by Nathan Howe
The door was locked. Inside the damage screamed. The place was soaked from the fire department putting out the fire. What wasn't covered in water had scorch marks. Nothing in the living room or kitchen would be of much use. They cautiously maneuvered to the hallway that led to the bedrooms. Luckily that remained undamaged.
“Okay. Looks like we'll be able to get clothes.”
Remy sulked his way into his room. They moved here shortly after he lost his wife. He didn't want to say goodbye. Both Olive and Shallice grew up here, grew into the young ladies. Remy found his suitcase. Loaded it up with all that he could. Then proceed to the bathroom and packed up their supplies. Once finished he poked his head into Olive's room. “You need any help?”
“I'm fine dad. Almost done.”
“Okay.”
Next, he checked in on Shallice. She sat on her bed. Nothing in her suitcase. “Honey?”
“I can't do it, daddy.”
“It's tough. It isn't fair.”
“I don't want to move.”
Remy sat next to her and pulled her into a hug. “Neither do I. Maybe this is a sign. With me being fired. Then this. That it's time to move. For our next step in life.”
“I don't want to take the next step.”
“Sometimes we have to do things we don't want to.”
She stomped her feet. “It's not right.”
“It never is.” Remy stood. “Here let me help.”
Together they packed up and met Olivia out in the hall. “Ready?” Remy asked.
Olivia nodded. They carried out the suitcases through the apartment. “Here let me carry those,” Kraftig said.
“Thank you,” Olivia said. She set hers down. Shallice followed suite. A large Hero Coalition van arrived while they packed up.
Kraftig loaded up the suitcases and jumped in the front. Remy led the girls to the back with Heldonhaft. “What hotel are we staying at?” Remy asked once he took his place in the back.
“Le Beau.”
Olivia's eyes widen. That was one of the most expensive places in Cynosure. “Really?”
“Yeah. It's one of the more secure hotels in Cynosure, and I convinced them that the Withering might be seeking retaliation.”
Remy's heart raced at the mention of retaliation. “Would they?”
Heldonhaft shrugged. “I honestly don't know. Depends on how high up Ty was in the gang.”
That wasn't encouraging. “You don't know that?”
“We don't know much about the hierarchy of the Faith of the Withering.”
Figured as much. From Remy's experience, the Hero Coalition avoided the Faith of the Withering's hunting ground, Djinn Park. Remy had hoped the event that happened recently in Cynosure. Those creatures that attacked had to be from the Faith of the Withering. Surely after that, the coalition would make the Withering a top priority.
They pulled up in front of Le Beau, the girls in awe of it. It might not be the tallest hotel in the world, but it was close. The exterior of the building held intricate designs that made it stand out among the other buildings in Cynosure. People in the city would visit the building to view the designs.
Kraftig stepped out of the van first. Heldonhaft followed him out pausing to scan the street. “Okay. It's clear.”
Remy, Shallice, and Olivia stepped out on the street. Smog filled the air. Downtown was constantly crammed with traffic. Half of Cynosure worked on the island. The thought of the jobs here gave Remy hope. Maybe just maybe one would be his soon.
“Daddy, are you okay?” Shallice asked.
Remy wiped away tears. “I'm fine. It's been a long few days.”
“It sure has.” Olivia stood next to him. She squeezed his hand. “I always wanted to stay a night here.”
“Me too.” The cost of it put it out of Remy's price range.
“Me Three,” Shallice said.
Heldonhaft walked up next to them carrying one of the suitcases. “It's not that great.”
“He's full of it,” Kraftig said joining them on the other side of Remy. “The beds are the best you'll ever sleep him.”
“Awww.” Olivia's shoulders sagged. “That's what I want to hear. That bed last night killed me.”
“Hospital beds are the worst.” Kraftig walked into the hotel through the set of rotating doors.
A short time later Remy walked into a room on the penultimate floor. They gave them a suite with two rooms. It was nicer than his apartment. Bigger too.
Shallice's jawed dropped. “This place is crazy. We need a place like this.”
