"Eeeeeeyaaaaaaah!" I screamed as I dove in about five metres away from Chel.
What the hell was I thinking? Ice cold water!
Chel laughed when I surfaced.
"Feels great, doesn't it?"
"It's f-f-f-fucking freezing!" I yelled.
"Relax! Your immune system is stronger now. You can handle it."
"This is your idea of fun?"
"Jesus, you're such a wuss! Just stay under. Have you held your breath lately? Now that you've changed you can hold it forever."
"I'm heading back," I muttered.
"Oh, come on! You're seriously scared off by a little cold water? It's invigorating!"
He flapped his arms against the water, making it splash everywhere.
"You are freaking nuts," I grumbled.
I held my breath and dipped under the water to see if I could stand it. It was so bloody cold. After staying under just long enough to get used to the temperature, I swam back toward the bank. Chel was right, though, I had no issues with holding my breath. Once I got to the bank, I trudged the rest of the distance on top of the ice and snow. My feet were now completely numb. Idiot. Who the hell jumps into a freezing cold lake? Me, that's who. I took the clothes I'd scattered on the ground, dried myself off with the sweater, dressed in the clothes that were in my bag and then put my jacket back on. It felt good to be back in my own stuff again. My father's jeans were still relatively dry, so I placed them flat on the snow and sat on them as I waited for Chel to return.
Then he came walking back up, and in the moonlight he really did, for a moment, look like... a girl. He had a small pair. I mean, I'd seen bigger tits on actual guys. What made him feminine, however, wasn't the chest size, or even the lack of penis. It was the slight indent at the waist. He had curves.
As he came closer, my anxiety level skyrocketed as I saw millions, upon millions, of scars all over his body. Someone had gone sicko creative on him, and he'd been tortured over and over again. Knife marks, round indents that might have been cigarette burns, whole shapes, a broken heart, the words "slut" and "freak," the head of a bull, all engraved into his skin. Thin white hints of torment and suffering. His breasts had taken the brunt of the pain. From a distance they were a nice pair, small but shapely. Up close, it was evident they'd been carved and sliced, just enough to leave a kind of striped pattern on them. Some certifiable loony had really done a number on this guy.
"Stop gawkin'," he grumbled as he yanked on his clothes.
"Hey, dry yourself off first. Here."
I threw the sweater at him. He caught it, stared at it for a second, and threw it back at me.
"Don't need it. Not like I'm gonna catch a cold from being wet."
"Suit yourself."
He finished dressing, walked over, plopped down on the snow-covered ground beside me and lay back. I took the sweater and placed it under my head to join him. I was getting used to the cold now. It still prickled me in certain places, but I didn't get full on frostbite the way I'd expected, which was a nice surprise. We stayed there, staring at the of stars, and it reminded me of what it was like seeing the sky from back home.
"Hey, Chel? You mind if we spend an extra night in Thunder Bay? I'd like to see my mum."
"Yeah, sure. Just so long as she doesn't try to feed me," he said, laughing.
"Heh-heh. Deal. I'll say we've already eaten."
As we lay there, the occasional car drove by just above our heads, reminding us of where we were and where we were headed.
"Hey, Chel?"
"Yeah?"
"Did he ever tell you why he made you?"
"Yeah."
His reserved answer made me wonder if I would get another "long story, maybe later" from him.
"So?" I asked.
"Two years after he changed me, I asked him why. He said that he'd originally planned to feed on me, but, when he discovered my past, he felt that I would be perfect for 'his world,' that keeping this secret would come to me like breathing . He said he also felt that, if I were to live on, I'd have to deal with a lot of adversity, and he thought the change would give me the strength to deal with it."
"What did you think when he said that?" I asked.
"I thought he was full of shit. He didn't care enough about me to make a decision like that for my sake. He did it because he was lonely and wanted someone to talk to. I believed him when he said that he was about to feed on me, but I think he rationalized his reasons for changing me. He makes up convenient reasons for everything he does. He can make sucking the blood from a screaming baby sound like it's the right thing to do, if you give him enough time to work out what to say. He doesn't just lie to you. He lies to himself as well. And that, of course, makes him more dangerous than the average liar. It's the ones who truly believe that they're right who are the most difficult to stand up to."
