There Will Be Time Ch. 03

With that last statement she burst into more tears. Silently a tissue box was being pushed in front of her, but she ignored and instead used the sleeve of the over large sweatshirt to shield her face.

"You don't believe me," she whimpered, her voice thick with tears and muffled.

"I believe you. It's okay, Ms. Richards."

"You don't understand—I wasn't hallucinating anything. I swear to God it was a wolf. And he was big too." She stopped talking long enough to quiet her tears and then said in a cold voice, "I wish that I had had the power to kill them all."

Lacey sat back on the sofa with her hand pressed tightly against her mouth, face drenched in tears, the remote pointed at the still frame of the sinister scowl on Adina's face, in extreme disturbance.

"Adina," she sobbed.

When Lacey had been running around in the streets, she had seen things too, things that made nightmares seem welcoming, but she never spoke of it out of fear that she too would not be credited. She had never had any brutal encounters before, and here was a woman who was in the thick of it. What Adina had encountered was a creature of the night.

She didn't know how long she sat there thinking on everything until she felt dip of the couch beside her.

"She had to change her statement. Do you believe her?" By now Lacey's face was dried and stiff, and she spoke stoically to Andrew not looking at him.

She heard him clear his throat and say, "No, but I couldn't tell her that. Everyone would have thought she was insane."

"But being forced to fight a wolf could explain the deep lacerations found on the victims' bodies."

"I didn't rule out the probability of those assholes making these girls fight something massively stronger than they were. But how can we say that and not include her delusion about the wolf turning into—into a werewolf essentially?"

"How do you know that's what she meant?"

"I've watched that tape hundreds of times. She said it choked her, and there were bruises on her neck consistent with strangulation. An animal couldn't possibly do something like that."

Lacey turned her steely gaze on him and he looked surprised by her expression. "You asked me to watch her confession and I am telling you there is nothing delusional or false in neither those eyes nor her statement. I believe her, Andrew. I think she has a right to know that she isn't insane."

~*~

The knock on her door was insistent. Adina slid out of bed and slipped on some sweatpants and a large t-shirt. It was dark in the hallway, so she hit on a light switch on her way to the door. She looked through the peephole and saw a young white male standing there anxiously with his hands in his pockets. He was looking around as if on alert and then suddenly he was banging on the door again.

Adina jumped in fright. "Can I help you?" she yelled from behind the door.

"Madame, I don't have time to explain it, but I need to get you out of here," the young guy said more calmly than she perceived him to be.

Her heart stuttered at the statement. "Excuse me? What do you mean by that?"

"Adina, please they'll be here shortly. We have to go," he said more urgently.

Her eyes widened, "How do you know my name? Who are you and who is 'they?'"

"I am Emmett and I have been sent here to protect you on orders of Mr. Alexander. You may know him as James. Please. We can talk about this on the way to the safe house. Right now, the ones who took you before are looking for you, have been for a while. They intend to finish the job."

Quickly she dissected what he was saying and asked in a shaking voice, "How do I know you're not one of them?"

Emmett scoffed loudly, "I could never do what those beasts do! Please open the door!"

Without any more delay she swung the door open and he charged inside of her dorm room and slammed the door behind him. The man before her was wearing all black and his light brown hair was slicked back out of his face with gel. If she could only describe him in two words they would be "combat ready."

He looked around briefly and then his stern and cold gaze fell on her. "Grab your shoes and anything you need. We need to go now."

Dumbfounded, Adina nodded her head and quickly headed to her bedroom, the whole while feeling that she had seen him somewhere before. As she slipped on some socks and running shoes it dawned on her that she remembered him as the deejay from theWicked Vine the first night she met James. He didn't speak to her then, but she was sure that he had heard every bit of the conversation. What was their relationship to one another, and why was James having her watched?

She went to grab her phone, charger, and wallet shoving them into her purse. Emmett suddenly rushed inside the room with her. He closed and locked the door behind him.

