by H. T. Night
Everyone in my crew transitioned.
No one was killed thank God. But everyone was injured. Yari and Sion had dangerous gashes on their necks. This had not been a fair fight. These guys were professional killers. I looked over and it seemed half of them had either died or had flown off because of injury or fear.
“All the toughest son of bitches are left. These guys want us dead. Jason, you and Sion fly back and make sure no one tails you. I will kill anyone who follows you. The rest of us five are going to stay and finish this.”
“You like 5 to 1 odds better?” Hunter asked.
“I like 5 to 1 with you guys. Sion and Jason take off and do whatever you can to not be trailed. If that means you have to fly a thousand miles out to the way. Do so. Now go.”
They both flew off and it surprised the remaining bounty hunters that only two of us left. No one went after them. I guessed they knew they would have to go through us to get to Sion and Jason.
So, here we were. An injured and exhausted crew vs. the fifty bounty killers that had managed to survive round one against us. I looked across at them and some of the Mani bounty hunters didn't seem injured at all. That worried me. There were some tough killers out here and we needed to step up or die.
“Get into our defensive circle. They want to kill us. They either need to fly down here and fight all of us or they can go home.”
I looked over at Tommy, who had a horrible injury to his leg. “Would you rather be in your werewolf form?”
“Nah, you know I'm a better fighter as a human. The wolf is too unpredictable.”
I nodded my head.
We waited and didn't move from our circle. We knew they only had two choices. Come down and fight or leave. “Hold the circle until they attack. We will stay here all night if we have to.”
It took thirty minutes for them to gather the nerve to continue the fight they had started. Ten ravens came raining down on our circle. That was a horrible idea. The five of us beat them senseless and then dusted them.
Fifteen to five. Our numbers kept getting better and better.
The remaining fifteen knew they were up against something that they hadn't planned on being so deadly.
“Break the circle and walked toward them guys. I have some words for our foes.”
I flew up in my vampire form and looked down on these bounty hunters. “Go home. Tonight wasn't your night. I mean, it really wasn't your night. Your numbers have dwindled tonight because you decided you wanted to go for the wrong bounties. Go back and tell your people how difficult this was. We don't want to kill any more of you. But we will if you force us to.”
It took five minutes, but one by one they flew away until there was no one left.
I looked at the four that fought with me: Yari, Tommy, Hunter and Todd. Something came over me and I hugged each of them. “True loyalty is earned on the battlefield. As of tonight, Hunter and Todd, you are my brothers.”
Chapter Seven
When we arrived back home, Jason and Sion were both relieved to see all of us. Even if most of us were injured.
The seven of us gathered in the living room and I looked at Jason. I was wondering if he would try to heal some of our wounds. My wounds were minor compared to Yari and Hunter.
Jason knew what I was asking by my look alone. It was a desperate and pleading look. Not a look a father gives his son often.
Jason spoke up. “As you know, I have the ability to heal. I can only heal you if it is what the Triat wishes for you.”
Everybody looked at Jason and nodded.
“I will try to heal those of us who are in more critical condition. He smiled and look at Yari and Hunter. Jason walked over to Yari as she laid on the couch bleeding from her neck and ribs. Jason touched both her neck and ribs and closed his eyes. Soon after, his hands started glowing as he touched Yari's injury and within seconds she was healed.
“Thank you, Jason.” Yari said, and she did five sit ups to show she was healed completely.
Then Jason stepped toward Hunter who was laying on the couch facing the kitchen. Hunter had several injuries. But the injury to his neck was most severe. Jason put his hands on Hunter's neck and the top of his head. Then he closed his eyes and soon both of his hands were glowing as was Hunter's entire body. He was being healed all over.
Jason proceeded to heal Tommy's leg as well as the rest of our injuries. Thank goodness, the Triat felt we deserved to be healed. Thank goodness Jason was here. My healing powers might have healed one of us. I really wasn't confident in my abilities.
Although we had all been healed, the entire group was exhausted from our trying night. For the remainder of the night, we laid around in the front room together playing board games and video games.
As day approached we all found our spots in the living room to sleep. Usually, we all just go to sleep one by one. But this morning, all seven of us were still hyped up because of the fight.
A couple conversations broke out until it seemed Yari had the floor.
“Todd, tell us a little bit about yourself.” she said.
“There's not much to say.” he answered.
“How is that possible? You fight as though you have had training somewhere and you sort of came out of nowhere.”
“I came from somewhere.”
“And where is that?”
“Brentwood California.”
“Brentwood. Nice area. You grew up a rich boy,” Yari teased.
“Not quite. I grew up a great athlete.”
“Which sport?” Tommy and I said at nearly the same time.
“Some football. But mainly, wrestling.”
“Very nice,” Tommy jumped in. “Did that lead you into doing any MMA fighting?”
“Nope,” Todd answered. “Never done any type of MMA training.”
“Don't worry. Your hand to hand combat skills are off the chart,” I said. “I will show you a few pointers, but I need to know where you learned to fight hand to hand.”
“Life,” Todd answered.