"Do you think he would kill me, given the chance?"
"Honestly? I don't know. I've seen him kill people he claimed to love. I've seen him suck the blood out of innocent children. I've seen him do some seriously scary shit. But kill you, his only son? That I can't really predict. I didn't even know he had a kid till you showed up looking like him."
"I'm really hoping I can talk some sense into him. Do you think I'm crazy?"
"Nope. You never know. Anyone can change."
"That means a lot, coming from you, who knew him so well."
"Yeah, but don't get me wrong. I don't expect a great outcome from this. My reason for coming is more morbid curiosity. I want to see his face when he sees yours. Heh-heh."
We lay there chatting for a good hour before finally packing up and heading out for the last stretch of the trip. I was glad to have Chel with me. He knew his way around, was able to get us lodging quickly and seemed like a really intelligent and all-around nice guy. I liked knowing that he would be around for the long trek that lay ahead, and also that he would stand with me when I went to meet my father.
***
Two nights later, Chel and I made our way up the walk of my house together. We had arrived the previous night but needed to find shelter immediately before the sun rose, so we hadn't been able to visit until now. I opened the door and held it for him.
"Mum?" I called.
"Ah, Zach! You finally made it!" Mum called from the living room.
"Huh? You were expecting me?" I asked.
Just then, Alex walked into the kitchen from the living room. The stark difference between his surreal beauty and the drab kitchen only added to my shock.
"What the hell are you doing here?" I whisper-yelled at him.
"Later."
He smiled at me and then turned his attention to Chel.
"Chelsea, how lovely to see you again. Thank you for taking such good care of my beloved."
I paled. Mum definitely would have heard that one.
"Zach! Get in here!" she called cheerfully. "Oh, and I called Mike since Marek said that you wouldn't be able to stay more than a few hours."
"Marek?"
Alex was blocking the way, so to get by I had to grab him by the waist and turn him slightly. He smirked at me as I did so.
"Welcome, Zachary. Your mother has been an impeccable host for us while we waited for your arrival. Ah, Chelsea, how wonderful to see you as well! When did you meet up with Zachary?"
"We bumped into each other in Sudbury," Chel said, grinning. "Good to see you, Marek. Really good to see you. It's been too long."
He turned his attention to my mum.
"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Anderson. Zach's been a real hoot to hang with."
Ugh!
"Mrs. Anderson?" she said.
Her tone tipped Chel off that he'd just screwed up. He suddenly looked like he'd swallowed a hot pepper.
"I haven't been Mrs. Anderson for thirteen years. Please call me Jess."
"It's nothing, Mum. Don't worry. I mentioned that Dad's name was John Anderson, so he just assumed."
I was so giddy with the success of my quick cover-up that my limbs started to feel wobbly. This whole situation was spinning out of control. Having all of these people here was like waiting for a bomb to go off. One of them was bound to let something slip. Just then, the door crashed in the kitchen. Crap. The cavalry.
"Dude! Where are you!" he yelled from the kitchen as we all heard him scraping his boots on the mat.
"Oh, uh... Hi, I'm Mike."
Alex was still standing in the doorway between the kitchen and living room and had been the first person Mike had seen.
"Very nice to meet you. My name is Alexander. I am a friend of Zachary's from Toronto."
"Huh... wow. Right... Zach?"
"Yep. Comin'."
I shimmied by Alex.
This is getting seriously crowded.
"Alex, why don't you go and have a seat on the couch there. I'll join you in a minute."
I gave him a look that said if he argued with me I would tear a strip from him later.
He stifled a laugh but turned to obey me.
"Dude," I said turning back to Mike, "let's talk outside."
"Right," he said, as he watched Alex walk away, making no indication of moving himself.
I grabbed his arm and yanked him out of the house.
