The invaders from outer space (the visiting blood drinkers of human sacrifices) came from the beyond (the forest). They were huddled together like a football team; if I got that information correct, that was just really lucky. Two males, one female; one man looked menacing, one man was black, and the woman had dark and bright red hair, which made it look more like a dye job than her natural color. The menacing man was clearly their leader.
They approached cautiously.
As I watched them, I took note of their appearances and contrasted them with that of the Soren-Phoenixes. They walked like they were ready to crouch into an offensive and/or defensive position. Their clothes were baggy, torn, dirty, but also were just regular clothes, not fancy looking ish like the ones I'd seen on the Soren-Phoenixes. They didn't have shoes or socks, so their feet were getting hella muddy. They had leaves and other forest shit on their clothes, too, making them even more worn looking.
Obviously, my future in-laws and husband were better off than those savages. And I can call them that now, given what I now know; they're all assholes and deserve no respect from me. Even as I die.
Ansel, River, and Atticus were the ones to step forward, in a manner of greeting, the rest of us keeping back.
The leader of the rogue vampires looked normal. By vampire standards, anyway. Same pale skin and what not, only his eyes were fucking red, which was just…kind of cool, honestly. Who cares about his physical description? You do? Goddamn it, fine; he had darkish hair that was short and he kind of had muscles but not River's kind of muscles, you know? He smiled evilly.
We really should've seen the consequences coming but someone (Briar-Fleur) conveniently didn't know how to use her powers correctly anymore, slash someone's powers were suddenly changing the rules of how they worked, also conveniently.
The female looked a bit unhinged. Her hair was long and tangled with curls. She was like a…lioness but…not. Yeah. Why the fuck do you need these descriptions? Just give them your own. Jesus.
The other guy was black, like I told you already. You honestly don't need to know any more than that. He was just black. For diversity and all that. Try not to imagine a stereotype as you create your own view of his hairstyle and stuff. And don't you Iris me with your complaints; "but Iris, if vampires become super duper pale, then why hasn't it given the black guy vitiligo?" Because, obviously, it affects them differently, for diversity reasons. That leaves out people with skin conditions.
And don't call me racist either. Because saying "colored people" is a lot more racist than just saying "black" or "african american" or any other specific ethnicity.
Anyway, that man, specifically, introduced himself as Zion. I could tell by his tone that he was more civilized than the other two, who he introduced as Enzo and Veronica. He also had an Roeupe accent; it wasn't that noticeable but it was noticeable.
I had a feeling, deep in my soul, that Veronica would be an ongoing problem for me, specifically. Not the Soren-Phoenixes, no, but me, somehow. Because I am the special.
In return, Ansel introduced all of us, leaving Maverick and I for last, though I was the last-last name given. It was smart on his part; he presented us in duos, so that no individual was given the spotlight. He was trying his best to protect me from them. Too bad it didn't work but he tried, at least.
I still think they could've gotten me the hell outta there, though; they literally played for, like, ten-to-twenty minutes more before they showed up, after they said they'd show up. They literally didn't try to go about the situation in a different, better way.
Zion requested to play baseball with them.
Ansel lied, saying we were almost done and they'd have to wait for another time, if they stayed in the area.
Their conversation continued, on and on; I kind of tuned it out because it was getting very bland, boring, and too obviously friendly for my tastes. Maybe Atticus was leading a hand with his emotion manipulation powers. Maybe.
When I decided to listen in on their conversation again, I immediately regretted it; Zion talked about eating a human, pretty recently too. And he laughed about it. And while I was still tuning in, again, I learnt that Ansel had invited them over to his home. Why? I don't know; I didn't hear that part because I zoned out. But apparently, River, Briar-Fleur, Maverick and myself were supposed to leave to get the vehicle; the monster truck jeep, I think.
And that was when it happened. The…catalyst which led to my currently dying circumstance. Even though they totally would've scented me by then, because there was obviously a difference between what vampires smelled like and what humans smelled like, the wind was not my friend and allowed every vampire in the area to finally get a whiff of my scent, even though they should've already caught it without the weather's help.
My hair moved. The Soren-Phoenixes tensed up. And the menacing one, Enzo (whose name didn't fit his appearance, honestly; definitely looked more like a Jordan or Peter or something but whatever), was suddenly staring me down, you know, menacingly because he was menacing.
Easily, he fell into a crouching position, like I predicted earlier, sort of, I think. Maverick immediately did the same. Simultaneously, they growled at one another, doing the stereotypical vampire trope of showing their teeth to each other, only their teeth looked like that of a human still and didn't have the sharp teeth. It honestly looked…very fucking stupid. And the sounds they made sounded ridiculous, considering they weren't animals.
Zion was shocked to learn that I was human and I wasn't a snack for the Soren-Phoenix family. As Ansel had to continuously reiterate that I was their human in a non-meal way, Enzo stopped crouching, knowing he couldn't kill me then but he continued staring me down menacingly, promising me with his intense eyes that he'd kill me eventually.
Yes, you can tell someone's thoughts/feelings just by looking at their eyes, but it has to be a really, really intense emotion for that to be possible. Then again, it might've been his expression of evil that told me he'd kill me.
Surprisingly, Zion continued being civilized and agreed to Ansel's terms that no humans in the area, including me, would be harmed or killed. Very, very obviously, Enzo and Veronica didn't like that of their leader, which made me think that maybe he wasn't their leader after all if they were silently plotting with their eyes.
