Rockin Skin Walkers

Finally, Jessi was able to disarm the trap and the friends ran down the stair to help the men they were supposed to be protecting. Jessi leaped onto the back of the male DarkStar who had been about to put a blade to Jimmy’s throat. So that left Alyssa with the female, who also had a knife in her left hand.

Alyssa side stepped the first thrust of the blade and grabbed the DarkStar’s arm. The DarkStar elbowed Alyssa square in her broken ribs, as if she had known where to hit her. Alyssa felt to the floor clutching her side, gasping for breath from the pain shooting through her whole side. The woman laughed as she was about to deal Alyssa the final blown, but, to everyone’s surprise, didn’t get the chance. Before the blade ever came down, Synyster punched the DarkStar square in the jaw, sending her to the ground.

Before the woman could regain her footing, Alyssa burned her to a crisp in a whirl of blue flames. Jessi finished off her opponent and ran over to Alyssa.

“I’m okay,” Alyssa said as she attempted to get to her feet, but stumbled when her vision went black for a spilt second, due to the searing pain in her side. Synyster caught her, helping her to sit down on a crate, “Okay, it does hurt, but it’s just a couple broken ribs, nothing big.” If there was one thing Alyssa completely hated was when people freaked out over her getting hurt. Brian looked at her with a bewildered expression.

“Alyssa, at least let me rap up your chest to help the ribs hold still,” Jessi said a little flustered. Alyssa nodded her head got back to her feet. Brian tried to help her up the stairs, but Alyssa wouldn’t let him. When they got to the top of the stairs Jessi signaled for Alyssa to go into a nearby bedroom, the one she and Brian had shared the night before.

“Okay, you guys go out to the living room and wait in there for us okay,” Jessi said and followed Alyssa into the room, “okay, take off your shirt sexy.”

“Don’t you need the medical kit first,” Alyssa asked before taking her shirt off.

“True, where’d you put it, I know you keep one close by,” Jessi said.

“Oh yeah, it over there in the bathroom across the hall,” Alyssa told her, “I think there should be wraps in it.”

“Okay, I’ll be right back, and you’d better damn well have your shirt off when I get back,” Jessi teased as she left the room. Alyssa just smiled and slowly removed her shirt. The skin over her rib cage had turned a blackish purple, and looked to have swelled up some. Unfortunately Alyssa couldn’t use Jessi’s water powers to heal broken bones or bruises. She sat there completely naked from the waist up and waited for her friend to get back and bandage her up.

Alyssa looked around the room, when she had woken up earlier that morning she hadn’t noticed the decorations in the room. The wall paper was black with red designs and skull bats, all the wood in the room were stained black, and the carpeting was blood red. Some people would have found this type of room disturbing, but Alyssa completely loved it. It was like this room had been made specifically for her. The door to the room slide open, Alyssa had been expecting Jessi, but that wasn’t who was standing in the doorway when she looked, it was Brian.

“Brian,” Alyssa said in shock as she wrapped a blanket around her bare chest, “what are you doing?”

“I came in her to check on you,” he said quietly, his cheeks bright red from embarrassment, “sorry I walked in without knocking. Why would-“ he was about to continue, but Jessi came running into the room with the med kit.

“Sorry it took so long,” Jessi started but stopped when she noticed Brian, “what are you doing? Out, out with you, I need to bandage her up, and she’s shy. We’ll be out in a couple.” Brian just looked Alyssa in the eyes then left the room. “Okay, well Alyssa you’re the medic person, you’re going to have to tell me what to do.”

“Alright, well pretty much just wrap that bandage around my broken ribs nice and snug so they can’t move,” Alyssa explain. Jessi began wrapping the bandages around Alyssa, but she was wrapping her a little too snug. “Ouch,” Alyssa coughed, “not so snug Jessi, I can’t breathe.”

“Well sorry Alyssa, but I’m not a medic,” Jessi complained. Jessi unwrapped the bandages and tried again to wrap Alyssa up. This time she wrapped them too loose.

