Genre: Fantasy/ Supernatural/ Smut/ Vampires/ Werewolves etc
Warnings: MDNI, Coarse language, Death, Dead body, Violence, Blood, Dark themes, Angst, Toxic relationships, Emotional manipulation, Murder, Serial Killings, Suspense
Summary: Tali leaves her coven after her brother is sent to hunt a monster- and never returns. Determined to avenge him, she tracks the creature across the dark, only to discover it's not what she expected. Bound by suspicion and grief, they form an uneasy alliance to uncover the truth. But as the bodies keep piling up and something far worse lurks in the shadows, Tali is forced to question everything- her mission, her loyalties, and the monster standing at her side.
“Oh what the hell!” she cried, “Come on, come on get the hell off,” Tali grumbled, focusing angrily on her feet. She had taken a risk and put a deep red polish on her toenails, only to regret it as soon as she was done. “This color sucks,” she grabbed another cotton ball and doused it in nail polish remover. “This is vandalism.” Her red fingers stood out like a sore thumb against the peachy color of her comforter. She sneered at her polish choice, wishing that she had gone with a different color, but the red was the first one she’d set eyes on when she looked in the medicine cabinet. “I’m throwing this in the fucking trash. I’ll never make this mistake again. I should have just gone to the store when I was out earlier.” She sighed and tossed the red polish into the trash can by the bed, idly wondering where it had even come from. There was enough red in her life, she didn’t need to add any more.
“This just in,” the news interrupted the episode of Maury that she had switched on for background noise, “we have a report of yet another body found this morning. The body of who has now been identified by authorities as Norman Cheznut, a forty-eight year old father of five, was discovered by a young woman who was out for her morning jog in Joaquin Miller Park. She had this to say.” The screen switched over to a young woman in a cute little jogging outfit. Her hair was slicked back into a pony tail and Tali couldn’t tell if it was sweat or tears in the girls blue eyes.
“I was just out doing my usual run, you know. And I tripped over what I thought was a branch, but when I got up I saw it was a leg. I went to check on him and see if he was ok; I thought maybe he had just passed out and maybe hit his head or something. It was just horrible, you know? I’ve never seen something like that before. That’s an image that’ll stay with me forever.”
“The wife of Mr. Cheznut agreed to talk with reporters,” the news anchor was back on screen. “His wife says that she had only sent him to the store a few blocks up and when he didn’t come back, she grew worried.” A frazzled looking woman appeared on the screen, a few kids, varying in age, stood behind her.
“I’d asked him to go out and get a lighter for my cigarettes,” the widow stated. “I’d told him I was going to quit, so he threw all my lighters away. He was so upset that I went back on my word, but he went anyway. He was always taking care of the things I asked him for… He was a good husband… I…” The woman began choking back sobs and one of the older boys behind her wrapped his arms tightly around her and buried his face in her hair. The camera-man took his time in turning away from the woman and the screen flipped away from one reporter to the next.
“A tragic turn of events,” the reporter said in her matter-o-fact voice. “The Oakland police department has released the statement that they have no leads for what now is appearing to be the work of a serial killer. The police are urging everyone to please keep the city- wide curfew in mind and from everyone at KABC, stay safe out there.”
“Damn,” Tali sighed, “another one… how are we supposed to hunt at night if the humans have curfew?”
“What?” Tali jumped up from her bed startled, accidentally knocking over her nail polish remover and watching it spill onto the floor. She groaned, rolling her eyes and picking up the now empty bottle before going to the door. “This day is going horribly!” She tossed the empty container into the trash beside the bed before sauntering over to the door. When she opened it, she almost wished she hadn’t. Malachi –her brother of sorts- stood in the doorway grinning from ear to ear, his arms full of little wriggling, whining balls of fur and his bright brown eyes glimmering.
“I found them behind a dumpster. They’re adorable aren’t they?” Malachi strolled into her room, his adolescent form swaying loftily, and placed the puppies on her bed. They tumbled over one another in a brown mass, still so small that they were barely able to walk.
