-1"I
do hope you come back and stay with us after you three are satisfied
you are safe." Orsanos stood in the hallway of the headquarters in
front of Carol, Trevor and Adolph, who were each holding backpacks.
"Oh, I'm sure we will I left some of my stuff here." Carol
said, hoisting her bag over her shoulder to carry it easier.
"Ja,
I will come back as well. This place is like a home to me now."
Adolph nodded and glanced to Trevor, who looked uneasy. Adolph knew
that Trevor would most likely go back to the mountains where there
was no large amount of electricity for miles around.
"I'll come back too." He said quietly, surprising both Adolph and Orsanos. He would come back to an electric-filled house? How unlike him.
"I really am sorry I brought danger to everyone here, Orsanos." Carol whispered, hanging her head sadly.
"Ah, young one- there is no need to apologize." Orsanos said reassuringly. He put a finger under her chin to force her to look back up. "What really matters is that you are safe. You are a kind and gentle woman with a wonderful gift that you do not fully understand yet. You have but to call, and we will come to help you in a dire situation."
Carol nodded happily and looked to Adolph and Trevor "Are you guys ready?" She smiled.
"Ja,
Kleines, let us go." Adolph nodded.
"Yeah, let's get going
before Jackie wants us to fill out the leave-of-absence papers."
Trevor smirked.
Adolph's eyes widened and he stepped further
toward the door to hurry them along before that might happen.
"Alright, you two- we'll go." Carol laughed and grabbed them both by the wrists, dragging them out the door with a final farewell to Orsanos.
"Good Lord, Adolph- how the hell did you afford this car?!" Carol stared at the yellow Maserati GranTurismo in front of her in amazement.
"Hey-
I've lived for over 175 years now. I might as well have some fun
with the money I get along the way." Adolph said, clicking the
unlock button on his keyrin with a 'beep beep' from the car. They
piled into the car, Adolph driving with Trevor in the passenger, and
Carol in the back.
"So where are we heading then?" Carol said
as they pulled out of the driveway.
"Well, if we head east
we'll hit the ocean and I don't think this baby can swim."
Trevor said, patting the dashboard of the car affectionately.
"Our
goal should be… Colorado, would you say, Trevor?" Adolph said
thoughtfully.
"Sounds good to me." Trevor nodded.
Carol smiled and leaned against the window as she looked at the buildings and trees passing by, flinching when Adolph turned on the radio. At once she had the urge to sing- as she always did, but held back, since it would be a bad idea.
"Carol, why don't you ever sing anymore?" Adolph glanced at her depressed expression in the rear view mirror. Trevor glared at Adolph, who glanced back to him with a knowing expression.
"She
needs to embrace her gift Trevor, not deny it. You were the same way
after-"
"STOP!" Trevor yelled, the car revving suddenly as
he shouted.
Caroline froze, looking at Trevor's intense expression at Adolph and sunk into her seat in fear. She really didn't want this to go any further. She could feel the electricity in the air, and she knew it wasn't from the tension between the two men.
A heavy silence followed, everyone in the car trying to keep to themselves. She couldn't stand this…
People chasing her for no reason, trying to kill her just because she was born. Not to mention the only two people that were there to protect her were too busy arguing she never felt safe anymore. She felt so alone, as if she had given up everything from her past for nothing, and was going to die either way.
She
felt her eyes burning as she stared out the window, trying to
distract herself, but couldn't stop a tear from streaming down her
cheek silently. Trevor froze in the front seat, the electricity
vanishing from the air as he turned a bright eye to Carol in concern.
He saw the tear and sighed in frustration, turning around in his seat
to get a better look at her.
"Hey- Caroline." He tried to get
her attention, but she ignored him. He reached a hand back to touch
her arm gently to get her attention. She finally looked up at him
with misty eyes and her cheeks rosy, but refused to look him in the
eye, focusing instead where his hand was touching her.