“Life?” Yari asked.
“Yeah, life,” Todd said again.
“What did you do before all of this?” Sion asked.
“You mean besides surviving,” Todd smiled. “I worked for a guy named Chadwick.”
“First or last name?” Tommy asked.
“That's it. Just Chadwick. Never learned whether it was his last name or first.”
“And you worked for him?” I confirmed.
“Yep, for nearly sixty years. Chadwick was human, so he died last year and I have been feeling a little lost. So, in a way, we found each other when we most needed it.”
I smiled, I liked Todd's sincere honesty. “So Todd,” I asked. “Have you ever been in love?” I realized what a painful question it was once it left my lips, but I am such a romantic at heart to most people's surprise.
“You want to know about the love of my life,” Todd laughed.
“Yes,” Yari said, a tad too eagerly.
Todd sat up and crossed his legs, so he can tell the story easier, I suppose. “The year was 1955, and the world was a different kinda place. No internet, no color TV, and no CGI at the movies. It wasn’t the special place shows like Leave it to Beaver and I Love Lucy would like for you to think it was. Not so polished and perfect. It was grittier than that. Folks had something to prove and they would go to any means to do so. High school was no different. If not the worst culprit of them all.
“We were more than ten years out of the second great war and everything our government did at the time was to assure that there would be another World War again. The United States had established itself as the strongest military power in the world. Which gave average folks like my family relief.
“In the US, the economy was booming as was the population. Government spending constructed interstate highways and schools. Wages were high and unemployment was low. The Cold War and communism became a concern. I was a senior at Lincoln High in Brentwood, California.”
“Man, this guy knows how to set up a story. And who knew you were so old?” Tommy interjected.
“Quiet Tommy!” Everyone said in their own manner.
Todd continued, “Lincoln High was about as rich and uppity a high school could be during that time period. I, on the other hand, was not rich therefore not uppity. We were probably the poorest family to go to the high school.
“My dad rented a two-bedroom house behind a much larger house. Our house was a slate blue with white functional shutters on the windows. It was surrounded by a simple white picket fence and had a basement that could be accessed both through a door in the kitchen and huge double doors on the side of the house.
“My family had a huge kitchen that was helpful for my mother who made a decent living selling her baked goods to various people around town. I struggled to not eat all of her delicious goodies.
“At the time, I weighed in at 190 pounds and wrestled in the light heavyweight division on the Lincoln High School wrestling team. I did a lot of extra running demanded by the coach who had served as a Drill Sergeant in the US Army.
“I was a star player in football and a top wrestler in the state, so everyone turned a blind eye to the fact that my family lived behind another resident's home. Not everyone was allowed to go to the high school who were in the same situation in the neighborhood.
“Up to that point in my life, I never had a girlfriend. It wasn’t that I wasn’t interested in girls, because I was. It was more that I had no clue how to approach the situation when I was interested in a girl. Which was pretty much all the time. On this day, my life changed forever.
“It was a cool January afternoon. The coach had all the varsity wrestlers run all the way around the school. We knew better than to goof off because if he found out about it we would be running drills until midnight. In those days, coaches could do stuff like that and got away with it without any complaints.
“I was the fastest wrestler on my team and I wanted our coaching staff to know it every time we did any type of running drill. So, I was flying ahead of the pack around the school. The Administration buildings were at the exact opposite side of the school’s gym. Wrestlers took turns trading gym time with the basketball teams. We had the gym on Tuesdays and Thursdays. All other days we practiced outside on mats.
“On this day, while passing the Administration buildings, which about the halfway point, I passed a girl who was so beautiful, I literately ran into a tree.
“I hit the tree and fell backward as if I had been shot. I fell to the grass wearing my practice singlet. My wrestling singlet was revealing and tight. I looked like a trapeze artist without the glitter.
We all chuckled.
“I nearly passed out. Then I heard the voice of an angel speaking to me.
“'Are you okay? Your forehead is bleeding.'
“I looked up and a blond haired, blue eyed girl was looking down at me with concern on her face. Her skin was milky white and smooth. She didn’t have a blemish anywhere on her face. Unlike me, who had a cut running across my forehead. She smelled of vanilla and maple syrup. I looked down at her feet and she was wearing a black pair of Mary Jane shoes with white knee high socks. I raised my eyes higher and she was wearing a simple black skirt that fell to her knees and a white button-down blouse tucked into her skirt neatly. I met her bright blue eyes again and I slowly stood up.
“'Don’t move so fast. This isn’t a race,' the young lady said.
“'Actually, it is. And, I was winning.' I looked up and watched as my teammates passed by me shaking their heads. A couple of those guys would probably tell on me the second they got back. But I was going to risk the consequences. I needed to know more about this blond, blue eyed girl.
“She reached into a small bag she was carrying on her arm. It wasn’t a purse or a backpack. Somewhere in between. She took out a tissue and dabbed my forehead. The second she touched me every muscle in my body shivered. I started breathing fast and my heart began to race. She wiped my forehead and even used her own spit to get the rest of it. I was now truly in love.