“Malachi, these puppies look too young to be away from their mom, and you know they can’t be here. Monroe will pop a blood vessel if he sees them.” Tali waved a hand as though to dismiss her brother. “Why did you bring them here?”
“I snuck them in from the roof.” He sat down on her bed and picked one of the puppies up. “Nobody saw me, so how will he know? Do you think Carrie would like one?”
“You went outside during daylight?” she huffed, “you know that’s against the rules, Kai.”
“You smell like you were outside today.”
“Come on, do you think Carrie will like one?”
“I don’t know,” Tali shrugged, “Does she like dogs?”
“I don’t know. I just figured that she could use a bit of cheering up with everything that’s been going on.” He stuck his nose in the air and inhaled, “you spill polish remover or something? It reeks in here.” He looked at the empty nail polish remover bottle in the trash and then at her hands. “You in here painting your nails? I don’t like that red on you.” He scrunched his face up in distaste, “it looks like you have blood on your hands.”
“Yeah, probably,” Tali said in response to his question about Carrie, “truth be told, everyone could probably use a bit of cheering up with what’s been happening.”
They were both right. Recently, death was a plague over not just the mortals in town, but the coven as well. It had all started when Monroe made the decree that they would all go hunting alone, saying that groups of two would draw too much unwanted attention from the humans. With the murders, police officers had been hanging around the city more often, so he was right. Of course, everyone obliged without question and immediately began going out on their own to feed. Things seemed like they were fine until the night that Isaac hadn’t come back from the hunt. Monroe had sent a search party out to look for him, but they came back empty handed and with information that a strange wolf like creature was slinking around the neighboring woods.
The orders had changed after that. Monroe demanded that someone go out searching for the wolf creature and put an end to it, because, as he said, the nights had been safe for them until the beast appeared, therefore it had to be the culprit in Isaac’s disappearance and the recent killings of the humans as well. It had to be stopped. One by one, Tali had watched her friends leave and not return. It wasn’t until the night that Monroe himself went out and found ashes that he started holding funerals for their missing members. Ashes meant that a vampire had died. Dust to dust.
It all weighed quite heavy on their hearts and it didn’t make sense to anyone why they couldn’t just all go out as a group and handle the problem together; everyone had been moping around and chattering amongst each other for weeks about it, but you didn’t question Monroe’s authority in this coven, you obeyed orders, unless you wanted to be punished. The last person that had openly defied Monroe had been quietly dealt with. Nobody knew what had happened to him, only that he wasn’t around anymore. Tali had her suspicions, but she would never say anything to anybody about them.
Tali hadn’t really smiled much since the day Isaac disappeared. It had been hard for her to hold her tongue about the situation, but she did so to spare the coven any more drama; now, looking at the puppies and Malachi’s beaming face, she couldn’t help but grin.
“I guess they are kind of cute,” she said. “And shut up, I was in the middle of taking the polish off but you had to come interrupt me.” She picked one of the puppies up and put its nose to hers. It fit cozily in the palm of her hand, yawning and licking her nose; its little eyes trying to crack open. When she smiled, it whimpered and nuzzled up to her.
“Do you want that one?” Malachi smiled at her, “he likes you.” He picked up another puppy and looked it over. “I think I’ll give this one to Carrie. Name him Frankie. He looks like a Frankie, doesn’t he?” He shoved the puppy in her face.
“We can’t keep them here, Kai.” Tali sat down on the bed and placed the puppy in her lap. She looked Malachi square in the face as she pet the fluff ball. “Don’t give Monroe a reason to start thinking you’re disobeying the rules.”
“Well, I am disobeying the rules,” he plopped down on the bed beside her, “some of them are stupid rules.” He huffed, “like why can’t we have animals in here?”
“Monroe says they’re dangerous to have around us or something.” Tali shrugged. She didn’t really understand some of the rules either and usually always voiced her opinions about them when she felt it mattered, but she didn’t want Malachi to pick up her habit of challenging authority. Monroe was the boss, and what he said was what it was.
