by ID Johnson
Chapter 11
It was about two o’clock when we made it into Cadence’s apartment. She still seemed groggy, but I thought she might come around in a little bit, and then maybe I’d finally have a chance to see what this was all about from her perspective. It seemed a little odd to me that the person who spoke to me the least about this whole deal was my own sister.
I loved my sister’s apartment and spent a few minutes staring out the window at the view before Cadence told me to make myself at home on the couch. I sank back into the cushions, feeling a little tired myself. The dream that’d interrupted my slumber came back to me as Aaron mentioned he’d dropped my bag in the guest room.
“I need to go check in with Jamie,” Aaron said to my sister as he walked toward the door. “He said he needs to see me in person. So….”
Cadence was still standing in the middle of the room. “What’s that all about?”
“I’m not sure,” he admitted. “I have an idea--but I’m not going to speculate.”
“Okay,” Cadence replied. I could tell by her expression that she wanted to ask more, but she didn’t. She sat down on the couch next to me. “Well, let me know what’s going on.”
“I will,” he said. He stopped short of the door and crossed back over to kiss my sister’s cheek quickly, and I wondered if that had required an IAC message or if he had thought better of leaving without doing so on his own. I tried not to stare at them.
“Aaron, can I go on the hunt tonight?” I asked, assuming there was one. I know my expression was probably ridiculously hopeful, but we had been bonding.
He was almost back to the door now as he turned and looked at me with both eyebrows raised. “Do I really need to respond to that question?”
“It was worth a shot,” I muttered, shrugging and letting out a long sigh. Obviously, I knew he’d say no.
“Not today, girlfriend.” He was shaking his head a me like he thought I was nuts. “You’ve got a couple more years before you’re ready for that.” It seemed like that date kept getting further and further away. I tried not to pout as my sister also looked at me like I was crazy for even going there.
“See you later,” she said as he disappeared out the door. And then, letting out a sigh like she couldn’t believe me. “Here’s the remote,” she said, leaning forward to grab it off the table and tossing it in my general direction. It landed next to me on the couch. “I’ll be back in a minute, and then we can talk about what you wanna do.”
She pulled herself up off the couch and disappeared. I wondered if this was some covert operation to get me here and then abandon me. “Where are you going?”
“Must you know everything?” she shouted from down the hallway. “To the bathroom.”
“Oh.” I felt dumb for even asking. I flipped on the TV and then shouted, “I didn’t know you still had to do that!” I mean, I guess I assumed she did, but I never really thought about it. She still slept and ate, though the Guardians never really seemed to do much of either of those things. Except Elliott. He definitely ate….
“Yeah. I do!” she shouted back at me.
I was a little surprised to see the TV was on a news channel. My sister was never one for caring about such things, and since I’d recently decided not to watch the reports so much, I wished it was on anything but. “CNN? Bluck,” I mumbled to no one. I stared at the remote for a second, looking for the button to change the channel, but once I realized what the reporter was saying, I set it down beside me and listened intently.
“A person of interest in connection with the Jogging Path Killings was arrested today in Philadelphia. Steven Gibbon, 32, was transferred to an area hospital after he was critically wounded in a standoff with police outside of Rocky’s Gym this morning. While police are not confirming exactly what evidence they have that Gibbon is connected to the murders of seven women in the Philadelphia area, they did say that his wounds are not life threatening and that he will be taken into custody as soon as he is discharged.”
“Cadence!” I yelled, as soon as I heard my sister coming back down the hallway. “Did you see this?”
“What is it?” Cadence asked pulling down her sleeves as if she’d just washed her hands. “They caught the Jogging Path Killer?”
My eyes were still glued to the TV as they showed a picture of Steven Gibbon. He was a big guy with a buzzcut, almost no hair, except for on his face where had enough of a five o’clock shadow that it could easily be seven or eight o’clock. “Looks like it,” I replied to my sister, adding, “he’s creepy!” Cadence stared at the TV for a second, and seeing Gibbon reminded me of the conversation I’d attempted to have with her the other night. She hadn’t even registered I’d been talking about this freak show then. “Is he a Vampire?”
“No,” Cadence said quickly. “Not all bad people are Vampires. Some of them are just bad people.”
Staring into the dead eyes of the suspect, I was relieved to hear her answer. Visions of what that guy could do as a human, let alone a Vampire, gave me chills. “Well, I’m glad. Because something tells me he would be even worse if he was a Vampire.”
Cadence was also staring at the TV as they continued to discuss Gibbon and showed a mug shot of him that they said was from a few years ago. As if coming out of a trance, Cadence shook her head. “Hey, Aaron wants us to meet him at Jamie’s office. Let’s head over there, okay?”
I was perfectly happy to turn off the TV, hoping I never had to see Steven Gibbon again. Something about that guy made me think he might show up in my nightmares, though. “Okay.” My sister was already headed toward the door. I remembered the remark Aaron had made in the airplane about Cadence having no clue what was going on with me and decided to mess with my sister a little bit. “Which one is Jamie?”
Cadence held the door for me and said, “He’s the Healer.”
“The one with the spiky hair?” I asked. Not, “The one that took me to visit Grandma?”
