by ID Johnson
“Giovani! Look behind you!” she finally insisted, pointing. “Isn’t that the entrance to a cave? I swear, it wasn’t there a moment ago.”
Turning slowly to look behind him, Giovani could clearly see a small entryway into what had certainly been solid rock only a few minutes before. “What the…” he mumbled as he stood and slowly walked towards the doorway.
Zabrina started to follow, but Venette’s cold hand grasped her arm. “No,” she stated sharply. “Let him go alone.”
Despite her reservations and disappointment, Zabrina stayed behind, hoping Giovani would emerge with the answers he was seeking.
***
Ralphio’s was the kind of place where kids hung out until curfew. A pizza buffet, free refills, loud music, and tables big enough to fit several friends made it the most popular place in town. Cadence and Aaron had arrived several minutes before Brandon and had secured a table away from the rowdier teenage crowd. Cadence insisted on sitting across from Aaron since she was pretending to be Brandon’s girlfriend, and while he had declined the pizza, Cadence was making good on the promise of “all you can eat.”
“Why don’t you ever eat?” Cadence asked tearing into a greasy piece of pepperoni.
“What are you talking about?” Aaron asked, amused at her ability to shovel food into her face so quickly. “I do eat.”
“Rarely,” she replied, a string of cheese daring her to cram half a piece of pizza into her mouth at once.
“The longer you do this, the more efficiently you burn fuel. I don’t need to eat as often as you do,” he explained.
Cadence considered his response. She had noticed from the very beginning, even that first night at her grandma’s house, that the Guardian’s didn’t eat much. “Well, I don’t know about needing to eat,” she said, wiping her hands on a napkin. “It’s the wanting to eat that gets me. And you never eat pizza.”
Shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly, Aaron replied quietly, “I don’t really like pizza.”
Eyes wide with horror, Cadence managed to choke out, “You don’t like pizza? First football and now pizza. Who are you? That’s it. The wedding’s off!” She pretended to take her ring off and throw it across the table at him.
Laughing at her ridiculousness, he replied, “Keep it down. You’re supposed to be my sister, remember?”
“Well, I don’t even want to be that anymore if you’re not going to eat pizza or watch football. Sometimes, I think I don’t even know who you are!” With an emphatic look, she picked up her pizza and took another big bite.
“I’m sorry my preferences are so offensive to you.”
“Oh, they are. They are!” she assured him, her mouth still full, only half joking. “Brandon’s here,” she added, changing the subject. She could see him over Aaron’s shoulder as he entered the establishment, paid for the buffet, and greeted some of his friends before making his way over to the wide selection of pizza pies.
“Listen, you need to chill out and not try to talk him into anything tonight, all right?” Aaron cautioned, leaning across the table and grabbing her arm.
Cadence stared back at him in disgust. “Who me? When have I ever…”
“Cadence! Promise!” he said in that stern, business-like voice that she hated.
“Fine!” she agreed. “I’ll do my best.”
“Cadence!”
“He’s coming!” Brandon waved at a few other people before he stopped next to their booth, and Cadence could tell by his expression that he was hesitant to join them, despite her sliding over and patting the seat next to her. “Hey! Have a seat Brandon. How’s it going?”
He glanced over his shoulder at his friends one last time before sitting his plate and drink down on the table and sliding in next to her. “Hey,” he said quietly. “Sorry it took so long. Some of the other guys were asking me questions, like how we met and stuff.”
Cadence smiled. Most of the other high schoolers were staring at them now. Of course, they had been even before Brandon walked in; they were both extremely attractive strangers in a small town, hanging out in a restaurant that typically served teenagers. Now, however, Cadence could see a group of girls talking behind their hands, looking at Brandon and smiling. At least they weren’t ogling Aaron anymore, she thought to herself.
“That’s okay,” Cadence assured him. She leaned a little closer and whispered, “Those girls sure are checking you out!”
Brandon tossed his head back and gave her a sly smile. “Well, what can I say? The ladies want what they can’t have.” Cadence giggled and Brandon dug into his pizza, clearly famished after a very physical football game.
