Strike Three Novels & Stories

She barely owned a phone, and she hated technology, almost as much as I do. I take a deep breath, passing my hands through my hair, pulling my sweaty strands away from my eyes, and that’s when Aries applies a blow to my ribs that make me flinch. I shake my head and attack him. That’s it, no more distractions. I keep fighting him for about one hour, and by the end, I am lying on my back on the floor, taking deep breaths while the sweat from my body drips onto the floor.

He'd rarely seen me wear them, except on special occasions such as his birthday, the day he received an award, or the anniversary of our meeting. But I still wore ordinary or worn-out clothes on days that belonged only to me. Thinking of this, Terence suddenly felt something was off. He slapped himself hard. "Bastard!" Once wasn't enough. He slapped himself several more times. "Fucking bastard!" Suddenly, a wary female voice came from behind him. "Who are you? Get out of my friend's house right now!"

As I signed the divorce papers for the third time, I moved through the familiar steps with practiced ease. I could have done it in my sleep, having been through the drill three times already. Henry Johnson clutched the divorce certificate, his eyes darting to his watch, his brow creased with impatience. "Go on ahead, I'll catch a cab back," I offered before he could say a word. A flicker of surprise crossed Henry's face, but it was quickly replaced by a look of regret as he spoke, "Sorry, Melanie just landed, I..."

Me three. ***

A human, walking on the same sidewalk as ghouls and vampires, not an ounce of fear in him just to make sure I was safe from all those things that go bump in the night. He talked to Bruno about his kids, helped Ros set up his equipment in the booth, and the more kindness he showed—to everyone or everything—the more I— "Shit," I mumbled. "Fucking shit" Don't fall for clients—the number one rule of Nines and most strip joints across the globe. It never ended well for the strippers, and I'd broken it without even trying. "Veronica…"

He was just dancing in the middle of the dance floor, surrounded by girls. "What's your name?" 'You're new here." "Your handsomeness is driving me crazy." Yes, three girls were surrounding him, touching him all over. But no matter how hard they tried, he wouldn't give in. He smirked and grabbed all the glasses from the tray the man in front of him was holding. He downed them one after another - a total of three glasses. "Chill, Cas!" Caspien finally heard Arkin's voice. He was laughing, still clinging to the famous actress from earlier.

“Large popcorn, lots of salt, and don’t be stingy with the butter, Tray. Also, a sparkling water for Lala, and two cokes so she and her boy toy won’t need to drink mine after they’ve just had their mouths on each other. Oh, and a box of Snow Caps” “That’s it, Meme?”, asks Travis. “You know she’s loaded, right”? “Yeah”, barks Meme. “And that’s what’s wrong with you! Ring us up gold digger”! Travis pouts then scans everything before saying, “thirty-six fifty”! I drop my company credit card onto the counter and he reads it out loud, “Jonny Knight the Spark Club Enterprise”? “Yeah, that’s Lala’s nightclub in Brooklyn”, Meme tells him.

It was after 10 mins when I realised that I need to start a conversation. I turned my face towards the kid and said,"hey sweetie , what's your name?" She smiled and said," Hey, I am Sara and you?" I replied,"I am Claire , so what are you gonna sing?" She replied,"teardrops on my guitar by Taylor swift". She was gonna say something more when a lady with long brown hair who looked like she was in her 30s came and scolded the child and said,"I told you not to speak with strangers. she is a stranger , do you seriously want to mess up your competition?"

he said, lowering his voice, "this is our space. You'd better behave. If you do, maybe we'll take you in. If you don't…" Smack! He didn't even finish the sentence. The slap sent him flying. "What the hell! Why are you hitting people?" Barnaby rushed forward. Smack! Another one went down. Garrick charged in right after him, eyes red. Smack! Three strikes, clean and fast. Hayley slapped everyone who walked up to her. Her strength was already at the peak of what a human body could reach. Each hit felt like getting slammed by a speeding truck. Their vision blacked out, their ears rang, and their heart pounded so loudly that it felt like it might burst through their chests.

He chokes and his body goes limp. I let it drop. The other two freeze. Terror floods their expressions. “Alpha....” one of them starts. I’m already moving. The second falls faster than the first. A strike to the chest and his ribs collapse inward under the force, his breath leaving him in a wet, broken sound before he hits the ground. The third tries to run. A big mistake. I catch up to him before he reaches the door. My hand slams him against the wall hard enough to crack stone.