Life after Death
Nine.
Jack sifted through slender pieces of wood, torn sheets of paper, and glass on the ground. A photo of Kim laid in a bed of glass shards before him. He dusted off the picture and set the frame onto the mahogany desk. He frowned, remembering the shrieks. Yesterday shouldn't have happened.
He gave himself a moment before he continued to reorganize the office. Larger pieces of glass scattered the floor and he frowned. The large hole in their window mocked him from where he stood. The window repairs alone could be close to the hundreds. He sighed.
"You know you could have called me?"
Jack turned to Kim at the doorway. He rubbed at his nose, wincing at the stench of smoke still in the air. He considered themselves lucky that the slayers' attempt at burning down the building failed. After the attack, support decided to gather in the cafeteria for a much needed emergency chat. They counted and took note of the missing. It had been a heartbreaking experience.
"I know, got lost in the mess, I guess," Jack replied, surveying more of the chaos.
Kim placed her hands on Jack's shoulders, pulling him from the edge of worry. He turned to face his girlfriend. There was pain in her eyes, despite the smile on her face. They lost so many new and old members yesterday. It wasn't fair.
"There is talk of forming search parties," Kim shared, eyes focused on his own. "The recruiters will still recruit new members –"
"If anyone is still interested in joining after this."
"Jack, we'll bounce back."
Jack sighed, eyes back on the shattered window. "Our broken window makes me think otherwise."
She chuckled, shaking her head. Jack hadn't meant to joke, but if it brightened up Kim's face, he didn't mind. He wrapped his arms around her waist, planting a kiss to her lips. He had almost lost her yesterday. The stake may have missed her heart, but it didn't mean it hadn't been close. Thoughts of Kim's near death experience often plagued him.
"Jack, Kim?"
Jack paused, unraveling from Kim. At the door a petite purple haired teen stood inches from the doorway. She gripped the knob of the door, body shaking. Jack looked to Kim who nodded. He took a step toward the girl and smiled. Over the past few hours, they received many visits from traumatized vampire teens.
"Juliette?" Jack called out, stepping over torn books. "Is there something you wanted to talk about? Anything you need?"
Juliette shook her head, lips in a thin line. Her eyes darted from Kim to him and then settled on the ground. He ushered her in their destroyed office, closing the door, reminding himself the lock needed to be fixed.
"I'm sorry I interrupted," she whispered.
"No, dear, you are just fine," Kim remarked. "You want to talk? We are always free."
Juliette nodded, tears rolling down her cheeks. She shared her experience yesterday, fingers tapping against her knees. Jack listened to her rushed and pained voice. They waited for her to finish retelling, before they added their own hopeful comments. Hopefully, she would adopt a brighter outlook.
"Thanks," she responded, teary eyed and lips twitching into a smile. "I just needed to get it all off my chest. I thought I was going to lose my head, you know?"
"Understandable," Kim said. "You did just turn four days ago and then yesterday happened. Two world shattering things happened within a few days for you. I'm so sorry."
Juliette sighed, messing with a string on the hem of her Disney character tee. "Have you heard anything from Jerry?"
Jack froze.
"Jerry?" Kim asked.
She nodded. "Clark and I haven't seen him and I know Sam is wondering too. Since yesterday, I hadn't seen him. I'm –I don't know what to think, because we've lost so many and –"
"Jerry is fine," Kim assured. "He is just –"
"Gone," Jack interrupted. "He left."
"Left?" Juliette questioned. "Where? But we were just attacked. Why would he leave like that? Isn't it dangerous, especially today? You all said it yourself. We should all try to stay together if we could. You even wanted most of us to stay here instead of going home."
Jack remembered their speech. It had been a hard sell, but he convinced many of the teens to hang back while they repaired and regrouped. Many refused to be associated with a place that reminded them of so much tragedy. Word traveled fast. Soon the reputation of Life after Death would be put into question. Often he toyed with moving their location. If the slayers knew their location, it was time to relocate.
"I'm sorry, Juliette, that is the only news we have," Kim said, eyeing Jack. "But I promise he will turn up."