"Dude!" he whispered to me, once we were outside. "That guy. Where did you meet him? It's like he totally just walked out of a Lord of the Rings movie. He's freakin' awesome!"
I'd never noticed the resemblance before, but now that I thought about it, Alex's features really were kind of like the elves of Middle-earth.
"Yeah. He's somethin' huh?" I said, grinning.
"Uh.... Zach? Dude? You're kinda spooky yourself, man. Different. You doin' the whole tanning salon and dye jobs and shit? 'Cause you look like you just walked out of a magazine, man. I mean, I'm almost embarrassed to say it 'cause it's so freakin' weird."
He was right to gawk at me, in a way. After all, I was now a monster.
"I'm still me," I said.
Now I fully appreciated why it was that Marek had introduced the idea of only a short visit. This was all just too risky, seeing these people, after the change. When you didn't know the person, and didn't know what they were like before, then you might just think that they'd been freakishly attractive right from the get-go. But when you knew that they were just average-looking people before the change, the difference was noticeable and not all that easy to explain away.
"So, how are ya?" I asked.
"Can't complain. Got me a woman a few weeks ago."
"Nice! What's she like?"
"Um... she's short and cute. Brown hair, decent body, nice face. But enough about that. You still gotta tell me about that other guy. What's the deal with him?"
"Ah... there's two more in there too. People from Toronto. One of them collects super-expensive cars. The other wears only the best suits. And the third... well, this is true of all of them actually—they all knew my dad."
"No shit!"
"Yeah. Don't tell Mum. She just thinks that I've brought some friends home for her to visit, 'kay?"
"Yeah. Let's get in there before one of them lets something slip," he said.
"Ah, dude, seriously, you could not have read my mind more clearly."
We went back in, through the kitchen and into the living room. Chel was now occupying the only chair left, so I told Mike to grab one of the kitchen chairs while I went to sit on the sofa with Alex. Marek and my mum were in a deep conversation about the current government. The two of them seemed to have completely forgotten that the rest of us were sitting there. Alex moved slightly, so I glanced over at him. His legs were crossed, the far leg crossed over the closer one, and his body had turned ever so slightly toward me so that now his arm couldn't be seen. I leaned forward so that I couldn't see him. He was so distracting, and if I let myself get distracted, I was bound to make some serious mistake.
"Zach?" Mum said, suddenly putting a hand up to stop Marek's last sentence. "You're making a face. What's wrong with you?"
I burst out laughing. It figured that, two seconds after I started to worry, my mother would notice and say something.
"I'm good, Mum. I think I'm just a little tired from all the travelling."
Mum stared at me for a second longer and then turned back to Marek and apologized for interrupting. Just then, Alex's hand found its way under the back of my shirt. What the hell is he doing? I quickly sat back, trapping his hand between my back and the couch to keep it from moving, only to find that I had to grab a cushion and cover my lap.
He laughed silently beside me. He was having way too much fun with this. Waaay too much fun. Even with his hand wedged, he still managed to move it. I glanced over at Mike to make sure he wasn't paying any attention to us. He wasn't. His total, undivided attention was on Marek. I was sure that Marek was the first guy Mike had ever seen who was taller than him. The hand now moved downward, cool smooth fingers caressing my tailbone. I bumped his leg with my knee, and in retaliation he caressed mine with his foot. I couldn't say anything. I couldn't even make the suggestion to leave for fear that if I stood now it would be blatantly obvious how aroused I was just sitting next to him. He was torturing me. Was it punishment for leaving him behind? More likely, he'd just missed me and wanted to be close. If we had been anywhere else—anywhere else—I would have grabbed him right then and made him see how much I'd missed him. These thoughts, of course, only added to my torture.
Chel, sitting in the chair next to us, turned to Alex.
"So, what brought you guys up here?" he asked in a whisper that only we could hear. "I mean, I'm not complaining. The more, the merrier, for where we're going, but I'm curious."
"What do you mean, for where you are going?" Alex asked, staring at me.
