by Dave Ferraro
***
Rachel strode purposefully into the lab with her crossbow slung over her shoulder. “Jade, can you take a look at my crossbow? The trigger seems to be…” She let her voice trail off as she took in Jade and Jordan’s expressions. Jade was frowning, Jordan exasperated. “Oh, great. What is this now? Can’t I walk anywhere around this place without running into someone who needs a hug?”
Jade scowled. “Go away, Rachel. I’ll look at your crossbow later.”
“No, let her stay,” Jordan countered. “Another sane opinion will maybe make you see the light.”
“What light?” Jade demanded “There is no light!” She gestured wildly with her arm, drawing Rachel’s eyes to where her left arm would usually hang, where her sleeve was clipped up.
She looked away. “What is this about?”
Jordan turned to her. “Jade wants to work in the field, which is completely out of the question. Even Valor has said so already.”
“Why?” Rachel asked Jade. “What can you do out there that no one else can?”
Jade opened and closed her mouth. “That’s not the point. I can help.”
“And you can help just as well from here,” Jordan insisted. “You’re inventing new weapons, researching, dissecting. Those things are helpful too. They’re necessary and you like to do them.”
“I can’t be stuck in a lab all day! I’d rather die!”
“Then that’s what you’ll do. When you go out there to fight, you will die. You’re lucky you’re not dead already! Didn’t you learn from that? You acted rash as usual, charging in, taking unnecessary risks, and look at what happened!”
“He has a point,” Rachel said.
Jade glared at her. “Fine. Lesson learned. I can still help in the field. Even if it’s from the van, talking through your headsets. Grounding me isn’t doing you a favor.”
“Jesus Christ, Jade,” Jordan hung his head. “I’ll…Fine. I’ll see if you can take on a duty like that.”
“You really think she wouldn’t rush out of the van at the first sign of trouble?” Rachel asked. “I would.”
Jade shook her head and held out her hand. “Let’s see your crossbow, Rachel.”
Rachel handed it over and leaned against the counter, watching the two of them, Jordan biting his nails, deep in thought, and Jade trying to look like she didn’t need help with the tools she awkwardly handled with one hand.
“You need a hand with that?” Rachel asked as Jade dropped a screwdriver.
Jade glowered. “Does it look like I need your help?”
“Yes.”
Jordan looked up at her. “You know, you invent all sorts of gadgets. Maybe you could make a new arm, like a robotic arm.”
“And be what, a cyborg?” Rachel sneered. “You’re reaching.”
“No, I’m serious,” Jordan insisted, looking over at Jade. “You could probably find some way to make an arm respond, if you work at it.”
Jade watched him for a moment. “Really, Jordan? You want me to make an arm? Would that make you feel better?”
Jordan’s eyes widened. “No, but it would take your mind off-”
“I think it would make you feel better,” Jade interrupted him. “It would make everyone a little less uncomfortable if they didn’t see me walking around missing an arm, a constant reminder of the danger they’re in. A robotic arm? Why the hell not. It would at least look like I wasn’t broken.”
“Jade, come on.”
“No!” she yelled, throwing down the crossbow.
“Hey!” Rachel protested, eyeing her weapon.
Jade wielded around on her. “Would it make you feel less uncomfortable?”
Rachel rolled her eyes. “If you did something with your hair, it would make me less uncomfortable.”
Staring at her for a moment, Jade blinked, then snickered. After a moment, she laughed out loud, and was soon doubled over, gasping for air.
Jordan and Rachel looked at each other for a moment.
“I think you broke her,” Rachel mouthed to Jordan over her head.
Jordan shook his head, scowling as his sister stood up straight again, wiping tears from her eyes.
“Oh, my god,” Jade said. “No matter what, Rachel is a constant. Nothing phases you. I could hug you if I had two arms.”
Rachel scratched her head. “O…kay.”
Jade stood there for a moment, taking them in, then nodded to herself. “You’re right. I would probably jump out of the van at the first sign of trouble. But it only takes one hand to hold a gun.”
“I’ll try to convince Valor,” Jordan assured her.
She nodded. “Alright.”
Jordan watched her for a moment, then let out a deep breath. “I’m gay.”
Rachel stiffened, caught completely off-guard by the seeming random confession. She watched Jade’s face for a reaction, realizing that it was the perfect moment for such a thing. Jade’s guard was down a little and she could use a little distraction, and being gay herself, it might help strengthen the bond between them. It would give her something new to focus on and help her brother through, making her feel less useless. Rachel looked at Jordan carefully, a little surprised by his insightfulness. Especially since Jade seemed completely oblivious to it.
“You are not,” Jade said dismissively, although something in her demeanor seemed to say that she believed him.
“I am,” Jordan told her. “I’ve been meaning to tell you for awhile now. Since we got to Lime Bay.”
“But the girls…you’ve been with plenty of girls.”
“And didn’t feel a thing for any of them. Now I understand why. It’s…” He glanced over at Rachel. “I think I’ve always been attracted to men, but couldn’t admit it to myself. That’s why I never took girls seriously. It’s why when I met an attractive guy in New York, I was so…mesmerized by him.”