"I'm
sorry if I upset you, I just…" His other hand ran through his
blond hair nervously. "I'm just from a bad past, and I don't
like talking about it."
"Alright." Carol said, her voice
raspy. "I'm just scared- no, terrified of what's going on. I
don't know why anyone would be after me."
"Neither do we,
kleines." Adolph said, looking at her in the mirror.
"Do you
have any ideas who would be after you? Anyone at all?" Trevor
asked.
"The
only thing I can think of is if they knew the guy from high
school."
"A, I hadn't thought of that. Perhaps a brother?"
Trevor said thoughtfully. "Was there anyone else close to
him?"
"No, not really. He was pretty shy, and no one that
would go to such drastic measures as this." carol shook her
head.
"You never know what a person will do if they are touched
in the head, kleines." Adolph said, speeding down the highway as
the evening started to end.
"We'll keep a close eye out,
Caroline. No one will get at you while we're around." Trevor said
to her reassuringly, but his face was grim.
Caroline nodded silently, not entirely convinced. She set her head against the glass and watched the other cars pass them through sad eyes. "I guess I just don't like to sing because I'm afraid the same thing will happen again."
Trevor
looked at her in surprise, not expecting such a confession so
suddenly. "So am I. When I was younger… I hurt a lot of people."
He said, looking down for a minute before looking back up at her.
"But you have to face fear and beat its ass if you ever want to
live your life without regret. I want you to sing again Carol, and
sometime soon. I'd like to hear it." He said, and turned back
around in his seat thoughtfully. Carol smiled softly and let out a
sarcastic chuckle.
"Trevor, I don't mean to alarm you, but do
you know what the date is?" Adolph asked a little too calmly, his
hands gripping the steering wheel tightly.
"Sure,
it's the third. Why?" Trevor looked at him curiously, and sank
back into his seat in dread, his eyes wide. "Oh shit, you have to
be fucking kidding me…"
"I'm afraid not. Would you by
chance want to drive for a while until we get to the country
somewhere?" Adolph smiled happily, fangs gleaming in the light of
the setting sun.
"Sure. Pull over and get the hell out."
Trevor said, looking back to Carol, as if checking she was still
there. He looked back ahead as Trevor pulled off the highway and onto
the curb. Adolph calmly got out, and Trevor pulled open the door to
yank Carol out of the back seat, Adolph sitting there in her place.
Carol ran over to the passenger seat and looked at Trevor in
confusion as he pushed the gas on the car, the tires squealing in
protest to accelerating so suddenly.
"HEY- watch it!" Adolph
yelled, but gritted his teeth.
"Shut
up, Adolph. You should have told me earlier what today was, you
asshole. You've put Carol in danger too, now." Trevor glanced at
Carol and turned into the nearest exit and onto the road connected to
it, running several red lights.
"What's going on?" Carol
looked at them both, her eyes wild. Something was wrong, very wrong.
She could feel it in her bones- like something evil was trying to
claw itself to the surface very nearby.
"Tonight
is the full moon, Carol." Adolph said in a strained voice as he
looked out the window with glowing eyes, his fangs lengthening.
"But
I thought the full moon thing was a myth. Don't you change every
night?"
"He does, but on full nights, it's… different. He
turns feral." Trevor said, his voice low as he swore and turned
onto a dirt road, mud spraying onto the car as he drove.
"You
don't mean… he'll be…" She looked at Adolph with wide eyes
and scooted away slightly.
"Wild, yes. That's why we have to
get to the deep country as quickly as possible. No one will be hurt
there."
"Hurry." Adolph growled, fur rippling over his body as he closed his eyes in pain.
"I'm hurrying, Adolph- hang on as long as you can man, we're almost there." Trevor looked ahead of him in determination, prepared to do whatever was necessary. He skidded off the road, frustrated enough with this never ending expanse of farmland. He rolled over the fields until he finally stopped just outside a forest. Adolph grabbed his bag and flung himself out of the rear seat and into the forest at a sprint.
