© Copyright 2011
All work is property of Leah Crichton, any duplication or reproduction of all or part of the work without explicit permission by the author is illegal.

 Déjà vu: (dey-zhah-voo)

the illusion of having previously experiencing something actually being encountered for the first time

disagreeable familiarity or sameness

My stomach churned as nausea swept over me. My pulse quickened. My life could end any other way but this. Not a car wreck, not with Damien.

Please God, not in a car.

Memories of screeching tires, twisted metal, the look of dread on Luke’s face, and the metallic smell of blood rushed my mind. I fought my gag reflex. I was going to be sick. It was a horrendous case of déjà vu.

As Orion closed in to only a few feet behind us, I could hear the distinct roar of the Audi’s engine. His car swerved suddenly so it was in the opposite lane and accelerated. He must have been going at least one hundred miles an hour because it took only seconds before he was beside us, beside me. His eyes were pleading, horrified. They settled on Damien and pure hatred radiated from them.

A huge grin spread across Damien’s face. He looked at me with an insolent expression. “I think I’ve made him mad, my love. What do you think?”

“I’m not your love. Don’t call me that.”

Damien’s face turned angry again. Looking at Orion, he brought his elbow up and hit me directly in the nose. Blood started gushing out; the smell of rust was now so much more than a memory.  Orion’s car was still at our side, and after seeing Damien’s abuse, he looked like he had gone insane.

I couldn’t bring my hands to my nose; they were still tied behind me. Warm fluid rushed over my lips and into my mouth. Instead of saying anything else, I prayed relentlessly, Please, God, not in a car, not with him. I wanted to be with Orion when I died, like I should have been to begin with.

Damien jerked the wheel hard to the right and his foot pushed heavy on the gas, sending the Porsche accelerating ahead to keep Orion from overtaking him. Orion eased off and he fell behind us. Fear gripped my insides. What was he doing?

Damien wrenched his head around at an awkward angle and began to laugh. “It’s showtime!” he bellowed. He looked as much of a madman as Orion had just moments before. 

The Audi surged forward again as Orion tried to maneuver his car beside us. In another attempt to block him, Damien swerved right. Just as fast as Orion was there, he fell behind Damien’s car once more, but it was only momentary. In another swift and fluid motion, he was accelerating up the driver’s side of the Porsche. I could tell he still hadn’t brought his Audi to its top speed. He floored it and brought it in closer, millimeters from the nose of the Porsche. Damien’s smile disappeared.

Please, God, not in a car. Not with him. 

Orion moved the car sharply to the right and his headlight clipped the front of our vehicle. It wasn’t enough to do serious damage, but it threw Damien off of his original course, sending the Porsche fishtailing as he tried to regain control. I couldn’t breathe, sure suffocation was imminent.

The sound of the Audi’s engine was deafening as Orion opened it up and pushed the car to its limits. His tires were screeching as it spun a perfect one hundred and eighty degrees. The two cars were now face-to-face.

My mouth was agape. Damien’s face took on his twisted scowl again. He obviously hadn’t expected Orion to literally get in his way.

His foot slammed down on the clutch as his hand hammered to switch gears.

Orion was now clearly visible, even in the dark. His cerulean eyes were glowing. The eyes I had looked into so many times, the eyes that saw right through my soul were like the blue flames of a hot fire. He was driving backwards with the skill of an expert.

If it’s the last thing I do on this planet, I’ll keep you safe.  

Damien was visibly frustrated and, in an effort to evade his rival, he tried to go right. Orion moved the Audi to block him. Damien went left, and again, Orion mirrored the Porsche's sporadic movements.

Still in reverse, Orion started to increase the gap between the two cars. He accelerated backwards. Suddenly the Audi shot back like it was on an elastic band that had snapped. In moments he was gone.

“Tsk, tsk.” Damien waved his bony fingers. “Keep your eyes open, love. My brother likes to surprise people.”

I still needed to throw up, but I couldn’t. The metallic taste flowing in my mouth should’ve been enough.

We continued speeding ahead. Damien turned on the high beams, but I couldn’t spot the Audi anywhere. Where did he go? Where the hell was he? Using the glare from the headlights I scanned the road for a piece of rubber from his tires, anything at all, any sign that he was still close.

I didn’t need to search long. He stood in the middle of the road, tensed.

