This cabin is built only for two people. Adding two vampires, one tiny human, and one buff werewolf was not a good idea at all. Apart from the kitchen, the cabin has two other rooms: the bedroom and the living room. Juliet and Bobby stayed in the bedroom, while the four of us did our best to squish in the living room. This place does not have a couch, just simple wooden chairs, so we all had to sleep on the creaking floor, packed next to each other like sardines. Every time someone moves, we would know because we would hear the painful creaking of the floor. Thankfully, I am at the end of the group while Idris and Lysander unwillingly lays in the middle, with Drew taking the other end. I managed to fall asleep for about 20 minutes, until an idea hit me. It isn't a great one, it's rather reckless, really, but it might work. I think it's worth a shot.
As quietly as I could, I got up. It wasn't that hard because the creaking noises of the floor were muffled by Lysander's snores. We did not have lights either, but being a vampire comes with natural (or supernatural) night vision. I focused on my feet and my path towards the door, making sure not to hit anything. I need to be careful about not waking anyone up, especially the mosquito, because they would only stop me. I would stop myself too, if I'm on my right mind, which, I'm not, at the moment. Ideas that pop into your head between one to five in the morning are usually the worst or best ideas. And you won't know if it's the worst or best until you actually do it.
The moment my entire body is out of the cabin, I bolted away from it. Sneaking out from vampires and a werewolf is just as difficult as sneaking out from my mother. Oh, the good old days. Middle school, 8th grade: I sneaked out around 11 at night to go see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows premiere. Now, what I'm doing is not too different. I'm sneaking out to go see a witch.
As I run through the woods, the fresh wind brushes my skin and my hair is tousled all over the place, some covering my red eyes. My yellow shirt dances along with the wind, giving a little brightness to the pitch black darkness of the woods. The stars didn't come out tonight and the moonlight is being blocked by the trees. Nevertheless, the environment is still amazing. Ever since my trip to Europe, running at night became one of my favorite things to do. It doesn't matter if I'm in a city full of pretty, bright lights, or a rural town that embraces nature's beauty. It's the best.
While I was enjoying the woods, a strong scent brought me to an abrupt stop.
The sweet, vanilla odor fumes closely. Over the two months of learning how to deal with my new vampire body and senses, I've learned that every one has different senses. Every kind has similarities, such as all humans being sweet, but there are still little differences that I've grown to notice. I think it has something to do with blood types and pheromones, which is a chemical in everyone's body that only humans cannot smell. I followed this scent and my suspicions are confirmed: Andromeda Rojas.
The dark haired, 5 feet human being, is running not too far ahead of me. I thought she was sleeping peacefully, tangled in Lysander's arms?
I easily caught up to her and screamed, "Boo!"
The poor girl crashed into a tree.
"Rami, what the hell." She glared at me as she was on the ground, putting a hand over her chest.
Laughing, I helped her up. "Sorry. Actually, nope. Not sorry. What are you doing here, at this time of the day, or night, all alone?"
"I could ask you the same." Drew crossed her arms and raised a brow.
We stared at each other for a few seconds before speaking at the same time.
"I'm going to go to see Aris."
Then, we stared at each other again.
"What?"
"Why?"
Drew spoke first. "I wanted to know what Aris meant when he said I wasn't 'exactly' human, whatever that means. I just, I tried not think too much of it but I don't know. I just feel like I need to know. The curiosity was not letting me sleep." I nodded, understanding her reason. "You?"
"Okay. Well." I scratched the back of my head. "I haven't told you yet, but I was inside Idris - "
"There are things we keep to ourselves, honey." Drew smiles awkwardly.
"Woman." I gave her a stern look. "Inside his head. His brain. I was able to see what he saw when we were fighting Aris. I was knocked out because the Voldemort-wannabe witch drowned me internally. I don't know how, but I was able to get inside mosquito's head and see what he saw, from his point of view. One minute, I was thinking about how I wanted to know what happened while I was out, and the next, I was watching what was happening, from another person's perspective."