I gave Chel a warning look but said nothing.
"Oh," he said, "so you guys are just here to see Zach while he's in Thunder Bay?"
"Zachary, where exactly are you and Chelsea headed?"
He hadn't even glanced in Chel's direction. He was studying my face, not even keeping a safe and comfortable distance. If anyone were to really look at us right now, they would totally know. This had to end soon.
"Marek?" I said, when there was a break in his conversation with my mother.
He turned his attention toward us for the first time in , nodded his head and turned a gracious smile toward my mum.
"I am so sorry, but it would seem that we need to be on our way. We still have a long way to travel before we reach our destination."
"Oh?" Mum asked, turning toward me. "Whereabouts are you headed?"
"Vancouver!" Chel before I had a chance to think.
Dammit, Chel!
"Oh, wow!" she exclaimed. "Really? That's amazing."
"Yes," Marek said smoothly, as though he'd always known, "I have a vehicle that I need to transport to British Columbia, and so I am taking the kids on a trip. Zachary did part of the trip on his own between Toronto and home in order to explore the idea of 'roughing it,' but now that we are all together, and especially since we now have the pleasure of Chelsea's company, we shall all take the car the rest of the way. Right, Zachary?"
I coughed in discomfort and then smiled, saying nothing.
"What's the car?" Mike said, piping up for the first time.
"It is a British Phantom Coupé," Marek answered him with a sly smile. "I have a client out in BC who purchased it from me, so I am taking it to him."
"A Rolls-Royce!"
Mike stood up.
"Where is it? Can I see it?"
"Certainly. We are just parked around the corner."
Marek stood as well.
"Would you like to see it, Jessica?"
He extended a hand to my mum, who took it, blushing.
"Um... sure."
"We'll join you in a minute," I said. "I need to talk to Alex for a sec."
I wasn't about to budge in the state I was in. I watched as everyone, save Alex and me, gathered up their things and left the house. Mike asked a slew of questions about the car as they were leaving, and Marek answered them with a patience that I truly appreciated at that moment. When the door banged shut for the final time and the house became silent, I waited just long enough to make sure that they were out of earshot and then turned to grab Alex, pulling him against me. He gave a satisfied sigh as I kissed him. Moving so that he was on my lap, he continued to kiss me, his tongue teasing me in ways that made me immediately think about what it would be like to have that mouth in other places. I gently pushed him back. He had a sultry smile on his face. I kissed it once and moved to his neck.
"I'm not gonna be able to hold it much longer," I whispered against him.
"I am not doing it with you in your mother's home, Zachary."
He chuckled and then gasped as I lightly bit the tip of his earlobe.
"Let's find a different place to stay tonight. Somewhere away from them. Just us," I begged. "I can't think of going for yet another night without having you."
"Patience. We have a lot to talk about. Especially if we plan to go to Vancouver together."
I jerked back.
"You aren't coming with us. You shouldn't even be here. You and Marek are heading home tomorrow night," I ordered.
"No. You are the one who decided not to be honest with me, and you will be dealing with the consequences of that by having the pleasure of our company."
His jaw set in a way that told me I wasn't going to win the argument at this point. I'd have to come back to it.
"Get up," I grumbled. "I need to go visit the washroom before I'm gonna be able to face the others."
He grinned but didn't stand. Instead he leaned in and kissed me again.
"Want my help?" he purred.
I thought about it and realized that with his help, I'd probably bring new meaning to the expression "faster than a speeding bullet," especially with how far along I already was. But there was nothing cool about finishing the second someone had their lips on you.
"No, uh... It's... it's okay. You go on ahead. I'll... I'll meet you guys out there in a few."
He pouted for a minute and then conceded defeat, climbing off me and offering me a hand up. I stood and kissed him again. To my utter dismay, his hand found its way to the one spot I really needed it not to be at that moment.
"Stop."
I grabbed him by the shoulders and held him at arm's length.
"I don't want to lose it right here," I said honestly.
"A little caress can make you... like that... already?"
