Drawing Bloodlines

by Steve Bevil

  “How much longer are we going to wait out here?” grumbled Nathan. He watched as Jonathan paced the concrete sidewalk in front of them. “And I thought we left all this fog in Cahokia Falls.”

  “Apparently not,” said Leah, looking up at him. The early morning sky started to give way to hues of pink and purple, and Leah yawned.

  Frustrated, Nathan placed his cell phone back into the pocket of his hoodie. He paused, snuggling closer to Leah. “It has to have been at least 30 minutes.”

  “40 minutes to be exact,” said Malick, pausing to zip-up his black leather jacket. He was standing underneath one of the lights attached to the overhang that surrounded the outside of the airport. Nathan noticed that his eyes looked red and irritated. “I only have the one bag. So, I’ve been out here for 40 minutes.”

  “Okay, your dig at me is well-noted,” said Alan, staring at the various sizes of suitcases in a line before him. He unbuttoned one of the buttons to his leather-quilted blazer as he put down his wool duffel bag. “Can you blame me for not wanting to be prepared for fashion?” He paused and glanced at the small black leather suitcase that sat at Malick’s feet. He thought it looked more like a brief case. “Besides, most of them are almost empty. I need room for all the new stuff I bring home.”

  “Give me a break, Alan,” said Angela. She placed her hands inside of her double-breasted, red pea coat. “With all the bags you have, you would think you’ve been planning this trip for weeks.” She turned to look at the mountain of bags surrounding Lafonda and laughed. “You guys act like we came here for a vacation.”

  Lafonda sat a top of one of her largest suitcases; resting her chin in her hand as she bounced her crossed right leg. “But Malick does have a point,” she said, watching Jonathan continue to pace. She pulled back the sleeve to her dark trench coat and checked her watch. “I don’t understand why we are still waiting on Dr. Colvers. Isn’t Jonathan from here? I thought we were staying at his house.”

  The climbing fog continued to make its way around the terminal and the footbridge to the right of them appeared to float in the sky. “Jonathan!” called Angela, her cheery voice echoing throughout the terminal. Abruptly, Jonathan froze in his tracks. “Like, what’s the deal Indiana?”

  Jonathan’s face looked forlorn and his piercing blue eyes weary, but he smiled when his eyes met Angela. Quickly, he walked away from the street; a muddy blur of cars could be seen zooming behind him. “I’m worried,” he said, addressing the group. He checked his cell phone, it’s green light illuminating his face and reflecting off his glasses. “I’ve tried reaching Dr. Colvers and haven’t heard anything. He said he would meet us here after we’ve landed.”

  “And you’ve tried calling him?” asked Angela, concerned.

  “Yes,” said Jonathan, gravely. “We’ve only talked over phone for the first time yesterday, but this is not like him. He’s usually very prompt in his emails and texts.”

  Alan yawned, placing the strap to his duffle bag back over his shoulder. “Can we just leave already,” he said. “I would like to get some sleep before the sun comes up. If we go to bed now, the time difference won’t cut into my shopping time.” Quickly, Angela turned to look at him, her blonde curly hair bouncing on her shoulders. “What … can’t we just deal with this after we wake up?”

  “Ugh,” sighed Angela. “You know what, Alan, sometimes you can be so insensitive.” Suddenly, she crossed her arms and stamped her foot. “And this is not a vacation, Alan. We’re here to support our friends. Their lives are in danger!”

  Pensively, Jonathan bit his lower lip before adjusting his glasses on his nose. “Alan’s right,” he said.

  “What?” blurted Angela.

  Jonathan smiled. “Not about the shopping part,” he said. “But about getting some rest now, so that we still have time to seize the day.”

  “Oh,” responded Angela.

  “I agree,” said Malick, standing up straight. “The quicker we get everyone cloaked, the safer everyone will be.” Malick and Nathan’s eyes met, and then he turned to look at Lafonda. “And we can get everyone back in time for school.”

  “Well, then, that settles it,” said Lafonda, springing to her feet. She quickly made it over to the next available cab. “This is roomy,” she said, opening the shiny black door. She placed her hands on her hips. “Can I please get some help with my bags?”

  “That never ceases to surprise the heck out of me,” said Nathan, waiting for the cab driver to open the back trunk.

