Chapter 77

The morning of the full moon arrived faster than anyone wanted. Brooklynn was on pins and needles, trying to distract herself by cooking for everyone. Claira and Milayna had become closer because of the situation they were in when it came to Seth Rollins. Brooklynn had made sure to make what little time they had left count when it came to Mark. Whenever there was downtime over the past 2 days, she would drag him away for a quickie, slow lovemaking or straight out screwing. Whatever their preference was at the time and they were in sync, both wanting the same thing. Today would be different because they had two evil forces to take down and everyone was on edge, wanting to get it done and over with.

Because they had absolutely no idea what the outcome of tonight would be, Mark had allowed Claira to invite Dean over for part of the day. Under the condition, she didn't panic him over what might happen or what they would be doing that night. He did not need the teenager/young man having a mental breakdown or getting ballsy and doing something stupid. Mark was standing out in the kitchen with Brooklynn, sipping coffee while he watched her. Her hands were shaking.

For some odd reason, Seth had called Claira to tell her exactly where he was doing the spell to open the dimension. In case she wanted to join in on the fun, his exact words. Why would Seth tell them that crucial information? Something didn't smell or feel right with that. Dean and Claira were currently up in her room while Milayna was downstairs with her parents, everyone trying to keep their wits about them for the time being. Without a word, Brooklynn stood up and walked outside to the backyard where the roses were. The scent would calm her nerves as she sipped her coffee, sitting down in the middle of the arbor and closed her eyes, sending silent prayers to anyone who would listen.

"What's she thinking?"

"That we're all going to die." Steve answered gruffly, standing alongside Mark. They had their issues, but… today wasn't the day for that. "That this is a trap, Seth's leading everyone into a trap."

Well, she wasn't the only one alone in thinking that. Mark sighed, running a hand through his fairly messy hair as he watched Brooklynn.

"She doesn't want Claira anywhere near Seth or where the dimension will be opened either. She's already planning on how to keep Claira home and she's gonna ask Mickie's help since John and Mickie are keeping Milayna here too."

There was no reason to put Claira in harm's way. They would make sure the dimension opened and as soon as Nemesis was out, they would strike hard and fast. Seth would go down first and then Nemesis because he was the easier of the two threats. He was dying regardless because he wouldn't be able to fulfill his end of the blood oath. Brooklynn didn't want to wait for that though, she wanted him stabbed right through the heart to ensure he was dead.

"We'll keep Dean here then, she'll stay behind with him." Mark did not blame Brooklynn or Mickie and John one bit. He didn't want the kids anywhere near there either. "And if… if something happens, they can all run." If it came down to them dying, they'd manage to get a message out. He could probably relay one through Sonya if need-be. And he'd also imagined that Claira, Milayna, and Dean would be at the top of Seth's to-do list, frowning.

When Mark approached Brooklynn and told her what he'd been thinking, along with Steve's mind reading, she wasn't upset and looked relieved he agreed with her. "I didn't know if you'd be in agreement to leave the kids behind. If something happens to us, they can get the hell out of here and run." Brooklynn didn't realize she repeated exactly what Mark had told Steve earlier and placed a hand on his, lacing their fingers together. "At least if we die together…we'll be together in the light. And don't start that bullshit with you going to hell. It's NOT happening. You're too good of a person not to go in the light. Because if you don't go, I don't go. I won't go without you."

What if there was no heaven or hell for people like them? Personally, Mark had always found the concept of heaven and hell to be drivel. He figured if God existed, and by chance, he DID make it to heaven, he was going to get kicked right out because he wasn't recounting his sins. He would ask the Big Man to explain his own.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there." He bent down to kiss her gently. "I want the kids to get out of here, Lynn. This way if shit goes south, they're already hopefully out of… reach."

That was an even better idea then having them wait to see if their parents were going to die. "Milayna can go with Claira and Dean. I trust him, and I know he'll protect them both with his life."