His brows were raised and a big puppy smile curled his lips, making me want to kiss them again.
I gave him an apologetic smile.
"Please, Alex? Please. Go. Seriously."
He sighed, kissed me once more and headed for the back door. Just before he left, he paused, turning back toward me.
"Zachary?"
"Yes?"
"I love you. Never lie to me again."
***
I found the bunch of them oohing and aahing over the Rolls, parked on the side of the dimly lit street. Mike was in the driver's seat, which was incidentally on the right side. Chel sat next to him in the passenger seat. With the engine started, Marek leaned over the door, showing them all the special features. He was demonstrating a button that could be pushed to automatically close the driver's side door. I headed over to them to watch and check out the car too. Alex, I noticed, was standing off to the side having a quiet chat with my mum. She was gazing up at him in such earnest that I almost considered abandoning my interest in the car to find out what they were talking about.
"Now, here," Marek said, as he pressed a button inside the car, "if you look up, that is called the Starlight Headliner. It uses over one thousand, six hundred fiber-optic lights to create an outdoor effect."
"Zach, check this out!" Mike yelled. "I am totally in love with this car. Hey, Marek, how much did this baby set you back?"
"To purchase a car such as this brand new, it is priced at a little over four hundred thousand pounds. Since this vehicle is now used, the current worth is approximately two hundred and thirty thousand pounds."
I threw Marek a sidelong grin as I wondered how much, if anything, he actually paid for the car.
"Pounds?" Mike blinked. "How much is that in dollars?"
"Currently, approximately three hundred thousand Canadian dollars."
"What? Jesus! Marek. Seriously. What do you do for a living, and how do I become one?"
Marek smirked and held out a business card to Mike. I was tempted to swipe it from him but decided that Mike should be safe about Marek's official line of work . Mike took the card eagerly and then paused. "There's no address or number on here. Isn't this kind of a useless business card?"
"You should always be able to find me through Zachary. I prefer to keep my business contact information to a minimum. I have no need to advertise."He chuckled.
Mike stared at him with wide-eyed awe. I was beginning to think I wouldn't have to worry about his opinion on gays, with the adoration he was so obviously feeling toward Marek at that moment. I laughed and walked away from them to join my mum.
As soon as I got there, Alex reached for my hand. Surprised, I let him take it. I wasn't sure why I didn't take it back. It just felt natural, and I couldn't refuse such a blatant request from him. Mum stared at our hands. She wasn't surprised. He must have told her something. She looked up at me and there were... tears in her eyes.
"Mum?"
"Ah..."
She laughed, embarrassed by her sudden emotion, as she wiped the tears quickly off using her sleeve. She grabbed my face and pulled me down to kiss my cheek.
"Sorry. Just your foolish mum. I'm just really happy for you, that's all. Alex, you should know that I've never seen him so starry-eyed for any girl like this."
I looked over at Alex to find him beaming and reacting to my mum's tears with some of his own. He probably hadn't expected her to be so accepting. I sure hadn't.
***
"I have made a reservation for a hotel suite for us," Marek said as we drove away. "We could all use a hot shower, and we will need a place to sit and discuss our next plan of action."
He drove down the sleepy streets of my hometown with Chel in the passenger seat and Alex and me sitting in the back. I was staring out the window, deep in thought, trying to figure out a way to convince Alex and Marek to go back home. I really didn't want Alex to come with us. Letting him risk his life on my account was not an option. He didn't yet know why we were headed to BC, so I thought I might be able to convince him that I still needed time away after the whole emotional experience of the feeding. My rational mind told me, however, that he'd see right through that after the way I'd reacted to him in my house. I sighed and Alex squeezed my hand.
"Did you guys get here last night?" Chel asked Marek.
"Yes. We stayed with a friend at a bowling establishment. It has a good setup in the back rooms. There will be plenty of space for us there. Where did you two spend the night?"
"Typical church sanctuary. Your contact definitely sounds better," Chel said, smiling.
I listened to them speak with calm detachment. My concern wasn't where we would be staying that night but what would happen after that.
