Thursday July 17^th 10:34pm
 

Henderson sat poised in her desk chair, her eyes focused intently on her computer, her fingers flying across her keyboard. She had been writing for close to two hours and she was swimming comfortably now, the water warming against her skin as she swam through the sea that her words were creating. She hadn't realized it until she reread her words, but she had been writing about Mac.

Lightning flashed brilliantly outside her window, lighting up the dimly lit office. She looked up, startled, and searched the window almost fearing what she may see standing outside it. The tree in her front yard wept strongly to the left, submitting itself to the powerful wind. Rain blew in spurts against the window pain, smacking at it with large splattering drops. An enormous clap of thunder followed closely behind the lightning, shaking the house and causing her to jerk in her chair.

Jack came running into the room and jumped up in her lap. She stroked the standing fur on his back, trying to comfort him as he trembled. She couldn't explain it but the deaf dog could somehow hear or feel the thunder. She looked back to her computer just as the screen went black along with the desk lamp.

"Damn it."

Jack growled in her lap at the blowing tree outside the window. She placed him on the floor and busied herself turning off her computer and lamp. She had saved her document and she had a surge protector, so she wasn't too worried about anything regarding her work or her computer. She rose and walked out of her office. No, she was worried for completely different reasons.

The house was draped in darkness and she walked slowly down the hallway, making her way into the living room. Mac had placed one of the flashlights on the coffee table and she picked it up and clicked it on.

She shined the weak halo of light on the couch to where Mac lay sleeping soundly. Henderson walked to her side and lightly shook her.

"Mac?"

Erin stirred at the sound of her name. "Yeah?" Her body felt heavy and hard to wake.

"We lost power. I need you to come sleep in my bedroom." With the house shrouded in darkness, Henderson knew she would never be able to sleep unless Mac was right by her side.

Erin rose slowly, trying to clear the cobwebs from her head. Henderson offered her hand to help her up and Erin took it and steadied herself as she stood.

They slowly walked back down the hallway with Henderson leading the way to the master bedroom. Jack jumped on the bed and began barking and chasing the beam of flickering light from the flashlight.

Erin sat down on the bed and lay down on top of the covers, too tired to pull them back. Henderson walked to the dresser and lit a large, eucalyptus scented candle.

Then, laughing at Jack she turned off the flashlight and placed it on the nightstand. Thunder cracked loudly again and the wind surged against the house. Flashes of lightning lit up the room, brightening Erin's sleeping form.

She stood next to the bed, mesmerized by the sleeping blonde. More than anything she wanted to crawl in to bed next to her and curl up against her warmth. She wanted to get lost in the scent of her, to be lulled to sleep by her steady breathing. But she knew she had to double check the house, she had to keep her safe.

Taking her flashlight, she went off to explore her house, to double check all the doors and windows. As she walked back down the hall she heard her cell phone ring. She picked up her pace and jogged into the kitchen where she had left it.

"Henderson."

"Hey, it's Jacobs. You ok?"

"We're fine. Just lost power though."

Gary's voice was distant and crackling. "The whole city's out. We've been called out by the mayor to help with the flooding. The creek beds are full and we've got some major flash flooding." He was breaking up, his signal weakening. "People trapped in their cars….we have to go direct traffic…signals out…..looting….you gonna be ok?"

She could no longer make out what he was saying. "Yes, we'll be fine." She shouted the words but got no response. "Gary? Gary?" She pulled the phone away from ear and saw that the call had been lost. She set it down on the counter and continued on her quest to check the house.

With her fellow detectives unavailable, there would be no routine drive by of the house like she had requested. She and Mac were now totally alone and she wished she had the strength to remain awake throughout the night. Having checked all the doors and windows she went in her office and grabbed a spiral notebook and a pen. Even though she knew she couldn't stay awake the entire night, she knew she had to try.

She returned to the bedroom and propped herself up with the pillows against the headboard, careful not to disturb Mac. The room was already stuffy with the absence of the cool air and the ceiling fan. She thought briefly about opening a window but then decided it was too great of a risk.

Erin moaned next to her and rolled over on her back, her face glistening with sweat in the candlelight. Jack had settled down under the covers, too afraid to be above them.

She positioned her notebook against her knees and began to write, inspired by the sleeping beauty in her bed. She wrote steadily for two hours, milking her mind of the pressure that had built throughout the last week. She wrote so intensely and so quickly that her hand throbbed from the strain and could no longer hold the pen. Her eyes became heavy with her mind's sweet release and she fought sleep as long as she could. But eventually, exhaustion won out and she dropped her pen and fell fast asleep.

