by M. Lorrox
Everyone heard, and they all laugh, June the hardest. “Well, at least I don’t sparkle!”
Everyone laughs harder. Then Skip stops laughing. “I don’t get it.”
He’s being honest. Eddy about dies.
June rolls her eyes. “Oh, Dad.” She sends him a reassuring smile, and watches him smile back. Somehow, she can tell that he relaxed, just then.
Skip nods his head toward Charlie. “We look like B-movie vampires, don’t we?”
“Ha! Yeah, you better clean up. We’ve got some water and a roll of towels in the Jeep. You two stay out of sight. I’ll be right back.” Charlie pivots to walk to the Jeep, then turns back to the group. “Eddy, run inside and buy a gallon of water.”
“Just a second.” Eddy walks over to June and touches her arm. “I’m glad you’re alright.”
She half-smiles back at him. “I am. And I’m still mad at you.”
Eddy frowns, but before he can speak, Sadie cuts him off. “You two can talk later. We’ve got to get back on the road. Eddy, go get more water.”
Without a word, he turns and jogs toward the rest stop.
Charlie brings the paper towels and some water bottles from the Jeep over to Skip, who lifts his shirt up and cleans off his chest. Sadie kneels alongside June and starts to clean her clothes. A small pile of discarded pink towels begins to grow.
When June doesn’t need help any longer, Sadie walks past Charlie and catches his eye.
He follows her behind the Jeep.
She turns and speaks very quietly. “What the hell is going on?”
Charlie shrugs. “Did you see her eyes?”
“Really weird, right?”
“Definitely. But at least it isn’t blatantly obvious.”
Sadie furrows her brow. “What isn’t?”
Charlie swallows. “Lei non è—” He glances halfway over his shoulder then back to his wife. He licks his lips and speaks so softly that he barely whispers, “Lei non è un vampiro normale.”
Sadie whispers back, “Ma lei è un vampiro? No?”
“She better be!” He grimaces and glances over his shoulder. Skip and June are preoccupied. He shrugs. “I mean, all the other symptoms are, uh, meeting expectations.”
Sadie frowns. “Except for, you know, that one thing.”
Sunlight. Charlie lifts his brow and nods slowly.
“Do you think it’s temporary?”
“How should I know?”
Sadie pauses and watches the Tubmans through the Jeep’s windows. “Think she’s in danger?”
Charlie looks too. “Because of the zombie infection?”
She nods.
“I can’t see her turning zombie. That would have happened hours ago, but it didn’t.”
Sadie sees Minnie making faces at her from inside the Jeep. Sadie sticks her tongue out at Minnie and sends her a raspberry. Minnie laughs and shrinks back down into her seat. Sadie turns back to Charlie. “What if this is permanent? That could be a big problem.”
“Or it’s a great thing because she can have a more normal life.”
Sadie sighs. “Well of course, it’s a miracle for her—” She takes a half step closer to Charlie and whispers in his ear, “—but imagine if others found out.”
Charlie whispers back, “Yeeeaaahh, that would be bad, everybody not under the sun would want to use her like a lab rat.”
Sadie pulls away and motions to the Tubmans. “We have to tell them.”
Charlie hears Eddy’s sneakers slapping the ground as he jogs back. He turns and sees Eddy carrying four water bottles in his arms. Charlie frowns. “Didn’t they have a big jug or anything? I mean, that’s a lot of plastic.”
Eddy slows. “All they had, Pops.”
“Don’t call me Pops. Squire.”
Eddy smiles. “Yes, sir!”
Sadie grabs the bottles and sets them on the Jeep’s massive, aftermarket rear bumper. “We need to have a talk with Skip and June, come on.”
As the Costanzas walk over, Skip is hugging his daughter. He notices them. “We’re all cleaned up, thanks guys.”
Sadie smiles and nods. “Of course. We’re glad to help. Before we get back on the road, though, we need to have a chat.”
“Sure. What’s up?”
Sadie stares at Charlie and waits.
