by Joe Fowler
“Your mom is here isn’t she.” I said forgetting that Rosalyn was afraid of ghosts. I would have kept my mouth shut.
“Yes. She just joined us.” Josh admitted. Rosalyn grabbed my arm and buried her face behind my arm like she was trying to hide.
“She can’t hurt you, Rosalyn. I promise.” I tried to reassure her.
“I can’t help it. Ghosts have always given me the creeps. I don’t know why.” Rosalyn was petrified.
“Mom is leaving. She doesn’t want to scare you so she will go.” Josh told Rosalyn. She brought her head around warily.
“I’m sorry. It is just one of those phobias you can’t explain.” Rosalyn was recovering. She looked like she was ashamed of herself.
“I get laughed at by the pack because I am afraid of turkeys. I will be the first one to the table if you are serving a turkey dinner but if I see one that’s alive, I run the other way.” Jimmy admitted to us.
“I am afraid of clowns. I never had a bad experience with one which is why it doesn’t make sense to me.” Crystal said.
“I won’t swim in a river, lake, or ocean. I’m afraid of fish. The thought of them being in the water where I am is terrifying to me.” Sarah said.
“Wow, I am surrounded by a bunch of weirdo freaks.” Alicia said causing all of us to laugh our asses off.
We spent the rest of the night talking and laughing. I enjoyed every minute of it. They seemed to as well. We didn’t talk about anything serious since we all needed this break. Josh, Rosalyn, and I needed a break from the fighting and horrors we had seen. The pack needed a break from worrying about Seth and Josh. Since Seth wasn’t actually fighting in China, we all figured him to be safe. It would have been much better if he could be at home drinking beer and relaxing with us.
Rosalyn and I went to bed early enough to spend some ‘quality time’ between the sheets. I tried but she still refused to let me be on top. Afterwards, we laid there waiting on the sunrise. Her head was on my chest in her favorite position. I loved this woman with every fiber of my being.
Chapter 30
We woke to hear laughter upstairs. We kissed for a minute before getting up to join them. The wolves were finishing their meal. The living room was filling up so Rosalyn and I got a beer and sat on the couch.
“Do you two need blood? I didn’t see you take any last night.” Sarah asked.
“I do. I don’t know about Rosalyn.” I said.
“No thanks. I should be good for another day or two.” Rosalyn said.
Sarah offered me her arm. I drank what I needed and thanked her. The others usually didn’t watch since they were used to seeing it by now. Most all had been fed from anyway, so it wasn’t a big deal anymore. Josh was the exception of course. It was a shame since his blood smelled so damn good.
The news started with a report on the recovery effort in Rio. The authorities there were expecting to have the power and water back on in three to four days. They were projecting the return of the people to be a week or so away. The cameras were showing the trucks doing various work around the city. Josh, Rosalyn, and I cheered when Hector was caught on camera. He was helping to clear the rubble of the building that nearly fell on our heads during the big fight.
The next story was on Rome. They showed some footage of underground tunnels where some sleeping vampires were killed. They went on to say that werewolves were discovering these lairs and leading the soldiers to them. The people were still under a strict curfew. No one was to be out after dark.
Madrid was still struggling. They were making slow progress but things were beginning to improve. They were doing the day searches for the vampire lairs but they only had a few werewolves to help. They were asking for assistance from any werewolf willing to come to Madrid. They also had a curfew.
India was celebrating. The people were seen cheering as they returned to their homes and businesses. They reported the freeing of New Delhi and Mumbai as miraculous heroics by the American super heroes Josh, Rosalyn, and Austin. They were happy to report that a vampire of their own was helping the smaller towns and villages. All in all, India was now a mostly safe territory. There was no longer a curfew.
There was a long segment on China. Seth’s picture was shown as they described the unbelievable turnaround. Seth was being credited with singlehandedly saving China from disaster. Most of the larger cities were returning to work. Only some small portions of China were still under vampire control. Seth reportedly just landed in one of those areas. Expectations were that China would be a safe zone in a matter of days. The areas already visited by Seth did not have a curfew. The rest of the country did.
The United States announced successful efforts in establishing the new vampire policy. It was estimated that over eighty five percent of vampires were now registered. There were some conflicts between humans and vampires being reported. The majority of these ended without any casualties. Some however had ended badly. The authorities promised unbiased investigation into each of these conflicts…
I knew I needed to watch but I wanted some fresh air. I got up and headed outside without saying anything. Rosalyn followed with a worried look on her face. I didn’t know what to tell her. There shouldn’t be a problem but I was getting more and more stressed. I decided to lie if I had to. I didn’t want her to be stressed too.
“What’s wrong, Austin?” She asked.
“Nothing. I just get tired of watching all that stuff.” I smiled and held out my arms. She entered my embrace without questioning my answer.
“You want to go to the pond?” Rosalyn looked up at me with those beautiful eyes. She would always take my breath away, if I had any.
“That sounds good.” I was about to lead the way when my truck caught my attention. “You know I should probably check on my truck. It hasn’t even been cranked in quite a while. I know the battery will be dead. I just hope it won’t have a dead cell in it. How about we go for a ride and see how it is.”