"Oh." The two of us began walking together. "That's weird. It's cool." And creepy. "We'll worry about how you were able to do that. But, do you think you could do it again? That's what you're planning to do, right? See Aris and try to get in his mind to get some information?"
"Yes. Also, I don't know."
"Well." Drew sighs. "We'll try. Since we both need the witch, we'll work together. He's strong, but we're smart. If we just barge in his place without anything, we won't be successful. We need something." We were silent for a moment, trying to think of a plan. All I can think of is knocking out the witch from a distance, and we take him in. Now, if only we could get a tranquilizer gun like in Area 51, that would be really helpful. Anything that will knock him out without anyone coming close to him. Something that we won't see coming.
What we need from a tranquilizing gun is really the bullets: the tranquilizer darts. I just need to find tranquilizers, or anything that can knock the witch out, and find a way to inject it to his body.
Okay. I know what to do.
"Drew. You stay here." The girl frowned and opened her mouth to reply, but I continued, "You make a trap for Aris. Make a hole, or whatever. Just something that will prevent him from going anywhere. I will get him and bring him here. Then, we tie him up and question him."
"How are you going to just bring him here without getting bruised and battered?"
"I am probably going to get bruised and battered anyway, but I will bring him here." I admitted. "You just go and make a trap. I have to make a few stops before I get him, so I'd say you have some time, but not too much, to make the trap."
"Gee, that's great." Drew puts her hands on her hips. "How the hell am I supposed to make a witch trap?"
***
Breaking in hospitals get easier the more I do it. In the town next to Caelfall, a couple of miles away from the woods, there is a small hospital that only has a few people. It is two in the morning, after all. The only ones here are night shifts, inpatients, and several patients in need of urgent care.
Thanks to my enhanced speed, I passed the securities and workers from the entrance. I stopped by an empty room and borrowed a white lab coat, and picked up someone's square framed glasses on a table in order to blend in the environment.
Just like the last time Drew and I sneaked inside a hospital to steal some chemicals, I went straight to a laboratory full of them. Unfortunately, all rooms that contains drugs and chemicals are locked, except one. That one is occupied by a man, also wearing a lab coat. He is busy not working, but lurking on a dating app on his phone.
I cleared my throat to suppress a laugh, while also catching the man's attention. His eyes widened, startled as he quickly shoves his phone in his pocket. "May I help you?" He asks with high-pitched voice. I could almost hear his heartbeat racing.
"The boss needs you." I blurted out, shoving my hands in the lab coat's pockets.
The man looked worried suddenly. "What? Why?"
"Not sure. I'm new here. Told me to come get you. But, no worries, whatever it is about, I'm sure it's not about your Tinder profile." I am so proud of myself for speaking with a straight face. The man reddened and avoided eye contact. Without another word, he dashes out of the laboratory.
Now, time to get to work.
What do I need?
Immobilizing drugs, a syringe with a hypodermic needle, and lots of mercury. Thank you, Biology and Chemistry classes, for preparing me for this moment: drugging a witch. Oh, the beauty of education.
"Michael said he didn't need to see me and he didn't hire any new chemists." Tinder man has returned, looking pretty angry. "Who the hell are you? I need to see an ID. Otherwise, I'm going to call security."
I shoved the thermometers and syringes in the coat's pockets before facing him. "Hold on." As I pretended to dig through my pockets, I walked closer to the door, eventually standing beside him. "It seems I've forgotten it. I'll get it in my car. Meanwhile, just wait here and go back to lurking."
After slipping out a creative cuss word, the man had used the pager attached to the laboratory's wall and called for securities, announcing that there is an intruder.
"Intruder? Where?" I looked to my left and right, pissing the man off even more. "Better go get them before they escape. Toodle-oo!" With that, I ran to the nearest opening of the building, which just happens to be a window. Luckily, we are only on the second floor, so jumping out is not too bad. I successfully landed on a roof, then to the ground and sprinted out of the area before the humans pull out the guns, as they always do.
