Brave

A tide comes and goes

Forests grow and burn

Rain can nourish and destroy

April turns

Into August and

Death comes for us all. 

Sari

      

 

            Breathe in. Breathe out. Steady your heartrate.

            Breathe in. Breathe out. Steady your heartrate.

            Those were the only thoughts running through Sari’s head as she crouched behind the cracked door of the abandoned warehouse. She dared to peek through the crack to see if she had been followed. So far, luck was on her side.

            Sari closed the door and prayed the noisy, time-rusted hinges would not draw attention. The latch caught, and she turned and pressed her back to the cool steel of the door. She let out a long breath, relief washing over her. For the moment, she felt safe.

            What were those things?

            In all her years of hunting, Sari had never encountered such a creature before. It looked human enough, but the unnerving glow of its eyes told a completely different story. And the howl it screamed at her? Not even werewolves sounded as chilling as that.         

            Sari crossed the small room, completely at ease and familiar with the surroundings. This used to be the office of her grandfather’s auto shop. The grease and oil still clung to the air here. Abandoned tools lay all about the shop. She always felt at peace here as a kid, watching her grandfather work his magic on old Buicks and Chevys. He always seemed a little larger than life to her. She wanted to be a mechanic and follow in his footsteps until the earthquake happened. The Earthquake That Broke the World was how it was referred to now.

            Sari went to her grandfather’s abandoned ledger books and drew a finger across the dust that had settled there. Things definitely were not the same. Most of the population had died right away in building collapses, sinkholes, or tsunami that followed The Earthquake. Then most of the remaining people died when the Supernaturals didn’t die. Vampires, Werewolves, and Shapeshifters all survived. Humans became easier prey than ever before. Sari learned how to navigate streets and take care of herself after watching her entire family parish in the house fire caused by a gas leak from The Earthquake. She was a very young 15 when she lost them. She was a very old 18 now.

            Sari took out Supernaturals every chance she got. Urban legend and trial-and-error were her learning tools. But what she saw today was something new. Something terrifying.

            There was a knock on her grandfather’s steel office door, reverberating over and over and crushing the silence that had settled.

            Sari turned and pulled the iron tipped stake from her inside jacket pocket, unsure what to expect.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Purge

End of day. 

Finally quiet. 

I breathe in deeply. 

And I can let everything go. 

All the stress I've collected. 

A night time to recharge. 

The next ten minutes to myself.

To laugh. 

To cry. 

To organize my thoughts. 

To make sure that tomorrow

the bucket is empty for another day.  

The City Mistress

Away she waits. 

"Come back," she whispers in my brain. 

I sit looking at mounds of paper and numbers. 

"Come back to me," she says. 

Every piece of me wanting to go. 

"My arms miss holding you," she teases. 

And for five seconds I close my eyes. 

I know the smells. I know the riot of colors. 

"If only for a minute, come to me," she pleads. 

I yearn for the purple, the green, and the gold. She knows she has me. 

"I'll see you soon then," she closes with a smile, knowing it's impossible for me to stay away. 

The Broken Girl and The Clever Boy - Black

 

 

         I’m not sure how long I’d been there. Ten minutes? Thirty? It seemed like an eternity passed since The Maestro had closed the door. My elbows and wrists were bound in front of me. I’d been given instruction to remain on my knees with my elbows propped on the side table. I’m sure at a casual glance I looked like I was praying. And maybe I was just a bit.

            When I heard the click of the door, my heart raced. I remained perfectly still. Looking towards the door would have been wasteful since I was blindfolded.

            Everything was perfectly Black.

            “You look perfect, girl. Well done. Your instructions are this: You may only answer Me with the word ‘no’. Is this understood?”   

            “No,” I replied without hesitation.

            I could hear the smile in His voice. “Very good, clever little girl.” The richness of his voice touched deep in my chest. The compliment made my heart grow.

            I listened as His feet crossed the room. I heard the hiss from a can of some carbonated beverage. “Would you like a drink?” The Maestro asked.

            The thought of the cool liquid was enticing. “No,” I countered.

            “Is there anyone else you’d rather have here?”

            “No.” It was the truest answer I’d given since He opened the door.

            I could hear Him as He crossed the room to reach me. He stood behind me and drew a line down my spine with the handle of the crop. Despite being surrounded by the Black, I could tell just how close He was to me. His presence always lit me like a bonfire. Just knowing He was close to me was enough to set every part of my body tingling.

            He leaned in behind me and breathed into my ear, “Do you love me?”

            I panicked. “No.” It was a lie. And He knew it.

            CRACK.

            It happened so quickly. The fire spread across my backside, and I flinched from the unexpected punishment. I clenched my teeth and steadied my breath.

            “Do you love me?” He repeated.

            “No,” I replied.

            CRACK

            This time the whimper was out before I could catch it. The Black had somehow gotten darker. I did not move from my knees or take my elbows from the side table.

            “Think on this, girl. I will ask again: do you love me?”