"What's—"

Emmett put his finger over his lips, his green eyes telling her that she needed to be quiet. She paced silently over to stand next to him and whispered, "What's going on?"

"They're here," he whispered back gravely. "We have to go through the window." His eyes shifted to her shirt and then found hers again. "Please, Madame, put on a jacket."

"Yes," she said reaching for her jacket.

While she was putting it on she thought about the title he gave her. "Madame" was for married women, so why would he use that to address her? She didn't have much time to think on it when the front door being kicked through. Emmett threw his arm around her waist and hauled her towards the window.

Breaking it, he kicked out the screen and then helped her climb out and followed behind her just as her bedroom door was broken off its hinges. "Let's go," Emmett yelled to her as he started running to the left. There were some stairs around that way. She followed him without stumbling and decided to jump down the last three. They reached the parking lot and she thought about heading straight to her car but: one, she didn't have her car keys, and two; she knew she was better off following this Emmett person.

She ran as fast as she could after him following him out of the automatic gate. The guard booth was empty. Adina hoped vehemently that the guard was really on a bathroom break. She could see her breath forming large puffs in the freezing night air and feel the cold numbness of her cheeks. Good thing that Emmett told her to put on a jacket or else she'd be freezing her ass off.

A few loud gunshots sounded off behind her and she almost jumped out of her skin releasing a shrill scream. She wasn't cold anymore, something like a hot electrical charge surging through her body. The adrenaline was familiar, and she hadn't felt like that since that demon had her kidnapped.

Emmett doubled back and scooped her in his arms and ran like lightening towards the black Suburban van that he must have been talking about around to the passenger's side. She glanced up at him, marveling at how easily he lifted her and how fast he was running. She observed the scowl on his face and saw his glinting sharp, white teeth.

'Dear God, he's just like them,' she thought in horror as her heartbeat escalated.

"Get in the truck!"

Adina wrenched the door open and got inside. She turned her head frantically towards Emmett just in time to see him pull out his own gun.

"Oh my God!"

He was shoving her as gently as he could manage across to the driver's seat. Her eyes were glued to the rearview, watching the men that were shooting at them running toward their own vehicles. Two of them stopped running and pulled off their jackets, morphing into large wolves standing on their hinds.

"Oh no..." Memories of when she was locked inside that steel cage with one of them intruded on her. She saw someone point a gun her way, but all she could do was stare back in fear.

A hand at the back of her head forcibly pushed her down. Glass shattered, falling on her head and hands grazing her skin. Emmett then let off a few rounds and then ducked above Adina's still huddled body.

"Did you get them?" she heard herself ask.

"I didn't kill them if that's what you mean."

"Well! Get them!"

Ignoring her Emmett began firing off his gun and his mouth. "I need you to drive, Madame. The key's in the ignition already... Please listen to me! I have to stave them off until we're safe. Okay?"

Nodding frantically, she reached a badly shaking hand to the key in the ignition ignoring the glass that continued to slide down her chest and back and started the truck and sped off.

It was like being in a movie; she couldn't believe this was happening to her. All she could hear was gunfire and she was desperately trying to keep her sanity, because as of right then both of their lives were in her hands.

She ran many red lights and was close to flipping the truck twice to get away from the black van chasing them. She was slightly grateful that there was hardly any traffic.

"Oh my God, oh my God!" she screamed at him when she saw blue and red lights behind them and heard the sirens of a police cruiser. And next to her side was a hairy black wolf snarling at her with glowing yellow eyes, gruesome canines on display.

"Emmett!"

Seeing the mangy creature beside her, he reached an arm over and let of a shot. The wolf released a deafening howl.

"Just keep driving!" Emmett yelled. "Turn right at the next light! You're doing great, Madame. Just keep going," he said casually as he pulled out his phone and started dialing a number. Who was he calling at a time like this!

Adina was gripping the wheel so tightly that her hands were beginning to hurt. 'Alright, I can't stop. Not even for the law,' she thought as she mentally tucked away her fear and let her will to survive take over.