  Malick looked at him, running his hands backward through his perfectly combed dark straight hair. “What?” he asked. He had a smile on his face as he helped Lafonda with her bags.

  “You agreeing with Jonathan,” he said. He smiled. “It shocks me every time.”

  Nathan and Malick stood at the back of the cab. They both helped the driver to load the various-sized suitcases and bags. “Thanks, babe,” said Leah, handing Nathan her final bag. She adjusted the long crocheted strap to her brown knitted bag and smiled. “But I’ll hold on to this one.”

  “Thank you, Malick,” said Lafonda, handing him another bag. She placed a lock of her long dark hair behind her ear. She sighed before reaching for another bag. “Are you sure they’ll all fit?”

  Malick paused to wipe away the tiny beads of sweat that started to accumulate on his brow. “I think so,” he said, analyzing the cab’s trunk. On the tip of his toes, he glanced over the cab and at the almost identical black cab in front of them. “If not, I’m sure they’ll be some room in the trunk of the other cab … even after Alan is done stuffing it.”

  Lafonda smiled and then reached for one of her larger suitcases. “You’ll have to be careful with this one,” she mumbled, almost out of breath. “This one is heavy.”

  “Lafonda!” said Nathan, quickly reaching for her bag. “I’ll get it.”

  “No,” responded Lafonda, swiftly retracting from his grasp. She moved so quickly that she almost toppled over. “I got it.”

  “Don’t be silly,” grumbled Nathan. “Let me help you.”

  Lafonda tried to pick up the suitcase again, but this time she lost her grip and the suitcase crashed back onto the ground. “It’s okay,” she said, stretching her back. She took a deep breath before fixing her hair, pushing strands of it behind both ears. “I can do it myself.”

  “Umm, I can help,” said Malick, timidly. Lafonda gave Malick a stern look and he quickly moved to the side.

  In one big heave, Lafonda picked up the suitcase and wobbled over to the trunk. “I–appreciate–your–help,” she struggled to say. She glanced at Nathan and there was a defiant look in her eyes as she gave a final effort, placing the suitcase in the trunk. “But–I–got–it.”

  “Lafonda, are you serious?” blurted Angela, approaching from the side. She had a look of disbelief on her face as she watched Lafonda catch her breath. She then turned to look at Nathan. “Alright guys, enough!”

  Abruptly, Malick popped up after placing the last two bags in the trunk. “I think that’s it,” he mumbled, scratching his head. He had an inquisitive look on his face.

  “Okay then — so, are we done here?” she asked, reaching to close the door.

  Malick searched the ground around the cab and then nodded.

  “Good,” said Angela, slamming the trunk. She pointed to Lafonda and Nathan as she swung open the cab’s passenger back door. “You two in this cab. No ifs, ands, or buts — you guys are going to sit in there and work this out.”

  Both Nathan and Lafonda’s faces were stunned and then suddenly they both started to protest all at once. “Everything is cool,” said Nathan, barely looking at Lafonda. Lafonda diverted her eyes.

  “Yeah,” she said. “Everything is fine. I can sit in the other cab.”

  “I don’t think so,” said Angela, boldly, stopping Lafonda by the arm. “Leah,” she said. “Can you please allow these two to sit together? They have some issues to work out.”

  Leah looked up at Nathan and
smiled. “Good luck, you two,” she said, gently placing a hand on his arm.

  “Look, Angela,” protested Lafonda.

  “You, guys!” whined Angela, throwing her hands up in the air. “We’re in London for goodness sake, and we don’t have time for your passive aggressiveness.”

  Nathan sighed heavily as he watched Leah climb into the shiny black cab in front of them. “But I’m not passive aggressive,” he said, finally. “I was just trying to help.”

  “He says that a lot lately,” said Lafonda, looking at Angela. She adjusted the silver buttons to her dark trench coat and then placed her hands on her hips. “Always trying to help, but never asks if somebody actually wants help. We’re not all weak and helpless as he would make us out to be.”

  Nathan scowled and protested fervently to Angela. “See what I’m talking about here!”

  “Ugh, figure it out!” shouted Angela, forcing them both inside the cab and shutting the door. “Unbelievable!” She paused to fix her curly blonde hair and then ran her hands down the front of her red pea coat, smoothing out her jacket. “They fight like an old married couple.”