Damien’s foot slammed down on the gas pedal, but Orion didn’t budge. He just stood with his hands held out in front of him. I could hear his voice, even though he seemed miles away, even over the roar of the Porsches’ engine: “Damien, stop!”

Damien’s voice was just as loud, demonic. “Don’t think so, little brother. Nobody likes a quitter.” He continued driving, a distorted look painted on his face.

“I’m not just going to let you take her.”

“I’m counting on it.” Damien was cocky. “What fun would things be if you just gave her to me?”

Orion started to make a circling motion with his wrist before jerking one hand up above the other one. The Porsche shot upright onto its back tires and momentarily froze, its rear wheels spinning, going nowhere. The weight of my body was now crushing my hands, digging the rope into my wrists further. Damien and I were elevated, hanging in the air.

“Let her go,” he told Damien. “I’m not going to ask again.”

“Make me, Orion. I want to see this. It may be your most impressive display yet.” Damien was still smug, the repulsive red color returned to the irises of his eyes. I couldn’t fathom how he was going to get out of this one. Orion wasn’t moving, and neither was the Porsche. Damien’s continued arrogance was astounding.

“You know I’m going to.” His voice was flat, emotionless.

“You’re going to try, brother. If you succeed or not remains to be seen. C’mon now, give us a show,” Damien said, but a loud noise interrupted him. It was a cracking sound. Something was breaking. I squinted in the darkness trying to find its source. Another sound, this time, a snap. Lumber. Trees. Trees were cracking. They were breaking.

Damien pointed his skinny finger out the driver’s window toward Orion. The tree branch broke free and started twirling, like it had been listening to him, and traveled quickly in Orion’s direction. I practically hung my head out of the window to try and see what was going on.

Orion ducked, the wood narrowly missing his head. His arms shook. The control he had over the car was quickly becoming difficult for him to maintain. Damien must have been familiar with his endurance because he still wasn’t too concerned.

Another audible snap, and another. Branches were flying off of the trees at remarkable speeds, every single one of them twirling, spinning, heading for Orion.

Orion dodged each one as fast as they were coming at him. His reflexes were tweaked. He switched hands, elevated his left arm, lowered the other, and swiftly pulled his shaking arm back toward his body. We were moving. He was dragging the hundreds of pounds of metal across the road in the direction of his body. The asphalt crumbled into pieces under the vehicle. I felt like we were about to experience Armageddon. When we were right in front of him, he twisted his right hand abruptly and threw it down. The driver’s side of the car absorbed most of the impact when we hit the ground. Crunching metal. The Porsche bounced onto all four tires again.  

Damien’s collected manner dissolved. He growled. I screamed. Orion was focused. It made him very quick. He tossed something to the side with his left arm. The door beside me flew off of its hinges and landed several feet away from the vehicle.

An audible snarl escaped Damien’s lips and Orion was beside me in seconds. He would have been close enough to touch if my hands hadn’t been tied behind my back.

He looked at me with sympathetic eyes that were the same glowing blue. He kept one hand pointed at Damien. A brilliant white light shone from his palm. It was the first moment I’d seen Damien look worried. I didn’t get to enjoy the look of discomfort on his face for long. In a flash he was gone, out of the car and into the darkness.

“Where’d he go?” I screamed. “Where’d he go?”

Orion turned away from me, spinning around, trying to find him. His voice boomed across the sky. “Show yourself, Damien. This is what you wanted!”

Silence. 

“Come on, snake! You’re a coward, a reptile!” He was in a world of his own, filled with rage. It was terrifying.

Silence.

“Let’s end this!” His voice was earsplitting. “Come now, I’ll go easy on you.”

Silence.

Damien was gone. He was gone, and I was still stuck in the car, helpless. I took all the air I possibly could into my lungs. “Orion, help me!” I screamed. “Please!” My frantic plea shook him back to the present.

He wrapped one arm around me and picked me up. He kept the other arm extended outwards, the impossibly bright light still radiating from his palm. His voice was soothing now, low. “I’m here. It’s okay.”

 I had managed to hold myself together in front of Damien. Here, wrapped in Orion’s protective arms, I knew my façade of bravery was quickly going to evaporate.

He walked backwards, away from the Porsche, his eyes still scanning the darkness for Damien. I had no idea which direction we were going, and I didn’t care. I only knew for the next few moments that I was safe.