….. ……. ……. …….. ……. ……… ……… ……… ……… ………. …….. ……
 

She watched the front of the house through the rubbery whine of her windshield wipers. The rain was falling heavily, bathing her Range Rover with hard, heavy sounding drops.

She gripped her steering wheel and sat motionless. She knew who was inside. She had been watching for awhile.

A face flashed in her mind. The face that had reached inside her black, desolate chest and squeezed the life back into her heart. Another image flashed in her mind. The same beautiful face was running from her, pushing her away and leaving her behind.

Erin McKenzie. She said the name over and over again in her mind. Erin McKenzie, not Katherine Chandler. How had it happened? How had this happened to her?

Her chest tightened and she could feel her heart bleeding within in it, filling her insides up and drowning her soul. She turned off the ignition and opened the door. She stepped out into the penetrating cold rain, her jaw set, her skin unfeeling at the attack of the rain. She looked down in a daze and watched as the water sloshed off her skin, unable to penetrate into her very being, unable to cool the fire within. She looked back up and walked toward the house.

……… ……. …….. ……… ……. …….. …….. …….. …… …….. ……. ……….
 

Henderson opened her eyes and tried to get her bearings. She had fallen asleep and she now lay curled up against Mac, her face nestled comfortably in her neck. She closed her eyes and let the warmth of the moment wash over her.

It was warm in the room and she could feel the heat from Mac's body seeping through her clothes and she turned on her back to let her own body cool. The candle on the dresser still burned but the flame had sunk as the wax had burned and it flickered in the barrel of the candle. She closed her eyes again, wanting to return to sleep, but Jack growled from the foot of the bed.

She sat up and looked for her dog. He lay facing the bedroom door, his head peeking out from the foot of the covers. She reached for her gun, running her hand along under the covers, searching for where she had placed it after she had taken it off. Jack continued to growl and Henderson looked up from the bed as a figure approached in the doorway.

Her heart hammered in her throat as her hand desperately tried to locate her gun.

The figure was walking slowly and it stopped just inside the door. Jack began barking at the shadowy figure and he jumped down off the bed, hopping backwards as he barked.

"Shut that little shit up, or I'll kill him." The figure seethed and raised it arms, the reflection of a gun in its hands.

Henderson immediately recognized the voice and she stood, needing to see her face.

She held her hands up and walked slowly towards Jack. "Easy, I'm just going to get him."

Erin awoke and sat up on the bed. "What's going on?" Her mind was foggy and she wasn't yet able to make sense of the situation.

"Shut up bitch!" The voice from the figure was deeper now, angrier. She swung her arms around to Erin, aiming the gun.

Henderson scooped Jack up in her arms and placed him on the bed.

"Don't move, Mac." She directed towards her friend while her eyes remained focused on the figure. She took another step towards the voice and the figure moved in, swinging the gun back around to Henderson.

"Watch it bitch, or you'll eat led."

Henderson held her hands up and stopped in her approach. The candlelight flickered dim light against the figure's face and Henderson sucked in a rapid breath of air. She took another step towards her.

"Tracy, you don't want to do this."

The young girl kept the barrel of the gun aimed at Henderson. Her hair was wet and plastered to her head from the rain. Black eye makeup ran down her face, giving her a demon like appearance.

"My name's not Tracy!" She yelled, the gun shaking in her hands. "It's Blade bitch." Her voice lowered and she stepped closer to Henderson. "Now back off. It's not you I'm after."

She swung the gun around to Erin who sat poised on the bed. Blade closed her eyes and cocked the gun. Henderson lunged at her just as the gun went off. Erin threw herself flat on the bed and the bullet pierced the wall over the head board.

Henderson wrestled with the girl, fighting her for the gun.

Erin quickly pushed herself up and rose from the bed. She started to go towards Henderson to help her wrestle down the young girl when another figure walked in from the dark hallway. The woman was wet, her dark hair shiny in the candlelight. She moved swiftly and hit Henderson on the back of the head with the butt of her small gun. Henderson collapsed instantly, knocked unconscious from the blow.

"No!" Erin shouted and she moved once again to go towards Henderson.

"Uh uh uh." The woman with the dark short hair said as she approached Erin with the Derringer. "You stay right over there." Erin stared at her, amazed at the piercing blue eyes and who they resembled. "I know it's small," She waved her gun as she spoke. "But you and I know both know it'll do the trick. And if it doesn't…" She grinned. "Then I'll use what I prefer to use anyway." With her free hand she pulled out a six inch serrated blade from her back pocket.