“I agree,” Olivia said.
“I say we stay here forever.” Shallice dashed between rooms. “Forever.”
“Unfortunately, the Coalition is paying for two weeks. And you'll have to put up with a check in from one of us every morning and night,” Heldonhaft said.
“Let's hope these two weeks go slow then,” Remy said. “And thank you.”
“No problem,” Heldonhaft headed to the door to join Kraftig. “I'll be by later tonight to check in.”
“Okay.” Remy closed the door behind him.
That afternoon Shallice walked over to Remy. “Daddy.” She paused. “Can we go for a walk through downtown? I've never seen the Hero Coalition building in person.”
“That's a shame. We should remedy that immediately.”
“Let's,” Olivia said.
Out in the late afternoon sun, Remy walked with his girls. Doing his best to forget the events of yesterday and enjoy this mini vacation. He needed the time with them. They hadn't been able to get away in a long time. Since before the death of his wife. She insisted they take vacations every summer whether they could afford it or not. The last one was to a small resort on the ocean. Remy's wife and the girls loved swimming in the water. For Remy, the vastness of the ocean intimated him, not being able to see across it.
“The Titus statue is huge,” Shallice said. They stood in front of the Hero Coalition headquarters. The statue was built shortly after the building in honor of the founder of the city. One of the first Ardents.
“You really think he might still be alive?” Shallice asked.
Olivia shook her head. “Doubtful.”
“Oh, I don't know. We have no idea what actually happened.” Remy liked to dream that the stories were true. Especially the ones about the original Ardents being granted immortality.
The sounds of the street took over. The honks of horns, the roar of car engines, people shouting. Wheels squealing on the road. Gasoline and motor oil lingered in the air. Remy used to walk the streets to relax. This reminded him of it. The tension of body flowed away. He needed this today.
They weren't alone in stopping in front of the coalition. Several groups of people stopped and took pictures of both the building and the statue.
“Dad, can you take our picture?” Olivia asked.
“Sure.” Remy took out his phone as the girls walked in front of the statue. “Ready?”
They nodded. Remy lined up the photo. The Sun glistened off their hair. Making them both look like little angels. He snapped the picture.
After that, they walked around to a few of the other touristy attractions in downtown. By the time, they made it back to the hotel Remy's body ached from the walking, ready for a nap. The lobby of the hotel was refreshing and comforting after the heat outside. They walked through to the bank of elevators to go back to their room. They waited for an elevator to arrive. Once one opened, they waited for the people to exit, then walked on. As the doors closed a beefy man shoved his hand in, forcing them through the door and joined them. He looked down at the button they pressed and then hit one right above it.
The ride up was silent. Remy wanted to get off his feet, get food. Then start to plan for the future. The girls had bags under their eyes too. They sluggishly walked off the elevator and walked down to their room. Remy pulled out the key to the room. The door opened. Loud steps thudded down the hall. Remy turned as the man who joined them in the elevator sprinted
at them. His mouth snarled, his nose was wrinkled. “You took out my friend!”
“Get in the room!” Remy shoved the girls in. The man neared them. Remy jumped in and shut the door as the man reached it. Slamming him in the face.
“This won't stop me.” The Withering member pounded on the door. “I'll get in there and make you pay.”
Remy walked away from the door without looking away from it. “Get in the back.”
“Daddy.” Shallice grabbed his hand. “I'm scared.”
“Me too. Get in the back with Olive.” Both the girls dashed to the bedrooms in the back. Remy reached into his pocket pulled out his cell phone. And then Heldonhaft's card. He dialed the number.
“Heldonhaft.”
“Our room in under attack.” The pounding at the door continued. “Faith of the Withering.”
“Find a safe place,” Heldonhaft said. “On my way.”
Sweat ran down Remy's face and his back. His body shook. The pounding on the door continued. The shouting more and more increasingly visceral. “I'm going to kill you.”
The door rattled. Remy hoped it held. Remy's fist clenched. Time moved slower and slower for him. Each second felt like hours. He was unable to move. Rooted in place as the attack continued.