Juliette bit her lip, moisture in her eyes. She thanked them again and disappeared from the room. He watched her petite form turn right and down the hall. Kim glared. He eyed her odd behavior and shrugged.
"What was that? You were kind of short with her?"
Jack sighed, running fingers through his shoulder length brown locks. "You may be right. I'll apologize the next time I see her."
"We are all stressed, Jack," Kim reminded. "But let's not forget we are staff and it is up to us to remember our duty. We must help these vampires. They need our support. We have to help them to the best of our abilities, okay?"
"I know, I know," he said. "You are right. I won't forget that."
She smiled, giving his shoulder s squeeze before she decided to get to work. She began gathering garbage as Jack watched. Kim glanced over her shoulder and gave Jack a look. He moved into action, picking up loose papers. He lifted a torn book from the ground.
"I was about to say," she stated, amused. "I didn't come in here to clean all by myself."
Jack laughed as he worked alongside her. He would take advantages of his light hearted moments with Kim. They needed their stolen moments the most. The stress of their situation weighed on both of their shoulders.
Jack eyed the finalized missing vampire list, before he handed over the sheet to an older vampire. Elliot, the recruiter, scanned the list once more before giving Jack a look. Jack chewed at his bottom lip, mind reviewing the information he gathered from his observations yesterday. He knew what he saw yesterday and hadn't shared the full knowledge with the other members of staff yet. He wanted to think about what he saw before he was persuaded by anyone else on the matter.
"You alright there, Jack?"
Jack looked at their founder, Rudy, surprised by his presence. Rudy raised both brows and tilted his head. Jack waved off the concern and replaced his look of confusion with a look of ease. He was fine. He just had a lot to analyze.
"My guess is you've seen the finalized list," Rudy remarked, gesturing toward Elliot and his clipboard.
"Yes."
"I know," Rudy remarked, frowning. "And I thought what we had yesterday and early this morning was it. But once again there is much we didn't see. There are many stories we haven't heard. Some of the vampires here are just having the courage to speak up about what they saw."
"Any word on, Jerry?" Jack asked.
Rudy shook his head, hands stuffed in his jeans pockets. "No, no one has heard from him. He is on the list, so they'll be out looking for him along with the others."
"I guess," Jack responded, and then amended his phrasing. "I mean, yes, it is for the best."
Rudy gave him a nod of approval before disappearing into the office. There was much the older vampire had to do, he imagined. There was a lot Jack and Kim had to do. He headed back to his office where two boys, brothers, waited for him. He sat down at his desk and addressed their concerns.
Jack rarely took his meals alone. He either sat with Kim or sat with a few other teens in support. Kim got called away by Wanda a newer member who hadn't grown close to Jack yet. He didn't mind her weariness of him. He realized not everyone in support trusted their deepest darkest secrets with him just yet.
He untwisted the cap from his thermos and downed the last gulp of liquid inside. He was thankful for their supply of blood. The hospital had almost denied them their regular delivery. They were in a bit of a shortage, but at the moment Rudy was on the phone with Seaford Regional. He tried to negotiate a price with them for another delivery. He narrowed his eyes at his empty thermos. He didn't admit to anyone, but he had kept himself on a strict and limited amount of blood. He knew how much more new vampires required the blood, especially the freshly turned.
Jack arose, walking past a team scrubbing the kitchen on hands and knees. He sighed. The slayers destroyed lives and trashed their building. He shook his head, bypassing a few chattering elder vampires. He greeted them and continued on his way.
"Hey, Jack."
Jack stopped by Taylor's office on his way to the door. She sat by an empty chair, eyes on the screen. For a second, Jack worried about any intruders but realized the screen was empty. He sighed, relieved. He entered the office. Jack asked her a about herself and received a strained smile in return. He knew she had been crying not too long ago and understood her hurt. After he sat down beside her, he descended into an uplifting chat with her and then excused himself. He needed to take a walk.
He disappeared out their door, watching as two vampire males argued over how best to address the broken door. He rolled his eyes. Calvin and Mark always argued over any repair project they were given at the support building, but he was grateful for their presence. The two males had been turned over two years ago, both full time construction workers at the time. Years later they were well adjusted and took over any necessary repairs around the place. He bid the two males a good afternoon, before he concentrated on his walk.