***
I ran all the way to Caelfall, right outside Aris' house, hiding behind trees to first study the place. There are clear burned spots on display, but overall, the witch had immediately fixed up what Drew had burned. I had to jump from several trees at different spots with different views of the house, just to find the witch. He is currently sleeping in a bedroom.
Okay. This makes my job easier. I just have to make sure he doesn't wake up.
I have decided to enter the house through a window in the other side of the house. From the top of a tree, I launched myself towards the window. However, my body never went through the opening. It wasn't because I didn't fit or I missed, but because I could not. It was like, there is a window, but not really. It just feels like a wall. So then, I chose a different opening, which is a different window by a bathroom, but the same thing happened. I was blocked by an invisible wall. Lastly, I used the main entrance: the front door. I was able to unlock the doorknob, but as soon as the door swings open and I tried to walk inside, that invisible wall was there again, and I was not granted an entrance beyond the door's frame.
"Great."
The witch had created his magical protection enchantments. Why wouldn't he? Four vampires, one werewolf and one human had just broke in his house, after all.
However, just because I can't go through, does not mean other things can't, either. To test this theory, I picked up a rock from the ground and threw it through the opened door. The gray object went through the invisible wall without a problem. A flaw to the shield. Looks like someone failed How to Make Magical Shields 101 in witch school, huh, Aris?
"I can do this." I repeated to myself as I positioned myself on a tree branch a few feet away from Aris' bedroom, where he is soundlessly sleeping. If he wasn't such as asshole, I'd feel about about doing this. "I can do this." I am standing at a very high tree branch, about 80 degrees angled from the bedroom. The bedroom's window is not as wide as the other rooms', so this will be a little difficult.
I need to throw a syringe full of tranquilizer through that window and make sure the needle pierces Aris' skin, which will knock him out for a good while and immobilize him. Now, the hard part is taking his body. Because I cannot go inside the house, I will need to be a little more creative. That part requires a rope but, I will cross that bridge when I get there.
Here goes nothing.
It took a lot of energy and concentration, but I had successfully shot the syringe in Aris' thigh. I threw the syringe while standing on a tree branch, with so much energy, making sure it goes through the window and hit any body part of Aris'. It's like playing darts, using a tranquilizer dart, and Aris is the target. It took some geometric calculations as well, as I needed to make sure I am in a right angle, literally, to hit my target. And I have succeeded.
Now comes the hard part. Taking the body.
I stole some ropes to a nearby house' garden and formed a noose with it, like a lasso. Then, I had to climb on the roof of the house and go near the window of the bedroom, looking like Spiderman with Wonder Woman's lasso. Using the noose, I tried my best to catch a limb. It took almost a dozen tries, but I eventually caught the witch' left foot. As soon as I did, I tugged on the rope and pulled the witch out from the window, bringing him out to me, in a really weird, kidnapping kind of way.
***
"Three questions." Drew gawks with her dark brown eyes. "Why is he on a garden trolley and why is he tied up? And why are you wearing a lab coat?"
I let go of the green trolley, causing the unconscious witch to fall on the cold ground with his face on the dirt. "I didn't want to hold him so I stole a trolley from someone's garden and put him there. He's tied up because... long story. I'm wearing a lab coat because I'm cool." I shot her a grin before my eyes searched the surroundings for a witch trap that she was supposed to make.
Everything looked exactly the same as I left it, except now, there is a hexagram drawn with a white chalk.
"This? This is your trap?" My mouth dropped with disbelief.
"It'll work perfectly. The Winchesters do it all the time." She shrugs, centering the trolley that contains the witch, who is now twitching, a sign that he is waking up. I instantly pulled out a thermometer and a syringe with a tranquilizer inside it. Drew eyed the objects and her face lit up. "Oh! You clever boy!"
"Since we'll be dealing with witches, thermometers are basically our weapons." I handed her one thermometer and one tranquilizer, which were both immediately put inside her jacket's pocket. "There are mercury on other objects, but thermometer is the best source."
