The Scent Shop

The word Apothecary, printed in gold script adorned the window. Painted above it were two eyes and a pert nose that seemed to blink if you looked too fast . In the window case ornate boxes, tins of tea and odd shaped baskets filled with dried herbs sat the lower shelf. Other shelves seemed to float on unseen wires displaying bottles in a variety of colors labeled with mysterious names.

Anyone with brains knew you shouldn’t subject real potions, herbs and ointments to the sunlight and heat of a window, Kera thought while she rearranged more colored water filled bottles on the shelves.  The street lights blinked on. Kara sighed, it was six o’clock. She backed out of the front display window and  put the remaining items back on the cart.  As she flipped the deadbolt out of the corner of her eye she thought she saw a shadow on the sidewalk, but it was gone. A shiver went through her body, she twisted the sign to CLOSED and pulled the shade down to block any passerby from the temptations of her store.

Behind the counter she rubbed her arms and stared at the front window.  Outside people hurried by as if they too felt the need to get to safety. Her fingers trembled and she clenched them to still the feeling. It wasn't a full moon, or the dark of the moon. Clouds covered any sign of a moon.

She jumped at the sound of a loud knock. Her head jerked toward the front of the store. She didn’t want to go there. A muffled second knock made her turn, this time the sound came from farther away. She stepped toward the doorway to the back of the shop, and heard another thump this time it was definitely at her back door.

“Who is it?” She called out. Silence. She leaned her body against the thick steel and felt a supernatural push against her senses to open the door. It was weak and easy to resist.

“Who's out there?” She didn’t want to invite anyone into her shop as they may be hostile creatures.  She heard the bump and thump again. She placed her hand on the door but couldn’t feel anything or sense anything on the other side. Should she take a chance?  What about the shadow she saw and what she felt? She couldn’t leave someone in need outside her door, could she?

She called her alter being into play. Wolf blood ran hot in her veins and her sense of smell became more acute. Someone out there smelled of death mixed with something else she couldn’t quite name. Her hand turned the knob and opened the door as far as the silver and steel chains would allow. No one stood there.  A moan caught her attention and she looked down. A figure lay crumpled at the foot of the steps.

“Hey, are you awake? What is wrong with you? Are you drunk?" she accused the lump on her step.

The figure moved a little and groaned again. In the dim reflection from the alley light she saw a number of dark, wet spots on the shirt and pants, she smelled male pheromones.

“Okay, it looks like you need help. I'm not sure what you are, and I hope I don’t regret this.” She unhooked the chains, stepped out into the night and pulled the door shut behind her. She relaxed at the snick of the lock. There was no way she would bring whatever it lay on her porch into her shop. Long ago she learned never to invite anyone or anything into her dwelling. They may enter on their own, but any powers they might have could not be used without her permission. She rarely had visitors of the supernatural ilk, enter her shop unless they came for the healing or herbal potions she offered.

With her enhanced wolf strength she pulled the figure to a semi-standing position shifted his arm over her shoulder and shuffled further down the alley.  She used her power to open the locks to a gate near back of the shop. From outside the wall looked like a gardeners shed, but inside she pressed a latch; the wall slid to the side and revealed a large laboratory. A cot line one wall where at times she sacked out if she worked too late on a formula or she couldn’t leave unattended. The wall slid back into place and all was secure once again.

Kera let him fall on to the cot. He groaned,curled his body and faced the wall. Kara went to the metal cupboard and unlocked the door. She pulled a black rectangle bag from the lower shelf and knelt at his side.  He didn’t resist as she removed his shirt and washed the blood from his wounds. The wounds would leave scars. When she applied a soothing balm, he drifted off to sleep. Kara covered him with a soft sheet.

As she ate a microwaved bowl of soup, the smell of the chicken noodle soup caused her saliva glands to drool. She wiped her mouth with her napkin, her wolf instincts ready for any attack.  At times like this she almost wished she could shift to become a wolf, but it wasn't her time. She showed characteristics of her wolf nature to keep would be muggers and drunks with wandering hands away. She let her inner canine become agitated and at complete alert.

Kera sniffed the air. Her olfactories recognized the scent as the same she smelled outside her door. Something decomposed. It emanated from the man on the cot moved toward him, then jumped across the room, her heart pounded and her ears rang.  She brought a vampire into her dwelling. How had she not noticed?  The hairs on her neck stood up. She wondered why he ended up at her back door. Was it a trick? She should just throw him out the door and let his kind find him.

She jumped when a loud bang resounded on the outer door of the shed. It sounded like the gate was being ripped off its hinges. She whirled to face the sound and felt the urge to howl; her teeth ached. Through the thick door to the lab, she could hear heavy nasal breathing. Her senses were on fire. The man stirred and opened his eyes. He looked around the room until he saw her.

