From the perspective of Chase Cringle.
Chicago. What a wonderful place. Or so I thought.
I knew we had made a mistake when the Chicago skyline appeared over the horizon. A quarter of the city appeared to be burning as plumes of smoke rose into the partly sunny sky.
We drove up next to an F.E.F. outpost on the side of the highway, an officer stood outside. He seemed surprised, perhaps a bit aloof.
"Hello there," I said to the officer through the passenger window.
"Hi there. Do you all know where you are?"
I nodded. "Yep. We know where we are. We're going to Chicago."
The officer raised an eyebrow, then he crossed his arms. "Are you sure about that? The entire city is run by the Sevaldi Clan. You never know with them whether they want you to be their friend, or their enemy."
"We understand," I told the officer.
"If you all are determined to enter Chicago, then proceed with caution." The officer tipped his head as Brandon drove the Tahoe forward.
It was fairly chilly for a mid-March day. It felt as if a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders, now we had reached our current destination. I wasn't exactly thrilled, but I was happy; happy to know we would get some answers soon.
"Are we there yet?" Angeline asked.
"Yup. We're here," Brandon confidently replied. "We made it."
Then, just as I had visited the Nether for the first time, I suddenly experienced an influx of foreign memories. This time, though, the memories were much more vivid.
In the last memory I was plagued with, I noticed in the background there was a lake, very likely Lake Michigan. It was night, and the lakeshore was illuminated by a full moon and distant streetlights. The lake was calm and beautiful, reflecting the intense moonlight from above. I was on my knees, pleading not for my life, but for the lives of my family members. Facing me were what looked like my wife and two daughters, blindfolded and gagged with their hands tied behind their backs, crying, and also kneeling. Then a male vampire in a black suit and tie with long black hair tied in a ponytail stepped between me and the three family members. The man in black pulled out a revolver from inside his suit and cocked the gun.
I spoke through the man whose memory I experienced. "Please, kind sir. I know I've done wrong. I know I shouldn't have stolen credits from the Sevaldi Clan. I should have asked first. I'm so, so sorry. Please, spare my wife and daughters. They have done nothing wrong. It is I who has wronged the Sevaldi Clan. Please, sir. Please."
The man in black held his revolver level with his head, pointed up at the sky. He seemed to ponder my last words as he closed his eyes. A moment later, he opened his eyes, then he replied, "The Sevaldi Clan accepts your plea, Mr. Blum. Your wife and daughters shall be spared, and they will be treated with the utmost dignity the Sevaldi Clan can offer. But, unfortunately, your crime is unforgivable, Mr. Blum. I will give you a minute to tell your wife and daughters you love them. Don't delay."
My whole life seemed to flash before my eyes. "I love you, Nadia. I love you, Becka. I love you, Sasha. I'm sorry for what I did. I'm sorry I won't be able to watch you two girls grow up and have kids of your own. I'm sorry for being a crappy father. I'm sorry for all the times I didn't try harder. I'm sorry for all the times I lied. I'm sorry for all the times I chose to do what I wanted to do and not what you girls wanted to do. I'm sorry for all the times I didn't tell you all that I love you." Tears were rushing down my face as I struggled to breathe.
The man in black sighed deeply as he took a step closer. "Mr. Blum. This is the end for you. May you rest in peace."
The man in black pointed his revolver down at my head, and the chilling metal barrel touched my forehead. I then closed my eyes.
The last thing I remembered was the horrific screams of Mr. Blum's wife and two daughters.
The memories stopped, as did the Tahoe. I was still sitting in the passenger seat of the Tahoe, I hadn't gone anywhere. I felt vulnerable and detached from reality. I felt sick and disgusted. Most of all, I felt sorry for Mr. Blum whose memories I witnessed.
I glanced over and I noticed Brandon staring at me. "What the hell, dude. You blacked out for a good minute. You were muttering something about the Sevaldi Clan."
I nodded my head slowly. I felt like I could cry, but I held back the tears. I had never been so emotional. The memories I had witnessed made no sense to me. Why now? Why me?
"Chase," Jeriah spoke. "What's the matter? What happened?"
I moved my eyes to the rearview mirror. All eyes were on me. "I don't know what to call it. It's like I passed out, and while I was passed out I was having these dreams. But they weren't dreams. They were memories. But they weren't my memories. I don't think all these memories are from the past, though. Some seemed like they could be from the future. The last memory I saw was the longest and most vivid. It was like I was living through the person whose memory I witnessed. I can't tell you guys every detail. But I can tell you this.
"It was night. There was a full moon and it was dark, but it was bright enough to see everything. There was a man in black, and he had me kneeling on the lakeshore of Lake Michigan. The guy whose eyes I saw through, his wife and kids were there, blindfolded with their hands tied behind their back. I was not blindfolded. The man in black was an executioner for the Sevaldi Clan. He called me Mr. Blum. Apparently Mr. Blum stole a bunch of credits from the Sevaldi Clan and he was caught, and his whole family was taken to one of the beaches in Chicago. The whole family would have been executed, but Mr. Blum convinced the executioner to spare his wife and two daughters. It all ended when the executioner put a revolver to my head and pulled the trigger.
