Three Immortals Walk Into A Bar...

Clyde

Well, we haven’t even managed to get out of the basement yet and we already have a problem. The stairway is gone. Levant and I could easily jump up, but Gregor claims to be only human, so he wouldn’t be able to. And we certainly can’t give him a hand up. Now that the three of us are committed to this rescue mission, I realize how complicated this is going to be. Neither of us can have any level of physical contact with Gregor, but his presence is required to find the men, and he says possibly to heal their injuries.

“Um….” Gregor says, looking around.

Levant does the same, then says, “Over here.” He starts stomping up towards where the stairway used to be, at the end of the basement with the most damage. I get the sense that now that he has agreed to do this, he just wants to get it out of the way as quickly and efficiently as possible. Interesting to see him look like he intends to do something productive, and not just stand around growling and glaring.

He ducks behind where the bottom of the stairs used to be, and I see that a tangle of pipes and rebar is protruding from the shattered wall. He glances back towards the humans, who are paying no attention to us. They have their own problems.

So Levant reaches up to some of the rebar and grabs hold, and starts bending it down towards the ground. Ah, I see what he’s doing. I glance back, and see that nobody is looking at us. Bending rebar with our bare hands would definitely raise some eyebrows if any of the humans are watching. But they don’t seem to be, although Gregor sure is, his eyes huge, a look of astonishment on his face. I grasp some iron bars as well, and in just a few seconds the two of us have created a makeshift ladder.

“There,” Levant growls over at Gregor, “can you climb that?”

Gregor responds with a sunny smile. “Thank you, yes,” he says, and quite nimbly clambers up the snarled tangle of metal. Hm. He says he’s not inhuman, but he’s something. I can’t picture a regular human doing that quite so quickly or gracefully.

When he gets to the top, I hear his intake of breath as he looks around. I almost don’t want to go up there, don’t want to see what has happened to my Adabelle. But Levant swings himself up in about one second, and they both turn and look back towards me.

I sigh, and sadly climb up as well.

Oh, my. Vampires can’t really go pale, not the way humans can, but it feels like it happens to me anyway. There’s almost nothing left. The far back wall, on the other end of the building, is partially standing, but the rest just looks like a landfill. Piles of scattered debris, no rhyme or reason, no way to identify anything.

They wait as I spin in a slow circle, as my eyes take in the devastation, and I try to identify anything at all that remains of the property. As I am almost finished turning, I see the one thing that I can identify. A whole row of rose bushes remains intact, part of the beautiful landscaping, which had been planted along the edges of the front drive. Half a dozen bushes, standing just as they had been, even with some of the blooms remaining. I have no idea how they were spared. They stand silent sentry in the moonlight, a touch of life in the midst of what looks like a lunar landscape, and I quickly wipe away tears that come to my eyes at the sight. I can’t let myself get emotional right now, I don’t know how I would stop once I started.

Gregor is looking solemnly at the rose bushes as well, and I suppose that his guardian is telling him what I am thinking. He doesn’t look at me and nod, probably not wanting to intrude.

I sigh. “Well,” I tell him, “lead on.”

He starts picking his way through the rubble towards the north, and we follow a few feet behind. The moon is out, but it is not full, and it is still partially cloudy as well. The night is not very bright, but of course I can see perfectly well with my vampire vision. I assume Levant can as well.

He seems to be thinking along the same lines. How is Gregor going to avoid tripping in the darkness? “Hold on,” Levant says, “don’t you need some light?” He is reaching into his pocket for his phone, probably to use the flashlight feature.

“Oh,” Gregor responds, looking back at us through the darkness. “No, I’m fine.”

Levant pauses with his phone in his hand. “Look, if you fall and get hurt I am definitely not rendering first aid.”

Gregor smirks a little. “I don’t need light. I can see quite well.”

Oh-ho! “You didn’t mention that before,” I accuse.

“Our Q&A session was cut short,” he responds with a tone of humor in his voice. “I’m sure we would have gotten to it eventually.”

“You can see in the dark?” Levant asks, apparently wishing to clarify.

“Yes,” Gregor says, and turns to continue walking. Levant scowls, and puts his phone back in his pocket.

“What Q&A session?” Levant asks grumpily.

I smile over at him while we follow behind Gregor, making his way through the rubble-strewn landscape. “During our slumber party, remember?” I tell him. “You were invited, you know. It’s not our fault you missed out.”

Levant

I made the right decision. I know I did. I was injured, and needed sleep. Even more, I needed Maria. The last thing I needed was to participate in a fucking slumber party with these two assholes.

But I also know that I haven’t learned as much as I should. Apparently they were talking together, probably about stuff I should know. Tepes will require a report. He’ll want to have all the information about this new vampire, and especially about whatever Gregor is. He is a potential threat, and Tepes keeps track of all threats. As much as I loathe the idea of chatting with these two while we search for injured werewolves, I think I have to do it. I hate every single part of this idea. Maria is going to laugh her head off when I tell her about it.

But, “What are you, anyway?” I ask.

Gregor turns back. “Who, me?”

“Yes, asshole. Of course, you.”

He meets Clyde’s eyes with a grin. “Oh, now you want to talk?” Clyde taunts.

“Just answer the question,” I growl at Gregor.

He puts his hands up, then jerks them behind his back. “I am a Seer. That just means I can see my Guardian.”

I roll my eyes. He’s on about this again. What is that even supposed to mean?

Clyde crosses his arms and shakes his head, smirking. “I believe him,” he says. “It sounds very strange and unlikely, but I think it’s true.”

“Seriously?”

Gregor lifts his shoulders and quirks his head to the side. “My Guardian is always with me, and he guides me through life. He’s the one showing me the way right now.”

