The Marradith Ryder Series Part 4
Marradith felt a surge of electricity shoot up her spine.
She turned to Justin and saw his eyes glowing green. He was changing.
“They’re coming, behind us!” he screamed.
She floored the accelerator. Justin grabbed the wheel and the car spun around. In the rearview, Marradith saw a black SUV come to a stop and turn to follow them.
A second SUV stopped but did not continue. In the moment that they passed the car, she saw the driver roll down the window. In a flash, she saw fangs and a snout, eyes shining like silver pinpoints.
Werewolf.
With one hand on the wheel and the other on her left shoulder, Justin moved, pulling the seatbelt from around her and pushing his body underneath her, so that he held her in his lap.
Pressed between him and the wheel, she couldn’t move. He gripped her waist like a vice.
The car was going over a hundred but the SUV was still gaining on them. Flying down the freeway against traffic, horns blared and tires squealed as other cars tried to dart out of the way.
When Marradith saw the gleam of moonlight on the water, she knew what he was about to do. She felt him breathing heavy, a harsh sound rumbling through his chest.
Laughter?
He was laughing?
“Ryder….!” he said.
He let go of the wheel, clamping his other arm around her shoulders.
She never heard the rest of what he said. She screamed.
The wheels lost their grip on the road. For an instant she felt weightless as the car sailed into the empty air.
Then, the pull of gravity, the rush, and she saw the dark water coming up to meet them.
***
Tumbling.
Tumbling.
She was not sure if she was up or down.
“MARRADITH!!!!”
She heard the sound, though close by, sounded like it came from very far away.
Arms around her body.
She was still in the car.
They were sinking.
There was water inside the car. It was almost up to her neck.
She saw green glowing eyes.
It’s a dream, she thought. I’m going to wake up and this will all be over.
This time Justin yelled too loudly for her to ignore. He pulled at her arm.
There were only flashes of light that allowed her to see in the dimness. Justin’s eyes.
Whenever he blinked the light went away. His words came to her, but sounded like an echo through a long tunnel.
“I …am..going … to break…the glass….swim. SWIM.”
She nodded to let him know she understood.
One, two, three, she heard him pound against the glass.
The sound was like standing beneath falls. The water rushed in and Justin disappeared into the darkness outside the car. As she moved to follow, she felt him pull her up.
***
In the dark of his mansion, Leighton answered the phone.
The voice on the other end belonged to one of his men. “We lost the girl.”
“How did you manage that, you idiot?” he glowered. “There had better be nothing on television about this. You at least managed not to hurt her?”
There was a pause. “We followed your orders, no guns. Granthem has her; he reached her first. This was a variable we had not expected, Sir.”
“You failed to anticipate it,” he spat. “That is not my problem. My problem is getting the Ryder girl. She’s too important to let pass by. Next time, there will be guns. Tranquilizers for the girl. Silver bullets for Granthem.”
He hung up the phone.
From his desk, he pulled out a picture of two small boys. Angry, he tore it in half and tossed it away.
___
© 2009 Lori Titus
Lori Titus’s The Marradith Ryder Series appears in episodes on Flashes in the Dark. Many of her short stories appear on MicroHorror.com, DemonMinds.com, and Shadeworks.org. An upcoming story will also be featured as a pod cast on SFZine.org. For more information see her at http://www.myspace.com/talesforthedark.
Artwork by: Raul Faria of Faria Graphics.
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March 3rd, 2009 at 7:00 am
The suspense is killing me!! Keep it up, Lori.
March 3rd, 2009 at 12:09 pm
Thanks, Angel!
March 3rd, 2009 at 12:37 pm
Great action! It’s wonderful finding out a little more about what’s going on with each part!
June 16th, 2010 at 12:14 pm
So they are trying to catch her, and probably train her to kill on their command only, and probably wash and rinse her brain a few times.
June 16th, 2010 at 12:36 pm
@ Daymon34
Dude, you so haven’t read far enough. What they were planning was a lot worse.