The Missing Piece

      Staring out the window, she scanned the landscape. The night always played tricks on her mind and tonight was no different. She knew who her pursuers were but she hoped she lost them in the darkness. It would be Dawn soon, and she would lose all of her advantage. Alabaster skin seemed to glisten in the night,  silky red hair fell in curls around her shoulders, piercing blue eyes met anyone that looked her way. She momentarily lost herself in the moment she couldn't help to think about the events that led her here. 

      She had been on the run for days now moving under the cover of darkness, but they always seem to find her. Cross-country she ran from Nevada she moved South to Arizona and then up to New Mexico, cutting across the top of Texas coming through Oklahoma and finally into the Missouri Ozarks where she found herself currently. The tenacity of her Hunters she had never seen before, they must be real professionals. Professionals are not, she knew capture was not an option. She knew too much to let those bastards use it against her. To be honest this is why she was targeted, she was the last that knew all the secrets. Capture wasn't an option; too many of them had hoped for a peaceful resolution, only to be captured, tortured and killed.

      A dog's howl cut through the night, snapping her out of her daydream, they had found her. 

      "Damn" she cursed under her breath, they were close.

       She surveyed the small cabin there wasn't much to work with; desk, couch, table, and some smaller furniture. She slid the desk across the room, into the front door, she quickly looked around the house and realized it was only one door, there might be hope yet. Another howl split the night, she flew into motion pushing the couch against the desk, against the door. Most of the windows had drawn shades but we're shuttered from the outside, so the windows were fairly secure. Searching throughout the house she looked for anything else I could be of some use. Gathering a few tools she soon took to work making some crude weapons. Sharpening a couple of screwdrivers that she found, she soon had some improvised weapons at the ready. She'd hoped to have more time to prepare but she heard them outside and realized that her time was running out. Pinpointing their voices they currently sat out front preparing for the assault. Seven of them remained, fifteen had started on this long chase, so these stalkers knew not to take her lightly, she knew they would be ready for her.

      "Hey there, there's nowhere left to run, just come out and we can talk. A man yelled, his thick southern accent gave him away. That was Seth, the leader of this motley band, he wore a bandana over his left side of his face, where he now wore scratch marks and a ruined eye.

      "Come on Eudina, we know you're in there, don't make us drag you out!" Seth screamed, his tone getting darker as he spoke.

      "Come in here you bastard, and I'll take that other eye." Eudina taunted back at the backwoods group. 

      "You never give up do you?"  "It's fine by me you Eudina, I don't mind dragging you out by your hair."

      Seth grinned at that. He had his orders but the in-between was at his discretion. He intended to get his fun in before he despatched her. Seth held up his hand and began signing orders to his men, knowing with her hearing they had to be quiet, but she heard their feet shuffling and heard three of them move to the back. Seth raised his hand and gave the signal to open fire, the men in the front started unloading on the front of the cabin. The high velocity rounds had a little issue penetrating the front of the cabin, smashing some of the items inside. Eudina lay upon the couch screwdrivers in hand, waiting for the firing to cease. She hummed a little tune under her breath, some little ditty that always kept her calm, something her mother always used to sing to her on the Isle.

      She longed for those days, father out with the animals and mother hanging the laundry on the line. The freedom she felt was remarkable, but those days were long gone now, the cottage in her family was lost in the past now. The silence caught her by surprise and she strained to hear her assailants. The quiet was all encompassing, she grouped  about with her senses trying to find her attackers. She never lost them like this, they must have got to Morrison, so they might know how to walk in the veil. Almost as soon as she had thought thatI, Seth was standing in the darkened corner of the cabin.

      "Eudina I thought I'd give you another chance to stop this running."

      "You're doing all the chasing Seth."

      "You know how this is going to end, I can't stop. You know by now that I also got to Morrison. So there's no one left to run to."

      "You know I can't just give up on myself and all that I know. Seth you started this but I'm damn well going to end it."

      "Damn it girl, you've got to force my hand. I don't want it to end this way."

      "You better Veil walk your ass out of here then the bells will be ringing soon."

      "Girl, have you lost your mind, don't think I won't burn this place down around you. Just give me the missing piece and I'll walk away."

      "Did you say the same thing to Morrison?"

      "I might as well be talking to the wall, so long Eudina, see you in hell."

      As he turned to dematerialize, Eudina popped one of her improvised knives into her hand.  "Seth, Morrison taught me this little trick."

      As he turned back she hurled a screwdriver his way, the screwdriver sunk deep into his chest and ran deep into the wall. He started to shift into the veil, but this time was different. He felt anchored to the spot. Stuck there he began to look worried Seth met Eudina's gaze and you could see the panic in his eyes.

      "Morrison taught me that when people shift to the veil they are vulnerable for a short time. If you anchor them to this realm, they can't continue to shift."  Eudina smiled as she walked closer.

      "You can't be in two places at once Seth." She smiled as she told him of his plight. His visage morphed and twisted until his form exploded and disappeared.

      The Sun crested the horizon and she could feel the warmth of the coming day. That's when the smoke started, Seth must have told his men to set fire to the house when he went into the cabin. She strolled over the front door and pushed aside the couch with a swift kick, she sent the dresser rocketing through the doorway. Two of them in the group were struck and covered  with splintery shards of wood. The last man clung to the front of the building, sweat running down his forehead hoping he could catch her coming through the front door. The screwdriver burst through the wall into the scared man's head, he hung limp, leaning against the building. Her hand already started to bubble from the exposure from the Sun. The cabin was almost completely consumed in flames. For the first time she stepped out into the sun knowing that the secret would be safe.