He allowed his mind to wander as he headed down the bustling streets of Seaford, California. A few pedestrians gave him an odd look. He knew they wondered about his status. Often Jack kept his identity known, he had nothing to hide. Vampires walked around freely for the most part, there was just no guarantee they were safe with the slayers out and about.
Slayers. He bit his lip, thoughts returning to Jerry. He witnessed such a terrible thing. He hated to believe in his own doubts. Support group invited all vampires with open arms. They invited Jerry and gave him the same kind of treatment as all their new members. Jack tried to ignore the sour taste in his mouth as he remembered Jerry's conversation with a slayer. He remembered the look of recognition on Jerry's face and the sinter smile on the male slayer's face. He winced, clenching and unclenching his fists. He wished the evidence wasn't as clear as it had been yesterday, but it was.
He paused in front of a karate dojo he often passed. Rudy often toyed with the idea of opening up his own establishment, but his time and attention went toward support. Instead, he and Jack opened up their own mini dojo inside the support building. Twice a week they took over the cafeteria, throwing blue mats on the ground for anyone interested in sparring or learning. He frowned, the thought bringing him back to the shorter teen, missing in action. Jerry had expressed advanced skill for someone who had stumbled around in their sessions twice a week. A part of him wondered if Jerry had been masking his true ability.
"But why?" Jack asked out loud.
Jack wished his question could have been answered, but instead he received dirty looks from others around him. He gave them a fanged smile which created some distance between him and them. No matter the laws, the humans were still weary of them. He noticed his phone vibrating as he glanced at his cellphone. He read Kim's text and smiled. He shot her a response, apologizing for disappearing on her. He turned on his heel, ready to return. He would revisit his thoughts later.
Jack folded up the chairs, leaning them against the wall. Kim chatted with a pretty young blonde in her freshman year of high school. The young female, Alice, had been weary. As Jack feared, word traveled around support group. The attack had been broadcasted in both the human and vampire communities. He was happy vampires still trusted them, despite the fear of future attacks.
"Hey, Jack, I have decided I am going to take the new members home tonight," she said.
Jack frowned.
"I'll be fine, I'm heading out with Garrett," she promised. "I just wanted to talk a little more with Alice."
Jack nodded. "Want me to come along? I can."
Kim waved his invitation away. "I'll be fine, besides I want to get Garett out and about. He looks like he needed the adventure. And you need to stay behind to clean up. You've ditched me a lot in the past. Consider this payback for all the times you've left me to clean so you could 'bond' with the vampire guys."
Jack laughed and nodded. Garett had been a member for a month and like a good portion of their members had witnessed the passing of a friend right before his very own eyes. There was so much to be done, but whatever little thing support could do was welcome. Kim disappeared out the door, guiding Alice with a hand on her left shoulder.
After the room was straightened, he decided to seek out the recruiters. He spotted Elliot conversing with a small team of vampires. Jack stood to the side awaiting for their meeting to be over. After, the team members disappeared outside, each carrying their own copy of the list. Jack stopped Elliot just before he left.
"Got a minute?" Jack questioned.
Elliot nodded. Jack licked his lips, eyeing the clipboard. He didn't know what he was doing, but the swirling thoughts in his head encouraged him to act. There was something odd about their situation and Jerry's outright disappearance. His mind flashed to Jerry and the slayer's conversation one more time. He gave a firm nod. He hated to admit it, but everything made sense. And he wasn't pleased at all.
Hey Everyone! Another update! I'm hope you all like it.
Special thanks to:
Vicky2015, thanks for the review. I'm glad you liked the last chapter. It was amazing? You are too kind. Thanks for the support, I truly appreciate it.
I loved this chapter. Fun fact, this chapter wasn't going to be in the story, but I wanted to explore some more of Jack's thoughts, so here you all go. I'm curious to see what you all thought about Jack and his suspicions.
What do you all think, Jack maybe up to? Feel free to let me know what you think about the chapter.
Thanks to everyone reading, reviewing, following, and leaving favorites. You all are amazing. The support truly means a lot to me. Thanks!
Until next Chapter,
Bye