CHAPTER 8
I made it as far as the casino floor before two men grabbed me by both arms. They looked similar to every bad guy in every action movie. Dark suits, beefy arms, and no necks.
"Dont make a sound or well kill you." The man holding my right arm snarled.
Even though I was trembling, and Im sure that they knew this, I still managed to say in what I hoped was a calm voice, "Youre kidding me right? Dont make a sound or you will die? Have you guys been watching too many classic movies or what?"
"Shut the f*ck up or you will die." He said and backed it up by flashing a lethal looking knife.
I began to weigh my options. If I tried to scream and run away, these guys could stab me right here and most likely get away by slipping into the crowds. If I waited until we got outside there may not be too many people around to help me. I decided I was screwed no matter what, so I decided to make my move now. I dug my heels in and opened my mouth to scream, but a dark cloth appeared and covered my face briefly. Almost instantly, I couldnt focus my eyes and my legs felt heavy and cumbersome.
The last thing I remember was looking blurrily at the people around me and thinking why in Gods name arent they helping me?
Reality seeped into my brain slowly and realizing I was in a car with the two men who kidnapped me I tried not to move so they wouldnt know I was awake. I had no clue which direction we were traveling in. On either side, there were dark woods with tall pine trees. I knew they were pine because I could smell them. The smell was so intense it was like my nose was right up against the tree. It was a sharp and woodsy smell. For some reason this frightened me more than being kidnapped. Now was not the
51 time to start analyzing my newly found abilities. These guys could be taking me deep into the woods where they might rape me, or worse. Did Janel, Roberto, and Alex even know I was gone yet? I was disgusted with myself for being so stupid. I guess I wasnt better than the girls in horror films and deserved whatever Freddy and Jason had in store for me.
"Im glad to see youre awake Miss Sherman."
"What do you want with me? And how do you know my name?" I asked the man who I decided will be playing the part of Freddy in my own personal nightmare.
"We know everything about you Miss Sherman. Probably more than you know about yourself."
"Well you know then that I am no one special. Im divorced, work at a hospital, and have about $3,700 in my bank account."
What he said next made goose bumps rise on my arms. "We know you are a Sensay. We also know you are about to, if you have not already, come into your powers. We know you have met with the vampires. We know you are important to our cause."
It hit me then who these guys were. Alex and Roberto were for real. I am a Sensay. They really are vampires. There are other species in the world and there are good guys and bad guys. But who are the good guys and who are the bad guys? I felt on the verge of losing my mind. I was on overload. I opened my mouth and sputtered nonsense. "Im not a freaking Sensay. Let me out of this car now. I swear Im going to call the cops on you nut jobs. All of you, goddamn vampires and secret scientists." I started to scream. "LET ME OUT OF THIS F*ckING CAR NOW!"
The until now quiet Jason backhanded me across my face so hard that my head snapped back. A sharp pain exploded in my head and I smelled the blood before I could taste it in my mouth. In my shock, I couldnt help but think
52 how weird that was.
"You didnt have to hit her." Freddy sighed.
"Yes I did. I cant stand when a woman screeches like that."
"Miss Sherman, do not act up again or we will be forced to gag you." At my dazed look he said, "Do you understand?"
I shook my head and the pain was unbelievable. It felt as if I might have a concussion. What the hell? Jason never backhanded girls in his movies.
Freddy continued, "Let me tell you about the group I work for. We have been around for over a thousand years. We are the Guardians for the pure way of life. The way life was meant to be by our one true Creator."
His eyes seemed to glaze over and he had a look of rapture on his face that scared the crap out of me.
"There are beings out there Miss Sherman that dont belong on this planet. They are abominations. They are un- pure and evil. Vile, disgusting creatures that if united, could have the power to destroy humankind. It is our duty, no our privilege, to wipe these evolved ones off the face of the earth."
This Freddy made the real Freddy look like Mr. Rogers! Abominations? Un-pure? Try fanatics and zealots...
"Ummm, well, okay. I see where you would be concerned and all. But Im confused. If I am one of those Sensay thingys, then wouldnt that make me an abomination too?"
Freddy smiled and said, "Yes, you are, but from time to time we recruit some of the evolved to help us out."
He gestured to Jason and said, "Ted there is not your average male specimen. Ted is what is known as a Troll."
