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一 | ACT i (BEYOND BUCOLIC)
Chapter 5. Only Kids
AFTER A MONTH OF INCESSANT TRAINING, VICTORIA HAD FINALLY LET UP, IT WAS TIME. Delphi would finally meet the so-called newborn army from her vision.
The journey was in silence. All their journeys seemed to be. And she soon figured out that all their interactions were going to be kept to a minimal of conversation.
They travelled under the cover of the moonlight, which was for the best. The residents of Settle didn't need to see two disco-ball looking angels zooming throughout the city.
Before the trip began, she was told of ways Riley kept them inline, two lies. Sunlight and wooden stakes kill and only kill those who won't be missed
It was simple enough to abide by.
It was on the other side of Seattle, the furthest point from forks. An abandoned apartment complex set for demolition in a month. But she saw plenty of other places where they hid out.
She thought that where Victoria was in the down-and-outs until she the scene before. The foliage surrounding every inch of the boarded-up windows. Shattered glass and garbage everywhere and they hadn't even entered yet, and blocks surrounding were also empty, they were truly in the dregs.
With narrowed eyes, she aimed the titular judgemental look of Lexi towards her old friend.
Riley shoved passed her judgment and opened the double doors that lead into darkness.
The pair flew downstairs and into the basement of the apartment complex.
The closer they got to the nest of newborns, she started to feel anxious, something she hadn't felt since before her transition. Her grip on her backpack strap tightened, but she donned a mask of confidence she continued
The aggressive sound of clicking and yelling was the familiar sound of teenage boys playing video games, was what greeted her.
Stepping through the threshold of the basement, eyes like hers focused on her, but when they saw Riley everyone was stood at attention.
Looking at him now, he was a different person, not meek like he was with Victoria or passive-aggressively silent with her. This the was man she was when she opened her eyes.
He sauntered into the room with the same swagger he used on her that first day and this time got the reaction he wanted. "Attention everyone."
"This is Delphi. Our newest member an—" his pause was long and uncomfortable on her part but he added, "and my second. I trust you you'll treat her with the same respect."
With his announcement complete he sent a quick glare all around and left in the same hurt he came in.
As the door slammed shut behind him, a new sound occupied her attention. The steps of an oncoming figure who halted before her, five feet between them.
His height cut of at about three inches taller than her and carried a look of disdain, "looks like you've replaced Diego as Rileys head-bitch huh?"
"Oh don't worry Raoul, you'll always have a special place right by his heel."
Shock coated the features of the killer dressed at the sixteen-year-old boy.
His lackeys roused at the disturbance in the power.
A growl erupted from the boy, as he crouched, but he'd lost the second he picked the fight. The past months of intensive training from Riley and Victoria and get her ready for this, but also with the added benefit of her precognition, she was unbeatable. That was until her power decided it didn't was to show her what she wanted to see, luckily this wasn't one of those moments.
Leaping off the ground he went for her neck, but she curved around and had him in a headlock. Arms pinned he struggled to get and hold and the cracking of the marbled flesh of his neck had him frantic. She let go and stepped back, surprising everyone.
"I'm sorry to start off on the wrong foot, but it had to be done. I don't appreciate treated with such animosity, but anything you attempt to do to me will be done to you and yours tenfold. When I'm around I expect nothing but the best behaviour, the moment I'm out the door you can go back to being the cretins you are," pausing to gauge everyone's reaction she finalised, "Is that understood?"
A murmur of agreements went around, but ferocious eyes still glared at her with distrust. But she didn't need their trust, just with cooperation.
A voice spoke out from beside Raoul pointing at his friend, "how'd you know his name?"
"Kevin is it?" to which she got a stuttered out yes.
"Well, either Riley told me everything I need to know or maybe I'm a little prophetic."
"Pathetic, did you say? Yeah, that sounds about right."
At the corner of the room sat up on the back couch with the CD-player in his hands-on pause, a guy who looked to be just older than Cynthia, "Dumbass, she said 'prophetic'. It means that she can predict what'll happen in the future."
"Nah man, that's impossible."
"It's okay, Diego." Another name, this time they don't look as shocked.
Focusing back to everyone, "All you need to know is that I know everything about you."
"Prove it."
"How many people do you want to know about?"
