Ruby Ring

Chapter 12: RESISTANCE

TARA

Rain was pounding against the windshield of Mr. Gallagher's car and thunder was booming six miles away. This didn't help alleviate Tara's anxieties. Sure, leaving her home to go investigate something sketchy was definitely not Tara's idea of a good summer, but since she cared about the wellbeing of others, this was something she could not ignore.

Suddenly, the car screeched to a halt. This brought Tara back to reality.

"What's going on?" Tara asked.

"Stay in the car," Mr. Gallagher ordered as he stepped outside. Tara squinted her eyes to watch where Mr. Gallagher was going, but all she saw was the man who captured Hunter. This time, he was carrying a red haired girl bridal style. Normally, Tara was a rule-abiding individual, but she could not ignore this.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Tara stepped outside the car and made her way to where Mr. Gallagher was. Dean parked his black Honda right behind Mr. Gallagher's police car.

"Hold on, why did you stop?" Marcus asked as he exited the car.

"Because Mr. Gallagher had to investigate something,"

"I have a bad feeling about this,"

"Me too. I'm gonna help him. You coming, guys?"

"I'll go," Dean said as he got out of the car. Serena was next to him.

"I'm no scaredy-cat. I'm going to help Mr. Gallagher kick some vampire ass," Krystal announced.

"Is that...the vampire?" Dean pointed at the man.

"Yeah," Tara answered.

"Come on, let's go," Mitch made his way up the hill. It was a very steep hill adorned with sad little tombstones galore. Once they reached the top, Mr. Gallagher was about two feet away from the man.

"What are you doing? I told you to stay in the car!" Mr. Gallagher demanded to know.

"We couldn't help but intervene," Krystal threw a wooden stake at the man's chest, but he shot fire at it. Krystal's mouth dropped in shock as she watched the stake disintegrate into tiny little ash flakes.

"He can use fire?" Dean raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, apparently," Marcus shrugged. "I thought fire can be used to kill a vampire,"

"What is he, really? He can burn the stake I threw at it by shooting fire out of his hand?" Krystal mumbled.

"Let's try this," Dean got out a silver throwing knife and chucked it at the man's throat. The man turned around and incinerated the weapon.

"Shoulda seen that coming, Dean. Why would you throw a knife at him, knowing he can burn it to smithereens? Stupid choice," Krystal huffed.

"Hey, be nice. We're teammates, and teammates don't degrade each other," Tara interjected. Out of the corner of her eye, Dean got out more throwing knives and threw them at the enemy.

"The same trick won't work twice," the man put down the girl and blew fire out of his mouth, reducing the knives to a pile of ash flakes.

"This isn't the same trick," Dean heaved. The man looked around, only to be met with Serena's fist.

"Then take this!" Serena pivoted and kicked him right in the jaw, sending him tumbling down into a lake.

"Nice trick," Krystal nodded as Serena followed the man into the lake.

"Serena! What are you doing?" Tara cried as she followed Serena to the lake. When Serena was waist deep in the water, she bent over and clutched the man by the neck. Just then, two arms emerged from the water and shoved her away, causing her to stumble and fall. The man got up, his pale skin regenerating by the minute.

"How can his skin do that?" Marcus gasped. Krystal shrugged. Tara glanced at her gloved hand. Ever since she was young, she had to wear them. Her mother would never explain why. She even scolded her for not wearing them at times.

Tara removed the glove on her right hand and wiped it on her skirt.

"Look who it is," the man snarled as he approached Serena, who was now drenched from head to toe. "Tara Brooks,"

"How do you know my name?" Tara demanded to know.

"That, we will discuss later. Come with me. If you don't, she becomes my food," the man yanked Serena by the hair, who screamed. This scene reminded Tara of the scene the night Hunter was captured. She wondered, was Hunter really that stupid to fall for a paper thin lie? Then again, she had to save Serena.

"Don't go with him!" Dean yelled. "That's what got Hunter into a mess in the first place!"

"I'm not giving her a choice," the man approached Tara, who inched back. She could feel her heart beating faster by the second. For a split second, she was tempted to go with the man, but her mother's voice warned her to never trust a stranger.

"Get away from me!" Tara flexed her hand, causing fire to emerge from it.

"Ouch!" the man yelped. His fingertips were somewhat charred, but the skin regenerated. Tara gasped as she looked at her ungloved hand. How was she able to shoot fire from her hand? Humans couldn't do that. If she could do that...what was she?

Tara intensely disliked fighting. She never understood why people would act tough at her school and beat up scrawny freshmen who couldn't get to class on time. She also hated the fact that war occured. She always thought war wasn't a very productive way to sort things out. Tara wished she wouldn't have to fight for her life, but fate said otherwise.

"Dean! Gimme one of those throwing knives, will you?" she outstretched her arm.

"Catch!" Dean threw one to Tara, who stabbed the man in the arm. He winced in pain and grimaced, but managed to stare into her eyes. Tara tried to dig the knife deeper. More blood emerged from the wound.

"You're a feisty one, Tara..." the man began. Tara pushed the knife even more. "But you should've aimed for the chest,"

"What?!" Tara gasped as he removed the knife from arm. "How?! The knives are made of silver! Vampires are weak to silver!"

"What's going on up there?" a voice called out. Audriana had emerged from the car, eating garlic fried rice from a plastic bowl.

"Don't get involved!" Mr. Gallagher shouted. He was helping the unconscious girl.

"Dean and I are only in this because we wanna rescue Hunter, our friend! Is he the one?"

"Yeah," Tara interjected as Audriana climbed up the steep hill. Once the man saw her, he dashed towards her, knife in hand. To counter back, Audriana spat some garlic at him and miss terribly, causing him to scramble back.

"Let's end this!" Marcus threw a crucifix at the man, who reduced it to ashes by shooting fire from his mouth.

"Not so fast, bro," Krystal chucked a water bottle at the fire, which lessened its impact.

"I've had it with you pesky kids! I want Tara, and Tara alone," the man exclaimed. He snapped his fingers and disappeared in a flash, but not before scooping up the unconscious girl in his arms.

"What was that all about?" Audriana shook her head.

"I told you kids to stay in the car," Mr. Gallagher scolded. "But that doesn't matter. Are you okay?"

"We're fine," Serena said in a grumpy tone. Tara remembered that she hated getting wet.

"You can use magic?" Marcus eyed Tara.

"That's magic? I can use fire magic?" Tara put the glove back on her right hand. She remembered being mesmerized by the world of Harry Potter, but she never thought of herself as a magic user. Humans can't use magic in this world. But Tara couldn't understand why she and only she can use magic. Maybe that meant she wasn't human. Tara never questioned herself, so this was a first.

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Author's Note: Who or what is Tara? Why do you think she can use magic? Yes, this is intentional. No, I don't think she's a Mary Sue