The Watcher, page 9
part #1 of Fleur de Lis Series
“Nice gun,” I said and admired the artwork on it.
Dante handed a black semi-automatic pistol to Christian. “The safety is on. Always keep it on until you know you are going to use it,” he said.
“Of course,” Christian said, and I nodded in agreement.
Mikael picked up a handgun and flicked a switch on the wall to begin. The lights came on bright and large paper male figures which seemed to look like vampires were used as target practice. They were placed far away, and each aisle had one.
“We don't want to attract any humans, so we use suppressors in every firearm,” Mikael said and added the suppressor to his gun.
He began to shoot and move his body using different martial art styles. He also did flips, landing every position facing the target and shot his gun until all the bullets were used. He pressed a button on the side of the aisle while whistling, and the paper vampire moved toward us. The target's eyes were shot out, and he had no heart.
“Excellent, can I try?” Christian asked.
John handed Christian a suppressor and showed him how to put it on.
“This one is yours,” Dante said and handed me a suppressor. “It goes with your gun.”
The suppressor matched the silver on my gun with a skull design. “Thanks,” I said and twisted it on.
“We are first going to take some practice shots to see how well your aim is and teach Skye to shoot. Then you can add your Kung Fu style into it,” John said.
“Let me show you,” Zachary said, and he walked to the far-right aisle. John and Mikael were talking and showing Christian how to hold the gun and reload it, while Dante was loading a shotgun.
“You need to feel relaxed and comfortable holding this gun,” Zachary said.
He showed me how to load ammunition into the gun by putting bullets into the clip and pushing it firmly into the bottom of the grip.
“It needs to snap in,” Zachary said.
“Got it,” I said.
Zachary pulled back and released the slide on top of the pistol. “This is how you pump a bullet into the chamber.”
“Okay,” I said.
“Switch the safety to fire,” he said and handed me the gun.
He moved close behind me. I switched the safety on the gun to fire. Zachary leaned, bent further down to my height and softly touched my elbows from behind. He lifted my arms.
“With both hands in front of you, hold the grip of the gun, firmly, keeping your arm straight, and don't put your finger on the trigger until you line up the sights on top with the target,” he said.
I could feel his breath on my right ear. He smelled like sweet soap. My heart beat fast, not only because he was so close to me, but I was excited. I couldn't wait to start shooting.
“Relax...keep one foot slightly behind the other and center your weight. Don't close your eyes and gently squeeze,” he said and slowly backed away from me.
The gun was powerful and jerked hard after every fire. The bullet casings flew past the right side of my face. The adrenaline rushed through my veins. I shot the entire clip into the target.
“Now, that was better than sex!” I said loudly with excitement.
“Well, it can be an aphrodisiac,” Zachary said and laughed.
“Hey, what's going on over there—with you two?” Mikael asked with a firm voice.
“It's nothing I can't handle,” Zachary said.
The target came back with bullet holes into the chest, neck, and the head. “Not bad, love...you haven't disappointed me yet,” Zachary said.
“I told you I wouldn't,” I said and looked up into his eyes.
His intense gaze made my heart beat rapidly and my palms became sweaty.
Dante distracted us and handed Zachary a shotgun. “This is my favorite, a semi-automatic shotgun. You can quickly blow a vampire’s head off!” Dante said with excitement.
The shotgun had a suppressor, and it was big and long. Zachary pushed a button and a new target popped up. He moved it closer to us.
“Yeah, baby!” Christian yelled, blowing off the head of a target with his shotgun.
“Alright, how do you hold this gun?” I asked.
I was ready to have some fun. Zachary spread his feet less than his shoulders width and moved his left foot forward. He placed the gun by his cheek.
“Since you are left handed you need to put your right foot forward. Put the shotgun against your cheek and bring your shoulder up. You don't need to aim the gun, just point at the target and squeeze the trigger,” Zachary said and handed me the gun.
“I got it, thanks,” I said and did exactly what he told me.
The gun was heavy and long. I pointed to the head of the target and quickly squeezed. The power behind the gun was strong. It completely blew the head off.
“Yes!” I yelled.
“Excellent!” Dante said.
“I see why this is your favorite gun,” I said and looked at Dante.
Dante smiled broadly and nodded his head. “We keep one in every room in the house and in all the vehicles,” he said.
“Every room,” I said in shock.
“Yes, they are concealed underneath beds, sofas and in the pantry in the kitchen. The vehicles have them hidden at the bottom of the back seats. They have saved my life plenty of times,” Dante said.
“I have one underneath my bed?” I asked with curiosity.
“Yes, and it's fully loaded. Don't go playing around with it,” Zachary told me.
“Of course not,” I said.
We practiced until my fingers started to hurt, and we had no more targets left. I became comfortable with the firearms and learned to shoot all the different kinds they had on the table.
“Let's wrap this up and go to the Park,” Zachary grinned.
“Get Skye and Christian a jacket. It's a bit chilly outside and bring the night vision glasses and the vests. Meet us across the street,” Zachary said to Dante.
“We get to use night vision glasses?” Christian asked.
“Vampires see best at night. Our human Guardians carry them just in case they end up in a dark place,” Mikael said.
