For an hour I laid on Vincent's bed, staring at the ceiling. I had so many questions. I remembered how I acted after he told me, which, was not cool. Sighing, I finally got up and walked out to meet them.
I got to the living room and Vincent stood by the glass wall, looking out of it. He had both hands in his pocket. Keiron was on his back on the couch, with a pack of cheese balls which he nibbled on slowly. The room was quiet. The atmosphere was calm, with a great tension.
"Mm..mmh", I cleared my throat.
Keiron looked up from the couch and Vincent turned around. I got their attention, and something else — stage fright. I should've practiced what I wanted to say because I opened my mouth and couldn't think of anything.
" Uhm... I'm thirsty. I just came to get some water", I improvised and walked over to the kitchen.
I didn't realize how thirsty I was till I gulped down a whole glass of water, and fetched a new one from the sink. Carrying it back to the living room, I set it down on the table before sitting. We were a triangle– Vincent directly across the room, Keiron on my left, and me on his right.
Keiron was sitting up now, still nibbling, and Vincent was sitting on a stool close to the glass wall. I realised I had to stare at the floor if I was going to get through this. With both palms on my knees, I began.
"So.. You're real-life werewolves", I said.
" Were-men", Vincent corrected.
It really just sounded like "we're men" to me.
"Okay, but you're not from this world.. Are you... aliens?", It immediately sounded silly to me.
" Aliens?", Vincent asked confused
"Yeah. Like from Mars or.. The moon. He said something about 'your world' ", I explained.
" No.. No. We ARE from this planet.. But a different world ", he explained.
Then he furrowed his eyebrows on hearing himself. It didn't make much sense to him either I guess.
" Well, maybe it's about the dimensions. Uh... There's a door... It's a uh... a long story", he said.
"Okay. So, in your world, you're all...", I trailed off.
" No. Just my family. Including my cousins and blood relatives", he answered.
"What?", I asked.
" Listen, there's no time for any of this", Keiron spoke finally.
He got up from where he sat and turned to me.
"We need to go back, and we need you to come with us. There might still be hope for him", he said with a serious tone.
For the first time, I'd started to believe that Keiron was in fact the older one. He paced for a while and sat down. He stared intently at the pack of cheese balls in his hands, almost as if he was trying to read something on it as he spoke.
" We can't explain everything right now, we don't have time", Keiron paused, "But, perhaps we can show you", he said, turning to me.
" What?", I asked, feeling uneasy.
Earlier he wanted to 'show' Vincent, and I took the hit. Vincent and I exchanged puzzled looks. Then Keiron continued.
"Tomorrow night, it's a full moon..", he glanced over at Vincent quickly.
Vincent gave him a shocked look, then he shook his head subtly at Keiron. Keiron ignored him of course and turned back to me.
"...we can show you that we're not lying at least. Then, perhaps when there's more time, we can tell you all you need to know or... Or want to know", he proposed
My eyes moved from Keiron to Vincent. Keiron's eyes followed. Keiron and I caught Vincent staring intensively at Keiron, his eyes were doing the screaming.
" You don't approve", said Keiron
Vincent kept his glare.
"It's dangerous, I know. But it'll be fine. You said it yourself, you haven't killed anyone here yet", Keiron said casually.
Vincent flushed. I was on the edge of my seat. Keiron observed how anxious I was and started laughing. Him laughing, did not help my situation at all.
" Relax", he said finally, "you'll be fine. The chains will hold. It's only for a time and it'll be over"he assured me.
" No", said Vincent with a note of finality as he got up from his seat and went back to stand by the window.
Keiron sighed with a smile. It was obvious that he was trying to conceal his frustration. Trying to stay calm.
"Darion..", Keiron started.
" No", Vincent confirmed, over his shoulder.
Keiron made to say something. Then he didn't. He sighed again and put the cheese balls on the table, getting up. He looked at Vincent, then at me. He gave me a warm smile and a nod. Then he walked to the door, and out of the house. He was gone.