When she had initially found her way to the coven, she had been angry and highly aggressive. Her trip to the United States from Egypt hadn’t been pleasant and she was tired of travelling. Monroe had asked her a simple question: “what do you want?” Her response had been just as simple,
“I want a shower, and for everyone to leave me alone for a few days.” Monroe saw what she had said as a snarky reply and he was immediately taken with her. Apparently, everyone else that had come to him had been timid and pleading. She guessed that her aggressiveness had been a refreshing change for him. Now that she had been completely integrated into the coven, and had even brought in Malachi, her smart mouth had become a bit less endearing and more annoying to Monroe, especially during the meetings he held to inform them all of new rules. Tali always found a reason to interject and point out the flaws in the system.
She smiled at her own cockiness and looked back over to Malachi. He had adopted her rebellious nature, and for that, she was sorry. “If he finds out you have these puppies he’s going to punish you.”
“Aw man, come on Tali! What am I supposed to do with them now?” He looked around the room. “Hey! Can you keep them for me then? He won’t trip out on you the way he does everyone else.” Tali thought about it for a moment. Malachi was right. If Monroe found her with the puppies, she might get a stern talking to and that would be the end of it. Monroe was partial to her and for that, he allowed her to get away with more; Malachi wasn’t on the same level. “Please?”
“Aw jeez, Kai.” She looked at him and smiled, she could never say no to him. “Fine. I will keep them in here for now, but you’ve gotta get them somewhere else soon. Even if I don’t get in trouble for having them, he’s still not going to let me keep them.”
“Awesome,” he clapped his hands together and thrust his arms around her, “thanks sis.”
“Yeah, yeah. You’re lucky I love you.”
“I know. He grabbed up the puppy that he had decided to call Frankie and stuffed it under his shirt. “I’m going to go take him to Carrie.”
“What, now? Are you crazy?” Tali jumped up and snatched the puppy from under Malachi’s shirt. “Her room is on the first floor. That’s way too close to Monroe’s office. If he doesn’t smell it he’ll hear it.” Carrie was Malachi’s girlfriend. She had come to the coven a few years ago and Malachi was immediately taken with her. She was small and artistic, with a dreamy look in her eyes. Tali hadn’t been too sure about her at first, but she made sure to keep her mouth shut until she had a chance to get to know Carrie a bit. Once she did, she found that Carrie was actually a sweet girl, and she gave Malachi the approval that he had been harassing her for.
“You worry too much, sis.” Malachi gently took the puppy back and returned it to its place under his shirt. “Maybe he’ll just think someone outside had a dog.”
“He’s not stupid, Kai. Remember that.” She watched him go; waving half-heartedly before closing the door and throwing herself back onto her bed. Even if she had continued to debate with him, she could never get through to him once he made up his mind about something. If there was anyone more stubborn than her, it was Malachi. “He’s old enough to make his own choices,” she reasoned with the puppies that now sat sleeping on the bed next to her. “Still, I worry what Monroe will do if he finds out Malachi brought you guys in here.”
She loved Malachi as much as she thought she would have loved her own blood brother, if she had ever had one. He was the only thing in the world that brought any warmth to her heart. They hunted together, they joked around with each other, they even squabbled and made up like real brother and sister. She did her best to be a good role model for him and in turn he did his best to do as she told him. They’d been around one another for decades and hardly ever really disagreed. They had a great relationship and she couldn’t have been more grateful for it. She needed at least one person in the world she could truly be herself with.
She had just begun trying to pick the polish off her toenails when another knock sounded at her door. “Oh for the love of…who is it?”
SHIT! She squeezed her eyes shut. “Yeah, what’s up?”
“I just wanted to talk to you for a moment. Are you decent?” She gazed around her room and rested her eyes on the puppies. She needed to move them.
