Shattered Skies: Beginning's End (28 page)

As soon as I
entered Dr. Walker’s cell, my heart hit the floor. I figured that I was too late. Dr. Walker was so close to death that I wasn’t sure I could move him without killing him. It looked like I was as good as dead and Darien and Jaden were in a lot of trouble for nothing. The Doc looked to be in the last stage of death when your organs are shutting down one by one; the stage where even the slightest shock to your body can kill you. Where the man that hissed and fought less than two days ago used to be chained, there was now a frail being that was nothing but skin and bones. I unshackled him and he fell to the floor in a sorry heap. The fall didn’t kill him though, which was the first real break that we’d had so far. Maybe he was more stable than he first appeared. It wasn’t much hope to hold onto, but any hope was better than none. I was overjoyed when I saw he was breathing on his own, but I knew that realistically, he would never be able to get out on his own power. We would have to carry him and there was no time for that; we had to be in and out fast to make this work, and thanks to Drake, too much time had been wasted already. The monsters had to be one their way down to see what the horrible wail was that had escaped Drake’s lips. 

There were
probably way too many monsters coming to handle. I knew, we all knew, that there was no chance in the world that the three of us were going to get out and be able to take Dr. Walker with us. No one wanted to be the one that said it though. How could we leave Dr. Walker behind? He was the man who had saved all of us. He had raised us, fed us, and made sure that he taught us everything that we needed to know to survive against the monsters, even though he was one of them. The truth of the matter was, the world would suffer without him in it. If there was a way for the humans to rise up and reclaim the Earth, I truly believed that Doctor Walker was going to have a huge role leading the effort. 

I took a second to look
at the man that I thought of as a father. Even though so much urgency flooded the air, I felt like the world was moving in slow motion. I saw Jaden rounding the corner running towards the corridor door. He was desperately trying to lock it before any monsters could get through. I knew that it would buy us seconds at best, and he knew it too. Anything that we did at this point, unless it was huge, was not going to help much. I turned toward Darien after I saw Jaden lock the slide into place. Darien was already at the window we planned to escape through. He was looking for something, anything, to prop up and then burn after we climbed out, to buy us a little more time. It was ironic that while what we needed was time; I felt that I had all the time in the world. 

I turned and l
ooked back down at Dr. Walker. There was no life left in him at all. The man who had saved my life and taught me how to live in a world full of bad guys was dying. I had lost enough family. There must be something I could do. I couldn’t bring the rest of my family back, but I had to figure out a way to get to get my people out of there. Dr Walker might be a Vampire, but he had a soul; he knew what was happening to the humans was wrong. He believed so fully that it was wrong, that he was willing to go against his own kind and help the humans. No matter what he was, I realized I loved him and appreciated all of the things that he gave up to save us, when he could have stood idly by. 

I looked back up again. Jaden was a
superior soul; he didn’t belong in this world. He belonged somewhere where he could live without fear of being eaten alive. While I couldn’t give him that, maybe I could save him from becoming monster chow now. He was brave and strong and deserved the chance to live. 

Then there was Darien
my rock; the reason that I pushed through every day. I understood that he hated me; it was my fault that he had lost Jewel and an unborn child. I deserved him no longer. He needed to be with someone that could love him always, and that wasn’t me. I was damaged goods and I wouldn’t wish my burden on anyone. 

If I was gone, Darien would move on; they all would. It would take a while but they would still have each other. I didn’t belong with them anymore. I felt it with every breath I took, I was holding them back. Maybe they
could just go back into hiding and live the rest of their lives undetected among the monsters. I had to smile for a second at the image of the three of them sitting around in a cave somewhere drinking beer and arguing about something stupid. That was the life they all deserved; one that wasn’t complicated or as brutal as this one. As much as I wanted that for them, I knew better. The three of them would never be simple. They weren’t the kind to just sit back and relax. Dr. Walker was put here to change the world. I only regretted for a second that I wouldn’t be around to watch it happen. I knew it would be great though; there was no need for me to see it.

