A/N: All Trueblood characters and relevant storylines belong to Alan Ball. Just playing in the universe for a spell.
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Chapter 1
Apologetics, I typed. Are the worst.
A knock sounded from the door to the hallway. I sighed and went to answer. A slim short sophomore stood behind the door on the verge of tears. My heart ached for her.
"Come in, I'll make us some tea." Relieved, she followed me inside.
I prepared the tea as Trisha spilled her woes.
"I worked so hard and he said my arguments were derivative! Maybe I'm not cut out for this class. Jane Austen was supposed to be fun and now I'm struggling writing arguments."
"Maybe you should get some rest and reread your paper again," I suggested. "And if it's still not clicking, talk to your professor again. I'm sure he didn't mean you're a bad writer. It sounds like he's trying to challenge you a bit." I handed Trisha a cup of tea. "What did you write about?"
"Pride and Prejudice," Trisha responded. I took a sip of tea. "We were to pick a theme and create an argument..." I listen to Trisha and offer the best advice I can. She agreed to sleep on it, thanked me and left me to my own studies.
I went back to my computer and sighed. Hitting backspace to the word apologetics. They are the worst but that shouldn't be my opening statement. Apologetics... fuck it, are the worst.
I'm a Resident Assistant for undergraduates working on my degree in theology at SMU in Dallas. I am still unsure of how I want to proceed with my career. I love talking to people about their views and spiritual lives but I don't think I would make a great preacher in the church. Honestly, I'm no stranger to doubt and I don't think I have the spiritual endurance needed. There are tons of options and the field is changing in the wake of the internet as well.
I was well into my graduate studies when vampires came out of the coffin and it has been a turbulent time to be in academia for theologians. Furious debates and articles are questioning the validity of vampiric souls and the physical dangers they represent in daily life. Unfortunately, they are rather tight-lipped but rumors do get around, especially when they're of a sexual nature. I've had a couple encounters with vampires in passing at the grocery store but never properly introduced or befriended one. Nor has any of my friends, though many have either moved away to start their careers or are too young to get into the "vampire bars" all of which are strict 21 establishments in Dallas.
I've been to enough bars to know they're not for me. I prefer meeting people online these days where I can control my boundaries and avoid potentially dangerous situations.
I opened my email to see if I had any new messages.
From: Steve Newlin
You are playing with the devil and don't cry to me if you get burned, literally...
I raised my eyebrows. Oh Steve, I wish you would give some generosity when we argue theology.
I felt a soft spot for him though. We'd met freshman year and formed a friendship figuring out the ins and outs of college and living away from parents for the first time. It's an intense time and I wasn't necessarily proud of the person I was at the time. I'd grown up in one of the suburbs in the area which was mostly white, straight presenting. And I'd only learned recently the systems that laid the foundations for those suburbs.
Steve was raised in his family's church nearby. His dad is a raging Christian fundamentalist whose popularity depended on his opposition to vampires. That's a lot of pressure when you think about it. Poor Steve was basically bred to be his successor though I don't think he cared for theology that much. I couldn't fault him for putting in the effort he did though. We had studied together and had many discussions about faith and Christianity. We had a healthy rivalry though he sometimes devolved into saying I was going to hell. That pretty much will end any argument but it gets annoying when he thinks he's won.
He met Sarah his final year and gotten married after graduation.
I checked the time. 6:45pm, ten minutes til sundown. I saved my sad three word paper and shut down my computer. I grabbed my pack and left the dorms heading to the student activity center. I walked into a dark room I had rented and turned on the light. There was one large round table with ten chairs.
I got out my book and sat down. I only had to wait a few minutes before Paul came in his regular running attire.
"Hey Paul," I said smiling.
"Hey Chelsea, how's Darcy treating ya?" He asked jokingly.
"Oh, he never changes," I said.
"How many people do you think we'll get tonight?" He asked.
"A hundred at least," I said confidently.
"I guess I should get some more chairs then," he said sitting next to me.