"O.," he said, his voice urgent. "It's me. We have a problem... Why are the police chasing us? ... Jesus, if there was ever a time we needed you and gramps to run interference, now is the time... Yes. Yes, we're heading their now... Thank you."

The police and the van were hot on their tails still and at this point as she kept glancing in the rearview mirror wondering if the police had realized by now that they weren't the ones they should be chasing. As if her thoughts had been said on an intercom, the police car veered left cutting off the van giving them their chance. She glanced at the speedometer and saw that she was going over a hundred ten.

Emmett was turned around in his seat looking through the back window. "Get on the freeway ramp, now. I'll tell you where to get off at. It's urgent that we change vehicles. You can slow down now."

Driving the speed limit, if felt like hours had passed without either one of them speaking. She had the time to think about the man—no, creature—sitting beside her. Emmett was one of them and that kind of scared her. If he was one of them then that could only mean one thing: James was also a vampire. She thought of the dreams she'd been having about him and now it all made since why she always dreamt of him biting her.

This was all a bit much for her. She felt like screaming, but somehow knew there was nothing to be frightened of in Emmett's presence. It finally dawned on her that she had a lot of questions about them, about her kidnapping and virtual murder, about what she would do now that she was being hunted.

It had only been fifty minutes until he finally told her to get off at Bethel. Calmly she navigated the vehicle until they pulled up to an abandoned building with an equally abandoned lot. When she stopped, Emmett jumped out of the ruined truck and strode towards a large garage door. He was thin, so it amazed her that he didn't even grunt when he lifted the door in one motion. He stood to the side and waved for her to pull the truck in between a sleek silver Porsche and a badass black and red 1970 Camaro SS.

The engine became silent. Emmett made his way over to the driver's side and opened the door to let the frightened young woman out. Adina took his proffered hand gingerly fighting down the saltiness accumulating in her mouth. God, she was going to throw up if she didn't get a hold of herself. She could feel the glass shards falling down her back and stomach. The tall man next to her helped by brushing the glass off her shoulders.

"You know who those men were back there?" she asked solemnly, not looking at him. There was a faint ringing in her ears as she stared down at their feet.

Emmett slowly nodded his head. "Only a couple. Madame, it is urgently inherent that we leave now. I don't know how much longer the police can hold them off—you know better than anyone what they are capable of. In addition, my master and his mother are anxiously waiting for your safe arrival."

"Your master?" she squeaked raising her gaze to meet his.

"James."

"You're a servant?"

Emmett gave her a sideways smile. "Sometimes. Any other time, I'm his son." The shock on her face made his lips lit in amusement. "James Alexander is my creator, my maker. He is my teacher, my father, my friend, and my Master. Now that you know about us, what we are, that we are real, I presume you have many questions which can only be answered by him."

Adina stood stock still watching him quietly with widened eyes. He had a boyish look about him with his short brown locks and heart-shaped face. It was hard to believe that he was a monster. His dark eyes flickered with reverence when he mentioned his master. She could see it all over his face the way he felt about James, and for whatever reason it put her at ease and made her feel encouraged.

"We should go," she said finally walking over to the passenger's side of the silver vehicle.

Emmett got in and put the key into the ignition bringing the engine to life and pulled out of the garage. Stopping he got out and closed the garage by pulling on a chain.

"Tell me. I need to know. How did you find me?" Her voice trembled as she watched him carefully while he settled himself.

"As you may have guessed, I am not... normal. You are important to my master. He instructed me to protect you... from afar. I first noticed that you were being followed a week ago, but that person was not like me. He was human like you, which explains things pretty clearly."

"Explains what?"

His jaw clenched. "Have you been watching the news?"

"Not in the past few days."

"Well, there is a missing woman, been missing since Tuesday night. We think that the same ones who took you all those years ago took her. We think they use humans as familiars to watch their victims until it is time to strike," he said in disgust.

Surprise and fear coveted her features. "What?"

"Mmh," he nodded. "The police have no leads. I'm surprised that your detective friend hasn't mentioned anything to you about the missing girl."