He stares back and realizes he’s just been voluntold to kick it off. Okay, where to start? He clears his throat. Hmm. I guess there’s no good place to start. “We have to keep June’s uniqueness a secret.”
June gasps. “What uniqueness?”
“Two things specifically. First that you were infected with the zombie virus. That should be kept quiet because it’ll draw attention you don’t want because you have a much bigger secret… It seems that you can go into the sunlight.”
She scrunches her face. “But, so can all of you. I see you in the sun all the time.”
Sadie responds, “That’s true, but we have to drink blood first, otherwise we’d burn, badly. You seem to not have that requirement. It makes you special—” Sadie shifts her eyes to Skip. “—very special.”
Skip begins to comprehend.
Eddy’s brow furrows. “Oh yeah, that’d be dangerous.”
June tilts her head. “What do you mean?”
Charlie blocks Eddy from answering with a glance and a wave of his hand. “He means that other vampires would want to figure out how you’re able to do it, and they may not be very nice about it.”
Skip puts his arm around June’s shoulder.
Charlie steps toward June. “You cannot—must not—ever tell anyone. Do you understand?”
June looks straight into Charlie’s sparkling green eyes for a moment, then she drops her eyes to the ground. She nods.
“June, I know! Here.” Eddy takes off the blood-bead bracelet and extends it to her. “Wear this, and if anyone ever calls you out on being in the sun without drinking blood, you can say you ate one. The beads are made of dehydrated blood.”
June takes the bracelet and recognizes it. “That girl, Sophia, she gave you this. Right?”
Eddy shrinks, then he puts his hand on hers. He closes her palm around the bracelet just like Sophia had done with him. “Yes. She was a vampire too, and this bracelet saved my life... She died last night, but this bracelet can protect you, and I want you to wear it.” Eddy squeezes her hand. “Will you wear it for me? Please?”
June nods.
“If you ever need blood, just crunch down on a bead. It can keep you safe.”
She smiles. “Thanks, Eddy.”
He smiles back, then returns to his place alongside Charlie.
After a moment, Sadie takes a step to the side so she can see everyone’s faces. “We are all going to swear it. We must swear not to tell anyone about June’s ability. Agreed?”
Everyone nods.
“Say it. Say I swear.”
Each of them repeats the words, and when they’re done, Sadie nods. “We’ve always been close, but now, Skip and June, I’d like you to consider us part of your family. We’re all in this together.”
Skip breaks the tension with a laugh. “Sadie, you already were!” He glances and leans his head toward Eddy. “Right?”
Eddy glows and nods.
Skip squeezes June’s shoulder. “Right?”
She nods as a tear breaks loose and runs down her cheek. She wipes it and smiles.
Charlie sighs. “Alright. Now let’s get moving. Skip, do you want me to take over driving your truck?”
“No, I’m feeling better, and I want to talk with June.” His stomach grumbles. “Oh, did you get me any food?”
“Oh right!” Eddy opens his bag and pulls out a sandwich wrapped in plastic. “Turkey and provolone.”
Skip takes it. “Perfect, thanks. Well, let’s
saddle up.”
They collect their things, throw away the stained-pink paper towels, and get back on the road.
Charlie takes over driving the Jeep. Sadie sits in the back, playing with Minnie, while Eddy configures the GPS.
“Okay, all set. With traffic, we should arrive around three.”
Charlie glances at the display. No turns for over an hour. “Listen Eddy, about June…”
“Yeah?”
“This is a really big deal. Okay? People would literally kill just to understand her ability to be in the sun.”
Eddy stares out the windshield and nods.
“I’m not sure Skip and June truly understand. So, I’m putting you on a mission.”
Eddy spins in his seat. “I’m ready.”
“I want you to keep an eye on her, to deflect attention away from her when needed, and if you have to, fight for her.”
Eddy nods. “Without being a creepy stalker though, right?”
Charlie gives him a disapproving look. “You’re her friend. But besides that, I want you to keep in mind that I’m tasking you with additional responsibilities.”