“Um, no I’m not dressed!” She gathered the dogs up into her blanket and searched for a place to hide them, “give me just a second!” She rushed around frantically, swinging the puppies back and forth in the blanket before her eyes rested on the bathroom door, they squeaked and whined in protest. She rushed into the bathroom and set them gingerly in the tub, making sure they were all comfortably resting before closing the curtain and door behind her. She smoothed out her clothes and hair, wanting to look as unfazed as possible before she let him in. She gave herself a moment to settle her nerves and slowly opened the door.
“Hey there.” Monroe stood towering over her in the doorway. He smiled down at her before easing past her and into the room. He was an intimidating man, standing over six feet tall with piercing hazel eyes that bored holes into you if you looked at them for too long.
“Hey, Monroe,” she closed the room door and sat down on her bed. Monroe took a chair at the small table that she and Malachi used for board games and peered around her room. “What brings you up here?” she asked, “come to mingle with the commoners?”
“I suppose you could say that.” He looked around the room again and ran his hand along her bed, noticing the missing comforter. “Need new blankets, huh?”
“No I’m fine. It’s not like I actually sleep.”
“They’re still nice to have. You usually have a big fluffy one on here, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I’m washing it down in the basement. So, what are you conducting room checks? Ha.” She couldn’t help but twiddle her thumbs nervously as she spoke, “All is well. See?” She spun around, “Everything in its place.”
“Yes,” his voice was smooth when he spoke. “Have you seen Malachi today?”
“Oh, yeah.” She stopped spinning. “He came to see me a while ago. I think he’s down with Carrie now.”
“Yes, I’m aware. I ran into him near her room,” he responded, “He seemed to be in a good mood.” He stuck his big nose in the air. “Something smells odd in here.” Crap.
“Oh, yeah. I think it’s coming from outside. A dog had puppies or something out there.” She needed to think fast. He knew; there was no way he didn’t know. That had to be the whole reason he had come to see her in the first place.
“That’s what I’m thinking.”
“Funny,” he said, making his way towards the bathroom door, “it smells very strong in here… almost like they’re somewhere in the hotel, in this room even. Care to provide some insight?”
“I guess the smell wafted up here or something.” Tali moved to wedge herself between the bathroom door and Monroe. He looked at her quizzically. “My bathroom is a mess. You know, trying to find something to wear today.”
“Come on, Tali,” Monroe sighed, “let’s not play these games. I know you have puppies in here somewhere and I smelled them on Malachi… now who brought them in?”
The dog was out of the bag. Time to switch up the defense. “I did,” she said flatly, “and what of it? I don’t understand why we can’t have animals in here anyway. They’re harmless. They’re only babies”
“You know it’s against the rules, Tali.”
“You made the rules,” she huffed, “nobody even got to vote on them. You just decided that those were the rules and that we all had to obey them. That isn’t fair in any way, shape, or form and you know it. What happened to democracy?”
“As senior, it is my duty to protect you all with my knowledge and general know how. We have had this conversation before, Tali. When you became a part of the coven, you agreed to follow the rules.”
“I guess.” Tali crossed her arms in front of her, “I still think the rules are a bunch of crap, I don’t see what harm puppies can do. Besides, you only tell us the rules when it benefits you. Maybe you should put a big poster in the dining room so everyone can see the crap you come up with overnight instead of holding stupid meetings so we all have to watch you stroke your own ego.” She rolled her eyes.
“The rules are necessary; we need order otherwise we’d be plunged into chaos.” Monroe got up from the chair and headed for the door. “Get rid of the puppies, Tali,” he said as he opened the door. “Oh, and by the way, I know you didn’t bring them in here. You have to stop covering for those that refuse to follow the rules. Otherwise, they’ll never learn.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I brought them in here this morning. I needed some cheering up everything that’s been going on, you know?” She thought that maybe by bringing up a bigger problem she might minimize the seriousness of having animals in the hotel.
The door closed behind him and Tali rushed to it to listen for the sound of Monroe’s footsteps fading away. He knew she hadn’t brought the puppies in, and he had smelled them on Malachi. “Is he going to him next?” She flung open the door and dashed into the hall. “I can’t let Malachi take the fall for this. Monroe will tear him apart.”