“What am I doing here?” his voice rasped.

“You're wounded and I took you in.” her tone was matter of fact. Yet she kept her senses on the action outside.

He looked at the bandages on his side and ripped them off. Kara gasped, the skin was like new. There was no sign of the wound or a scar. Her eyes met his, hers narrowed, his pleaded for understanding. "Vampire."

“You know what I am.” He breathed the words at her. Kara stood still except to nod her head. "There is something outside." he paused but she didn't answer. The noise outside escalated.
“I think there's a zombie or something mutated trying to kill all of the “Supers” in this area,” he continued. "You know we are at war with them. Trying to protect everyone from the Zombie attack."

“That’s great.” She cleared her throat as she tried to force words from a dry mouth. “What are we supposed to do? Can it get in here? I've put up protections around the door and this room.”

“You did what?” He eased his feet over the side of the cot and stood testing his physical reflexes. His eyes never left hers.

“I can weave spells of protection, healing and a few other things when needed.” then bit her lip remembering his miraculous healing.

“So you're a mutant too?” He spoke, but was interrupted by a loud bang and thump outside the door. "Are we protected?" His sounded skeptical.

“I don’t know. I've never met a Zombie. They don’t tend to come around during the day.” She stayed on the other side of the room with the table between them, her back to a shelving unit.

The noise grew as others joined to scratch the walls. The smell of them was foul in the air. Kara placed her hand over her nose and mouth. It could be her companion; he was dead too after all. Maybe he didn't sweat under pressure, he just stunk.

The man inspected the walls around the room. “You've done well to seal this off from the spirit world, but you made a mistake, you didn’t allow for an alternate escape.”  He stood at the end of the table, between her and the door. “At some point in time they are going to tear down the walls to get to us.” He leaned his body over the table, his eyes captured hers and she couldn't look away.

“Why wouldn’t they just go find someone else?” All her canine senses ran hot. She felt the push of his power, he was trying to seduce her and she fought him. All the while he continued to talk to her.

“They're stupid and only fixate on what they were told to do. Someone wants me dead. They didn’t finish the job and now they are here to do just that." He waved his hand in resignation and turned to the wall that was shaking. “We're dead meat unless you have some way of fighting them.”

“I hate to state the obvious, but you are already dead meat. What’s the difference?” She stepped toward a tall stool and put it between them trying to gaim more space.

“Very funny. I don’t want to die again. I guess it wouldn’t matter, but I think I'm still here because there's something for me to do. I am trying to get the “Supers” to stop killing each other and live peaceably. There's room in this world for all of us and the rest of the “Naturals” to coexist together.”

Kara stared at him, her hands clenched at her sides. “You're the one. You sent the letters, you wrote the articles in the Subterranean newspaper. You want to unite the Supernaturals. You're Jack Rippon.” She fought to keep her voice calm.

The man gave her a brief nod but didn’t look at her. He watched the walls shake.  “So what are we going to do? If we stay here we're going to die and I won’t be able to carry on this mission.” He turned to her and moved a few steps in her direction. “Are you with me on this or against us? How do you feel about the mixing of the races?” He stood just an arms length from her.

“I'm not a purist but I don’t believe the races can mix. What will happen when you mix some of the bad traits from the races? We could have a whole new set of problems.” She held her ground as he leaned toward her. Her fingers plaited the air forming a protection he didn't see, or maybe he ignored.

“That's possible, but there's a way to test for some of these things and keep that from happening.” He smiled, “We'll have a world that is peaceful and full of wonderful creatures.”

She gave a snort and glared at him, “You're living in a fantasy world. If you pick and chose how people are made then you're playing God."

“Yes I am and soon I will rule it.” He moved closer to her. She felt stronger waves of his essence against her defenses. “You can’t fight me forever Sweetheart.”

In a burst of anger she finished plaiting a defensive protection around her and at the same time she made vortex around him that held him in his place. Immediately he knew he was trapped. “You can’t win Honey. They are almost though the wall.”

“Jack, you're an idiot. You tricked me into bringing you here, but you're the fool. This room is not my dwelling. I didn’t invite you here, so here is where you must stay until your little drooling friends get through that wall. I wish you well.”  She pressed a button and the shelving moved so she could slip out of the room. Before she closed the passage she smiled at Jack. “Better luck next time, if you survive. We won't support your movement to inter-mix the races for a Master race of mutants.” The doorway closed with a slam and the wall between him and the zombies was breached. Jack was trapped. He couldn’t follow her into her shop without an invite and the Zombies moved toward him with a purpose.

To be continued.....