No One Has

Juliet

I was trying to observe Ben closely to report to Charlene what he was like amongst his friends. Overall he was a really nice guy. Friendly and kind. I had yet to see anything wrong with him.

His mates seemed cool too. There was Francesco with the accent. He was Italian. Mateo, the Spanish beauty, and David… I couldn’t place him because he was really quite like Carl...

The first thought that popped up was “watcher”… My mind wanted to convince me that he couldn’t possibly be one until a loud bell chimed from the house porch. Everybody made their way into the barn.

My brain and gut tried to warn me not to go into a possible mass suicide situation. But on the other hand… it might just be a DJ. A dance floor or something? There were no windows and a very high roof. The ground was covered in soft sand. There was no stinky smell other than country air and dust.

Following Ben in was a difficult decision. My heart started racing because I didn’t know what I was doing. I wished I wasn’t that stupid. Apparently, I am. My feet crossed the threshold. There was a calmness over the group. Inside they even stood grouped up for a quick roll call… Which I thought was weird. Maybe a Uni thing, team building, or something…

The doors closed. The panic shut around my heart as the metal doors clanged down like in Jacklin’s hotel. The roof opened, and everyone walked to the side of the barn. I followed Ben. They were all waiting, but for what… The walls literally opened up, and he stepped inside a tiny room. No… it was a… cage…

I didn’t know what to do. Eyes fixed on the scene in front of me, I couldn’t believe my luck. What were the chances of Benji being a werewolf?

I looked at Francesco… he also entered the wall and then Mateo. I searched for David but couldn’t find him… Realizing all my suspicions were correct. David was their watcher.

The gate shut in-between us. A minute later, Ben wasn’t Ben anymore. He could see me. Everyone could see me, and they went ballistic… The roar was insane. The bashing against the cage gates rattled the whole arena and made me shiver. I struggled backward.

The cages lined an arena of sand. It was where they fed them one by one. I stepped even further away into the middle. Another bell dinged. My heart started pounding… another gate opened. My round eyes were wondering if a full moon werewolf could touch me. The principal would be the same… wouldn’t it?

But it wasn’t a werewolf that came out. A jacked vampire fully manifested with a… weapon and a shield?

“What the heck was going on?”

Behind me, another noise. The first werewolves’ cage gate was lifted. It was Francesco. He jumped out, roaring on all fours. Eyes darting first at the challenger and then at me.

I decided that staying hidden would be fifty-fifty. If I presented myself… I was sure to die. I ran for it. My fight or flight response choosing escape. From instinct, Francesco followed me... All I could do was brace. My arms over my face. He rammed face-first through me and into the wall.

I gasped, trying to catch my breath as he clawed at me. I bent down, flinching. Scared that he might just push through the barriers of my ability.

The vamp didn’t know what was going on. His eyes darted up at the windows lining the top of the cages.

What kind of cage fighting was this? The idea didn’t seem ridiculous when I thought about it. Only that the vampires stood no chance.

A light flashed. The hitting of a stick on a surface made me and the werewolf fix our gazes on the sound. The vampire was tapping against his shield… instantly drawing Francesco to a better target. He didn’t wait for the werewolf to decide and attacked first. His first strike didn’t even touch Francesco as he jumped out of the way, kicking the vampire on his back. The retaliation was a prompt blow that hit the dog on the head with a whack. A yelp. A low growl and a ferocious roar into the air gave me a flashback of Jerry in the car.

They went at it for a few more minutes. Francesco was too strong. The vampire stood no chance when his shield was broken. His stick was flung away, clanging into one of the cages. The vamp ran for his life, towards the gate in the distance where he came out of. For the first time, I smiled. It opened, three other vamps came running around, getting Francesco’s attention. It was a freaking circus. Bull riding, clown stopping rodeo.

The clang of a gate revealed a person immobilized by fear standing inside Francesco’s cage. There were sounds to draw him in and away. Another human died instantly… his death was swift.