“Look,” Clyde says, “as sweet as this little chat is, can we please keep moving? My men are out there and they need me.”

I can understand that, him needing to get to his men. It was like this in the Legion. I nod. Gregor says, “I can walk and talk at the same time, you know.”

“Good,” I say, “go.”

He turns around, and Clyde and I continue following him. “So,” I ask, “how could having a guardian angel make you so dangerous?”

He tilts his head back over his shoulder and glances at me, then continues threading his way through the rubble. “I really am sorry about that,” he says. “It usually helps people when I touch them. I’m hoping I can heal Fernando and Jacob’s wounds. Apparently it works differently with you two.”

“How does it work for werewolves?” Clyde asks.

“I guess we’ll find out,” Gregor replies.

“Well, how do you even know they’re injured?” I ask. It’s weirdly fascinating, to hear him talk about this. I still don’t understand what he is, though.

“My Guardian told me. Fernando has a head injury, and Jacob has a broken leg and cracked ribs.” Well, that’s awfully specific. I’ll believe it when I see it, though.

I still can’t believe what I’m doing. Roaming through this hellscape looking for werewolves to rescue. Holding a conversation. With men. I hate men. I hate werewolves. How far I have fallen. This feels more like a dream than what I was doing with Maria earlier. I glance around, looking for her, just in case. Lately I seem to find it a little difficult to distinguish when I am dreaming from when I am awake. I don’t see her, so this isn’t one of those dreams.

“You’re awake,” Gregor says, not even looking back to face me. What the hell?

Clyde looks over at me, continuing to follow Gregor. “His Guardian reads minds, then tells him everything.” he clarifies.

Ugh. Swell. This scrawny human can hear what I’m thinking? Shit.

I hear him chuckle up ahead.

I clench my fists, and growl, and glare, and continue following along behind, Clyde glancing sideways at me with an amused smirk.

Gregor

“Almost to Fernando,” Wolk says. He is no longer either a wolf or a man. He has turned himself into basically an arrow, just a line of his glowing matter, positioned right in front of me, laying down the path for me to follow. He’s suggesting the safest places to step, among other things. The last thing I would need right now is to turn my ankle. Not like either of my companions could help me hobble along until it heals.

“Fernando is right up there,” I say to the guys behind me, pointing just ahead and to the left, where the remains of a building are leaning crazily, just a couple of walls remaining.

Clyde rushes ahead, and ducks behind one of the walls. “Fernando?” I hear him ask, but there is no answer.

“There is some debris which needs to be lifted away in order to get to him,” Wolk says.

“Wait!” I call to Clyde. I wouldn’t want him shifting anything the wrong way and crushing Fernando. Levant quickly passes me, and it takes another few seconds for me to make my way back there to join them.

They are looking down, and I see only the head and torso of the unconscious man as he lies on his side, immobile. Some beams of wood, possibly fallen from the ceiling of whatever this structure used to be, are concealing his bottom half.

“Hold on,” I quickly say to my companions. I want Wolk to tell me if it is safe to move the wood aside. I’ve played pick up sticks, I know how moving one piece can cause the whole thing to collapse. I don’t want to cause more damage.

“Move this one first,” Wolk says, highlighting a beam on the top.

“Okay, can you guys lift up just this one? Just pick it straight up, don’t let it dangle.” I ask, pointing to the specific piece.

They look at me, both seeming impatient. Clyde probably to get to his employee, and Levant probably to get this whole thing over with. “We have to be careful so that it doesn’t collapse on him. Wolk will tell us how to move them. It’ll only take a couple of minutes.”

Levant growls, and rolls his eyes, but he goes to grab one end of the beam, and Clyde gets the other. They carefully lift it straight up and toss it aside.

“Please assure Clyde that the delay will not harm Fernando. Here is the next beam to move.”

“Wolk says Fernando can wait a minute to move this safely. Here, this one next.” I point.

Just a couple more pieces, and the man is uncovered. As Wolk had described, his limbs appear sound. The only visible injury is a huge swelling on his forehead, with a bleeding gash. There’s a lot of blood, but I know head wounds bleed a great deal.

Clyde moves as though to kneel next to him. “Please, allow me,” I say. He looks up at me, a flash of annoyance on his face and of red in his eyes, then he backs up. I know how worried he is.

I gently run my fingers around Fernando’s skull, and don’t feel any other apparent injuries. “Is it all right for me to be touching him?” I ask Wolk.

“He seems to be reacting to your touch the same way as regular humans do.”

Well, that’s a relief, at least.

But then he continues, “Although, I believe that he must have accelerated healing abilities similar to yours. The skull fracture seems to be mending already, far more than a normal human’s body could. But there is swelling in the brain, and even with his level of healing, it does not appear that he could overcome this injury on his own. It is good that you are here.”

I don’t take my hands off of him, while I look up at Clyde. I nod in the direction where Wolk has told me the other man is. “Jacob is that way. He’s hurt but he’s trying to walk, looking for Fernando. Why don’t you go find him, and get him to stop walking. He’s just going to make it worse. I need some time here. Just wait with him, I’ll come to you.”

Clyde stares at me, but I need to focus on Fernando. I close my eyes, lay both hands on either side of his head injury, and feel Wolk send the healing energy through my hands. I concentrate as hard as I can. This is a serious injury, I hope I can help.

I hear Clyde moving off, but I don’t open my eyes. As far as I can tell, Levant is still here.

“Yes, he is watching. Fernando’s injury is slightly better. You need more time with him.”

Very well. I concentrate, focusing on my hands, on his head, and think to him, “Heal!”