Hey, look at that, an update. I'm not even working on this story for NaNoWriMo, but I've had this half-finished chapter just sitting there waiting to be finished and ideas came to me in the midst of all of that. So I took a break from the word counter to finish this instead.
Updates should be faster after this. Truthfully, I've had a lot of issues come up this past year and I'm finally dealing with them. My productivity and mood haven't felt this good in a long time. I have ideas for the next few chapters that I'm excited for you to see.
Chapter 5: Twisted View
Haven
Blue Earth, Minnesota, USA
January of 1987
The adults were having an Important Conversation. Haven could tell because they sat her, Dean, and Sammy in front of the television before heading to another room and shutting the door. Haven knew from the times Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia had Important Conversations that she wanted to know what they were talking about, but that she couldn't be caught listening. Haven would get in Big Trouble if she was caught.
With Dudley, she knew she could sneak away to listen easily. If he saw her, he'd tell on her, but she just had to wait for him to stop paying attention to her. A few minutes of one of his shows and it was easy. Haven didn't think Sammy would care, but what about Dean?
She wiggled in her seat as she looked at Dean. He kept staring at her and then looking away. That wasn't good. She needed him not to pay attention to her, so he wouldn't know she was doing something bad. He'd surely tell on her.
Then again… maybe if he told on her, the adults would stop treating her so weirdly. They might stop being nice finally. They would be normal.
Haven knew it would happen one day. The waiting for it made her antsy.
Well if it would happen anyway… might as well be now. Get the waiting out of the way. With a stubborn set to her jaw Haven very deliberately got up from her seat and quietly made her way to the door. When she glanced back, she saw Dean watching her with wide eyes. She looked back at the door and forced herself not to care that he'd tell on her. She got onto the ground to listen through the crack in the door.
"- do you know?" That was Pastor Jim.
"It was tracking her. It couldn't have done it so well without a Mark," replied John.
"You're sure?" It was quiet for a moment. "Then she'll never be safe. She'll be hunted all of her life. Unless you know a way to remove it?" Another pause, then a sigh.
Whatever was said next, she didn't hear. She was too busy staring in shock as Dean crept over, putting his ear against the crack in the door so he could listen as well. He met her eyes and put a finger to his lips.
Haven was so surprised she said, "But wha-"
"Shh!" Dean hissed. "They'll hear!" She nodded and went back to listening.
"- to be a way to at least, I don't know, lessen the effect? Mask it under something else? I don't know how these things work, John, but she's just a little girl and she's gone through enough." Pastor Jim's voice sounded tired. Upset. But not angry. "Where can we take her? I thought maybe finding a family to adopt her, but if you're right, she won't be safe with anyone who isn't a Hunter. Even then."
"Staying in one place will never be safe for her. It'll be best if she stays on the move. I was thinking I could take her. The boys like her."
Pastor Jim was quiet for a while. "... John, you can't be serious. Tell me you aren't serious."
"Why shouldn't I be?" John replied. "She needs to stay on the move. We don't stay anywhere long. She'll be as safe with us as she can be. And... well. What else are we supposed to do?"
Pastor Jim sighed heavily. "John... Are you sure you know what you're doing? She needs... Why are you really doing this? Why are you willing to risk keeping her with your boys? What are you planning?"
"What do you mean?" Haven could tell from the way John spoke he was blustering. Defensive. "We don't have any other options, do we?"
"She's a child, John! I know you love your boys, but she's been… she needs someone to care about her!" Haven couldn't help but flinch at his angry, louder tone. But it wasn't directed at her… it was about her, though. She didn't like being talked about. It was always bad when adults remembered her enough to talk about her.
"Are you saying I won't? Do you really think that?" John's tone was quieter, but it still sounded dangerous. Haven didn't like it, either.
"... She needs care, and attention, and patience, with what she's been through. She needs more. It's bad enough on the boys, living as you do, but-" Pastor Jim sighed. "She's been through too much already."
"What else can we do? You can't take her. She'll bring everything from miles around to your safe house. You can't leave. What she needs is to live, and her best shot is staying on the move. We travel enough, and I can protect her."
Someone sighed heavily, or maybe both of them did. Then Pastor Jim said, "You better take care of her. You better love her like a daughter, John."
There was a long silence. "I understand."
At the sound of footsteps both Haven and Dean scrambled back to sit on the couch as if they hadn't moved and had been watching the show the whole time. The adults seemed to believe it. John sat down with Dean, while Pastor Jim left the room.
Haven kept shooting glances over at John, while pretending she was interested in whatever was on the show. He kept looking back at her, though. She didn't like that. She kept wiggling and fidgeting in her seat, waiting for his attention to leave or for him to do something.
Instead, he looked at Dean and said, "Haven will be staying with us."
"For how long?" Dean asked, glancing over at Haven before looking up at John.
"From now on."
That sounded a lot like forever. She didn't know how she felt about that. It would not be the Dursleys. She liked Sammy. Dean was better than Dudley. At least John ignored her, mostly, instead of trying to pretend to be kind like Pastor Jim. Maybe it would be okay, if she kept her head down so John could forget she was there, mostly. Then she could play with Sammy, and eat more often, and sleep somewhere that wasn't a cupboard under the stairs.