“That’s him.” We waited for the elevator to reach the penthouse level, and she didn’t even seem to think it strange I wouldn’t know who Jamie was. So, I continued to have my fun.
“I remember Meagan and Aurora. What’s that other guy’s name? The one with the weird accent?”
“That’s Christian,” Cadence replied as we stepped into the elevator. “He’s not here right now, though.”
“Oh, where’s he at?” I found that surprising as I was under the impression Christian had been there the night before when Jamie asked him to send us access to the cameras, but I guess he didn’t need to be. I also thought it was weird that Cadence didn’t think I’d know who Christian was since he’d installed the software on my computer. Aaron was right; my sister had no clue what was going on with me. I sort of wondered if she’d even notice if I disappeared.
“Christian is working on a special project with some doctor in one of the Guardian settlements. He’s trying to figure out a way that Guardians can turn back into humans if they want to,” Cadence attempted to explain to me as the elevator reached the bottom floor.
This was intriguing. I hadn’t heard anything at all about this and didn’t realize there was a Guardian settlement. “Why would they want to do that?” The elevator reached the bottom floor, and we both got out.
My sister was walking super fast, and I had to almost jog to keep up. “Well, it’s kind of exhausting living forever,” she explained. “Some of them have been around for thousands of years, and they don’t have a lot of options. If they could turn back into people, then they would die, eventually. As Guardians, they’ll just keep on going forever.”
“Unless a Hunter kills them, right?” I asked, truly seeking clarification this time.
“Right. But we hope that doesn’t happen, for obvious reasons,” Cadence noticed me having trouble keeping up and slowed just a tad. “So, this will make it easier for them to be… normal again.”
I was glad I had on a jacket since it was a little chilly out with a brisk autumn breeze. The
cold weather didn't seem to bother my sister at all now that she had Transformed. That was something I’d never asked about. My mind flickered to the hat I’d bought Elliott, and I glanced down at my ring for just a second, almost running into the back of my sister who was stopped on the sidewalk, staring into the parking lot. Cadence grabbed my arm and squealed, “Oh. My. Gosh,” almost as well as Lucy.
“What? What is it?” I asked, not sure if I should be scared of a Vampire, or a monster, or something else entirely. Possibly my sister’s brute force on my arm.
Cadence broke out in a fit of laughter, smiling with glee. “He’s here! He actually came! Come on!” She took off running so fast, I was left staring after her with my mouth open, still standing several yards behind.
Cadence must have realized there was no way I could keep up with her because she stopped and backtracked, grabbing me by the arm, and slowing her pace to a more manageable, human speed. I continued to stare at her like she was nuts having no idea who was here. For a moment I thought she might mean Christian, but I didn’t think she was that fond of him.
“But where are we going?” I asked, sprinting again to keep up with my sister who was jogging but still making it hard on me.
Cadence must have been too excited to answer. She burst through the office building door, letting go of me, and the door flung back, almost smacking me in the face. It took me a moment to get my bearings and catch up with her. Luckily, Jamie’s office was close to the front entrance, and his door was open, so I could see the doctor, Aaron, and another person in there, but since my sister had flung herself at him, I couldn’t tell who it was. Yet.
“Brandon!” Mystery solved. I didn’t quite understand why my sister was so thrilled to see him. I supposed he must remind her of Elliott so much that she was a little confused about who he was “You came! You’re here.”
“Surprise! It’s me!” Brandon said, less than enthusiastically. He hugged my sister back, but even as he was making his next remark, I could tell he was no longer paying attention to her. His eyes had fallen on me. I lingered in the doorway, just staring at him, wondering how it was I could be looking into the oh so familiar eyes of a stranger. “Hope you weren’t expecting the pizza guy.”
Cadence didn’t seem to notice how his last sentence trailed off. I was barely paying attention to her either, but I thought she said, “No, some of us don’t like pizza,” before she asked, “Why are you here?”
He let go of my sister, and without answering her, he smiled at me, a sort of unassuming, friendly smile, and said “Hey,” quietly.
I took a small step into the room, not sure how to approach him. It was as if crossing this threshold was opening an entire new reality for me, one where a piece of Elliott was still alive. Not one for being rude, I replied, “Hello,” and tried not to stare. It wasn’t working. He wasn’t quite as tall as Elliott, and his hair was shorter, better controlled. Of course, he looked about five or ten years younger than his dad, too, and he was dressed like a kid in jeans and a sweatshirt, something I’d never seen Elliott wear. I dropped my eyes, not wanting to stare.
I looked up in time to see my sister’s expression change. She glanced from Jamie to Aaron with her forehead crinkled, and I realized Aaron was smiling at her. That’s when Cadence tipped her face up and her shoulders relaxed a little bit. I wasn’t quite sure what puzzle she had just solved.
“Cass, this is Brandon,” Aaron was saying, standing up from his spot on Jamie’s desk and taking a step toward us. “Brandon, this is Cassidy.”
“It’s nice to finally meet you in person,” Brandon said, offering me his hand as he closed the gap between us.
“Oh, yeah, you too.” I stared at his hand for a moment like I was checking for weapons before I finally took it and repeated my sister’s question. “Why are you here?”