I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding. Vincent turned around.
"Monica..", he started.
" When will his work be over?", I asked in a low tone
"What?"
" My.. Dad. Will he be home soon?", I asked
I'd had enough. I couldn't go on trusting him. He didn't make me feel safe anymore. All he ever did was give me reason to not trust him. At that moment, I really wanted to be with my family. No matter how imperfect they were, they made me feel safe.
I could feel him looking at me for a while. Then he walked over to the couch where Keiron sat and sat there. There was a brief silence.
"That's the only option, you know", he said
I turned to him. He was staring at the floor. I'm sure he feel me looking at him.
"It's either we do it that way, or he takes you against your will", he turned to me, "either way, you must go back with him. That's his style"
My facial expression was nothing. I didn't know what to do at that moment. All I knew was that I was sitting in a room with a killer, who has a brother that's even more ruthless.
I got up and went into the room, shutting the door behind me. I didn't bother with locking it. I didn't know how i felt exactly, so I closed my eyes and went to sleep.
Soon, I was dreaming again. It was the dream. I saw the beast, but this time, I didn't go to it. I walked away from it and sat on a small rock I saw there.
My reverse psychology didn't work because it turned around and walked in the other direction. I decided to follow it, but when I got to where it stood initially, It was out of my sight.
Then I felt cold water under my feet. Looking down, I saw my feet were submerged in water up to my ankles. I wondered where the water was coming from. I realized I wasn't on a cliff anymore. I was standing in the river close to the riverbank.
I wanted to leave the water but there was something in the water. It was fixed, the current didn't carry it. I walked more and more into the river, until the water was up to my waist. Just as I was about to grab the object I realized it was familiar. The Yoren stone.
Just then something grabbed it and pulled it under the water. I went after it immediately, submerging my head so I'm able to see better. But there was nothing there, so I tried to come up for air. But I couldn't.
Then I saw someone hover above me. It was in the figure of the reflection I usually see. But I couldn't make out the face. I narrowed my eyes to see better, and the image became clearer and clearer.....
I woke up, covered in my sweat. My breathing was fast. Yet again, I didn't see the face. I noticed someone was standing in the room. It was a bit dark except for the light coming through the window in the middle of the room.
He walked into the light and I could see it was Vincent. He looked over to the table beside the bed. I followed and found there was a glass of water and two pills on a napkin.
"I saw you struggling. It'll help you sleep better", he said.
Without a word from me, he turned and disappeared into the dark. Then I heard the door close.
I grabbed on to the Yoren stone hanging from my neck. I wondered, why me? I didn't understand any of it. At that moment I started to think about how I didn't want any of it.
Worrying wasn't helping. So I took the pills. Soon enough, they kicked in.
Friday morning came. I felt awesome. It was a dreamless sleep thanks to the pills. I had almost forgotten about the saga I was wrapped up in.
Vincent came into the room, took one glance at me and went into the bathroom, shutting the door. Well I thought that was rude but whatever.
I thought about getting ready for school and that's when I remembered... Keiron was like a bounty hunter, and I was his target. I decided I was never leaving the room until I came up with a good plan.
Vincent came out after a few minutes. He must've showered already. He wore a black t-shirt and grey pants.
"Aren't you gonna do something about that hair?", He asked.
"What?", I asked jumping out of bed
I ran to the bathroom and I was looking like the monster boss in a horror movie from the 90s. I ran my fingers through my hair so it didn't look so horrible.
I went back to the room and then to the living room. He was putting on his white sneakers.
"Where are you going?", I asked.
"Is that a trick question?", He replied, not looking up.
"Seriously... Why are you getting dressed?"
He looked up finally.
"Because I'm gonna be late for school. Oh, No, that .... that's you, right?"
"I'm not going"
"Yes you are"
"I'm not... Going"
"Where do you think he's gonna look first?"