"Chel and I will be fine on our own after tonight," I said. "You two can head back tomorrow night."
Alex's grip tightened again, but I kept my gaze steadily on Marek's eyes reflected in the rear-view mirror.
"Chelsea, may I ask what it is that you and Zachary will be doing in British Columbia?" Marek asked.
"Chel..." I warned.
"What?"
He glanced back at me, annoyed.
"Jesus, dude! You seriously gotta get over your whole too proud to ask for help bullshit. We need them to face him."
"Him?" Alex practically shouted.
He suddenly leaned forward toward Chel and placed his free hand on top of his head.
"Chelsea, whom are you going to meet?"
"John, of course. Who else?"
"Zachary!" Alex said, looking at me in dismay. "How did you find out where he was?"
"Elva," I mumbled, taking my hand back and folding my arms. "I figured out that she was close to him when I realized she had a stash of his clothing in the trunk next to her bed, like a hope chest, and by the comment she made when she first met me—the whole 'You talk like him.' I figured she had to know his whereabouts."
"And you were planning to face him alone? Are you completely insane?" Alex asked, through his teeth.
I turned on him.
"There is nothing wrong with my state of mental health. Were you not planning the same? You were the one who said that you weren't going to take me with you when you finally faced him. I didn't come all this way only to be stopped from finding him just because it might be a little dangerous. He's my father. Don't you get that? I have to see him. You could stand me up to the gates of hell and tell me that he was on the other side and I'd still walk through. He has to know what I've become. He has to know, 'cause... it might..."
"Zachary..." Marek said.
His voice showed his usual soothing calm in the middle of the storm.
"I have no issues with you going to see your father, but trust us in that you will need protection. Just because it feels nice to have the rays of the sun on your face does not mean visiting the fiery blaze would be any less dangerous. Trust in your friends to be there for you."
"No! It's not about trust, Marek!"
I felt like a pouting child yelling at him, but I couldn't stay calm.
"I trust you guys. I do. But Alex cannot go see him. Don't you get it, Marek? If Alex gets within any kind of range of my father, one or the other will die. And I don't want that for either of them. Please, Marek! Take Alex home. Let Chel and I do this alone. I don't think that he will hurt either one of us. Me, because I'm his son, and Chel, because he created him and, in his own warped way, I think my father may actually love him."
"Alexander," Marek said, his eyes moving slightly over to Alex through the mirror, "have you explained to Zachary why it is that you feel so compelled to put an end to Johnathan's life? Have you told him the whole truth? I think that he might be a bit more understanding if he had the whole story."
I looked at Alex. He had his elbow resting on the window ledge and fingers and thumb against his temple as he stared out.
"Go ahead, Alexander. It is time Zachary knew the truth."
The car was silent for the rest of the drive to the hotel.
"Chelsea and I will go in and have our showers while the two of you finish your discussion," Marek said, after turning the engine off. "Zachary, please understand that I will be following Alexander's wishes in this respect. I hope that you will listen to him with the love I know you have for him."
With that, they climbed out of the car and walked into the building, leaving us behind.
We sat there for so long that I thought for sure he wasn't going to speak. Still I waited, hoping he was just gathering his thoughts, until he suddenly spoke up.
"I never told you how I came to meet your father, or what became of our 'relationship.' You two..." he said with with a sad little laugh, "so much alike you are. So tenacious, so stubborn, so bold... and so handsome."
He was still facing out the window as I watched, a listless smile spreading across his face.
"Fifteen years ago, Johnathan came to Toronto in search of a witch named Elva Blavatsky. He had heard a rumour that she could cast spells, summon demons and predict futures. Johnathan believed in all that and more. He was sure that there was a whole world out there that he had yet to explore. Elva, who normally did not speak to strangers, was instantly taken in by your father. He introduced himself to her when she was out grocery shopping. He wooed and charmed her in a way that, I am sure, had her swimming with flustered feelings. They had a short, torrid affair, and in the end she mentioned my name in passing. Johnathan, at that time, became obsessed with me, which angered Elva considerably. He asked her a million questions, and eventually her temper got the better of her and she kicked him out. She informed me of her mistake. I told her that I would handle it and would eliminate him."