Realizing he hadn’t yet spoken to Brandon that evening, Aaron asked, “How have you been, Brandon?”
He finished chewing and took a drink of his soda before replying, “Pretty good, I guess. Can’t complain too much. You guys doing all right?”
“Yeah, busy as usual,” Aaron replied nonchalantly. Cadence caught his eyes for a second, her expression pressing him to elaborate. Aaron hesitated, not sure if the information she wanted him to share would even be important to Brandon, but after a moment, he finally continued. “We, uh, caught the Hunter that killed Elliott last week.”
Brandon’s chewing slowed for a second as he considered the information. He swallowed and then asked, “Caught him or killed him?”
“We brought him in alive,” Aaron confirmed. “He’s in pretty bad shape, but he should recover in a few weeks.”
There seemed to be a struggle between disinterest and a need to ascertain more information. After another lengthy pause, Brandon asked, “Why didn’t you just kill him?”
“That’s what he wanted,” Cadence explained. “He was in a really bad plane crash. He was begging us to put him out of his misery, but we wouldn’t let him get away that easily. Now, he’s in a six by six jail cell with no windows laying on a cot recovering from several broken bones and hundreds of lacerations.”
Brandon’s eyes widened. “Damn, you guys are hardcore.”
“Well, Elliott was pretty important to us,” Aaron said, trying not to sound defensive “Sam needs to suffer a little bit for what he did.”
“Oh, I’m not saying he doesn’t,” Brandon agreed, tossing his crust on his plate. “I’m just surprised. I thought you guys were a little too… superhero-ish for that sort of thing, that’s all.”
The other two exchanged questioning glances before Cadence asked, “Superhero-ish? What does that mean?”
“You know, good guys always trying to take the high road, all that jazz,” he explained.
Cadence laughed. “I rip the heads off of monsters for a living. I ain’t got time to think about what other people think is humane. Oh, sure, we are the good guys, but we are also a bunch of bad asses.”
Nodding slowly, Brandon said, “Yes, I see that. I could tell by your Pryor Tiger Pride sweatshirt.”
She knew he was teasing her, so she jabbed him in the arm hard enough to make him yell. “Don’t mess with me, Keen. I can rip your head off, too,” she winked.
“Shit! I believe you!” Brandon replied rubbing his arm. “Holy, hell. Call her off, bro!”
“Cadence, play nice,” Aaron cautioned, shaking his head.
“He started it,” she said, sticking her tongue out at both of them.
“I will separate you,” Aaron scolded.
“I would ask you to if those girls over there didn’t think we were just playing. Jeeze!” He continued to rub his arm for a second as Cadence smiled with glee. “So, you said this guy was in an airplane crash? And that didn't kill him?”
“Yes. We can’t die from normal stuff--like crashes and accidents. The only thing that can kill me is a Vampire. Or old-age--eventually, but not for a really long time. And the only thing that can kill a Guardian is a Hunter.”
“What?” Brandon asked, shocked. He looked at Aaron as if he didn’t trust what Cadence was saying and he needed confirmation. “For real?”
Aaron nod
ded. “For real. You could shoot one of us right now, and it wouldn’t kill us. It might hurt for a little while, but we wouldn’t die.”
“I seriously need to get some of the drugs you guys take,” the teenager replied shaking his head in disbelief.
“Sure, come on board, and you can have some. It’s called Transformation Serum, and it’s great stuff,” Cadence reminded him as she tossed her arm around his shoulders.
He looked at her hand suspiciously but realized the girls across the room were chattering even louder now, and one of the guys from the football team gave his approval with a very loud, “Dude!”
For the moment, Brandon ignored her remark, still mulling over everything in his mind. Eventually he said, “I looked you guys up online. I couldn’t find anything. I mean, sure, there are a million sites that talk about Vampires being real, but nothing on LIGHTS or anything like that. The address for your compound is listed as some private government agency.”