"Get up." She directed towards Blade as she replaced her knife back securely in her pocket. The dark woman motioned for Blade to stand up next to her. She then moved to stand behind the young girl and she spoke with her mouth right next to her ear.

"Now, let's do what we came for." She said the words seductively and Blade stared at Erin with a hypnotizing glare.

Erin held her hands up and walked carefully back to the bed, one unsure foot behind another. She sat down slowly and watched as Jack pawed at Henderson's motionless body on the floor.

"I don't think I can." Blade had raised her gun but her hands were trembling. The dark woman behind her stroked her arms and kissed her ear with a grin.

"Yes you can, baby. Do it for me." Her voice was soothing and seductive, feeding Blade's brain and body.

Erin carefully eased her hand under the covers and retrieved the gun she felt against her leg.
 

Blade closed her eyes once again, ready to shoot and Erin raised the gun and fired through the covers, aiming at center mass as she rolled across the bed.

The bullets tore into Blade's body, shocking her stance and halting her fire. She shook with the impact of each bullet before her legs finally crumpled and she fell to the ground.

Silence prevailed and Erin sat up quickly and approached the two figures from around the bed. She held the gun firmly in front of her, ready for anything as she approached. Feathers from the down comforter fell like snow around the foot of the bed, surrounding the two figures like a peaceful fairytale.

Erin walked slowly and carefully and found the dark woman kneeling over Blade who lay breathing with great difficulty on the floor. Her large eyes were wide and liquid and she spat blood with every agonizing breath.

"Put your hands up." Erin demanded of the dark woman.

Laughter rang out in the stuffy, dimly lit room as she turned to see Erin approaching with the gun aimed at her. She stood as she laughed and focused her wild, penetrating eyes on Erin.

"Put my hands up?" She laughed again. "You mean like this?" She waved her hands in the air, her gun still held tightly in one."

"Drop your weapon!" Erin held her gun firmly and accurately aimed and she spoke with loud confidence.

"Well now which is it? Hold my hands up or drop my gun?" An evil grin tipped the side of her face.

"That's enough, Jay." A deep voice loomed from the doorway and Adams walked in and stood at the other dark woman's side. Adams stood an inch taller, but Erin had no trouble seeing the resemblance between the two.

The woman with the gun turned her head quickly, shocked at seeing Adams.

"Don't tell me what to do Lizzie!" She turned back to Erin, shaking the gun at her. "You've grown soft on me and look at what's happened!"

Erin remained very still, her eyes never leaving the woman who held the gun.

"You've gone too far." Adams was speaking calmly but firmly, her eyes focused on Erin and her line of fire.

"Ha!" The grin returned to her face and the fire burned brightly in her eyes. "I'll decide when I've gone too far."

"I'm telling you no more." Adams moved her gaze from Erin to focus on the shorter dark woman.

Laughter rang out loudly in the room, followed closely by the rolling of thunder.

"This little bitch got the better of you Lizzie, and you know how I feel about people who don't play nice with you."

"I don't need you to do anything for me, Jay." She replied, her tone firm. Water dripped from her hair, down the bare skin of her arms.

"You never complained before." Jay's blue eyes squinted in anger at Erin.

"Because what you do is your own prerogative." Adams explained. "Just don't use me as an excuse."

Erin took a cautious step back, trying to distance herself from the woman with the wild eyes.

"Don't you move again sweet cheeks or I'll blow your cute little body full of holes. Just like you did my friend here." She pointed with her gun down to Blade, who lay dead on floor, her eyes wide open and fearful.

She re-positioned the gun on Erin and looked to the taller woman at her side.

"So it was ok for me to kill all those other sons of bitches, but it's not ok for me to kill your little girlfriend here?" She waved the gun again and laughed, amused at herself.

"It was never ok." Adams spoke softer and looked back to Erin and the barrel of her gun.

"Then why not say something, try to stop me?"

"Nothing ever stops you. And I couldn't make a move and force you to stop or I would've led the police right to you. Can't you see I've been protecting you, just like you claim to protect me?" Adams moved closer to her as she spoke, desperate to reach her with her words.

"I've always protected you Lizzie!" Jay shouted angrily, spitting as the words flew out of her mouth. "Who looked out for you when we were kids? Huh? Who?"

"You, Jay. Always you." Adams was right next to her now.

"Then let me kill this bitch who betrayed you." Her voice was low once again, deadly serious.

