by J. Axbridge
“Dad, enough already, it’s not like she needs any more pressure than she already has,” I came to Mayumi’s defense instinctively.
“This is much bigger than a simple free throw Arthur.”
“DAD - REALLY!”
My dad smiled at me, then to Mayumi. “Arthur, I know she’ll get the job done, now let’s go introduce all of you to the city and make preparations for the coming battle and rescue of your sisters.”
Chapter 63 - Working Together
Adelaide
Standing behind a small white podium on a makeshift stage that the residents of Lands End had clearly built hurriedly for town gatherings, my dad began our introductions. Mayumi, my brothers and I sat nervously in folding chairs to his right waiting for the shocked expressions of the unsuspecting crowd once they’d found out about dragons, fairies and our plan to fight.
“Hey Yu . . . YU,” I whispered loudly garnering her attention.
“Yes Addie-san?”
“Sort of feels like we made it to high school graduation after all, doesn’t it?”
“Very funny Addie . . . , but you are right.” Mayumi leaned closer to me. “Made it to 11th grade graduation,” She laughed nervously. “Guess this will have to do, considering . . .”
“Too bad Jax isn’t here for this,” I replied, my eyes welling up.
“He is here. His spirit lives on in all of us Addie. Never forget that!” Mayumi squeezed my hand tightly and I felt relief wash over me. I never could have made it this far without her; she is the truest friend anyone could ever ask for. Plus she kicks ass.
“Residents of Lands End, as many of you already know, my daughter Adelaide, my sons’ Ethan and Arthur and their friend Mayumi, safely and miraculously walked into our town a couple days ago.” My dad looked at us and smiled hesitantly. “I believed I’d never see my children again. . . I was wrong. They’ve restored faith and hope in me that this battle with the vampires, and other evil creatures out there trying to bring us harm, can be won.”
As my dad continued to speak I noticed the crowd began shifting nervously and the whispers quickly started to rise, as everyone was surely wondering what this emergency meeting was all about.
“I know it’s been tough. We’ve lost a lot of good people and werewolves to these evil beings but we’ve fought back and have proved that we are strong! We’ve proved that we are one, both humans and werewolves together . . .” My dad paused for obvious effect; he always was good at that sort of thing and I always told him he should have gone into politics. “So what I’m about to ask of you is not to be taken lightly. Yet before I ask you this most serious question, I want to first introduce you to my children, and then to some special guests we have among us today who want to help us in our fight for survival.”
Ethan, Arthur, Mayumi and I stood up apprehensively, as my dad walked over nodding his head assuredly.
“This is my son Ethan.” My dad rested his hand firmly upon Ethan’s young shoulder as a proud father does. “He is just eleven years old and I’ve recently found out,” he winked at Ethan, “That he is part werewolf.” Mentioning this fact caused even louder whispers and grumbles of descent among the crowd and I started to worry that things might get out of hand.
“Settle down please! Settle down, I will explain,” my dad spoke calmly waving his arms for everyone to quiet down. “This is my son Arthur,” he went on without missing a beat, “he is sixteen and he is also part werewolf, and this lovely lady is my daughter Adelaide, she is seventeen and she too is part werewolf.” The murmuring was at its height and my dad had to noticeably raise his voice to get over the noise. “FINALLY, THIS IS THEIR GOOD FRIEND MAYUMI GUSHIKEN. SHE IS ORIGINALLY FROM JAPAN. SHE IS NOT A WEREWOLF, SHE IS HUMAN BUT WHAT I LEARNED RECENTLY IS THAT SHE IS WHAT SOME CALL, A ‘HUNTRA’ OR HUNTER/TRACKER!”
“There’s a Gushiken Huntra — here?” An older grey-haired man who was part of the werewolf community asked in surprise, as the other werewolves in the crowd of various ages looked to each other unsure. It was obvious that most had never seen a Huntra in person before and I’m sure they never imagined to see a Huntra as young and beautiful as Yu. Traditionally Huntras were men and boys in training Yu had told me, rarely were there female Huntras and it seemed from the questioning looks as if they were finding it almost impossible to believe that she was one of them.