He laughed sadly again.
"As if I stood a chance against that man. Even uninfected, I was no match for his charisma. I became instantly infatuated with him the moment I heard his voice and saw his face. I was such a fool, and he had absolutely no qualms about stringing me along until he got the information that he needed. Finally, he convinced me to infect him rather than kill him."
Alex paused while the last sentence sank in. Alex changed my father. He was the one who made him into a monster. No wonder he feels the need to be the one to kill him. He thinks he has to atone for his mistake all those years ago.
"So you see," he continued, this time holding my gaze, "I am to blame for the deaths of all of those children. Had I chosen to kill him that night, all of those babies would not have been made to suffer. Hundreds of children put in cages. He feeds more often than once a month, you know. The size of the child is smaller, so the amount of blood taken does not last as long. I hate myself just as much as I hate him for what he has done, for what I made possible. I created the despicable monster that he is today. I have to be the one to put a stop to him. Please understand, Zachary, he may be linked to you by blood, but he is linked to me by much more than that. He is my responsibility, and I must take ownership of it if I am to be able to live on."
He stared back out the window.
"I know this whole experience has not been easy for you. I know that feeding made you want to leave me. I do not blame you if you find that you cannot be with me, but I will not let you go to your father alone. You can either go back with Marek and give me the information that Elva gave to you, or you can allow us to help you. I cannot choose for you, but know that, hate me or not, but when I find your father, I will kill him. Make no mistake about that."
I turned and opened the door to the car.
"Oh, and Zachary," he said, "if you run again, I will find you. I will call Elva and get the details directly from her."
I closed the door and walked off, not bothering to head into the hotel.
***
Running, I discovered, was a great stress release. I allowed my mind to stay blank, feeling the cold wind whip at my face. I ran all the way out of Thunder Bay along Highway 11, toward the road that led to the Sleeping Giant. A nice little dock at the end of it sat on the small frozen section of the lake, behind a big blue house with the word "STORE" on the front. Someone had actually shovelled the dock and placed chairs at the end, so I made my way down and sat in one of them. An island hugged the water, giving the spot a secluded feel.
A ring had wrapped its way around the moon. It was unbelievably full tonight and easily ten times larger than I'd ever seen it before. It cast a daylight effect on the blanketed lake. In stunned silence, I stared at it in awe. Branches that had been floating while the ice hardened now stuck up from it like the tendrils of a beast trying to escape. I'd forgotten just how beautiful Thunder Bay really was. Even in the middle of winter this place was like another world, holding its own secrets that no one outside this city ever knew until they were trapped inside, wonders that only the privileged few who lived here could enjoy and experience. Toronto might be where I had escaped to, but TBay still held a special place in my heart.
I heard the familiar sound of someone approaching faster than was humanly possible and waited.
"How did you find me?" I asked, when the running slowed to a normal jog.
"Other than an ice bath, you haven't really had anything in the way of a shower in at least three days. Your stink trail was pretty damn easy to follow."
Chel sat down in the chair next to me. I was relieved it was him. I'd pretty much reached my max when it came to dealing with my emotions relating to Alex, and Marek wasn't exactly being helpful.
"First, let me say I'm not here to comment on the whole complicated bullshit you got goin' with Alex, so you can relax there. Deal?"
"Yeah. Appreciated," I said, keeping my gaze straight ahead.
That was one of my favourite things about Chel. I always felt like we never had to look each other in the eye when we talked, like we could just hang and talk about anything. He really was easy to be around.
"Right," he said. "So, I'll get straight to the point since I'm not especially comfortable talking about this, but I think it's something you oughta know if you're gonna make a decision on what to do next."
"Great," I groaned. "More baggage?"
"Not your baggage, dude. Mine."
