by K X Douglas
“Dude, they’re tomorrow,” he said. “Did you forget?”
“Yeah, I forgot.”
“You don’t really have anything they’d take issue with, do you?”
“Not really, but I don’t want anyone coming near the books. I need to find a place to hide them!”
Eric turned the stove off and started plating his food. He plated another serving for Lachlan and covered it with foil.
“You don’t have to worry,” he said. “They won’t be searching through every drawer and cupboard. I’ve heard from the older students that they just sort of walk in, take a quick look around to make sure the place isn’t destroyed, and leave.”
“Destroyed? What do you mean by ‘destroyed’?”
“You know, holes punched in the walls, mould in the bathroom, things like that.”
“Why would anyone do that?”
“People do stupid things when they’re drunk. It’s hard to explain since you can’t get drunk yourself.”
That evening, they moved Peter’s belongings back to his dorm after making sure that the door was intact and functional. Everyone stopped by at one point or another, the newly repaired door catching their attention.
“Feel good to be back in your own place? Ish?” Victoria asked.
“Yeah,” Peter said. “Just in time for inspections, apparently.”
“I’m so glad we gave those guns back to Silas,” Heidi said.
“You know you’re going to need them again come this weekend,” Peter said.
“Yeah…” Heidi said.
“You know, I really wish we could just have a normal celebration for Samhain,” Victoria said. “Without having to worry about, y’know, whether or not the world’s gonna end. That’d be really nice.”
“What exactly is ‘normal’ for Samhain, anyways?” Heidi asked.
“Well, it’s really similar to Halloween,” Victoria replied. “I usually carve some jack-o’-lanterns, and do a seance with a Ouija board. I wonder if I’ll be able to contact Professor Carter this year. It’d be cool to be able to talk to him after we succeed in stopping the ritual. Peter, do you know anything about what happens to us after we die?”
“I haven’t a clue, I’m afraid,” Peter said. “Death is just as mysterious to me as it is to humans.”
“I’ve always wondered what happens,” Victoria said. “I don’t think we just cease to exist or whatever. I’m not sure if I believe in an afterlife like heaven, though.”
“I’ve never really thought about it in detail,” Heidi said. “Death is death. It happens to all of us.”
“There’s no reason for either of you to be worrying about what death is like because we’re all going to survive this weekend!” Peter said. “I’m going to take care of The Laughing Union and put a stop to the ritual. I promise.”
Heidi and Victoria both gulped audibly.
“Right,” Heidi said. “Of course. Have either of you started making plans for after the weekend?”
“Not really,” Victoria said. “Preoccupied with preparing for the festival. There’s a small chance that it’s just going to be a normal Samhain, after all.”
“Peter?” Heidi asked.
“I haven’t made any plans, no,” he said. “I suppose we should have a big party after; a proper Samhain celebration, you know? This past month has been quite the year, after all.”
“You bet!” Victoria said.
“Sounds fun,” Heidi said. “We’ll have to get the whole block involved!”
“It certainly helps to have something to look forward to, doesn’t it?” Peter asked.
“Yeah, I’ll start planning everything once we, y’know, survive,” Victoria said.
Despite all of the stress, Peter couldn’t help but laugh.
“It’s good to have something to look forward to in times like this,” he said. “Remember, it’s smooth sailing after this weekend. Well, except for finals.”
“Ugh, don’t remind me,” Victoria said. “Why does literally everything have to be so stressful? I didn’t even get a chance to do any studying for midterms, so I probably bombed all of them!”
“You know,” Heidi said, “there’s a really great way to relieve stress, Victoria, you just-”
“I know, I know!”
“Wait, have you two fucked yet?” Heidi asked.
They both shook their heads as fast as they could.
“I guess you haven’t had much time with everything else going on. You seem so much more stressed out than me, Victoria. Why not fool around a bit?”
“Heidi, you know why. It still feels weird to know that my roommate wants me to sleep with her boyfriend.”
“It’s okay, Peter and I agreed on having an open relationship. I’ve slept with a couple of other guys, not to mention that orgy we had. It’s okay, Victoria.”
Victoria sighed and looked at Peter.
“Only if you want to,” he said.
“Let’s wait until after everything is over,” Victoria said.
“Alright,” Peter replied.
Victoria retired for the night, leaving Heidi and Peter alone in front of the open doorway. Heidi walked up to Peter’s side and grabbed his hand.
“How are you holding up?” she asked.
“I…just am, I guess? I dunno.”
“You’ve never killed anyone before, have you?”
Peter shook his head.
“How about you?” he asked. “How are you coping?”
Heidi took a deep breath.
“I don’t know.”
They both sat down on the steps leading up to Peter’s front door. She leaned her head on his shoulder, and he put his arm around her waist.
It wasn’t long before Heidi started to cry. Peter held onto her for what felt like hours in total silence.
They both looked up to see Serena watching them from a few feet away.
“Oh, am I interrupting something?” she asked.
“No,” they both said simultaneously.
Serena sat beside Heidi and hugged her.
“It’s going to be okay, hon. Everything’s going to be okay.” She looked up at Peter and gave a soft smile.
