Disclaimer: See chapter one
A/N: Well...I don't really have a lot to say about this chapter. You could call it somewhat of a transition chapter, but there's a lot packed in here. So, I'll just say thanks to everyone who's read and reviewed so far (thank you!), and off you go!
When I returned to our camp with the bag of clothes, Harkat looked absolutely gleeful to find what I had come up with. Vancha didn't look thrilled at the idea of handing over his purple animal hides, but everyone else looked at least slightly excited - or relieved - to see them go.
"Now," I said, pulling the bag away as he reached grudgingly for it, "before I show it to you, remember our agreement?" I could barely keep the grin off my face. "This is the closest thing I could find to what you have."
Vancha grunted, reaching his hands out. My face split into a smile as I drew out first Harkat's clothes, then his ski mask, and handed them to the Little Person. "Ready?" I said to Vancha. "Here." I lifted the pajamas out of the bag and thrust them into his hands, nearly shaking with laughter.
With a look of utmost disgust on his face, Vancha slowly held up the fuzzy, purple, footed one-piece pajamas. Harkat and I lost it at once, collapsing to the ground as the Prince held it up to his body, his face turning a deep red. Even Arra was laughing into her fist, and though Mr. Crepsley still wore the far-away, unhappy expression he'd had since leaving Evanna's, I swore I saw a corner of his mouth twitch.
"It's purple," I choked out between my laughs, "it's fuzzy, and it was the only thing they had that'll fit you. It's not any different than your animal hides. It's just made out of...polyester or something."
I expected him to argue, refuse to wear it, but he only stared, his eyebrows raised. Finally, he gave a grunt and said, "Fine." Then he stepped behind thicker trees to get changed.
I turned to Harkat, grinning. "You know," I said, "I think he likes them. He just won't admit it."
The Little Person laughed and we eagerly waited for Vancha to reappear. He did several minutes later, his face flushed redder than usual, but hardly looking unhappy. It was the funniest looking thing I'd ever seen. Vancha, the giant, tough, vampire Prince, in a fuzzy purple onesie. "It works on you," I told him, as Arra bit her thumb nail, her shoulders shaking as she tried not to laugh.
"Thank you," he said stiffly, stuffing his hides into one of our few small bags. "Now, did you get the train schedule? I want to get on and off so I can get rid of this bloody thing."
"Sure you do," I said sarcastically, winking. "But yes, I did. The next train leaves soon, so if we want to catch it, we have to leave now."
Several minutes later, Harkat was bundled up to resemble a large child, I had reminded Vancha to button the flap in the back of his new pajamas, our belongings were packed, and we were on our way to the train station. Night had only just fallen and already the town seemed entirely dead. The lights were off in all the houses and even the store I had passed earlier. Only the train station still had a light on.
Rather than all go inside (Vancha, while looking more human in his pajamas and hat, was still a strange sight), Mr. Crepsley and I went in together. The minute we walked through the door we could sense there was something odd going on. The attendant I had seen earlier was gone, and in her place sat a large man in a bulky jacket, and standing by the door where we had come in were two similarly dressed men. The man behind the desk looked at me for a second, then shifted his gaze to Mr. Crepsley, who was already digging inside his pocket for money.
"Tickets?" the man asked as we came up to the desk.
"Yes, please," I said hesitantly. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a man near the door tap his fingers nervously on his hip. "Five."
"Destination?" he asked.
I told him we were taking the train as far east as it went, which would bring us into a large city where I secretly hoped we could pick up another train, or a bus or boat. The man behind the desk jotted down our destination, punched something into a calculator, then gave us our total fare. We passed him the money, and he handed us our tickets. "Brian and Sean are getting on the train too," he told us, nodding to the men by the door. "Follow them."
As Mr. Crepsley and I turned towards the door, we briefly exchanged worried glances. It would be impossible for us to communicate with Brian and Sean with us, but I could tell he was thinking the same thing I was: why were these two men coming with us, and should we ditch the train? It seemed much too much of a coincidence that they'd be on the same trip as us. It was only then that I remembered the man at the store, acting so strangely with me. I wished that I had remembered to tell Mr. Crepsley - it was too late now.