Sadie pokes her head up from the back. “Understand what your father is telling you. June’s world is turning upside down and inside out, and now she finds out that she could be a target. She needs her family, you as a friend, and she might need more. She might need someone to watch her back.”
“I understand. I’ll be on guard.”
She nods. “Good. And congratulations on your first mission. Take it seriously.” She returns to play with Minnie in the back.
Eddy fumbles in his seat. “Dad?”
“Yes?”
“Have you ever, uh, failed a mission?”
Charlie sniffs. Catastrophically endangered. Spectacularly blown. Monumentally failed. “Mmm-hmm.”
Eddy stares at his hands.
Cost lives. Acted without orders. Lost loved ones. Charlie clears his throat. “Back in the day, it was much more dangerous to be a vampire, let alone a Knight of the Order. Sometimes intelligence was bad, sometimes the line of command or the communication channels were broken, and sometimes even though I did my best, I made mistakes.”
Eddy imagines letter carriers dropping an order or a double agent setting up traps. He can’t imagine his dad acting recklessly. Not like I did yesterday.
“Things are easier these days, but they can be just as dangerous... Look at me Eddy.”
Eddy turns to him up, and Charlie glances at him while driving. “I’m not charging you with protecting her life; no one can truly protect anyone but themselves. I’m tasking you with not dropping your guard, with being vigilant, and with being ready to step up if she needs protecting. You’ll do your best for June, I trust that.”
Eddy exhales some of the air he held in his lungs as reserve. “I understand.”
They hold each other’s stare for a moment, until Charlie returns his attention to the road. Eddy studies an old, faded scar down the side of his head. Then another one on his arm by his elbow.
Eddy looks at his own arm, imagining a great scar across it, then he remembers the fresh constellation of scars now on his chest. “Dad, did you use code names on your missions?”
“Usually, actually. It was safer that way. I never told you my knight’s name, have I?”
“No! What is it?”
Charlie smiles. “I’ll tell you later. You know what your squire’s name is, right?”
“It’s Leo.”
Charlie chuckles. “Good. Now don’t go around bragging and sharing that name; it’s yours. It has value—it has meaning.
Eddy glows. “I won’t.”
By the time Charlie pulls the Jeep under the covered awning at the hotel, he’s beyond exhausted. Sadie is wrangling a stir-crazed Minnie, and Eddy is asleep. Charlie kills the engine and whaps Eddy on the bicep. “Wake up, we’re here. Grab some luggage carts.”
Eddy pours his legs out of the Jeep and stretches as he ambles inside.
A bellman wearing a crisply starched uniform opens the door for him. “Welcome. Can I help you with anything, young sir?”
Eddy yawns and waves at him, expecting the yawn to be short. Instead, it keeps going. Eddy holds up two fingers. “Hooo! Ay yi yi. Sorry. We need a couple luggage carts.”
“No problem, I’ll fetch them for you. Do you have a reservation? I’ll tell the desk you’ve arrived.”
“Probably yeah. Costanza, thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” The bellman pivots in his black sneakers and speeds away.
Eddy turns much slower and returns to the Jeep.
When he gets back, Charlie stares at him in disbelief. “Umm, luggage carts?”
A pair of glass doors behind Eddy swing open. Eddy can hear the carts’ wheels rattle as they cross the threshold. Without turning, he points with his thumb over his shoulder.
Charlie scowls.
The bellman approaches, pushing one cart in front and pulling another behind. “Good afternoon, my name is Rod. Can I help you with any luggage?”
Minnie inspects the man’s uniform while she stands next to her mom. “Hello, Rod.”
He smiles at her then looks to Sadie and Charlie for direction.
Sadie motions to Skip’s truck. “We’ve got a lot to bring up. We will need a few more carts.”
“Very well, ma’am. I’ll be back in a moment.”
Charlie and Eddy start unloading the Jeep onto the carts while Skip jumps into the back of the pickup to collect his and June’s suitcases. The awning overhead is blanketed with hundreds of hanging lights, a good ten feet above Skip’s head. Even though it’s the afternoon and it’s still light out, the awning lamps are lit, and they burn a soft orange glow. June looks up at them and lets the light fill her eyes and mind while she waits beside the truck.