Thankfully my dad had noticed the same questioning faces. “Believe it or not,” my dad started again looking down at a group of disbelieving werewolves. “She was raised in Japan to hunt down rogue werewolves, those who kill or interfere with human life. Otherwise she is a friend to them. She was in the USA studying the American werewolf culture when the showers hit, and just like the rest of us here, it wasn’t easy for her to survive but she did, all on her own until finding her friends — my children.”
The old werewolf continued to stare at Mayumi intently, squinting in thought. Mayumi stared back just as intense and neither of them blinked for a long breathless minute. Finally the old werewolf nodded and Mayumi bowed respectfully in return, cutting through the thick tension that hung in the air. The rest of the werewolves recognizing the older werewolf acknowledged her as a true Huntra, relaxed and then stared at her in awe, curiosity replacing the suspicion they held only minutes earlier.
“ALLISTER, HOW CAN YOUR KIDS BE WEREWOLVES IF YOU’RE NOT? WAS YOUR WIFE A WEREWOLF?” A voice yelled out from somewhere in the middle of the crowd. “I didn’t know werewolves and humans could have children?”
“Actually, I believe my grandfather was a werewolf, my dad was half werewolf and the werewolf blood line, although small, was passed through me to my kids. The recessive gene they inherited is only now beginning to show itself.”
“WHAT DO YOU WANT US TO DO?” A large teenage boy who easily stood over six feet with short dark hair and bulging arms asked from the front.
“Please let me finish explaining and you will all understand exactly what needs to be done young man,” my dad yelled down, and a hush finally rolled over the crowd. “I have two more daughters, twins . . . who are not with us today. Now this is going to sound strange and downright unbelievable, but they’re part fairy.” The quiet murmuring picked up to a soft roar once more, “My wife’s blood line goes back to that of the fairies and apparently it was passed on to my twins,” he spoke above the crowd not wavering in his tone. “They have recently shown they possess startling powers I’ve been told. They, unlike my three children before you today, inherited the fairy gene from my wife, instead of the werewolf gene from my side of the family.”
With that news the crowd erupted in a mix of yells and laughter no different than at a witch trial in medieval times I imagined. I looked to Mayumi nervously for help but she was like stone, silently staring into the crowd unfazed.
“ARE YOU FOR REAL HADWIN? YOU EXPECT US TO BELIEVE YOU HAVE FAIRY DAUGHTERS FLYING AROUND?” A human man in the group yelled, obviously not grasping the realization that there are werewolves, vampires and who knows what else out in the world since the storms.
“Not flying around but fairies do exist, as do werewolves and vampires.” My dad mimicked my thoughts exactly, “You see the trend here, don’t you? Everything we believed to be just stories was based on factual creatures. Things were embellished of course, vampires turning into bats, werewolves dying by silver bullets, but none the less werewolves and vampires do exist. Why be surprised that fairies are also real?” My dad looked around as the murmurs subsided, “and who knows what else. This is a changed world people, we must adapt quickly if we want to survive.” Again he paused letting the crowd talk amongst themselves a moment longer before continuing. “NOW PLEASE QUIET DOWN—I HAVE MORE TO TELL YOU!”
“WHAT, IS GODZILLA GOING TO COME HELP US?” A voice erupted from the crowd and everyone laughed.
I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. Boy is that guy in for a surprise. I thought laughing to myself.
“Not exactly Sir,” my dad responded calmly, “but I do have
one more surprise that I myself did not believe until last evening. My children told me they were helped by a group called the GuDra which is short for, Guardian Dragons. They are a species of the Draco, dragons if you may, that lived thousands of years ago in great numbers but now only few survive and they have agreed to help us.”
“ALLISTER, YOU’RE A NUTCASE! FAIRIES AND DRAGONS! GET OFF THE STAGE ALLISTER; WE NEED TO CHOOSE A NEW LEADER!” The same man yelled and the crowd became louder, most in agreement with ousting my dad right here and now.