I had thought about death many times; it went hand in hand with the job I had. I always believed that one day, my luck would run out and a monster would discover the truth and end me. I was sure that mine would be a slow and painful death, and that was a risk I was willing to take. I was here to take out as many monsters as I could before one of them caught me. Dying by their hands would be horrible, but honorable. Being helpless and at their mercy was a wicked thought that always left me feeling frightened and cold. This time it was different; I did not fear death at all. I gave myself to the knowledge that I was going to die and now I felt nothing but peace. I was willing to trade my life for the lives of the three men that had stayed by my side from the day I was born. They had accepted me and they had taken care of me. I was positive that there were no other people that shared a bond such as we all shared. I couldn’t imagine a better way to go than by giving my life for theirs. It was noble, it was tragic, and it was right.

As quietly as I could, I grabbed my knife
from my pocket. I was afraid that if Darien saw me, he would stop me before I could do it; that would get us all killed and that was not at all what I was going for. I flipped the blade open and quickly sliced it across my wrist. The pain was sharp and sickening. The blood started to pour out of me; there was no turning back now. I knew that Dr. Walker would be more beneficial to Darien and Jaden than I could ever be. If I went with them instead of Dr. Walker, it would be the three of us against the monsters. If I could send Dr. Walker with them; it would no longer be only humans against monsters. The odds were against my guys with me in the picture, but the playing field was about to become more even with each drop of blood I shed.

I put my wrist near
Dr. Walker’s lips; he latched on immediately. A hideous growl escaped him and I looked up just in time to see Darien turn white. I wished the look on his face wasn’t so horrified. I didn’t have time to make him understand that I had to feed Walker.

“Cat, No! What the hell are you doing? He is going to kill you. He’s gone without blood too long to control himself.” 

Darien propelled himself towards me then, and I heard Jaden coming to join him from the other direction. I needed to tell them something. “I am not going to let you die because of me. I love you Darien and I am not letting you lose anything more.” It didn’t sound like me saying it. I was floating in warmth and dizziness and the fact that Darien was crying escaped me. I could hear Jaden screaming.

“Dr. Walker, listen to me; get a hold of your
self! You have to let her go. You are going to kill her!” His voice was shaking. 

Before I knew
it, they were both trying to pull Walker off of me. They were going to ruin it. Why were they so upset? Didn’t they see that I was OK with this? It was my decision to make and I was content with it. 

“You have to control yourself Walker! You
are killing her for God’s sake! Get off of her or I’ll kill you!!” I was not sure who said this; they both sounded so upset. It didn’t matter though, nothing mattered anymore. I knew that my friends were safe and they were going to get out. I heard a third voice, it was Walker’s voice, and I knew my plan had worked.

“Catalina
!. What have I done?”  The shock and regret in his voice was enough to finish me. I realized that the ink on my death certificate was drying. I didn’t care. Instead, I smiled. Dr. Walker was OK! Jaden and Darien were OK!  Then I heard the yelling. A cry had pierced my peaceful state and I was pissed. I wasn’t sure what was happening, but I felt motion. Dr. Walker had me in his arms and we were running for the window, but the scent of my blood was too tempting for him to resist. I saw the frenzied look in his eyes before I hit the floor. The thump didn’t hurt like it should have, and for a moment I thought that maybe I was back in Akia’s bed. I could live with that. The thought of spending eternity in his big soft bed was fine by me.

Sadly I was still conscious enough to know that that wasn’t the fact. The reality of the situation couldn’t be further from the happy place I had gone in my mind. Somewhere a distant part of me was aware of what was going on around me. There were at least five other creatures coming for me now. I knew if my team didn’t get out, my life would be lost for nothing. It took every ounce of energy that I had to beg and reason, but somehow I found the strength.

“Jaden, get them out of here. I will dist
ract the ones coming; get the fuck out now,” I pleaded. I knew that he was the only one level headed enough to understand. 