“New York?” Jade echoed. She put a hand to her head. “Wait a second. This is all happening too fast. She turned to Rachel. “Why aren’t you reacting differently to this? Did you know?”
“I always knew,” Rachel said. At Jade’s look, she shrugged. “He wasn’t interested in me.”
“Oh, of course,” Jade said, amusement creeping into her voice. “Does anyone else know?”
“A few of the others know,” Jordan admitted, wincing. “They found me out. Shanna’s known since New York, and a few people found out in Greece.”
“Well, okay,” Jade said, sitting down calmly, a light sparkling in her eyes.
Jordan sat down across from her, and Rachel decided that it was a good moment to slip out of the room to give them some privacy.
“So,” Jade’s voice said as Rachel opened the door, “who’s this guy from New York?” Rachel smiled to herself as she lingered for a moment. She hadn’t been so lucky with family. Sometimes it was painful to see how close people could be.
Suddenly Rachel realized that someone was standing behind her and she nearly jumped. “Jesus, Cameron!” she said. “You scared me.”
“Sorry,” he said with a lopsided grin. He looked up as she closed the door. “I was getting Jordan for archery class with Hunter.”
“Archery class,” she repeated, staring at him before she realized what he was saying. “Oh, yeah. That was today? Time flies.” She grabbed him by the arm and led him down the hall.
“But, uh…” Cameron looked back toward the lab.
“He can’t make it right now,” she told him. “I’ll take his place.”
“But you had to sign up…”
“I’m sure Hunter won’t mind,” Rachel assured him as she steered him along. She paused as she saw Natalia stride into the training room ahead of them. She was always impressed with the way Natalia acted, never letting her guard down, always cool and collected. She made it seem so effortless, like she really didn’t care about anything. But why care when you’re naturally so…good at
everything?
When they entered the room, Natalia looked back at them with a frown. “I didn’t realize you’d signed up for this,” she said to Rachel.
Cameron chuckled as Rachel rolled her eyes.
Hunter entered the room then, arms full of supplies, and dropped a quiver of arrows as he fumbled with the door.
“I got it,” Rachel mumbled, reaching down to help him as Cameron lightened his load even more. They followed him to a table, where he sorted his supplies, mumbling to himself.
“Archery, huh?’ Rachel asked, sitting on the table and earning a disapproving look from him. “You don’t…seem like the type.”
“Yes, well, I do more than just research monsters, you know,” he told her.
She frowned. “Huh. I guess I didn’t know.”
He scowled as he looked over his itinerary. “So, we’re waiting for Jordan and Brett then, it seems. Shanna signed up as well, but is in the field, so she will have to catch up at our next session.”
“I’m taking Jordan’s spot this time around,” she informed him. “He’s…indisposed. Plus, he’s already a great shot, so I don’t know what he thought he would accomplish beyond some target practice.”
“There is always room for improvement.”
Rachel shrugged and slid off of the table, quickly scanning the room as Cameron and Natalia looked over the arrows that Hunter brought with him and began to blather on about something or other with them. Rachel didn’t see what it mattered really. A wood arrow killed a vampire. A silver arrow killed a werewolf. The end.
The room was an archery training room. On one side of the room, there was a fake street where targets would appear in windows and doors at random, to hone one’s reflexes and distinguish enemy from bystander. The remainder of the room had basic targets set up. Sometimes they were human figures, but currently, there were just bull’s eyes. The floor was marked with distances leading up to where they stood near the doorway.
After a few minutes, Cameron grabbed a longbow from the closest wall and examined it carefully before stepping over to the arrows. Rachel pulled down a similar weapon. Natalia stood silently with her eyes fixed on the targets, a bow already in hand as she waited for them.
“You’re already good with a bow, aren’t you?” Hunter asked as Rachel tested her bow.
Rachel shrugged. “I prefer a crossbow, but I’m pretty adept with a regular old bow and arrow too.” She watched Hunter slip out of the jacket he usually wore and raised an eyebrow as he pulled off his dress shirt as well. In just a sleeveless undershirt, the lean muscles of his chest looked impressive, and even more than that, his arm muscles were much more defined than Rachel would have assumed. In fact, he kind of looked…hot. She cocked her head and nodded to herself. Yeah, lose the glasses and mess up that perfectly combed hair of his, and Hunter was kind of a babe, really. Who’d have thought?
“This takes real upper body strength,” Rachel told Cameron, watching Hunter out of the corner of her eye. Or admiring him, as it were. “It looks easy, but it’s really pretty hardcore.”
“Yeah, that‘s what Shanna was telling me,” Cameron nodded. “I’ve actually been working out in preparation for this.” He smiled and shrugged. “I was always such a skinny guy.”
“How tragic,” Rachel murmured.
“Sorry I’m late,” Brett appeared in the doorway with a sheepish grin. “I lost track of time, and then I ran into these guys.” He pointed his thumb back at Jade and Jordan, who followed him into the room.
Natalia sighed. “You numbskull,” she whispered under her breath.
Cameron glanced over at her, amused, as they watched Brett grab a bow. “Did he interrupt something?”