I was doomed, even with the odds being ever in my favor.
On Ansel's command, Atticus, Flora, and Clover May joined him, blocking my view from the two vampires that clearly wanted to eat me. Briar-Fleur and River joined Maverick and I's side; they were my protectors, for the time being.
Roughly, Maverick dragged me forward, heading back the way we'd came, River and Briar-Fleur following closely. The second we'd gone past the trees, I was getting another piggyback ride from Maverick, without my consent but it was kind of fun, so I didn't mind it; I probably said that before. It took maybe a minute to get back to the monster truck jeep.
The four of us got inside; Maverick was driving, Briar-Fleur was beside him, and I was in the back with River. Unsurprisingly, Maverick started speeding immediately, swearing loudly, using every curse word one could think of; he was very distraught about the whole ordeal, even though I should've been the one feeling the most upset and stuff about it, since it was me that was gonna get fucking murked.
A lot of glaring happened; they weren't mad at each other but at the situation that could've been avoided if they'd gotten me outta there or if Briar-Fleur's powers wouldn't conveniently stop working correctly. Seriously, she should've been able to see them, even if it was a last second decision; who only looks at a few possibilities of a future and not all of them?
When I realized that we were leaving Spoonz, I finally spoke up. Yes, I know, dialogue; what a shock, after all the times we went without it; it's actually relevant again. That's the only reason why. "Right, so, someone gonna tell me what the plan is? And where the fuck we're going to execute it?"
"We're leaving Spoonz," Maverick stated as he drove faster, impossibly fast. Impossibly fast as in "it's very impossible to go these such speeds and not immediately fucking crash at a turn or something". But vampires just yeet logic outta the universe, I guess, because no accidents happened, unrealistically.
"I can fucking see that, but to where? And does this plan include something more than just "get Iris outta Spoonz"?" I questioned, annoyed. "Like, what about Cassius? I feel like you're all skipping steps here. We need to start with going to my house first; I can deal with him and only then can we get to the step you've all skipped to."
Briar-Fleur seemed like the only reasonable one. "She's right, Maverick. We should go with her addition to your plan; it'll give us less problems and we'll still be able to get her out of Spoonz."
"He's a hunter, Briar-Fleur! A hunter!" Maverick probably would've waved his arms around in emphasis if he could, Drake & Josh style. "All he needed was her scent; he can track her for her entire life now."
"What fun," I sarcastically remarked.
"Look, just stop the jeep," Briar-Fleur stated. "Right now, Maverick. We need to think this through carefully or all will be in vain and we'll lose Iris anyway."
"It's too risky to take her back," Maverick stated.
"It's even more risky if you don't," I retorted back. "Cassius could get involved in this matter if we don't do something and he'll be killed. And I won't ever forgive you, specifically, if that happens."
"See? There's more options than this," Briar-Fleur said.
Finally, Maverick slowed down the monster truck jeep and pulled over. "My option is better, the least risky."
"No, my option is," I stated. "We can't just leave Cassius without some sort of explanation, something that'll make those two leave him alone and focus solely on me."
River finally spoke up. "I agree, bro. We should take her back home."
"Absolutely not," Maverick demanded.
"Your word isn't law here," I told him. "I'll have all of you protecting me. It should be no issue; an entire coven of vampires versus two randos. How hard could it possibly be for all of you to gang up on them and murk 'em? Hell, you should've done that on the field; Zion seemed to be the only one that gave a shit about his life compared to those psychos."
"No. What I say goes," Maverick stated.
For about…twenty minutes, we sat there, going in complete circles because of how stubborn Maverick was. I was highly surprised when Enzo and Veronica didn't murder us while we were distracted with arguing.
"Jesus Christ and Satan!" I exclaimed. "How about we do as I suggested?! We got to my house. I pack my bags and explain to Cassius some load of bullshit. We run for it afterwards. Maybe go to Raven. I can stay at my old house or in a motel. Maybe leave some people behind, to protect him, just in case." I looked at Briar-Fleur. "Does he plan to attack me while you're all around or when I'm isolated?"
"Isolated," she answered immediately.
"Given Maverick's alpha male bullshit, I won't ever have a moment alone, except to pee, shit, or shower," I pointed out. "So, going back to my place and following through with my plan should be a breeze."
"Goddamn it, fine!" Maverick conceded.
"Thank you!" I exclaimed back.
Maverick started driving again, backtracking to head in the direction of my home. And yes, he was speeding again. Everyone was silent. Maverick, then, talked defensive positions and stuff for when we got there, so that I was well protected. He talked about them heading home while he and I vanished to wherever. And that was when it hit me.
"We can't be together," I told Maverick. "They'll be expecting that; wherever I go, you go and vice versa. You'll have to stay in town, protecting Cassius. Someone else is gonna have to leave with me." Maverick looked annoyed, and like he was about to interrupt. "No! I need you to hear me! It seriously can't be you! You have to stay behind! Buy me some time, at least, to get away to some place."
"Atticus and I will protect her," Briar-Fleur stated. "We'll keep her safe." I was really liking the fact that she kept agreeing with me.
"Only if they catch on to our plan can you be the one protecting me," I stated.
We were getting closer and closer to my household.
Maverick looked at Briar-Fleur. "Can you and Atticus do this?"
"Yes," she answered.
Maverick sighed. "Alright. That'll do."