“It is,” Aaron replied. “There wouldn’t be any information because everything is extremely secretive. We control what happens on social media, and we control the people who have the information. There are consequences for people who break the Clandestine Code.”
“You sound like the mob,” Brandon muttered, taking another drink.
“We’re a lot bigger and a lot more powerful than the mob,” Cadence assured him. “But we really are also the good guys. Despite Sam’s broken condition.”
He seemed to consider her response for a few moments before asking, “So why are you in Oklahoma?”
“Did you hear about those two kids in Adair who got killed a couple of weeks ago?” Aaron asked, leaning across the table and talking very quietly. Brandon nodded. “And the truck driver last Tuesday night in Talhequah?”
“Yeah, of course. This is a small community, and those towns are pretty close to here.”
“Well, we’re going to make sure that spree ends tonight,” Cadence explained, matter-of-factly.
Brandon looked at them both curiously. “Are you saying those people were killed by a … Vampire?” he asked just above a whisper.
Aaron nodded, and Brandon couldn’t help but shake his head. “That’s crazy. Don’t you think if they’d been drained of blood the newspapers might have mentioned that?”
“They’re never completely drained,” Cadence elaborated. “And people don’t usually talk about what they can’t explain.”
“God, why do I talk to these people?” Brandon mumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose and staring at the table in front of him. “You need help. You really do.”
“You’re right, we do…” Cadence agreed.
“Cadence,” Aaron cautioned her over the IAC.
“We need a good Guardian to help us out,” she continued. “This is your lucky day!” She slapped him on the back, careful not to hurt him this time. “How’s about you come on over to headquarters with us tomorrow and get started on your training?”
“I wish I could, but I have to finish school,” Brandon said, clearly being sarcastic. “Besides, my mom would never let me.”
“We actually have a high school program,” Aaron explained. “But I’m sure your mom would want you to finish high school here.”
Cadence squinted at him. “We do?” she asked.
“Yes, and a lot of team members have finished their college degrees online or at local universities,” he said nonchalantly.
“Why am I just hearing about this now?” Cadence asked, her mouth agape.
“What? Like you have time for college courses?” Aaron countered.
“Still…it would have been nice to know!”
“Hey, I hate to interrupt your little quarrel, but I thought we were talking about me,” Brandon reminded them. “So if you guys are going to dispatch this sucker tonight, why can’t I just go with you? Then, I’ll see for myself, and I can decide if I think it’s for me.”
“Oh, absolutely not,” Aaron said shaking his head adamantly. “There are protocols for that sort of thing. You have to go through Transformation before you can go on a hunt.”
“Oh, come on, man! What’s one little hunt going to hurt? I’ll stay back. Hell, I’ll stay in the car if I can see.”
“No way,” Aaron said with no uncertainty.
“Cadence?” Brandon asked, trying the old “ask mom” routine.
She looked from Brandon to Aaron, her eyes wide with bewilderment, and then back at Aaron. He was sending her IAC messages to say no, but she couldn’t help but wonder what the harm would be. She knew for a fact that this Vampire would go down easily and that she could handle it completely by herself. Still, if anything happened to Brandon.... But… if he decided to Transform because of it…. “I…”
“Cadence!” Aaron said sharply.
“Cadence?” Brandon said sweetly.
“I…”
“CADENCE!”
“Come on, babe…” Brandon sweet talked her.
“I….” A vibration in her pocket caught her attention. “Have to answer my phone!” She pulled it out of her pocket, thankful to have a moment to consider the situation; it wasn’t as if Aaron couldn’t override anything she said anyway. She saw that it was her sister calling and found that odd since it was so late. It was a FaceTime, so she slid the bar to answer and waited a second for her sister to come into view. “Cassidy? What’s up?”
“Cadence you are never going to believe what I found!” her sister replied in an urgent voice.
“We--we found,” Lucy chimed in, sticking her head in front of the screen.
“Luce! I told you not to let her know you were here!” Cassidy yelled pushing her out of the way.
