Ann sighs. She nods as she answers. “Yes James. You get to keep them.”
“…both of them?”
“Yes both of them,” Rob answers as he enters the room.
“Do I get to go to the gathering?”
“Yes,” Rob says. He turns to his wife and reaches his arms out. She walks to him and they hug.
“Will Uncle Rick be there?” James asks. He grew up with Rick coming around several times a year and has always called him Uncle Rick. “Will he?”
“Yes,” Rob says. “Uncle Rick will be there.”
“This is the best birthday ever,” James says. He looks at Stewart studying a chess piece. “That’s a knight.”
In the living room, Julie nervously sits in the chair as Rachel and the Professor talk with ease and excitement. “Two of them,” the Professor says. “If they both did the resting at thirteen that would mean by eighteen the child would have two Molawners protecting him.”
“No Fearling would ever be able to get him,” Rachel says.
“How do you know that?” Julie says. “You have never even seen the bad Fearling that can attack you.”
“No,” Rachel says. “That’s because the Fearlings know that they cannot defeat Teelah, or any Molawner.”
“They have attacked Rick’s family,” Julie says.
“Yes, yes they have,” Professor says. He understands that Julie has good reason to fear. “We can only try to be as prepared as best we can. That is all we can do.”
“That is why we have the gathering every year,” Rachel says. “We share our experiences. We share what we know.” She looks to the hallway in reference to Rob and his family. “They will be fine. They don’t have a choice.”
“This can only be good,” Professor says, “and we take James to the Gathering.”
“You don’t think all those Fearlings will scare him?” Julie asks.
“No,” Stewart interrupts the adults. He doesn’t like his Mom’s question. “James isn’t afraid.”
“Your boy is right,” Professor says. “James is not afraid. That is one of the many reasons why we need to take him to the gathering tomorrow.”
CHAPTER 6
It is the next day, the day of the yearly gathering. There were three Vauns at the first gathering. Eight years later, there are seventeen of them, which include Rob and James. The amount of knowledge they gain from the gathering is huge. They are all stronger, smarter and better prepared because of the gatherings.
Rachel is a teacher at her old high school. The cafeteria is where the gatherings take place and they have their reasons for this location. Rachel’s family is rich, and always has been. They have modified the school so that there are lights, emergency lights, and backup generators.
“In this school it would be very hard for the Fearlings to darken one room,” Rob says to his son as he leads his eight year old behind the Professor into the building.
“Let alone the entire building,” Professor says.
“There is no reason to be scared,” Rob says as they walk down the hall towards the cafeteria.
“I am not scared,” James says. He holds his Dad’s hand as they walk. “I wish Stewart was here.”
“Maybe we’ll bring Stewart next year.”
James isn’t scared but he is very nervous and it’s obvious when he stops at the door.
“Hey,” Rob says. His tone is easy and reassuring. “It’s ok.”
James follows behind his Dad and the Professor follows behind him. As soon as they enter, he scans the large room. The majority of the tables are folded up and lay along the backside wall. There are four long tables arranged in the middle of the room to form a square with an inner open area. There are fifteen people standing around the tables. Their ages range from early twenties to late sixties. Rachel is across the room talking to the thirty-year-old Jeff Miles. She notices Rob enter the room and excuses herself from the conversation. He nods as he watches her walk to greet them.
“Rob,” Rachel says. She bends down to James, “How you doing?”
“Fine,” James says. His eyes continue to scan around at the rest of the people in the room.
“You want to meet everyone?” Rachel says. She reaches for the boy’s hand and he responds with a nod, “Let’s go then.”
Rob looks at the Professor then back to his son as Rachel walks James toward the others.
“He will be fine,” Professor says.
“I know,” Rob says, “It’s just…” He stops. He cannot finish his thought. He doesn’t know how to tell the Professor the new information. It’s information that he learned just twenty minutes before they left his house. “I…”
“What?” Professor asks. He watches the others greeting the boy and smiles as he repeats the question. “What?”
“Well,” Rob hesitates. He turns to the Professor and his tone lowers. He doesn’t want James to hear him. He doesn’t want his son to know yet. “Ann is pregnant.”
Professor pauses with his words. He stares at Rob and smiles. “Eight years. You sure did wait long enough didn’t you?”
“She took one of those tests today and she’s pregnant. I just found out right before we left the house.”
“This is good,” Professor says. His tone is sincere. “Life, Rob, should always be celebrated.”
“We don’t want to tell James until we get confirmation from the doctor. So don’t say anything.”
“You know me,” Professor says. His tone is quiet and truthful as he starts toward the others. “I am going to tell everybody.”
A voice from behind Rob startles him.
“You know he will tell everyone.”
Rob turns around quickly and sees Rick standing in the doorway. He takes a breath then responds with a nodding yes.