His eyes married in thought, "four."
"Very well. One of you were born in El Paso and lived with his mother and five siblings. One of you ended off here because of revenge against the person who killed your brother. Two someone thinks that Spider-Man is the best superhero and that's just a fact. Lastly, someone here wants a holiday, I recommend Bali, you know, tonnes of sun."
Those of who didn't get a prophecy thought she was bluffing, but the sudden stiffness from certain members caused a stirring in response.
"I said four."
"And I don't care. So everyone, get back to what you were doing before."
Satisfied with the proof of prophecy, but overall unhappy with the new arrival, Raoul staked off with his gang in tow.
Turning her attention to her saviour. "Thanks for that rescue."
"It wasn't much of one, but no problem."
"Looks like I owe you one."
"If I ever need saving let's hope you're there." The pit in her gut told her that that was a possibility, but nothing more.
Taking her hand out of the grey hoodie too big for her that didn't do anything to alter her temperature, Delphi readied herself.
"I'm Diego, as you already seem to know." Greeted with a cold and firm handshake, Delphi saw more than a pretty boy with a mess of dark curls and the scars that littered his arms.
A bright light, and then whole life. A swimming and underwater caves. A swift peck on the lip, but not who the face belonged to. All of that was only in the next few months and he had a whole life to look forward to. But so did she, Delphi thought, but suppressed the first vision she had since her transformation.
Pretending she just see his whole life flash before her, "Yeah sorry about that, it sometimes makes people uncomfortable."
"True, but sister you got skilzzz," achieving a small smile out her.
"So, I'm going, to be honest. Riley didn't tell me anything about how to take care of the kids, any advice?"
"Follow me."
✧
THE NIGHT AND DAY THAT FOLLOWED, WENT AS SO MUCH AS WITHOUT ANOTHER DISTURBANCE.
Delphi saw stuck babysitting the kids, but it wasn't all bad. Most of them opting to stay away, but those who were on the tamer side had a few favourable encounters with her.
The sunrise hit walls, warming them up. Delphi was in one of the upper levels, securing the plywood on the windows and not caring if beams of sunlight brush up against her skin.
From her peripheral, she noticed the first to approach her.
A girl with pale blonde hair who looked to be just a little younger than her and in her orbit was a boy with his hair in a bun and eyes for only her.
"So you know," more a statement than a question.
But none the less, Delphi played dumb, "know what?"
"About the sunlight," she stated, gesturing to her sparkling skin
"I know what it does to us," Delphi paused to make sure that no one other than the girl's mate was watching.
She went to a bare window and stepped into the truth.
"I know that when you and Steve decide to step into the sun, hand in hand. That all that'll be left of you are ashes and the tales the frightened newborns warn each other of."
As the Juliet looking girl pondered what was said and came to the correct conclusion that Delphi was giving them an out.
"I'm Shelly by the way," the girl said reaching out her petite hand.
Wiping her dust-coated hands on the denim of her jeans, she reached into her back pocket and pulled out a note which read 'burn it' on the front.
With a small smile, Delphi said, "It was nice knowing you," before she went back to boarding up all the other hole in which sunlight snuck through.
When day flowed from ante merīdiem to post merīdiem, Delphi received her second interaction.
Removing the backpack off her shoulders was a weight that changed nothing. Digging around she started to hand out books, comics and other gadgets to those who didn't stir unwanted aggression in her.
Finally settling on the broad-shouldered and muscular boy only a year older than her who hid in the darkest depths of the room, wedged in between the wall and the disused washer-dryer.
The reason she gave everyone else something was because she figured that he wouldn't like being singled out and would crank up his odour to send her fleeing, so he had to be lucky last instead on the only one.
She walked towards him, but with intentions of only reaching the machine beside him, Delphi pushed thought the tugging at her mind that almost yanked her in another direction.
Pulling out a handful of books, she left them in an arms reach for he loner and left before her eyes caught another glimpse of him.
The pile comprised of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Things Fall Apart, The Alchemist and You get so alone at times that it just makes sense, was almost instantly tucked up beside the boy.
"Thanks."
