Tail Spin

16

"Stupid Jason." Christian muttered vehemently as he's getting a new bandage to cover where he was bitten. "Where's the first-aid kit?" He asked as he rummaged through the pearly white cabinets of the bathroom located closest to the stairwell.

"It's not here." John popped out of nowhere spooking Christian.

"You know I hate it when you sneak up on me like that."

"Ironically, I don't mind sneaking up on you."

Christian gave him the stink eye. "That's cause no one ever sneaks up on you."

"Not true." John said. "The others have tried, but failed."

"Not helping." Christian spoke.

John's face remained as stoic as ever. "Follow me, and I'll tend to your wound." He turned around and walked out with Christian close behind.

They went down the hallway and climbed upstairs to one of the other bathrooms. They entered and shut the door before John walked over to the sink where a mirror lies above it and opened it to reveal a hidden cabinet and pulled out the first-aid kit that Christian was searching for.

"Remove your shirt and take a seat." John ordered.

"What? No dinner first?" Christian teased earning a look. "You have no sense of humor."

"I have more than enough sense of humor." John defended himself.

"You have a funny way of showing it." Christian stated.

John sighed. "Please do as I requested."

Christian blustered. "Fine." He removed his t-shirt as he sat on the porcelain white toilet.

"I didn't know you were hurt this badly." John said as he gently placed his right hand on Christian's injury.

"Is it really that bad?" Christian asked as worry began trickling in.

"Very." John replied. "You don't feel any pain from it?"

"Right after I was first bitten. But not at the moment." Christian explained.

"Odd." John said. "With a bite like this, you should be in excruciating pain for days."

"Thanks a lot." Christian barked at his eldest sibling. "Can't we just chalk it up as me being stronger than you guys give me credit for?"

He winced when John's hand pressed harder on his bite mark. "He went easy on you, but why?"

"You call this going easy on me?" Christian asked painfully.

"Believe it or not, he did." John answered him with his frown deepening. "The question is, why?"

"Well, I was kind of giving him a hard time." Christian admitted.

"Care to be more specific?" John questioned Christian as he lightened the pressure he has on him.

"It's a bit blurry with being out of it, but I remember attracting attention before he dragged me to that supernatural bar. And when I found out he wanted to suck my blood, I acted like a chicken to get out of there."

"You acted like a chicken?"

"Got the idea from binge watching Scooby-Doo last week."

"And he let you just walk out like that?"

"It only worked for a minute at most. Then he caught up to me pretty quickly, which was freaky considering how fast I was running."

"Shadow magic."

"Shadow magic?"

"It's rare this day and age, but vampires can practice and hone the ability to manipulate their shadow to act as a shield as well as a weapon to attack."

"You're starting to scare me bro." Christian said.

"You should be." John stated. "This criminal is more dangerous than we originally thought."

"That is why I am stumped that he's let you escape so easily." John explicated. "He could've easily used his shadow to take you somewhere secluded and dealt with you no problem. However, he escorted you out in person. Is he toying with you? Or have something else in mind?"

"Please stop John." Christian begged. "I may not be able to sleep after your pep talk."

"Pep talk?"

"You know what I mean."

John moved his hand onto Christian's left shoulder. "Forgive me." He muttered. "I didn't mean to cause you distress, but there are more questions than answers at the moment. And until we can figure it out. We must come up with a plan to keep you safe and may even have to resort in teaching you how defend yourself using your supernatural abilities."

Christian looked up with tears threatening to fall. "Do I even have abilities?"

"We all do." John chirped ever so slightly. "And being hybrids gives us an advantage."

"When can we start?"

"As soon as we're finished here." John said. "And I'm sure the others will be more than willing to help out."

"Is that okay Harry?" Christian asked aloud.

There was nothing but silence for a moment before a squeaky sound caught their attention and noticed the mirror has magically fogged up and has 'That would be extra helpful. Just promise me you won't strain yourself while learning.' the fog cleared and the mirror shined as if it had been fully cleansed.

"Not that's settled." John applied ointment, peeled the over-sized band-aid, and gently placed it over the bite mark. "Put your shirt on and meet us in the backyard. I'll let the others know." Christian nodded as John put the first-aid kit back and left.