  “Amen to that,” commented Alan.

  “Alan?” said Angela, abruptly. “What are you doing here?” She stopped to look at the cab in front of them. “Why aren’t you in the cab already, with Malick and Leah?”

  He stared at Jonathan as he sat in the front passenger seat of the second cab and frowned. “Where are you riding?” he asked, his blue eyes bubbling with protest. “Why aren’t you riding with us?”

  Angela took a deep breath and then followed Alan’s glare to Jonathan and sighed. “It’s not a big deal, Alan!” she whined. She watched as Alan continued to stare with dislike at Jonathan. “In fact, I think this would be a wonderful opportunity for you to spend some quality time with Jonathan.”

  “What!” yelled Alan. He moved so fast that Angela thought he was about to snap his neck to look at her.

  She smiled. “I’ll ride with Malick and Leah, and you can ride in the car with Jonathan.”

  “You’re kidding, right?” protested Alan.

  “Nope,” she said, quickly walking away. “Oh, and Alan!” Suddenly, Malick stepped out of the other vehicle and held the door open. “Try not to let Lafonda and Nathan get in the way of you two chatting.” She winked before climbing in. “They have some … hashing out to do.”

  Slowly, Alan turned around and peered into the vehicle at Nathan and Lafonda. “Wait!” he yelled. “You can’t do this to me!”

  “It looks like they are waiting on us,” said Lafonda, after Alan reluctantly climbed in.

  “Yes, yes,” said Jonathan, frantically, after speaking to the driver. The driver nodded. “When you get to the street, pull into Black Manor.”

  “Sorry about Dr. Colvers,” said Lafonda, as the cab pulled away from the curb. She glanced over her shoulder and the shiny black cab with Angela and the others was right behind them.

  “It’s okay,” mumbled Jonathan. He appeared distracted still by his phone. “I’m going to keep trying to reach him.”

  Lafonda smiled, resting her head back against her seat. There was a long period of silence and Alan started to fidget nervously with the buttons to his leather blazer. “Can you guys start already!” he blurted out. He turned to look at Nathan and then Lafonda. His blue eyes were on the verge of bulging out of their sockets. “The silence is deafening. And believe me when I say I am no Angela, because I would definitely rather be somewhere else!”

  Nathan and Lafonda both looked at each other with shocked looks on their faces and then laughed. Alan however, did not appear amused. “Ugh,” he mumbled. Clearly agitated, he pulled out his cell phone. “I’m going to get you back for this Angela.”

  The cab, silent again, whizzed down the dark streets lined with rows and rows of tightly spaced buildings. Methodically, Lafonda assessed her nails before turning her attention to the view from the window. “I’ll pay you back,” said Nathan abruptly, catching Lafonda and Alan off guard.

  She turned to look at him, a few frown lines appearing on her forehead. “W–what?”

  “The plane ticket,” said Nathan. He turned to look at Alan, but Alan happily buried his face back into his cell phone. “I plan to pay you back.”

  “Oh,” she said, sitting up from her seat. She smiled. “No worries.” There was silence again and Lafonda turned to look at the red double-decker bus after it pulled up to the window. “You know, you’re not the only one that can help out. Or take care of things, or people.”

  Nathan paused as he twisted his mouth off to the side. “First class tickets to London are expensive, Lafonda,” he finally said. He hesitated. “I mean — how do you plan to explain the missing money from your savings account to your grandmother?”

  “Fender bender,” she said, proudly. “We already worked it out.” She paused to wink at Alan, but he was still into his cell phone. “Those pesky back roads … you know, you really have to be careful and watch your speed when driving a sports car.”

  Nathan noticed that Jonathan had said something to the driver, but he didn’t catch what it was. “So, I guess I have been a little over-protective,” he said.

  “Umm, just a little,” joked Lafonda.

  Nathan lowered his eyes. “With everything that was going on, I really didn’t think I had a choice but to shut you guys out.”

  Lafonda sat quietly. “I understand that you were trying to protect us,” she said. “I mean, I get it, they’re your visions, and you feel some sort of responsibility.” She squeezed his hand and Nathan looked up at her. “I want to help.” She smiled. “Even if it means preventing someone from shoving a long, silver blade in my back.”