“Yeah,” Peter said. “We’re going to get through this. After Samhain, it’s going to be smooth sailing.”
“I hope Dad retires after this,” Serena said. “I had an inkling that his job was dangerous at times, but I had no idea that it was like this.”
“I don’t think he normally puts himself in this kind of danger, Serena.” Peter said. “Except for that one time that Professor Carter kind of told me about, I guess.”
Serena shot him a look.
“That’s exactly what I’m talking about! It’s not normal. I just want Dad and Silas to be able to have normal jobs that don’t put their lives in danger on a daily basis.”
“Have you ever told either of them that?” Peter asked.
“I’ve had the conversation with Silas more times than I can count. I tried to convince him to apply to Summerfield with me, but he had his heart set on continuing in Dad’s footsteps. He’s not dumb, and he has a hell of a lot better work ethic than I do, so it’s not like he doesn’t have options. He just feels obligated to do the work he’s doing for the greater good or whatever.”
“And your dad?”
Serena took a deep breath.
“I don’t know about Dad.” One by one, tears started to trickle down her face. “Like, I don’t know if he’s all there some times. I’ve tried to convince him to get help; go see a therapist, enrol in rehab, things like that. He kept brushing me off, or saying he’ll do it eventually, but he never did. I think he just keeps forgetting.”
For a few minutes the three of them sat there in silence. Peter stretched his legs out one by one.
“Forget the party. I think we’re all going to need a vacation once this is all over,” he said.
Serena and Heidi both giggled, which temporarily put a stop to their tears.
“Where were you thinking o
f going, Peter?” Heidi asked.
“I dunno, really. I’m assuming that neither of you can afford anything really expensive, so anywhere reasonably far away is out. We’d have to stay somewhat local. What about Banff? I’ve never been there, and so many people I knew in high school told me about how they went there for winter break one time or another. They made it sound like a lot of fun.”
“How about Kelowna?” Serena asked.
“Everybody in the province already lives there for half the year, though, don’t they?” Heidi said.
They all laughed until they were red in the face.
“Banff does sound fun, though,” Heidi continued. “It would be cool to be able to go there, say, over winter break, even if just for a weekend.”
“Mmmm, I’ve never skied before, though,” Serena said. “I’ve always wanted to give it a try, but I’ve never had the opportunity.”
“Neither have I,” Peter said. “How hard can it be?”
“Says the guy who can shapeshift into pretty much whatever he wants,” Heidi said as she punched his shoulder lightly. “I haven’t skied before, either. It seems kind of daunting to learn.”
“I mean, you could always snowboard instead,” Serena said.
“Isn’t that even harder to learn?” Heidi asked.
“I dunno,” Serena muttered. “It’s not skiing.”
“We could just, y’know, avoid the slopes entirely,” Heidi said. “There’s plenty of other stuff to do in Banff. There’s biking, dog sledding, tours, hiking…”
“Okay, now you’re speaking my language!” Serena said. “Peter, remember when we talked about going on a hike on winter break?”
“Yeah,” he said. “That was when we first met, right? I remember we hung out for a while after that party.” He leaned back on his hands and looked up at the sky. “Wow, that feels like so long ago now.”
“Or we could just stick to the hot springs,” Heidi said. “That’s nice and simple.”
“That’s something to look forward to,” Serena said with a dreamy sigh. “After this whole fiasco, plus finals, it’ll be good to go to the hot springs and just…relax.”
“I miss being able to relax,” Peter said. “I feel like once this is all over, I’m going to be too tired to even celebrate the fact that the world isn’t going to end any time soon.”
“Yeah, that’s definitely a possibility,” Serena said. “I’ve been feeling pretty tired lately with everything that’s going on lately.
She looked up at the sky. The sun had set a while ago; the days were gradually getting shorter.
“I should head in for the night,” she said.
“Yeah, me, too,” Heidi said.
They all stood up, and Peter hugged them both.
“Everything’s going to turn out alright,” he said.
“Yeah,” Heidi replied. She took a deep breath. “We have a plan. We can do this.”
Peter returned to his dorm for the night. He spent the better part of the next several hours doing nothing in particular in a desperate attempt to keep his mind occupied.
The news was dominated by coverage of the prison break. The media was going out of their way to avoid showing any footage, if indeed they had footage, and there weren’t any viral videos of the incident as far as Peter could tell.
Yeah, a vacation is starting to sound like a really good idea, if only to stay ahead of the authorities for a while. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to keep attending the academy at this rate, especially now that Professor Carter’s dead.
Peter spent the rest of the night and morning looking at different hotels in Banff. He debated booking a hotel early to surprise everyone. However, he lacked the disposable income to pay for a vacation for so many people.
***
Contrary to Peter’s expectations, the next day’s inspections passed by without incident. Some time after Peter’s classes were over for the day, one of the RAs entered his dorm and took a quick look around before declaring that he had passed. Once they were gone, he shut the door behind them and made sure that it was locked.
Walking over to his bed, he sat on the side next to the footboard.