“Sure did,” Rachel confirmed, mouthing a “sorry” in Jade’s direction, who just waved the comment off.
“It seems we’re short a bow now that Jordan and Rachel are both here,” Hunter observed, glancing around.
“Oh,” Rachel handed her bow over to Jordan with an apologetic smile. “Just keeping it warm for you.” She slapped him on the elbow and walked over to the wall to where Jade was standing.
“Hey Rach,” Brett greeted as he walked by her.
“Visiting Serene earlier?”
He glanced back at her. “Yeah. Just wanted to take a look.”
Rachel nodded, but didn’t say anything else, as Hunter was already instructing Cameron as he drew his bowstring, while Jordan watched on. Brett hurried over to join them.
“…have to adjust for wind speed as well, but for now, we’ll just practice on hitting a stationary target.” Hunter said. He nodded encouragement, but Natalia frowned as she looked over Cameron’s stance and shoved his arm up a bit before nodding.
“Okay,” she said, meeting Hunter’s amused smile. She shrugged at him. “Let it fly.”
Cameron released the arrow and they all watched as it sailed through the air and struck the target, two rings out from the bull’s eye.
“Not bad for a first shot,” Rachel commended.
“Try again,” Natalia told him, turning to watch as Hunter instructed Brett for his first attempt.
“Seems like Hunter’s got a co-captain all of a sudden,” Jade murmured to Rachel.
Rachel chuckled. “I think you’re right. She kind of took over, didn’t she? But she obviously knows what she’s doing.”
“What else it new?”
Rachel watched a strand of Natalia’s hair come loose from the ponytail she had tied it up in. It was such a light blonde that it was almost white, reminding Rachel of dandelion seeds for some reason. As she worked with Brett, Jordan and Cameron, it began to stick to the side of her face. She sweats like everybody else at least, Rachel noted with some satisfaction.
Within two tries, Brett had hit a bull’s eye and made a big fuss about it, challenging Cameron to do the same. Cameron, to his credit, got close a few times, but could never quite hit the mark exactly. Jordan, in contrast, never missed the bull’s eye by very far.
“It’s going to take some time,” Jordan told them, after they watched him hit yet another target in the dead center. “First, you have to get used to the feeling of the bow and arrows, how you draw your string and aim, how your muscles strain. Once you’re comfortable and aware of all of those elements, you can hone your skills.”
Since that first bull’s eye, Brett had yet to repeat his success, so everyone was silent, concentrating, as Rachel leaned against the wall, watching motionless so as not to disturb them, offering a word of encouragement here and there. It felt kind of nice, like they were really a team, like they were friends.
“Pull the string back a little further,” Hunter told Brett, standing behind him and reaching forward to touch his arm as he instructed. “Like…yes, just like that.”
Natalia showed Cameron a proper stance, which drew Rachel’s eyes for a moment, but then her eyes flickered over to Cameron’s face and she cried out, pushing forward off the wall.
Brett’s arrow went flying well over the target, and he turned to Rachel with a sneer, but dropped it the moment he saw her wide eyes.
“Oh, God,” Rachel said, stepping forward. “Cameron.”
Jade searched Cameron’s face for a moment, then cupped a hand over her mouth.
The others all stopped what they were doing then and looked at Cameron, his hand immediately going up to his cheek.
“Where did that come from?” Jordan asked, watching as Cameron tried to cover his scar from view.
“Looks wicked,” Brett added, stepping in for a closer look.
“Leave me alone!” Cameron yelled, dropping his bow and quiver of arrows as he rushed from the room. Before anyone could say anything else, he’d disappeared, leaving the rest of them gaping in his wake.
“What…was that?’ Rachel asked, bewildered.
“It seems that Cameron’s been hiding something from us, after all,” Natalia noted.
“Was…that a glamour?
”
“You guys,” Jade said, shaking her head. “He’s…I’m going to see if he’s okay.”
“I doubt he wants to talk to anybody right now,” Rachel said. “We should give him space.”
“He’s been totally lying to us,” Brett mumbled, frowning.
“No, he just didn’t tell us,” Jade clarified. “We’re all hiding something. We don’t put all of our dirty laundry out there for everybody to judge. He’s just…” She swallowed hard, touching her shoulder.
Rachel turned back to Hunter with a frown. “I hope to god Shanna knows about this.”
Hunter didn’t say anything, his brow furrowed as he seemed to think it through.
“Was it real?” Brett wondered. “I mean, maybe…”
Rachel turned back to look at the open door. “You never really know a person, do you? They could be hiding anything.”
Natalia suddenly walked toward the door.
“Hey, where are you going?” Brett asked.
She looked back at him. “I’m going to inform Valor at once. Magick like that should have been disclosed from the beginning, no matter how embarrassing or uncomfortable it was for him to admit.”
“That’s cold, Natalia,” Jade murmured.
“He’s already compromised us once already,” Natalia said. “The shape shifter wouldn’t have fooled us and taken his place had we known.”
And we wouldn’t have gone to Greece to rescue him, Rachel thought, glancing at Jade.
They all looked at one another after she left.