STAGES TWO AND THREE
Benny wondered if he was getting old. Like his grandmother, Benny felt the need to again emphasise to Natalie that certain people "metabolized" the magic in the environment and that he, Benny, was in no way, shape or form a witch or warlock. Though Benny was okay with wizard.
But Benny rationalized this, with long-ago memories of Stephanie and real witchcraft. He needed to differentiate himself from the forces of evil. And Natalie was going to be his friend's wife, and it would be very awkward to have her look at him with suspicion.
"It's like those TV shows and books where people are born with magical powers" Benny emphasized for the third and last time. "Only, in real life, spellmasters usually have a day job, so they don't get lazy or incompetent in their other daily pursuits."
"I believe you, Benny" said Natalie. "And part of the fact I believe you is that you do have a day job. And a profession."
"Why?" asked Benny. "What does that have to do with it?"
"Why would you go through all the trouble to be an engineer if you made some sort of Faustian bargain for magic powers?" said Natalie.
"I didn't think of that" said Rory. "Whoa! That's Ethan-level deduction."
"Benny-level too" said Benny, who similarly hadn't thought of it.
"Just common-sense" said Natalie.
"Which makes her a good fit for Rory" Sarah said quietly to Ethan. "They share the same interests, and she'll stop him from acting the complete idiot."
"You said it, Sarah" agreed Ethan, in the same tone.
Ethan and Sarah had just returned from Rory's combination spare bedroom and office.
"I know you've had a lot to digest, Natalie" said Ethan aloud.
"And he doesn't mean the pizza!" joked Rory, with a laugh.
"Lame" said Benny, although he snickered too.
"But I was thinking" Ethan continued, "If you're up to it, Natalie, you might want to read the first two years of our adventures. That is, up to the time we officially became Team Sabre. As in a light sabre or a sword. S-A-B-R-E, spelt the Canadian way. It's also an anagram of Sarah, Benny, Rory and Ethan. But I'm going to warn you. It's very heavy ready."
"S and A are both for Sarah" volunteered Rory. "That threw me for a second while we were figuring it out."
"I don't know how heavy it is" said Benny, with a shrug. "Actual horror movies are much more intense."
Everyone, except Natalie, glared at Benny.
"Of course" said Sarah angrily, "If it wasn't real life, it would be a comedy."
"Okay, okay" said Benny, holding up his hands defensively. "I wasn't trying to diminish the awesomeness of Team SaBRE, but just ease things up for Natalie. Or make fun of what you went through, Sarah."
"I plugged Rory's flash-drive into my laptop" said Ethan. "I printed out a copy for you to read Natalie, old-school style."
"Uh, Ethan" said Rory, awkwardly. "That history on the flash-drive isn't . . . ."
"Very detailed" said Benny, abruptly.
"But . . . it . . . will . . . .break . . . the . . . news . . . slowly" emphasized Ethan, with his old shooting-invisible-laser-beams-from-his-eyes glare.
"I get it" said Rory, with a look to Sarah (who nodded, but gave Rory a "don't be an idiot" look).
"Just ask us for any details" said Sarah, who now chose to, once again, ostentatiously look at her reflection.
Ethan gave Natalie the stapled sheets. Natalie immediately began at the first summary, entitled "When Ethan's Babysitter Was A Vampire". She thought Ethan had been a little kid, reading the title, but was surprised to read he was fourteen and it was his sister's babysitter the summary referred to. And that the vampire in question was Sarah!
Natalie gasped, dropped the sheet, and looked at Sarah. Natalie covered her neck with her hand, making everybody else cringe.
Rory cringed and slumped down on the sofa.
"It's okay" said Sarah, suppressing a flush of anger. She realized how Natalie felt; still, Sarah herself felt as if Natalie had walked up and slapped her in the face. "It's a shock to read".
"Read what it says beside it!" Ethan ordered angrily.
Ethan went and put his arm around Sarah. And kissed her.
Ethan had been prepared for this. In the margin he had written, in perfect handwriting "SARAH CURED 1 YR 9 MNTHS later. Sarah cured was triple-underlined. Lucifractor explosion. See last summary for more info. ALSO VAMPIRES DON'T HAVE REFLECTIONS."
"And we just ate a garlic pizza" Rory added, awkwardly.
"Oh" said Natalie, and that was all she said.
Natalie's look of fear was definitely not good news, so far. Still, she again read on.