Soon after that, Aris opened his eyes and tried to move. It took him a few seconds to realize where he is and what just happened to him. He tried to move his hand, but it's been tied up with the same rope I caught him with. He chanted strange words, but nothing happened. The mercury in his system is either blocking his magic, or weakening him enough that he cannot do magic with little energy. It's likely the second, but we don't know for sure yet.
"Release me at this instant!" Aris yelled while I stand in front of him with my hands on the lab coat's pockets. Drew circles around him, holding a thin, small, twig, waving it back and forth. "How did you pass through my enchantments?" His lavender eyes narrowed at Drew, full of accusations. "You did it, didn't you?"
"What?" I am offended. I did all the work here. "Excuse you, I take all the credit for catching your ass. It wasn't easy. Also, who the hell sleeps with a night light?"
Drew chuckled. "Aw, the witch is afraid of the monsters under his bed?"
"What do you want with me?" Aris asks through gritted teeth.
"To restore everything back to normal, obviously." I crossed my arms. "And if you could magically make some cheese fries with a large drink of O+ blood, that'd be amazing, too. Oh, and maybe make the US president disappear. You can take him with you and your witch friends to your evil cave and be best friends, since you have a few things in common."
Aris clenched his jaw, no doubt killing me in his head a million times already.
Speaking of, I need to see what is going on inside that dark head of his. Glancing at Drew, I moved behind Aris, so his back is facing me, while Drew takes my previous spot, face to face with the witch. It's almost as if we had a silent conversation, as she knew what to do and what I will be doing.
"So." Drew waves the twig in her hand once again. "We brought you here because we have a few questions for you. We did this with Samara, but she's a stubborn woman who refuse to give anything away, but I'm hoping you'd be a good witch and help us out."
"I'm not going to free the pathetic humans from the curse." Aris stated, already assuming what Drew is going to say. "This is what they are meant to be doing. Working for us. They need to suffer for everything that they've done to us. To every supernatural beings. It's time we take control. Humans are - "
"Yeah yeah yeah, humans are shit. We've heard it all before." Drew waves her hand dismissively. "I know you won't do anything. And it seems we can't change your mindset, either, so you won't do the good thing and help us. So, the least you can do us answer important questions."
The witch scoffed.
I tried to concentrate on Aris' head, but I couldn't help but listen to the conversation.
"First and most important question. Don't lie. One must not tell lies." She lowers her body to be eye to eye with Aris. "Is Hogwarts real?"
"What is Hogwarts?" The confusion in his voice made me laugh.
"Must be an Ilvermorny student." I commented, bringing Drew and I in a giggling fit.
"Idiots." The witch whispered to himself. "I shouldn't have given your voice back." He says to Drew.
Drew stopped laughing and seriousness took over her expression instantly. From what I saw inside Idris' head, Aris had given Drew's voice back because he wanted to learn more about Drew and who she is, including her so-called coven. I learned from my Anthropology class that covens are the term used for groups of witches, as a pack is a group of wolves and clan are groups of vampires. Does he think Drew is a witch?
"You said I'm not human. What do you mean by that?"
The witch said nothing for a moment before responding, "I will tell you, only in one condition."
Drew briefly looked at me. "And what would that be?"
"You will join us."
This dude is hilarious. He wants Drew to join the group of evil witches, when she is obviously in the opposing team.
I was about to say something, but Drew shook her head.
"Join you in what? Playing god? No thank you. I'm not interested in joining you and your three member magical cult and take over irrelevant towns." She huffs. "Amateurs."
Wait, what?
"Three of us? Amateurs?" Aris laughed coldly. "Oh, sweetheart. You have no idea."
The next words that he uttered had no noise. Drew spoke after, but I heard none of it. Then, everything around me changed, like a stage changing its settings. One minute, I am with Drew and Aris in the woods, and the next, I'm in the historic park at Caelfall, but not with Drew. What replaces her are twelve other figures, all surrounding me.