  They both stared blankly at each other and Nathan soon let out a short burst of laughter. “Yeah,” she nodded, cracking a smile. “How about — especially, if it means stopping a shiny silver blade, or any blade — from being shoved into my back.”

  Suddenly, there was a loud screeching sound and Lafonda, Nathan, and Alan were catapulted forward as the black cab jolted to a stop. “What the…?” blurted Alan, sitting up and staring out of the dark foggy window. “I thought we were going to your place. Why did we just show up on a college campus?”

  Nathan and Lafonda, both pulled themselves together and leaned forward to peer out of the front windshield of the car. The car’s headlights cut through the thick fog like a knife, revealing the tall greyish sign with white lettering. “Does that — wait a minute — Kings Royal University?” blurted Nathan, “Jonathan?”

  Before Nathan could ask again, Jonathan bolted out of the car like a greyhound trying to win a horse race. The passenger door was left blowing to the wind as the cab driver yelled after him. Quickly, Lafonda opened the door and sprung out of the vehicle. Immediately, Nathan followed suit. “He sure can run,” said Nathan, watching Jonathan’s figure become a shadow, as he got further away.

  “Yeah,” said Lafonda, almost squinting. “But where is he going?”

  It was still pre-dawn and the sprawling green grass they stood in was wet beneath their feet. The slow moving fog made it hard to see, but it wasn’t difficult to see that Jonathan headed toward the big red brick building with the tall tower on the quad. “We should go after him,” said Nathan.

  “Go after him?” said Alan from the car. “We don’t even know where the lunatic is going.”

  “I thought we discussed this, Alan,” said Angela, joining them from the side. The other black cab had pulled up behind them and Angela was first out of the vehicle. “He may be a little eccentric, but he’s definitely not crazy.”

  Quickly, Alan got of the car and pointed dramatically at Jonathan’s darting shadow. “You call that — not crazy?” he said.

  “Hey! Who’s going to pay for this?” yelled the driver.

  “Come on — I don’t want to lose him!” said Nathan. Lafonda nodded and he was surprised to see her agreeing with him.

  Slowly, Nathan began to run across
the grass, but almost slipped when he heard Malick calling after him. “Where are you going?” shouted Malick.

  “Jonathan might be in trouble,” he heard Angela say.

  Nathan’s breath labored as he reached the middle of the quad. Through the fog, he could now see the face of the large white clock that set atop of the tower. “Where did he go?” he murmured, trying to catch his breath. Soon, his pace slowed to halt. “He was just in front of me a few seconds ago.”

  Nathan had stopped in front of the three-pronged lamppost that shone brightly like a light beacon in the midst of the fog. With both hands on his hips, his chest labored as he searched for Jonathan. “Ouch!” he yelled, after being suddenly jarred in the side.

  “I’m sorry, Nathan,” said Lafonda, catching her breath. “This heavy fog is really making it difficult to see far in front of you.”

  “Tell me about it,” smirked Nathan, rubbing his side. “And it doesn’t help that the sun hasn’t come up yet.” He looked up at the small bands of sunlight that were starting to make the clouds above appear pink.

  “Look, over there!” pointed Lafonda. “Past the trees. What’s that small green light, bouncing amid the fog?”

  “That has to be Jonathan,” said Nathan. “Come on.”

  “But wait … how can you be so sure?” asked Lafonda, squinting through the fog.

  “Trust me,” he said, taking to a gallop. “He must be on his cell phone.”

  Lafonda paused before following, and gave him a strange look.

  “It’s a long story,” said Nathan.

  Quickly, Nathan and Lafonda ran to the spot where they thought they had seen the green light. Nathan tried not to slip in the grass again. He especially tried to avoid bumping into Lafonda. “He’s not here,” said Lafonda, her breath laboring.

  “I see him!” shouted Nathan, pointing to the dark figure sprinting down the narrow sidewalk. “He’s still heading toward the tower.”

  In a dash, Nathan headed toward the big red brick building with the tall clock tower. Soon, he was running on pavement and he was thrilled to be off the grass. For a split second, he paused in awe of the beautiful building, but continued up the white limestone steps. Inside, the dull white light above made it hard for him to stay focused as he searched the long and dark, oval-shaped hallway. “Do you see him?” he asked.