A Collection Of Works Read online



  A Collection of works

  By Ahmari Das

  Copyright, Ahmari Das November 2016

  All content including artwork is copyrighted by the author and may not be used without permission. To contact Ahmari Das email her at [email protected]

  Poetry

  A Dragon’s Freedom

  By Ahmari Das

  He sat alone in his cave

  A fire smoldering his soul

  The longer he sat there

  The more he burned inside

  He suffered, pain, anguish

  Why must he be this way?

  Burning alive in his cave

  All alone with his rage

  He’s a Dragon and strong

  Out there's sunlight and joy

  Just there for the taking

  Out there beyond his walls

  He reached for his doorway

  He stood there, stretched his wings

  And prepared to take flight

  A deep breath, wings unfurled

  He leapt into the air

  Wings catching an updraft

  Up words he soared, so free

  As he looked upon the ground

  His soul lifted with him

  Full of joy in the clouds

  His rage evaporated

  Seared away by the light

  Other dragons joined him

  Soaring, joyous and free

  This had always been here

  Joy, beauty, and freedom

  A waste, the suffering

  Time spent on searing rage

  Keeping him prisoner

  Until he set it free

  A lesson to be learned

  Let the rage you feel go

  A mind open, a heart full

  Let yourself fill with joy

  Then you can soar, wings full

  Gliding on the up streams

  Looking at the beauty

  That your life has become

 

  Damaged

  By Ahmari Das

  I am damaged.

  I cannot be everything you want.

  I am broken

  The events of my life have shaped me.

  I am imperfect.

  I make mistakes I cannot change.

  I survived.

  But surviving is not living.

  I am growing.

  The love I have received is extraordinary.

  I am healing.

  I work hard to improve myself

  I am strong

  I don't give in to the pain.

  I am broken.

  I may never be fixed.

  I am damaged.

  I may never be whole.

  I am strong.

  I will never give up hope.

  Always

  By Ahmari Das

  I cry myself to sleep every night. No one knows.

  I smile to the world while I'm dying inside.

  I don't burden people with my pain, so they think I have none.

  I feel excluded. My love means nothing...

  I feel unwanted. Left behind in the dust.

  I seek forgiveness. But there is nothing.

  I have always had this pain. Always.

  It is my past. It is my present.

  I hurt so much. I want to die.

  I won't. I love so much that I will not cause others pain.

  So I live my life. Smile on the outside.

  While my pain rips me apart.

  Always.

  Short Stories

  Eradication

  By Ahmari Das

  I stand alone. Sometimes I wonder if I'm the only one left. There is nothing around me but desolation and death, destruction and despair. I look at what use to be my city, a burned out wreckage of a once thriving metropolis.

  I struggle to hold on to my sanity as the things I've seen, and the things I've done, creep into my mind. They're all just a blur of fear and horror. As I stand here, I can't help but think back, to the beginning, back when life was normal. It started with a genetically modified virus, modified to kill. It was germ warfare on a scale unseen before, with side effects only heard of in horror stories.

  The Taque wanted the humans gone from the planet we both colonized. There was peace at first but human habits hadn't changed since leaving a world we destroyed behind. It wasn't long before we started strip mining, clear cutting, polluting the air, water and land, just as we had on Earth. After repeated pleas to stop were ignored, the Taque had enough.

  The Taque were a highly intelligent and curious race, seeking out new cultures and planets to learn as much as they could. They coexist with the life around them and were shocked by the human’s treatment of the planet they shared.

  Without warning they attacked by contaminating the water supply with a genetically engineered virus that only affected humans. The Taque didn't foresee the virus evolving after the death of the host into a multi-organism entity, one that reanimates the dead it inhabits, a very contagious dead. They become zombies, real zombies, not science fiction, but reality. They don't talk or try to eat your brains but they do want to infect as many as possible, to multiply and survive. Just like any other living organisms. They are like jellyfish, made up of many individual organisms to create a collective whole. They aren't evil or malevolent, but they are deadly

  When people started to reanimate, pandemonium broke out. A virus that was killing us was bad enough but the dead trying to kill us was beyond comprehension. You had to be careful how you killed them as well, as one touch, one drop of blood and you were next.

  Luckily the collective controlling the body was simple and unintelligent, going on instinct alone. All they wanted was to touch people. It was easy to trap them and burn them, destroying the virus. However people continued to infect others without knowing, so the virus spread quickly. I lost everyone, everything I ever loved or cared about. I was away at college when my family contracted it from the tainted water. My mother, father, brother, his wife and their unborn child were all gone before I returned home. We were a close family, always there for each other except this time I wasn't there for them, unable to even say goodbye. I alone survived. Hospitals and funeral homes started cremating the dead before they could reanimate, but still the virus spread.

  Population dwindled, industry stopped. People boarded themselves up in their houses with food, weapons they made to burn the infected and because they still didn't know the water was contaminated, they boarded themselves up with their own death. Eventually everyone was infected, everyone but me. I seem to be immune. I've drunk the water, been around the dying, even been touched by the infected. And yet I still live.