“Jessi, come on, that’s way too loose,” Alyssa sighed.

“Well, what would you prefer, too loose or too tight?” Jessi bickered and tugged on the bandage, sending a shockwave throughout Alyssa’s body. As the friends bickered with each other Brian came walking back into the room.

“Hey, if you want, I can wrap that for you, I’ve had broken ribs before,” he said, and grabbed the bandages from Jessi, “you can go ahead and go to the living room with the others, we’ll be out in a minute.” Jessi nodded her head and left the room, leaving Alyssa half naked with Brian. “Hey, I really do know what I’m doing okay, and I’ll try my best not to hurt you.” With a sigh Alyssa moved her arms from her bare chest to let Brian help her. Slowly he wrapped her up with his strong hands, yet was very delicate and sweet every time he touched her, trying not to hurt her. Amazingly, he actually did know how to wrap up broken ribs.

“Thanks Brian,” Alyssa said grabbing up a clean shirt from her duffle bag.

“Here, let me help you put it on,” he insisted, grabbed her shirt and smoothly slipped it over her head. For a second he just stood there with his hands on her waist, looking her in the face with concern.

Alyssa cleared her throat to break the silence, “Umm, Brian I think we should go out to the living room with the others now.”

“Oh, yeah I think you’re right, sorry,” Brian blushed a bit. They both walked out to the living room where the rest of the band was sitting in their usual spots. Jessi was leaning up against the wall nearest Zacky.

“So, they know that we’re here, should we stay here or try to get to the camp?” Alyssa asked.

“Well, you being injured would make it hard to travel and I think this is a good place to hide out, even if they know where we are,” Jessi said, “besides, this place is surrounded by woods, perfect hunting grounds for even someone as accident prone as you.”

“Seriously Jessi,” Alyssa complained, “a couple broken ribs is nothing. I’m fine.” Jessi just mumbled her disagreement under her breath.

“Wait,” Johnny said, “you make it sound like she gets hurt a lot?”

“Oh, you have no idea,” Jessi grumbled.

“Hey,” Alyssa reproached.

“Okay, that enough you guys, I think we have more serious problems than thinking about Alyssa’s injury list,” Matt interrupted, “are you sure we’re safe enough here?”

“Yeah, I got a good look around the place before the fight and I think it’s a great place to hold our ground,” Jessi explained, “the only thing is, is that we’re going to have to keep an eye out for scouts to make sure they can’t get the jump on us. They won’t attack unless they know they have a chance, and after their defeat today, I don’t think they’ll be back for a while.”

“Okay, so one of us will always stay here, I think that should be you Jessi,” Alyssa suggested.

“No way,” Brian protested.

“Actually, I think she’s right,” Jessi agreed, “being she’s a wolf, she’d do much better scouting the woods than me.”

“But she’s injured, and from what you just said, I get the feeling she’s prone to getting hurt,” he continued. Alyssa glared at her friend.

“Well, she’s just not a warrior,” Jessi explained, “I was trained to fight, Alyssa was trained to protect and heal. I was over exaggerating when I said she was accident prone. She’s actually a decent fighter for a Guardian.”

“Besides, in wolf form my senses are stronger, nothing and no one can sneak up on me, I’ll be fine,” Alyssa finished. Brian still didn’t seemed to agree, but there was no way he was going to change Alyssa’s mind.

“Okay, now that we’ve got that cleared up, what’s for dinner Alyssa?” Jessi asked. Alyssa just smiled at her friend and shook her head, “What all that fighting made me hungry.”

“Okay Jessi, let me go and see what I can cook,” Alyssa said and walked into the kitchen followed by an over protective Brian Haner Jr., “Brian you don’t have to follow me around, I’m fine Jessi even said so.” Brian didn’t say anything, but sat quietly down at the kitchen table and watched her. Alyssa rummaged through the fridge looking for something to cook. From the living room Alyssa heard Jessi talking to the Rev.