"So, what's new?" I asked closing my book.
"Just the usual," he said stretching his legs under the table. I'd know Paul for the past year. He was here on a scholarship in swimming but liked running too. We'd met when I was hanging posters for this club I was hosting.
The human vampire relations club. Where we discuss theology, social issues and more, all humans and vampires welcome. So far, we'd had a small group of four maybe five inconsistent comers. No vampires.
Paul came every week. It was on his way to start I'm his nightly run so he said it was a good time to sit and talk seriously.
"What's the topic tonight, teach?" He asked.
"Well, I have a choice between vampire fiction and how it impacts our prejudices, and fellowship of the sun doctrine."
"Fellowship of the Sun sounds interesting," he said. "You know that dude's son, don't you?"
I winced thinking of his last email, "yeah, he maybe sent me some stuff."
"Way to brave the proselytizing!" He said excitedly.
I chuckled. Just then we heard a knock.
I looked up to see a pale young guy in off white baggy linen clothes. I could see a peak of tattoo on his chest. "Hi!" I greeted excited at the fresh face. "Looking for the human vampire relations club?"
"Yes," he said quietly but clearly. He approached the table.
"Have a seat, man!" Paul said friendly. He pulled out a chair and sat comfortably. I noticed he had an ease to him. "I'm Paul, this is-"
"Chelsea," I said interrupting him. "Chelsea King, what's your name?"
"I am Godric," he said meeting my eyes. He had gorgeous steel grey eyes.
A couple more regulars came in, students Ashley and Todd. Introductions were made and we settled in for our discussion. I pulled out my topic guide for the night.
"I'm sure all of you heard about the vampires who were murdered in Louisiana last week."
"Yeah, they said some humans set fire to their house in the morning. Killed three vampires and one human," Ashley said shaking her head.
"Yes, and Reverend Newlin was on the news a couple days ago saying some awful things about it. He started a new church called Fellowship of the Sun," I hesitated. "I have a copy of their doctrine. I thought we could go through it for our discussion tonight." I handed out copies of the doctrine to follow along.
Todd spoke up, "I went to a service to check it out. They like the fire and brimstone, but everyone was pretty nice."
"They would be to you," Godric said quietly.
Todd looked at Godric, "what's that?"
"You would experience nice people," Godric said directly. "You are clearly human."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Todd said defensively. "It was an evening service and I didn't know anybody."
"Okay, Todd," Paul said. "I think Godric meant they're nice unless they know you're a vampire."
"So, let's read through the first paragraph," I said shifting the focus back on the doctrine.
"We are the Light!" I began.
"The Fellowship of the Sun (FoS) is a grass-roots organization pledged to protect humanity from the vampire scourge. These Creatures of Darkness (CoDs) threaten not only our very existence with their perverted craving for human blood, but they also undermine our way of life, sullying our communities with their routine acts of hedonism and cruelty."
"Well, they start off like no church group I ever liked," Ashley said. "We are the light? Really? It supposed to be Jesus is the light. I don't think they can call themselves Christian."
"I don't disagree, but we should cautious in gatekeeping the Christian identifier," I countered. "I've been told I'm going to hell or am not a real Christian by many people and it's usually a conversation killer."
"It's a dog whistle," Godric said.
"What do you mean?" Paul asked.
"Vampires have a severe reaction to sunlight. It's life threatening. So to say 'We are the light', it's telling vampires to feel threatened," Godric said.
"Woah," Todd said. "I can't believe I missed that."
"Hence the term dog whistle," Ashley said smirking. We chuckled and Todd scratched the back of his head uncomfortably.
"Okay, okay," I said. "Interesting they use the term grass-roots. I only ever hear that describing a political candidate."
"Oh, I bet Theodore and Steve will run for office," Ashley said.
"Their website is basically a political ad against the VRA," Todd added. "They really make the appeal to protect children."
"That's a pretty common tactic," I said. "Say protect the children enough and if you question what they're banning it sounds like you want hurt children."