His power was a potent one, and in the years to come it would become strong enough to drive away covens and hide from entire armies. But that wasn't the reason she was so fascinated by him, what she wanted to know was how someone with nothing left still had a strong sense of self and didn't give in to the violent tendencies like that seen in the Southern vampire wars. The blonde-haired boy was one of few who exceeded the low expectations set for newborns.
Continuing on her mission to keep herself busy and away from boredom she made a final check and went back upstairs to board up the rest of the windows to make the place more hospitable for the kids.
As the day came to an end and her last encounter neared, she was getting ready to go back to the peace of her loft apartment when she was interrupted by a familiar voice.
"So, how'd your first day go?" Diego approached her as she was packing up her bag.
"Pretty good I think, but the days to follow will be as pleasant." As the deadline approached, everything would get more
"Pleasant? There were three different arms ripped off in the last hour alone"
"And by the time I returned to the room, the appendages were back where they belonged. It's honestly all I could've asked for."
"I saw you giving out gifts to everyone, trying to win everyone over?"
"Duh."
"Is that what you were doing with Freaky Fred?"
"I've heard a lot of people calling him that, it's not very nice
"But he's a free—" the expectant look on her face stopped him in his tracks. "Fred."
"And he deserves the respect of another Fred out there. You don't see anyone calling you Dopey Diego with your unusually carefree attitude that clashes with your proper way of doing things."
"Hey, not so loud." He put his hand over her mouth, "we don't want that catching on."
She tensed, her muscles coiling back. So far the only people to through to her had been Riley and Victoria and most of the time it was for training.
Remembering situation, a fraction of a second later she relaxed.
Delphi was starting to like it here, not specifically here but she enjoyed the small moments with the newborn. She hated the idea that most of them would die with the exception of the handful who run.
✧
A WEEK AGO SHE MET THE REST OF THE NEWBORN ARMY AND HONESTLY SHE WASN'T IMPRESSED. . But then again whatcould she expect, they were only kids.
In their private training sessions, while Riley was out with newborns, Victoria claimed that they would rip apart the Cullens. But her visions and common sense just didn't give those results.
So she figured that because they were all going to die, so what did she loose in treating them with some humanity. Those who didn't make her want to rip their heads off and burn them to ash that it. All she asked was that she didn't see any infighting.
The week had been filled with moments predictable and not.
The first being, fear was sown into the hearts of the kids by Riley claiming that Shelly and Steve bit the dust, quite literally. But Delphi figured that they took up her suggestion and went off to Bali or somewhere else nice.
The latter was when she walked in and instantly one of them got a dustpan out and tried to obscure a pile of ashes from her vision she smiled.
So today when she walked back into the lair, Victoria greeted her with a glance and continued her conversation.
"What?"
"I'm sorry to tell you like this. But it was so last minute."
"So this is why we're turning so many? Not to protect you but to fight.
"Yes," stroking his cheek under the guise of love and care.
"Okay, why do they want to hurt you?"
"Kill me. Riley, they want me dead," she paused to kiss his hairline, "but I've figured out a way to stop that. I have a meeting and we'll see how that goes."
Grabbing a backpack filled with whatever Delphi figured she needed to go out of town.
"You to have to manage the newborns while I'm gone, it won't be a few days."
It was a good thing that she'd met the newborns earlier but perhaps that was the plan. It was odd to see someone else planning as she did, and maybe a little unnerving.
Propping herself off the doorway as Victoria came and passed her, Delphi started. "And here you were getting jealous that you weren't enough for her.
This attitude towards her was getting old. Especially when she heard the oddest giggle come from an unseen Victoria.
Feeling that the only way to combat the bad vibes Riley was giving her, she stuck to the good old sarcasm. Something the old him would've enjoyed. "I'm not all-knowing or anything, am I?"
"And you kept this from me," betrayal seeped into his accusation and Delphi pretended not to notice.
"Why would I tell you?"
"After all, I've done for you."
Oh. Done for her? He killed her out of anger and jealousy. He didn't do any of this for her. She knew full well his motivations in biting her was to such her dry. Even though he didn't go through with it, didn't change the fact. Or maybe she had it all wrong and just wanted to be with her and couldn't handle it.
"Was it me you did this for?" The connotations were clear but avoided nonetheless.
The conversation was ended and wasn't going to be brought up by him again unless of course, he wanted to imply things he wasn't ready for.