I hadn't thought about it.
"He doesn't know where you school"
"He always finds us.... It shouldn't be hard", I retorted.
"He won't burst into your class and root you from your seat. That's not who he is. That should buy us time to work on a plan"
I made to speak but he cut in.
"By us.. I mean me. Go get ready", he said finally.
There was nothing to argue. I hated how he always won. But nonetheless, I went to get ready.
Vincent dropped me off. Everything was normal. It was a normal Friday. Everything was normal except for my paranoia. I was trusting Vincent again. That wasn't supposed to happen.
Going through the day, it was all I could do to be present. I often got lost in thought. But I don't think anyone really noticed.
I also had time to think about everything. I was a mess. I didn't want to live like that. I began to consider going with them. Not 'them' anyway.
Keiron was too crazy and unpredictable. Vincent on the other hand was not so crazy AND unpredictable. And that King inside me, well, I had questions, plenty for him. I was scared, but I decided to tell Vincent that I would go with them.
"Hey Mon", I heard someone say
I was walking towards the exit after school. I thought, it's me.. I'm Mon. Liam. He was saying hi.
"Heyy... How are you?", I said, giving him a hug.
I immediately realized the hug was not original. That was a mistake. And by the look on his face when we broke it off, he noticed something was up.
"Are you okay?", he asked.
"Uhh .. yeah yeah.. I'm.. I'm good. Thanks for asking", I said with a wide smile
Too much enthusiasm, another mistake.
"Mon?", he said, staring into my eyes so intently as if trying to read my mind.
"You know... I .. I have to go. I'm not... feeling too well. I'll text you though. See you", I said, quickly walking away.
Vincent was waiting as usual. I knew Liam followed me out. Turning around, I gave him a reassuring smile and waved bye.
Part of me wondered if I would see him or Shirley again... The other part however, was eager to go on the adventure. I couldn't wait for it to be over. It would be a big relief, I thought.
"Hey", I said as I put my seatbelt on after getting into the car.
"You okay?", Vincent asked, handing me a cup with a straw.
I took the cup from him and without checking what the content was, I took a long sip.
"Yeah, thanks" I replied.
He started the car and drove. A few miles away from school, he slowed down, but we kept moving.
"I called a friend. I think you'll be safe there for now. It's the weekend, and you won't need to get out so, he won't be able to find you at least", he said, his eyes on the road.
Frankly, I was shocked he even had a friend.
"I'm going with him ..", I blurted
Vincent turned to me quickly, shocked obviously.
"I mean... With you, and him. It's better that way", I said
He parked the car immediately. Staring straight ahead, he shook his head continuously.
"The dreams, the stone... I don't want to stay this way. You heard him, I got possessed in a short time of being around that cave. I'm sure it'll be over quickly too", I explained.
I got no reaction.
"I've known him a short while. But I'm sure he won't stop. And I know you agree with me", I said finally.
I'd finally started to get a reaction from him, when his phone rang. He took the call, but all he said was "yes sir", before it ended.
He didn't say anything to me. He just started the car again and drove. Soon we were at my house.
******************
I didn't know what to say. In the living room, my parents were seated on one side. Their luggage was in the corner of the room. It meant that they just arrived.
On the other side of the room was Ateema, and a man in his mid-thirties. He wore a black suit that revealed a white inner shirt and a black tie hanging from the collar.
"Mom?", I said, still looking at the stranger beside Ateema.
"Honey, Vincent will take you up to your room okay? We'll talk later after we're done with our guests", she said.
But I knew that she was talking to Vincent really. He put a hand on my shoulder from behind, to cue me to start walking up to my room. Which I did, while still staring from the strange man to Ateema and back.
Vincent escorted me till I got into my room and closed the door. Then I heard his footsteps fade as he walked away.
***********
I'm sorry, again for late updates. I'm not able to release weekly right now but I will when I can. I hope you enjoy this one.
😚😚