  ***

  Now I wander with no destination in mind, a flame thrower on my back, cleaning up the mess the Taque created.

  I wonder, “If I'm immune could others be as well?” Am I really the only one left? As I ponder, movement catches my eye. More zombies come around a burnt out building, hardly recognizable as a family residence. They move slowly, uncoordinated, as the collective try to control the rotting bodies. Faces expressionless, eyes sightless, clothes dirty and torn, it was easy to see they were no longer human. There are three, a man, a woman and a small child. Had they been a family? I'll never know. As they shamble forward I unleash the flame thrower on them, trying not to think of them as human anymore, especially the child. It always gets to me, the children, makes me rage at the Taque for their cowardly means of eradicating us. I'd like to eradicate them, but what could one man do against an entire race? I wasn't a geneticist that could repay them in kind or a warrior for that matter. I was a college student studying to be a teacher. Now there's no one to teach. My grip on sanity slips a little more as I watch what mi
ght have once been a family, burn.

  Shifting Moonlight

  By Ahmari Das

  Sasha sat at the vanity brushing her long black hair, excitement and dread warring in her stomach. Looking in the mirror for a last minute check, she assessed the makeup accentuating her pale skin, big green eyes, and insanely long lashes.

  "Hmm, not bad.” She told her reflection. “It’ll have to do.” She couldn’t procrastinate any longer.

  Her parents were waiting downstairs. Dad was Alpha of the eastern territories and not a patient man. Mom, on the other hand, had endless patience, grace and kindness.

  “Too bad I take after Dad.” she thought with a twitch to her lips. She liked who she was.

  She was a tiny, but confident, 26 year old Alpha female in the making. Standing at 5'4" and curvy, society would say too curvy, not that she cared one whit what society said. “Good thing I’m a shifter, dieting is so not me!” she mused as she hurried downstairs. Sasha was definitely enough of a package to make any shifter stop and stare.

  “Finally.” growled Garyson, Sasha's father spotting her coming into the kitchen. “I was about to go drag you down here. You know I can’t be late!” It wouldn’t be good for the hosting Alpha to be late for the intercontinental conference of the wolf clan. All eight alphas of the US and Canadian packs would be there as well as many of their packs. Thoughts of all the single wolves gave Sasha mixed feelings. She might meet her mate!

  **************************************

  Wolf Shifters mate for life, and their inner wolves pick who they want. Not that Sasha didn’t trust her inner wolf, she just didn’t like the lack of control she would have in picking her lifetime mate. Even if her wolf liked his wolf, his human half could be a jerk! She did not want to be stuck with some arrogant male who controlled her every move. She’d seen too many wolves who were arrogant, overbearing, controlling nightmares. Since her inner wolf hadn’t picked anyone from her own pack that meant her potential mate was a total unknown. Ugh, she hated not being in control of this! Since female wolves are usually attracted to more dominate males, she was considerably worried.

  Her dad slid his SUV into a parking space between two similar vehicles at the Park. No need to wonder why most of the parking lot was filled with gas guzzlers. Shifter men were all about power and dominance. Sasha mentally shook herself and wiped her sweaty hands on her jeans.

  “I’m not some teenager at my first dance! My mate may not even be here, and if he is…I can handle it." She sighed, "I hope."

  “Did you say something Sweetheart,” her mom asked, hopping down from her dad's monster of male strutting. Tall, blonde and willowy, graceful as a swan, Suelyn was everything Sasha was not. The only thing they had in common was their complexion and their smile, both having a cute little gap in their front teeth.

  “Nope, just thinking out loud.”

  Her dad came around the front of his beast; the opposite of his mate. He was of average height with dark hair, green eyes, framed with those same insanely long eyelashes. You could see immediately where Sasha got her looks, right down to the gold flecks around the irises of their eyes. He was deeply tanned from working long hours outdoors and all that hard work meant that he was built like a truck. He’d run you over, too, if you got in his way. He was a tough but fair alpha, with a huge soft spot: Sasha.

  Her younger, unmated brothers, Arik and Bryan were already there, eager to meet the single females. Much more eager than Sasha. Of course, if they found their mate, they wouldn’t have to leave the pack to be with them. That would be the female’s fate.

  **********************************

  JT, the son of the Northwestern territories alpha Lendon, walked into the clearing where the wolves were gathering. The sun warmed the long ponytail that flowed halfway down his back. He was oblivious to the looks from the females, unaware that their fingers itched to set his neatly tied hair free. He was equally unaware that he was definitely the best looking wolf present. Women flirted with him often, but he didn’t pay much attention. Average shifters were not a clumsy race, yet he knew he had a natural grace that was beyond the norm. When combined with his alpha training, that grace and confidence made other wolves notice. JT’s thoughts on the other hand, would make most people politely excuse themselves and leave the room.