"Grass roots also implies their well-funded by the community," Paul added.
"Then, they pledge to protect humanity," I intoned.
"Oo, gotta put in the patriotism!" Ashley said excitedly.
"Patriotism?" said Godric.
"The only time anyone I know has used the word 'pledge' is saying the pledge of allegiance everyday in school," Ashley said.
"Dog whistle for extreme patriots…?" Todd asked. Ashley looked impressed.
"Future domestic terrorism?" Paul suggested.
"That's a deep topic for one word," I said. "Let's move on to get through this. From the vampire scourge. I actually had to look this word up because I wasn't sure of the definition. Scourge is a person or thing that causes great trouble or suffering. Though this might add some flavor. Historically, scourge was a whip used as an instrument of punishment."
"So, scourge went from being a thing that caused one person suffering at a time to something that can cause a lot of people suffering," Paul said.
Godric was frowning pretty hard.
"I feel like they're blaming vampires for a lot when we didn't even know they existed until 2 years ago," I said.
"Well, there's not exactly any research backing up the other side yet either," Paul argued. "It's just unknown from a sociological perspective. There's some anecdotal evidence though."
"I heard some feminists saying that men cause more rape than vampires," Ashley said.
"That's not necessarily false but it's not evidence either," I said. "I think it's more about them labeling all vampires as this horrible thing. If they use a word like scourge to group all vampires together, it's hard to talk nuance, consent, and sociological factors."
"It's a scare tactic," Godric added. "To pit us versus them."
"Yes," I agreed. "Fellowship of the Sun continues 'These Creatures of Darkness (CoDs) threaten not only our very existence with their perverted craving for human blood'."
"God, they just layer on the monster language," Ashley said shaking her head.
"Let's talk about it a little though," I cajoled. "A part of every human contains what vampires need to survive. I think it's okay to find that scary. It's survival instinct."
Godric didn't speak. Everyone else looked uncomfortable.
"I mean, technically, we could survive on eating our own but it's such a taboo topic," Ashley said.
"That's one of those old laws in the Old Testament too. That's probably where they're getting their biblical justification ," Todd said uneasily.
"I think you're right that they could be using those verses as justification, but it's coming from a place of fear and taboo topics," I said.
Paul sighed, "Well, to round out the taboo topics, I've read there's a sexual component to it."
"Good point," I said. "I think most of us were raised to think our sexual desires are only allowed in marriage." Everyone nodded except Godric. I was the only one to notice. "I'm not saying everyone should go have sex with anyone but I think there's some ethics we should talk about more especially for people basically raised in the church."
"What kind of ethics?" Todd asked.
"Well, consent for one," I said. "Taking care of your partner and yourself. Learning what you do and don't like is important."
"Learning your libido," Paul suggested.
"That's true," I said.
"You know, they do use some of the same language as they do in the homophobic rhetoric," Ashley said. "Perverted, hedonistic, I've never seen evidence for any of this."
"And you won't," Todd mumbled.
"Easy, Todd," Paul warned.
"I've just heard stories," Todd said looking down at the table.
"Okay," I said. I checked my watch. 7:55pm. "Well, looks like our time is about to end. Does anyone have any final thoughts."
"If we don't treat everyone equally, we can't call ourselves a free country," Ashley said.
I nodded and looked at Godric, "it was a pleasure meeting you, Godric," I said warmly. "Thank you for coming."
"I appreciate the discussion," Goodric said. "It has been interesting to hear some human perspectives that aren't hateful."
Paul shifted in his seat. "Alright, well, thank you everyone. Hope to see y'all at our next meeting."
Todd and Ashley left quickly. They usually went out to eat after our meetings. Paul started putting away the chairs. Godric helped gather the various pages and handed them to me.
"Thanks," I said smiling at him. "I really appreciate your coming and offering your insight, Godric."
"My pleasure," Godric replied.
Paul put the last of the chairs away. We were walking outside when Paul said, "Do you want to all go out for drinks?"