“Dad, just get on with it, introduce them already.” I mumbled under my breath in panic. Thankfully he turned and stood tall before declaring in his loudest voice yet,
“LET ME INTRODUCE YOU TO — THE GUDRA!” He waved his hand and Ravot walked out from behind a tall curtain followed by the other GuDra and stood on stage next to my dad, towering over him as my brothers, Mayumi and I shook their large scaly hands showing our support. The crowd which was previously rowdy gasped and fell eerily silent as the leathery winged GuDra stood at attendance facing them.
“This is Ravot, the leader of the GuDra; he is a good . . . man, or should I say, dragon. It’s best if I let him explain.” My dad stepped back hastily, still a bit jumpy around the dragons and walked over and stood with us giving Ravot the whole stage to address the shocked crowd.
“Hello,” Ravot said with heaviness in his hissing voice that I hadn’t heard before. “My name is Ravot; I am a species of the Draco, dragons that used to roam the earth years ago. My innocent kind was slaughtered by many of your ancestors and therefore we on this stage are the last remaining dragons on this planet.
“Do you actually breathe fire?” A young girl asked nervously.
“We do breathe fire,” Ravot answered and the GuDra behind him shot out a stream of fire causing the crowd to gasp once again while jumping back in fear. “Some of your human legends are true you see. . .” Ravot began walking back and forth slowly on the stage as a drill sergeant would, the weight of his body causing the stage to squeal as his dark leathery wings scrapped along behind him.
“First, what we the GuDra despise most . . . is evil. Secondly, in no way are we enemies to humans or werewolves. We will fight alongside you no matter what it takes to defeat the evil that is taking over this new untamed world. It will not be easy, more lives will surely be lost but if we do not fight, then we surrender to ourselves and we surrender to the wickedness that is coming.” Ravot glared out at the disbelieving crowd, before yelling. “I REFUSE TO SURRENDER AND YOU SHOULD DO THE SAME FOR THE SURVIVAL OF ALL OUR PROUD SPECIES!”
My dad took that as his cue and ran back to the front of the stage. “Yes, thank you Ravot.” He hesitantly patted Ravot on his large scaly arm then turned to address the crowd as Ravot stepped back in line with his fellow GuDra looking as mean as ever. “Listen; there is a large army of vampires, werewolves and infected coming this way. They have kidnapped my twins and want to make a trade. But I’m afraid no matter what we trade them, they’ll still try to kill us or turn us into vampires. Which we all know is worse than death itself.”
“What do they want Hadwin?” Susan, a woman who looked to be in exceptional physical shape in her 50s and a close friend of my dad’s asked from the third row back, pushing her way to the front, concern plastered over her face. “Are they coming for us, for our children?”
“Of course Susan, they are coming for anyone who stands in their way of ruling earth. But the thing they want first is a book, a book that holds powerful secrets, a book that if they get their inhuman hands on will help them rule the world even faster and make us their slaves for eternity.” My dad looked up from Susan to the crowd once more. The rest of us continued to stand, waiting anxiously for the outcome of the town meeting.
“This book is currently in the possession of the GuDra and together we are devising a plan to get my twins back without giving it up.” My dad paused, thinking over his next words carefully before speaking in a softer tone. “Now, because this battle will be for my daughters and this book, those of you who wish, do not have to stay and fight, you will not be looked upon as cowards. You may take the boats out to the safe zones.” He removed his glasses rubbing the bridge of his nose somberly. “But I must warn you; those who leave today along with those still residing in our safe zones may not be safe forever if we do not make a stand. The vampires do approach, this is not a joke, and they will be here soon. So if you must leave, leave hastily, pack your things and go. Just remember this; you may not be able to come back if we lose this battle, so please, take what you need. . .” We held our breath waiting to see how many in the crowd would leave. After a few tense moments we released our held breaths with relief, finding not a single soul exited.
Silence abounded, people looked to each other for a decision. Finally, the same middle aged man who’d been yelling from the crowd to oust my dad spoke up. “I’ll stay and fight. I don’t want them to get to our safe areas, my family is there. I’d rather fight and die here than to lead them to our loved ones.”
