Haunted and Holy

The Garrison

Zac stayed a few steps behind Amber and Tess, his hands shoved in his pockets. His mind was on a million things at once, making it impossible for him to think clearly.

He let out a frustrated sigh. Glancing up, he watched as Amber strode beside Tess, exchanging quiet words. Hiro strut at his owners side, obviously trying to comfort her by occasionally leaning against her leg and nuzzling her hand affectionally with his nose.

Zac remembered when he was younger and had a dog who was like that. Her name had been Buttercup. He still missed her, ten years later, and knew Tess was lucky to have a dog like Hiro.

As they continued walking, his mind wandered to Amber. He stared at her with a new found interest, which was a strange feeling. It had surprised him how she had seemed to change from a sweet, almost nervous girl to a leader as if it were effortless, taking charge of the situation in an instant.

They were walking down a dirt path, the forest all around them. It was sort of warm outside, but not so much so that he'd feel comfortable with rolling up his sleeves. The air was crisper here, less polluted; it was also nice and quiet and serene.

He felt deep sympathy for Tess, even though he barely knew her. He could tell her and her grandfather had been close.

They'd left the house as fast as they could, only staying long enough for Tess to grab a golden necklace from her grandfathers pocket as well as the scroll from a cabinet; and to drape a blanket over her grandfather, laying his hands tenderly on his chest, closing his eyes with care.

They had also draped a blanket over the Hellhound, which was unmoving and obviously dead. It's black blood had soaked into the floorboards, spreading across the floor.

"Where do Hellhounds even go when they die? Back to hell? Or do they just stop existing?" He wondered, kicking a pebble half-heartedly.

Then they had taken off, following the dirt path. It'd been almost half an hour since they had left, trudging past a couple of land markers every now and then. His feet ached, but he refused to tell the others; he was not going to be the leak link in the chain.

Suddenly, Amber stopped. She looked around, and Zac could almost see her demeanor changing; her stance straitening, her gaze sharpening, her soft features hardening.

She reached down and pulled her dagger from her  left boot, and Zac made a mental note to never piss her off.

"Get over here," she hissed at him, handing him another dagger that she pulled out of her other boot, much to his surprise.

Tess had picked up a pointy stick and held it like a sword, Hiro growling in front of her; his fur was standing on end, and his teeth were blared, giving Zac a good look at all of the K-9's sharp teeth.

They stood in a circle, daggers–and sticks– raised, ready for an attack. Zac wasn't entirely sure what he was going to with the dagger. He didn't know how to use it at all. Would he just swing it around and hope to hit something?

Blood coursed through his veins, adrenaline making his heart beat fast. The silence was smothering, the air tense. He could almost feel himself vibrating in place, his heart beating loud and clear in his ear.

Suddenly, Zac heard a twig snap– it sounded close to them. There was a murmur of curses as a person stepped out of the woods; only to have Amber tackle them to the ground, holding a knife against their throat as she towered over them, her knees framing their body.

Zac and Tess both hurried over to were she was, both looking down at the person who had, apparently, followed them.

It was a boy who looked about 20-21 years old; he had curly raven black hair, dark brown eyes, and a tan complexion. Scars covered his face, the most noticeable on his throat.

He had soft features, which reminded Zac oddly of Tess; the same small freckles, the same oval shaped eyes, the same tan complexion.

"Jaime?" Tess gasped, and joy filled her eyes as the boy jerked his head to the sound of his name being said, a broad and dazzling smile spreading across his face as his eyes found Tess.

Amber whirled around, facing Tess. "You know him?" She asked, her grip on her dagger loosening slightly.

Tess nodded frantically, rushing towards Jaime when Amber stood up swiftly, her stance relaxing as she put her dagger away.

Jaime threw his arms around Tess, squeezing her tightly as he closed his eyes, a relieved smile on his lips. He was taller that her; his chin resting on her head. Tess had to stand on her tip-toes and Jaime had to bend down.

They finally pulled away, both misty eyed and grinning.

"What ere you doing here?" Asked Tess, a curious glint in her eye.

Jaime ran a hand down his face, sighing. He suddenly looked older, and Zac realized then that he had dark rings under his eyes, and a worried crease resting between his eyebrows.

"We got a ping on the map; a place where there was demonic activity," he explained. "I was the first one out of the doors, at least after I saw where it was. I was on my way when I ran into you all."

Amber nodded, reaching down to pad Hiro in the head when he came up to sit next to her, his tail wagging behind him. "So you study at The Garrison?" She inquired, raising an eyebrow at Jaime.

Jaime glanced over at her, muttering a quick," yeah," before turning back to Tess and asking," so what are you doing here? Is everything-"

He froze mid sentence, his question dying in his throat. His eyes had landed on something around Tess's neck– the necklace.

His face fell as he reached out to touch it lightly with his fingers; it was a plain gold chain with a pendant that looked to be a bird– a dove maybe– clutching a scroll.

"Oh," Jaimie whispered, tears starting to glisten in his eyes. Tess reached up and hugged him again, but this time it was a hug of comfort; a hug to keep each other together, to remind the other person that they would hold them together.

They both started to sob, and Zac and Amber standing back a bit, feeling awkward and out of place in such a privet moment. He pretended to look at the scenery while Amber shuffled her feet, scratching Hiro on the ear.

After what felt like forever, Jaime and Tess pulled away, both scrubbing tears from their cheeks hurriedly.

Zac cleared his throat- and immediately regretted it as everyone turned to stare at him. He tried his best to keep his voice steady as he said," so, I think I'll just start and say; how do you two know each other?"

Tess answered, her voice hoarse from crying. "Guys, this is Jaime, my cousin. Jaimie, meet Amber and Zac."

Jaime gave Amber a long and considering stare. "I have to ask, where'd you learn to tackle someone like that? I'm bigger and taller than you– and no offense, but I didn't really expect that."

She blushed and looked at the ground. "Well, my adopted mother, Emilia Lightwing, taught me a lot. Apparently she was a soldier or something-"

"Your mom is Emilia? The Emilia?" He exclaimed, and Tess gave Amber a look of shock. Zac wasn't sure if he'd ever seen anyone blush as much in his life.

"Well, yeah." Amber murmured, and Zac felt sorry for her.

"Uh, I think we might need to get back on track," Zac said, and Amber sent him a grateful look for the subject change. "Jaime, do you think you could take us to The Garrison? Then we can swap stories, but right now we might want to keep moving, so that the Hellhounds don't catch up."

Jaime raised his eyebrows in surprise, but didn't ask anything. Instead he just gestured for them to follow him as he strode foreword.