Hysterical laughter bubbling up inside me I said. "A troll? Come on! Like living under the bridge, and naked
53 little fuzzy headed doll troll?"
Jason-Ted obviously didnt like my comparisons because he leaned over and grabbed me by the hair and said, "Just let me kill her. I dont care if shes a Sensay or not. We dont f*cking need her."
"Leave her alone and follow your orders. You know we need her. She is the chosen one." Freddy snapped.
Jason- Ted let my hair go, but not before he gave it a hard yank.
"Owww." I cried rubbing my head.
"Please forgive my partner Miss Sherman. Trolls have a tendency to be lacking any manners, but they are excellent kidnappers, and that is why we have engaged his services this evening. This is not how we wanted to introduce ourselves.We could have done this with much more civility but for the interference of those bloodsuckers."
"What is it you think I can do for you anyway? Before tonight I never even heard of any of this crap."
"Miss Sherman, you have just begun to experience your abilities. With proper training you will become a lethal tracker and hunter. I have to say that Im surprised your parents didnt start your training before this."
"My parents? What do my parents have to do with this?"
"Ahhh, you have been kept in the dark about your heritage I see." He said in an irritating voice "Someone in your family tree was of Native American ancestry I assume?"
"Yeah, my great grandmother was Native American. So what?" "Hmmmm. I would say Iroquois judging by your birth name of Orenda."
"How do you know my real name?"
He gave me, what I swear to God was a movie villain smile, but did not say anything. The confusion inside my head was becoming a tangible thing. Part of my
54 brain seemed to not be able to process any more bizarre information. I didnt want to ask any more questions because I didnt want any more answers I couldnt handle. So I sat there in a daze and just listened.
"You are a unique species Orenda. Your parents must have known about your gift because they named you Orenda, which means magic power in Iroquois.
Weve been foretold by great oracles of your coming and weve been waiting for you. A Sensay is only born every few hundred years, which is how rare a treasure you are, but not only that, you are destined to be the greatest of all Sensays. You were quite difficult to find. We began looking for you years ago by going through birth records and looking for names that might lead us to you. When the name Orenda Seneca came up, we began our search for you."
"But my name is Orenda Sherman. Not Seneca." I smiled thinking he had the wrong freaking person.
"Is it really?" he questioned.
"What the hell are you trying to say? Cant you just say it? Freddy never played games like this. You always knew why he was coming for you!"
Freddy looked at Jason. "You shouldnt have hit her so hard." Turning back to me he said "Okay. Your real name is Orenda Seneca. You were born to Magnolia and Jay Seneca on May 28, 1980. Your great grandmother was an Iroquois tribal elder named Orenda Onatah.
Which may interest you to know means magic power of the earth. You also may be interested to know it is from your great grandmother that you have inherited your Sensay abilities from."
I interrupted, "I dont believe you. My parents wouldnt keep this from me. They are the most honest people Ive ever known. Youre lying."
His next words chilled me to the bone. "Why dont
55 we take a little trip to upstate New York and ask them. Lets see whats the name of the city your parents live in? Ahhh yes, Buffalo, Maple Lane right?" He laughed. "So middle America, the perfect place to blend in and raise a daughter in a nice normal setting."
I didnt want to believe him but he knew too much, and I had a feeling what he was telling was true.
"Okay, say I believe your bullshit. What do you want from me? I have just discovered this other world that I didnt even know existed until tonight."
"Well, first I want you to come with me willingly and listen to what we have to tell you. Your cooperation will make all of this much easier. We want you to work with us, develop your unique abilities to hunt and track these monsters that live among us."
"And when I hunt and track these so called monsters, what do I do when I find them? Do I turn them over to you and your friends?"
"No. We want you to kill them."
"Youre kidding, right? I cant kill anyone. Youre crazy if you think I can."
"I am definitely not crazy Miss Seneca. I know you will cooperate with us and do everything we ask of you. I know this because we have your parents."
Every cell in my body reacted in shock to his words. The blood drained from my head until I felt dizzy. The air left my lungs in a great big whoosh, which made me start to hyperventilate. The adrenaline rushing into my nervous system made my heart pound and my legs turn to jelly.
A loud thud on the roof of the car made me jump. Everything happened so fast. A hand punched through the metal roof and a piece of the roof peeled back not unlike a can of sardines. I screamed when an arm reached in and wrapped around my middle and lifted me up.