Cadence sighed and rolled her eyes. She knew her sister had her friends working on the footage project with her.
“Relax, Cass. Jeeze!” Lucy said rubbing her arm. “I didn’t tell her anything else!” she whispered sharply, causing Cassidy to give her a stern look.
“What is it, Cass?” Cadence asked.
“It’s footage of Giovani getting off a small private plane in Austria!” Cassidy explained. “And his girlfriend is with him. And don’t worry--my friends have no idea why we were looking for him. They just wanted to help.”
Just then another head popped up behind Cassidy, and Cadence paused to say, “Hey, Emma. How are you?”
“Hi, Cadence,” the shyest of the three replied quietly.
“Cass, are you sure it’s Giovani? It’s not Charlie from Lost again, is it?” Cadence asked cautiously.
“God, Cadence! No, it’s him. I told you; we even saw his girlfriend,” Cassidy exclaimed.
“Okay, well, send me the footage, and I’ll look it over,” Cadence said, calmly.
Cassidy’s forehead creased. “Fine. But, why aren’t you more excited? You don’t believe us do you?”
“I do!” Cadence assured her. “It’s just… we pretty much already knew he was over there. We just haven’t been able to find him. And while it’s great to have confirmation, it doesn’t really help… that much.”
“What?” Lucy screeched, jumping back into the shot. “We’ve been pouring over this video footage for half of our lives, and you don’t think it helps? OMG!”
Cadence held the phone back from her face a bit, as if she was afraid Lucy might climb through it and slug her. “I’m not saying it isn’t useful. I’m sorry--look I’m getting ready to go on a… job… thing, and I’m kind of thinking about that right now, so just send it over, and we’ll look at it. We appreciate your help.”
“What if we could somehow use this footage in combination with other exterior shots of the airport, now that we have a timestamp, to see if we could track where he went after he arrived in Austria?” Emma was asking.
“Now, that would be helpful,” Cadence agreed.
“You are infuriating,” Lucy muttered stepping back out of the shot.
“I love you, too, Luce. But Emma, I’m not sure what kind of footage we can access. I’ll get this ov
er to Christian and have him check on that okay?”
“Fine,” Cassidy said again. “Well be careful….” She paused midsentence, and her face scrunched up again.
“What’s wrong, Cass?” Cadence asked.
“Who is that guy you’re with?” Cassidy asked slowly and quietly, as if he somehow couldn’t hear her that way.
Cadence realized now that Brandon had leaned into the shot. “Oh, um, this is Brandon.”
“Hi, Cassidy,” he said smiling. “How are you? I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Yeah, hi,” she said, the puzzled look still on her face. “Nice to meet you.”
Lucy jumped back over into the screen. One look at Brandon, and her eyes narrowed as well. “Brandon? Wow, you look a lot like…”
“Elliott,” Cassidy whispered.
“Yeah, that conversation is going to have to wait until another time, Sis,” Cadence replied, shoving Brandon away from her phone. “Aaron and I seriously have to go.”
“Okay,” Cassidy muttered, her face still puzzled.
“Bye, Cassidy. It was nice to see you!” Brandon said, ducking back in front of the phone before Cadence pushed him away again.
Cassidy just nodded, and while Cadence hated leaving her hanging like that, she didn’t have time to explain right that second. “I’ll call you in the morning, okay?” Cadence assured her.
“All right. Be careful,” Cassidy managed before she disconnected the call.
“Thanks a lot, dingle dork,” Cadence spat, practically pushing Brandon out of the booth.
“What?” he said, recovering enough to keep from falling on the floor.
“She doesn’t know about you,” Aaron explained, seeing that Cadence had lost her cool a bit. “She has no idea that Elliott had a son. And she was really close to him.”
“I guess she knows now,” Cadence reminded them, crossing her arms.
“Why is that a bad thing?” Brandon asked. “I thought you were all so happy to have found me.”
“We are,” Cadence agreed. “But I would have liked to have told her about you in person.”
“Oh, well, you’ve only had, like, four months,” he replied.