“You and that truck. The President would probably buy you a new Mercedes if you asked. That thing needs to be retired.” Rosalyn laughed. I was just happy to have her attention on a better topic.
“Hey, that truck is a part of me. I will keep driving it as long as I can keep it running. I might be a vampire but I am still a redneck. I am loyal to my truck.” She was laughing pretty hard at that.
“I was going to ask if everything was ok but it looks fine.” Josh said. He was leaning out the door watching Rosalyn laugh.
“We are going for a drive. I need to see what shape my truck is in.” I let him know so he wouldn’t be wondering.
“I can tell you that. It is in very, very bad shape Austin. You should pull the plug. Let it go to that scrapyard in the sky.” Josh was smiling and Rosalyn was doubled over from laughing. “I will see y’all later then.”
We got into the truck and I tried to crank it knowing the battery would be dead. It was. I put it in neutral and got out and started pushing. I jumped in, put it in gear, and popped the clutch. It cranked well enough. I drove us into town trying to remember where the Walmart was. I thought the auto parts stores would be closed but got a huge surprise when I passed an Auto Zone that was open. I turned my truck around and pulled up in front of the store. I had never seen a parts place open this late.
“Hello, can I help you find something?” One of the men there asked. His name tag said his name was Steve.
“Hi Steve, I am going to need a battery. My truck sat without running for a couple of months and I am pretty sure it has a dead cell. I haven’t checked it to be sure but the battery was old to begin with.” I explained.
“We can test it to find out for sure.” Steve informed me.
Rosalyn walked around the store looking at everything. By the look on her face, I would say this was her first time in a parts store. She found a lot of the parts interesting. I enjoyed watching her explore. Her eyes would tell the story when she saw something she was unfamiliar with. She would start out puzzled, followed by d
eep thought, and revelation as she figured it out.
“When did this store start staying open so late?” I asked Steve.
“The owner suggested it. He figured vampires drove cars too and would need parts. You guys are not my first customers, believe me. I have been getting a lot of thanks from you guys since Walmart was the only place y’all could go before all this happened.” Steve said as he finished the test. “You were right, the battery has a dead cell. We have replacements over here.”
He led me to the shelf with the batteries and needlessly pointed out the one I needed. I didn’t tell him I could rebuild the whole truck if necessary. He carried the battery to the counter and took a closer look at me. His eyes got really big with recognition.
“You are Austin! Wow, it is an honor to meet you. I am sorry I didn’t recognize you before.” He held out his hand and I shook it. “This battery will be free and I will install it for you. It’s the least I can do to thank you.”
“That isn’t necessary, Steve. I can pay.” I was flattered but it seemed wrong to take advantage of him like that.
“No way. You have saved so many people. You and Rosalyn are welcome here anytime.” He started carrying the battery out to the truck. Rosalyn smiled at me and began to follow Steve outside.
“Won’t you get into trouble for this?” I asked as he raised the hood.
“Are you kidding? I would get fired if I accepted money from you two. My boss is a huge supporter and so am I. If he were here, he would do the same thing.” Steve informed me as he installed my battery.
I was moved by this more than I thought I would be. I never experienced any kind of fame or real praise in my human life and wasn’t accustomed to it. Rosalyn smiled but didn’t say a word except thank you when we were leaving. Steve asked for a picture with us so he could show his wife and boss. We didn’t mind.
Rosalyn suggested we ride around for a while after we left Auto Zone. We rolled the windows down and enjoyed the breeze coming into the truck. We didn’t talk much as we went down some of the highways around and through Chattanooga. It came as a surprise to me how peaceful this had become. We spent most of the last couple of months fighting. To simply ride without any real need to be anywhere was awesome.
“We should do this more often. The night air is so refreshing like this.” Rosalyn said as we made our way back to Josh’s house.
“I agree. It feels good to just ride with no place to go and no hurry to get there.” I could see this becoming one of our regular rituals.
“You know we might not have to pay for anything for a long time. The humans are so grateful to us right now. It is heartwarming to feel their appreciation. I am a little new to that experience. Humans were not in danger from me before but they never needed to thank me for anything.” She seemed pleasantly surprised by how it felt. To be appreciated like this was new to both of us and it would take some getting used to.
“Me too.” I said simply.
We got back to Josh’s to find everyone out on the porch. They started trading jokes about my truck but I didn’t care. Sarah brought us a beer when we sat down. I waited for them to get the jokes out of their system.
“I still see Austin and Rosalyn carrying the truck down the road more than they get to ride in it. It is a good thing they are so strong.” This was Jimmy’s latest comment.
“The Auto Zone stays open now in case vampires need parts. It surprised me when I saw it.” I told them.
“Really? Well I guess it makes sense though. There will probably be a lot of businesses that will do that now. I hadn’t thought about it.” Josh said.
“They are going to be losing money if the rest of them do like Auto Zone. The man there gave us the battery and installed it free of charge.” I said.
“That’s not good to get a battery that is free of charge.” Jimmy cracked up. The rest of us moaned at his joke. He kept laughing as he continued, “That’s why you needed a new one. The old one had no charge.”