Brian held the door open for us, stoic-faced as he waved us through. Vancha, Arra, and Harkat were waiting outside, all looking a little surprised as the two men followed us out. Glancing back, I saw them each raise their eyebrows as they looked at Vancha's pajamas, and Sean's eyes flickered towards Harkat, who turned his face to the side to try to conceal any revealed grey skin. Neither man smiled.
Sean led the way around the back of the station, where the tracks were. I glanced at a clock set up on a lamppost; the train would be here any minute now. Part of me wanted to sit, but some paranoid instinct in me told me to remain on my feet while Sean and Brian were around. I could tell I wasn't the only one who felt there was something strange going on. I tried to edge close enough to Mr. Crepsley to whisper something to him without being overheard, but Brian seemed determined to stand only inches away from me. I sighed and folded my arms, hoping that this was all some strange coincidence, and that these two men had a real reason to be getting on this train other than us.
Arra was the first to try to figure out what was going on. "Hello," she said to the two men.
"Hi," they replied simply, hands in their pockets.
"Where are you headed?" she asked, taking a side-step towards them. I saw them both tense.
"To the end of the line," Sean said, scratching at his short, dark beard and edging away from her. "All the way."
In other words, I thought, my heart skipping a couple beats, they were following us.
"Mm," Arra nodded, looking them over. "Police business?"
"What?" Sean looked taken aback.
"Your badge," she said, gesturing to Sean's belt, where a police badge was clipped. Not far away from the badge was a holster with a gun. So these were police officers. I pieced together that the man in the station, who had replaced the attendant, was as well. So they were sending the police with us. Why? Had someone seen us going to the train station and thought we looked suspicious? No, that wouldn't make sense, the police wouldn't have had time to get there before us. In my head, I ran frantically through everything I had said to the man in the general store - he was the only person I had spoken to who could have possibly alerted the police of us. I couldn't understand why. I hadn't said anything suspicious. My story to him was believable. So why were they here now, and why would they be following us on the train? Even if they thought we were up to no good, once we left their town, why would they care enough to follow us? We hadn't done anything illegal or suspicious.
When Sean didn't answer Arra, Brian jumped in. "Yeah," he said, pulling his jacket down over his belt to hide his own weapon. "Official business. Can't really talk about it."
"I see," she nodded. She stepped away from them, back towards Mr. Crepsley. She'd found out all she'd meant to. And now they knew we were just a little bit on to them.
I heard the engine roaring towards the station before I could see the actual train. From tracks leading out of the thick woods surrounding the town it emerged, screeching as it slowed to a stop in front of us. When the doors slid open, no one made a motion to be the first ones on. We were waiting for Brian and Sean to make the first move so we could be sure to sit somewhere away from them. They, apparently, were hoping we'd go first so they could tail us inside.
Finally, when the train's whistle blew, signaling that it would be leaving soon, we had no choice but to lead the way aboard. Sure as anything, Sean and Brian followed. The first car's compartments were full, and so, stepping carefully as the train began to crawl to a start, I led the way farther back into the train. The next couple cars had a few people, but the next one was completely empty. I slid open the compartment's door and sat down on the first seat, my eyes following Sean and Brian as they made their way to the other side. Maybe they thought sitting next to us would be too much of a giveaway, as if we hadn't already caught on. Harkat sat next to me, and Mr. Crepsley, Arra, and Vancha across from us. We looked from each other to Sean and Brian, each wondering when it would be safe to talk. At the other side of the compartment, the police kept inconspicuously glancing over at us while they carried out a very weak attempt at a ploy conversation.
The train ride would take all night, ending its journey just long enough before sunrise to get off the train and find shelter from the sun. Even with the inexplicable company of these two men, there was no point in spending the entire time tense and stressed. After all, there were only two of them. If anything happened, there was no question who would win.