Skip lowers a rolling suitcase down and lets it slide against the old truck. He sees the pleasant expression on June’s face. “Fancy place, don’t ya think?”
June smiles. She has never been to the Washington DC area, and she’s been amazed by the traffic and some of the buildings and monuments they saw along their way.
“Think a couple of hillbilly’s like us, uh, weel geyt-on awrrright?” He hands her a suitcase and then his bow case.
“I reckon’ so! And by the way, Dad, that was a terrible accent. Please don’t ever do that again in public.”
He hands down her archery bag. “Whooo-ee! You’s feist-ay!” It’s so good to see you smile.
June laughs, sets down the bag, and nods toward the hotel’s entrance. “I’ll get a cart.”
“Thanks.” He watches her turn away, then he looks down at the rest of the things in the back of the truck. Besides the purple plastic trunk belonging to the Costanzas and Charlie’s long, heavy monk’s spade, there are a couple boxes and a garbage bag filled with additional clothes. In the few hours Skip had to pack his and June’s whole life up, he grabbed the things he deemed irreplaceable and wrapped them in things he deemed useful, but there’s not much. This might be all we have. I hope I didn’t miss anything. He shrugs.
Rod is back with more carts, and he passes one to June. “Here you are.”
“Thank you.”
-Crrrrriiccckkkk, THUD!-
Rod turns to see Charlie standing above a large wooden trunk that apparently just broke one of the wheels off a luggage cart.
“Crap.”
“Oh, I’ll get you a new cart, sir. I apologize, that one must have been damaged.”
Charlie lifts Sadie’s trunk and carries it over to an empty cart. He sets the chest down slowly and carefully. The cart creeks under the weight, but it holds.
After a few minutes, they have almost everything unloaded from the vehicles. Rod hands Charlie two slips of paper. “I’ll bring the carts into the lobby. W
e have a garage beneath the hotel. If you follow the path curving to the right, you’ll see the entrance. Place these on your dash. You can take the elevator from the garage.
“Oh. Okay.”
Charlie walks over and hands one of the parking passes to Skip. “Fancy place, huh bud?”
“Shore-as-shootin’ she is!” Skip grins wildly back at him.
Charlie squints. “You feeling all right, partner?”
Skip laughs. “Yeah, just overtired. Let’s park and get up to those beds.”
Inside, Sadie, Eddy, June, and Minnie have canvassed every inch of the lobby with their eyes. The marble floor tiles gleam in the soft light from the one-hundred-lamp chandelier, sitting areas beckon bottoms into soft arm chairs, sunlight glows through windows looking out at a spacious indoor courtyard, and the walls of the lobby are covered with paintings—real ones. A pair of large, potted lemon trees guard the corners of the front desk, whose black granite top is flecked with gold. Gentle notes float on the air—Mozart for the ear, and fresh-flowers for the nose.
Minnie is quick to find the flowers in an antique vase near the elevator.
Sadie places Minnie’s hand into Eddy’s. “I’ll check in.”
“That won’t be necessary.”
Sadie turns to find a woman with dark hair pulled tight into a bun, an earpiece, and glasses.
“My name is Jules. I’m your concierge, and I’ve checked you in. You’ll be staying on the tenth floor.” She hands Sadie an envelope with keycards inside.
“Oh, thank you.” Sadie smiles but doesn’t blink. “To what do I owe the courtesy?”
Jules smiles and bows slightly, making a point to open her eyes wide, revealing her vibrant green irises. “It’s my pleasure to assist you during your stay. Also, your associate Ms. Wollstone asked to be informed upon your arrival. She should be here momentarily.”
Sadie nods. “Thank you for your assistance, Ms. Jules, can—”
Jules raises a finger. “No, please just call me Jules.”
June turns a fraction toward Eddy and raises one eyebrow. He notices.