“He is right. The werewolves will also stay Allister. Just tell us what needs to be done,” the old gray werewolf said while nodding at Mayumi which caused her to bow lower then I’d ever seen her bow before. Definitely there was an unspoken appreciation for each other from generations past.
With affirmations from both the humans and werewolves, the rest of Lands End followed suit and agreed they’d stay and fight. Then, with detailed directions from Ravot and my dad, followed by instructions from Arthur and Mayumi on how to kill Red Eyes, vampires and rogue werewolves, the crowd dispersed swiftly heading back to their homes, readying weapons and taking up assigned positions around the city for the forthcoming battle.
Chapter 64 – Company
Adelaide
Lands End was hauntingly silent after everyone in the city took their places waiting for the veil of second darkness to cover the area. Ravot and my dad were positioned on a large yacht tied tightly to the end of a makeshift floating pier two hundred feet from shore. Mayumi had already been dropped off on the small piece of jutted land in the ocean making preparations for her shot of a lifetime. Arthur, Ethan and I, along with a large contingent of the city were at the entrance gates armed with weapons, staring out at the empty zigzagging dirt road waiting for the arrival of an army of evil.
As if on cue, in the fading dusk beyond the wreckage of cars we saw shadows eerily appear before spotting two large menacing figures approaching slowly followed by a small group of vampire minions. It was none other than Lawrence Karayan and the werewolf Mayumi had shot her darrow at near the caves. The group was heading straight for the entrance we were protecting, making their way around the maze of smashed cars methodically.
Nearing our location above the entrance gates, Lawrence peered up at Arthur and me, “Where is the book my young SymJin?” Lawrence shouted in a low sinister voice.
“It’s safe,” I yelled down, my eyes slightly peeking over the top of a makeshift tower wall.
“Where are my sisters?” I hollered back.
“They’re safe for now girl,” Lawrence Karayan said as he continued to glare.
“The deal was the book . . . for my sisters. So if you please, I’d like to see my sisters first, then you can proceed to the planned meeting location for the trade.”
Lawrence Karayan stared at us with piercing soulless eyes before waving to one of the vampire minions behind him. The twins as I suspected were carried up gagged and possibly drugged noticing the way their heads swayed back and forth, clearly stopping them from using their powers.
“Go ahead!” I yelled down and the gates slowly swung open leading into the deserted city as second darkness now hung heavy over everyone and everything. The only illuminations seen were the torches placed strategically around the city to give off enough light to fight with the coming armies.
I continued to watch from the tower as Lawrence Karayan, the large werewolf and the twins slowly walked down Main Street towar
ds the boat docks. As they proceeded some of the city protectors fell in behind them at a safe distance provoking Lawrence Karayan to turn in a snarl as he walked towards the dock and eventually out of my line of sight.
Chapter 65 – Arrival
Hadwin Allister
We had fitted torches on either side of the long dock all the way down to the boat where Ravot and I stood, lighting the path brightly for all to see. Cautiously I watched for deceit as Lawrence Karayan along with a rather large man and the twins stepped onto the floating dock. I wanted to run to my daughters, to hold them and protect them but I dared not move, I needed them safe more than anything; there would be enough time for hugs after the trade. The dock having been hastily constructed to reach out this far into the water began to sway under the weight of the large creatures as they made their way towards us and the waiting boat. Although my body was swaying in rhythm with the dock, I felt every bone and muscle in my body tense.
Reaching the halfway point rather quickly, Lawrence Karayan stopped and yelled to Ravot and me. “If this is a trick, you will die tonight. Your people are no match for my armies waiting in the darkness around your weak city walls. They already have the orders to attack with no mercy. You all will die,” Lawrence Karayan waved his long arm in front of his body imitating he’d wipe us out. “Now I ask you again, is this a trick?” he shouted.
“This is NO TRICK Ancient,” Ravot replied. “We trade the book for the fairies as agreed. Now join us on this boat and let’s make the trade on the water as planned.” Beads of sweat began pooling on my forehead because after all, this was a trick and I began to have doubts that our plan would really work and worried terribly for my twin daughters’ safety. Ravot easily detected my uneasiness and gripped my arm tightly, bringing me back to the moment and calming my nerves.
