The Bella Files Chapter 2.
My life truly didn’t begin until I was in university, Sim State Uni, If you must know. It was closer to home than I’d liked, really. I love my family, truly, but I’d grown up sheltered, I was on a one way path to mediocre success. However, on one hot, sticky night my destiny changed.
I was desperately trying to finish my term paper. I’d been so indecisive over what major to choose, I ended up switching last minute. I was writing a thesis on biology, though it was nearly a play for drama. I felt so torn between the physical release of performing, but still so fascinated by the natural world. I settled for enrolling in almost every sports club going and balancing this out with biology. But the two often conflicted.
Eventually I gave up, there was nothing more I could. I wasn’t tired, I was energised, but I couldn’t focus myself on something so plain. It was all too... too conventional. I wasn’t in the right place.
As I said, It was a hot night, too hot. I had my window open. My dorm was stuffy, the oldest block of dorms in Sim State, so we had no ventilation. It was worse in the winter when you’d go to bed in your outerwear. Maybe it was the fact my thesis was focusing on food trees, and the common traits in predators. But that night, well, I knew something was lurking in the forest. Something was watching me...
...But I’d be damned if I ever shut that window.
I climbed onto my humble bed, it feels so innocent looking back. I don’t think I ever went to bed after this night and felt normal. I’m still not sure if that’s a good thing or not. It’s hard to say. Either way I dozed off nicely.
for a moment, I remained in that half sleepy bliss. The moment before you remember who you are, what you have to do and what you have done. But that moment washed away with something breathing behind me, a snarling, ragged breath.”
There was a smell, a dirty animal smell. It smelt of wet dog and grease, mixed with old dirt. I knew I should’ve shut the window. No sooner than I had began to turn...
...The beast pounced on me. Back then I didn’t have a clue what it was. I’d seen films, but I never knew that werewolves truly existed. This was my first encounter with a lycanthrope. At the time I thought it could be my last. I was wrong. My natural instincts kicked in, and I kicked the creature back with all I had.
“ARGRRGH!” The beast growled. He spoke in a dual tone, one layer being his natural, human voice and the other his lycanthropic voice. It makes an unusal, terrifying echo like sound that varies in intensity. “BITCH!”
“Get out! GET OUT!” I screamed. I was horrified, not by the creature itself, but by the intrusion into my private space. How dare he.
“You are in no position to tell me what to do, human.” He snarled. He crouched down on my desk, ready to pounce again. “Prepare to DIE!”
That was where my life changed. No. No I wasn’t prepared to die. I’m not the sort of woman to lay back and die. And I certainly wasn’t dying in a hideous shirt with my hair in a bun. I did what anyone in my position would do.
I jumped onto my bed and kneed the bastard in the crotch.
It was truly delicious to watch his cold, yellow eyes widen like they did. He howled in pain and fell backwards, hitting the floorboards with an amazing crunch. I wasn’t to sure on Lycan Anatomy back then, but you kick anything in-between the legs and it’s going to hurt.
I was proud of myself. I’d defended my space, my things, from a vicious intruder. The time my parents had spent shipping me off to various after school classes paid off. Not only could I cook a mean Ratatouille, but I was quite the ‘miss self-defence.’
Suddenly the room lit up, it took a while for my eyes to adjust, but someone had flicked my main light on. “Who’s there?!” I retorted in the direction of the door, my eyes hazy from the change in light.
“Oh my god... may...may I help you officer?”
“It’s ok, miss, I’m here now. I will protect you. Have you seen anything unusual lately....”
“Well... This dog man climbed through my window and tried to kill me....”
Before I could finish my sentence, I felt the bristly, smelly body of the lycan push me aside. Launching itself upon the latest addition to my evening.
As I regained my balance, I fixed upon the smiling face of my attacker. He was still human in some ways, but still so not human. He was truly terrifying to me. Looking back now, he was nothing.
“Now that I’ve taken care of him, where were we again?” mocked the wolf man. He was standing on my supposed saviour. I wasn’t sure if he was alive or dead. I wasn’t too sure if I would be after tonight.
I didn’t have time to be sure. He was upon me before I even knew it, his hairy arms tried to wrap themselves around me, but I managed to fight him off.
