by ID Johnson
“No, I’m a junior,” I replied. “Are you a senior?”
“Yep. Well, I mean, I’m not planning on going back.”
I wasn’t sure what to say to that. I wanted to ask him about the hunt, what it was that had made him decide after one Vampire that this was the life for him. I could only imagine how thrilling it must’ve been to be out in the field with my sister and Aaron, but we were almost at the gym, and I didn’t want my sister eavesdropping on that conversation anyway.
Once we were almost at the gym, Aaron dropped Cadence’s hand and easily went around us to get the closest door. I hadn’t been in here before and was impressed from the second we walked in at all of the equipment. Everything was top of the line and in great condition. The walls were painted red, white, and blue, and everything was meticulously clean. It shouldn’t have surprised me, since Aaron had been in charge of running this place by himself for so long, but it was just one more reason to wish I could join the team now.
When we reached the room with all of the cardio equipment in it, I was glad to see some familiar faces. Aurora and Meagan were working out on the treadmills, along with Shane who I didn’t know as well. All three of them came to a stop, and Aurora smiled in recognition in my direction before her eyes shifted and her mouth dropped open.
“Oh, wow,” she said, walking over while drying her forehead off with a hand towel. “You’ve got to be Brandon. We’ve heard so much about you.” She offered him her hand, which he shook. “I’m Aurora.”
Brandon smiled at her and gave a little nod, like he wasn’t sure what to think of the extra-tall redhead. “It’s nice to meet you.”
She wrapped her arms around me loosely and said, “Hey Cassidy! I’m all sweaty, but it’s nice to see you!”
It was nice to see her in person again. “You, too.” I didn’t even mind the perspiration.
Cadence gestured at the other two. “Brandon, this is Meagan, and this is Shane.”
“Shane will likely be doing most of your training,” Aaron explained to Brandon
Shane reached out and grabbed Brandon’s hand, and I watched my new friend’s face morph a little bit, imagining the Guardian must be squeezing a little too hard. “Hey, man. How’s it going? Are you going through the Transformation process then?”
Once Shane released his hand, Brandon shook it out for a second, inconspicuously, though I obviously noticed. “Uh, yeah. Tonight, actually.”
“That’s cool!” Meagan exclaimed as she patted him on the shoulder. She is a pretty brunette, a little shorter than my sister, and I imagined Brandon would blush when she touched him, but he didn’t. He didn’t even seem to notice how pretty she is. “It will be great to have you on the team.”
“It’s great to be here,” Brandon replied. Something in his voice sounded less enthusiastic than I expected, and I couldn’t help but stare at him for a second. Was he having second thoughts?
My mental gymnastics were interrupted by Meagan’s embrace. “It’s nice to see you, too, Cassidy,” she said. “How are you doing?”
“Good,” I replied, forcing a smile but still looking at Brandon. I really hoped he understood the magnitude of what he was about to do tonight and appreciated it.
“What’s up?” Shane asked me, giving a little wave, and I acknowledged him the best I could considering we were probably equally suspicious of each other. He was such a hulk—he made me nervous, and I didn’t think there was quite as much going on upstairs as maybe there should be.
Once all the greetings were over with, Cadence said, “So, this is one of the workout rooms. There are a couple of other rooms, but they are much smaller.”
Brandon and I both looked around for a moment before he said, “It’s pretty nice.” I concurred. He took a few steps forward and started checking out the equipment, and I followed, thinking it might be a good idea to look interested even though I’d never been a huge fan of exercise. I figured I’d have to develop different feelings about it to be a Hunter. While I wandered around, I kept an ear tuned in to the conversation going on behind me.
“Are you not going tonight?” Aurora was asking Cadence.
Cadence sighed. “No, I’m going to stay here. I want to spend some time with my sister before she has to go back home. But you guys will be just fine without me. He’s just a baby.” I wondered if the sigh was on my account.
“What?” Meagan asked. At the shocked tone of her voice, I turned to see a matching expression on her face.