"I can't let you do that."

"Why the fuck not? We can blame it all on the little vampire girl. Don't take away all my fun Lizzie."

The power kicked back on suddenly along with the lights in the bedroom, startling all three women.

Jay's eyes grew big at the shock of the light and she held the gun out firm, her mouth open and Erin knew she was about to fire.

"Nooo!!!" Adams lunged at her sister's arm, wrestling her to ground muffling the shot.

Erin had dropped and rolled as soon as Jay had started to fire and she looked up now, her gun aimed at the two dark women on the floor. She breathed deep as adrenaline flooded her veins and she waited to see if she felt any pain, to see if she had been hit.

No pain, no bleeding, she was fine. She lay in wait and watched for the two women to move. Then slowly, Jay crawled out from under Adams. She looked down at her t-shirt and touched at the red blood.

"Oh no, no!" She screamed and hunkered down over Adams. She grabbed her shoulders and pulled her up into her breast. The blood on her shirt wasn't her own.

"Lizzie, Lizzie I'm so sorry." Jay wailed as she looked into her sister's eyes. "Where, where does it hurt?" She touched at the bleeding wound in the taller woman's shoulder with a trembling hand.

Adams looked up at her and swallowed so she could speak.

"Go, Jay. Run."

Jay shook her head defiantly. "No, I won't leave you."

"You have to. If you love me, you'll go."

She shook her head again, tears streaming her face.

"Hurry, before they come for you." Adams continued.

Erin had risen to her feet quietly and she took a step towards Jay and Adams.

"Put your hands up." She demanded loudly, aiming her gun at Jay.

Jay jerked her head around and rose quickly.

"Go Jay, now!" Adams yelled to her as best she could from the floor.

Jay looked at Erin with craziness in her eyes and she stared at the barrel of gun, weighing her decision.

"I said, put your…."

Jay fled from the bedroom and Erin followed suit. There were no lights on in the hallway and the remainder of the house was still black with night as well. Erin ran as best she could, trying to stay hot on her heels. She reached the kitchen and tumbled over a kitchen chair. Looking up and regaining her bearings, she saw Jay sprint from the house through the back door. Erin climbed back to her feet and ran into the back yard after her. She watched helplessly as Jay disappeared over a five foot cement fence.

Erin stood in the yard and breathed hard, her eyes still on the fence, knowing it was useless to pursue. The rain beat down on her and she finally lowered her gun in defeat. She headed back into the house and into the bedroom.

She found Adams rolled over on to her side and she was groaning with effort as she tried to stand.

"Don't move, I'm calling an ambulance." Erin grabbed the phone off the dresser.

"Wait, please." Adams declared, collapsing back onto the floor.

Erin knelt down beside her, the phone in hand. "You have to lie still, you're losing too much blood." She pressed Adams back down and then held her hand firmly over her wound.

"Don't call yet." Her eyes were strained, pleading.

"Why?" Erin was growing concerned as the color drained from the dark woman's face.

"Jay's my sister." Her voice was losing strength. "You can't tell them about her." She gripped Erin's arm in silent request.

"She killed people, I have to tell." Erin's voice was adamant and at the same time she didn't want to upset the bleeding woman. She just wanted for her to lie still and relax until an ambulance arrived.

"No, please don't. It's not her fault, she's not well. So much happened to her when we were kids. Please. She's all I have. Let me handle her." Adams was begging, pleading and completely desperate. Proving to Erin once again that people were wrong about the dark woman.

Nevertheless, Erin had to do what was right.

"I can't do that, Liz."

Adams clenched her jaw and pulled herself back up.

Erin tried to push her back down but Adams removed her hand, holding it firmly in her own, demanding that Erin look in her eyes.

"Check on Patricia." She declared huskily, her eyes were pained and distant.

Erin looked into her eyes and her mind threatened to once again get lost in the abyss of blue.

Adams reached up and stroked Erin's cheek.

"You have to know that I would never hurt you."

Erin felt her skin charge with life under the dark woman’s fingers. She shook her head away from the touch. She didn’t know anything about anyone anymore.

She lifted the phone and punched in the three digits. As she dialed she went over to kneel by Henderson, who remained unconscious on floor. Erin checked for a pulse and found one steady and strong.

Relief washed through her as she connected with an emergency operator.

“Yes, hello. I need a couple of ambulances. I have someone shot and bleeding and someone unconscious and…” She turned to check on the dark woman, to see how bad her condition was.

The room was bright and empty behind her. Adams was gone.

Concluded in the Epilogue