This was before I had any field experience. I knew only a few things about proper self defence, I’d occasionally gone to judo with my brother, but after learning that I wasn’t allowed a red belt I promptly refused to set foot in there again. I instead employed a technique I’d learnt from a film.
We danced around on our toes. I’d winded the lycan, he was tired and hungry, so not at his optimum level for a fight. He lazily hurled his body at me, the force was too much.
“Any last words?!” His voice crackled and he spat everywhere. I could see every inch of him was moving, trembling with anticipation. He was licking his lips. “I maybe the prey, but I’m not letting this predator have me” echoed through my head.
“Hand spring!” I shouted. I sprung myself forward on one hand, delivering a powerful kick to his jaw, which crunched on impact. I was surprised I could still do it, I hadn’t even warmed up.
“Cortez?” said a voice in the hallway. “Cortez, do not shoot my sample. I’ve been tracking him for days now.” The voice was wise, but not old. He was speaking in a whisper.
“Corte...Well I’ll be damned...”
“What on earth is going on here?” He said.
For the third time that night someone had waltzed into my room unannounced. Only this man was the most charming thing I’d seen all year. He was wearing the same uniform as my failed hero, only with a lab coat underneath.
“ Mortimer, Mortimer Goth. It’s a pleasure.”
This was the first time I met Mortimer, and I thought he was devilishly handsome. He stepped over the two men gave me a gentle hand shake. I was suddenly aware I was half naked, make-up-less and probably a little scruffy after my little battle with the lycan.
“Pleased to meet you...erm...I’m Bella.”
“Now riddle me this, Bella... How on earth did you take out these two?”
“Papa wanted a gymnast; Mama wanted a ballerina... with a few self defence classes in between... followed by the odd fight with my older brother... and I used to play golf on weekends... Oh, and I only fought the...the ‘sample’, who’d already managed to knock out the other one... Cortez, did I hear you say?”
“Ah yes. Cortez. Charming man, truly. Just a little gun ho sometimes. I’m a scientist, you see. I like to bring things in... alive.”
“What sort of scientists carries a gun? And chases wolf men into a college girl’s dorm? Forgive me for sounding rude, but I would like to know why I’ve never heard of the threat of wolf man attacks before? Surely everyone should know about this?”
“Ah. Well it’s my job... and Cortez’s.... in theory....and a whole lot of other people’s jobs to protect ‘everyone’ from such attacks. As well as a lot of other things.”
“Other... Other things? Mr Goth...”
“Mortimer, Please, call me Mortimer”
“Right. Mortimer, just how much are you not telling us? Who... who exactly do you work for?”
“...Well we don’t usually divulge such things with civiallians... but I hardly thing you’ll ever think of yourself in such away again, Bella. I’m part of the P.D.A. The Paranormal Defence Agency. There’s many, many things we’re not telling you. But if you’d like to find out...
“Ughhh!” Cortez groaned. “What the hell just happened?”
“Fantastic. I’ll be getting out of your way now, Bella...”
“Erm... Hang on. I’d like to hear the end of that sentence, Mortimer...”
“It’s better if you don’t....”
“No. It’s much better if I do. I want to know what else you and the P.D.G...”
“P.D.A...”
“P.D.A are hiding. Please?”
“Well...” I could see Mortimer’s eyes were conflicted. He seemed scared, but he seemed just as scared to let me go.
“Dr. Goth... We... We could do with someone like her.” Cortez chimed In.
Mortimer smirked. I met his eyes and saw something so warm in him. I don’t know if I was truly so keen on finding out what exactly this shady ‘P.D.A.’ was, or just see him again so I can stare into those eyes. He handed me a small card. It only had a number on it, with an embossed P.D.A logo in the corner.
“I’d Sleep on it. If you want this, you have to give up your life. This isn’t just a day trip, this is something serious, Bella.” He turned to me “Give that number a ring in the morning, and see what it’s like being one of us...”
“Dr. Goth...” Cortez grunted “This lycan’s a heavy one!”
Mortimer gave me one final lingering glance, and set about helping his comrade carry out the lycan from my once peaceful dorm room.
Safe to say, I didn’t sleep at all that night and rung the number the next day. I didn’t want to write a term paper anyway.