"Perhaps another time," Godric said graciously. "I have matters to attend."
I smiled but I was relieved as I didn't enjoy spontaneous drinking sessions. I would've gone and probably had fun but I was looking forward to a cup of tea and my cozy bed.
"Well, we meet weekly," I said. "Hope to see you back."
I waved as I started walking back towards my dorm. Paul walked with me for a bit though his car was in the opposite direction. "Hey, so that was cool, right?"
"Yeah, I'm looking forward to seeing him again," I said genuinely excited. Paul looked affronted.
"Do you like him?"
"Sure, he seems nice," I said.
"No, do you like him?" He asked meaningfully.
"What kind of question is that?" I asked annoyed.
"You just seemed…" Paul trailed off.
I stopped and looked at him, "what?"
"What?" Paul said.
I sighed. "I'm going to bed." I started to walk towards the door.
"Wait!" Paul said suddenly. I paused and faced him. "I like you… as more than a friend," Paul said. "Would you want to hang out with me sometime… like on a date?"
"Paul," I said. "I'm sorry, I just don't feel that way about you."
"Ah, I'm too late," he groaned.
"Excuse me?" I asked.
"I saw the way he was looking at you and you at him," he said loudly.
"Hey, keep it down," I chastised. "We weren't looking any way. I just don't feel that way for you, Paul."
"Yeah, okay, I'm gonna go," he spun and started walking with his hand scratching the back of his head.
I shook my head and went inside. A cup of tea later and I was ready to pass out.
"While certain 'free thinkers' battle for the 'rights' of these monsters to infiltrate and degrade the human species, the FoS is committed to bringing truth to the public. Every vampire is a proven mass murderer and has no place on our streets or in our society. Wake up to the reality of the CoD agenda: They're not a soul-challenged 'new minority.' They're an ancient menace."
Godric read the second paragraph on his own. He certainly couldn't disagree with some points but he also couldn't help but crumble the stolen sheet into a ball and throw into that's trashcan. He did have a chip on his shoulder. Ostracized had only recently not been his regular state; recent being a relative term.
He thought of Chelsea and her warm smile. She was so inviting and welcoming. He would go back.
He'd been building his area and reputation as sheriff for the past 90 years but he wanted to feel connected to someone. Mainstreaming was the newly coined term, encouraged by the Authority since the great revelation.
He wondered what Chelsea would've made of that last sentence. Did everyone think vampires were soul challenged? What the hell is a soul anyway? Life force? Personality? He walked home enjoying the Texas Fall air.
Chelsea slipped into her book in bed and was nearly asleep when her phone dinged.
Steve: Turn on the news
I stared at my phone confused and then complied turning on my little TV.
"Breaking news tonight, Reverend Steven Newlin and his family have been confirmed deceased after a hit and run accident on I635 East. The Newlin we're heading home after a gala for independent church ministries when it was said they were pushed into the concrete median. The 3 occupants were killed on impact. Unfortunately, the only witnesses did not get the license plate of the vehicle which caused the accident. They did say it looked like a silver Volvo but those reports are unconfirmed. The Dallas Police Department is asking for anyone with information to come forward."
I sat shocked. Steve's dad and stepmom and baby half sister were dead.
Me: Steve, I'm so sorry. :(
Steve: Did you do something?
Me: What do you mean?
Steve: Did you incite that by talking to vampires about the Fellowship?
I sat with a sinking feeling in my stomach. What if I had? What if Godric learned about the Fellowship doctrine tonight and…? I stopped my racing thoughts and took a deep breath with my eyes closed. I thought about where I was, what I could see and what day it was to control my anxiety.
Me: We did talk about it but only the first paragraph of what's on the website. We had a vampire guest and he was v peaceful.
Steve: …I'm going on TV in the morning. I beg you to please quit this group. Those creatures are dangerous. Look what happened to my dad. You'll be next if you don't stop.
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A/N: Rate and review :)