Is that the reason Andrew called her on Thursday? Was he going to ask her to remember all of the things she so wanted to forget in order to find this girl?

"Are you sure that it's the same thing that happened to me?" Her voice shook as she trained her eyes on him.

"Her abduction matches up to yours. The problem is there was an abduction that occurred last year in summer. Now that girl didn't survive. We are hoping to find this girl as soon as possible, so that we can save her. I just hope she was as lucky as you. But it won't be easy."

Lucky? Adina scoffed and sat back in her seat staring out at the nearly abandoned highway. This was awful. Another woman in the same predicament as she had been could lose her life in a matter of a few short weeks. They have already had her for three whole days, and only Adina understood what was happening. Her own torture began not shortly after her arrival to wherever they kept her.

"Why won't it be easy?" she heard herself ask. If he was a vampire, then wasn't he supposed to have heightened senses? "Aren't there more like you who hate what these—these monsters are doing?"

"Yes, there are, but there is only so much we can do when we hardly know anything. And as to your question on why it will be hard... it's because you were the only one who lived. They will be sure now to be certain their victims are dead, now that they know you still live."

She closed her eyes and let out a deep breath trying to calm her rattled nerves. They knew she was alive and they had someone else. That poor girl didn't have a chance. "Do you know her name?"

"Hannah."

The two of them were on the road for about an hour until she began to drift, the smooth ride lulling her to sleep.

She woke abruptly when she could no longer feel the slight purr of the engine. Sleepily she stretched her stiff body in the seat covering a large yawn with her hand. As Adina's vision adjusted she could see they were parked in front of a very large cabin. It was picturesque, surrounded by lush green grass and pink and white hyacinths. There was light shining through the windows that let her know that the place wasn't empty.

By now Emmett had opened the door letting in the chilling cold air causing her to shiver. She guessed that they were at their permanent destination and placed her hand on the door handle. Before she could get it open, the front door swung open and there appeared a young woman dressed entirely in black, from her sweater to her long dress and slippers. She was a tad bit lighter than Adina's own complexion and her thick black hair reminded her of Diana Ross the way it flared out and bounced with every gracefully stride she took in their direction.

Adina heard Emmett call out to her. "Has father arrived yet?"

"He made it here an hour or so before you phoned. Don't worry, he's coming. Is that her?" The woman seemed to walk a little faster, and fear found its way into Adina's heart. She just knew that the woman approaching her was just like Emmett, could see it in the unearthly way she walked. The closer she came, the more Adina's pulse quickened, her hand frozen in its place on the handle. She bit the inside of her jaw willing herself to stay calm.

The woman stopped just outside the car door peering in at the frightened human inside. She smiled friendly, her light brown eyes dancing with excitement.

"Hello, darling." She had a Southern Belle accent which made her appear even more exotic. Adina forced a smiled while the woman's enlarged, exposing very sharp fangs. "I'm so glad that you're safe. I know that you've been to Hell and back, but are you ready to come out of the car now?"

Adina swallowed the saliva that had accumulated, but as soon as she did the genuine need to vomit hit her. She threw open the door and did just that. It was of nothing really, remnants of tea she had drank before going to bed and stomach bile. The heaves took a lot out of her and for their duration they were all she could focus on. She could feel the gentle patting of a hand on her back though, but other than that she felt weak, as if she would collapse at any moment.

When it was all over with nothing but a fowl taste in her mouth she opened her wet eyes. She was panting on all fours in the dirt drive way drawing in deep breaths of air, salty tears stinging her eyes, but she didn't care. All she could see staring back at her were a pair of familiar concerned dark brown eyes flecked with gold.

"Adina," he murmured, but his face didn't change though she could see an episode of different emotions in his piercing look.

She blinked and smiled up at him instinctively. It was a wonder that she was so happy and relieved to see him, strangely happy that the circumstances had reunited them as if by magic. James caught onto her, pulling her into his arms.

"It's alright," he murmured as he held her close.