It should be remembered that Rory had rewritten the summaries to delete the fact he had ever been a vampire, and, in some places, make him look more heroic than he had been. So things went "wonky" at the vampire party.
In Rory's new version, he had still been invited to Jesse's mansion for the party. Rory had still gone. But now Rory was a spy, who knew something was off as soon as he got there.! Rory tried to alert Erica, but she stubbornly ignored him as an insignificant "Grade 9 newb." The last Rory saw of her, she was leaving the room with Gord! Yet, Rory knew he couldn't go home, although he was in mortal danger! His job was to stay and listen! He eavesdropped, undetected by Jesse. You could imagine Rory's shock when he discovered his host was a vampire intent on reanimating his evil undead followers! Rory snuck out without being bitten, and reported everything to Ethan and Benny. Rory was introduced to Sarah, and swore vengeance on Jesse for what he had done to her! Team Sabre plotted, and they met the vamps on the field of battle at the Westdale Theatre. Finally, the summary explained in greater detail what happened with the Duskers, Jesse's box of souls, and Jesse's first death; as well as what happened with Sarah and Erica after that first adventure.
"And Jesse was Horace Black, with a cult of evil vampires at his heels" said Natalie, weakly. "No wonder, Rorster, you were so angry when Reverend Douglas was upset about the burning of Black's Chuch."
"Almost all vampires are evil" Ethan added, "they volunteer to become what they are. There's a tradition among them that they don't turn innocent people.
"Why?" asked Natalie.
"The bloodsucker's curse is on both the body and the soul" said Benny. "Volunteering to become undead is almost like selling your soul. When someone is a full vampire, their soul is blocked completely from the light. When they're killed, they're not even allowed to leave a body but burn into dust. They're not permitted to touch anything holy, or sometimes, even be near anything holy. The only two vampires I knew who were good, were turned against their will. And a good vampire is even more a crime than an ordinary evil vampire, because that means . . . well . . . a stolen soul and the bizarre situation where evil powers will be used for good. It can't stand for long."
"The good vampire gets staked" said Ethan. "Or turns evil. Or, if the good vampire lasts long enough, will be restored to their humanity."
"And the forces of evil pays the piper" said Benny. "My grandmother believes that this made it inevitable that the bloodsuckers were forced out of Whitechapel."
"How?" asked Natalie.
"Lucifractor" said Benny.
"It's at the very end of the printout" said Rory.
"And naturally, the two good vampires were Sarah and Erica" said Natalie. "The Broadway actress."
There was an awkward silence.
"Erica's also a special case" said Benny.
"I'd like to go to the balcony for a moment" said Natalie. "Do you mind?"
"No, of course not" said Ethan.
"Rorster, can you come with me?" asked Natalie.
"Sure" said "Rorster", although he didn't like how this was going.
Once on the balcony, Natalie took several deep breaths.
"Is this really true?" asked Natalie.
"You mean about Sarah having been turned into a vampire for two years, and Jesse being a 250 year cult preacher turned gang leader turned drama club leader?" asked Rory. "And Whitechapel being overrun by vamps. Those things specifically!"
"Yes" said Natalie.
"That's true" said Rory, carefully. "But there's more details that aren't in there."
"I don't know how much more of this I can take" Natalie sighed.
She again gasped for air.
"Do you want me to throw a glass of water on you?" asked Rory, worriedly. "It works on TV."
"I'm good" said Natalie, who stopped finally hyperventilating.
"We can stop" said Rory. "But I wanted you to know everything. And we wanted to go slowly. There's still some beer in the fridge if you need a drink to drink, Natalie."
"I'll take some tea" said Natalie, whose face looked drained all of a sudden. "I need a clear head and energy."
Rory looking at her tired face, gave her a hug and kiss.
When Natalie returned, she gave a little speech.
"Sarah . . . I'm sorry. It could happen to anyone. It could happen to anyone. I'm glad I don't have to live with that memory. Besides, you were only a fledgling it says. You don't have to stay by the mirror."
"Um" started Rory, but Ethan stopped Rory with another shooting-invisible-laser-beams-from-his-eyes glare.
"I understand" said Sarah.
The women hugged.
"I think you really should read on" said Benny.