“'You cleaned up pretty fast,' the girl said.
“'I have good genes, I guess.' I responded.
“'That makes absolutely no sense. Biology is my thing.'
“I smiled at her. 'I thought it would be chemistry.'
“'Are you flirting with me or are you being serious?' she smiled at me again.
“'I truly think it’s a little of both.'
“'You’re cute,' she said. 'Are you the big stud on campus?'
“'I wouldn’t say that. I did run into a tree after all.' The young lady laughed and continued to wipe the blood off my forehead. Each time she touched my skin, it sent shivers up and down my body.
“'So,' I asked, 'is there a reason why you’re at the front of a high school at 4 pm on a Wednesday?'
“'I enrolled today. I moved out here from Arkansas.'
“'Arkansas?' I asked.
“'Go, Razorbacks!' she smiled, and my heart melted again. She needed to quit smiling at me. I was going to have a heart attack.
“'I have never met anyone from there. You don’t have much of a southern accent.'
“'If you never met anyone from the south, how would you know?' she quipped.
“'I didn’t mean that as an insult. I actually am very fond of your voice. It’s quite pretty.'
“'My voice is?'
“'No one has ever told you that?'
“'Actually... no. But thanks... uh. I don’t know your name.'
“'It’s Todd. What is yours?'
“'Marlene.'
I smiled at her and nodded.
“'It’s my middle name. My birth name is Agnus.'
“'I think Marlene is much prettier,' I said, foolishly, awkward.
“'So, you think Agnus is an unattractive name?'
“'Not at all. I just think they are both pretty names.'
“'I’m teasing you, Todd,' she winked.
“I laughed. 'You got me.'
“I needed to go back to practice or I was going to be in big trouble. But something kept my feet plastered to the cement in front of this beautiful woman. I wanted to know more about this new person in my life. I knew I couldn’t just turn around and run away. I couldn’t assume we would see each other in our daily lives in high school. She was a new girl, a knockout and every single junior and senior would be making a run at her.
“This was my chance. This beautiful girl was giving me her undivided attention. 'My practice is over,' I said to Marlene, lying through my teeth. 'Would you like to go somewhere and grab a burger?' It was a casual date offer. Nothing fancy, but clearly I asked her out.
“'You sure your practice is over? Where are your regular clothes?' She asked looking at my outfit which was a blue t-shirt over a wrestling singlet.
“Lucky for me I had my Ford Truck sitting in the nearby parking lot. It was my parents old vehicle. 'We can stop by my house and I can change. My truck is right over there.' I pointed to the white Ford truck in the school's parking lot.
“'Okay...' Marlene said.
“Then a car pulled up. I knew it was Marlene’s parents, because she waved to the older couple. Her father honked the horn and motioned for her to get into his car.
“Marlene gave me a calm look and put her finger up. 'Hold on, Todd. Let me ask my dad if we could go get a burger.' It seemed she knew how to speak to her dad.
“Then she walked over to me and said, my dad would if like to speak to you. I looked at her surprised and then she said, 'No one said going on a date with me would be easy. Remember, you are the one asking me to go get or a burger five minutes after we met.'
“'You want me to talk to him while I am wearing this?' I motioned to my singlet.
“'Sure why not? I found you charming enough in your ballerina outfit.' She grinned mischievously at me.
“'It’s a wrestling singlet.' I took a deep breath, and walked over to her father's car.
“Her da
d rolled down the window with very little facial expression. 'Dad,' Marlene said, 'This is Todd.'
“Her dad had puffy cheeks and a sharp glare.
“'Hi, sir,' I said. 'I am senior here at Lincoln High.'
“'Why are you dressed like that?' he asked, interrupting me.
“'I’m a wrestler here at the school,' I explained.
“'I assumed that, son. I’m not an idiot. What I meant was, they must give you a change of clothes. Why are you walking around wearing your uniform?'
“'It’s actually a long story. The good news is I have a change of clothes at home. I live five minutes from here.” I paused. 'And after I am wearing the proper attire, I would like to take your daughter to Ziggy’s. It’s a burger joint about two miles from here.'
“'You’re feeding her dinner?'
“Sure will,” I said, smiling.
“'I can’t say ‘no’ to anyone in my family receiving a free meal. I want your father’s phone number if you are taking out my daughter.'
“'No problem, sir,' I said. Marlene handed me a pen and a paper, and I wrote my house phone number down. We never received too many phone calls at my house. I could barely remember it.
“So, I told Marlene’s father the last number was either a ‘six’ or an ‘eight’. He must have thought I was a dumb jock. So, spouted out for no good reason. 'I’m on the honor roll!'
Her dad looked at me and sized me up. 'That’s good to hear. Marie has made honor roll every year since she started school. You two should have lots to talk about.' Her dad looked around and then behind him. 'Where’s your car, young man?' her father asked.
“'It’s in the schools parking lot,' I answered.
“'Is it a muscle car?'
“'No, sir, it is a safe 1933 Ford truck.'
“'Do you drag race with it?'
“'No, sir. Never have.'