  "Ha!" He snickered to himself, as he pictured a room full of restless wolves trying to slip out of the "room" of his mind all at once. It's not that his thoughts were boring exactly, they were just serious. His mind is concerned with things he sees as important, since he will be taking over as alpha soon, his dad stepping down by next year. Which is why JT was at the conference representing his pack, instead of his dad, in the first place. For all the past conferences, JT had stayed behind and looked after the pack. As the Alpha in training, it gave him valuable experience he'll need all too soon. It was one reason he was still unmated, losing the opportunity to meet other shifter women, as his mate wasn't found among his pack.

  "Figures you would be picky." He thought to his wolf, feeling its amusement in return. He knew he should have made it to a conference long before now, but responsibilities always took priority over his personal needs. He was here now, though, but would his mate be here as well? With all the responsibility about to descend on his head, he wasn't sure he was ready to find her.

  ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

  Sasha walked across the clearing in the middle of the park, taking in the myriad of colors and smells attracting her attention. She loved the Adirondacks, always filled with beauty and splendor, no matter the season. This was her home. Sasha just couldn't picture herself living in a place without these mountains as her ever present backdrop, these woods as her wolf's playground, or without Lake Champlain's view to bring her tranquility. The clearing was crowded with wolves, no tranquility here today. The main meeting wasn't for another hour or so, but most wolves were already here, using this time for socializing, greeting people they knew, meeting people they didn't, and, for some, looking for their mate.

  Sasha was still thinking about whether she wanted to meet her mate or not. In fact, she was so engrossed in her thoughts she wasn't looking where she was going. Well, at least she wasn't looking when she hit a wall!

  "Umf! The air left Sasha in a huff. She realized she was staring at a teal colored T-shirt, stretched over a very hard, and much sculpted chest. Hands came up almost immediately to steady her. She could feel the heat of his hands on her bare arms. Just as Sasha felt the air return to her lungs, she looked up......and lost her breath all over again.

  "Are you okay?" JT grabbed the person he nearly ran over, as she nodded, "I'm very sorry! I should have been paying better attention to where I was walking. A friend had waved at me and as I turned to wave back, I crashed right into you. Again I apologize." Just as he finished talking, the girl in his arms looked up. As her big beautiful green eyes looked at him, it felt like someone punched him in the gut. He couldn't breathe. His wolf woke and felt like he was going to burst out of him, uncontrolled, and howled in his mind, "MINE!!!"

  Sasha was staring at the most incredible blue-green eyes she had ever seen. As she desperately tried to draw a breath, her wolf feeling like she was clawing to get out and howling, "MINE!!"

  She had never felt like she was going to shift uncontrollably before "Calm, breathe," Sasha thought to herself and her wolf. "Please." She begged. The heat from the male's hands on her arms felt like it was burning, yet she couldn't move, couldn't look away, and still couldn't breathe!!

  JT wasn't one to panic, as he tried to calm his wolf, he thought to him, "what's wrong?"

  "OUR MATE!!" His wolf was projecting into his thoughts. "Claim her!" JT could feel his fangs lengthen.

  Meanwhile, Sasha was having similar problems. "My mate? I've been here five minutes!" Not that she could do anything about it, seeing as she was about to pass out from lack of oxygen. Sasha's eyes started to close, and as she lost consciousness, she began to
shift.

  JT, also, was shifting as consciousness slipped away......

  All of the wolves in the vicinity stopped and stared in awe, as more made their way over to see such a rare occurrence. Very rarely do their people shift to wolf form to mate. This only happens when there is resistance to being mated, either to the person picked by their wolf or to being mated in general. Since the wolves are not willing to risk losing their mates they......takeover. Just until the binding is done, then the wolves are linked, mind, body and soul.

  After the binding, the mated pair understand each other completely and there isn't any room left for second thoughts.

  The two wolves standing in the middle of a growing crowed didn't notice the other shifters. They were too engrossed in their own feelings of intense joy and happiness for having found their other half. In moments their souls will be complete.

  Garyson stepped up to the two wolves, a giant smile on his face. He was good friends with JT's father and although he had only met JT on the occasions the conference was in JT's territory, he knew his reputation. The younger wolf is known for being patient, responsible, strong, and intelligent. He was a good leader and earned people's loyalty easily, for there was something about him that inspired trust, a quiet dignity, a knowledge that you get when you look into his eyes that you matter, that you matter not just to him but to the world. JT's determined but positive attitude made people feel that he will do his absolute best to make that world a better place. Garyson was smiling because he knew JT would be a perfect match for his strong willed, independent daughter. Here was the one wolf in all the packs that wouldn't butt heads with Sasha, who would let Sasha keep her independence, who could make Sasha happy.

  Garyson was prepared for a binding ceremony, as there probably be a few today. It was a simple ceremony, only needing an Alpha, a witness, a length is twine or leather to bind the participants hands with and eight words. As Garyson stood before them, each wolf bit their own paw, drawing blood and held their paws to the Alpha. He brought their paws together mingling their blood and tying a leather thong around their joined paws. "One heart, one mind, one soul." Garyson pronounced over the bound paws, with his head bowed, "for eternity."