“Jimmy, that was bad even for you.” Alicia said with a smile. We laughed a little but it was more laughing at Jimmy than at his joke.
“So they recognized you? I guess you should get used to it. You have been all over the news lately. I’m glad they are showing you how much they appreciate what you’ve done.” Josh said seriously.
“Of the four of us, I have done the least. Each of you three has had to save me repeatedly or I would be dead. Well deader. You guys are the ones deserving the praise.” I couldn’t help but feel this way.
“I thought like that at the beginning. The more I think about it, the more I see how wrong I was. The only real threat to Josh is Seth. The only real threat to Rosalyn is Josh, Seth, and unfortunately, Cyranos. There is no real threat to Seth until Josh gets a little stronger. You are the only one among them that is truly at risk when you guys are off in some city fighting. I think that makes you more deserving of praise than the rest of them. Sorry Josh, but that is what I think about all this.” Sarah shocked us all with that speech.
“Don’t apologize to me. I feel the same way. There were times I would actually get bored while being attacked by over a hundred vampires. It was easy for me. One night I was almost to the point of seeing if I could fight that many with one hand. The only thing that stopped me was the sight of Austin. He was fighting like a man possessed and I realized that if he made even one mistake, he might die. I started making sure to keep an eye out just in case he needed me during those attacks.” Josh’s words added to Sarah’s, made me a little uncomfortable. I didn’t know what to say.
“At my age you start thinking you know everything. Austin here, has taught me so much in such a short period of time. I kept my eye on him during those fights, too. He was trying so hard to keep up with me, Josh, and Seth. I saw the danger but resigned myself to trying to help when needed instead of protecting him from the fights in the first place.” Rosalyn smiled at me when she finished speaking. Her smile on top of her words left me speechless. I smiled back and kissed her.
“We need to change the subject. You guys are making me uncomfortable.” I said. They laughed a little.
“So how is the pack in Mobile doing? Have you guys talked to Cynthia or Thomas lately?” Rosalyn asked.
“They have been bored mostly. They made themselves available to the authorities if a problem came up. They actually did have to kill a couple of vampires who broke the rules night before last. Mobile has been pretty quiet except for that.” Anna shared with us. She was in daily contact with the rest of them.
“Any word on how the vampires are behaving in other cities?” I asked. I wondered about the effectiveness of the authorities.
“According to the news, it is going good with minor incidents here and there. Like Mobile, the werewolf packs made themselves available to their local authorities in case they were needed. That was Seth’s idea. It’s the cities that don’t have werewolves that are worrying me.” Josh leaned forward in his chair and said with some excitement, “One thing that will interest you two. New York City has vampires enforcing the policies. A group of twelve vampires volunteered themselves to help with any violators. One of them is fifteen hundred years old. They should do well.”
“I wish I knew who it was. I might know him.” Rosalyn said.
“It is a woman. I think her name was something like Aluria. I don’t remember exactly, I just heard part of it and these guys were laughing so I couldn’t hear clearly.” Crystal said as she tried to remember.
“Eliada?” Rosalyn asked.
“That might be it! They showed a picture of her. She had black hair and a darker complexion than most vampires. She was really pretty, not like you of course, but real pretty.” Crystal said excitedly.
“That’s her. She is from Israel. She was always good but strict. She isn’t much fun but she will do a good job for them.
“What will the cities without werewolves or volunteer vampires do when they have a problem? Are the soldiers well enough prepared to bring in
a rogue vampire?” Jimmy asked a really good question. I didn’t have an answer.
“There’s a good chance we will get the call. One or more of us might be called away at any time.” Josh said in a huff.
“Let’s hope not. I am tired of planes.” I knew Rosalyn was too.
“I really think Cyranos is behind everything.” Rosalyn surprised us by bringing him up. “I think he has been in contact with the vampires all over the country. I believe he was behind Jonas and that whole group who wanted to go public in the first place. He is orchestrating something. I think he doesn’t mind biding his time for a few years. When you’ve lived millennia, a few years here and there don’t make a difference. He has a goal in mind. We just have to figure out what it is. Anyway, I doubt there will be many if any cases for us to be called away for. They will be too afraid of Cyranos to go against him.”
“Maybe we need to tell Seth and the President what you just said. This is something they would need to know.” Josh suggested.
“We will tell Seth, but let’s wait until we have proof before taking it further.” Rosalyn sounded sure.
“When Cyranos finished speaking at the meeting with the President, I got the feeling he had accomplished exactly what he wanted. What you’re saying goes right along with how I felt.” I said.
“I know how he thinks.” Rosalyn put her head down after speaking. I wanted to change the subject but Josh beat me to it.
“I think we should lighten up. We might not have this free time for long. Let’s find a happier subject.” Josh demanded.
We talked of happier things the rest of the night. The beer kept being drank and Jimmy’s jokes got funnier. Rosalyn and I went to bed earlier than usual. We didn’t speak. We just held each other. I knew she was worried about something and needed this quiet support. I figured she would tell me what was wrong when she was ready. We slept peacefully.