“Remy, you still there.”
Remy had forgotten he still had his phone on. “Yeah.”
“We are on the way up.”
“Hurry up. He won't stop.”
“Almost there.” The ding of the elevator sounded through the phone. Then footsteps running. “Step away from the door.”
The pounding stopped. “Make me.”
“I'd love too.”
Silence followed. A minute later the door to the room opened, and Heldonhaft walked into the room. Out in the hallway, Kraftig stood over the man who was now on the ground bound with rope around him from a trick arrow that Heldonhaft fired at him.
“It's safe,” Remy shouted back to the girls.
Shallice and Olivia walked out of the room holding hand. “Thank God.” Olivia looked out in the hallway. “Retaliation?”
“Most likely,” Kraftig said from the hallway. He moved to stand in the door frame, keeping his large foot on the man. The man struggled to get away. Kraftig gave him a kick. “Stop squirming.”
Shallice giggled. She walked over to Kraftig and gave him a tentative hug. “Thank you.”
“You're welcome little one. Heldonhaft did most the work. Plus, this guy really is just a wimp. I bet your dad could have taken him.”
Remy doubted it. “What do we do now?”
“We'll change rooms for tonight. Then hotel's tomorrow.”
“Will we be safe here tonight?” Olivia asked.
Heldonhaft nodded. “I'll be staying the night, and we'll have some of the overnight crew do extra rounds outside the hotel.”
Remy liked the sound of that. “Works for me.”
“Pack up, and we'll go to a new room. Unfortunately, it won't be as nice as this one.”
“As long as no one tries to kill me I'll be okay with that,” Remy said.
“Me too,” Olivia said.
The next morning, they stood in front of Le Beau. This time several more members of the Hero Coalition joined Heldonhaft and Kraftig. One of them a Phoenix which Shallice kept peering at. Olivia kept poking her to get her to stop staring. “Shallice,” Olivia said.
Shallice averted her eyes and stared at the ground. “Sorry.”
Heldonhaft walked up to them. “Ready?”
Remy nodded. “Yeah.”
They loaded up in the van with Heldonhaft in the back and Kraftig up front driving with another Ardent. The Phoenix flew into the air. Shallice stared out the window as he took off. “So, cool.”
“Yeah. If I were an Ardent I'd want to be able to fly,” Olivia said.
“It's not that great,” Heldonhaft said from the back. “I'm glad I can't.”
Olivia shrugged. “No traffic. No waiting. Get to anyplace you want. Sounds good to me.”
“As long as you aren't scared of heights. Don't mind being alone. Or being forced to be the eye in the sky. It can be very tiresome for them.”
“Uh. I guess it could get old,” Olivia said.
They drove out of downtown on one of the bridges. This time in the direction of the airport on the west side of the city. It was home to more hotels than even downtown. It didn't surprise Remy that they drove to this part of town.
A radio in the van beeped. “Go ahead,” Heldonhaft said.
“I see two cars behind you that have been with you the whole time.”
Remy didn't like the sound of that. Two vehicles worth of Withering trailing them. How would they ever get away from that? Would that ever stop? “That's not good.”
“It's all right,” Heldonhaft said. “We expected it.”
“That doesn't make me feel any better,” Remy said.
“Me either,” Olivia said.
“I'm sorry. I should have told you to expect this. That is my fault.”
Shallice hugged Remy. She buried her head into his shoulder. “Tell me you have a plan,” Remy said.
“We do.”
“Well?”
“Just wait.”
Sirens sounded in the distance. “Cynosure PD and our back up in route.” Sounded from the comms device. The sirens increased in volume. Remy sweated and shivered at the same time. He liked the sound of the sirens. Silently Remy prayed this was handled efficiently. The last thing he wanted was for these ruffians to get close to his girls again.
They continued forward in the van nearing airport. The silence freighted Remy. Several blocks passed them by with no word. It appeared as they were pulling away from the sirens. Remy pulled Shallice closer, kissed her head.