She took the other set of stairs down to the main floor, barely letting her feet make contact with the dark blue carpeting, she had to avoid Monroe at all costs. As she ran down the stairs, she cursed Carrie. As big as the hotel was, Carrie had chosen one of the closest rooms to Monroe’s office. But Carrie hadn’t known what kind of leader Monroe was when she had made that choice. In a way, Tali felt bad for the girl. Never able to do anything other than follow the rules to a T. Tali had chosen one of the farther rooms, generally preferring to be as far away from as many of the other members as possible, Malachi had followed suit. His room was one floor below hers, “to give you some privacy,” he had said when she had originally objected and said that he should stay right next to her. She figured the real reason was because they hadn’t known each other well at the time.
She reached the bottom of the stairs and flung herself down the hall to rap on Carrie’s door. The giggling from inside the room stopped immediately and Carrie came to the door with a concerned smile on her face. “Oh, um… hi, Tali.”
“Hey, Carrie. Can I come in?”
“Oh, um…” Carrie looked back into the room and back to Tali, “I don’t think that’s such a good idea right now. We’re a bit busy.”
“Hey, is that Tali?” Malachi’s voice came floating from in the room and he appeared in the doorway beside Carrie. “She already knows about the puppies, babe. Let her in.” Carrie’s worried look changed to one of relief and she opened the door wider to allow Tali to slip in.
“Kai, we have a problem,” Tali began immediately. “Monroe came to my room and he smelled the dogs and he said he smelled them on you when he passed by you in the hallway. I think he’s coming down here. You have to get rid of that dog!”
“What?” Carrie gasped, “He’s coming here? Oh no, Malachi what are we going to do? This is a clear violation of the rules. We’ll get into so much trouble for this.” Malachi went to speak and Tali cut him off.
“No, I’m going to take the blame for this. I’m going to make sure that he goes easy on you guys. I tried to tell him that I was the one that brought the dogs in, I’m positive he didn’t believe me, but I’m going to stick to that story and I just need you two to back me up on that. He should be here any min-” She stopped mid-sentence and they all turned their ears towards the door. The telltale padding of Monroe’s nonchalant gait was coming down the hall. They all turned to look at the door apprehensively when a soft knock came to threaten them.
“Hello?” Monroe said from the other side of the door, “Carrie, may I come in?” Carrie looked over to the puppy on her bed and her eyes widened. Tali followed her gaze to the pup and scrambled it up into her arms before motioning for Carrie to open the door.
“H-hello, Monroe,” Carrie stammered.
“Hello, Carrie-Ann. Malachi. Oh, Tali, you’re here too. When did you get down here?”
“Hi, Monroe.” Malachi grabbed Carrie’s hand and pulled her onto the bed beside him where she sat stiff and staring at the clump of fur in Tali’s arms.
“What’s that you have there, Tali? Is that one of the puppies?” He walked over to Tali and peered down at the puppy. “Isn’t he adorable?”
“He’s my favorite,” Tali said forcefully. “I wanted to spend some time with him before I get rid of them. His name’s Frankie.”
“Oh, really?” He turned to Malachi and Carrie, “you two are aware that having animals of any sort inside the hotel is a violation, right?”
“They know,” Tali interjected, “It’s my fault. I brought the puppies in, and I came down here because I didn’t want them getting into trouble because of me. Malachi smelled like the puppies because he had come to my room and the dogs were there. He told me to get rid of them too.”
“You know how Tali can be,” Malachi said, “she doesn’t listen to reason.”
Monroe shook his head slowly, “I see,” he said. “I’m very disappointed with you, Tali.” He made his way towards the door, “get rid of the dogs. Don’t test my patience.” He closed the door behind him. Carrie and Malachi heaved sighs of relief.
“Oh man, thank you, Tali!” Carrie jumped up and wrapped Tali in a tight embrace.
“Yeah, that was really brave of you, sis. Thanks.”
“It’s no big deal. I’ll work through the consequences later.” She held the puppy in the air, “now what to do with these little guys?”