“I hear James has two Fearlings.”
“Yes,” Rob says. He watches his son and the others. “He isn’t afraid. Not one bit.”
“I’m sorry that I didn’t go to his party.”
“It’s not your thing,” Rob says, “Don’t worry about it.”
“You know,” Rick hesitates. He isn’t trying to scare his friend. He simply speaks what he believes is the truth. “They will always attack again.”
“I know,” Rob says.
CHAPTER 7
Ann sits on the couch beside her friend Julie. They are talking about the gathering while Stewart sits on the floor playing a video game on the TV. They have lived a life with experiences that make them more focused, aware of their situation. In the daytime, they always have the curtains open allowing maximum daylight in all of the rooms. Right now, they are distracted by the news of Ann being pregnant.
“I don’t envy you,” Julie says. She sees the distant look on her friend’s face and tries to distract through conversation. “Nine months of being pregnant. Not something I want to do again.”
“Yeah,” Ann smiles. She welcomes the distraction. “Like that’s going to be fun.”
“I wish I could have gone with them,” Stewart interrupts.
“I know,” Julie says. She hates the thought of her son going to a gathering. She has been only once herself and the sight of that many Fearlings in one place scares her. She has no intentions of letting her son go to one.
“My son has two Fearlings. I am pregnant. This has been the longest twenty-four hours of my life.”
Julie nods. She knows that her friend needs to vent. That there are no words she can say right now.
Ann stands. She paces to the other side of the room then turns back to her friend on the couch. The boy on the floor is into his game and is ignoring her.
“I just wasn’t expecting any of it.”
“No one was,” Julie says. She hesitates. Her tone is serious as she finishes her thought. “I don’t like to talk like this, but they are safe where they are.”
“I know,” Ann says, “I know they are and I know it is better that James be there. I know that he needs to learn as much as he can.” She takes a deep b
reath to maintain focus. “Rob told me what it was like when he was eight, what it was like after he found out. I don’t want James to go through it that way. Rob wasn’t prepared and there is no way that he will make that mistake with our son.”
“I can’t believe he called Rachel’s dad,” Julie says.
“I know,” Ann says. She smiles at the thought of her husband’s stubbornness. “Rachel’s dad has been offering to build us a house with all the works as far as lights and backup lights. It took Rob two years before he accepted the generators but as soon as Kynar told him that James was going to be a Vaun, he called him that night. They’ve already started building and he offered to build you one too.”
“Yes,” Julie says. Her son’s father was taken eight years ago with Grandma and even though her son is not a Vaun, she doesn’t care. She wants the protection. “Please yes. I always wanted to ask but was too embarrassed.”
“It doesn’t have to be near ours. He said where ever you want.”
“Hawaii,” Julie jokes.
“He probably would you know,” Ann says. “They have the money. By the way he wants us to move near them.” She smiles at the thought. “But as soon as we pick a location he said he’ll have workers start immediately. He even said that he’d have workers twenty-four hours a day until it is finished.”
“He’ll do it too,” Julie says. She understands that Rachel’s family is serious. “They have no problem in helping protect other Vauns.”
The distracting conversation works. Ann remains calm as Julie continues talking about Rachel’s family.
CHAPTER 8
At the gathering, everyone sits around the tables as the Vaun Jeff Miles stands. This is his first gathering and he is talking to everyone, telling his story. The Professor sits beside Rob and the young James. On the other side of him sits Rachel and Rick. The Professor listens to Rick but his eyes are on the eight year old. He is curious to see how James handles this experience.
The eight-year-old James Kelly sits beside his dad, listening to Jeff and the others. He sees his dad looking down at him. He smiles. “What?”
“You ok?” Rob asks. He knows what his son is going to say.
“Yes,” James says.
“This is his first time at a gathering,” Rob says. “Jeff will tell us his story then asks questions. We answer and then some of us may share a story with him.”
James gets a thought that he doesn’t like and it shows on his face and in his tone. “I don’t have to do that do I? It’s my first time, I don’t want to.”
“You will be fine,” Rob says. He points to the long lights across the ceiling. “Wait till you see how we pin them. Now listen. It is very important to give him his respect; it’s not always easy sharing your experiences.”
James stares at the lights then back to Jeff talking.
“My parents died in a car crash when I was five,” Jeff says. He is nervous. This is the first time he has been around other Vauns. The Professor found him a few weeks ago and he welcomes the ability to share his story with those who will be able to understand and relate. “My brother Chris was three. No one had told us about the Fearlings, about our family secret. We were not prepared. Three years later when I saw my Fearling, Rel, for the first time, I couldn’t move. My brother just screamed and when they came in they turned the light on and he vanished. They never saw him.”