Unlike Seth, Brooklynn didn't feel any bad vibes when it came to Dean and she should've gone with her gut instinct the first time Claira brought Seth to meet them. She tried, in fact, to tell Mark about how she felt and he brushed it off because, at the time, he thought she was just being overprotective. Seth was Claira's first official boyfriend, so it was understandable why he jumped to that conclusion. Then she had that horrible nightmare about Claira calling CPS on them and…Brooklynn had backed off, not wanting that to become a reality. Backing off was the easy way out, a coward's way out, and now they were in a life or death situation.

"They need to leave immediately and get as much distance from Dallas as possible."

"We need to go talk to Mickie and John first, they deserve to make the call on Milayna." There wasn't a doubt in his mind that they wouldn't make the right call, but it was going to be hard. The thought of sending Claira away, maybe never seeing her again, holding her again, telling her how much he loved her… his heart was doing crazy clenching things in his chest. "Come on, Lynn."

Taking his hand, Brooklynn let him guide her back inside the house and their first stop was Mickie and John, who were seated on the couch with Milayna.

"Brooklynn, what's wrong?" Mickie felt an uneasiness coming from her and raised a slow brow.

"Can we talk to you and John outside for a minute? Alone?" Milayna didn't need to hear this unless her parents decided to send her away with Claira and Dean.

"Sure." She stood up from the couch with John, wondering what for, but had a feeling it had to do with tonight's upcoming battle. "Mila, stay here and watch TV." She followed Brooklynn and Mark out to the backyard with John, clutching his hand.

"What's this about?" John wasn't as patient as Mickie, seeing and feeling the trepidation from their friends.

Brooklynn let Mark do the explaining, standing by him and none of them were surprised when both Mickie and John agreed it was the right thing to do. "We're going to tell Claira and Dean right now. Why don't you pack up Milayna and they can head out within the hour?"

"So soon?" Mickie's voice actually cracked, looking up at John, who had tears in his eyes.

"The more distance the better…" John murmured quietly, blinking the tears away and cleared his throat.

Brooklynn wanted to apologize to them for all the pain they had endured because of her family, her bloodline, but they were mere words. "Come on, Mark. We have to go get Claira and Dean ready."

"What am I going to tell my folks?" Dean asked once Brooklynn and Mark were done explaining what they were going to do. He got the impression that they were expecting a very bad night and wanted them, the kids, as far away as possible. Dean wished they'd tell him what the hell was going on, but… maybe he didn't want to know.

"Road trip with Claira, to try to get past what happened to Roman." Mark was a cold man, he knew it, but that was also the most logical thing to tell them.

"Mom…I don't want to leave you…" Claira could feel in her bones tonight wouldn't be good. Death. There would be death, but whose remained to be seen. She stood up from the bed and hugged her mother tightly around the neck, tears sliding down her cheeks. "I-I can help…"

"No sweetheart, you can't." Brooklynn pulled back, holding her daughter's arms and didn't bother fighting back her own tears. "Not this time. This fight is the circle's, not teenagers that just graduated high school and have their whole lives ahead of them."

"Mom…"

"Claira Beth, everything your father and I have ever done, all that we've been through together…good and bad…you are our greatest achievement. You are the best thing that's ever happened to us and…if we don't make it…" Brooklynn pressed a finger to Claira's lips before she could protest, needing her to hear this. "If we don't make it, I need you to continue living your life. I need you to be happy." Now she cupped her face and kissed her forehead. "We love you so much, sweetheart. Never, EVER forget that."

Claira could only nod and looked up at her father, tears pouring harder. "Daddy…"

Dean left the room to give them a little privacy.

Mark simply hugged his daughter against him, feeling her feet leaving the floor as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "You'll have your cell, lil darlin', and I'll send word through Sonya… if you give her the permission, she can open a mental link with me…. she'll let you know…" One way or the other. "You pack, and we'll give you guys all the cash in the house and my debit card. Take what you can from an ATM, drive Northeast and don't you dare stop unless you have too or until you hear from us."