“They have them. Both vehicles were surrounded and taken without incident.”
Olivia exhaled. “Praise the Lord. Does this mean we can go back to Le Beau?”
“Sorry. No,” Heldonhaft said. “We have a new place for you down in midtown near the campus.”
Remy liked the sound of that. One of the safest parts of Cynosure. He heard rumors that members of the Hero Coalition lived there and patrolled it heavily. Unlike his own home which was a stone's throw from Djinn Park.
Olivia smiled. “I can check out the campus while there.”
The idea petrified Remy. She was a junior, so college was close. Too close. Suddenly he felt hoary. And scared again about losing his job. While the Hero Coalition Ardents had been helping him. He was still pissed about the Ardent that took his job.
“That sounds lovely Olivia,” Remy finally said.
“Doesn't it? They have a great Bio Chem program.”
“Yes. Yes, I heard that too.” Remy hated chemistry and had trouble understanding how his own daughter loved it so much. “I guess we can walk around the campus for a day.”
Olivia grabbed his arm. “Yes.”
“Yippy. That sounds like so much fun,” Shallice said.
A week and a half later Remy strolled through the campus with Olivia and Shallice. He had no luck with his job hunt yet. Heldonhaft stated that they had two maybe three weeks before they would be forced out. He wanted to give them more, but the policy was firm. Remy saw that Heldonhaft wanted to do more and that he had tried to get more.
“The campus is so different than the rest of the city. I love it here. Dad, we should move to this part of town,” Olivia said.
As much as Remy wouldn't mind living here but he couldn't afford it. “I wish honey.”
“It's too much. But I can dream.”
“Yeah me too,” Remy said. He hoped to live in a beautiful place someday. But knew it wouldn’t happen anytime soon. Olivia might make it happen. She had the drive and desire.
They continued through the campus both Olivia, and Shallice enjoyed coming here after school. The Hero Coalition showed up and drove them to school the last week. Shallice hated it she had to get up two hours earlier than normal. Remy rode w
ith them every morning. Then once back at the hotel, he used a laptop that Heldonhaft loaned him to search for a job. It was fruitless. No companies got back to him. Remy tried his best not to worry, but they needed a place to live and a way to afford it. This walk was the best part of the day for Remy. The time spent with his girls, not worrying.
Leaving campus on the north side they made their way to the hotel. It rested on the river that surrounded the island of downtown. Midtown was between the two rivers that traveled south from downtown, they eventually reached the ocean. Unlike Djinn park that was north of downtown.
They were a block away from the hotel when Remy's phone rang. “Hello.”
“Where are you?” Heldonhaft asked. Remy recognized his voice immediately.
“Almost back to the hotel.”
“Stop. Go back to the campus. You've been found. The Withering are circling the hotel as we speak.”
Remy froze.
“Dad?” Olivia held Shallice's hand. “What's wrong. Your face looks like you saw a ghost.”
Remy stood frozen, unable to speak. How? Why? It didn't make sense. He thought they had avoided the Withering. It overwhelmed him.
“The Withering,” he finally said.
“We have to hide,” Olivia said.
Remy nodded. “Yes. Back to the campus. Quickly.”
They rushed back to the campus a few blocks away. Doing their best not to run. Remy knew that would make them stand out. Remy's chest pounded his heart raced trying to escape. It was almost too much.
Remy led the girls into the science building. He didn't care it was the first and most likely place the Withering might search. Getting off the streets and out of sight was all that mattered to Remy.
Rumbles sounded from Remy's phone. He forgot he hadn't hung up. “Sorry. What was that?”
“You get away unseen?”
“I think so.”
“Good. I'm about to arrive at the hotel with Kraftig and a few others.”
Thank God. Remy didn't want to deal with this. “They are almost here.”
“Good. Maybe we should find a room to hide in,” Olivia said.
“Sounds good.” Remy held on to both girls as they walked down a wide empty hallway. Their footsteps echoed. They needed to stop, Remy peeked into the closest room it appeared empty. “Let's hide here.”