about.

"I was 19 and needed money," Luken explains casually though I can see it embarrasses him a little to talk about it. Luken looked to be late 20s early 30s. Still hot though.

"I'm paying my way through nursing school by stripping," Elena shrugs in her light way. "I don't judge."

Sam turns to me asking the question they have been burning to ask, "Where were you? I was worried sick."

"I...," I struggle with excuses. I went on a maybe date with our new occult professor Martel. He turned out to be a part of this ancient evil cult then kidnapped me. This guy rescued me and oh I have the world's evils inside me. I just give up sighing, "I'm sorry. My phone died. I should have tried harder to check in."

Sam's eyes could always see right through me. He wasn't buying my story but the truth sounded even more outrageous. We have this connection that unnerves me. It didn't bother me before but then prom... and well...

"We have to go," Luken invades the little bubble Sam and I have wrapped ourselves in. "Now."

"Hold up, man, she just got home and she's bleeding! She needs to go to the hospital!" Sam blocks Luken off from me. Luken nevertheless takes my wrist and pulls me towards him.

"I'll take her there myself," Luken promises but that's not good enough for Sam. He slaps his hand on Luken's shoulder, digging his fingers into his shoulder. Sam is pretty strong. He's also pretty big. That football scholarship was well earned but something tells me that Luken won't need physical strength to beat him.

"Stop it, Sam!" I push him off. The bewildered look on Sam's face hurts.

"I'm not going to let you walk off with another guy you barely know," Sam swears. True. Luken wouldn't be the first total stranger I've walked off with in my life. But this was a matter of life and death not just for me but for everyone around me.

"Tess," Elena grows serious, her lips compressed into a sad line. "We were gonna talk to you. About your problem. Your drug problem. I've noticed some of the pills missing when I brought home Diamond from her boyfriend's house. Remember, Diamond? She had at least a broken rib and facial bruising."

An intervention? Now? Seriously??

"Guys we can do this later," I beg. I can feel the bandages start to weaken. The monsters inside me were coming back. I can feel the familiar sting of buzzing hornets humming in my evil blood.

"No we've been putting it off for weeks but now is the right time," Sam insists reaching for me. "I mean is this guy some drug dealer?"

Suddenly a huge spider, I mean HUGE like the size of my fist, descends between us. It's furry black body, creepy black legs, and snapping pincers freak me out but not as much as it's many red demon eyes that tell me this is no ordinary spider. Sam isn't scared of anything but even he jumps back with eyes wide in terror.

"What the fuck is that?" he cries. Luken touches my shoulder and I turn to see him and Elena looking up at the ceiling to see thousands of spiders ranging in sizes from tiny to the size of my palm huge as well as species, I swear I see tarantulas and gathering in the corner of the apartment.

You know the Rat King urban legend where rats combine together to form one big rat? Well... ever hear of a Spider King? Actually it was a Spider Queen. A half spider, half woman with upper body of a woman but the lower half of a tarantula. Her face is a terror to behold with four red eyes and large pincers dripping with venom.

"What the fuck...?" Sam gaped.

"Please tell me we still have some bug spray left," I ask Elena without taking my eyes off the drooling hybrid creature of nightmares.

"I doubt it'll be enough...," Elena's voice sounded so weak. After a thud I look back to see Elena lying unconscious on the floor. Shit.

"Arachne...," Luken whispers putting his arm in front of me as if that's going to stop it from killing me. The creature responded with a clicking screech that makes us cover our ears. The creature attacks with lethal swiftness going after me but Sam regained his senses in time to stand in front of me.

Undeterred, Arachne strikes at him with one of her hairy black legs, making him fly across the room. Luken grabs me, pulling me towards the door.

"Wait! I can't leave Elena and Sam!"

"My only concern is you right now!"

But Arachne fires a sticky string of her web from her abdomen at Luken, dragging him in like a fish. She begins wrapping him in a white cocoon. From my understanding of spiders they like to save their food for later. I fall over into the hallway, my head is throbbing, my blood raging in my ears with the static of monsters begging to be unleashed. I feel faint at this point.

Arachne's venom drips on to the floor and like blood in snow it steams, melting through the floor. I'm in her shadow but while her eyes are locked on me she doesn't notice me unwrap my Sanskrit gauze. It's the only way I can get me and my friends out of this... until...

BANG! Arachne screeches horribly, her body rippling with tiny spiders that she's made of. A long silver stake is lodged in her spider body. I turn to see three men in casual wear with large high tech crossbows. The first man who looks to be about mid 30s smiles at me.

"Luken mess up again?" he says. "Lucky for him the Order likes to send back up just in case." He reloads another silver stake. Arachne fixes him with evil eyes full of vengeance.

"Come on, pretty girl," the man taunts the monster spider. "Let's play."

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TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 5...