For now, all we can do is wait. Wait and hope.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
The night before Halloween, Peter didn’t even bother pretending to hide his anxiety. Being that Halloween fell upon a Saturday, he was able to spend the entire day preparing without worrying about missing classes.
When the sun began to set, everyone sans Tadhg met in the cul-de-sac outside the dormitory row houses. Peter started his car so that it would start warming up. The tension was palpable in the air.
“Alright, everybody,” Peter said. “This is it. The moment of truth. Truth be told, you don’t really have to accompany me. I should be able to handle this on my own, or wi-”
“You cut that shit out right now, babe,” Heidi said. “We aren’t going over this again. Everyone’s coming along, whether you want us to or not. We’re going to go and kill that son of a bitch, and then we’ll come back and have a kickass block party.”
“Right,” Victoria said. “We’re just as caught up in this as you are at this point. They know we’re coming, don’t they?”
“I was in this from the start,” Serena said. “I’m not going to let my dad and my brother run into the jaws of death without me. I mean, I’m here for you, too, Peter. You’ve already done more than enough for us.”
“Serena’s right,” Isabelle said. “We’re all involved now. I kind of like having a world and all.”
“You were there for me at one of my lowest points, Peter, so I’m here for you,” Lachlan said.
“It’s only the end of the world, my dude,” Eric said. “No big deal. If we fail, we just all die and the world gets scorched to a husk or something.”
“I’d be coming along regardless of your involvement, Peter,” Silas said. “It’s my job to stop things like this. Not that I’m not grateful for everyone’s help.”
Peter took a deep breath.
What a piece of work is man…how noble in reason, how infinite in faculty. In form and moving, how express and admirable. In action, how like an angel. In apprehension, how like a god. The beauty of the world, the paragon of animals…and yet to me, what is this quintessence of dust?
Only everything. If I ever see Tadhg again, I’ll have to tell him that I’ve found the answer to his question. I think I know what it’s like to be in love now.
“Thank you, everyone,” he said. “I can’t express how much I appreciate your help.”
Heidi, Victoria, Eric and Lachlan all got in Peter’s car, while Isabelle and Serena got in Silas’. The drive was straightforward until they reached the area of the city that was destroyed by the giant worm; it was almost directly adjacent to the park where the Mabon festival was held.
“Shit, I completely forgot about the bridge,” Peter said. “I’m not sure how we’re going to get across the river. I mean, I can cross it fine, but you all probably can’t.”
“Don’t worry, Peter, we thought of this,” Eric said. “Well, Silas did.”
Peter and Silas both parked their cars on the side of the road.
Everyone got out, and Silas opened the trunk of his car. Inside were a pair of inflatable boats and two sets of oars. He pulled them out and set one on the roof of each car.
“We can inflate these and row across,” Silas said. “I figure it’ll be easy with you helping, Peter.”
After inflating the rafts, they tied them together and set them on the water. The trip across the river was simple, if tedious. Peter extended his arms, using them as makeshift oars.
“By the way, is Tadhg going to be helping us out?” Peter asked.
“Yeah, Dad’s coming,” Silas said. “He has some preparations to make, so he’ll be late.”
When they reached the other side of the river, they climbed out of the rafts and onto the riverbank. From where they ran aground, they had to walk just over a kilome
tre to the park across ruined and ruptured earth.
When they arrived at the festival grounds, they saw that not even an earthquake could stop people from celebrating. Many of the trappings of the holiday were similar to those of Mabon, such as the ritual circle and the long picnic table laden with food. Hundreds of people had gathered around a twenty-foot tall bonfire.
Despite this, Peter felt none of the holiday spirit.
“Peter, look,” Victoria said as she pointed to a particular group of people. “That’s them, isn’t it?”
He followed her finger and saw a group of people clad in the distinctive robes of The Laughing Union.
“Yeah, it is,” he said. “How are we going to do this? There are far too many people here that could get caught up in whatever we start.”
“It’s unfortunate that they’re all dressed the same,” Silas said. “If we knew which one was Kevin, it would be simple enough to sneak up on him and put a bullet in his head. But now we might have to gamble with other peoples’ lives.”
“Let’s lay low for a little bit,” Victoria said. “Some of them probably recognize us from the hotel, and Kevin definitely recognizes Peter.”
“Well, I can always transform into somebody else,” Peter said.
“Babe, you’re still wearing the same hoodie and jeans,” Heidi said. “He’s going to see you coming.”
The sky started to darken, which made the bonfire stand out much more as it illuminated much of the park. One of the robed people broke out from the crowd and walked up to the altar. The crowd gradually began to focus on the person as they began a guided prayer. Silence swept over the park.
The man lifted an object from the altar, but Peter couldn’t see it in detail from where he was. It may have been a grimoire, but he wasn’t sure. Reflexively, he extruded his gun from his body and holstered it in his pants.
“Is that him?” Silas asked.
“I…I’m not sure. It could be, but it could also be someone else. Remember, the only one who can initiate the ritual to summon the Old One is Kevin. He’s the only one we’re after.”
They sat there and watched the prayer for what seemed like hours, even though it was only about ten minutes.
“Let’s get closer,” Peter said.