“Don’t hurt them!” Carrie yelped, “Please.”
“Nah, I think I’ll cook them all,” Tali said sarcastically, “of course I’m not going to hurt them.” She glanced over to Malachi, “watch yourself, Kai. I’ll see you later.”
She went back up to her room and let the puppies out of the tub. She would get rid of them, but not until she felt like it. Monroe had only ordered her to get them out; he didn’t give her a deadline. She laid down on the floor of her room, spreading out on her ivory carpeting and laughed as the puppies nuzzled up to her. “I’m not your mother,” she chuckled as she ruffled their soft fur. “You guys are gonna make great best friends for some lucky people.”
She ended up taking the puppies to the nearest pet adoption agency, claiming that she’d just found them as she was walking along. The young man behind the counter seemed more than willing to accept the litter of puppies and more than a little interested in knowing what Tali was going to be doing later that evening. She told him that she’d be going around the corner and opening up a couple veins and he chuckled heartily until he noticed that she didn’t find it quite as humorous. The process went swiftly after that and she was back to the hotel in no time.
She stood behind the monstrous structure now, gazing up at the winding vines that had begun to take over, covering some of the windows and hanging around on the balconies. It was nothing but a brick building that had been abandoned for over five years- she had often asked Monroe what the chances were that they city would tear it down any time soon. He always just said that he had it under control and that the coven would have a place to call home for decades to come as long as he was alive- yet the building seemed somehow ominous to her in that moment. She stood there debating on if she even wanted to go back inside or not. The hotel that was originally a place of refuge for her had slowly but surely turned into what was starting to feel like a prison.
“Dammit,” she sighed, looking up at the fire escape. “It’s not like I have anywhere else to go.” She took her time climbing the fire escape, pausing at every other landing to take in the scenery. Cars flying by on a busy street, mothers yanking their protesting six year olds down crowded sidewalks. “Lucky." She reached the top floor of the hotel and slid the window up, slipping back inside. She stayed in her room for the rest of the night, ignoring Malachi's gentle knocks when he'd come to pester her again. She wasn't upset with him, but she just needed time alone.
It was late when Malachi came knocking on her door again a few days later. The clock read 12:47am and Tali couldn’t imagine what he could possibly want at such a late hour. He usually liked to be with Carrie around this time. The puppy situation had passed and things seemed to be getting back to the way they had been before. Malachi had stopped avoiding Monroe and Tali allowed herself to be within a few feet of his office without gluing her eyes to the door. Although she was the favorite, she still worried sometimes that her insolence would get her into big trouble.
When she answered the door, she thought she could see tension painted on his face, but when he acknowledged her, he was all smiles. “What’s up, bro?”
“Hey, Tali. Were you busy?”
“No, I was just watching some TV. What’s up with your arm?” She pointed to his left arm that he was holding awkwardly out of her view.
“Oh,” he slowly brought it into view and she saw that he was holding a board game in his hand. “I thought we’d play a game.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be with Carrie right now?”
“Oh, um… no. I wanted to see you. I just left from her room. I was with her all day.”
“Oh, well okay.” She moved aside and he rushed in.
“So what did you do with the dogs?” he placed the game on the table and sat down to set it up. Tali followed suit and sat down in the chair opposite him.
“I took them all somewhere where they can find forever homes.” She grabbed a handful of game pieces and began to set them in their spots on the board. “So, Sorry, huh?” she said, referring to the game he had brought. They played it often, usually on the days when they’d gone hunting together; they’d come back full and spend an afternoon trash talking and playing board games.
“Yeah, I figured I’d kick your butt before I go.”
“Go?” she looked at him, her brow furrowed, “go where?”
“Oh um…” he spoke hesitantly, “Monroe said he had a mission for me.”
“A mission? What mission?”
“Not the same mission he’s been sending everyone else on!” Tali rose from her seat, “nobody he’s sent out has come back! He can’t be serious!”