My sister almost rolled her eyes. “Not literally.” I got the impression my sister thought she was a little bit of a ditz. It was no wonder she got along so well with Shane. “It’s just a few weeks past his Resurrection.”
“Oh, right,” Meagan laughed. “It would be hard to kill a baby.”
I noticed my sister turn and look at Aaron, like she wanted to see if that statement bothered him, but he didn’t react, and I had no idea what that was all about. Cadence concluded, “Right.” Then, turning back to Aurora, she said, “So, I’ll leave it to you to coordinate.”
“Me?” Aurora asked. “You think I can do that?”
“Sure.” Cadence shrugged her shoulders. “Aaron is planning on being there. You just need to make sure the Hunters are in position.”
Resting a finger against her chin, Aurora seemed to think about the situation. “Well, I guess there’s a first time for everything.”
I was fiddling around with an elliptical machine, trying to look like I wasn’t paying attention, but I couldn’t help but mutter, “Some people’s first times take a lot longer to come around than other people’s.”
“What was that?”
Startled, I looked up to see Brandon was right behind me. Apparently, he was already pretty stealthy. Maybe he’d be good at this job after all. “Nothing,” I shrugged. “I’m just pouting again, that’s all.” I was a little embarrassed that he’d seen my outburst earlier so I tried to keep my feelings in check.
If it bothered him, he didn’t say. He smiled at me. “Don’t worry. It’ll happen sooner than you think.”
“I guess,” I said, glancing back over my shoulder at my sister and her friends. “Looks like the grownups are talking now.” I couldn’t help but roll my eyes.
Laughing, Brandon puffed up his chest a little and said, “I’m a grownup, too, you know? I just left home, starting a new job. I’m an independent man.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “I don’t know about that. What did your mom say when you told her what you were doing?”
I watched a shadow cross his face, and he folded his arms. Quietly, he admitted “I didn’t tell her.”
My mouth dropped open. “Seriously?” I asked, taking a step closer to him “She doesn’t know?”
“Nah,” Brandon shrugged. “I’ll tell her later.” He acted like it wasn’t a big deal. I couldn’t even imagine coming from Oklahoma to Missouri to alter my DNA without telling my mom. But then, part of me thought it might be nice to have that sort of freedom, too, to not care what my parents think. I didn’t know what to say. There seemed to be something going on between Brandon and his mom, but I didn’t think it was my place to pry.
Before I had a chance to ask more, my sister asked, “You guys want to go see the pool?” as she was heading across the room.
Brandon and I shrugged and walked over toward her. Everyone shouted their goodbyes and waved at us as they headed back toward the workout equipment, and Aaron followed us out.
I decided to lag behind, so Aaron went around me, and eventually, Brandon slowed down, too, so that there was a considerable space between us and my sister and Aaron. The initial shock of hearing that Brandon hadn’t told his mom was gone, and I had another question. I had a lot of questions, actually. I wanted to know more about his mom, this woman Elliott had apparently loved at one time, but I couldn’t ask that now. Instead, I whispered, “Is that why you’re in such a hurry to get this done right now? ‘Cause you’re afraid your mom will find out and stop you?”
I had seen hesitation in his eyes earlier, when he’d been asked if he was ready for this, and now I knew why. He hadn’t stopped to think about it.
Cadence was holding the door for us, so Brandon hurried to grab it from her and we all stepped into the pool area. I could see he was contemplating an answer, but he couldn’t respond, not right now.
There were two people in the pool swimming laps, but they stopped when we came in and we all exchanged polite waves. I could tell by the expression on my sister’s face that she wasn’t particularly fond of these two. “That’s Paxton with the mohawk, and the other one is Smith,” she said through bared teeth, still smiling.
Brandon also waved courteously and then asked my sister, “Are those their first names or their last names?”
My sister’s forehead crinkled. “I don’t know,” she admitted, and once again I felt like my sister had no idea what was going on.
While I was a little offended that she seemed so out of touch, Aaron seemed to find it amusing. He was fighting a chuckle as he said, “Their last names. But that’s what everyone calls them because they’re both named Trent.”