Vancha was the first to figure this out. Standing up about twenty minutes into our trip, he went to an empty bench, lay down with his arms behind his head and closed his eyes. Watching Vancha fall asleep in his purple one-piece pajamas made me wish vampires could come out clearly in photographs.
Not long after, Harkat drifted off as well. Mr. Crepsley, Arra, and I sat in silence for a while, meeting each other's eyes every now and then, but usually keeping our gazes on Sean and Brian. Both officers had remained impossibly awake and alert, neither's eyelids beginning to fall heavily, and neither with a wavering surveillance on us.
Over an hour into our trip, I got up to go to the bathroom, and when I emerged, I found Brian standing just down the hall. At first I assumed he was waiting to use it, but when I started back for our car, he followed right after me. I contemplated saying something, but I realized it would do no good. He certainly wasn't going to reveal their reasons for dogging us. It was best not to let on how suspicious we were.
After I returned to our compartment, hours passed. Though she seemed determined to stay awake, Arra soon joined Harkat and Vancha is the world of sleep, her head resting on Mr. Crepsley's shoulder as she slept. There were a few stops along the way, and after the third, the conductor announced that ours would be the next. I glanced at a clock - it was barely after two in the morning, and our train wasn't set to arrive till five-thirty. We still had a while to go.
An hour after that, Mr. Crepsley stood. Without so much as a look in my direction, he shifted Arra so she was leaning against the dark window, got to his feet and approached the two police officers. Both stiffened as he neared them, and I raised my eyebrows interestedly. I wondered if he was going to confront them and demand they tell us what's going on, or overpower them, though I doubted he would do either while we were the only two awake. Too much of a risk if they had guns.
To my shock, he reached into he pocket and drew the last thing I would expect to see in the hands of a 200 year old vampire - a mobile phone. Where he got it, I had no idea.
"Excuse me, gentlemen," he said, stopping several feet in front of them with the phone in his cupped palms. "Would this device happen to belong to either of you?"
I almost laughed out loud. He must have slipped it out of one of their pockets without them noticing early on when we were boarding the train. What had compelled him to do so, and why he was bringing it out now, I didn't know, but the whole idea seemed funny.
"It's mine," Sean said, frowning. "Where'd you get that?"
"It was on the ground as we were taking our seats," Mr. Crepsley said smoothly, and though Sean's hand was reached out, he didn't pass the phone over. "I assumed it had belonged to one of the past passengers, but it occurred to me just a moment ago that it could be yours. Though, to be honest, I would like to be sure it is yours before I hand it over. As I understand, these go for rather a lot of money."
It was good to know he'd retained anything I'd tried to tell him about modern human life.
"It's mine, I'm positive," Sean said.
"It is not yours?" Mr. Crepsley said to Brian. I couldn't figure out what on earth he was doing now. He extended it forward towards Brian, and when both men looked down at it, Brian to confirm that no, it was not his, and Sean to snatch it from him, Mr. Crepsley made his move. It was very subtle; he stooped gradually, took a breath, and exhaled into both men's faces. Immediately, both slumped forward onto the ground, unconscious by his special vampire knock-out gas.
"What-?" I started, jumping up, but Mr. Crepsley shook his head and put a finger to his lips.
"Come with me," he said. "There is no need to wake the others. Let us take a walk so we can speak in private." I glanced quickly at the police, still blacked out, then hurried to follow my mentor as he silently slid the compartment door open. I smiled at him when he shut the door equally as quietly and we began to walk down the train's rumbling hall; it had been a long time since I'd been able to talk to him completely alone.
"What was that all about?" I asked him as he fell into step beside me.
"What, them?" he said. "It is obvious from the moment we departed the ticket station that they were not going to allow us a chance to be without them, and so I grabbed the first object I could out of one's pocket to create a distraction when I thought it necessary."
"Oh," I said, smiling. "That was good planning. Why didn't you use it earlier?"