“Central Park is the best place to practice using them,” John said.
“Just try to avoid the rats,” Zachary said.
“Ewww, rats,” I said.
“Don't worry; you can hear them coming. They travel in packs,” John chuckled.
“Gross,” Christian murmured with a disgusted look.
We waited a couple of minutes by the entrance of the park. Dante ran across the street and handed us two dark glasses and our jackets. The glasses had goggle shaped lenses and were much thinner than I imagined. He also had a backpack on him.
“When we go inside, I will hand you your vests,” Dante said.
“Why do we need vests?” I asked as we walked deeper into the park.
“The vests have shurikens of all shapes and sizes. We are walking to the west side of the park, and we are going to begin at Belvedere Castle. Your job is to try to make it back to the east side, where we started, at 84 Street and Fifth Ave. Some trees are marked with fleur de lis symbols that can only be seen with your night vision glasses. You need to aim and hit as many of the fleur de lis symbols with the shurikens. We will be surprising you throughout your journey, making it difficult for you to get back. Be prepared. The first one to get back will win an ancient dagger—worth over $400,000,” Zachary said.
“I am going to beat your ass—little girl!” Christian grunted with confidence, staring at me.
“Oh please, you are lucky if you can make it halfway,” I said.
It was three in the morning, and I was still getting used to my new sleeping hours, but I was ready for this challenge.
“You are going to need luck,” Mikael said with a sinister smile.
“Bring it on,” Christian said boldly. “I'm not afraid of you.”
Mikael jerked his chest and arms toward Christian, ready to attack him. My brother jumped back with fear in his eyes.
“Wait, wait...I'm not ready!” Christian whined, moving far away from Mikael and close to me.
“Yeah, that's what I thought,” Mikael said and walked ahead of us.
“He almost gave me a heart attack,” Christian whispered in my ear, and we both giggled.
Every park light illuminated pretty fall sceneries by the park benches, trees, and the running paths. Autumn was my favorite season of the year. Central Park received a facelift of vibrant colors on all the trees, and the ground was covered with fallen leaves. All the summer bugs disappeared, and people’s apparel changed into jackets, sweaters, and boots. It was a beautiful night for a long walk, and hardly anyone was in the park. Except for a homeless man sleeping on a bench. We joked and laughed a lot. Time seemed to slow down as we enjoyed each other's company. Mikael told stories of how crazy Zachary and John were when they first became vampires. Apparently, it took them a long time to control their senses. They didn't become Guardians until a hundred years later.
We made it to Belvedere Castle, and we walked up the steps to the pavilion. The view of Turtle Pond was beautiful, and I could see the Great Lawn further away that consisted of eight baseball diamonds. It was lit up by the park lights that surrounded it.
“How old is this Castle?” I asked. It had a grey granite structure with a corner tower, making it look Gothic.
“It was built in 1869 as a Victorian folly. This Castle is on Vista Rock and it's the second highest elevation in Central Park,” Mikael said.
“This view is amazing from up here,” Christian said, overlooking the park and the bright city lights from the pavilion.
“It's time,” Zachary said.
Dante took the vests out of the backpack and handed them to John and Zachary. John strapped the vest on my brother and Zachary helped me with mine. The vest was heavy and had over a hundred shurikens layered on top of each other.
“As you use the shurikens the vest will become lighter,” Dante said.
“Wait five minutes then put on your glasses. May the best warrior win,” Zachary said.
They disappeared into the darkness, and my brother and I glared at each other. He looked at his watch and counted the last few seconds loudly with anticipation.
“Ready get set...go!” he shouted at the last second remaining.
We put on the glasses and ran down the stairs. We headed toward the Great Lawn. I entered a wooded area, and my brother was a head of me by a few feet. It took a few seconds to get used to the night vision, but we could see everything. We aimed our shurikens at the trees visible to us with the small fleur de lis symbols. They glowed bright green and were carved 6 to 10 feet high on the trees. I threw them with great force to make sure they stuck into the wood. I glanced at my brother and saw John coming down above him from a tree. I kept running and decided not to look back.
Suddenly, I saw a quick flash of a fist coming straight at me from behind a tree at least four feet away from me.
I dodged it, by bending low and spinning by the tree. It was Zachary. He ran toward me with great speed. My ability didn't have time to kick in. He grabbed me from my waist and arm and flung me at least ten feet away from him. I landed hard, flat on the ground with dry cold leaves in my mouth. I quickly went on my knees, spit the leaves out of my mouth, and I looked around for Zachary but could not find him—anywhere. He wasn't kidding about being fast.
I noticed my brother passing me. He taunted me by skipping and smiling at me. I pushed off from the ground and ran toward him. In a few minutes, we arrived at a running path near the Great Lawn. We heard a rushing padding sound and leaves moving. It was coming from our left side.
“What the hell is that?” Christian asked.
We stopped and looked around. I tried to focus on the annoying sound and looked at the ground. There had to be at least two hundred rats coming straight toward us.
“Rats!” I yelled and ran.