“Did they let you sleep with the light on?” Rachel asks.
“Yes they did,” Jeff says, “and we slept with the lights on for the next three nights but on the fourth night,” He hesitates at the memory but his understanding of their lack of knowledge shows in his tone. “Sheri and Arthur Krichek, they were an older couple who fostered kids. They were good people but they didn’t know what was happening. They were old fashioned. Arthur believed we were just two kids scared of the dark. On the fourth night he unplugged every light in the room.”
PAST
Jeff Miles and his five-year-old brother Chris sit up in the bed. They stare at Arthur standing in the doorway. Their eyes are full of tears as he talks to them about being afraid of the dark. The light from the hall behind Arthur provides light into the children’s room as he stares at the frightened kids on the bed. He hesitates, he wants to leave the lights on but this is what his dad did for him when he was younger.
“You will be fine,” Arthur says. His voice cracks with sympathy as he sees their tears. “When you wake in the morning you will realize that there is nothing to be afraid of in the dark.”
“Please don’t,” Chris cries. “Please.”
“You will be fine,” Arthur says. “Just shut your eyes. You’ll fall asleep. You will see.” He turns and closes the door. His wife is standing in the hall shaking her head as they hear Chris on the other side of the door crying.
“Let those boys sleep with the lights on Arthur,” Sheri says.
Inside the room, Jeff and his brother sit up in the bed. Their tearful eyes slowly start to adjust as they scan around the darkened room. A second later, the Fearling Rel appears and is standing at the end of the bed.
“Please turn the light on!” Chris cries. He stares at Rel as he holds his brother tight, “Please!”
Jeff feels his brother’s grip tighten around him as the shadowy Rel slowly walks around to the side of the bed.
“Friend,” Rel whispers to the children. He leans his head forward closer to Chris’, “Friend.”
Jeff is petrified of the shadowy being. He cannot move. His eyes focus on Rel as the Fearling steps back. His brother continues to cry in his arms.
“Please Jeff! Please turn the lights on! Please!”
Then another Fearling fades through the darkness to stand on the other side of the bed. His name is Setah and he is here for one or both of the humans. He leans his shadowy head to the kids on the bed, “M i n e.”
“Protect,” Rel whispers from the other side of the bed.
Jeff is frozen in fear. He hears Rel but his young mind doesn’t understand what the Fearling means. He holds his brother as Chris continues to fearfully beg him to turn the lights on. Outside in the hall Arthur stands beside his wife. They are listening to the kids on the other side of the door. They hear the terror in Chris’ voice as he cries.
“Get in there,” Sheri demands.
He opens the door, both Fearlings vanish in the light, and he doesn’t see them. He sees the two brothers on the bed crying in each other’s arms. A second later, the Fearling Setah fades into the darkness of the sidewall in the room.
“Get back Sheri!” Arthur yells to his wife. He stares at the shadowy Setah in fearful disbelief. He steps further into the room towards the boys on the bed.
Sheri steps back. She hears the demand in her husband’s tone and knows something scares him. “Arthur?”
“Stay in the hall Sheri!” Arthur insists. He reaches his arms out to Jeff and Chris on the bed. “Come here boys.”
Chris rolls out of the bed and reaches for Arthur’s hand.
“M i n e,” Setah whispers as he moves fast. He stays within the darkness as he reaches out and slams the door shut darkening the room. The smaller Setah slams into Arthur from behind.
Arthur stumbles forward and falls head first into the nightstand. He drops to the floor semi conscious.
Setah reaches out for Chris as he turns to his brother on the bed. He grabs the boy and wraps his arms around the five year olds face and chest silencing his screams. Setah eerily moves his head and stares at Jeff on the bed.
The Fearling Rel fades into the darkness on the other side of the bed behind Jeff. He steps forward and climbs up onto the bed. He crawls to rest on his hands and knees beside the frozen Jeff. He stares at Setah and whispers. “Protect.”
Setah stares at Jeff and whispers his acknowledgment of Chris’ capture. “M i n e.” He releases his grip around the boys face and grabs the crying kid by the shoulder. He starts towards the closet, dragging Chris behind him.
“Jeff!” Chris cries as S
etah drags him into the darkness of the closet. “Jeff!”
“No!” Jeff yells. He hops off the bed and runs into the closet after his brother. He slams into the closet and falls down. He scans the small closet and there is nothing but clothes. His brother and Setah are not there.
“Gone,” Rel says. He feels the boy’s pain and sadness, “Gone.”
Sheri enters the room and sees her husband struggling to move on the floor. “Arthur?”
“Get the boy out of here,” Arthur says as he rolls over. He reaches out and struggles but he plugs the lamp on the nightstand in and the light comes on.
Fearlings Two (The Fearlings Series Book 2) Page 3