"There was no need," he shrugged. "I do not think we are in immediate danger while on the train. If they were going to try to harm us, they would have already. They have been sent to follow us, no doubt, and I think we would be wise to shake them as soon as possible when we get off the train, but for now, we have no options to get rid of them completely. They should stay knocked out until we reach our destination, at which point we will be able to lose them very quickly."
"Yeah," I said, shrugging. I hadn't thought that far; all I had been thinking about was why they were following us in the first place. I asked Mr. Crepsley if he had given that any thought.
"I have," he nodded. "I cannot come up with anything too viable. Desmond Tiny was my first guess, but it seems highly unlikely that he would send human police officers to watch us. It is the same conclusion with Lady Evanna. As of now, I have no other possible explanations. What about you?"
I sighed. "I'm not sure," I told him. "I've been trying to figure it out, but I can't think of anything. Although, there is something..." I told him about my conversation with the man in the general store, and how he had seemed normal - if a bit nosy - at first, then at the end of my visit was acting suspiciously.
When I'd finished my story, we had reached one end of the train and a door marked - DO NOT ENTER - CONDUCTOR AND AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY - was in front of us. We turned and headed back in the other direction. Mr. Crepsley stroked his scar thoughtfully. "It is unfortunate you did not mention this earlier," he said. "But I can see how you would not remember until it was too late. That certainly can explain this a little better. Did you tell him where we are headed, or your name?"
"No, I said, "I didn't tell..." my voice trailed off and my eyes narrowed. "Wait. No, I never did tell him my name."
"Good," Mr. Crepsley nodded. "Then..."
"No," I interrupted him, shaking my head, "but he knew it. When I was leaving, he used my name. He knew my name and I never told him."
Mr. Crepsley frowned and stopped. "That is unsettling. I am not sure how he could have known, and it certainly adds a bit of urgency to our escape. I cannot imagine how he would have suddenly realized who you are. You have never seen him before, I am assuming?"
"No! Never!"
"Then this is strange indeed." He sighed and scratched his scar again, beginning to pace. "Nevertheless, there is no way off the train until it has stopped moving. The most we can do is be sure that we are off the train and away from the humans as soon as we arrive at our destination." He pressed his to fingertips to his mouth as he thought. We'd come to an empty compartment in the train, and he slid the door open and sat on the first seat heavily. "Perhaps it would be best to avoid travelling in public from now on. At least for a little while. If there was something that sent a flag up in that town, it is bound to happen again."
"You're probably right," I agreed miserably, sitting beside him. I wracked my brains, trying to remember every detail of what had happened seconds before the man at the store had used my name. He had been sitting behind the front desk, at a computer, prepared to ring up my stuff. I could only guess it had been something on the computer that had told him, but I could not for the life of me figure out what. It had been years since I'd used a computer. All I could think of that he could have seen about me was maybe an obituary from when we had faked my death. But even if he'd compared me to a picture of my twelve-year-old self, I didn't think he'd recognize me.
We sat for a long time, the noise of the train clattering over the tracks the only sound echoing in the compartment. I sighed, looking at my mentor. It had been a long time since I'd been able to talk to him without the others, and I didn't know when I'd have another chance. I decided to ask him something that had been bothering me.
"Mr. Crepsley," I said, and he turned to face me, eyebrows raised. "What's wrong? Why have you been so...quiet lately?"
He looked at me blankly for a second, then turned away, staring out one of the pitch-black windows. "What do you mean?"
"You've had this dark look in your eyes, like you're angry, or hiding something. And ever since we talked to Evanna, you've hardly said anything to anyone. You've become reclusive, and you're more touchy than usual."
"I..." he paused, "I do not know." He leaned back and closed his eyes. "I do not understand anything. I do not..." His voice trailed off with a groan and his face fell forward into his hands. I shifted uncomfortably, unused to seeing my mentor ever displaying any signs of distress or uncertainty. "I feel like I do not know anything anymore," he said, and his voice cracked halfway through.
"Are you all right?" I asked delicately.
His exhaled and shook his head. "Everything is wrong," he said hoarsely.
