| Chapter 36
Nick looked up as Brian stirred. �Hey,� Brian said, sitting up and rubbing his face. �Hey,� Nick replied, �You alright?� Brian shrugged, �As alright as I get I guess. You my guard now?� Nick nodded. Brian swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood up, crossing the room to his friend, �Nick, listen, you can�t be here when she comes. She�ll kill everyone. I can�t let that happen to you.� �Bri, she won�t ...� �Yes Nick, she will. You don�t know what you�re dealing with here. Please, just let me go. I�ll take care of her I promise, but I can�t let you and Kevin get hurt or even killed for this,� Brian pleaded. Nick stared at his friend. He studied his eyes, seeing the sincerity in them. �You really think she�ll kill us?� he asked. Brian nodded, �I know it. She�s evil man, the devil himself has nothing on her. She�d snap you in two without even blinking an eye. You gotta convince them to let me go. As long as I�m here, everyone is in danger.� �But what about you? You can�t take her on by yourself,� Nick said. Brian took a deep breath and let it out slowly, �Maybe not, but I gotta try. I can�t let her do what she�s planning, and if that means I die stopping it, then so be it. I�m already dead anyway, so what�s the difference?� Nick glared at him, �Don�t say that. You aren�t dead.� Brian looked at the floor, not wanting to see the hurt in Nick�s eyes, �Yeah man, I am. I�ve changed, and I can never be what I was. Everything�s different, the old me died, and now I�m left with this....� he gestured toward himself, �this life I didn�t ask for. That I didn�t want to be a part of. I�m this creature that people fear now.� Nick shook his head, �You�re still you though. You�re still the Brian I�ve always known and loved. Nothing can change that.� Brian moved back to the bed, sitting down on the edge. He looked up, seeing Nick staring at him, �I hope you�re right about that.� Nick grinned, �I know I am.� ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The house buzzed with excitement as more people arrived. Howie watched the reunion in front of him. Children that hadn�t seen each other in ages, reunited, catching up with each other and introducing their own children to the clan. It was a beautiful thing to see, even in the bad situation that brought them all there. A.J. walked over and stood next to him, �Reminds me of the old family picnics.� Howie chuckled, �Yeah, or dinner at moms with everyone there.� A.J. looked at his watch, �Dude, it�s past noon. You think we should wake Tracy?� Howie nodded, moving toward the staircase, when he stopped. Tracy was coming down the stairs. She smiled, as the room quieted down. Several people moved to the bottom of the staircase, pulling her into a hug when she reached them. Quiet words were exchanged, along with smiles and a few tears. Even A.J. realized this was a special moment for Tracy and her family, so he remained quiet. After a few moments, Tracy cleared her throat, �Now if everyone will move into the living room, we have a lot of work to do.� ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Josiah looked over the men and women standing before him. Each was ready to do whatever Raven asked of them. �Alright, everyone knows the drill. We go in, get him and get the hell out. Spare no mercy on those that try to stop us,� he commanded. �Yes sir!� They sounded like good little soldiers. Everyone stood up a little straighter when Raven entered the room. �Very good my children,� she said, her black silk dress scraping the floor as she glided across the room. Josiah stepped back to allow her to inspect the troops. She smiled, a fire burning in her eyes, �Now, lets go relieve the slayers of what is mine.� �Mistress? You�re coming with us?� Josiah asked. She turned to him, her eyes burning a hole right through him, �Of course. I wouldn�t miss this for the world,� she laughed, leading her children out of the room. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tracy looked over the stunned faces of her children. Howie and A.J. glanced at each other, not exactly sure how this was gonna go. Tracy had just told them everything, and now she was waiting for some sort of reply. The room stayed deathly quiet. She was starting to think they would all refuse to help. Suddenly a voice was heard from the back of the room. �Miss Tracy, I�ll do whatever I can to help Mr. Brian.� Tracy smiled, seeing Nancy with the babies. �Nancy, what are you doing here?� she asked. �Frank called, said you needed some help dear. Where else would I be?� she replied. Frank stepped up beside Nancy, �If this Brian means that much to you, count me in.� �Me too,� came several more voices throughout the room. Tracy bit her lip as tears welled up in her eyes, �Thank you. Thank you all. Now, lets go over the plan. We don�t have much time.� ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian paced the room. He�d been doing so ever since he convinced Nick to go lobby for his release. Hunger was setting in, but he pushed it aside. He had to stay strong, not let the hunger ruin his chances of getting out. He had to remain calm, show the slayers he wasn�t some monster they had to keep locked up. The door opened and he stopped, looking at Nick with hopeful eyes. Nick shook his head, �No go man.� Brian sank to the bed in defeat, his head in his hands. �I�m sorry, they just wouldn�t listen. They�re convinced that they can take her out when she comes,� Nick explained. Brian looked up at him, �You know they can�t.� He nodded, �I know, but I�m one voice against the entire association.� �There won�t be an association after she gets here ya know?� Brian commented. Nick nodded, knowing in his heart Brian was right. Suddenly Brian looked up, ��Where�s Kevin?� �He�s stationed near the front door,� Nick answered. �Nick, please ... just turn your head and let me go,� he tried. �I can�t Bri, you wouldn�t make it down the hall. The place is crawling with slayers. I haven�t seen this many in the entire time I�ve been coming here,� he said. Brian got up and crossed the room, putting his hands on Nick�s shoulders, �Then promise me this. When it starts, you�ll hide somewhere. Don�t let them see you. If I can�t save you and Kevin both, I can at least save you.� �I ...I can�t promise that,� Nick said. �You have to!� Brian screamed, tears brimming his eyes. Nick backed away from him, �You don�t understand Bri. I can�t control it. If vamps come in here, I�ll fight them wether I want to or not.� Brian stared at him, �You�re serious?� He nodded, �Deadly serious.� �Then why aren�t you attacking me, if you can�t control it?� Brian asked. �Because to me, you aren�t one of them. You�re my best friend. I love you, and there�s no way in hell I�d hurt you,� he answered. Brian crossed the space between them and pulled Nick into a huge hug, �Then I�ll have to protect you,� he whispered as they parted. Nick noticed the look on Brian�s face, one of fear and hatred. �What is it?� Brian moved between Nick and the door, swallowing hard, �She�s here.� Chapter 37 |