“Steaks!!!” Alyssa heard Jessi yell. She just laughed and was amazed to find that the fridge actually did have steak. They were T-bone steaks, one of Alyssa’s personal favorite parts of the cow. Her mouth watered as she pulled out three packages of, three T-bones per pack. They were raw and juicy looking, perfect to eat like this, for a wolf.

She pushed aside her growling stomach and unwrapped the steaks, laying them out so she could put some seasoning on them. Looking around in the cabinets, Alyssa found all the seasonings she would need to make these steaks taste delicious. She sprinkled on the seasonings on the nine T-bone steaks, then used her hands to pad in the seasoning, to make sure that they didn’t fall off while grilling them.

“Hey, Brian please tell me you have a wood burning grill, and not a gas grill up here,” Alyssa said finishing the seasonings.

“Well, I know for a fact that we have a gas grill, but I think that there might be a wood grill out back somewhere, if you’d like I’ll go and look,” Brian said, and before Alyssa could tell him she didn’t mind looking he was already out the door. He came back in a couple seconds later, “yeah there’s a wood grill out there and some mesquite wood too.”

“Perfect,” Alyssa beamed, “does the wood need to be chopped up?”

“Yeah but I can do that,” he said about to walk back out the door, but Alyssa grabbed his arm and stopped him.

“No, I want you to help in the kitchen, I do the grilling understand,” she teased him, trying to get him to loosen up his protectiveness.

“Well I don’t think you’re in any condition to cut up wood,” Brian protested.

“I wasn’t planning on chopping up the wood,” Alyssa smiled.

“Oh, so then who’s going to cut up the wood,” Brian asked.

“Hey Jessi,” Alyssa called out, “if you want some steak you’d better go and cut some up some wood!”

She heard an excited squeal from the next room and the door opening and shutting.

Jessi’s POV

Jessi was out the door before anyone could say anything. She ran out to where she had seen the axe and the chopping block. An excited grin was spread across her face. She loved chopping wood! It was a good way to relieve excess tension and it was just down right fun to destroy something without getting into trouble. She set the first log up on her chopping block and had her axe in the air when Zacky came out.

“I can do that”, he said reaching for the axe.

“No it’s fine”, she said putting it behind her.

“You really don’t need to. Those logs are pretty heavy. I should do it”, he stepped closer.

“No! I shall do it”, Jessi laughed. “It’s my job back home for a reason. I enjoy it. Besides, I wouldn’t be much of a protector if I couldn’t even chop wood”.

“Are you sure?” Zacky asked.

“Yes!” Jessi laughed as she pointed the axe menacingly at him.

“Ok. Ok!” he laughed throwing his arms in the air and backing away.

Jessi smiled as she went back to work.

Alyssa’s POV

“Hey Brian, back in the room, you were going to ask me something before Jessi walked in, what was it?” Alyssa asked.

“Oh, I was just wondering, why would you injure yourself for some guys you don’t really even know,” he told her.

Alyssa smiled, “Awww, but that’s where you’re wrong, even ask Jessi, before I ever even met you guys, I was stocker statues with you guys. I googled you guys, have your posters plastered all over my room, and I knew everything about you guys that the internet had to offer. But now I really do know you guys, so technically I didn’t get hurt for just some guys I don’t know.” By the look he was giving her, she could tell he wasn’t sure if he was impressed or disturbed. Alyssa laughed.

“Oh, well then, I guess that answers my question,” he said baffled. Then he turned around and opened up some cupboards.

Alyssa had finally been able to get Brian to calm down, he really freaked out when someone he cared about got hurt. She needed to keep chipper and act as if her broken ribs really weren’t hurting her, although they really were hurting her like crazy, but she didn’t want him to know.

“So, how a salad and some mac and cheese sound?” she asked Brian as he mixed some drinks together, “hey what are you making over there?” He turned around and gave her a mischievous smile, then when back to what he was doing. Alyssa tried to look around Brian, but he wouldn’t let her, “Brian! What are you doing?!”