It was some next-level stuff. I laughed at the absurdity of what boredom could do to creatures that lived as long as we did. The organization almost seemed too good for a few college boys. My gut churned some more.

The sequence went on. Every time a bigger vamp would come out. The werewolves seemed to get stronger. It had to be according to who won the previous matches… strength or training.

***

Louis

The train was nearing the station in Bologna. I was agitated being so close… It was almost dark. The moon would be out. I got a text.

Juliet { Followed Ben 45 min east on a smallholding close to Argenta.

Big bonfire and a barn. Charlene at the hotel.

Staying invisible. But don’t worry the boys seem harmless]

I swore loudly. A few eyes fell on me to see what was wrong.

That feeling I got when Juliet did anything stupid… assailed me. I knew that night was going to be one of those nights. Where she changed my life forever. Again! Or she might die… I scrolled through my emails, reading the one I was looking for.

[Dear Mr. du Pont

If you are interested in fighting this month, please let us know.

Location: Argenta.

Yours sincerely

The Collective Italy.]

Juliet was at a cage fight. For a moment, I wished Chris was here. I would let him loose on the whole place.

I rushed for the rental cars.

“What’s going on, Louis?” Carl asked when my walking speed doubled.

“We have to leave right now. Get this address on your phone while I get a car.”

“Don’t worry, Louis. There is always someone with her. She has her own guardian angel... well, watcher.”

I frowned… “So you’re not her watcher?”

Carl laughed out loud. “Me? Take care of all… That… No.”

“Well, whoever it is can’t intervene unless it’s life or death of a compliant, right. I don’t want it to get that far.”

Carl nodded. “You’re right. Do you want me to call?” I nodded desperately. Carl seemed flustered that I was that worried. “Why are you like this?”

“Marcus’s father loves fights… Marcus loves fighting… I fear that this time they might just take her away… Your people can’t intervene in that regard.”

Carl got fidgety when the clerk didn’t seem to know what she was doing. He tried calling Charlene but got no answer.

“Louis, a message just came through.”

I took the phone.

Charlene { Juliet isn’t back. I came to find her and I couldn’t. She is gone. I’m following Ben out of town because the chances are that she’s in the car. I have no idea where I’m going}

“You know we leave for one day… Not even a whole day. How is such a woman to be worked on?” I muttered to myself.

Carl smiled sympathetically.

***

Charlene

It was almost six at night… I had left Juliet hours ago to follow Ben but had heard nothing from her. I was scared that she would be stuck somewhere and couldn’t get out. I had gone back to the campus… Kept wondering around to maybe see something. Wait for her phone to come online.

I had decided that I would go to the reception area and ask for Ben himself at seven. Luckily when I went to wait in the rental car, I saw them. He and three of his friends ran down the stairs out of the dorm. It felt strange. It wasn’t as if I wanted to call out to him. There really was no love lost there. He just needed to know about the baby. Or not.

They got into another car not far from me. There was nothing else I could do… I had to follow them. If I knew Juliet at all… She was probably also in the car. Where were they going?

It took an hour. I almost lost them a few times. When they took a small lane into a property, I drove past parking next to the road.

The sun was almost setting. I was calling Juliet over and over. Maybe she didn’t come. Perhaps I was out there alone. Ben was there… If I just told him how stupid we were, he would forgive me. He wasn’t a complete ass. So, I got out of the car to get a closer look. It was a mistake. Little red lights were shining in the trees. The whole place was full of security cameras.

I wasn’t even two steps away from the car. Four men surrounded me. They took my phone. Were being really rough with me. Pushing me over the grass. Past a bonfire with no one around it.

Just before we went into the house, you could hear animals noises. Or that’s what it sounded like. Growling, roaring… going crazy inside cages. Frantically I started wriggling, trying to get out of their hold.

“Let me go! Please let me go!”

They gave me a good shake. “Shut up! You’re not going anywhere.”

“Who is this?” A guy asked, coming out of one of the rooms. He was dressed all in black. His suit wasn’t your typical three-piece either.

The four men stopped immediately. “We found her in the road.” His brow furrowed.