"So then why haven't you said anything? You haven't even talked to Arra. I guess I thought you two would have more to talk about now than ever. So why haven't you?"
"I do not know what to say," he murmured. "These are very strange circumstances, nothing I could have ever imagined us being in."
"But doesn't that give you a lot to say?" I said. "Instead of you both being, I don't know, upset about this, why don't you look at it as a good thing? I mean," I smiled and gave him an encouraging pat on the back, "you're going to have a baby. You should be excited."
He looked away as if I were embarrassing him. "It is not like that."
"Why? Because Evanna said it has to do with destiny? Because vampires aren't supposed to be able to have children? Why should that make it any less exciting?" I was winging this completely, but thought I was doing a decent job, all things considered.
"I am afraid that she will be angry with me," he said, lifting his head and running a hand through his short red hair.
"That's dumb," I told him. "Why would she be mad at you?"
He gave me a look. "I do not think she is especially happy to be pregnant."
"You 'don't think' she is? Well, do you know that?"
"Well, no, but..."
"Then ask her! She'll tell you the truth. Of course she wouldn't tell Evanna she was happy about it - she'd just gotten the shock of her life. You won't know how she really feels unless you ask her. And I think you'd both be happier if you talked about it. Stop being so miserable about something that should be a good, exciting thing. Haven't you ever wanted to have a child?"
He looked at me with raised eyebrows, then a humored look forced itself though his weary and heavy expression. "I have," he said, cracking a smile. "And you were enough."
I made a face at him. "Really," I said. "Just do it. I can't stand how tense everything is. It's made me uncomfortable."
He smiled at me, and when he did it looked as though a bit of a weight had been lifted from his shoulder. "I apologize if I made you uncomfortable," he said. "I will speak to Arra at the first chance we have alone."
"Really?" I said.
He nodded, and I smiled back at him. "Good," I said. "I'm glad you're taking my advice. So, can I say it now?"
"Say what?" he asked, frowning.
"Congratulations," I said, grinning at him and putting my arms around his shoulders. "You're going to be a dad."
As I pulled away, I could see him trying to keep his smile small, but his ears were reddening. "Thank you," he said, a forced stiffness to his voice. "I must say, I have given it a lot of thought as of late, of course, and it is quite an unnerving prospect."
"Oh yeah?" I said. "So is that was all this is? Pre-baby jitters? Scared to be a daddy?"
He looked away, his face flushing an even darker red. "Of course not," he said. "I am just feeling anxious. And it is getting late. We should return to our compartment again. I do not know how much longer we have till our stop." He got up and opened the door before I could say anything, letting me out then beginning to follow me down the train's hall.
"You'll be a great dad," I persisted, taking long, almost skipping steps to keep up with his long legs. I was in a better mood than I had been for a while. "I mean, you sort of practiced on me. And now that you've put me through life at a freak show, a hellish, bitter cold trek to a mountain where you volunteered me for a set of Trials where I was almost certainly doomed, a couple battles, and a few run-ins with Destiny and his crazy, frog-obsessed daughter, you know exactly what not to do."
"Very funny," he growled, though his smile still seemed glued to his face. "I would like to remind you how many time I have saved your ungrateful arse. You are still in one piece, are you not?"
"'Course I am," I grinned, shoving him on the shoulder. "So see, you've got nothing to be afraid of." We'd reached our initial compartment now. Inside, Arra was awake, staring out the window, while Harkat, Vancha, and the two police officers reminded fast asleep around her.
"There you are," she said when we stepped inside, her voice still slow and soft as if she had just woken up. "What happened to them?" She jerked her thumb towards the sleeping figures of Sean and Brian.
"I knocked them out," he explained, stopping in front of her. "I wanted a chance to talk with Darren. And now, if you do not mind, I would like to speak with you in private while we have a chance."
She blinked, looking slightly surprised, then nodded. "Of course," she said, and when he offered her a hand to help her up, she ignored it. I turned away, grinning. I could feel things getting back to normal already.