“Making some sleeping medicine for you,” Brian grinned. Alyssa got the hint when she saw all the alcoholic bottles surrounding the mixing jar.

“Wooh, that’s an offal lot of booze Brian,” Alyssa said, just then Zacky came into the kitchen from the backyard, “what were you doing outside?”

“I was going to help Jessi by cutting up the wood for her, but she wouldn’t let me,” Zacky explained.

“Oh, well no surprise there, in Jessi’s own words, chopping wood is her form of therapy,” Alyssa laughed, “So, I’m going to grill the steaks, make a salad, and also some mac and cheese. Sound good to you guys?”

“Actually that sounds great,” Zacky said with a smile. Alyssa smiled, she couldn’t believe that after all the strange things that had happened since Jessi had arrived that the guys would actually be taking it so well, if it had been her in their position, she would have called the men in white suits. Oh well though, as long as they stay near her and Jessi things would be just fine.

There was a loud crashing noise in the living room, like someone breaking glass. Alyssa ran into the living room to see what had happened only to find the Rev standing over a broken lamp, trying to look as innocent as he could. Johnny was on the couch having a serious laughing fit.

“It wasn’t me I swear,” Jimmy said while Johnny grabbed a pillow and buried his face into.

“Oh, really, well if you’re mister innocent, would you be a good citizen and clean up Casper’s mess while I get dinner ready?” Alyssa teased then went back to the kitchen where Zacky and Brian were stand at the door snickering. She smiled and tried her best not laugh, being that it would hurt really bad. After a bit Jessi came into the kitchen smile from ear to ear.

“I finished chopping the wood for you Alyssa,” she said happily. Alyssa laughed when she saw Jessi and did her best to hid the pain it was causing her. Brian saw the tears flowing out of her eyes and thought that she was in pain.

“Alyssa, are you okay?” he said worriedly. Alyssa looked up at Brian with a sweet smile on her face.

“Brian, I know that you’re worried about me, but I really am fine, please stop worrying,” Alyssa said, “Well, anyway, I need to get the steaks cooking before it’s way too late. How do you guys like your steaks, I know how Jessi and I like ours’.”

“Medium rare,” Zacky said.

“Same here,” Brian agreed.

“What about you three,” Alyssa asked the three in the living room from the kitchen.

“I like mine well done,” Jimmy yelled.

“Medium rare for me,” Matt said.

“And I like mine pink and juicy,” Johnny said licking his lips.

“Okay guys, dinner will be on here in a couple, oh and Brian could you make the mac and cheese,” Alyssa smiled then walked out the door with the steaks in hand. Most people would have gotten the fire started first, the put the grill on and let the wood burn down into coal, but Alyssa wasn’t a normal person.

Alyssa through the wood into the bowl of the grill and lit it on fire with her own fire. Turning up the heat with her power she quickly burned the wood into coal. She put the grill on top of the flame and shortly followed by the steaks. Alyssa’s, Jessi’s, and Johnny’s steaks were done within a minute, due to Alyssa’s control over the flames. Everyone else’s steaks were done shortly after. The smell of the steaks were making Alyssa’s mouth water, making her realize how hungry she really was.

Walking inside, Alyssa found everyone sitting at the table, Jessi sitting in between Zacky and Matt. And as Alyssa had guessed, Brian had saved the seat next to him and Jimmy for her to sit in. The mac and cheese was in the middle of the table and apparently someone had been nice enough to make a salad for Alyssa, since she was the only one who wanted a salad.

“Hey guys, you ready to eat,” Alyssa teased.

“Hell yeah,” everyone said at once. Alyssa smiled then passed everyone their own steak, and sat the two extra in the middle, which Jessi took one immediately. Alyssa sat next to Brian and started eating her steak. It was really cool, knowing that earlier that afternoon, her and Jessi had been fending off an assault of DarkStars, and now they were sitting down eating a delicious meal as if nothing had happened.