“I’m looking for my friend. Please let me go. I wasn’t trespassing… I was just parked in the street.” He scratched the side of his face scrutinizing me… His mouth opened just before his eyes caught sight of something at the door. Changing his body posture. They all stood up straighter. Heads bowing. A dark cloud had entered the room.

I glanced back to see who could have caused them all to act like that.

Another man dressed to perfection in a long coat hanging down to his ankles was ushered into the house. Handsome, older, a cigarette in his hand. Stopping, his gaze traveled up and down my body. The guy oozed the creeps. I dropped my eyes to the floor. He scoffed… “Give her to my son.” The guy in black drew in a slow breath. His eyes flickered to mine as he nodded in acknowledgment.

My entourage was shoed away. Pushing me down narrow halls further into darkness. Every room we passed had people in them. All dressed in white. Sitting in front of TV screens.

It all went by too fast. I was pushed into a pen with other people. These were all grown men. Scared to death. The noises coming into the space sent a shiver down my own spine. That thing Chris turned into flashed before me. Sita as a werewolf. That sound we could hear all the way to his house.

One man tried to scream and make a ruckus. Shaking the gate. The four men that dragged me in there were sitting at a table just outside. They opened for him but weren’t going to let him go. He got a good beating for doing something stupid.

I was pregnant and young. If I took a few kicks like that… It would be the end of my pregnancy… Trying to get out of here was pointless.

“What is going on?” I asked an older man that was completely grey and smelled terrible. He answered me in Italian, rambling on.

The gate behind me opened. One of the men was dragged out as he tried to grasp onto anything he could.

“What the hell is going on here?!” I yelled.

They ignored me.

It felt like it went on forever. People being taken. Animal noises. Full moon. It was some kind of feeding place. Or some weird idea of gladiator stuff came to mind because there was fighting, grunting… slamming into walls.

All these men couldn’t fight. I could certainly not fight. Screams could be heard and then silence. These men didn’t stand a chance. I didn’t stand a chance.

I had been sitting down for hours when the tone in the place finally changed. There were new noises. Two sets of roars. Thundering applause and cheers. Different creatures. Watching the fight creatures…

I looked up at the full moon. My thoughts followed a train that I didn’t like.

Because Juliet ate regular food and because she seemed normal… I didn’t think to ask if she... drank blood… Even if she did, I assumed it would be animal blood or stolen from the hospitals.

“Juliet would never kill people to eat, would she?” I whispered.

The guy dressed in all black was not in his uniform anymore. He was clad in armor… like a worrier. Leaning against the cages, he watched me as my eyes came down from the sky.

The gate opened next to him. The guards called me over. I was done kicking and screaming. Slowly I got up, making my way out into the corridor towards the threshold of no return.

My eyes peeked back over my shoulder at my only hope. He swore loudly and walked up to us. Dismissing the other guards. They obeyed and turned away from us, taking their seats at a table, playing cards.

“Are you really going to feed me to a werewolf?” He actually smiled.

“You’re American. You’re looking for a friend at a cage fight….” I was stunned. Who did he think I was looking for? “The whole night, the werewolves have been attacking an invisible opponent. One with an ability.” He tried to read my reactions. My eyes darted to the open space. “You wanted to find her….” My eyes kept bouncing from him to a guy in a mask standing across from us.

“This is going to get really interesting in the next five minutes… And no, I wouldn’t feed you to a werewolf or a vampire. You’re way too pretty.”

“A hybrid then?” His eyes stretched. But he shook his head. He pushed me into the arena and locked the gate.

The lights were so bright my arm covered my face.

Juliet would not let anything happen to me. Would she…?

When I went after Juliet, I had nothing on but my nightgown and a jacket over it with sneakers. The guys had taken the jacket off when they shoved me into the pen.

I felt so… naked. My heart almost beating out of my chest.

Lowering my arm, the first thing I saw was the cages that lined the arena. The sounds were deafening, standing in the middle of it all.

I had never seen a full moon werewolf. Or any creature in real life.