Natalie read on past the Lawn of the Dead, Stephanie, Coach Ed, and took a hard look at Ethan when she discovered he had been a werewolf. Another look at Benny as she discovered he had been turned into a zombie along with half the town. Cameras and evil twins. Debbie Dazzle. A "spirit speaker" séance and a possessed Sarah. And a look at both Ethan and Sarah, when Jesse returned with another evil scheme. And Sarah was no longer a fledgling."
"An act of self-sacrifice. To drink blood" said Natalie quietly. "And becoming a full vampire. That's . . . freaking unfair."
"Again, Grandma thinks that doomed the vamps" said Benny. "Natural justice. Can you really get condemned to be a full vamp for saving someone from a fate worse than death? Or if you're an idiot fourteen year old kid who doesn't know . . . ."
"We haven't been turned into stuff since we were sixteen, back when we hardly knew what we were doing" Rory interrupted. "Perfectly human, all of us."
"Thanks, Rorster" said Natalie. "But why, why, did it take so long to cure Sarah, but Ethan and Benny . . . and half the town were cured right away? Of werewolf and zombies?"
"Easy" said Ethan. "It isn't fair, it sucked, but with the coffee zombies . . . the tainted coffee wasn't even magical, it was just science gone wrong. So it was relatively easy to find an antidote."
"I don't think the Lotta Latte ever recovered" said Sarah, thoughtfully. "Although the news never went far past Whitechapel."
"I think I remember something about a bad case of food poisoning" said Natalie, thinking back. "But not zombies specifically. And I heard it involved Lotta Latte coffee."
"Which is why Lotta Latte was bought out by Tim Hortons and most of their stores closed up" said Benny. "The girl barista who ran ours was way hot . . . but a real airhead."
"But what about Ethan cured of being a werewolf?" asked Natalie.
"Luck" said Ethan bluntly. "There was a potion and I was given it to take instead of Sarah."
"Though if my Grandma was in town at the time, Ethan might have gone to her" said Benny.
Next up were a series of paragraphs involving the Whitechapel Vampire Council. Here, Natalie was introduced to Anastasia, and she shuddered.
"She was real creepy" said Rory quietly, realizing to his embarrassment that of everyone there he had seen her most and done her bidding.
Natalie read about the siren, the Maztec sky queen, and Valerie Mudrap, the demonic pied-piper luring children to the underworld. And finally the adventure of "The Date to End All Dates", ending with the destruction of the Lucifractor."
"The Lucifractor, when aimed an individual vampire, worked like a laser, destroying them on contact" read Natalie. "When the jewel was destroyed, Vice Principle Stern and the Vampire HQ were reduced to rubble. However, beyond the explosion sent out a shock wave that destroyed all dark energy within Whitechapel and the immediate radius (the wave also caused a short blackout in town, but that's not important, just cool). Jesse hadn't told the whole truth or not known the whole truth about dark energy. It isn't a vampire who needs dark energy to survive, it is the vampire CURSE that needs dark energy to survive. Sarah was unconscious, but when she regained consciousness she was CURED as if she had never been a vampire. Jesse, was also knocked unconscious. When Anastasia, with Erica arrived, the drain began to work on the two of them. Jesse regained consciousness before aging to death and rotting before our eyes. Anastasia too. They had been too old to survive as human beings, well before they reached their natural age. But Erica, like Sarah, was cured."
"And that was the end of Horace Black" said Natalie.
"Not exactly" said Ethan, with a grimace. "He was revived once again, six months later, when Stephanie again got hold of magic powers. But they ended up both getting killed . . . for the final time. It was the worst adventure, for me personally."
"You can read on, if you want" said Benny. "And find out why it sucked for Ethan. And me."
"No, I'm good" said Natalie.
She closed her eyes for a short time, worrying Rory.
Natalie was still dazed from the news she had taken in. And this was only adding to the fact that magic, clairvoyance, ghosts and monsters actually existed. Whitechapel, Rory's seemingly innocent town, was a veritable chamber of horrors. Or at least it used to be until the undead had been Lucifracted out of Dodge.
The shocks seemed to get worse and worse, and the fact that Benny just now had quietly mouthed to Ethan "Stage Three, the Final Stage" made her apprehensive. A part of Natalie wanted to run away from the apartment screaming and waving her arms, never to come back. Forget everything she heard and saw today.
But Natalie loved Rory. Rory the recreational pilot, Rory the nice guy, Rory the Single Tear fan, Rory the Vampire Sasquatch fan, Rory the Architectural Engineer.