That was more than she'd dared hope for from the Dursleys.
"It's cute how they think they can keep you safe, dontcha think, little girl? But it's just us now, hm? What'll you do now? Do you have any more naughty tricks for me?"
Alexandria was shaking, but she was backed against a wall. She shivered from the cold. She couldn't feel her hands, or feet, or much of anything but the fear, really. She wished she had a superpower like those people on the telly whenever Dudley watched it.
"It seems like you're all out of tricks. Want to see mine?"
Haven screamed.
This time when Dean went back to school, Haven had to go with him. They weren't in the same classes, since she was younger by a year.
School here wasn't much different. There wasn't a Dudley to turn the other kids against her, but it didn't seem to matter. They looked at her and seemed to understand that her parents had been hooligans and she was destined to follow their example, even though Aunt Petunia had not talked to their parents, as far as she knew. They looked at her and seemed to understand she was from Elsewhere- she was weird and strange, and abnormal.
From all the comments on her weird voice, it was that. A teacher called it her 'fancy accent'. Which was funny to her, since she talked normal and they were the ones talking weird.
In class, they had to do things like playing games, and reading books, and adding numbers. They sat around large circular tables in groups during class time, and went outside in the cold to play, when the snow wasn't too bad. When it was, they stayed inside and played with toys. You had to rush to get the toys you wanted, and make sure so one snatched them from you. Haven played by herself with whatever toys she could claim, and guarded them the best she could. The teacher yelled at her and put her in time out for hitting, so she got better at not getting caught so she didn't lose the toys.
She and Dean took a bus to and from school back to Pastor Jim's place. He would always welcome them by asking what they did that day, and if they had any fun.
"School isn't fun. It isn't supposed to be," Haven would tell him every time. He didn't like that answer.
Alexandria was on a swing on the playground, watching the lines her feet made in the snow when she leaned as far as she could and pointed her feet coming down. Back and forth, back and forth…
"There's the freak!"
That was Dudley's voice. She suddenly saw him appear with his ugly friends, and some of the kids at her new school, too. Someone shoved her out of the swing from behind. She landed face-first into the snow. Someone kicked her in the side hard.
"You're so weak!"
She tried to scramble to her feet but her body didn't work right, and she got kicked again and then-
Haven didn't have high hopes for Dean's birthday, when she was told it was coming. She thought it might be a bit like Dudley's, where he would open a bunch of presents, she would have to stay out of the way, and then she'd be left behind while everyone else went out to fun places. Not that she thought that part was bad. As long as she listened for them to come back, she could watch shows, play with Dudley's toys, and sneak some food from the kitchen.
It turned out to be very different.
It started with a small stack of presents. A toy, a ball, new clothes. Not much more than she'd gotten for Christmas. But he seemed happy with them, eagerly asking John to come toss the ball with him outside.
But then, something even stranger happened.
"Want to come play, too, Haven?" Dean asked her, smiling happily over the small amount of presents. Dudley surely would have had a screaming fit over such a small pile.
Haven was so stunned by the question that she didn't answer at first. She just blinked at him, until he said, "Haven? Hello?"
"Er. Yes… Please," she said. Maybe it was a trick. But maybe it wasn't. He didn't mind playing with her sometimes, mostly when they were both playing with Sam.
Pastor Jim reminded them to go get their coats first, so they did that, and then she, Dean, and John went outside into a yard covered in snow.
She hovered near them, not quite sure what to do. Dean and John stood with many meters of distance between them, Dean holding the ball.
"Back up a little, Haven," Dean said. Haven took a few steps back as Dean threw the ball to John and he caught it. John turned to her and held the ball up, then threw it. She fumbled, but caught it. She smiled a little uncertainly.
"Now throw it to Dean," John said. She turned towards Dean, thinking of how John and Dean had both done it. Then she threw.
The ball didn't quite make it to Dean. He had to run up and pick it up, dusting off some snow. But he just turned to John and threw again.
They kept like that for a while, sometimes switching the order they threw it in, and how far away from each other they were. Haven was better at catching than throwing, but she eventually sort of got the hang of that, too. No one got mad at her. Nothing terrible happened. She was just… allowed to play? With Dean's new ball at that? John didn't yell or lock her in the cupboard. He didn't really say much to her, focusing his smiles on Dean, but he gave her a few tips on her throwing that helped. Adults didn't help her.
No one made sense here. But she was sort of starting to get used to it. When they went inside for Dean's birthday dinner, she wasn't even too surprised that she was given a slice of cake after they sang happy birthday and Dean blew out the candles. They shared food and even dessert with her here, and she didn't even have to make it or help.
After two slices of delicious cake, her stomach started to ache badly, but she didn't care. Sweet things were delicious. And no one got angry at her for eating them.
It was weird here. She didn't trust it to last, but she was starting to like it.
Baby Haven and Dean are just adorable. For all of you excited for that sweet adopted sibling bonding, that's what we're focusing on for the next few chapters. Unfortunately for all of you excited for Loki, he's going to be in the background for a while... but we are certainly not done with him. I wouldn't say he's a main character, but he is definitely going to have an important impact on things as we go on.
... I'm just curious, does anyone have any theories about what John is thinking?
Thank you for reading!