Malachi shifted uncomfortably in his seat before peering over to the window and rushing over to slide it open. The wind came rushing in and he sat down on the sill, staring out into the streets. “Kai,” Tali walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Is this about before? Is he punishing you for the dogs?”
“He didn’t mention that,” Malachi mumbled, “He just said that he thinks that I could be the one to end this. He says that I’m strong enough.”
“You aren’t strong enough to do this on your own!” Tali banged a fist on the wall, ignoring the cracks that formed there. “He shouldn’t be sending you out on your own. He shouldn’t be sending any of us out alone to take care of this. It’s dangerous!”
He didn’t even look at her. He continued to stare into the street as he spoke, watching the cars that passed by. “I can do this, Tali. I can be the one to end all of this.” His voice shook as he spoke. His face was confident but his voice reflected his real feelings. Tali couldn’t be angry any longer, and there was nothing she could do to change what already was. Monroe had issued a command, and even she couldn’t go so far as to influence Malachi to disobey an order like that. Doing so might mean exile or death for the both of them.
Malachi glanced over at the board game on the table, “I don’t want things to be this way before I go. I don’t want you angry with me. I just… I wanted to see you before I left… just in case.”
“Just in case…you know…just in case I don’t come back.”
“No!” Tali said, softening her voice, “don’t you say that. Don’t you come in here and act as if you aren’t coming back. You’ll go out and you’ll beat this thing, and when you do, you’ll come back here and we’ll play a new board game.” She ruffled his hair and gave him a light smile. “And I’m not mad at you.”
“Yeah, okay. Now come on and let me whoop on you real quick before I go.”
“Ha! Challenge accepted!” They tore into the board game and set it up as quickly as they could. Malachi was the green team, as usual, and Tali had decided on yellow. They set their pieces into the bases and Tali shuffled the cards. “Ready to lose?” she asked.
“I don’t know, are you? Malachi laughed and drew his first card.
“So,” Tali started, waiting for Malachi to move his piece, “how was your time with Carrie? How is she?”
“Oh, um… she’s… okay. She’ll be okay. She’ll be okay.”
“You wanna talk about it?”
“No, not really. I just want to play.”
“Sure, okay.” They continued the game, laughing and joking half-heartedly with one another. They were together now, and everything was fine, but Tali knew that in a short while, Malachi would be leaving, and she wasn’t so sure that he’d come back. Her heart wanted to believe that he would. That he’d go out and slay the monster and come back to the hotel in time for another round of Sorry, but nobody else had come back from the mission, and just because she loved him didn’t mean that his chances of survival were any higher.
“Alight there, Tali?” Malachi placed a hand gingerly on her forearm.
“Huh?” she looked at him, confused. “It’s your go.”
“I already went,” he explained, “now it’s your go, but you were kind of zoned out there. What’cha thinkin’ ‘bout?” She couldn’t tell him the truth, she couldn’t ruin what could possibly be their last moments together.
“I’m thinking about how the next card I pull is gonna destroy your pawns!” she bellowed.
“Ha, yeah, whatever!” The smile that had begun to spread across his lips was extinguished immediately when the watch on his arm began beeping. They both glanced at it warily and then to each other. They knew what it meant. Time to go. In the blink of an eye, Malachi was up and had his arms wrapped around Tali, squeezing her tightly.
“I love you too, Kai. Please, please be safe. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
The watch began to beep again. Malachi turned on his heel and streaked for the window, knocking into the table as he went and sending a green game piece flying to the floor. Tali watched it drop and roll into the shadows beneath her nightstand. Malachi clambered out of the window and hung on to the sill for a while.
“I know what you should do if… you know… if I don’t come back.”
“Oh, yeah? What’s that?” She raised her eyebrows, prepared for a world famous Malachi joke. He flashed his million dollar smile at her,
“Live. Do it for me, ok?" He released the window sill and disappeared from view. Tali rushed to the window to watch him descend. He moved gracefully through the air and took off running the moment his feet hit the ground. Tali watched on until he turned a corner and disappeared completely from her sight.