I swear Brandon was staring at me like he was meeting Selena Gomez or some other celebrity. It seemed to take him a moment to process my question, but after a moment he said, “Oh, uh, well, after I went on the hunt last night, I decided it was time to go through with the Transformation.”
I stopped listening after he said the first sentence. “The what?” I knew my voice was louder and higher in pitch than it should’ve been, but I couldn’t help myself. I no longer cared that Brandon was Elliott’s kid or why he was here or why he was staring at me. “Cadence! You said humans couldn’t go on hunts!”
“That’s true,” my sister replied, taking a step toward me, her hands raised. “Humans are not allowed to go on hunts. Most of the time.” The look she gave Brandon was threatening, like she wanted to remind him she could murder him right there where he stood. “There was a situation, and we needed his assistance. Remember what I told you about how good of a liar he is?”
“Not as good as you, apparently.” I crossed my arms and glared at my sister indignantly. She had taken Brandon on the hunt and wouldn’t even take me, her own flesh and blood.
“All right, Cass.” She put her hand on my shoulder and started talking to me like I was a three-year-old, which made me even angrier. “We needed someone to run interference, and we thought Brandon could do it, so we let him come along. But we never do that. And you’re not old enough to come on a hunt anyway.”
“This is bull… crap.” I was so angry, I actually stomped my foot at my sister, pulling away from her. I needed to take a few deep breaths and calm down, but here I was, spending hours looking for Giovani, which she didn’t even appreciate, and now she’s taking someone else out before me. I have never been so angry at my sister in all my life.
“Wow.” I looked up to see the most disapproving look on Aaron’s face I could possibly ever imagine. “You’re not quite being the sweet little Cassidy we all know and love right now. What has gotten into you?” He sounded more shocked than judgmental, and I realized I needed to calm down. I looked at Jamie who also looked a little stunned at my reaction and knew I was not acting like a grownup in that moment. I breathed in through my nose as Cadence took another step in my direction. I didn’t back away this time.
“Look, Cass, you’re not always going to understand everything I do as the Leader, but sometimes you just have to follow directives and do what I say. I always have a good reason, and most of the time it’s based on information that you don’t have available to you, okay?” Her voice was calm and collected, way different than what I was used to hearing from my sister when we were upset at each other.
Her response actually went a long way toward calming me down. “Fine,” I agreed, shaking my head. I could feel tears forming in my eyes and did everything I could to hold them off. The last thing I needed was for this room full of people to think I was a whiny brat and a cry baby. “I just… really want to be a part of all of this, and it’s hard to wait.” I hoped my explanation was succinct enough, and I thought back to what Aaron had said back in the plane about being patient. But it was so hard.
Cadence wrapped her arms around me, and I relaxed a little bit. “I know. But you will have the rest of your life to be a Vampire Hunter. You’re young. You still have a lot to learn. Give it some time, and you’ll be ready. But not yet.” The same words Aaron had spoken to me, essentially, coming from my own sister.
The room was quiet for a moment before Jamie hopped up and said, “Well, as much fun as this has been….” I gave him an apologetic look, and he flashed me a reassuring smile. “So… Brandon, I’ll see you in a few hours. Let me get some stuff together, and then we’ll be ready to start the process.”
“Okay,” Brandon said, anxiousness showing on his face. “I appreciate it,” he added, offering Jamie his hand.
“No problem,” the doctor assured him, taking it. “Welcome to the team.”
I realized now what it was Brandon had been saying, the last part, the part I hadn’t listened to because I’d been yelling. He was here to Transform. He was old enough to go through the process, and he’d be doing it tonight. As much as I wished it was me, I was also thankful
that I’d be there while it was happening and hoped my sister would let me be in the room while Jamie did the procedure. It would be awesome to see it firsthand before I went through it myself.
“Let’s head over to the gym, and we’ll show you around the facilities,” Aaron suggested ushering Cadence toward the door, and I followed along, keeping my head down.
Brandon stepped over and opened the door, and my sister stepped aside, letting me go first. “After you.”
I managed a weak smile and went through, though I had no idea where I was going. I imagined we were headed outside, though, so I went that way, and in a moment, my sister and Aaron were behind me, and Brandon rushed to catch up with me. I glanced over my shoulder and saw Aaron gesture toward a big building across the campus, and I assumed he meant for us to go that way, so I headed toward what looked like a gym.
My sister and Aaron were pretty far behind us, I noticed, and a quick glance behind me let me know they were carrying on an IAC conversation. I turned back around and wondered, for the hundredth time, what that would be like. “So, you from Iowa?” Brandon asked me as we walked along.
“Uh, yeah,” I replied, assuming he probably already knew that. “And you’re from Oklahoma?”
“Born and raised,” he replied. I glanced up at him, and he smiled down at me. There was something about him that immediately set me at ease, like we had been friends for years, sort of like the vibe I’d gotten from his dad, though he was definitely different than Elliott. While they looked the same, and their voices had the same gravely quality, as well as a similar accent, when I looked at Brandon, I didn’t see his dad. “You a senior?”
“No, I’m a junior,” I replied. “Are you a senior?”