“Oh, good to know,” Brandon nodded.
Cadence’s face gave away that this was brand new information to her, and rather than remind her that she can be such a moron, I changed the subject. “Is it heated?” I asked as I eyed the water
“It is,” Cadence confirmed. She seemed less than amused that Aaron thought it was funny she didn’t even know her teammates’ names. I wondered what else she didn’t know. “And there’s a hot tub in there. Want to see?”
“Sure,” Brandon said, answering for both of us. We all waved goodbye at the swimmers and continued on our tour. While this was all fine and good, I would’ve rather been sitting somewhere talking about strategy or reviewing film than wandering around the gym. But at least I was here.
I decided to let my sister and Aaron get ahead of us again to see if Brandon would come back and answer my question. I hoped he didn’t pretend I hadn’t asked, but he slowly walked next to me and said nothing for a while, so I finally had to remind him. “Well?”
Brandon looked at me like he had no idea what I was talking about. “Well, what?”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Your mom.” He suddenly seemed to recall my question and nodded. “She doesn’t know? Does she even know where you’re at?”
Stopping in the middle of the walkway, Brandon glanced over his shoulder at my sister and Aaron and then turned to face me. I stopped, too, seeing how serious he was. “You know, Cassidy, sometimes you just have to take your life into your own hands. I’m an adult now. It’s time for me to make my own decisions, think my own thoughts, do my own thing.” He shrugged, like everything he said was no big deal, and then began walking again.
My sister and Aaron had noticed we’d stopped, so they waited for us to catch up. It took me a moment to get my feet moving again, but eventually I continued on my way, though Brandon’s words had a deeper meaning to them, and I began to realize how right he was. Here I was, asking everyone’s permission to do anything at all while he was taking his life into his own hands.
Cadence fell behind, letting Brandon in front of her, and I noticed a concerned expression on her face. “Everything okay?” she asked quietly, like she thought maybe Brandon had said something rude to me.
“Yeah, it’s fine,” I replied, trying to be nonchalant. I had no idea if Cadence or Aaron knew Brandon’s mom had no idea where he was, but I didn’t want to give away his secret. I had an idea I could use him as an ally, especially if Jamie thought I was a baby now after my last fit. I forced a smile at my sister and said, “I’m fine.”
“Okay.” She seemed to buy it. Cadence took a deep breath and said, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Brandon going on the hunt last night. I just knew you’d be upset, and I didn’t think I could explain our reasoning well enough for you to understand why we let him go.”
I appreciated the apology, but I had to admit she was right. “I don’t understand. But I guess I just have to be more patient. My time will come.” I wanted to believe those words, and I hoped they didn’t sound too forced.
“There you go!” Cadence agreed, smiling, and putting her arm around my shoulders. “That’s my sweet girl. Don’t worry. Your turn will be here before you know it, and then you’ll be wishing for a simpler time.”
“If you say so,” I mumbled. I tried not to let the fact that she’d called me her “sweet girl” bug me. My whole life I’d been the good little girl, and quite frankly, I was over it.
My pity party was interrupted by Brandon’s exclamation of, “Now that’s a climbing wall!” We were in the main part of the gym now, and I had to agree with him. We were looking at a monster.
“It’s a pretty difficult climb,” Aaron was saying. Gesturing at the other side of the gym, he said, “And that is called The Hill.” It was an incredibly steep incline that reached almost to the ceiling, which looked to be at least three or four stories above us.
“Whoa! I wish we’d had that at football practice. That thing is steep,” Brandon marveled as we approached it. “You just run up it?”
With a bit of a smirk on his face, Aaron asked, “Care to demonstrate, Cadence?”
My sister was standing next to me. She had one hand on her stomach, and for the first time I realized she had a pained look on her face, like something was bothering her. “Uh, sure. Give me a second,” she said, but her voice sounded different.
Aaron stepped over to her, his face mirroring my own concern. “Everything okay?”