"I honestly don't know any Blums. Why did this man's final memory go through my mind, as well as all the other memories that I can now hardly remember? It doesn't make sense to me."
"Maybe you're some kind of clairvoyant?" Phoenix suggested.
"But why would I be having these dreams of other people's memories?"
Phoenix shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe you're meant to be a clairvoyant? Maybe you're meant to see other people's memories?"
"Okay. But for what reason? I've had a similar dream before. But I was in a place called the Nether. And the memories I experienced were different, too."
"Maybe you're meant to somehow help these people whose memories you are seeing, Chase. Maybe that's your gift? All I know is, if you're given a gift, you're meant to use it for the greater good, not ignore it."
What Phoenix said seemed to make sense. Was I really meant to be a clairvoyant vampire? I finally embraced the idea, and I was longer afraid of the strange memories that I saw. I felt empowered.
I glanced up at the road ahead. I was ready for everything Chicago could throw at me.
I replied to Phoenix, "I see what you mean. It all makes sense. These memories that I've been receiving. They're a gift. And I'm meant to help the people involved in these memories somehow."
"Exactly," Phoenix added. "There's no other explanation for it. You're a clairvoyant, Chase. Accept it. Embrace it."
"Oh, I'm embracing it, alright. How about we find Mr. Blum's family and see if we can help them? Then we can look for the Zed guy that was in St. Louis."
Angeline seemed confused. "Uh… Who is this Zed guy you're speaking of?"
Jeriah replied to Angeline for me. "He's another vampire that Chase, Brandon and I met in St. Louis. He and his brother Vence and their two human friends helped us escape from the Flesheaters headquarters. If you didn't know, the Flesheaters were a vile gang of vampires that ate human flesh and terrorized all the locals in the surrounding area. Not a group of vampires you would want to have met."
"So this Zed guy is supposed to be in Chicago?" Angeline asked.
"Right," I spoke for Jeriah. I then turned around in the passenger seat. "But I'm not so sure we'll be able to catch up to him."
"Why do you guys want to catch up with him anyway?" Angeline continued.
Jeriah shrugged, and I answered, "It just seems like the right thing to do. Do you have any objections?"
Angeline stared at me as if I was crazy. "Ugh. Fine. If it's what ya'll want to do, then I guess me and my sister will tag along. What's the worst that can happen?"
Nicole replied, "Well we could get caught up between the Sevaldi Clan and the Daywalkers."
"Daywalkers? Why haven't I heard of them?" I asked.
"They're the meanest group of vampires in the midwest. They're an auxiliary of the Vampyr Empire, like the Flesheaters. They're a roaming vampire army that can walk in the daylight. They want to take Illinois so it can be added to the Vampyr Empire's territory. But F.E.F. East and the Sevaldi Clan both stand in their way."
The news was sobering. I had a feeling we would all get caught between the Sevaldi Clan and the Daywalkers the longer we stayed in Chicago.
I stated the terms. "Okay then, so we do our business in Chicago, then we leave. Agreed?"
There was zero opposition. Everyone else nodded their heads.
"Alright, then. Brandon, let's roll."
Brandon started up the Tahoe, and we continued onward, but we didn't get 10 feet before we were stopped again.
A portal opened up in the center of the lane ahead, and out stepped none other than Austin who walked over to the driver's side window. Brandon then rolled the driver's side window down and popped his head out.
"Hey, Austin. Do you need something?" Brandon asked.
Austin shook his head. "No, I don't. I came here to warn you all. The Daywalkers are camped 7 miles west of here. I have already warned Don Rafael and informed him of their presence. The Sevaldi Clan is on high alert. The city will be on lockdown tonight starting at midnight and will stay on lockdown until the Daywalkers either retreat, or are eliminated, whichever comes first. If you guys enter the city, none of you will be leaving for some time."
I understood that we could be caught in some deep trouble if the Daywalkers waged war with the Sevaldi Clan, but turning back now would be pointless. The danger didn't dissuade me.
"Thanks for the heads up," I told Austin. "I think we'll be alright."
Austin seethed. "If that's what you all want. I won't stop you. One other thing. Chase, here is an F.E.F. cell phone." Austin handed me the cell phone and I reached over Brandon to grab it. "I already put my number on it for you. Call me only in emergencies. I can't be popping up and helping you out everyday. Please understand, I have a job of my own and my own personal interests to follow. See you around."
Before Austin could get away, Jeriah shouted from the back seat, "Hey, Austin, how did you know we were here?" That was a good question.
Austin grinned and replied, "I put a tracker on the Tahoe while no one was looking. For everyone's sake, leave it alone. Have a good day, all of you."
A portal engulfed Austin as he stepped away from the Tahoe, and he disappeared in an instant.
I placed the F.E.F. cell phone in the glove compartment. I told my comrades, "No one is to use this other than to call Austin in an emergency, got it?"
Everyone else nodded.
"Good. Are we ready to take on Chicago?"
Jeriah replied, "You're damn straight we are. Brandon, get this Tahoe moving! I'm ready for some action!"
"If you say so, peanut brain," Brandon responded.
Brandon shifted the Tahoe into drive and we continued onward.