I watched as they walked away from our compartment, no doubt headed for the empty one Mr. Crepsley and I had sat in seconds ago. I wondered what they would say, what they were each thinking. Part of me wanted to follow them and know, but another bigger part was happy to let them have a moment, just between the two of them. Or, I felt a funny smile slide onto my face at the thought, three. Thinking such a sappy thought made me feel old, but somewhat warm and fuzzy too.
When Mr. Crepsley and Arra returned to our compartment well over an hour later, I glanced quickly at them both and then turned away, not wanting them to feel like I was prying or intruding. I leaned back contentedly in my chair, closing my eyes. For a moment, I even forgot about the two police officers blacked out at the end of the compartment. For the first time in a long time, I was genuinely happy.
The temporary feeling of comfort and happiness did not last long. About a minute later, a whistle blew, and a voice over a loudspeaker announced that we'd be coming to a stop in about five minutes, urging passengers to gather all personal belongings and remain in their compartment for further instruction from train officials.
"That's weird," I thought aloud as I stood to go wake Vancha and Harkat. "They didn't say that at the other stops, did they?"
"I do not recall them saying anything about 'further instructions', no," Mr. Crepsley said, reaching under the seat to drag out the small bag of belongings he carried. "I filled Arra in on your conversation with the man at the store in town. She, like I , thinks it best to get off the train and out of the station as soon as possible when we stop and go into hiding till we can plan our next move. It is crucial we do not call attention to ourselves for a while. When they - " he gestured at the still-sleeping Brian and Sean, "wake up an realize we are gone, they will most likely alert this city's authorities. We should plan to travel as quickly and inconspicuously away from here as possible."
The train was slowing down now, and Vancha and Harkat were getting up sleepily. Having missed most of what Mr. Crepsley said, Vancha muttered, "What is it? Why are we hurrying?"
"Them, for one," Arra said, standing and jerking a thumb at the police. "We'll tell you the rest later, it would take too long now. Is everyone ready? The train's almost stopped."
Everyone nodded, and Vancha cracked his neck a couple times. It was only now that I noticed his ridiculous purple pajamas again and couldn't conceal a smirk. "Oh, we're just going to master 'inconspicuous'," I said sarcastically.
"Stuff it, Shan," he growled as Harkat laughed. "It's your own damn fault."
I would have come up with a smart retort, but the train screeched to a full stop and the sounds of the doors beginning to fly open all down the train filled the air. "They told everyone to wait," I pointed out as Arra started for the door. "Don't you think they'll stop us?"
"Not if they can't catch us," she said, then pulled our compartment's door open and started down the hall to one of the doors that would lead to the station.
Mr. Crepsley, Vancha Harkat, and I hurried after her. It was when we passed other, occupied compartments that I started to feel uneasy. Inside each was a train employee, and each door, I could tell by the direction of the handle, was locked tight. Why were they locked when passengers had to get out in a couple minutes? And why, when we'd been told to "wait for further instruction" was no one trying to stop us? I wanted to voice these concerns, but by the time I'd worked out how odd it all was, we had reached the open door.
This station was huge. The train had brought us into a large building, with cement floors, benches, lamps, and even a small cafe. You would think, in such a giant station, in a busy city, there would always be multitudes of people, especially now, at the beginning of commuter time. Yet as far as I could see, there were only about fifteen people here, all standing as though they were waiting to get on this train.
"Mr. Crepsley," I hissed, trying to stop him before he got off the train. "Something isn't-"
But he and Arra had already stepped down from the train's doorway onto the station's cement ground, and before I knew it, Vancha and Harkat were behind me, and I had no choice but to follow them out. When the five of us were out of the train, the doors immediately slammed shut behind us. We spun on our heals to stare at them at the sudden sound. It was as if someone had been watching, timing it perfectly so we could get off of the train without being able to get back on. By the time we turned around again, it was too late. The fifteen people that had been gathered near us began closing in, and before anyone could process what was happening, their guns had been drawn.
Dun dun dun...cliff hanger! I apologize for this chapter being incredibly long, I got a little carried away :D
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