I heard him sigh. The air was so cold against my face. I wondered if it would have bothered me if I was worried about getting sick. I continued to stare at the moon, watching it change size in my gaze as I focused and unfocused.
"You asked me once," he finally said, after a long pause, "if I ever had a true love. I wasn't all that keen on talking about it, well, 'cause... she's gone. Before I met John, I was dating a girl in high school. We'd been dating since I was thirteen. Others called it puppy love, but I was sure she was the one. I knew that she and I would live together as soon as I was old enough to support her. I was even working at the age of fifteen at part-time jobs in order to save up money for us. I had over three thousand saved. I never told my parental unit about my job, or that I was saving the money, because she would have stolen it and used it on her scumbucket boyfriend and his alcohol. So, when all the other teens were out at the swimming hole or making out at the local park, I was sneaking around, working dead-end jobs, just so that I could build a future with this girl who didn't care that I was a freak, or that I was scarred from head to toe. She didn't care about any of it. She just took me for who I was."
At this point of his ramble I turned because his voice changed. As he stared at the starry sky, tears were leaking from the sides of his eyes.
"So... what happened to her?" I asked.
"John Anderson happened to her. After he made me, he found out about her and decided that she was a threat to his relationship with me. So, he opted to remove her from the equation. He fed on her, brought her shrivelled body to me and told me to dispose of it."
His head started to bob in the pure agony of his memory. I placed a hand over his, but he pulled away and focused on wiping his eyes. Anger replaced despair.
"He said that her 'existence was an inconvenience.' A fucking inconvenience! She'd stood by my side, gotten punched by other bitches for my sake, and he killed her because it was inconvenient for him to have her exist in his universe."
He turned to face me.
"I'm going with you, Zach, because I can see you're a good guy. I also see that you really don't know him well enough to fear him, and I can tell that you seriously need protection. I may not be able to kill him myself, but I sure as shit have no issues if Alex decides it's something he needs to do. Alex wants to watch your back too, and he can do it a hell of a lot better than me. He's got the cajones to actually protect you until that bastard is dead. Look, take what you want from my experience. Take from it that I had a chance to love someone, and John got in the way, or take from it that I would give anything to have her back, and it really pisses me off that you're wasting your time out here when you could be with the one you love right now. Or just take away the fact that Alex and Marek have the ability to help you in a way that I never will. Whatever you take from it is your choice."
He turned back to the stars and sighed.
"I'm not here to tell you what to do. If you wanna leave tonight, just you and me, that's what we'll do. I even brought your bag with me just in case you wanna take off right now. It's only midnight, so we could probably make it to Fort Frances with no issues tonight, and I actually got a friend there that could put us up for the day. 'Sup to you, bud. I'm with you all the way, but personally, right here, right now, I think sitting here moping and bitching to yourself is a serious mistake... especially over somebody like John Anderson."
I tried to take it all in, but it was just too much. I felt the pressure of it suffocate me. I leaned forward and buried my head in my hands. The hurt he'd caused Chel, the killing of an innocent girl at the tender age of fifteen, cheating on my mother with Elva, Alex accountable for making him what he was, Alex's need to kill him to atone for creating him... hell, even Mum's reaction to finding out about Alex. It was more than I could stomach. How could I take in so much in one night? How could I be expected to make a decision so quickly after learning so much?
The thing that resonated most in everything Chel had said was that he would give anything to be with the one that he loved. Was I wasting time, keeping myself apart from Alex? If he was determined to find my father, did that mean that he would put himself in danger with or without my help? Did that mean that there was a chance that I would never see him again, if my father finally succeeded in killing him? If this girl of Chel's had been an inconvenience, surely he would find Alex to be a hell of a lot more than that and would have no qualms about eliminating him the second he had the chance. If I couldn't stop Alex from going to find him, was I being foolish in thinking that he or I stood a better chance facing him on our own? I couldn't waste any more time. Right now, more than ever, I needed to see his face.
"Let's head back," I said. "I need to talk to Alex."
"You got it, Pontiac. They should still be at the hotel. Let's jet."