He looked down at me for a moment and our eyes met. He knew that my offer meant they would live and there was a
steady respect his eyes. The other two would have never understood my decision, but Jaden saw it clearly. He would be able to explain it to them once they were safe. He would make them understand for me and their understanding was all I wanted.

“Ok, Cat
I will. It is going to be OK. You saved us Cat. You are the bravest woman that I know, and the strongest warrior going. I am a better person for knowing you.” He placed his goodbye kiss on my mouth and I felt my lips grow warm.

Then
I suddenly felt cold. I could see that Dr. Walker was already out the window; the smell of my blood had been way too much for him to handle and he had dropped me. Good, one was free. Jaden, I knew, would have his work cut out for him when it came to getting Darien to leave, but I knew that he would get him out. He had promised that he would get them to safety and he would and I believed in him like I had never believed in another person in my life.

“Get your damn hands off of me
Jaden. I am not leaving her here. What is wrong with you? I’d rather die in here fighting for her. I can’t leave her. I can’t!” I wished Darien would stop being so stubborn, God I was going to miss him. I felt a rush of panic. I wasn’t just leaving them, they were leaving me too.

“I love you Darien,” was the last thing I would ever say. The sound of flesh hitting bone was sickening, and since I no longer heard Dar
ien insisting on staying, I knew that Jaden had knocked him out cold. It was for the best. He would have never left on his own. He would have stayed there and died uselessly by my side.

If Darien
had died there with me I would have never forgiven myself, not even in death. I turned my head and I saw that they had made it out. My job was complete and it was OK to let my guard down now. I hadn’t messed this one up. I did what I set out to do and I had been successful. 

I
had known all along the distraction that would give them the time to escape would be the monsters draining me dry. They would be slow about it. They would enjoy it. I am sure torturing me would be fun for them. I had taken enough of their lives so it only made sense that I would die by their hand. Karma was a bitch, but I silently thanked her anyway. 

The last thing that I needed to do was take off my ring. This
last part could work too. Akia would feel me die and he would know it was over. With my strength fading fast, I pulled on the ring. It slid off easily, thanks to the blood. The monsters were feeding; my plan was working. I closed my eyes and welcomed their fangs. It wasn’t so bad after all.

I was floating in false pheromone bliss. I had no idea that a Dominus bite could feel so wonderful
ly good. No wonder the food never complained. I had nothing to compare it to but really good sex. I relaxed and enjoyed the ride. I knew that it was going to be over for me soon and I didn’t want to miss a single second. I was happy and I was complete. I could not remember why I had been so afraid of this. I was at peace, slipping away, nearly completely gone, and then I heard a scream echo through my mind. The wail was so soulful and intense that I knew I should leave my bliss behind and see what the screamer was trying to tell me. 

“Kitten, where are you? I need to know where you are. I
can find you, speak to me now!” 

Good old Akia always managed to know the worse time to interrupt me. As much as I would have loved to ignore him, I knew that I owed him
my goodbye. After all, he had been such a pleasant distraction in the nightmare that I called life. I loved Darien and I am sure that we could have made a life together, but there was something that I felt when I was with Akia that I had never felt with anyone else; a state of awareness that I didn’t know existed. The way he touched my mind, body and soul, was something that I could have lived without and never missed, if the two of us hadn’t met at that ball. Yet, now that I had felt his touch, I knew that I would do anything to feel him touch me again.

I hoped that some
where along the line Darien would get to experience what I had; he deserved to know those heights. Maybe he would understand the way I acted if he understood what I had felt. I hoped even more though, that Akia would be able to forget what we had shared. I could not imagine going through the rest of my life never feeling again what I had felt with him. I was human and my life would be short; but he would spend eternity trying to recapture what we once had. His tragic fate made me sad; he didn’t deserve to suffer through the centuries. He was a monster to be sure, the King of all monsters, but his soul was not monstrous and I knew it.