            I hesitated, unsure of what I had done wrong. “No.”

            CRACK CRACK

            Both cheeks were on fire as I felt the lick from each of His strikes. I could feel the panic rising in my chest as I struggled to understand my failure. Despite closed eyes and a heavy mask, I could feel the tears press their way from the corners of my eyes and make their way down my cheeks.

            “Do you love me?” He pressed.

            My voice was a mixture of a choke and whisper. “Yes.” I confessed. My tears were burning my cheeks as surely as the crop burned my backside.

            “Louder.”

            I took a deep breath. “Yes.”

            He plunged His hand deep into my hair and pulled downward, turning my face toward the sky. “Again.”

            “YES.” I said, the honesty of the statement crushing me and filling me at the same time.

            He pulled the blindfold from my eyes. What was pitch before was replaced with glaring light. I blinked several times while my eyes tried to adjust to the sudden shift. “Here is your lesson, girl. Your honesty means more to me than your obedience. You are to never lie about your feelings.”

            He released my wrists and elbows from their bindings and allowed me to rest on my heels. “Does a girl understand why this is important?” He asked as He sat on the edge of the bed.

            “I understand Maestro,” I answered as I turned to place my head in his lap.

            “That’s my good doll,” He soothed while toying with my hair. “Now when you are collected, you shall receive your reward.”

            And my soul smiled.

 

The Corner Office

Most people see punishment.

I only see welcome. 

My corner. My retreat.

It comforts. It holds me. 

I rest my head and close my eyes. 

Unafraid. 

Plaster cool on tear stained cheeks. 

Here I stay until I'm paged again

to perform with painted smiles. 

Give them their show. 

And they'll never know. 

The Broken Girl and The Clever Boy - Blue

            She heard it long before she ever saw it. Jack, she whispered.

            She ran her fingers through her mussed hair in order to tame it a bit. When she turned around on her best friend’s front porch, she spied the 1968 Camaro rumbling down the street. Even in the yellow street lights, she could make out the rich, electric blue of the paint job. As many times as she had seen it, she never got over how breathtakingly beautiful that car was. As Jack put the car in park, he gave the gas pedal a good tap. The rumble of that motor matched the feeling in her gut. Powerful. Exciting.

            She took a step off the porch and headed toward the car. “Jaaaaa-aaaack!” she yelled in a sing-song voice. “What are you doing here?”

            The passenger side window was already rolled down. Jack leaned across the car and replied, “Heidi said you might need a ride home. How ya feeling, Rhi?”

            Rhiannon casually tossed her hair over her shoulder and leaned forward, resting her forearms on the door. “I’m just fine. Two or three glasses of wine aren’t enough to do me in,” she teased.

            “But what about the two or three mixed drinks after the two or three glasses of wine?”

            “Fine. Busted. I suppose I’ll have to thank Heidi tomorrow.” She waved to her friend and climbed into The Blue. The seats were soft and conditioned, just like she knew they would be. Jack always kept The Blue immaculate. “So Heidi called you to be my White Knight come to the rescue?” she said. The booze had allowed just a hint of southern drawl to come through in her voice.

            “Something like that,” Jack offered in response. He did a quick glance at his passenger. It was the height of summer, so Rhiannon had on a soft and frilly sundress. The gauzy material was hiked up just a bit more than it would normally fall, and he didn’t fail to notice how smooth her thigh was. Keeping his hands occupied, he shifted the car into drive and headed down the street.

            Rhiannon closed her eyes and rested her head on the seat. She turned her head to the left and opened her eyes. “You’re pretty, you know that?” she teased.

            “I’ve been told once or twice,” he replied with a laugh in his voice.

            “I’ve thought about you for a while now, Jack.” Rhiannon drew her fingers across the bench seat and onto Jack’s leg. “Quite a while now,” she repeated.

            “What about your husband? What would he think about this?”

            “Oh, that boy is at home and asleep already. Probably sacked out on the couch watching action movies.” Her hand continued to draw lines over Jack’s thigh. “But you…You’re the one come to take me home.”

            Jack felt an uneasy tension in his groin as the combination of Rhiannon’s drawl and light touch made it difficult to concentrate. “Well, he’s certainly missing out,” he said, wishing the five minute drive would be over.

            “You don’t have to take me home straight away, do you?” Rhiannon said with a small pout.

            “I think it best, Rhi. I’m meant to see you home safely.”

            Rhiannon gave his crotch a good rub. “Then until you drop me off at my door, this is what you get. Between you and the car, you get a girl all worked up just to shut her down. I can’t be the only left wanting.”

            Jack clenched his teeth and turned the corner. “I believe this is your house, m’lady,” he said, resting the transmission in park.

            “Fine. You’ll be back. Miss me while I’m gone,” she teased as she climbed out of The Blue. She strolled up the front walk and didn’t even bother to look back.

            Jack laughed and shook his head. “Goddammit woman. You’ll be the death of me yet.” He opened the garage door and pulled into the drive, eager to tuck his wife into bed.