Panther's Teeth

My brain was working faster than light, and for some reason, all my anger turned to Damon.  If he never came to Willow’s Creek, then he would never have gone to my school, then I would have never met him, and if I never met me, he wouldn’t have come along for this walk and my brother would never have come along if it was all girls.  In that case, my younger brother would have never got kidnap by some strange unknown monster.  In a quick turn, I rushed all of my anger, sadness, and everything, pouring down on him like hard, none stop rain.  I started hitting him, and the tears running down my face blurred my vision. 

I hated him, and I still hate him!  As my human form, I couldn’t hit very hard, and with tears in my eyes, I couldn’t aim very well either.  “I hate you!  If you never came here, and gone to think with us outside, then Mathew would never have come, and so he would still be at home!  But because of you he isn’t, I hate you, I hate you!”  I yelled as I pounded on his chest trying to destroy him, wishing that we was never alive.   I totally melted, I was tired, and with most of the anger gone, came a wash of sadness, and fear for Mathew.

Next thing I knew it Damon was holding me tight in his arms, with Sophia and Molly hugging me close.  “Let’s go home and think up a plan to save him.  You can get a some rest and we’ll find a way to save him.  Yes, Amber, we will save him, we will.” Molly said as softly and comfortingly as she could.  I was about to let them lead me back, when I thought over what she said, ‘you can get some rest.’  I was resting while my kidnaped brother is getting torched, and having to sleep in the cold.  NO, they can’t take me back, not until I found Mathew.  I won’t stop until I find and save Mathew, whatever it takes, I will do it.

Prying myself lose, I made a mad dash to the trees to continue the hopeless search for my brother.  Damon made a wild grab, but missed by a hair.  Sophia, and Molly who had just started to tag along behind, had just stop in place.  I was going to run between them making a shorter distance to the trees, but my friends must have gathered their senses pretty quick, because they looped an arm under each of my armpits as I ran past.  I was jerked completely off my feet!  Before I could leap up again, Damon, set a strong arm on my shoulder keeping me down.  I couldn’t stand, even with equal strength, the one on the bottom always loses, and I happen to be on the bottom.

I had to give in, and follow them to my house, where Sophia and Molly were going to somehow find a way to sleep over.  Knowing parents, Damon, wouldn’t be allowed to stay, and so he was going to have to keep watch from the eucalyptus tree outside my window.  My predictions are almost all the time right, even if that means guessing on a test.  Maybe a house or two down from mine, I panicked yet again.  This time it wasn’t all about losing my brother, this time it was what I was going to do, and how would my parents take all of that.  I know my face would be streaming tears, wither I wanted them or not.

I tried to slow the pace as we got closer to my house, only to get towed behind.  My parents first asked, “Did you guys have a good time?”  That was before they noticed that Mathew was not among us, but them they almost freeked, “Where on earth is Mathew, Amber?”

“Well, we were all walking when Mathew wanted to race with me through the woods, then…”  I started, but Sophia instantly cut me off.

“Then we all went looking for him, but he disappeared.  Oh, I’m so sorry!”  Sophia said.

“It wasn’t our fault, Mathew just took off, we didn’t mean anything bad to happen on that walk.  It just did!  Oh, I am so sorry for everything.”  My parents totally flipped, and called the police, and was told that they’ll take interviews tomorrow leaving us with one night to think it over.  Mom and Dad let me have Sophia and Molly to keep me company, and Damon, somehow my parents let him stay too.  I think that he told them that about me going frantic always going back to the woods trying to find him.

When I was positive that everyone was asleep, listening hard for Damon, sleeping downstairs, and Sophia and Molly who were camped out on my bed room floor.  I got out of bed and as quietly as possible, with soft panther paws.  I would usually open the window and get out, but it was shut and it makes too much noise to open.  The only way out where no one would be able to hear me, and that would be through the dog door into the garage that then leads outside.  The people we bought this house had dogs, and I wanted to get one when I was little, but my mom had allergies.  I made it down stairs without anyone catching me, but I wasn’t going to take any chances.  I shape-shifted into a baby panther, and made my to the garage, slinking in the shadows trying to become a shadow. 

I got into the garage and I dashed for the second door, getting through that one, I changed back into human form again.  I was thinking about flying, but it was too dark for that, and my perception isn’t good.  I changed into a full grown panther, and was right about to dash into the forest to start my search again for my brother, when I heard something jump from the roof.  The split second that it took me to look up, did something tackle me above.  As soon as I was able to get the heavy body off of me I jumped up, and turned around to get payback from whoever decided that it was a good idea to tackle shape-shifters when their on an important mission.  I turned only find Damon sitting on the floor, his arms crossed and a not so happy look on his face.

“Uh, well, I was just getting a breath of fresh air.  Yah.”  I tried to make is sound real, but I was never a good liar when I knew that I was already caught.

“You know better!  Why would you think I was camped out on top of the roof?  I was waiting for you, knowing that you’ll take any change you got.”  He said, starting to stand. 

“Well, my brother is in danger and I need to find him.  No matter what, my family means everything to me.  So I’m going, no matter what you think.”  I turned and ran across the street and started down the road to the forest main entrance, where Mathew disappeared off to.

“I can’t let you do that.  If I can’t stop you, then I’ll just have to go with you, and be your chaperon.” He said running beside me with equal speed.

“That’s good, because I was going to go no matter what, and you can’t stop me now that my head has cleared, and I can think with straight again, with the one goal of saving my brother.”  I told him changing into a panther right when I finished.

“Doesn’t matter, I can’t let you go alone.  I’ve lived and seen more than you, and you have no clue what might there be.  Even I don’t know.”  I understood, and just growled back to him returned.  It may have been considered rude, but still, he had no right to follow me, if he really wanted to help, he would quite bugging me, and go looking for my brother, in another direction so more ground would be covered.

He was slowing me down, I knew I could go a lot faster, but for some reason, either my Sapphira, or my feelings, was slowing me down just enough that he would keep up.  Changing back into human, just long enough to talk to him I questioned, “Can’t you go any faster?  I heard that vampires could transform into an animal or two.  Then we can go faster, and less time will be wasted.”

“I can, but I was never that strong, and I never really tried.   I guess I can, but usually I need a lot of blood, and not just animal blood, but the strongest, and most powerful type.  Humans!”

“Okay, if we hurry, I can sneak you into the hospital, where they much blood, from all over, and even sick people blood.  Good for you, you don’t get sick, so if we could sneak some out before they chart it, we can get away with it.”  That was exactly what we ended up doing.  The new truck of blood, was coming to do the every two months refill, so we decided to hijack that instead.  I brought a heavy stick down on the fender of the van, making a good size dent, if a Golden Eagle pretended to crash into the truck.