My brother made a squeaking sound louder than any animal I ever heard. He started running faster. He looked like a crazy maniac, raising his knees up into his chest and squirming his arms around. It was the funniest thing I have ever seen. I couldn't stop laughing until Zachary body slammed Christian—hard onto the ground. It took just a few seconds and Zachary glanced at me, smiled, and disappeared. It was like seeing a ghost—a blur. I used it to my advantage and ran quickly into the Great Lawn.
The open field made me feel safe. I could see if anyone was coming from either side of me. Christian was not that far behind. I heard the sound of a dirt bike coming from the right side. I turned to see Dante was riding straight at me. He swiftly turned to the side, stopped short, and dropped a can of smoke next to me. He rode in front of us and dropped a few more cans. In just a minute the field in front of us was smoky, and we could not see anything, but I decided to keep on moving fast.
“Ugh,” I heard Christian grunting.
I stopped and couldn't see him, but he was fighting. My guilt overwhelmed me as I contemplated to run to the finish line. I couldn't leave my brother behind. The smoke made it hard for me to see where he was. I followed the sounds of his blows and grunts.
In a quick flash, I saw Christian on the ground in pain and Mikael running toward me. His right arm knocked me hard on the ground, taking my breath away.
As Mikael came close, I moved swiftly to my right and kneed him, extremely hard, between his legs.
“Ugh,” he groaned in pain, landing on his knees.
I ran toward Christian and grabbed his right arm. “Let's go, get up—now!” I said and pulled him up.
Christian started running with me into the smoke. We made it safely out of the Great Lawn and into the woods.
“Now, you're on your own,” I said and smiled.
“Thanks, I love you,” he said.
“Of course, you do,” I said.
I threw my shurikens at the trees, and I was getting exhausted, breathing heavy, but at least my vest was getting lighter. My body started to slow down until I saw from a distance the back of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. My adrenaline kicked in, and I began to sprint toward the finish line. My brother was near me and running fast, passing the trees.
Just when I thought it was almost over, I saw a vision of Zachary standing in front of me with a rope. He swung it around like a cowboy. I tried to dodge him, but he flung it and wrapped it around me, like if I was cattle.
“You have got to be kidding me,” I murmured, looking at Zachary standing there with the rope.
Zachary swung it around with a large loop tied to the end of it. I looked at my brother and saw John was also standing in front of him with a rope.
I knew I had to be faster than Zachary. I swiftly ran to my left side, pushed off the trees with my feet, flipping and spinning, dodging him, but just when I left my guard down for a second, he trapped me with the rope.
Zachary wrapped it around my elbows and legs as I squirmed.
“My dear, I am pretty sure you can get out of this one,” Zachary whispered into my ear and kissed my cheek.
He disappeared quickly into the woods. I lifted my head and looked for Christian, my body wrapped, lying on the cold ground. I noticed him fifteen feet away, on the ground, squirming with a roped tied around him.
“This sucks!” Christian complained.
I tried grabbing a shuriken from my lower vest, but I had to bend my wrist and stretch my fingers to get one out. I started to use the tip of the sharp star to rip through the rope. This was going to take some time and my brother was doing the same exact thing to get out of his hold.
I couldn't get a good grip on the star, and it kept on cutting my fingers. I tried not to focus on the blood and the pain. I repeatedly cut slices through the rope and on my hands. It felt like I was lying on the ground for an hour, trying to break free.
I finally did it and untied the rope from my legs. I noticed my brother was still working on his rope. I looked up at the sky and saw it was almost sunrise—the clear sky was beginning to turn light blue. I ran toward the Museum.
“Not this time!” Christian grunted, running past me.
I could see Fifth Ave just a hundred feet in front of me. I caught up to him and pushed him. He held on to my vest. We both fell and wrestled on the ground. He managed to get away. I ran as fast as I could, but my brother was taller than me, and his long legs defeated me by five feet. I sat on the ground, next to the Museum, huffing and puffing.
My brother was excited, but also out of breath, holding his knees, and smiling at me. His left hand was cut up and bleeding—just like mine. Zachary, John, Mikael, and Dante approached us.
“Congrats,” John said to Christian, clapping his hands.
“Thanks,” he said.
“We need to go inside, sunrise is here, and we need to heal you,” Zachary said.
“You both look like shit,” Mikael said.
I laughed. “Thanks, I feel just the way I look,” I said, wondering if the scent of our blood made them thirsty.
We walked back to the building and went straight to the medical room on the second floor. It had an operating room and three medical beds with supplies. It reminded me of a small emergency room.
“I studied medicine for many years. Let me see your fingers,” Zachary said.
Zachary cleaned and disinfected our fingers and hands. “You have two choices, you can let us heal your fingers with our saliva, or I can stitch the deep cuts and bandage them up for you, but then you will need to take antibiotics. We do have some available.”
“You can heal me. I hate antibiotics,” Christian said.
“That's fine. You can heal us,” I said.
“Being around all this blood doesn't bother any of you?” Christian asked with curiosity.
“I was wondering the same exact thing,” I said and looked at my bloody hand.
“All Guardians are trained to withstand the temptation. We can hold our breath for a long period of time, plus we drink blood daily to prevent any mistakes,” Mikael said.
