Pixel Peaks - Chapter twenty
Wren: Is it still behind us?
Allegra: I'm running for my life, I don't really have time to look!
The blue pickup truck made a howling sound when it stopped in front of them.
The driver kicked up the door on the passenger side as they ran up to it.
Allegras head was spinning in fear, she didn't even recognize the car before she came up to the door.
Ludvig: Get in.
They pressed themselves in next to each other and hadn't even closed the door when the car made that howling sound again and took off.
Wren: What the hell was that?!
Ludvig: A werewolf.
Wren: And who the hell are you?
Allegra: Ludvig. He's a friend of mine. And Nathalie.
Wren: And he just happens to show up when we're being chased by.. what the hell was that?!
Allegra: I think we better call Nathalie.
Wren: What the hell is going on?
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The sun slowly rose over the mountains and searched it's way in to the dark corner of the house where Nathalie had spent the night.
The clawing and growling from inside her father's bedroom had stopped over an hour ago, but she didn't dare to open the door before daylight had finally come.
She took one last deep breath before turning the key.
The door didn't open all the way up, her father's body stopped it halfway.
She looked around the room. The destruction was focused on and around the door. There was scratch marks in the wood and the wallpaper like something furious had been trying to get through.
Nathalie: Dad?
He made a growling noise, but this was no doubt human.
Nathalie: Come on dad.
Derek: Nathalie? What.. what's going on..
Nathalie: You just had some reaction to the medicines again. It's allright.
Derek: I don't remember..
Nathalie: I know dad, it's allright. You need to rest now okay?
Derek: Yeah.. rest..
He drifted away into sleep again.
With her heart finally slowing down she dragged herself to her own room and fell on to the bed.
When her cellphone rang and displayed Allegra's name she really considered not answering it. What could possibly be more important than sleep right now?
Nathalie: Allegra, now is not really a good time.
Allegra: Tell me about it.
Allegra: I think you better get over here, we're having a little gathering.
Nathalie: I can't I.. what do you mean "we"?
Allegra: Me, Ludvig.. and Wren.
Allegra: As I said, you better get over here.
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Allegra had briefed her quickly over the phone and she had thought about it a long time before she decided that there was nothing more she could do for her dad right now and dragged herself away from the house.
He had been sleeping like a log when she left and she suspected he would continue to do so for a very long time.
The sight of the three in Allegra's kitchen was so odd to her that it increased her headache.
Nathalie: Is everyone allright?
Allegra: We're fine.
Wren: Fine, this is fine?!
Allegra: Well.. considering.
Nathalie: What happened?
Allegra: I saw it following Wren outside Urele-Oresha. I tried to attack her.. us.. we had to run. I managed to overthrow it with my taser and bought us some time. We met Ludvig at Central Quad. He drove us here.
Nathalie: Thank god you're all okay..
Wren: How long have you known about.. that?
Nathalie: A while. Some longer than others.
She shot a glance at Ludvig.
He didn't answer it.
Allegra: I've always known.
Allegra: What? Just saying..
Wren: Well why haven't you told anybody? I've been walking around with that thing just lurking in the bushes, ready to attack at any point? I could've gotten killed! Don't you care!?
Nathalie: You haven't even been talking to me! And what was I supposed to say? You didn't even believe me when I said I wasn't having a thing with Oddy!
Wren: Well excuse me but I just thought it was a little strange that he'd..
Nathalie: Oh grow up Wren! You were almost killed tonight and you're still sulking about that idiot? Don't you realize what's going on out there? That there's way bigger things at stake here? Our pointless little love lives doesn't matter at all!
Ludvig swallowed the unwanted sting in his chest.
Nathalie breathed heavily.
Allegra: Nat, are you allright?
Her head throbbed.
Nathalie: No, I'm not.
Nathalie: My dad he.. I saw it..
Nathalie: He's turning.
Allegra: Oh no.
Wren: Turning? What do you mean turning?
Nathalie: He was bit Wren. That night he got injured. It was the wolf.
Wren: Derek..?
Allegra: I'm so sorry Nat.
Ludvig: You saw it, he was transformed? Where is he now?
Nathalie: No it was weird. He wasn't exactly transformed. He didn't look like an animal, I just saw that yellow glow in his eyes and the sounds he made.. they weren't him. He's at home. I looked him up in the bedroom overnight. He's normal now.
Wren: Is there a way to stop it?
Allegra: We're not sure, everything we know about werewolves are just theories.
Wren: Well does he know? Does he feel it? Does he remember anything?
Ludvig: No, he doesn't.
He merely whispered it, but Nathalie heard it.
Nathalie: No, he doesn't..
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Another night, another fullmoon had passed. She had officers hired especially to take the night watch, not usually a very tough job in the quiet mountain town, but she couldn't rely on them anymore. With this thing roaming the street she could only trust herself.
And with that insufferable SFBI agent judging her every move..
Before she wouldn't have seen any point with going to Derek's house when she knew he was at work, but all she wanted to do now was to crawl into the smell of him between his sheets.
When she made it to the upstairs corridore outside his room the police radio on her shoulder crackled and Officer Red's voice came through.
Red: Officer Red to Sheriff Avenua. We have a missing persons report submitted by the personnel at the hotel. Over.
Anything other than a missing person wouldn't have stopped her from continuing on towards the bed. But when people went missing these days bad things happened.
Saga: I'll meet you there in ten. Over.
Her car had just left the driveway when his phone rang.
Bo: Sheriff.
Saga: A missing persons report just came in from the Grand Log hotel. I thought you might be interested.
Bo: The Grand Log?
He recalled the bloodstain on his floor.
Saga: Yeah, it just might be someone who's trying to skip their bill but I thought you ought to be informed anyway. Where are you?
Bo: I'll be right there.
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He had to get out of there. He felt like he couldn't breathe. Every word about Nathalie's dad just pulled the noose around his neck tighter.
He had to get out of there.
He felt like his brain was gonna push through the scalp.
The look on her face when she told them, her father was infected. He had tried to attack her. He had to find a way, there's got to be a way.
A different way.
A way that didn't mean he had to sacrifise the cure he'd finally found for his brother.
A/N
- Man, that felt good.
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Pixel_trade stars this chapter
Saga by lostavenueaas Sheriff Saga Avenua