"T-This is my fault. I never should've made that blood oath with Seth because now you two could die…because of me." Claira didn't want to let go of her father or her mother, who had joined in on the embrace. "I-I'm so sorry…"

"No, this isn't your fault. You were put in a position of panic and you didn't know any better. Don't blame yourself for this, Claira." Brooklynn pleaded, kissing her daughter's head and had to pull back, refusing to let her emotions get the better of her. "Pack up. You're leaving in an hour." She left the room to give Mark and Claira a few minutes alone, heading into the bathroom to splash cold water on her face.

Mark ushered Claira out of their bedroom. "One bag, Claira." He advised, knowing he should tell her why, but… he didn't. One bag was easier to run with, if one only had a bag full of things, grab and go. He didn't want that lifestyle for her. "I'll go get you some things." Money… and maybe the handgun from the safe.

John and Mickie were saying their farewells to Milayna, hugging her tightly with her one bag in hand. Milayna was scared and rightfully so, wanting to help somehow, someway. It wasn't an option though. Mom and Dad knew best and were putting her first before anyone else. Same with Mark and Brooklynn with Claira. Dean had called his parents, explaining he needed to get away for a while and he'd call soon to check in. He used Roman's death as a scapegoat, feeling sick doing it, but Mark had the right idea. As their children drove away with Dean behind the wheel, Brooklynn and Mickie cried while being comforted by their men. Nemesis, even locked up, had managed to drive them to their knees and it all ended tonight.

Randy, Glen and the rest, who hadn't just sent their children off into the unknown, all remained out of the way, watching the parents out of sorrowful eyes. There wasn't anything they could say to make things better besides potentially false reassurances. One way or another, this thing with Nemesis had to end, and then they had to pray the son of a bitch didn't have any other spawn out there lurking.

The breakdown would have to wait. They had work to do and the job would be done tonight, even if it meant there were casualties. Brooklynn had an idea, but decided to keep it to herself until the time came. Mark would never go for it and she didn't need his overprotective nature kicking in. This all started with her, the Meyers bloodline and Nemesis wanting to wipe it out of existence. Too bad it wouldn't happen because tonight, he would die, or she would die trying. Nobody else would die because of her family and that included Mark. She had to protect him; he could go on and live without her and continue being a parent to Claira. Brooklynn wore all black, black tank top and shorts, since it was 100 degrees outside, and braided her silver hair. Mickie was gathering ingredients from the kitchen to help ward off the demons, even if it was only temporary while the others strategized about how best to approach this.

"It'd help if we knew whether or not the blood needed to be fresh. We could just prep the daggers now." Glen said thoughtfully, studying the two daggers Mark had fashioned out of the bone he and Steve had retrieved. Admittedly, these were gruesome objects and he was a bit curious at the same time, running a thumb over the grooves in a blade. "Uh, what are these?"

"Blood grooves."

Her blood would not leave the dagger, no matter what. "Prepping the daggers is a smart move, but…maybe we should do both."

"So, do one now and the other…there?"

"Yeah." Brooklynn already had a knife in hand and squeezed her fingers around it, the blood seeping out. "This son of a bitch dies tonight, no matter what it takes. Our children and their future depend on it. The world depends on it. And I'll be damned if we fail after everything we've been through to get to this moment." Gritting her teeth, the blood dripped on the bone dagger, sliding into the blood grooves. Slowly, carefully, she unflexed her fingers around the knife, once the dagger was coated, and wrapped a towel around it to stem the bleeding.

"Damn right." Mickie took her hand, closed her eyes and began chanting as Brooklynn's hand, along with hers, glowed white.

Pulling the towel away, Brooklynn surveyed her hand and nodded her thanks to Mickie for the heal, tossing the towel in the garbage. "The sun is setting. When do you want to head out, Mark?"

"Well we won't have the element of surprise on our side, so now is as good a time as any."

Mark surveyed everyone in the room and inwardly sighed. The last time they had gone up against Nemesis, they had been much younger, with a lot less to lose. He had procured his talisman, something he didn't care to use, but this was definitely an emergency. Mark would have unlimited energy for this. Afterward, if they survived, he was going to be taking a very long nap.