Nope. I stand corrected. They aren't surrounding me. I am part of them. And we are surrounding, an object on the ground. A jewelry. A locket, to be exact. I cannot see the faces of the twelve individuals, but I can see their silhouettes. Twelve, and including myself, 13. Some are females, some are males. They are all engaged in a conversation, but I hear no words.
Then, after a blink of an eye, I returned back to Drew and Aris in the woods. I did not have time to comprehend what was happening as everything occurred so fast. My feet were lifted from the ground and my throat is held by Aris, who had broken free of the rope. The mercury in his system must have worn off and he regained energy.
My hands reached down to my pockets and got another thermometer.
It only pierced his skin for a few seconds because he had knocked the equipment off my hand. Only a drop of mercury had gone in his skin. His grip on my throat loosened but I was not completely released. Aris then whistled a certain way, and soon I heard a loud growl from a distance. I searched for Drew, to find her on the ground, checking for something.
"Drew!"
Just then, something emerged from the dark trees. The unpleasant, familiar odor clouded me. I was expecting the human-like creature to emerge, but instead comes a wolf-like creature with orange eyes, sharp teeth and nails, covered in white fur. Unlike a wolf, this creature is much bigger. Almost as big as Lysander's wolf form, if not a little bigger.
Whatever it is, it's coming right at us at full, great speed. I moved to block Drew, but Aris tugged on my arm and threw a punch right on my face. "You will not win, vampire." He hisses, raising his hand and waving his fingers, as if to conjure something magically. Chunks of rocks suddenly came out of nowhere, flying in midair, at full speed, towards me.
I shielded my face using my hands, but the rocks only hit me so lightly that it felt like dirt crashing against my skin.
"That hurt SO MUCH."
I blared my fangs and tackled the witch on the ground, taking the advantage of his weakened condition. I used my sharp teeth and pierced through his shoulders ripping some skin and letting blood leak out. Still, he continued to fight back. I planned on stabbing him with another tranquilizer, but when I reached in my pocket, there was none left.
Shit.
At that moment, Drew's screams also called my attention. She is fighting the unknown beast using a tree branch. "Drew!" I was about to run towards her, but instead, she came to me. She ran back inside the center of the hexagram she drew, and the beast followed her. "Shit." We're going to fucking die tonight.
"Drew get out of here! I got this!" I exclaimed, giving her a chance to run. Yet, she ignores me and focuses on the ground. The beast then turned its attention to me, while Aris grips on my arm weakly, keeping me in place. My lungs just about exploded and my breath stopped as the creature bared its bloody teeth right in front of me.
I felt its teeth on my skin.
But before it could cut through my skin, my surroundings burst into flames. Some of it are red and orange, while a part are blue. Smoke slightly blurred my vision, but I had noticed the fire is only on outline of the hexagram that Drew had drawn.
"What the - "
"Come on!"
I was suddenly pulled out of the ring of fire. My skin burned for a few seconds, but healed almost immediately. Drew and I watched as the ring of fire trapped the two beings inside the hexagram. Drew then handed me a syringe. The one that I gave her before we started interrogating the witch.
Because Aris is already weakening due to loss of blood, he will be fainting naturally really soon. The wolf-looking thing, on the other hand, is only trapped in the fire. Once it calms down, it will only attack us again. And so, just like darts, I threw the syringe with great energy and targeted the beast, hitting its center.
Drew and I let out a sigh of relief before falling to the ground, exhausted.
"The fire. How?" I asked suspiciously. She isn't a witch. She can't be.
"Magic." Drew smiled weakly. "Just kidding, booby traps, duh. The hexagram was just for me to feel like I'm in Supernatural. There are trash all over the woods, thanks to shitty human beings. Some of them are useful and I took them. Some left alcohol, some left old toys that have batteries and wires, some left gum wrappers, you know the drill." Oh. Of course. "It's not magic, it's science."
"Damn right." I grinned. "Well. I believe we just caught ourselves some monsters."
Who needs sleep when you can catch monsters at 2 a..m.?