Taking a few deep breaths, Cadence said, “Yeah, I’m fine. I don’t know. My stomach just feels funny. Kind of like I feel whenever there’s a Vampire around.”
“That’s strange,” Aaron said, looking around the gym like he thought we might have company. I couldn’t help but follow his eyes, though he didn’t seem to be alarmed. “I wonder what would be causing that.”
I remembered what I’d learned earlier about Vampires being required to turn themselves in. “Don’t you have Vampires here?” I questioned. “The ones that need tagged?”
“We do,” Cadence nodded, still rubbing her stomach, though she didn’t look as worried as she had a moment ago. “But those don’t usually bother me. Their facility is on the other side of campus.”
Brandon had another explanation that my sister didn’t think was funny at all, and I kinda didn’t blame her, and after the two of them went back and forth a few times like siblings, my sister finally seemed like she was feeling better as she said to him, “Now, why don’t you race me up this hill and show Cass what a loser you are?”
“No way,” Brandon shot back, shaking his head empathically. “I saw you throw yourself through a glass window and rip the head off of a monster. I ain’t racing you up no hill. I’ve got a reputation to protect.”
Despite having listened quietly while they argued, I had to get in on this. “Oh, you don’t have to worry about your reputation with me,” I said, smiling at him sweetly. “I already think you’re a loser.” I batted my eyelashes at him and patted him on the arm.
Brandon looked a bit taken aback for a moment before he realized I was teasing him because I don’t think he’s such a bad guy, and he said, “Hardy har har,” giving me a playful shove.
I didn’t get a chance to push him back before my sister’s shocked voice cut through the gym. “What did you say?”
Shrugging, Brandon replied, “Oh, it’s just an old saying I picked up off of The Three Stooges or something,”
“Your dad used to say that,” Cadence explained. “How bizarre.”
“Are you feeling better?” Aaron asked, quickly changing the subject. I wondered if he didn’t want to talk about Elliott at all or just didn’t want to compare Brandon to the dad he never met. This boy was growing on me, I had to admit it, but the fact that he didn’t have a relationship at all with his dad, a man I had loved dearly, wouldn’t leave my mind. Neither would the fact
that he was just introduced to this world recently, had no idea what he was stepping into, but would be Transforming a full year ahead of me.
I realized my sister was replying to Aaron’s question and tried to hone in on her answer. “Good enough to beat you up The Hill.” She was feeling well enough to be ornery.
“You may have broken my record once,” he replied, “but that was…” Aaron hesitated and looked at Brandon and me and then back to Cadence, “before. I’m pretty sure I can beat you now.”
Before what? I wondered but miraculously kept my mouth shut.
Cadence scooted up to a line marked on the ground in front of The Hill, and we all followed. She got into a runner’s stance and said, “Well, I won’t go down easily.”
Brandon made another smart remark I didn’t quite catch and she glared at him for a moment before Aaron got into position next to her. I noted neither of them were wearing workout clothes or shoes and wondered how this might go down, but I was interested in seeing exactly how fast they might be.
Aaron slowly counted to three and they took off. My eyes couldn’t even process what I was seeing. My sister is super fast, but Aaron was standing at the bottom with his arms folded waiting for her when she got back, and it couldn’t have taken her more than five seconds to run all the way up there and back down. My mouth was hanging open. He wasn’t even sweating and my sister hardly had a stitch in her breath.
“How did you do that?” I exclaimed.
“That was insane!” Brandon shouted at the same time. The two of us just stared at each other for a moment, as if checking our own sanity.
Aaron didn’t seem to think it was such a big deal. Looking at Cadence, he said, “I told you I was faster now.”
“That’s crazy. I think you did that in four seconds without jumping. You’re just a blur now.” She inhaled deeply a few times to get her breathing back to normal.
“Am I going to be that fast after I Transform?” Brandon asked, still in awe.
“No!” Cadence and Aaron answered simultaneously, and both of our eyes widened at their forceful answers. Once again, Brandon and I were exchanging glances.