And if Rory and his friends were some sort of supernatural detectives in their spare time, didn't that made them heroes? Yes, it did.
Was Natalie going to stab him in the back over being a hero? No! Natalie loved being with Rory, and virtually everything about him; even when his mother confided to her she would need to fill up his stocking at Christmas as Rory still faithfully believed in Santa Claus. In fact, Rory thought Benny had been a dope not to go work on the diamond mine at Cape Columbia because everybody knew it was only a few hundred miles from there to Santa's workshop at the North Pole.
But that was nothing, all in all it made Natalie like Rory more. In fact Natalie now considered, since the two met, Rory had been so loving and so eager to make her happy every moment they were together. From splurging on the hotel, to going along with the formal wedding, to just plain getting along with her family's demands. And what he was giving to her brother, who Rory could better stand.
So, Natalie's better nature; or more accurately, her more understanding and accommodating nature won out.
"I believe you do important work, and that two of you have special powers" said Natalie, before she turned to Rory. "I love you, Rorster, for being so honest with me. You could have let me think it was all just ghost stories and running around haunted houses forever . . . or until long after we were married."
"It's because I love you I wanted you to know" said Rory, but adding hesitatingly, "But there's a couple things more you might want to know about those first couple years."
"Things that happened in our first adventure" said Benny. "That could only happen in our first adventure. There's a part of the story that isn't in those notes."
"If you're up to it" said Ethan, hesitantly. "I can show you. I don't want to brag, but I'm probably the most powerful seer in the country."
"Not that Ethan does brag" said Sarah earnestly. "When you know Ethan more, Natalie, you'll know he doesn't even particularly enjoy being a seer. He takes it on as a responsibility."
"Ethan doesn't even like his eyes glowing" said Rory.
"I believe it" said Natalie.
"I can almost actually take you into the past" said Ethan. "Either by way of the TV screen or standing and looking at it in person. It will be like we were in virtual reality, and they were holograms . . . that can neither see nor interact with you."
"Virtual reality?" questioned Natalie.
"Think about a Christmas Carol" said Sarah. "And the Ghost of Christmas Past and the shadows of things that have been."
"It's June" Benny objected.
"Sarah's idea works" said Ethan, shrugged. "So what will it be, Natalie. The TV screen, or holo . . . shadows of things that have been?"
Natalie was going to say TV, and in fact had formed her lips to say it. But at the last moment, in spite of the vampires, she was interested in seeing the fourteen-year-old Rory. As a holograph or shadow of teen that had been or a hologram of a teen that had been didn't much matter.
"Things that have been it is" said Ethan. "Uh, will you excuse us if Sarah and I talk privately?"
Sarah and Ethan took a moment to talk in another room. It didn't take too much time, as Ethan and Sarah had already discussed the idea of the virtual trip to the past . . . and that fact that Sarah wasn't going.
"You'll excuse me" said Sarah, when they had returned. "I'm staying here, body and soul."
"I don't blame you" said Natalie, smiling faintly at Sarah.
"But I'm in" said Benny.
Benny seldom had the opportunity to do this, as Ethan didn't like these time-travelling visions to the past. As cool as they could be. Ethan usually just saw what had happened in the past, and told.
Besides, it wasn't as if he, Benny, has anything to be ashamed of! And he could help Rory with his explanations!
"This'll be very gnarly" said Rory to Natalie.
"I'm ready" said Natalie.
"Okay" said Ethan, with a shrug. "Man, is this going to be harsh. Okay, Sarah, just stay by to shake us out of this if we seem to be staying too long."
"And drive you home" said Sarah. "Ethan's going to be asleep on the couch right after this."
"It's not easy" said Ethan defensively. "This is going to be literally going to the limit of my powers."
As the group of "time-travellers" sat at the table, Ethan had an expression of sullen determination. All in all, Natalie thought Ethan looked more like the least likely seer of all time. Ethan looked like a yuppie dressed for the weekend, with medium-long but neatly combed black hair. But then again, Natalie realized that a yuppie was basically what Ethan was at this moment in his life, not a seer.
So, Stage Three began with Ethan, Benny, Rory and Natalie sitting around the kitchen table, hands palms down on the wooden surface.
Ethan's eyes began their eerie white backlit glow.
"Okay, here we go guys" said Ethan.
